Chapter 157 – Nokoh
By the time Siu returned to the Red Leaf, he had already calmed down while Vael walked beside him in silence, letting him think. Siu's thoughts were only broken when they entered the shop, and Quillian looked up at him, standing behind the counter.
“What's the long face for? Was the chamber not up to par?”
“No, nothing like that.” Siu smiled, shaking his head, "Also, I have a guest."
"Senior." Vael walked in just then, cupping his hands towards Quillian while looking around.
"Mhm." He greeted him with a simple nod, and before anyone could say anything else, Arya came bouncing down the stairs, skidding to a halt right before Siu.
“Master!” she yelled, barely able to stay still, bobbing up and down, her mismatched eyes glowing. “I'm ready!" She added, starting to shadowbox with Siu's chest. It was then that Arya noticed Vael, stopping, tilting her head, and looking around her master, ears going still, “Ah, the fugitive lightning man. Are we fighting him?”
"Eh?" Vael blinked, almost laughing. "Why would you fight me?"
"No, we aren't," Siu sighed. “And his name is Vael, Arya.”
"Congratulations," Vael bowed his head slightly, smiling, “For achieving your human form.”
"Master, I want to turn too!" Marly flew down from the top of the stairs just then, landing on Siu's head, “I want to be congratulated too!”
"In time," Siu reached up, patting her head, "Can't rush it."
"So?" Quillian’s eyes narrowed, coming out from behind the counter, “What did you do? What is this fight she is talking about?” He asked, pointing at Arya, who, because of their connection, already knew everything.
“I accepted a duel,” Siu answered simply, but Quillian's eyes just narrowed even more, his brows raising.
“With who?”
"I don't know his name," Siu shook his head, and Arya quickly added.
“With a beast! A dog!”
"Haaah..." Quillian exhaled, leaning on his cane, "We do NOT accept duels against people we do not even know... And what's up with this dog thing?"
“Wolf.” Vael corrected, but Arya just rolled her eyes, making faces while keeping her back towards Vael. "It's name was Cho’Wa.”
"Never heard of it," Quillian added at once, running his fingers through his beard. "Knowing you, this wasn't something simple, so... What really happened, hm?"
As Siu was retelling what happened, Arya did not listen at all; she was walking back and forth, her tail slapping left and right, excitedly.
“Good,” she muttered. “Good, good... Finally. A proper fight. If that wolf thinks he is scary, snarling at Master, I will show him something scary. I will make him chase three of me and then kick him in the nose so he can only smell my feet for weeks...”
“Let's leave the strategizing for me, okay?” Siu said, finishing his explanation, “Which will be the same as usual. I will deal with the brunt of it, while you are supporting me.”
"I can do that even better now!" Arya grinned, snapping her fingers, creating bright sparks, and making Quillian smack her on the top of her head with his cane for doing it in his shop.
"OWIE!"
"I don't know..." Vael crossed his arms, ignoring Arya's pouting and teary eyes. “Something is fishy. If Siu is right and this is a setup, which I agree with by the way, then he had to know Arya had transformed. Did we miss something?”
“You did,” Quillian said at once, "Arya is no longer considered a beast." He pointed at her with his cane, making her hide behind Siu.
"..." Siu looked at him, realizing the problem. "So Arya won't be able to fight in the duel...?"
"What?! No!" Arya slapped one fist into her palm. “I fight! We beat them. Then everyone learns foxes are better than wolves! I can't not fight!”
“Apparently, it may happen...” Siu muttered, crossing his arms, rubbing his chin, realizing the core of the issue, "Which would leave me with Marly."
“Eh?! Me?!”
“Didn't you just complain about not transforming?” He asked back with a half-smile, "Maybe this would help you reach it."
“W-w-well... I'm fine like this!” She answered at once, audibly nervous.
“Afraid?” Arya asked too, grinning.
“Wolves... are scary...” Marly muttered, and, hearing that, Arya's smile disappeared, and she began tiptoing to pick her off Siu's head, then started patting her head.
"Well," Siu muttered, looking around everyone, "This just got a bit trickier..."
Before Arya or anyone else could offer a 'solution,' the bell above the door chimed again. When they turned, Seloryn stepped inside, surprised that everyone was down and clearly in the middle of a serious discussion.
“Oh? Did I interrupt something?"
"Not exactly," Quillian hummed, still stroking his beard. “Maybe you have more information for us on the topic.”
“What topic?" She asked, closing the door, becoming suspicious, "I'm not a gossiping type, just so you know. I came to check on Arya’s first morning after registration, that's all."
"It was good, but now it's super bad!" Arya said, beginning to complain, waving her hands around, "I may not fight, which is bullshit! I want to twist my human hips!"
"Um," Seloryn's smile became a bit more forceful as she looked at Siu. “What the hell happened?”
"I feel like a parrot," He sighed, retelling everything to her very briefly... And the moment he mentioned the wolf's name, Seloryn went still.
"That's... not good," Vael muttered, as now everyone was looking at Seloryn.
"Siu..." She kept looking at him seriously. “Say that again.”
“Cho’Wa.”
“The boy... Dark hair tied high? Narrow face?" Seloryn continued to ask in a hurry, detailing more about the boy with every new question.
“Yes...? To all?”
"Tsk..." She exhaled through her nose, shaking her head, “That's Nokoh.”
"So..." Siu crossed his arms, raising a brow. “That sounds like a problem, I guess? Care to explain more?”
“It is not ideal,” Seloryn nodded, biting onto his thumb.
"This is stupid!" Arya crossed her arms, imitating Siu, standing before him, “Who the wolf manure is Nokoh?”
