Chapter 80 – Signs
Since the first day, every morning before breakfast and every evening before dinner, it was the same routine for Siu, Marly, and Arya. Even if the two complained about it every day, even if they tried to slink away, there was no escape. Simply because if they tried to run for it, Siu decided the game was on, and they would do it running around the Sect, no matter the consequences. They knew he was serious about it... So, they gave up and confined themselves to the training field. If not, there was a high chance that they would miss both breakfast and dinner, maybe even lunch, too, as Siu would chase them until the game of tag was over.
An unimaginable horror, in both of their eyes.
As for Siu, he stood still for a brief moment, feeling how his muscles ached and burned all over his sweating body, and yet, his blood rushed through his veins, keeping him at full alert while his eyes scanned the field. This was the longest round they had so far, nearing the two-hour mark... Of course, across the ring from him, two small figures crouched, facing him, panting heavily. Arya’s golden-tipped tail flicked back and forth behind her like an angry cat, her eyes almost glowing, fearing that if she blinked, her Master would make a move at her. Looking at his fox, Siu was sure that the golden eye increasingly reflected the dying sunlight, while the silver one seemed to grow brighter and brighter as the moon became visible.
It was a change he observed, both in the mornings, playing out in reverse, and now in the evenings, becoming more and more prevalent with every session. He was sure that whatever powers she had in her blood were slowly awakening... maybe even signaling that she was close to her evolution and close to donning a human form. But she wasn't the only one, because beside her, Marly crouched just the same, flat on all fours, her flaps tucked close against her body. Her tail was puffed up nervously as she glanced between Siu and Arya, trying to see where they would move and where she should go to avoid them both. Even if she never noticed it, Siu did catch a glimpse that the little squirrel was becoming faster and faster, even managing to fly around without following the wind's direction.
"Big Sis... He’s faster now... We can't dodge for much longer!" Marly whispered in a panic, and of course, Siu could hear them clearly. "Why isn't he getting tired?!"
"Yes... I noticed..."
"Much faster! Big Sis, I don’t like this game anymore… I don't want to be the last one to eat!" Arya’s tail brushed Marly reassuringly at that, but her eyes never left Siu, trying to read what his next move would be.
"Relax... We haven’t lost today."
Siu smiled faintly, an idea coming to his mind, but that didn’t mean he could act on it. It was a good thing he stayed put, because the moment he thought about what he should do, Arya already flinched, her body almost shooting out towards the left, in a zigzagging path, to perfectly counter and dodge his attempt. It was clear that Siu had been focusing on her today the most, as poor Marly had been caught three times in a row by now.
“Ready?” Siu asked aloud, suddenly. "Or are we going to keep staring at each other like some drunk old man and a scarecrow on a field?"
“No!”
As for what she meant by that, it was hard to tell, even for Siu, watching how she bolted away, and how Marly followed immediately, launching herself upward and gliding across the ring toward one of the tall training posts. At once, Siu let his body do the thinking for him as his feet tore across the grounds as he sprinted toward Arya’s path, cutting across the ring. Without thinking about it, he had been using the Wild Cat's speed and agility to a much higher degree than ever before, a clear result of their constant training.
"Left!" The thought flashed across the trio, coming from Arya.
Siu’s body turned at once, his feet dug into the clay as he redirected his trajectory mid-step, his arm snapping out toward her... Nothing.
"Crafty!" He chortled because, in reality, Arya had turned right and slipped beneath his shadow, for a moment disappearing like she had become invisible and reappearing between two posts before veering sharply toward the far side of the field.
"You fell for it!" Arya teased through their bond, looking over her shoulder to see Siu following her without pause.
“True.” He answered, but this time, he ignored the fox entirely as his body angled sharply toward Marly instead, right where she was about to touch down.
"Big Sis—!"
"Don’t panic!" Arya’s mind flashed with annoyance, "You are too easily scared, get it together, or you will be last to eat again!"
It was easier said than done, thought Marly, especially seeing how Siu was already closing the distance, his eyes locked onto her, looking just like the Red-eyed Squierrel did. It was too scary! Trying to overcome her feelings, Marly flung herself sideways, her flaps open wide as she used the wind to glide just out of reach, feeling how Siu’s hand grazed her tail, making her squeal.
“I almost had you.”
“Nooooo!” Marly wailed. "Not agaaaaaaaain!" She cried as she landed just as Arya slid to a stop beside her.
“Focus! For Heaven's sake! This is why he captures you!”
The two immediately broke in opposite directions because Siu wasn't giving them any time to regroup. This time, he was going after Arya one more time, wanting to indeed give Marly a bit of a breather, because losing too many times would for sure cause her to lose interest and faith in improving, and he did not want that. Watching closely how Arya's body flickered between shadows and streaks of gold as the dying sunlight reflected on her fur... Something was happening, and sure enough, it was followed by little motes of light that tracked her movements, left behind with every step she took, dazzling him multiple times, like sunlight being reflected on a shiny surface, right into his eyes.
