Flanked by her sisters, Mimi slowly approaches the offices of the clan leader. Still sensing her fear of the ancient one, Dumplin held her hand for support. Though to Mimi, it was like carrying a handbag. Mimi lifts her little sister off the ground playfully before turning to the door.
"Lord Qiren or Clan leader lan?" Mimi calls, feeling foolish.
Lord Qiren opens the sliding door and beckons the three Lady Shen's inside with a beaming smile.
"Good morning, Lady Shen's," Lord Qiren bows to the ladies, and as they practiced, all three ladies bow in sync.
"I must thank you for the wonderful gift," Lord Qiren said, bowing once more, "I feel re-energized, and my students have never been more well behaved!"
"The pleasure is all mine, Lord Qiren. It brings me great joy that you like it. I had great difficulty trying to decide what to make as gifts."
He leads them to his office and sits them down in front of the table. Tea is already being served. Mimi pours out tea for all four of them.
"I must apologize for the actions of the cultivator Master Wei," Lord Qiren said after a time. Dumplin shifts towards her sister Mimi at the mention of the events of the previous night. "Xichen mentioned last night your wish is to duel him?"
Mimi nods, "It is a tradition of my father's clan that I wish to uphold. A matter of honor. I do not necessarily blame Master Wei for his actions, but I wish to show my sisters; he is nothing to be afraid of. I hope that this will not displease you in any way."
Lord Qiren strokes his chin, appraising the woman before him. Xichen had briefly mentioned her killing six nags on her own while protecting her siblings, but he did not quite believe it.
"Of course not. Fighting is prohibited inside Cloud Recesses, but the cultivation training grounds would be appropriate. I have already announced at breakfast that this would be settled at once. Does this suit, Lady Shen?"
"That will work fine, Lord Qiren," making a gesture at her siblings, "I would like your input on another matter."
"By all means," Lord Qiren asked curiously, and for a moment, Mimi could see traces of the clan leader beneath his stern expression.
"My sisters have developed an interest in cultivation. Cloud Recesses is, of course, one of the most accredited schools of thought. It is a shame my bringing them here has put a stop to their education at home. If it were possible for them to continue their education here at Cloud Recesses for the duration of our stay, I would be eternally grateful."
"We have disciples of all ages and cultivation status. It would not be difficult to schedule private lessons before allowing them to study with the group," Lord Qiren is also curious if the siblings shared the same amount of power as their already rather prolific sister. If Xichen could be persuaded to marry this one, it would be extremely profitable having all three ladies at Cloud Recesses.
"Since the first task has been completed. I can arrange for your sisters to begin classes next week," Lord Qiren looks behind them at the very tall figure entering.
"Xichen, the Lady Shen's and I were merely discussing business," Lord Qiren said as they all got to their feet to bow to the clan leader.
"Lady Shens', I was hoping to see you at breakfast this morning," Lan Xichen smiles friendly at the sisters as he sat down next to his uncle.
"I hope it is not an inconvenience, clan leader. Our family does not take breakfast. We spend it in private silent meditation," Mimi lied, not wanting to seem rude for not wanting to eat at 5 in the morning.
Lord Qiren nods in approval while the clan leader raises his head to meet her eyes. There is confusion there, she thought. Had they been seen?
"Of course, this morning, my sisters and I took our meditation to the forests to familiarize ourselves with Cloud Recesses. Your mountains are breathtaking. Very serene."
The clan leader did not look convinced, but she could see hints of red on his cheeks. What could that mean, she wonders.
"Lady Shen has asked for her sisters to resume their education here at Cloud Recesses," Lord Qiren said proudly.
Lan Xichen stares at her in surprise as she said, "My girls are very excited."
"I thought perhaps Wanji could supervise their education until they may join the group," Lord Qiren says offhandedly to Lan Xichen.
"That is unnecessary. Wanji has many other pursuits that keep him busy. I will be more than happy to do it. I did already promise the youngest Shen art classes," Lan Xichen says, smiling at the girls.
Lord Qiren stares at his nephew in slight shock, "This is excellent! You have not had an art student in these last two years."
Lady Shen bows to the clan leader, "It would be an honor, clan leader."
The younger Shen's followed their sister's lead and bowed, chiming, "Thank you, clan leader lan," in unison.
Lan Xichen is reminded again of little ducklings following their mother, his gaze shifts to the eldest sister. He bows as well.
"Will you join us on the cultivation field, uncle?" Lan Xichen asks, standing up.
"No, too many papers to grade, but please be sure to let me know the outcome," Lord Qiren nods at the sisters fondly before resuming his work.
