Dark waters Chapter 2 Part III
My Gosh this is annoying. This will be the last time I post long fanfiction here. ;.;
Scene Three of Five
With a little bit of coaxing of his friends, Raimundo managed to get everyone to help finish up the dishes. But from that point, much to the young group's exasperation, it was back to the daily routine of things. Omi was exceedingly adverse to the change back to normalcy as the foreboding nature of time still haunted him. He could feel the pit of his stomach churn with nerves as he only had four weeks of this life before he would be alone on his mission. Suddenly he really didn’t want to do much of anything today, and instead he simply wanted to go into his chambers and stare off into the nothingness of his room. But his engagements mocked him, even as they would help him get closer to what was soon to be. It seemed as though they would never be allotted time to recuperate, especially now that time was of the essence. Though to his friends’ relief, training was the first thing on the agenda.
They arrived in an average sized training ground and immediately went to busying themselves with warm-ups. For Kimiko, Raimundo, and Omi this was a relief beyond relief; they had eaten to their fill for the first time in two days, and now they got too moving around. The feel of exercising all of their sleeping muscles got them free of the cage that was their body, the cage that had kept them captive for so long. As for Clay, he was just happy to have companionship to join him.
It would have been a lie to say their moves were not flawless, because their movement alone told the tale of perfection, but even so, this perfection was not limited to knowing and memorizing moves; their moves did not just speak a tale, they sung a burst of feeling and energy, something that the children sometimes lacked from the over use and boring patterns. Playing off their counterpart's moves with the grace and wisdom of a thousand years, it was a sight to behold; to see them perform with fluent ease, the moves that had for so long been barely acceptable and mind numbing with the flow of life was indeed a sight.
It wasn’t until thirty minutes into warm-ups though, that their ears were greeted by the frivolous fickle sound of warm and proud clapping. This stopped all movement on the playing board and had everyone turning their attention to a figure that arrived, masked in shadows.
A voice rose over the sound of clapping, "Well done, young ones." Master Fung stepped into the light, an eloquent smile tasting his ancient face. "It has been a long time since you have done so well..." Omi drew his gaze over the withered figure as he was washed in light. Breathing heavily from the exertion of their laborious warm-ups, Omi raised an eyebrow at Master Fung’s somewhat disheveled appearance. Even through the flickering lights the room provided, the glossy sheen of sweat was apparent over his balding brow. His usually immaculate dress was shifted and wrinkled oddly in several places. A weary expression was very apparent through his eyes, as the smile the man harbored just didn’t reach. Omi forced the thought to the back of his mind as Clay began after a deep breath.
"Thank you Master Fung," Clay huffed with his think accent and tipped his hat respectfully.
"I thank you for your praise most greatly," Omi bowed deeply his hands clasped together formally. Upon returning to his upright position, he used the back of his hand to wipe away a streak of sweat that had begun to gather down his cheek.
Master Fung, who seemed to be in somewhat of a rush interrupted the other two before their time permitted them thanks. Waving a hand in a half-hazard dismissal to their comments he continued, "There is no need for thanks, young dragons, it is all your own work that made your moves a dance. Maybe I should lock you in boxes more often?" The question was asked with a smile but was not greeted by one. Everyone’s face fell and darkened, though Clay also had that look one gets before they vomit as he turned his face away. Their Master laughed at this response and stepped forward, hands buried deeply into his red sleeves managing to straighten out most of the uncharacteristic wrinkles in his clothes through the simple gesture. "Or, perhaps not. It is a form of torture after all..." everyone’s face brightened at that, in hope more than anything else, though pleading was in there too.
"Don't get your hopes up kids," a mocking voice came out of the sanctity of Master Fung's shirt. Suddenly the green of a head poked its way out of their Master's shirt collar. "He didn't come to give you praise and be on his merry way..." The two-armed dragon slithered his way out of the confines and made his way to the ground. He did not look pleased and his seriousness lit flame and burned the previous carelessness setting a mood for something more morbid.
The elder elaborated with his calm voice, the explanation they expected, "What Dojo is trying to say is that I have a purpose for interrupting your warm-up."
Raimundo scoffed, "That much we could tell." The brunet casually crossed his arms allowing the droll story to unfold before him, whatever it may be.
