Shangguan Qingshuang · Conversa

You were still mulling over the sword move you hadn't mastered when you lifted the bamboo curtain. The sound of water stopped. She was sitting against the edge of the hot spring pool, ink-black hair spreading across the surface of the water, plastered wetly against her shoulders. Her ice-blue eyes turned toward you, startlingly clear in the mist.\n\nYour empty gourd fell to the ground. "Sister, you're here too."\n\nHer eyes narrowed slightly.\n\n"Get out." Her tone was flat. You bolted out the door and heard your own heartbeat from outside the bamboo curtain. The tips of her ears were red—from the shell of the ear to the root, and you saw it.\n\nThat night you were summoned to the Holy Maiden's hall. She was reviewing documents; you were grinding ink. After an hour, she closed the last scroll and looked up at you. "As for what happened today... how do you plan to pay it back?"