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From:

goodboyplaydead

From:

goodboyplaydead

Wen Ning's ears twitch faster. He can't imagine there being a time where Jim didn't have friends. He's such an open and personable figure. Very much like Wei Wuxian. But perhaps slightly less reckless.

"It is... difficult to believe. Your having... challenges with others."

From:

winscenario

Anyone who's more reckless than Jim Kirk? Who would've thought. Hey, maybe he really has matured over the years, look at that.

"Oh, but I did. I faced many difficulties in interacting and connecting to others, and I wasn't always the kind of guy people readily approached. But that's how life is. People change, over time. It's part of surviving."

And it's part of living, more so than simply surviving. "But if you have a hard time imagining that, then it means I really have changed. Good for me, huh?"

From:

goodboyplaydead

Slightly more reckless. Jim has yet to summon an undead army to fight his enemies. As far as Wen Ning knows.

"Ah, you must have... changed... greatly." He pauses, studying Jim again. "Why... could you not... connect?"

From:

winscenario

Yeah no, he's never done that. He wouldn't even know how to do that, honestly.

"I don't know. Just felt like... I couldn't trust people. Couldn't rely on them. For a long time I always thought that if I got close to people, they'd just leave me behind eventually, so it was easier to be on my own."

He shrugs. "Guess I lacked the practice. It was difficult to get used to the fact that I could trust people."

From:

goodboyplaydead

That's a good thing, Jim. A very good thing.

Wen Ning nods. Everyone had always told him he was too trusting so that was never the problem. The problem was always the fear of being rejected. Of being thought of as lesser. Wei Wuxian had been the first to assuage that fear.

"Being on your... own. It is difficult. You do not... know. Who to approach." He brushes his fingers against Jim's hand. "You must... take risks."

From:

winscenario

Jim looks up with a bit of surprise at that remark, particularly when coupled with the brush of fingers. The touch, minute though it is, makes the Chroma between them flow more easily, and he smiles.

"Yeah. But the rewards far outweigh the risks in these cases, the way I see it." He was always afraid of rejection, of abandonment, of just not being liked or accepted. But it's best to try and just part ways if it doesn't work out than being completely isolated his whole life.

From:

goodboyplaydead

"Mm, I agree..." If he hadn't taken the risk of helping Wei Wuxian that day, despite his sister's warnings, who knows what might have happened. Still, something had told him it was the right thing to do.

And here, if he only remained ever at his master's side, he would have never met people like Jim and the others.

"The rewards... are great."

From:

winscenario

He smiles softly, looking ahead for a moment. The desert heat doesn't feel as harsh now, and in the distance he can see just the outline of a few trees, signaling that they must be reaching the edge of the desert.

"I like you, Wen Ning," he declares, squeezing his hand, the other free one reaching out to curl around Wen Ning's arm. He wonders if the Chroma's doing anything at all to heal the wound from before, but he figures it's best to just wait until they're out of here to check up on that.

From:

goodboyplaydead

It is. The ugly slashes are slowly starting to shrink, although it will take more to close them entirely. But the exchange also has Wen Ning relaxing in Jim's hold, sinking into the comfort and companionship.

He turns more slowly to Jim. "You... like me?" The confession is not new here, but Wen Ning remains taken aback every time he hears it. It just feels like something he wasn't meant to hear anymore. Not after what he's done.

From:

winscenario

"Of course," he says with a soft chuckle, squeezing his fingers just a little more. "You're cute, and I like being around you. And given how you risked your own life to save me, I'll go on a limb here and say you like me too."

Fair enough, Jim would still risk his own life to save someone he didn't like, but still. He's got a good feeling about this.

From:

From:

winscenario - Date: 2020-09-28 11:20 pm (UTC) - Expand

From:

goodboyplaydead

"I... used to be... good with horses." Though most tended to give him wide berth now, uncertain of what he was. There was no place for other pets growing up. Not with the delicacy of Wen Qing's work and the frequency of his own misfortunes.

From:

winscenario

"Oh, horses are good. I like horses. I was bitten a few times, though, fell off at least twice, and one nearly kicked me when I was a kid, so I'm not all that sure the feeling's mutual," he chuckles, balancing the dragons still hanging off him. He's keeping a brisk pace towards one of the fruit shops he knows here, hoping he'll be able to find something tasty yet healthy for their new friends.

From:

goodboyplaydead

Wen Ning is doing his best to fend off the other dragonlings with his foot, keeping them from getting too close to Jim while not letting them wander either.

"They... bit you?" As far as he understands, horses only bit when they were upset. He's not sure how to apply that fact to Jim's confession.

From:

winscenario

"Sometimes, yes," he says. "When they were nervous or bothered by something, I guess. Or maybe I just pulled on their hair by accident while combing them? I wasn't very good at reading them. A few of them did like me, though, so there was that."

From:

goodboyplaydead

"Did they... remain with you. The ones who... liked you?" Loyal steeds and such like them could be invaluable in times when speed was especially necessary.

From:

winscenario

"Oh. No, they were farm horses. A couple of them were from our farm, but most of them belonged to neighboring farms. I just liked sneaking into other people's lands."

He imagines that for Wen Ning, man's relationship with horses must be different from what Jim's used to, so he further explains. "We don't really use horses for travel or anything of the kind, where I'm from. Most people keep them for recreational purposes, or to be able to move around within farm grounds or to herd other animals, if you have them. But that's about it."

From:

goodboyplaydead

It is a confusing explanation. Both that Jim went through the trouble of spending time with another person's horses. Which might explain the biting. And that the horses from Jim's land sounded closer to the way people would treat a cat or a dog. Rather than an essential means of transport, if one didn't have the spiritual energy to travel by sword.

"I see. That must be... why people keep them... here." As there are many more efficient means of travel in Lunatia, and yet the horses at the Groves remain ever popular. "Would you... want one... again?"

From:

winscenario

He can easily imagine that horses hold a different meaning and have a different purpose in Wen Ning's world than in Jim's own, or even here. Most people keep them for recreational purposes where he's from; horse riding as a sport, a fun activity, just a way to pass the time. And horses are definitely more seen as pets than they are a means of transportation.

"Must be, yeah," he nods, eyebrows raising and a little shrug at Wen Ning's question. "I'm not sure. Horses are a lot of work, they're frail and need a lot of care and attention, and I'm not very knowledgeable about them, admittedly. And right now I don't even have the space to keep one, since I live in a loft. Plus, I've got a bike, which lets me just travel back and forth at will."

From:

goodboyplaydead

"Ah, I could... help. If you... wanted one." He wouldn't mind spending time around the animals again. Provided they found a horse that wasn't easily spooked by him. On second thought, maybe he shouldn't have offered.

Though, bikes, he's seen them around. Odd cart-less inventions that seemed more designed for speed than transport. That would suit someone like Jim.

"I have never... ridden one. A bike."

From:

winscenario

"Mm, that's alright. We could go horse riding sometime, though. Just for fun. What do you think?" He imagines Wen Ning is more used to them as a means of transport, not something so recreational, but every day is a chance for new experiences.

And speaking of new experiences.

"Oh. Oh, you have to, it's super exciting. You'll come with me next time I go out for a ride, yeah? We can go anywhere you want."

From:

goodboyplaydead

"I... would like that. Both things. Horses... and bikes." Wen Ning's tail gives a cheerful wag. Another invitation to spend time with Jim, doing something Jim truly enjoyed, the thought makes his heart sing.

From:

winscenario

"Let's put it on the list, then. Once we've dealt with these little guys," he tips his head to the dragonlets following happily after them, one of them trying to reach for Wen Ning's happily wagging tail.