You know that dream they say everyone has, where you're naked in front of your school or a group of people? Well, I've never had one of those dreams, but I imagine it to feel fairly similar to my current predicament.

Sitting at the head of a table with everyone from the office and my family was bad enough, but there were also people from the Stormwing Circle opposite them, seemingly arranged in order of importance. I noticed a few new faces, as well as one I was very familiar with, but whom likely had no idea who I was.

That's right, it was the provider of both my Royal Shoulder of Perching and the Exalted Arm Nest of Resting, Brother Cháo Chén. Brother Cháo was similarly deferent to this version of me as he had been to my bird form, which made me wonder how a Venerable One compared to an Exalted One in the grand order of things, or if you could only be Exalted if you could fly. Guess I'd find out eventually once I was able to meet my former self.

Well wait. Could I meet my former self? I remember my Royal Birdness staying put when I had been roused by Celistar that night, but I wasn't so sure what would happen to it after that. Did it evaporate into nothingness once I left? Was it all just fine and very confused about things? The oft-used catastrophizing part of me feared it violently exploded into a pile of feathers and gory bits once time resumed, since that would totally be in keeping with my exploits as of late.

I returned my attention to the table, upon which stood a set of delicacies that seemed far too exotic to be called 'breakfast'. To start they had placed this set of golden circles in front of me. My nose seemed to think they were made of eggs, but the shape said otherwise. It had layers. Inside! Kind of like looking at the thick stem of a cut weed or the few times I'd seen real wood. Only yellow, steaming, and smelled really good. Looking closer at the shape, I could see vague scallops around the edges, which made the whole thing look like little golden clouds.

Looking at the the Circle side of the table, I could see that they simply ate with their hands, which was all well and good, but I felt as though I had to do them one better.

I pulled some Nebula out of my hand and used it to pick up one of the rolls - it lifted in a relatively stable manner, looking almost like it was sitting on something. Which was good, because I was worried my trick would backfire horribly since I'd never tried such a thing before, and I'd wind up either throwing it into the ceiling or whacking myself in the face with a spinning piece of food.

Gesturing with a few fingers, I moved it up to my face and leaned forward slightly to ensure I caught it over the table… and totally not because I started losing control of it at the end. I plopped it down in my mouth and chewed very carefully. Yes, it was eggs, and they tasted heavenly. The food was so good it took everything in me to keep up my demeanor and not just wolf it down like a starving, well, wolf.

That's when I realized the entire table was staring at me like I had grown a second nose. Liam, in particular seemed to be completely blown away my performance.

"Is there a problem, Brother Cháo?" I asked, looking at the man in question, who was seated next to Junior Lǐ. Brother Cháo hadn't formerly introduced himself, yet, so he seemed particularly startled.

"Venerable, please forgive our rudeness, such things are new to us. No one here can perform such feats as effortlessly as you have shown. Perhaps the Sect Head or Elders can, but if so, I've not witnessed them do so."

This brought me back, because I assumed that my theatrical performances were just that, theater. I didn't think I was able to exceed someone who had actually trained in such things for years.

Liam had somehow withstood his urges to speak up the entire time Brother Cháo had been talking, which made me wonder what Gran had bribed and/or threatened him with in order to make him be so respectful. But he just had to get it out now.

"The food is made with MAGIC!" He practically shouted at everyone. I gave him a bit of a look, and I think he realized just how extra he was being, so he quieted down. He'd been served a similar dish to mine, so I flicked my arm towards him and managed to pop one off the plate for a split second. It was difficult for me to have any fine control at that range, so that was all I could do. He caught it in his hands like we'd rehearsed the maneuver beforehand and stared at it as though he was holding some kind of priceless artifact.

"Yours is no different than mine, little one." I said, and he looked at me like I was insane, but luckily didn't say anything. We hadn't told the Stormwing Circle that Gran and them were family, worried that they would use the information against us. They'd been very polite to Gran, probably because she looked both older than the hills and stocky and spry enough to move them without assistance.

