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"All that we share, is the view of these stars." —Phildel. Moonsea.
***
Jiang Cheng had lost the count of how many moons it has been, how many days he had spent singing the song to call out hi mate in the depths, only for no one to answer back. No one will ever answer him back.
He goes to the beach where they were supposed to meet. He sits on the rocks and sings. It doesn’t carry as much as in the water.
He sits and waits for an answer, but the moon is the only one that listens to his call as it moves through the sky.
He is aware of how the humans have begun to speak of him, more ships have begun to pass nearby, Jiang Cheng hears the cracking of the wood as it glides through the sea, his sea.
He hears the laughter and music. He remembers when he used to fear them, of what they did to him and his clan.
They might be dangerous beasts, but in their vessels, so far from their precious land, they’re no match to his rage.
It is far too easier to call their attention with his singing, he modifies his voice to make it sound like voices, the scream of a child, of women; the ships stopping to pay attention and look for the sound, it is easier to lead them then into places Jiang Cheng know of sharp rocks and reefs that pierce their ships, them not noticing of the danger until it’s too late and they shout and try to clear the obstacle, it is easier still once the men jump into the water to take them down to the deep, drag them down one by one, and let the ocean do the rest, until they stop thrashing in his grip, their eyes bulging and their skin turning all kinds of colors.
Once the sea has calmed and the debris has sunk or floated away, Jiang Cheng lets himself drift away too, the pain in his chest calming down now that he had exacted his revenge. And he sings, he sings not for an answer, he sings to remember when Wei Wuxian was with him, he closes his eyes and lets his mind get lost in memories as he falls asleep.
***
The light filters around them painting the dark waters a pretty green and blue. The fish swim back and forth, easy pickings for the fast reflexes of Jiang Cheng. Next to him Wei Wuxian swims in tandem, they don’t need to say anything because they already know how to move, one circling the prey the other taking them when they’re startled.
Through his bond Jiang Cheng can feel the exhilarating feeling of the practiced moves Wei Wuxian makes, he had always liked shallow waters better. Jiang Cheng remembers a time where he did like them too, how he liked to float around, his scales shining lilac and violet, playing with the crabs and seagulls at the beach.
Now the sight of beaches fills him with dread, reminds him of the smell of gunpowder and blood in the water as he watched the bodies of his family floating away.
He remembers how he had barely managed to leave unscathed, a gash on his chest from the harpoon that had grazed him, thankful for Wei Wuxian who had been there, who had pulled him under away from the men who had hunted down their family.
Jiaoren knew better than to remain on shallow waters nowadays. Each time less and less of them showing on their usual spots, the two-legged plague had even dared to hunt them in the open sea.
Jiang Cheng is glad to feel a little bit of that thrill through the bond of his mate, Wei Wuxian.
He had felt the dead of his family through his familial bond, he had wept and thrashed, losing his mind, retreating to the deepest part of his mind as he had felt those connections wither and vanish.
Wei Wuxian had to create a mating bond to reach out to him, bring him back. And it had worked, making Jiang Cheng feel less alone despite all that they have lost.
Jiang Cheng wishes they could have mated in better circumstances, that he could have felt the first tug of his mating bond, the pull for the first time to another consciousness, he wishes A-Jie would have been there when Wei Wuxian sang their song for the first time, another part of the Jiaoren’s mating ritual, to blend the song of Wei Wuxian with that of Jiang Cheng. Making a call that is only them.
But he is happy he gets to experience it now and wouldn’t change it for anything in the grand sea.
They had managed to stay clear from the usual routes of the massive ships that had ventured further from land, avoided the spots where the humans fished as well, those boats less strong but the number of vessels making it too risky.
The fish are restless today despite the shining sun and the warm steady currents.
Jiang Cheng feels himself bristle at this, as Wei Wuxian keeps chasing the banks of fish and catching them with his claws and jaws, the color of his scales showing as the sun shines through the water, a dark red that turns into a beautiful dark. Wei Wuxian’s tail is shorter than Jiang Cheng, his is narrower and with a reduced webbing. It makes him look more like a predator, Jiang Cheng being flowy and thin, trailing behind him elegantly.
