[He's temporarily distracted by the size and luxury of the room, though not as one who has never experienced luxury before. Instead, he does note the lack of ostentatiousness with a small smile to himself. The distraction is momentary though, and he focuses his attention back on Itachi the moment he speaks.]
Did you live there? I know you traveled often, but is that where you stayed when you weren't traveling?
[Wei Wuxian begins to strip unselfconsciously, pauses for a moment, sighs, and then gathers the mess of his clothes into a sloppily folded pile. (He tried.) He dons the underclothes then before staring with some trepidation at the rest of the clothes.
Tentatively, he reaches for a pair of pants that he's pretty sure goes next.]
Not exactly home then. [He voices aloud, contemplative.] Is it strange to be on the Ximilia now? Stuck in one place for so long?
๏ผ he changes his own clothing with rather less ceremony than whatever it is wei wuxian is doing, and makes a soft, thoughtful sound as he tugs one of the tight wool shirts on over his head. ๏ผ
Not in the way you might imagine. Shinobi are adaptable, but they often have a home base — a place they returned to at the completion of their missions. To be a missing-nin is different, in that you are considered stateless. The majority spend their lives — often short — on the run. Constantly looking over their shoulder, fearful — most villages employ hunters to track down any who have betrayed them. One's techniques and knowledge can be taken from the body and ensured in this way to belong only to one's home. Konoha does not use hunter-nin in the same way, and in my years as a criminal very few people risked coming up against me due to my inherent notoriety as an Uchiha. Those that did paid for it dearly.
๏ผ it is a curious thing, to speak of his time with akatsuki. it seems so far away, now. ๏ผ
In a way, the structure of the Ximilia and our missions is much more similar to belonging to a village than anything else I know.
[None of it is especially surprising despite its grim nature, and Wei Wuxian listens attentively. He finally manages to figure out the order of the clothing and he pulls on his pants before copying Itachi and pulling on a warm long sleeved shirt.]
It does feel a little bit like that, doesn't it? It's reminded me more than once of living with the Wen remnant in the Burial Mounds. [For that nearly two years of peace, things had been remarkably simple. The first few months had been rough as they struggled to figure out a way to feed themselves, but by the end, it really had been like living in a small village of their own.]
The people, at least, if not the actual station. [Wei Wuxian can't say any place has ever really felt like home. When he was younger, he would have said Lotus Pier, but the more distance he has from that time of his life, the more he realizes how insecure he'd always felt about his place there. People, though. People have always been his home.]
๏ผ he turns his hand palm-up in a sort of halfly shrug. he's dressed now, a warm bio-synthetic fabric clinging close across his skin. he tosses over a pair of the unduly chic snowpants to the man to try on, and then hunts down the second pair buried in one of the other bags. ๏ผ
I think most of them are not... accustomed to the same sort of community.
๏ผ the other orbers, he means. it isn't said unkindly — nor as a statement intended to decry the benefits of one over the other as a sort of living. it's just truth. ๏ผ
[He catches the pants and tugs them on, surprised at how warm they already feel despite their apparent thinness. They fit well and he runs a hand over the material, admiring the sleekness.]
I think you're right. From what...[His voice drifts off a little and he clears his throat, trying again] From what Gwen shared, it seems like people from her time are more isolated. Or if not isolated than...independent? [Individual. Everyone existing on their own with their own private lives. He can understand the appeal in a way, but he'd miss people if he lived that way.]
๏ผ the name of their lost friend does not stir grief in him. he knows she returned to her life, to her world, and carried on. but he does briefly come into wei wuxian's space, presses a hand to his shoulder at her mention. ๏ผ
[Wei Wuxian can't say the same, but his grief is only in missing her. Knowing that she's out there,alive, well, and chasing her future, dulls the sting of loss to a gentle throb.
He chuckles under his breath and nods.
Eventually they finish dressing and Itachi leads them out of the room to wherever it is they're going to next. In the distance, some kind of moving swing guides people up and down the mountain and his gaze catches on it for a minute before he returns his attention to Itachi.]
[Sometimes he honestly marvels that so many people think Itachi is polite. (Then he remembers that seeing this side of him is a privilege and he has to fight back a smile.) It doesn't mean he's going to just take that lying down though.]
You think I spent years riding the sword just to need help learning how to slide down a hill on a piece of wood?
[That gets an actual playful punch to the shoulder as Wei Wuxian lets out a bright laugh.]
You're such an ass! [Affectionate.
