Title: Wild Abandon
Fandom: Guardian
Rating: General
Length: 486
Content notes: Ye Zun & Shen Wei, gen, no warnings, spoilers through ep 40
Summary: Canon Divergence, Ye Zun's power awakes when he's a kid.

Killing a person is not a big deal, the man had said. Now he is gone, sucked up with wild abandon, eaten by Ye Zun's newly awakened power. And Ye Zun is starting to feel better, where before he'd been sick. He's old enough to understand correlations.

He sits where the man stood and looks out over the cliff. He almost wishes he hadn't done what he did. He's alone. He's never been alone before, not even after their parents died. He's always had his brother to look out for him. Maybe the man would have been the better option.

But Shen Wei just left? Abandoned him to the stranger to be raised by him? Ye Zun had almost believed it, but then he realized — nearly too late — that the man was about to use a power on him. Ye Zun had panicked when he saw the black energy. His brother had warned him of unscrupulous adults, some who would try to hurt him. Hurt them both.

In his panic, his power activated, and Ye Zun could not control it.

But maybe the man was right. Killing a person might not be a big deal, not in the world they live in now. Shen Wei would disagree, but Shen Wei always has a grander view of things. He is the responsible one, the honorable one.

Ye Zun does not know what to do now. He and his brother had been on their way to find a new village, somewhere they might find a home. Ye Zun's only home is Shen Wei, so where does that leave him now?

He doesn't know how long he sits. It could be minutes, or an hour, or more. All he knows is that he's alone until he's not, and then Shen Wei is standing in front of him.

"Didi?" Shen Wei is holding a blade too big for him. "Where did the man go?"

Ye Zun blinks up at him. Swallows hard. "He left."

Shen Wei frowns a little but doesn't seem to catch on to the lie. "He threw me." He points. Now, Ye Zun understands. The man lied about the abandonment. He would have used his power to make Ye Zun believe without question.

Shen Wei is fortunate he can heal, but the man would not have known of that power. That means he tried to kill Shen Wei.

Ye Zun ducks his head and coughs to hide the laughter that wants to bubble up. The stranger deserved what he got.

"It will be dark soon," Shen Wei says. "Are you okay to keep walking? We should find a place to camp."

Ye Zun stumbles to his feet. Flexes his arms and legs. "I'm feeling stronger."

Shen Wei puts an arm around him anyway. Ye Zun lets him. He knows how close he came to losing his brother for good.

END