Nature of the Spirit

Chapter 1: Enough Waiting

By Nanaki

Spring

Wu the Lotus Blossom was edgy. Considering how calm and patient she normally was, it was easy enough to tell when she wasn't, especially for her son. She stood near to the edge of the deck at the front of her home in the Two Rivers school, peering up through the rain at the darkening clouds, frowning.

"I doubt that the flier's coming today," Her son, Tseng the Cloud Lotus, announced calmly from inside the house. He was trying to meditate, but his mother's pacing was distracting him. "There aren't many pilots who'd want to try to land here in the wind and rain, after dark." Tseng opened his eyes and uncrossed his legs, leaning back against the wall.

"True," Wu admitted, "but I'm friends with most of the pilots who would." A brief smile came to her face, before she went back to frowning at the clouds. Tseng couldn't help but smile as well. His mother might have been extremely humble about all of her powerful connections, but she did have them, and enjoyed it. "Besides," she turned back to him, "you're usually chomping at the bit to get to the Imperial City too. What's with the sudden bout of patience?"

Tseng just looked down at his folded hands for a second, before answering. "Actually, I don't think I'm going this year."

"What?" Wu was incredulous. "You realize that we're usually there for over five months, right?"

"I know." Now Tseng stood up, and walked out to the deck himself. "I'm not saying it'll be easy, and maybe I can come to visit once in a while, but..." Wu just stood there patiently, waiting for him to finish. "But I feel like the training's really coming along, and I want to keep working."

Now she turned back to watch the ripples the rain was making in the puddles outside. "Hmm... Well, you could always train at the Black Leopard school, you know." She said, but without much enthusiasm. She could tell his mind was already made up.

"I know," he sighed, "but I don't like the Black Leopard school. There's always a couple Closed Fist idiots trying to prove how strong they are, plus it's just too political in general." Tseng leaned on the deck railing, not particularly enjoying having to bad-mouth the school his mother taught at several months a year. "Besides, we could avoid this whole issue if you'd just get your own flier. And don't give me the speech again about how expensive they are. I KNOW the Empress would give you one for free, or get Kang to build you a special one from scratch." Looking back at his mother, he found a curious sort of smile on her face now.

He was more perceptive than she gave him credit for, Wu realized, though she really shouldn't be surprised. "Fine, I won't give you that speech again." She shrugged. "I'll just tell you the truth. Me not having a flier is part of an agreement I have with the Emperor..."

"What?" Tseng's eyebrows knitted in confusion. "Why would the Emperor care if you have your own flier or not?"

"That's... something I'm not sure I should go into detail about yet." She admitted. "It's something that very few people know about, and not a conversation I'd particularly enjoy having with my son."

"Mom, c'mon!" He held his arms out. "I'm practically grown up now, and a lot of kids my age are on their own, or even married..." He got quiet at that thought. "Thanks for not forcing an arranged marriage on me, by the way."

Wu couldn't help but laugh at that. "You're welcome, but you might not be saying that if you'd seen some of the girls I'd turned down on your behalf."

Tseng raised an eyebrow at that. "Oh yeah? Well, even so, I don't want to get married until I'm twenty, at least."

"That's good to hear." Wu said simply, but something about the way she said it piqued Tseng's curiousity.

"Why, do you have someone in mind for that role?" He grinned.

"As a matter of fact, I do." She admitted.

"Any particular reason you haven't told me before now?" He asked.

"I want you two to meet and get together by your own free will, that's all." She sighed. "And I have a feeling that it probably won't ever happen, but I hope it will."

Tseng didn't know quite what to make of that. "Well... Do I know her?"

"Yes." Wu smiled.

"Do I know her WELL?" He pressed.

"Kind of." She replied.

"Could you be more ambiguous?"

"Yes!" She laughed.

Tseng couldn't help chuckling too. "Fine then. At least tell me this: Is she cute?"

Wu's smile broadened. "Unbelievably. Cute, beautiful, elegant, a little shy, and very kind."

Tseng shrugged. "Well, I can't ask for much more than that."

"Much more?" Wu put her hands on her hips. "What more do you want?"

Tseng scratched the back of his head nervously. "Well... That's a conversation I don't really want to have with my mom."

"Well, then we're even." She smiled. "Though you might find that conversation more enlightening than you think." Tseng gave her a quizzical look now. "Never mind. So you're sure you're not going?"

"Yeah." He said simply. "I know Kia Min's not you, but she's good enough to keep me on my toes, or flat on my back, now and then. Plus, if they keep to their usual schedule, Dawn Star and Dad should be coming through here in a few weeks. If I'm still here, they might stick around and give me some pointers."

