The Food Hall of the Inner Martial Arts school was bustling as usual, with chopsticks and spoons tapping against plates and bowls. Some people chatted lightly, others maintained the habits of old and did not speak until their stomachs were full. Jin Li had eaten until his plate was clean and his eyes had wandered to his neighbours platters, but they, who were too used to his behaviour, discreetly sheltered their food from his prying eyes. Not that he was ever uncouth; stealing or demanding their share (that remained the fate of his little alchemist and on the odd occasion, his roommate), but once politely offered, there were no take backs, only regrets.
A bowl of vegetable soup was pushed in front of him by a slender and slightly tanned hand. He glanced up to receive the sunny smile of his roommate, who made excuses about how full he was and without offering gratitude, Jin Li claimed the bowl, only lamenting that it lacked meat.
A tray filled to the brim was placed noisily beside him and the man carrying it sat down after this. "I heard that that one from the nobles' school was here again," Bowyer informed Pike, who was eating his food while sitting besides Sun.
Pike swallowed the mouthful of bread and reached for a cup of water. "I suppose it's been three years since the last time," he mused. "Doesn't he ever get tired of it?
"He must receive some twisted satisfaction from doing it," Bowyer sneered.
Sun's bright eyes widened and ears twitched. He couldn't help but ask; "What's going on? What noble school?"
"Well, you know that there are several schools that teach about matters of cultivation?" Bowyer enquired. Sun actually didn't, but he nodded anyway. It wouldn't make sense for the Institute to hold a complete monopoly and besides that, there were private tutors that also did the same for those who could afford it. "Five schools are considered the most notable, the Institute being perhaps the most known of all due to its policies of accepting students no matter their background. Besides us, there are four others. One, the Qilin Academy of Excellence, only accepts nobles with decent ability of cultivation. Their Headmaster has a habit of visiting our school to poach students."
"Oh," Sun seemed to lose interest for a bit, then couldn't help but look at Jin Li. Would that man try solicit his roommate? Then he shook his head realising it wouldn't matter even if he did. Jin Li would not leave without Leon and Leon was a commoner from a poor village. Definitely not qualified. Pike and Bowyer were, in his opinion, from good backgrounds (he didn't know the ins and outs and never asked) but they were still here, so this Headmaster was unlikely to affect their little group dynamics. He never once thought that he might become a target.
"It's not only him that came to visit this time!" A student with a love of gossip close by decided to enlighten them. "I heard the Headmistress from the Azure Heights Finishing school was here also!"
"Did she come to poach people too?" Sun asked, a hint of worry in his voice.
The gossiper hesitated, he didn't know the answer and also didn't want to admit to that. "That may be the case," he suggested without confirming. "There are several girls who've become famous throughout the Institute after all." He counted a few on his fingers; "Mute from the Cygnus family is the strongest mage in the Institute at the moment, Merylin of the Inner Alchemist school I've heard is a natural talent, our Luna is in the top ten of the martial arts school standings..."
"Girls?" Sun picked up this point slightly confused.
"The Azure Heights Finishing school is a Cultivation school for women," Pike informed him.
"Oh," Sun scratched his head and shrugged. "Do all of the other four schools have restrictions on who'll they'll accept as students then?"
"Yes and no," Pike replied after thinking about it for a moment. "It's true that Azure only accepts women, but background and ability, that is much more flexible like our school. The Savage Red Sands Legion is geared towards teaching martial artists and beast tamers, but that doesn't mean they won't accept others, just that others might not get the education they require. Same for the Towers of Wisdom; they predominantly teach Mages, with scholars and alchemists as secondary."
"I see?" Well he didn't, but he was distracted from thinking about it too much as Jin Li stood up in front of him, having wiped his lips with a white napkin following satisfying his stomach.
"I'm leaving," he stated before sauntering towards the door.
"Dammit," Bowyer cursed him as the youth escaped before he had the chance to stop him. "I wanted to test out his current ability!"
Pike laughed loudly, clearing the oil from his thick fingers as he too had finished eating. "It's the weekend! Do you think he is going to abandon his little sweetheart to spar a few rounds with you?"
"Who said anything about abandoning him?" Bowyer denied, dismissively. "Leon could always have come here and Jin Li could have impressed him with a few moves or something."
"I think that they are way past having to do something like flexing muscles and posing to attract the other, don't you think?" Pike shook his head.
"There's never anything wrong with refreshing one's appearance in the heart of one's lover!" Bowyer insisted, thinking of his big brother's advice as the man had insisted on taking the time to change clothes before meeting with his fiancée that time. He didn't admit that he'd considered it all the man's vanity however.
"Says the one whose not yet enjoyed spring," Pike teased him, before movement at the entrance of the Food Hall caught his attention. His eyes twinkled wickedly and he nudged Sun to ready the boy to quickly leave with him. "Although, here comes your chance!"