Gran looked at me right at that moment and I almost choked on my food.

She can't hear what I'm thinking, can she? I more hoped than thought. Although with everything that had happened I wouldn't put it past her to be as magic as Liam thought the food was.

"Your patience with the children is admirable, Venerable," Brother Cháo commented, which relaxed the slight undercurrent of tension that had been at the table since my little food stunt.

"How can one have patience with the biggest of things if one does not have it with the smallest." I replied, causing basically the whole left half the table to become suddenly introspective while parts of the opposite side visibly had to stifle laughter, which luckily went unnoticed by the former while they thought. Honestly, I agreed with the right side, I sounded like a loon.

It was my turn to think as I realized that I hadn't really had to think too hard about that line. It came to me more naturally than it really should have. Honestly, for how awkward the whole Venerable One act was, most of the difficulty was in saying the stuff like I actually felt like I was wise in my years. Most of the time people mistook me for a teen or even younger.

The more I thought about it, the stranger it seemed, like I'd already experienced far more than I should have to interact correctly with the Stormwing Circle. Yeah, I'd been here as a bird, but that was a pretty brief interaction. Something to think on later, as I had another plate of food in front of me, brought by the handsome young man again.

Not that I minded.

Doing my best not to ogle the delivery system, I looked down at the food itself. I'd been given yet another thing that looked like a cloud, which in retrospect made sense for a sect with 'storm' right in the name. There was a cluster of tiny buns, each a luminous white with with a sheen to them that almost seems to changed colors as I looked at it. Floating one off the plate in a reprise of my previous trick, I brought it to my mouth and took a bit. Warm, rich cream filling assaulted my mouth with deliciousness. Whoever cooked here was damn good at it and they were just showing off for me.

Not that I minded that either.

The meal proceeded smoothly now that Liam was distracted. Somehow Alessa and Gran had come to a conclusion to stay mum about the whole thing. If I had to guess, István – who had woken up before them – had likely feigned being asleep long enough to make sense of the situation and gotten everyone else thereafter on board. The man in question was eating the food as if he ate such things every day, although I could see definite interest in his eyes. Probably about the technique the chef used, knowing him.

Viktor surprised me by having insanely good table manners. While he did have a fairly wide place sitting, he was managing a pair of sticks he'd pulled out of somewhere to very deftly feed himself, only needing a few dabs of a cloth napkin to clean the edges of his mouth afterwards. It was very impressive. Thank goodness I had my 'magic food' method or he'd have easily outshone me.

Steeve had been given a cushion and a beautiful little platter full of incredibly fatty meat, something she nibbled at like she was a queen, very daintily balancing each morsel on a paw, bringing it to her mouth and chewing while pointing her nose to the sky and making a sound almost like a purr.

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Once we all out our 'cloud bread', as Liam had put it, they brought out what I hoped was the final round, as I was quite full.

It was these ornate, glass goblets filled with tiny, jade cubes. Each had a silvery syrup poured over it. For my serving, it looked like every single cube had been done individually. Taking a 'syrupititious' glance at everyone else's portion, I realized that mine was unique in that regard, which was good, since I can't imagine the effort that would have went into the meal else wise. They'd already spoiled me silly.

It almost made me nervous about what would happen for lunch.

"Venerable, if you would," Brother Cháo motioned to me, once we were finished. The dishes were carefully whisked away while we were eating, so there wasn't much cleanup to be had.

I floated my water up to my face to take one last sip and clear my throat prior to whatever came next. I moved it back way and deposited it into the hands of a young lady who looked like she was holding something of great value, having barely removed my hands from robe the entire time, aside from to tilt it to my lips. I was quite proud of how well I'd mastered the trick while practicing during the meal, but I still used my hands for the liquids just to ensure I didn't dump them on myself, since I was good enough at doing that while drinking in an entirely mundane fashion.

