Standing behind the translucent curtains of their private booth Ling gestures for Qiu to stand next to her. Her eye twitches when the redhead hesitates.
“The curtain closes the booth off with a privacy formation, so long as it is shut none can hear what is going on within.” Ling intones emotionlessly. Qiu cringes at her hostility but moves to obey regardless. Taking a look at the ice princess she sighs noticing her pointedly looking at the proceedings below and not even sparing her a glance. With nothing better to do and no idea how to dispel the awkward silence between them she simply watches the matches going on and hopes for something to change. Slowly her brows furrow and she has to bite her lip to suppress a laugh. When a snort forces its way out past her lips Ling turns to face her looking highly unamused.
“What’s so funny, Qiu.”
“Sorry, it’s just, look at that guy’s posturing!” Qiu replies with a wave of her hand.
“I fail to see what is wrong with it.”
“But he’s so weak!” She explains with a surprised tone having expected the heiress to agree with her.
“You should not say that where they can hear, pride is a powerful thing.” Ling says while gesturing at the proceedings below. “It is why we walked down the center, to let the contestants know we shall be witnessing the results of their efforts, and why the young Cai is keeping his curtains open.” She adds while pointing at a booth on the other side of the arenas. Hidden within the booth as she is Qiu finally has a chance to observe Cai Yin’s replacement.
Cai Yuu is just a bit shorter than his cousin and whereas the young heir fully fulfilled the stereotype of a rich young master Cai Yuu’s outfit gives a more militaristic impression. His upper robe appears to be made of a thick fabric while still giving off a silky feel, his frame looking broad and imposing beneath the stiffened material at the top that gives the impression of shoulder guards. His hair is tied in a topknot held together by a silver crown and pin, the black locks standing in sheer contrast to his pale skin. Qiu can’t help but feel disgruntled at the pretty boy having fairer skin than she does. She feels better once she imagines his androgynous features are the reason he seems to nearly overcompensate with his extra masculine outfit, the blindingly white cape seeming just a bit too much to her eyes although she has to admit it contrasts his black leather belt well.
If nothing else he appears slightly more humble than his older cousin, the sole decoration on his outfit being the two golden snowflakes pinning his cape to his shoulders and a single snowy tree embroidered on the front of his chest in thick silver thread. The remainder of his outfit - even his boots - are pure white making Qiu glad he is standing in a booth right now. Had he been out in the snow she might have missed him entirely. Her lips curl into a smile at that thought. It promptly vanishes and she nearly recoils when she notices his eyes flicking her way across the arenas.
“Did he just look at me? Weren’t these booths private?” She asks Ling with a hushed voice.
“You were inspecting him quite intently, Qiu. Privacy formations mean nothing if you broadcast your intent outside them.” Ling replies with a hint of exasperation in her tone.
“Intent?”
Ling’s teeth grit and she takes a deep breath to calm herself before she answers, growing more and more infuriated by the girl’s ignorance. She makes a mental note to add this too to her list and pushes her feelings down when she turns to her.
“You have never heard of killing intent?”
“Of course I have! I wasn’t thinking of wanting to kill him though.”
“There are more intents than killing intent. It just so happens to be one of the most potent ones due to its intensity. Given that he only took a brief glance it seems he wasn’t certain whether he truly felt something to begin with so your intent should still be weak. I advise you to begin learning to reign it in and control it as soon as possible. I had not expected it so early and have no explanation ready for you at the moment, once more it seems your genius has caught me off guard.”
“I’m not that good.” Qiu stammers out, her cheeks lighting up due to the unexpected praise. Ling lets out an unladylike snort.
“Your standards are off, Qiu. There is a reason you were considered a genius amongst geniuses.” Her expression sours at her own words, the only reason Shen Qiu isn’t still considered the foremost genius their age is her current captivity and by extension that makes it her fault. Even so she waves her hand towards the contestants below to continue her explanation.
“These people down there are exceptional for cultivators without proper backing. To us being at the fifth stage of Qi Gathering at twenty may seem highly unimpressive but if one can achieve that without a powerful clan or sect behind them they have a chance of getting far in life. Perhaps they may not stand a chance at achieving immortality but few do, Qiu. There’s billions of people living within our sect’s demesne and every last one of the cultivators down there is far above the norm. What matters most is how you use your power. Power without accomplishments is pointless.”
They both need a moment after that. With one a slave and the other practically the black sheep of the family neither can be said to have put their power to good use so far. Another thing Ling vows to correct and soon at that. Qiu lets out a hollow chuckle.
“Bah, what foremost genius of our age, the two of you are doing far more with a fraction of the resources I used.” She says and cringes, the knowledge that they have even less now due to her stings.
“Well that’s because-” Ling bites her lip to cut herself off halfway through, the temperature within the booth dropping as she struggles to control herself. Moving away from the front she bonelessly plops down into one of the seats and leans her head back. Her shoulders begin to shake and she clutches at her stomach while leaning forward and hiding her mouth behind her palm. Qiu steps closer in concern just in time for the ice princess to burst out laughing and throw her for a loop.
“Ah look at us, Qiu. What the hells are we doing.”
Unsure what to do Qiu awkwardly extends a hand to pat Ling’s head prompting a raised eyebrow. Her cheeks flush and she turns her face to the side while stammering her way through an explanation.
“It’s... It’s what my mom used to do when it all got a bit much. Shut up, I don’t know what else to do.”
“I didn’t say anything, Qiu.” Ling teasingly replies while running her fingers over the redhead’s hand and pulling it down. She places a soft kiss atop her knuckle before taking one of her fingers into her mouth.