Ignoring the annoyed jibe that meant no disrespect, Master Fung continued, "It seems that all the food that was going to be prepared for tonight’s supper..." looking for an explanation from his students he paused. When no one took up his sentence he continued, "was prepared and left on it's own accord..." no one said a word. "So you four will be going on errands for new ingredients."
"Awww," the assassins in training whined in unison.
"But, Master Fung, does the kitchen not have a most large supply of food?" Omi offered in hope of squirming his way out of the task, a large smile forcing itself onto his lips.
"Ah, yes...it most certainly does,” Master Fung agreed without a second though. Omi smiled and sighed thinking that saying that made the chore less necessary. “But,” his smile dissipated. “It would seem that someone at the temple was very much looking forward to the meal in question, and as it has miraculously gotten up and walked away, someone has to get the new ingredients.” Omi’s emotions furthered as a frown began to mollify his face, there was something in the way Master Fung said ‘someone’ that put him ill at ease. It seemed as though there was something deeper in the word, something that alone it did not infer. It was as though there was a somewhat sinister - more accusatory than anything else - inflection in the elders voice that drew into the statement. Omi furrowed his brow in thought. Perhaps Master Fung implied that he knew they had prepared the food once they had left their confinement, but there was something about it that made him think that it was something more.
Master Fung, seeing the change in Omi’s equanimity caught his nigrescent eyes and held them, he seemed to be attempting to convey something to the smallest boy. Omi hung on his words. “Seeing as you all are performing well on your daily exercises and just got out of one of the rigorous obstacles that furthers your training abilities but take a toll on your body, it would be prudent to get out of the temple and give you a little bit of a break while still having you be productive." Master Fung was smiling gently the entire time he spoke, and Omi immediately knew something was wrong. Master Fung never suggested without alternative intention that they leave the temple. In the past he had let them go out on errands, but quite a bit had been going on with the revolt recently and they hadn’t been allowed out in months. Catching something in the man’s cobalt eyes Omi opened his mouth to speak.
“-So basically you want us to go get it because someone has to and you and all of the other old coots here don’t want to have to walk the four mile trip into town and back weighed down with groceries,” Rai followed his master’s gestures dully as Omi turned and fixed him with a glare for interrupting him before he’d begun to speak. During this transgression Omi completely missed the exchange between Rai and Master Fung who, upon Rai’s accusations shot the boy a heated glare that clearly spoke otherwise. Kimiko and Clay immediately picked up on the unspoken words and the tension came in suddenly, a heavy mist of anxiety weighing a great burden down onto the shoulders of the three children who witnessed and confirmed that something far greater than missing groceries was going on.
Ignorantly Omi turned back to the pleasantly smiling master, “Say what you will Raimundo but the fact remains the same: supplies are needed and you four are available to get them.” Omi attempted to analyze some underlying meaning to the master’s words but seemed to be picking up on very little.
Raimundo’s rejoinder was admitting defeat; he scoffed and averted gaze as he turned around to face the other way. He said nothing.
Master Fung nodded, "This is a list of the things that you will need to get from the market." He handed a piece of paper to Omi along with a small bag of gold. "I want the change." Walking over to Raimundo Master Fung gave him a stern look and Rai half-heartedly returned the gesture. "This is a very important message Raimundo. I expect it to be handled with care, and do not get it confused with the shopping list or lost." Looking at the boy with a lingering severity he handed him the paper. "Do not read the contents under any circumstances until you have reached the secured destination. If someone tries to get a hold of it - make sure it is destroyed before that happens. The address is on the front of the paper."
Raimundo nodded his head curtly, "yes, Master Fung."
"Good. Now then, on your way, it is one in the afternoon now; we won’t be expecting you back until five or six. We will be eating late this evening." He bowed then added, "Dojo will see you off." With that he was swallowed into the shadows that licked him into the dimming darkness.
"He's sure in a good mood," Rai shot in frustration as he shoved the cumbersome note into his pocket. "He acts as though I screwed up or haven't been fulfilling my duties."
