"Mimi? I need help."
"What's up, cub?" Mimi asks, braiding a bit of red ribbon into Dumplin's hair.
"Can you?"
Finally, looking up at the panic in Chen's voice, Mimi quickly realizes she needs more than a bit of help. Chen had been trying to fit herself into one of the dresses Mimi had first bought for her. And with the recent weight gain, she is struggling to get her arms into it.
"I'm too fat," Chen whimpers, not looking at her sisters or Mameki.
Sitting Dumplin on the ground, Mimi quickly reaches her sister's side and magically tailors the dress with her claws. This doesn't stop the tears from starting to fall. After reading the situation, Mameki pulls Dumplin into the other room, promising to give her a small snack before having tea with the clan leader.
"Cub, look at me," Mimi soothes, adjusting the dress.
After a long moment, Chen finally meets her eyes.
"You are not fat. It is completely normal for you to gain some weight now that you have three meals a day and snacks thrown in. What was going on at Shen Castle was not healthy. You were never supposed to be that skinny. You are absolutely perfect as you are."
"But you and mom are pretty, and Dumplin is always cute. I just thought that maybe I wouldn't fit in when we meet the clan leader."
Mimi enfolds her little sister into a hug and summons a mirror. Holding it in front of her, Mimi nudges her sister to look. The two sisters sat side by side in the mirror. Nearly identical in their features. While Chen's features were undoubtedly soft with childhood, Mimi's were razor-sharp like a predatory bird. Yet the similarities outweighed the differences.
"What differences do you see?" Mimi asks.
Chen sniffs and looks in the mirror, "Not very many."
"So, by your logic, if I am pretty, that means you're pretty too. I don't think there is any question of whose family you belong to. You fit," Mimi hugs her close, "you fit right here."
"But cub," Mimi waves her hand, and the mirror disappears, "looks are not necessarily important to impress someone. It's how you feel about yourself that matters. Besides, I would not worry about impressing the clan leader; he will be trying to impress us, not the other way around. I just want you and Dumplin to be polite. If you cubs don't like him, we won't bother with him."
"Really?" Chen asks, looking up at Mimi, hopefully.
"Really," Mimi kisses the side of her head and holds her there playfully until Chen wriggles out of her grip and follows Dumplin to the kitchen.
The day of the meeting came far too quickly for Mimi. Between caring for two girls, training Chen, and preparing gifts for the Gusu clan, Mimi felt exhausted. Her magic levels were incredibly low. She had not seen the clan leader for two weeks after receiving his acceptance of their meeting time.
Mameki hovers near her, concerned. It was nearly three hours until the meeting.
"Mameki, think the red."
Mimi studies the dress Mameki had picked. It is beautiful, she reasons. It is simple. A white dress embroidered with red roses and a red camisole over the top. Both the train and camisole would easily be enough to conceal her tails. Mimi bites her lip and looks at the dark blue. Would she appear too willing to join the Gusu clan?
"Dumplin, Chen? What do you think?" Mimi looks over at the two girls who had followed her like ducklings into her bedroom.
"I like the red," they both said in unison before looking at each other.
"Is that because you both are wearing red of some form?" Mimi asks, slightly amused.
It was true; both girls either were wearing red or had red ribbons.
"Mameki, think family look united."
"Well, I can't argue that reasoning," Mimi concedes and magics the dress on to herself, "How do I look?"
Both of her sister's smile, and Mameki gives her a weird sort of thumbs up.
"Alright. Why don't we all get some fresh air?" Mimi looks out the window at the beaming sun.
Chen grabs her book, and Dumplin races to the other room for her watercolors.
"Will you be joining us, Mameki?" Mimi asks; she had, despite her reservations, become fond of the strange parasol.
"Mameki paint toes," Mameki sticks his single foot out with the new sandal that Mimi had bought for him and wiggles his toes.
Mimi had been experimenting with illusions to try and conceal the spirit's true form so he could go on outings with her and her sisters; nothing she tried had worked. Every time she had been thwarted. Mimi rose to her feet and double-checked all her tails were covered before joining her sisters at the door. They waited for her to exit first and flanked her down the hallway. They practically bounced with excitement to get outside.
The proprietor meets her at the bottom of the stairs, his expression practically glowing. She had told him a couple of days previously that the clan leader was expected at one for a visit. He had almost fallen over himself, thanking her for bringing such a prestigious guest to his establishment. Mimi and her sisters bow to the proprietor politely. Chen and Dumplin soon look to her for permission to run into the backyard. Mimi nods, and they stately move to the sliding door, opening and closing it without a sound. She is so proud of her cubs.
