What is this feeling? She thought to herself, pushing back the pain. Why did Finley run like that? She must be avoiding me, then…But why? Did I do something wrong? Did I run my mouth and say something stupid? She’s never gotten mad at me for saying stupid things before…That can’t be it…Then, what is it?

She spent a little longer searching for Finley among the masses and the din and clatter of feasting. But in the end, she couldn’t catch a single glimpse of those hazel eyes. Stomach growling fiercely, she moped to the table of dishes and piled a plate with dumplings, buns, and spicy bean paste.

For some time, she circled the clearing, seeking a place to sit. She spotted Wu Dafu and Ya Syaoran sitting together and eating quietly, but she didn’t feel much like going over there. At all. So she moved on. She spotted Shu Romy sitting in a corner on the grass, surprisingly with Lyra, who was laughing loudly as usual. But as Abrial approached, Romy shot her a death glare, and Abrial, raising one hand in surrender, turned around and headed in the other direction.

At last, she wandered near the front edge of the clearing, where at a long, polished wooden table, she spotted Instructor Wei sitting and laughing gently, his long-lashed eyes curved into crescents. Next to him sat a very relaxed Sir Niklas Braun, and next to Sir Niklas a graceful, divinely beautiful Bi Gho, sipping tea from a porcelain cup. Next to Bi Gho with a hunched back and a grumpy expression that made it very clear she did not want to be there at all sat Bi Chanjuan, chewing slowly on a dough ball.

Abrial approached the table, her face miserable.

“Hey,” she greeted without manners, as always. “Can I sit here?”

Instructor Wei looked mildly surprised. He soundlessly placed down the porcelain teapot he had just been pouring from and gestured for her to take the seat next to him.

“Are you all right, Abrial?” he asked. There was concern in his voice.

Abrial’s shoulders were hunched without herself even noticing. Her eyebrows drew down into a dark, moody frown.

“Fine,” she responded automatically. “I’m fine. But not feeling good.”

“Heyyy!” Sir Niklas reached a finger across Instructor Wei’s chest to point at Abrial between the eyes. He had taken that heavy Roatian armor off. Now, he was wearing some sort of shirt like the one Dieter always wore, with a drawstring pulling it closed at the collarbone, and leathery pants. No robe — what a strange sense of fashion! Roatian clothes were really odd. “You must beee…our Wei Guang’s star student! The one who’s a maaaaster blade fighter!”

Abrial frowned at his slurred, pausing speech. Sir Niklas’s face was flushed, and his pale blue eyes were glazed over. After one glance at the empty wine jars on the table, Abrial raised her eyebrow.

“You’re super drunk,” she remarked bluntly.

Sir Niklas burst out laughing. His laugh sounded like the braying of a donkey, making Abrial wince. What an annoying laugh! He held out a hand, still reaching lazily over Instructor Wei’s chest.

“Call me Niklas,” he grinned, white teeth sparkling. He sounded suddenly more sober. “I’m not that drunk, I’m just messing with you. Playing into it, you know? You must be Abrial. Our Wei Guang has told me all about you! Heh.”

Abrial glanced uncertainty at his hand, which hung in the air, palm facing the side.

“...I’m Han Abrial Chae-young. What…are you holding your hand out for?”

Niklas promptly slapped himself in the face, gasping. Instructor Wei closed his eyes and sighed. On the other side of Niklas, Bi Gho took a deep breath, as though trying to stay calm, and sipped her tea properly.

“I forgot!” Niklas howled. “I always forget! Gongkuans don’t shake hands! My apologies. Since we’ve already exchanged names, I guess we’re done introducing ourselves! Have you met the intimidating Bi Gho and her gem of a sister, Bi Chanjuan?” He gestured wildly to the two women sitting next to him.

Bi Gho sniffed. Bi Chanjuan rolled her eyes, swallowing her sugar-dipped dough.

“It’s always fun to watch Uncle Niklas make a fucking fool of himself when he’s barrel-drunk,” Bi Chanjuan smiled sweetly, cherry lips dripping with sarcasm. “Excuse me, I’m going to go get more food and escape. I mean, leave for a minute.”

