Chapter Text
Wei Wuxian could not, in good faith, say that he was the best rule-following fairy of the forest.
Nor would anyone even consider that.
So it shouldn’t really be a surprise if he doesn’t stay home when he is told to.
Uncle Jiang was very clear when he told Wei Wuxian to not come to the border with him, which was why Wei Wuxian was not! He was following Uncle Jiang at a distance, not going with him!
And it was not like Wei Wuxian was doing this for himself. Sure, he would love to see what the elusive winter fairies looked like up close. But he could have snuck into the winter forest for that if he wanted to!
Now that he was thinking about it… why hadn’t he snuck into the winter forest yet?
But anyway.
The reason Wei Wuxian was secretly following Uncle Jiang today was Jiang Yanli, the best animal fairy in Neverland, and Wei Wuxian’s sister. Well, sister at heart.
Jiang Yanli had been preparing the crows to get ready for the upcoming winter down in the humanland. But when the other crows flew to the winter forest, one of the baby crows was left behind. Despite Jiang Yanli’s best efforts to help it feed and become stronger, the baby crow was still too weak, so Jiang Yanli had convinced Uncle Jiang to have a formal meeting with the winter fairies about what to do.
Because winter fairies were fancy and elaborate like that.
You couldn’t just knock on their doors and ask a question; you had to arrange an appointment with Winter Lord Lan through official letters, delivered by a blindingly white pigeon and its pack saddle made of ice. The lotus leaves Uncle Jiang wrote his letters on were probably frozen by the time they had reached the winter lord!
Thankfully, Lord Lan had quickly agreed to a meeting with Uncle Jiang. As warm-weather fairies could not go to the winter forest and winter fairies could not come to the warm-weather, they were going to meet at the border between autumn and winter forests. For the journey, Uncle Jiang was accompanied by his trusted advisor and the baby crow.
And Wei Wuxian, though they didn't know that.
He had to be there for this meeting! He couldn’t let harm come to his sister’s poor baby crow; he had to make sure it was going to be alright or she would be so sad and Jiang Yanli was the last fairy in Neverland that should ever feel sad!
Not that any fairy should feel sad, but least of all his amazing sister with the most tender heart.
So Wei Wuxian had found a way to attend the meeting using his secret tricks.
Wei Wuxian was a tinker fairy. Tinker fairies created, fixed, and invented things, things that all fairies needed and used. Wei Wuxian’s tinkering talent had awakened at just thirteen years old, and since then, he had been working under Master Tinker, Xiao Xingchen, who sometimes made Wei Wuxian work too hard.
And Wei Wuxian was a good tinker, he was!
But his secret specialty lay elsewhere…
In potions.
He was the best fairy at potions, and that would likely hold true even if there were other fairies that made potions.
Yes, Wei Wuxian was probably the only potion-making fairy in Neverland.
And for good reason.
Centuries ago, before even Uncle Jiang was born, there used to be potion fairies who created potions by mixing fairy dust with materials from the forest. The fairy dust flowed from the fairy dust tree in the heart of the forest and gave all the fairies the magic to fly.
But slowly, the potion fairies got greedy. They used so much fairy dust that the tree was overwhelmed, and one day the fairy dust stopped flowing completely. The fairies quickly became weak and scared, unable to fly.
That day, potion making was banned in Neverland.
The fairy dust tree started flowing again after it recuperated. The fairies appointed dust-keeper fairies to distribute fairy dust to all the fairies equally, one acorn-ful every day. And the dust-keeper fairies did this job even today, under the leadership of Treasurer Jin.
Like all fairy children, Wei Wuxian had grown up with the tale of potion-fairies and how they almost destroyed the fairy forest. But he had thought of it as a story of the past and moved on.
Until one day a couple of years ago, when he had accidentally made his first potion.
Since then, Wei Wuxian had been experimenting with potions whenever he found an interesting material, like a fish scale that he instinctively knew would be good for a wound-healing potion, or a rose petal that could help sunburns.
And last week, he had made his first invisibility potion!
