The Heavens Shall Fall

It was past noon when Siu finally found Elder Thane, teaching a row of outer disciples who stood scattered across the flattened earth, paired up, all of them fighting in a tight circle they weren't allowed to step out of, while Thane walked around them, offering tips to them here and there. Some were stiff when doing their moves, kicks, and punches, and Siu could tell from their posture alone. The more he watched, the more it felt that they were forcing it and acting unnatural, as if they were trying to imitate something they did not yet understand... Which, of course, was the exact truth of the matter at hand. It took him a moment to realize that they were all training in one of the basic forms he had already learned, mostly the Crane, the Wild Cat, or the Ox. Since when did it become so popular...? Was this because of him? He hoped not, because he found the notion... stupid. They should learn what they have an affinity for, not what they think is the next big, powerful thing. They had their own chosen techniques by now; switching from that to what he was using was sheer stupidity.

“Wrong. Do it as I told you so...! Repeat it ten times perfectly before you try to do anything more!” Thane said to a pair that ended up falling out of their tiny ring, causing a loud crash.

His voice easily carried over everyone else's shouts, and when he got a little bit louder than usual, seeing something he didn't like, a boy in front of him, in the middle of a punch, froze for half a second before correcting himself, adjusting his stance as if his life depended on it. Even Siu expected a baton to come whizzing down, but... Elder Thane simply stepped forward, tapping the boy’s shoulder, then his hip, then the back of his knee, correcting his sequence without sending him into the ground.

“I told you that you are doing it wrong." Thane grunted, "You’re thinking about the motion ten steps ahead of what you are capable of. Just because you have a technique down doesn't mean you can master a different one much more easily; don't try to skip ahead. If you want to learn to move like the Wild Cat form lets you, stop trying to do it all at once! Learn the sequence, two to three steps at a time, before trying to do nine, understood?”

The boy swallowed loudly, nodding his head, and tried again, while Siu just stood at the edge of the training ground, watching with his mouth agape. What... What was this? This wasn't Elder Thane... This couldn't be him! Where was the hitting? Where was the wordless order to continue, and then slamming the disciples to the ground, letting their bodies learn the hard way? Huh? Eh?

“Was I duped?” He didn’t even realize he had murmured it out loud; naturally, his voice did interrupt someone, and that someone was Thane himself.

“I saw you get here, don't you worry about it.” He snorted, not even looking at him, making the others turn towards Siu at once, "I am doing my job as an Elder, wait until we are finished here, then we can talk!"

“Of course…” He nodded, sighing a little, standing there, trying not to look, because he knew full well that watching someone train was just as bad as constantly criticizing them.

“Don’t apologize,” Thane said, hearing his tone, already turning to the disciple who was trying to do his best to the left of him, as if wanting to show off to Siu. “And you know what? If you have time, go through some of their steps and correct them. They need all the help they can get.”

"Me?" He flinched, pointing at himself, earning a glare from Thane.

"If you came for me so soon, then yes, boy. Go!"

Siu didn’t ask again, so he began walking between the others, indeed helping out where he noticed something was off. Time passed more quickly than usual as he fell into the role of a teacher, and his mind began catching every detail, sometimes slipping back into the same, half-unconscious focus he found himself when reading his enemies' attack. It was the same feeling when he was trying to determine how to turn the battle around. However, this time, the urge to mimic anything he saw didn't come to him, which wasn't weird at all. None of them were at his level; if anything, it should have been them who tried to copy him. Eventually, the session came to an end when Elder Thane clapped his hands, causing everyone to stop, about an hour later, bringing Siu out of his strange trance.

“Enough! Go for now, eat something, rest, or think about why you’re still this bad after repeating the same mistake ten times! If you want to learn these forms, I will need you to be determined to do so; otherwise, don't waste my time.”

A few awkward laughs followed that, but nobody took it to heart, not that they could, as Thane was an Elder... It was already a miracle that he was teaching outsiders outside of regular lessons. Cupping their hands, they dispersed quickly, leaving the field behind in scattered groups, throwing looks at Siu and Thane, curious what this was about, but neither of them dared to ask.

“Come.” Thane waved a hand, "I can see something is off... Best if we talk privately."

Thane didn’t even look back as he said it, already walking toward the edge of the training grounds, toward a quieter area, leading him away from the crowd and any possible prying ears and eyes. After about ten minutes of silent strolling, they stopped beneath a half-bare tree, its branches just beginning to show signs of blooming, and for a moment, neither of them spoke. Thane stood with his hands behind his back, looking out toward the lower parts of the sect, clearly waiting for Siu to say something. Yet when that didn't happen, he finally threw him a confused look because he was now extra curious what had happened to him in just a few days. He had never seen him act like this.

“Well?” he asked, tilting his head to the right. “What's bothering you? If it's about your love life, I can't help; I'm single.”

"No, no, that's fine," Siu exhaled slowly, gathering his thoughts, shaking his head, “There’s… something I can’t figure out about my affinity.”

