Clover

“How should I go about getting Jessica into a mini-skirt?” I muse to myself as I watch the human in question in meditation. She is meditating on the stone she got from that new guy. Has been for most of a day by this point since she began the forms, her body moving through the sect’s kata with all the grace of a ballerina. After a hundred years her forms have become as fluid as water. The movements lend themselves so well to a skirt flip. Woof, right there would let me see her thighs. That kata would let me catch a glimpse of her underwear. That one would-

“Hey, Clover” I’m abruptly pulled from my pleasant musings by a disciple.

“Yeah, what’s up?” I give a lazy salute from my seat on the bench.

I hear some strangled noises from the hallway but I ignore it for now.

“Would you be able to help me with a training project I wish to undertake?”

I turn once more to Jessica, serene in her meditation before sighing and getting up. “Yeah sure, what do you need help with?”

“Well, this spell card I’m working on, poison aligned, that uh needs some reagents yeah? Well, I need stuff from out in the wilds. Normally, I would just ask for a team to go get some and be back with it obviously. But apparently since this reagent is only found close to another region, and the area is dangerous they’re gonna charge me gold team rate.”

“So.. you don't have the money for it?”

She glares at me “Not all of us have the local guild head going down on them.”

I put my hands up “Woah, the fucking only happened after the business paperwork was signed I’ll have you know”. Huh, Another wheezing sound from the hallway. Probably just the building expanding or something.

She snrks and shakes her head. “How are you older than me and have a worse sense of humor”

I shrug. “Never really got why those old cultivators always talk about ‘Holding oneself properly’ and “the importance of respect” and all that shit. It’s always been a bunch of air to me. I think that’s what’s got Jessica in such a tight ball all of the time. Spend too long up on a mountain and you forget how the world actually works.” I wave my hand, casually dismissing the train of thought “anyway, not enough money right? I guess I can spot you if you need it”

She shakes her head “I was actually thinking of going myself. If it's gold rank, even just in pay, then it should be good practice, yeah?”

“Then where do I come in with this?”

“I want an excuse to get away from my sister for a few weeks, and you're pleasant enough company. I can think of ways we can stay occupied while on the road." She jokes with some eyebrow waggles. Another sound from the hallway. I should talk to Jessica about the structural integrity of this building.

I laugh at her lewd joking. "Being attached to your sister for so long starting to get old?"

"I love my sister, as she does me. However, we are both nearly identical in ways even people we have spent decades with still don’t know how to discern. We tend to get lumped together a lot. We even subconsciously do it ourselves sometimes. You could say we become a little too familiar with each other and ends one of two ways most of the time, neither are very well accepted in most proper places so we have come to agree that we should occasionally spend time apart.”

I think to the time when the two of them had gotten into an overly heated conversation. A lot of nails, and uh, “other stuff”. I nodded, “Makes sense,” I wave my paw along to the dorms. “Let’s talk back in my room. I have some materials that might be useful for the trip, and I’ve been dying to try the new coffee beans we got in the latest shipment.

Jessica

In meditation, inner eyes transfixed upon the carved bit of jade before me. Parsing what has been stored within. It is a technique, of course, but the nature of it eludes me. I prefer physical manuals over these subjective experiences presented as the objective path of a technique. One must first understand how the information is being presented by the transcriber. In a way, you must understand the writer as much as the information to begin to understand. The one who wrote this was somewhat of a scatter brain. Bits of unnecessary information floating about. Trying to find the main path of logic to this stone takes awhile, but I manage to find little strings connecting some of the scattered ideas. The strings are important, but the similarities between eachare little. Every once in a while a flash passes through the core across a string and to an idea. The existence of a core within this stone is signifies a proper starting point. From here, the rest of the ideas should come into focus. Each idea is connected to here, and checked occasionally. From this point I can feel where each idea is connected. Not loudly, not until a flash gets sent to one and it lights up. The idea was.. A notebook. Other ideas lit up too alongside that but they weren’t the focus of the stone. Yet the notebook itself isn’t important compared to what the ideas are saying. Perhaps, a minor ability? Assistance alongside more important duties. I feel the- whereabouts almost, of the connected ideas. Directions. Movements. Bringing the scattered thoughts some focus. No, assistance in finding scattered items? Each of the ideas connected is an object; a key, a notebook, a money pouch. Always something physical. I get the feeling of each connection taking more to keep track of, another sliver of the core required to retain the connection. This is a seeking skill of some sort. I feel it come into greater focus, an imprint of it layering atop my own core, the path leading to my hand where each finger forms the anchor of a memory, a strand of connection tying around the appendage. The memory of holding onto important items, of the ability to reach out and remember where lost things can be found. [Mnemonic Strings] comes to clarity within my mind as the skill sets itself in my core. I open my eyes.