Jiang Cheng is admiring his mate’s body when he sees it, almost like a trick of the light of the sun between the seaweed. But he sees it again to where Wei Wuxian moves towards. Jiang Cheng moves without thinking, trying to yank Wei Wuxian away, his instincts telling him there’s danger nearby, he speeds up and crashes against Wei Wuxian side who doesn’t have time to stop the collision as the shadow of a ship rolls on top of them eerily fast. Jiang Cheng looks up and his stomach sinks, the ship is bigger than the ones they would see on these parts.
He senses Wei Wuxian’s apprehension through the bond, followed by a chirp, telling Jiang Cheng to remain calm. It could be a ship that is just passing by even if it is unusual.
Jiang Cheng moves to swim towards Wei Wuxian but feels something yanking him from behind, he turns, and he sees the glint of a thin net, so delicate it is almost transparent to his eyes. Wei Wuxian turns to him when he sees Jiang Cheng is not moving and his eyes widen. Jiang Cheng feels the echo of his panic coming through from Wei Wuxian as he sees it too.
He tries back tracking, but he finds the net had closed around him and is being pulled to the surface, he thrashes against it, trying to rip it open with his claws, his sharp teeth, but the material is deceptively strong, he clutches at the thin lines and his claws and fins get tangled in it, biting on his skin and scales painfully.
“Stop, you’re hurting yourself.” He feels Wei Wuxian call out to him through the bond.
Jiang Cheng screams, loud, he sees the ripples travel through the water around them, that makes the net stop for a moment, enough for Wei Wuxian to be able to reach him, he too tries biting the net but is useless.
Jiang Cheng sees the blood starts floating between his cuts and Wei Wuxian’s, he knows soon the men on their boats are going to be able to see them, he takes an arm out of the net, pushing Wei Wuxian’s hands away in case he too gets tangled.
“Leave. Is too dangerous.” He tells through the bond.
Wei Wuxian has a determined look in his face, Jiang Cheng closes his eyes, it is a lost battle already and they know it. He focuses in calming his senses trying to keep Wei Wuxian from doing something stupid through the bond.
Jiang Cheng feels himself grow dizzy as he’s pulled further to the surface too fast and too sudden.
“I’ll find you!” Wei Wuxian sings into his mating song, Jiang Cheng calms, not being able to answer him before he breaches the surface.
***
Jiang Cheng remembers keep thrashing, the wretched men around trying to hold on to the net as they lay him on the deck of the ship, his gills start burning by the lack of water, it hurts trying to breathe. A Jiaoren can breathe on air and water, but it takes time, besides Jiang Cheng is scared, which makes him try to breathe faster and harder.
There are shouts around him, the net tangling more and more on his tail and claws.
Then he sees one of the men rise something and bring it back against him hard, then everything is darkness.
***
Below the waters, Wei Wuxian can feel the moment Jiang Cheng falls unconscious, the fear and anger in his chest making him swim faster toward his destination.
‘Not dead. Not yet.’ He thinks. But Wei Wuxian knows each moment Jiang Cheng spends on the surface is another moment he is in danger.
He tries not to think of his family, their kind, he tells himself he doesn’t miss them anymore, with Jiang Cheng is enough, they have each other and is more than Wei Wuxian had ever wanted or dreamed of.
But right now, as he swims away, thinking of a plan, he wishes there was someone he could turn for help, anyone that he could call on, to share the feeling of fear and rage that is swallowing him.
Wei Wuxian curses, they had been careless, no— he had been, Jiang Cheng never liked to hunt so close to the surface.
It had been Wei Wuxian’s idea, his need to see the shore and the waves, the sun rays as they swam and eat their fill with the fishes not used to having predators in such calm waters away from the land.
He tugs at the bond, still strong, still there, the only thing that keeps him from just turning around and try to sink the ship on his own.
Something tells him it wouldn’t be possible, even if it wasn’t broad daylight, and with a calm sea; something about how it all went down tells him the ship had been looking for their kind, they wanted to capture them.
***
Wei Wuxian swims till the water around him turns dark by the sunset, he swims even when the current turns from warm to cold, he swims until he feels spasms in his tail and he can’t keep his eyes open, he does not stop until he reaches the ridge, there he knows are caves where monsters sleep. Creatures not even Jiaoren dare to cross.