Opening the door for the sisters, Lan Xichen offers his arm to Lady Shen. She looks him over before taking it.
"Are you nervous?" Lan Xichen whispers. He could nearly count the lines on the woman's forehead.
"Of the match? No. My sisters and I ran into something in the woods this morning, is all. Has there been anything but nag sighted in these mountains?"
Worried, Lan Xichen places a hand on hers and finds his fingers grazing the warm metal claws. He had nearly forgotten about her claws. She always seems to hide them in her long sleeves.
"There used to be jorogumo in the higher elevations," Lan Xichen explains, "but there hasn't been a sighting of them for a hundred years. The nag have absorbed most of the wildlife, and aside from the odd wisp every now and again," he let the topic drift. Lady Shen is staring at the black-cloaked cultivator standing several yards away.
A couple young cultivators already sat on the grass nearby. Lan Zhan stood with Wei Wuxian.
"What do you think you saw?" Lan Xichen squeezes her hand, and she looks up.
"I didn't see it," Mimi answers honestly, "I felt it and ran with my siblings to the territory line. I was merely wondering if anyone else has heard anything."
Before Lan Xichen can question her further, Wei Wuxian runs up to the sisters and drops to the ground, bowing low to the sisters.
"I am deeply sorry for scaring you, Lady Shen's. I am entirely at your mercy! Please accept these as a token of my regret," sitting upon his knees; he digs through his pockets to present two meticulously crafted daggers to the younger sisters.
Dumplin and Chen look up to their sister eagerly for permission. Mimi pats the clan leader absently on the arm before inspecting the weapons. Wei Wuxian unsheathes the first one and presents the dagger hilt first for Mimi to examine.
Mimi smiles at the name engraved on the sword, it said little snowflake, but she did not touch it. Seeing the smile, Wei Wuxian pulls out the second dagger for her to see. Inspecting this one just as thoroughly as the first, Mimi sees the name bittersweet on the second.
"Did you take these from the vaults?" Lan Xichen says, also examining the weapons over Mimi's shoulder.
"Lan Zhan said it would be a good idea for the young ladies to learn. A sword would be too heavy!"
Lan Zhan steps up to the group and nods in support of his cultivation partner.
"What do you think?" Mimi looks up to the clan leader for his opinion.
"They are fine blades and would be ideal for practice until they can use a sword," Lan Xichen smiles at her, half wishing he had thought to provide the children with their first weapon.
"Go ahead," Mimi murmurs to her sisters, who descend on the black-cloaked cultivator at once.
A little stunned at the girl's ferocity, Wei Wuxian quickly gives the sisters the daggers and steps back toward Lan Zhan.
Lan Zhan, however, steps towards Lady Shen and bows, "Thank you for the thoughtful gift."
"Your very welcome," Mimi returns the bow, "It was quite difficult figuring out what to make for your clan."
"Did you get me anything?!" Wei Wuxian bounds up to her, and Mimi raises her eyebrow at the same time Lan Xichen says, "She is about to duel you to defend the honor of her sisters. You want a gift?"
"He is a part of your clan," Mimi looks appraisingly between the cultivators, "I will think on it."
"So," Mimi removes her camisole and hands it to her sister Chen, "the rules for the match. How about three rounds, best two out of three?"
"You still wish to duel, Lady Shen?" Wei Wuxian asks, contemplating the woman.
"My sisters have forgiven you, but I have not," Mimi removes her shoes and socks as well, handing them to Dumplin.
Lan Xichen watches the sisters hesitantly move towards the grass, obviously spooked by the young cultivators despite Lan Sizhui waving at them politely. Seeing this, Lan Zhan swiftly moves towards the children and has them sit next to him. Putting himself between them and the young cultivators who curiously crane their necks around him to look. He supposed it had been a while since strangers had stepped into Cloud Recesses.
The clan leader steps between Wei Wuxian and Mimi, "Now I don't want to see any cheating," he directs this at Master Wei.
"No killing blows or strikes to the head. Best two out of three rounds. If someone hits the ground, the round will be over."
Watching them bow respectfully and move to opposite sides of the field, Lan Xichen calls out, "At the burst of light, the round will begin!"
His part over, Lan Xichen moves to sit down next to the sisters. To his amusement, Wanji scoops up the youngest sister and places her on his lap. The littlest sister is uncomfortable until a translucent bunny wriggles out from Lan Zhan's sleeve, and he shows it to her. Seeing the familiar creature Dumplin carefully holds her hand out for the bunny.
Lan Xichen uses his spiritual energy to fire a light between the two opponents. And they slowly began to move.