He had found a stick bug shedding its old skin, and instantly had a flash of inspiration. He had scared the stick bug away to take its old skin home, had grinded it into powder, and mixed it with a drop of translucent nectar and a pinch of fairy dust that he had pilfered.
When Wei Wuxian had tested the potion, he had realised that to other fairies, he was completely unnoticeable, like a stick bug. No one had looked at him even when he tried to grab their attention, and the potion had taken almost a whole day to wear off.
He had such a natural inclination for potions, which was unfair! Why did he have to be so good at something that was banned?
At least the invisibility potion was coming in handy now.
Across the forests, scout fairies were positioned at watchtowers scattered to alert fairies to dangers like hawk attacks or sleet, and they would have seen Wei Wuxian trailing after his uncle towards the border.
But no one noticed him. He was following Uncle Jiang and Advisor Ming a couple of paces back, trying to make no sound on the dry autumn leaves covering the earth. Uncle Jiang and Advisor Ming were discussing something Wei Wuxian couldn't hear from this distance, the baby crow in front of them, huddled on a little wagon pulled by a mouse.
They were almost at the winter border, and Wei Wuxian could sense the cold already. The trees around them got barer and barer, and the winds started bringing with them a sharp chill.
Wei Wuxian felt his skin shivering. He hugged himself and rubbed his arms to warm them. Ahead of him, Uncle Jiang and Advisor Ming took out folded robes of thick aloe leaves from the carriage and put them on, making Wei Wuxian realise how unprepared he was for this journey.
But how could he have known it would be so cold even on the warm side of the border?
Now he understood why they always told warm-weather fairies to not go close to the winter border. He could probably freeze here if he stayed for too long!
Warm-weather fairies and winter fairies only ever saw each other when the animal fairies were helping animals move to the winter forest to be prepared for hibernation. Jiang Yanli had never had that task, but Wei Wuxian’s friend Mianmian, who was also an animal fairy, had once helped guide the animals across the border. She had told Wei Wuxian about how the winter fairies would stay so far behind their border that she could barely see them, but from what she could see, they looked white and sparkly, like snow itself.
And when Wei Wuxian left the autumn forest behind and came into the clearing surrounding the border, he had to agree with her.
The winter fairies were white and sparkly indeed.
There was a wide river softly flowing between the autumn and winter forests, with a wooden arch bridge joining the two sides together. The three winter fairies were standing on this bridge.
The fairy in the middle was in a formal and elegant robe of blues, with an icy crown around his forehead. There was a young fairy next to him dressed more simply, in white leaves and ribbons.
But what grabbed Wei Wuxian’s interest was the other fairy.
This fairy also had an icy headband tied around his dark blue hair, and long fringes framing his face delicately. His skin was as white as the snow around him, but his eyes– they were a pale gold that seemed to glow even across the bridge. His face looked serious and cold with his sharp nose and unsmiling lips, but those eyes made Wei Wuxian feel like he was looking into a deep well of secrets.
Even just standing straight, the fairy looked like the most dignified and respectable fairy Wei Wuxian had ever seen.
And he didn’t even look older than Wei Wuxian! Why was he looking so solemn?
While observing the winter fairies, Wei Wuxian was slowly walking closer to the bridge, and could almost smell the snow in the air.
The ground on the autumn side was earthy, with red and orange leaves and a couple of persistent sunflowers and dahlias, while the winter side was covered in piles and piles of snow as much as the eye could see, pine trees being the only colour in the vast whiteness. The border was a visible line between the two seasons, in how different the ground and environment were between autumn and winter.
Both parties walked to the edge of this border and met in the centre of the bridge. They all bowed to each other and when they rose, the winter fairy in the middle greeted Uncle Jiang. “It is an honour to see you, Summer Lord Jiang Fengmian. I hope your journey was without issues.”
His voice was strong but gentle, and his smile was serene. Uncle Jiang replied to him with a pleasant expression, “The honour is mine, Winter Lord Lan Xichen. Our journey went quite smoothly, thank you. This is my advisor, Ming.”