Wei Wuxian knows there’s someone there that will help him. At least, he hopes they will.
He knows about the legends of how these were cursed creatures, how they turned into monsters by the capricious gods. Wei Wuxian remembers his A-Niang, before the Jiangs, how she had sung the tales to him, but she told him not all were evil, some just wanted to survive and be left alone. Wei Wuxian knows that doesn’t make them any less dangerous.
Such were a pair of siblings that once had crossed paths with Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian. A brother and a sister, their figures similar of the Jiaoren but in a way that set alarm bells in his head. Jiang Cheng hadn’t wanted to go near.
After several encounters, Wei Wuxian had grown curious. He had started to swim a distance away from the pair, chirping and singing to them. Expressing his curiosity, asking them things.
They never answered him, but they also didn’t chase him away. He could sense the smaller one curiosity making him look towards Wei Wuxian. The woman yanking him back towards her as they swam away.
It had gone like that for a whole season, until one day there had been a rumbling in the ocean and the currents had shifted as Wei Wuxian had been exploring the deep end near a sunk ship, the current had been so strong, it had moved the ship towards a rift, pushing it over and making it fall.
Wei Wuxian had swum fast enough to not be dragged, but he had heard the distress sounds of another among the noise of the debris.
He rushed over despite the shouts and things Jiang Cheng communicated through the bond.
The youngest of the siblings had been caught on the heaviest part of the ship and was dragged deeper into the rift. To the parts that even Jiaoren avoided.
Wei Wuxian had used his speed to gain on the wreckage and had managed to pull the creature from the pull of the wood and metal. It had been unconscious by the time he had caught up to him, Wei Wuxian had to swim both of them out of the deep.
The sister had been waiting with Jiang Cheng a distance away looking wary. The moment she saw her brother she had swam so fast Wei Wuxian had almost been pushed away by the ripple of the water, the next thing he knew the shadow of the creature with her sibling in her arms had disappeared.
Jiang Cheng had let out a shrill with a string of curses for him to hear through the bond. Wei Wuxian was still too shocked to answer or reach through the bond to calm him.
He thought that would be the end of it, but next day the sister had found them and approached him and given him a red stone that shone when put into the light. She hadn’t said anything, but Wei Wuxian knew she was thanking him in her way.
***
Wei Wuxian enters the cave, he can’t see beyond a few strokes away, suddenly a glow in his periphery makes him turn.
On the corner of the cave, the smaller of the siblings is hunched. He chirps when he recognizes Wei Wuxian and swims towards him.
He starts chirping away, Wei Wuxian can only stare at him unable to understand him.
The creature is pensive for a moment, then he tries singing like Wei Wuxian had. “Wen Ning.” He sings pointing at his chest.
Wei Wuxian startles and sings him his name back.
Wei Wuxian tries to ask for the sister to what Wen Ning flinches, looking forlorn and swimming deeper into the cave.
Time passes and still Wen Ning doesn’t show up, Wei Wuxian is thinking if he should go, maybe Wen Ning hadn’t understood him, or doesn’t want to help. As Wei Wuxian is considering swimming away, Wen Ning returns with two things in his arms, one is a net, just like the one that had captured Jiang Cheng.
He pushes into Wei Wuxian’s hands, Wei Wuxian looks at it and points up, Wen Ning nods sadly. Wei Wuxian’s brow furrow, so it really hasn’t been an accident that Jiang Cheng got caught.
The other thing is a vial with a black liquid inside.
Wen Ning closes his eyes and scrunches his brows in concentration, for a moment nothing happens, but then, Wei Wuxian hears Wen Ning voice inside his head, startling him.
“You’ll have till the next moonlight.”
Wei Wuxian nods, he won’t need more time.
“I ask for something in return.” Wen Ning says inside his head.
Wei Wuxian takes a moment, ready to swim away, the darkness and stillness of the water here making him be on edge. He turns to look at the creature. Wei Wuxian has no choice, not if he wants to find Jiang Cheng. He nods again.
“Bring her back.”
Wei Wuxian tells him he will in his own song. Wen Ning seems to understand and visibly relaxes before nodding and retreating into the cave, leaving Wei Wuxian clutching the net and vial.
