"You do realize the contents of those papers affect both of us, right?" Mimi sulkily looks up at the large stack of papers that the clan leader held in his arms.
"Yes, but I am already familiar with the contents, having graded it myself," the clan leader once again shifts out of the way of her grabbing claws.
"Did I pass?" feeling more than a little anxious, Mimi debates kicking him in the shin so that she may see her score.
The exam had been terrifying. Mimi had studied for the last month while her leg "healed," this mostly involved being carried about the clan leader for the first couple of days and being a constant figure in both the offices and cultivation field. But like most exams, there were many questions she had not prepared for. Judging by the clan leader's delighted expression, she must have at least done well. Unless he wanted to see her, and her sisters packed off Cloud Recesses by morning.
"Why don't we celebrate by taking your stitches out?" he suggests.
Relief floods Mimi until she realizes the exact content of his words.
"You have exciting ways of celebrating things here, clan leader," Mimi squints at him.
"More like stalling," he nods his head over her shoulder, and Mimi sees a familiar vendor setting up a stall.
"It's not permanent, but I hope to eventually add him to our staff," Lan Xichen is pleased with her reaction.
"Thank you, clan leader," Mimi feels a little emotional at the sight of her favorite sugary treat.
A yelp summons their combined attention to her little sisters. Chen levitated off the ground on a large ball of foxfire but had gotten her dress caught on a nail. Dumplin seemed to be stuck between a railing while trying to help her sister by throwing sand on the foxfire.
"If you want to take the second eldest Shen, I will take the youngest," the clan leader smiles congenially at her.
"Deal," Mimi, still hindered a little by her leg stitches, hurries to Chen, who is grinning at her impishly.
"Alright, little one. How exactly did you get in here?" the clan leader asks Dumplin, who shrugs, already stopping her sand throwing.
Breaking a bit of the wood, the clan leader manages to gently pry the child out without any issue. He stares at the narrow space perplexed as Dumplin contemplates him before giving his robes a sharp tug, bringing his attention back to her.
"Sorry about that clan leader," Dumplin looks up at him with watery eyes, and the clan leader is once more taken off guard by the similarities between the little children and their elder sister. The eyes especially.
"No harm done. I am merely happy you are unharmed, but no more crawling into small places, alright?"
He talked with his hands, and Dumplin took this as an invitation to sidle up to him in a similar manner she did with her sister. Usually, when requesting permission to sit on her lap. He pats his lap, and Dumplin crawls into it, wrapping a hand around his hair in fascination.
"I thought we talked about flying within the confines of Cloud Recesses," Mimi grabs Chen around the waist and pulls her off the foxfire.
"I just thought I could do it this time," Chen sulks as Mimi deflates the foxfire with her hand.
"I believe you will do it soon," Mimi pulls her sister's dress from the nail and pats her skirts, hiding the foxtails further, "but I would rather you keep practicing either on the cultivation fields or in front of the residence. It gives you more room."
Mimi looks over at the clan leader and feels her heart melt. The clan leader had placed his sword on to the child's lap, and Dumplin is asking him questions on shading as she traces the intricate engravings on the sword's sheathe with her little fingers.
"Perhaps we should go to the infirmary and take care of your sister's leg. Your sister did quite well on her exam after all," the clan leader glances over at Mimi, who grins at him over her sister's head.
Standing up with Dumplin in his arms before placing her on his shoulders, Mimi nudges Chen forward. Chen fusses over her sister, letting Mimi use her as a crutch. Mimi knew it was unethical to use her previous injuries as an excuse, but she rather liked how it kept her sisters in line.
The group slowly moves across Cloud Recesses to the infirmary.
"Second master lan!" Chen suddenly cries. The cultivator is sedately walking along the path with Master Wei, who points at himself looking wounded upon hearing the child's cry.
Amused, the clan leader gently removes a now wriggling Dumplin from his shoulders and puts her on the ground. Chen speed walks over to the couple, and Mimi nudges Dumplin in the side, "Do you want to go?"
"Can I stay with you?" Dumplin looks up at her sister, careful not to bump up against her leg.
"Of course, you can stay with us," Mimi ruffles her sister's hair affectionately.
Master Wei pretends to hide behind Lan Zhan as Chen summons a foxfire ball to playfully toss at him.
"She would never hurt Master Wei," Mimi laughs as the clan leader leads them into the building, opening the door for them.
Picking up Dumplin and putting her on the table, Mimi hops up to sit beside her, eagerly pulling up her skirt to reveal the stitches.
"A child with the ability to summon fire is still far less troublesome than what Master Wei can accomplish just by being himself," the clan leader said dryly, "He will be fine."
It was irritating, and if the clan leader thought her leg was not healed, the longer it took to complete the next task. And, if Mimi is quite honest with herself, she wants his support. She wants her wife's help.
Taking up a small knife, the clan leader very gently examines the tiny stitches, "Your wound is looking very well. It appears you have quite the healthy constitution."
"My sisters were sure to follow your instructions," Mimi says, wrapping her arm around Dumplin, who presses into her side, looking a little nervous as she sees the knife in the clan leader's hand.
"It's alright, child," the clan leader says as he perceives this as well.
"Can you hold my hand, cub?" Mimi asks as the clan leader lowers the knife to cut the first stitch.
Dumplin grabs her sister's proffered clawed hand as she watches in horrified fascination as the clan leader tugs the strip from her skin.
"It's okay," Dumplin tries to comfort as she sees her sister's blood.
Smiling, Mimi nuzzles the top of Dumplin's head with her nose, "I am glad you're here."
"Your leg isn't going to fall apart, is it?" Dumplin whimpers.
