"We will, of course, provide any resources that your clan will need as part of recompense to your clan," Mimi remarks, looking across the grass to the matriarch of the nag clan.
It is a beautiful day for negotiations. Enjoying the slight breeze, Mimi looks around the circle. The matriarch sat directly across from Mimi, and beside her and behind her sat six males of various sizes. Mimi sat beside the clan leader, who had his brother and uncle to his left. Master Wei and Qiaolian are watching over the children. Six other nags were doing the same from several lengths away, coiled together on the bank. Mimi reasons that the kids had never been so safe. She could see them from her vantage point, swimming in the shallow side of the smaller lakes, having a blast. Gen is nimbly swimming circles around her sisters as they try to catch him. The matriarch follows her gaze and gives her what Mimi could only discern as a toothy smile.
"What authority do you have from either clan to make this statement?" the smaller male asks carefully from his matriarch's side.
"The Lady Feng," the clan leader remarks, "is my betrothed and has the support of the Gusu clan. I trust her to do many of the negotiations due to her status as a fox spirit."
"We are still learning the rules of this world," Lord Qiren adds, having slowly come around to the idea that spirits could be reasoned with peacefully.
Lan Zhan sat in silent support.
"Due to conflicts in the past," Mimi pats the clan leader's arm affectionately, "my sister has allowed me to speak on her behalf in negotiations for the Feng clan. I hope that is acceptable."
"It is acceptable," the matriarch nods her head regally, "We have not always had good dealings with her in the past. This is far more congenial. We would not have come if your clan did not speak our language as well as you do."
The clan leader raises an eyebrow at Mimi, who smiles at the matriarch, "I am glad," she says with a smile.
"You mentioned that you would give us a new home? What do you mean by that?" the matriarch folds her long claws together with clicking noises.
"Historically, and please correct me if I'm wrong, the nag had occupied the mountains in the east where the Feng clan now reside."
"That is correct," the smaller male says carefully, "however, that is many years ago. Much of our clan that still remembers such bloodshed has been butchered or has butchered itself. We are curious about what you suggest."
The nag carefully rests his hand on his stomach, and Mimi raises an eyebrow at the bulge there.
"My sister and I wish to create a new home for you and your future families, in a location of your choosing, granted as long as it is not occupied already," Mimi watches the younger male click his teeth in a contemplative gesture.
"In the last couple of days, my sister and I have sojourned about the territories. We have noted that the mountain ranges in the south, north, and west are available. I would personally recommend the western territory. It is more of an old-growth forest and has a great deal of freshwater and resources. It would also be difficult for humans to reach."
The nag behind the matriarch chatter excitedly to each other. The small one beside the matriarch seems to take in all of the discussions thoughtfully.
He finally speaks, "It has been our wish to sojourn to these mountains. But the rock is far too difficult to penetrate."
"You would prefer using tunnels? The clan leader asks curiously.
"It suits our purposes," the matriarch says authoritatively.
"My sister would be able to use our combined power to carve into the rock if you would like to draw up a possible blueprint of what you would like," Mimi suggests.
"May my clan and I deliberate this and come up with some ideas?" the matriarch asks.
"But of course," the clan leader says lightly, "We might as well all enjoy this beautiful day. How long will you need?"
"A couple of hours." the matriarch states, unwinding her long torso.
"We will reconvene then," Lord Qiren states.
"May I speak with the Lady Feng privately?" the matriarch requests of Mimi.
"We will check on the children," the clan leader says to Mimi, who agrees.
Lan Zhan regally gets to his feet, bows to the nag, and steps towards Master Wei, who is being splashed by all three of the children.
"I would be happy to," Mimi says to the matriarch.
The matriarch moves away from the other nag and beckons her to follow. They walk a distance away before the matriarch speaks, "I do not wish to sound ungrateful. Why are you doing this?"
"I want this world to be a better place for our children. As I suspect you do as well," Mimi says, walking by her side.
"This is true."
