Sword and Snow

Avuri

Putting aside Cierra's brush with a fairly small but agonizing spiritual injury, the rest of the day proceeded remarkably well.

Stena's Bonding ceremony went without a hitch. Her Qi lined up well with Vyne's about as well as was possible, so with her previous breakthrough into the Sky Realm already past, her Bonding was one of the easier ones, alongside Avuri's herself. She emerged from the ceremony chamber with the Marks etched into forearms and hands, leaving them looking like they were covered with tracks of vines and flowers. It was really quite pretty.

Mica's Bond with Eiry had also gone over easily. Mica had similarly already been in the Sky Realm, so her Bond was unlikely to be too trying. However, it was Eiry's disposition that had been likely to be the sticking point for her. The dragon had wanted Mica, alongside Glenn and Cove, to learn her techniques before they performed the Bond.

Avuri had secretly worried that there was some deeper secret to Eiry's techniques that made her Qi mutated or deviated in a controlled way somehow. She had heard tales of such things happening before, but it seemed like her worries were just that - worries. Mica had emerged from her own ceremony looking a little dazed but otherwise perfectly well. Her Mark had covered her shins, calves, and feet.

Ultimately, the last three Bonds had been completed before dinner time. Cierra was still having a rough go of it, but would recover easily enough.

The ease of it all was still managing to put Avuri on edge, though. Dealing with whatever it was that her father was planning was a near constant weight on her mind. She couldn't help but feel responsible for it, even with Emery constantly telling her that it wasn't her fault.

She knew that. Not only had she basically had zero contact with her family in the last however many years, it wasn't like she was ever in a position to stop them from going down this awful path. Emery also kept reminding her that she had even helped Glenn, Cove, and Mica slip the collar, too.

The sticking point was Leon. At this point, Avuri hated her brother. That feeling had been growing for a long time, solidifying into genuine hatred when he had returned and threatened her children. But it had only bubbled and festered since. She didn't use the word lightly, but Avuri genuinely thought she would accurately describe what she felt for Leon as loathing. And she felt like her feelings toward the rest of her family back in Bouquet was nearing that level of hate as well.

Up until recently, she had been carrying a slight hope that her family was being manipulated by Aysol. Ever since the Elders had mentioned the other dragon to them, it had been a distant possibility that she was subconsciously holding on to. Her family had always been sycophants, and a dragon showing up out of nowhere would be exactly the kind of person she could see them bowing down to.

But that hope had been slowly dying the more she thought about it. Her family was far too awful as just people while she was growing up for it to just be sycophantic acting. And then when her father's letter came, what little was left of that hope had been entirely extinguished.

There were phrases and details in that letter that had been unnecessarily cruel and awful that someone who was just trying to cozy up to power wouldn't have needed to use, even if they were literally watching over the author's shoulder.

No, her father was simply a bad person. And Avuri was positive that the illness had spread throughout the entire Mephra clan.

Once she had admitted that to herself, Avuri had been harboring an entirely different feeling that she had hidden deeply from everyone except Emery; she was being given the chance to cut out and destroy the cancer that was her family - and she was going to take it.

Being bloodthirsty was never a trait that Avuri thought she'd have. Growing up as a Cultivator, she had always known that spilling blood was part of the deal. Disagreements often came to blows, and while not the most common outcome, death was still frequent enough to be one of the common ones. But being realistic or pragmatic about it wasn't the same as being hungry for it.

Right now, Avuri felt like she wanted to bury her family. The worst part was that she felt like she should be ashamed or at least a little disturbed by the feeling. Especially when it wasn't a nebulous one, but rather very exact and targeted.

Emery had helped her work on that over the last few days, too. "There comes a point where normal humans are even worse than literal demons. And learning how to see that is important." She had said, "Everyone has a point that is too far to come back from. I think you just found yours."

She wasn't proud of it, but it was an approach that helped. Avuri just couldn't abide by the various lines that her family, her father especially, kept crossing.

She had been trying to accept that line of thought for days, but it still unsettled her. Not to the point that she felt she could redeem her family or any nonsense like that, but she felt like it was a waste. And maybe it was, but the larger part of her told her it was far too late now to do anything but act the part of medicine and clean out the wound her family had made.

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"Ri?"

Emery's voice and gentle shake of her shoulder pulled Avuri out of her own head. She had been staring at the wall while their little team was enjoying some afternoon tea as a light celebration, holding off on the larger treats until Cierra could join them.

Avuri shook her head as if to clear it. "Sorry. Just lost in thought."

Emery smiled at her, and the sight of it calmed Avuri. "I know."

Avuri leaned against her wife for that quiet, small, but utterly solid support that she always promised. It never ceased to impress Avuri how Emery managed to hold up so much of their worlds on her relatively small shoulders.