He glances over at Chen, watching the fight with interest, cocking her head from side to side.
"So, your sister tells me that you ran into something in the forest this morning," he asks. This immediately catches the attention of not only Wanji but the two young cultivators as well.
"Only my eldest sister saw it, clan leader," Chen says, continuing to watch her sister, "she grabbed Dumplin and I and got us to safety before it showed itself."
"Nag?" Lan Zhan asks, wrapping an arm around Dumplin.
"Eldest sister said she scented it first and then felt the presence in her mind. That was when she fled with us," Chen confesses. She reaches out for her little sister, who happily wraps her arms around her.
Lan Xichen smiles at the slight pout on his brother's face. He knew his brother had a soft spot for young children, especially after raising Lan Sizhui.
The clan leader turns his attention to watching the Lady Shen, who is nimbly dodging the attacks, moving about the grounds with extreme grace, but she did not attack. Confused, he leans further out to see if perhaps she is using her claws in some way he could not see. He knows that she is forced to be reckoned with after seeing her take on multiple nags simultaneously.
"It's okay, clan leader," Dumplin says happily, "Eldest sister is merely playing with him."
"What do you mean?" Lan Zhan asks, also watching the display with great interest.
Dumplin shakes her head and looks at Chen for help.
The clan leader looks at Chen, "If I am to be your teacher, then I expect honesty from my students."
Sighing, Chen nods to the field, "One of the first lessons our sister taught us is unless it is life or death, to take the time to your study your opponent. Eldest sister is making him expend energy while not using any of her own. Mimi is taking her time to figure him out. Watch right here," Chen nods her head at her sister who had just leaped into the air to avoid a ghost, her talons graze over the shadow creating long claw marks, "she is testing him. Once she gets all the information she needs, it will be very quick. She'll probably even lose this round."
As if Chen is scanning the future, Mimi hit the ground. Lan Xichen and Lan Zhan share a look over the children's heads before simultaneously looking at Wei Wuxian.
Master Wei helps the Lady Shen off the ground and bows to her politely. The Lady Shen bows regally, and they seem to talk for a moment. Chen giggles.
"What is it?" Lan Xichen asks, intrigued by the child.
"He asked her if doing another two rounds is necessary. He made her angry," a slow grin spreads across the young woman's face, "Watch my sister, clan leader. You will not regret it. Five minutes tops."
After bowing to each other, the two opponents move to opposite sides of the field. This time the air around the Lady Shen shone with a strange aura. Her hips sway from side to side. As Master Wei put his lips to the flute, balls of fire slam into him from all sides. Blocking him from being able to make a sound. Suddenly the ground beneath his feet became cylindrical, yanking him down so that only the top of his head is exposed.
There is silence upon the field as all the individuals present sat stunned. She had not even touched him. Lan Xichen and Lan Zhan sat staring aghast as the Lady Shen steps leisurely across the field.
"How did she do that?" Lan Xichen asks Chen, but the child shrugs.
"You will have to ask her clan leader," Chen nudges Dumplin, "You see that? Our sister is winning!"
Dumplin claps her hands adorably. Lan Xichen turns his attention back to Lady Shen. Making circular movements with her claws, the ground spits Master Wei out at her feet. She helps him up with a smile. Lan Xichen watches with slight amusement as the mirth had disappeared off Master Wei's face.
"This will be good," Chen says, leaning forward excitedly.
The clan leader couldn't help but silently agree as the two opponents took their position on the opposite sides of the field. At Lan Xichen's signal, the two opponents flash into action. Black spirits dash through the air, racing after the fleeing Lady Shen. But she is not fleeing, Lan Xichen quickly realizes. Leaning forward, Lan Xichen watches the balls of fire massing together around the woman. The black spirits sticking to the fire writhe crazily. She grazes the ground with a slender hand, and green fire erupts, sending it towards Master Wei with alarming speed.
The strange fire did not smoke nor burn the grass as it quickly circles the demonic cultivator. Master Wei attempts to leap out of the circle of fire but is quickly boxed in. Lan Xichen holds his brother back as the white-cloaked cultivator nearly dashes out to assist. Somewhat distracted by the fire, Lan Xichen did not notice that the black spirits entirely cover the Lady Shen. Golden light shone from inside as the Lady Shen seemingly fought savagely with the ghosts. Lan Zhan grabs on to his brother's cloak as Lan Xichen stands with his hand on his sword.
Chen raises an eyebrow at the jade twins and continues to watch, completely calm.
"She's just keeping him there until she collects all of his ghosts," Chen explains as if it is the easiest thing to understand.
Both jade twins turn to Chen in surprise.