"How old are your cubs?" the matriarch asks quietly, her tail swishing about behind her.
"Chen is nine, and Dandan is five. How old is Gen? He is a very polite fellow. My cubs are very fond of him. They haven't spent much time around children their own age either."
"Gen is six," the matriarch looks back toward the children fondly, "he is timid. I am . . . happy your cubs are so accepting of him."
"Likewise, fox spirits tend to receive varied reactions." Mimi steers them, so they are walking towards the kids, "Was there something specific you wished to discuss?"
"On the contrary," the matriarch says, regally, "I am merely curious of you."
"Well, you can ask me a question, and then I can ask you a question. If our cubs are going to continue playing together, we should become friends as well," Mimi suggests.
This is followed by silence, and Mimi realizes that perhaps that she had inserted her foot somewhere, she shouldn't have.
"That is my reasoning, as well. What is your first question?" the nag asks, and Mimi realizes where Gen had received his politeness from.
"This sickness . . . is there a cure?" Mimi asks gently.
"None that we have found," the nag says evenly, "Which of the Gusu sect lords is the biological parent of the cubs?"
Mimi flushes, "Umm, neither. The cubs are my little sisters, but I am raising them with the clan leader."
"Fascinating. You see, Gen is mine and Shirong's, he is the one assisting in negotiations, but our entire clan raises the children."
"Is Shirong expecting?" Mimi asks, curious.
"It is his turn to carry," the nag responds, smiling toothily, "your eldest resembles the clan leader. I thought perhaps he carried her."
Trying to hide her smile and wanting to share this with the clan leader at the first opportunity, Mimi watches the children clamoring towards the male nags on the bank. Dumplin perches herself on a large tail and is gently tossed into the water towards the clan leader who had decided to join them.
"If I may ask," Mimi says quietly, "if we find ourselves attacked by the nag with the sickness. What would you like us to do?"
The matriarch sighs heavily, "Defend yourselves. Kill if necessary. My clan has been hiding from the sick ones for a long time. Our children and future children are not safe living in the forests."
"I saw the scrape on Gen's arm," Mimi agrees, "if it were my cubs, I would also want the best for them."
"I would like to talk further, later if it is permissible," the nag requests, gesturing towards the nags clustered together with Shirong.
"I would like that very much. Please express my congratulations to Shirong," Mimi bows to the nag, and the nag returns her bow before joining the male nags.
Left to her own devices, Mimi settles next to Qiaolian to watch, being sure to wave politely to the babysitting nags, "What I have missed so far?"
"Lord Qiren is meditating near the cliff face, attempting to remove the sight of Wei Wuxian kissing the clan leader's brother under the water from his mind. They are wandering about somewhere," Qiaolian reports, grinning, "How did the negotiations go?"
"Well, very well. The matriarch is welcoming," Mimi says, leaning against her sister tiredly.
"You alright?" Qiaolian asks, sniffing her hair until Mimi smacks her.
"We still have Lord Shen to reckon with," Mimi says quietly.
"I know. We will simply have to make this time last."
"I could probably do this on my own," Qiaolian says, inspecting her sister's features.
"I am fine," Mimi cracks her neck and tries to concentrate on the Western mountains.
"Alright, but if you feel ill, we are returning to Cloud Recesses," Qiaolian pokes her in the side before taking both of her hands.
They both tried to relax under the intense scrutiny of the nag who had gathered to watch this spectacle.
Mimi slowly but surely siphons her magic to Qiaolian, who is more adept at dealing with earth elemental magic than she is. Tails bursting with magic, Qiaolian's eyes open strangely as if looking within herself. Not being able to herself, Mimi glimpses at the mountain to see if she could see the tunnels being constructed from the outside. No such luck. After an hour, Qiaolian releases her hands and beams, "Honestly, I think this must be my best work."
"You're done? Already?" Mimi stares at her eldest sister in disbelief. Her sister nods tiredly.
"Do you want me to handle the rest?" Mimi asks quietly.
