One Tail at a Time

The Great Race - 1

Another Auntum has come and gone, and going by the light sleet on the window, it looks as if winter is going to be a bitter one.  Kunlun Mountain is so unlike any other place, in that the seasons here are super excessive even by Qing Qius standards.  Like autumn for instance, the colours are far more vibrant, the air cooler and the gowns we are wearing are a little thicker.  Actually, our winter robes will be ready soon and that's where Fu Yu has gone to help out.  His chores are relatively easy due to his small size and lack of real physical strength, but his jobs are super important regardless, and this morning he is helping Ling Yu to drag all the winter robes, woolen under garments and even blankets out of storage for when the snow comes.  And going by the sleet in the window, the snows will be here much earlier than elsewhere.

I have been on this mountain for six months now and this will be my first full winter so I am excited.  There are several events coming up and one of them is the race around the realms, which all the High Gods participate in while the rest of the world gathers to watch and cheer on their leaders and favourites and it is held in winter to make it that much harder. 

As I was saying, the seasons here on Kunlun Mountain can be quite excessive, but elsewhere, the winds that bring in the sleet, can actually be quite dangerous, so this isn't just a fun game that bored High Gods play to wile away the time, this is a kind of battle and I learned that Papa and even Zhe Yan  are going to participate this time and I learned this because I am Shifus Disciple.

For some reason, my father and that old Phoenix have gotten it into their heads that my being a Disciple of Kunlun Mountain means they have to now compete against my Shifu in every little thing, as if my being a Disciple gives them a reason to best him at everything.  I know its stupid, but this is what these three High Gods were like when they were younger according to Zhen Zhen, and it seems as if they never outgrew it.

Only today, rather than rushing to the Celestial Heavens where the Competition begins and ends, we are holding our own version of it right here on Kunlun Mountain.  And rather than cloud jumping about the mountain to find clues, we have been split up into pairs and have to find the clues which Shifu spent the whole night organizing and then hiding all over the mountain.

I'm super excited and am currently rushing about my chamber for warm clothing while also waiting for Shanhu to come and fetch me for our morning chores before heading to the grand hall for the first clue and a whole day of fun and Shifu said, that the winner gets a free day to do or go wherever they want, which on this mountain, is liquid gold.  We rarely get free time to do anything by ourselves, so a whole day is super precious!

"Hurry up Seventeen, the water will go cold." Shanhu calls through the door having already prepared our buckets of hot water that we will use to mop the outer corridors.

"Shanhu, I can't find my boots!" I yell back while dumping my entire wardrobes contents all over the floor.

"Just put your shoes on, we can't be late!" he's now roaring at me through the door followed by a loud succession of thumps on the wood which sound close to splintering.

Ignoring him, my clothes go flying as I scramble among my entire wardrobe, until eventually I find my warm boots which Mama hand stitched herself, which means no cold gets in because everything she makes, is perfection.  And no sooner am I pulling them up over my pantaloons, then the banging on the door grows so loud, that Im actually afraid he really is going to split the wood.

"Seventeen!" he yells right into my face as I stumble out into the cold in a huff.  I hate being rushed, because I always forget something, and one look at his suprised face that is wheezing having been knocked straight onto his butt when I crash into him, then I know I have forgotten my hair.  Its still out about my shoulders and not only that, I have also forgotten my warm jacket.