The tea is hot and steaming in the two cups Zhu Li had just served. It was late in the afternoon. The sun was giving its pinkish light in the southern sky, reflected by the snow. There was no sound to be heard. Varrick's vacation villa in the Water Tribe was quiet, ideal for contemplation or introspection. Surrounded by the soft halo of the winter sun, Varrick was lying on his exterior lounge sofa in the patio, completely relaxed.
"Your tea, Sir."
He took the cup she handed him and began sipping it. Warmth spread through his body anew. He had been testing his new Varrisuits, made for the tundra, by taking a nap outside. The suits were not made for lazy people, it seemed, for he was cold when he had woken up after not moving for so long. Fortunately, Zhu Li had been there with a hot cup of tea, as always.
"This is really good tea, Zhu Li!"
No reply came. Zhu Li had always known the worth of words and how to spare them. A quality he certainly did not share.

"I think I'll pass on the tick checking tonight, Zhu Li."
"As you wish, Sir."
"It's too cold for those nasty critters anyway. I'll just do my Varrick calisthenics out here."
He glanced at her. Standing against the wall, she was completely stern, as always. Sometimes, he wished she would smile and laugh with him, admire him. But he did not pay her for that.

Standing up was far from easy in his lumpy suit, but he managed to do it not too ridiculously. Not that Zhu Li would mock him. He bent his knee, put his foot on the sofa and began his flexions. Many things could be said about him, but not that he did not work out as much as his busy life allowed him to.

Soon his body warmed up in the toundra cold where he had had his house built. He should probably sell the Varrisuits to hard workers. Ice gatherers, perhaps, or hunters. What he wouldn't have given to have such a comfy suit when he went on hunting trips with his father as a child.

Maybe he should do his Varrick calisthenics outside more often. It reminded him that his life was so much better than it used to. With a smile on his face he kept going. He was happy now. He was rich, he had several big houses, all the money he could want. He had the best assistant in the world, who was currently staring at the scenery peacefully. Zhu Li had the ability to observe quietly, something he lacked. He could never be as good as her at keeping silent and watching over the situation she was in.

His heart was pumping fast and strong now, making him feel ten times more alive than before. It took him a while to notice but once he did notice he felt horribly ashamed − something he rarely ever felt. It seemed that the blood was rushing in all parts of his body, one in particular. I can't let Zhu Li see this, he thought. She'll think I'm some sort of deviant getting off exercise.

He turned his back to her and went on with his calisthenics, but that did not help in the least. On the contrary, exercising seemed to make his blood flow and the more he bent and rose again, the harder he seemed to get. Why? He hadn't had awkward boners in years. He was a man in his thirties, not some teenager who barely discovered his body! He should have more control than this.

Once he was done with his work-out, he sat on his couch, still not facing Zhu Li, and began his daily breath holding. Ten seconds breath holding. He could not focus with a raging erection such as the one he harboured. Thank the spirits Zhu Li was not seeing it. He was turning his back to her, but even without that, his Varrisuit was thick enough to conceal it. Twenty seconds breath holding. Thirty seconds breath holding. He was beginning to calm down. Fourty seconds breath holding. Now, you calm down, little Varrick. Fifty seconds breath holding. He hoped it would not happen again the next time he did his calisthenics. Every day frustration was not something he could bear. Sixty seconds breath holding.

He took a big breath and started counting again. After ten times one minute breath holding, his troubles were forgotten.