ximilia | Video; UN: Wei Wuxian || Text; UN: jtd

[Even before the feed flickers into life, anyone literally anywhere in the sunlight room is probably aware that there is something going on thanks to one very shrill scream immediately followed by several minutes of panicked shouting. When the feed does flicker on, the view is oddly…tall? It's at height with the tops of the trees in the sunlight room which is because Wei Wuxian is making this post from the top of one of those trees.

The reason why becomes immediately obvious when he pans down to the familiar form of Jake barking up at him from the base of the tree. Jake's expression is partially obscured through the foliage, though a close study will find more fear in Jake's face than threat. Whatever he thinks he's looking at, it isn't Wei Wuxian.

Finally, the view shifts to Wei Wuxian who is wide eyed and panicked, his face completely bloodless as he holds onto the tree with one arm and gestures at Jake below with the other.]

Why? [He squeaks out in a desperate whisper, eyes darting back to Jake again before he lets out a soft whimper and returns his attention to the feed.]

Why is there a dog?

----

[ Jake's post comes through almost simultaneously, text somehow communicating volume as much as his urgency. ]

I FOUND THE GHOST. I REPEAT, I FOUND THE GHOST. GOT IT UP A TREE IN THE SUNLIGHT ROOM. PLEASE ADVISE ON NEXT STEPS AND/OR EXORCISM.

[ooc: please indicate in the comments which you're responding to!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[To Wei Wuxian:] Ah. Yes, that's Jake. Finn's older brother.

Are you afraid of dogs? I assure you that he's perfectly harmless. Rather easy to get along with, even.

[A beat; he takes in the context clues from the rest of the video, and Jake's post. What... is going on here...?

To Jake:] H-hold on-- I think there's been a big misunderstanding here. [Also, Wei Wuxian is a ghost? What?]

He's a part of the Ximilia's crew like the rest of us, there's no need to bark-- or chase him up into a tree!

[ Wait, Mikotoba? He's even doing his little stutter voice that he does when he's being sincere. ]

dude. are you SURE? this ghost's been stalking me for weeks, he's always showing up in the corner of my eye and then SHRIEKING and disappearing.

why would some normal crew member do that!??

[Something very silly has happened here. God knows what, but.]

"That ghost" is named Wei Wuxian. He has been on the crew longer than I have. There has to be some reasonable explanation that isn't stalking.

[Which finally strikes him, thinking to the man's post-- shrieking and disappearing, huh?]

Perhaps he's afraid of dogs and merely trying to avoid you?

[ wait a minute ]

[ just wait a goddamn minute here ]

[ Loudly: ] Wei Wuxian!?

[He curls into the tree and squeezes his eyes closed because somehow it knows his name now.]

[ Wei Wuxian's name has been dropped before, but for whatever reason, it takes hearing it now to really sink in. Maybe it was Yujin's voice, maybe it was the unmistakable phrase (no real way to misinterpret the ghost is Wei Wuxian), but whatever it was, the last ten minutes of Jake's life had officially imploded.

He looks up at the whimpering man at the tree, sucking in a slow breath. ]

...Y'know what, buddy, I think I may have made a teensy mistake.

[Yeah. He figured. He sighs, expression sympathetic.]

It happens to the best of us.

[ Another sucking breath. Emphasis on 'sucking'. ]

Bee-arr-bee, brother. I gotta take care of this.

Good luck.

[Meanwhile, he's going to go poke about the kitchen. You can smell that popcorn from all the way down the hall.]

Jake...that's Jake...[He's met Jake. They've had multiple conversations in fact. He liked Jake. But they'd never met in person and he hadn't known...not until now.]

I...yeah. [Quiet, with the first inklings of shame. He didn't usually care what other people thought of his fear of dogs, but he'd been looking for...for help when he made the video and that...wasn't what he'd found. So it's harder than usual to admit.]

[The man's more hesitant tone gives Yujin pause. If he were afraid of dogs and had gotten barked all the way up a tree, he'd be just as embarrassed.]

And he chased you all the way up... [A dad's soft, disapproving tsk. What a situation, indeed: Jake better apologize his tail off for this one if he hasn't already. Yujin's tone turns gentler as he replies.]

I'm very sorry about all this. Are you all right? Is anyone helping you down from there?

[Later, much later when Wei Wuxian has reconciled the fact that he's been friends with Jake for weeks and Jake has been a dog the entire time, he'll feel guilty for having put his friend in such a rough spot. Now though, he can only focus on the immediate situation.]

Someone's coming. [He says, voice still quiet and small. He sounds much younger than his age even to his own ears, and he clears his throat, pulling back control of himself.]

I'll be fine.

Video; UN: Wei Wuxian || Text; UN: jtd

video; un: y.mikotoba

text (because barking); un: jtd

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