Bi Gho slapped her sister’s arm with her fan.

“Meimei, you had better come back here when you’re done! I don’t want you going off to torture some child or to try to blow up the Prince of Roatia again. Got it?”

Bi Chanjuan made a face, pulling down the skin under her right eye and sticking her tongue out. Then she swept away, hips swaying in the silken green fabric of her robe.

Bi Gho slipped her fan away. Niklas was raising another cup of wine to his lips, and he kept missing because his drunken hand couldn’t find his mouth. Bi Gho pulled the cup harshly from his grasp and downed it in one gulp. She slammed it down, hissing. Then, as though nothing had happened, she wiped her lips neatly on a cloth, dabbing daintily at the corners.

“Heyyy! That was my wine! Now I have to refill it…” Niklas whined, reaching for a full wine jar. Bi Gho pushed it out of his reach and slapped his hand violently with her fan.

“I don’t think so,” she said darkly, her expression menacing. “If you drink one more sip of wine, I’ll tear both your ears off and turn them into wine.”

“But Bi Go-Go, it’s just a little more,” Niklas whimpered, reaching aimlessly for the jar. Bi Gho slapped his hand again and again, holding the jar out of his reach and not relenting. “I’m already so drunk. If I have a little more, I’ll sleep really well tonight…”

“You already slept for nine hours after getting back from the raid, idiot. And you won’t have any trouble sleeping in your state! Unless I really tear your ears off — !”

“All right!” Instructor Wei interjected, holding up his hands in a ‘please stop’ gesture. “Everyone, calm down. Niklas, you have had enough to drink. That wine is quite strong. You can have more tomorrow. And Ah Gho, please put the fan away. You are going to give Niklas a bad bruise if you continue like this, right after his trip.”

Bi Gho sighed, closing her fan primly.

“If he bruises, it is deserved. I will send the wine away.”

“Wait!” Niklas protested. He leaned over Instructor Wei again, staring at Abrial with red cheeks and bright blue eyes. “Abrial! You, you have to try some of this wine. It’s sweet and mild, like honey! I haven’t had wine this good in a while…There’s never enough alcohol on raids…” He reached out, deftly dodging Bi Gho’s swiping fan, and pulled the jar towards Abrial. Abrial peered inside. There was a clear liquid sloshing about, giving off a faintly sweet, musky smell.

Instructor Wei placed a firm hand between Abrial and the jar.

“That’s enough,” he said, suddenly very serious. “Do not encourage my students to drink as you do. That is an unhealthy recommendation.”

“Ah, Ah Guang, you’re too uptight!” Niklas scolded, pushing the jar against Instructor Wei’s hand, which remained steady. “Let her have some funnn!”

Instructor Wei shook his head, sighing. But as he did, Abrial reached out, snatched the jar, lifted it over his hand, and pulled it towards herself.

“I want to try it,” she said, staring at the sweet-smelling contents curiously. “How strong is it?”

Niklas grinned a shining white grin, reaching over Instructor Wei’s body to push the jar even closer to her.

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“Not strong at all! You’ll feel a bit tipsy after downing enough, but it won’t do any damage!”

“Don’t listen to him,” Bi Gho snapped, fanning herself. “Clearly, it’s very strong, if he turned out like this.”

Instructor Wei placed a steady hand on the jar, pressing it back down to the table and away from Abrial’s face.

“Bi Gho is correct,” he said seriously. “You should not drink this. Niklas has a high liquor tolerance.”

Abrial kept a tight hold on the clay jar. The clear wine reflected her own pale face back, rippling slightly. A sweet smell wafted up towards her, something like honey.

“How much would make a normal person drunk?” she wondered aloud.

“A normal person? With an average tolerance?” Bi Gho hummed, tapping her lips with her white fan. “I’d say three cups to not remember anything they did while drunk. It’s utterly atrocious! Niklas only likes this wine because it’s so strong. Northern peach wine—quite literally invented to chase away thoughts! Completely atrocious.”

