Those Who Sharpen the Mind

Dogs and Lies

A knock came at the door to Un'debro's quarters in the Holi-inte compound. When Un'debro cracked the door he was not surprised to see his most eager and dissident pupil.

"Un'tra, you should be resting for your physical training at sunrise." Un'debro said, shaking his head as Un'tra entered without any sort of invitation.

"Mentor, I can run circles around the other trainees. A few less hours of sleep doesn't matter to me as much as my mentor being escorted to the Senate for some mysterious reason." Un'tra said as he took to his favorite chair in the room.

The two had shared many discussions about the Path and multitudes of subjects in these chairs. The wood of the chairs was forgiving and they were lined with finely made wool cushions. The swirls of the darker color in the wood pattern gave the chairs a stoic appearance. The wood and the wool were not from any of the local forests and they gave the sitter an air of confidence when sharing in discussion upon them.

"I see there will be no convincing you of leaving me to my meditation, so perhaps you can help me discover the Path in my most recent pondering." Un'debro said while taking his own seat that already had a cup of steaming tea next to it.

"I don't want to hear about your ponderings or meditation. I want to hear about the Senate, for I do not trust that it was full of good fortunes."

"In time I will tell you, but first you will listen to the wanderings of my mind, as it may have purpose in what's to come." Un'debro said to the grimace on Un'tra's face. He could tell Un'tra would not fight back. Un'tra knew Un'debro's wandering mind always seemed to take a long time and was full of riddles. Un'debro smiled and began,

"In my mind, I saw a beautiful field. The animals were following each of their given Paths. Three foxes began to chase a group of rabbits. This was not disturbing to me for as the rabbit nourishes itself on the grass, the fox must nourish itself and its offspring on the rabbit. This is the Path of the two creatures. To chase and to escape has honed their bodies and minds into what they are supposed to be. Yet, I saw the strangest occurrence. One of the rabbits turned and ran towards the foxes." Un'debro's face changed to a look of uncertainty as he stared into the fire dancing around the hearth. His brow was stressed as he took a sip of his tea. Un'tra was almost holding his breath waiting for the imagery to be taken back up.

"The rabbit ran straight at the foxes and in between their ranks. The foxes were just as confused as I am. They did not have quick enough reactions and they could not grab the rabbit as he passed them. The foxes thought to continue the chase of the bigger group of rabbits ahead of them, rather than an individual. The lone rabbit ran as fast as it could to the biggest tree on the border of the field. The rabbit begged the tree for a sturdy branch. The tree saw the desperation in the rabbit's eyes and broke off a long sturdy branch. The tree had so many and felt pity for the rabbits and their constant chases. The rabbit thanked the tree for its mighty gift and bolted back into the field with haste behind it and danger in front." Un'debro took a moment to pause when the sounds of dogs could be heard in the distance. The far-off sounds broke his concentration, but Un'tra reeled his mentor back into focusing on his story.

"The rabbit quickly found the other rabbits had entered a burrow, only to be surrounded by the foxes. The foxes took turns sticking their snouts into the hole and clawing away at the entrance. The rabbits would soon be exposed and trapped. The brave rabbit ran past a fox knocking it on the behind with the branch. The fox was taken to the ground and yelped. The other two foxes looked up puzzlingly. The rabbit curved around the burrow and stared at the hungry foxes. The three foxes banded together and charged the rabbit. The sight of the rabbit charging back at them with the branch in its mouth slowed the foxes a bit with trepidation. The rabbit hit all three foxes with the branch and continued through them. The foxes rolled and were battered by the branch that did not bend or break. The rabbit turned again and charged. The foxes had no time to recover from the quite painful assault. They all got pummeled by the branch again. Their yelps of pain caused the hiding rabbits to peer out from their shelter. The brave rabbit stared at the foxes with the branch in its mouth, ready to charge again. This site and recent pain gave the foxes tremendous fear. They turned and ran from the rabbits." Un'debro took another sip of his tea with a look still of uncertainty.