Ash, ash and more ash. Zhi rubs her brow and surprise surprise, her hand comes back covered in ash. The tales of peak experts hiding in remote areas never mention the annoying parts of getting to those locations, she grumbles while wading through the ankle deep ash to step around a blackened boulder the size of a house. She casts a glance back at An. Seeing the mortal girl weather the harsh conditions without complaint she focuses again on the journey ahead. Huh, what a fun thought. Mortal girl. As if she wasn’t the same just a little while ago. ‘How darn fast stuff changes,’ She thinks while trying to rub the dirt off her hands ‘even as other shite stays the same.’
Well, not nearly as harsh as what Mu has to deal with she thinks while putting more force behind her steps. Gao Mu pants with exertion. She refuses all offers to help or carry her and pushes on even as her forehead is slick with sweat and her clothes damply hang over her frame. She takes another deep breath and coughs out ash, stumbling while she does due to being out of balance. She clenches her fists in frustration and grits her teeth when only her left does so. The twinges of phantom pain from her attempt cause her to let out a sharp hiss. Her qi courses turbulently through damaged spiritual veins, the backlash of her failed move having affected her entire body. The sheer amount of focus it takes to stop her flow from deviating leaves her with little energy for anything other than going through the motions. She sets one foot in front of the other and continues on, driven as much by spite as she is by qi. Yating walks right behind her, ready to catch her should she falter but so far she hasn’t fallen a single time in all the weeks they have spent traveling. Nonetheless she worries this bleak landscape may be what finally causes the determined warrior to trip up.
An is slightly more subtle about her concern. Knowing it is not her place to worry over the one she owes so much to she walks a single step diagonally behind her as a retainer should and does her best to simply keep pace so as to not add to her burdens. Even so she is running on fumes, barely succeeding in making up for her lack of qi with grit. The knowledge that the others are likely slowing down so she can keep up pains her yet she refuses to show it on her face.
<Worry not Sister Suwan. Their wills are strong. This one does not believe this shall lessen their odds of achieving immortality.>
The blonde schools her expression at Twelve’s reassurance. She runs her good hand through her hair, chuckling at how tired she must be for her expression to slip enough for the doll to believe it necessary to do so.
“Shouldn’t be much further, everyone. Last stretch.” She raises her voice to ensure the entire group hears it. They all straighten a bit more and look around yet everywhere they look there is just more ash and blackened rock. It is between two such rocks that Suwan eventually comes to a halt. Each of the two stands three meters high and is tilted away from the other. Suwan slings Twelve over her injured arm and covers the other hand in fire. She runs her finger over the rocks leaving flaming runes behind until something begins to flicker between them and a rip in reality forms. Appearing like a jagged scar with fuzzy edges a very different scene from the dreary area around them is visible through it. Zhi, Mu and An all gape in wonder and even Yating’s eyes open wider as she takes it in.
On the other side lies a tranquil meadow. Grass stands green and spry, its swaying in the wind almost melodious in its purity. The soft bubbling of a spring can be heard in the distance lending an aura of serenity to the picturesque scene. Birds sing a peaceful serenade lulling the group into a sense of comfort. Content smiles creep onto their faces and their hearts feel warm, like coming home to a wonderful meal and a loving family after a hard day.
One by one they step through and arrive in a veritable wonderland. Whether it is due to spending days in dreary ashen wastes or due to the abundant qi in the air they cannot tell but the result is the same, the colors feel more vibrant, the scents more intense without being overwhelming and the sounds come crisp and clear. A soft breeze tickles past their skin with the consistency of silk and the air flowing in through their open mouths tastes fresh and pure.
When the portal vanishes with a pop they slowly turn around with bated breaths, of them all only Suwan seems unaffected by the sheer wonder that captivates the rest of the group. Gasps resound when they lay their eyes upon the woman before them. She resembles an older Suwan, Yating thinks before correcting herself, no, not older, more mature. The woman’s long blonde hair glitters like gold, her eyes while slightly more pinched are the same brilliant blue as Suwan’s except… more. Her long yukata style gown hangs halfway down her upper arms revealing a generous amount of cleavage and lower yet a single leg sticks out from a slit in the fabric while she lays leisurely atop a veritable mountain of pillows nearly half a dozen meters high. In one hand she holds a simple pipe sending a thin trail of smoke onto the breeze while her other holds a glossy obsidian plate she taps with her thumb. What really catches their eyes however are the two triangular ears atop her head and the nine tails waving gently behind her as if swaying to the breeze.
