Yew did not, in fact, make a big deal about it over dinner. Much to Willow’s surprise.

  It was just after the main dish was served to everyone that the youngest at the table had loudly declared he was a boy now. Much to the majority of the tables' confusion.

  Rowan simply looked at Jieun with a raised brow, his spoon already halfway to his mouth. At her nod he placed it back down, and gazed at his daughter turned son.

  “Is this something permanent, and should we get you new clothes from Sarah?” He asked rather calmly, though Willow sensed an undercurrent of unease in him. Which was fine as he didn’t have all of the information yet.

  “Harmony says I should turn back when I fill myself with yin. I’m gonna test it tomorrow, but even if I can, I think I wanna try being a boy for a few days at least.” So far it wasn’t too different except when he went to the privy, and even then the difference was minor.

  His father nodded, the unease mostly going away. “So we’ll hold off on a new outfit until next spring as usual then.” He picked his spoon back up and began eating his soup.

  Yew looked at everyone else sitting around the table and shrugged. “Meh, not really any weirder than anything else you’ve done lately.” He crunched into the pickled veggies he seemed to favor at mealtime, clearly thinking about something. “Besides, I’ve always wanted a little brother.”

  Willow just stared at his brother, slightly bewildered. That’s it? No outburst or snide comment? Even his qi showed he was mostly calm with a tinge of happiness.

  Then again he had already been on Willow’s side recently and helped convince Da to tell their mother’s story. Was he just warming up to his younger sibling since Maple wasn’t here anymore? Willow hoped not, he liked having his big sister around, and if that was the requirement for Yew to be nice then he’d rather his brother stay a grump.

  He had his eyes narrowed in suspicion as he stared at Yew for the remainder of the meal. Still taking time to savour the food he had helped prepare of course. Tasty food should always be properly appreciated, especially when you’re one of the people who made it!

  The following day, Willow confirmed he could indeed turn back into a girl during his core training. The shift to his girl form was actually far smoother and less jarring than when he turned into a boy the first time. Probably because he had spent more time in that state. However, he still wasn’t used to the continual shift between forms as the training went on so he had to stop a bit early to avoid any potential issues a loss of concentration would cause.

  With that settled, it was time for him to begin the investigation on his brother. The problem was that it was long past the time he finished his chores, and he had no idea where he could’ve gone off too.

  He had used to wonder what Yew got up to whenever he was off playing with Bai and Rom, but that curiosity had waned a bit once Willow had gotten friends of his own. However it hadn’t ever fully gone away if he was honest with himself.

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  Luckily he had a potential source of information on the subject.

  “They had a couple of spots where they played together.” Jieun revealed, at Willow’s insistence, staring off into the distance in thought. “There’s the stream a bit of a ways into the woods behind my home, though when Bai started getting fussy about keeping herself clean they stopped going there as often. The attic of the Faber residence was a favorite of theirs, and it drove Sarah up the wall due to the racket they’d make. However, lately they’ve been using the common building for their antics, which we allowed so long as they kept the place relatively tidy and they left whenever a meeting was called.”

  Huh, Willow expected a bit more woodland exploration of his brother and a lot less hanging out in buildings. He also wondered if Yew was inspired to move his room to the attic of their own home because he spent so much time in the attic of the Faber household.

  “Why the sudden curiosity by the way?” His aunt asked, interrupting the boy’s musings. “You’ve never shown any interest in what he did before. You didn’t even try to tag along with them like little Remus did.”

  “Remy tried playing with them?” Willow asked, the new information making him ignore Jieun’s initial question.

  She smirked a bit. “Yup, Rom made a huge stink about it. Didn’t want his baby brother bothering his friends while they played. Heard about it from both my daughter and Sarah.” A thought seemed to occur to the woman and she dried off her brush with an application of qi, sending the ink that was on it back into the bottle she promptly sealed. She then dried the scroll with a gesture and accompanying movement of qi before setting it to the side.

  “I just realized I haven’t taken the time to talk to Sarah recently, and now would be as good a time as any. Would you like to come along?”

  That… wasn’t his initial plan for the day, but he supposed the investigation of Yew could be put on hold. He had relatively recently been made aware that not taking time to visit the people in his extended family could be considered rude, and he couldn’t stand the idea of rudeness.

  After thinking it over, he nodded, even though he was hesitant to see Remy again. Every time he saw him he felt the fear the other boy felt for him due to how much Willow had accidentally terrorized him. How was he supposed to know that you needed to explain what the rules of a game were before you started playing? Chase was simple enough that he felt it went without saying.

  It was still his fault that the other boy had grown so afraid of him though. He couldn’t deny that.

  As they started making their way over to the Faber residence, Aunt Jieun spoke in a quiet voice. “By the way, don’t mention to Sarah that you’ve turned into a boy.”

  “What? Why?” Willow asked, probably a bit louder than he should’ve.

  Willow felt a maelstrom of warring emotions in his aunt before she eventually spoke, still in that quiet tone. “I probably shouldn’t be saying any of this, but she’s always wanted a daughter. And after your mother…” He felt the pain of the wound in her heart, but none of it showed on her face. “Well, she was the only one who was able to nurse you at the time. She grew quite attached. I feel she wouldn’t react well to your current path.”

  “I mean, we were wrong about Yew. Maybe she’d react better than we think?”

  “I wouldn’t risk it, but the choice is yours.” With those final words they had reached the doorstep.

  They announced their arrival with a knock on the door.