Work Text:
How far would a fox go to defend his beloved dragon?
How loud would a dragon roar for his beloved fox?
The people of the kingdom of Gusu know the answers to both questions. It is in a tale as old as existence, —the tale of the Dragon Prince and his Fox General.
The sun burns red on the horizon as the moon fades to gray. A majestic fox appears on the hill, staring down at the dragon just as he does every morning. The fox’s presence is comforting in a way, soothing to know that such a powerful creature is on their side instead of fighting with the enemy.
The war left many scars, some of which are too deep for Lan Wangji to heal on his own. Be it physical or emotional. However, with Wei Ying among their ranks, the soldiers seem to have regained faith again.
“A celestial fox has blessed us! His highness the second prince and his fox general will lead us to victory against the Wens!” They would cheer loudly while clutching their injured limbs.
They all think the fox to be an all-powerful benevolent general, more beast than human. Just a tool for them to drive the long-standing war to its much-awaited end. They see him on the battlefield and lower their weapons, they let their shoulders droop and sigh out in relief.
“He’s here! The fox general is here!”
But none of them know he bleeds as they do. He breaks his bones and hopes for time to align them correctly. His face gets ashen from the dust of the battle and his body seizes with hunger once it settles.
They do not think about that. They do not think about what makes him a man. What makes him Wei Ying.
“Lan Zhan! Lan Zhan! Let’s go catch some fish in the river!”
“Lan Zhan! Your horns grew so much since the last time I saw you! Can I touch?”
“Lan Zhan, I do not think I can keep sneaking into the palace anymore. The war… it’s getting closer.”
“Lan Wangji! Do not question my methods! If you want to give me orders, it will be under your imperial title!”
Lan Wangji sighs out. It’s been years since Wei Ying last considered them friends. Years since they were just Lan Zhan and Wei Ying, two orphans with nothing but the thought of a good time on their minds when they are together.
Now, they can only see each other as a master and his subject, a prince and his general. Nothing more than how to make their rations last and how to win against the Wen troops outnumbering them on their minds.
They used to meet in between the two willows where everything smelled like fresh grass and wild berries. Now there’s only the smell of death and despair wafting between them.
Still, they kept the fragile peace between them contained in moments like these where their camp is still morning quiet and they can sit with each other. They offer no words, no smiles. Just a sense of thereness.
Lan Wangji learned to be satisfied with that much. Even if orders to be more careful always tickle his lips. Even if he wants to scream himself hoarse with a declaration of love that he knows Wei Ying doesn’t need. He won’t say any of it. He will keep his silence and let the fox’s presence ground him so he can feel real for another day even if the chaos never gets easier to stomach.
If only for a few moments, he can pretend that whatever was between them isn’t wounded and deformed. He can pretend that this liminal space of war is transitory and that there is something to salvage once the end of this hell is upon them.
Perhaps Wei Ying feels the same. Or perhaps he has other worries that Lan Wangji isn’t privy to. It doesn’t matter. Except it does. But for now, they can both say it doesn’t. It makes things easier.
The day finally breaks properly, bringing with it the daily sounds of exhausted soldiers preparing themselves for another mission of loss. The sounds of their grunting and half-hearted conversations bleed onto the barren earth as they gather their belongings and ready their armor to be slashed against by better sturdier weapons than the Lan kingdom could afford them.
Lan Wangji is ashamed that this is all he can do for his soldiers, for his subjects. Every time he remembers the young men and women laying in a pool of their blood with open mouths and unseeing eyes because of his incompetence he gets filled with rage. Every time he is reminded of their families back home who can barely afford to eat if not for these sacrifices, he wants to rip the universe apart and remold it.
Alas, he is just one man. One dragon. But oh so powerless in the face of war.
He was so young when it started he might as well have been born into it. Still, the palace walls kept him mellow and soft and ignorant. It kept reality from hardening his scales the way it should’ve so he could become a worthy ruler of his people.
He could blame the Lan elders who much preferred to protect the crown. He could blame his imperial brother for not waking him to the cruel reality that he would soon become apart of. He could blame himself for refusing to open his eyes before someone almost pried them out of their sockets. But what good would any of that do?
Wei Ying would say it would have changed the tides of wars, that it would have saved the families of thousands had he spent more time truly learning of what was happening to his kingdom. He would argue that every second of ignorance cost them one good soldier. But even he knows the extent of those claims.
All they can do now is march forward on growling stomachs and hope that a miracle might grace them with much-desired victory. They all see that miracle in Wei Ying with his fascinating cultivation and a seemingly endless supply of dark energy.
Lan Wangji is scared that he will end up being that miracle. In a way that puts him too far out of the dragon’s reach. Somewhere he can neither fly to nor dig into.
Still, they march on.
They lose a couple of hundred men on the field.
Still, they march on.
The enemy troops find and burn their rice supplies.
Still, they march on.
The morale of their soldiers dwindles after each loss.
Still, they march on.
The fox loses one of his tails fighting against Wen Ruohan.
They have to march on.
Even if Lan Wangji wants to sink his claws into that vile man’s neck until they are forever painted in his blood. They march on.
But then comes the day Wei Ying truly becomes their miracle, and Lan Wangji simply cannot march on anymore.
He collapses on the floor where the fox is laying, dormant. Almost. He is not breathing. His chest is not moving in a way that indicates life. There is no awareness in his silver eyes. No more orders to tumble out of bloody lips.
The fox general is dead. He did it all to save the dragon prince. He did it to save them all.
Yet no one cheers. No one jumps up in glee. No one stabs a flag on their newly obtained land.
How could they when a dragon’s sadness is seeping onto that very land?
“How unfortunate for the fox general, he perished when he took the blow for his highness the second prince. But how admirable that he would use his dying breath to defeat the enemy!” Lan Wangji can already hear the conversations trickling into his ears.
It should have been him. It should have been his sword against Wen Ruohan’s. Never Wei Ying’s.
’Powerless dragon. So mythical and magical but in the end, you couldn’t protect the person who mattered most. Oh, poor, poor dragon.’
It is said the howl they heard that day could wake up the dead. Some claim it is what brought the fox back. However, it is not the dragon’s roar or his icy tears that tethered the fox’s soul back into his beaten body.
It is nothing but time.
Thirteen long years indeed. Until those lips could gasp another breath of air again.
“Your Highness! Your Highness! The fox— he’s awake!”
Lan Wangji’s heart turned into ice the day the subject of his love took his last breath but when it returned, spring finally blessed it with its warmth.
It is forbidden to run in the Cloud Recesses. It is forbidden to show excessive emotions. It is forbidden to shout.
Lan Wangji breaks 3 rules that day.
They meet again with the smell of Gentians wafting between them. Silver peering into gold. They meet again and there is no impending battle to be won except the one where Lan Wangji becomes the man Wei Wuxian can be proud of.
“Lan Zhan…”
“Wei Ying… you’re awake.”
“I am. I missed you.”
“Mn. I missed you too.”
The dragon and the fox finally found their place again. They are still a prince and his general but they can finally be allowed to be just Lan Zhan and his Wei Ying in between the two willows and the smell of wild berries.