Cierra woke with a smile and a deep breath. Stena and Arek had hung around for two games after the first one despite how badly Cierra had trounced them.

Yes, even with two sets of eyes on the board they stood no chance. Sure, one of those sets of eyes was nine years old, but that didn't matter to her. She still crushed them ruthlessly.

Just like Uncle Vale had taught her.

Going to bed feeling so…content should have left her with better dreams. Less focused on some of the worst parts of her life.

Of course, with some distance now, she could convince herself occasionally that it worked out for the best. Yes, the year or so that the demonic assholes had imprisoned her had been the worst. She had the scars - mental and physical alike - to prove it.

She could barely even remember her blood parents. There were some snippets of memory that she could recall, but they were foggy. And the time she spent in the subterranean prison cell was something that she still actively tried to suppress.

But it all led her to Mom. That was one thing she would never regret. Emery had been an inexperienced guardian when she had first taken her in, but even then Cierra could tell her new mother was trying very hard.

And now, she wouldn't trade anyone in her family for the world. She loved her mothers very much, and she was maybe a little too overprotective of her younger siblings. At least when it came to protecting them from others. Big sisters could tease and heckle all they want.

With a large stretch and a yawn, Cierra shuffled her way out of bed and into her bathroom. Each bedroom in their main house had an attached, single bathroom, and Cierra could not have been more grateful for it. While she wouldn’t exactly consider herself a loner, or even an introverted person, she wasn’t sure that she could function without a bit of time in the morning to herself for a quick wash. It helped her wake up each morning.

As she plopped her body down on the stool before the mirror, she rubbed the obvious sleep from her blue eyes and dumped a bucket of warm water over her head before she began to work out the knots in her hair. It was work she was used to every morning, but work all the same. Cierra was proud of her long, lustrous onyx tresses, but they took a fair bit of attention to maintain.

Once she had combed out her hair to her own satisfaction, she stood and stretched again. As she didn’t want a full wash in the morning, she wiped herself down with a warm, wet cloth. And finally, with a bracing breath, she poured a final bucket of water over her head - this one cold. The final step in her wake-up process.

As she stepped back into her room, Cierra took a deep breath, shivered out a bit of the cold that now permeated her body, and began getting dressed for the day. Cierra was the tallest member of their family, standing just a bit taller than Avuri. While her height came with both upsides and downsides, the fact that all of her clothing was made just for her was a strong upside that she took full advantage of.

Picking out a stately set of ivory robes, Cierra layered on a second, sheer robe of ice blue. As she settled it on her shoulders, she tried to rid herself of the bad memories that her dream left bouncing around in her head all morning. After tying a sash around her waist, Cierra left her room and headed down for breakfast.

"Morning, Cierra." Emery greeted her from the kitchen. Kitchen knives of all sizes flew around the kitchen making quick work of vegetables, fruit, and all manner of other ingredients that would be used today. The amount of food needed to feed what was essentially a small village was truly staggering.

Even with the massive amount of farming and husbandry the family took care of on their own, Cierra and Stena were often sent into the nearby Flowing Dragon City to acquire more ingredients. Sure, their family was able to provide most of what it needed from its own resources, but spices were harder to grow en masse, and extra rice and grain was always good to keep around.

Even though it was an almost daily sight, Cierra never tired of watching her mother command the kitchen. Their home’s kitchen was extra large, designed to be used to cook for the whole family. There was an abundance of counter space for cutting boards, mixing bowls, and the like. There were several cooking stations, designed to cover everything from traditional stove work to smoking, baking, and grilling. It was really quite a sight to behold.

And the way Emery directed her knives, spoons, and spatulas around the kitchen was something else entirely. It was mesmerizing to watch the food practically cook itself, even though she was directly in control of it all.

“Morning, Mom.” Cierra returned. “I see you’re already hard at work. Is everyone else already awake?”

“Not yet. Ri and Uncle Vale are hanging around the table with some coffee and tea, I believe. I haven’t seen your brother or sisters yet.” The woman turned briefly to smile warmly at her daughter. “There’s plenty of tea at the table if you’d like, and I’ll bring breakfast out in just a moment. If you want coffee, I think I’d need to make you some fresh. Uncle Vale polished it off. “

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“Tea’s fine.” Cierra nodded, heading toward the dining room. She felt peckish and was happy to sit and relax with her mother and uncle for a while.

As she neared the room, she heard Uncle Vale’s voice down the hall. “I’m glad you’re all doing well. It looks like we may even need to expand the basin again, soon.”

“We might. You know Merri likes to bring strays home everytime she leaves.” Avuri replied, taking a sip of her tea. “And good morning, Cierra.”

“Good morning, Momri. Uncle.” Cierra responded with a smile as she walked in. “Heard me coming, did you?”

Her mother snorted.

