The Heavens Shall Fall

The library, which was always quiet, was even more tranquil at that late hour. Most disciples avoided it late at night unless they had a flipped way of living, because for some people or for some techniques it was preferred to be active at night while sleeping through the day... but those were the minority. At least, in the Hollow Song Sect, that is.

As for Arya, she had long since fallen asleep on top of his head like a lopsided hat, but at least she hadn't started drooling. Her tiny paws were twitching, though, occasionally scraping against his temple as she dreamed about running somewhere or chasing something. Marly wasn't much different, because she had curled up around his neck, snoring softly and periodically releasing a satisfied squeak, while Siu could feel from her dreams that she had just found a massive stash of food.

Shaking his head, blocking out their dreams, he refocused his mind on the task at hand, looking at the book before him.

The Wild Dog Form

The written description was shorter than the others. While many techniques were explained in great detail because they required strict discipline to execute properly, apparently, this one was quite the opposite. It was nothing like the Fox's version, at least. Reading on, it became apparent really fast that the Wild Dog emphasized a great amount of unpredictability, similar to the Fox, but instead of deception, it was all about uncontrolled aggression.

"Uncontrolled..." He muttered, as the word was clearly the key to it.

There was no actual 'Form' to speak of, no real guides or abstract illustrations, no long descriptions, as the whole thing depended on nothing but pure instinct and reactability. Which made it hard... harder than any disciple would first think. As for why it was like that, there was an answer, at the end, the creator clearly reading future disciples' minds and their prime question of why:

The enemy must never be allowed to read your rhythm.

“Interesting.” He muttered as he leaned back in his chair.

While it may seem like an easy technique to master, with all he had learned so far, he knew why this was considered one of the advanced forms within the rest. Without ever learning how to link the others together or merge them, using the Wild Dog meant nothing. Because there were no actual patterns, the style relied on the others he had learned so far, linking them through relentless pressure, without any elegance or structure, but through pure chaos and violence. There was even a warning paragraph detailing that this Form was created to counter-counters and to use when the opponent was a defensive specialist.

"A high risk technique..." He muttered, closing the book, crossing his arms, and thinking about it for a moment before standing back up. “After the Fox, this seems easy, but I can't let myself think like that… Or Elder Thane would beat me when he comes back.”

...

....

......

The training grounds were almost empty when Siu arrived, wiping drool from his face, but not one that was his, because Arya was moaning and groaning on the top of his head.

"It's not even mooooorning..."

"Shouldn't you be an evening person?" He asked, chuckling, rolling his shoulders, "Same for you?" He added, looking at Marly, who was up, but only with one eye, the other still rolled into the back of her head, almost snoring, blowing a bubble from one of her nostrils.

"You are being a racist..." Arya grunted, making Siu tumble and open his mouth to say something, but he just shut it, rolling his eyes.

"One day, I'm going to spank you both."

In the end, he just put the two down onto the ground, letting them huddle together, even though the air wasn't freezing like in the winter anymore. However, before sunrise, the spring air was chilly, exactly what he liked most about it.

Rerunning the information about the booklet in his mind, he fell into his breathing technique, then began cycling through what he had already learnt, starting with the very first, the Crane. Then came the Ox... the Cat and the Fox, easily switching back and forth, even using them at once, knowing how to add the Ox's stability and power to the Crane's counter, but...

“Wild Dog…” He stopped, furrowing his brows, realising the issue he was facing. "I need a training partner for this."

Without someone to respond to, how will he learn how to react and act on instinct? Should he call for Tian? Maybe... But he for sure has his hands full, especially with having a stag to look after. Call on Miri and Nilli? No. They would for sure ask for something in return, and he knew what that would be. Neya? She was the logical choice, but just then, his eyes settled on the two, lazy little ones.

"Wake up." He spoke out loud, now standing over the two, "It is training time!"

"Eh...?" They moaned, looking up at their Master, squinting, barely being able to say anything else.

