Xichen pushes himself to his feet as well, steadier without a toddler clinging to his frame and no need to counter balance. It is not for long, though, as his attention briefly turns to his own sleeping nephew. "Little rabbit, time to wake up," he says softly, hand stroking the side of his face and tone gentle, reserved for this boy who stirs and rubs at his eyes.
A-Yuan, thankfully, is a well-behaved and easy child in comparison to some. He throws his tantrums still, cries for Xichen often and sees him as his father more than the man who has claimed him as his child, but he is easy to coax from sleep and happy to spend an afternoon on the back hill. His only fuss, a small request, is that they stop by the kitchens to get carrots for the rabbits so he can show A-Ling how to feed them.
Xichen takes his nephews hand when the boy reaches for it, after straightening his robes quietly and wiping the sleep from his eyes with another cloth pulled from his sleeves. He glances back at Jiang Wanyin to see how he's fared with his own ward. His brows draw together at the mention of the rabbits, then rise upward toward the Heavens. "Ah..."
That is a delicate matter after all, but if Jiang Wanyin is aware then there is no reason to hide it. "Pets are not allowed in the Cloud Recess but the rabbits have made the back hill their home in recent years. It would be cruel to displace them now."
"Baba's rabbits," A-Yuan helpfully provides, swinging Xichen's hand between them and tugging lightly toward the door. "Yuan-er can show A-Ling, Sect Leader Jiang?" He looks first at Uncle and then Sect Leader Jiang, whose title he has tried to pronounce because that is what Uncle has said is proper.
If he were one to grow flustered in the company of others, Xichen would. He feels his cheeks heat slightly, lets out a soft huff of a laugh. "And there is that," he admits, bashful as he leads them from the Library Pavilion before they make the journey through the winding paths toward their first stop to gather vegetables the rabbits. "Feeding them has become a task for the young disciples."
no subject
A-Yuan, thankfully, is a well-behaved and easy child in comparison to some. He throws his tantrums still, cries for Xichen often and sees him as his father more than the man who has claimed him as his child, but he is easy to coax from sleep and happy to spend an afternoon on the back hill. His only fuss, a small request, is that they stop by the kitchens to get carrots for the rabbits so he can show A-Ling how to feed them.
Xichen takes his nephews hand when the boy reaches for it, after straightening his robes quietly and wiping the sleep from his eyes with another cloth pulled from his sleeves. He glances back at Jiang Wanyin to see how he's fared with his own ward. His brows draw together at the mention of the rabbits, then rise upward toward the Heavens. "Ah..."
That is a delicate matter after all, but if Jiang Wanyin is aware then there is no reason to hide it. "Pets are not allowed in the Cloud Recess but the rabbits have made the back hill their home in recent years. It would be cruel to displace them now."
"Baba's rabbits," A-Yuan helpfully provides, swinging Xichen's hand between them and tugging lightly toward the door. "Yuan-er can show A-Ling, Sect Leader Jiang?" He looks first at Uncle and then Sect Leader Jiang, whose title he has tried to pronounce because that is what Uncle has said is proper.
If he were one to grow flustered in the company of others, Xichen would. He feels his cheeks heat slightly, lets out a soft huff of a laugh. "And there is that," he admits, bashful as he leads them from the Library Pavilion before they make the journey through the winding paths toward their first stop to gather vegetables the rabbits. "Feeding them has become a task for the young disciples."