Awakening after meditation is strange. Not unlike awakening from a dream though also more saddening. The waters of the soul are deep and dangerous, easy to get lost and drown within. A book I read once detailed how an unprepared body does not handle rising from the ocean well. Deep sea monsters, if they aren’t spirit beasts anyway, may die if brought up too quickly. Slowly rising from one’s mediation back to reality is important. Making sure you bring the whole of yourself back to the now. Slowly, maintaining momentum from my flow of kata to a gentle stop.

I take a deep breath and settle myself back within my skin. I feel the new lesson etched onto my core though it remains inactive. A lesson from a stone, when you know how to read it, can be picked up quickly. Most of my time with a new stone is having to parse what it is about first. Which can take a day or so to figure out the type of way the maker is thinking. After that it only takes a moment to comprehend the contents. In a decade if I were to read this stone again I would have it read in less than a second. I should work on solidifying this technique now. Though stones are fast and detailed, but their knowledge is never permanent. Knowing how something is done, and taking it into yourself are two separate things.

I look to my hand. [Mnemonic Strings], I sing from my core. I wince as I feel a hair’s width of power peeling away from my core. Sliding down my arm and around a finger. My soul aching at the initial exertion. I settle my breathing. Settle. Settle. Calm. Tommy always says I need to breathe. Don’t let the pain get the better of me. I hold the ability for a moment, then two, focusing on my finger. The ache doesn’t lessen but it feels like it likely will lessen over time. Good. Now to find something to try it on. I look around my room for something I wouldn’t want to forget the location of. I pick up a pen. A simple tool with an ink enchantment upon it. Not expensive, though not so cheap as to be losing them every other day. I concentrate upon the pen and feel the string wrap around the writing implement.

The pen- doesn’t appear to change. I look around it a few times, no glow, nothing. I shrug, leave it on my desk and walk out of my room. In the hallway I look at my index finger, where the mnemonic device was leashed to. I feel the string extend from my hand back into the room, a pulse of the skill making its exact location clearer. It feels like a memory of where I left it more so than a loud constant reminder in my head pinpointing it. I could probably use this skill while working on other things and not lose focus. I reenter my room and pick up the pen. I should test it some other ways, where is Clo-

“OH GODS! Are you okay?” I come out of the training room and turn to see Yi fen standing in a small puddle of his blood wiping his face off and I am suddenly deathly afraid something bad happened. “Nobody hurt you, did they? Do you need a healer?” Oh gods, I cant imagine what I’d need to do if something bad happened to him. That could be seen as a offense and then we would need to offer some sort of an apology, if they aren’t happy with the apology then-

“I’m fine First di- *ahm* Miss Jessica” He composes himself. “It was only coughing blood caused by a minor Qi deviation due to something. . . surprising. It happens to be quite common among cultivators. When you hold too much potential inside you at all times, minor disruptions in your emotions can cause grievous effects upon your body.”

I don’t think I believe him? He is from a more well developed sect so he’s been surrounded by more experienced cultivators and all that but- “I haven’t experienced anything like that” I tell him. “Nobody around here has ever spit up blood like that”

“Well yes, for a lower sect like your own it likely wouldn’t be too common. You need a large amount of Qi like we do in order to experience such things.”

“Would, say, a bout of anxiety trigger something like that?”

“Shocks to us of any sort can trigger it.”

