Etra is…different, not lighter, per say, but more, she doesn’t know, lively? Tantra’s happy for her, what she had to do surely wasn’t easy, but it seems to have gone as well as it could have, all things considered. Etra doesn’t talk about it, so Tantra doesn’t ask. She’s well versed enough in social dynamics to understand that poking a wound while someone seems joyfull is just plain rude.
“C’mon baby-face, I’m barely even trying!” Etra shouts nasally.
Kisrin spits out blood, “I’d say your nose is telling a different story.”
“Puh-lease, this is barely a flesh wound.”
Kisrin smirks as he gets back into his stance and continues their brawl disguised as a sparring session. They’ve been doing that a lot lately, beating each other senseless to the cheers of the village children. Is this some kind of cultivator wooing tactic? She wouldn’t be surprised, cultivators are all about violence, why wouldn’t they insert it into their love lives as well? She’s kinda happy for them, it’s nice to see a budding relationship among friends.
Zara walks next to where Tantra is sitting and hands her a cup of milk.
“My sincerest thanks honourable Zara,” Tantra says.
“Oh, no need, we’re much more relaxed here in the village. Although most people probably wouldn’t want to be near you.”
“Because of the arm?”
Zara chuckles, “that and it's just good sense to avoid cultivators, can never tell between the good and the homicidal.”
“It doesn’t seem to be affecting you much”
“That’s because Yorin trusts you. That boy may be a fool, but he has a good eye for people, courtesy of his mother of course.”
Tantra chuckles and takes a sip of her milk. It’s not bad, just has no cane sugar, but can she really expect them to afford something like that? Besides, milk on it’s own is decent enough flavour.
“So I hear you’re staying for the beast tide?”
Tantra nods, “we wanted to stay a while anyway, so Yorin could spend his time with you and the rest of his family.”
Zara gives a warm smile, “That's good, I didn’t expect to see my son so soon, and it would hurt my heart to see him leave so quickly.”
Tantra gives a sympathetic smile, she knows the pain of being separated from family. But…soon, soon she’ll see them again, and everything will be right with the world. Well not everything, but the expression still stands.
“So I hear you’ve been acting as a tutor for my son,” Zara probes.
“Yes?”
“And you’ve actually managed to teach him how to read, along with other assortments of scattered knowledge.”
Tantra just nods slowly, not really knowing where this is going.
“I know merchants well enough to know that nothing comes for free, and you’ve invested plenty into my son.”
Tantra blinks, it doesn’t sound like an accusation, more of a genuine question. Tantra wracks her brain and finds…nothing.
That’s odd.
“I don’t know,” she shrugs, “he was teachable and I could teach, so that’s how it worked out.”
“No other reason?”
“What other reason would there be?”
Zara taps her chin, “oh, maybe to recruit him to your company as a guard, or, maybe…love?”
Tantra spits out her milk and starts coughing violently, to an amused Zara.
“No!” Tantra says a little too loud, “absolutely not! Yorin is like…a…brother?”
She seems confused by her own words, does she think of him like a brother?
When did that happen?
“Hmmm, well, we have some time to work on that,” Zara nods to herself.
Tantra has the sudden urge to escape this village.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
-
Tantra sits in meditation, slowly enforcing her will on the Qi that enters her lungs and integrates it into her core. She’s gotten pretty good at the process, familiarity breeding proficiency and all that. Now almost all the Qi she breathes ends up in her core, unfortunately that doesn’t mean much out here, as far as they are from a foci. But still, it’s more Qi to work with, and she’ll take what she can get.
Maybe she should try something else?
Some people swear by absorbing Qi through their skin, although the willpower for that needs to be tremendous. The method she’s using after all takes advantage of the lungs natural functions and applies it to Qi gathering. The only thing the skins got going for it is physical contact.
Though it would be a pretty good way to train her will…
Why is she even considering this? She needs the Qi for her arm to keep fighting the infection, and she’s debating on a new training method?
How much has that godsforsaken sect changed her?
She’s supposed to be practical.
Though she does need a stronger will to even consider doing anything with intention.
Hmmm, maybe she could try gathering faster?
Yes, that sounds both efficient for training and practical for acquiring the necessary Qi.
Tantra gives herself a pat on the back for the marvellous idea, truly she is a genius, sometimes, occasionally.
She does know a lot for her age, that was proven by how Yorin seemed to only know about crop rotations before she crammed some knowledge into that head of his. He’s not even an outlier, if anything he’s on the slightly smarter end of people she’s met at the sect, much as she hates to admit it. How can such a buffoon be in possession of a brain?!?
Truly, life is filled with wonders.
Kisrin, for all his formality and general intellect, barely knows how to read. She never considered teaching him because…he never asked. Did she really spend upwards of a year with the boy and not consider being his tutor?
Where’s a library when you need one?
Well, there is one in the village, she checked, it’s just pathetic. Well organized and cared for, but there were only ten books on display, and all of them were stories, which…wouldn’t be the worst for teaching.
Hmm.
She nods internally to herself, yes, that is what she’ll do while they’re here. Might as well teach Erick and the other children as well while she’s at it. She just has to make sure it doesn’t cut too much into her gathering, she’d rather not lose her arm, which is just about the only advice the local healer gave her, much to her chagrin.
That and carving out the infected parts.
Which does not sound medically advisable so she’s not doing it.
She wishes Toka was here.
-
The village is bustling with activity as the need to prepare for the upcoming tide becomes an ever present necessity, stakes are set into the ground, pits are dug, and arrows are forged. Etra’s apparently the daughter of a smithy so she spends most of her days at home, helping her parents. Yorin and Kisrin are helping with the stakes while she is doing a whole lot of nothing.
On account of having only one functioning arm.
It’s okay, when the tide comes she’ll be fighting so she can contribute then.
“Hey ghoul-girl,” Yorik says.
“Don’t call me that.”
“Fix your arm and i’ll think about it”
Tantra grumbles, “what do you want?”
He looks from side to side, then gives her a serious expression, before handing her two coppers, “you up for some work?”
“Boy, this is literally nothing to me.”
“C’mon! At least hear me out!”
Tantra sighs, “fine.”
-
Yorin skips back to his home, happy as a hen, he’s home!
Sure they’ll be leaving after a few months but he got to see his family again, much sooner than he thought even, and if he can just get to three threads in that silly control exercise, maybe Tantra and Rakan will tell him how he can advance past the first step in less than a decade. He doesn’t really get it, control is practically useless in the face of meridians, so why even bother?
But has to be relevant somehow, Tantra wouldn’t lead him in circles after all, and either way he’s still exercising daily, so it's not like he’s really losing anything except his patience. Threading Qi is really frustrating!
He can barely get himself to do it for an hour let alone three, and Tantra, ever since the bear, has used every opportunity to either meditate or train control. How she does it he’ll never know, but the dedication is impressive.
As he approaches his home something feels…off.
He narrows his eyes, looks from side to side, but he finds nothing other than the usual sight of villagers milling about.
Hmmm, is he being paranoid?
He takes a hesitant step towards his home.
Nothing happens.
He takes another.
Nothing happens.
He opens the door to his home slowly and cautiously.
That’s when it hits him.
The smell of curry.
Behind the table are a satisfied looking Zara, Tantra, and Yorik, with a kind of chicken curry sitting in front of them. filling the room with the scent of delicate spices, tender meat, and cooked rice.
Yorin looks at them, then looks at the curry, then looks back at them.
His smile is a wide one.