“Naturally,” Thane replied immediately. “If you could, you would already be an inner disciple. Did you think that it was easy? I tell you to advance, and by the next day, you are flying? Please!”

"When did I become that type of character?" Siu asked with a moan, and he almost smiled at that, but the tension in him prevented it from happening. “I meditated on this and... I think… I’ve been copying people.”

"Hm...?" That made Thane go still after he thought about it, sensing that it was more than just a saying. “Okay…" He locked both eyes on him, watching his breathing, the minute changes in his expression, everything he could catch, "Say that again and with more details.”

Siu did, as he explained everything, laying it out as he had pieced it together during the night. He started with Arya’s movement, the silver light he managed to reproduce, and the failed attempt to recreate it alone. Then he went further back, telling it all, leaving out no details, while Elder Thane just stood there, listening, nodding now and then. For a long moment, he simply stood there, thinking, finally smiling and letting out a short snort.

“Hah!”

"Elder?"

“Interesting...”

“In what way?” he asked, unsure if he had heard correctly and if he wanted to hear something like that in the first place.

"All kinds of ways," Thane nodded his head, his smile widening, “You did well in looking for the source and finding identifiable instances, which will help in the long run. So... You said you can’t do it again?”

“I tried, but nothing happened.”

“Then do it again.”

“I just said—”

“You said you need someone to copy,” Thane cut in, raising a hand at him. “If it’s real, it will happen. If it happens, it can be repeated and then trained. If it can be trained…” he hummed, looking over him, “You may have something unique. Ask your people to fight with you, try to replicate it, and that way, you will have a better understanding of it.”

"So..." Siu frowned slightly, his mind catching onto the logic but not fully comforting him; it was even making him uneasy. "You don't know what affinity I have...?"

“It doesn’t sound like anything I read or heard about,” he admitted, shaking his head. “Nor something I had met or fought against. I went through the records in my time, too, memorizing a lot of them, not to mention all the people I had beaten or run away from. None of the affinities I know of line up with one that can copy others, if that is really what is happening. And I won't go into a guessing game either." Seeing the expression on Siu's face, being worried for the first time almost made Thane smile, realizing he was still just a disciple, causing him to pat his shoulder with reassurance, “There hasn't been a cultivator before who got as far as you did and never manifested their inborn gift.”

“Let's hope I won't be the first. I can hear my peers from my childhood laughing again in the back of my mind.” He muttered, shaking his head.

"And you will have the last laugh, but you shouldn’t rush it.” While saying it, Thane stepped forward, beginning to leave, "Do what I told you, and probe it. I will look into it and then get back to you the moment I know more."

"Thank you, Elder Thane." He answered, cupping his hands and bowing towards him.

"It is in everyone's interest to help you out. What you showed warrants it, my boy," He chuckled, looking back at him, “Good to know you can worry, too, hm? Anyway, even if I don't find anything,” he shrugged faintly, “I’ll bring the issue to someone who might.”

“Thank you,” Siu repeated simply, watching his back, leaving him there, suddenly feeling like he was back in the past, watching his Old Man do his best to help him stay on the road without ruining himself.

...

....

......

By the time Siu reached the Spirit Wardens’ tower, the sun had already begun setting in the west, while he was still lost in his thoughts. He had spent a good amount of time just walking around, trying to think everything through, and was still doing it, passing a few newer members standing near the entrance, arguing over a map. When they saw him, they of course greeted him, and Siu walked past them slowly, still muttering to himself, making everyone look at him, curious as to what was happening. Were some ex-Stone Ward members up to something? That shouldn't be the case. Bren himself returned, disbanded the remaining splinter of the faction, and then joined the inner disciples, leaving many of his former followers angry at him, not at Siu or the Wardens.

“Probe it, huh…” he muttered, stepping through the tower’s entrance where the lower floor was busy enough, even now.

A group of Wardens was seated at a long table, writing reports or counting out gathered materials from the forest, while two others were loudly disputing the value of some cracked beast horn that neither of them seemed to want. Still, both insisted it was worth more than the other admitted it really did, so they couldn't agree on a price. Someone called out to him when he entered, asking if he had time to review a request, but he only waved them toward Rinmei, which made the disciples wince as if they had just been sentenced to a beating. Unlike Siu, Rinmei asked CC for advice... per advice and on the hour.

“Rinmei’s not here?” Siu asked, pausing halfway up the stairs when he saw they weren't moving.

“She went to the Mission Hall,” one of them answered quickly. “Something about finalizing the next joint venture with Ember Circle. Varren went with her, and Kira too.”

“Neya? Is she here?” He asked, but he already knew the answer: he couldn't feel Arya or Marly, so the answer was no.

“Training. We saw her leave with your beasts, Senior.”

That made Siu nod again, before he continued upward, his steps slower now, wondering if he should just wait or go find them. It wasn’t as if he had to test this immediately... But...

