Willow was not happy that her sister was now gone. She had been a constant fixture in her life and her absence was being keenly felt despite only a day having passed.

  Even if the breakfast Aunt Jieun had made was very tasty, it was very different from what Maple normally cooked, using a lot more of the cured meats and pickled veggies that Uncle Lin prepared than her sister did. The spices used were still familiar, they were all grown by her family of course so everyone had the same supply, but the ratios were all off, more of the dried pepper flakes and much less of the earthy herbs that she was used to. Even the way the food was portioned was unfamiliar to the girl with there being a main dish served with several side dishes instead of the one bowl or plate meals she was used to.

  Willow still ate every bite put in front of her of course, it would be rude not to.

  Unfamiliarity seemed to be the theme for the day as Aunt Jieun had a request after the meal concluded.

  “Would it be alright with you if I borrowed your daughter's help for the rest of the day? I’ve grown used to having my own around for the household chores and meal preparation. When she isn’t being dragged off by your son at least.” She said the last bit with a faux glare at Yew, but Willow felt the familial affection she had for her brother.

  Her father seemed hesitant, scratching a bit at his beard as he thought. “I don’t know, we’ve grown used to her help in the fields, we even expanded a bit recently so her absence would be felt.”

  Willow puffed up in pride at the comment, she had been working hard at her chores lately! It felt good to be properly appreciated for her efforts. It almost made the boredom of the tasks worth it.

  Almost.

  “I’ve actually been meaning to ask you about that Rowan. Why have your youngest daughter help in the fields instead of assisting her sister?” At his slight bristling she raised her hand and clarified. “I’m not insulting you in how you run your household, I’m just curious how that came about.”

  “She prefers to be outside” He grumbled, when the woman kept staring expectantly he continued. “We tried having her help out Maple full time, but she has too much energy to be cooped up inside all day. It’s better for everyone if her daily tasks are more physically demanding so she tires herself out.”

  Was that why she was told to start helping out in the field after a few weeks of helping Maple? No one told Willow why the switch was made, and she thought it was because Yew wasn’t getting the work done by himself when her father was busy with other tasks. She’d be insulted if he wasn’t kinda right, it felt better for her to be outside pulling weeds than it did to be stuck indoors all day with her sister.

  Aunt Jieun was quite insistent. “Well that was when she was a couple years younger right? I’m sure she’s mellowed out as she's aged.” Both her father and brother looked skeptical at that assertion, but her aunt plowed on. “Plus it gives me some time with the girl, which hasn’t really happened as only her brother goes out of his way to visit.”

  The woman gave Willow a disappointed look at that last statement and she internally had to concede the point. Before she had friends she mostly spent time with Maple after her chores were finished, and after her spirits had entered her life she spent her free time playing with them or doing exercises. She never really considered it a priority to visit the Faber’s or Xin’s homes, and as a result she only really saw the other adults in passing as she ran around or at the big gatherings where she usually snuck off to be by herself anyways.

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  Turns out it was potentially rude to ignore people like that, and the girl took note for future reference. Maybe it would be good to spend time with the older woman.

  Plus her aunt said she needed the help and Willow was always ready to help someone!

  “If Aunt Jieun would like my help, then I’d be happy to spend time with her.” She then remembered what her father had said just now and looked to him. “Unless you need my help in the fields more Da?”

  Rowan looked conflicted for a few moments but eventually sighed and shook his head. “It’s fine, we can make do. Just be careful when helping with the meal prep, don’t want you getting cut with a knife or burning yourself.”

  Her aunt snorted. “I’ll be keeping an eye on her, Rowan, no need to fret.”

  He still looked and felt grumpy, but nodded. Her brother just seemed resigned about the increase in work, and his mood was already not great due to the absence of their sister in addition to his friend. Or at least that was Willow’s best guess at the cause of the young teens' moodiness. Her brother felt a lot of emotions all of the time at the best of times, it was part of why she didn’t like being around him a lot. It was exhausting to deal with.

  With the meal and discussion finished everyone started to work on their required tasks for the day, and Willow got to see what working under her Aunt Jieun was like.

  Like the meal prepared earlier, the components were known, but the way they were combined and presented were unfamiliar to the girl.

  Take the washing up for example. Normally Maple handled the washing of dishes while Willow would dry and put away what she could reach, and place on the table what she couldn’t. During the whole task the two sisters would chat about what they’ve been up to, or discuss their shared interest in their mother’s story collection.

  Meanwhile Aunt Jieun was insistent on the two of them taking turns on washing and drying the dishes and cookware, and for the majority of it she hummed an unfamiliar tune instead of chatting. The only time her aunt spoke during the task was when she pointed out a mistake in the girl's washing or drying technique, but once the mistake was corrected she would simply nod and go back to humming.

  The girl also felt like her aunt was cheating when doing her task because she would just use a burst of water qi to quickly wash or dry everything. When Willow tried to complain the woman just smirked at her and continued to hum. Since that didn’t work she decided to try a different tactic.

  “Can you teach me how you’re doing that then?”

  Her aunt’s humming took on a more thoughtful tone as she tilted her head and considered the question. After a moment of thought she denied the request.

  “I don’t think I could. Fire isn’t in my wheelhouse and it would be irresponsible to try and teach you any qi exercises of this nature with such an inherently destructive element.”

  “What about with yin, yang, or earth?” Willow asked, eager to expand her repertoire of qi abilities.

  Aunt Jieun stared at her for a moment. “Explain.”

  And so the girl did, even going so far as to summon all of her spirits for the woman to meet.

  Her aunt did not look happy to see them. With each revealed spirit her expression and emotions clearly turned to dismay.

  “What have you done to yourself, child?”