[closed mingle] This is family business

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[closed mingle] This is family business

Who: Basically the whole Untamed/MDZS cast
When: One Mid-Septeril evening
Where: The Jin/Jiang family household
What: It's Family Dinner Time (and also time to reveal the truth about what happened back on their world)
Warnings: Discussions of murder and death, infidelity, revenge, and a lot of general family drama.

There are so many Mirrorbound from their world, and almost all of them are related in some way, through blood, marriage, or sworn bonds. After discussing it with his wife, Jin Zixuan decides it's about time they all sat under one roof to share a meal. Sure, one third of their contingent is not exactly on speaking terms with another third, and the last third is caught in the middle trying to live their lives as quietly and peacefully as they can, but Jin Zixuan has frankly had enough. He's heard bits and pieces of the future that is waiting for him once he returns to their world, but he's tired of the pretty lies, half truths, and careful dancing around subjects that everyone seems to prefer when he is around. He knows there is more to the story, and he is determined to find out what it is.

The evening begins innocently enough, with Jiang Yanli preparing delicious courses of food in their well stocked kitchen, and Jin Zixuan making sure the dining room is set for the numerous guests they are inviting. There is plenty of alcohol for the adults who like to indulge-- both bottles of grape wine and jars of baiju-- as well as sparkling fruit juices for those who are underage (sorry, Jin Ling) or who would prefer not to partake. The table decoration is tasteful and elegant, a mix of the local style and whatever Jin Zixuan has been able to scramble together that is reminiscent of their own world back home.

When guests arrive, Jin Zixuan greets them at the door and shows them to their seat in the dining room, having carefully plotted out who will sit where so as to avoid any unnecessary conflict (a skill he learned at an early age from his mother). After a few short words of thanks for everyone who came, the meal begins. The food is delicious, of course. No one would expect anything less from a cook like Jiang Yanli. And the conversation is polite, sticking to current events and the trials and tribulations of witch- or monster-dom. Then, partway through the evening, when the main course has been finished but dessert has not yet been served, Jin Zixuan speaks up, clearing his throat to get everyone's attention.

"Once again, I would like to thank you all for coming. You have all been a great help to myself, A-Li, and A-Ling as we attempt to find our ways in this world." A good start, neutral enough and gracious to boot. "However," he continues, his face losing its polite smile and turning gravely serious, "I know that there is much that you have been keeping from us. From me, in particular. We have both been made aware of our own deaths, and the many deaths that will follow. But the exact details of how and why those deaths occurred and who is really to blame have been conspicuously left out."

He turns his gaze to each guest seated at the table, each in turn. Everyone except Jin Ling and Jiang Yanli.

"I think it's time we were forthright with each other. Don't you?"

After that, all thoughts of dessert are forgotten. The table erupts into chaos. Guests can speak freely at the table, or pull individuals aside for more private conversations. Or, if the tense atmosphere is too much for them, they can simply choose to leave. But however the truth chooses to come out, Jin Zixuan is welcoming it. And keep in mind, he will know if you are lying.

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He assumed all of it had been gone over in detail already, and that if he hadn't been confronted about the past, then at least his spiel had been respected enough to give him that second chance - words that had begun at least as an empty platitude, though he wasn't quite sure where the truth really lay himself, after having lived here for so many months now.

So Jin Guangyao was not fully prepared for this particular course of events, especially after an otherwise calm enough dinner, and his tail instinctively curls around him defensively. With the individuals invited, he has full knowledge of exactly where all of that blame was going to be placed. He might be a good actor, but his is one of those few times when his smile is quite obviously fake.

"Of course. I think I should be going, but I'm sure that the others will be more than willing to fill you in," he says mildly, even if the sinking feeling is more like a drop into an endless pit. It's not so much standing as uncoiling enough to slide himself away from the table, fully prepared to flee from direct confrontation like the snake he is. There's hardly any place for excuses or expectation of sympathy from Zixuan, after all, for obvious reasons.

