Who: A-Ning and OTA
What: very little and distinctly alive Wen Ning
When: Retrospect Flood
Where: hallways, common rooms, brief forays into the dining room, his cabin
Warnings: allusions to child injury, child abuse, (potential) child murder

A-Ning has a lot of rules to follow, but usually he can get it down to one. Don't leave his sister. If she's there, she can make sure he's as healthy as he can be, and not wobbly and weak (and obviously magically damaged, to anyone with senses to tell). She can help him escape diplomatically from grown-ups who don't want to be bothered with him and his disappointing ailments. She can make sure he's never alone with his cousins, who she's made clear probably would prefer he not get any older and potentially become a rival for their positions.

And she is strong and smart and figures things out.

He stays in the familiar room that makes sense as long as he can. There's water but not really food, and he can't reach most of the drawers and counters, or even read most of the books and papers. He's still working on his Thousand Character Classic. It's boredom as much as hunger that chases him out.

A-Ning is small for seven, dressed fussily in layered robes that don't look like they should stay neat on a child that age, and altogether looks like a somewhat sickly little doll. He tiptoes everywhere and regards everything with wide, wet eyes. He's most skittish of young men (which he defines as anyone older than twelve and younger than forty; it's rough when you're little) he can't help suspecting of alliance with the new, awful family that terrifies him, more likely to relax around women, and, oh, armed. If he gets real spooked, you might get stabbed with poison needles. It's not very good poison. Even Wen Qing isn't that deadly at age nine. It'll be a slightly painful and woozy experience. And he'll feel very bad about it.