Heart Break
People's Ascendance Center, Xalam Province, Democratic Union of Aviye
Rui
After calming Maya down, Rui stuck with her for a bit as the party slowly started.
Everyone lived here anyway, so it wasn't like they needed to be particularly punctual. Rui made some effort to meet the 1st Ascendant members who had become Risers, but even so, there was a distance between them created by the simple fact that Rui was Zai's apprentice.
It made sense when K'le explained it. To them, Zai was the peak of the mountain, and Rui was halfway up while they were at the base. No one begrudged her status or even wanted to usurp it, but they watched her in order to gauge how difficult their climbs were going to be.
It felt like pressure, just like the pips of her Lieutenant ranks when she saw herself in the mirror.
No one said power came with so much responsibility...