Dojo shook his head at this, "You don't know the half of it. He's just having a very stressful day; bad things are going on right now, I’m sure that you noticed. He is probably just sending you out on this chore because he doesn’t want you all to get involved in anything that is going on right now. Well, that and he’s being snippy with you because that is probably the most important message you've sent yet. He just wants to re-establish the importance of your position so that you take it seriously." Dojo shrugged as an after thought. "Anyway, you should really head out, the walk takes like an hour to get down the mountain alone. It takes even longer to reach town, and longer still to get to the market."
The group let out a heavy sigh, and started off to the entrance, going down another long hallway that was located at the back of the room. The heavy air lingered where Master Fung had left. Silently Omi worried his bottom lip in wonder, his feet slowing as his thoughts flew past him. What could have Master Fung so intent on getting them out of the building?
The walk was long and filled with silence. With Omi’s thoughts slowing him down it didn’t take long before he lagged far behind his other friends. Though it seemed that Rai was not as quick to run ahead. "Don't worry about it Omi," Raimundo said softly after they had lagged far enough behind the group to have their voices fall to indiscriminate whispers to any eavesdroppers.
Omi jumped a little bit at the suddenness of Raimundo’s voice and shot the emerald-eyed boy a questioning side-glance without saying anything.
“It doesn’t concern us,” Rai elaborated. “You shouldn’t worry about whatever is going on here, there is always something going on that they never tell us and always figure it out.” Raimundo smiled, “Just let it go for now. You look as if you think anymore you’re head is going to overload and explode.”
Omi blinked and frowned. “If you think too much your head explodes?” he asked suddenly, quite surprised.
Raimundo opened his mouth to say something and stopped himself. Turning his attention forward he smiled. “Yes Omi. That is exactly what I meant,” he said sarcastically and ran ahead to catch up with their group. All Omi could do was gape after him and try not to think too hard.
The way to the front door wasn't too far from the training room they had been in and it wasn't long before the nook that held the door on its other side came into view. Omi had finally caught up with his friends and in an attempt to think less turned his attention to their dragon companion. "So Dojo, are you going to join us on this quest?" he asked the little reptile.
Looking skeptically at the equally little Water Dragon he snorted, "Not this time sorry. I do not want to travel in someone's clothes or a handbag; it's hard to breathe and very uncomfortable. I'll get back to you on that offer when Chase Young retracts the law that any and all dragons have to be sent to his sorry ass for 'inspections' and whatnot. I know a lie when I see one, and that is a whopper. He doesn't inspect them. I'll be damned the day that he follows that law. Once a dragon is sent to his doors, they are doomed to never see the light of day."
Omi shook his head at the falsification but sighed in defeat, today was becoming tiresome and he really was not in a mood for an argument, "Alright Dojo, I'll be sure to hold you to your word."
Just then, they came upon the front entrance.
Two large doors that went up to the ceiling greeted them with extravagant details. Looking to the amazing marksmanship, it held an air of apprehension presence and age. It was carved form the stone of the mountain and with a trained hand sanded flat. If the size of the door was anything to go off of it was a godly creation, but the intricate detail was even more intense. Curls, lines, jagged marks, smooth waves, texture that was alive wove and winded over the whole of the doors, stopping where the defined crease was from one door to the next to continue and finish engraving the imprint on to the surface of the stone and into any awaiting mind. But those small lines on that extending surface came together to create true art as a picture surface formed on it. The detailed picture was made for sending shivers down the spines of onlookers. The design itself was so elaborate it had to have taken months to perfect, years at least. Four elemental dragons molding to their nature swirled across the surface, each one, with its talon hands grasping an orb at the center of the two doors. On the carvings a thick paint was brushed with the smallest tip to get in every single detail of the dragons, every shade of darkness and every highlight. It was only with this extraordinary amount of colored detail that you could see the orb at the center of the Earth in all its glory. One rather interesting aspect of the carving was the dragons themselves, each colored with a shade that went along with their element also blended into their element at their long tails, arms, and whiskers. But more interesting still, was the color of their eyes. The artist had decided rather than carving or painting the eyes, a different kind of crystal was embedded into its socket, giving the eyes a more deep and lively detail.
The first time Omi had seen the eyes, it had given him the impression the dragons themselves were alive, and looking into his soul. It was undoubtedly the most detailed anything throughout the whole of this temple. Omi frowned as the Old Master’s words once again began to fill his mind at the story behind the door and an important secret that few knew about it. But he quickly pushed the man from his mind, not caring for whatever prophecy the story told. He was growing angry with himself that everything seemed to remind him of the fallen figure.
