Lan Zhan sat quietly beside Wei Ying on the shore, every once in a while checking his breathing.
The omega had been unconscious when he had been pulled out of the water, nearly thirty minutes later and he still was. It was starting to worry the alpha. He had no idea why, but his instincts were screaming at him to help the omega, to save him. But he was no doctor, only able to perform emergency aid.
But the omega was breathing steadily, and his pulse was strong, so it was a possibility that he had just dropped.
Dropping was a phenomenon for omega's, more common in submissive ones than dominant ones, but it could still happen. When an omega dropped, it was usually due to high amounts of stress, fear, or anxiety. Caused by higher stress chemicals in their system messing with their hormones and making them lose consciousness.
Lan Zhan had never seen this happen before, and according to Jiang Wanyin, Wei Wuxian had yet to drop, ever. Lan Zhan could tell the omega was resilient, and according to his brother, he was a dominant omega, so it was already unlikely for this to happen. Not to mention he was a cultivator with one of the strongest cores of their generation, even if most didn't want to admit that an omega was stronger than them.
So something must have caused this, some sort of build-up over the past couple of weeks. But the alpha had no clue what could have been bothering him, the omega being his joyful self.
Hence Jiang Wanyin was off trying to find a healer or doctor up to the alpha's standards to give his brother a quick check-up. The lack of good doctors in the area was causing Wei Ying's brother to take his time.
Originally, after they had subdued the creature in the lake (that they had decided was a Waterborne Abyss), Lan Zhan had offered to carry the omega back to The cloud recess, or at the very least Gusu. But Both of their brothers' seemed reluctant, for apparently different reasons.
First of all, Jiang Wanyin was injured from the quarrel with the Waterborne Abyss and wasn't able to carry his brother back himself, leading Lan Wangji to offer to do it. But the other alpha had quickly gotten prickly, telling him to keep his hands off his brother. It didn't make sense, it wasn't like he would do anything to the omega, not to mention he physically couldn't if they were going to be flying back home on their swords. Plus he had no reason to even try.
Then his own brother had piped up, saying that it was better if they stayed in Caiyi town, to both keep the Waterborne Abyss under control while they waited for their messenger to return with word from the Cloud Recess (They had sent a messenger to let them know what happened). And also that it might put a strain on his body to carry Wei Ying's limp form back to Gusu.
Lan Zhan didn't think so, but he decided to listen to his brother regardless, instead offering to stay with the unconscious omega while everyone else either helped with clean up, subduing the Waterborne Abyss, or finding a decent doctor for Wei Ying.
Jiang Wanyin had been a little reluctant to leave his brother alone with the alpha, but with some reassurance and promises that his brother would be alright from Lan Xicheng, he finally gave in. After a quick couple of minutes for everyone to recuperate, Jiang Wanyin's injuries healed up enough to help, did everyone left to go to their own thing.
So, Lan Zhan now sat quietly beside the other teen.
A soft sound coming from the omega, drawing Lan Zhan's attention to the man. Then another louder muffled groan, it sounded as if Wei Ying was finally waking up.
"Wei Ying?" Lan Zhan asked as he scooched a little closer to get a better look at the boy's face.
With one more soft groan, Wei Ying slowly opened his eyes.
"A-am I dead?" He stuttered out as their eyes met. Lan Zhan froze at the question. But the omega didn't continue, instead starting to cough up whatever was left in his lungs from the lake.
When he was finally able to sit up he spoke again: "Oh, it's just you Lan Zhan. . . What happened?" He asked as he blinked at his surroundings, taking in how he was currently lying on a sandy beach.
"Under the water for too long, you passed out." Lan Zhan answered, finally getting over himself.
"D-did the Lan disciple get out?" He asked, worriedly looking back at the alpha. He got a small nod in response.
With a blatant sigh of relief, he tried to stand up, still uneasy on his feet as he did so. When he nearly tumbled over himself in the attempt, Lan Zhan grabbed him by the upper arm to help him steady.