***
Wei Wuxian doesn’t know what the potion will do, so he goes to shallow waters.
The only thing he has taken before leaving has been one of Jiang Cheng’s pearls.
Jiang Cheng had always admonished him for his collection; it wasn’t a secret for their kind that tears turned into pearls, such a common thing wasn’t worth to save.
But Wei Wuxian had always been obsessed with Jiang Cheng’s pearls. They had a beautiful purple hue that neither his nor any other Jiaoren had.
The first time he saw them was the time they met, Jiang Cheng had cried trying to find him after he had kicked Wei Wuxian out of his nest, Wei Wuxian had proceeded to run away and hurt himself on a coral.
Wei Wuxian had seen the pearls form and glisten under the dim light that drifted under the sea and had hidden them to look next time they were closer to the surface.
Jiang Cheng had felt Wei Wuxian was making fun of him for a long time after that when he kept trying to see more of his pearls, sometimes to the point of goading him to make him cry. He even learned to not cry so easily.
It had become a game between them, one Wei Wuxian enjoyed mostly because it gave him a reason to be close to Jiang Cheng.
The next time Wei Wuxian had seen the pearls it had been the night their family died. Jiang Cheng and he had managed to escape, swimming as fast as they could farther away than they’ve ever had gone. Finally, once they had grown tired, he had huddled closer to Jiang Cheng and floated away through the night, pearls shining under the moonlight as they both cried for all that they lost.
Once they were bonded, Wei Wuxian had begun his collection anew, learning of new ways of making Jiang Cheng cry that were more pleasurable for both.
The one he was holding on the palm of his hand as he steeled himself to drink the vial, was one of the ones from their mating night.
Dawn breaks over the horizon, as Wei Wuxian clutches the pearl on his palm, with the other emptying the vial in his mouth.
He closes his eyes trying to feel if something is happening and for a moment, things are the same, his tail swaying to keep him afloat, the sound of the ocean surrounding him.
The next moment, everything turns to silence, Wei Wuxian opens his eyes but has to blink a couple of times, his eyes stinging as his vision becomes cloudy, then he tries taking a breath and realizes he can’t, his chest starts burning as he feels the tip of his fins tingling, which turns into a painful burning sensation everywhere, he tries screaming and he sees big bubbles of air leaving his mouth, he tries to move to the surface, now thankful he chose shallow waters and he feels the muscles of his tail spasming, disobeying him, making him move slower than he wants.
Maybe the creature, Wen Ning, had tricked him, his kind has never associated with Wei Wuxian’s for a reason, maybe something had gone wrong, perhaps Wei Wuxian wasn’t supposed to drink all liquid in the vial.
He is thinking this as he reaches the surface, blind, deaf and in excruciating pain.
A wave crashes against him and Wei Wuxian is unable to dodge it, he is barely able to keep himself afloat as it is. Another wave hits him, making him sink again, the water is shallow, and his body is dragged to the bottom of the beach, he feels himself hit bits of rock and sand, the wave twists his body, and he loses sense of where is the surface, he realizes he’s drowning. Wei Wuxian still fights, his hands, now lacking the webbing between his fingers, and his tail feeling still strange and not obeying him, as the current keeps making him drift closer and closer into the beach.
He feels the cold of early morning as he finally reaches the shore, his entire body aching, he feels himself heave and throw up water into the sand as finally he can breathe in, the last thing he notices, is that his tail has grown pale and split in two, he barely has time to think it looks like legs, before his consciousness fades.
***
Moving is painful from the net that he’s still tangled in, the hunger he feels doesn’t even let him sleep. He feels so tired as he can barely breathe in this closed space.
Wei Wuxian once had told him he once had heard men on a small fishing boat “talk”, that it was this way how humans communicated with each other. Jiang Cheng only rolled his eyes, it sounded ridiculous, why would Wei Wuxian had felt the need to study men so much? It was enough to steer as far away from them, men could never survive in the abyss, they were safe there, they didn’t need to see them.
Now, Jiang Cheng clenches his teeth as he curses himself for not listening Wei Wuxian more closely about this “talking” thing. There were humans outside of his prison who seemed to be communicating to each other, it wasn’t with song, though it had a cadence that of course Jiang Cheng couldn’t understand.
