- Sky -

He was surprised by how well that had gone. It was lucky that Yuma had heard his parents talking about how foolish the sect's asylum rules were. It left the Jade Peak Sect open to a significant amount of exploitation. Of course, they would probably adjust the rules, now that he had so blatantly exploited them himself, but that didn't matter.

His equipment had been returned to him when he was released, and he had been instructed to report to Elder Babbot, who in turn instructed him to report to Senior Hall. He wasn't worried about all these people knowing what happened in the mountains. He hadn't revealed much to the security officers. They had really wanted to know how he'd caught them in the forest, but he had no intentions of revealing his Sight to them. Instead, he just told them that he'd decided to announce himself every hour or so, once he got close to the sect, and that it just so happened to have worked on the first attempt. He wasn't sure if they believed him or not, but it didn't matter, as long as they didn't know the truth. In fact, he had known as soon as the officers were within sight. Their chi stuck out like blood on a white shirt. The chi wasn't nearly as thick, or as colorful at the bottom of the mountain, as it had been at the top. He wasn't sure why that was, but he found it quite convenient at the time.

They made their way to Senior Hall's office, enjoying their rock candy along the way. Eventually they arrived, and the candy was long since eaten. They were surprised to find Koa laying in the hall outside the Senior's office. "Hey Koa, what are you doing here?" he said, as he reached out with five hands to scratch the dog's belly. One hand still held paperwork. Koa slapped his tail on the floor and panted happily. For an intelligent spirit animal who was bigger than all of them, he still acted a lot like a puppy. He wondered how much more the dog would grow.

"Is that you, Sam?" Sky heard Ava ask.

"Uh, yeah," he replied.

"Oh, Kyle, too. Come in guys, what do you need?"

They looked through the doorway to Senior Hall's office, and saw a desk piled high with stacks of paper. "Umm... we're here to give some paperwork to Senior Hall," he said.

"Oh, who is that?" Ava asked, her voice coming from behind the paper mountain, "just set it in the inbox over there, and I'll get it back to you in three to five business days."

He found the box she was referring to, and sat the paperwork and the jade slip on top of a pile that appeared to be at least a few hundred sheets thick. "Alright," he said, "are you working for Senior Hall now?" He noticed Ava coming around the corner of the desk, "Yeah, it's a good job. I'll be moving into a house soon, but I'll leave the address with Linda in case anyone needs to-"

She stopped as soon as she got around the desk. She was staring wide-eyed at Yuma, and her snow-white skin somehow managed to grow a shade paler. Then Sky heard a low growl from behind him, and saw Koa's hackles raised. "Um.. are you okay, Ava?" he asked.

"Uh.. yeah.. I- I'm f-f-fine. Um.. I just remembered I have to be somewhere, so I have to lock up the office. I'll see you later," she said, practically shoving them down the hall, before closing the door behind them.

He thought that was strange. She was normally very composed. Maybe the job was too stressful. It did seem like a lot of paperwork for one person to deal with. He shrugged it off, and went back to his dorm.

On his way, he bumped into one of the other boys, Jarvis. He apologized politely, but when Jarvis looked at him, he stood still like a statue, and urine ran down his leg. "Woah, are you okay? I didn't think I hit you that hard. I'm really sorry. Do you need hel-"

"NO! IT'S OKAY!" he shouted, "I-I-I'm fine. It was completely my fault! I'm so sorry!!" Then the boy ran back to his room, and slammed the door closed.

Wasn't he on his way out just a second ago? Sky wondered if everyone was going to start behaving strangely. Maybe it had something to do with Coyote's blessing. He decided to ask Andrew if he could tell what was wrong. It would be terrible if everyone ran away when they saw him now.

He knocked on Andrew's door, and he smiled when he came out. "Hey guys, who's your new friend?"

"This is Yuma, but he's like us, now. The twin cultivator thing. Also we decided it would be easier if we all used the same name, so please call us Sky from now on."

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"Oh okay. My friends did that. The twin cultivators I've told you about. Once it was too hard to tell them apart, they settled on a name that suited them both. They were much older though, and they had finished their Foundation Establishment, so they looked alike too. You guys still look like you always have."

"Yes, Senior, but we think this will be easier, if you don't mind."

"Yeah, of course, it's no problem. Anyways, where did the new one come from?"

"It's a long story, but we found him on our spirit journey, and he was gonna die, so we made him one of us."

