It takes a day to know someone. It takes a lifetime to understand them. -Unkown - Chapter 18: Day 2- Friends ___________________________________________________________ As with every morning, Talim woke up early again to read the winds. She had done it usually as a way of getting the news from other places. It was how she learned about the world outside of her village, of the names of other places and countries. The winds however, seemed to have a mind of their own this early morning, and did not bring her the news. Instead, they circled around her, wanting to play. It were as if they sensed her aching heart. They kicked her hair into a gentle frenzy, doing so much as to almost pull of her hair ties. She ended up breaking from her meditation and looked sternly at the skies. "You have nothing for me then?" They circled around her again, brushing gently against her skin and replacing her stern face with a giggle, thus making her actually look and sound her age. She always had this air of seriousness about her- probably trying to act mature. She did a good job, too- but it was rare that one caught her like this- when she was actually fifteen years old instead of five years older than she had to be. "Okay, I'll play along. But let's try not to wake anyone, okay?" She stood up and walked along the shore of the lake, taking her shoes off and allowing the soft earth to get in between her toes and the wind to play in her hair, tossing it around. She smiled softly; it was a nice feeling. Once again, she was being watched by Xianghua. And the young woman had to smile as well. She would rather watch over her secretly and silently, not letting her presence be known. However, the gathering winds passed over her while on thier way to Talim, and she could feel the winds shift as they met the resistance. She shook her head with a smile. (So, you think you can hide, do you?) She hefted one of the elbow blades that she carried around with her, looked at it thoughtfully, and twirled it once... twice... three times, gathering the wind. And then, she thrust the blade towards where she felt the disturbance, sending the winds on their way. As soon as they reached the rock where Xianghua was hiding behind, they hit her with enough force to knock her to the ground. "Ow! What was-" Talim laughed out loud as she heard Xianghua. "Why do you always try to hide from me?" she called out. Xianghua got up from behind the rock and walked over to Talim, looking a little ruffled. "I didn't want to disturb you, that's all," she said as she headed towards Talim, taking her shoes off and placing them where Talim had placed hers. She shook her head and smiled. "Trust me, neither of you could disturb me at all." ___________________________________________________________ Mina could sense Xianghua's absence, and sighed to herself as she got out of bed. It was odd that she was getting up this early. Of course, she could feel Talim as well, but only faintly. (I'm gonna have to fix that someday soon...) She simply shrugged and stretched out, her body loosening up as she did so. She was already awake, might as well do something other than just stand there. She pulled on her red silk top, along with the gloves and the split skirt, remembering that she had to really work her tail off today. She abandoned the bandana and the hair ties this time- she didn't really see the need for it.* Besides, having her hair down felt good. As she put on her shoes, she wondered briefly what kind of training she was going to get- how she could possibly control such a thing as her emotions. They were an unpredictable thing- using them to fight would not be the best way to go. But she had to. Besides, following her emotions was what she did best- the old man said that it was what made her strong. (At least, that was what master said.) With that, she hefted her zanbatoh with the ease of a feather and walked out of the house, into what little light that the pre dawn had to offer. Even if it were pitch black, she could still walk from one end of the training grounds to the other- four years of training every sense that one had can do that to a person. ___________________________________________________________ "So then, you do this often?" Talim looked at Xian with a puzzled look. "Do what?" "Just walk barefoot. Y'know, letting the dirt cushion your feet like this?" She shrugged. "I used to do it a lot, when I was younger and had nothing to do. I loved how it felt- walking on some soft earth and feeling it beneath my toes. I still do." Xianghua had to agree. "Yeah... it feels so nice. I know I've never done it before." Talim smiled sweetly. "Well, you should. It gives you an appreciation of the things around you. Everything in nature can feel nice, if you respect it." She could see the logic in this. She herself had a thing for the water, while Talim had a thing for the wind. It was kind of fitting for them to walk together. "You're right." Talim walked along in the comfortable silence, simply enjoying the company of the wind, along with her friend, feeling the soft dirt under her feet. Xianghua thought the silence a little uncomfortable, however. She tried to think of something to say, but nothing came up immediately. Seeing as forcing something out of her head made it hurt most of the time, she said nothing. As the wind started to kick up again, Talim simply let it push her, turning along with the current as it pushed her this way and that. Even Xianghua could feel the wind as it moved past her, but she did nothing but watch Talim play. In a sudden burst of inspiration, she allowed the wind to push against her, and jumped into the air, turning a neat front sault as the wind lifted her into the air. After landing, she leapt backwards, wheeling in the air and letting the wind push her backwards. Xianghua was a bit dazed at this. (What, she