The group didn’t make note of Omi’s inner turmoil as they sighed together and went about gathering their cloaks and outdoor shoes.
"Get back in one piece!" Dojo called to them as he continued down the hall not wanting to spend a moment longer than he had to at the door to the world beyond. He was answered with inaudible groans before he continued down the hall and could hear nothing of them but their echoed rummaging, it sounded lonely to the empty halls as he fell into the darkness of the fortress.
At this temple there was a door less closet to the left of the front door. Inside it was a quaint arrangement of outside shoes and traveling cloaks lined up neatly on shelves that composed the closet. Everyone in the building, if it could be called that, owned only a single pair of each, positioned perfectly in the cubby labeled with their name. Most of the time though, everything in the closet remained out of use as going outside was a rarity for all. Everything in the closet was in uniform likeness, and dull with drab colors. It didn't take long to change from one set of shoes to the other, and took an even lesser amount of time to return the shoes they had been wearing to the confines of their shelf. Like their plain black shoes, their cloaks were equally as plain and uninteresting, a pale brown that looked of dirt - for the sake of saying so, they smelled like it too - and was made with a thick and heavy material that extended to the ground brushing lightly against the surface. If worn correctly, the extra cloth at the top was used to wrap around your head and hide the wearer's face in the shadows of the hood.
Due to the fact that the four of them rarely traveled anywhere, the elders insisted that it was a necessity for them to cover from head to toe, especially when they went into town. It would have caused the town's folks to question why a group of children where going shopping when they had never seen them before as the towns’ people seemingly memorized all of their regular customers. The attire was very uncomfortable and very hot, but it would do them no go to be recognized in the profession they were in, so they were supposed to always dress bleakly and go under the preface of travelers that just so happened to be in the neighborhood.
After a couple of minutes of arranging and rearranging their cloaks, they were ready to go.
Now the main door being a big stone door weighing over two tons had two ways of opening, one: a crank that connected to a system of chains that connected to a system of gears that slowly slid the doors opened or two: Clay, also known as the Earth Dragon. At the Xiaolin Temple there have always been four masters of the elements water, wind, fire, and earth. Just like the dragons carved into the door, they were in-tuned to their specific element, the element itself was in their soul when they were born and there were only four in all the world. In this case, there was Omi-Water Dragon, Raimundo-Wind Dragon, Kimiko-Fire Dragon, and Clay-Earth Dragon. Each of them was a part of their element and their element was an extension of themselves. All of their moves in martial arts had their elements' embedded into them.
Clay stepped forward as the other three spoke quietly amongst themselves, as it turned out no one was all that eager to go on this trip and it was proven as Clay unceremoniously slammed his foot to the ground and inwardly commanded the door to come apart. If that wasn't enough, the dragon's proceeded in whining about going on this journey as they stepped out into the burning sun. The moments following their complaints were of the collection adjusting their eyes to the light; it had been many months since their last encounter with day. Most of their outings were at night with the only light to brighten their path the moon, this of course was to bathe in a lake a little ways up the dirt road, but even that wasn't recent; lately they had been using the springs that went through the mountain to bathe. There were several places throughout their building that water traveled allowing them to do so.
On a different note, today was a beautiful day and it had been so long that they had seen the wonders of the world that extended beyond their cavern's walls, that the power of day seemed to be an unreal quality with the abundance of light that seemed to never cease with the suns fiery rays. Despite themselves and their complaints about the task they were being forced to complete, the children took in all they could with a deep breath and sigh. A powerful gust of wind swirled about them in welcome as Raimundo let down his guard to be able to feel his element brush fondly against his shoulder. The heavy-set cloaks ruffled softly in the forceful air, but otherwise didn't move much about.
Raimundo was the first to speak after their vow of silence to gaze at the beauty of the world, “enough gawking, let’s get moving...this is going to be a looooong walk.”
No one responded, but everyone silently obeyed, taking in everything that they had been missing out on in their absence of the outside, they slowly trudged toward their goal.
