The Heavens Shall Fall

The sun had barely begun its climb downwards when the first wave of disciples had arrived. At first, it was nothing remarkable; they were coming in small groups, pairs at most, a few lone individuals who walked in by themselves, feeling a bit out of place. Those who came without anyone else mostly lingered at the edges of the clearing, their eyes sweeping across the present Wardens, trying to decide how to proceed and approach them. Of course, nobody was turned away after they showed up because there was an open invitation; most were welcomed in with just a shout, told to take any place they fancied, and by the time the sky turned orange, the actual groups of disciples began pouring in, old and disbanded student groups, thinking about reforming once again.

Their numbers were growing minute by minute until the clearing that Lorean and Toban had prepared no longer felt spacious at all. The long tables filled first, naturally, then the spaces between them, and even the outer edges, where the solo arrivals stood with food in hand, unwilling to leave but unsure where to sit... until someone finally invited them over. And those invitations didn't only come from Warden members, as the smaller groups quickly began 'recruiting.' When the sun disappeared, the fires were lit one by one, starting with the smaller flames at the separate tables, then the great bonfire at the center. The moment it flared up, it became the heart of the entire gathering, both literally and figuratively.

And, even when they thought everyone was present... people kept coming.

By the time the moon was wholly visible on the clear sky, it was no longer a gathering but an actual spectacle. Hundreds of outer disciples filled the space, their voices constantly providing a background noise, no matter where one stood. The best of it all was that there was ample laughter, some friendly arguments, and more than that, constant introductions, as those who were without friends found themselves in a group, sometimes for the first time since joining the Hollow Song. It wasn’t structured or planned at all; it happened organically, and even the Wardens began suggesting that smaller leaders who came to celebrate go and openly offer spots within their ranks to those who weren't part of any associations yet.

And the one who hadn't stopped moving from table to table even once was Siu himself.

He didn’t sit much, even if he did find a spot for a moment... not that he could. From the moment the first real wave of arrivals began, he had been moving from one group to the other, greeting people as they came, acknowledging them personally, speaking with them, listening to whatever they had to say. Those who approached him were never turned away, and those who hesitated found him approaching them instead. What surprised most was that there was no barrier they could notice, and more importantly, no gatekeeping, no distance that marked him as untouchable. Neya once muttered something about being a bit too open, but it was mostly because she wanted to sit with him... but that was impossible. Whenever she got close, she could hear another shout coming from somewhere.

“Senior Siu—!”

“Is it true you fought the Icecrown Stag head-on?”

“How’s your arm?”

“Can I—?”

“Yes,” he answered more than once, before the questions even fully formed, extending his hand, shaking theirs, and it didn’t matter if it was someone who hadn't made a name for themselves or someone who had mocked him once, or someone who had once left the Wardens when things looked bad. If they stepped forward, he met them, even if he flatly refused their request to rejoin... No matter who they were, if they spoke, he listened, and if they asked a question, he answered honestly, even if that reply was a flat-out refusal or telling them he can't and won't answer such questions.

Hours passed that way, and the more people heard and saw... the more they finally began to understand what kind of man he was. They finally understood why he refused to join any group when his fame first sparked to life... and how he got to where he was now, only a year later.

It was the same thing that Neya had also recognized, looking around, a smile forming on her face. It was... different when they first went to the kitchens to eat, following his nose, on the very first days they spent inside the sect. Watching the hundreds of skewers, cuts of meat sizzling over the fire, the roasting of vegetables, all of that seemed to be... so far away by now. This...? It was something else entirely... And then, she finally noticed that Siu was missing something. Two things, in fact. That was when a shout reached her ears.

Near one of the tables, Arya landed lightly on her feet, her small form noiselessly slipping between plates, cups, hands and legs, leaving behind illusory afterimages, her mismatched eyes scanning for any opportunity. Her tail flicked left and right, her nose wrinkling twice, and then she flashed as she snatched a piece of roasted meat straight off a skewer someone had just checked on, vanishing before the owner even realized what had happened.

“HEY! That was mine!”

“Too slow,” her voice echoed smugly through the air, but of course, for everyone else, it was a muffled scoff from a fox with a mouth full of meat. "This is our feast!"

On the other side of the clearing, Marly was no better... And unlike Arya, she didn’t even pretend to be subtle.

“Food!” she yelled, but to everyone else it sounded like a chirp as she kept dropping from above onto a table, grabbing something, anything that looked tasty, before launching herself away again. Her movements kept being erratic like an actual squirrel, impossible to track, leaving behind nothing but chaos and a few very offended disciples who got their food snatched away, sometimes straight out of their hands, lifting it to their mouths.

“Did that thing just...?!”

“She took my—!”

“Is that allowed?!”

“No,” someone answered flatly, watching her disappear again, “but are you going to stop her? It's Siu's pet...”

“I… Ugh... No...” The voice muttered, feeling himself stuck between anger and laughter, "Let me get another piece then... haaaah..."

Naturally, Siu was aware of it but kept silent because the two were having the time of their lives. Instead, he just exhaled slowly, rubbing the back of his neck as he caught a glimpse of Arya leaping onto another table.

“You could at least pretend to behave,” he muttered under his breath, more as a suggestion than ordering them.

“Why?” Arya replied instantly. “There’s so much food... They should be more careful; if they fail to watch it, it's their fault! Keep your meat protected, and it won't be snatched.”

“They’re not eating fast enough,” Marly added, entirely serious. “We’re helping... Training them.”

“You’re stealing, but whatever...” Siu said with a shrug, shaking his head.

“I'm hunting!” Arya shouted at him proudly, "Training for when I will swallow it whole! I can take it without issues now, Master!"

“Of course you can,” Siu said without acknowledging her raunchy joke, turning away, acting as if he wasn't seeing what was happening.

