#also not beta'd becasuse im gonna pass out

[gentil-minou]

a hop, skip, and a jump to you

Something about Wei Ying feeling safe in a place Lan Zhan regards as his own makes him flush, and his bunny ears turn pink again. But strangely, when Wei Ying gasps at the sight and reaches one of his hands over to run a gentle finger across the edge of one, Lan Zhan doesn’t feel embarrassed or ashamed by his ears at all. He feels something else entirely, something he doesn’t know what to call. Something equal parts terrifying as it is extraordinary, like the warmth from his mama’s hugs or praise from his brother. But more, somehow, and all thanks to Wei Ying. Just two soft magical bunny boys being soft together

Tags:

Alternate Universe - Magic

Witches

Shapeshifting

Rabbit Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī

Rabbit Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn

Fluff

Childhood Friends

Tooth-Rotting Fluff

Wangxian | Oneshot | 6K | Rated G

Based on this official merch art!

Preview under the cut

The back hills behind Cloud Recesses are a place for tranquility and rest. When cool mountain air kisses the soft blades of bright green grass and the sound of leaves rustling like wind chimes, one can feel at total and absolute peace. With only woodland animals for company, friendly white rabbits hopping around and squirrels darting from one tree to the next with their hauls, it’s Lan Zhan’s favorite place in the world and his most prized secret. A space away from the pressures of being a Gusu Lan heir. Away from all the near-constant staring and placing of expectations on his still small shoulders.

It’s a place for Lan Zhan to let himself rest and think, to be free to fail in the one thing he shouldn’t be failing in. But at least, here, no one will judge him for those failures.

All witches are born with a hybrid form that they must learn to control by age ten. At that time, they’re given their formal witch's name and may join the coven officially as a fully-fledged witch. It’s the goal of every young witch and the Gusu Lan pride themselves in teaching exemplary witches year after year.

But this year, Lan Zhan is afraid he will become the black spot on the otherwise perfectly pristine record.

Because Lan Zhan is nine and a half, his naming ceremony is only a few short months away, and he still can't control his large white bunny ears in his hybrid form. The rest of his bunny traits had been easy to control. He’d learned to suppress his hopping instincts and figured out how to tuck his fluffy cottontail away on the first try. Even his stubborn whiskers had receded after a few hours of diligent practice.

But for some reason, Lan Zhan hasn’t been able to manage his ears, and they continue to torment him with their perpetual floppy nature.

And if he can’t control his ears, then he will disappoint his family and his entire clan. He’ll never be the witch he’s spent his entire life working towards.

Today, his usually outgoing and curious critter friends give him a wide berth, as if they know Lan Zhan is not in the mood for pets and cuddles. Instead, he kneels in the soft grass with only the gentle wind for company, along with his unkind thoughts and his vexing bunny ears that are the root of all this mess.

They're big and unseeming, and Lan Zhan has always been embarrassed by the way his ears give away his feelings no matter how hard he works to keep his emotions regulated and controlled. It doesn’t help that as the only rabbit hybrid in all of Cloud Recesses, he is constantly the victim of teasing by the elders and older witches. Even Ge enjoys tugging on his ears, cooing at how “fluffy and adorable” they are, and taking obvious delight when their tips turn red.  

It makes Lan Zhan puff up with anger and pout. He’s almost ten years old! He’s not a little baby bunny anymore, why won’t the others see that?

He knows it’s in part because of the rarity of his species. Rabbits aren't common hybrids, and he's the only one in the family since his mother passed away. It also means that he has to learn the complexities of shapeshifting and form control on his own, spending hours studying ancient text after ancient text in the library while his peers attend more practical classes.

Even his brother, an elegant snow-white crane, learned how to control his form at only seven years old! The elders were sure that with Lan Zhan’s talent in all other magicks, he would follow in his older brother’s footsteps as a child prodigy worthy of the title of Second Jade of Lan.

Except, clearly their hopes were misplaced, and Lan Zhan is going to be the first Lan heir in over a century to never learn how to control his hybrid form.

But he cannot let himself fail, so every day after his midday meal, he heads to the back hills to practice in quiet seclusion. He goes through a series of meditations designed to allow one to focus on their internal structures and self-regulation. He follows every step perfectly, exactly as the manual states, including envisioning his long fluffy white ears changing form into something more human-like.

He casts the spell, following the instructions he’s gathered exactly and precisely...but for the fifth time that day, nothing happens. He lifts his head and sees his bunny ears flopping mercilessly in his periphery, the same as they ever were and seem to always be.

Water wells up in his eyes and it takes every ounce of self-control he has left to hold them back from falling. Tears not filled with sadness but with immense frustration and anger towards himself. Lan Zhan is at the top of everything! The best in his class, an accomplished musician, and a talented student. He can perform spells older students still struggle with. He’s even been scouted to teach the younger fledgling students once he becomes a proper witch.

But, how can he, when this one spell keeps holding him back? Why is this one spell so impossible for him?

His ears droop down and Lan Zhan uses them along with the curtain of his long hair to block out the rest of the world, focusing on the ground he's sitting on. He wishes desperately that he wasn’t so alone, that he had anyone else to talk to. He takes his emotions out on the grass, heedless of the Gusu Lan precepts to Be kind to all that is living, and starts ripping up the grass in front of him. He’ll punish himself later, but for now, this is all he can do to keep from letting his tears fall.

But then, another child’s voice calls, "Hey! Don't do that, you're hurting it!"

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