can fly too? I swear, she rode the winds just now.. I wish I could do that.) Somehow, Talim heard the voice of Xianghua in her head, but louder and more pronounced now. She realized what she had taken for granted earlier, and had not used of late. She could read the intentions and thoughts of her friends, though she knew not how it happened, or when it started. But she did know how to act on it. "You wanna play too?" Xianghua shook herself out of her musings and smiled. "Sorry, but I don't to this kind of thing. You go on ahead." Talim pouted cutely at this. "Aww, but the winds want to play with you- they like you. Matter of fact, I like you." Xianghua looked up at this. Surely she knew what that could be taken as to the wrong person? "Oh, quit looking at me like that. Not in that way... at least, I don't think so... It's all so confusing. I feel l ike we connect somehow, but I just think there's something..." "...Missing. Yeah, I know what you mean." Talim nodded. "I wonder what that could be? I'm certainly comfortable around you- I know that much." Xianghua agreed again. Mina took some getting used to- she was overly imposing and brash at first, but she was easy once one got past her facade of toughness. These days, Mina had developed a more natural kind of strength, in the fact that she was trying to recover her father's weapon and best student, instead of the cursed sword. She had just been unwittingly thrown into a search to destroy the damned thing, ironicly. "I feel that way around you too... but I can't say that I'm really interested in you. Not that you don't look cute or anything- just the fact that... well..." Talim was interested. "Well... what?" She sighed. Why did this have to be so hard to explain? "I just see you as a friend. Someone who I can connect with, you know? It took me a long while to get used to Mina, but with you.. I feel like we're the same somehow, or at least similar in some way. It's like we're on the same wave." Talim thought of it for a moment, and smiled, her face lighting up. "Or rather, on the same current of air- people's spirits tend to get caught on the same wind sometimes, and it just fits. I think that's what happened." Xianghua saw the similarity. "Yeah, I suppose so." They didn't notice that the sun was rising. Nor did they notice that a certain brunette was watching them from a distance with a smile on her face. They were getting along so well, and looked so cute together. In other words, irresistable. She would have to try out that vision in her head one day of the three of them sharing a bed... but for now, she would need to command her abilities. In any case, she walked back to the mountain path and started the long trek up towards the nearby Shaolin temple, where her training was taking place. ___________________________________________________________ "Hiyaaaaa!!" Kilik came rushing at her, wheeling his rod and channeling his energy through it. She could feel the very air spark and shift with his power. (He's gotten stronger. But this is going to become a really tough one, seeing as niether one of us can get inside each other's range...) Of course, she could see what was coming. As he thrust his rod forward with one hand, she stepped to her right, letting the strike pass by as if it were no big deal, then ducked low, grabbed her blade with her leading hand, and brought her weapon to bear, the back end of the zanbatoh slamming down on his shoulder. He acted as if he didn't feel a thing as he was whacked with enough force to injure him badly. Yes, the fight had gotten to the point where one had to meet force with equal force, but he was not wearing down in the least. But then again, monks did have a high tolerance for pain. (What in the world is going on? I can't touch this guy! He just keeps on coming!) Then, she had it. The solution was in his weapon... (The damn thing's absorbing the energy from my attacks! And a sacred treasure isn't all that easy to break, so...) "Come on! Is that all?" He kicked out behind him, making an attempt to knock Mina back to the ground, but she had seen the attack coming and stepped to the side again, turning quickly, the flat of her blade moving to slam him in his ribs, knocking him to the side and off his supporting foot. Unfortunately, not only did he not feel the attack, but he managed to plant his staff on the ground, swerve twice around the thing, and kick back at her with both heels. (What? I can't believe this!) She blocked the double kick with her weapon, the heels slamming into the rod, forcing her backwards. But it counted as a defense, so she wasn't out yet. But she certainly was getting tired. Tired was not a good thing- she would lose by sheer exhaustion. That would not do- she had to attack before she gave any more ground. "What's the matter? Tired already?" There was a certain tone of voice that said- 'Oh wait, yes you are. You didn't expect me to take all those hits and still be standing, did you?' and all at once, she felt angry at him, and herself for just about being defeated by him. Her hands gripped the weapon fiercely, which allowed her energy to flow through the weapon. She reached for that anger, and the Scarlet Thunder reacted instantly, having her body change to compensate for the extra energy. In other words, she ascended, and faster than usual as well. "I'll show you tired, dammit!" And then, she moved, her high speed footwork coming into play as she charged Kilik at double speed. He leaned back in surprise a bit as she suddenly appeared in front of him. "What's the matter... too fast!?" She gave him a hefty step-in heel kick, the back of her foot slamming into his chest, knocking him backwards and making him slide for a good five feet. The thing about that was that she was already upon him before he was finished, running after him with an almost