Fast as lightning, Abrial jerked the jar from beneath Instructor Wei’s palm and chugged a few mouthfuls. What was that, maybe a cup or so?

Ack!

Abrial hissed.

The liquid burned down her esophagus and left a sour, tingling sensation crawling all over her mouth. As it subsided, a sweetness remained, hanging on her taste buds like the scent of flowers. Niklas had at least been telling a little bit of the truth — it was definitely not mild, but the aftertaste was sweet like fresh honey…after it seared down your throat like a river of fire.

Almost immediately after she started chugging, Instructor Wei’s hand shot out and tore the jar away from her lips, sliding it far across the table and out of either Niklas or Abrial’s reach. Bi Gho waved her fan swiftly, and the jar zoomed away on a breeze to go sit on some other banquet table.

But it was too late. The damage had been done.

“Hic!”

Abrial hiccuped slightly, blinking very slowly.

Niklas slapped the table aggressively, pointing a proud finger at Abrial.

“That’s how you do it!” he boomed, prompting several feasters at the nearest tables to turn and giggle. “That’s how you sneak in another drink! Well done!”

Abrial rubbed her throat, grinning up at Instructor Wei, Niklas, and Bi Gho.

“I feel fine,” she giggled.

Her eyes fell on her plate of food. Like a tiger pouncing on its prey, she picked up her chopsticks and began shoveling dumpling into her mouth.

“Abrial…Slow down, please…” said Instructor Wei weakly, trying to pull her plate away without letting her spill dumplings all over her lap.

Bi Gho’s porcelain hand flashed up and yanked Niklas by the pink ear hidden beneath his corn-white mop of hair. He yelped, pulled back by the force.

“Look at what you’ve done, Niklas!” Bi Gho rebuked him furiously. “You’ve dragged another innocent young person down your degenerate path! She’ll be fine for a bit, but just wait until the liquor really kicks in! I swear I’m really going to rip your red little imp ears off your head if anything happens to her!”

Niklas whimpered. He pulled at her scolding hand without success.

After only a few minutes of scarfing down chive and pork dumpling and meat-filled savory white buns, Abrial suddenly got a melancholy look in her eyes. It was as though a cloud had passed over the twinkling stars in the night sky, casting shadows over her whole expression. Her shoulders sagged. She swallowed, and to Instructor Wei’s relief, didn’t reach for another bun to stuff down her throat.

Ever so slowly, she put her plate down on the polished wooden table with a muted clack.

She sniffed, rubbing at her nose, which had gone pink at the tip. Her dark eyes gleamed waterily.

“Is something wrong, Abrial?” Instructor Wei leaned down to get a view of her face, which was tilted downward and shadowed. He paled. “Are you — crying?”

She had begun to hiccup again. When Instructor Wei caught sight of her face, he froze.

Abrial’s cheeks were blotchy and red, her eyes brimming with salty water that streamed down her face in little silver trails. Her nose had begun to run slightly too. She swiped at it with her embroidered black sleeve.

“I don’d know whad do do. Whad did I do?” she mumbled, sniffling.

“...What’s that?” Instructor Wei asked hesitantly. “It is hard to understand. Do you want a face cloth, to wipe your nose?”

Abrial shook her head, hiccuping. She rubbed her nose fiercely on her sleeve, looking somewhere between miserable and frustrated.

“I don’t understand!” she wailed, grabbing the front of Instructor Wei’s robe and gathering it in her fists. “What did I do wrong? Why is she avoiding me like this?” Dissolving into sobs, Abrial stuffed her face into the river-blue cloth on Instructor Wei’s chest, seeping snot and tears into it like rain.

Instructor Wei looked shocked. He first unclasped her hands from his robe, then allowed her to weep into the cloth as he patted her back puzzledly. He looked slightly awkward, like he wasn’t sure what to do.

“Abrial,” he said gently, patting her head. “I think it’s best if you go to bed. I can — ”

“WHYYYY?” Abrial howled, face tear-stained. Several nearby tables of feasters had begun to stare. Abrial, of course, was totally and completely unaware of how loud her voice was echoing, or how many eyes were blinking at her. Even if she was sober, she probably wouldn’t have noticed.