I give him a look that could basically be translated as “I am not going to explicitly say you are a lying to me to be polite, but I doubt the veracity of your claims”

Then, he pulled out a chart from nowhere. “You know the five elements; wood, fire, earth, metal, and water? Of course you do.” He says pulling out a chart from nowhere. “I won’t go into all those details as in order for one to properly use Qi they must understand their place within the flow and properly cycle their chi, while keeping in mind their effects and how they are affected in turn.” He then pulled out another chart with constellations on them. “When born under an opposite aligned constellation to your own personal Qi you-”

I start to blank out a little from his explanation. Advanced cultivator babble hurts to listen to after a point. When they start to talk of star alignments and balancing Qi with the heavenly cycles and how they match with the mystical geometries I tend to lose track of the conversation. Like with Tommy, I probably should be listening more closely to these explanations, but they really don’t stick with me too well. I have other things I need to do this week and these conversations on the intricacies of eastern cultivation always take forever to get through.

Then, out of nowhere, he asks “What was life like for you before you became a cultivator?”

“Sorry, did I miss something in your explanation?” I try to backpedal to hide my ignorance of what led them to such a tangent.

“Oh, I simply saw that you had the look in your eye of people not entirely minded towards cultivation. I simply wondered what sort of path led you to becoming a cultivator in that case.” he states matter of factly. He isn’t entirely wrong but it still feels off to be seen through so easily. The only other people I know who can do that are the master, and sometimes Clover.

“Oh, well I was, I suppose nobility you could say. I wasn’t particularly satisfied with my lot within the family. No real path upward. Stuck taking care of lesser matters for the family. Then I heard that a cultivator here was looking for students. I gave it a year or so of thought and determined that the path of a cultivator was more worthwhile than that my blood offered and well. I ran. When I arrived, Master asked me a bunch of questions, then started my core formation when she was satisfied. It wasn’t until afterwards that I learned how high the mortality rate was for that first step. Out of fifty others only one other lived.”

“Was the other Miss Clover?”

“Hmm? No, they arrived a year later. Another lucky one. The other from my group left a mere handful of years ago. She didn’t like how Master Tessa handles things and went off to become independent.”

Yi grimaced. Or wait, is Yi his first name or is it Fen, or did he not give me his full name? Maybe Tai is his first name and Yi Fen is the family name? It’s so complicated. I forget with those old school names. I supposed it wouldn’t be impolite to ask. Or, perhaps it would? “A shame that one went to give up so much.” He continues, blessedly unaware of my internal monologue.

I shrug. “They knew the risks.” happy to take the easy tangent rather than grapple further with sect traditions. “Besides, it just means Clover started with a promotion."

“A small position in a small sect is something to be proud of when there are no higher heights to take I suppose..”

I furrow my brow and give him a small glare. “We may be a small sect but look at you assigned here. Does that mean nothing?”

“Oh, this assignment is mostly a courtesy to your master, I was told."

I had to blink at that. The idea that some people actually respect the Master and that she might be more than a jerk who tricked me into doing her paperwork a bit much to process. Instead of considering that idea though I decide to derail the conversation.

"So why were you spitting up blood again? I feel like I missed that."

"Hm? Oh, yes I had a minor Qi deviation at the utter lack of respect being shown between the second disciple and a lower disciple. That was also before I heard them making lewd advances toward each other. I’m afraid I couldn't hold my surprise in check in the face of such blatant impropriety"

I blink. "That was it?" Then I chuckle. "Right, things are a bit different here, aren't they. I realize there’s *supposed* to be a proper hierarchy and position based respect within a sect. I’ve long figured as much from all the books I've read, but Master never really enforced such things except towards herself. Oh, yeah, and the lewd advances are just jokes. I doubt they’d actually do anything like that."

"Simply far too lax, and I was caught unaware. I should have expected as much though from such a small sect."

"Huh... if I may ask, what is it like in a normal sect?"

"Oh yes, you wouldn't actually know such things would you." he considers then gestures to the dorm cottage he was given. "Would talking this out over tea work for you? I happen to have a few choice blends that we use frequently for meetings. That may be a good place to start."

"Sure"

Clover

When making coffee there are many steps in making sure it comes out right. The roast, the grinding, the heat of the water. In this process the more attention you pay to the details, the more of yourself you taste within it. Sure, the outermost flavor is bitter and harsh, but underneath the surface you find rich tones. A symphony of smells. I sometimes have to remember that humans and other bipedal origin races cant smell as well as I can. It's a shame because they already describe so many tones within the brew normally, in spite of all that they miss.

