One Tail at a Time

The Power of Seven - 1

One full month has sped by in the flash of an eye and we are still undergoing intensive training in everything from weapons, to martial arts and stealth warfare which has us hiding in the low valleys and finding each other which I am super good at because there are no rules for this lesson, which means I can be in fox form and being the smallest among us, I can find a thousand places to hide and always be the last to be found, where as Ling Yu is always the first because he is a snow tiger and stands out like a sore thumb.  Fu Yu on the other hand isn't really a part of this training seeing as he is too small and near impossible to find, though he does join the seeker to help instead.

I am the seeker this time around and over the past month, my brothers have learned some very creative ways to hide, and like I said before, Ling Yu is the first to be found because he is so big and white whereas Shanhu, who is a giant hawk manages to escape my attention when he keeps to the tree tops, but with Fu Yus help, just the smallest unnatural movement of a twig is easy for him to hear being a tree sprite so he too gets found quickly.  Actually, having a tree sprite as one of us, is proving to be very very useful in stealth attack, because he is a tree sprite.

I don't think Shifu really understood this when he agreed to accept Fu Yu into the fold, but he is certainly proving himself worthy now, because every single one of my brothers is found quickly due to his close relationship with all trees.  He can sense the gentlest displacement of a leaf and even a mere breath on a tree root, he is that good!  So my turn as seeker is over quickly before Zi Lan takes over and I run off to hide again while also staying clear of the trees.

Instead I dig a hole in the ground before dragging the dead leaves back over the top and wait for the call to come out having failed yet again to find me.  Only it is while I am resting my head and thinking back over the past month, that I suddenly explode from hiding place along with my brothers at the sound of the Bell of Kunlun which is sending its mournful cry across the entire valleys and beyond.  In a panic we all race to the obelisk in a tight group as we have been taught to do.

Our swords are drawn and we are split into three groups.  One runs ahead and ready to tackle anything coming the other way, while the third remains facing the gate and protecting the first.  The second group, takes to the air to scout the surrounding area which are my older brothers and Fu Yu who are far more adept at using their flying powers than the others.

I myself am in the second group and that is becuse I am a girl and the first to be targeted.  This is Shifus strategy, if there is a risk coming down the mountain, the first group will meet them head on, and if there is anything coming towards the gates, my brothers in the air will give warning, which then gives me enough time to prepare myself or rather I won't be taken by surprise.

It is an effective method only the moment my brothers reach the top of the gates to survey the outer surroundings, then the bell suddenly stops tolling which instantly confuses us.  But we wait for the signal to head back up the mountain which comes after just a few minutes which then has the rest of us following the first group straight to the main extrance where we are met by Shifu.

"Not bad.  But I want to see the first group within seconds next time." he says gruffly before turning to walk away and leaving is staring in disbelief at his back seeing as it was merely a dril which had sent all of our hearts racing in fear for our lives.  Or at least I was fearful, though nothing in my face suggests I am, in fact I am running after Shifu only he quickly turns side on with his hand out towards me to stop.

"Not now Xiaobai, Shifu is busy." he says softly before walking away again and this time leaving me super confused.

Since my tail lesson with him, it seems as if he is avoiding me, because everytime I get anywhere near him, he suddenly has something super important to do and like now, is too busy to talk.  I mean, I realize the lesson went far beyond what he exected it to do, but to avoid me is bordering on childishness.  After all, he was the foolish one to have taught me in the first place, and it isn't as if Im stupid enough to try it on him again, though the more he avoids me, the more I want to!