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Rhona followed closely behind Xi, still feeling very out of place and aware that she was very out of her element. Her energy was nervous, to be sure, but it was also excited. Trying to things with one of her dearest friends. It was like Xi had picked her up and deposited her soundly outside of her comfort zone.

It was nice, she decided, and she made a mental note to take Xi to a tea parlor that she frequented for high tea some day.

Beyond the feeling of anticipation, Rhona was hit with the smell of all kinds of foods cooking and simmering away. Something deep and earthy that Rhona was not used to smelling. Continental food could be spicy or savory, but this was something altogether different. It wasn't fishy persay, but it was definitely sea-salty. And meaty. And... and something else Rhona was unable to identify as Xi led her through the restaurant and to a table.

Still unused to being taken care of, as opposed to taking care of others, Rhona sat with her hands in her lap as she listened intently. Tea was not a new concept for her by any stretch of the imagination, but she tended toward the darker English teas and flavored blends like Earl Grey. Chinese tea, she knew, was different on almost every front.

"Um... okay..."

So many questions. First of all, why was the food on carts? Rhona had never seen that outside of really fancy restaurants, and even then it was only for the dessert course. Also, how did they tally up the bill if they were just grabbing off of carts? Also, did they stop the cart or just grab as it went? Also...

"Where does the knocking come from. I mean why do we knock?"

"He must have been a benevolent emperor then," Rhona remarked, admittedly getting a bit lost in the romantic notions of ancient China. What had made the emperor want to live like his people? What did he learn while he was doing this? Was it what he had hoped to learn? However, for all of the beautiful shades of jade and soft pink that Rhona was imagining, try as she might, she could not stop episodes from Undercover Boss from creeping in her head, shattering said illusion.

Just in time too, since she had nearly missed Xi pouring her tea. She knocked, perhaps too fast, and winced at her rush. She should probably slow down. This seemed like a rather slow-paced ritual. She tried again, whether it was appropriate or not, but slower this time.

"It's nice that you don't have to bother the staff when you're finished," Rhona remarked with a grin as she poured for Xi. She hadn't paid attention to how Xi had poured for her, wrapped up in his story about the masquerading king, but she hoped she was at least doing it right.

"Is this okay," she asked softly, embarrassed by her lack of understanding despite the fact that it was only Xi-Wang she'd be humiliating herself in front of.

"Um..." a cart rolled by as Rhona thought for a moment. Everything smelled wonderful, and what she could see looked delicious as well. The problem was that she had no idea where to start. Not to mention that reaching over and grabbing seemed so odd to her. She glanced at Xi a couple of times and the folded her hands in her lap -- a demure gesture which was wholly unnatural to her.

"I think... I think I'd like to follow your lead, Xi."

She tried to ignore the way "other things" hung ominously in the air. She knew what he wanted to know. Who she was before all of this. She's told him in abstract once before but... it had been so vague and unclear. Would he... would he leave her if he knew the truth? Would he tell everyone who she was? Who she really was? Rhona began to tremble slightly as she waited for the questions, bracing herself for the absolute worst. Xi running from her. Liam leaving her home in fear. Quinn questioning her trust in her. Jett and Raven changing the locks

Lavender changing her number.

Again.

Chicken's feet? Rhona had always assumed that such a dish had been an embellishment courtesy of Hollywood. She didn't think anyone actually ate them. In retrospect, she felt kind of bad assuming that something she didn't understand was a fiction...
'
"Uhh, no. Of course, I don't mind! Try anything twice, that's what I say!"

Despite the bravery in her voice, Rhona couldn't stop the pang of dread that shot through her. Saying she was alright with trying something was one thing, actually seeing it and trying it was a whole other. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. She ate hot dogs, after all, and she'd seen a video about international reactions to those things. Maybe it was the same thing?

Of course once they got through the ordering there would be the issue of what Xi wanted to know. The day after they'd met, Rhona had told him as much as she could... as much as she felt comfortable. What else could he want to know? Who Micah was? Did Rhona even remember? She wrung her hands in her lap nervously, waiting for that axe to drop.

I met a captain.

Oh god was that all? Rhona let out a sigh of relief as she pondered over the baskets. She chose some buns and dumplings for herself while she listened, even delicately plucking a clawed foot from the basket.

Hurt in a deep way

Rhona choked on her tea, working quickly to cover her mouth and clean the spill with her napkin. After a moment of contained coughing, she finally nodded, averting her gaze. So he'd met Faustite... and he knew, at least tangentially, about Sinope. How much, however, was impossible to know at that moment. Xi-Wang wasn't one to play things close to the vest. Chances are if he knew about the assault, then he'd have asked about it with a straight question. And Faustite was one to keep his cards exceedingly well hidden, and it was unlikely that he would have divulged the full extent of his experience.

And, beyond all of that, she wasn't certain how much to fill Xi in. It was extremely sensitive all around.

"Yes," she ventured carefully. "What all did Faustite tell you?"

More questions swirled around her head. How was he? Did he look well? Was he still angry? Something deep and well-buried rose within her, despite all of her own hurt and betrayal. She still wanted, for some reason, to protect the half-youmafied boy.

"People lie about everything... but not in this case. As far as we know, and with all of the evidence we have, what Faustite told you was the truth. And..." Rhona took a shuddering breath, bracing herself for what else she had to say.

"And when I found out I kicked Jack out. There was no telling, after that, what he was capable of. Whether or not he'd do that to me or anyone else I kept with me."

She didn't mention Jett and Raven's daughters, though the thought nearly made her vomit.

"That week when I have to reintroduce everyone to the mirrors in my house... it was because I smashed the old ones. I changed the locks and that's why you all got new keys. And then I snapped his pen in two.

"He's not 'one of us' Xi. Maybe he was once, but he renounced us when he... when he did that. He will never again be one of us. And if Kit left because of our rightful punishment then..." Rhona voice caught in her throat, causing her to falter in the anger that she wasn't aware was building in her voice. She took a shaking drink of her tea and continued to study the wood grain of the table between her and Xi-Wang. It was a long silent moment before she finally raised her eyes, glistening with a pain she hadn't allowed herself to feel for so long.

"If Kit and decided to side with a rapist then he isn't one of us either. There are very few sins in the world that I will not forgive. And Jack committed one of them."

Honestly, Rhona wished that Xi had asked about her past now that it was all laid bare. At least that could be crafted to be... romantic in some ways. This... this was raw and bloody and cast Rhona is a light that she was not proud of. Everything she did for Jack... and he took it all knowing what he had done.

"I understand," Rhona said softly, folding her hands in her lap, "if you think less of me for what I did. But just know that I'd do it again. And again. And again."

Again, Xi was better than Rhona had any right to ask him to be. She laid a hand gently over his and sniffled a little, trying to force her eyes to dry. If he would have rejected her... she would have understood, but it might have destroyed her. No. It would have.

"Um, yeah," she answered, drying her eyes with her free hand. "Yeah, you can snap it. Just like you can snap any pen. But once it's broken you'd need a cat to repair it. And my guess is that every chaos cat is aware of Jack's actions and isn't going to be too keen on repairing it should he come back.

"But um," Rhona cleared her throat, taking another big gulp of her tea before she finally began to eat, "Hang on, you said that you had a half sister? And a dad who's a general? Fill me in on that, that sounds way more interesting than dead news."