I had expected a warm homecoming, my success in the recent competition, my promotion to Inner Sect, as well as membership in a high-tier Sect certainly something my family had dreamed of. But the destruction that greeted my arrival at my parents' home and business shocked me and reminded me that not everything revolved around me.

Someone had trashed my father's garden, the windows for my mother's shop had been smashed, the furniture and stock inside had been destroyed, and there were scorch marks and smoke damage that suggested that a fire had barely been contained from destroying everything.

Geon was sitting holding Syha in his lap on the back stoop as our parents fought furiously inside our home. It seemed the battle had been ongoing for some time because my siblings were more resigned to what was taking place than afraid.

Our parent's seldom fought and when they did, both Geon and Syha took their argument personally, somehow believing that they were the root cause. From the apathy that was entrenched with faces streaked with tears, I was certain this fight must have been going on since the attack on our home had occurred.

"What are they fighting about?" I whispered to Geon, hoping to get information without gaining my mother's attention. In these types of circumstances, it was her anger that was the hardest to contain. Father, no matter who was at fault, always reconciled first. He was willing to cede the argument, his belief that family harmony was more important than who was right or wrong.

"Father wants to move," Syha whispered back.

"Mother says we can't be bullied into leaving or we will always be running," Geon added.

"Oh," I said thoughtfully, "Maybe I shouldn't mention that I've attained sponsorship and permission for the family to emigrate for a day or so until things calm down."

"You made the decision for us to move without first discussing it with us first?" My mother raged. I hadn't spoken loud enough for them to hear from inside the house, unfortunately, I was afflicted with bad luck in that instance as mother had walked outside just in time to hear my words.

"I'm sorry," I began to explain before I was interrupted. I had seen my mother angry before, but this was an entirely new level of fury. I had barely spoken my apology, preparing to explain our new circumstance, before she erupted.

She'd given me no time to explain, to inform her that I would be claiming a fief on Delph Island and that I had called in a favor. The bureaucratic nightmare most people experienced when moving between provinces had been eliminated, and Patriarch Umbra had provided me with a transfer pass for the family.

"Sia," my father soothed, trying to calm her down. He was much braver than I was in the moment, having stepped forward and begun massaging her shoulders. I was a perfected tier Body Refinement cultivator, and I was still scared of my mommy.

I wouldn't be surprised or put it past her if she began throwing things at me, she was so worked up with anger. Geon and Syha had bolted as soon as she exploded, running indoors and hiding in their bedroom. This was the first time in a long time that I wished I could join them.

"No, Garth," mother said shrugging his hands off, "I want to know what she was thinking to make that kind of decision without discussing it with us first."

Mother's words should have left me defeated, but I was my mother's daughter, so instead, they only served to spark my own anger. The desire to run and hide with my brother and sister were now gone, replaced by my own righteous indignation.

"I was thinking that my family that has expressed the desire to form a Clan would find that goal more easily attainable if they made the attempt in a barony I would control," I exploded in fury.

"I was thinking that vandals that would set fire to your shop or destroy father's garden would find it impossible to reach you half a world away.

"I was thinking that a fresh start near a Sect that will have its roots in the four major affinities would be an advantage my brother and sister could use when and if they begin cultivating.

"I was thinking that a place that I could claim, and control would be eminently more suitable to protect my family than to leave them at the mercy of the enemies that I have made in Flowing Water. Because I don't doubt for a second that the ruin, I find here today, was done at the direction of a Sect faction.

"I was thinking that our path forward would continue together, each knowing they could rely on the other.

"I was thinking that I had earned a chance for us, an opportunity for my family to expand and prosper. To grow a business that continued to advance. To establish the House that you have whispered and spoken about as long as I can remember.

"I was thinking that my words would be met with thanks and not scorn. Appreciation, not deprecation.

"I was thinking my parents would not have so little faith in me to assume that my offer was a fait accompli. I have secured permissions, funds, and opportunities. Nowhere in that offer did I intend to force my will, to say to you that you had no choice but to accept.

"I was thinking that you would share in my success. That you would be pleased that I have attained an Inner Sect position. That you would rejoice that Four Elements Sect, a high-tier Sect that has accepted me and given me a position might mean our family can prosper far beyond what any of us have imagined. I had hoped that you would embrace this shining ring of fortune, happy that Geon and Syha might likewise be accepted by a high-tier Sect.

"It seems I was wrong."

Words flung in anger could destroy relationships, they were often the hidden thoughts, the truth of what a person thought could be writ large as emotional vitriol. And it was true that no one knew how to hurt you more than your family. That was why for all the anger my words were laced with, I had tried to temper that anger. I didn't want this argument to become so divisive that my mother and I had no path forward.

I was angry, but not so angry that I wanted to sever the familial bonds of home and happiness.

My care in marshaling my anger was still met with signs of distress. Each word seemed to affect mom as if I was striking her, flinching at each pronouncement. But my father remained calm. His inaction assured me that I had not crossed the line, that my words might even be needed to shake my mother's intransigence and help her to see I wasn't attempting to usurp her position, I was just presenting her with another option.

"Alright Jay, you've made your point," my father said finally as I ran out of steam.

"Sia, I think we should sit down and have a frank discussion. Jai is right, she hasn't made the choice for us, she has only offered a way forward. The decision to grasp that opportunity is still ours to make."

Mother seemed to deflate at father's words, but she did agree. I moved into the kitchen to make a pot of tea for us, while my parents headed to their bedroom for a few moments of privacy. I made sure to choose the soothing tea blend mother had created.

While I was waiting, I set the table for dinner. There was a stew bubbling away in the Crockpot, from the smell of it the Eoraptor that I had gifted the family a few weeks back was still being used. I had gifted them enough to last the season, so it was no surprise there was a thick stew waiting to be served.

The smell of thyme and oregano that escaped, when I lifted the lid, were the smells I most identified with home. Those memories that were the brightest and happiest from childhood revolved around stocks and stews that were often flavored with those herbs.

There was some freshly baked bread cooling on a rack that I quickly sliced and added to the table, along with a crock of butter and a jam that Geon and Syha loved. I found the sour grape flavor too acidic, even sweetened as it was when steeped and cooked in sugar. But mother's bread always contained a nutty robustness to it that went well with just plain butter.

Syha, the braver and more adventurous of my siblings, soon made her way out of the safety of her room, following her nose and the sounds I was making in the kitchen.

"Does mama hate you now?" she asked as she slowly approached, her instinct to run full tilt and burrow into my side ignored because of her fear and worry.

"Of course not, poppet," I assured her. "Mama was afraid. And sometimes when adults are afraid, they yell. You have to remember, there is nothing you, Geon, or I could do that would cause mama or papa to stop loving us."

My words seemed to assure her, at least enough that she approached close enough that she could wrap my waist in a tight hug. Mother and father who had been about to enter the room froze as they heard her question and my answer. The pain Syha's honest question evoked doing as much to soften my mother, the final nail needed to return reason and understanding.

Mother rarely lost control, and it was even rarer when both her daughters were the harbinger of change.