Chapter 1
Chapter 2 Part I
Chapter 2 Part II
Chapter 2 Part III
Chapter 2 Part IV
Chapter 2 Part V
Scene Three of Five
With a little bit of coaxing of his friends, Raimundo managed to get everyone to help finish up the dishes. But from that point, much to the young group's exasperation, it was back to the daily routine of things. Omi was exceedingly adverse to the change back to normalcy as the foreboding nature of time still haunted him. He could feel the pit of his stomach churn with nerves as he only had four weeks of this life before he would be alone on his mission. Suddenly he really didn’t want to do much of anything today, and instead he simply wanted to go into his chambers and stare off into the nothingness of his room. But his engagements mocked him, even as they would help him get closer to what was soon to be. It seemed as though they would never be allotted time to recuperate, especially now that time was of the essence. Though to his friends’ relief, training was the first thing on the agenda.
They arrived in an average sized training ground and immediately went to busying themselves with warm-ups. For Kimiko, Raimundo, and Omi this was a relief beyond relief; they had eaten to their fill for the first time in two days, and now they got too moving around. The feel of exercising all of their sleeping muscles got them free of the cage that was their body, the cage that had kept them captive for so long. As for Clay, he was just happy to have companionship to join him.
It would have been a lie to say their moves were not flawless, because their movement alone told the tale of perfection, but even so, this perfection was not limited to knowing and memorizing moves; their moves did not just speak a tale, they sung a burst of feeling and energy, something that the children sometimes lacked from the over use and boring patterns. Playing off their counterpart's moves with the grace and wisdom of a thousand years, it was a sight to behold; to see them perform with fluent ease, the moves that had for so long been barely acceptable and mind numbing with the flow of life was indeed a sight.
It wasn’t until thirty minutes into warm-ups though, that their ears were greeted by the frivolous fickle sound of warm and proud clapping. This stopped all movement on the playing board and had everyone turning their attention to a figure that arrived, masked in shadows.
A voice rose over the sound of clapping, "Well done, young ones." Master Fung stepped into the light, an eloquent smile tasting his ancient face. "It has been a long time since you have done so well..." Omi drew his gaze over the withered figure as he was washed in light. Breathing heavily from the exertion of their laborious warm-ups, Omi raised an eyebrow at Master Fung’s somewhat disheveled appearance. Even through the flickering lights the room provided, the glossy sheen of sweat was apparent over his balding brow. His usually immaculate dress was shifted and wrinkled oddly in several places. A weary expression was very apparent through his eyes, as the smile the man harbored just didn’t reach. Omi forced the thought to the back of his mind as Clay began after a deep breath.
"Thank you Master Fung," Clay huffed with his think accent and tipped his hat respectfully.
"I thank you for your praise most greatly," Omi bowed deeply his hands clasped together formally. Upon returning to his upright position, he used the back of his hand to wipe away a streak of sweat that had begun to gather down his cheek.
Master Fung, who seemed to be in somewhat of a rush interrupted the other two before their time permitted them thanks. Waving a hand in a half-hazard dismissal to their comments he continued, "There is no need for thanks, young dragons, it is all your own work that made your moves a dance. Maybe I should lock you in boxes more often?" The question was asked with a smile but was not greeted by one. Everyone’s face fell and darkened, though Clay also had that look one gets before they vomit as he turned his face away. Their Master laughed at this response and stepped forward, hands buried deeply into his red sleeves managing to straighten out most of the uncharacteristic wrinkles in his clothes through the simple gesture. "Or, perhaps not. It is a form of torture after all..." everyone’s face brightened at that, in hope more than anything else, though pleading was in there too.
"Don't get your hopes up kids," a mocking voice came out of the sanctity of Master Fung's shirt. Suddenly the green of a head poked its way out of their Master's shirt collar. "He didn't come to give you praise and be on his merry way..." The two-armed dragon slithered his way out of the confines and made his way to the ground. He did not look pleased and his seriousness lit flame and burned the previous carelessness setting a mood for something more morbid.
The elder elaborated with his calm voice, the explanation they expected, "What Dojo is trying to say is that I have a purpose for interrupting your warm-up."
Raimundo scoffed, "That much we could tell." The brunet casually crossed his arms allowing the droll story to unfold before him, whatever it may be.