They did it constantly, it was frankly annoying, couldn’t they communicate through their bonds? Or could Wei Wuxian be right? Could these beasts only converse through their mouths?
Jiang Cheng shivered, what a lonely existence it must be, to be all alone inside with only your own thoughts for company.
Something that had kept him sane whenever he felt his fear rise, is the thrumming of his bond with Wei Wuxian. He can only feel vague sensations ever since he had been lifted from the sea, fear, anger, determination.
Jiang Cheng tried to remain calm, he hopes Wei Wuxian won’t do something stupid that put him in danger, he knew it was useless to think that with that self-sacrificing fool. But at least, he could send calmness through the bond, hoping that Wei Wuxian would be comforted by it.
Night came, the water turning colder in his prison. He had barely drifted himself off to sleep when he felt a pull through his bond.
Jiang Cheng was suddenly completely awake. He tried to feel for the bond more closely, so the second pull was no surprise.
Jiang Cheng closes his eyes and concentrates, trying to make the bond stronger, that’s when the pain starts, something is wrong, he feels his own body be set ablaze from the inside out as he starts thrashing against the net and the walls of his pool again, the net digging deeper into his wounds as fresh blood dilutes in the water. Then the unthinkable happens, a moment, he is feeling pain that belongs to his mate, the next he feels the bond snap, plunging Jiang Cheng into a complete an absolute silence.
For a moment it feels like Jiang Cheng can’t breathe, his senses dulling as the connection is lost. He lets out a wail as he clutches his head. The men are yelling next to his pool, his shouts grate on Jiang Cheng’s senses.
He feels his limbs go numb, his head clouding, as he lets himself sink closing his eyes.
***
Jiang Cheng let himself lie on the bottom of his pool, he can barely feel the pain of his gills trying to circulate stale water, the men try to feed him, but he refuses them, he still feels numb, drifting on and off into himself as he’s moved once more.
He feels clammy human hands pulling him up, he doesn’t even winces when he’s forced to breathe air.
His sight is not as sharp, his head feels too heavy. Hands keep moving him but he’s too dazed to lash out. He realizes that whoever they’re they untangled him from the netting, Jiang Cheng can’t even feel relieved from this, still in too much pain from his lost bond.
Then he’s being carried again and thrown in a new pool, or what looks like it, except there’s a wall missing in the enclosure, through it he can see the person that had helped to remove his netting, Jiang Cheng’s brows scrunch together, maybe he’s imagining the missing wall, because for a moment he thinks he could recognize the face looking at him through the invisible wall, and for some reason, it seems the face recognizes him.
He is feeling much better, noticing the water in this pool is fresh, easier to pass through, he could even swear it feels like ocean water, except they’re not in the ocean, or anywhere near it.
A second human appears next to the one with the familiar face, for some reason this second being makes Jiang Cheng recoil, when he moves, the man smiles, showing his teeth.
“Such beauty,” a voice calls, it isn’t a song, but it isn’t Jiang Cheng’s thoughts. “Let me see you move, Jiaoren.”
Jiang Cheng bristles, the smiling man nods. It is his voice. Inside his mind. He hisses at him but that just makes him laugh.
“Is alright, you can rest today. I will return tomorrow.”
***
It is easy to find Jiang Cheng, easier still because it is hard to move a sea creature inland, this also tells Wei Wuxian that at least now Jiang Cheng is still alive. Their captors wouldn’t go through all this trouble to keep him alive if they were to kill him any time soon.
They reach a city which leaves Wei wuxian mesmerized from all the sounds and smells. It is too much and not enough at the same time.
The noises are louder and carry more sharply through the wind than what he’s used; but the smells are so faint with his new body, harder to distinguish things when the air can make them disappear so easily.
It takes time and is good that Wei Wuxian is a fast learner to understand the customs of the men, to find the right person to have information you would go to sell rare finds. A collector is what they call him, how there are rumors of strange sounds coming from his manor, how some don’t sound like any animals the townspeople had heard of anywhere else.
There are stories of course, how this man has shows, where the collector displays some of his rarest acquisitions. How in some cases there are beasts that not even the more studied scholars can identify.
He also finds out how the Collector has been more active recently, how it had commissioned strange arrays from cultivators, and how many people had seen a big shipment coming in, how a merchant swore the Collector had been asking for sea water. Large quantities of it.