"No, I'm not going to leave you alone," Qiaolian says determinedly.
Mimi waves at the waiting nag, "Would you like to take a look?"
"Of course. Please lead the way," the matriarch instructs patiently.
"I think you will be quite satisfied," Qiaolian says, ignoring the matriarch's intrigued look, "I even added additional space!"
The fox spirits are the first to venture into the cave, and Mimi is immediately stunned.
In an hour, her sister had carved a dwarven kingdom out of the rock. The rock nearly glows as they walk through the granite tunnels. At every turn, there were rooms, fully stocked kitchens, bathrooms, grand dining halls with nag friendly furniture that Qiaolian had thoughtfully added.
"This is extraordinary," the matriarch says in amazement, looking around her, "It is everything we could have wanted and more."
"And if you need anything else, just let us know," Mimi ventures to say as her sister began to lean heavily on her.
"When we fully get settled in, perhaps we may invite our clans together once more?" the matriarch requests.
"That would be wonderful," Mimi bows to the matriarch, "I'll send you a message in a few days to see how you are doing and to schedule another play date for the children. If you need anything, just write the message into a tree. It will be sent to Qiaolian, who will make sure I get it," Mimi allows the matriarch to gently take her hands in hers.
"This will be the beginning of a wonderful friendship between our clans," the matriarch promises, and the male nags behind her agree jubilantly.
"We'll leave for now and let you get settled," Mimi waves her hands, and several large containers of food that she had stockpiled for the last couple of days appears in the middle of the large cave, "Here is our first installment of food to help your clan settle."
"Thank you for everything," the nag reaches out and hugs her.
Mimi is startled but returns the hug. A wonderful friendship indeed.
"Is she going to be okay?" Mimi asks Daiyu as Qiaolian crashes on to her bed.
"She just expended too much energy at one time," Daiyu gently brushes her wife's hair back.
A period of uncomfortable silence follows Mimi.
"Are we okay?" Mimi asks.
"You are family, cub. But I still remember when the nag soaked these very walls with blood. I will have nothing to do with them."
"I understand," Mimi decides to just leave the two in peace and jumps into shadow.
Appearing in the corner of her residence, Mimi's heart softens as she watches the clan leader instruct Chen and Dumplin on how to play the guqin. Unfortunately for her, it seems that the clan leader has grown accustomed to her lurking about.
Looking over his shoulder, he smiles, "Lady Shen."
Plodding over, Mimi is quickly enveloped by her sisters, Dumplin crawling on her lap.
"How were negotiations?" Lan Xichen asks, putting his guqin away.
"Successful. Qiaolian built them an entire palace in the Western mountains. I will get in touch in a couple of days to see how they are doing."
"When can we see Gen again?" Chen asks eagerly.
"We need to give them time to move in," Mimi says tiredly, "but I promise that you will see him soon."
"That was really fun today. I like them," Dumplin snuggles her face comfortably into Mimi's shoulder.
Thinking of Daiyu's words, Mimi sighs and pulls her closer before saying, "Why don't you two get ready for bed? It's been a long day."
After wrestling the two girls into their beds, Mimi settles into a chair and puts a hand over her face.
"Would you like to go for a walk?"
Mimi had nearly forgotten about the clan leader's presence, "I don't think I will be able to sleep."
"Neither will I," he holds out his hands and gently tugs her to her feet.
To her surprise, he silently leads her up to sit on the roof of the offices.
"Is something troubling you?" he asks finally.
"I am just surprised how well things went today," Mimi brings her knees up to her chest and puts her chin on her knees.
"Mostly due to you," he smiles, rubbing her shoulder.
"I just think that Daiyu is angry with me at the moment," Mimi sighs, "she is not fond of the nag due to her people's history with them."
"I imagine that being immortal makes it far more difficult to get over old wounds," he observes quietly.
If he only knew, Mimi thought to herself.
"I learned something quite interesting from the matriarch today," Mimi leans back, changing the subject.
He allows it for now, "Was this during your private conversation?"
