Tales of the Lin Kuei: A Day in the Life of Bi-han

A Day in the Life of Bi-han

In the thin gray light of dawn, Bi-han woke to an abrupt crash followed by hysterical giggling and Kuai Liang's voice whispering, "Tomas! Be quiet!" The fifteen-year-old boy promptly opened his eyes and scanned his surroundings. In the corner of the small and humble room the three shared, Bi-han saw his little brother and pseudo-brother frantically trying to shove some creature into a box.

"What are you two jerks doing?" he demanded to know as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

There was a startled pause as they both jumped and looked around from the wooden crate they had been fumbling with. As always when he saw his brother, Bi-han felt pulled in two opposite directions at once. He loved Kuai Liang and hated to see him donning the robes of the Lin Kuei and sporting more black marks than a cheetah – most of them bruises from being so clumsy – because this was not the life they were supposed to lead. But on the other hand, a horrible anger consumed him. Were it not for the fact that An Zhi would've maimed or killed the little boy in retaliation, Bi-han would've escaped by now. So whenever he looked at Kuai Liang, he routinely had to stifle his urge to beat the living tar out of him.

"Nothing," his brother said quickly.

"Idiot, I can see the animal," he snapped as he threw off his blankets and rolled off his mat and onto his knees. He crawled to them. "What is that thing?" he asked as he peered at the rodent-like creature in Kuai Liang's hands.

"It's a marten, Bi-han," Tomas answered.

"It looks like a weasel crossed with a chipmunk," he said. "Where'd it come from?"

"The forest," his brother replied.

Bi-han promptly smacked him on the back of his head. "No kidding, genius."

"Well, then why'd you ask?"

"What'd you do, catch it in one of your hunting traps?"

"Uh huh!" Kuai Liang said proudly, beaming with pride. "I was trying to catch a fox, but this little guy got caught in the trap instead. So me and Tomas thought we'd bring him home and keep him as a pet."

"Cool, huh?" Tomas added.

The teenager rolled his eyes as the two boys looked at him expectantly. He scoffed. "Sure, very cool," he said drily. "So, you guys are gonna feed and water him?"

"Yup!" they said as one.

"And clean up after him, and play with him?"

"Yup!"

"Good. There's just one problem with this whole thing," he began.

"What?" Kuai Liang wanted to know.

Bi-han smacked his head again. "Dad, you moron!" he snapped as his kid brother yelped and rubbed his scalp. "What do you think he's gonna do when he finds out you have this thing? Oniro too. They'll both beat you within an inch of your life. You'd think you idiots would learn by now."

"Oh," Tomas said. "I hadn't thought of that."

The teenager got to his feet, gripped his shirt, and pulled it on. "Of course you didn't. You never do. But you're not gonna drag me into this stupid plan of yours. I get enough beatings without your help. So get that rodent out of here before I beat the crap out of you."

"Yes, Bi-han," Kuai Liang said, crushed.

"Yes, Bi-han," Tomas said, equally distraught.

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In the dining hall at breakfast, Bi-han immediately spotted Bomani, a thirteen-year-old Tswanan boy who wore a yellow sash over his robes, sitting alone at the only vacant table. He was the new kid, having been stolen from his village in Africa and brought to the Temple not six months prior. The teenage Cryomancer felt lukewarm towards him. When it was just him, Bomani was a decent kid. But unfortunately, he followed Jiao-long like a lost puppy, so when he was with him, he had the tendency to be a jerk. Thankfully, Jiao-long was nowhere in sight, so Bi-han joined him.