Azure Dragon watched with a peaceful smile as Akar practiced martial arts with Pyotr in the courtyard; the young man was clumsy beyond belief, but had surprising stamina. The two had been training for several hours already, and the small qilin hadn't requested a single break. Despite the grueling nature of learning to do something so new, Pyotr maintained a very happy disposition the entire time.
Song Yuze couldn't help but miss Verro. Each incarnation of the divine guardians had its own personality, sometimes polar opposite to the one who came prior – and it seemed that this White Qilin was one of those cases. Pyotr's predecessor, Verro, was a very serious and stern man. He was very kind and had a brilliant mind, but all of that was well-kept beneath his… somewhat intimidating mask.
Pyotr wore his heart on his sleeve. He was outgoing, emotional, and sensitive – but he still carried the compassionate heart of his predecessor.
"Your breathing is out of rhythm," the Black Tortoise gently corrected the boy. "Controlled breathing is the foundation of everything I will ever teach you."
Pyotr frowned and stood still for a moment. He took a few deep breaths, and his mess of white hair fell over his face slightly, shrouding one of his eyes from view. Somehow, the singular horn on his head seemed to match his personality perfectly. Disheveled and unorganized.
"I'm hungry," Pyotr announced after several long moments of silence while he corrected his breathing pattern. "When can we eat?"
Akar crossed his large arms over his chest and gave a nod of understanding, "If you'd like to eat now, we can."
Song Yuze called out to them, "There's several different kinds of soup fresh and warm in the kitchen. Go and help yourselves!"
"Oh, wow!" Pyotr was startled. "I didn't know you were there!"
"I've been watching for fifteen minutes," the Azure Dragon replied. "You're improving already, little one. It's quite impressive."
"Mr. Turtle is a good teacher," the qilin beamed. "He makes everything easy to learn, because he is so good at explaining stuff."
Song Yuze had to stifle a laugh, and Akar just stayed still, completely and utterly dumbfounded by the kid's words. Akar, good at explaining?! The large man hardly spoke, to the point that Song Yuze and Zuma had sometimes wondered if he knew any other words besides "yes", "no", and "thanks". The Azure Dragon took in a few breaths to calm his amusement, and just smiled back at the White Qilin.
"I'm glad that he has been instructing you well," Song Yuze said. He gave Akar a teasing wink. "Well done, Akar. Now, go on, the two of you ought to eat."
Akar and Pyotr made their way to the building's courtyard entrance, which was directly behind Song Yuze. When they passed the dragon, Akar stopped for a moment.
"Are you on your way to… visit them?" the tortoise asked, his expression turning serious.
Song Yuze's countenance fell, and he nodded. "I am."
"I see," Akar squeezed Song Yuze's shoulder affectionately. "Good luck."
Pyotr soon realized that Akar had fallen behind and turned around with his lips extended in an impressive pout. "Akar, let's go. I'm really starving to death!"
"Okay," Akar released his grip on the dragon's shoulder and continued after the energetic young man. "Let's eat."
Song Yuze watched the two enter the main building with an affectionate green gaze. Once the door closed behind them, he tentatively straightened his robes and continued on his way. It was an impressively long walk, despite the relatively small size of their mansion in the mountains. He descended a long case of stairs that led deep underground, lit only by dim, flickering lights.
The strong stench of illness struck his senses, immediately making him scrunch his nose with disgust, but he pressed on – completely undeterred. It was a scent that he had, quite unfortunately, become accustomed to over the years. As he went further down the spiraling steps, the dissonant whimpering and cries reached his ears – which meant that he was nearly at his destination.
Finally, he stepped out into an expansive stone dungeon. It was time to get to work.
~~~
Vanna shoveled in a mouthful of noodles as she listened to Quynh speak. He had been lecturing Liu Bai for fifteen minutes with hardly a moment of pause, and Vanna grew incredibly tired of listening – so she had completely tuned out. At the very least, she enjoyed her meal.
"Vanna," Shizuka's voice brought her back to reality. "You should probably listen to this latter half, it is likely good knowledge for you, too."
"She wasn't listening this whole time?" Quynh placed his glass down harshly against the table. "I don't enjoy repeating myself."
"Even I was not listening, and I was the target of your frustration," Liu Bai took a sip of his tea. "I am not going to apologize, either."
Quynh ran a hand through his sleek, black hair and closed his eyes to calm himself. When he opened them again, there was a faint glimmer of crimson around his irises. Vanna sucked in a breath, captivated by the glow.
"While I was out," he crossed his arms, "I gathered some additional information, and all of the evidence leads to the Azure Dragon distributing the new drug – with the help of some foreign thugs."
Shizuka and Liu Bai hummed in acknowledgement, completely unsurprised by his words. Vanna gave a quiet "ohh", but she still didn't have any personal attachment to the entire situation. After seeing the substance's effects on Liu Bai, she definitely felt that it was important to put a stop to its distribution – but the details were of no consequence. It wasn't like she could help them in any way, and she had only met them a few days ago.
Quynh, clearly disappointed by their reactions, added, "I'm tired of waiting around for the Azure Dragon to make a mistake. I think it's time for us to go on the offensive."