Gong June came down like lightning and in moments the ground gave way to her heel, forming a massive crater. The disciples took a shaky step back, the ringleader falling backwards onto his ass. Even in her last life as "Cass", Gong June was strong. When her older sister was raped and left for dead in the back alley of a club, she became strong. Throughout her life Cass Clare used every bit of pain, every ounce of suffering to become strong. The weak were those who never rose up to challenges and contented themselves with bending. The strong were those who fought. Why did she want to become a lawyer, because fighting on the street never seemed to get her anywhere. Elle was an enigma. A girl who was definitely classified as weak, someone who always seemed to bend, always allowed people to walk all over her, yet her eyes were strong. Or maybe it wasn't her eyes, it was the fact that she always bent. Elle was something to protected, that was Cass always thought. However, there was something that always bothered her. She had a record, the police at one point wondered what to do with her. She had stupid titles like "Amazon", "Rally Queen", "Midnight Wraith". Elle died. If there was ever something in her life that she'd regret it was that she allowed it to happen.
...
The door to their dorm room opened, and Elle came in, dropping her bag to the floor with an exhausted huff. It always felt like she was tired those days, tired and wary of the world. Cass would sometimes find her behavior strange, only to forget again once Elle smiled. There were times when Cass cursed her lack of manners, she lacked the feminine delicacies that most girls had. It was times like these that she wished she had a little more of Ren's girlishness. Cass often walked about the house without a care for decency, if it was hot wearing the bare minimum. It drove Ren and Elle crazy. Ren was much more proper than she was, Elle was just easily embarrassed by everything. And so, when she heard the door to their room open and the thwump! of a bag, she inwardly cursed. If it was Ren, she was in for one hell of a lecture. Ren's nagging lasted hours, sometimes if there was enough to keep that fire burning. Still, what's done is done, she shrugged her shoulders. Accepting her fate was always the best move in these cases. Cass closed the fridge and popped open a bottle of beer, tipping her head back and taking a swig. Being one of those egghead, hoity-toity, bright future kids was not at all easy. It was hard to believe that just a few years ago she was the boss of a large gang in one of the slums a few towns over. If any of them, saw her now, they'd be in shock. Cass peaked towards the door, hoping to look nonchalant only to find that the goddess of luck had not abandoned her today. Elle was the type of blush and squeal, running for cover with one embarrassed, "Gosh, Cass! Please stop walking around the house naked!" before diving into her safe haven. Elle was like a little squirrel or bunny, hiding away in burrows within trees or under the cool, clay earth.
Elle had a habit of hibernating, squirreling away items, and a massive fear of loud noises. She was timid and quiet, nervous at the larger movements, frightened and easily stressed. Lulu hid away her anxieties within excessive bursts of energy. The two of them were there little pack's babies-- hidden away and treasured by all the rest. Lulu was someone with a sense of curiosity about everything, was the first to look into haunted houses or deep sea diving. It was Theo's job to play the overprotective parent. Billy was the voice of reason, more often the not. While he was much more rooted in the artistic pursuits than the cold, long path into law school, he was a realist. There was no God, no afterlife, no heaven, no hell, just cold, hard facts. Cass often had a hard time figuring out why he couldn't keep up with law. Lulu's antics often had him pulling out his hair. He would find some way to rain on her parade and then it was in Elle's court. Elle played the part of therapist. She was someone who could easily play the part of neighborhood patrol in the police force, or be in charge of complaints in just about any department. She had a natural ability to listen and put others at ease. She was all of their calm.
...right... she was their calm, their peace, and their rock. Elle stood, despondent, her body seeking the sturdy body of the door to their dorm. Cass lowered her beer and walked towards her.
"Elle?" she quietly and slowly approached. Usually, Elle would bounce back in seconds after she was called, but there was only a small flinch. She didn't look up or move, frozen in place by some sort of indescribable force. Her hair covered her downcast eyes, making it impossible for Cass to see her face clearly. Yet, the flushed cheeks and the small trembles as Elle shook made her think that she was crying. The beer in her hand crushed under the weight of her fury. Elle turned her head away a little bit, but Cass reached out and gently-- carefully as though she was touching fragile, cracked glass-- and touched her chin, planning on guiding it back towards her so she could see her face. It was somehow only then that Cass realized that Elle was soaking wet. It had been raining out for a long time. Theo had a car that he allowed everyone to borrow. Why didn't anyone pick her up? Elle shook from the chill and cold of the rain, unable to meet Cass in the eyes. "You're soaking wet. Come on."
Cass led her into the bathroom and helped her into the bath. Elle was rarely this helpless. Her mind was elsewhere and Cass found she had to do everything from running the bathwater to undressing her, and still Elle was not even focused enough to realize she needed to step into the bath tub. Minutes passed without so much as one word shared between the two of them. Cass ran her fingers through Elle's hair, lathering it with shampoo. Rinse...
