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A chilling breeze stroked over Kai's cheek as his sandals trudged through the thick snow, even in his attire he seemed completely unaffected by the cold and it's dangers but that was not the issue on his mind. It had only been an hour since he had left the Yuki temple and yet strangely enough, the beautiful morning which seemed to be the perfect day of his departing before he left, was doing a full 180. Dark snow clouds began to roll in from out of no where as his confusion settled into frustration.
Gripped tightly in his hand was the very note which caused him to spiral down the path of confusion. Questions ran through his mind like a rabbit in the snow but he could find no answers. {How can this be? This is the first piece of information as to where I came from but there's so little to actually make sense. My parents are from another planet, I'm an alien...and I have some sort of hidden strength?} He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed causing a cloud of vapor to expel from his lips. A rumble from above caused his bright aqua toned eyes to look up from his hand to the dark clouds overhead. "Great... I'm gonna be caught in a blizzard." Qin grit his teeth in anger and shook his fist at the sky comically. "WHERE THE HELL DID THOSE CLOUDS COME FROM ANYWAY!"
His sudden outburst echoed through the mountainous terrain which was followed by a dead silence, almost as if the entire world around him went quiet. His brow rose in curiosity but changed to shock when the sound of rumbling returned with an even louder bellow. The ground began to shake violently and shifted back and fourth beneath his feet. Snow from one of the peaks had pulled free and began to tear down the mountains slope straight towards him. With eyes bulging in fear, Kai shifted his bags strap and tried his best to out run the large mass of ice barreling down towards. "Crap, crap, crap, Crap!" he's voice squealed in a high pitch tone as the snow slammed down behind him like a rouge wave on to a sandy shoreline. In the last few seconds, he could sense his end nearing {Right out of the gates and I'm doomed to a death under a pile of snow} He shut his eyes and as if working on instinct, his body turned and his hands followed in sync, swiping at the thunderous cloud of snow. Seconds seemed to tick by and while Kai's eyes remained shut he felt as though it should have struck him already. Slowly peaking with a single eye, he saw something unimaginable. "W-what?"
The snow which would have presumably killed him remained rock hard before him in the shapes of ice crystals. He flopped back on to his behind, his bag dropping down at his side, the snow cushioning both his fall and the bag. With wonder in his cyan eyes he gazed at the remarkable shards then down to his hands. "Did I?..." Ever so slowly, he extended the palm of his hand towards the ice, keeping his focus locked on his target he waved his hand to the side causing another shard to form and stretch in the exact same path of his hand. "I-can control... the ice" placing both hands over the snow, pillars of ice formed and rose to his palms, helping him to his feet.
Like a baby discovering it's hands for the first time, Kai stared down at his hands in wonder. The words in his parents letter seemed to make more sense than before. "A strong elemental connection...They must have brought me to the temple knowing I had a connection to water, more so to the creation of ice!" his lips pulled up in the corner as he smiled. "I can control ice. This is incredible! I have to tell Master Oz-" Stopping mid-sentence, new questions began to arise. Its had been 18 years since his parents left, meaning that in all this time they have been traveling the stars with the possibility of danger at ever turn. If he wanted to ever reunite with his mother and father, he would have to train himself and learn from others in the world to get stronger. Only once he is strong enough will he be able to seek out his parents and hopefully reunite with them.
"That settles it then... I can't waste anymore time. Someday I will return to Yuki Temple and when I do, it will be with mom and dad... This I promise." Once again his eyes leered up to the clouds above. "Hmmm, but what are my limits now?"" Just as before he rose his palms, this time targeting the snow clouds which hung over head like large pieces cotton candy. In a smooth and graceful motion much like the ones used in jeet kune doe, his wrist and hand swayed about until finally he clamped down his fingers into a fist. The clouds seemed to whirl and shape to his every command and motion until finally dispersing when his hand was balled into a fist.
Just like that, the sun was seen peaking over the mountain tops once more and while it was a beautiful sight, it seemed that Qin's life and death encounter along with the discovery and use of his powers put a lot more strain on him than he had realized. His knees grew weak and his eyelids heavy as he watched the sun on the horizon. His body went limp and dropped to the ground making a deep impression in the fluffy white snow which caught him. In this surrounding he was practically surrounded by coldness but it seemed that even in his element all he felt was the warmth of the sun. Kai smiled once more as he he curled himself up into a ball, the snow acting as his blanket and allowed the gentle hands of sleep to take over him.
WC: 1,021
Last Edit: May 23, 2016 14:01:57 GMT -5 by Deleted
The northern lands were so far from the Temple that Hwa-Jae assumed that the only one of the Kasai to make it to this region was Old Master Fuega in her younger days centuries ago. As Hwa-Jae walked next to the hikui bird Koge, she began to understand the reason why. The Kasai Temple was situated in a temperate climate where snow was so rare, she could count on both hands how many times it fell during her childhood. Here, there seemed to be nothing but snow, frost, and chilly winds, all things Hwa-Jae just was not used to enduring.
Thankfully, the cold was only a minor nuisance at this rate. Thanks to her burning skin and her reinforced uniform, she felt comfortable enough to travel and even found region to be pleasant as she trekked through the unknown. The trees alone were much different than the ones back home as they stood as silent sentinels in the forest. Taller than most, their pines produced a fresh scent on the trail, making the journey a little more pleasant. Hwa-Jae stopped by one of the trees and picked up one of the pine cones. She liked the shape and smell of the pine cone and packed it away as a souvenir.
Mount Frappe was still far in the distance at what Hwa-Jae guessed would be a few days travel on foot. She would fly, but flight drained her energy and in the cold regions, she felt her energy being sapped by the frigid air. Her ki was still not used to the climate. It would be some time until her body and her spirit adjusted to such a unique situation as this.
There was, however, one downside to the travel in the north. That lay solely on her travelling companion, Koge.
"It's too cold here," Koge complained, "You haven't fed me in a while. Can I have a fireball? I'm tired, we've been walking for hours. My talons ache. Let's take a break."
Hwa-Jae sighed and shook her head. She understood that Koge, who lived in a volcano of all things, would be even more uncomfortable in the northern reaches than she was. Despite his large, fluffy feathers acting as insulation, Koge wore one of the blankets Hwa-Jae bought in West City. However, he did seem to complain a lot more ever since they came here. She fed him a hinotama an hour ago and they were still a far ways away from Mount Frappe. Shaking her head, she opened her palm and created a hinotama, tossing it towards Koge's waiting beak. He smacked his beak together and licked up the flames, seemingly satisfied.
"Can I have another?" Koge asked. Hwa-Jae grumbled and started to pick up the pace. Koge squawked and followed. "Oh come on! I'm a growing bird, I need my flaming nutrients!"
"How do you even know what nutrients are?" Hwa-Jae said as she walked, "Speaking of which, how do you even speak at all? Don't take this the wrong way, but it's not every day you meet a talking animal."
"I've seen plenty of animals speak," Koge replied. "What about Rosquillo? Wasn't he an animal?"
Hwa-Jae shook her head. "He was a zoanthrope, an animal person. I'm not sure how it works, but I think he is closer to a human like me than he is an animal. Like... his insides are human, but the outside isn't. You are, well... completely animal. Do you think you could wear a pair of pants? Or socks?" To prove her point, she held up a pair of her socks. Koge looked at the socks, then down to his three toed taloned feet.
"I guess that makes sense," Koge relented. "Well, for a long time, hikui birds were studied by human scientists. Eventually some of us decided to learn to talk. I was able to talk a year after I was hatched because the scientists talked around my egg. So, now I can talk just like you. They had an extensive vocabulary as well. Is my speech all right by you?"
Hwa-Jae smiled and nodded. "You speak very well Koge," she said, "Now come on, we still have a long way to go. And no, you can't have another fireball. Not until dark."