She gazed up at Instructor Wei with shining, watery obsidian eyes.

“Why doesn’t Finley like me anymore?” she lamented, shaking Instructor Wei by the shoulders. “Why did she run away? Why has she been avoiding me all day? Is she embarrassed of me, or something? Why would she be embarrassed of me? I’m not embarrassing! Why am I worried about this? Why is this making me sad? I don’t like being sad! I hate being sad! Why am I sad, then? Do you know?”

“I’m an expert on relationships,” slurred Niklas, leaning heavily on his palms and swaying as he sat. He had entered the sleepy stage of drunkenness. “Just call me the…the doctor of love! Or friendship. Or whatever. Haha! Why don’t you tell me what happened, and I’ll give you a diagnosis, ahaha!”

Abrial leaned toward Niklas limply over Instructor Wei, dark eyes wide and hot cheeks glittering with silver tears.

“Really? Can you do that?”

“Surrre I can!” Niklas chuckled slurringly, cheeks bright as tomatoes. “Just tell me what the situation is. I’ll see right through it, snap! Like that.” He tried to snap his fingers, but failed, instead just waving his hand around lazily and almost slapping himself.

Bi Gho sniffed in disgust. She stood, snapping her fan closed.

“I’ve had enough of this idiot. I’m going to go get some water,” she said snappily. “And then I’m going to go get a heavy drink for myself.”

Instructor Wei sighed as she left. Now he was left alone at this table with two people who were drunk silly, and basically an audience made up of feasters nearby who had begun to eavesdrop on this interesting conversation. The two drunk people leaned over his lap, speaking at one another thickly and loudly, as though they couldn’t hear each other from just a couple of feet apart.

“Well, see,” Abrial was explaining, frowning deeply as she tried to recall recent events. “Um…I think…What are we talking about?”

“Finley,” Niklas reminded her, swinging his hand about. He pointed to himself. “Love doctor. Friendship doctor. Whatever.”

“Oh. Right!” Abrial’s eyes lit up. “She’s been avoiding me all day, and she ran away from me earlier at the feast! I couldn’t find her anywhere! I think, I think maybe she’s been avoiding me recently…We never see each other anymore! And it makes me sad…I didn’t notice until today, but it makes me feel all heavy and sad for some reason…”

Niklas raised his pale eyebrows, eyes squinting.

“Tell me more, tell me more. Be more specific. Do you normally spend time together?”

“Yes!” Abrial wailed, burying her face in her hands miserably. She hiccuped once. “We used to always eat together, every meal! We went everywhere together! I sleep in her tent! We’ve always spent every day together! Every day! But, but I hardly see her at all recently…”

Niklas hummed a somewhat high note, then a low one, almost like he was singing. Instructor Wei frowned. Either that, or he’d come to an amazing realization.

Niklas pointed a pink finger between Abrial’s eyes, as though pushing some puzzle piece into place.

“Stop right there. You two sleep in the same tent?”

Abrial sniffed. “Yes. Her tent. I sleep in her tent.”

Niklas waggled his fingers excitedly. His languid blue eyes seemed to suddenly spark with electricity.

“Hmmm! Tell me, has anything changed recently in your habits? Who do you eat together with normally?”

“Just Finley…” Abrial moaned into her hands. “Only Finley…Well…” She lowered her hands, dark eyes blinking glisteningly at Niklas. “Recently…I started eating with Instructor Wei’s students…Wu Dafu, Ya Syaoran…” She listed the boys off, lifting one finger off her face with each name.

“Aha!” Niklas poked his finger at the spot between Abrial’s eyes, making her scrunch up her nose. “There it is! I have your diagnosis! The doctor has succeeded!”

Abrial blinked at him, hands still partially covering her face.

“What is it?”

Niklas cleared his throat. In a rumbling, booming voice that seemed to fill the whole clearing and pulled hundreds of eyes to their table, he flung out his arms and bellowed:

“JEALOUSY!”