Wei Ying paused before a sly grin spread along his features. He looked up to meet the alpha's golden eyes. "If Lan Zhan is trying to flirt with me, maybe courting at a more convenient time would be a better idea?" He said with a sparkle in his eyes.
In retaliation to the accusation, Lan Zhan dropped the omega's arm, backing up to give him space. He was about to turn around and head in the opposite direction when he heard Wei Ying speak again.
"I don't mind Lan Zhan, I just didn't take you as someone so forward." He said with a snicker. Lan Zhan actually turned to walk away this time. No interruption to his motion other than more boisterous cackles coming from the omega. He soon heard the man following him as he headed towards the bustle of town.
"Aww, Lan Zhannn~, I was just kidding!" He said as he tried to hang off of the alpha's shoulders, much like he did with his brother. But he was shrugged off as Lan Zhan quickened his gate.
"Is the big strong alpha not gonna help this injured omega?" Wei Ying pouted, speeding up his own stride to match Lan Zhan's longer paces. "You seem fine," He responded, then continued to ignore the other teen.
"Whatever. You're no fun sometimes!" The dark-haired omega huffed as he crossed his arms only to be ignored again.
When they made it to the town, it took very little time to find Wei Wuxian's brother, who was frantically speed-walking back towards the beach, an elderly (who he assumed was a doctor) in tow.
"A-Ying! Are you okay? Are you feeling ill at all? Did that alpha do anything to you?" He asked rapid-fire questions as he grabbed the omega by his shoulders, inspecting every inch of the man that he could see, then taking in the scent of his brother with an inhale to make sure. "You smell like him." He said with a glare in Lan Zhan's direction.
"A-Cheng, A-Cheng! I'm fine, I was a little wobbly on my feet when I first woke up, Lan Zhan just helped steady me, he didn't do anything." Wei Ying responded with a smile as he looked over to meet the other alpha's golden eyes. Lan Zhan was a little awestruck when he saw the omega's smile soften when they made eye contact.
"Don't mind my brother, he can get a little overprotective of me and shijie sometimes. I guess his instincts don't like the idea of another alpha taking away his family. The big sap-" Wei Ying said with a teasing tone, quickly cut off by his brother tossing him towards Lan Wangji. "S-shut up! You do whatever you want! I don't care!" But the rosiness of his embarrassed face gave him away.
"Love you too A-Cheng!" Wei Ying laughed as he jumped on his younger brother and ruffled his hair.
"So, I'm assuming this is the omega you wanted me to look at? He seems fine at the moment." The doctor, whom Lan Wangji hated to admit he forgot about, said with a soft smile as he looked at the display in front of him.
He had to admit, the domestic display of sibling love before him was definitely one to smile about. It vaguely reminded Lan Zhan of a more dramatic version of him and his brother.
"No! Just give him a quick check-up to make sure he's really okay." Jiang Wanyin said loudly as he turned towards the small-town doctor. "Alright young man, I'll give your brother a once-over just to be safe." The old man said with an amused huff and began to walk towards Wei Ying.
"Your brother was giving me a quick history of what happened, but does the young man in question wish to further explain?" The doctor asked as he led Wei Ying to sit on a nearby bench. Lan Zhan followed, even if he didn't really know why. It was probably just to make sure he was okay. Right?
"Uh, well, we were fighting the lake monster-" "Waterborne abyss" Jiang Cheng interrupted, Wei Ying continuing regardless. "The Waterborne Abyss and I was attempting to pull someone from its clutches when I myself got pulled under the water. I guess I was below the surface for longer than it felt because I started losing consciousness. . . After that I'm not too sure what happened, Lan Zhan?" Wei Ying said as he looked at the alpha.
Lan Zhan continued the story without hesitation, assuming that was why Wei Ying looked at him. "I pulled him out of the water and made it back to the beach while the others finished subduing it. Wei Ying stayed unconscious for about thirty minutes." Lan Zhan efficiently explained to the doctor. The doctor asked a few more questions about the omega as he continued to look over his body, seemingly finding no immediate visible issues.
