He, Janus, and Lexi all spent the rest of the day watching Avyr for different reasons, something Mingtian couldn’t help but find incredibly amusing. He was worried about how the cat was taking all the ill attention— though he might as not have worried, as once he shoved his face in a book, Avyr had an almost magical ability to just ignore anything going on around him. Mingtian tried not to think about it too hard. Janus was worried that he’d do something to the other patrons, but— other than one time where he had to politely ask a kid to stop playing with his tail— he was utterly docile.

  Lexi… it was harder to get a read on why she was there. She’d come down from her pre-semester paperwork inundation to lean against the wall beside them, silently, staring out at Avyr as he read some sort of natural history book or another. She hadn’t said a single word to them, merely watching as he gently— quickly— flicked through the pages. It was only as sunset descended to inky night, and they ushered the last few patrons out of the library, that she finally broke her silence.

  “He’s interesting.” He and Janus both turned to her, waiting for her judgement— “Shedding, certainly. That makes him one of the… one hundred odd? Or something akin to that, Shedding cultivators in the precinct. More importantly, it also makes him the second academy age Shedding cultivator in the district. I can only imagine that both of you know what that means?” He and Janus shared a bewildered glance, eliciting an annoyed huff from Lexi. “Politics, obviously. While he ostensibly is protected by law to enter as a student in the coming semester, he’s in a nebulous enough position that I doubt the principal will allow it.”

  Janus frowned— but just for a moment. “I don’t see how that’s too much of a problem.”

  Lexi shook her head. “It would set a bad precedent. The entire weft of East Saffron’s political sphere is built on the responsibility of its leaders to uphold the rule of law— and I, for one, do not want the Bloody Saffron Sect descending on my head.”

  “I’m sure there’s at least one fallacy in your argument. One exception isn’t going to cause the end of the world.”

  “It’s not merely the exception, but more the reason for the exception. If it was only because of the inherent advantages or disadvantages Avyr would have as a student, that would be one thing— but it’s very, very obvious that his denial is going to be entirely because of the Precinct Councilor.”

  That, at least, managed to make Janus twist his face in disgust. “Ah. Him? No, I can totally see it… she’s not above nepotism in the slightest.”

  “Exactly. She’s had a winning hand, and now this throws it all into question.”

  “Which… could bring the sect down on her. Short sighted fools…” Janus sighed. “It’s a problem without a good solution either way.”

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  “Avyr would be devastated.” Both of them glanced at him, as though they’d failed to consider that aspect of the matter entirely. “What? He clearly would!”

  “Of course.” Janus rolled his eyes. “Only you…”

  “I’ll bring my concerns to the principal, but…” Lexi shrugged. “What a disaster.” She shook her head and stalked off, leaving him and Janus alone in the darkness of the library after hours— awkwardly across from one another, neither of them quite willing to speak first. Mingtian didn’t really know what to say. They were just… two mortals, after all, and even if they weren’t, he didn’t want to duel the man over it— he was wrong, yes, but not evil.

  It was Janus who broke the awkward silence first. “I don’t know what you see in him.”

  “A person.”

  “He’s not human.”

  “So? Are cultivators human?”

  “Of… course?” Janus gave him a weird look, momentarily distracted from the actual argument they were having. “Unless they’re a cat cultivator, I guess.”

  “Or a spirit beast.”

  “That doesn’t count. They’re not truly intelligent—”

  “Like humans or— apparently— these cats.” He raised an eyebrow at Janus, who almost petulantly glanced away. “If they’re just as sapient as either of us, then they deserve the same considerations as you would give to any other patron, do they not? And if they’re lesser, then would you not be content with receiving lesser consideration from the sect cultivators, who would be just as far above us as we would be above Avyr?”

  “Of course not. The sects— cultivators have a responsibility to mortals because it is from mortality they emerged. But that’s beside the point— I—” he bit back his words to strangled silence, working his mouth, then just sighed. “I’ve been working at this library for a long time, Leng Mingtian, and one of my most important jobs is to keep the library and its patrons safe. I simply can’t in good conscience believe that an obvious predator like Avyr does not present at least some risk.”

  “But doesn’t everyone present—”

  “I don’t want to talk about it right now.” Mingtian snapped his mouth shut, quiet as Janus stalked towards the exit. “I get it. I really get that there’s arguments that could be made for either side— an endless litany of sophistries and justifications. I’ve said my piece and made what I believe clear.” He yanked open the door, the cool night air swirling in and setting the fringes of his clothes aflutter— a breath of city air. A touch of moonlight. “Have a good night, Mingtian.” Then— he stepped out of the door, and let it slam shut behind him, and—

  The sound echoed into the library, muted by the endless sheafs of paper and heavy-bound times, and all the vast quietude of a battleground, so released.

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