“God damnit, you crazy b-,” said Felix.
He retreated, vainly twisting his arm to reach the long red welt across his back.
“Really?” said Everglade, wiping nonexistent dirt from her outfit. “I barely grazed you. And what is with your body movement technique? No, it’s not that. Your body itself moves weirdly, switching from smooth to erratic in a moment. And you dodge my attacks and then have the audacity to complain when I finally land a blow. Wait, bitch?”
“You’re normally so kind! What happened to that Everglade?” said Felix, backing up further as her face darkened. He winced slightly as he found the rawest of the welts. “I remember you being so nice to the kids we brought back to the sect.”
I might have been in trouble if my body cultivation hadn’t improved. I should have just gone and trained. But no, I had to go and talk with a friend. Why does every girl I know react with violence? Wait, am I the common denominator?!
A hint of uncertainty flashed across Everglade's face but was quickly hidden. She let out a snort and placed a hand on her hip. Her other hand twirled her whip in lazy circles.
I should have known she would do this. This isn’t the first time she used the whip after all. God, I could have gone and talked to Martel or one of the brats. Fuck it, who cares if they heard the rumors.
Felix eyed the hand resting on her hip.
You let your eyes wander. Appreciate and then move on. Don’t hide but don’t ogle. Except when you are being suggestive. -orange voice.-
Shut up! How can I find peace of mind when my mind is in pieces?
Then don’t ogle her like a halfwit, and if you do, do it with confidence. -orange voice-
My eyes barely paused! … Wait, don’t tell me I’m coming here for that reason? Maybe I need to do some self-reflection. No, fuck this. Don’t listen to the part of you that’s an obvious womanizer Felix. Act.
He flowed forward once more. Everglade smirked and her whip lashed out once more. Felix moved to dodge but the rope contorted to follow. His hand snapped out like a snake, and he caught it.
“Fuck!” snapped Felix, his hand trembling with pain as the rope was nearly torn from his grasp. “Why are you putting so much force into your blows?”
“Don’t grab someone’s weapon with your bare hands, you idiot," said Everglade, she jerked her hand. “Now let go!”
A wave of force traveled down the rope from her motion. Before Felix could let go it reached him, and a burst of power removed his hand.
“God damnit, you’ll blow off my finger!” said Felix, shaking his hand even as he grasped the rope with his other free hand. “Now come here!”
Felix pulled. Everglade's eyes opened wide as she hurtled toward him. Before she could respond, he grabbed her in a crushing hug. Each arm was held to her sides with the rope caught between them.
“Now will you listen to me!” said Felix, glaring down into her eyes. “At least for one minute before attacking.”
“You really are an idiot.” Said Everglade. “Do you think your big muscles will keep you safe as a body cultivator? Please don’t repeat this mistake in the future unless you are much stronger than your opponent. Remember, I’m still at a higher qi gathering realm than you.”
“So?” said Felix with a growing grin. The feeling of restraining her finally registered as quite pleasant. “My pure body strength is a little greater than yours, and whips are not weapons for grappling. Fancy qi moves become a lot less threatening at this distance. What do you have left, ‘senior’ Everglade?”
“Yes, but you can still be poisoned,” said Everglade without breaking eye contact. “You should be feeling it by now.”
“What…?” said Felix. A light tingling began in his arms and then the part of his body that was in contact with her started to turn numb. He stumbled back, arms flailing as he released her. She dropped the remaining few inches to the ground and let out a snort.
“Serves you right. Grabbing me like that…,” said Everglade.
Felix’s arms flopped uselessly at his side. He tried to reassert control of them, but his muscles resisted him even as qi flowed normally along his pathways.
“You actually poisoned me?” said Felix, having to concentrate to force his hand into a fist. “There are some lines you don’t cross!”
“No, I didn’t poison you.” Said Everglade. She rolled up her whip and attached it to her belt. She walked over to him. “That tingling you are feeling is the compound breaking down and wouldn’t do any permanent damage even to a mortal. I don’t poison my friends. Though maybe I should have when you called me a crazy bitch.” Her eyes wandered over him. “I must admit I didn’t realize you had such an aggressive side to you. Always so polite and careful.”
“You attacked me first!” said Felix and rubbed his numb arms. The feeling came back with spikes and needles. “Hey, wait, don’t come any closer. I don’t want to fight anymore.”
“Don’t be a baby,” said Everglade, grabbing Felix’s hand. He tried to fight her off but she turned him around slowly. “Good, it looks like I held back the right amount.”
“Held back the right amount?” said Felix. “Hey, what are you doing!”
“Mmm, I might have infused a bit too much energy into the strike for you to heal quickly… Come with me.”