I nodded to him and gave a broad gesture for him to proceed, and he gave a short bow in reply. I'd had several other short interactions with different Stormwing Circle adherents during the meal and was increasingly interested in figuring out how I was managing everything so smoothly. It was like the correct responses just popped into my mind when I focused.

We proceeded down a long hallway, before passing out into the open again. Brother Cháo had somehow mastered the ability to lead me while never actually walking in front of me. I wasn't sure how he did it, but I was able to read his body language while he stood to the side and a fraction of a step behind me to know exactly where he wanted me to go. It was very impressive.

"As you can see, Venerable, we are thriving," he indicated the rich tapestry of plants and new stonework, as well as the many disciples moving around the public areas between the buildings.

"I can see the pride showing through in your work, Brother Cháo. Your Stormwing Circle has been nothing but gracious to us since we arrived." I'd been walking keeping my hands in my robe and was quite honestly worried I was going to trip and take a bite of their fine stone walkways. Walking was more of a four-limbed exercise for me under normal circumstances.

"'Brother' is more honor than this one deserves," he replied, echoing that Junior Lǐ had said before, "I simply cannot fathom being on a level of cultivation to match that which you have displayed, even if the Ancient One willed it herself."

Cultivation. It was the first time I'd heard a reference to as that, which was interesting. I really would have to pick Celistar's brain. But at the same time, I wasn't entirely lost as to what he was talking about, like a bit of knowledge had been inserted to cover this again. Just like how I knew what to say when I shouldn't. It was disorienting.

"Might I enquire as to our destination?" I asked.

Viktor and István had been visibly not keen on me being led away by myself, but I had more concerns about the others than me. They seemed happier for some reason when Steeve decided to tag along, and she was presently following along behind us. She had been pretty reliable during our escape, so I suppose they were right to feel that way. I did have some concerns about her carefree behavior though. You never knew whose toes she'd step on, figuratively and literally.

"Certainly, Venerable. The Sect Master awaits you in the Grand Hall ahead." He gestured forward, but really didn't need to. The grand hall towered into the sky like a towering tree, replete with a spire out the top that had minute decorations, a jade emblem matching the gate in the middle span, and a pennant at the very top with similar symbology. I had to suppress a bit of a grin, because while impressive, the whole thing felt a bit too much like an uh, 'measuring contest' of sorts. I mean, surely it was helpful for them to impress visitors, but the level of work put in was unfathomable.

Guess it kept people gainfully employed, if nothing else.

As we ascended the stairs in front, the entrance – which reminded me of the front gate – opened of its own accord, splitting down the middle. It was maneuvered such by two young attendants like the many we'd seen at breakfast, who both looked too slight to be moving the imposing portal's doors. Hinges were probably really well oiled or something, since it was virtually silent.

We proceeded forward and the doors closed behind us, something I wasn't too keen on as it sealed off avenues of escape. At first I thought Steeve had been left outside, but her weight appeared in my folded arms with a gentle merr noise, her reaction to the affront of being shut out.

The hall was cavernous, with ornate, polished stone floors and columns supporting it. It was very quiet inside despite how it should have echoing our steps off of the walls. Likely some sort of Seal or similar was absorbing the sound in the room to prevent a cacophony of noise coming from every step. Above, there was an open portal to the sky. I could see the moon through it, shining in the daytime sky opposite the midmorning sun. It was a little surreal how clearly I could make out the features on the lunar surface. I still hadn't gotten used to how clean the world here was compared to where we had came from.

I watched as the old man in front of me widened his eyes a little seeing this. I couldn't tell if he was annoyed or not, and really only knew he had widened his eyes because his huge eyebrows moved. Seriously, it was like someone had stapled a pair of furry animals to his face, complete with little tails of hair that trailed off to the sides.

Seriously, I could use those suckers as a blanket. I wasn't sure how I'd missed them, but then I realized I'd likely been distracted by his gigantic beard. Dude probably spent all his time combing out that thing, it was longer than my hair.

