This is Halloween!

[we_bring_hell]

The Bar loves her holidays, but she is also capable of respecting religious strictures. That's why she put a lot of thought into finding a Halloween costume for Harrow that works with her face paint and general insistence on the monochromatic.

Harrow, for her part, is baffled by the white-pinstriped black suit and the oversized bow, but the gloves are very cool, and the buckled shoes suit as well. She has no idea what's going on but she can live with this.

The Bar seems even more unusually populated than usual, and there are a lot of gourds around. Hm.

Comments

[we_do_bones]

It's a time-tested strategy from the ancient Dragon Conventions of ages past, and it works a treat here: Bar partons wishing to keep their eyes move themselves aside and Gideon and Lan Wangji reach the door much more quickly than would otherwise have been possible.

"Nicely done," she grins, and holds the door open for him. "After you."

[lightamidchaos]

He lowers his wings, holding them tightly to his back, and steps outside.

"It was a good idea."

It is much quieter out here, and he takes a deep breath.

[we_do_bones]

It is pretty nice. The air is crisp and cool and there are clouds scudding across the sky. It took Gideon a while to get used to actual sky and weather at Canaan House, but now she can just relax and enjoy them.

"When we got to the First," she says, after a moment's silence, "Harrow made me pretend I had a vow of silence. She told me I wasn't allowed to talk to anyone. It annoyed me at the time, but I did it."

She leans her head back, looks up at the stars. "Here, she told me I could. But half the time I don't know what to say, you know? And when I'm around that many people... Sometimes I wish she'd told me to keep my mouth shut here, too."

[lightamidchaos]

He nods.

"'Do not use frivolous words' is one of the rules of Gusu Lan," he says, after a moment.

"I... speak less than most. It is -- difficult, sometimes."

[we_do_bones]

All of Gideon's words are frivolous, usually, so she would probably have to keep her mouth shut there, too.

"Is Gusu Lan where you're from?" she asks, instead of saying so, proving that she can focus when she wants to. "What's it like?"

Other than...quiet.

[lightamidchaos]

"It is my sect," he explains. "Lan is the family name, and Gusu the location. My home is the Cloud Recesses. It sits high on a mountain in Gusu."

He looks out at the lake, watching the moonlight on the water.

"It is beautiful there," he says, after a moment. "Clear mountain streams and mist in the trees; crisp air and snow in winter, flowers and green in summer."

He pauses, and slants a glance at her to see if he should go on.

[we_do_bones]

"Sounds nice," says Gideon, encouragingly in response to his glance. This is by far the most she's ever gotten out of Lan Wangji and she's not stopping now!

[lightamidchaos]

"It is."

He sounds a little wistful.

[we_do_bones]

She puts her hands in her pockets and looks out over the water. Gideon is not exactly one for introspection (somewhere she knows Harrow is rolling her eyes); she just feels what she feels and tries not to overthink it.

And right now what she feels is that she wants Lan Wangji to feel comfortable with her. She doesn't over-analyze it, just goes along with the instinct. "There's a lot of water on the First," she says. "Canaan House is on an island. I'd never seen anything like it...the Ninth is basically just a pit drilled down into the center of its planet. The First has rain, and probably snow. When we saw it from space, I couldn't believe any one thing could be that brilliant and blue."

But Canaan House is a mouldering ruin and a death trap, and that has taught her that beauty might just be hiding a monster beneath.

"I haven't seen mountains, though. Haven't been to any, I mean – I know there are some here. And I've never seen the difference between summer and winter."

[lightamidchaos]

He is quiet for a while, then --

"I would show you, if I could. Perhaps eventually. If you want. I know that others are not... fond of Gusu Lan, but the Cloud Recesses are truly lovely. And I think I could find a way, if we avoided the other disciples."

He is still looking out over the lake.

"Or it may be that the weather will change here with the seasons. I have not been here long enough to know."

[we_do_bones]

A chance to see another world? "Hell yeah, I want," she says, eagerly, touched by his offer. Lan Wangji is reserved, sure, but he'd joked with her earlier and he opted to come spend time with her outside, so she's going to take this all as a win.

For the foundling of the Ninth, where the only people to pay her any attention was a gruff old soldier and her childhood enemy, any hand outstretched in friendship is one to enthusiastically grasp.

The glance she turns on him, though, is a little rueful. "You sound like you miss it, kinda."

[lightamidchaos]

He nods.

"I have been in seclusion," he tells her. "In Cold Pond Cave, for nearly three years. As punishment."

He doesn't look away from the water as he tells her this, but his expression is calm.

"I have not seen the rest of Cloud Recesses in that time. But my seclusion will end in a few weeks."

[we_do_bones]

"Bro that sucks," says Gideon, no stranger herself to solitary confinement as punishment.

She's never had to do it for three years, though. Three weeks, maybe, and honestly she could always have used a little more time away from Crux and the Gang.

[lightamidchaos]

There is no mistaking it - the soft huff that escapes him is laughter, and there is a small smile on his face when he turns to look at her.

"Yes," he says, simply.

"You sound as if you know."

[we_do_bones]

"Not that long, but yeah."

She bends down to select one of the stones lying near their feet, stands, and slings it side-arm out over the water. It skips twice and sinks. "I don't know how much Harrow told you about what it was like before Canaan House, but I've been a thorn in the side of the Ninth my whole life. Literally since I was born. The Marshal of the Ninth and I...we never saw eye to eye. I spent a lot of time locked up in my cell to think about what I'd done."

She bends to pick up another stone, but doesn't throw it right away. She turns it over between her fingers, marveling at its smoothness.

"Honestly, it was usually Harrow punishing me."

[lightamidchaos]

He nods, and keeps his silence on what Harrow had confided in him.

"I am glad things have changed. For both of you."

[we_do_bones]

"Yeah, samesies."

She tosses the rock now; this one just plops into the water with a faint splash. "I guess in a place like this anything can happen, right?"

[lightamidchaos]

He stretches out both white wings and flaps them at her once, twice, creating a quick breeze.

Perfectly deadpan, as he folds them away again:

"Apparently."

[we_do_bones]

Gideon, surprised into a laugh, snickers as she hands him a stone and tosses one in her own palm. "Most skips wins. Come on, angel: let's dance."

Man, she likes Lan Wangji and his dry streak of humor. He might dress like an Eighth adept but there's nothing in him at all like that humorless wad of soggy paper Silas Oktakiseron.

[lightamidchaos]

After one startled instant of confusion, he realizes she does not mean an actual dance, and weighs the rock in his own hand.

With another sideways look at her, he turns back to the water, considering how he had seen her tossing the stones, and attempts to imitate the technique.

The rock skips twice before sinking with a splash.

[we_do_bones]

She's not very good at this yet; her stone arcs too high and sinks without skipping even once. She makes a face.

"Best two of out three?"

[lightamidchaos]

"Or more," he agrees. "There are enough rocks."

[we_do_bones]

That gets a grin in response, and Gideon bends to grab more rocks. "You're on."

She actually loses count by the time they've exhausted the stash of rocks in their nearby vicinity, but it's fine because she never thought of a prize anyhow. When they get back to the bar, the party has wound way down, and rather than head straight upstairs, she opts to join Lan Wangji for a quiet cup of tea. They don't say much, and that's cool – they linger for a while in the dim warmth near the fire until it's time to say goodnight.

When she does head back to the room, there's a new spring in her step: she can't quite put her finger on why, but she has the distinct feeling that she's won.