He nodded at Advisor Ming, who bowed again and greeted them.
Wei Wuxian wanted to hear them better so he tested moving a little closer. He sighed in relief when no one glanced his way, but stopped when he had inched close enough to see them in detail.
Up close, the winter fairies looked even more serious and elegant.
As they were on the winter side of the border, snow was still softly falling onto their dark hair, like tiny pearls and jewels. Wei Wuxian watched a snowflake float towards the fairy with the golden eyes and gently land on the tip of his nose.
The fairy blinked slowly, his long eyelashes fanning down and up. Then he softly shook his head, dislodging the snowflake.
Wei Wuxian felt a squeezing in his heart watching him and almost clutched his chest. But he shook himself and zoned back in when he realised that Lord Lan was speaking again.
“Lord Jiang, Advisor Ming, this is my advisor Yao, an animal fairy. And this is my brother, Wangji.”
Wangji. Lan Wangji.
Wei Wuxian tasted the name in his mouth, and he liked it. It fit this aloof-expressioned boy, he decided.
Advisor Yao and Lan Wangji bowed to the summer fairies, and that’s when Wei Wuxian noticed Lan Wangji's glowing wings, matching Lord Lan’s.
The two Lans’ wings were glowing a pretty shimmer, declaring that they were siblings bloomed in the same flower bud. Wei Wuxian felt a pang in his heart, like he always did when Jiang Yanli and Jiang Cheng were together and their wings sparkled like crystals, a physical sign that the two belonged together, that they were family.
Not that Wei Wuxian wasn’t their family!
But he sometimes wished, so desperately, that his wings could also glow like theirs when they were all together.
The two Lans looked a little similar too, now that Wei Wuxian had a better look at Lord Lan.
Lord Lan just looked slightly more… amiable than Lan Wangji.
He looked pale and serious too, but at least he had a smile on his face.
“Thank you for arranging a meeting on such short notice,” Uncle Jiang said after bows were exchanged. “As I mentioned in the letter, we have a slight problem with this little crow.”
Uncle Jiang gestured towards the wagon, and Advisor Ming detached the mouse to carefully push the wagon to the winter side.
Advisor Yao stepped forward to receive the wagon, approaching the scared and fragile-looking crow with his hands held out in a calming gesture.
“Hey there, buddy,” he said, in that sweet, placating voice that animal fairies had. “You are safe, I promise, we are here to help you. Can I have a look at you, to see how you are doing?”
Wei Wuxian saw the little crow hesitate, then waddle towards the extended hand, and touch its little beak to Advisor Yao’s palm. Advisor Yao bent lower to look into the crow’s eyes, seemingly having a quiet conversation with the baby bird. His hands travelled over its head, gently stroking its neck, back, stomach and tail, like he was feeling the bird’s condition with his fingertips.
Then he straightened up to face Lord Lan, one hand still softly patting the bird’s head. “The fledgling is indeed weak. We could try to prepare him for the winter, but I'm not sure it would be very helpful in such a short time. If we took it to the humanland, it could easily get frostbite or struggle with procuring food. We cannot promise its safety there.”
“And that is the way of life,” Lord Lan said with a sad frown on his face. “Thank you for your assessment, A-Yao,” he smiled, then turned to Uncle Jiang.
“I understand,” sighed Uncle Jiang regretfully. “We did our best to help, Lord Lan. From here on out, I can only keep hoping that the fledgling will be okay.”
Wei Wuxian looked at the small crow, now nuzzling happily at the advisor’s palm. He felt an anxious fear growing inside his chest for the little bird his sister had tried so hard to help. Were they just going to leave it up to chance and send it to the humanland, knowing it could hardly survive?
“We will try to help it gain its strength, Lord Jiang,” assured Lord Lan with an steadfast expression.
But would that help at all, when Jiejie has been trying already for so long? Wei Wuxian couldn’t help but think.