"I bid you welcome to the Stormwind Circle, Venerable," he said, giving the slightest of bows, it was almost an incline of the head and nothing further.

"You hospitality has been most gracious," I replied, returning his bow with one similar, if only because Steeve was still in my arms. As I straightened my head I realized he seemed a little annoyed by this, as if I hadn't shown enough deference.

I felt a prickly feeling assault my skin, and withdrew the Nebula I had been slowly releasing to circulate it closely to my skin, which cut off the pins and needles. I looked up at the Sect Master, remembering that he'd done similar to my bird form back then, and it'd been just as uncomfortable.

I gazed around the room at different things as he ramped up his attempts. I could feel them sliding off the layer of Nebula at the surface of my arms. I owed them a lot for helping us but I wasn't going to tolerate such things.

I stopped the Nebula from circulating back in briefly and instead pushed the whole layer away from me for a split-second before reforming it. This has the effect of a visible pulse of golden-white light flowing away from me, and I heard a faint cracking sound.

"I give you my respect, Sect Master, but I expect the same in return." I said it low and slow, carefully enunciating each word. Steeve's tail flicked at the sound of my voice.

The man in front of me took a sharp breath at this, the furrow between his formidable brows deepening.

We continued to stare at each other for a bit, then I heard sounds coming from one of the side hallways.

It was sound sounds of a large bird rapidly approaching, followed by the pounding of footsteps. Before I could think about it, a massive phoenix trailing a curtain of fire burst out of the side entrance, heading towards Steeve and I like a missile. The fox perked up at the sight.

"Exalted Spirit!" The Sect Master exclaimed, apparently as surprised as I was.

I knew this bird though. It was me!

Well, former me. What was past tense for 'me', anyway? The bird formerly known as Char?

"Why hello there," I said, holding an arm out to it. It trilled, and landed deftly, its long tail trailing embers down to the floor. Steeve, still sitting in the crook of my other arm, was blowing the falling sparks out like candles. Luckily for me both of my friends here were light and easy to support.

Reaching its head over, the 'Exalted One' rubbed against my forehead, burbling some very happy sounding noises, like it had reunited with a long-lost friend.

The Sect Master was beside himself, working himself up into a storm. He shook his finger at me. "The Exalted Spirit is a treasure of our sect… and you dare defile her!" He huffed, eyes finally visible and vaguely bloodshot. "Such an affront… you court death!"

The hell old man? I 'court death'? What sort of little-man, big ego bullshit was this? The bird is petting me, not the other way around! What is wrong in your head?

"I do, do I?" I said, looking up at him, not even bothering to hide my smile at his silly proclamation. Everyone else in the hall was dead still, not even daring to breathe.

Brother Cháo looked like he wanted to dig his own grave and jump in it.

The Sect Master brought back his palm and I felt all the energy in the room rush towards it. I clawed back my own, but it was clear that this was a significant attack, and I still had no measuring bar for how strong I was. I started to gather my own Nebula to counter, but I suddenly felt it being all sucked away from me, like a drain had opened in the pit of my stomach.

Before I could figure out what was going on, a soft, blue-white light coalesced in front of me, growing so bright it was blinding.

With a bang, a blast of power rippled out from it, catching the Sect Master off guard, knocking him back against the wall. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth. He was staring in front of me, trembling. I held my ground, unwilling to allow him to see that I was still kind of blind from the flash.

As my vision cleared, a gorgeous, ornate robe filled my sight. Pale blue — almost white — it was flecked through with silvery gray threads throughout. Delicately bejeweled hair fell over the back of the robe.

"She most certainly is not doing anything of the sort." Said an ethereal voice. I grinned at the words.

The Sect Master scrambled forward, crawling on all fours before slamming his forehead into floor so hard it cracked. The floor, that is. Finally, someone who could actually use to rearrange their brains doing that obsequious nonsense.

"I offer greetings to the Ancient One."

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