By the time I was finished, it was getting dark. Considering I was who I was; being held up by the sects second mission was a little humbling, and more than enough to get me worrying about Safi and whether she’d managed to complete hers.
Apparently there was no need for such worry, as she was waiting for me at the top of the mountain alongside a grumpy looking Eleb. Safi waved energetically and had a large, toothy smile on her face in stark comparison.
“Welcome back!” she said when we got close enough.
“Thanks, all went well?” I asked. I didn’t want to congratulate her on a job well done only to hear it went terribly, although I probably could have made a safe assumption based on her joviality.
“Went fantastically!” she exclaimed as Eleb rolled her eyes.
“Why does grumpy think otherwise?” I asked, gesturing towards Eleb with my thumb.
“She’s annoyed that I was so good and completed it quicker than she did,” said Safi, smugly.
“Is she now?” I asked, a wide smile beginning to surface on my face, Itzcoatl’s too, I noticed.
“You cheated!” said Eleb, stamping her foot down.
“Coincidentally reading a book about the subject years prior is not cheating!” said Safi, I could tell she’d said it many times already.
It seemed Eleb took it to heart this time because she offered no rebuttal, perhaps she knew Safi was right and with the added witnesses was not willing to embarrass herself.
“Great work,” I said to Safi after chuckling at Eleb.
“What took you so long?” she asked and prodded me in the rib. I was too happy to know that she was capable of casually touching me now to feel any of the pain.
“I didn’t have a cheatsheet,” I teased.
“Technically I didn’t either, I just memorised one,” she bragged in return. “Should we talk to Master Laaka now?” she asked.
“I’m going to head back home, let me know when you’re going on your next mission,” said Itzcoatl as he walked off.
I thanked him and we all bid him farewell. Eleb decided to use that as her cue to leave as well, alongside Chit who I told to meet me at my place so I could administer another round of treatment.
Finally, Safi and I headed up to Elder Laaka’s hovel. The dark passage no longer hindered us in the slightest. Our hands remained at our sides where before they were glued to the walls. I had no idea what technique Safi was using but it appeared adequate enough.
We eventually arrived at a big room, Safi and I both looked around, drinking in the atmosphere of our Master’s hovel. I also noted a glaring lack of the long tunnel that I thought I had walked down during the test.
Such a revelation was a genuine surprise to me and made me wonder how I’d managed to keep walking for so long without bumping into anything.
I did notice the books that lined the shelves were all thicker than they should have been, which meant they were braille. The shelving itself looked like it had been knocked around quite a bit. Despite that, the room was clean and had it been lit up correctly, it represented a perfectly functional office for an Elder to reside.
“Welcome back, children.” Safi and I looked around confusedly, we had assumed we were alone. “I see that you have completed my task of navigating in the dark, well done,” she said.
“Doesn’t seem impressive now,” said Safi as she gave up looking for our Master.
“Don’t worry, darling. You’ll understand soon enough. Now, what of your missions?”
“Completed,” I said.
“Well done!” she said again, this time with a little more gusto.
“You’ll be able to enter the Elder’s Call, finally,” I said in a jokey tone.
“Did I mention that?” she asked, shyly.
“You did.”
“How embarrassing, no mind. Then you have completed my tasks and proved to me that you are dedicated and willing. I will now begin to train you. I want you here every morning, no questions asked. Any… Sen’o, didn’t I just say no questions asked?” I had my hand up.
“You did, but I have qualified as a healer. I’ll be working at the infirmary for a couple of mornings per week.”
“Alright, well, I suppose I should be happy about having such a talented disciple but that does rather jumble things up.”
“I apologise,” I said.
“No need, you couldn’t have known. Well then, how about most mornings, on the days that you have to work at the infirmary, Safi can come alone and you can come once you’re finished.”
“That works for me.”
“Anything else I should know?”
“I want to enter the Far-side tournament.”
“Well you’ve got plenty of time before that. I hope you’re happy with the arrangements?” We both nodded our confirmation. “Lovely. Safi, dear, would you mind staying for a bit?”
“Of course not,” she said, she was still slightly put off by talking to a disembodied voice.
