The Heavens Shall Fall

The almost overwhelming scent and heat of the medicinal bath seemed to attach itself to his skin even after he stepped out of the stone basin. Behind him, the liquid he was submerged in had turned from green to a sludgy, porridge-like black by now, but it was proof that it was working. After leaving it, he couldn't help but sigh because it felt... good. Flexing his realigned arm, waving it around within the steam that was curling around his body, Siu couldn't help but softly grunt, wincing a little.

"I shouldn't strain it just yet..." He muttered, because no matter how well it was fixed, it felt fragile.

Besides his voice, the room was quiet, as, for the moment, it was only him in there. Not even Arya and Marly were permitted in, so the bath didn't lose any effectiveness, and everything went where it was needed to heal him up. After lowering his arm, for a long moment, Siu didn’t move. He just stood there, water dripping from his hair and down his back, pooling at his feet as his chest rose and fell, practicing his breathing technique, feeling a stinging pain every time he filled it to its fullest with air.

"Ouch..." he smiled while exhaling. “…Yeah,” he muttered quietly to himself one more time, slapping his chest with his hand, shaking the water off, "I knew that this was going to take time to mellow out."

Each deeper breath he took had a faint sting to it. Especially when he inhaled too sharply, there was a type of tightness in his chest that made it hard to use his fighting strength to its fullest; at least, until it went away completely. This time, there won't be any faking it; the sign everyone will see will be how he actually feels.

“Master.” Arya’s voice slipped into his mind the moment she realized he was back up and aware. “You’re finally done! How are you feeling? Is it all good? It is good, isn't it?"

"It's good, yes," Siu let out a chuckle that made his side contract, but he refused to wince, “Took long enough, didn’t it? How long have I been in here?”

“It did,” Marly chimed in immediately, her tone far less composed and far more dramatic than Arya's, “We were bored. Extremely bored! Do you know how long a day is when you’re waiting?!”

“Was it a day? Oh... Well, it was not long enough, apparently, because you are able to complain the first thing in the morning.”

“Master, you can't mean that, that’s rude!” she huffed, though the faint ripple of amusement in their shared link betrayed her that she was just happy that Siu was already back and up.

By the time he finished dressing, pulling on a fresh set of sect robes that had been prepared for him, the door had already been nudged open from the outside by the two. Arya slipped in first, her small black form hopping across the stone floor, her tail flicking multiple times as her mismatched eyes scanned him from head to toe, and finally deciding it was okay to jump atop his head. Marly followed right after, practically bouncing in the same manner, her tiny body launching onto a nearby ledge before gliding over to perch on his shoulder.

“You look and smell fine,” Arya stated with relief, and then added with wrinkling her nose, "A bit too strong of a smell... in fact... I'd even call it a... musk..."

“Ha-ha." He said out loud, imitating a very mechanical laugh, "I am fine, and my smell is fine, too. It's herbs.”

“That battle was... Way too dangerous, Master!” Marly added quickly, puffing up her mouth, inhaling sharply, “You were broken! Very broken! That man almost folded you in two!”

"Only almost," Siu snorted softly at that, shaking his head. “And yet, here I am.”

“Because of us,” Arya said flatly, her tail swaying behind her, hitting the back of his head, making him smile.

"Um!" Marly immediately leaned forward, nodding vigorously. “Exactly! We saved you. I bit him so hard that I chipped my tooth! It still hurts, by the way. I deserve compensation.” She added in a very much Arya-like voice.

“And my claws,” His foxy added without missing a beat. "I also need compensation, Master!"

"Do you now?" Siu let out a quiet laugh, finally stepping forward, heading out of the bath, “Okay, okay... You both did well,” he admitted, "I will think of something. I guess, some grand feast will suffice, hm?"

That was enough to make Marly freeze for a moment, clearly not expecting that kind of direct acknowledgment, while Arya’s ears twitched once, her tail picking up speed, now repeatedly slapping his head.

“Food!” Marly answered instantly. "Super-much-tremendous-amount of food! Yey! Perfect!"

“Feast,” Arya added, smacking her mouth, already salivating, “Big feast, with meat... ton of meat. Meat sea... Stuffing me until I go blank and keep stuffing me after..."

"..." If not for already being used to her antics, Siu would have stumbled, but, by now, it was like hearing her talk about the weather.

“And some fresh fruits from the forest,” Marly added, her tone just as excited, while Siu exhaled through his nose, shaking his head again, knowing that this would be an expensive dinner, but he would indulge them. They deserved it.

