Sword and Snow

Talya was the first to decide she’d had enough for the day. After they had all spent a couple of hours relaxing with their drinks, she had decided she was tired enough to try to get some sleep.

Gray went with her, and Vale wasn’t far behind, leaving Emery and Avuri on their own. It still wasn’t too late, but surely the three others were tired after the travel immediately followed by a long day of greetings; no one could fault them for wanting to sleep.

As Emery gathered up the empty bottles from the table for disposal, Avuri asked, “So, what’s the plan for tonight? Are you also looking to go to bed early?” She dragged a hand lightly over Emery’s shoulder affectionately as she spoke, just because she felt like it.

“I was actually thinking of taking some family bath time with Cierra and Stena. They’re old enough that we should probably let them know some of what’s going on. Maybe Kord, Elise, and the other Earth Realm kids, too. I don’t want to get them involved in whatever fight is coming, but they should know that danger could be on the way.”

Avuri’s previously relaxed face took on a more serious edge as Emery spoke of the more serious topic. “And you want to let Cici and Stena in on it either way, I imagine.”

Emery nodded. “Yeah. I’d like them to know, and we can use the talk with them as a test run. See how they take it.”

“I don’t think anyone would take kindly to the news that there could be a war coming to their doorstep.” Avuri said sourly.

“No kidding.” Emery sighed. “But if the Deposits’ Cultivators decide to infiltrate the Peaks or send scouts ahead…they could pretty easily wind up literally at our door. Cierra and Stena, at least, should be prepared.”

“We should probably make some time tomorrow to talk to everyone about what to do if a stranger makes it into the basin.” Avuri said, murmuring to herself. “And reinforce stranger danger with the younger kids.”

Emery let out a hollow laugh. “If there’s one thing I don’t think we need to teach any of our kids, it’s how dangerous some random person could be.”

“That’s…true enough.” Avuri said flatly. “We should probably still go over what to do if they see someone they don’t know around here though.”

“Agreed.” Emery said seriously, then sighed heavily as she dropped all the bottles from the table into a bin in the kitchen where they would eventually be cleaned and reused. “In the sixteen or so years we’ve lived here, I don’t think there’s ever been a time where I thought we might be infiltrated all the way up here.”

“In some sense,” Avuri began, “it’s pretty incredible that you found a spot that has remained relatively hidden for so long. But we should keep in mind that this could all go peacefully too.” As she spoke, Avuri walked up behind Emery and slid her arms around her wife’s waist from behind.

“...You’re shaking.”

“Yeah.” Emery said, her voice empty of emotion. “I’m scared, Ri. We’ve got so many young children here, the vast majority of whom can’t fight. Not really. Not to mention my sister, who is pregnant and in no condition to fight, and her husband. And even if the fight never physically reaches us, our ability to live easily up here at least partially relies on the Peaks and their natural Qi and defenses. If Cultivators come up this way and start to strip and destroy the land, we’ll be in trouble anyway.”

As the words tumbled out of Emery, the squeezing hug that her wife offered grew tighter. “Don’t forget what’s in our favor, too.” Avuri said, trying to help Emery calm down a little. “We have Vale here. If anyone actually tries something stupid like harming any of our kids, they will not get away with it.” Her voice dripped with deadly venom as it deepened to convey the threat.

“And on the off chance that things do go sideways, Cyril, Lyn, and them are more than a capable fighting force. And that’s before we include ourselves or any of the other Flowing Dragon City regulars.” With a quick extra squeeze, and a kiss to Emery’s head, Avuri spun her around so they were face to face.

“I’m not going to just say everything will be fine. But we are well protected here, and have time to prepare the kids for any potential emergency. Let’s focus on what we can do, not what we can’t, right?” Avuri offered Emery a smile, which she hesitantly returned. Then she took a deep breath to steady herself.

“You’re right. You’re always right.” Emery said finally. “We shouldn’t worry about things we can’t affect. Focus on what’s in front of you and what you can do.”

“Sounds familiar, hm?”

“It does.” Emery snorted. “Now let’s go get our girls and take a bath.”

Within the hour, they were able to intercept Cierra and Stena on their way to the baths after their respective workouts. The four of them all held back and let the rest of the children that wanted to bathe in the bathhouse do so. Avuri, Emery, and their girls talked idly about their training regimen and what they were working on now for a while as they watched the other kids slowly trickle out of the bathhouse from a nearby bench.

Once everyone had finished up, the four of them took their turn. They all scrubbed down and washed themselves in relative quiet for a while before rinsing and slipping into the heated water of the large stone bath.

“So?” Stena asked, finally. “I assume you two have a reason for separating us to have a chat?”

After a quick shared glance, Emery and Avuri launched into an explanation of the potential coming storm. Stena slowly grew more pale as they explained what was potentially going to happen, while Cierra just sat quietly, processing.