"...hey...weren't you," Cass paused as she reached for the conditioner, trying to find the words. Her eyes landed on Elle's long hair. It had been a while since she cut it. It was lovely. Elle was lovely. Her lovely, little sister. And this lovely, little sister was hurt somewhere. She could have asked her about where she knew she was supposed to be, about the people who bothered her, or just anything that could have happened, yet all she could think to say at the moment was "going to be late today?" No answer. Cass allowed the silence to ensue before she continued to speak, afraid of shattering her Elle. She used the conditioner, rinsed her hair again, and just sat by the tub. Waiting for some sort of response.
"Yeah."
...
Gong June was aware that some of those memories leading up to the incident were broken. The shock of loosing Elle was intense, but there were times where she dreamt of everything she could have done that she hadn't. There were times she had dreams that went perfectly through the sequence of events, yet by morning light nothing was left. It was good to find there were idiots to stir up trouble so that she didn't have to wallow in regret. Ming Ran was small and delicate, and as if being mute wasn't hard enough, thanks to his master, he was blind now as well. Gong June continued to land blow after blow, venting all of her anguish, anger, and fear. The world around her fell away and soon she felt her arm hit something hard.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" A dangerously low voice asked her. Wen Quinn looked at her with unconcealed fury. In one arm, he held Ming Ran who was huddled up and shaking, the other hand blocked her elbow. A cold dread washed over her, dousing all the fire that kept her going up until now. She lowered her head and stuttered small apologies. Wen Quinn sighed, looking down at Ming Ran. "Are you alright?" He nodded, and pulled away, letting out a deep breath.
"Sorry, A-Ran. That... it was..."
It's fine. You tend to loose sight of everything else around you when you're angry.
"Where are you heading to like this? Where's your master?" Wen Quinn stepped forward.
I'm delivering some documents. Master wants me to try using my senses on my own now. I've been doing pretty well so far.
"Judging from the situation, it didn't seem like you were doing all that well to me." Wen Quinn crossed his arms. Ming Ran puffed up his cheeks, signing furiously: I just started going around by myself today! Of course there's a lot of things I can improve on!!
"Still, no one followed you? To make sure you were okay?" Gong June asked, regaining her composure.
"Does anyone need to?" Ming Ran perked up and trotted over to his husband. Cang Mu received his affection with warm eyes, brushing back his hair and fixing his clothes. Ming Ran enjoyed being pampered for a moment before he realized with a gasp...
My documents! Ming Ran started searching for them, running around like a hen pecking scattered grain.
"You're Cang Mu." Wen Quinn glared at him before going to help Ming Ran. Cang Mu got in front of him.
"Don't."
"How dare you step in the path of the Crown Prince of the Empire!" his voice dark, he exerted his dominance over him. Cang Mu smiled, letting the threat flow over him.
"Greetings to his highness, the Crown Prince. As for why I've blocked you two, Ming Ran needs to have the ability to train on his own."
"He's groping around the mountain blind and you expect me to just stand aside and watch?" Wen Quinn tried to step around him only to be blocked again.
"Yes. He needs all the practice he can get. Unless he asks you to do something, you all aren't helping him but preventing him from improving himself." Cang Mu stated calmly. Wen Quinn leaned in, slowly giving his command,
"Get. Out. Of. My. Way."
"I took care of him all those years."
"You kidnapped him."
"He had no idea how to do anything. Despite the fact that there were teachers around who could teach him to sign, you left him completely without the ability to communicate with others. He had no idea how to do anything, wrapped up in silk and coddled his whole life. While he was in captivity, do you know he never even tried to escape?"
"As if you all would have let him!"
"True. However, most people would have taken the opportunities given to them. He just followed orders, behaved himself. Waited for someone to come and save him. Our tribe is indeed barbaric, he was almost given the fate of bedwarmer. No better than a courtesan of the empire. I claimed him because I knew it would keep him safe. Once he came of age he would have been forced into bed. Still even after being married to me, even with all the times he was out of sight of his kidnappers, he stayed. He learned things that you would never have allowed him to learn. How to hunt, how to cook, how to sew, fish, make traps, basic self defense. He helped us win a battle against another tribe, treated injuries. He became human in our tribe."
"He was human before."
"He was a doll before. Followed orders, stayed still when told to stay still, followed when told to follow. He had no sense of self, just did his best to not cause trouble. As I watched him, I noticed that he didn't really do anything for himself. Made sure we were all happy, catered to us. It was second nature to him."
"Shut up." Wen Quinn shook with rage, "What the hell do you know? Ming Ran is weak and cannot ask for help if he needs it. Can't call for help if danger finds him. Of course we need to protect him!"
"Then teach him how to do all that. He can't do it the way everyone else can, teach him his own way." Cang Mu looked him in the eyes, "But you can't, can you? You're too caught up in protecting him to see that you have given him no means to live if you aren't around. Since you can't, at least allow him to find his own path. You all owe him that much, at least." Cang Mu turned and walked away.
"Weren't you going to stop us from helping him? Is that not also giving him aid without asking for his consent?" Wen Quinn glared at his back. Gong June looked again towards Ming Ran and sighed.
"He doesn't need to."
"What?! Are you taking his side, then?" Wen Quinn growled. She only pointed to empty space. Ming Ran had long since disappeared from their sight, documents retrieved. Wen Quinn quivered with rage. His head snapped around to glare at the retreating back of Cang Mu. If looks could kill, he'd be dead a hundred times over.