I idly discuss life with Celeste as I brew the coffee, a simple flash of Qi to boil the water. Waiting for it to cool to the proper temperature. Qi boiled water has a special texture to it that you don't get otherwise. A person sensitive to it can pick it out like a different flavor profile like salty or sweet. When boiling water with Qit I make sure to keep it for a second so the water can fully infuse. Grind the beans up by hand until they form a thin powder, long practice making the motions instinctual, meditative, the grind fine and uniform packing it gently into the strainer. Pour slowly, allowing the liquid to seep through and absorb the essence of the coffee. . . haahhhhhhh. With a sigh of contentment, I take in the scent of my finished brew, pouring carefully. Perfection~ I can’t help but dance in place a little as I appreciate my work.

"So, Celeste. A trip like this should take a couple of weeks at most. It's west we are heading, right? That should let us pass by riverrun on the way. I don't have any connections there but Jessica has at least one of note, and I should probably be helping her keep up relations."

Celeste nods. "I am a bit father to the west." She points to a places couple of degrees off from where I was pointing, in reference to our sect.

"Hmm” I look at the map. “That keeps us out longer than I thought but it should be fine. With an expedition like this I would say that some minor essentials are all we’ll need. We can be back soon enough, even if something does go wrong. What sort of connections did you have again?"

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

"A minor trade company my sister and I have an arrangement with some investments, and a deal with a herbalist in one of the next towns as well as an apothecary. Standard stuff about helping their family for a few generations in exchange for ongoing concessions from their business. You probably are familiar."

"No banking connections then?"

"You know full well how hard getting a banking connection is without knowing someone already."

"Only Jessica and I seem to have anything resembling that and Jessica helped me get mine- huh" It wasn’t until the words left my mouth to realize how connections help with stuff like that and that I was showing off accidentally.

"And you were trying to defend yourself? Being the first disciple’s dao partner is a very humble boast my esteemed senior" Celeste says with a flat look.

I wave it off with a light chuckle. "Just a small thing to keep in mind as you continue. I can even ask Jessica to help a little if you really want” I then point to one of the maps. “So we’re heading here right?".

She gives an exasperated sigh at my deflection but answers my question "Yes, the monster should be about there. It’s just a silver level threat, but supposedly the environmental hazards and the difficulty of getting there make it gold. Think we should bring anyone else along? After all, it's not everyday we go on a trip out into the wilderness like this."

“First off, a monster? I thought this was just for a few reagents?”

“I just need some feathers from a silver rank beast. The great fire robin.”

“Aren’t those gold rank?”

“No, that’s the greater flame robin.”

“Oh, I thought they were the same monster”

Celeste gives a wavy hand gesture “technically, they live in the same area, but are separated by a mountain range and have different diets. Greater has a couple other predators in the area, hence the stronger flames. Great doesn’t have as many predators on their side. I don’t know if they can cross breed but I wouldn’t be surprised if they could”

Neat. I think on that for a second then decide to address her other question "Very well, and about another person coming with us- what about uh- Annabelle? She doesn't get out much normally. Roughing it for a couple weeks might be a nice change of pace for her. Good opportunity to stock up for potion making and all that."

Celeste thinks on it as well. "Now that I think about it I haven't seen her in a while. You think she’s in closed door cultivation or something?"

"She didn't fill out a form for that."

"You're not on that shit too now, are you?" Celeste blinks suspiciously at me.

"What? No. Jessica just gives me an updated list of that shit every once in awhile."

"Oh, well I guess it wont hurt to bother her then. She's just a few rooms down. We can bring her some of this coffee while we’re at it. Oh, speaking of. Why not Jessica as well?"

“Oh, I was planning to ask Jessica, though she’ll probably just say no and give an excuse about being too preoccupied or something. As for Annabelle, she's the one who got me into brewing, actually. She’s far more adept at the stuff than I am. Let's just bring her some beans."

—

“Of course I’ll come along!” Annabelle looks overly put together for a girl who rarely leaves her room. Her hair always looks freshly brushed, her uniform, albeit heavily modified, is well kept and proper, if a tad buried in additions of pink and white lace.. She appears to have been making coffee using some far more advanced tools than what I’m accustomed to. Giant tubes full of carefully processed beans slowly drip drip dripping into beakers and other precision alchemical equipment for distillation. It looks and feels more like a laboratory than the more meditative process I use. The glass and shining metal equipment in such a well kept state; her brightly lit and decorated quarters evoke the feeling of a celestial city.