The two travelled down the path towards Mount Frappe when Hwa-Jae and Koge stopped. Just a few dozen meters away, in plain sight, stood a mass of crystals that appeared to have sprouted from the ground at random. The light of the sun glinted of the polished side of the crystals making them appear beautiful but still very unusual. Hwa-Jae looked around and could find nothing similar. As she approached the the crystals, Koge wandered off. She could see her reflection in the surface.
Slowly, she pressed her hand against the side, only to watch as the heat of the Sukinbaningu melted the surface. They were not crystals, but ice, like larger, more glorified icicles. Yet if that were the case, then these could not be naturally occurring, could they? Hwa-Jae looked at the structure and saw that they rose upward, rather than downward like icicles. Just how was this possible, she wondered. Could this be the result of some kind of power in the region, like magic or the use of ki? Or was this something that did occur naturally in the cold north?
"Hwa-Jae!" Koge called, "Come quickly! I found something!"
Hwa-Jae ran over to Koge, her boots crunching into the snowdrifts until she made it by the hikui side. He looked down not on something, but on someone laying in the snow. Alarms ringed inside Hwa-Jae's head as she looked over the young man before her.
"Quick!" She said to Koge, "Try to wake him up! He must have collapsed in the snow! I'll try to get a fire going to warm him up!"
Hwa-Jae opened her hand once more and produced another of her hinotamas while Koge jabbed the young man in the side of his beak.
Darkness encapsulated his mind. The extent of his recent discovery to his own powers left him utterly drained yet somehow he felt content in his position. As hours ticked by, the snow blanket which covered him grew thicker almost covering his entire body. It was only when a warm sensation of a flame by his body and the light nudging of a birds beak that the young snow haired man was awoken from his cold yet gentle sleep. A soft groan escaped him as his eyelashes fluttered, his bright cyan eyes taking a second to adjust to the light of the scene.
What he awoke to was the face of a strange Ostrich, bird type creature. Qin had never seen or heard of such a creature before thus causing him to sit up and with a sudden jerk and crawl back in fright "Whoa! I am not for eating buddy." His attention turned when the warm light of fire danced over a young woman's face seated besides the creature. Kai couldn't help but stare, his cheeks burned a light shade of pink as he gazed upon her.
With hair a lighter shade of Crimson and bright blue eyes which contrasted it nicely, her face seemed to show the very same warmth as the fire in her han- Kai's eyes shifted from a deep focus to that of shock. He pointed out the burning orb with concern "Look out, you're gonna burn!" He tried to reach out his hand and swat the orb away but without proper thought, two small ice shards emerged from from beneath the snow and clamped around the fire ball, killing it right quick. His cause for concern only grew with the sudden revealing of his abnormal gift. Trying to master it though seemed to be a whole other ball game as to when he first unlocked it.
Unsure of how people would react to this, especially the young woman before him, Kai bowed his head in embarrassment "I-I'm sorry... I don't know how to control it just yet. I mean no harm" His choice of words showed sincerity as his loose hanging sleeves flapped about in the same cool breeze which rolled through the area. Taking a moment to do a proper assessment of the situation, Kai noticed something odd. There where absolutely no signs of burn marks on the red haired woman's hands and the orb he had witnessed could in no way be formed naturally. Could his luck have brought him one of his own people all the way out there? "W-wait..." His eyes darted from the young woman to the strange bird and visa versa a few times. Both the ostrich like bird and the woman gave off a rather warm aura. "A-are you an elemental too? I mean... If you are that's cool and well if you aren't, ah...My names Kai, Kai Qin" His words seemed awfully jumbled and flustered as he scratched the side of his head. Kai turned his bright cyan eyes away in an attempt to hide the overwhelming feeling of embarrassment.
He searched every corner of his brain for a way to fix the terrible first impression he was making but seemed to find nothing but a blank slate. With a defeated sigh he climbed to his feet revealing his slight shortness in comparison to her as well as his traditional yet impractical attire in which he faced the elements. He took a step forward causing his wet soggy socks to make a squishing sound between the straps on his sandals and despite all that had gone wrong, he wished to make things right "I-I apologize for the terrible first impression I'm making. There's a lot going on that I have yet to truly understand" The honesty in his words shone through just as it did with his previous apology.
Hwa-Jae was uncertain how to proceed as she watched the young man get prodded by Koge's beak. He did not seem to be in distress. In fact he looked like he was sleeping rather soundly. In the middle of the snow. It was not exactly her first choice for a nap. She would rather have a bed. In fact, thinking about it, she missed having a warm, comfortable place to sleep in every night. She had not brought any bedrolls and often found herself sleeping on the ground and using one of her sacks as a pillow.
The young man woke up. Hwa-Jae had to admit, it was rather amusing to see him awaken to have a hikui bird's beady eyes and long beak in his face. He reacted as she expected many would; by shooting up and backing away. He made a comment about not being for eating which made Koge scoff.
"I'm not your buddy, pal," Koge said, furrowing his brow. "Besides, I don't even eat meat. I eat fire. The more calories burnt, the better."
The young man then turned to her and became rather red in the face. That was weird. Was he getting a fever? Was her fire too close? Maybe she needed to keep her distance considering her penchant for flame and his decision to take a rest in the middle of a snowdrift. Yet before she could do anything he reacted to the sight of the hinotama, leaping to his feet to try to swat it away with a hand. A rather silly and unsafe thing to do; a hinotama was not a candle's flame, but a burning orb of greater power.
"Hey, watch out!" Hwa-Jae tried to move away so he wouldn't burn himself, only to yelp as two shards of ice flew from the snow and slammed into her hinotama. The ball of flame snuffed out as the ice shards claimed it. Hwa-Jae blinked as she looked at her now empty hand, then to the young man. Did he make those shards unwittingly? He quickly apologized for his action as introduced himself as Kai Qin, but not before mentioning something about being an elemental.
Elemental. Elemi. Images rushed through Hwa-Jae's head in painful succession. The Temple. Fuega. A small cottage. The woman with the fiery crown. The headaches came back again, stronger than last time in the western woods. Hwa-Jae jerked away and reached into her sack for the medicine Fuega gave her. She popped the cork and took a swig of the medicine, feeling the cooling effects move to her forehead almost instantaneous.
"Sorry, just one of my headaches." Hwa-Jae bowed to Kai in greetings, her hands clasped in front of her. "I'm Seuta Hwa-Jae, novice of the Kasai Temple. There's something about you though" Her eyes narrowed then as she inspected Kai. Ah, he was much like Dyn. He obviously possessed something hidden deep within. Something buried within himself that few were privy to know. But Hwa-Jae's keen senses told her much.
"You're a man!" She announced proudly. Koge promptly face faulted, an impressive feet for a bird his size.
"I lived in a volcano and I know more about your own people than you do." Koge shook his head as he turned to Kai. "Incredible. Never mind the human, I'm Koge, a hikui bird from Mount Kiwi."
Hwa-Jae then noticed that the young man was sitting knee-deep in snow, his feet unprotected by proper boots, but wearing tabi socks and simple sandals. "Gah! You're socks!" Hwa-Jae almost shouted, pushing Kai towards the road. "You have to get your feet warm quickly or else you'll get sick! Koge, gather some wood!"
Once they were away from the deep snow and Koge found some firewood for a camp fire, Hwa-Jae looked to Kai. "Now don't you go and try to snuff this one out. I'm not an ele-whatsit like you say I am. I'm Kasai, a martial artist that turns my energy to fire. I'm going to make a small flame and use it to light the wood. Don't go snuffing it out or you'll freeze."
To show, she opened her palm to create a much smaller hinotama. She then casually dropped it on the sticks and watched them ignite. "Now to more pressing issues," she continued, "Are you from around here? If not, what were you doing napping in the snow?"
Thankfully Kai's show of abnormality was brushed aside as if it where the norm for the woman and her ostrich friend that, mind you, could talk? Before he could address the fact that a bird was talking, the girl seemed to grab her head and reach for some sort of medication. Kai's head tilted slightly at her saying it was nothing more than a silly headache but from his point of view it looked like something more than a pain in the head. "I-if you say so" He spoke with concern but knew somethings where best to leave instead of praying. Whatever it was, it was definitely causing her pain. Thankfully he was reassured when her medicine kicked in. She seemed just as energetic as she was when he had smoldered the flame, quickly introducing herself as Seuta Hwa-Jae a proud novice of the Kasai Temple.