Felix was led inside Everglade abode its familiar scent of herbs filling his nose. He was directed to a stool in the corner. She pulled out some ointment and had him roll down his robe. She didn’t take no for an answer. Felix flinched as he felt her fingers trace the welts.
This isn’t how I wanted this to go at all.
He tried to get up as the ointment turned the pain icy cold, but Everglade's small hands gripped his shoulders with surprising force. He resisted for a moment but then let her drag him back down.
Don’t be a baby Felix. You did body cultivation, this is nothing.
The iciness soon faded as her hands finally left his back.
It feels good to be touched. Sad that’s what I am getting out of this. Thought Felix, watching Everglade store the ointment before pulling out some bandages. I haven’t realized how little human contact I see in the sect. How are people not going insane here? Imagine years, starved of physical interaction and with only these rules of conduct keeping the fighting to a minimum. On the other hand, maybe I am just an introvert and plenty of people interact. I do tend to just sit in the library.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
“I did need to release my frustration at you taking Xue away right when she returned. That was very rude of you,” said Everglade as she applied the bandages. “It seems I actually did more damage than I originally thought and I am sorry. I didn’t mean to hit you this hard. You just reacted so fast that I escalated. I thought I was still dealing with the little Qi gathering disciple. Who told you to progress so quickly? Then you got a little too close there at the end there....”
“Don’t make me the bad guy.” muttered Felix “You poisoned me. Wait, why did my wound hurt so much anyway? It barely broke the skin.”
“Ah, there may also be something on my whip.” Said Everglade. “I did mention poison.”
“I thought you didn’t poison me!”
“Those things can barely be counted as poison! What is medicine and what is poison? Besides, that is why we have the ointment.” Said Everglade, breaking eye contact as his eyes narrowed. “Anyways, it was a pain enhancer and a few other things. More a drug than poison at those doses.”
“What, ‘other things’,” said Felix.
“Well, an aphrodisiac for one. It is a cliché but it’s one of those medical attacks that the body doesn’t fight,” said Everglade. She tilted her head to look around him. “Mm, impressive. Your body cultivation seems to have given you a surprisingly well-rounded resistance. You do not seem bothered by that component at all.”
“Senior sister.” Said Felix, adjusting himself as he finally noticed. “Why would you ever use that in battle?”
“As I said, it's often hard to block once it gets into the body. It is a well-documented as an effective battle tactic among poison masters.” Said Everglade, having enough shame to blush. “So, what did you come over here for?”
“Poison Master? Aren’t those reviled,” said Felix, ignoring her question. “Do we even have manuals for that? I’ve barely seen it referenced in the library so far.”
“Which is why I am not one. Now, do you need more herbs?”
“I appreciate it, but Elder Akeno already got me all I need.” Said Felix.
“What?” Said Everglade, her hand pausing before continuing to tie the final bandage. “He actually helped you? No task or impossible quests?”
“He did nothing like that, but he was… intense, to say the least.”
“I can imagine.” Said everglade. “You are braver than I thought Felix. While Elder Akeno was always intimidating, he was one of the more reclusive elders. I've seen him a total of five times before the beginning of the war. Now he is one of the most visible and he is very unsettling. I thought it was an act at first, but he seems to be all hard edges. There is not a chance I would dare ask him a favor. I am not even sure if he would stay if the other elders weren’t here.”
“I never really thought about it.” Said Felix, adjusting his robs back over his shoulders and standing up. “The elders have just been a constant in the little time I’ve had to get a grip on things. Do you really think he would do such a thing?”
“Perhaps,” said Everglade, walking out of the small building after him. “It is hard to talk with someone like that. My experience is more with younger people. I can understand them and see who they really are quickly enough. The older cultivators… are strange. Like a very deep lake you cannot see the bottom of. You think you understand them but that is only the surface.”
Felix sat down on the fence surrounding her garden, looking out. She eyed him but joined him as well, and they looked out across the sect together. Felix eyed the cliff further down that he had jumped off not so long ago. The only thing ruining the moment was the slightest itch of the bandages and his uncomfortably fierce little brother.
Fucking Xianxia.
“So, do you also feel trapped here? All while the others like Xue will be gone,” said Everglade. “Well, now you know how I feel.”
“Trapped?” said Felix, looking at her. “How are you trapped?”
“Felix, I am gifted at tending to plants. Should someone like me go to the front lines? Not when I can do so much more for the sect here. It is one of the reasons I felt so helpless watching Xue grow stronger. The sect doesn’t encourage noncombat experts to leave the sect.”
“They would hold you against your will?”
