Pure | | Lan Sizhui, Lan Wangji, Wei Wuxian

A Closed Mouth | Two |

Sizhui was sick, as expected on the boat. He held on to the side of the boat and closed his eyes. He was in the very back, and across from him sat two junior disciples chatting. There were two large boats traveling. He and Jingyi sat next to each other. 4 more disciples were in the boat. Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian steered in the front. In the other boat were more junior disciples, Lan Xichen, who finally showed his face after going into seclusion for months after the death of his friend and sworn brother, and two other seniors from the Lan Clan. They were in the boat behind him and he could see them from the small door cut out in the back of the boat.

Jingyi was deep in conversation with others in the boat, which was good because everyone was distracted with each other, and Sizhui could be sick alone. However, he opened his eyes, and to his surprise, Wei Wuxian now sat across from him with concern painted on his beautiful face. "Sizhui." Wei Wuxian said his name. Sizhui jumped back in his seat. That caused Wei Wuxian to laugh. "Sizhui, you look pale."

Sizhui put on a very forced smile as he steadied his heart, "I am fine, Wei-Qianbei . The water for some reason always makes me sick," Sizhui watched Wei Wuxian's face, even though he still had a smile on his face, Sizhui could feel that Wei Wuxian was very worried. He couldn't explain why or how he could feel what he felt, but he did. "But it goes away once I get back on land." He wanted to make sure to not make Wei Wuxian worry more.

Wei Wuxian grabbed Sizhui's hand and held it lightly in his own hands. Sizhui looked down, making mental notes of the increased touching between he and Wei Wuxian lately. "Do you want herbs? We have another couple of days on the sea."

"No," The last thing he wanted was for anyone to see him as weak. He was under a lot of pressure, because the elders were assessing him on his leadership this hunt. Also, he still did not find a cure for the curse. He just did not have enough time last night to research, because they had to do a few last-minute preparations. "I will be okay." Wei Wuxian looked at Sizhui for a moment, quiet. Sizhui knew that Wei Wuxian was assessing him, looking at his demeanor and processing his words and behavior. His hand was still holding Sizhui' s hand. "I am sure, Wei Qianbei. Please," he whispered the last part as he pulled his hand from Wei Wuxian.

Wei Wuxian looked at Sizhui for another long moment, like he wanted to say something, but he closed his mouth and smiled. Sizhui thought it was a bit odd, because Wei Wuxian was never one to hold back what he wanted to say. Why is he being so different . . . so cautious with me all of a sudden? Sizhui thought to himself. Maybe I am not in trouble, but did I do something to make them worry about me?

"Okay." Wei Wuxian, looked towards the front of the boat, to which Lan Sizhui followed his gaze. Lan Wangji nodded towards Wei Wuxian. Wei Wuxian got up and took his original seat in the front of the boat. That was that.

The group stopped at a hotel for the night. Sizhui did not have to share a room this time, Jingyi and him were allowed to get their own room because pure luck. Normally, Sizhui would have still roomed with Jingyi, but he was extra tired tonight and really was not up for shenanigans. For the first time in a while, he had just been wanting to be alone.

Sizhui lied in his bed and stared at the ceiling. Tomorrow would be a long traveling day again and he knew that Wei Wuxian and Lan Wanji would be watching him again. And now he was in closer proximity to them as part of the caravan, Sizhui could almost physically feel their eyes on him. And even odder so, he thought he could feel . . . their emotions? No, it had to be his own emotions and his mind playing tricks on him.

Sizhui decided to think about the night hunt. He tried hard to turn his attention to it and the plan and strategy. He wanted to run through it, making sure to see if there was room for improvement, or any other things that could go very wrong. He just felt like he was under so much pressure. But before he could get a solid thought together, a knock on his door popped the idea bubble. The knocking was quiet, but urgent. He rolled off the bed and opened the door to be met by Jingyi.