Ignoring the annoyed jibe that meant no disrespect, Master Fung continued, "It seems that all the food that was going to be prepared for tonight’s supper..." looking for an explanation from his students he paused. When no one took up his sentence he continued, "was prepared and left on it's own accord..." no one said a word. "So you four will be going on errands for new ingredients."
"Awww," the assassins in training whined in unison.
"But, Master Fung, does the kitchen not have a most large supply of food?" Omi offered in hope of squirming his way out of the task, a large smile forcing itself onto his lips.
"Ah, yes...it most certainly does,” Master Fung agreed without a second though. Omi smiled and sighed thinking that saying that made the chore less necessary. “But,” his smile dissipated. “It would seem that someone at the temple was very much looking forward to the meal in question, and as it has miraculously gotten up and walked away, someone has to get the new ingredients.” Omi’s emotions furthered as a frown began to mollify his face, there was something in the way Master Fung said ‘someone’ that put him ill at ease. It seemed as though there was something deeper in the word, something that alone it did not infer. It was as though there was a somewhat sinister - more accusatory than anything else - inflection in the elders voice that drew into the statement. Omi furrowed his brow in thought. Perhaps Master Fung implied that he knew they had prepared the food once they had left their confinement, but there was something about it that made him think that it was something more.
Master Fung, seeing the change in Omi’s equanimity caught his nigrescent eyes and held them, he seemed to be attempting to convey something to the smallest boy. Omi hung on his words. “Seeing as you all are performing well on your daily exercises and just got out of one of the rigorous obstacles that furthers your training abilities but take a toll on your body, it would be prudent to get out of the temple and give you a little bit of a break while still having you be productive." Master Fung was smiling gently the entire time he spoke, and Omi immediately knew something was wrong. Master Fung never suggested without alternative intention that they leave the temple. In the past he had let them go out on errands, but quite a bit had been going on with the revolt recently and they hadn’t been allowed out in months. Catching something in the man’s cobalt eyes Omi opened his mouth to speak.
“-So basically you want us to go get it because someone has to and you and all of the other old coots here don’t want to have to walk the four mile trip into town and back weighed down with groceries,” Rai followed his master’s gestures dully as Omi turned and fixed him with a glare for interrupting him before he’d begun to speak. During this transgression Omi completely missed the exchange between Rai and Master Fung who, upon Rai’s accusations shot the boy a heated glare that clearly spoke otherwise. Kimiko and Clay immediately picked up on the unspoken words and the tension came in suddenly, a heavy mist of anxiety weighing a great burden down onto the shoulders of the three children who witnessed and confirmed that something far greater than missing groceries was going on.
Ignorantly Omi turned back to the pleasantly smiling master, “Say what you will Raimundo but the fact remains the same: supplies are needed and you four are available to get them.” Omi attempted to analyze some underlying meaning to the master’s words but seemed to be picking up on very little.
Raimundo’s rejoinder was admitting defeat; he scoffed and averted gaze as he turned around to face the other way. He said nothing.
Master Fung nodded, "This is a list of the things that you will need to get from the market." He handed a piece of paper to Omi along with a small bag of gold. "I want the change." Walking over to Raimundo Master Fung gave him a stern look and Rai half-heartedly returned the gesture. "This is a very important message Raimundo. I expect it to be handled with care, and do not get it confused with the shopping list or lost." Looking at the boy with a lingering severity he handed him the paper. "Do not read the contents under any circumstances until you have reached the secured destination. If someone tries to get a hold of it - make sure it is destroyed before that happens. The address is on the front of the paper."
Raimundo nodded his head curtly, "yes, Master Fung."
"Good. Now then, on your way, it is one in the afternoon now; we won’t be expecting you back until five or six. We will be eating late this evening." He bowed then added, "Dojo will see you off." With that he was swallowed into the shadows that licked him into the dimming darkness.
"He's sure in a good mood," Rai shot in frustration as he shoved the cumbersome note into his pocket. "He acts as though I screwed up or haven't been fulfilling my duties."
Dojo shook his head at this, "You don't know the half of it. He's just having a very stressful day; bad things are going on right now, I’m sure that you noticed. He is probably just sending you out on this chore because he doesn’t want you all to get involved in anything that is going on right now. Well, that and he’s being snippy with you because that is probably the most important message you've sent yet. He just wants to re-establish the importance of your position so that you take it seriously." Dojo shrugged as an after thought. "Anyway, you should really head out, the walk takes like an hour to get down the mountain alone. It takes even longer to reach town, and longer still to get to the market."