"Huh?" Bowyer was caught off guard and only now noticed the longing emerald eyes attached to an all too familiar face staring at him. "Pike! Sun!" He hissed both their names as they fled swiftly, leaving him behind to deal with the approaching girl.
"Hiya Bowyer," the girl batted her eyelashes shyly, tucking a loose strand of ashen hair behind her ear.
"Pria," he forced himself to return her smile, but grimaced inside. It wasn't that she wasn't pretty with her large eyes, small lips and slightly upturned nose, but he just couldn't summon any interest for this girl, who was obvious in her fondness for him. He just felt trapped and unwilling to be in her presence, especially so when her close friends liked to drop hints about them pairing up.
Like now. "Pria, I heard you were learning a new sword technique."
"Mmmm," the girl hummed in agreement, glancing briefly over her shoulder to acknowledge her friend's words before her eyes glided back towards himself. A flurry of goosebumps trailed down his arms. "I've not quite got the hang of it yet."
Bowyer attempted not to wince as this obvious flag appeared. Sure enough... "Perhaps Bowyer could give you a few pointers?"
"You shouldn't make girls cry," his legal mother would tell him after she dabbed his cousin's eyes after he'd refused to play with the girl yet again. That girl was made of water just like his younger sisters had been. He had been a bit of a rough child, full of energy. Where had he ever the time to deal with girls? In the Martial Arts school, he thought girls would be somewhat different and it was true that many were, in fact there were a whole host of independent females that he got along quite well with and then there was...
"Really?" Her green eyes were filled with hope and barely restrained joy. He felt restless just looking at them.
"I guess," he finally relented, scratching the back of his neck. She clapped her hands together giddily and he immediately regretted his words.
Her friends acted just as sillily. Really, were these girls truly martial artists that had the ability to learn in one of the most prestigious facilities for cultivators or tittering unwed ladies of a boudoir? "You know, Pria's free tomorrow afternoon..."
"Ah, I'll have to see!" He quickly interrupted, half-panicked. There was no way he was agreeing to be alone with the girl in a training field. What if others got the wrong impression? He looked away in order not to see the downcast expression on her face.
"Ah, of course, Bowyer's Teacher might need his assistance for things," the girl made an excuse on his behalf compounding the guilt he already felt.
"Yeah," he replied, pushing his unfinished plate aside, realising that he no longer had the appetite for it. He inwardly sighed once more. "I'll let you know when I have time," he told her in a softened voice, to which her bright smile once more blossomed. Ugh, he had the urge to hit someone... no not someone, Pike. He was going to go right now and issue a challenge to that bastard! It was all his fault!
As he was imagining how to beat his friend black and blue, his Teacher happened to guide in two adults, one familiar and one not so, into the Food Hall.
"So, where is he?" The woman demanded to know.
"Miss Siren," Teacher Eridana sighed. "I was asked to guide you to our guest rooms, not asked to hunt for Teacher Corvus on your behalf."
"Patience is a virtue, my lady," Headmaster Phichus sneered as he looked at his counterpart with unhidden contempt. While he had no issues with women cultivators, so long as they were noble and studied more elegant forms of martial arts and magic or studied alchemy, healing and so on, this woman favoured wielding a long handled hammer and wore leather breeches beneath her plain, side-split tunic. Her hair was cropped short like some barbarian as well and she refused to step down as the head of her household in favour of the living male descendants of her families bloodline. He disliked everything she stood for, basically.
In a certain, small hut, beneath a nest of pillows and blankets, a person stirred. After a moment, two delicate, white hands poked out of one edge and began to tug the embroidered blankets downward, revealing a mess of dark curls. There came a groan from the unruly locks, the familiar tones of one who has awoken from sleep, but wanted to linger within their dreams that much longer. However, not the type to be able to fall back to sleep once the dreams had faded, that person could only admit defeat and rise.
With none of the more feminine brightness that she usually projected, the girl flopped out of bed with a sulky attitude, scuffling over plush, fur rugs towards a small metal stove, which she opened, tossed in some wood and a spark of fire to fuel it.
This metal stove was a new addition to the hut where originally there happened to have been a clay stove. That old thing had worked well enough, but occasionally hot ashes had floated out of it, dirtying the tiled floor and worse, setting alight the original wool rug she'd decorated the floor with. Seeing the innovate metal stove with its small door to hold tight the burning wood and ash had her commission one as well. Her sister too had liked it and done the same, it had even become a fad for several more students with abundant external wealth within the inner and outer alchemist schools. Some stoves were stupidly and unnecessarily ornate and large, becoming another display piece of status. Really silly.
