(Colour blooms in two high spots on his cheekbones, and Jin Guangyao curls his fingers a little to keep them from noticeably shivering under Lan Xichen's exploratory touch. This is--certainly more demonstrative than his sworn brother has behaved towards him previously, and while Jin Guangyao has grown accustomed to more overt displays of physical affection during his time here, nothing could have prepared him to receive it from Lan Xichen.)

Gently, but with certainty, he says of the hunters, "They will be recovered by the Duchess's spiders, in time," gently squeezes his hand on Lan Xichen's forearm one more time, and then withdraws his touch. His gaze lingers on the location of that skala mark, and it is so easy to picture the Lan forehead ribbon wound there instead.

"The curse marks." He shifts his wrist, drawing his sleeve back across the mark to hide it from view again. "Naturally, they indicate that we are cursed, us and the Rubeans alike. Each month, we must take steps to..." Heaven and hell, this is difficult. Jin Guangyao makes a delicate gesture with one hand. "...sate the demands of the curse, or risk transforming into the very creatures you and I were tasked with eradicating in the jianghu, as cultivators." So far, so good, right?