Once they were finished, Emery and her wife sat patiently waiting for the younger women to process or ask questions. It wasn’t long before Stena asked, “So, what do we do?”

“We don’t know.” Avuri said, then continued, “There are a lot of moving parts to this whole situation. But we wanted to at least tell you two, in case someone makes it all the way to the basin somehow.” She glanced at Emery before adding, “We’re planning to tell all the Earth Realms.”

Cierra nodded at that. “I don’t know how useful any of us would be against anyone Sky Realm or higher, but if it came down to it, at least we’ll know what we’re up against.”

“There’s every chance that no part of this will affect the basin at all.” Emery said, trying to convince herself as much as the others. “Avuri and I will likely go to help Flowing Dragon City where we can. Vale might, too. But with some luck, this whole mess will be decided well before any of those Cultivators makes their way up or even into the Peaks.”

“And how likely is this to be solved peacefully, exactly?” Stena asked.

“Hard to say. If The Deposits somehow manage to field an overwhelming force, then I think the Flowing Dragon Elders might give in without a fight. I imagine the inverse is also true, but I assume the Cultivators that are headed this way know what they’re getting into. Maybe a show of absolute force from the Elders could sway them off the fight, but I somehow doubt it.” Avuri said.

“I’d also be shocked if The Deposits somehow managed to gather enough strength to cow the Elders. In which case…at least a small battle seems most likely.” Emery clarified.

“So there’s virtually no way this ends without conflict.” Stena muttered to no one.

“The most likely chance we have of avoiding a fight altogether is that they come to some kind of business arrangement that both sides are satisfied with.” Avuri explained. “To be fair, we’ve been operating so far under the impression that The Deposits are going to request something big; whether that’s free access to the Peaks or whatever, they wouldn’t need a large show of force otherwise.”

“If we get lucky, they’ll be looking for assistance or new trade agreements, and are showing up in force to avoid showing weakness. With some luck, they don’t want a fight.”

“It’s just a difficult position to bank on.” Emery cut in. “We can’t assume they’ll play nice and hope everything works out. Not when we have children here who could end up in danger if we’re not smart about this.”

“Mom is right. We can’t just sit here and not prepare.” Stena said, starting to show a little anger.

“And we’re not going to sit and wait.” Avuri said, trying to diffuse the rising heat in them both. “We’re going to make sure everyone here knows how to handle a stranger showing up. We’ll also go over defensive procedures again, since it’s been a whil-” She suddenly turned toward Emery as an idea struck her.

“Do you think we could have Talya work on a few defensive Arrays while she’s here? Something to make the basin harder to get into, or reinforce all the houses?”

“I think that’s doable. We can tell her it’s payment for keeping her well taken care of while she’s here for half a year.” Emery said with a touch of laughter.

“Good. That will give us all a bit more peace of mind.” Avuri said, nodding to herself.

“I think, for now, all this really means is that we have work to do.” Cierra said. “There’s plenty of things we can all do to prepare for whatever might be headed our way.” Then she turned to her mothers. “And I think you two need to go talk with the Elders and see what they think.”

“Vale is planning on talking to them tomorrow.” Emery said. “I suppose we could tag along and see what they’d like to do, if anything.”

“If Vale wasn’t lying earlier when he said Vyne could reach that far with his Earthsense, then he can keep tabs on the size of their group, which will be valuable information.” Avuri added. “That certainly would keep us on top of things and informed.”

Everyone in the bath nodded. “I don’t know that there’s more we can do now other than prepare and talk to the Elders. What comes after that will be decided by the related outcomes I imagine.” Emery said.

“Is there anyone else we could call for help?” Cierra asked. “I know you don’t hear from your family much, Mom, but surely there’s someone? Or what about your family Momri?”

Avuri shook her head. “My family doesn’t have any other strong Cultivators. If things got bad enough, I could maybe reach out to the Frozen Mountain, but I don’t have any reason to believe they would help.”

Then all eyes turned to Emery, who shrugged. “I don’t think I could get word to Rylie or Demi in time for them to do something. Talya is already here, and Kota already knows what’s going on but doesn’t want to fight.”

Emery smiled wryly then, knowing what was coming next. “Ieji is planning on infiltrating the enemy camp and spying for us though.”

Both Cierra and Stena made faces. “They’re really good at what they do, but Ieji will forever give me the creeps, Mom. Please tell me they aren’t coming here.” Stena said.

“I don’t think so, but it’s a possibility.”

Cierra let out a long breath. “As long as we don’t have to let them live here for a while, I think it’ll be fine.”

“You all need to get over it. Ieji is a very talented spy and assassin, and they’re fantastic at their job.” Emery said, including Avuri.

“I’m sorry, Merri, I just don’t think it’s gonna happen. They’re just too…I don’t know, doll-like?” Avuri said back.

“You’re doll-like.” Emery spat back, the poor attempt at an insult causing a short burst of laughter.