Oh, how convenient. Almost as convenient as Lan Wangji choosing that particular moment to rise, walking unhurried until he more or less stands in Jin Guangyao's way. It was never his place to explain, but Jin Zixuan is owed the truth, asking now, a point of no return.

"I think you should stay," Lan Wangji calmly suggests, only a sidelong glance, tight and harsh lines.

A part of him expected this. Knowing his half brother, even as distantly as he does, he suspected such an open confrontation would make him uncomfortable. He nods his head in deference, ever the picture of politeness.

"If you must. Please, allow me to walk you out." He bends down to whisper a quick promise he'll be back soon into Yanli's ear, then extricates himself from the table, nods to the rest of the bewildered guests, and accompanies Jin Guangyao out of the room. Once they're out of earshot, he pauses, extending an arm to stop Jin Guangyao from moving ahead.

"A-Yao. I can appreciate why you feel you must leave. But you have to understand, if there is truth to be told, I would rather hear it from you."

Lan Xichen is surprised by the rather sudden turn of conversation. It's a topic he also assumed had been thoroughly covered in private through Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, who had seemed to know far more than everyone else by the end of things. When Jin Zixuan's eyes turn on him, he meets them with a cool, even stare that invites question but doesn't submit to the tension that is let loose.

"Are you saying that we have not been forthright? I apologize, but there must have been some oversight. Surely you did not need to arrange an investigation around a dinner?"

Wei Wuxian arrives hours earlier, moving around the Jin kitchen under the guise of helping Yanli prepare for this dinner. In reality, he's hoarding as much of her time as he can, eager to earn a smile, the touch of her hand. He's a grown man, married and a parent in his own right. But around his shijie, he's a perpetual three-year old wanting attention and affection.

"Shijie, look! What do you think? They're cute, right?" He's turned some of the steamed buns into bunnies, hoping to delight both her and his husband.

He's a disgrace, but that's nothing new.

When Lan Wangji arrives, he takes his place beside him, passing him the fruit juice and swiping a jar of baiju for himself. But he doesn't neglect the food this time, heaping his plate with the spicy vegetables and rice, eating and drinking with slightly less table manners than the others - teenager included.

And then Jin Zixuan speaks. Wei Wuxian pauses mid-chew, swallowing the bite so he can both sigh and take another gulp directly from the jar. He meets Jin Zixuan's gaze with a faint smile on his lips, glances at the other guests and checks on Lan Zhan before returning.

"Sure, why not. Everyone make sure you have one of the custard buns when we're finished. I made them myself and there's a secret ingredient."

One that's probably pretty high on the Scoville Scale.

There's tension, alright. The tension radiating off of Jin Zixuan is palpable. He's doing his best not to let it affect his composure, not to let his feathers get too ruffled-- literally-- but he has been patient long enough, he feels, and he is owed an explanation.

(He is owed a lot of things, most of which he knows are impossible, but an explanation at least should be within his grasp.)

"Lady Jiang and I had been planning on hosting a dinner for some time now, to show our thanks for everyone's help in allowing us to settle into this world." He throws an apologetic glance at Jiang Yanli, knowing she doesn't like the sort of conflict that he's forcing upon her. But then he steels his resolve and returns his gaze to Lan Xichen. "It was my idea to use the dinner as an opportunity to gain the insight which has so clearly been denied me, as you said, through some oversight."

Denied him? Well, that is certainly an interesting way to phrase it. Lan Xichen remains reserved, but there's a few more degrees of warmth that come in as he meets the other man's explanation, turning to his more usual pleasant smile to calm Jin Zixuan and ease some of that tension.

"Ah, that is troublesome. I don't want you to feel denied in any way after coming here. But, Master Jin, you did not need to wait this long. If you were unhappy, you could have sent word at any time. I'm sure were aren't so distant now that we all live in the same city."

With a minimum of nine people to cook for, and a minimum of five people to be awfully concerned about depending on how her husband's plan for the evening goes, it isn't surprising that Jiang Yanli is already three dishes deep in preparation by the time Wei Wuxian infiltrates the kitchen.