“No, well, maybe if I was being completely suicidal but the elders prefer the carrot to the stick,” said Everglade with a knowing but sad smile. “But I also know much like you, that as it stands, they are right. We are better off here. Life is like a plant in a pot, but a pot is only so big.”
I don’t think that really applies to me though. The sun started to set but they could still see the surrounding lowlands bathed in gold. Or I suppose it does, I just never really thought of it that way.
“A whole world down there and beyond, and we are both stuck here.” Said Everglade.
“I won’t be stuck here though,” said Felix, ignoring how Everglade’s head snapped in his direction, the building acceptance wiped from her face. “I am no plant.”
“Very funny. Do you think it’s smart to just go gallivanting off again?”
“I will need more manuals,” said Felix.
“We have a library, Felix. You literally spend all your time in it.” She frowned and placed a palm on his forehead. “Are you having a qi deviation? I had been under the impression you were intelligent.”
“I am being serious Everglade. Your words just made me realize what I needed to do.” Said Felix, removing her hand. “I have made it through more of the library than you think, and what I need I am not finding here. All that’s left are books too dangerous for me to read casually or complete trash. Maybe I’ll get lucky, but I doubt it.”
“And where are you going to find it? Amongst the cities,” said Everglade. “Trying to find books among merchants and even city officials is a lost cause. At least in Central. Nothing they have will compare to what is at the Sects and Clan. The kingdom is even worse, with their nobility strictly controlling all trade of manuals. Only in the empire have I heard about the public having access to manuals, though it is not safe to go there right now for reasons I hope even you can appreciate.”
“I, I didn’t know most of that.” Said Felix, frowning before shaking his head. “But what you are right about is that you aren’t going to beat what’s in the sects and clans.”
“Haven’t you already started doing that?” said Everglade. “Others might not have figured it out yet, but you were taking advantage of the merit system. Don’t be a greedy idiot. I know what you can do after you have helped me with my manual. I bet you will have the best manual in the entire continent by the end. Even putting Xue to shame.”
“It’s not that simple Everglade. My manual must be perfect for me, or else it will cause more harm than good. I have it on good authority that anything less will be worse than death. Not even the elders know if such a manual exists or is possible,” said Felix, and Everglade’s expression turned white at his words. Felix felt a calm take over at her obvious concern. “That’s not why I brought this up though. You know how I’ve improved your manual, right? If I get access to manuals that relate to yours, I'll be able to really help you. With something like that, you can leave your so-called pot.”
“Worry about yourself, you fool,” said Everglade. “…Give me that list you needed.”
Felix blinked but ruffled in his cosmic bag and passed over the list of herbs he needed to cultivate. Everglade took it and gave it a once over.
“I’ll start working on procuring what you need. I can’t afford what you need but with the elders supporting you so much, I bet they’ll act as your agent. I can see if I can start reworking my gardens as well to help support your needs. If you need to continue using as much as you have, you might have issues getting enough in the long term. ”
“Wow… Thank you Everglade.”
“Shut up you idiot.” Said Everglade, hopping off the fence, a sigh of exasperation escaping her lips. “That's barely anything since the elders are paying. I wish I could do more. To think, I thought I was the big sister in the relationship helping you out.”
“Everglade, you don’t actually have to help me.” Said Felix. “I am grateful but being my friend is enough.”
“Don’t make me feel more in debt.”
“…You know what?” Said Felix, “There actually is something that I could use your help in. As a social lubricant if you will.”
“I needed your help with Xue to begin with.” Said Everglade. “I don’t believe I can return the favor at the moment.”
“No, not that.” Said Felix “Have you ever played poker before?”
-----
“Explain to me again why you need me here?” said Everglade. “Still haven’t talked to Xue after you stole her away.”
“I didn’t ‘steal her away’ Everglade, for the last time.” Said Felix, suppressing a nervous twinge. “The elders demanded our presence. You saw the same as everyone else.”
“All I saw was you riding away with her on a heavenly cloud. Leaving me to deal with incessant questions. It took ages to disentangle myself from that mess.”
“The meeting with the elders was worse, I assure you.”
“Yes, you were explicit on that,” said Everglade. Felix felt a tug on his arm and turned to her. “Peace Felix, I was only teasing you. Relax. You may have a body cultivator’s durability, but you also have one’s strength. You’ll grind your teeth to dust if you keep that up.”
“You're right.” Said Felix, taking a deep breath. “I’m just tense.”
“I’ve noticed.” Said Everglade, a throaty laugh escaping her lips. “I have never seen a cultivator so on edge. It wasn’t visible at first. You oscillate between complete facial control to the most extreme emotions. It’s so weird. It’s like you have multiple people in your head.”
“Imagine that.” Said Felix dryly. “And we are here.”