"We are training." He continued, telling them both aloud and through their links, "Come on, up! You are in the sect, and you will start training from now on. Don't you want to grow and learn? Well, only eating will not be enough, so up! You are joining me from now on."

"B-b-b-but!" The two yelped, as if their tails had been stepped on, suddenly very much awake.

"Onto the field!" He said, hoisting them up and literally tossing the two into the ring, making them land on all fours, their furs bristling, "First exercise... Tag! I'm 'it,' and you have to dodge me. Got it?"

"Buuuuut!" Arya began, but Siu already moved, sprinting towards them.

"First to get caught eats last at breakfast!"

Now that was the magic word... because suddenly both of them split, dodging his outstretched arms, becoming just as alert as if the Icecrown Stag had waltzed into their training ring, here to finish the job. While dodging his first attempt at poking them, Arya’s tail flicked sharply behind her as she glared at him, complaining like a teenage daughter.

“You woke us up for this…?!” She growled as her ears flattened against her skull, still dodging her master's outstretched finger, aiming to tap her tail, forcing Arya to quickly swing it out of the way. “And just before breakfast!”

“Master, why…?! I am a good girl, Marly is a good girl, why?! Punish Arya, not Marly!" His squirrel cried out, jumping into the air, using the wind and her outstretched flaps to change course mid-air, dodging Siu's hand.

"Hey! Traitor!"

"Gotcha!" Siu chortled, using the Cat's movement to switch direction, now aiming at Arya again, who stopped to yell at Marly. But...

One moment she was standing there, the next she was already sprinting toward the outer edge of the ring, her fox body slipping through his legs, dodging and weaving like she was not even a fox but a weasel. It didn't make him angry, though; instead, Siu smiled, enjoying this morning play, realizing that this was even better than challenging Tian or anyone else. He could totally let his own thoughts go and let his body do the chosen and appropriate movement on its own.

He had to, for the exact reason the other two were being read and chased perfectly... he could hear them. If he thought about what move he was about to unleash, they would feel and hear it too. All of his movements had to be done by instinct and instinct alone, or he would give away his own pattern. It was the perfect training method... as if tailored for this exact moment.

“Alright…” He lowered his stance slightly, watching the sprinting black blur that was Arya, and the gliding brown body of Marly, who was almost hovering in the air, using the wind as a second nature. “…let’s see what this form actually requires.”

He moved again, using the first set that came to his mind, causing the ground to crumble beneath his bare feet as he sprinted toward Arya, cutting off her path, as if he was indeed a dog chasing a fox on a grand hunt. Sensing him before seeing him, Arya skidded sideways the moment she felt his approach.

Left!

The thought flashed across their minds through their connection before the movement even finished on her part, and thus, Siu reacted instantly. His body twisted sharply, redirecting mid-stride as he lunged after her, using the Crane's counter to strike out and catch her, along with the Cat's speed, but... Too slow. Just by instinct, just by reaction as the Dog's form required, he couldn't string them together. Even with the Fox's deception now something he could use, it wasn't the same. The latter worked on intentionally changing the direction of predetermined moves... Unlike now, where everything came at a whim, causing the flow to be choppy and filled with noise.

It was no wonder that Arya darted between his flailing arms and vanished around the far side of the ring in a shiny blur, leaving behind glittering motes of light that actually confused Siu as he looked into them. He had seen something similar when she was being chased by the first bird Siu had ever fought, a Bluetipped Ironclaw. But there was no time to guess, because he heard how just behind him, Marly dropped from the air like a falling stone.

Using the Cat's agility, Siu didn’t even look back as he changed direction, and he spun sharply, hand snapping backward in a sudden jab. Seeing him switch targets to her, Marly squeaked in surprise as his finger missed her nose by less than a hair's breadth. She immediately launched herself sideways, gliding low across the dirt before catching the ground again and scrambling away, running on all fours, kicking up dust of red clay everywhere.