The group let out a heavy sigh, and started off to the entrance, going down another long hallway that was located at the back of the room. The heavy air lingered where Master Fung had left. Silently Omi worried his bottom lip in wonder, his feet slowing as his thoughts flew past him. What could have Master Fung so intent on getting them out of the building?
The walk was long and filled with silence. With Omi’s thoughts slowing him down it didn’t take long before he lagged far behind his other friends. Though it seemed that Rai was not as quick to run ahead. "Don't worry about it Omi," Raimundo said softly after they had lagged far enough behind the group to have their voices fall to indiscriminate whispers to any eavesdroppers.
Omi jumped a little bit at the suddenness of Raimundo’s voice and shot the emerald-eyed boy a questioning side-glance without saying anything.
“It doesn’t concern us,” Rai elaborated. “You shouldn’t worry about whatever is going on here, there is always something going on that they never tell us and always figure it out.” Raimundo smiled, “Just let it go for now. You look as if you think anymore you’re head is going to overload and explode.”
Omi blinked and frowned. “If you think too much your head explodes?” he asked suddenly, quite surprised.
Raimundo opened his mouth to say something and stopped himself. Turning his attention forward he smiled. “Yes Omi. That is exactly what I meant,” he said sarcastically and ran ahead to catch up with their group. All Omi could do was gape after him and try not to think too hard.
The way to the front door wasn't too far from the training room they had been in and it wasn't long before the nook that held the door on its other side came into view. Omi had finally caught up with his friends and in an attempt to think less turned his attention to their dragon companion. "So Dojo, are you going to join us on this quest?" he asked the little reptile.
Looking skeptically at the equally little Water Dragon he snorted, "Not this time sorry. I do not want to travel in someone's clothes or a handbag; it's hard to breathe and very uncomfortable. I'll get back to you on that offer when Chase Young retracts the law that any and all dragons have to be sent to his sorry ass for 'inspections' and whatnot. I know a lie when I see one, and that is a whopper. He doesn't inspect them. I'll be damned the day that he follows that law. Once a dragon is sent to his doors, they are doomed to never see the light of day."
Omi shook his head at the falsification but sighed in defeat, today was becoming tiresome and he really was not in a mood for an argument, "Alright Dojo, I'll be sure to hold you to your word."
Just then, they came upon the front entrance.
Two large doors that went up to the ceiling greeted them with extravagant details. Looking to the amazing marksmanship, it held an air of apprehension presence and age. It was carved form the stone of the mountain and with a trained hand sanded flat. If the size of the door was anything to go off of it was a godly creation, but the intricate detail was even more intense. Curls, lines, jagged marks, smooth waves, texture that was alive wove and winded over the whole of the doors, stopping where the defined crease was from one door to the next to continue and finish engraving the imprint on to the surface of the stone and into any awaiting mind. But those small lines on that extending surface came together to create true art as a picture surface formed on it. The detailed picture was made for sending shivers down the spines of onlookers. The design itself was so elaborate it had to have taken months to perfect, years at least. Four elemental dragons molding to their nature swirled across the surface, each one, with its talon hands grasping an orb at the center of the two doors. On the carvings a thick paint was brushed with the smallest tip to get in every single detail of the dragons, every shade of darkness and every highlight. It was only with this extraordinary amount of colored detail that you could see the orb at the center of the Earth in all its glory. One rather interesting aspect of the carving was the dragons themselves, each colored with a shade that went along with their element also blended into their element at their long tails, arms, and whiskers. But more interesting still, was the color of their eyes. The artist had decided rather than carving or painting the eyes, a different kind of crystal was embedded into its socket, giving the eyes a more deep and lively detail.
The first time Omi had seen the eyes, it had given him the impression the dragons themselves were alive, and looking into his soul. It was undoubtedly the most detailed anything throughout the whole of this temple. Omi frowned as the Old Master’s words once again began to fill his mind at the story behind the door and an important secret that few knew about it. But he quickly pushed the man from his mind, not caring for whatever prophecy the story told. He was growing angry with himself that everything seemed to remind him of the fallen figure.