Wei Wuxian feels his limbs growing heavier, his voice changing with each new day he wakes up in his new body. His nails no longer growing into claws, his teeth getting duller by the diet he must follow of cooked meats.
It is not as easy for Wei Wuxian to be granted access to one of the Collector’s parties; his knowledge of creatures from the deep sea making him pass for a scholar.
Inside the manor is lavish and decorated in shades of black and burgundy. Wei Wuxian is thankful for the time he had to grow used to loud noises and the proximity of so many humans, because there are more than he expected.
It is well into the night when a man dressed in beautiful deep red and black is presenting the host, the Collector, the man looks unassuming, but Wei Wuxian feels unsettled in his presence, like looking a shark approaching. What makes Wei Wuxian confirm he is in the right place is the person next to him, a woman also dressed in reds and black, she’s looking down, her hands in front of her as she bows, Wei Wuxian knows her, he had seen her with her brother Wen Ning.
Before Wei Wuxian has time to come up with a way to approach her, she’s turning around, he moves towards her, and realizes everyone is also moving that way, apparently, they’re being led to see the newest item added to the collection.
They move deeper into the manor, down into the ground, Wei Wuxian is not afraid of the darkness of the place, but he is wary that being underground makes it impossible to figure out an easy escape.
They stop in front of a wall covered with a curtain, the collector, is explaining how he came to find this item, of the rarity and powers of the new creature.
“But most of all, is the beauty that stands out.” The collector says, “and tonight, you will be able to see it for yourselves.”
As he finishes talking, the curtain falls, and in Wei Wuxian stomach drops, in front of him he can see what is like someone had cut a piece of the ocean and embedded it in the wall, there were fishes swimming, what looked like real sand at the bottom, even star fishes moving. But what caught the attention of everyone present was the creature that floated in the middle of the enclosure.
Wei Wuxian sees the scales shining with the light of the lanterns on both sides of the pool, how as the Jiaoren moves the sheen made the tail turn from a dark purple to violet and blue, the tail trailing as he moved, like a long and fine veil, also a rich purple. The contrast with the pale skin and dark hair breathtaking. Wei Wuxian clenches his hands into fists trying to control himself to not go running towards Jiang Cheng now that he is so close. It would be foolish with all these people present.
His mate seems in a sort of trance as he moves, Wei Wuxian clenches his teeth trying not to think of all the things they could have done to him.
It doesn’t matter, because Jiang Cheng, his mate, is alive. And Wei Wuxian will take him back into the sea, to home one way or another.
***
It takes too long to escape, and Wei Wuxian would have never been able to make it without the help of Wen Qing, who he learns is the name of Wen Ning’s sister. He recognizes her and promises to help her get away.
But she refuses, she says Jiang Cheng is not the only creature that Wen Ruohan, a creature itself who had learned to maintain a human appearance, had captured.
Wei Wuxian shouldn’t care, his family is Jiang Cheng, and with her help he could take Jiang Cheng and in one night be already in the sea. Except she shows him.
Wei Wuxian sees her family captured and made to serve a master who has forgotten his true nature, that had made humans made him greedy.
Wei Wuxian can’t let her, not when taking Jiang Cheng would mean to expose her and ruin the only chance her family has of returning home as well.
***
Jiang Cheng recognizes Wen Qing, he has learned of her story as she too can communicate with him the same way than Wen Ruohan, except she’s more polite about getting inside his head, he appreciates it, even if he can’t do anything about it.
He doesn’t trust her, even if she was just as much a prisoner as him, did she not help Wen Ruohan to find them? How to take care of Jiang Cheng, and worse, how to make Jiang Cheng obey him.
Still, he endured, to do otherwise would be to invite dead, and he did appreciate she at least tried to keep him as comfortable as possible.
One day is late at night, Jiang Cheng has become used to the human’s habits of sleeping at night, he’s startled awake by Wen Qing, he looks at her confused, dreading another one of Wen Ruohan’s late visits. But the figure that comes to stand next to her isn’t him.
Jiang Cheng blinks and moves closer, he turns to Wen Qing, back to the human next to her.