“Almost!” Siu laughed out, answered by the other two.

"Nooooooh!" Marly cried, not wanting to get caught first, "I wasn't caught, I wasn't!"

"He said almost!" Arya’s voice echoed in their minds, "Heh! Too slow, Master!"

Apparently, she was beginning to like their play, so he lunged again, but this time he didn’t chase the fox; he kept pursuing Marly, who was still panicking. She felt like being... An easy target. With quick steps, he cut across the field again, straight toward Marly, while the squirrel squealed in alarm as she realized what he was doing.

"ARYA—!" She cried out for help, but it was too late, because Siu had already dove forward.

Marly swung her tail in the opposite direction at the last moment, which helped her wrench the rest of her body mid-run, her small figure flipping sideways in a desperate dodge as his hand grazed the fur along her tail. With a thump, she bounced off the ground, rolled a little, scrambling back to all fours, and kept sprinting toward Arya’s position.

"Big Sis! Heeeeelp! Heeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaalp!" She cried, even forgetting to speak the words correctly.

Without thinking, Siu followed the two at once, seeing that Arya groaned as Marly rushed at her, the frantic movement causing Arya to pause and try to decide which method would be best for fleeing... but that only gave Siu time to reach them.

"Up!" Arya cried out, and Marly obeyed, kicking herself off the ground, upward again, catching the wind and gliding even higher, out of Siu's way just at the last time as his hand snapped upwards, missing to grab onto her fluffy tail.

But he wasn't done, as he was already redirecting his hand to grasp at Arya... who suddenly blurred as if there were two of them. There was no hesitation in choosing his target, and Siu's hand went through her mirage-like form, while the other also dissipated, revealing that she wasn't even there. There was no time to think and guess what was happening, so he kicked out, the wind changing against the power of his legs, cutting away the currents Marly was riding. The moment she felt it get disrupted, she squeaked as the sudden vibration rattled her path, causing her to plummet, right towards her Master's outstretched hands.

"Big Siiiiiiiis!" She cried out in fright

Siu was sure he would catch her, but just then, Arya flew past him, headbutting his hand like a ram, pushing it out of the way, letting Marly crashland and scramble away, while she did her best to dodge Siu's other hand, already there to catch her. She pushed, flicking her tail and summoning more motes of light, trying to dazzle Siu, but as he was doing his best to act on sheer instinct, the blinding effect meant nothing in that moment.

His arm was already in motion, his fingers opening and closing, and...

"Owie!"

Sure enough, by the time he began seeing clearly once again, Arya was dangling from his fingers, caught by the tail, held up like a chicken, pouting and wriggling, clearly angry about being the one who got caught.

"Unfair! Unfair! Rematch! I want a rematch! Two or nothing! Three or all!"

"That last part means nothing." Siu grinned, gasping for air, realizing how sweaty he was and how much his muscles hurt, his blood thrumming in his veins. He had stretched his body to the limit, to a point he didn't even realize he could do something like it... The technique was dangerous; that much was already clear. "Relax." He chuckled, putting Arya down, watching as Marly came up to her, hiding half her face behind her bushy tail. She knew Arya had lost because she tried to save her. "This was only the first time, I won't make you eat last."

"Really?!" Arya asked, her eyes twinkling again, back on all fours, waving her tail like an overexcited puppy. "I can't live without my meat! I can't let the best parts be gobbled up by others!"

"But," Siu continued, standing over them, with a serious look, "From tomorrow on... the rules will be in effect. Take today as a form of practice. Understood?"

"Big Sis..." Marly muttered, but Arya just hugged her with her tail, standing up on her hind legs, looking up at Siu.

"And if you... Don't catch us?" She asked, her mismatched eyes almost shining like lanterns, reflecting the sun that had just risen above the mountains, bathing them in a golden light.

"Then I will buy you all the food for breakfast."

"Master..." Arya said as both of them gulped heavily, "Don't you dare go back on your promise!"