Kai had heard tales of various other temples scattered throughout the regions on earth however in the Yuki Temple their was very little info on the Kasai temple. Perhaps it was a conflict of climate? Who knew? Qin snapped back to the present time and his cheeks began to redden as she intently began to inspect him with squinted eyes. "Is there still snow in my hair?" He questioned aloud and began to ruffle his white locks, his bang bobbing over his eye as he did so. Her sudden outburst to realizing he was a man caused him to frown, however the enthusiasm she seemed to show from this discovery caused him to chuckle. "Haha, you came to that conclusion all by yourself, huh?" He teased lightly "It's nice to meet you Jae." He said still half snickering at the words past.
Now seemed about the right time to address the elephant in the room... or more specifically the talking ostrich. "Ah... I'm not crazy right? Your bird is talking?" The bird addressed Qin in perfect English making it more difficult to not believe it was true. "So much has happened today that I find it hard not to believe that anything is impossible." As Qin spoke, his soaking socks squished about in his sandals as he rose to his feet and lightly scratched Koge's neck feathers. "A pleasure to meet you Koge of Mount Kiwi" His voice showing happiness as he turned back to the fiery red head. Her attention was focused on something of much more concern than introductions. With her strange yet usual enthusiasm, Jae brought up the fact of Qin's soaking wet socks... Her reaction could be considered strange what with the way she practically pushed him towards the path and eagerly announced the possibility of him getting a cold.
In all honesty Qin couldn't really member the last time he had flu, it was almost as if he was immune to the common cold. Which should be no surprise, however Jae seemed pretty persistent and while the concept of getting a cold was far fetched, Kai didn't exactly feel the need to protest. She was just trying to help after all and she seemed nice, even Koge seemed to have a cool.. err warm attitude.
Koge was sent off to gather wood and was back in a jiffy. Jae on the other hand asked kindly that Qin not snuff out the next flame she created. He did as she asked and watched the palms of her hands intently as she managed to form a fireball from nothing but the air. His eyes showing a sense of wonder just as it did the first time he learned of his own powers. In seconds the twigs served their purpose and the large pieces of wood began to crackle. As Jae spoke, Kai removed his socks and rung them out along with his white Haori, thereafter neatly placing them besides the fire.
"I was taken care of by the people at the Yuki Temple since I was a toddler." He smiled warmly "So yeah, you could say I am from around here... As for the napping in the snow, that was kinda my own fault. You see, I don't really know much about my powers. I honestly only found out about them hours before you found me. Found out the hard way that it is possible to overexert yourself with them. If I didn't use them though, I'm pretty sure that avalanche would have stopped us from ever meeting" He scratched the back of his head and chuckled nervously as he stretched out his feet to the outer edges of the fire. "W-what about you, what's a priestess of the Kasai temple doing out in the snow? I doubt this would be a favored vacation spot for someone that feels more comfortable around warmth." His cyan eyes absorbed her beautiful image across the top of the flames and his cheeks began to turn a light shade of pink once more without him even realizing it. His daydreaming was knocked from his mind as a clump of snow fell from a tree branch straight down on to his head and if that wasn't enough a single pine cone broke free dropping directly down, by some miracle it became the cherry on top of the makeshift Kai Qin ice cream. The look on his face a mixture of utter annoyance and hopelessness.
Hwa-Jae could not help but laugh as Kai seemed utterly confused at the fact that Koge could talk. Koge was an oddity all right, and the hikui seemed to take offence at the implication that he shouldn't speak. Sighing, Hwa-Jae prepared another fireball to soothe Koge over. As she opened her hand and prepared another hinotama, she regarded Kai a little closer. He did not have a tail, so he wasn't a saiyan at least. He seemed nice enough as well, though Elder Sister Pyya always warned caution around the unknown. Hwa-Jae brushed it aside as mere paranoia brought about by age. She could see in Kai's eyes a kind soul who was merely new to the power of ki. Besides, it sounded like they had similar upbringings.
Koge stretched his neck and looked Kai right in the eye until they were beak to nose. "I don't know, human," Koge said in a leering tone, "Are you crazy? You all look crazy to me with your wide eyes and your strange minds. I can speak just as well as you. Do you have a hard time listening to my voice? Should I recite poetry? Or do you want me to sing?"
Hwa-Jae quickly tossed the fireball to Koge who began to bite down on it. She then pressed a finger to her chin as she became deep in thought. "I've never heard of the Yuki Temple," Hwa-Jae began, "but my master Fuega made mention that there are many other martial art schools and temples throughout the world. Is the Yuki Temple similar to the Kasai? Perhaps one day I can visit that temple, do some cross-school training. Who was your master? Are there many like you in the Yuki Temple? If you visited the Kasai, you could..."
She stopped, remembering that she was in fact talking to a male. "Sorry, I sometimes it carried away. The Old Master has forbidden men to enter the Temple unless allowed by her. I shouldn't promise anything until I return myself. As for what I am doing here..."
Hwa-Jae pointed to the mountain in the distance. "You probably know more about Mount Frappe than I do if you are from this region, but I have to go there. They call it the Mountain that No Woman May Climb, but my Master said she placed a treasure, a brazier on the summit. I have to find it as part of my tests as a Kasai. I've already found one on Mount Kiwi. This one is next and when I find the brazier, I then have to go to Mount Paozu and Fire Mountain."
She then considered Kai's predicament with his powers. It was just like Dyn all over again. Was there an influx of people discovering their latent ki abilities or something? Hwa-Jae was surprised there were not more explosions then, if that was the case. Perhaps she should help this person now rather than hope he would learn on his own or not knock her out of a tree by practising. Teaching sounded like fun too, but first, Hwa-Jae had to gauge Kai's abilities for herself.
"How about I help you with what you've discovered," Hwa-Jae said cheerily, "I'll teach you the basics of what you've now figured out, the power of your spiritual energy, or ki. Helping you will keep yourself and others safe as you learn to manipulate your powers. Let's start with the basics."
To show her prowess with ki, Hwa-Jae focused just enough of her power to float off the ground. She began to ascend higher until she was a couple feet off of the ground. "This is a basic ki power, that of flight? Can you manage this? Can you tell me, or better yet, show me, what you are capable of? It will make teaching you easier."
***
Elder Sister Pyya stood on the edge of the stone ledge as her Master, Fuega, quietly sipped her tea. The pair had been on that ledge overlooking the temple grounds in silence with the occasional deep sigh from Pyya. Things were tense in the temple. The other Sisters knew something was wrong, but Pyya and the Guardians she and Fuega trusted were sworn to silence. She did not expect Hwa-Jae to return any time soon, but the threat of the Black Fire Witch loomed over their heads.
"Patience, Elder Sister," Fuega said as she put down her tea. "Hwa-Jae will come through. What about your training with Cineza? What do you feel in that young woman."
"Anger, master." Pyya shook her head. "She is strong, but arrogant. Impatient. I worry that we have pushed her too hard, but the Black Fire Witch-"
Pyya was unable to continue as a whirlwind of flame erupted in the middle of the temple grounds. It was unlike anything she had ever seen before. As screams and shouts joined the din caused by the fiery tornado, Pyya knew what this meant.
While the prospect of Koge singing or reciting poetry enticed a subtle chuckle to Kai's lips, the snow haired boy hoped that the oversized bird wouldn't. Something in the pit of his gut told him that he might regret saying yes to either of the suggestions. That and the sigh that Jae let out, hinted at his theory of it being a bad idea. Luckily Jae seemed to know just the right thing to set Koge at ease, the very same fireball she used to light the fire.
