[ In return, there is a sharp inhale by Jiang Cheng, then long silence.
This is not what he had wanted to hear, and to hear Wei Wuxian so... so frayed at the edges only adds to the knot of anxiety in his belly.
Wei Wuxian is the most fearless person he knows. For him to be scared it's got to be bad. ]
We must. She can't be gone. I can't... [ I can't lose her again he wants to say but Wei Wuxian doesn't know that. ] I can't have failed to protect her.
( little does jiang cheng realize that wei ying is as afraid of failing him again as he is of losing his shijie. )
She isn't gone, ( he insists, perhaps a bit too sharply. ) She isn't. I'll check the woods again - better this time. And then-... ( a swallow, and a firm, ) We'll find her.
[ For once, the sharpness in Wei Wuxian's voice doesn't make Jiang Cheng bristle in indignation at a perceived slight or rebuke. No, he takes strength from it, conviction even, and straightens a little.
Even with everything that has happened, it is far too tempting to let yourself get caught up in Wei Wuxian's determination, and he is so desperate for hope... ]
We will. I'll check the woods, too. I'll check everywhere. Maybe we just have to keep looking, we might have missed her, or maybe new clues will appear which permit us to find her. If she's somewhere out there, then she will be trying to return to us, too.
If she can, ( he says. which sounds way more ominous than he means it to, so he clarifies - ) Maybe she twisted her ankle and that's why she hasn't come back.
( oh hold on, backing up, ) You stay out of the woods until you're on both legs again. I'll never find her if I have to hunt you down, too.
Of course. Of course. It's just a twisted ankle and she is somewhere out there or has gotten lost or she got caught herself up in one of these smaller trap areas like the cabin... She can't be gone. ]
My leg's better. I asked for healing.
[ Asked Klaus. Actually asked. Which he had refused so far, but for A-Jie... ]
Good. ( he really seems to mean that, sounding genuinely relieved in a way that can't be entirely blamed on jiang cheng's increased ability to help find their sister. )
Which half do you want? ( that's what makes sense to him, splitting it half and half. he'd personally rather be searching together rather than separately, but that's likely biased by the part of him that feels incrementally more normal than he has in as long as he can remember, being able to work together like this. )
[ Why does it have to be half and half? Why can't they go together, having another's back? It won't be as it used to be, too much has happened, but it would be for Yanli...
He swallows hard, fighting back both the plea and the hurt and the anger and all the other complicated emotions wrapped up in them. ]
I'll go north [ he says quietly. Very quietly. He doesn't trust his voice not to betray him if he tries for more. ] Tell me if you find something.
( jiang cheng, jiang cheng, do you not realize you're the reason why? wei ying would delightedly search the woods together, regardless of how much less ground they might cover, if jiang cheng hadn't made it perfectly clear how he felt about any unnecessary contact between them.
the reply is too quiet. wei ying refuses to guess at what he's done wrong this time. down that path lies madness, and he's already toeing that line just through sheer worry over jiang yanli. ) Of course, ( he assures, one more thing that comes too sincerely, with too much familiarity. he really needs to be more careful with that.
instead, after a moment, ) Good luck. ( and then he's hanging up. it's time to get back to searching. if she is out there somewhere (which she is! because she has to be), then he can't stand to leave her alone in these woods for any longer than necessary. )
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
This is not what he had wanted to hear, and to hear Wei Wuxian so... so frayed at the edges only adds to the knot of anxiety in his belly.
Wei Wuxian is the most fearless person he knows. For him to be scared it's got to be bad. ]
We must. She can't be gone. I can't... [ I can't lose her again he wants to say but Wei Wuxian doesn't know that. ] I can't have failed to protect her.
no subject
She isn't gone, ( he insists, perhaps a bit too sharply. ) She isn't. I'll check the woods again - better this time. And then-... ( a swallow, and a firm, ) We'll find her.
no subject
Even with everything that has happened, it is far too tempting to let yourself get caught up in Wei Wuxian's determination, and he is so desperate for hope... ]
We will. I'll check the woods, too. I'll check everywhere. Maybe we just have to keep looking, we might have missed her, or maybe new clues will appear which permit us to find her. If she's somewhere out there, then she will be trying to return to us, too.
no subject
( oh hold on, backing up, ) You stay out of the woods until you're on both legs again. I'll never find her if I have to hunt you down, too.
no subject
Of course. Of course. It's just a twisted ankle and she is somewhere out there or has gotten lost or she got caught herself up in one of these smaller trap areas like the cabin... She can't be gone. ]
My leg's better. I asked for healing.
[ Asked Klaus. Actually asked. Which he had refused so far, but for A-Jie... ]
no subject
Which half do you want? ( that's what makes sense to him, splitting it half and half. he'd personally rather be searching together rather than separately, but that's likely biased by the part of him that feels incrementally more normal than he has in as long as he can remember, being able to work together like this. )
no subject
He swallows hard, fighting back both the plea and the hurt and the anger and all the other complicated emotions wrapped up in them. ]
I'll go north [ he says quietly. Very quietly. He doesn't trust his voice not to betray him if he tries for more. ] Tell me if you find something.
no subject
the reply is too quiet. wei ying refuses to guess at what he's done wrong this time. down that path lies madness, and he's already toeing that line just through sheer worry over jiang yanli. ) Of course, ( he assures, one more thing that comes too sincerely, with too much familiarity. he really needs to be more careful with that.
instead, after a moment, ) Good luck. ( and then he's hanging up. it's time to get back to searching. if she is out there somewhere (which she is! because she has to be), then he can't stand to leave her alone in these woods for any longer than necessary. )