"This is boring Sister Meizhen." Cui murmured petulantly. "Why do we need to do such a thing?"
"We are hardly doing anything," Bai Meizhen replied sourly. "I am the only one capable of performing this task. You need not stay for this," she stared hard at the block of grayish brown clay in front of her, mocking her with its mundane and inert nature.
"Where else would I go?" Cui grumbled childishly, and Bai Meizhen felt her coils shifting around her neck. "It is cold outside, and Sister Meizhen has forbidden me from doing anything fun."
"I have forbidden you from playing tricks or eating pets and familiars, yes," Bai Meizhen replied dryly. "Now hush, I must concentrate."
"Hmph, if Sister Meizhen wants to play in the mud so much, Cui will just be silent then," Cui said in a tone that Meizhen knew meant she would have to placate her with something tasty later.
She returned her attention to the clay, narrowing her eyes. She did not even disagree with her cousin exactly. She felt that this was a pointless waste of time, but it was also a task assigned by an Elder. She just wasn't certain whether the insufferably cheerful woman was mocking her by giving out meaningless tasks instead of real training.
Elder Ying confused her, and it was not a feeling she enjoyed. The woman was far too informal, and behaved much more familiarly with her than was appropriate. She had certainly not been… condescended too so blatantly in… ever really.
Cool, dry hands brushed affectionately through the soft fuzz of hair that had just began to grow out, and a voice tinged with hidden warmth offered gentle chiding for childish misdeeds.
This task was just the culmination of it really. Given a block of qi absorbing clay and told to tease out the true shape hidden within it. That she would find said shape as she meditated on her relationships and connections with the world. She had never even learned sculpture, as it was not among the artistic endeavors considered necessary for her station, so it was made even worse. As a cultivator her work would outstrip all but the best mortal craftsmen, even without tools, but that was hardly the point.
What did the woman even mean? What did she want her to shape from the clay? She was aware that earth was the element of acceptance and community, but she already knew her place in the world. What did she have to consider here? Elder Ying seemed an affectionate and emotional woman, but as an Elder that was surely a mask. Was she meant to create some pro empire image then? An offer of loyalty and solidarity from a treacherous Bai, to prove that their program was working?
She felt her lips curling in disdain and Cui's coils tightening, responding to her emotions, and calmed herself. It was beneath her to react so. She would simply perform the task as instructed. Closing her eyes, she considered where to begin. Family was of course the single most important connection a cultivator had. So, who among her clan did she feel connection and 'affection' for as the Elder had put it. Her thoughts turned first to her grandfather, and his cold and pitiless eyes flashed through her thoughts, disapproving as they always were. No, grandfather had trained her certainly, as he had the rest of the youngest generation of the Bai, in the hopes of teasing out outstanding talent.
No, that was simply the bond of familial duty, she felt instinctively that it wasn't what Elder Ying was looking for. Grandfather had hardly ever even spoken to her directly, save an occasional correction or word of grudging praise at success. Should she consider Father then? No, of course not, she felt a twist of bitterness at even considering the thought. Father was an embarrassment to the clan, a concession in the name of… financial concerns, a rabbit in the den of serpents.
Bai Meizhen breathed out, clearing her thoughts of such unfilial musings. It was unfair, Father was an outsider, married into the clan due to political concerns, it was unreasonable to expect more of him. She rather wished he could manage a simple family dinner without looking as if he was going to faint though. Should she consider her cousins then? She allowed memories of familiar faces and rivalries to pass through her thoughts one at a time.
...No, they were rivals for position in the clan. There might be a degree of polite cordiality, and and the acknowledgement that they would back one another against outsiders, but little else. She had been too busy striving to engage with the little cliques that had formed among them, and she was aware of the various minor resentments many in the clan held toward her for one reason or another.
Aunt Suzhen then, the hope of the clan, said to have the greatest chance of breaking through to white and restoring a degree of the Bai's honor. She had given her Cui, and awakened her spirit so that she could communicate properly with her cousin. She could admit that Aunt Suzhen, of all her family had showed her the most kindness and consideration. It was thanks to her that she had Cui, and that she had mastered the Abyssal Mantle art so well.
It had disappointed her in her earliest days that she had little talent for the metal arts which her Aunt made such prominent use of. Aunt Suzhen was incredibly busy with the business of the clan however, and her government duties. She could count the times she had spoken to her on the fingers of one hand.
Cui, then was the obvious answer, and she unconsciously raised her hand to run her fingers along her cousins cool emerald scales. Cui, for all her gluttony and sloth, was a good sister. Her lips quirked up in amusement as she felt Cui's tongue flick against her throat irritably. It seemed she had been thinking a little too loudly there.
She traced her fingers over the clay thoughtfully, was that the answer then? She scowled at the block, feeling like she was still missing something.
Her hands jerked very slightly as the door banged open, and she quickly raised her head, ready to stare down an intruder. Likely that vulgar Sun witch, back for another round. She had been focused too hard on her task if she had failed to notice the approach of a rival. Her gathering qi scattered though a moment later, when she found herself instead looking upon Ling Qi.