"Just watch," Chen complains, "you're going to miss it."
Suddenly pushing off the ground, the pillar of ghosts is funneled into a shape of a sideways cyclone. Lady Shen slowly emerges from beneath the fury of spirits, her hands spinning madly controlling the hurricane. Her hair has escaped its pins and savagely whips behind her, giving her a wraith-like appearance. She flips in the air and provides the cyclone with a good kick. Sending it straight for Master Wei with the speed and precision of a hurricane.
The cyclone strikes the ring of fire and becomes a pillar of green flames and screaming ghosts.
A small noise escapes Lan Zhan as the black-cloaked cultivator disappears in flames and screaming ghosts.
"He's fine, HanGuang Jun. Please don't worry, eldest sister uses the fire for protection and defense. She can control whether someone will burn or not. I think she is teaching him a lesson and destroying all of his ghosts at the same time," Chen says, already getting to her feet with Dumplin hanging from her arms.
Sure, enough, the pillar of fire died down, not even leaving a burn mark on the turf. Master Wei lay flat on his stomach, breathing hard. He is indeed guarded by the cage of fire. Lady Shen waves her hand, and the fire merrily springs to her hand like a pet before disappearing. The black-cloaked cultivator scoots back away from her as she held her hand out politely to help him up.
"She asked him if he wishes to go again," Chen chuckles, running towards her sister with Dumplin in her arms.
Lan Zhan needs no further prompting and flashes to Master Wei's side.
"We have a winner!" Lan Xichen says proudly to the two cultivators clapping wildly in the stands.
When he had settled the young cultivators, he strode across the field to where Lady Shen and Master Wei were surprisingly enough exchanging polite pleasantries.
"I was so scared, Lan Zhan," Master Wei is saying, clinging on to Wanji's arm, "You couldn't see, but I was thrown all over inside that cyclone. If it weren't for that fire cage, I would have been ripped apart. I could hear the ghosts screaming as they were ripped to bits. How did you do that, Lady Shen?"
"Practice," Lady Shen is hugging her sisters and asking if they were alright.
"We were fine! The clan leader and HanGuang Jun were scared," Chen exclaims to her sister, pointing at the clan leader who is picking up the pace behind them.
"Were they? I did promise that I wouldn't harm him," Lady Shen huffs, tossing her hair back and making eye contact with the clan leader.
"You were holding back?!"
Master Wei is hiding behind Lan Zhan as Mimi let out a barking laugh but did not answer.
"Did you have to destroy all my ghosts?!" Master Wei says in irritation.
Lady Shen stares over her littlest sister's head, eyes burning with a strange light, "Yes."
With a sudden realization, Lan Xichen realizes that Lady Shen is protecting her siblings once again, his heart softens.
"I think a rematch is in order," Lan Xichen comments, amused at the significant discrepancy between the ferocious dueler and the woman sitting calmly with her youngest sister perched in her lap.
Master Wei shakes his head, "I need to lick my wounds first. But raincheck?"
"I was not referring to you, Master Wei," Lan Xichen says contemplatively.
Pursing her lips, Mimi gently sits Dumplin up for her to stand.
"What are you proposing, clan leader?" Mimi asks, her heart beating fast.
Lan Xichen put his hand on his sword, "What do you think?"
Raising her eyebrows, Mimi could sense her sisters and the cultivators return to the stands. What sort of game is he playing? she wonders, already casting another protective screen over the stands. She could play games too.
"Your very good at that," Lan Xichen steps forward, but Mimi holds her ground.
"Good at what, clan leader?" she bats her eyes at him playfully.
"Casting spells without talismans or saying incantations," Lan Xichen felt a little warm and removed his cloak.
"I practice often," mimicking the clan leader, she took off her outer robe, leaving her arms bare.
The clan leader stares at her bare arms in confusion as if he had never seen so much skin before. She sent a small stinging jinx at the clan leader, and he met her eyes, smoothly dodging the playful attack.
"Same rules?" Mimi pretends to wipe a piece of grass from her skirts.
"Except no holding back," Lan Xichen says smoothly, falling into a battle stance.
"You've been talking to my sisters," Mimi mouths the words' more cardio' to Chen in the stands, whose face becomes a little grey.
Lan Xichen's attack is swift, but Mimi is already in the air, dodging the icy blade.
"You utilize the elements," Lan Xichen says in amazement, as he realizes Mimi grasps the wind with her spiritual tools and kicks him in the chest.
Absorbing her attack, Lan Xichen summons his flute.
"You are observant," Mimi lands on the turf and summons foxfire.