“Sen’o, well done in being so productive. However, please remember that your own cultivation must be your priority, especially in this sect. If you need help finding a partner, just let me know.”
“I understand, thank you, Master.” I bowed and left the cave. Leaving Safi alone with Elder Laaka, for a reason I could only guess at.
When I arrived at my cave, Chit was lying comfortably on my bed, on the verge of falling asleep. Unfortunately I had to disturb her, she moaned as I shook her shoulders.
“Hey, sleepy.” She opened her eyes and smiled when she saw me. My heart jolted a little, though the signal was unneeded, I already knew I liked her.
She wordlessly shuffled over, giving me some room on the bed. I jumped in and she presented her arm for me to hold. First I examined her skin. It was looking a lot better, still a little scarred but there was no flaky skin, let alone cracks. Her fingers were still raw, especially around her nails.
What was more miraculous than anything was her face. Her eyes were brighter, despite being such a dark colour. Now that she could blink properly they didn’t have any of the redness they used to have. Her nose twitched and flared the way noses should. Most entrancing of all, her lips. Where before they were thin, cracked and colourless; they had become vibrant, glossy and full. Her smile made creases in her skin instead of cracks.
I turned my attention back to the treatment, but I knew she had caught me staring at her lips. I had wanted her to.
I worked on ridding her of the thin, white scars that covered her body. Her body was in the process of healing but would need a hand if she wanted a complete recovery. Unfortunately a lot of her internals were still raw from my harsh treatment.
She breathed sharply as my qi entered her. We sat in tranquil stillness while I worked.
Finally, when I stopped, she clasped her hand on mine before I could take it away. “Stay still,” she said. She leaned forward and kissed me.
I had to listen to her command, unfortunately. As much as I wanted to increase the intensity, her body was not ready for it.
So, I stayed still as our lips lingered, pressed together lightly and barely moving. The soft breath from her nose tickled my skin, her hand reached up and caressed my cheek before she used it to push me away slightly, as if forcing herself away from me.
She looked at me again, holding my eyes wordlessly, then turned over to sleep. Clearly she was not interested in making the journey back to her own cave.
Casualperv Click the
By the time I was finished, it was getting dark. Considering I was who I was; being held up by the sects second mission was a little humbling, and more than enough to get me worrying about Safi and whether she’d managed to complete hers.
Apparently there was no need for such worry, as she was waiting for me at the top of the mountain alongside a grumpy looking Eleb. Safi waved energetically and had a large, toothy smile on her face in stark comparison.
“Welcome back!” she said when we got close enough.
“Thanks, all went well?” I asked. I didn’t want to congratulate her on a job well done only to hear it went terribly, although I probably could have made a safe assumption based on her joviality.
“Went fantastically!” she exclaimed as Eleb rolled her eyes.
“Why does grumpy think otherwise?” I asked, gesturing towards Eleb with my thumb.
“She’s annoyed that I was so good and completed it quicker than she did,” said Safi, smugly.
“Is she now?” I asked, a wide smile beginning to surface on my face, Itzcoatl’s too, I noticed.
“You cheated!” said Eleb, stamping her foot down.
“Coincidentally reading a book about the subject years prior is not cheating!” said Safi, I could tell she’d said it many times already.
It seemed Eleb took it to heart this time because she offered no rebuttal, perhaps she knew Safi was right and with the added witnesses was not willing to embarrass herself.
“Great work,” I said to Safi after chuckling at Eleb.
“What took you so long?” she asked and prodded me in the rib. I was too happy to know that she was capable of casually touching me now to feel any of the pain.
“I didn’t have a cheatsheet,” I teased.
“Technically I didn’t either, I just memorised one,” she bragged in return. “Should we talk to Master Laaka now?” she asked.
“I’m going to head back home, let me know when you’re going on your next mission,” said Itzcoatl as he walked off.
I thanked him and we all bid him farewell. Eleb decided to use that as her cue to leave as well, alongside Chit who I told to meet me at my place so I could administer another round of treatment.
Finally, Safi and I headed up to Elder Laaka’s hovel. The dark passage no longer hindered us in the slightest. Our hands remained at our sides where before they were glued to the walls. I had no idea what technique Safi was using but it appeared adequate enough.