The talking ostrich lapped up the ball of flame as if it was a fine meal to relish in. At this time Qin remained silent for Jae seemed to be deep in thought, her finger placed on her chin. Memories of her past lessons from a woman by the name of Fuega brought realization of the fact that there where many temples all throughout the earth. What followed was a barrage of questions which caused Kai to move back slightly, not from fear or pride but because of her face beaming with curiosity. Kai lightly cupped the side of his mouth and playfully whispered to Koge "Maybe we are all crazy" He snickered softly before trying to address each of Jae's questions in the correct order.
"Hehe, you're quite a curious girl, aren't you" He smiled. "The Yuki Temple, or Snow Temple if you will, isn't really based on a full fledged order to follow, It's more like a village... Yeah that's it. My Master, Master Ozen, he built it along with other disciples and it became more of a place for those that traveled into the mountains and seeked out refuge. While some continued shortly after their stay, others joined and the population grew. Their are no restrictions as to whom may stay their, man, woman and child are all welcomed with open arms. In order to learn from Master Ozen and his disciples however, only those that show a true hunger to learn and a pure heart may be taken in for training." he paused for a moment and scratched his chin "Hmmm as for you training there." He held her in suspense for a few seconds before nodding. "You seem to meet the criteria pretty well. I'm sure Ozen would be more than happy to teach you something if by some miracle not, he will still allow you to stay at the temple as long as you like... though to answer your other question.. No... None of the others showed signs of controlling elements."
When Jae mentioned the possibility of him visiting the Kasai temple she seemed to stop in her tracks which caused Qin to tilt his head slightly. The problem was quite clear though Kai could understand "I guess I need to make sure that should your master and I ever meet I don't make such a poor first impression as I did with you." He laughed but grew silent as she spoke of traveling to Mount Frappe, "The Mountain that No Woman May Climb". In Kai's own opinion it should have been named "The Mountain That No Human-Being Should Climb." It was a treacherous climb and while few attempted most that did where never seen again.
"If that is your trail, My prayers will be with you Jae" His eyes showed deep concern as he watched her across the flames. "My knowledge might be just as much as yours. Moving up the mountain you will find a never ending blizzard. The higher you climb, the stronger it becomes. I hope you will be safe. People who have stayed at the Yuki Temple before setting out to simply reach the top of Mount Frappe... Many never returned" His arms wrapped around his knees and hugged them close. Concern rested deeply in his eyes as he continued to look towards the fiery red head. Sure he hadn't know her for very long but she was already regarded as a friend in his eyes. The last thing he would ever want on his friends was them being gone forever.
Thankfully the seriousness in the air was broken with a figurative Kai Qin ice cream Sunday. He shook the snow from his head like a wet dog drying it's fur and dusted off the fluffy white snow from his top with an unamused expression. His unpleasant moment would turn though once the Kasai novice declared that she would try to teach him in bettering his control for his new found gift.
His eyes bulged out his skull as she began to lift into the air. It seemed like it was natural to her though especially as she managed to explain that flight was a basic use of ki all the while demonstrating it. Once asked if he could manage such a task, he opened his mouth but an answer would not come and he had to settle for a simple shake of the head. When she asked if he was able to at least show what he was capable of, a flare of willpower burned in his eyes. He flicked himself off the floor and landed on his bare feet with grace, his toes digging into the snow as if he where on a sandy beach. "I might not be able to fly but..." He stared up at Jae as his hands rested by his sides. With a a sudden opening of his palms, a pillar of ice lifted him into the air until finally it met the Kasai warriors height in the air.
He wore a grin as they where once again face to face. "I can't fly... Yet but I can still try and keep up." he said with a chuckle before rolling an idea through his mind "Wait... what if I" Ice began to form on his back and slowly take shape of crystallized wings... This however turned out to be a terrible idea as all it did was weigh him off balance and send him back down the side of the ice pillar "Crap, BAD IDEA!" plummeting to his death, he swiped his hand and a makeshift ice slide caught him which sent him sliding straight down into the snow face first. With his head still stuck in the snow he reached his hand up from the wreckage and held a thumbs up to signal Jae, he was okay.
"I'm OKAY!"
His words where muffled as he slowly climbed to his feet. {I know I'm a ice user but is it really necessary for snow to constantly want to be on me?} "Ah...maybe you could explain how to do it?" He suggested as he wiped a father Christmas beard of snow from his mouth.
Hwa-Jae listened intently as Kai explained the Yuki Temple. It sounded more like an actual monastery compared to the school system that Fuega instituted for the Kasai. To Hwa-Jae's best estimate, the two temples were not likely to know anything about each other, let alone be part of a larger system of temples dedicated to the elemental arts. If they were, Kai would have had much more knowledge about his arctic powers than he demonstrated so far. He moved like a novice and Hwa-Jae could tell. She only called herself a novice out of humility to her more accomplished sisters and mentors, but her abilities with ki were always of a height above many of her sisters.
This was a young man unable to grasp the totality of his powers and only just barely scratched the surface. The potential was great, of course, and the fact that his ki manifested as ice interested Hwa-Jae to great degrees. If there was ever a moment to nurture the burgeoning growth of another ki user, it was now. Hwa-Jae just needed to practice a little patience, compared to what she was used to back at her temple. Elder Sister Pyya did not have much stock in the way of patience, but explained it due to great skill and focus needed to maintain the destructive force that can come from ki.
"I'll be sure to stop by the Yuki Temple and meet your Master Ozen the next time I'm able, after my own mission of course." Hwa-Jae looked to Mount Frappe and almost mentally dared it to try to claim her as it did so many other brave adventurers. If Old Master Fuega could climb the mountain and reach the summit to put something there, then Hwa-Jae can climb it to take that something back.
As she hovered above the ground, Hwa-Jae waited to see how Kai would attempt to join her in the air. His solution was creative as he ascended to the air using a pillar. "Interesting method," Hwa-Jae said. Kai then got it in his head to create a pair of wings from ice. She stood flabbergasted as Kai took to the air... and promptly fell over. He still showed an impressive control of his cold based powers as he saved himself, but it still ended up with him face first in a snow pile. Hwa-Jae shook her head. This was going to be quite the trial.
Koge walked over to Kai and delivered a squawking laugh. "Wings are for birds, ice guy," he said, jabbing Kai with his beak. "Silly humans, always trying to be something they are not. Not that I blame you, being a bird is great. I can sleep where I want, eat what I want, oh, and I can do this!"
The hikui extended his wings and began to flap, kicking up a slight dusting of snow onto Kai with the wing buffet. He then began to fly in circles high over head. Hwa-Jae pressed a hand to face. She did not need her hikui bird companion mocking her new friend like this.
"Koge!" Hwa-Jae called to him, "That's not very nice! You get down here and you apologize!"
"Why should I?"
"If you don't, no more fireballs!"
Koge gulped at the idea that he would no longer get easy access to his favourite food. He swooped down and landed in front of Kai, dusting the snow off of him with his wings. "Sorry, ice guy, old habits, you know? Not really used to dealing with humans like you. We can still be chums, right?"
Seemingly proud of himself, Koge looked at Hwa-Jae expectantly. She started to wonder if she was spoiling him with so many hinotamas. Once more she tossed a fireball into Koge's mouth and focused on Kai once again.
"Don't know what you were thinking there with the ice wings," Hwa-Jae said as she floated down to Kai, "Flight is about projection, just like ki blasts. We don't use wings to fly like Koge here, but rather think of it like the exhaust from a firework. You are putting your energy around your body to propel yourself, not flying for flying sake. Let's start with something more simple and less likely to see you get hurt; ki projection."
Hwa-Jae then sat down cross-legged in front of Kai and held her hands up above her lap, palms facing upward. "It's all about focus in the beginning. Simple expel all thoughts and focus solely on your breathing. Close eyes, ignore all smells, and all sounds except my voice. Your ki energy is within you, but it's not something you can easily muster. Remain calm. Loosen your muscles. Focus on the centre, between your heart, your lungs, your stomach. Then, pull it out."
