Even though it was the start of break, they met by the library regardless. It was just habit, by them— to spend their time in that august, simple building, Mingtian never too far away from them— learning, striving…

It was really weird, realizing that they weren’t going to see it for the greater part of a month.

“Are you ready?” She tried as best as she could to hold back her excitement, but it was all but impossible— they were leaving East Saffron! Or well, as soon as they got the Matron’s permission, but all the other final year students were going on trips over the winter break so it wasn’t like she shouldn’t be able to. Hers was just… a little further afield than most of them.

Avyr nodded. He looked almost a little silly, laden with as many bags as he’d brought— or, alternatively, strangely graceful despite it. It was different from what he usually wore, if that was even a word that could be used with his species, the strange harness and small pouches made to store whatever he could get his paws on— instead, he had full bags, packed with whatever they’d need. Clearly, it was intended for travel.

It looked… old. The leather was worn, if well cared for, the bags showed scars where they’d been patched up— clumsily, if done by a human, deftly if Avyr had done it himself. She hadn’t brought her own bags, but that didn’t mean they were any less packed— her room felt almost barren, with everything important shoved into the big backpack she’d brought with the money she’d been saving up for the past few months.

“Alright.” She breathed in, the crisp air of winter swirling around her and across the open park, catching on the empty slow and kicking up sparkling light into the East Saffron sun— “you sure you packed everything? It’s going to be cold.”

Avyr nodded, then raised his paws— and Lily’s eyes widened as she bit back a squeal. They were just so cute! He’d gotten little booties that fit snugly around his paws, insulating them from the cold ground. “They’re… uncomfortable, and restrictive, and don’t expect me to handle anything with any great deftness while I’m wearing them, but they’ll work.” He was silent for a moment. “Do you think it will really work? Mingtian instructed me what I needed to do, but…”

“You’ll be fine. You're the one who gets to advance all the way to Opening—” no matter how much conventional wisdom told them that cultivating a full step in such a short time was essentially impossible— “so don’t be grumpy. We’ll manage it. I have the stylus Mingtian gave me, and the Dragonspine range has plenty of high quality stone. If we’re lucky, we might even find spiritual stone.

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“Unlikely, but not impossible…” he shifted from paw to paw, for a moment, and Lily did much the same— stalling, she realized. They were stalling. They only had a limited time to get this done, and they were stalling.

She scuffed the snow beneath her feet, scowling as she watched the clod spin through the air and splatter against a snowdrift just a stride away. “Let’s just… get it over with. Who knows? The Matron might actually like you!”

“Is that… likely?”

“Well…” how to put it tactfully. “You’re the combination of the two things she’s the harshest on, relationships with the opposite sex before we graduate, and ‘ill-reputed characters.’ So… well, be prepared for the look.” Avyr gave her a confused glance as she led him onwards, but Lily didn’t explain further. She didn’t know how to explain further— it was just… something that everyone knew. Everyone who grew up around the orphanage, at least. More than one bully had run with their tails between their legs— figuratively— without the Matron having even said a word. Much the same for misbehavers…

She grimaced, clenching a fist. She was behaving entirely within the rules— it was winter break, final year students could take a vacation, and there was no reason for the Matron to stop her. No reason beyond the fact that her trip wasn’t a three day sojourn to Hekoucun or a night’s stay in old Saffron, but rather a month-long excursion to the heart of the most rugged, dangerous part of the entire subcontinent.

She’d be fine.

Probably.

Just in case though, she stood outside the orphanage nervously for almost twenty minutes before she finally mustered the courage to step inside and— she fought down the urge to flee. As she’d suspected, the Matron was standing there in the center foyer, looking displeased. “Lily Ward. And… Ai’er Avyr.” Avyr tried valiantly to resist the Matron’s withering glare, but there was only so much one could do in the face of such heavy judgement. “Come in. I’ve put on some tea.”

“I… can’t partake.”

The Matron blinked— then, startlingly, laughed. “I should have expected that. I take it you share much of the same dietary restrictions as normal cats do?” Avyr nodded, and for a moment she laughed a little longer, before drawing in a long breath and just… stilling, for a long moment. Finally— quietly, not timidly but smally, she spoke. “Never in all my years have I been subjected to a situation exactly like this one.” She walked over and closed the door for Avyr, which was… not absurd, but just so subtly wrong that she couldn’t help but blink— they were supposed to close the door after they came in. That’s just how it was supposed to be.