"Have all the preparations been made for a late tea?" Mimi asks, already ticking off her mental checklist.
"Of course, Lady Shen," he bows to her, "If I may say so, it has been a great honor to have both you and your sisters staying with us."
"The honor is ours," Mimi smiles, "How is your wife's health? She has seemed much better of late."
His face slightly reddened, and he grinned widely, "Her condition has much improved! It is truly a miracle."
"I am glad," Mimi looks at all the flowers around the room.
"Please give my thanks to your daughters and wife for going above and beyond with the preparations. The sitting area looks lovely."
"Merely ring if you need anything," the proprietor bows to her, which Mimi returns, and he departs.
On a whim, Mimi plucks a delicate rose from a vase and adjusts it into her hair. Sliding the door open, Mimi smiles, watching her sisters chase each other in the maze. Their belongings were carefully put on a bench by the fountain. Suddenly Mimi felt an experimental poke at her barriers. On her return from Cloud Recesses, she had put strong wards around the entire hotel. It would be tough for something to get in without bringing casualty to themselves. Curious, Mimi stares into the fountain. Making sure she is not being watched, Mimi taps the water with her finger to see who it was.
A man in light blue garments is pacing in front of the barrier, overseeing it for weak spots. Mimi immediately recognizes the brother to the clan leader. She did not remember the man in black clothes who patted the brother to the clan leader on the shoulder before attacking the barrier. Mimi almost feels sorry for the man as he is thrown back a couple of feet.
"What are you looking at?" Chen asks; she had come for her book and found her sister immersed in watching the fountain.
"Is Dumplin at the center of the maze?" Mimi asks, knowing her littlest sister is quite fond of wandering deep into the maze.
"Yeah, she is doing her watercolors," Chen answers.
"Come here and sit beside me," Mimi instructs, not taking her eyes off the water.
Chen does as she is bid and looks into the water, her eyes widening as she takes in the two men.
"They are attempting to penetrate the barrier," Mimi chuckles.
"Who are they?" Chen asks, looking closer.
"The one in light blue is the clan leader's brother. I am unsure of the other man. The brother is quite clever. Watch his movements, cub. This is a cultivator of well renown. Look at what he is doing with his hands," Mimi instructs, making sure Chen is paying close attention to the cultivator making sigils.
"What is he doing?" Chen asks with fascination.
"He is looking at how the wards are constructed. Usually, when one does this, it is easier for one to break them apart, but he will only see crisscrossed layers and not the blood I applied with every layer. If the rumors of his renown as a cultivator are true, he will realize that breaking the wards are futile. If what I have heard is true, he is quite skilled, but it would still take him a long time to bring them down."
"What is the other one doing?"
Mimi peers closer into the water, and her eyes light up, "He is going to try and break the wards by applying a blood talisman. He is smart but unfamiliar with how our magic works."
Both sisters watch as the man in black casts the talisman on to the barrier before it explodes, sending a large pillar of fire towards the man in black. Both sisters giggle as the man is once again thrown back.
"You see, cub, that is why intent is so important when applying magic," Mimi looks down again and sees both men riding upon a sword, trying to rise above the hotel.
They are immediately blocked by the barrier once again.
"Will they come in?" Chen asks, and Mimi could hear her nerves.
"I do not know, cub," Mimi hugs her sister closer, "Why don't you join Dumplin, and I will see for myself."
"You will be careful?" Chen looks nervously at the dissolving image in the water.
"Of course. I am merely going to greet them. I do not fight unless I must. Go on," Mimi nudges her sister towards the maze and dusts off her dress.
Curious, Mimi slides open the door and enters the lobby. She nods politely at the proprietor and steps outside the hotel. Stepping around the left corner, she keeps to the shadows as she spies on the two men.
"Lan Zhan, have you seen such a barrier? How much power do you think it took to construct it?" the man in black seemed to want to touch the barrier again.
The man, Lan Zhan, Mimi mentally corrects, stood there impassively.
"Can I help you with something, gentleman?" Mimi steps from the shadows and smiles at the two men before bowing respectfully.
They return her bow; they have manners outside from breaking random barriers, Mimi notes with some amusement.
"Are you the proprietress of this fine establishment?" the man in black asks with a wide smile.
"No," Mimi feels like snickering, "I am the Lady Shen. May I ask whom you may be?"
"I am Wei Wuxian," the man in black bows to her, "And this is the esteemed HanGuang Jun!"