The thought had apparently made it across to her, because Emery lightly slapped Avuri's shoulder in a very girlish 'Oh, shut up,' type manner. It made Avuri smile as she laid her head against the top of Emery's.

"Sorry to say, Mica, but you're going to be in for a real rough couple of weeks." Eiry was saying. "You're going to be training with me as normal during the day until the three of you master my techniques properly, and then working on processing the dragonblood at night."

Mica nodded, her face full of resolve. "I know. I'll get it done."

"Don't burn yourself out." Cyril said. "If anything bad happens, we'll need you all in good fighting shape. None of us are expecting Bouquet to make a move too quickly, so if you go at a normal pace, you should be alright. How long did it take you three to complete the Bond? Two weeks, or so?" He asked, turning to Emery, Avuri, and then Kord.

"Closer to three." Kord answered.

"And a little longer than that for us two." Emery added.

"Yeah, well, you two always do things wrong." Vale chuckled. "We can't really use you as a basis for anything, given you both altered your very souls, what, days before that?"

Emery chuckled at that, but Avuri tried to look rightfully cowed by the truth, even if she didn't regret it. They were getting stronger in their own way, not just by the books.

"Close to three weeks is reasonable." Eiry said to Mica. "At least when it comes to processing the dragonblood, anyway. You're also not a fresh Sky Realm like Kord was, so I expect you to shave a couple days off that number."

Mica straightened up at Eiry's tone, which clearly evoked that of a teacher or superior talking to a subordinate. She responded to Eiry with a strong martial salute. "Understood."

Eiry rolled her eyes at the motion but seemed to accept it well enough. "As for you two," she continued, turning to Glenn and Cove, "I expect you both to have mastered the techniques in the same time period. You're all very close. I want you to be more than just proficient in them before any sort of battle reaches us."

They mimicked Mica's salute, which prompted a repeat of Eiry's response as well.

"You all need to stop that. You three were included in our plans to treat you all as equals."

The three of them shared a quick look before Glenn responded. "We understand that, but at least when it comes to the teaching part, we'd prefer to keep treating you like an Elder. It makes it simpler."

Eiry sighed but nodded. "Very well. Just, please, don't lean on being overly polite when we're not training."

"We can do that."

"Thank you."

There was a sudden crash from the room that they had left Cierra in which drew everyone's attention, immediately followed with a hesitant, "Uh, can I get a hand?"

Avuri extricated herself from Emery's side and speed-walked over to the door. "Cierra? Are you alright?"

Avuri opened the door to an embarrassed Cierra, who was thankfully sitting upright on the bed. She looked fine, although a little like someone just waking up from a feverish night's sleep. The small bedside table that had previously held a glass of water in case Cierra wanted it was knocked over on the floor, the glass shattered and water scattered.

"Sorry."

"It's fine." Avuri said, opening the door the rest of the way. "It's not like a little broken glass is going to do anything to -"

She had to cut off mid-sentence when the stench of the breakthrough impurities, which had apparently built up in the closed room, hit her full force in the nose. It wasn't often that Avuri had the urge to gag and cough, but she had to desperately struggle against the feeling in that moment.

"Momri?" Cierra asked, apparently oblivious to the smell. Given she had been in the room and napping for much of the day, she must have been used to the smell. Which, honestly, Avuri was glad for. She wouldn't wish being stuck in a room like that on anyone.

"My turn to say 'Sorry'." Avuri chuckled. Behind her back, she motioned everyone else in the room to stay back, her hand waving urgently. She doubled up the messaging by tapping her connection with Emery, who could certainly feel the revulsion Avuri was emanating, by sending a short mental message of "It's really bad. Don't come over here."

Emery would probably keep the others back, too.

Avuri did her best to put the smell out of mind. It was all she could do as she pushed into the room and next to her concerned daughter. "The smell has gotten worse, Cici. But you're sitting up - are you feeling better?"

She nodded. "Much. There's still a little weakness in my limbs, and a slight pin-and-needle feeling, but it's much more manageable."

"Good. Then let's go get you washed, alright?"

Cierra looked up at Avuri, her eyes on the verge of tears. Avuri had to wonder if maybe she hadn't been quite so immune to the smell. "Yes, please. And please tell me the bathroom isn't far."

"Just down the hall." Cyril called from the main room. "It's a big door on the left, you can't miss it."

"Thanks, Cyril."

"Don't mention it. But also don't come in here until you're all clean and freshly scented."

"Oh, that reminds me. There are some rather potent scented oils in the bath for help with the breakthrough muck. Use them." Lyn added.

"I will, trust me." Cierra answered, wrinkling her nose.

"Good girl."