Wei Wuxian allows Itachi to deal with the employee managing the hut and accepts one of the boards with a bright thanks to the employee once it's been handed over. It doesn't even occur to him to be surprised that Itachi knows his shoe size. Itachi knows all of his clothing sizes. That's normal.]
๏ผ he takes the hit good-naturedly, with an exaggerated wince of pain as he rubs the spot in question, but when they reach the hut the fond behaviour is put away in favour of his mission persona.
one of the attendants offer them some basic safety and usage instructions, inquires as to their prior experience and ensures that they know how to use the lift system, and then off they go in the sort of awkward, half-hobble of having one foot strapped in to the board and pushing along with the other in the snow. once they're sitting on the lift with a bar across their laps and the boards, itachi leans back a bit against the surprisingly luxurious and heated cushioning. ๏ผ
It's strange, isn't it? To think there are people for whom this is a daily indulgence.
[His attention had been immediately captured by the mechanisms used to move them along in the ski lift so Wei Wuxian is leaning out as far as he can to stare at the cable when Itachi's words pull his attention back. The question sends his gaze flashing to the skiers and snowboarders beneath them and he watches them for a moment in a studious silence.]
The idle rich with too much time on their hands. [Another universal of all the worlds, he's sure.]
All that money and so many of them think only of self-indulgence. [Despite the harsh judgment, his tone speaks only of wistful resignation. He'd seen it so often and for so long that he simply can't muster the indignation it deserves.]
Some of the cultivation families were like that. [The Jin, he doesn't say, though they were hardly alone in their desire only to serve themselves.] Was it much of a problem in Konoha?
๏ผ wei wuxian turns the question back to him, and itachi is silent a moment. one gloved hand rests on the crossbar holding them in place. he has not spoken so much on konoha in some time. in a way, it is easier to discuss with someone who knows him barely half so well — wei wuxian, more than any others here, will decipher the immutable depths of his love for his home written in the constellation of all the words he does not say.
he is so accustomed to guarding that feeling fiercely that the idea of letting it be known is... difficult. difficult, but not impossible.
(nothing feels so, at wei wuxian's side.)
he licks his lips, which are already chapped by the cold air. then: ๏ผ
No. While there were families possessed of variable wealth — it was rare that a clan would put pageantry before prestige in Konoha. That is not to say they were not capable of frivolity, only... it is considered a worthier thing, to speak of a son or daughter lost fighting an enemy, than of the riches they brought back from war. The latter is... gauche. A clan head who cared for such things would not survive very long in that position. However, in speaking of other cities or villages within the Land of Fire... I spent very little time among civilians, but I imagine that they would follow similarly patterned behaviour.
๏ผ a vague wave of one hand out at the milling participants of the idle day. ๏ผ
[He does hear the admiration in Itachi's words, and Wei Wuxian understands it. Such a people are rare in Wei Wuxian's world and he recognizes the virtue in it. Perhaps in a war-torn world (at least by comparison) like Itachi's, people have a better idea of what really matters. It's not a value the cultivation world shares no matter how many of the great sects would argue otherwise. Even the Lan with their thousands of rules and strict adherence to moral law didn't hold any sway over the rest of the great clans on those matters.]
Is this more of that Will of Fire then? [He doesn't remember the exact meaning Itachi had shared with him, but he can't help feeling like it is.]
๏ผ he peels a glove off, lifting his bare hand to rub at his cheek. the slopes move below them, glittering white. it is strange, to see them without the faint red tarnish of the sharingan overlaid.
then: ๏ผ
The Will of Fire was born of a belief that love is the most vital part of a road to peace.
๏ผ the uchiha built the foundation of their presence in konoha upon that idea. they bled for it, wept for it, and ultimately — ๏ผ
It is a wonderful home. I'm certain you would like it very much.
[Not quite the same, but related, maybe. It's love, he thinks, that would teach people to value the sacrifice of service and life over the accumulation of wealth. Wei Wuxian closes his eyes and focuses on the cold wind stinging playfully at his cheeks for a moment. When he opens his eyes again, his smile and eyes are bright and focused on Itachi.]
Where was your favorite place to go in your village? You must have had some place you liked better than most.
๏ผ he says that softly, consideringly. the hokage monument, once. before he became aware of the viper's nest hidden behind those stone faรงades... it would be easy to mention the places that made good dango, or served excellent tea. but none of it, ultimately... ๏ผ
In the Uchiha compound, there was a lake called Nakano. It was fed by a large river that comes down from the mountains to the north, as cold as ice even in the dead of summer. But the lake itself was calm and placid — and I trained there often as a boy. My father would often come and oversee me there. ๏ผ his expression softens, and then, ๏ผ He was always very proud of my accomplishments.
