Un-Kase woke up to the familiar yet foreign taste of vegetable broth. It was something the Ladies would make whenever someone wasn't feeling well, and he had eaten it quite a bit in his youth. He opened his eyes to look at his surroundings and met the worried gaze of Bas’qet.
“Kase, what happened? Did you get caught up in the fight?”
“Fight?” He croaked.
“Yeah, the fight between the guards and the Sect! Everyone says they finally came to blows and wiped each other out. Nobody was close enough to tell what happened. Well, nobody alive…”
He nodded.
“Yeah. I was there.”
“You're lucky to be alive! You stumbled in here a few days ago and we bandaged you up. Mistress would have kicked you out, but we used your money to convince her to let you stay. I hope you're not mad…”
“Mad? How could I be mad when my little sibling is nursing me back to health?”
Right…
“On that note, are you my little brother, or my little sister?”
Bas’qet blushed, casting their eyes down before meeting his gaze.
“I'm still your little brother, I just… like dressing pretty and… the work is nice…”
“Okay, my little brother Bas’qet nursed me back to health.”
“Actually, I just go by Bas now, it sounds nicer, more meaningful.”
“It does sound nice. Where are the others?”
“Lily is with a client right now, Bahks left to apprentice under a carpenter, Spring is probably in a screaming match with Dawn, and Poht is trying to rehang the back door.”
He couldn't help but smile.
“Everyone's doing good then?”
“They are now, yes. Lily…”
Bas looked down again, before taking a deep breath.
“After you left, Lily was a mess. With what happened to her, and then Golden Wren getting taken, the guards trying to hunt you down… it was bad.”
“She took an extra year before she could actually start working, every time she tried, she would panic and scream. Mistress wouldn't let her keep that up for long though, so she had to work really hard to get through it. She did a great job and we're all really proud of her.”
“I'm sorry I couldn't do more to protect her.”
Bas smiled sadly and opened his mouth to speak, but before he could get a word out the door opened to let in a tall older woman. She had wrinkles that had been poorly disguised by thick layers of white paint, dark purple makeup accenting her eyes and deep red on her lips. Her black hair was pulled up into a tight three bun style, each held in place with a carved lotus pin.
“I am glad to see our honored guest has recovered! Unfortunately, the fine sir will need to settle the matter of lodging and services we have provided.”
Mistress Orange Meadow smiled at him and beneath the kindly expression was the bitter venom and greed that he remembered. Before he truly understood what he was doing he had stood from the bed, crossing the room in one massive stride. His hand shot out and gently curled around her throat, every miniscule speck of restraint keeping him from squeezing. She gasped at the sudden and threatening motion and he leaned in close until they were nearly nose to nose.
“Do you remember me? The little boy you beat into a concussion? The little boy who tried to save his sister? The sister you sold to a disgusting swine?”
“W-what do-”
“It's me. Kase.”
His words caused her eyes to widen in fear, reflecting the harsh golden glow from his own. The light from his inner flames danced over her face and showed even more her age.
“You are going to leave. Right now. Run as far away from me as you can. If I ever see you again, you will die.”
She tried to speak, but fear held her tongue still. Her eyes sparkled with unshed tears, pupils expanded to deep pools as she panicked. Un-Kase released his grip and Orange Meadow dropped to the ground, her legs no longer supporting her. She stared up at him and he gritted his teeth in a snarl to growl the final word he hoped he would ever say to her.
“Run.”
She listened to his sound advice and scrambled out of the room on all fours. Un-Kase felt a deep weakness intermingling with his pride, and turned back to drop onto the bed with a sigh. He didn't notice Bas staring at him with eyes equally as wide as Orange Meadow’s.
“Kase… what was that?”
He took a moment to gather himself, sitting in a divided silence with his younger sibling.
“She was responsible for what happened to Lily, she needed to be punished, but I decided not to kill her out of respect for what she's done with the House.”
“Kase, you can't just decide that! What are we supposed to do without a House Mistress?”
He shrugged.