The small hut warmed as did the kettle of hot water placed upon the stove. In the meantime, Maimai had shimmied out of her silk chemise and picked a simple top to pair with flared silk trousers, ignoring the piles of dresses within the interdimensional chest at the bottom of her bed. After picking out a fitted jacket of complimenting colour, the water began to boil and she poured some into a bowl for washing and the rest into a teapot. She did not add tea. She was well aware of her tea making abilities, so never drank her own concoctions, but it didn't usually stop her from practicing her 'skills' on others. She could only say that she really didn't mean to poison people.
She washed with a soft cloth, then bundled her curls upon her head into a bun, before looking over the dresser. A copper mirror dominated the small space, though she didn't bother to gaze at her appearance reflected in its sheen. The rest of the wooden top was covered in bits of jewellery, charms and the like that she hadn't bothered to put away in one of the dresser's drawers. Running her fingers this way and that through the silver and jade, she finally chose and enamelled hairpin with peach blossoms decorating it and a pair of similarly coloured gemstone earrings.
Refreshed and ready for the day, she glanced at her books with the tiny notes written this way and that and at her cauldron and didn't feel the want to practice making all the pills that she wasn't good at, nor churning out the ones she was quite able too. Perhaps it was due to her nature, but she had become quite good at producing combat pills.
It was the weekend, there were no lectures or expectations. She had no outstanding requests or tasks to do. She decided she wanted company, but not her sister. Today, she wasn't in the mood for dressing up and acting like a filial relation with the older girl. So narrowing down everything, she decided to visit her best friend. Sure, that other one would not welcome her presence, but it was not as if she cared about his opinion!
She dug out a thin coat and headed out of the door. Although it was spring, the mornings were still on the cooler side, the wind could be exceptionally bitter. The sun was beaming through the branches of the trees in some abundance as the leaves upon them were tender and small, not yet large enough to create a thick canopy, so it was not long before Maimai felt some warmth upon her back.
Contented she hummed a cheerful ditty to herself, striding over the muddy ground without care, when she came across an unexpected figure. That man was wearing quite the frown, but catching her footfall, he glanced up and beamed with relief.
"Miss Maimai!" He called out, jovially. Maimai couldn't help but smile back. Really, this one and Pike had such potential! The tall figure did not have Jin Li's bamboo stature, willowy and overly flexible, also did not have Pike's heavy set body and muscular physique. It was better to say he had a tempered look, obviously masculine, yet not overwhelmingly so. His aura was approachable as well and his personality was friendly from the outset, though she didn't know him well enough to judge him deeply.
"Bowyer," she greeted back. "What brings you to the outer alchemist school?" Actually, there was likely only one reason he was wandering this neck of the woods.
He looked a bit sheepish. "Actually I was looking for Leon's place, I need to speak with Jin Li about something and I got a bit lost."
"Easy to do," Maimai admitted. It was especially difficult whenever Leon decided to add a few more of his charms within the surroundings of his home, though fortunately, it had been a while since he'd carved new 'decorations' to set in the trees. "Follow me," she offered, "I was heading there anyway."
He looked grateful, but Maimai didn't think it was such a big thing. Anyway, this man could accept Jin Li's sharp wrath instead of herself when they intruded on his and Leon's lovey dovey time! She did hope that there was something to interrupt!
Discreetly, she scratched her nose.
The scent of tender, herb seedling delicately drifted on the breeze as the gardens about the old hut had begun to sprout. The scent became stronger as they approached the gates of the courtyard property. The gate was unsurprisingly locked, but that was never an obstacle to those with good martial arts. Maimai didn't realise that she had caught Bowyer unawares when she easily leapt over the tall gate beside him, though.
A low yowling sound came from the stable, but it ceased a brief moment later when her scent was caught by the two coeurl. She smiled to herself, pleased that the beasts liked her enough to let her pass. She would be devastated if she knew that Wu Ye was just too lazy to deal with her 'weak' self. It did consider testing Bowyer for a bit, but it's stomach then rumbled and it decided to deal with it once it's lazy human brought its breakfast over.
Numerous pots had begun to fill the courtyard, the fresh scents of herb seedlings came from them and mixed in the air with the smell of clean soil. Maimai's eyes briefly wandered to that small greenhouse building and sure enough, there were flecks of green within pots lining its shelves and tiled floor. Leon was always thinking of how to reduce expenditure for himself when making pills, it was not surprising that his garden was already being developed for this year. The school provided much, but if there were rarer herbs involved in the recipe, if none were available, they'd have to source it themselves. For their low level, though, they shouldn't find themselves with this issue, but Leon liked to plan ahead.
Maimai knocked on the sturdy wooden door of the main building. "Leon, it's me! Oh and Bowyer came for Jin Li!" She didn't try to open the door. Jin Li would not have left this unlocked either.
"Don't unlock it," she heard the commandeering drawl from within the building, clearly not making any attempt to be discreet. "They can see themselves out."
"Jin Li," Leon's voice chided, softly.
"Tch."
The sound of the metal bolt being moved echoed from inside.
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