Soul Bound

The Friendship Dance

Wei Ying came running out of the bathing shed. He shouted at the boy walking away on his surprising mission.

"Hey! Lan Zhan? Sir? I mean it. Don't go to such a bother for me!" Lan Zhan kept walking.

The boy with the silver eyes sighed in surrender.

"Hey, your Lordship? Don't get me anything fancy. Homespun, no silk like your stuff."

The tall boy turned around and looked at him in bemusement. Lordship? Fancy? My stuff?

"Half the people around here would want to kick the crap out of me for putting on airs. The other half would cut my throat to steal it off my corpse and sell it. Okay?"

Lan Zhan's face registered shock.

"Sorry. But this stuff happens in my neighbor You got places like that in your town, right?"

"No!"

"Wow! That sounds so...nice." Wei Ying walked back inside the lean-to, shaking his head in astonishment.

************

Lan Zhan marched down the central marketplace, his head in turmoil. What kind of circumstances had this Wei Ying fallen into? The refined features and his basic mannerisms spoke of good breeding, but his malnourished condition pointed to starvation, and the bruises and the scars on his body indicated maltreatment. The Kid had endured a lot in his young life.

The shop's proprietor showed him some homespun tunics and leggings, but he could not bring himself to buy them. Too shoddy, too cheap. He wished he could buy silk clothing despite the Kid's protest but recognized the sense in Wei Ying's request He pushed the urge aside with a touch of regret and asked to see thick warm cotton. He found a light green set. He always liked green but had adopted his traditional white and blues as all good Lan children were expected to, especially with a father and now an uncle, who had held the post of Sect Master.

Then he spotted a beautiful thing, a long crimson ribbon that glowed like a ruby. It would look very nice on a clean head of long, wavy, black hair. Surely one nice thing to give to another child who had nothing would be acceptable. He added a pair of plain shoes, underwear, and some thick socks. Then walked swiftly back to the Inn.

He stopped abruptly as he entered. Wei Ying was asleep, a towel folded under his neck and another draped modestly over the top of the tub. His hair was a tangled mess. He must have fallen asleep before he had brushed it.

He sat down and began to brush each lock. Thank goodness the Kid had remembered the oil, it loosened the tangles so that the bristles floated through them with ease. He had only been at it a few minutes when he looked down to see a silver eye observing him.

"What happened...?"

"Wei Ying fell asleep"

. "Oh. Hey, thanks for brushing the hair."

"Not through."

"I can take over."

"Not necessary. Comb my brother's hair. Every morning. Used to it."

"Oh. "

They were silent for a minute and suddenly, Lan Zhan heard a muffled sob. He drew back, concerned, and asked, "Is Wei Ying crying?"

"Maybe. Just a little. It sort of reminds me of my mother doing that."

Lan Zhan's hand faltered. "Where are your parents?"

"They died. They left me with a friend of theirs and went on a night hunt when I was 4, maybe 5. They never came back. He died six months later, and I started living on the street, avoiding slavers and bullies."