“Legen’s ne’er said Immortal Soulfire’s a kitsune.” Zhi utters with wide open eyes.
Suwan snorts. “She’s not, I've seen those things come off.” A noise like the clicking of a tongue rebounds through the clearing seeming to come from all directions at once. Twelve clatters motionlessly to the floor as Suwan vanishes. In the distance miles away a cloud of dust kicks up and pieces of rock fly in all directions due to something crashing into the mountainside with momentous force.
“Oh my gods, so rude. Where’d I go wrong training you.” The woman huffs while twirling her furry-eared headband between her fingers. An wipes her eyes and opens them again. One hand holding the slate, the other holding the pipe and another twirling the headband. She follows the hands up to her shoulders, yep, two shoulders. Next she follows the shoulders down to her hands, yes, two hands. Yet she’s still holding a slate in one, a pipe in the other and twirling the headband with another. With long bounding leaps Suwan returns to the hill. She fixes her master with a winsome smile and puts a hand on her hip.
“Hey master, I’d love to say nice to see you but I know you can detect lies.” She vanishes once more, another distant puff of dust and loud crash heralding her departure. Taking a puff of her pipe Song Huan looks lower at the motionless doll sprawled across the floor. “I can see his fingerprints all over you, little puppet. I know you’re alive or if not that at least sentient. Cease your petty act or I'll use you as a dress up doll.”
Twelve gulps, mentally confirming her body is apparently capable of such an action before sitting upright stiffly without meeting the expert’s eyes. Even this close she still cannot detect the powerful immortal in the slightest, only her voice coming through and even that only seems to be the case because the venerable allows it. She combs through her memory banks for every scrap of knowledge her creator has given her on Immortal Soulfire. Were her face capable of it she would have paled and frozen in fear. “Oy you old hag are you bullying Twelve already?” Suwan shouts in the distance while she approaches once more. Huan replies in a whisper audible miles away.
“Is she not made for such a purpose? Her veins certainly seem well fitted to receive and refine fire qi.”
Suwan pauses at that with a raised eyebrow. She realizes how little she knows of the doll’s origin and that she has not asked even once. Another thing to correct she thinks and sighs, adding it onto the pile of stuff she’s been treating too thoughtlessly.
“So, disciple of mine. What brings you back to my humble abode.” She asks while waving her hand around to gesture at the wide open plains surrounding them, wavy grass visible for miles around from their position on the green hill they find themselves upon. Twelve clatters motionlessly to the ground once more when she looks towards the horizon. She tries to compare the geography to the ancient maps within her memory banks and scans her zoology manuals for similarities to the hulking shapes in the distance. Her thought processes short circuit at the sights when her logic circuits guide her to the most likely explanation, if only because the others are even more unreasonable.
Ignoring the doll’s antics Suwan takes a deep breath and kowtows before her master. “This lowly one has come to humbly beg for Master’s assistance. This lowly one’s disciple has been gravely injured and requires healing.”
“Yeah geez, they really did a number on her huh. We’re gonna be having a talk about that.” Huan remarks with a snap of her fingers. An gives up completely on trying to figure out how her limbs work when she catches herself counting hands once more. With a bitter grimace Suwan rises to her knees and takes a quick glance at Mu. She finds her flexing her fists and staring open-mouthed at her restored limb.
“Stand up and let me take a look at you, foolish disciple.”
Suwan notices the predatory smile on Huan’s face just a second too late as she obeys without question. A slight indent shows upon the fine fabrics where the blonde immortal had laid as Huan suddenly appears before her and pulls her into a tight hug. “I’m worried about you, brat. You didn’t even bring up your own injuries.” Her voice takes on a mischievous tone while the two rise into the air and are drawn towards the mountain of pillows, seeming for all the world as if gravity has tilted sideways. She teasingly whispers into Suwan’s ear.
“I’ll make you all better and you’ll come out stronger for it.”
Suwan takes a panicked glance at Twelve before she’s swallowed whole by the pile of fabric, her eyes screaming for help. Twelve has never lifeless dolled harder than she lifeless dolls right this moment. Three days pass before Suwan escapes the mound exhausted, disheveled and two stages higher than before.
I didn't know "lifeless dolled" was something you could do.