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The Gusu Lan flock were not just any birds, they were Red Crowned Cranes. They were the epitome of avian elegance: towering, snow white, with sleek black secondary feathers and a singular, vibrant red patch of skin on their crowns.
They were famous across the cultivation world for their courtship dances and their strict adherence to monogamy. Once a Lan crane chose a mate, it was for life.
But teenage Lan Wangji was currently a vibrating, feather ruffling ball of pure repressed anxiety.
His red crown was practically glowing with hormonal frustration. He was experiencing the avian equivalent of a devastating teenage crush, and his instincts were screaming at him to perform.
But how?
How was he supposed to execute the sacred mating rituals of his ancestors when the object of his affection was a crow?
Wei Wuxian was a glossy, jet black corvid who had flown into the Cloud Recesses from Yunmeng. He had no elegance, no posture, and absolutely zero concept of crane etiquette.
Currently, he was hopping sideways along a low stone wall, trying to balance a stolen, half eaten loquat on his beak.
Lan Wangji squeezed his eyes shut, took a deep, agonizing breath through his nostrils, and stepped onto the grassy courtyard. It was time to consult the internal Gusu Lan Guide to Crane Courtship.
According to ancient crane biology, a courtship always begins with the 'Unison Call', a highly coordinated vocal duet that establishes a bond.
/Lan Courtship Rule 12:
The male must tilt his head back, point his beak at a strict 90-degree angle to the sky, and emit one long, flute-like trumpet call.
The partner must respond immediately with two shorter, softer notes held at a 45° angle. No deviation is permitted./
Lan Wangji stood tall. He threw his head back, aiming his beak directly at the heavens. He puffed out his chest and unleashed a breathtaking, crystal clear trumpet note.
"TOOOOOT-TRRRR!"
It was magnificent. It was resonant. It was the sound of a young crane pouring his teenage soul into the wind.
He held the note, waiting for the perfect, two syllable response.
Wei Wuxian’s loquat dropped from his beak. His black eyes went wide.
"Oh! Lan Zhan!" Wei Wuxian squawked, utterly thrilled. He scrambled off the wall, flapping his wings frantically to catch his balance, and skidded to a halt in front of Lan Wangji. "Are we doing a shouting match? I love shouting matches! Listen to this!"
Wei Wuxian puffed himself up until his chest feathers looked like a exploded chimney sweep, pointed his beak sideways at a 12° angle, and screeched, "CAW-CAW-CAW-SQUAAAAWK! AHAHAHA!"
Lan Wangji’s beautiful, pristine trumpet note died a tragic, choking death. His neck snapped back down as his beak twitched.
That was not the response, it was not two notes nor was it at a 45° angle. It was a localized acoustic disaster.
Refusing to let his ancestral heritage be defeated by a noisy crow, Lan Wangji moved to the physical dance.
Real cranes danced by bowing deeply, spreading their wings, and leaping gracefully into the air with their legs trailing elegantly behind them. It was a fluid, sweeping ballet like choreography.
Lan Wangji executed a flawless, sweeping bow, lowering his long neck until his beak brushed the morning dew on the grass. He slowly spread his massive 250 centimeters wingspan, letting the sunlight catch the silver tips.
"Whoa!" Wei Wuxian gasped, circling him. "Lan Zhan, you're huge! Are you trying to stretch? Are your wings stiff? Here, let me help!"
Before Lan Wangji could rise, Wei Wuxian fluttered upward and landed right on Lan Wangji’s lower back, actively trying to walk up his spine to "massage" him.
Lan Wangji let out an outraged, undignified "HNK!" and leaped straight into the air to dislodge him.
This, inadvertently, triggered the jumping phase. Lan Wangji soared 2 meters up, his long legs trailing in a perfect, parallel line, his wings flapping in a slow, majestic rhythm.
"Oh, we're jumping now! Yes!" Wei Wuxian cheered.
While Lan Wangji descended with the grace of a falling snowflake, Wei Wuxian launched himself into the air like a wet firecracker. He didn't glide, he just flapped his short wings in a frantic buzzing blur while spinning mid-air and so losing his orientation and crashing straight into Lan Wangji’s chest just as the crane landed.
The two of them went down in a messy heap of white and black feathers, pine needles, and teenage panic.
Lan Wangji scrambled to his feet, his heart hammering against his ribs. He was covered in dirt. His forehead ribbon was crooked. He was so frustrated he felt like he might actually molt right here on the spot.
But there was one final, crucial element of crane courtship: The toss. (The final straw)
To show excitement and readiness, a crane will pick up a stick, a clump of grass, or a feather, toss it high into the air, and catch it. It was a display of dexterity and playful joy.
Lan Wangji, desperately trying to salvage his dignity, looked around. He spotted a single, perfect, dry pine needle. He picked it up delicately with the very tip of his beak.
With a flick of his elegant head, he tossed the pine needle 30 centimeters into the air, caught it gracefully, and set it down. It was neat and restrained. Definitely Gusu Lan approved.
Wei Wuxian stared at the pine needle. Then he stared at Lan Wangji.
"Lan Zhan," Wei Wuxian said, his voice dripping with playful disbelief. "That was the pathetic-est throw I have ever seen in my life. You're a giant crane! You have a beak like a sword! Watch how we Yunmeng birds do it!"
Wei Wuxian marched over to a nearby garden bed. He grabbed a massive, muddy, decaying oak branch, one that was easily three times his own body weight, with his talons.
With a mighty, screaming effort, he flapped his wings, dragged the branch upward, and hurled it into the air with a wild screech.
"YEEEEE-HAW!"
The massive, muddy branch did not go high. Instead, gravity took immediate effect.
Splat!
The wet, muddy branch landed directly across Lan Wangji’s pristine, snowy shoulders, showering his face with damp earth and dead leaves.
Lan Wangji stood entirely motionless.
A clump of mud was sliding down his beak. A wet leaf was draped over his right eye.
The Gusu Lan Guide to Crane Courtship had officially failed. The dance was dead, the duet was a crime against music and his feathers were ruined. He was a teenage failure.
He lowered his head, his shoulders slumping, ready to retreat to the cold, lonely waters of the Cold Pond to nurse his broken heart.
But as he turned to leave, a small, black shadow hopped in front of him.
Wei Wuxian was panting, his feathers ruffled and messy, but his eyes were shining with a warmth that could melt a glacier. He reached into his chest feathers and pulled out a small, bright red ribbon he had stolen from a stall earlier.
He didn't toss it or drop it in the mud.
Instead, Wei Wuxian hopped up onto a nearby rock, leaned forward, and very gently draped the red ribbon over Lan Wangji's neck, right next to his crooked silver forehead ribbon.
"There," Wei Wuxian cooed softly, letting out a rare, quiet, gentle purr. He leaned in and began to nibble softly at the mud on Lan Wangji's beak, cleaning it away with meticulous care. "Now you look like a Yunmeng crane! Well, we don't actually have cranes there...but you get the point! This is much better. Don't be mad, Lan Zhan. I think your dance was beautiful."
Lan Wangji’s entire body went rigid, then, slowly...he melted.
He didn't care about the mud or the rules anymore. He let out a low, deeply content, and entirely unLan like rumble, wrapping his massive, white wings completely around the chaotic little black crow, tucking him safe and warm against his chest.