Pi Pa found herself at the southern fence again. Their morning walk always took them to this location, where Bi De and the others had departed from. Her dear friends indulged her, and they stood together there in the morning, waiting for any news. None had come for nearly the past two weeks. Pi Pa, with her mind full of the last battle she had been a part of, could not help but worry for everyone… but that worry was blunted by a simple fact. Her dear was not. Chun Ke was a pillar of calm, as always, and was quite sure everyone was both fine and well; and really, that made all the difference. So instead of standing there and fretting, Pi Pa found herself closing her eyes and listening to the sound of the birds and insects, the river and the wind. She smelled the sweet scent of growth, and felt at peace. It was nice to have a moment of rest and quiet as well. With everyone gone, it should have been quiet and slow, but Young Sir Bowu was testing out a new steam furnace design and the drop hammer was thundering away at all hours. And when it wasn’t pounding something into shape, he was off with her Dear, travelling to Hong Yaowu or overseeing the workshop in Verdant Hill—with his ultimate goal to make a one-person cart so he wouldn’t have to continuously bother people into carrying him around, not that anybody really minded. Additionally, they had had quite a few guests, both from Hong Yaowu and Smoky River. There was always somebody coming and going most days, dropping things off… or just coming to visit and have tea. Ty An was a regular fixture, as was Lady Nezuhua and one fox or another, (...)