[For once Wei Wuxian doesn't stop himself when he feels his hand twitching, seeing the instinct through and bringing his hand up to rest briefly on Itachi's shoulder. Not in comfort exactly, but in some muted gesture of affection at the soft memory. He doesn't leave it there long which is good because they're coming up on the end of their ride. He'd paid enough attention at the instruction below that he manages not to tumble over himself as they depart the lift and he tries to picture the location Itachi described in his mind, filling in the details he doesn't know with what makes sense to him.
He can picture Itachi sitting there in meditation or perhaps even walking on top of that still water the way he's seen him do. Or perhaps there were targets set up just near the water's edge. There were probably copses of trees around the lake as well, and reeds sticking out of the shallows. He smiles warmly at the images his mind supplies.]
It sounds peaceful. [The exact opposite of the adrenaline rush he imagines he's about to endure.]
You know, it's a good thing you didn't meet me when I was younger. I would have tried so hard to drive you crazy. [He lets out a laugh. Someone quiet, brilliant, and kind? No, Itachi would have hard to work to maintain his peaceful trainings.]
๏ผ ah, 'crazy'. such a curious word for an uchiha. but he takes it in stride, tugging on wei wuxian's puffy coat to direct him. they opt for one of the smaller hills, something a bit less... aggressively arduous while still being a fair to middling challenge. itachi gives the treeline a considering look, mindful of the wells that form around their base. he straps his second foot in easily enough, managing not to shimmy in an undignified way to the crest of the hill. with a sidelong glance at his companion — ๏ผ
I've no doubt. You would not have succeeded, though.
๏ผ he's always been perilously immune to such behaviour.
perhaps that's why he yeets himself off down the hill.
Aiyo, you cheat! [Wei Wuxian shouts behind him. It takes him a moment longer to strap his own foot in with barely a fraction of Itachi's grace, and then he jumps on and takes off in Itachi's wake.
He doesn't manage to catch up, but he matches Itachi's speed and comes up on his side trailing only a little behind. By then though, he's less interested in beating him and more interested in navigating the ride. It both is and isn't like riding a sword, and he falls in love with the experience immediately. The balance required is the same but riding on top of the snow is entirely different than on air.
Thankfully he manages it with relative ease and he lets out an appreciative whoop as he angles his body to gather more speed. With his heart in his throat and the cold rushing past him, Wei Wuxian can't help laughing in delight. He isn't entirely sure how to stop, but that seems like a problem for future Wei Wuxian.]
๏ผ he eases up, angling the board a little to cut into the snow to let wei wuxian pass him. wind tears at the laughter, and all at once his heart feels soaringly light and caught in a vice grip. it's the sort of carefree fun...
(sasuke would have enjoyed this. lifetimes ago, perhaps. but would he have ever had the time or the means to have taken him? that is the harder question.)
he follows at a more sedate speed — these boards have nothing on the speed of shunshin, after all, so that in and of itself is no lure to him. once they're both properly at the bottom (and wei wuxian has found some method of stopping) itachi pings him on the earpiece: Again? ๏ผ
[His checks are flushed from the windburn, his eyes are bright from the combination of adrenaline and joy, and the wide smile he shoots Itachi's way is even more blinding than usual.]
ยซAbsolutely! Come on, let's go!ยป
[Naturally, they go again, not once more but several more times, eventually graduating to one of the slightly more challenging hills with easy finesse. It's on their designated last run that Wei Wuxian—having gotten familiar with how to shift his weight and turn in order to slow—doesn't come to as easy of a stop as before. He overcorrects on his stop and tumbles to the ground, but the laughter spilling from his throat the whole way down makes it obvious he's unharmed. When his tumble has come to a stop, he unhooks his boots from the board and splays his arms and legs out to the sides like a starfish, grinning up at the sky and enjoying the chill of the snow beneath him.]
Aiya, I'm gonna be so sore tomorrow. [He complains, attempting to pout through his obvious delight.]
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Did you live there? I know you traveled often, but is that where you stayed when you weren't traveling?
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๏ผ he tosses wei wuxian some of the warm underclothing they'd acquired from the boutique. ๏ผ
I am not quite certain I would call it 'living'. I don't believe I spent more than two weeks there in total in nearly a decade.
