“You look rough.” Avyr settled down in the open spot of their living room, that lovely little spot— where the sunlight over East Saffron’s lone river slanted through crystal windows, slicing through the ever slightly dusty air and illuminating a stark patch of the floor in its radiant enfolding. “Are you well?”

  Lily rubbed her eyes, yawning widely— an eerily similar gesture of exhaustion to a cat’s own languid yawn. “Yes. No.” She blinked, collapsing down against him heavily— a move that might have actually hurt him, had he not advanced to Opening already. “I spent all of yesterday training with the sword, and didn’t even get time to cultivate. I need to cultivate.”

  He chuffed, half in humor, half in fond exasperation. “I doubt it. You look too tired to pay attention in class, much less cultivate properly. Wait until you’re better rested.”

  “I don’t have—” she sighed. “I guess you’re right.”

  “I’m always right.”

  She punched him, and he huffed softly— able to actually feel the blow in a real way, now. After so long spent divided by such a gap of cultivation… it was almost a little weird, to have Lily finally be a cultivator. It wasn’t the overt things of cultivation that made it weird— those, he’d always expected. Rather, it was the small things. Those casual moments of preternatural strength, awareness, seamlessly emergent— no particular practice to them but the edge of possibility, and the unconscious step past it. Avyr wasn’t sure if Lily even knew she was doing that.

  The two of them sat together in silence for a long moment, enjoying the lazy morning air. Both of them had their classes… their own projects, their own designs, each their own road through the long winding ascent of cultivation, but for a moment? There, they could simply be together just like it’d always been. For all their differences, for all he wasn’t sure if Lily would ever truly understand him, and if he would ever, her— at a deepsome level, buried in the molten heart of such enormous and ever-burning purpose—

  They were, fundamentally, similar.

  It was good to remember that.

  ………

  It was another day without Lily, unfortunately. They had a few classes together, but not so many that they got to spend a great deal of time with each other. Not to mention that— barring a few particular instructors— the schedules could be… messy. There was a certain sort of fluidity to it all that he was already beginning to appreciate, and to so slightly loathe— a cultivator’s slow time, laconically drifting through their lives with the assurance of someone who had perfect power, and perfect security.

  Well. They weren’t immortals, so he doubted that was the case, but he could understand it. In the same way a kitten was bound to run if they wanted to keep up their elders, each paw their instructors placed in front of the other on their long paths strode further than the ones before. He could emphasize. He could even relate, if he thought particularly hard about what it’d been like on that mountain peak, high up amongst the airy heavens, ‘twixt earth and sky and at the center of a roiling vortex of energy. He’d have loathed to be interrupted by having to teach a class at that critical juncture.

  Still, it was annoying. He was able to recognize that it was annoying mostly because it was them, the students, that were bound to race and bend to the whims of their instructors, but mere recognition didn’t mean that it was any less unpleasant.

  At the very least, he’d started to get used to the university campus. Or, at least, the central university campus. He’d known, in a sort of intellectual fashion, that the University of East Saffron was the size of an entire precinct, but to actually see it— to live it, amongst those towering buildings and pagodas, and traditions that had outlived generations— was something else entirely. It felt so much more profound than the 32nd Precinct, much as he still so slightly missed the place— a vast and wild jungle of humanity, just waiting to be explored. Maybe once they had a little free time, he’d drag Lily off on a quest to poke through the more modern areas relegated to those outside of the elite cohort…

  That was beside the point, though. As he strode beneath the tattered shade of stately street trees, long planted, stately boughs arcing together to mingle in murmured conversation amongst the city’s wind and University quietude, he had a different destination in mind. Today, at last, he’d managed to make it to something he’d been looking forward to for a long time.

  The road ended in front of him, as natural as a parting dream— stones scattering off as the forest crept in, those street trees overgrowing their neat boxes and pushing through the cobbles and moss, clinging to the dark places until it felt he was padding across a push carpet deep within the gloam. The world seemed to come alive— not with the incredible profuseness of jungle life, but with a quieter, more stately sort of wildness; songbirds high above, rumpled hills, forest detritus. A few late summer— or early autumn, perhaps— flowers poked through in those spots of slanted sunlight, tiny white bells drooped over as they swayed noiselessly in the breath of the world. A breeze, so faint, ruffled his fur and tugged him onwards, as though the entire forest had been designed solely to pull him in.

  He wanted to explore deeper. The campus forest— where their Qi Theory classes were held— was one of the places at the University he wanted to explore the most, out of anything. He’d seen the alpine forests of the Dragonspine Mountains, but that was different entirely from the lower altitude deciduous forests— and, it wasn’t like he’d really gotten to enjoy the vast and wild peace of the lonely mountains. He’d been too busy cultivating. He chuckled as he adjusted his course, skimming along the outside of that most wild garden. There was probably a metaphor in that, somewhere…

  It only took a short walk for him to find what he was looking for— a cluster of small houses, more cottages than anything, really, riding the fine horizon between the denseness of the University development and the wild forest growth. A few people were out and about— mostly older folk, clearly university staff rather than students.