The balls of fire rise around her until she is surrounded by the divine light. At the first notes of the flute, her body freezes. Fucking cultivators, she thinks.
The foxfire strikes the flute from his hands, and it plummets to the ground—the earth devouring it instantly. The clan leader smiles delightedly as if her stealing his flute is the greatest of compliments. Standing on his sword, he flung talismans down upon her. She reacts quite violently towards instruments, he wonders.
Flipping off his sword, he summons his guqin and strikes a chord, sending a wall of sound at the woman. Mimi examines the notes before striking the air with her claws. Fire latches on to his attack before rebounding back at him. The ground beneath him quakes, and a shallow chasm opens and closes like a hungry mouth. Mimi grabs on to the air and uses her momentum to strike the clan leader off his sword. She misses, allowing Lan Xichen to grab her around the waist. But his arms go right through her. That is until he is struck on the opposite side by her kick. He throws a paper talisman and makes a sigil with his fingers. Using the talismans for distraction, the clan leader leaps from the sword to land behind her, sword already preparing to land atop her throat. But Mimi is quick and raises her talons against the blade. The claws emit static as the clan leader bears down on her. Using all her strength, Mimi lifts her arms, matching the clan leader.
"You are enjoying this, clan leader?" Mimi grasps the swords with both hands, their faces close enough to touch.
She could not move, and neither could he. They were at an impasse. A blush forms on the clan leader's face.
"What are those?" Lan Xichen finally asks as they break apart, his hair is mussed, and his face is sweaty.
The chasm below their feet closes, leaving no evidence of its existence. Mimi allows him to lower them both to the ground.
"Ahh, yes," she holds up her hands," they've been in my family for a long time. I was a mischievous cub and found them in my father's drawer. They belonged to my eldest sister. Despite being told not to, I put them on, and they fused to my bones. They are jealous and do not like my handling other weapons. I cannot remove them."
"Jealous?" Lan Xichen asks in confusion.
Mimi holds her hand out, "May I borrow your sword? It is lovely."
The clan leader holds his sheathed sword out. Mimi reaches for the blade and is about to wrap her hand around the hilt when the claws begin to spark like golden lightning.
"See?" Mimi snickers and blows off the excess static from the claws.
"Your sword is extremely high quality. Otherwise, it might have melted against the fire I can produce."
Fascinated Lan Xichen studies the talons. She holds them in front of him patiently, feeling like she is in the thriller video.
"May I?" he asks, holding his hand out.
Nodding, Mimi allows Lan Xichen to touch the claws. She shivers as he lightly grazes his fingers along the knuckles. The claws glow lightly.
"It's warm," he says with surprise, moving his fingers curiously over the sharp points, "Can you control the sharpness?"
Laughing Mimi, "If I couldn't, your fingers would not be as put together as they are now."
The clan leader is not perturbed as he studies the claws, tilting them from side to side to see where the metal is embedded into her flesh.
"Does it hurt?" he asks quietly. Mimi's laughter is stuck in her throat at the sight of the clan leader holding her very sharp claws so close to his face.
Only Sara had ever done this.
"Erm, I don't feel things generally in my hands unless I touch a weapon," she watches how the gold reflects in the clan leader's chocolate eyes.
Hearing the strangeness in her tone, he looks up and drops her hands, "I have offended you. I'm sorry."
"No, you didn't, Mimi says, feeling somewhat bereft. She moves her tails in a cylindrical pattern, and the earth spits the flute out into her hands.
Mimi holds it out to him like a peace offering, her hands sparking a little at the touch of a spiritual instrument. He takes it, and their hands brush against each other.
"It is a draw!" Lan Zhan announces quietly, and the young cultivators clap their hands.
"Mimi, Mimi," Dumplin comes running towards her across the field, and Mimi catches her up in her arms, "What do you have there?"
Dumplin holds up a small wooden flute, and Lan Xichen groans internally, looking over at Master Wei.
"Master Wei taught me a few notes! And second master lan wrote them here!"
Mimi squints at the wooden flute, and sure enough, in impeccable handwriting, there were a couple of notes written there.
"Why don't you show us, cub?"
The child carefully puts her lips to the flute and emits a couple of strong notes.
"That is so good, cub!" Mimi hugs her sister and puts her on the ground.
Dumplin looks over at the clan leader, "How did I do?"
He smiles and crouches down to her level, "I think you already sound better than Master Wei."
Looking over at Chen, Mimi realizes she is having an animated conversation with the young cultivators, with Lan Zhan and Wei Wuxian interjecting occasionally.
But Mimi feels a tug, a gentle tug on her mind. Come, it seems to beckon. I am waiting.