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Tentatively, he reaches for a pair of pants that he's pretty sure goes next.]
Not exactly home then. [He voices aloud, contemplative.] Is it strange to be on the Ximilia now? Stuck in one place for so long?
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Not in the way you might imagine. Shinobi are adaptable, but they often have a home base — a place they returned to at the completion of their missions. To be a missing-nin is different, in that you are considered stateless. The majority spend their lives — often short — on the run. Constantly looking over their shoulder, fearful — most villages employ hunters to track down any who have betrayed them. One's techniques and knowledge can be taken from the body and ensured in this way to belong only to one's home. Konoha does not use hunter-nin in the same way, and in my years as a criminal very few people risked coming up against me due to my inherent notoriety as an Uchiha. Those that did paid for it dearly.
๏ผ it is a curious thing, to speak of his time with akatsuki. it seems so far away, now. ๏ผ
In a way, the structure of the Ximilia and our missions is much more similar to belonging to a village than anything else I know.
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It does feel a little bit like that, doesn't it? It's reminded me more than once of living with the Wen remnant in the Burial Mounds. [For that nearly two years of peace, things had been remarkably simple. The first few months had been rough as they struggled to figure out a way to feed themselves, but by the end, it really had been like living in a small village of their own.]
The people, at least, if not the actual station. [Wei Wuxian can't say any place has ever really felt like home. When he was younger, he would have said Lotus Pier, but the more distance he has from that time of his life, the more he realizes how insecure he'd always felt about his place there. People, though. People have always been his home.]
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I think most of them are not... accustomed to the same sort of community.
๏ผ the other orbers, he means. it isn't said unkindly — nor as a statement intended to decry the benefits of one over the other as a sort of living. it's just truth. ๏ผ
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I think you're right. From what...[His voice drifts off a little and he clears his throat, trying again] From what Gwen shared, it seems like people from her time are more isolated. Or if not isolated than...independent? [Individual. Everyone existing on their own with their own private lives. He can understand the appeal in a way, but he'd miss people if he lived that way.]
I like it this way, honestly. It's nice.
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'Independent'. That is one word for it.
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He chuckles under his breath and nods.
Eventually they finish dressing and Itachi leads them out of the room to wherever it is they're going to next. In the distance, some kind of moving swing guides people up and down the mountain and his gaze catches on it for a minute before he returns his attention to Itachi.]
Do you think a lesson is necessary?
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๏ผ it's said... a bit playfully, with a faint raise of his brows as he looks over at wei wuxian.
(one does not simply ask an uchiha prodigy if they need lessons, thank you.)
the small hut where one rents boots and boards is nearby, and he steers him towards it with one hand casually against his elbow. ๏ผ
I suppose that depends on how adventurous you're feeling at the moment.
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You think I spent years riding the sword just to need help learning how to slide down a hill on a piece of wood?
[Bring it on.]
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๏ผ how does he know that. whence came this forbidden knowledge??
that is for the uchiha to know and other people to never find out. ๏ผ
It's a polyethylene composite. So perhaps, more help is needed after all.
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You're such an ass! [Affectionate.
Wei Wuxian allows Itachi to deal with the employee managing the hut and accepts one of the boards with a bright thanks to the employee once it's been handed over. It doesn't even occur to him to be surprised that Itachi knows his shoe size. Itachi knows all of his clothing sizes. That's normal.]
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one of the attendants offer them some basic safety and usage instructions, inquires as to their prior experience and ensures that they know how to use the lift system, and then off they go in the sort of awkward, half-hobble of having one foot strapped in to the board and pushing along with the other in the snow. once they're sitting on the lift with a bar across their laps and the boards, itachi leans back a bit against the surprisingly luxurious and heated cushioning. ๏ผ
It's strange, isn't it? To think there are people for whom this is a daily indulgence.
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The idle rich with too much time on their hands. [Another universal of all the worlds, he's sure.]
All that money and so many of them think only of self-indulgence. [Despite the harsh judgment, his tone speaks only of wistful resignation. He'd seen it so often and for so long that he simply can't muster the indignation it deserves.]
Some of the cultivation families were like that. [The Jin, he doesn't say, though they were hardly alone in their desire only to serve themselves.] Was it much of a problem in Konoha?
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he is so accustomed to guarding that feeling fiercely that the idea of letting it be known is... difficult. difficult, but not impossible.