"Alrighty then. That still raises a lot of questions, but I won't pry. I'm sure someone will let me know if it's important. That's really cool that you could add a third. I knew it was possible, but I thought you had to at least be related. You must be really lucky that you've done this twice now without hurting yourself."

"I'm sorry, Senior, but I had something else I wanted to ask you about," Sky said, then explained what had been happening.

"Huh.." Andrew scratched his head, "that is odd, but no I don't see any reason for it. It's probably just a coincidence. I wouldn't worry too much about it, if I were you."

"Oh, that's a relief. Thank you so much, Senior Andrew."

"No problem, guys. Also congrats on your spirit journey. I guess it must have gone well?"

"Yeah, it definitely did. Thanks for asking. We have to go back in four months."

"Is it every four months, for four years?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"That's not an uncommon schedule. Four is a lucky number, with a lot spiritual significance. Another common one is to go once every lunar month for thirteen months, like your friend, Ava did. That only works for girls though. Who was your guide?"

"Well, Eagle descended in a ball of flame, and said he would send a medicineman. Then Coyote showed up, saying he owed Eagle a favor. So now Coyote is teaching me."

"Well, I would've guessed Coyote. He doesn't show up for everyone, but he'll do it more often than others. The rarest guides for twin cultivators are Changing Woman's sons, Thought and Speech. Be careful with Coyote, though. I'm sure you know what he's like from the stories?"

"Yes, Senior."

"Good. If anything goes crazy, you can try to find his older brother, Wolf. It's difficult to get a specific one of the ancients to show up when you want them to, but if it's because of Coyote getting you into trouble, I heard he tends to be more willing to help. I guess maybe he feels responsible for his little brother, but who could really say?"

"Thank you for the advice, Senior. If you'll excuse me, it's been a long journey." Sky bowed.

"Alright, catch you later."

He walked back to his room, then pulled out his storage ring. He packed his belongings into it, and noticed right away that the spirit bond worked for the ring too. He no longer needed physical contact to have shared access to the ring. He'd predicted as much, but he was glad for the result. With that done, he went straight to bed. He hadn't slept in a week, which was easier as a cultivator, but still didn't feel great.

When he woke up, he wasn't sure how much time had passed. The three of him were in a dog pile. The bed that had seemed so large when they were younger, was starting to feel a bit cramped. He decided it would be wise to get into the habit of taking turns sleeping. They didn't all need to be awake at the same time. He resolved to make a plan for experimenting with sleep shifts, until he found an optimal pattern. That was, if they didn't have to sleep at the same time. Kyle and Sam had never tried it, since they had needed to be in contact to cultivate in their sleep, and they always seemed to wake up and fall asleep at the same time. Maybe it would be different now that they had Coyote's blessing. It was time to put that to the test. Or at least it would be, the next time he went to sleep.

He cracked the curtain on his window, and it was dark outside. He wasn't sure if it was late or early, but he felt like he'd slept plenty. It had been daylight when he'd gone to bed. Since breakfast wouldn't be ready yet, he decided to spent some time on an experiment. He sat his bodies in a circle, and felt for the electricity that was still in his bodies. It was pretty much everywhere, so he focused on grasping it, and sending it between his hands, from one body to the next. It only took a slight effort of will, and he soon had a full circuit of electrical energy. He then closed his eyes, and cultivated, while allowing the electricity to flow through him. He did this for several hours, and when he stopped, he could feel the tension in his muscles like he had just exercised, and his bones felt fortified.

From the smell coming from the hallway, breakfast must have been ready, so he made his way to the cafeteria. The smell of sausage, beans, and eggs was a welcome one, especially considering he had recently only eaten the buffalo that Coyote had given him, and the cocoa from the detention center. After going through the line to get his food, he sat down at his usual table, with Emily, Amanda, and Katrina, who were interested in learning about Yuma. He told them the same thing he had told Andrew. They thought it was strange, but opted for politeness, and decided not to pry.

Ava soon joined them as well. He noticed that her hands were shaking, but she was obviously trying to hide it, so he pretended not to notice. Perhaps she was feeling unwell, but it was none of his business if she didn't want to bring it up.

They made small talk, with the girls all curious about his spirit journey, and sharing stories about their own. While Amanda and Katrina had performed their rites of passage, they hadn't begun their foundation training yet. They were both close to reaching the peak of Chi Condensation, which was still as good as anyone else their age, so neither of them felt like they were in a rush. They were interrupted when someone new sat at their table.

Sky realized when the boy sat down that he recognized him not only from his time in the sect, but also from Yuma's early childhood memories. The boy had been one of his followers.