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notaturnipLan Sizhui has known who his soulmate was since he was six years old.
He used to lie awake tracing his fingers over the characters on his inner arm, amazed at how it came to pass that a foundling boy like him could have a soulmate in the great and influential Jin clan. He vowed, back then, that he would try and become the very best disciple of the Lan clan he could possibly be in order to be worthy of his soulmate. He worked hard to follow all of Hanguang Jun's instructions, to learn as much as he could. It wasn't just about his soulmate, of course, he was grateful to Lan Zhan for taking him in when he had nobody else, and he wanted to do well for his sake as well, but he'd be lying if he said the name on his arm didn't motivate him even more.
When he met Jin Ling, back then, accompanying Lan Zhan on a visit to Carp Tower, he hadn't gotten on very well with him. Sizhui was serious and thoughtful and remembered his manners, and Jin Ling... well, he was a little volatile. Sizhui decided he must not have gotten his mark yet, and he didn't want to embarrass him by bringing it up, so he patiently waited for Jin Ling to be the first to mention it.
The years went by and it became more and more likely that the lack of mention was deliberate. In fact, when Sizhui tried to bring up soul marks as a gentle way of getting to that point, Jin Ling would shut him down - angrily, too. He did that with everybody, and soon they all learned not to bring it up around him.
Eventually, Sizhui was forced to come to the heartbreaking conclusion that Jin Ling was disappointed. That he didn't want him.
He threw himself into his studies again, this time to try and forget. If he couldn't have the happiness of true love in his life, he could at least be someone his father and his sect could be proud of.
Mostly, he was glad that one of the many Lan principles forbade discussion of soulmarks, it meant people were less likely to bring them up around him, too, and that he had a reason to change the subject when they did. Even Jingyi didn't know what his mark said - though not for lack of trying, certainly.
Still, he became friends with Jin Ling - he couldn't bring himself to stay away, and the other boy certainly didn't seem to mind him being around either - and they often went on Nighthunts together, along with Jingyi and Zizhen, and they were getting pretty good at it, they worked well together.
This one was proving a little more difficult than usual, though, and the four had become separated.
"Jin Ling?" Sizhui called, moving carefully through the forest "Jingyi? Zizhen?"
He used to lie awake tracing his fingers over the characters on his inner arm, amazed at how it came to pass that a foundling boy like him could have a soulmate in the great and influential Jin clan. He vowed, back then, that he would try and become the very best disciple of the Lan clan he could possibly be in order to be worthy of his soulmate. He worked hard to follow all of Hanguang Jun's instructions, to learn as much as he could. It wasn't just about his soulmate, of course, he was grateful to Lan Zhan for taking him in when he had nobody else, and he wanted to do well for his sake as well, but he'd be lying if he said the name on his arm didn't motivate him even more.
When he met Jin Ling, back then, accompanying Lan Zhan on a visit to Carp Tower, he hadn't gotten on very well with him. Sizhui was serious and thoughtful and remembered his manners, and Jin Ling... well, he was a little volatile. Sizhui decided he must not have gotten his mark yet, and he didn't want to embarrass him by bringing it up, so he patiently waited for Jin Ling to be the first to mention it.
The years went by and it became more and more likely that the lack of mention was deliberate. In fact, when Sizhui tried to bring up soul marks as a gentle way of getting to that point, Jin Ling would shut him down - angrily, too. He did that with everybody, and soon they all learned not to bring it up around him.
Eventually, Sizhui was forced to come to the heartbreaking conclusion that Jin Ling was disappointed. That he didn't want him.
He threw himself into his studies again, this time to try and forget. If he couldn't have the happiness of true love in his life, he could at least be someone his father and his sect could be proud of.
Mostly, he was glad that one of the many Lan principles forbade discussion of soulmarks, it meant people were less likely to bring them up around him, too, and that he had a reason to change the subject when they did. Even Jingyi didn't know what his mark said - though not for lack of trying, certainly.
Still, he became friends with Jin Ling - he couldn't bring himself to stay away, and the other boy certainly didn't seem to mind him being around either - and they often went on Nighthunts together, along with Jingyi and Zizhen, and they were getting pretty good at it, they worked well together.
This one was proving a little more difficult than usual, though, and the four had become separated.
"Jin Ling?" Sizhui called, moving carefully through the forest "Jingyi? Zizhen?"
