Chapter 40: Monster
Some of Father's clan came in the early afternoon while Bolin was running the cohort’s final week of drills.
Ten of them, on foot, carrying what looked like a week’s worth of provisions between them. They came through the south gate with road dust on them. They had stopped to rest when they entered after the exhaustion hit them all at once. Luan Mei saw them first from the clinic doorway and called for me.
I saw that they were of mixed ages, one woman who looked to be in her fifties, three in their thirties, the rest of them were younger. They assessed the training ground and the River Fork Academy with wide, curious eyes, perhaps marveling at the scope of it all.
And their traveling companion was a cat.
It was sitting on the gatepost watching me approach. It was small with metallic grey fur, perched completely still. Its amber eyes tracked me as I crossed the ground.
The ambient Qi around it was being drawn to its core but it wasn't circulating it.
I stared at it and kept walking.
“Creepy cat,” Bolin said, appearing at my left shoulder.
I agreed with him, but I didn't want to raise alarm yet. “Focus on the students,” I said. “It’s their last week so I want it to go smoothly.”