We eventually arrived at a big room, Safi and I both looked around, drinking in the atmosphere of our Master’s hovel. I also noted a glaring lack of the long tunnel that I thought I had walked down during the test.
Such a revelation was a genuine surprise to me and made me wonder how I’d managed to keep walking for so long without bumping into anything.
I did notice the books that lined the shelves were all thicker than they should have been, which meant they were braille. The shelving itself looked like it had been knocked around quite a bit. Despite that, the room was clean and had it been lit up correctly, it represented a perfectly functional office for an Elder to reside.
“Welcome back, children.” Safi and I looked around confusedly, we had assumed we were alone. “I see that you have completed my task of navigating in the dark, well done,” she said.
“Doesn’t seem impressive now,” said Safi as she gave up looking for our Master.
“Don’t worry, darling. You’ll understand soon enough. Now, what of your missions?”
“Completed,” I said.
“Well done!” she said again, this time with a little more gusto.
“You’ll be able to enter the Elder’s Call, finally,” I said in a jokey tone.
“Did I mention that?” she asked, shyly.
“You did.”
“How embarrassing, no mind. Then you have completed my tasks and proved to me that you are dedicated and willing. I will now begin to train you. I want you here every morning, no questions asked. Any… Sen’o, didn’t I just say no questions asked?” I had my hand up.
“You did, but I have qualified as a healer. I’ll be working at the infirmary for a couple of mornings per week.”
“Alright, well, I suppose I should be happy about having such a talented disciple but that does rather jumble things up.”
“I apologise,” I said.
“No need, you couldn’t have known. Well then, how about most mornings, on the days that you have to work at the infirmary, Safi can come alone and you can come once you’re finished.”
“That works for me.”
“Anything else I should know?”
“I want to enter the Far-side tournament.”
“Well you’ve got plenty of time before that. I hope you’re happy with the arrangements?” We both nodded our confirmation. “Lovely. Safi, dear, would you mind staying for a bit?”
“Of course not,” she said, she was still slightly put off by talking to a disembodied voice.
“Sen’o, well done in being so productive. However, please remember that your own cultivation must be your priority, especially in this sect. If you need help finding a partner, just let me know.”
“I understand, thank you, Master.” I bowed and left the cave. Leaving Safi alone with Elder Laaka, for a reason I could only guess at.
When I arrived at my cave, Chit was lying comfortably on my bed, on the verge of falling asleep. Unfortunately I had to disturb her, she moaned as I shook her shoulders.
“Hey, sleepy.” She opened her eyes and smiled when she saw me. My heart jolted a little, though the signal was unneeded, I already knew I liked her.
She wordlessly shuffled over, giving me some room on the bed. I jumped in and she presented her arm for me to hold. First I examined her skin. It was looking a lot better, still a little scarred but there was no flaky skin, let alone cracks. Her fingers were still raw, especially around her nails.
What was more miraculous than anything was her face. Her eyes were brighter, despite being such a dark colour. Now that she could blink properly they didn’t have any of the redness they used to have. Her nose twitched and flared the way noses should. Most entrancing of all, her lips. Where before they were thin, cracked and colourless; they had become vibrant, glossy and full. Her smile made creases in her skin instead of cracks.
I turned my attention back to the treatment, but I knew she had caught me staring at her lips. I had wanted her to.
I worked on ridding her of the thin, white scars that covered her body. Her body was in the process of healing but would need a hand if she wanted a complete recovery. Unfortunately a lot of her internals were still raw from my harsh treatment.
She breathed sharply as my qi entered her. We sat in tranquil stillness while I worked.
Finally, when I stopped, she clasped her hand on mine before I could take it away. “Stay still,” she said. She leaned forward and kissed me.
I had to listen to her command, unfortunately. As much as I wanted to increase the intensity, her body was not ready for it.
So, I stayed still as our lips lingered, pressed together lightly and barely moving. The soft breath from her nose tickled my skin, her hand reached up and caressed my cheek before she used it to push me away slightly, as if forcing herself away from me.
She looked at me again, holding my eyes wordlessly, then turned over to sleep. Clearly she was not interested in making the journey back to her own cave.
Casualperv Click the