She demonstrated the ability to project ki by creating a much smaller orb of orange energy. Hwa-Jae did not ignite it like her other blasts. Holding the orb aloft in her hands, she smiled at Kai to encourage him.
The icy feel of defeat hung over him like the snow which hugged his dark black over garments. His failure only emphasized by the loud cackling laughter from Koge. Kai dusted himself off as he climbed back to his feet, taking the birds words quite lightly in truth. He had to admit though, Kai kinda found it strange to be called "ice guy" it was a alias he would have never thought of for himself in his life but he could see that it might just become a actual alias on his travels. When the talking ostrich ascended into the air blurting on about wings only being for birds Kai smirked and made a mental note or promise per say, to master the use of ice wings. If not for himself, at least to be able to rub it in Koge's beak, metaphorically speaking. The idea only gave Kai a more willingness to want to learn and achieve greatness despite hearing the birds nasty remarks as it circled over his head like a vulture waiting for a meal.
Jae wasn't having any part of it. She commanded Koge give an apology for they way he was acting and made sure he listened by weighting the fact that she would take away his most delicious kind of food should he not do as she said. Kai chuckled at the sudden change of attitude in Koge. The ostrich swooped down and quickly began dusting off Kai's shoulders like the a man in cops stories that would want to help when their was a possibility of them gaining something from it... A weasel.
The spiky snow haired boy snickered as he pinched the feathery cheek of Koge, giving it a playful tug like an old granny would do to their grandchildren before releasing it from the stinging sensation. "I see no reason not to be, pal" Kai emphasized the last word, remembering Koge's first reaction when they met. Jae offered the ostrich a fireball for obeying her order and thereafter turned her attention back to Kai, she too finding his ice wings idea a tad bit strange. Her words reinforced his plans for the future but for now he would have to learn whatever Jae could offer, especially considering his lack of knowledge of how to use or what ki truly was. He thought that the powers just work by him thinking it although when Jae began explaining the concept of flight he did manage to grasp what she meant. Encasing yourself in ki and propelling yourself forward by placing it beneath your feet. He nodded in confirmation at what she said.
When she suggested that they try something a little less dangerous, a part of him felt relieved while another wished to keep going. He did manage to piece together and calm himself when he thought about it being more logical and learn the most bottom basics before trying fly. You have to walk before you can run. If he could first grasp what ki was, it would make other things a lot easier. "Alrighty then, Ki projection it is!" He cheered it aloud with enthusiasm which managed to contradict the calm mood he would need to focus in this next part. He slowly took a seat in the lotus position in front of the the fiery red head and and placed his hands on his knees as he watched and listened intently to her words.
Hearing her explanation reminded Qin of lessons he received from his master. While it would sound far fetched to a normal human-being, Jae had the same wise aura about her as Ozin and her use of words strangely made a lot of sense. Each situation so far where Qin had used ki, the results where more uncertain than anything. But he would be lying if he had said that he did not feel some sort of aura flowing within him when he did manage what he did with his powers. She ended her lesson with two key factors a proper demonstration of what she meant and a smile of encouragement that could melt his heart "Okay... Stay calm" He told himself aloud as a blush seeped on to his cheeks, before he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He exhaled a few seconds later, his continuation of careful breathing went on for about a minute. Each breath took longer to pass as he cleared his mind and slowed his heart rate, this allowing him to slip into his subconscious as he use to when meditating with his Master.
His hands moved above his lap as his muscles lost tension. In the far reaches of his mind he began to see a faint blue light. He focused on this single point causing it to glow brighter and brighter until almost blinding. "I think I-I..." with eyes still shut and a bead of sweat running down his cheek, the light he saw in his mind began to project from his palms into a small glowing blue orb. With each breath he took, it pulsed to the slow beating of his heart.
His eyes slowly open to the sight of his creation causing a smile to beam on to his face. "I-I did it" he spoke with wonder "All those times meditating in the temple, I could feel this strange feeling of light but never truly understood what it was... It wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be." He held the aqua energy sphere closer to Jae's brighter orange orb and stared in amazement as the two energy spheres glowed. "It's beautiful..." He said with a smile, almost losing himself to the sight before looking up at Jae. "So basically you have to focus the same... Ki, but channel it beneath you?"
He questioned but in truth he had already began to put his focus into performing it. The ki orb he had created slowly began to dim out. A few more seconds past and the snow beneath him began to part like the red sea. Sweat droplets formed on his forehead as he spoke "Just a... push" he ascended about two feet into the air still positioned in the lotus position and hovered. It was quite clear that he was giving his all to maintain it. Perspiration dripped off his chin until he could no longer hold it. Kai slowly descended back down to his original position on the floor and grinned "I did it.." he said softly "I can tell though mastering that is gonna be a tad bit more challenging." he whipped the sweat from his face "It takes quite a lot out of you to just lift off that's without the fact of ascending and trying to hold it their." He chuckled as he fell on to his back with a chuckle. "This day has been amazing so far! First I learn of my parents then get ice powers, then I meet a beautiful girl and now I've been taught how to fly...or at least hover" his head pops up over his chest as he looks at Jae with a child like grin of happiness.
Hwa-Jae beamed with delight as Kai created his first controlled energy orb, holding it in his hand and marvelling it. It reminded Hwa-Jae of the first time she ever held her own ki between her fingers; it was a monumental step in her life as soon after she learned the first of the three techniques that Old Master Fuega created for the Kasai: the hinotama. It was the first step on her journey to become Kasai and Hwa-Jae never felt prouder of her abilities. Perhaps it was a feeling similar that Kai felt right now as he watched his own power manifest in front of his eyes.
With the altercations between Kai and Koge settled, Kai seemed much more calm as he practised the use of his ki. Something had to be done about that fever though. Kai kept getting red in the face. She wondered if he really was getting a sickness from being in the snow in his soggy socks. It was the only explanation she could think of when it came to his red face.
Koge huffed as he sat down on the side of the road and balled himself up in a pile of feathers, eager to keep going on the trial. Hwa-Jae waved at Koge to be patient; she wanted to continue this lesson. Kai took on a meditative stance Hwa-Jae knew well and to her great surprise began to hover above the ground. He did not get very high, but it was certainly a start. He was still pushing himself too hard though: the desire to match someone else's ability typically blinded one to their own progress. She hoped Kai would practice with patience as mastery did not come easy.
Of all the techniques Hwa-Jae knew, flight was her favourite. As long as she could remember, the moment she took to the skies she never wanted to come back to the ground again. While training to fly took almost a year and all the scrapped knees it entailed, flying with Cineza brought Hwa-Jae almost limitless joy. Flight meant more than a tactical advantage, as Pyya liked to mention in their training regimens. To Hwa-Jae, flying meant freedom. The ability to go anywhere. While Fuega still made it forbidden to leave the temple grounds, Hwa-Jae simply thought of it as a mother bird making sure the hatchling did not fly too far from the nest. Now that she was able to leave, she new she was right in regards to the freedom of flight.
Thinking of the Temple made her eyes drift back to Mount Frappe. The time would draw close when she needed to begin the work of climbing the frozen mountain. The Kasai temple depended on her success. No matter the danger, Hwa-Jae would face any trial to save the Temple from the Black Fire Witch.
She also noticed how much stronger she became after she left the temple. Her growth was slow but steady and constant. Every knew face she met and foe vanquished added to her power through practice and experience. The ability to life a heavy boulder of fly as swift as the wind mattered little if one did not possess the skill and knowledge to use it properly. This was the lesson of Pyya and yet another lesson Hwa-Jae took to heart.
"Good! Good!" Hwa-Jae said, clapping her hands, "You learn incredibly quickly! Remember, when it comes to flight, you want to pull the ki out of your body and place it beneath your feet to propel you in the sky. Don't force it out; I saw how much you were straining. Koge wasn't wrong about-"
"I'm not usually wrong about anything!" Koge added. Hwa-Jae shot him a glare.