“You’re not even pretending to be subtle.” He muttered.

“Why would we?” Arya tilted her head slightly, harrumphing.

“You owe us,” Marly said again, nodding, completely serious, and it was clear that the two had time to talk it out and were now pressuring him like a proper pair of siblings would.

“…Fair enough,” he admitted, and that earned him an immediate surge of satisfaction through their connection, feeling overly warm and bright... and entirely unrestrained.

“Good!” Marly chirped, seeing him keep to his word, “Then let’s go! I'm starving!”

“No running,” Arya cut in sharply, glancing at Siu’s body. “He’s not fully recovered yet.”

“I am, it's just the question of adjusting. I can speedwalk,” Siu said, already stepping through the exit.

“I will make Marly learn to be patient, Master, don't worry,” Arya replied, holding onto his hair and looking at her warningly, making the squirrel suddenly stay silent.

The corridors outside the medicinal halls were quiet, just as usual, though not empty. A few disciples passed by him, each casting curious, shocked glances his way, doing double-takes before quickly looking away. Word had spread, it seemed, and of course it had. He didn’t need to listen to any of the whispers to realize that. Ignoring them, he kept his pace steady, ignoring the stares, focusing instead on the feedback from his body with each step, constantly adjusting his breathing and posture. His left arm hung slightly lower than usual, not by much, but enough that he could feel the imbalance in his gait, which will have to be fixed as soon as possible. As for his breathing, it remained steady, though the deeper he inhaled, the more he felt it straining the newly repaired lung under his fixed ribs.

All things considered, it was way better than he expected, and he was about to say something when he turned a corner and almost collided with a figure there.

"Neya?" He asked, surprised, stopping himself from falling onto her.

"Siu!" She yelped, going from shocked to happy in a snap, finding her balance.

The moment she recognized him, her eyes widened a lot, and for a fraction of a second, she smiled so happily it could have melted even the Icecrown Stag's spells... And looking into her eyes, they were filled with nothing but genuine relief.

“You’re finally out!” she said after a moment, her tone trying, and failing, to sound casual, "I was, I mean, we were so worried!"

“You weren't... waiting for me here, were you?”

“I wasn't!” she replied quickly, then paused, exhaling as she straightened slightly. “I’ve been here for... Um, to ask around.”

“Waiting?” Arya chuckled, "Master, she was sleeping here!"

“No way...” Siu answered, and Arya just snorted quietly in his mind.

“She’s lying. She was here from start to finish.” Marly added, backing up her sister.

“Um... You look fine,” Neya continued in the meantime, her gaze moving over him, lingering briefly on his arm and sides, trying to change the topic. “Mostly... You will need rest.”

“I'm fine,” he smiled, but still let her fuss about him.

"I guess..." She hesitated, then stepped forward, reaching out before stopping herself halfway, her hand hovering near his arm before she pulled it back. “…Does it hurt?” she asked instead.

“Tolerable.”

“How much?” She asked immediately, becoming alert.

“Not enough to be a problem.”

“That’s not an answer!”

“It is for me,” he chuckled, watching her frown.

She was clearly dissatisfied, but in the end, she didn’t press further. Instead, she let out a long breath, most of the tension leaving her shoulders as she finally seemed to accept that he was fine. Yet, instead of smiling again, now she began pouting.

“You’re an idiot,” she muttered.

“Eh?” Siu looked at her, flinching, "What now? I won!"

“You could’ve died! I knew you were taking this too lightly...”

“It was a spar.” He shot back, remembering how Elder Faliah had stopped him from finishing off Bren, and he believed that he would have stepped in if Bren had made a killing move too.

“That doesn’t—” Neya began, but stopped herself just then, biting back whatever she was about to say before shaking her head. “…Just… don’t do that again.”

"We are cultivators, remember?" Siu said as he tilted his head slightly, studying her, "I’ll try, but I can't promise you that it won't happen again,” he stated seriously, which was about as much as he was willing to promise.

"..." That earned him another glare, though it lacked any real heat, and she just melted away, finally smiling again, “…You’re impossible.”

“I'll take it as a compliment.”

For a moment, they simply stood there, looking at each other, but then footsteps were echoing, heading towards them, followed by a new voice.

“Finally found you! I knew you were still here, Neya, you should, oh! Siu! You are out? Great!”