“Thank you, Lord Lan,” smiled Uncle Jiang. “My daughter Yanli insisted that I speak with you about the fledgling to see if there was a way you could help it, though I know such matters are not normally a reason to request a meeting with the Winter Lord.”
“Please do not think like that,” replied Lord Lan quickly. “I know it is hard to meet physically due to our circumstances, but we are all fairies in Neverland, trying our best to help the flow of nature. I hope you do not hesitate to send me a letter for any concerns I could help with.”
Wei Wuxian was intently listening to the gentle words of the Winter Lord, interested about a possibility of being in contact with the winter fairies.
But Lan Wangji, who had been as silent and motionless as a sleeping butterfly until then, spoke up.
“Xiongzhang, if you permit.”
Wei Wuxian wondered how someone could sound so captivating.
Lan Wangji's voice was surprisingly deep and strong, but his intonation was soft to the ears, like a lake rippling under a drizzle.
Lord Lan smiled like he had been waiting for Lan Wangji to speak, and gestured him to go ahead.
Lan Wangji brought his hands together, palm to palm, and closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, his pale golden eyes were glowing brightly.
Wei Wuxian watched with his jaw dropped, entranced, as Lan Wangji’s palms started radiating a gold light too. After a moment, he parted his hands to reveal a book.
While Lan Wangji gracefully turned the pages of the book, Wei Wuxian noticed that Uncle Jiang and Advisor Ming were also in a state of shock and intrigue like him.
After reading the book for a moment, Lan Wangji started speaking again; calmly, like he had done nothing out of the ordinary.
“There is precedent of animals prepared for humanland not being taken there, each for different reasons. It is written that an injured animal could be permitted to stay in Neverland, on the condition that it never leaves again. I saw our records and we have sufficient crows this winter to sustain the population on the humanland. We can remove this fledgling from this winter’s roster; the fledgling would not go to the humanland, but stay in the warm-weather forests to heal and grow. Is that acceptable to Xiongzhang and Lord Jiang?”
Wei Wuxian was sure he wasn't the only one enraptured by Lan Wangji’s rich voice and lilting words. Everyone had been in a hush while he spoke, and now they looked pleased, clearly agreeing with Lan Wangji’s words.
Wei Wuxian was delighted at the possibility of keeping the crow, and also surprised at Lan Wangji suggesting to keep an animal in Neverland so it could live, when Lord Lan had just implied to not interfere with the flow of life.
But Lord Lan just nodded at Lan Wangji with the fondness of an elder sibling.
“If that is alright with Lord Jiang, I agree to this arrangement,” Lord Lan said, turning to Uncle Jiang.
“That would be most wonderful,” Uncle Jiang concurred. He smiled, “Yanli will be overjoyed. Allow me to convey my gratitude and relief on her behalf.”
Uncle Jiang bowed to them and the winter fairies bowed back, and though they couldn't see him, Wei Wuxian also bowed to thank them for their consideration for the little crow.
He was still curious how Lan Wangji had done that magic with the book though. Thankfully, Uncle Jiang seemed equally interested.
“I knew there was a young knowledge-keeper in the winter forest, but I never imagined what it would be like to see you in real life,” Uncle Jiang said. “Thank you, Lan Wangji.”
Lan Wangji nodded respectfully. “It is my duty. I shall record this incident and its conclusion for future cases."
Then he stepped back, and assumed that quiet stance of a sleeping butterfly again.
Wei Wuxian stared at Lan Wangji’s once again pale golden eyes, and wondered what being a knowledge-keeper fairy would be like.
The meeting ended swiftly after that, with both sides thanking and wishing each other good luck with the upcoming season. Then Uncle Jiang and Advisor Ming took the baby crow’s wagon again, and started heading back to the summer forest.
Which was good, because Wei Wuxian was about to freeze his limbs off, he was just now realising.
He had been too engrossed in seeing winter fairies for the first time, and then surprised by Lan Wangji’s knowledge-keeper talents. But now that he took notice of his body, he was shivering and had lost all warmth in his fingertips.