"As I was saying, Koge wasn't technically wrong about flying. Think of the bird and how it flies swiftly and gracefully. It does not strain itself against the wind or the air, but uses its wings to propel and guide itself. To fly is to be free. Ease yourself as a bird would ease its wings open and take flight. Free yourself from the confines of the ground."
After Hwa-Jae gave a bit of lasting advice on how to achieve flight, Kai mentioned how much energy it would take to maintain it. "It takes a bit of energy to keep constant flight," Hwa-Jae said in agreement, "That is why it takes healthy eating to keep your energy up! I always carry around plenty of food to feed my blast furnace stomach!"
Hwa-Jae grabbed her bag that was full of food and emptied it, only for a single loaf of bread to fall from the ground. She blinked in surprise to the severe lack of food, only to look at Koge. "I thought we bought plenty of food in West City!? I can't climb Mount Frappe on a single loaf of bread!"
"You did buy plenty of food," Koge reminded her, "You just ate it all on the way here. I guess you'll have to forage for food." The hikui then resumed his resting position, stuffing his head beneath a wing.
Hwa-Jae crossed her arms. "If I don't find more food, then I'll have to ration my energy," she said, nodding sagely. "If I ration my energy, that means no fireballs for loud birds. I guess that bird will have to forage for food like seeds and worms."
Koge looked up, blinked, then rushed towards Kai with pleading eyes. "You need to help me find her food!" he almost begged, the very idea of me going without fireballs is more than I can bear!"
***
The screams in the Kasai temple continued unabated as the fire tornado ripped through the temple grounds. Pyya stood with the Old Master as they surveyed the situation. Pyya kept her senses open but could not feel any new presence. If the Black Fire Witch attacked, she should have been able to sense her by now.
"Sound the alarm!" Pyya shouted, "Get all the non-guardians to the bunkers! Rally everyone to arms! We'll fight this threat no matter what it is!"
"Elder Sister!" One of the other guardians landed next to her. "The alarm drums and bells have all been destroyed! Someone knew their placements and slaughtered the guardians at their posts!"
Pyya's eyes went wide as the realization dawned on her. The attacker came from within. Her fists clenched tight; she would find the traitor and deal with them with a vengeance even the hottest furnace could not match. And where was Cineza?! All that training to prepare her for the Black Fire Witch and the scoundrel was nowhere to be seen!
"Pyya..." Fuega dropped her cane as she took a wary step backwards. "Look, to the whirlwind!"
Pyya turned to the fiery whirlwind that destroyed their temple to see a figure emerge from the fire. Despair clutched at Pyya's heart as she saw who it was.
Cineza stepped out of the flaming whirlwind, her hands surrounded in golden fire. "The Black Fire Witch Sends her regards."
Kai chuckled with happiness at hearing Jae's approval and her comments on his ability as a fast learner. He took the knowledge she gave him and made a mental note of it. "Almost like standing on a strong bubble which can be controlled by your own spiritual strength" He said aloud, waving off the fact that his description was probably very strange. She quickly addressed his main issue being the fact that he was straining himself to much when trying to fly. Along with Koge's rude interruption, Jae explained that it was more about freeing your mind and allowing yourself to break the shackles of gravity that tie you to the ground. Like a bird, you have to open your mind as they do their wings. See your goal and let it take its course. "I get it, to fly you have to open you mind and picture it yourself. Find the feeling of weightlessness." Even with this new found knowledge, Kai still found the effort needed to allow flight to be extremely taxing on his body. His chest still rose and set as he looked up from his lying down position indicating his need for air. He listened intently to the Novice Kasai Warrior's advice. The most important thing is to keep your energy up in order to help with mental focus.
Qin found it difficult though considering that his need for food was never really high. It was almost as if his stomach was frozen with time, he didn't eat much to start with. This was probably the first time he actually started to feel hungry from the talk of food. Perhaps the strain of using powers was not only a spiritual thing. It took a lot of energy out of him, probably being the fastest he had ever burned through the food he had in his gut.
A growl came from his stomach as Jae emptied her bag of provisions which turned out to be quite the let down when a single loaf of bread bounced off the ground. This seemed to be a huge surprise to her. Her expression showed shock at the shameful sight of provisions she had left. Jae burst out in a frantic state realizing that it would be impossible to make it to the top of Mount Fappe and Kai couldn't have agree with her anymore. Making a trip to the top of the mountain would require careful meal planning and an abundance of food, especially if she burned through an entire bag just to get to this point.
As Jae and her ostrich companion argued about the sudden loss of food, Kai had already began trying to think of a way he could help. He scratched his chin and peered up towards the sky in deep thought. His train of thought was broken when he heard the comment of Koge needing to forage for worms and seeds. Kai chuckled at how distraught the poor bird seemed to the idea. "Calm your tail feathers, friend. I'll think of something that can keep you two working at your full strength." He said with a smile as he patted the spiky feathers on Koge's head for reassurance.
Kai turned to his backpack and searched for his own food ration bag. "Master Ozin has always known that I'm not one for eating much but even so he made sure that I had something." He opened the provisions bag and laid it out on the floor. With a prideful voice Kai accounted for everything."One salted fish and 1 loaf of bread. Haha! more than enough to last an entire tr-" He went silent as he realized how truly silly he was sounding to the fire user. What he had would probably not even last her a day of traveling. "Ah... Hmmm, this is quite the predicament, isn't it?... We could always cook the bird.." He looked at Jae with a cheeky grin and a chuckled "Relax Koge I'm just kidding.. Then again ostrich meat sounds pretty good..." He winked at Jae so she would know he was just teasing and closed his provisions bag with the food inside before placing it inside Jae's bag. "For what it's worth you can have my provisions, I can survive much longer without food, trust me." A menacing grow came from his stomach again, this time it could have been mistaken for a animal. His eyes went wide in embarrassment "Okay... Another solution would be to find some frozen Cranberries. The bushes are scattered all over. I've also spotted a few white rabbits around here, just have to go about catching one. And dont try to be modest on the provisions I gave you. 1 meal and I will survive till I reach the next village." with an expression of embarrassment still plaguing his face as he scratched his head.
As if to put an exclamation point on everything that transpired, Hwa-Jae's stomach decided that right then and there it needed to announce to the world that it desired a sacrifice of foodstuffs. Hwa-Jae laughed it off in a rather forced manner as she began to break into a silent panic. She only had a loaf of bread left. There was no way she could climb Mount Frappe on a single loaf of bread. She needed to find some real food and quickly or else she would have to double time it to the nearest town or city. Losing time at this juncture was out of the question.
When Kai offered his own food of another loaf of bread and some preserved fish, Hwa-Jae's stomach rumbled louder as if offended by the meagre offer. "Don't worry about it," Hwa-Jae said, "Keep those for rations. All we have to do is search the region for some game. It may be cold up here, but there has to be some decent hunting or how else would the region survive?"
Koge squawked loudly and pressed his beak up against Kai's nose when Kai suggested a bird roast for supper. "I already had to deal with a short fat hippo man wanting to eat me, and that was when a volcano was erupting around our heads! Maybe I should peck your eyes out, make a meal out of that! Eyeball stew!"
"Enough!" Hwa-Jae snapped at Koge and Kai, "You don't talk like that! It's rude and not friendly in the slightest! We have enough problems without you two going after each other. Let's just focus on finding some real food and not at sniping at one another. I swear, I had an easier time dealing with rowdy children back at the temple."
Hwa-Jae thought of what they could do to help with the food situation when she looked to Koge. "You like showing off your big wings, don't you?" She asked. She then pointed to the sky. "Why don't you use them to scout the area and look for some big game that we can hunt. Find something big."
"Big?" Koge tapped his beak with a wing in thought. "What, you mean like deer?"
Hwa-Jae spread her arms wide to denote size. "Bigger."
"A bear?"
"Bigger!"
Koge blinked. "What could there possibly be that's bigger than a bear, let alone something you can eat?"
Hwa-Jae smiled licked her lips. "I was thinking along the lines of... dinosaur!"
