Bitter.

Bitter tea was your father’s preferred drink of choice but you were so engrossed in your surroundings that the taste of your drink was a mere afterthought. How long has it been since you were truly home? On the surface you could say that it was nearly 3 years since you had escaped prison, defeated the 5, the Dragon Warrior and…and nearly murdered your father once more. Nearly 3 years of traveling, fighting, and discovery. But you could not really call that returning home. In its own morbid way, it was merely a visit. The last time you sat down and merely…lived was decades ago. Long before you were sent to prison. You take another sip of your drink. Were the walls always so dull? You felt like you remembered the paint being brighter and did the sun always come in so brightly from the northern part of the room?

So engrossed in your own thoughts that you almost didn’t hear Ming speak up. “And that’s why we’ve traveled all the way here Master Shifu. We- I feel like the Valley of Peace is the safest place for the people of the Library to relocate. Not only is it the home of the Five but the area is similar to that of the Sacred Library’s location. It’ll help with the refugee’s peace of mind knowing they’ll be living in familiar surroundings. Not to mention, being so secluded means they can take their time to adjust and integrate with the rest of the country. None of the citizens have ever left their homes before and the rest of China is as much a mystery to them as their home was to the average citizen.” Your father does not reply immediately and you cast your gaze upon the rest of the table.

Ming sat between the rest of the Brotherhood, a group of highly ranked members of the Sacred Library’s old order that served as an in-between for the rest of the city and the library’s previous enigmatic leader. She was already much taller than an average cat but her emaciated physique seemed to make her stand taller than her companions and only added the mystique surrounding her as she hid her face under the gilded hood of her robes. You and Xin Lan had done your best in the past 4 months to find enough food to feed the city and try to undo the damage she had done to herself but the constant moving had made it difficult. Ming assured you that she would regain the weight with enough time but the delicate balance of nutrition and calories she maintained had to be undone slowly lest she go into shock.