Rinmei’s voice broke the moment cleanly as she stepped into view, a stack of papers in her hands, her eyes immediately locking onto Siu while she was clearly here to fetch Neya. She didn’t slow down now that he was here, and she didn’t hesitate, closing the remaining distance in a few quick steps before stopping right in front of him.

“Turn,” she said, like ordering him.

"Huh?" Siu blinked once, “What?”

“Turn!”

He sighed, but complied, rotating slightly as she reached out, inspecting his arm, her fingers pressing lightly along the length of it, before doing the same with his side, something Neya was too afraid to do.

“Hmm.”

“That’s all?” he asked, rolling his eyes. "Am I fine, Miss Rinmei?"

“Better than I have expected,” she replied, stepping back. “But don’t overstrain it.”

“Not planning to.” He said without pause, "Am I done being examined, hm? Can we go?"

"Oh, we MUST go!" Rinmei nodded, sounding grave, “We have a problem.”

“That doesn’t sound new,” Siu said, rubbing his face, "What happened? Did Stone Ward retaliate already?"

“This one is different.” She muttered, grimacing, "It's not them..."

"What's going on?" Neya asked, growing troubled as she saw the look in her eyes and the bags under them.

Before Rinmei could elaborate, the Twins burst into the corridor, their arrival anything but subtle, yelling towards them.

“There you are!”

“We’ve been looking everywhere!”

"Ah, Nilli, look, the Man of the Hour is out!"

"He needs a complete checkup, Milli. After we dragged him back to the tower, we must do it ourselves."

"No, you won't!" Neya harrumphed, watching as Milli and Nilli came to a stop just short of colliding with them, both of them grinning far too widely for anything... bad to follow. But it shouldn't be good either. At least, Siu got the feeling the trouble Rinmei was referring to wasn't about someone making a move against the Spirit Wardens.

“You’re popular,” Milli said.

“Very popular,” Nilli added as the twins were completing each other's sentences in a weird way.

“How popular?” Siu asked.

"Well," The twins exchanged a glance, their smiles somehow widening. “There is absolute pandemonium,” they answered in unison, "You better move, or we will go on a strike."

“Explain like I was a toddler, okay? Please?" He moaned, looking at Rinmei this time, who exhaled softly, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“The tower is full,” she began, squinting her eyes, “No, it's overflowing. People are lining up outside, and they refuse to disperse.”

“To join,” The Twins added, still sounding slightly incredulous, "Even we couldn't take them all on, so... we slipped away. Sorry, Boss, but this will be your task. We need a strong man to hold down the fort!"

"Oh shut it..." Neya grumbled under her breath, crossing her arms, rolling her eyes.

“And not just the usual types had been camping out before our door,” Rinmei continued, “Some of them are seriously problematic.”

“Some,” the twins echoed, snickering, "Mostly those idiots who quit, yelling that their month is not up yet, and why are they locked out. Oh... we dealt with a few of them, it was almost as good as an orgasm, seeing their shocked faces, but... We left some for you, too, to enjoy it."

“Really?” Siu asked, also ignoring the Twins' vocabulary.

“Opportunists, all of them,” Rinmei said flatly. “We will need to make an announcement as fast as possible.”

“They want in,” Milli started, “And they’re being very loud about it,” Nilli finished.

Siu was silent for a moment, letting the news settle, his eyes moving back and forth between them.

“They want to see you,” Rinmei said, her gaze steady on his face. “Not just join... To see you. This is even worse than the beast-taming incidents.”

“Of course they do,” he muttered quietly, once again, rubbing his face, "I shouldn't have expected some peace and relaxing silence, huh?"

"We aren't canceling any feast!" Arya’s tail flicked at him angrily, “This is your fault, and I am not giving up my reward!”

“I know,” Siu answered before Arya could continue.

“Does this mean we still get the feast, then?” Marly asked, now unsure... and slightly afraid.

"..." Siu huffed out a breath, a faint smile tugging at his lips despite everything, "Yeah,” he said out loud, already turning toward the exit, “We’ll get the feast.”

"What feast?" The girls asked, looking at him.

"Arya and Marly want to have a feast," He said, suddenly getting an idea, "And I think, we will have one... And invite everyone else, too."

"Eh?!" They faltered, and even Arya and Marly almost fell off him.

"We are not sharing!" The two yelled into his mind, but Siu ignored them. "It's our feast!"

"Trust me." He added, already exiting the baths with big strides, no longer bothered by the pain, "I got an idea..."