A sip of her coffee is like a breath of fresh air. Deep and rich. I have to force myself to separate from it and turn back to the topic at hand. “I was thinking about leaving in, say, a week? I should have no trouble getting everything ready by then. How about you two?”

“I’ll need to get someone to watch over my equipment while I’m gone, but it shouldn’t take me long otherwise,” Annabelle says after a long sip of coffee. No cream or sugar. I wonder if I should get into whiskey crafting as well. I know Tommy distills his own to keep the infirmary clean, and that one bar in town crafts their own beer from what I caught in Jessica’s reports.

I turn to Celeste. She shakes her head. “No problem for me, Haley knows everything I need taken care of.”

“Alright. Then all that’s left to do is check with Jessica to see if she wants to tag along.” I say slapping a knee as punctuation.

“Checking in with your dao partner is very important,” Tessa says pouring herself a cup of coffee.

“You know we aren’t dao partners ye-” I do a double take, barely restraining myself from leaping to my feet, as I note that Tessa is indeed seated in one of Annabelle’s chairs taking an appreciative sip of the coffee.

“Hmm. Annabelle, your coffee has gotten much better, what did you do to this blend?”

“It’s a mix of two beans, I might look into plant breeding because I believe the Raphaeli and western deep-roast beans would crossbreed into some interesting flavors.”

“Maybe you can give it a more inspired name than ‘western deep-roast’” Tessa snarks taking another sip. “Oh, the ‘pleasant bean’ for pleasant plains”

I have to keep myself from rolling my eyes. If anyone here is lacking a naming sense its our master.

Annabelle seems to agree with me as she makes a face of disapproval. “I would rather not bring this region’s naming sense with me”

Tessa shrugs then looks back to me. “So, when are you going to ask your senior out?”

Blunt as always, I take a deep breath and sip, Tessa’s smug presence dulling my enjoyment of the brew. “I don’t know, when it feels right to ask, I guess.”

“And when do you expect that will be, hmm?” she presses. “Smug bitch” I carefully avoid thinking.

“I dunno. when shit feels right for it I guess? You’ve gotta lead into something like that y’know, just springing that on her. . . bleh..”

“I can't recall a time I’ve seen you two together when you weren’t flirting, honored senior” Celeste says with a smug little smile on her lips.

I wave her off. “She doesn’t even acknowledge it.”

“Does she even know you like her that way to begin with?”

“I didn’t sign up to be assaulted with personal questions.”

“Clover-" Tessa sighs, "Spring doesn't last forever."

"I know you can talk like a normal person. I’ve heard you doH, fuck!" My retort ends in a splutter as a coffee bean shatters against my forehead, master smugly continuing to sip her drink with pleasure

Tessa showed no signs of having moved but I know it was her. The Bitch. Grrr.

"Who knows, a quest may be just what you need. A cultivator may hone their blades for as long as a mountain stands, but it is only when their virtues are tested that their colors truly shine," she says, about to take another drink of her coffee only to realize it's empty. I see the slight glare of annoyance as she sets her cup down. "How about I make sure your steel is properly honed, second disciple?" Tessa says with that look in her eyes. The one that means I’m about to fight off an immortal many ranks above me and wake up in the infirmary concussed.

Fuck.

Jessica

The way Yi fen handles tea is much like how Clover does her coffee, or how Tommy his healing. With care, and appreciation for the details. He lays everything out just so. Carefully instructing me by example in the proper way to conduct a tea ceremony among the higher sects. Every miniscule aspect pre-determined, graceful, almost like a dance. It reminds me of my earlier meditations in some ways.

"The tea ceremony allows for a great showing of respect. Both sides get to express themselves without unnecessary insult. The level of ceremony involved is equivalent to rankings involved." He says, whisking up the fancy leaf powder.

"We start by pouring freshly boiled water into the steeping vessel for cleansing.” In spite of the detailed explanation he has given I think he is still giving me an abridged version of the true ceremonies.

He puts a dark tea into the vessel, the water turning a rich shade of red. He pours the tea into the teapot. Then into my cup, then his. I accept the cup as he gestures. Giving me the face I suppose with him being the visitor. Then I sip. Delicious. I take a deep drink, no taste of chi, he boiled the water slowly, specifically letting the leaves act on their own. I think I taste the barest hint of Qi within the tea itself though. I then set the cup down.

