Standing in front of them again made him feel fuzzy inside, like he was supposed to do or say something specific that he just couldn't think of, but like Zhi Mu had said, he should just say anything at all, only there were no words leaving his mouth.

Lin and Aya just stared at him, as if they had expected many things, but certainly not this. The silence was deafeningly awkward.

Finally, it was broken by Junko, who was glancing between them, surely coming to her own assumptions. "So... I'll just leave you to it then. I feel really sleepy all of a sudden." She hesitantly waved, and retreated into one of the rooms just a little faster than normal. The other two paid her no mind, and neither did Ren.

Looking at them, he still didn't know how to start the conversation, but for better or worse, that position was promptly taken from him.

"What are you doing here, Ren?" Lin asked, her voice level. She was calm, too calm.

He clenched his fingers, suppressing the impulse to fidget, and relaxed them again. Master Darkhaven had instructed him that fidgeting showed weakness, and something like this was not acceptable for him. And like all of his lessons, Ren had also taken this one to heart.

He steeled himself, finished another circulation of his spirit, and exhaled once before answering her, trying not to stutter. "I came to see you, both of you. I know it has been a long time, and I am sorry for not having come earlier, but directly after Adept Ji presented me to his master, who is my master now as well, I guess." Ren scratched his head. "I wasn't allowed to descend the mountain."

Lin looked at him like he was an idiot, and Aya winced slightly, while Ren didn't know what he had done wrong. This was what had happened, after all.

Lin looked at him searchingly for a few tense moments before she deflated and sighed while combing through her hair in quite the frustrated fashion. "You are so talented when it comes to cultivation, but.." She shook her head once. "Anyway, you could just have got someone to tell us, right? As I understand it, you must be relatively important right now, but here in the elementary division we get almost no news about the workings of the inner sect."

Ren was both elated and frustrated with himself. In retrospect, it was extremely obvious, just get someone else to deliver a simple message. He could even have got Zhi Mu to do it, just like he searched for information on Ning.

This was another thing that he felt Lin and Aya should know about, but maybe not at their first meeting after a year of being apart.

"I... didn't think of that." He fixed her eyes, trying to appear as genuine as he felt he was. "I am sorry."

Lin didn't look happy with that, not at all. "Oh, you're sorry? We were worried about you, hearing nothing from you, no idea what you were doing, no chance to get any information. You could have been dead and we would have had no idea." She was standing up now, directly in front of him, her face red, a single finger pointed at him, and her spirit flowing like she was ready to attack.

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Ren didn't flinch or look away, choosing to remain silent in the face of her outburst. Show no weakness.

To his surprise, Lin deflated just as fast as she had got angry. She walked two steps, closing the distance between them, and threw her arms around him, hugging him close. Two more arms quickly joined, and the three were hugging in silence.

It felt good, and easy, maybe even too easy after his imagination had run wild, thinking of how Lin and Aya would no longer see him as family, as their friend. Ren was glad for it though, and the room began feeling like home. And maybe Zhi Mu was wrong for once, or was he right? In the end, there were no words needed, it seemed.

They only untangled after a few minutes, and if he felt a few wet spots forming, he certainly didn't mention them. He could even faintly feel Aya trembling against him, like a leaf shaking in the wind.

"You know, it was really hard some days, Ren. Lin had to stand up for us, getting beaten multiple times." Aya said matter-of-factly, though the facade was broken with a hiccup, looking at Ren with blurry eyes.

"Aya! It was fine, just some kids who weren't happy with me being better than them. And after only a few days, they didn't try anything." Lin said. She was trying to sound reassuring, but it was clear to Ren that this couldn't have been a single incident. Not if Aya had been bottling it up like this.

"Let's just talk about your time in the elementary division." Before they could say anything, he added. "And of course my time in the weapon division."

"I'd like that. Wouldn't you as well, Lin?" Aya said with a tiny smile on her face.

"I guess so, but you should start Ren, that is only fair."

Ren didn't know how it was supposed to be 'fair', but that mattered little. They sat down next to each other, Aya was still holding onto his arm like she expected him to vanish any minute. The thought made him wince.

Disregarding this, for now, Ren recounted his time up the mountain, though he let out anything concerning Ning or the 'mission' given by Darkhaven. At times the two would interject, ask something, or give him a piece of their own experiences. While Lin was topping every class concerning cultivation, Aya was apparently excellent when it came to the more mortal studies, like calligraphy and mathematics.

Lin was bashful, being praised for her prowess, as well as dissatisfied with not being in the top ten for most studies not concerning cultivation, grumbling about 'not having enough time'. The interplay made Ren smile and think of them arguing with others about inane topics, sitting in front of a fire, with their caretaker Nanao smiling in the same way.

They talked till deep in the night, but mostly about happy things, both sides not wanting to make the other worry too much. Not too long after, Aya began sleeping, leaning against Ren. Both he and Lin decided that this was the time to enter quasi-sleep in the form of meditation, and retire for the night.

The thought of Ren leaving had not even crossed their minds.

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A few blocks away, hiding behind the shade of a willow tree, Zhi Mu studied the three orphans with an unreadable expression. "Behind all this tough exterior, you are still children at heart. Easy to anger, easy to forgive. Though I suppose it has served you rather well, Brother Ren." The boy took another swig from his calabash, an odd look in his eyes, almost wistful. "Perhaps tomorrow might be a little more fun."

With a final glance in the direction of the living quarters, the boy vanished from his hiding spot, leaving no trace of his passage behind.