[It takes her a moment to find the right words for this. Tao could never understand what's going on with the Boundary... and even if she could, Litchi's not sure she has the heart to tell her about it. If just two days of being away caused this, she's not sure she wants to know just how upset Tao will be over her condition.

Terrible liar that she is, she's still making an effort by mixing in truth. Even though lying to Tao hurts, she has to do it.]

...N-no, nothing major. The kittens and the village elder were doing just fine. And Orient Town was as lively and noisy as always; you know how it is around the new year.