"I'm sure they will." She smiled. Dusk was settling on the already dark clouds in earnest now, and junior students were starting to make their way around the school now, lighting lanterns. The already cool day was getting chilly, and Wu drew her traveling cloak tighter around her shoulders. No longer dressed in the movement-efficient and admittedly sexy outfit she had preferred when she was younger, right now she was wearing a fairly demure dress over a tight shirt and pair of loose fitting pants, in case she needed to take the dress off to fight. She was always ready to fight, no matter what the situation. Master Li had been a harsh lesson in not letting her guard down.

"Come on inside." Tseng put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm really pretty sure the flier's not coming today." The words had barely left his mouth when a roaring noise arrived over the sound of the rain, getting louder by the second. Tseng laughed a bit. "Hey, I'm pretty good at this!" He leaned over the deck railing, shouting at the sky. "I'm really pretty sure that carts full of silver and wine don't just fall out of the sky!!" He waited there several seconds, looking hopeful, then lowered his head. "Well, it was worth a shot."

"Hey, since when do you like wine?" Wu smiled softly. She ducked back into the house, and emerged a second later with a small bag of belongings. "Well Tseng, I guess this is goodbye for a while." She looked him up and down, knowing this was going to be the longest they'd ever been apart, by a long shot. He was dressed in his usual loosely tied vest and loose fitting pants, missing the usual shin guards that he wore while training in his preferred Legendary Strike style. His only concession to the weather was a long sleeved shirt made of light material, worn under the vest. His shoulder length black hair was tied back in a pony tail, so it wouldn't get in his way. Why he didn't just cut his hair, she didn't know, but who could fathom the mind of a teenager?

"For a while," he echoed, "but I bet this summer will fly by for both of us. Especially you."

"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow. "Why do you say that?"

"Because even without knowing any details, it's clear that you've got a lover in the Imperial Palace." He grinned at her shocked expression. "Or is there another reason you sneak out of our room at night just about every night when we're there?"

"Why you devious little..." She just shook her head. "Well, I'm not saying yes, and I'm not saying no, but I'm especially not saying no. I'm just surprised you caught me. I'm damn good at sneaking out. Or in."

"Well, that means I will be too. I hope." He added. With that, the roar of the approaching flier stopped changing pitch, and they knew it was right overhead, coming down. Wu stepped forward and wrapped Tseng up in a hug. "Aw, Mom..."

"Tseng, you be good." She said, then stepped back. "Since we're going to be apart, there's something I want you to hold on to." She held her hand out, and pressed an essence gem into his palm.

Tseng looked down in amazement. "The Eye of the Dragon... I can't take this. This is the most powerful gem you have."

She nodded. "Which is why, if something does happen, I want you to have it. You'll need it more than I do."

"Your famous humility seems somewhat lessened of late." Tseng complained, but he held the gem tightly in his fist. "I promise I'll keep it safe." Then, the roar of the incoming flier built up until it was nearly deafening, and the one of a kind flier known as the Racing Hummingbird set down right in the middle of the school's sparring ring. There was only one pilot in the world who could pull that off.

"Come on, come on!" Kang's voice sounded very loud in the sudden silence left in the wake of the flier's landing. "I had to race a bolt of lightning to make it here, and I can't remember if I won or not! Plus, night's fast approaching, and even I can't see in the dark!"

"You can't?" Wu called out to him. "But you're a God, Kang! Surely you could see in the dark if you really wanted to!"

"No, it doesn't work that way!" He called back. "But I could INVENT something to see in the dark with! I'll call it... glasses! No, wait, they have those already. If I'm thinking of the right thing..." Kang's voice got quieter as he muttered to himself.

Wu put her hands on Tseng's shoulders. "Anyway, if something does happen, remember that I love you. And, always do what your heart tells you is right, no matter what."

"I love you too Mom. And I will." He nodded. Slowly, her arms slipped back to her sides, and she walked out into the rain. "Oh! And give my love to the royal family! Some more than others..."

A devious grin appeared on Wu's face as she climbed up into the Hummingbird. "I couldn't have said it better myself!" She called back. She'd scarcely gotten into her seat when Kang started the engine up again, and the flier disappeared into the clouds within seconds.

"What the heck does that mean?" Tseng wondered to himself. "And why all the talk about something happening?" He went back into the house, quietly sliding the door shut behind him. He sat down on his usual mat on the floor, slipping back into his meditative pose. With the rain drumming on the roof, it was easy to block out other distractions. However, one of his eyes lingered on the old longsword hanging on the wall. "Oh well, if something does happen, I'll be ready."

.

"I'm not the one sneaking in in the morning-"

"No, that's usually when you're sneaking out." - Anakin and Padme Skywalker, Revenge of the Sith (Novel)