Even after a month of it, it's still deeply thrilling to have a kitchen all to herself, that she can just welcome him into and not have to mind others. He can play around, talk as much as he likes, pester her, and the worst that can happen is someone looks in at the noise and rolls their eyes. If that means she spoils him terribly... well, it can be excused, she's sure. Certainly no one seems to have the heart to disrupt them.

She spares his efforts a glance, then another, longer look, to take in the ears and tails. Tries not to laugh, her lips pressed together in an attempt to look severe, and fails within moments, because his ears are twitching as she looks between him and his creations. Her hands, half-coated in flour, lift to cover her smile.

"As cute as A-Xian. But... isn't it a little strange, to make them look like you--?"

The question ends with an odd lilt, as she realises that that might have been the point.

Zewu-jun makes a good point. He could have said something any time he liked. Instead, he had waited for the more knowledgeable, more guilty parties to come to him. He'd gleaned only half the story from conversations with Jin Ling and Wei Wuxian, and expected the rest to be handed to him on a platter.

He's no fool, not to know what others think of his high opinion of himself, his status as heir to the wealthy Jin sect. He should have seen a retort like this coming, and yet he walked right into it, blind in everything but eyesight.

"It is less that I am unhappy, Zewu-jun, and more that I am uninformed. I know pieces of the events that will come to pass once I return through that mirror, but not enough to make any sense of them as a whole." He takes a deep breath through his nostrils, spreading his talon-like fingertips across the surface of the table to steady himself. "I know death is an unhappy subject for dinner conversation, but I felt there was no better occasion to ask than now, when everyone is gathered together. I may not be long for our world, once I return, but it is the world in which my son will live-- has been living. Its affairs concern me all the same."

She'd always felt a little awkward going to these things, despite Wei Wuxian's insistence that she's family now, and Wangji's quiet support of this too.

But she's enjoyed herself, though she keeps to herself, quiet and polite and watching everyone with wide, interested eyes. Some of the conversations go over her head, calling back on things she wasn't around in their world for, but she's been delighted to see Jin Ling again and keen to stick to his side.

Dinner itself goes well enough, though Sae spends a lot of time trying not to make unnecessary movements and shed glitter anywhere, but it's enjoyable. It feels-- cozy? Warm. She finds herself biting into a meatbun and freezing as Zixuan lets the mic metaphorically drop, and she edges a look towards Lan Wangji next to her, watching as he moves, and then to Wei Wuxian. She feels like maybe if she doesn't move she won't draw any unwanted attention to herself. This talk of death and dying and being killed makes her head swim unpleasantly and she sinks down in her seat, watching everyone anxiously.

He's already jittery on a daily basis now, and he freezes and looks up as his father starts demanding answers. And of course he's entitled to them! Jin Ling hadn't exactly been a reliable source, seeing as emotions got in the way of explaining, but also he definitely didn't have a perfect picture of the events as they had transpired.

That, and he doesn't really want to listen to this. He's heard enough about it already. He doesn't begrudge his father for wanting to know, but he curls his fingers in the fabric of his robes in his lap, trying not to make a face at the mention of his parents death. They're alive here, yes, but that doesn't make the years he grew up without them any less real. Or that it dredges up a lot of emotions about things going down that he's tried to lay to rest because he has other things to think about!

So after a moment, after the table breaks out into chatter, people starting to speak between each other, Jin Ling gets up from his chair, already heading for the door, mumbling some excuse that he's going to go feed the cats or something, hoping no one hears him regardless.

Edited 2020-09-20 20:56 (UTC)

An opportunity for escape has presented itself! Sorry, Jin Ling, she's going to be piggy-backing off of this immediately. Seeing someone else make a break for it has given Sae the courage she needs to follow.

She darks up quickly from the table and grasps for his arm, tugging at him lightly. "I-I'll go help." Her voice is soft, too soft to carry to the others, but she gives him a desperate sort of look. It doesn't matter that he might not need help feeding the cats or whatever, she needs an out too!

