This chapter is dedicated to cmaster16, the first (and hopefully not last) person to add my story to his or her Favorites.

Chapter 3 - Meetings

Monastery Trail, Shing Jea Island, Cantha
1576 (Canthan Calendar), Season of the Phoenix

Their names were Kisai and Mai, and like Kasumi, they had been accepted as novices to the legendary monastery at Shing Jea.

The two girls were in some ways a study in contrasts, and in others they could have passed for sisters. Each had the pale skin and close-cropped ebony hair common to mainlanders, and wore similar garb - tunics and long jute breeches, hiking boots in the Tyrian style, and woven straw hats against the glare of the summer sun. Each bore a carry sack with a few items of personal worth, and their chatter had the same slow, lilting tone of Kaineng's working quarters. Only the fine details of the face set the two apart, the slight upturn at the corner of Mai's lip and the faint crinkle of her almond eyes that spoke of frequent smiles, Kisai's softly bit lip and downcast gaze that looked everywhere but at the two other women sharing the trail shelter.

Yet if their portraits could have passed for sisters, in motion the two girls could not have been more different. Mai leaned casually against the wall of the shelter, almost perfectly still save to accentuate her conversation with languid gestures, performed with a smooth economy of motion. She reminded Kasumi of a hunting cat at ease, like the tiger she had once seen in the island's deep forests. Mai had felt no need to sit and rest after the long walk up into the mountains; with a hot surge of jealousy, Kasumi noticed that the other young woman didn't even seem winded. Kisai, in contrast, seemed full of nervous energy, even near-collapsed onto the rest bench beside Kasumi, and seemed constitutionally incapable of sitting still for more than a few seconds at a stretch.

"...and she was standing around the docks, carry sack in one hand and these hand-written instructions in the other, and she was looking around like a little lost kitten," Mai continued. Kisai's cheeks bloomed red in embarrassment, and Mai paused for a moment, then placed a reassuring hand on the other girl's shoulder. "I couldn't just leave her there. I mean, that's why we're all going to the monastery, right? So we can learn how to help people?"

Mai didn't wait for a response. "It turned out she was going the same place I was, even on the same ship. So we found the ship together, and talked the captain into letting us share a cabin, and we spent the whole journey talking. Well, most of it talking." Mai's face darkened in remembered anger, and a worn steel dagger appeared in her hand, pulled from some scabbard hidden in her tunic. "There was this one sailor who couldn't keep his hands to himself. Me, he learned not to bother real fast, but when I found out he'd been giving Kisai here grief, well. I told him that if I ever saw him near me or Kisai again, I'd cut off what he most valued, roast it, and feed it to him." Her face flashed a predatory grin. "And if he was really, really lucky I'd do it in that order."

Kasumi paled slightly at the threat, and the fierce countenance the other girl wore. It looked natural on her, and the dagger like an extension of her arm. Abruptly Mai laughed, breaking the sudden tension, and replaced the dagger whence it had come. "Anyway, he spent the rest of the voyage 'sea-sick' in the hold." She squeezed Kisai's shoulder again and smiled. "How ever did you get along without me?"

Kisai flushed, and leaned slightly toward the other girl. "My older sister, she always looked out for us. She is always so strong, and so brave. You're...brave, too." She flushed again, and suddenly Kasumi doubted that the other girl's feelings toward her new protecter were entirely sisterly. Kasumi shook her head to clear the thought away; either way it was hardly her concern.

Perhaps feeling that a handful of breaths was too long between conversations, Kisai turned her attention back to Kasumi. "So, you a local girl?"

Kasumi blinked at the directness of the question. "No, I am from Kaya prefecture. My family has-"

"I mean, you're an island girl, right? Not a mainlander?" Kisai didn't pause for an answer. "You've got that delicate look they talk about in the taverns. Although there's the hair..." She gestured vaguely at Kasumi's shoulder-length braids, slightly curled and hued a brilliant crimson. "I heard Ascalons have hair like that, some of them." She smiled conspiratorially. "Are you a secret outlander?"