"A Paragon," Seloryn’s gaze moved to her while speaking, and Siu’s face finally changed, becoming much more serious after hearing her, "He is the current 100th."
"Paragon?" Vael frowned, first time hearing of the list, but guessing it was some kind of ranking system inside the Sect. “That is... I guess, a high position?”
"Amongst all the Inner Disciples?" Seloryn snorted, half-smiling. “To be on it at all means the disciple is one of the strongest active inner disciples of the sect. Rank one hundred is the last seat, but it is still a seat on the Paragon List.”
"Well... At least we now know Merran has connections to pull someone like this Nokoh guy into the fray." Siu shrugged, not really sounding bothered or nervous. "I never expected that to be the case."
“Nokoh and Cho’Wa are known as a paired fighter." Seloryn continued, looking into Siu's eyes, "Their style is built around fighting together as one body, and please do take this seriously. Cho’Wa is fast and attacks at low angles, going for limbs, especially knees and wrists, to immobilize its target for its master. Nokoh then follows through the opening, and even if you dodge the wolf, Nokoh is already where you can do nothing but either dodge, block, or suffer a hit. Even if you block Nokoh, the wolf attacks from your blind side next. When I say they are fighting together, I mean it.”
“So coordination,” Siu said, still pretty calm, "Nothing new, I fought like that with Arya and Marly before."
"How do I put this nicely...?" Vael spoke quietly. “Are they savage?”
"Mhm..." Seloryn closed her eyes, trying to recall what she saw of them fighting, thinking. “No, but they aren't afraid to injure you. All things considered, Nokoh’s style is not elegant, and they are known for ending fights quickly and leaving their opponents unable to stand for days.”
"That's why I will fight!" Arya bared her teeth, starting to hop around again. “I will fight with Master.”
“Arya,” Siu said, putting a hand on her shoulder to keep her still, "There is a high chance you won't be able to."
"M-m-master..." Marly lifted one, trembling paw. “I... I will... f-f-f-fight...”
“You don't have to,” He said at once, but Marly just gulped.
"Master saved me... I... Will... Fight."
"I can't do much, but tell you all I know of the two. They are pretty fresh, so I only saw them fight once," Seloryn continued, noticing the exchange between Siu and Marly. “Nokoh likes forcing opponents into reacting to Cho’Wa, so always expect him to try and trick you, staying back while his wolf goes forward. Also, do not let the wolf choose the pace... This is why he managed to get to the list; their way of fighting is unique compared to all the other Paragons, and you can't focus on just one, you have to always look at both of them.”
“Marly can help with that,” Siu said, an idea already forming in his mind.
"Eh?" Marly blinked. “I can?”
“You’re good at noticing movement from above,” Siu spoke out loudly, looking at her with one eye. "If they exclude Arya, you will take her place and make sure to keep watch from above. You don't need to actually fight, but you will keep an eye on them, even if I'm not looking."
"I will do it!" She nodded, gathering all her bravery, hoping that when she saw the wolf for real, she would be able to hold onto it.
...
..A bit earlier..
......
Nokoh waited until Siu was gone, while Cho’Wa remained at his side, its eyes fixed on Siu’s back until the last moment, and only then did the wolf lower his head, starting to pant and wag his tail. As for Nokoh, he was a bit unsure now, with how quickly Siu had understood everything, yet still taking the bait. Maybe he was just overconfident; he had seen that happen a few times already, but... maybe it was his wolf's senses that told him to be careful. No. He can't start feeling nervous; he was on the Paragon List, while this boy was just a nobody. He will get this done with, and move forward, climbing the List to the top!
“Senior Brother Nokoh,” he flinched as the other disciples with whom he was walking finally began asking questions, "What the hell was that? This is not how you usually act..."
"..." Nokoh said nothing at first, but seeing their suspicious looks, he just shrugged, "I'm doing this for a favor."
"Well..." Hearing that, the others exchanged a look and lowered their voice, unsure who could have put Nokoh in their debt. Did something happen they didn't know of? “We aren't judging, it just... came out of nowhere.”
"You know how Cho'Wa has been stuck for more than a year now," Nokoh began walking again, putting his hands into his pockets. “Handler Merra has access to resource allotments... that could help. And he is worth more than anything else, so I'm not going to let an opportunity like this slip.”
No one argued; they all had their own beasts, and everyone with a mutual contract knew what he was talking about.
"Do we know why Merra wants you to beat this kid?”
"She got humiliated big time by him," Nokoh shrugged. "She said the sect is becoming careless with promotion and said certain disciples need correction because they think that after being promoted, they can just insult the servants because they are wearing a silver sash now.”
"Be careful," One of his friends said in a serious tone, "That sounds like Merra trying to hide the true reason! I don't like that woman, and isn't it a bit overkill to send you to beat down a fresh disciple? There is something she is not telling you. Don't fall into a trap.”
“I thought about it, too,” Nokoh nodded, "But the payment is not something I can pass up on. Those ingredients are... not cheap. Also, I do not care if Siu offended her... I won't really hurt him. A quick knockout, that's all. Nobody will think anything about it, as he is still a man with no reputation; I would have heard of him already if he were someone or a rising talent. Guys, thank you for worrying, but it's nothing, really. I'll get this done, and then a few days later... Cho'Wa will finally take his human form.”
"I still think it is a bit overkill..." His friend muttered, "You are now on the Paragon List, don't throw that away."
"You think he would beat me?" Nokoh snorted, "I will beat him cleanly hard enough that Merra feels satisfied, but not hard enough to hurt him for real. Everyone wins, me the ingredients, the boy a lesson.”
“And if he is stronger than expected?”
"I will not lose." He answered, while Cho'Wa also barked loudly, "Let's go... We are already late anyway."