"Wonderful. You must know I am expecting your brother shortly?"
Wei Wuxian looks at his cultivation partner with an expression that said, "we have been caught."
They had been trying to catch a glimpse of her; it seems, Mimi realizes, "Why don't you join me for tea. It is quite warm out here."
Wei Wuxian looks at his cultivation partner with what looked to be a form of puppy eyes.
"I was going to serve tea to my sisters in a moment," Mimi offers, watching the curious interactions between the two men with interest.
The silent cultivator deliberates for a moment before nodding his assent.
Mimi lifts her skirts off the grass and leads the two men into the hotel; she watches how the two of them pause before entering—expecting another barrier. The proprietor gawks at her two guests before bowing, "Master Wei, Second master lan. It is an honor!"
"Perhaps we could have the tea I had planned for my sisters brought out early, please?" Mimi asks politely.
The proprietor bows to her, "Right away, Lady Shen."
Mimi leads the men to the table she had prepared previously, and the two men grab a couple of pillows to kneel on. She watches in interest out of her peripheral vision that the man in light blue is ascertaining whether any ill magic is in use.
"Please make yourself comfortable, gentleman; I will fetch my sisters," Mimi bows to the seated men and slides open the door.
Her sensitive ears pick up, "She is far too comely for our Zewu-Jun."
She smiles as the man in black lets out a yelp followed by a sharp, "Lan Zhan!"
Mimi quickly navigates to the center of the maze and finds Chen and Dumplin absorbed in their activities.
"I have tea waiting, cubs."
Chen and Dumplin immediately perk up at the mention of tea and jump up.
"So those men?" Chen whispers.
"I have invited them to tea," Mimi smiles at her sisters comfortingly, "So we all need to be at our best behavior."
"You don't fear them?" Chen asks with confusion.
"I believe they were trying to get a glimpse of us before the clan leader's arrival," Mimi snickers.
Dumplin clings to her skirts until Mimi picks her up, "Will you be on your best behavior, cub?"
"I am a lady," Dumplin says in a very grave tone.
"You are both my little ladies," Mimi smiles and leads them out of the maze.
Since her sisters were still fearful, Mimi slides open the door and enters first. Both men stand, and their faces seem to show surprise as they stare at her sisters. They were obviously expecting ladies more intimidating.
"Wei Wuxian, HanGuang Jun. May I present my sisters, Lady Chen Shen," Chen bows prettily to the men and steps back close to Mimi, "and Lady Dandan Shen."
Dumplin steps out from behind Mimi carefully and bows, just as Mimi had taught her, before darting behind her.
The two men bow to the ladies and resume their seats just as the tea arrives.
"This looks wonderful! Thank you, Rieko," Mimi smiles at the young woman and gives her five gold coins.
Mimi sits down, and her sisters flank her on both sides. Mimi begins pouring tea for the men, then her sisters, and finally for herself.
"Who constructed the barriers?" Lan Zhan asks after a moment.
Slightly taken aback at the question, Mimi smiles at the stern man.
"Would you believe it was mine?" she takes a sip of tea before removing a dish of pastries her sisters adore and passing them around the table, ensuring her sisters get a couple before she did so.
He waited until she set the tray back on the tea tray before continuing his line of questioning, "How?"
Mimi smiles, "It is a special trick taught in my clan. You crisscross the barriers. In a lattice arrangement."
Eyeing her with suspicion, he finally tastes the tea. Apparently, he and his brother had a similar taste in tea. His expression softens at the taste.
"Looks like we won't have to steal Zewu-Jun's tea, Lan Zhan. Please convince her to give us the recipe!"
The cultivator in blue gives the man a stern look before continuing to sip at the tea.
"How old are your little ones?" Wei Wuxian studies Dumplin and Chen with fascination.
Dumplin looks up at Mimi for permission; Mimi nods her assent. Both Mimi and Chen watch with pride as Dumplin states in a clear polite tone, "I am five, Master Wei, and my sister is nine."
Mimi squeezes her hand under the table. Dumplin grins at her sister and delicately takes a bite of pastry.
Wei Wuxian stares at Dumplin, perplexed, as does his cultivation partner, who hides it better.
"My sister is merely small for her age," Mimi smiles, gently stroking her red hair.
"Were you merely passing through, or did you come directly from Cloud Recesses?" Mimi asks curiously, handing out a tray of delicate finger sandwiches.