Her housemate rather resembled a wet cat, soaked to the bone as she was. She pursed her lips as she examined the skinny girl. Really, it had taken long enough for her to start dressing properly, but the other girl still showed so little care for her dignity, appearing like that, with brambles caught on her dress and twigs in her flyaway hair. It was frustrating. "What in the world happened to you?" She found herself asking, distracted from her task.
"Played tag with a snow spirit, then had to run from a pack of wolves," Ling Qi muttered tiredly, absently kicking the door closed behind her. Bai Meizhen glanced away, not wishing to take advantage of the girl's state to stare. She was practically indecent right now. At least she was wearing dark colors. She hoped that Ling Qi at least had the presence of mind to stay out of sight and avoid scandal on the way back.
The other girl was so oblivious to the importance of appearance and presentation. "...I see," she said, returning her gaze to her project. "Were you able to complete your mission regardless?" Ling Qi was unhurt, so there was not much reason for concern. She had worried that ther other girl would find trouble among her fellow disciples, going out alone, but she had not voiced it. She would not stunt Ling Qi's growth by coddling her.
"Yeah, it went fine honestly," Ling Qi muttered, glancing briefly at her as she passed through the room, idly brushing strands of hair from her face. Ling Qi's braid had come loose, and her hair was now clinging distractingly to the curve of her neck. "I really want a hot bath and a nap though, so I'm going to turn in. G'night Bai Meizhen."
"Good Night," she replied in return as the girl slumped off into the hall leading to the baths. Ling Qi… she did not know what to make of the girl at times. She had bouts of incredible good fortune, and was clearly talented… but she simply refused to fit into Bai Meizhen's understanding of things.
"The mouse is getting in trouble again, perhaps I, Cui should accompany her next time she goes out to play. Better than poking at mud," her cousin murmured.
"Do as you will," Bai Meizhen replied. "I doubt Ling Qi will have any patience for your gluttony either."
"Sister Meizhen is cruel," Cui sulked. "Maybe I should tell the mouse that you find her legs distracting."
"You will be hunting for yourself for the foreseeable future then," Bai Meizhen hissed quietly. She did not think of Ling Qi in that sense honestly, but the girl was simply so…. Indiscreet. It didn't help that she had simply been growing more distracted by such things since coming here. It was frustrating, but she was aware that it was simply a foible of her age and development.
No, Ling Qi was… complicated. She had called her friend, and the other girl seemed to return the feeling. Friendship with outsiders was a matter of convenience though, favors offered for favors owed. That had been how it began. She was not so foolish and conceited as the lesser nobles. She knew that an unawakened commoner brought to the sect would obviously be of high talent. The ministry would not bother taking them in and bringing them here otherwise.
It had cost her little to offer Ling Qi some minor favors at first, explaining simple things as one would to a child. The girl would likely rise to some degree of prominence and be a useful contact when she left the sect, provided that she made it through her tour of service. She had even toyed with the idea of offering her vassalage. The Bai were certainly short on vassals still, lands lying fallow and abandoned without protection by treasonous scum who chose to serve the barbarian Sun.
Ling Qi would not have even asked for much if she had brought it up in the beginning she suspected. Something had held her back though. The casual way the girl interacted with her was… refreshing, in a way. She enjoyed it, and hadn't wanted to end it by placing a clear and obvious delineation in rank between them.
Her vulgar behavior was also frustrating at times, she wondered sometimes if the other girl had been raised by wolves, like some barbarian legend, but it was not her place to pry into personal matters. Things changed gradually though, she grew comfortable with the status quo between them.
She grew complacent.
Then they had gone on the trial together, and she had faced the appearance of the girls death and the betrayal of the thing wearing her face. Her rage had been… unseemly. The Bai were a clan famed for their self control, and for good reason. A Bai's fury was as cruel and destructive as the great storms spawned by the dreams of Grandmother Serpent. She did not regret making that creature beg pitifully for death, but she did regret the weakness it represented in her.
She had grown far too attached to an outsider, too invested in her well being. The Bai had been shown time and again, that they could only rely on themselves. Others would fall to the siren call of power, whether it be to the imperial throne that had used them for so long, or the murderous drumbeats of the Red Garden. Grandfather would be disappointed in her.
She could not say she loved Ling Qi as she did Cui, who was her sister in all the ways that mattered… but she would be lying to herself if she said that Ling Qi was not important to her, and she knew lying to herself was a greater sin than even such a bond, it would stifle and slow her cultivation if left to fester.
She turned her attention back to the clay, once again pursing her lips. It was fine though, Ling Qi could stand on her own, and even had the attention of the Cai heiress. They could remain in contact even after parting ways, and Bai Meizhen would not have to show such a glaring weakness to her family. She shuddered to imagine Ling Qi behaving with her usual… Ling Qi-ness in front of her clan, or ancestors forbid, Grandfather.
Still, perhaps these thoughts were of some use. Perhaps this sort of thing was what she was meant to think of for this project. She would need to begin soon though, if she wished to complete it by sunrise, when the time for her next lesson came.
AN: There we go, a bit of rambly introspection from everyone's favorite Snek, while she works on an annoying art project.
