Meeting Him Again

 Yu Rael stood in the mouth of the cave, arms crossed, letting the morning wind tug at her cloak. The mountain air was sharper than she had expected—cold, biting, and a little acrid. She hadn't slept much. Not because of the stony ground or the sound of the wind shrieking down from the peaks.

No. It was because of the silence, which left her far too much time for thinking. Again.

"Tch. I didn't come here to daydream," she grumbled, taking a deep breath before knocking against the side of the cave lightly.

No answer.

So she knocked again, this time not so lightly.

A voice from within, lazy but amused. "You're unexpected, Saintess."

Yu Rael blinked once. Few individuals these days called her that, and fewer still had the temerity to use that tone.

"You're still alive, old man?" she yelled back, moving in.

"Then, should I die?"

The inside of the cave was surprisingly warm, lit by faint runes carved into the walls and a flickering flame in the center. Scrolls littered the shelves. Crystals gently bobbed in mid-air. And there, cross-legged on a rug that hadn't been washed in a decade, was the old bastard himself.

The Qi Scholar. The mountain hermit. 

"I told you not to call me Saintess," she replied, entering and sitting down across from him without waiting for an invitation.

He smiled, revealing a few teeth too white for a man of his age. "Old habits. You haven't changed much."

"And you still look like a shriveled peach pit." She sneered. "Heard you've got yourself a new disciple."

His eyebrow rose. "You're here for him?"

Yu Rael paused. ".Let's just say I'm curious."

He poured her tea. The scent of spirit root and roasted herbs filled the cave. She took the cup with a nod of thanks and sipped slowly.

"So," she said after a few beats, "how is he?"

The old man snorted, stirring his own cup. "Quiet. Observant. Slightly too still. But smart. There's a strange flow to him—energy that doesn't translate to anything I've ever seen. Not quite Origin Qi, not quite beast or spirit aligned. Can't quite pinpoint it."

Yu Rael's eyebrow rose, unstartled. That creepy presence. even then it had sent shivers down her spine.

"Sounds like him," she grunted.

"He is working hard," The old bastard continued. "And had the sense to keep his mouth closed unless asked. I like that. You don't get many of those in the Chaos Region."

Yu Rael smiled faintly. "Yeah. He's not from around here."

The Qi Scholar nodded as if that was reason enough.

They sat in silence for a moment before she set the cup down. "May I see him"?

The old man's eyes glinted with humor. "You're requesting that I give my disciple the day off to entertain a mercenary captain?"

"You stinky old man, if not for me you would never find him."

"I was hoping you'd wait until noon."

"Let him free for this damn day, old man."

The scholar theatrically sighed. "Very well. But only because it's you, and because the poor boy's going to lie awake wondering what the hell you're doing here anyway."

Yu Rael stood, brushing off her cloak. "I'm not here for long. I'll be gone by dawn."

The Qi Scholar smiled knowingly. "Of course."

---

She found Vaen by the edge of the cliff behind the cave. He was seated on a flat rock, back straight, sword resting across his knees. His eyes were closed, but she knew he sensed her.

"You gonna sit there pretending not to hear me?" she said.

Vaen's eyes opened languidly. His face was the same, peaceful, impassive and remote. But something about his presence was different. Stronger. More substantial.

"I heard you," he said. "Just didn't think you'd come."

She rolled her eyes. "Neither did I."

He stood up and inclined his head slightly. "Welcome to my mountaintop."

"Nice cave," she said dryly, glancing at the spare bedding and the formation scrolls scattered around on the floor. "Is it a new habit?"

Vaen smiled faintly. "Part of my training."

Yu Rael crossed her arms and looked him up and down, assessing. "You've changed."

"So have you," he replied. "Your cultivation improved."

She blinked. "You noticed that?"

"I notice everything."

She felt a strange flutter in her chest, she couldn't be more happy though it was normal for a cultivator to notice another ones cultivation. Then, she immediately scowled. "Still the same sharp-tongued bastard."

"And you're still the same foul-mouthed saintess."

They both laughed quietly, letting the morning wind brush between them.

Yu Rael sat beside him, watching the sun climb higher in the sky. They didn't talk much. A few casual exchanges, a few teases, a few too-long silences. But it was easy.

Too easy.

"I just wanted to see how you were doing," she said at last, her voice gentle.

"I'm alive."

"Good. Try staying that way."

He faced her. "You didn't come all this way to say that."

Yu Rael hesitated. "No. But I also didn't burden you."

"You're not a burden."

She blinked at him again, taken aback by the directness.

"Fine," she said, standing. "But I'm still leaving at dawn."

He didn't say anything.

She didn't want anything from him.

"Hey, I have what you wanted. Do you want it?"

Nah! As you see I suddenly am able to break through my bloodline boundary by the grace of the moon. Only a few race-members are able to do this in my race. Only four are now alive."

"That's fortunate, I guess." Vaen commented.

When the time came she turned and started to head back in the direction of the scholar's cave, her footsteps felt heavier than they should. And when she looked back, just once, she saw him still seated there, looking up at the sky.

And for some reason, that made her chest ache a little bit more than it should've.