Kasumi's brow was still furrowed, wondering what the other girl was doing in dockside taverns discussing the virtues of island girls, when the question brought her up with a start. She smiled; if nothing else the other girl's enthusiasm was infectious. "No, it's actually not uncommon on the island. They say that the original inhabitants of the island had hair the color of the autumn leaves. Every generation or two, someone's born into my family with red hair. The last one before me was my great-grandfather."

She paused briefly and bowed her head in remembrance. A thought struck her, and she suppressed a smirk. "They say that red hair is a sign of demonic powers. Maybe you should be careful, or I'll turn you into a sparkfly and feed you to a moa bird."

Kisai gasped, but Mai just narrowed her eyes and stared levelly at Kasumi. "Maybe I'm just a simple city girl to you, but I'm not stupid." Kasumi frowned, wondering if she had offended the other girl, when Mai grinned. "You're all right. I can't get Kisai here to tease me at all."

"So, what are you going to study at the monastery?" Again, Mai didn't wait for an answer. Kasumi suspected this would become a hallmark of their conversations. "Me, I'm going to be an assassin. Oh, don't be like that," she added hastily at Kasumi's horrified expression. "It's not like in the plays - well, some are like that. But I have a cousin, Nika, she is a member of a guild in Kaineng. They serve the empire when soldiers or diplomacy fail, and protect the people from corrupt guards and greedy ministers. That's what I want to do."

Kasumi frowned. "Is it really that bad, on the mainland?"

"Not everywhere. The merchants' districts, the ministry quarter, those are guarded well, as long as you're a merchant or in the ministry. Anywhere else - there's just too many people. So many refugees came from the south, after the jade wind, and they never left. Some places there are shacks piled up ten high, one on the next."

Kasumi's frown deepened. "Surely the empire can maintain order, though."

"The ministry troops are useless, corrupt, or both. The imperial guards are loyal but they can't be everywhere. There's parts as are run by gangs outright." Mai paused for breath. "Well. People need someone who will stand up for them."

Kisai smiled shyly. "You're so brave, Mai."

The latter girl flushed slightly. Interesting, what finally broke her composure. "Anyway. Tell our new friend what you want to study. No, wait! Better. Show her what you can do, what you showed me on the boat."

"Ship," Kasumi put in.

"What?"

"If it's big enough to travel to the mainland, it's a ship, not a boat." Abruptly Kasumi realised she had interrupted, and gave an apologetic smile.

Kisai was already concentrating, though, her petite brow furrowed with mental effort, her breath slow and measured. After a few moments, the air in the shelter started to tingle slightly, and there was a faint scent of ozone, like a distant thunderstorm without rain.

Kisai opened her eyes. "Pull her finger," Mai said with a smile. Kasumi frowned slightly. Was there a sly tone to the other girl's voice? No matter; she had heard the servant children playing this game, and it was harmless enough. With only a slight hesitation she reached out to meet Kisai's outstretched hand-

And with a sharp crackle a bright spark leapt from the other girl's hand. Kasumi loosed a sailor's oath and slid backward, or tried to, striking the back of the stone bench with considerable force. It hurt almost as much as her hand; although to be fair, her hand also had an odd twitch going for it. The tang of ozone was overlaid with the odor of singed flesh, and she suspected her hand would blister where the bolt had struck.

She scowled, and Kisai shied back, trying to stammer out an apology. Mai had the good grace to look abashed. "She can't control it very well yet. That was only supposed to jolt you a little bit. It's my fault. Promise you'll blame me, okay? Don't get mad at Kisai." Kasumi's scowl softened, and Mai smiled. "She's really quite talented, though. Don't you think? With a little training," and she put her hand back on the other girl's shoulder, "and maybe a little more confidence she'll be a great elementalist."

Kasumi grinned. "I probably had that coming for the demon magic bit." She gently patted Kisai's hand, and the other girl smiled shyly. "No real harm done. What's a little lightning between friends, right?"