With the history lesson nearly finished, my sister escorted me out of her office and back out onto the main throughway.

“Do you have money? I would have you stay with me, but I live in the barracks…and they don’t allow family members to stay with us.” I can see her hesitation, like she was afraid I would disappear again. It was also obvious that she has been living a lonely life for the last ten years. I can’t be sure if it was the responsibility of taking care of the family and then having the family disappear or just the loneliness of a single female in charge of the entire villages defenses.

“No, no…I am good. The group I told you about contributed some funds to my trip here. I should be good for a month or two.” I can see the pain with the last statement. She really wants to help.

“Do you know of a good inn, or way-house in the village? It looks like the whole village is twice the size it was when I was here last…and I don’t remember seeing an inn back then…not sure I was paying attention.”

“Yes…ah, the Knuckle Bones Inn should be good enough. I know the owner, Sandy, and she runs a tight ship. It’s down the main stretch, where the old transport pads used to be…if you remember those?” She waves her hand down the main road. At the same time, two guards pop out of the tower running up to her.

“Captain, sorry for interrupting, but the rabbit is back…and it brought some friends.” I see the sigh in my sisters eyes. I give her a quick hug and begin to head up the street.

“Let’s do dinner. I will hang out in the dinning room.” With my little quip over my shoulder, I pick up my pace and move away.

“Hey Captain, is that your boyfriend…I thought you were going to be solo for life. John is not going to be happy about this.”

“John can jump in a ditch, the idiot. Now let's get after the annoying bunnies.” Indifference is something I can understand. I have to wonder who this John is, and what her relationship to him is actually is. Moving away, I started entering the village proper.

The foot traffic was light, but I did have to dodge the occasional kid or wayward messenger. Both seemed to move through the streets like they were a game with rules only they knew. Left, then right, right, right, left…and back again. I suppose pausing for a bit would be a bit much considering their pace, but they probably don’t carry the mental baggage I do.

After dodging a group of kids, intent on causing everyone on the street to come to a stop, I came across a small tea shop. The scent coming from the shop caused my mind to enter a moment of peace…I didn’t even hesitate and made my way through the door.

A small bell tied to the door rang, a high pitch but solid tone. Staring at the bell I could see that it was an essence craftsmanship. Reaching out I felt the bell and essence within. The intent was there. “Ring with Peace.” A simple thought but it was highly intricate.

“Hello, my I help you?” I turned back around and came face to face with a…Strong….in the middle of the village serving tea.

“Ah, yes…the aroma I smell is very peaceful. I was wondering if I could get a cup?” My speech was a little awkward. I am not sure I should say anything about her being a Strong…is it a secret?…Does my sister know? I am a little confused as she guides me up some stairs to a second story. Bright windows line the sides and front of this floor and flood the room in light.

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She guides me to a single table on the right, handing me a shaving of wood with the tea list engraved.

“The tea you are looking for is “Water Essence Tea”. It’s a combination of several rare water herbs, and spun with rose wind essence. The odor in the streets is because of that process…some wind escapes.

“Oh, well, yes…lets start with that.” With that said, I begin to look out the window in the surrounding village. This is an old building. Three floors with great views of the town.

I can see the destruction that was reaped here. Most of the buildings are single story, thin, and long, leading away from the Main Street. They look more utilitarian than something built for living in. Here and there I can see where people have begun to rebuild the old style houses, but its not prevalent.

Two minutes later I get a waff of the rose wind essence. My server comes back out with a small tea cup and a shadow panther.

My eyes switch to essence view immediately. The panther is her bond, and its an old bond. The connection thick and strong, like a baby’s arm. As if the panther understood my attention, her eyes snap to me.

“Easy beautiful one. Peace.” I hold out my hand and the panther pushes past her surprised bond to rub into my hand.

“Ah, I…what…that’s not normal.” Her bond’s protests are ignored as I spin some earth through her fur and begin to scratch her behind the ears.

“Ah, I guess that is ok….but what are you? Only my parents have this kind of effect on her…and she just met you….wait…”. I guess I should have expected something like this, the trip hasn’t really gone to plan at this point. First I run into a group enslaving a Strong, then I meet my sister after ten years…and now some strange Strong serving tea in a tea house seems to know who I am.

I quickly pick up the tea cup and down a swig of something well worth the price. Closing my eyes, I ignore the strange woman heavily questioning my existence in the village and try to keep the calm I have worked with over the years. The panther seems to have picked it up easily…not sure the girl has. The panther drags the woman back to kitchen…I assume…and I continue with the tea.

What do I do now. I can’t just leave. I promised my sister I wouldn’t disappear, but this could be a tangible threat. I really don’t want to destroy my home village because of this. Maybe I can leave word with the guard and tell them I have gone home. She will understand that…but what do I do with the Strong.

Letting the tea settle into my stomach, I snack on some sour biscuits and contemplate what I am going to do. This encounter has pretty much removed the possibility of settling down and just enjoying the rest of my life. I doubt she can keep her mouth shut…so I will have to leave sooner or later. Later.

There is nothing that they can do to me now, I just need to keep my stay here short enough that they can’t form up enough people…well, that’s not possible either. I just can’t let my identity get out. I would like to go to the next village and not get mobbed…or attacked, if they figure out I was the cause of the shattering.

As I sit there and sip on the excellent tea, I note that the serving girl has not come back. Checking around with my essence, I find that her and her bond are peaking out through the kitchen door. As I turn to look, the door quickly closes. How did she know who I am? I suppose the bond helped…I can’t really seem to hide from them. I just didn’t expect a Strong to be in the village.

My thoughts are broken with the sound of the bell. My curious, serving girl hops out of the kitchen and flies down the stairs.

I listen in a bit. She is not calling the guard…so that is good. They seem to be regulars. I think she is trying to get them to stay on the first floor, not really necessary I would think. I look over to the kitchen door and work some earth essence magic.

“Hello friend. Could you tell your bond it’s ok to let them up here. I really don’t want to cause a fuss.” I get what can only be described as an evil giggle...snuffle...gargle.. and the panther hops down the stairs.

A few shocked remarks, and I can hear the panther padding back up the stairs. Only this time, she doesn’t head back to the kitchen, but curls up under my table. I can’t say I am shocked…most of the Strong beasts gravitate to me like house pets. It is probably an Avatar thing, but it is comforting.

I prop my feet up on her back and continue my earth scratches from earlier. Small purrs of contentment echo from under the table. As if that was a queue to her bond, the woman leads a group of old ladies back up the stairs and over to the far wall. I think its the farthest she could get them from me.

Am I really that scary? I suppose I have been out in the wild for a couple days, but I thought I cleaned up fairly well before entering the village…so she somehow knows me…and what happened.

I finish up the last of the biscuits and turn my attention back to the window. What am I going to do now?