And they weren't stopping... If anything, their antics had added some spice to the whole event, in a way that people didn’t seem to mind in the end. At first, there were complaints, yes, then, eventually, laughter. It was hard to stay annoyed when a tiny black fox and a flying squirrel darted around like they owned the place, prompting groups to devise plans to catch them, lay traps, protect their own friends, and guard their cooking meat. The whole thing turned into a game, if anything, and it helped loosen people up.

While it was happening, further out, near the edge of the gathering, Toban stood with Lorean, both of them watching the scene unfold with very different expressions. Lorean leaned slightly forward, her eyes moving constantly, tracking the happening interactions and reactions of all the faces, noting who spoke with whom, who stayed apart, and who gravitated toward Siu without even realizing it, who joined whom, even if it was hard to take it all in.

“This is…” she began, when she paused, searching for the right word, rubbing her tired eyes, “…absurd.”

“It is,” Toban agreed with a smile as he finished his skewer, “I hadn't seen something like this since I left home and joined this sect. This is even better than how the gatherings went back at my place.”

"What gatherings?" Lorean asked at once, being the first time she heard anything from Toban's past.

"I was the third prince back home," He said with a chuckle, but his eyes told her enough that that was the end of the discussion. "I can tell you already that they actually respect him,” Toban continued without a pause, changing the topic, “Just look at Cal'Fia, she does, too. And unlike with Bren, or with me, she doesn't look that guarded when speaking with Siu."

“Mhm,” she hummed, glancing at Siu, "I misjudged him at the start..."

“That was a mistake, yes,” he nodded, watching as another group approached Siu, “But if you work hard, you can fix that. Just don't wait for long, because the boy isn't staying here for as long as I did.”

"Ugh..." She moaned, shrugging, "I know..."

As they were talking, back at the center, Siu barely had a moment to breathe.

“Senior—!”

“Can I ask—?”

“Is it true that you—?”

“Slow down,” Siu said with a faint smile, raising a hand just enough to settle the flood of questions, holding back the annoyance he felt deep down, hiding it well. “One at a time, please.”

Hours went by like that, the night becoming midnight, the fires burning brighter than they actually were. The bonfire at the center kept illuminating the gathering, its heat pushing back the chill coming from the mountains, and since the beginning, Siu didn’t stop speaking for more than a minute at a time.

He couldn't even eat more than a few bites here and there, tasting whatever was handed to him between conversations by those who came up to him. He drank when offered, kept nodding, listening to dozens at once, and then gave his opinion in turn. Naturally, he knew that everyone kept track of who he spoke to and how he spoke to them, whether through his tone or body language. So, he made sure that he didn't elevate himself above anyone, yet never once made him look or feel… lesser either. He balanced it well, keeping it between a certain type of arrogance and... respect. He remained approachable, but when someone asked something out of bounds, he firmly told them, face-to-face, to mind their words, looking them in the eye without taking offense.

“Did Stone Ward show up?”

It was a simple question, muttered by someone, somewhere within the crowd, and the moment it was asked, more of them began wondering the same thing. It only took a few minutes for the question to spread, and soon, everyone was asking the same thing.

“Have you seen them?”

“No…”

“They’re not here.”

“None of them?”

“Not a single one, I looked.”

“They were invited, weren’t they?”

“Siu said it himself, I heard he went to them personally.”

“Then why aren’t they here?”

Naturally, Siu didn't stop the rumors from spreading; he simply allowed them to go wherever their mind took them. Instead of interfering with that, he took the chance to finally join the other Wardens at their table.

"Time to sit down!" Neya sprang up before him at once, forcefully grabbing his hands, pushing him down, and beginning to put the juiciest-looking pieces of meat onto his plate.

"Oh my!" The Twins giggled, "The lewd hand-holding!" Milli grinned while Nilli added, whispering, yet her voice was loud enough to be heard by everyone, "And she is going to hand-feed him! Aww... how cute!"

"Oh shut it!" Neya glanced at them, her face going pink, but she didn't pull away, hesitating because now she was conscious about... hand... feeding. "You had enough to drink, eh?" She snorted at the Twins again in the end, pouting, "Give Siu some!"

"Sure," Milli leaned forward with a sly grin, while Nilli took a swing, "Mhmhm? Mhmhm!" Before Siu could ask what she was saying, Milli had already started translating why her sister was holding the wine in her mouth, "She is asking if you're up for sharing it from mouth-to-mouth. It gives it a fine taste, you'll see."

"..." Siu and Neya just remained silent, the former because he was unfazed by it, the latter because she was afraid he would agree.

"I am." Yet the one who answered, to everyone's surprise, was Rinmei. "What?" She asked, a healthy, pinkish color on her face, "It's not weird, especially for you boys, no? You like this kind of stuff. I know you do..."

"Now... She is the drunk one!" Nilli yelped, gulping down the wine, slapping her chest, coughing a little, but suddenly the Twins were sitting on either side of Rinmei, holding onto her. "But go on," Milli whispered. "You intrigued us..."

"Just try to ignore them," Neya muttered, turning her back on the trio and glancing at Siu, who was probably now sitting for the longest time in place since this gathering had begun. "I bet your feet hurt..."

"More like my throat," he smiled, and watched as Neya quickly poured him wine. "Thanks, that will be enough. I will still need my clarity for the finale."

"Are you really going to do it?" Neya asked, watching him as he munched on the meat she had put on his plate, looking relaxed and nonchalant.

"Oh yeah." Siu said with a glint in his blue eyes, "Stone Ward won't come, that's for sure by now, so... It is time for Plan-B. I'm going to humiliate them anyway, by exposing their spies... I did say, we are going through a bit of reform, and it is best to start with a spring cleaning!"