Lan Zhan seemed about to speak before Wei Wuxian interrupts, "We merely wanted to see our prospective sister in law, before Zewu-Jun!"
Mimi looks over at Chen and smiles, see I was right.
"Cloud Recesses," Lan Zhan confirms her suspicion again.
"I have heard your library is a glorious sight to behold," Mimi tactfully changes the subject handing out another tray of sandwiches.
"How large is your library?" Chen asks the man in light blue, and Mimi smiles, knowing her sister's love of books.
Lan Zhan seems to appraise Chen for a moment before a slight smile appears at the corner of his mouth, "Quite large."
"My sister devours books at a rapid pace. We have nearly bought out the local bookseller," Mimi smiles proudly at her sister as Chen flushes.
"I have spent many a trine in the Cloud Recesses library. Lan Zhan is modest. After it was rebuilt, it now boasts two stories to contain all its knowledge," Wei Wuxian also smiles kindly at Chen.
Chen's eyes grow large, and she looks at Mimi beseechingly. Later, Mimi's eyes say, and Chen smiles with the knowledge that her eldest sister will soon get her what she wants.
Dumplin touches Mimi's hand under the table, and Mimi nods in understanding, "Wei Wuxian, HanGuang Jun. Is there an art master at Cloud Recesses?"
The two men look at each other, and Wei Wuxian shrugs, "I know that the clan leader sometimes takes on pupils if the student shows promise. He has not taken on a pupil for a while, though."
Mimi nods to Dumplin, and Dumplin immediately dashes off to fetch her portfolio.
"My sister Dandan is quite gifted with calligraphy and watercolors. I would like to see her education continue if possible."
"It has been a while since he has taken on a pupil, Lady Shen."
Dumplin hurries back into the room with the energy of an incredibly young child on a mission.
Carefully opening the leather portfolio Mimi had bought for her, Dumplin presses numerous landscapes into Wei Wuxian's hands.
"Thank you," Wei Wuxian grins at the child before he looks down and eyes bulging; he cries, "Lan Zhan! Youngest Mistress Lady Shen should instruct Zewu-Jun!"
The stern cultivator puts his hand gently on Wei Wuxian's arm before his eyes also grow wide, but less comically so.
"Indeed," he says, and he genuinely smiles at Dumplin, who sat with her eyes lowered, the image of serenity.
"I am very proud of both my sister's accomplishments," Mimi touches both her sister's hands under the table, making sure neither felt left out.
"I spill so much paint," Wei Wuxian cries in mock sadness, "I am not even in worthy of being in the Youngest Lady Shen's presence."
Dumplin giggles, and Lan Zhan stares at his cultivation partner narrowly before continuing to leaf through the paintings he had liberated from the other man's grip.
"I don't like painting either, Master Wei," Chen smiles conspiratorially at the black-cloaked cultivator.
"But I bet you don't get beat black and blue by HanGuang Jun," Wei Wuxian whines, clinging on to Lan Zhan's arm.
This is the moment when the clan leader is led into the room by the proprietor of the hotel. Both men raise their eyebrows at what they had just heard. Thinking on her feet, Mimi immediately stands, and her sisters follow her lead, hanging back politely behind her with the grace of handmaidens. Lan Zhan and Wei Wuxian follow them. The latter regarding the clan leader with a bit of trepidation.
"Clan leader lan," Mimi bows elegantly before him, he bows and greets, "Lady Shen."
"And we have to go," Wei Wuxian grabs a sandwich and begins to make a run for it before Lan Zhan grabs hold of his sleeve, effectively stopping him.
This was not quite what Mimi had in mind when she had planned this lunch, but she found herself watching the family dynamics with interest all the same. She felt Dumplin and Chen creep closer behind her, unsure of what was happening.
"I did not expect to see you both here," Lan Xichen smiles tightly at his brother and Master Wei.
He had a feeling that Master Wei had dragged his brother along to bother the Lady Shen.
"We merely came to partake of the generousness of the Lady Shen's table, Zewu-Jun. She exceeds expectations!"
"Perhaps we should all sit down and continue our tea," Mimi suggests, already signaling to the proprietor who gives her a thumbs-up behind the clan leader before quickly moving away.
"We don't have to steal any more of your tea, Zewu-Jun. The Lady Shen is serving it," Wei Wuxian looked like he would still make a run for it if his cultivation partner did not have a firm hold on his sleeve.
"Indeed?" Lan Xichen turns his attention back to Mimi and then to the faces curiously staring at him from behind her.
