Maybe she was a bit arrogant, sprinting off up a huge ass mountain. On days when the clouds hung low, the peak was cast in fog and shadow. So it was a big one. Her breathing was getting harder as she ran, having done well for the first few minutes but getting heavier and heavier as she went on. Her legs didn’t move as well, her lungs felt like they were getting less and less, and her whole body was powering down for the night. Drenching with sweat even in the cool mountain air, trying to cool her internals. But she did it, and managed to stagger into the Core Disciples area.

And by Avaraina, did they let everyone know it. Smooth, marble-faced buildings everywhere. A sweet smell in the air drafting from the cooking hall, and everyone walking around in these awesome looking silk uniforms that flexed and flowed with their movements almost unnaturally. Fushaka, in her decent enough cotton uniform stood out a mile, even before the hair. People were noticing the Outer Sect Disciple stood at the threshold, gasping for air and desperately trying to circulate her energy to catch her breath and recover. And then, a minute or so into trying not to puke or pass out, the smell of cherry blossoms filled the air.

“I don’t think this counts” Raimaa would woo, her tone teasing and her words gentle.

“Talia” Fushaka would gasp, gesturing helplessly in a random direction. Raimaa would watch her for a moment, and then disappear in a cloud, petals falling to the ground and dissolving into nothing.

“You should not be here. Lady Tsu’s wrath is something to be avoided” one of the Prefects would state, as Fu was just about catching her breath.

“I’ll handle it” she replied, looking up at the sky with her eyes closed and taking deep breaths.

“Your arrogance covers the sky! I should teach you to respect your betters and understand your place, Outer Sect”

As Fushaka was wondering how badly getting her ass kicked by a Core would set her mission back, there was thunder from a cloudless sky, and a lightning bolt hit the ground, consolidating into Talia.

“And just how are you going to do that?” she asked, a cold tone and and a cutting glare. The Prefect would switch tracks, and glare back.

“You might be the Sect Leader’s daughter, but you are still-”

“Still what?” Talia interrupted, lightning sparking through her eyes as the Thundering Sky circulated and filled the air with a smell of ozone. Pride warred with pragmatism in the Prefect’s heart, and pragmatism won, so he left to report this whole thing officially.

“You know you are in a lot of trouble, right?” Talia would state after the Prefect had left, turning her gaze to Fushaka.

“You have no idea how much. I hurt some guys. Like, inside. Damaged their energy” Fushaka would exclaim, her words a rapid flurry.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

“How the hell did you manage that? You don’t have any Chigong” Talia exclaimed, looking at her.

“Ok, before you start, it’s was my profession just like a baker” Fushaka prefaced, before explaining the situation to her fiancee.

To her credit, Talia simply nodded and picked Fushaka up in a bridal carry, leaping off the mountain and soaring down it like a majestic eagle. While she couldn’t truly fly like the Elders, she was able to jump very far. Fu bit her lip to keep from yelling, and expected a heavy landing, but it was instead as gentle as a leaf on the face of a lake. Putting her down, she would stride off with purpose, heading into the Recuperation Hall, and then into a specific wing of the dorms. One of the women - the leader of sorts that had accosted her earlier - staggered back and pointed at Talia.

“I-i-if you are here for revenge, you n-ne-” the woman stuttered, backing up quickly. Talia, however, didn’t even look at her, and gave off a semi-visible light that made Fushaka’s hackles raise. And then straight to a set of doors, and threw them open. The guys she had made a deal with were all lying on beds, completely dead to the world. No twitch nor shuffle, as if too tired to even do that.

“Three Mind is getting too into itself if you are leaving your own to suffer like this” Talia would say, not to anyone particular, striding into the room. “Fu, come here. Let’s put that Stone of yours to good use” Talia would state, in a tone Fu had never heard before. She felt herself obeying before even considering. Talia took Fu’s hand, and then guided her to put her hand on the man’s chest. At which point, lightning surged into Fushaka’s body. It raged into her Dantian, bounced off the Stone, and fed into the man’s body. A small amount of the lightning threaded through the pores in the rock, and Fu again came to realize the gulf between them. This one spark was more than all the days of her circulation combined. It was good, then, that it quickly dissipated into raw energy and settled into her Dantian. If that colossus tried to filter through her body, she would absolutely enter Deviation.

The man that had gotten a much larger chunk sat out with a yell, literally vibrating with the energy. Talia, in a whipcrack tone, commanded him and he dispersed the energy amount the other five, before passing out and being caught by Talia. She put him back into bed, and turned to the woman.

“They will wake tomorrow and be healthy again. Next time someone starts to show signs of Breath Deficiency, tell an Elder immediately. A few more days and their Dantian would have atrophied into nothingness. You would have been responsible for the loss of six members of the Asura Foundation Sect. Can you handle that kind of responsibility?” Talia would ask, though with the violent tone, it was clearly rhetorical.

Fu would reach out and take Talia’s hand, stubbornly holding on as she got shocked by the contact.

“It’s ok. We fixed it, no need to worry about what ifs” Fu would say, her best soothing voice that she used when a client had a really bad day and needed someone to talk to. Talia would turn, and give a soft smile.

“And you, my reckless little love. I’ll make sure that you don’t get in trouble this time, but next time, there are proper channels to go through. Use them” she would state, nodding. “But I also noticed that you were making good progress getting your Dantian moving again, so that little jolt should have gotten it back into full working order. I look forward to seeing you in my dorm soon” Talia would then turn, and head out.

“Little? That was a whole-ass storm!” Fushaka exclaimed, running after her.

“Hehe. No, if I had properly flexed, then Deviation would not have been a concern because I would have disintegrated your meridians as it passed through. Now be good; and if you can’t be good, be careful”

Talia would give her a kiss on the cheek, and then launch off back up the mountain, partially turning into a Lightning Bolt as she soared.