"A few more questions, but they're a little private. . . if you're okay with me asking in front of your alphas." Lan Zhan's mind halted at the doctor's words.
Someone's alpha. Wei Ying's alpha. He thought he could feel his ears warming up.
Lan Zhan knew there were many different ways to be someone's alpha or omega. Familial, soul-bonded, or mated, but his mind immediately went to the latter. The thought made him flush even more.
He knew the thought was absurd, the two of them barely knew each other, only meeting a handful of weeks prior. But he wasn't going to mention it, or how it gave him a warm fuzzy feeling in his stomach, kinda like he ate a bunch of butterflies.
Even though it was a pleasurable feeling, he decided it was something best left ignored. He decided that paying to the conversation at hand was probably a better pass time than thinking further on the thought.
"Alright, have you recently been away from someone that you have bonded with for an extended period?" The elderly doctor asked, Lan Zhan assumed he had missed Wei Ying's response when he had been within his head.
"Yes, I have been, actually. She was a non-biological familial bond, a fellow omega." Wei Ying responded, a dreary wave washed over him, his expression growing suddenly sullen. "That's what I thought, and I'm assuming you've been feeling anxious or sad recently as well?" His response came in the form of a hesitant nod. "And finally, are you due for you're heat any time soon?" Wei Ying paused, a slight flush passing over his features before he responded.
"I usually don't have steady heats, s-so it could be possible. My last one was about two months ago. . . I think." The omega said as he placed his finger and thumb on his chin in thought.
"Seriously A-Ying? Shijie told you to start tracking those inconsistent heats of yours, I'm totally telling her when we get back home!" Jiang Wanyin said as he crossed his arms, looking disappointedly at his brother.
"Good to know. Did anyone help you through your last heat?" The elder asked as he examined the scent glands on Wei Ying's wrists. "No." was the quick response. Lan Zhan on the other hand started to turn away awkwardly, thinking this was a subject he shouldn't be listening to.
"So no one's going to help you through your next heat then?" The doctor asked, this time turning his head to make eye contact with the Lan alpha that stood a few steps to his left. The alpha paused at the look the old man was giving him. His confusion did anything but subside as the doctor just shook his head softly and returned to examining Wei Ying.
"Okay, well I think your inconsistent heat cycle is putting stress on your body, on top of the tension being caused by time away from a bond; and the situation you were describing wasn't exactly a low-stress one. So the build-up of all these put together gave you symptoms of dropping. You should be fine though, you didn't actually drop, you just came close. Be more careful with yourself young man." The old doctor scolded "But I would recommend resting for a bit, along with spending time with your fellow bonded omega, she may be feeling similar to you right now if she is without support. So the two of you being around each other frequently, slowly growing the intervals of time away from one another will stop these potentially harmful symptoms. Think of it as treating withdrawal." He stated as he backed away from the omega, signaling he was finished.
"Thank you, doctor." Wei Ying and Jiang Wanyin said simultaneously with equal bows. Lan Wangji quickly followed with his own low bow as the man walked off down the street, presumably back to wherever the Yunmeng alpha found him.
"So he's saying I need regular doses of Shijie, huh? Shove that in Madame Yu's face!" Wei Ying said loudly, earning himself a slap over the head from his brother. "What!? Your mother was the one who said us spending so much time together was bad, take that! I knew we were better off together!" The omega shouted as he ran ahead.
"I'll send a message to Jiang Fengmian to let him know of the situation." Lan Wangji offered to the other alpha, gaining a quiet thank you.
With that finally over with, the three of them headed back towards the inn, hoping to meet up with the rest of the group when they returned.
---------------
"So the Wen caused this?" Lan Qiren asked, looking between his two nephews.
