![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Wip Wednesday - just a day late
Mar. 10th, 2022 09:25 amA day late (although I did post on Twitter) for wip Wednesday.
“We can try again in the morning,” Song Lan says, seeing the dejected look on Xingchen’s face. “You cannot do more than you have.”
“Can’t I?” There is something sharp and hurt in Xingchen’s tone. “Because it feels like I have done very little at all.”
It startles Song Lan to hear him sound like this. It worries him too, as despite wearing a heavy cloak he is still shivering periodically, while the frequency with which he tries to ease the ache in his arm has increased. “You need to rest.”
“How can I? How can I do anything else when I promised her I’d find him?”
There is no easy way to argue against what Xingchen wants to do. The child is lost and alone, either trying to survive by themself or having been taken in. Even if that were the case there was no guarantee that anyone who took in such a child would have their best interests at heart. Yet he can’t just watch as Xingchen pushes himself, ignoring food and drink, going without sufficient rest, not even seeming to care that he is injured.
Song Lan is still trying to think of what to say when a dog starts barking again. Louder and closer this time, he sees the crowd move slightly, but it isn’t the dog that they are letting through. A child, a boy of about four, scared and crying, darts out.
“We can try again in the morning,” Song Lan says, seeing the dejected look on Xingchen’s face. “You cannot do more than you have.”
“Can’t I?” There is something sharp and hurt in Xingchen’s tone. “Because it feels like I have done very little at all.”
It startles Song Lan to hear him sound like this. It worries him too, as despite wearing a heavy cloak he is still shivering periodically, while the frequency with which he tries to ease the ache in his arm has increased. “You need to rest.”
“How can I? How can I do anything else when I promised her I’d find him?”
There is no easy way to argue against what Xingchen wants to do. The child is lost and alone, either trying to survive by themself or having been taken in. Even if that were the case there was no guarantee that anyone who took in such a child would have their best interests at heart. Yet he can’t just watch as Xingchen pushes himself, ignoring food and drink, going without sufficient rest, not even seeming to care that he is injured.
Song Lan is still trying to think of what to say when a dog starts barking again. Louder and closer this time, he sees the crowd move slightly, but it isn’t the dog that they are letting through. A child, a boy of about four, scared and crying, darts out.