“Cici!” Uncle Vale grinned wide, and spread his arms open. “It’s good to see you, girl.”

“And you.” She grinned, closing in for a hug. “It’s been, what, three months? Did your trip go well?”

Vale patted her back affectionately. “It did! I’ve got a few bags of foodstuffs to hand off, which I’m sure Emery will be glad to get her hands on. Give the newer kids something special to eat they’ve probably never had before.”

Cierra gave the older man a tight squeeze before backing away to take a seat. “Oh? What’d you bring us this time? Tell me it’s not more of that stuff from last time.” She made a face, remembering the food that he had procured on his last trip, while dragging a cup over to herself and pouring some tea.

“The octopus? No.” He laughed. “And I told you before, that’s pretty common food down by the southern coast.”

Cierra wrinkled her nose in disgust. “It was gross. And most of the kids wouldn’t eat it either.”

“Cici, you’re, what, twenty yea-”

“Twenty-one.”

“Twenty-one years old now, you’re gonna have to start being less picky.”

She scoffed. “I’m perfectly happy not eating whatever strange seafood you bring, if it’s going to be gross and slimy.”

Avuri chuckled into her teacup and Cierra shot her a withering stare.

Vale just sighed. “Well, you’ll be happy to know that this time I brought a bunch of exotic fruits, and some different sauces for meats.” His over exaggerated dejected look faded quickly to be replaced with a smile as Cierra’s face lit up.

“Fruit? Did you-”

“Bring you some mangoes? Yes.” He interrupted her with a sly grin. Which grew when she all but threw herself into his lap for a hug.

“You. Are. The. Best.” She said, landing back in her chair.

“Tell me something I don’t know.” Vale muttered to himself, picking up his coffee for a large gulp.

“Alright. My chess record against Stena this month is thirty-seven to two.”

“That’s my girl.” Vale said, offering his hand for a fistbump. She obliged. “Now then, how’s the training been?”

Avuri responded, “Good. All the kids are coming along nicely. Cierra and Stena are both about as skilled as Merri and I were at their age.”

Vale lifted a brow in question at Cierra. “Oh? You’re solidly in the Earth Realm now, right? What kind of techniques have you been working on?”

Cierra took a long pull from her cup of tea, narrowly avoiding burning her mouth. “I’ve been using Momri for inspiration and have been focused mostly on ice and snow techniques. I’ve got a few miscellaneous ones that are just everyday sort of utility, but…yeah.”

She looked down into her cup for a moment, before continuing. She’d been keeping this as a secret project of her own so far, but maybe one of them could help. “I’ve been trying to work on a variant of Momri’s blizzard dragon, but I’m not able to form it well. The shape keeps breaking down.”

Avuri smiled warmly at Cierra. “Hun, it took me two years of working on that technique before it was useful. Something like that takes time and practice. And even then, when I first got it completed, it was nothing like what you’ve seen now.”

“I get that, but you were good at Qi manifestation. I was…am, not.” She took another sip. “I’m working on other techniques too, of course. But-.” She stopped herself before she said something embarrassing like ‘But I want to be like you.’ out loud. “Well. I want something that leaves an impression. And your blizzard dragon has left an impression on me since childhood.”

“Did you want help?” Avuri asked, wanting to avoid overstepping.

“At this point, I think so. I’ve tried my best when it comes to shaping and controlling the Qi. But getting it to stay manifested in the shape - let alone move cohesively - is something I can’t seem to get right.”

“I’m sure either of them would be happy to help you figure it out. Ri is particularly good at creative solutions.” Emery said, sweeping into the room. She placed some food on the table for the small group. And then she placed a cut mango in front of Cierra, whose face lit up immediately.

Everyone was quiet for a moment as they each gathered up food for their plates. It was mostly simple things, a few common fruits like apples and peaches, some simple breads and pastries, and some hashed meats.

“We can take a look at it after breakfast, and see what kind of direction we can come up with.” Avuri said, beginning to pick at her food. “Today was meant to be a day off from meditation after the late night last night, but we can still do some work if you’d like.”

Cierra nodded. “Thanks, Momri. I’d like that. Uncle Vale, too, if you’re interested.”

“I’ll take a look.” Vale said with a nod. “I helped both your mothers with their techniques at one point or another. I’d be happy to help you too.”

Before Cierra could respond further, Stena, Arek, and Astra walked in, all three still bleary eyed. ‘Good mornings’ were exchanged as each took seats. Astra hopped up into Avuri’s lap and settled in for her own food.

Avuri giggled, mussing the girl’s hair. “You’re gonna have to find your own seat soon, Star. You’re getting bigger.” Avuri kissed the crown of her daughter’s head before gathering a plate for her.

“Right then, everyone, eat up.” Emery said with a clap, “I’ll get everyone else fed and we can move on with our day.”