“Ohhhh?” Milli’s voice rang out before he could even fully step inside the room on the top floor. “Look who came to visit!” Hearing her tone and words, Siu flinched, thinking this was another moment like in the winter, especially as Nilli leaned over the right end of the sofa, her chin resting on her crossed arms, grinning at him with the exact same expression as her sister, “Should we start to strip?”

"I'm surprised you are clothed in the first place," He shot back, shaking his head, realizing it wasn't like last time.

Looking around after closing the door, the table before the twins had a few papers stacked to one side, a half-eaten plate of snacks in the middle, and a jug of something that was probably wine, despite the early hour, being already half-empty. Milli was sitting on the table itself, one leg crossed over the other, showing off her thighs, while Nilli was sprawled across the sofa.

“We were abandoned,” Nilli said to him, putting the back of her hand against her forehead in an overly dramatic fashion. “Left behind... We can't just strip and hug each other now, can we? That isn't working anymore, you see!”

“But with you here,” Milli explained, pointing at herself and her sister with a grin. “We can get right to it! Want me to drop it now, or would you prefer ripping it off me?”

“Neither,” Siu said with a raised hand, stopping their giggles. "What I need is someone to talk to. Can you do that, or are you too drunk and horny to help me out?”

“Don't worry, we are properly functional,” Milli nodded while her sister continued, “Not love talk, is it?” Nilli asked, squinting at him. “Because if it is, we are qualified, even if we are hammered.”

“No, it isn't.” Siu answered flatly, "Why does everyone ask the same thing?"

“Because it is obvious that you and Neya are an item now, and whenever something goes wrong in a cultivator's life, it is usually traced back to that fact.”

"What fact?"

"Sex." The two of them said promptly, "It ruins everything if it's bad. It fixes everything if it's good. Duh."

"I shouldn't have asked..." Siu muttered as he rubbed his forehead, then decided to simply ignore it and continue. “It’s about my affinity.”

Suddenly, that made both of them stop, and they turned much more serious. For all their jokes, the twins had spent too many years around the Mission Hall and with too many disciples not to take the seriousness of his tone to heart. Not to mention, affinity wasn’t a casual topic, just to share it with anyone, because it could allow people to start preparing to counter your strengths.

"You felt it?" They asked in tandem.

“That’s the problem,” Siu answered honestly, moving toward the table and sitting down in one of the chairs backward, facing them, leaning on its backrest, “I don’t know what I felt. Well... I kinda do, but still not.”

"That's... weird," Milli’s eyes flicked toward her sister, then back to him. “Explain from the beginning.”

So he did, again, and by now, he had repeated the same chain of events enough times that it came out more cleanly than when he first explained it to Elder Thane. Of course, the twins listened without interrupting, and when Siu finished, the room remained silent for a few seconds.

“So… you might be able to copy movements, techniques, maybe even beast abilities, but only when you witness them properly?” Milli hummed, tapping her chin with a finger.

“Maybe,” Siu said. “I don’t know if it is copying exactly. That’s only the closest word I have.”

“That will be close enough for now,” Nilli nodded, holding her chin just like her sister, “Well then. Elder Thane said you need people to test it with? I see where this is going!”

“No,” he said immediately.

“You don’t even know what we were going to say!” Nilli complained, putting both hands on her hips.

“I know enough of you two to guess.”

"Please," Milli leaned closer, her smile widening. “Senior Siu, founder of the Spirit Wardens, slayer of Stone Ward, beloved master of beasts, nearly inner disciple, and suspiciously flexible cultivator… Are you telling us you are afraid of sparring with two defenseless girls?”

“I have an inkling what you mean by sparring.” He said, ignoring the rest and watching them with a placid face.

“We are girls, though,” Nilli said, "We wouldn't be so open, otherwise, when we die, our cascets would look like a triangle!"

“What?” Siu flinched, but they just laughed, continuing.

“Listen. You need to test it, yes? We are here, yes? We know how to fight well enough, yes? We are also very familiar with each other’s rhythm, which means we can give you something unusual, yes? So let's go and spar! Yes?”

"Yes," Siu said without thinking about it, falling into their trap.

"Wonderful!" They clapped, ignoring his groaning voice, “Also, if you copy our flexibility, Neya will thank us later.” Milli nodded solemnly. “A great contribution to your lovelife.”

“I’m leaving,” Siu said, standing up, but they were coming with him.

“To the training ground, yes,” Nilli flanked him from the right.

“We have a private one,” Milli added from his left.

"..." Siu stopped near the door, glancing at the two. “You two already had a place in mind?”

“Of course.” Milli waved him off, opening the door, "Don’t worry, we’ll start with simple sparring and nothing... dangerous.” Nilli slipped past him into the hallway, then looked back over her shoulder with a grin. “Unless you ask nicely.”

“I won’t.”

“You might after we beat you!” Milli pushed him out as they began leading him.

“Beat me?" He smirked, realizing he had never seen them fight, having no idea what they could do... which was the perfect test to see whether he could indeed copy others. "Girls... You won’t.”

"We'll see." They chuckled, flanking him again as they walked down the steps. "Just don't start crying... some boys did, and it... killed the mood."