“Hello, Jiang Cheng.” He sees the human mouth, and Jiang Cheng hisses.
What was the meaning of this? Was it not enough to torture his body? Was Wen Ruohan going to play with his memories?
He pushes himself to the barrier between his enclosure and the room where Wen Qing stands with the man that looks like Wei Wuxian.
“It really is Wei Wuxian.” Wen Qing projects to his mind, along with what is a plan to get him out of here, but it can’t be. He can’t be here, Wei Wuxian is not a man. He wants to shout but he knows they can’t hear him through the barrier.
“I’m sorry, but we need to hurry.” It is the only warning Wen Qing gives him before she enters his mind, and forces him to close his eyes, he tries to fight through the induced sleep, but he knows it won’t work.
***
He doesn’t remember much of what happened, he only remembers again the smell of smoke and blood, he feels himself been moved from the pool at the manor to another smaller one arms holding on to him as he sways on the smaller pool.
He smells the ocean before he hears the crashing of waves. The hands holding him clutch him tightly, the feeling familiar but different, the skin feels too warm, too rough, even if they hold onto him carefully.
When he opens his eyes, the sun is setting, he feels the coolness of water lapping from his waist down, the one holding him in a sitting position is shaking, Jiang Cheng brow’s furrow as he opens his eyes and looks up, looking at the face of his mate.
Jiang Cheng makes a noise of happiness, “mate.” He tries to say through the bond, until he remembers the bond is gone, confused he wonders if he isn’t just hallucinating Wei Wuxian, he could still be in that prison, dreaming the waves crashing onto him, feeling the body of his mate clutching him tightly to him.
Wei Wuxian opens his eyes and Jiang Cheng notices he’s crying, except that instead of pearls forming, Wei Wuxian’s tears are water, Jiang Cheng reaches to trace their path, cooing at Wei Wuxian.
He wishes this was real, he wishes he could make Wei Wuxian feel his love through the bond. Jiang Cheng does the only thing he had left; he sings their song.
The man above him only breaks down crying harder, as he holds him through his singing.
***
It is rough to get used to be able to swim in open waters again, his tail had grown weak from misuse as he had been trapped. His reflexes also are too slow. Not to mention how pain that is now where his bond to Wei Wuxian used to be.
At first, he can’t even gather the strength to capture food, slowly growing weaker.
He refuses to return to the home where he had a nest with Wei Wuxian, so he starts sleeping in the caves on the deep end.
He doesn’t realize when, but he sees mauled fish appear near the entrance, the catch still alive, but easier to catch and eat in his weakened state.
Other things appear in his entrance, rocks to crack open shellfish, kelp.
Jiang Cheng catches the youngest sibling, Wen Ning leaving fish, he swims away without a word.
This makes Jiang Cheng angry, so he decides to leave.
Except, where would he go? He could find other Jiaoren but what would it be the point? A Jiaoren mates for life, the other bond they have is by blood, and all of Jiang Cheng’s family is gone.
He follows the ships looking for the one that had captured him, knowing he could recognize it if he saw it again.
He starts hunting again, he starts travelling again, he finds the beach where he realizes now Wei Wuxian had brought him to bring him back to the sea.
Jiang Cheng doesn’t understand why Wei Wuxian didn’t come with him. Why would he choose to leave him behind? He recalls the form of Wei Wuxian, how fragile and small he had looked with his legs instead of his powerful tail, how much like a youngling with his dull teeth.
He starts singing because it is the only thing that he thinks to do.
The more ships Jiang Cheng sinks, the more come his way.
Good, he thinks, let them come, Jiang Cheng will destroy them all, take them away from their homes like they did to him. Like they did to Wei Wuxian.
He cries as he remembers his mate, another ship hearing his call.
It is a new moon, and the ship doesn’t see the rocks until is too late.
Jiang Cheng watches from a distance as the waves slam the ship against the rocky shores over and over, until nothing and no one is left.
***
It has become a sort of ritual to return to the beach every full moon. That’s where Jiang Cheng is heading when he hears it, the sound faint below the currents.
Jiang Cheng swims quickly to the surface, the sound is not that of a Jiaoren, is too faint, but he knows the song, he knows the sound.
He can’t help but answer back, it’s been so long but he could always recognize Wei Wuxian’s song.