"We think so, yes. This Waterborne Abyss has the same description as the one reported under the list of Wen 'defeats'. Not to mention the report never specified how their disciples had defeated the thing, just that they had." Lan Xicheng retold the same story that Wei Ying had told the two of them the day prior. Apparently the Jiang Clan of Yunmeng had been looking into large groups of demonic beasts that had started showing up in their territory. Originally nothing had been suspected of the seemingly coincidental appearances of injured creatures. But they started to notice patterns in where and how these creatures manifested. And some still had swords or Wen talisman imbedded in their flesh. So once it had been noticed, they had begun an investigation.
Not too long after, the Yunmeng clan had discovered that similar things had been happening to many different sects, especially those closer to Wen territory and with less influence. They had somehow found a way to deter most resentful creatures from their land, it was genuinely insightful that the Wen had managed to find a way to do this, but regardless, it was causing more problems than it was worth.
"What terribly irresponsible and dangerous thing to do!" Lan Qiren shouted, slamming his tea cup down onto the arm of his chair. "It's true uncle, and the only way for us to properly dissipate the Waterborne Abyss would be to drain the lake and let the Yang power of the sun dry the Yin of the creature from the lake-bed, otherwise we can't get rid of it." Lan Wangji's brother stated with a nod of his head.
"With the current influence of the Wen sect, we can't put up a direct opposition, but we can start leaking this information to the other sects, hopefully with the push of the greater sects along with us, the tension will be enough to get them to stop. Maybe even lose some of the power they currently hold. The power imbalance between the great sects is too much, it is causing too many problems." Their uncle said, Lan Wangji nodded in agreement. He had a feeling if they didn't put up dome sort of a resistance now, it would only get much worse.
"If you want uncle, we can send out some disciples to leak this information right now? It couldn't hurt to get a head start?" Lan Xicheng asked, looking to his uncle for an answer.
"Yes, you do that. Lan Zhan, stay for a moment, I wish to talk to you about something." Lan Qiren requested when he noticed Lan Wangji's beginning to move to stand up with his brother.
The alpha nodded, wondering what this was about.
"A-Zhan, you did well." His uncle said looking prideful as he made he contact with his nephew. "Thank-you Shufu. But it wasn't anything exceptional. I've done better before." Lan Zhan said with a bow, feeling a little embarrassed at the sudden praise.
"I heard all about it from our disciple you saved, he seemed pretty adamant that you did well." Lan Qiren said, a small grin on his features. "Well it was his life on the line. Wei Ying wasn't that impressed." Lan Zhan stated, surprising both himself and his uncle with his words.
Why do I care if he was impressed? He's just some troublemaking omega. Lan Zhan thought as he looked away from his uncle's stare, feeling a little bashful.
"That's right, you pulled both of them out of the water, didn't you? . . Are you fond of that omega?" His uncle suddenly asked, looking both curious and worried.
"N-no uncle. I don't think so." Lan Zhan responded, his voice sounding uncharacteristically un-sure. His uncle only shook his head, the older man looking slightly disappointed, but amused.
"Alright, that's all I had to say. Good job, A-Zhan, I'm proud." Lan Zhan just nodding as he was dismissed.
Lan Wangji exited the inn in Caiyi town, towards the waterfront.
His uncle and a few other disciples had come down from the Cloud recess to inspect the corrupted waters themselves about a day and a half after they sent for aid. And according to their messenger, a party of Yunmeng were also on their way, both for Wei Ying and to do their own investigation of the Waterborne Abyss. It made sense considering their previous involvement with the Wen issue.
"Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan! Did you get in trouble?" A peppy voice yelled from a group of disciples, Lan Zhan easily picking out who from their voice and dark clothes. He decided it was best to ignore the curious omega and continued to walk towards where his brother was standing.
His attempt concluding to nothing when the omega in question came running up to his side. "So did you get in trouble, I'm sorry if I was the cause?" Wei Ying asked, a pout on his face from being ignored.
Lan Zhan gave in: "No." His answer was curt, but it made its point.
"Oh! That's good to hear." He paused before continuing. "Is it true my Shijie is on her way?" He asked, his eyes shining excitedly as he looked up to the alpha for his answer.
"Yes. But we will be meeting them back at the cloud recess." The answer came from Lan Xicheng, of whom they now stood in front of.