So he waited until the summer fairies were further, then trailed after them with a final glance back at the sparkly winter fairies still waiting at the edge of the border.
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘》 ༓ 《∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
The fairies in the summer forest lived in the Lotus Pier, their huts sprawled around the huge lake and the shrubs. As the Summer Lord, Uncle Jiang’s home was directly on the pier, and he lived there with his wife, Aunt Yu.
Wei Wuxian had grown up with their children, Jiang Yanli and Jiang Cheng, but now that they had grown up, they all had their own huts, and Wei Wuxian flew straight to Jiang Yanli’s.
Jiang Yanli’s home was built under a rose bush, the pink summer roses blooming wildly year-round and releasing their vibrant scents. She took the best care of them with the help of their flower fairy friend Nie Huaisang.
Wei Wuxian almost tumbled into one of these roses now, before he straightened up and landed in front of her door. He squeezed the buzzer bug repeatedly until the door was yanked open by Jiang Cheng.
“Oh good, you are here, too!” Wei Wuxian exclaimed happily, pushing Jiang Cheng aside to enter Jiang Yanli’s home. “You guys won’t believe what I’m about to tell you!”
“Let me guess, you didn’t listen to Father and secretly went after him?” Jiang Cheng snarked, closing the door and crossing his arms. He was the most hot-tempered water fairy Wei Wuxian had seen, but that just made him more fun to tease.
“Well, that too,” Wei Wuxian smiled cheekily. “How did you know?”
He heard Jiang Yanli laugh in the backyard and followed her voice to find her taking care of her flowers.
“Welcome A-Xian,” Jiang Yanli smiled, and pulled Wei Wuxian close, patting his rumpled hair into place. “Jiang Cheng probably knows because you agreed suspiciously fast when Father told you to stay here.”
“And because he was doing that weird expression where he tries to appear all well-behaved and proper,” Jiang Cheng walked close, his wings starting to glow with Jiang Yanli’s. He plopped onto a seat as he continued, “You should never do that, it is creepy and weird. And no one falls for it anyway.”
“Yes, they do!” Wei Wuxian put his tongue out at Jiang Cheng in the most annoying way he knew, and grinned when Jiang Yanli happily laughed again.
Jiang Cheng decided to jump onto Wei Wuxian in retaliation, but he narrowly avoided being shoved into the flower buds and flew up with a twirl. Jiang Cheng chased after him as Wei Wuxian looped and turned seamlessly, annoying Jiang Cheng even more. After a couple of attempts, Jiang Cheng gave up in the chase, and started gathering moisture from the air to throw water droplets at Wei Wuxian.
Wei Wuxian quickly darted away and to Jiang Yanli with a scream. “Hey! Watch the wings!”
“Boys, calm down,” Jiang Yanli said fondly, but she was looking slightly faint right then. Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian immediately flitted to her side, making her sit down and have some fairy dust.
Jiang Yanli had a weak constitution since birth, but it had been getting worse recently. She had been getting tired often and easily, and even struggled with flying sometimes.The healers had tried all kinds of nectars and exercises, but nothing had worked, except fairy dust, so they gave her a bottle of fairy dust to use whenever she had dizzy spells.
Wei Wuxian was afraid that the fairy dust was not going to be enough one day.
But for now, it worked, and Jiang Yanli quickly gained the blush back in her cheeks.
They all settled on the soft grass, enjoying the sunlight filtering through the leaves. Her backyard was so relaxing and beautiful.
“Did Father see you?” Jiang Yanli asked after a moment. “Was he angry?”
“Nah, he didn’t see me,” said Wei Wuxian, then evaded any more questions by jumping up excitedly. “Did you know Lord Lan has a younger brother?”
“Winter Lord Lan? He has a brother?” questioned Jiang Cheng with a head tilt. “Never heard about that. But I haven’t really heard much about winter fairies anyway.”
Wei Wuxian boasted, “Well, I saw three of them today! Lord Lan has a younger brother probably around my age. And his brother is a knowledge-keeper!”
“And what does that mean?” Jiang Cheng asked with a brow raised.