"Delicious. I have had my share of tea parties as a noble, this is not too far off from that, though the atmosphere is far different. Would you say this ceremony is to offer face and build connections?"

"In its own way, yes."

"So face is a proper term, how does one go about giving face?"

"Uplifting their position and lowering your own is the most basic expression of this. Have you seen how many refer to themselves as 'lowly' or 'simple' when speaking to a master?"

Hmm. “I believe phrases like 'Esteemed Master, this lowly disciple humbly requests your guidance.' come to mind. Though I’ve only ever seen that sort of thing written.”

"Yes, that’s exactly it." He picked up his teacup with a motion clearly born of long practice, taking a delicate sip, appreciating its flavor for a moment before setting the cup back down.

"The lessons on face and etiquette are not always taught to our young disciples. Some learn for themselves the hard way. I find that those who learn through such methods tend to remember the lessons far better."

I look into the tea and lick the inside of my lips. "I am not unfamiliar with those teaching methods, though I feel the effects on a students extended growth can be detrimental. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Hmmf. Respect is a lesson that should be ingrained as deep as it may go."

I open my mouth to talk. To try and address a deeper issue in his words, but I can't find the words to address it properly, so I shut my mouth. Instead, I put down my tea and stand.

"Have you taken a visit to our healer at all?"

"Not yet. I must say this last week has had me mostly writing letters, and catching up on necessary information about your sect. Today was my first chance to familiarize myself with your grounds, and that was cut short by my bout earlier as you know."

I nod. That explains why I haven’t heard about any other breakdowns of his yet. "Well, I'm sure you will appreciate Tommy." I nod my head in the direction I wished for us to walk. “Why don’t we go see him now?”

He got up, and then I noticed another person enter from one of the side rooms of his dorm and start collecting the tea. An assistant? I'll need to speak with them later. Surprising that I didn't see them at all before now.

The walk to Tommy’s medical building isn’t long. Nor is it eventful. A few polite comments on buildings within the sect.

Tommy’s infirmary isn’t large yet, for a sect of just twenty cultivators even this is perhaps overkill. but its better to be safe than sorry, and should we grow the facilities will serve us well. In truth, Tommy's decision to abandon Tessa's teachings and pursue the healing arts worried me at first. Master’s support for the idea was rather surprising however. She even allowed him access to a small collection of starter tomes and a copper plate detailing a diagnostic technique for him to pursue. Master's whims are sometimes a complete mystery to me.

Stepping to the door, I hear voices within, pausing to listen for a moment before entering.

“Stay still, healing is delicate work, especially when Master has a tendency to bruise your meridians each time you fight.”

A chuckle interrupted by a groan of pain. “She really never lets me go easy, does she.”

“Your meridians are a little tougher than normal from all the beating, but I’d hardly call it a good tradeoff. She really should go lighter on you.”

“Urrghh. Thanks for helping Tomas. You’re a real lifesaver.”

“Tommy”

“Ow- Thank you Tommy,” I hear Clover correct herself with a light chuckle. “Have you met that new guy yet?”

“No, not yet. He seems serious. Like Jessica but more spikey.”

“I’m not scary, am I” I ask as I enter the clinic, figuring this a good enough moment to show myself. “Clover, did you spar with Tessa again?” her attitude

“Yeah, same as always.”

I sighs “I’d tell her to not go so hard but then she’ll just beat my ass too.”

Clover chuckles before her eyes shift to Yi Fen.

“Ah, right, this is probably a bad time, but Tommy, this is Tai Yi Fen, a sect diplomat from The Heveanly Nine Winds sect. He recently arrived. I was showing him around the sect and figured being acquainted with our healer would be a good start.”

Said diplomat gives a very formal bow to Tommy and once his eyes were low enough he noticed the skirt I assume and he spat up blood. I hope I don’t start doing that. I was about to ask Tommy about it but then he dropped what he was doing with me and hurried over to Yi Fen and began fussing over the guy. I guess it’s not normal?

“Oh no, come on let’s get you onto one of my tables, come on.” Yi fen tried to resist but Tommy is weirdly adept at using their claws to poke people in the direction they want them to. A few prods into the diplomat’s rear got him onto one of the healing tables where Tommy began fussing.