Now it was Koge's turn to baulk at Hwa-Jae's idea. "A dinosaur!?" he squawked. "You can't be serious! A dinosaur will eat you, not the other way around!"
Hwa-Jae gave a dismissive wave. Koge still did not realize how strong she was. Perhaps a demonstration was in order. "I'll be fine," she said, pointing to the sky. "You just worry about finding me that dinosaur to make for my dinner. Make sure it's a big one with lots of meat on the bone. Oh, and the sharper the teeth, the better. I want a little challenge from it after all. Remember, if you don't find me a good meal, I can't make you a good meal. It's mutually beneficial for us both, don't you think?"
Koge sighed, shook his head, and muttered something about humans and their need to make things more complicated. With wings spread, Koge took off into the sky as he began his reconnaissance of the area in search of dinosaur. With Koge gone, Hwa-Jae turned towards Kai and smiled at him.
"Berries and rabbits would make decent snacks, but not nearly enough food for what I need to work on," Hwa-Jae said, "There should be a dinosaur around these parts. Hopefully one of those paozusauruses. Those have plenty of meat, and with enough wood, I can cook up plenty of meat to last for a week at least."
"While we wait for Koge to come back, why not try to get another lesson in." Hwa-Jae sat down on the cold ground and crossed her legs, inviting Kai to do the same. "Let's try something you'd probably be more apt with when it comes to using your ki, and that is detecting the ki of others. I'm not suppressing my ki, so it should be simple enough."
Closing her eyes, Hwa-Jae folded her fingers together in a meditative manner. She took several deep breaths to calm herself as she prepared. "First, focus on your own ki. Find the source of your energy within your body, much like how you sought it out to project the ki. Now, instead of projecting, reflect on it. What colour is your energy? What does it feel like when you focus on it? You cannot hope to detect the energy of others if you cannot feel yourself. This is the sixth sense, the sense of energy. To focus on it, you must forego sight, smell, sound, taste, and touch. Your energy is the only thing you should know."
"Once you find that centre of your energy, let it flow outward like a guiding light. Extend your awareness beyond your person, beyond what you know, and move across the world of the spiritual. Find the energy. Seek out my energy. Seek out Master Ozin. Seek out the people, the animals, the plants. The ki will be small, but it is there. You won't be able to sense far to begin with, but it will be a start. You'll also not be able to tell the difference between ki at first, but as you refine your sixth sense, you will wonder how you lived without it."
As she watched Kai practice, Hwa-Jae thought of her own ki senses. She needed to train them to be greater than they were. At this range she could not sense the Kasai temple. It behoved her to expand her own powers so she could keep awareness of the Kasai in the event of the Black Fire Witch. She trusted the abilities of Cineza and Pyya, but she wanted to be absolutely sure.
A squawk alerted Hwa-Jae of Koge's return. Hwa-Jae floated up to meet him in the middle of the air so Kai could focus on his training. "Have you found something?" Hwa-Jae asked.
"I have!" Koge said, though with a hint of worry, "I found a big dinosaur hunting for food himself. Big horns on his head and big teeth in his mouth. Are you sure this is a good idea? We can just go to another city and buy those canned foods."
Hwa-Jae made a face at the idea of canned food. "No way, I won't eat stuff made of things I can't pronounce. Good job, Koge. You'll get a big fireball once I've eaten." She then turned to Kai. "Come on, Kai! Dinosaur is on the menu!"
The young snow haired boy scratched the back of his neck and turned away with embarrassment at being scolded by the novice Kasai warrior. He didn't mean to cause problems in the slightest, he was just teasing the Ostrich, although he would have to admit he went a bit to far. "Sorry..." He said softly as he turned back to her, shying away from her sight.
Thankfully she seemed to have an idea which knocked Kai's own out the park. She ordered Koge to take to the skies and search for a dinosaur. Hearing this suggestion had the the snow haired boy staring on with shock in his eyes. "You can't be serious... I have to agree with Koge, taking on a Dinosaur is extremely dangerous!" His warnings along with the ostrich's fell on deaf ears. Jae was adamant on getting a meal that would last and the sparkle in her eyes showed that her mind was set.
Kai let out a hefty sigh at the idea and rubbed the sides of his cranium as Koge took off into the air to conducted his search for a beast "I guess we're doing this then... If you believe it's possible, I trust your judgement.... BUT IT WONT CHANGE HOW I FEEL ABOUT THE IDEA... this will probably be the most crazy thing I've ever done." He flopped back down on to his backside as Jae invited him to take a seat. With the bird gone, they could continue their training... or Kai's training and Jae's teaching.
Seeing her smile brought a feeling of calmness to his nerves about the plan that was in the works, causing him to smile back at her in the process. "I guess we could get in a few minutes while Koge does his search." He went silent as she explained the next lesson that opened the sixth sense. The sense of feeling ki signatures around you.
Noticing Jae take a meditative position, Kai did the same and closed his eyes. Just like before when learning of ki projection he cleared his mind and of everything but the sound of the her voice. Focus on your own ki he was told, and he did as she said. In the dark reaches of his subconscious he found himself once more. With each breath he could see the brightness of the aura he held within. "I can see it... my aura is a bright white... with a light tint of aqua. But... despite it's cold colors it feels... warm" He spoke softly in response to her question and a smile crept on to his lips. "Like a hug from someone who cares for you." He seemed to trail off in the sight of his aura and in the magnificent show of his aura pulsing out like a heartbeat. All around him various lights shone in his mind. Jae, who sat before him was a bright, warm, orange flame. Embers continuously danced around her like fireflies.
Other ki signatures close by stuck out, trees, animals, plants, Koge in the air but one he felt a close connection to was further up on the mountain. Master Ozin's. His flowing blue aura danced with the freedom of water but just like Kai, it was a warm and compassionate. "I-I can feel it though, Jae. I can't see very far but. You... You are a warm and passionate flame... Master Ozin is light like water but like you, he too is warm." Kai paused for a second "It's almost like everything is connected in some way."
Something Kai had not noticed since his eyes where shut was the fact that his own aura had begun to visibly flow around him in a very calm manner. It flapped about gently like a disturbed flame but showed no signs of aggression. "It's beautiful to watch..." He said softly as his eyes opened and his aura dissipated.
The tranquil moment was interrupted by a squawk from above which alerted them both to Kogi's return. Jae quickly went to address her companion in the sky as Kai climbed to his feet. With a quick dusting off of his clothes Qin walked over to the fire and put his socks (which where now bone dry) back on before slipping on his sandals. Hearing Jae urge him to join her and Koge in the air, Kai quickly slung his arms through his Haori and leaped into the air creating a pillar of ice beneath his feet to be his standing stone in the air.
"Nice work Koge, that was some quick work..." Kai turned to the Fiery red head and noticed the expression of joy on her face. "I'm guessing you found a Paozusaurus considering the look on her face. Oh boy" He gulped but pushed the fear out of his mind, replacing it with determination. "Alright then, lets do this!" His eyes burned with scorching willpower. "Maybe we should have a plan of action." He pinched his lips as his mind wondered.
"If we take it by surprise it wont have much time to react, right? What if Koge circles over it's head acting as a decoy for me to get in position closer to it's feet. I could lay out some ice causing it to slip. When it starts to go off balance, Jae, you can pounce in with an attack" While Kai wasn't great with ideas, he always liked to assess a plan of attack when taking on an opponent. He had some knowledge of being strategic based on books he use to read in the temple but there was still much for him to actually learn outside the temple that his knowledge of books would not help with in the real world.
"What do you guys think?" Apart from Koge possibly having a protest about having to put himself in harms way, Kai didn't think Jae would turn down the idea.
Hwa-Jae did not understand what the issue was. Between Koge and Kai, it seemed neither of them ever went hunting before for fresh meat. It made sense for Koge being a bird who ate fire but for Kai it was a bit more unusual. Perhaps he was simply unused to outdoor living while Hwa-Jae trained in such with Elder Sister Pyya. There was also the fact that dinosaurs were massive reptiles were even the herbivores could be scary to regular people, let alone the carnivores. But it was the large meat-eaters that had the tastiest meat, at least to Hwa-Jae's tastes.