"It was," Mimi watches the last of the sun fade from the sky, "she asked me quite pointedly who the father of Chen and Dumplin is out of the Gusu clan men."
Raising an eyebrow, he says, "Continue."
Grinning naughtily, Mimi says, "I told her, of course, that Chen and Dumplin are my sisters. That we are raising them, and she said she suspected that Chen was yours because you look similar. She then speculated that it was you that carried her."
"I beg your pardon?" Lan Xichen asks, not comprehending.
"Shirong, her ambassador, the small male next to her during the proceedings, is pregnant with her child," she adds.
"I will have to write a letter of congratul . . ." he pauses, and Mimi could practically see the wheels in his mind turning, dissecting her words.
"Oh," he says, and Mimi laughs at his expression, "Is that . . . something fox spirits do as well?" he asks hesitantly.
"No," Mimi resists the urge to kiss him, "I am not sure it is even possible."
They sat in comfortable silence before he brushes her hand with his, "The musical task is coming up."
Mimi shifts onto her side, "I'm not worried."
"You do not play an instrument."
"I don't need to," Mimi smiles, having already talked to Lord Qiren.
He gazes at her looking at the stars.
"Are you worried I won't fulfill the requirements?"
Feeling suddenly tongue-tied, Lan Xichen stares at her in disbelief. This woman had just rid Cloud Recesses of a large issue that may have escalated to war with the nag. Rid the town of the water demon, and proposed a possible treaty between two-spirit clans and his own
"Look," Mimi points at Wei Wuxian and Lan Zhan stealthily, moving across the ground, "I wonder where they are going past curfew."
"Despite my initial reservations, I am glad they found each other finally," Lan Xichen chuckles, and Mimi playfully shoves him in the side.
"I was just remembering the night Master Wei confessed his love," Lan Xichen's face fell a little, "He yelled that he really wanted to sleep with Wanji in front of so many people."
"Ohh," Mimi puts a hand over her face to stifle the laugh at the sight of the disgusted look on the clan leader's face.
They sat in silence, and Mimi realizes something is very wrong with the clan leader, "Are you alright?"
"I . . . also love, loved a man that night. I killed him with my own sword," Lan Xichen sniffs, looking down at his hands.
"Are . . . you attracted to only men?" Mimi could barely get the words out.
"No. I'm not," came the quiet response as he put his hand on her knee and squeezes it, emphasizing his point.
"But he still makes you upset," Mimi said softly, and the clan leader nods, embarrassed, the grip on her knee tightened.
"Why don't we break curfew?" Mimi smiles coyly at the clan leader. She knew heartbreak and wanted to ease his.
"What did you have in mind?"
"Close your eyes," Mimi had recently learned a little trick from her sister and had been waiting for just such an opportunity to implement it.
Gently removing his hand from her knee, Mimi steps over the roof till she reached the edge.
"Are you running away?"
"No, keep your eyes closed," Mimi leans over the roof on her knees and breathes on to the air surrounding Cloud Recesses.
Summoning an image of a lake. Mimi crosses her hands together in front of her face. Slowly breathing out the energy and memory into the air.
"Open your eyes, clan leader," Mimi says, incredibly pleased with herself.
The clan leader opens his eyes and is enchanted by the display. A lone lake floated above the entirety of Cloud Recesses. The lake is surrounded by an illusion of mountains and a little dock. All of which looked like they were only held up by clouds and a prayer. Mimi had stolen this vision from the lake and had improved it with lotus flowers and red lanterns. The water laps eagerly at the base of the roof. Mimi removes her shoes and sets them on the roof. Showing off a little, Mimi holds up her skirts and steps on top of the water.
The water ripples beautifully as she takes multiple steps, beckoning the clan leader toward her.
"Mortals cannot traipse with the divine," Lan Xichen breathes, watching Mimi twirl atop the water.
"It's perfectly safe, and we won't be seen," Mimi whispers. She walks back to him, holding out her hands.