“Did you know this was going to happen?” Clover asked me as she grunts and pulls herself up against the back of the table. She looks stiff, but at least she’s not hurting anymore.

“Not.. like this no” I admit.

Yi Fen keeps trying to assure tommy its not a big issue, but Tommy just insistently pokes his resisting patient with a claw. Yi fen tries to do the same explanation with me where he conjures up diagrams from nowhere but Tommy is having none of it and swipes them away and stomps a lecture on why that doesn’t actually work with healing arts. With rapidfire medical jargon. His intensity on the subject seeming to make the older cultivator forget about why he was coughing up blood to begin with.

“Do you think… they’ll be safe with each other?” Clover winces in sympathy. Or maybe that’s all the bruising. Either way we both know how Tommy can get about medicine. He doesn’t fight with his fists but he can be an absolute terror if riled up.

“I, I think… so?”

“Hey Tommy, am I okay to go?” Clover asks the cat kin.

“Mya? Oh yeah” he waves off, “Be careful with your meridians for a week like usual.” That reply somehow got them onto a tangent about meridians, the discussion thankfully calming down a little. We sneak out before it gets worse.

“So, uh, Jess. what plans do you have for the next month?” Clover asks me.

“Get a few quotes for an expansion to the library and dorms. Test out this new skill a little more, get some data on it so I can properly document it. I might need to look into the stone shelves for another one as well, I think we’re getting full of jade spots, they tend to take up a gross amount of room compared to the copper sheets.”

She nods along. “New skill. That stone from Yi fen?”

I nod back “Yes, [Mnemonic Strings] appears to be a mix between a memory aid and locator spell.” I hand her a pen. “Put this somewhere for me. Anywhere. I’m gonna close my eyes so I can’t see”

I wait a second. Two. Three.

“Okay”

I open my eyes to see her, tail wagging, and big smile on her face. I can’t help but to smile myself.

“Its hidden,” she says.

I close my eyes and feel the tendril of magic weave across the grounds. “As I thought, this is more than just a memory aid alone. You hid it somewhere on the other side of the grounds?” I ask for confirmation.

“Yep” she grins.

I nod and begin to walk along to the pen. “So, why were you asking about my plans for the next month.”

“Celeste is planning to go on a gold level hunt. The hunter’s guild can’t help her but since we need that gnatsblood stuff and its in the same general direction, I figure we could go along, treat it as a break.”

“Oh, that sounds like it would be close to the region capital, yes? Where one of Kasey’s grand children is staying for boarding school?”

Oh, yeah it is. I bet she would love a surprise visit too” Clover notes. “Would you wanna come?”

I shake my head. “Always too much to do. Maybe I can spend some time with Haley to get better at telling them apart.” those two are entirely too fond of their twin games and not being able to tell who's who after 20 years in the sect is beginning to drive me crazy. They take such joy in swapping hairstyles, dress, and mannerisms that I sometimes wonder if they aren’t sharing a mind or something. feh.

A leisurely walk later, we arrive a bit outside the sect. Facing a grassy slope downhill. At the bottom, is the pen. Covered in dirt. I wipe it off and glare back at Clover.

“Did you… throw this?”

She chuckled “yeah, it felt like playing fetch y’know? I thought it’d be funny.”

“You could have told me you were gonna do that, this pen is enchanted.” I say as I wipe it off as best I can.

“Wanna try with a stick?” she inquires.

“Hmm. I guess I should try to keep track of more than one item for testings sake.” I look around grabbing a stick, and a random pebble to test with. I close my eyes and try to connect to both. Two more tendrils peel away from my core. Double the strain. Breathe. Focus. Its okay. I feel a paw on my shoulder. The skill settles. I open my eyes to see Clover’s eyes with a strange look to them. She opens her maw for a moment. Silence as she tries to find words, then.

“You okay?”

“Yes, the skill needs fine Qi manipulation. Need to peel it away from my core. The pain goes away after a few minutes.”

She nods in understanding. “Qi manipulation is always hard.” She brushes my back for a second before saying “Why don’t I go hide these items, and we can do some more testing okay?”

I nod in agreement and she gives me a smile before taking off. I meditate and calm myself. I should strengthen my core again. Ugh…