"Don't worry about the dinosaur thing right now," Hwa-Jae said, "You just focus on your ki training. You've already progressed leaps and bounds, which makes me think you were on the edge of discovering your ki. Perhaps your Master Ozin taught you more than you think. This is what the world looks like beyond our basic senses. You can easily get lost in it when you focus on the ki of the world itself. Eventually it just becomes as simple as seeing or hearing, but I wouldn't worry about not seeing the beauty with the sixth sense. Think of it as when you find a breathtaking landscape or a wonderful song. You focus on that with the appropriate senses. Now you have just discovered a sixth."
After Koge returned and reported the sighting of a suitable dinosaur, Hwa-Jae followed Koge with Kai close behind. When they spotted their prey, Hwa-Jae's smile widened. It was a large paozusaurus with a large crown of horns, massive sharp teeth, and most importantly, a big meaty tail. Hwa-Jae licked her lips in anticipation. All she had to do was cut the tail off and she'd have plenty of meat. The whole dinosaur would have been a waste. Unfortunately, the Kasai was not conducive to cutting.
Ice however...
As Kai talked about a plan, Hwa-Jae brushed it off. "Sneak attacks? That doesn't sound fun. This is already going to go badly for the dinosaur." Hwa-Jae pointed to the dinosaur. "I'm going to distract it. When the dinosaur gets a few bites in, I want you to make a big sharp icicle to cut off it's tail. Paozusaurus can regenerate lost limbs, so it will be fine. Besides, look at the size of that tail. Meat for days, weeks if I stretch it out."
Hwa-Jae did not hear any protests as she leapt from the bushes and into the open. As she moved forward, Koge looked at Kai with a glare. "You wanted to see me get eaten, didn't you?"
The dinosaur noticed Hwa-Jae and turned his massive head to her. Her smile still plastered on her face, she stared the paozusaurus in the eye even as it let out a thunderous roar. The trees shook from the noise of the roar, tearing the loose needles from the pine trees in the area. Despite the intimidating display, Hwa-Jae simply stood there, still smiling.
"I know this is going to hurt, but I kinda need your tail for food," Hwa-Jae said. "So I'll give you a shot. You can try to eat me, but you only get one bite. Better make it count!"
Koge's beak hung open as he heard Hwa-Jae's challenge to a hungry carnivore. "Is she crazy!?" he squawked, "She was having difficulty fighting robots, now she is facing a sharp tooth head-on? You have to stop her!"
Despite Koge's protests, Hwa-Jae held firm. The paozusaurus opened it's maw wide and lunged towards Hwa-Jae, only for her to jump out of the way with the greatest of ease. She scratched the back of her head and yawned as she landed on the tip of the paozusaurus bony head crest. The dinosaur shook its head, allowing Hwa-Jae to fall back down to the ground. She landed on her feet and shook her head.
"This isn't working," Hwa-Jae said. She then clapped her hands as an idea struck her. "Oh, I know! I can use this for another lesson in ki! Are you watching, Kai? I hope your watching carefully, this is important!"
The paozusaurus was not one for such lessons and tried to chomp down on Hwa-Jae's head, only for the Kasai to extend her hand and halt the gaping maw from enclosing around her. "Now, ki can be used to improve your physical abilities," she said in her teaching tone, "You do this by simply applying the ki to your body. Think of it as fuelling your body with energy to go beyond what someone your size and strength can do. Sort of like what I am doing right now."
Hwa-Jae suddenly ignited her orange aura. The paozusaurus blinked, unsure what to think or do in this situation. "This is me showing a good portion of my power. The aura is an outward expression, like exhaust from a chimney. As you increase your ki, your body will be capable of amazing things. You can lift boulders, run as swift as the wind, and be unharmed by things like bullets. Of course, you can also take down dinosaurs."
To show this, Hwa-Jae lashed out with a hard palm strike that struck the paozusaurus in the chin. The dinosaur's head went upwards of which Hwa-Jae followed up by taking to the air. Her hands behind her, she grabbed the paozusaurus by the snout and dropped it to the ground with a earth shaking thud. The paozusaurus's tongue hanged out as it looked utterly dazed.
"There we go," she said with a breath of air. "All right, Kai, you make an icicle and slice off some of his tail. Like I said, it will grow back."
Even with his plan of action set on the table it was swatted aside by his temporary master. She really was a wild one but her excitement for taking it head on without any sort of advantage caused something in the Snow haired boy to feel excited, plus the added comment from Koge caused him to snicker and smile. Kai slapped the back of the ostriches head and gave him a cheesy grin. "Not at all, pal. In fact I was hoping to do this as safely as it could possibly be. I was gonna make sure the Dino was on his butt before he could even open his gap" Kai spoke with sincerity, showing that he did actually care for the large fire bird.
Without warning Jae commenced her objective of getting the Paozusaurus attention. Kai's eyes bulged at how she seemed so calm in the face of danger. "Yup, you're are right Koge. We're crazy..." referring to Jae and himself for thinking this was a good idea. Realizing that he could not waste any time, Kai's expression change to complete focus. "I trust her, we can do this... I just need to get to higher ground." As he said this, Kai launched into the air on his pillar of ice and watched closely as the fiery red head showed her true strength, avoiding the beasts attack with ease.
Watching in astonishment, the snow haired boy focused on the Novice Kasai Warrior's words which urged this attention on to learning another ability which could help him in fights. "I'm watching! You're incredible, Jae!" He said with a cheer but his expression changed to fright when the Dinosaur attempted to gobble her up with a single bite, unfortunately for it, Jae would not be put down so easily, especially when she was trying to conduct a lesson.
Qin took mental notes on explanation to the concept of channeling one's own ki into physical strength. For Kai to achieve this, he would have to project his ki into his physical body instead of reflecting it or releasing it as he did before. Noticing the ease at which Jae managed to hold the beasts maw open, Kai could tell that it was the result of strengthening her arms and legs with ki, but what made it entirely visible was the bright orange aura which formed around her like a wild flame. A sweat droplet ran down Kai's cheek as he could quite literally feel her strength. Even with little focus on ki sensing, The firey red heads aura was like a lighthouse of power in the sight of ki sensing.
With her inner power tapped into, she delivered a powerful palm strike to the clueless dinosaur's chin, causing it's head to rear back before receiving a merciless stunner. The impact caused the beast to stumble about in a daze, unaware of the pain it would feel in a few moments. Hearing Jae's go-ahead, Kai leaped into the air and decided it was time that he implement her teachings.
Shutting his eyes he focused his energy, forming a ice blade over his right arm. "Here goes nothing!" When his eyes shot open, Kai's aqua tinted aura engulfed his body and like a bright blue flame, it danced about around him. "RAAAAAGH!!" His ice blade cut through the air before digging straight into the Paozusaurus tail... A tasty, well cut, raw steak was the result of their efforts as well as a teary eyed dino which hugged it's tail in shame.
Strangely enough, the Paozusaurus did not seem as intimidating as it did when they had first met. It mourned over the lost part of his tail and attempted to comfort the pain by embracing his tail. Kai carried the steak over to Jae on the tip of his ice blade, keeping a close eye on beast as he walked. Without warning, the Dino charged off with tears streaming down it's cheeks, ashamed by it's incapability of eating up the two little punks which had tarnished his pride. "Poor guy... I didn't think he'd react like that... I feel kinda bad now" Kai said with a concerned expression as he looked down. "You think he'll be okay?" Either way, they had their steak and Kai had learned yet another technique. "I did it though, did you see?" He smiled with pride as he offered the massive chunk of meat to Jae.
"Now all we need is for you relight that fire we had going and In the meantime, I'll see about getting a few pieces of a wood to make a spit on which we can roast the meat." He spoke with a grin as he charged towards Koge and hopped over the ostrich as if playing leap frog, the adrenaline and excitement causing his show of happiness.
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