Because he knows Claudius well, Lan Wangji feels the depth of his thoughts beneath his amiable manner. Something is coiling up in his mind, or multiple somethings. He has no doubt that he will hear every woven branch of it later -- so long as they emerge from this evening with their memories and bodies intact. He watches Claudius as he walks, his bright affability in contrast with the way he picks his way through the woods with sure steps, never faltering in his heeled boots. Thursday, or Aornis, walks just as confidently. It would be an interesting matchup if not for the death of Shen Yuan hanging over them and if not for Lan Wangji's simmering anger at the attempt on Magnus' life.