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dan heng hasn't been able to talk with caelus much ever since; the other is also being rather taciturn towards him. maybe he's overwhelmed. or because he's put off by dan heng's new appearance. after sending jing yuan off for treatment, the astral express troop returned to petrichor inn.
dan heng's draconian features remain visible, because he's certainly not calm enough to clear his mind and heart, and maintain a human form over his original dragon body. mr welt had draped him with a large cloak, to hide the horns and tail, and checked him into a room between march's and caelus's. 'just rest and lie low for now.'
dan heng had tried to 'rest'; he's tried lying down on the bed, meditating, writing, even snacking - mung bean soda tasted even worse than he remembered - but dan heng just can't relax. he's worried about jing yuan, the ambrosial arbor, his teammates, the state of luofu - but most worrying to him is caelus's lack of communication. dan heng spares another look at his phone; his last message had managed to send somewhere along the way, but it remained unread. caelus is even ignoring his messages...
days slowly tick by after the fight with phantylia. while dan heng is holed up in the petrichor inn, the other three went on their daily activities as normal. march went around shopping, occasionally returning to the express with supplies, mr welt explored the bookstores and archives, while yukio went looking for trouble. back in his draconian form, dan heng's five senses are heightened; he can hear the others' footsteps returning to their room even before they approach the lobby. every time he hears march's camera clicking and caelus's gaming sounds from their respective rooms, he feels relief that at least they're all here in one place, no longer separated.
recently, however, caelus has been returning late to the inn. he comes back to his room groaning, throwing himself onto the bed (dan heng can hear the thumps), and leaves early in the morning. for some reason, his scent (what. dan heng's a dragon. of course he can smell well too) is of the ocean and coral, a very familiar scent to dan heng. caelus returns to the inn every night smelling of scalegorge waterscape and... other vidyadhara's scents.
the first time dan heng noticed it, it was the scent of a young boy, the next day, sweet feminine perfume. everyday caelus smells different. dan heng is loathe to admit it, but he feels rather dissatisfied about it. another thing about dragons is they hoard, very possessive. it's frustrating a fellow astral express crewmate is smelling of so many strangers. or so he thinks. it's probably the main reason dan heng still feels restless. he tosses and turns in his bed, tail whipping around in displeasure, as he wonders where caelus goes, to have so many different vidyadhara clinging to him every day. what's he's doing at the gorge anyway?
one night, caelus returns a little earlier than usual. dan heng perked up hearing him mumbling to himself next door (the walls are too thin), glad to at least have him back safe. march was already sound asleep, by the way. dan heng decides to doze off again, when suddenly he hears it.
caelus is humming a song.
a song dan heng recognizes.
rather, it's a song dan feng recognizes.
dan heng shoots up from bed, focusing all his attention on the song. there's no doubt about it.
caelus is humming one of the many vidyadhara cloudhymns, specifically a song that the pearlkeepers, the ones taking care of the vidyadhara eggs in scalegorge waterscape, pass down to their successors orally. simply put, lullabies.
but when dan feng was declared a rebel, the vidyadhara realm fell into chaos, and the pearlkeepers ceased to exist.
their traditions, songs, all faded away. that was hundreds of years ago.
even within the vidyadhara on the luofu, there couldn't be many who still remembers those songs.
no records were left; the flute players of that time broke their pipes, erased their notes, swearing to never play again.
yet, here is caelus, humming it perfectly.
caelus hums on, soft and lilting, as he patters around his room preparing to tuck in for the night, dan heng roils with a desperate need to shake caelus and ask him where he learnt the song. when it comes to caelus, nothing should surprise him, but still.
yet against his will, dan heng feels himself relax, his eyelids drooping. ah, of course. it's a vidyadhara lullaby,
to soothe the unborn in the the eggs, to pacify the ones living.
of course it works wonders on him, the most vidyadhara of all.
as his vision turns dark, he makes a mental note to ask caelus about it next they meet. if caelus is willing to talk to him though.
the next night caelus hums another song.
dan feng's nanny used to sing this one all the time, as she tucks the tiny young elder into bed.
dan heng slips to sleep again.
caelus's repertoire has grown rather impressively, dan heng thinks.
caelus seemed to like a particular one, about lovers reincarnated carrying pearls in their mouths, which he hummed on repeat.
(dan heng is reminded of the phonograph on the express.)
dan heng sets his mind.
dan heng opens the door of his room, looking left and right. it is midnight, no one is there.
caelus himself hasn't returned yet. dan heng slips into his room (the other always forgets to lock his door) and makes his way to a chair in the corner. for caelus's room, it's tidy. dan heng takes a seat - his tail curls around the legs of the chair.
uh oh, he's nervous. he belatedly realizes he's actually missed caelus a lot more than he thought. march and mr welt had dropped in for a chat or two, but caelus... caelus had remained indifferent. he waits in the darkness. after what felt like aeons, the doorknob turned, and in entered caelus, dragging his feet wearily.
being in the same room, dan heng's nose was slapped with the scent of the ocean, of other vidyadhara. today a man.
unconsciously, dan heng bares his fangs.
'...caelus.'
caelus turned around so fast, eyes blown wide, that dan heng is slightly amused.
'oh my god, who?! ... dan heng?!'
dan heng doesn't reply, only tilting his head in greeting. his horns glow bright in the void of the room. he swears caelus's golden eyes glow too, but maybe that's just his imagination.
'damn, that was bad for my heart!!'
hearing caelus curse at him somewhat made dan heng relieved.
'...it's been a long time.'
caelus shifts, avoiding his gaze. 'haha, i guess so.'
well, back to square one.