"Clan leader lan, these are my sisters," Mimi beckons to Chen, who steps out from behind Mimi and bows to the clan leader, "This is the Lady Chen Shen."
Dumplin steps out from behind her sister without prompting, but she kept quite close to Mimi's skirts.
"This is my sister, Lady Dandan Shen."
Lan Xichen bows to all three of the ladies. Mimi makes the first move and steps back toward the table, and whatever standoff the three cultivators were having settles at the prospect of more tea.
"It seems my brother and Master Wei have been very well entertained," Lan Xichen looks at the plate that must have been Master Wei's and smirks.
Springing into action as Lan Zhan brought his brother a cushion, Mimi sets a plate and cup in front of the clan leader and pours him tea.
Mimi's sisters sink onto their cushions with less ease than before, obviously sensing the discord in the room.
Sensing this, Mimi smiles at them, "You may play outside if you wish."
The children waste no time before regally getting to their feet, bowing before all three cultivators, and sliding out the door.
"My sisters are rather unused to strangers," Mimi says apologetically as Lily comes in with the second tea tray.
"Thank you, Lily," Mimi drops five gold coins into her hand and switches out the teapots herself with the addition of her sister's plates.
Lily bows to Mimi and pushes the first cart away.
"Which is very disappointing," Wei Wuxian said, nudging Lan Zhan, who still held Dumplin's paintings as he were very unwilling to let them go, "Both young Lady Shen's are quite charming."
Lan Zhan reluctantly hands the paintings over to Lan Xichen, who takes them with confusion before his eyes widen.
"My youngest sister is quite a talented artist," Mimi boasts happily, immensely proud of her sister's talent.
"These are extraordinary," Lan Xichen could not quite believe it himself.
"And guess what, Zewu-Jun?" Wei Wuxian said around his cultivation partner, "Youngest Lady Shen is five."
This stuns the clan leader, "Who did she study under?"
Unwilling to name the parasol, Mimi shrugs her shoulders helplessly, "I have been abroad for many years and recently came into the acquisition of my youngest siblings. I am hoping that I might find a teacher who can further her education."
"Possibly further your own education," Wei Wuxian grins and is quickly silenced by a stare from the cultivator in the middle.
"I . . . have not seen such talent for a long time," the clan leader leaf's through the paintings thoroughly before handing them back to Mimi, who carefully tucks them into the leather portfolio.
"I would love to have her as a pupil if you and your sisters would like to come to Cloud Recesses?"
"You're already asking her to Cloud Recesses, Zewu-Jun?" Master Wei teases.
Clan leader lan looks to his brother, and the cultivator stands up, bows to Lady Shen, and drags Wei Wuxian outside.
Mimi could barely hear him yell, "Thanks for the tea, future sister in law!"
She hides her smile behind a sip of tea. Without the other two cultivators, it is hushed in the sitting room.
"I honestly didn't expect them to come," Lan Xichen says apologetically, half expecting the woman to run away after tea.
"Nonsense," Mimi smiles, "I caught them testing my barriers outside the hotel and invited them in. So, I must be partially responsible."
"That Master Wei," Lan Xichen shakes his head and finally takes a bite of a sandwich.
"They were quite contrite when they couldn't climb the wall to look into the garden. I had to invite them to tea," Mimi smirks at the slight blush by the clan leader's ears.
"My uncle is right; Master Wei is a bad influence on Wanji," Lan Xichen takes another sip of his tea and refills his cup.
"I am told that you enjoy my selection of tea leaves, clan leader?" Mimi asks politely, handing him a dish of sandwiches.
She stares at him expectantly as he takes another experimental sip of said tea and sighs as if it is ambrosia.
"Yes, I would invite you to Cloud Recesses, merely for that," Lan Xichen smiles, and Mimi is reminded of a contented cat.
"What do you use?" he asks curiously, "I have done my best to replicate it, but it never came close," he didn't mention he had offered a reward to the young cultivators if they could replicate it. He had not bargained that most had never touched a stove before, let alone a teapot. It had been a long two weeks for the clan leader.
"Honey," Mimi answers, "I soak the herbs in honey and allow them to dry before mixing in other dry herbs."
"But you will not tell me what the other herbs are and the quantity, am I right?" the clan leader stares at her emerald eyes and swears that they glowed a little when she seemed to be holding back laughter.
"Where would my usefulness be if I simply gave you the recipe?" Mimi quips.
"I am sure I will get it from you at one point," the clan leader teases, taking another sip.
"You may try," Mimi smiles and takes a sip of her tea.