Wei Wuxian shrugged. “I don't know. But he suddenly started glowing, and made a book in his hands!” he said, mimicking Lan Wangji’s actions.
Jiang Yanli chuckled while Jiang Cheng scoffed at Wei Wuxian disbelievingly.
“Knowledge-keeper fairies appear once in every generation,” Jiang Yanli explained to both of them with a smile, “to protect the fairy traditions and teachings. They preserve the history and wisdom of fairies past, and share their knowledge to help when necessary. A-Xian, what did the knowledge-keeper say?”
Wei Wuxian perched on a rose branch, and swung his legs as he got into his story. “First, don't worry, Jiejie, the baby crow is gonna be fine! I flew here much faster than Uncle Jiang, because they are coming with the wagon, but he’ll probably talk to you when he gets to Lotus Pier.”
“Really?” said Jiang Yanli joyfully. “What happened? Did they say what will happen to the fledgling?”
“I’m gonna come to it, one second!” Wei Wuxian said, waving her down teasingly. She smiled and leaned against Jiang Cheng to watch Wei Wuxian’s dramatics comfortably.
“When the winter fairies first looked at the baby crow, they said it would probably not make it through the winter, but nothing they can do, life is life, yadda yadda…” He jumped into the air and did a couple of spins to express his displeasure.
“Then! Lan Wangji – that’s the brother, by the way, the knowledge-keeper one – his eyes glowed and then he said–,” Wei Wuxian paused to imitate a deep voice, “– ‘Ahem, we could actually just keep the bird, we don’t have to send it to the humanland.’ He said the bird could stay in the summer forest forever!”
“And they listened to him?” Jiang Cheng asked in his ever-present sarcastic undertone. “Didn’t you say he was your age?”
“Well, yeah,” Wei Wuxian said. “But you should've seen him! He sounded so sure of himself, his confidence probably made them trust him if nothing else!”
“Yeah, but no one would trust you no matter how confident you sound,” Jiang Cheng ribbed quickly, which descended into another round of them swooshing in the air and rolling on the ground, Jiang Yanli shaking her head with a sigh.
When they were both tired and ruffled, they declared ceasefire and sprawled widely on the ground. Wei Wuxian shook his head to get his red ribbon out of his face, and retied his messy ponytail.
Their breathing had finally calmed down when Jiang Cheng asked in a voice trying to hide his curiosity, “So did winter fairies look any different?”
“I mean… they look paler and more serious than us, but other than that, not really?” Wei Wuxian shrugged. “Except Lan Wangji! I have never seen any fairy look like him.”
“Yeah? Was he large, like humans?” Jiang Cheng asked curiously.
“What, no,” Wei Wuxian laughed. “No, he was fairy-sized. But he had these interesting golden eyes–”
“–That glowed, I know, you said that,” Jiang Cheng interrupted.
“No, I mean, yeah, they glowed when he was doing his stuff, but even when he wasn't, they looked so… I don’t know, they looked intense. And he was so still and quiet, but he looked elegant when he was standing still, you know?” Wei Wuxian tried his best to explain, thinking about Lan Wangji’s solemn expressions and the way he spoke surely and clearly, like an unmovable mountain.
But Jiang Cheng just looked at him strangely, then shook his head and murmured, “Sounds boring to me, but sure.”
Wei Wuxian was about to defend that no, Lan Wangji was not boring, the opposite in fact, he was the most interesting fairy Wei Wuxian had ever seen! But then, he changed his mind and decided to let Jiang Cheng think what he wanted.
It wasn’t like either of them were going to see Lan Wangji again anyway.
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘》 ༓ 《∘∙⊱⋅•⋅
Months passed, and it was time for spring again down in the humanland.
The preparations were going at full throttle, flower fairies getting the seeds ready for planting, the animal fairies preparing for the winter fairies to send the animals back from hibernation.
But Wei Wuxian could not really feel the joy of spring.
Jiang Yanli was not doing well.