  One man was watering his garden— a really beautiful garden, filled with colorful foliage and a bed of incredibly showy flowers whose subtle aroma was eminently pleasing to the nose— but he flinched back when Avyr stopped to admire it, so he reluctantly moved on. Another had a far more mundane lawn— which was to say, beautiful by the standards of the 32nd Precinct, but utterly empty compared to the sheer amount of effort that had gone into the university’s botanic pursuit. A duo of kids played in the grass, kicking a ball back and forth between them, but their mother called them back to the door as he approached. Her wary look ensured he couldn’t mistake it for anything but deliberate.

  He clenched a paw, his claws scratching into the moss that curled in the space between cobbles before he got a grip over himself and retracted them. It was frustrating, to see that sort of blatant unkindness towards him. What had he ever done? Yet, it was also utterly nonproductive to get upset over it, so he simply kept on until he found the stop he’d been looking for, a nondescript cottage on the very verge of the deep woods. The lawn had been unkempt for a long time— or maybe, perhaps, it had always been that way, merely a tiny space carved out from the forest to place a house on. Those tiny-white wildflowers grew over all the mounds of earth and tangled roots, a whole sea of them, each swaying in unison with the faint breeze that still blew past. Other than that, the house looked essentially dead. Abandoned.

  He checked the number, then checked the invitation he’d written down again— just to be sure— then with a faint sigh of someone who didn’t even really know what to expect, strode up and knocked sharply on the door with his access token.

  A few seconds later, the door was pushed open by a sleepy looking cat, clearly disheveled. “Oh. You came.” She shook her head roughly, her hair tousled in the motion— probably in an attempt to appear a little more composed, though it clearly failed. His heart panged in sudden memory of his own clansmen, scattered to the far winds— he’d known some with similar disregard to their appearance. Once or twice, when he’d been young, he’d even been teased for how much his parents had made him focus on being at least presentable…

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  He blinked, banishing those old memories, fond and yet bittersweet now, by loss transformed. “Of course I’d come.”

  “You didn’t come last time.”

  “I—” he shook his head. “I was told this was biweekly.”

  “Honestly, it’s really whenever we want it to be.” She paused, glancing back inside at some unseen figure, not even present, then winced. “Um, don’t tell Svvh I said that. He’s already in a foul mood as is. He can be… intense… but his heart is in the right place.” Which was what? But Avyr didn’t dare voice that.

  She waved a paw at him, then turned around and slunk back into the inside of the cottage, and Avyr couldn’t not follow. The interior of the cottage was… a bit of a mess, all things considered. The counters were uncomfortably high— as most counters were, for cats— but instead of dealing with it normally, they’d simply just moved most everything onto the floor where they could. Beside the sink, they’d dragged over a heavy wooden bench that had clearly been an outside thing, if the dirt still worked into the grain of its wood was any indication. The rest of the house hadn’t been spared the treatment, either; the living room she led him to was the cleanest by far, and he was pretty sure that was more because they needed a proper space to actually live in than any deliberate action.

  Piles of homework and various sundry things were scattered up against the walls, and a few pens had rolled out across the floor, haphazardly come to rest against the tassels of a sun-faded rug. Svvh and another cat were laid out across from each other on the floor, both intently focusing on what Avyr recognized as an assignment from their Advanced Mathematics class.

  Svvh looked up as they entered, a pleased expression settling onto his face as he spied Avyr. “I was wondering if you’d come. Want to work on our math homework together?”

  “I’ve already finished it.” Lily was really good at math, and while the mathematical practice wasn’t his strong suit, she’d been able to help him figure out the most difficult parts. “If you want, though, I can give you pointers if you’re stuck.”

  Svvh waved a paw. “Ah, no matter then. We were just waiting for you to show up anyways. It’s a cruel place out there, but we cats have stick together. Our path to immortality is fraught enough as it is— allies come rarely in a society that spurns us.” He held one out that self-same paw, upside down, a quiet invitation. “To spite the fate that defies us. To bring once more glory to the forests of Refuge, that we might walk amongst our ancestors and have them be proud of our accomplishments.”

  “To refuge!” The other two raised their voices, and their paws, an almost violent fervor burning in their eyes—

  And, slower— but for all that was lost, and all that he one day hoped to regain… he raised a paw, and intoned quietly: “for Refuge.” And all the people that had once called it home. It felt nice, to be amongst people who understood.

  A faint smile slipped onto his face. It felt right.

  ………

  As the stars descended on East Saffron, and hovered— seemingly, just beyond the reach of the forest dark, hovering like so many tiny jewels in the firmament above the forest’s highest boughs, Svvh brought them all outside for introductions. A small fireplace occupied an equally small yard behind the cottage, just barely large enough for the lot of them to occupy comfortably, with maybe a cat-length to spare if they were being generous.