When he ignored the lights, it seemed like Arya's body suddenly blurred, her lower half wiggling as... Two foxes sprinted across the field, separating from the original, looking exactly the same. It would have been confusing to watch her do it, but Siu didn’t think about it at all. His hand simply shot forward at random, swiping, and the first fox dissolved into sparks, exploding into bright light, actually strong enough to force him to look away. Using the moment, Arya slipped past his reach again, turning sharply while her last decoy dissipated, but... Siu used Marly's position above them all to let him sense and 'see' everything. Arya was behind him...
Still blinded, he was already skidding and turning back, finding his balance with one hand, pushing with the other, back in pursuit, even making Arya yelp in surprise. Like a dog on a trail, a hound sniffing blood, he relentlessly kept going after Arya, his breathing sounding uneven, but still using his personal rhythm... and it happened then. None of the three really noticed it, at least not consciously. For a brief instant, Siu’s body shifted, and his movement blurred, just like Arya did a moment ago. Following his strange sense of bubbles rushing through his blood, behind him, a second outline flickered into existence. It was there for less than a second, lasting less than a blink, but it was there long enough for Arya to see a hand grab towards her from the right, causing her to dodge and...
Get caught from the left, as Siu's fingers lifted her up off the ground, holding close to his chest, before crashing. The momentum kept carrying Siu further, making him stumble and tumble, roll over multiple times before hitting the fence, coming to a halt.
"Ouch..." He moaned after everything stopped spinning. Luckily, Arya was fine, held close to him, panting for air, both of them.
"Hauh... how did you do that, Master?!" She moaned, a bit dizzy, while Marly landed before them, squeaking so quickly that, not even through their connection, could they understand her. Well, they could only tell there were snippets of actual words in there somewhere.
"Copy, Master, Two, Arya, Powers!"
“Ugh... slow down...” Arya moaned, sitting up in Siu's lap after he finally let her go, "You won't be the last this time around... hauh... I hate this game.”
"I think you are lying," Siu said with a grin, making Arya roll her eyes at him, because, true... it was fun. Unless she was caught, then it wasn't anymore. “Well, I get it... You lost.”
“You distracted me!” Arya pouted, slapping his knees with her tail as she kept swinging it around like a fan, "I just... don't know how! Hmph!"
"I am getting so fast, it's confusing for you two." He answered with a laugh, not in a hurry to stand up, because he could feel the exhaustion washing over him, "Haaah... Let's get our bearings, and then we will go, take a bath, and then have dinner. It will feel good!"
"Food!" Marly yelled happily, while Arya's stomach growled louder than she did, looking at the two, showing her teeth and twitching her eyes.
"Oh shut up! Both of you... Unfair... Cheaters or something..."
...
....
......
"Hmmm..." It was early evening, and Bren Tarr was heading down from the mountains, through a narrow path, just finishing his meditation, when Chalvert had run up to him, bringing along his weekly report. It wasn't hard to tell the man had been waiting for him there, probably for the latter part of the afternoon, simply by the way he kept rubbing his hands together, fighting against the early spring's cold winds. "Good job bringing this to me. Was it Toban who delivered it?"
"No," Chalvert shook his head, "A girl named Lorean came in with it. She said she is going to replace Toban's position as our contact."
"Interesting," Bren muttered, but paid little attention to it, feeling that they only cared about money anyway. "Did you read it?"
"Of course not!" Chalvert exclaimed, "I wouldn't dare."
"Then read it," He handed it back at once, "Because it will be your job to confirm their information."
Taking a peek, Chalvert soon read that the letter was all about Siu, as the Stone Ward had paid them a hefty sum to deliver a detailed report on his powers. It contained a lot, including his age, height, weight, and the training regimen he was adhering to. More than that, there were three forms mentioned below that he was proficient in, all coming from the Hollow Song Sect's own martial foundation: The Crane, The Ox, and The Wild Cat.
"Do we believe them? Did he really only train in the basics? It is hard to take seriously..." Chalvert offered, but Bren just snorted at the question.
"You can trust the Scroll's information network, I learned that throughout the years. I hate to admit it, but whoever built them up... Tsk, has to be an Inner Disciple already, or who knows... Anyway! Have our spies continue to spar with him, and make sure to drill this information into them! I want confirmation, first-hand experience, and then we will set up a match with Siu in a way he can't refuse and teach him a lesson. A good beating will weaken these... Wardens, the bastard name stealers, to finally pipe down! Then we can fully focus on breaking the Circle apart."
"I will contact Varren at once!" Chalvert nodded, handing the letter back to him, "Um..."
"Just say it." Bren shrugged as they stopped, facing him with his full attention, "What is it?"
"Siu had announced that any spars that involve him will cost money. He started with three Ember Crystals, then raised it to five. Varren's last report said it's now eight per session."
"Send the money over," Bren said with a shrug, "If he keeps raising the amount, keep paying." He smiled suddenly, rubbing his chin, "It will also create an issue for them, because the rest of their members will see it as him, extracting funds from them, getting more and more, giving back basically nothing. Let him dig his own grave; it's better for us that way. He is an amateur, after all, and that amount is nothing for us!"
"Heh," Chalvert nodded with a chortle, "Yes, yes! He is!"
"Now go," Bren said, waving a hand, "Confirm everything, then we will start setting up a trap... It has been a long time since I fought publicly; maybe it's time to remind everybody who is the number one association amongst our ranks."