impossible speed before planting her blade into the ground and lifting herself up, her legs swinging through the air only to land hard on him. Now she was standing on top of him, leveling the edge of the kwandao at his neck and smirking slightly. "Check and mate. I beat you again." "Yes, but you had to change to do so. That has to count for something." "So? A win is a win to me. You wanna protest? Then try again." Edge Master, who had been watching the fight closely, spoke up at this. "I believe that's enough for today. Get off him, Mina." She did so, and helped Kilik up, extending the rod of her weapon towards him so that he could grab on. As soon as he was up, they both stood straight with their feet together and bowed. "Thank you, master," they said in unison. He nodded. "Mina, you are getting more proficient at controlling your emotions. It's no real surprise that you are progressing so quickly- I would expect no less. You have come to accept your abilities, and are starting to embrace them for yourself." She nodded, no hint of pride or arrogance in the motion. "May I ask... how you came to do so?" She blushed faintly, but explained anyway. "I figured that if I could control my powers, then I might be able to find a way to... well, you know, actually be near my friends without burning them to a crisp." He nodded solemnly. "I see. A noble cause, and a good reason. But you have to do more than just practice- I want you to experiment on your own with what you have learned. Know for yourself what you can and cannot do, and apply it. Make every day a chance to train yourself." She nodded enthusiasticly. "I'll do that. Thank you." ___________________________________________________________ Talim casually ate her meal, one that Xianghua happened to make. It was just about time for dinner anyway, and they happened to have a few things around. Just noodles, chicken, a few vegetables and spices- nothing fancy. But Talim certainly didn't think so. "This is great, Xian! How can you cook so well?" She shrugged at this. "Oh, nothing special really. My mother taught me this, along with my swordplay. I guess it's nothing but a monk's training, now that I think about it." Talim nodded happily. "I've heard of it- but they deny themselves things that I've not heard of before. Love, food, water, decent sleep..." Xian chuckled. "Yeah, I know. Living for others is good, but I think that living for one self first is the key to living for others. You know?" Talim nodded, and took another bite. "Yeah, I know." Just then, she saw Mina on a hill, the sunset making her dramatic silhouette look as if she were haloed with fire. Talim sighed longinly as she looked at her. Xianghua had never seen such a cheesy reaction- she had a love-struck little girl in front of her. But then again, she smiled. She was once like that, and now thought of somethign like that as commonplace. "You... really like her, don't you?" Talim nodded. "Is that so wrong? It's just not fair that I don't even get to touch her, much less tell her how I feel. we rarely see her these days, seeing as she's training most of the time." Xianghua nodded understandingly. "I know. It almost makes one wonder who or what she is pushing herself so hard for." "I know. I just want to let her know how I feel somehow- in the biggest way possible. I want to thank her for all that she's done to help me." Xian quirked an eyebrow at this. An idea was forming in her head at this point, and she had to stifle a giggle at what she was planning to do. "Is that so?" Talim nodded again. "It's just the way that I feel." "Then I have a suggestion." She turned her head towards Xianghua, her face lighting up. "You do? Please, tell me! Anything will do!" Xianghua smiled.. and leaned towards her slowly, a hazy mask of longing in her eyes. "All you have to do... is this." She gently kissed the young sibyl's lips, and her eyes opened in temporary shock. The feeling that ran through her came hard, fast, and with all the force of a sudden gale. But it was different in the fact that it felt... (This feels good. Very good. Is this what it's like to kiss someone? I mean, really kiss them?) Talim ended up closing her eyes and gently pressing her lips back onto Xianghua's. (It feels so good and so right. Xianghua... I...) Xian pulled away, quite regretfully, while Talim kept her eyes closed, trying to hold on to the feeling for a little longer. "Talim, I know you love her as much as I do. And I don't like it that you can't touch her, while I can. I'm perfectly fine with sharing Mina with someone who I can trust her heart with. It's just that..." Talim slowly opened her eyes. "Just that what?" Xianghua started unbuttoning her sliken shirt, and looked at Talim wtih a heated, intense gaze. "It's just that you shouldn't have to go without. Know what I mean?" And then, she shirt came off, revealing bare skin and breasts. Talim looked at her wonderingly. She was already enchanted by how beautiful she was- how soft her hands were, how bright her smile was. And now, this... "So, you want to learn how to thank Mina for everything?" Talim nodded, not saying anything. Not like words were needed. "Okay... come over here and let me show you." ___________________________________________________________ -End- Whooo! Thought I would get to the fun stuff, did you? Well, worry not. Part three of Talim's induction into the love triangle is coming sometime in the future. Watch for it. - Next Chapter - Talim dives head first into the passionate world where Mina and Xianghua reside, and discovers the sheer power of a true bond of body and spirit, as Xianghua takes her on a ride that won't easily be fogotten. Could this be the key to crossing the gap between her and Seung Mina? Or is this only the first step? - Chapter 19: Day 3- Lovers
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