"Due to your skill in caring for your sister, her leg is completely healed. Her leg would have undoubtedly fallen apart if it weren't for you and the second eldest Shen," Lan Xichen comforts Dumplin, and Mimi smiles at him approvingly, wincing a little as he tugs out another stitch.
"It doesn't even hurt," Mimi says, squeezing her sister.
"Would you like to try?" the clan leader asks Dumplin, and to Mimi's surprise, she peeks out from behind her and nods.
He looks to Mimi for permission before tugging the child off the table and holds her in his arms.
"Teaching my cub how to be a healer?" Mimi teases nervously as Lan Xichen very carefully holds the scalpel in Dumplin's hand.
"There is an idea," Lan Xichen says contemplatively, completely serious as he guides Dumplin's hand, "You want to cut the stitch, right there."
Dumplin giggles as she slices through the stitch, "This is so easy!"
There were about forty stitches in total, and Mimi felt every single one of them. When Dumplin finishes cutting all her stitches, Lan Xichen shows her how to apply antiseptic.
Mimi is about to protest this and heal herself when Dumplin kisses her knee and says, "You're all better!"
The action completely melts her into a pile of goo, and Mimi reaches down to ruffle her red curls, "You make me better."
As a reward for passing her exam and being a good patient, Lan Xichen guides Mimi and Dumplin to the shaved ice stand. Apparently, the man had been quite busy if the syrupy faces of Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi were anything to go by. Lan Xichen raises an eyebrow at this but decides not to comment as the youngsters' scurry away to wipe away the evidence.
"You're still recovering. Should you be eating sweets?" Dumplin asks her sister as Mimi stares at her in betrayal.
She could hear the clan leader chuckle as he fetches the three of them shave ice.
"Cub, whose side are you on?" Mimi protests, "besides, a little sugar isn't going to hurt anyone."
The clan leader presents her and Dumplin with shave ice before sitting next to them on the grass. Dumplin happily sat between them, half on Mimi's lap and half on the grass by Lan Xichen.
"Thank you for this, clan leader," Mimi says, stroking her sister's hair with her free hand.
"Of course, Lady Shen," he is about to say something more when a cry fills the air.
The pair soon see Chen running towards Mimi across Cloud Recesses. Before Lan Xichen can even reach for his sword, Mimi has already handed him her shave ice, tucks Dumplin into his side, and is sprinting across the grass towards Chen.
Chen is crying and rubbing at her tongue. Her face and eyes are dark red.
"Cub, what happened? What's wrong?" Mimi picks her up and carries her toward the clan leader.
"Master Wei fed me a ghost pepper, and I feel sick," Chen continues rubbing her tongue, trying to stop the burning.
Mimi summons a glass of milk, and stroking Chen's cheek, gives it to her, "Here, cub, drink this."
"Master Wei? Are you cooking again?" Lan Xichen says this evenly as Mimi turns to glare at the black-cloaked cultivator, foxfire glowing around her.
The earth rises and covers the man's feet before he can run at the thunderous expression on her face.
Backpedaling Master Wei, tugs a hand through his long hair, realizing he is quite at her mercy, "It was just a joke! All in good fun!"
Hugging her sister close, Mimi is even more infuriated by his words, "Ohh, just a prank? How. Funny."
Mimi gently nudges Chen toward the clan leader, and he quickly tugs her close and borrows a wet rag from the shave ice vendor who is watching the proceedings nervously. Already seeing where this is going but not wanting to be involved until he is called, Lan Xichen instructs Chen to sip at the milk and cools her face with the cloth wrapped in ice.
Watching this approvingly, Mimi stalks towards Master Wei, her eyes glowing. Dumplin scoots closer to the clan leader and tucks herself beneath his robe. Looking down at the smallest Shen, Lan Xichen feels a slight thrill that the children were looking to him for aid.
Quick as a striking viper, Mimi grabs Master Wei by the scruff of the neck and hurls him upwards until he is several feet above the ground, unceremoniously just hanging there. Satisfied, Mimi returns to Chen and Dumplin. Dumplin pokes her head out from inside the robes and looks up at him.
"Wow, he is so high," Dumplin says awestruck, giggling a little at the thrashing figure.
"Master Wei is quite high," Lan Xichen emphatically agrees, watching the cultivator struggle against the invisible bindings holding him in the sky.
"Ohh, it was just a prank," Mimi grumbles, inspecting Chen's face closely as the clan leader kept applying the cold compress.
"How are you feeling, cub?" Mimi asks worriedly, not liking how bloodshot her eyes were.
"How much did he give you?" Lan Xichen asks, making sure that Chen continued to drink the milk.
"I don't know," Chen's color began to improve significantly as Mimi attempts to use her foxfire to heal her, fussing over her.
The clan leader looks back up at Master Wei, trying to hide his smirk until his brother gets upon his sword with a worried expression on his face. Flying up to figure out how to get his cultivation partner down. Mimi takes back her shave ice and offers it again to Chen, who waves her off.
Getting off his sword Lan Zhan regally strides towards the group. He bows before Lady Shen, "I apologize for whatever he has done."
"He fed my sister Chen a ghost pepper without telling her what it was," Mimi growls pettily.
His eyes widen a little, but he bows to Chen, "I apologize."
"Lady Shen, I understand that Master Wei has . . . done something quite mischievous. Probably more to do with his inability to cook. But could you let him down for my brother's sake?" Lan Xichen asks, though honestly, he quite preferred this version of Master Wei.
"It was not my intention to leave him up there indefinitely," Mimi finally says, waving her hand, causing Master Wei to plummet to the ground.
Lan Zhan leaps upon his sword and is nearly successful in grabbing him before he strikes the earth until Mimi halts the descent several inches from the ground, so he is staring directly at where he would have hit the earth. Then she lets him drop safely to the ground with a soft thud.
"Would you like more shave ice, cub?" Mimi looks down at Dumplin.