'caelus, are you angry at me?' caelus looks at him bemusedly. 'huh? why would i be?' a part of dan heng sighs gladly, another part of him swells indignantly.
'then why are you avoiding talking to me? you didn't even read my messages.' there was a tinge of disappointment to his voice.
caelus scratches his head.
'oh, well, about that...' 'truthfully, i was, um, slightly, well, quite? overwhelmed that day. like, tingyun just snapped her neck in front of us, like some kind of twig, then i get to meet dan shu again but she's like, a monster, and then you appear looking like some royalty. that's why i just, ya know, keep silent. wouldn't want to blurt out stupid jokes in front of the general.' caelus waves his hands helplessly.
dan heng, however, is unappeased. 'then why not talk after it's over? march came to chat, yet you didn't even deign to read my message.'
caelus looks guiltily at the floor. it's the second time dan heng brought up the unread messages in this short window of time; shows how much he's affected by it.
he stares at caelus unwaveringly.
'well, uh, i am a bit afraid.' caelus admits.
his heart cracks, but dan heng remains stoic.
'afraid of me?'
caelus shakes his head.
'no. afraid of myself, actually. afraid that i can't help myself and ask you about things you've tried to hide. i'm afraid if i dig up things that'll hurt you to remember.'
he grins helplessly. 'also, i missed you so much. if i read that message, i'll just end up wanting to meet you and talk about so many things i found on the luofu, while you were away, and i'm trying not to.'
dan heng's heart heals; it grows, in fact, flush with gratitude.
'i'm sorry for hiding my past. i never thought it'll come to bite me again, or this soon. you could have enjoyed xianzhou a lot more if you didn't end up in my mess.'
dan heng bows his head, to which caelus rushes over to him, squatting so they meet eye-to-eye.
'there's nothing to apologize for, i'm sorry myself for my behaviour...'
dan heng smiles, but now he is distracted, his attention is on the salty seawater scent on caelus's body.
dan heng frowns. 'have you been to scalegorge again?'
caelus starts. 'uh, well, yes, on missions and errands, you know the drill. how did you know?'
dan heng curls his lip in displeasure. 'you reek.'
caelus pulls back in disbelief. 'excuse me, what?'
he has a hand over his chest, eyes narrowed, staring challengingly at dan heng.
'you reek of vidyadhara. have you been cosying up to strangers?' the words that slip out from his mouth were harsh, cold.
'bro, there's no need to be rude!' caelus moves away - dan heng's tail thumps the floor in agitation.
'explain then, how come you smell of different people every time you return?'
the other stares at him in surprise. 'you can smell me from your room?!'
'just answer me, caelus...'
caelus sighs in defeat. 'okay, okay, i'll tell you. i have not! been cosying up to strangers.' dan heng breathes easier.
'what i have been cosying up to, however, are the vidyadhara eggs in scalegorge waterscape.'
dan heng stares, nonplussed. 'what?'
'so i helped mr xiyan hatch an egg a few days back, you see, and then i was a bit curious, so i went to investigate the other eggs. lo and behold, they love me!' caelus grinned smugly, bright and wide, just like the times when he showed off his spoils fron dumpster-diving. 'so now, like, after i finish my missions for the day, i visit an egg, cuddle with it for a while, talk with the baby inside it. everyone was so excited to share their memories with me! ouch, but damn, some were really painful, i just-' dan heng lets the other ramble on. '- i learnt some pretty cool stuff too! like this one egg, there was a magician in it. his memories were awesome, nobody understood his tricks -'
dan heng finally pieces it all together - caelus has been mothering the eggs at scalegorge waterscape. no wonder he smells!
'- and like there were stories about dan feng too, past you really be wilding -'
dan heng cuts him off with a question.
'did you learn to sing from them?'
caelus, surprised, mulled it over, before his face brightened.
'oh you mean the baby songs? yeah, one of the eggs taught me! the unborn baby told me they used to be a pearlkeeper, before abominations trampled all over them and the eggs in a tragedy far back. they taught me the baby songs, so i can sing to the other eggs in their place!'
dan heng almost can't believe his ears.
just how much goodness is in caelus? going around to help everyone, out of the kindness of his heart.
learning long-gone melodies just to coddle some lonely eggs to sleep.
sharing their painful memories so they can be reborn anew, slate clean.
'my favourite song is this one! dan heng, have you ever heard it before?'
of course he has. the song his nanny had sung every night, a thousand years ago, when he was dan feng, now spilling in gentle breaths from caelus's mouth.
dan heng gives up.
he stands, and embraces caelus.
'uoooooooh, d-d-dan heng?!'
caelus stiffens in shock. dan heng isn't a tactile person; he usually refuses hugs from march or pom-pom, how come he's the one hugging caelus right now?!
before caelus could protest any more, dan heng whispers to him, head resting against his neck.
'caelus, i'm tired, but i can't sleep well. can you sing me to sleep?'
his voice was low, sad.
caelus hesitated, before pulling them both to his bed.
'if i can be of help, i'll do it, dan heng.'
they lie down, dan heng's head resting against caelus's chest, eyes closed.
caelus begins to hum. he caresses the tresses of dan heng's long, dark hair gently, as he sings praises of Long, and stories of boneless fishes and sweet seaweed, sings of how the vidyadhara used their powers to reign over the depths of the ocean. his voice is warm, soft.
dan heng has long gone, serene and peaceful in sleep. not long after, caelus drops off into deep slumber too.
they hold on to each other's arms in their sleep, almost desperately, like lifelines, anchors.
the cloudhymns echo into the night, bringing tidings of blessings to all.