Nana's Untamed Flash Fiction Oneshots

The Quest For Chaos

The Sect Master was white with rage. "Get out, both of you. I will not see either of you until I have thought this through. GO!"

The Jades left as he bid them and wandered quietly through the lilac evening. They found themselves on the hillside where the rabbits lived, all deep within their warrens, settled for the night. They stretched out on the fragrant spring grass, enjoying it, knowing that it had a short lifespan in these majestic yet austere peaks.

"Little Zhan?"

"Mn...?"

"Why go to this extreme?"

Lan Zhan was quiet for so long, that Lan Xichen doubted he would answer.

Finally, the Second Jade dropped his guard and began to speak. No frills, no hyperbole. Just Lan Zhan. Halting, raw ...

"I miss the sweetness of his Chaos."

He brought me that. Every day we were together was a challenge to all that I thought I knew.

I disliked that voice shouting my name across Cloud Recesses or during the Wen reeducation camp. In battle against a common enemy or against me. How I disliked it. But how I yearned for it. I found it as addicting as that first taste of fresh honeycomb.

While it melted in my ears, I looked forward to a tiny bite which never came. He never stung me; he, simply, wanted my attention. And how I fought it! I hid from him but rejoiced when I was found.

When he disappeared that day, I felt an emptiness that I cannot now feed, no matter how extreme the hunger. I rejoiced in each agonizing strike of the Discipline Whip; I feel each mark as the scar tissue aches and itches and continues to thicken, to this day.

I want my Chaos back, Lan Xichen. Even if the night never comes when I can find him in this newer mayhem. At least this cheap imitation of Wei's wildness will ease it until the next night-hunt beckons.

Lan Xichen wiped tears from his face as he listened then reached over and held his brother's hand. At that moment a Junior ran up, breathless and urgent.

"Masters, Sect Master Lan Qiren has asked to see you."

They rose and made their way back. Lan Zhan stood, head bowed, calm to all appearances. But Lan Xichen saw his hands clenched deep within the funeral white robes he now wore, the only expression of grief as a soulmate he permitted himself to don. Not even the palest blue adorned him any longer.

"I grant you this boon. But, it will be the last time I do this. If you do or do not find what you seek, (and face it, he is gone into the ether and will never return), you will come back here and leave this idiocy behind. Am I understood?"

When Lan Zhan raised his head, the other two Lan were stunned at the radiance on his perfect face, and for the first time in 11 years, he spared a smile for his Uncle.

"Xiexie! Xiexie, Sect Master."

"I have one condition. Pick twelve juniors to go on these hunts with you. If they are to learn effective night-hunting, it might as well be from you. Their safety is in your hands. Use caution. You are dismissed."

Lan Wangji bowed once more and left as quickly as he could.

Lan Qiren sat down to his paperwork. There was silence for a few long minutes.

"Where do you think he is going?"

"To the Caves.To summon Wangji, To play for Wei Ying."

"Of course. As usual. Stubborn and foolish. A complete waste of time to honor a practitioner of the dark arts. Young Wei Wuxian is probably in hell right now.

"We are not gods; how dare we presume to know their minds? But I know Lan Zhan's heart, and it grieves in the only way it can, Uncle. Everyone's way is different. I do not envy my brother's form of sorrow. He will play Inquiry and his fingertips will bleed each night. Until they meet once more."

A/N Hello, trying something a little different. In the states we have a thing called Flash Fiction. It is a short story form designed to be read in a very compact format. Something to be enjoyed with a morning coffee and bagel or on the bus to work or if you are stuck in traffic. A quick bite of satisfaction.

So each one is a tiny stand-alone. What you see each time is what you get; then you get a new one the next. One may be sad. One funny. One romantic. One scary.

Hope you enjoy!