She'd learned long ago not to question how Uncle Jin did some of the things he did. Instead, taking his sometimes miraculous feats for granted.
"Who is it?" the Tsavitee called from out of sight.
Elena's egg donor scanned the nook carefully. Her forehead furrowing then relaxing as her gaze landed on the air duct where Elena was hiding. She crouched in front of it, hooking one finger over the top. "You should have known better than to come here."
Elise tugged on the cover, freezing at the sight of Elena's terrified face.
"Yo," Uncle Jin said in greeting.
An explosive bang shattered the silence.
Elise twisted to stare up at the pressurized steam venting from the crack along the top third of the cannister.
"It looks like the sound we heard was the cannister. Probably the first sign of a de-pressurization," Elise said, pushing the air vent closed and rising. "You should punish whoever is responsible for maintaining them. A mistake like this could affect your work."
Elena held her breath, her body flashing between hot and cold. Please. Please. Please.
"I see," the Tsavitee said finally.
There was rustle of movement as Elise rose and stepped out of the nook. Then the sound of her footsteps as she walked back toward the stairs leading down to the pool.
"Aren't you coming?" Elise asked after a moment.
"Of course, my dear," the Tsavitee murmured, finally moving away from Elena's hiding place. "I have a new set of specimens to break in."
Neither Elena nor Jin moved, waiting until they were absolutely sure that Elise and the Tsavitee were gone.
"You are in so much trouble, favored child of my heart," Uncle Jin hissed as the spawn welded the air duct shut. "The most trouble you've ever been in your entire life."
"Wasn't that what you said last time?"
The spawn reared back, looking like a snake about to strike. "It's incredible, isn't it? How every time you manage to top yourself."
Elena pursed her lips, wanting to argue but unable to.
If she tried, Uncle Jin's spawn might actually bite her. She kind of thought she deserved it this time. Not that she’d ever admit it to him.
"Let's go." Uncle Jin slithered past her into the air duct. "If they discover you're gone, it won't matter what I just did."
It took effort but eventually Elena got herself pointed in the right direction. "How did you do that by the way?"
The arrogance on the lu-ong’s face was impressive given he was composed of inorganic matter.
That's one of the things Elena liked best about her Uncle Jin. His exterior never mattered. No matter what form he took, his soul and personality shone through, eclipsing all else.
"While you were sleeping, I maybe did a little tinkering and spawned a few more of myself."
Elena crawled forward another few inches on her belly before she was forced to stop and rest. "No wonder Auntie gets so upset with you sometimes."
"Your aunt has a propensity for overthinking things. She's a worrier."
Elena thought Auntie might have a good reason to be, if this was the kind of behavior she was forced to deal with.
"Hop to, little girl," Uncle Jin ordered, glancing back at Elena.
Elena wiggled forward again in the narrow space. "This isn't as easy as it looks."
It was quite exhausting, actually.
"I imagine not. Maybe next time keep your nose out of adult business," Uncle Jin said with zero sympathy as he led the way. "That was a real surprise you gave me, Elena mine. I almost had a heart attack. Who knew the first thing I'd see when I came to was your face hitting the business end of a staff?"
They reached an intersection where the ducts crossed. Uncle Jin headed to the left. Elena squirmed after him.
"You don't have a heart, Uncle Jin."
The lu-ong looked back Elena. "Don't get cheeky with me, young lady."
Elena almost giggled, the familiar scolding tone washing away the last of the fear lingering from her encounter with the strange Tsavitee.
"We're here," Uncle Jin announced.
He hopped up onto the duct covering. From outside, there were several tinks as the fastenings dropped to the ground.
"You're using ki," Elena said in surprise.
She would have noticed earlier when he was holding the duct cover in place if not for how preoccupied she was with the possibility of being discovered.
The ki running through the lu-ong spawn was faint. Barely perceptible. Something she never would have noticed on Ta Sa'Riel due to the ki rich environment. Probably not even on a human or Haldeel planet where the ki density was considerably less but still present on some level.