“Make someone else the Mistress.”
“We can't just- it's not- ugh!”
Bas hurried out of the room and Un-Kase laid his head back on the pillow, letting out a contented sigh as he drifted back to sleep.
In what he was beginning to think was a pattern, Un-Kase woke up and was quickly informed that a group of armed people was waiting outside for him. His siblings and the Ladies watched him as he strode from the door, muscles straining with preparation for a fight. The members of the sect were arranged before him and when they saw his scarred chest with no visible wounds they shifted and murmured among themselves.
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“You are Un-Kase of the Dragon Sect?”
The woman who spoke looked to be in her middle years, but instead of gray her hair was colored in a fantastic array of colors. Her robes were designed strangely, looking more like a long tunic with pants baggy on top but tight against the calves.
“I am.”
She looked him over, luminous blue eyes scanning over his form while the tension built.
“Our Sect humbly apologizes for the trouble we've inflicted upon you. We would like to pay reparations to your venerated self.”
With her words she fell into a deep bow, smoothly approaching the ground and dropping into a cross legged position. Her hands were folded on the ground before her and the sect members behind her followed her lead.
“...okay.”
“Thank you for allowing us to atone for our errors. My name is Lin Do Guan, Martial Elder of the Prismatic Eagle Sect.”
He wasn't sure if he was supposed to say his name since they already knew who he was, but the silence after her introduction felt very uncomfortable. He just glanced around at the others in the crowd, wondering if they would speak up or if they would just let everything stay awkward. Nobody spoke up and eventually he had to say something, so said the first thing that came to mind.
“What else do you want?”
The woman looked momentarily startled, before speaking up again.
“We await your demands on what constitutes reparations. Technique scrolls, treasures, pills and potions, weapons, whatever your distinguished self may desire we will provide.”
“Ah. Well. I will inform you when I have made my decision.”
They didn't move.
“You may go.”
He didn't wait for their response, shutting the door behind him as he retreated back into the House.
Lin Do Guan rallied her small army of Core Disciples and Sect Enforcers, preparing them to go and finish off the injured Chosen. She had already lost too many of her hopefuls, and two of her fellow Elders, albeit ones she wasn't too fond of. They were far too sneaky in her opinion, too willing to work around an issue rather than solve it head on. They were skilled and strong in their own right, but neither of them could compare to her on the Physical Arts of their Sect.
She had learned of the man's survival the day after counting the dead on the field of battle. 29 assorted Disciples had accompanied Shadow Elder Chen Jo, who himself had gone to avenge the death of Mystic Elder Xo-Long Jiao. The Mystic Elder’s poisoned blades, combined with the efforts of the Shadow Elder should have killed him, but would at least leave him at death's door.
She had argued with True Elder Huan Le’Ying for an entire day about finishing the job their compatriots had started. He had finally agreed, but only after forcing her to meditate for 6 hours, which took her a day and a half to accomplish due to her frustration. But all of that struggle and effort would culminate in her avenging her fellow Sect members and would allow them to move on and regrow their numbers.
They had wanted to put forth a civilized front at least and when she had arrived at the pleasure house he was staying at they had informed the door woman of their intentions. She had expected to wait for a long while as the man who had to be on his last legs would limp to the door. Instead the door opened barely two minutes later and an intimidating figure stepped out of the shadows. He was shirtless and his torso was made of hard, rippling muscle, and uncountable, crisscrossing scars. Notably absent from the deeply tanned skin was any evidence of injury or wounds.
No cuts, stab wounds, not even a bruise was visible among the scar tissue. She felt her blood go cold and a shiver rush up her spine as the primal fear of a predator staring her down washed through her. She sensed her forces shifting uneasily behind her and forced herself to speak up to break the silence.
“You are Un-Kase of the Dragon Sect?”
He stared her down, luminous yellow eyes blazing as they scanned over her form.
“I am.”
She wasted no time in dropping to the ground, recognizing when she was outmatched. Those behind her followed her lead, prostrating themselves in submission to the demigod before them.