“Wh- what are you doing?” Qiu asks while recoiling in surprise, the finger leaving Ling’s mouth with a wet plop as she does. With a twisted smile Ling rises like a puppet on a string. Qiu takes another step back and gulps at the uncanny scene, the hair falling over Ling’s face making her appear more monster than human. Were it not for the mischievous look in her eyes that is. Somehow it doesn’t scare Qiu any less.
“Why are you backing away, dear heart?” Ling asks mockingly while stepping towards her with slow swaying steps.
“Wait, hold on.” Qiu takes another step back and waves her arms in front of her.
“Careful there, Qiu. You’ll disrupt the privacy formation if you displace the curtain. You would not want everyone to hear the cute noises you are about to make now do you?”
Qiu gulps. It doesn’t save her. Unable to back away further she has no choice but to press back when Ling pushes up against her and kisses her deeply. Their bodies squeeze together even more when Ling wraps one of her legs around her waist and begins to run her hands over her back. One goes high all the way up to the back of her neck to press their lips together even harder. Her tongue moves with desperation seeking out all of the redhead’s most pleasurable spots while her other hand wraps around the girl entwining them even further as if to lock her in place.
“You’re not leaving me.” Ling says commandingly, her voice cracking as she does. The manic look in her eyes takes Qiu’s breath away and sends a shiver down her spine. “You’re not going to that Hu whore, you’re mine, Qiu. You’re mine.”
Qiu opens her mouth to reply only for Ling’s tongue to find its way inside it once more. Her mistress swirls her tongue around, none of the usual teasing and prodding present as she simply does her best to please the freckled beauty as much as possible. It takes Qiu a moment to come back to her senses and realize something is wrong. She pushes Ling away to get some room to breath and talk only to freeze when she sees tears run down her cheeks.
“I hate this, Qiu. I hate this so much. I need you to go back to her. Please stay with me, don’t go.”
“What? I don’t understand, what?”
“No talking, no talking, just be mine okay? Please?”
Qiu’s heart drops at her plaintive whine. Ling swings the girl to the side and pushes her up against the wall of the booth, one hand covering her mouth while the other sinks lower into the folds of her robes. One thought races through Qiu’s mind rapidly becoming all-encompassing. ‘This is wrong.’ Panic grips her at Ling’s behavior and sends chills down her spine. She vainly struggles to speak and tries to grab the offending limbs until Ling leans forward, pushing their bodies together once more and practically pinning Qiu’s limbs between them.
“Shhh don’t move dear heart, these walls are fragile. If the planks crack everyone will get to see you like this.” Ling cackles while looking down on her with a twisted grin. Her invading hand roughly forces its way into her underwear and twists her clitoris eliciting a muffled shriek. It dips lower and teases her opening, the tip of her fingers teasing it and slowly pressing harder against it.
“Shall I put them in there, Qiu?” She asks in a playful tone, her grin widening at the way Qiu’s eyes widen and her muffled complaints increase in intensity. “If you don’t raise your leg. I can’t get to your other hole like this after all.”
Her villainous laughter reverberates throughout the small booth making Qiu’s hackles rise. She closes her eyes and shakily lifts her leg before changing her mind. Using its upraised position to her advantage she pushes forward and rams it down making the ice princess stumble. With utmost determination despite her shaky legs she lifts Ling up and walks over to the chair, promptly dumping her atop it. When she tries to stand back up Qiu holds her in place by her shoulders, her fingers clenching hard enough to make Ling hiss in pain as the redhead drops into a crouch in front of her to look her straight in the eye.
“I’m yours, Ling. I am and I always will be, alright? Tell me what you mean, why do you need me to go back to her.”
Ling’s face pales even as a smile blossoms atop it, tears running down her cheeks and her voice coming out unsteady in reply.
“Because I don’t want to risk you anymore, my dear. I want you to be safe, Qiu. I need to know if she’ll betray us, dear heart. The hidden realm is dangerous, if a snake like her is on the loose it’ll be deadly, my dear Qiu. I can’t risk you again. I can’t risk Shun again. We need allies. We need knowledge. I need you to talk to her. No! Don’t go to her, my Qiu. Don’t go.”
Trying to remember how Shun calms her down and hoping she’s able to mimic it Qiu tries to press their foreheads together only for their heads to slam into each other when Ling leans forward at the exact same time.
“Ouch, what is your head made of, woman?” Ling hisses while pulling out a mirror and checking if the hit left a bruise. While her mood is still terrible the unexpected pain allows her to curb the worst of her behaviour and channel enough ice qi through her veins to make her skin begin to turn blue. She stands up and wipes down her robe, taking the gamble that Qiu won’t notice the difference she uses fire qi to heat her veins enough to function, letting out a steamy breath to dispose of the worst of the heat. When she stands up and faces Qiu once more the familiar emotionless mask has slid onto her features.
“Apologies for my lapse of judgement. Hu Qing appears to possess information regarding the hidden realm. More than we do that is, both us ourselves and regarding certain parts of the realm perhaps our entire sect. That in addition to the fact that the hidden realm is home to many dangers we have no hope of facing means we need to be completely sure of where her loyalties lie lest she lead us into an ambush that this time we may not survive. Additionally this knowledge will be a great boon should we manage to get her on our side.”
“Alright, I'll talk to her.”
“No!” Ling’s arm extends to grab her yet there is no strength behind her movement, her fingers barely brushing against Qiu’s skin while she wraps them around her hand like a beggar clutching at the hem of someone’s robe. “We’ll talk about this later. For now just stay, we’ll reconvene with Shun in the evening and put our heads together.”
Their fingers intertwine as they both turn to watch the matches. Shoulder to shoulder they stand luxuriating in each other’s warmth, the silence between them slightly more comfortable than before. Qiu can’t help but wonder whether it isn’t simply the calm before the storm.