(nothing feels so, at wei wuxian's side.)
he licks his lips, which are already chapped by the cold air. then: ๏ผ
No. While there were families possessed of variable wealth — it was rare that a clan would put pageantry before prestige in Konoha. That is not to say they were not capable of frivolity, only... it is considered a worthier thing, to speak of a son or daughter lost fighting an enemy, than of the riches they brought back from war. The latter is... gauche. A clan head who cared for such things would not survive very long in that position. However, in speaking of other cities or villages within the Land of Fire... I spent very little time among civilians, but I imagine that they would follow similarly patterned behaviour.
๏ผ a vague wave of one hand out at the milling participants of the idle day. ๏ผ
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Is this more of that Will of Fire then? [He doesn't remember the exact meaning Itachi had shared with him, but he can't help feeling like it is.]
I think I'd like it there in your Land of Fire.
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๏ผ he peels a glove off, lifting his bare hand to rub at his cheek. the slopes move below them, glittering white. it is strange, to see them without the faint red tarnish of the sharingan overlaid.
then: ๏ผ
The Will of Fire was born of a belief that love is the most vital part of a road to peace.
๏ผ the uchiha built the foundation of their presence in konoha upon that idea. they bled for it, wept for it, and ultimately — ๏ผ
It is a wonderful home. I'm certain you would like it very much.
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Where was your favorite place to go in your village? You must have had some place you liked better than most.
no subject
๏ผ he says that softly, consideringly. the hokage monument, once. before he became aware of the viper's nest hidden behind those stone faรงades... it would be easy to mention the places that made good dango, or served excellent tea. but none of it, ultimately... ๏ผ
In the Uchiha compound, there was a lake called Nakano. It was fed by a large river that comes down from the mountains to the north, as cold as ice even in the dead of summer. But the lake itself was calm and placid — and I trained there often as a boy. My father would often come and oversee me there. ๏ผ his expression softens, and then, ๏ผ He was always very proud of my accomplishments.
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He can picture Itachi sitting there in meditation or perhaps even walking on top of that still water the way he's seen him do. Or perhaps there were targets set up just near the water's edge. There were probably copses of trees around the lake as well, and reeds sticking out of the shallows. He smiles warmly at the images his mind supplies.]
It sounds peaceful. [The exact opposite of the adrenaline rush he imagines he's about to endure.]
You know, it's a good thing you didn't meet me when I was younger. I would have tried so hard to drive you crazy. [He lets out a laugh. Someone quiet, brilliant, and kind? No, Itachi would have hard to work to maintain his peaceful trainings.]
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I've no doubt. You would not have succeeded, though.
๏ผ he's always been perilously immune to such behaviour.
perhaps that's why he yeets himself off down the hill.
have fun keeping up, wei wuxian. ๏ผ
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He doesn't manage to catch up, but he matches Itachi's speed and comes up on his side trailing only a little behind. By then though, he's less interested in beating him and more interested in navigating the ride. It both is and isn't like riding a sword, and he falls in love with the experience immediately. The balance required is the same but riding on top of the snow is entirely different than on air.
Thankfully he manages it with relative ease and he lets out an appreciative whoop as he angles his body to gather more speed. With his heart in his throat and the cold rushing past him, Wei Wuxian can't help laughing in delight. He isn't entirely sure how to stop, but that seems like a problem for future Wei Wuxian.]
no subject
(sasuke would have enjoyed this. lifetimes ago, perhaps. but would he have ever had the time or the means to have taken him? that is the harder question.)
he follows at a more sedate speed — these boards have nothing on the speed of shunshin, after all, so that in and of itself is no lure to him. once they're both properly at the bottom (and wei wuxian has found some method of stopping) itachi pings him on the earpiece: Again? ๏ผ
no subject
ยซAbsolutely! Come on, let's go!ยป
[Naturally, they go again, not once more but several more times, eventually graduating to one of the slightly more challenging hills with easy finesse. It's on their designated last run that Wei Wuxian—having gotten familiar with how to shift his weight and turn in order to slow—doesn't come to as easy of a stop as before. He overcorrects on his stop and tumbles to the ground, but the laughter spilling from his throat the whole way down makes it obvious he's unharmed. When his tumble has come to a stop, he unhooks his boots from the board and splays his arms and legs out to the sides like a starfish, grinning up at the sky and enjoying the chill of the snow beneath him.]
Aiya, I'm gonna be so sore tomorrow. [He complains, attempting to pout through his obvious delight.]
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