There is a moment where the music stops. Jiang Cheng panics and sings again, his pitch going higher, the music answers him back again.
Jiang Cheng keeps singing until he reaches the ship, a small one like the kind usually found on shallow waters, the type to only have one or two men for crew.
The song is coming from the bow of the ship and Jiang Cheng wants to see who or what is making the sound, but he can’t get any closer without risking being seen.
“Jiang Cheng.” A voice call from above.
It is his name, sounding crude on a human’s voice, but Jiang Cheng recognizes it.
A face leans into the border of the ship and close to where Jiang Cheng is chirping. He freezes, the skin is darker than he remembers, but the eyes are those of Wei Wuxian. Jiang Cheng hisses and lounges, he grabs the man and plunges back into the water.
He moves fast, sinking deeper and deeper like he’s done hundreds of times before.
He clings tighter, waiting for Wei Wuxian, now a man, still with his extra limbs and dull skin to thrash and flail, he waits for him to try to push Jiang Cheng away to get back to the surface. And yet, Wei Wuxian clings onto him as well, his arms spasming but never letting go of Jiang Cheng. Jiang Cheng holds onto him, his claws digging into soft flesh, making the water around them smell like blood.
Jiang Cheng turns his face to look at that of Wei Wuxian, why did he come back? Is he mocking Jiang Cheng’s pain? Had he heard his song?
And why now? Why not before?
Jiang Cheng is so angry, he lets out a howl, his anger distorting his song.
Looking at Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng sees his mate smiling at him as the air leaves his lungs in bubbles that move opposite to them towards the surface.
He feels the moment Wei Wuxian’s tries to take a breath, only to fill his lungs with water.
Jiang Cheng had felt men drown like this before, he knows what follows, the bulging eyes, the twisted faces of pain, and death.
Instead, Wei Wuxian somehow seems to grow calm in his arms.
How foolish of Jiang Cheng, of course his stupid mate would accept death than to try to save himself.
Jiang Cheng howls again, as Wei Wuxian’s eyes close.
For a moment he stares into Wei Wuxian’s face, he places his lips on Wei Wuxian’s, trying with all his might to will the bond back into place, to make Wei Wuxian open his eyes, to go back in time, wishing a second time to keep Wei Wuxian next to him, to forget of the surface and all that he saw.
Wei Wuxian’s eyes remain closed, the pulse he can feel under the skin slowing down, Jiang Cheng closes his eyes tight, he won’t watch his mate die.
He begins swimming, but this time towards the surface, moving as fast as he can, hoping the frail form of Wei Wuxian resists, Jiang Cheng feels his eyes stinging as he breaks the surface, trying to haul Wei Wuxian face above water, he still doesn’t respond.
Jiang Cheng moves swiftly towards the shore, he drags Wei Wuxian’s limp body through the sand and rocks until the waves push them into the shore, Jiang Cheng shakes the body on his arms, touching his face, Wei Wuxian’s complexion quickly turning ashen.
Jiang Cheng places his head on Wei Wuxian’s chest as he holds onto him, he opens his mouth, but no sound comes forth, for once his song has left him; he feels pearls falling as he weeps, he lets the sounds of the waves crashing against the beach sing for him.
It is maybe a moment or two when he’s startled by Wei Wuxian’s body spasming below him. Jiang Cheng sees as the man spits water; hears the ragged breaths he tries to take.
Wei Wuxian slowly opens his eyes, and Jiang Cheng coos, he is alive.
He starts singing a calming song.
I was worried, I am sorry, and I forgive you woven into the happiness he feels at having his mate in his arms.
The bond is silent, hurting, and Jiang Cheng suspects that would never change. But he’d take this over nothing, even if he won’t ever feel the pulse of their bond, or the sound of Wei Wuxian’s song.
Jiang Cheng sings and sings, as Wei Wuxian’s chest slowly rises and falls.
***
When Wei Wuxian wakes up he is on the beach alone. His mate's song still ringing in his ears. He sags, remembering how it had felt to hold Jiang Cheng tight, how beautiful he looked even if he had looked at him with anger.
Wei Wuxian goes to get up when he feels something on the palm of his hand, a beautiful pearl the color of a violet sunrise sits in his hand.