[ It's a strange thing to learn that your life is not wholly your own. To understand that all the pain, all the hurt, all the loss, that it was all to play a part in someone else's plan? To be a pawn, to be used, to be destroyed by them--there is no easy path back from it. And while Wei Wuxian understands that he is not innocent in either his decisions or their results, it hurts all the more knowing that it might have been worse if he hadn't made those decisions. There was no winning.

Or, as he glances across at Lan Wangji beside him, perhaps he'd done better than he deserved. ]

Ah. Lan Zhan. Zewu-jun is as strong as he is wise. [ He knows Lan Wangji doesn't need to hear reassurances from him, of all people, but they surface anyway, and he sways close enough on the next step to knock their shoulders together. It sparks something in him, tiny and tremulous, but hungry nonetheless. Seeing Lan Wangji is one thing, but proof of his solidity--proof that he's real--feeds something selfish and hungry in the pit of his chest. ] His world's been turned rightside-out. Give him time to rebuild and put things back in their place. You're his brother! Of course he'll need you.

[ He pauses, then. Does a remarkably poor job biting back a smile. ] You're the only one wiser than he is, anyway. Who else would he seek?