Her health had gotten worse so fast. The fairy dust did not help as well as before. She was always so drained now that she could hardly stay awake most of the time, let alone accomplish her animal fairy tasks.
Wei Wuxian had tried to speak to Uncle Jiang about finding a solution, maybe even down in the humanland. But Uncle Jiang just shook his head in resignation, and said that he knew Jiang Yanli was not going to live long since the moment she had bloomed.
And Jiang Cheng was not one to speak about such topics in the first place. The moment Wei Wuxian opened his mouth about Jiang Yanli’s health, Jiang Cheng’s expression turned glum and constipated, and he escaped to the Lotus Lake.
Wei Wuxian was worried out of his mind, but what made him angry was that everyone seemed to just accept it.
They all accepted that Jiang Yanli would not get better, but worse and worse, until she one day just– stopped.
Wei Wuxian was not going to let that happen.
He had been experimenting more often these days.
He had tried various health potions, energy potions, vitality potions. But the potions that had such a strong effect on himself, lasted no longer than a couple of wing flaps when he sneaked them into Jiang Yanli’s cup.
Why were they not working?
What was he doing wrong?
He was thinking to himself about what ingredients to try for his next potion while feeding Lil’ Apple, the weak baby crow that had stayed in Neverland to heal. Lil’ Apple was originally Jiang Yanli’s to take care of, but because she had been too worn out, Wei Wuxian had readily taken over the duty to feed Lil’ Apple.
Every day, after he was done with his tinker duties, he left quickly to avoid getting more tasks from Tinker Xiao and came to the thicket Lil’ Apple lived in. He played with the bird, patted it, fed it, spent time with it. And though it had taken some time, Lil’ Apple was pretty used to him by now, meaning he didn’t bite Wei Wuxian’s fingers off every time Wei Wuxian fed him pieces of apple, his favourite fruit.
Lil’ Apple had grown healthier now. He was much larger, and he could fly better, and ate so many apples it was unbelievable. Which was why Wei Wuxian had named him Lil’ Apple.
Wei Wuxian was not the most creative at naming.
“You are taller than me now, you big baby,” Wei Wuxian told Lil’ Apple, petting his head as he ate today’s apple. “You have grown so much, good job.”
The crow, who was not a fledgling anymore, was not bothered by the tiny fairy and just continued picking at the fruit.
“I wish my Jiejie could also heal like you,” Wei Wuxian sighed. “I wish she would get stronger, and have more energy.”
Then suddenly, the idea struck him.
That winter fairy. Lan Wangji.
He was the one that helped Lil’ Apple.
What if he could help Jiang Yanli too?
And wasn't he the knowledge-keeper, the holder of fairy wisdom? Wasn't he supposed to help fairies? He should know how to help Jiang Yanli!
He remembered those serious golden eyes, and believed with all his heart, that Lan Wangji could help Jiang Yanli.
And that is how Wei Wuxian decided to go to the winter forest to find Lan Wangji and ask for his help.
This time he prepared better before starting his journey.
He made a winter coat out of layers of thick aloe leaves, and prepared bottles of invisibility potions just in case.
He also made a warmth potion. He experimented a bit before deciding on using a couple of sea otter hairs and dried banana seeds, mixed with two pinches of fairy dust.
He could make just one bottle, as it was hard to find sea otter hair, but when he tested it with a small sip, he felt feverish in his skin, like he was burning under the brightest summer sun. He had to throw himself into a pond to cool off and swim around the whole afternoon. The warmth potion working even better than he had expected made him optimistic about this journey to the winter forest.
He gave Lil’ Apple a treat before grabbing his heavy backpack to fly off to the autumn forest.
The scout fairies in the watchtowers did not even look his way as Wei Wuxian passed through the forests. He was just a warm-weather fairy after all, and who could have guessed that he was heading to the winter forest?
Wei Wuxian quickly reached the Yiling Grove, an area in the autumn forest close to the winter border. He landed on the ground and gulped the bottle of invisibility potion, his whole body tingling while the potion took effect. Once it stopped and the magical glow sunk under his skin, he took the thick winter coat out of his backpack and put it on.