"Are they really as cute as me?"

Instead of almost as cute as A-Xian? Wei Wuxian's eyes are so round and golden at that, black ears drooping along with the smile on his lips. He reconsiders the bunny buns, the pout on his lips turning into an angry little frown.

And the Drama King of Xianxia award goes to...

"You're right. Maybe I should pinch their ears off and turn them into mice."

"I would have thought you would be more than willing to help clarify matters," Jin Guangyao replies in a conciliatory fashion, even as his snakelike body curves back, scooting him away from Lan Wangji as his way is obstructed. Though Hanguang-jun himself is not so talkative, his husband certainly is, and isn't their interference how everything was revealed in the end?

"I hardly think my presence necessary," he adds, slithering back behind where Lan Xichen is seated, giving his Bonded a helpless look. He's been restrained in his affection for fear of causing another incident, but with this sort of pressure incoming, he'd rather be shielded from Lan Wangji's ire.

Not that Jin Guangyao ever bore his half-brother much in the way of actual affection, but nowadays it takes a certain amount of self-control to not recoil in horror from those birdlike characteristics as well. That arm outstretched before him feels like talons outstretched to grab him, and he stops abruptly, faint smile frozen in place.

"Would you? I really did think you'd have been fully informed by now," he replies, put in a very awkward position here. Then again... considering Wei Wuxian's role in how Zixuan's death played out, perhaps there are reasons those closer to him might have made certain explanations vague. 'Other' deaths... if his half-brother is really so poorly informed, then he really doesn't want to revisit those much either.

If it were another setting he might not have reacted or at least allowed more restraint, but that sharp, purposeful pursuit is something he recognizes and Lan Xichen is tired of games. A discussion or desire to find the truth should never amount to tracking down and hunting another person like a deer, or what would make them any different from base predators that live only by instinct? He stands, not just tolerating the naga slipping behind him for safety as he did in the past, but staying in front of him with a frown.

"We can stay, if you want a discussion," he says. "I thought there had been many chances for one in the past already, but if that is unsatisfactory, then I will remain until there are no more questions. If they keep rising like this, I begin to wonder myself the nature of our meetings."

Jin Zixuan is owed answers. His death and the debt owed to his family for all the pains they suffered is something that should be discussed. But as Lan Xichen looks around the table to the various faces with a mix of emotions, he can't help but relate to that cornered feeling he catches from his Bonded. Jin Guangyao is guilty of many things, but the current talk feels like a trap. Impulsive moment or not, he can only disapprove of the way they are approaching the topic of truth. There's a sigh stifled in his chest as he takes the moment in.

"Please don't say such things," he offers with a gentler voice. "I understand the feeling of uncertainty and feeling you have been kept in the dark for too long. It is not something I wish anyone here to be burdened with. However, you should not think of your life as something that only exists in what has happened beyond this place. You live now, and you have a life here. Please, ask your questions with that in mind."

Always and forever stuck in-between, astride on a line he constantly staggers on. On one side, his conscience. On the other, his brother, and he knows his heart, its confusion and its hopes, and Lan Wangji stalls, wavers between a rock and a hard place. The look he briefly spares him is both contrite and apologetic, quickly redirected to the viper behind him. He isn’t going to fight Lan Xichen here—or anywhere, really, still willing to let him find his own truth, but there’s still a price to pay for Jin Guangyao, one he’s only postponed, perhaps hoping for the best.

Lan Wangji remains poised nearby, though the intent in his gaze is unequivocal. “There have been,” he agrees, a few months now since the arrival of the others. “Jin Guangyao has yet to come forward, and Jin Zixuan’s family is owed.”

She's a decade too experienced to truly fall for that expression. No matter how many web awards it wins him. And yet, here she is, brushing her hands off on her skirts and reaching up to tug his furred ears.

"Aren't they cute because you made them? Mice or rabbits, that's the same... but let them keep their ears."