"Cool! Are we heading back soon? When are we going to see them?" Wei Ying asked, this time to Lan Zhan's older twin.
"We're departing at noon, and should be back by this evening. The Jiang delegation will be arriving two days after." Lan Huan answered with a kind smile.
*SIGHHHH* Came the dramatic expression from the omega. "I don't know if I can wait that long~" He stated with another long sigh. Then gave a quick bow before he headed towards his brother, shuffling his feet as he went. He had to admit it was kind of adorable, the way Wei Ying talked about his sister, it was clear the two were very close. It made Lan Zhan want to smile.
"I can see why you like him." Lan Huan said with a laugh, looking at his brother's wistful comportment. Lan Zhan thrown out of his daze to stare at his brother. "I don't like him!" He said, but it wasn't really true. He did quite enjoy the omega's company, at least when the teen wasn't being exceedingly annoying.
"Don't lie to yourself A-Zhan, but I think he'd be good for you. Even just as a friend." His brother asked before walking away, leaving Lan Zhan standing their dumbfounded.
I was also just talking about as a friend. I'm so confused.
---------------
The trip back to the cloud recess was relatively calm. Jiang Wanyin only nearly falling of his sword once from Wei Ying throwing something at him. Both Yunmeng disciples bickered along the way, and laughed. The two of them much louder than the rest of the Lan disciples combined. But it it was entertaining to say the least, so no one really said anything. Only a couple small grumbles about wanting some peace and quiet. Though no one would admit it, they were enjoying the show the brothers were putting on.
When they finally got back to the seclusion of the cloud recess, Wei Ying and his brother were smart enough to quiet down. everyone settling into the into the silence that was Lan Wangji's home.
The Lan twins headed to the main hall, retelling the whole story to the Lan elders. Their reactions were just as expected: some surprised, some angered or sad, but for the most part they all seemed as if they expected this. But it seemed as if they were not going to do anything about it. Lan Wangji shocked at how they responded.
But he knew that his brother had already let loose the rumors. Even if it was against the Lan Family precepts to participate in the spread of rumors, it was an immensely useful tactic when you wanted to stir doubt.
And from the news that Lan Wangji heard, it already seemed it was working.
On the way back from Caiyi town, they had stopped in one or two of the more busy villages, and from the talk that they heard from the commoners, it seemed that the word had spread quickly.
No one really liked the Wen, they were all stuck up assholes, some even going as far as calling them 'Wen Dogs'. And now that the word had spread over what they had been doing with the beasts they couldn't defeat, the name 'Wen Dogs' was something used by more than just begrudging sects under the effect of the Wen.
Lan Wangji knew that name calling wouldn't do anything, that actions was what was needed. But at least it was a start.
When Lan Wangji was finally released from the meeting with the elders, it was late. So he just headed home. Sleep sounding very appealing to his tired body.
With quick goodnights between himself and his brother, Lan Zhan entered his room, quickly falling into his nighttime routine. When he laid down on in his bed, sleep took longer than he had hoped to take him.
Thoughts swimming incessantly through his head. He worried about the issue with the Wen, how it would take more than rumor to get the stubborn sect under control. He worried about his brother, he knew the sect would soon be passing into his twin's hand, and becoming the head of the Lan clan of Gusu was more work than it probably seemed. He thought about his classes and how they sometimes seemed a little pointless in the grand scheme of things. He begrudgingly though about how Wei Ying had a point when he said that the Lan precepts were sometimes much too large in numbers. And he thought about Wei Ying, how the omega was both causing and solving more issues than one probably should. And he wondered if his involvement with Wei Ying was worth more than it gave.
But Since the other teen had entered his life, it had been anything but boring. That had been his original issue. The world seemed brighter after the Wei Ying had entered his life, and he had a feeling it was a good thing. Even if it start causing problems, that was an issue for future Lan Zhan, and he shouldn't worry about that right now.
Right, its something I'll just deal with in the future.
Then he fell into the bliss of long awaited sleep.