The group didn’t make note of Omi’s inner turmoil as they sighed together and went about gathering their cloaks and outdoor shoes.
"Get back in one piece!" Dojo called to them as he continued down the hall not wanting to spend a moment longer than he had to at the door to the world beyond. He was answered with inaudible groans before he continued down the hall and could hear nothing of them but their echoed rummaging, it sounded lonely to the empty halls as he fell into the darkness of the fortress.
At this temple there was a door less closet to the left of the front door. Inside it was a quaint arrangement of outside shoes and traveling cloaks lined up neatly on shelves that composed the closet. Everyone in the building, if it could be called that, owned only a single pair of each, positioned perfectly in the cubby labeled with their name. Most of the time though, everything in the closet remained out of use as going outside was a rarity for all. Everything in the closet was in uniform likeness, and dull with drab colors. It didn't take long to change from one set of shoes to the other, and took an even lesser amount of time to return the shoes they had been wearing to the confines of their shelf. Like their plain black shoes, their cloaks were equally as plain and uninteresting, a pale brown that looked of dirt - for the sake of saying so, they smelled like it too - and was made with a thick and heavy material that extended to the ground brushing lightly against the surface. If worn correctly, the extra cloth at the top was used to wrap around your head and hide the wearer's face in the shadows of the hood.
Due to the fact that the four of them rarely traveled anywhere, the elders insisted that it was a necessity for them to cover from head to toe, especially when they went into town. It would have caused the town's folks to question why a group of children where going shopping when they had never seen them before as the towns’ people seemingly memorized all of their regular customers. The attire was very uncomfortable and very hot, but it would do them no go to be recognized in the profession they were in, so they were supposed to always dress bleakly and go under the preface of travelers that just so happened to be in the neighborhood.
After a couple of minutes of arranging and rearranging their cloaks, they were ready to go.
Now the main door being a big stone door weighing over two tons had two ways of opening, one: a crank that connected to a system of chains that connected to a system of gears that slowly slid the doors opened or two: Clay, also known as the Earth Dragon. At the Xiaolin Temple there have always been four masters of the elements water, wind, fire, and earth. Just like the dragons carved into the door, they were in-tuned to their specific element, the element itself was in their soul when they were born and there were only four in all the world. In this case, there was Omi-Water Dragon, Raimundo-Wind Dragon, Kimiko-Fire Dragon, and Clay-Earth Dragon. Each of them was a part of their element and their element was an extension of themselves. All of their moves in martial arts had their elements' embedded into them.
Clay stepped forward as the other three spoke quietly amongst themselves, as it turned out no one was all that eager to go on this trip and it was proven as Clay unceremoniously slammed his foot to the ground and inwardly commanded the door to come apart. If that wasn't enough, the dragon's proceeded in whining about going on this journey as they stepped out into the burning sun. The moments following their complaints were of the collection adjusting their eyes to the light; it had been many months since their last encounter with day. Most of their outings were at night with the only light to brighten their path the moon, this of course was to bathe in a lake a little ways up the dirt road, but even that wasn't recent; lately they had been using the springs that went through the mountain to bathe. There were several places throughout their building that water traveled allowing them to do so.
On a different note, today was a beautiful day and it had been so long that they had seen the wonders of the world that extended beyond their cavern's walls, that the power of day seemed to be an unreal quality with the abundance of light that seemed to never cease with the suns fiery rays. Despite themselves and their complaints about the task they were being forced to complete, the children took in all they could with a deep breath and sigh. A powerful gust of wind swirled about them in welcome as Raimundo let down his guard to be able to feel his element brush fondly against his shoulder. The heavy-set cloaks ruffled softly in the forceful air, but otherwise didn't move much about.
Raimundo was the first to speak after their vow of silence to gaze at the beauty of the world, “enough gawking, let’s get moving...this is going to be a looooong walk.”
No one responded, but everyone silently obeyed, taking in everything that they had been missing out on in their absence of the outside, they slowly trudged toward their goal.
Chapter 1
Chapter 2 Part I
Chapter 2 Part II
Chapter 2 Part III
Chapter 2 Part IV
Chapter 2 Part V