“Our Sect humbly apologizes for the trouble we've inflicted upon you. We would like to pay reparations to your venerated self.”
She looked up at the man as she finished, his predatory gaze staring through her flesh and straight to her soul.
“...okay.”
The word filled her with relief as the man agreed to a ceasefire.
“Thank you for allowing us to atone for our errors. My name is Lin Do Guan, Martial Elder of the Prismatic Eagle Sect.”
The man scanned over her surroundings, sizing up the bodies around her with his monster's eyes. They seemed to pick apart each and every one of them, his relaxed stance showing that he found no threat among them. The silence stretched as he towered over them, seeming to relish in his authority over them.
“What else do you want?”
What did he mean by that? Did he suspect they had an ulterior motive? To be fair he wasn't wrong as she had initially come to kill him. No, he probably suspected this was a trick! After all, the other Elders he had dealt with were Jiao the coward and Jo the snake. Trickery and poison were their main weapons, so it was only natural that he would be suspicious. She would attempt to put him at ease and show him their sincerity.
“We await your demands on what constitutes reparations. Technique scrolls, treasures, pills and potions, weapons, whatever your distinguished self may desire we will provide.”
She would inform him of the depth of their coffers, which would tell him to not be modest in his demands, and after taking so much he couldn't possibly strike back at them without a loss of face.
“Ah. Well. I will inform you when I have made my decision.”
She was surprised at his words, she had assumed he would come back with them to pick through their treasures. But she supposed it made sense for him to be cautious, even with his strength.
“You may go.”
He didn't wait for their response, shutting the door behind him as he retreated back into the House, showing that even his back was unmarred by wounds. She let out a long, shaky breath as the tension bled out of her body, leaking away into the stones below her.
Un-Kase breathed a sigh of relief once he was safely out of sight. He had been afraid they were there to fight again, and while he wouldn't just lay back and die, he didn't have much energy left for fighting. He wasn't sure what it was that the lady really meant by the reparations, but he got the sense that they at least didn't want to kill him anymore.
He settled into the room the girls had given him and after a short nap was roused by the scent of supper. He walked into the small dining room and everybody stopped talking to smile at him. He ruffled Spring Breeze’s hair and sat in the empty seat at the front of the table.
“So, how was your day?” he asked Lily Blossom.
“It, uh, it was fine. Kase, could I talk to you about something?”
“Of course Lily, anything!”
She stood from the table and beckoned him to follow her, eventually leading him to a room he hated to recognize. The back room hadn't changed much, stacks of dry goods against one wall, a doorless wardrobe for coats, and the bitter feelings he remembered from his childhood.
“Kase, I love you. You saved me from… a lot. And I will forever be grateful for that.”
He smiled down at her, “Of course Lily, you're my sister!”.
“That's what makes this so hard. But I'm the oldest sibling, and the other Ladies thought I had the best chance.”
“Best chance at what?”
“Kase… you… you need to leave.”
He couldn't believe what he was hearing.
“What?”
“Everybody's terrified! They're scared of you, of what you might be capable of.”
“But, but that's ridiculous!”
“Is it Kase? You strangled Orange Meadow! You scared off a bunch of Sect members, you killed who knows how many more! Did you kill the mayor?”
“Well, yes, but-”
“But nothing! How much chaos do you think you've caused in the city?”
“I did it for you!”
“No. You did it for yourself!”
He was rocked back on his feet at her outburst, immediately wanting to refute her statement but… he honestly couldn't.
Yes, he was angry at the mayor because of his sister, but also his mother, and most of all, himself. He had felt such a rush holding power over the man who had so easily flipped his life on its head, he had lost himself in the sensation.
“I-”
“No. Please Kase. You need to go. At least for… a long time.”
He mechanically walked out the door as she opened it, perhaps subconsciously recognizing that it was the best course of action even stuck in his own mind. He stared up at the sky as the last remnants of sunshine crept out of sight and the moon rose to take its place.
What would he do now?