Still self conscious about his talon like hands, Jin Zixuan is quick to pull them back into his sleeves as soon as they've served their purpose of halting his half brother in place.

"I would have thought the same. I know you said you're trying to create a new life for yourself here, and I don't want to interfere with that. Truly, I don't." Whatever tension may exist between them as brothers, he doesn't truly hate Jin Guangyao. He just... wants to know if there's a reason he should.

"But, I have heard some things about your involvement in whatever it is that people aren't telling me. Some very incriminating sounding things."

'Your brother must be a good swimmer. Otherwise he could've drowned in all the blood he spilled to get there.' Those were Wei Wuxian's exact words. Immediately following news of the deaths of both their father and Chifeng-zun, and Jin Guangyao's rise to power. How could Jin Zixuan not want more information, after hearing that?

"I just want to give you the chance to tell me yourself."

Long after the chaos of the dinner has past, leaving behind it whatever debris is left of the emotional clashes it kicked up, Lan Xichen goes looking for Jin Ling. He retrieves some dessert from the kitchen, taking liberty without regret after having faced that mess, and asks around until he can find the young man and deliver his offering. Everyone wants what they want, but too often they miss the collateral of their own quests. Good intentions or not, bystanders get forgotten in the scuffle.

He sets the food down nearby and sits in silence, letting Jin Ling breathe. It may be good to finally get to have his parents, but that doesn't mean everything is easy.

"How many times should I be expected to revisit the past when I've been trying to make a new life for myself here?" Jin Guangyao says, a bit pitifully. True or not, those are the words he's chosen to hide behind just as much as he's slithered behind Lan Xichen. "There has to be a limit to how much I've paid already, Hanguang-jun."

Jin Zixuan isn't looking around the table anymore, keeping his eyes focused on Lan Xichen. But he can feel the anxious, and in some cases, angry glares of the others seated around the table, and he knows he could have executed this better. Making such a public spectacle was more of his father's modus operandi, not his. And if there's one person he does not want to be like, it's his father.

He sits back down, admitting defeat but refusing to relent completely. When he gathers himself up, ready to speak once more, his voice is calmer, more conditioned. He's drawing strength from his bond with A-Li to soothe his righteous fury.

"Zewu-jun is correct. I have a life here, one that I would never have had the opportunity to have in our world." For better and for worse. He glances over to the empty seat that Jin Ling has since fled. He feels awful for having embarrassed his son like this, but it is for A-Ling's sake that he must know the truth.

"However, just because I am attempting to forge a life here, does not mean I should be kept in the dark about the lives of my loved ones there."

Lan Xichen bristles. He sympathizes with Jin Zixuan, who must feel as snared by everything as he did, and with Jin Ling, who has already fled the entire scene, but he also recognizes some truth behind the defense of his Bonded. It might be ill-intended, but truth is still truth. Sometimes that isn't what people like to hear. The right answer isn't always the nicest one.

"A-Yao, I think everyone deserves to at least hear the events. Preferably not secondhand or painted to suit a particular end." In the temple he might have only assumed Jin Guangyao was attempting that sort of selective hearing, but lately he's started to realize that it is a fact of human nature. "We will answer because there are questions that need answered. But if there is something you want, Wangji, say it clearly. I am listening, but I cannot guarantee you will get it."

Edited 2020-09-20 22:46 (UTC)

He does understand. He doesn't particularly like the feeling of being surrounded during what should be a peaceful dinner setting and greeted with essentially subtle demands for obedience, but he can understand the impatience when the situation is so intense already. Of course Jin Zixuan wants more details. He has a family to protect and no one can hold that against him.

Lan Xichen keeps eye contact, unafraid of facing the judgment of that righteous fire himself. Since they have already come this far, he might as well see it through.

"I would not ask you to remain silent about your concerns. I'm only surprised you've chosen this as the time to voice them. But as you have, what is it you would like to know? Is there something of me in particular, or would it be better if I remain quiet for now?"

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[closed mingle] This is family business

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