{Author's Disclaimer: Uh. Please *do not* stalk people. This is a work of fiction. I shouldn't have to say more. Alright, enjoy!}
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{Yue's POV}
The rain bent around Yue in strange, obedient arcs as if it didn't dare touch her while she ran, her dry shoes tapping against the soaked pavement while everything else drowned in grey.
Yunhua ran fast.
Way faster than Yue expected.
Yue hadn't meant to follow her… not at first. Yunhua had bolted after opening a random classroom door.
She'd found herself galloping after the girl anyway, carried by some sharp, inexplicable pull somewhere behind her ribs. It tugged every time she blinked, every time the downpour swallowed the sound of Yunhua's footsteps, even every time that she thought she was about to lose sight of Yunhua entirely.
She had tried to keep up.
Yue had twisted and turned down the narrow streets, let the storm close behind her like curtains, even quickened her steps until the world blurred at the edges and her form became a smear of her cherry eyes and midnight hair.
She couldn't understand why she was running after Yunhua.
A hot, forgotten and uncomfortable knot of possessiveness tightened whenever Yunhua slipped even a meter farther away. It spurred her on.
Somehow Yunhua eluded her.
But it all didn't make sense.
Aside from the fact that a human was eluding her, Yue didn't get attached.
Not like this.
Not to strangers.
It quite literally wasn't possible. It wasn't in her nature. She'd been released from this years ago by ritual.
Her blazer fluttered as she ran. She loosened her tie, tearing the knot that clutched at her throat.
When she finally skidded to a stop at the corner of an old marketplace, her breath came out too fast. It wasn't because she was tired, but because she'd realized just how far she'd gone.
Of course, Yunhua being bullied on her first day gave her a decent enough excuse to follow and figure out what was happening to her.
However, if Yue followed another block… that wouldn't just be 'checking on a classmate.'
That'd be… What was the word?
Stalking.
Besides, they'd just met today…
Damn the dao, humans and their stupid laws… tch.
She stared at the direction Yunhua had run, deeper in the sprawl of houses and flickering streetlamps. She pressed a hand against a low stone wall beside her, grounding herself. Rain hissed against the pavement and the world around her trembled faintly, as though holding its breath.
She shook her head.
That was enough for today, Yue decided. She'd see that new girl tomorrow.
Reluctantly, she turned away and headed for the town's edge. A line of dim houses gave way to trees that swayed and murmured while shadows slipped between their trunks.
She glanced back once, toward where Yunhua had vanished.
…The town had changed so much from what it was when Yue had first arrived, and she was proud of the townsfolk for how far they'd gotten.
She stepped past the last houses and into the trees where the storm faded instantly to a damp hush. The shrinekeeper sweeping the old path with a bamboo broom stiffened when he saw her and bowed so low his forehead nearly touched the earth.
"Mistress."
Yue nodded. The undergrowth seemed to part for her as she strode deeper and deeper into the forest. She clutched her white umbrella tighter as she tried to piece her thoughts together.
That new girl. Yunhua.
Just now, something about her made something in her chest tighten—a pull she hadn't felt in lifetimes. It was like the quiet alarm bell she felt toward things she was meant to guard.
But why that girl? She narrowed her cherry-red eyes, her pupils distorting into sharp, canine slits.
Yue's fingers tightened slightly on the umbrella's pale handle, and a faint shimmer of pale blue curled around her before disappearing.
Yue reached her destination, a forgotten shenshe[1] that had been refurbished under her care. It was a quiet place she now called home. The colourful and old tang paper lanterns under the curled roofs flickered at her approach like dimming fireflies.
A junior shrinekeeper rushed to meet her.
"Mistress," they murmured, bowing low. "How was your day at school?"
Yue looked down at the pale umbrella in her hands. "School was interesting," she said softly. Her midnight raven hair fluttered around her shoulders as she stretched.
"Did something happen?"
Yue thought to Yunhua not even flinching when Lisha raised a hand, like she'd been beaten thousands of times over, and the way she'd whispered her introduction to the class like it hurt. The sight had stirred something old and buried inside of her like someone brushing dust off of a blade.
Yue smiled faintly, a shallow curve that didn't quite make it to her eyes. "…Yes. I believe something did."
She set down the umbrella. It made no sound when it touched the floor.
[1] 神社 (CN) - General term for shrines in china- these look quite different from shinto shrines, and they're quite grand. Look them up if you have the time! Just search 'chinese shrine' on google or something.