  Svvh tried fiddling with some sort of human lighter for a few seconds, growing markedly more frustrated with each attempt. Finally, Avyr just felt bad for him, pulling a wisp of qi out of his hand and directing it into the piled up logs with a burst of sudden, furious heat and a flare of light, and— the logs lit, merrily ablaze in a moment.

  The other cat stared at him for a long moment, gaze inscrutable, before growling and flinging the lighter into the forest beside him. For a second there it’d looked like he’d been about to fling the lighter into the fire, but he clearly wasn’t that stupid, thankfully. “Goddamn… idiots.” He sighed. “Sorry, Avyr. Not you. I appreciate your help, I really do, just…” it was like Lily, when she wanted to solve a problem on her own even though she clearly couldn’t. Nothing to hold a grudge over.

  He just inclined his head, genially accepting the apology— false as it clearly was. “No matter—” and in doing so, made it real. A gentle forgiveness.

  Svvh sighed again, longer this time, collecting his thoughts in the long space between words, and all the meaning therein. “Well.” He breathed in. “You have a technique? I didn’t even know that was possible at Shedding.”

  “I’ve achieved Opening.”

  That managed to get a slight expression of shock from everyone in the room, even the two girls, who’d been deep in their own conversation by then. For a while, Svvh just worked his jaw, before smiling. It was a dangerous sort of smile, the very brightest and most earnest of them, sharp enough to be lethal. “Congratulations, then! I didn’t even know it was possible to achieve Shedding so quickly… without a pill, right? I can’t imagine you somehow got your hands on one of their oh-so-elusive Opening breakthrough pills, but that’d probably do it too…”

  He shook his head. “Not a pill. Their pills are all yin-aligned, and you can clearly tell—” he flicked his tail, and let a shimmer of radiant energy flush through his fur, for the slightest second transforming him from merely tawny to golden— “my cultivation is rather more yang aligned.”

  “Impressive. No, truly— I think even the one of the Great Ones might have taken interest in someone who’d been able to advance so fast.”

  Avyr ducked his head in a very real embarrassment. “I sincerely doubt it. The Great Ones are…” he struggled to say any more than that, but didn’t really need to say more. To anyone else, maybe, he’d have had to put it in terms a human would understand, but to a fellow cat? They understood. The Great Ones were divinity, manifest, in some indelible way.

  “We met one of the Great Ones, before we came here.” Avyr’s hair stood up on end in shock at Svvh’s words, and his gaze must have been utterly disbelieving, as the other two chuckled the moment they glanced at him. “Yes, really. It was… a short meeting, but the presence of the greatest of us, the ones who have reached out to touch the transcended edge… I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget that. And if we could draw the attention of the Great One of White Rock Refuge, then surely you, of far greater achievement, would be able to draw his interest.”

  “I doubt…” he grimaced for a second, realizing the conversation was going in circles. “So you three are all from the same… group?”

  The frazzled cat who’d met him at the door— still frazzled, as it were, which took a serious skill or lack thereof— kinda half nodded. “In a way. We were all part of the same program, sponsored by White Rock Refuge to represent cat-kind in the University of East Saffron.”

  A deep pride settled onto Svvh, all stiff shouldered and upraised head. “We aren’t many, but even with just three of us, we were already the most represented single group in the entire city. More than even the insufferable Song clan kids!” Avyr couldn’t help but chuckle— from his few encounters with them, insufferable was a good way of describing them… and, in some small echo deep within, he couldn’t help but feel a little pride himself. The people who’d fled from the forests of Refuge were making a life for themselves.

  “I’m glad for you,” he said softly, and meant it from the heart. “I’m glad to have met you too.”

  “Right I knew I forgot something— introductions! You already know me— I’m Svvh, you’re Avyr, and these are Rrya and Wyao, both of the Ti’an family from southeastern Refuge.” Which meant that they’d been some of the first to be displaced, back when the fighting had first pressed up north into the formerly free territory… he frowned, considering them under a new eye. He’d been young when he’d been forced to flee the southern continent for his life, but they must have been kittens when the Empire of Nine Sunlights had first invaded.

  “It’s fine,” Rrya mewled softly— unconvincingly; she couldn’t quite stay still as she spoke, even when she’d spoken with such laconic lack of care earlier. “It’s… mostly behind us. We’ve a new community with the cats of White Rock Refuge, safety in East Saffron, and a purpose to devote ourselves too. What more could we want?” A lot, he thought, but did not voice. So much.

  “That’s good enough, then.” It was an empty platitude, and everyone there knew it. Yet still— as the fire burned down, casting its long shadows on the trees about them, and they chatted about the classes, and their long lost home, and… he could not but find himself content. It was not the depth of quiet, shared understanding, the trial and fast friendship he had with Lily, but… it was enough.

  Enveloped in it all, lively, danced the fire’s flames—

  It was good.