[ An errand, for collection. And a private pleasure, before Lan Wangji's flickering gaze, caught and held and ricocheting from thread of silver and gauze thinned as if glass, and thickened wool spun in the colours of the fanned-tail peacock.
Moran and the girl exchange their pleasantries, while Lan Wangji allows himself the grievous indiscretion of loitering between the bundles on display — so often, a privilege beside his brother, to walk the length of a tailor's halls, and know Zewu-Jun may see every li of silk purchased, if Wangji wishes it done.
What is not yours may not be touched. Thieves lose hands daily for lesser defiance. He knows, oh, he knows. Still, the blunt, salt-chipped ends of Wangji's ill-trimmed nails tickle the frayed edges of clustered hemp and unwinding, gold rich cottons. Warmth unexpectedly quickens in his veins, spurs him. He returns to hisc company, core of hard trim held reverently in his open hands, as if he presents a map of aged parchment for Moran and the girl's inspection, not — ]
For your colours.
[ — red, thick, twice woven embroidery of poppy and golden thread. Ah, to have Wei Ying's colouring and Lan taste. Your luck, master Moran, is boundless. Now, if only you have the coin for lace that costs more than most robes. ]
no subject
Moran and the girl exchange their pleasantries, while Lan Wangji allows himself the grievous indiscretion of loitering between the bundles on display — so often, a privilege beside his brother, to walk the length of a tailor's halls, and know Zewu-Jun may see every li of silk purchased, if Wangji wishes it done.
What is not yours may not be touched. Thieves lose hands daily for lesser defiance. He knows, oh, he knows. Still, the blunt, salt-chipped ends of Wangji's ill-trimmed nails tickle the frayed edges of clustered hemp and unwinding, gold rich cottons. Warmth unexpectedly quickens in his veins, spurs him. He returns to hisc company, core of hard trim held reverently in his open hands, as if he presents a map of aged parchment for Moran and the girl's inspection, not — ]
For your colours.
[ — red, thick, twice woven embroidery of poppy and golden thread. Ah, to have Wei Ying's colouring and Lan taste. Your luck, master Moran, is boundless. Now, if only you have the coin for lace that costs more than most robes. ]