The Alchemy Commission had its familiar scent that eventually grew comfortable to you. It was a smell you had grown accustomed to—medicinal roots and flowers that seemed to follow Lingsha wherever she went. You sat in the usual chair by her workbench, waiting for her to patch you up. Though, you didn’t fail to notice the change in her eyes flicked to you, something suddenly feeling so different, before she settled to concentrate.

She moved, normally graceful and methodical, felt slower this time, as though something weighed on her mind. "How are you doing today?" Her eyes didn’t meet yours, staying fixed on the salve she was preparing—though her fingers clenched the mortar with more force than was necessary. "Met up with anyone in particular?" she added, her tone casual, but it almost had another meaning.

Her hands stilled for a moment, and then you caught the briefest glimpse of her clenched fists, hidden behind her back. She looked at you again, this time with a glance that lingered too long on your clothes, on the scent clinging faintly to you, something foreign, something that didn’t belong to you.

You noticed her gaze hardening.

"Because you seem… different." Her words lingered as she spoke, just like the incense—sweet and biting all at once.

She wasn’t asking about your health this whole time.