Putting the winter coat on meant he couldn't use his wings, so he was going to walk for the rest of the journey. He had thought of making a space in the coat for his wings to poke through, but he wasn't sure if the warmth potion protected his wings too, and he didn't want to risk freezing them.
Wei Wuxian paused when he walked into the clearing.
Seeing the bridge on the border again brought back memories from that meeting months ago, and he felt excited, hoping he could return with good news again like that time.
Wei Wuxian took a deep breath, and drank the warmth potion, waiting as that burning heat encased his whole skin.
Once he felt like he was positively melting from the heat, he took one last fortifying breath, and walked across the quietly flowing stream, until he finally stepped beyond the border.
He instantly felt the difference in the air, the strong wind ruffling his hair every which way.
But the other side of the border was so soft.
His feet sank into the snow immediately and for a moment he was disoriented, like he was stepping onto nothing. His wings tucked into his coat added to his sense of off-balance too.
His attempts to walk forward had him flailing and stumbling with every step, and ended with him falling flat onto his ass.
And that is when Wei Wuxian noticed the temperature difference.
He could not feel his skin burning anymore.
He felt normal! He was not feeling the cold despite rolling in the fluffy snow!
His warmth potion was working!
Wei Wuxian laughed, throwing his whole body against the snow. He spread his arms and legs wide, digging himself deeper into the sand-like material covering the forest floor. He tried holding the snow in his palms, rubbing it together between his fingers, licking it. It just tasted like water, but its texture was very strange, crumbly and wet.
Wei Wuxian hefted himself up and shook off the snow. Last time, the warmth potion had lasted for a long time, but he didn't know if it would run its course faster depending on the temperature around him.
He wanted to be out of the winter forest before he had a chance to test that.
His plan after coming into the winter forest was simply to find Lan Wangji. Wei Wuxian didn’t really know where to go in the winter forest, or how big the forest was, but he was ready to use all his spying and tracking skills to find Lan Wangji.
Trusting his invisibility potion to hide him from anyone he could come across, Wei Wuxian decided to walk straight ahead. He hoped that would be the quickest path to the place the winter fairies lived in, whatever that place was.
He really had no idea how the winter fairies could live in such isolation from the rest of the fairies. Wei Wuxian knew many fairies in all the other seasons, knew the beautiful spots and the hidden alcoves in their forests. But he didn't even know what the fairy town in the winter forest was called.
He wasn't sure anyone did.
Wei Wuxian looked around at the scarce foliage as he walked, noticing the crisp smell of the snow in the air.
Then he saw a holly tree with red berries, which he had only seen as a drawing in the library, in the rare books about the winter forest. He went closer to the holly tree, the brilliant white blanketing everything softly crunching under his feet and making Wei Wuxian feel like he was walking on clouds. When he reached the bright red berries, he couldn't help but pick a small one and put it in his backpack for a possible future project.
As Wei Wuxian walked excitedly, taking a pine needle here and a pansy petal there, he noticed too late that it had turned into night around him.
Did winter forest always get dark so fast?
It was like the darkness had suddenly sunk around him like a mist, and the full moon was the only source of light in the dark forest. The snow was glittering in the moonlight like a lake’s surface reflecting summer's sun.
Wei Wuxian looked around the winter forest with new eyes, at the quiet peace the snow covered trees created, the serenity of the night. This strange solitude that he was experiencing for perhaps the first time in his life was quite enjoyable.
Then he saw a couple of small lights in the distance.
The winter fairies!
Wei Wuxian had found their dwelling!
He jumped up to fly there quickly before he could remember that his wings were folded inside his coat, and he plunged down with a grunt.
At least the snow was soft.
He went to lift himself up, when he suddenly felt a presence looming in front of him.
Wei Wuxian’s eyes slowly trailed up icy robes made of woven leaves, and long, dark-bluish hair, until he reached striking pale golden eyes looking straight down at him.
“What are you doing in Cloud Recesses?”