Putting his sword with her shoes, Lan Xichen steps to the edge of the roof, hesitant to go any further. He could just see the ground through the surface of the lake.
"I would not let you fall," Mimi promises. It was endearing watching him experience fox spirit illusion magic for the first time.
He takes her hands and slowly puts a foot out, brushing the water, "It's cold."
Pulling him towards her, Lan Xichen is taken a little off balance and unintentionally falls toward her. Mimi catches him quickly.
"I told you I wouldn't let you fall," Mimi teases.
"What do we do now?" Lan Xichen is smiling ear to ear like a little boy.
Mimi lets go of one hand and stretches her other hand out before twirling back.
"Dancing is not permitted in Cloud Recesses," the clan leader says automatically.
"We are technically not in Cloud Recesses. We are above it," Mimi retorts, lifting on her tiptoes to spin him.
"You are indeed right," the clan leader comes out of the spin and sways awkwardly.
"You don't know how to dance?"
He shakes his head, "Aside from . . .when drinking. I do not often partake of dancing," he finally mutters.
She sashayed across the water and takes hold of his hands.
"May I?" she wasn't quite sure what she could get away with, he had pretty much stipulated he is attracted to her, but he is also so gentle like those bunnies that the youngest jade twin is so fond of.
"I am at your mercy," the clan leader said ruefully.
"I can dance alone, but I never learned with a partner," Mimi shrugs, pulling him with her to the middle of the lake.
"I have never danced."
"You could have fooled me," Mimi teases.
Mimi places both of his hands on her waist. Not seeing anything amiss in his expression, she wraps her arms around him loosely. Giving him enough space. He closes the proximity. Smiling at her new position with her face pressed into his chest, Mimi begins to gently sway back and forth.
"Tell me about this man you loved," Mimi rubs his back soothingly as his heart rate suddenly spikes.
"You wish to know? Is this not repulsive to you?" trying to gauge her expression, he took her hand and spun her away from him before reeling her back.
Her face held only acceptance and sympathy. He held her close and wrapped his arms around her. Liking this dancing very much.
"I met him at Cloud Recesses. He was a student from the Lanling Jin Sect. Our hands touched for the first time, and I felt confused and disgusted with my interest in him. But then Wanji was developing feelings for Master Wei, and I wanted to support him, knowing our uncle would not."
He nuzzles her hair. She smelled of dew tonight. Lan Xichen sighs heavily, "It was the beginning of the war, and Cloud Recesses was burned to the ground. Guangyao gave us protection after that, protected me, helped us rebuild our home."
She continued to rub his back soothingly and ran her fingers through his hair, every so often tangling her fingers.
"He married soon after the war. I thought him so noble, having worked as a double spy and giving us enemy information. But when he took a bride, I . . . cried, and I couldn't understand why. But she was his sister!"
Mimi sucked in a breath, well, she hadn't expected that last part. Lan Xichen's hand had formed a fist behind her, and it dug into her skin. It was like now that she had summoned the depths within him; he could not stop. She felt her hair growing wet with his tears.
"He killed his own son and countless others," he says.
Mimi couldn't hold back and leaned backward to see his face, his eyes were red, and his cheeks were pink.
"You must think me a foolish man," Lan Xichen sniffs at the same time Mimi cups his cheek.
"On the contrary, I think that you are a wonderful caring man that was victimized by a tortured soul," Mimi felt her heart squeeze around all her cracks as he pressed his cheek into her clawed hands.
"Was he the one in the portrait that you didn't want me to see?" Mimi asks quietly, remembering his beautiful eyes and soft features.
"Yes, I couldn't get him out of my mind," Lan Xichen rests his head atop hers.
"How about now?" Mimi asks, listening to heart race.
"I am done courting his ghost," he hesitantly kisses her on the side of the head.
"I don't mind that you loved a man. There must have been some good in him," Mimi watches as a small smile returns to his face.
They sway back and forth, and Mimi catches sight of her reflection in the water. A black fox in white robes.