"Master Mao we may have a small problem…" Master Hoot began softly as he looked at his student his eyes filled with concern.
Master Mao looked up at the two a puzzled expression on his face, "explain yourself Master Hoot, what kind of problem?"
"The Master that is not supposed to exist may well be in our presence. Cassidey and I were sparing when her spirit animal took hold, the image that appeared was that of a butterfly. You know as well I that The Path of the Butterfly was sealed nearly four thousand years ago. Because of the seal that was placed the spirit of the butterfly is not supposed to be able to become one with anyone, it's too dangerous, and for a child." Master Hoot scowled as he thought about it, there was only one way, Cassidey's training must stop now and she must not be allowed to go any farther.
Cassidey was now glowering at both masters, "Now wait just one second, first everyone is telling it's my destiny to be a Pai Zhuq Master and now your telling that I'm not even supposed to exist and what's all this about it being dangerous? How is it any more dangerous then being a master at all?" She demanded of the men before her.
Master Mao looked down at Cassidey and carefully dropped to his knees looking the girl in the eyes. "Cassidey it far more dangerous then being one of the traditional masters, and that is because the Butterfly Master deals in attacks of the mind rather then the body. It is very hard to master any of the techniques and most everyone who has ever tried has been driven insane. The only Butterfly Masters that were never driven to insanity were those who managed to find the Butterfly Temple." He said softly.
"So if I find this temple I can keep training?" She asked looking into Master Mao's eyes. He had always been one of her favorite masters because he had never treated like she was too young to understand. He had always treated her like the master she would one day be.
"Yes Cassidey but you need to be aware of the fact that there is still a chance it won't work, and the journey is going to be very difficult, you are still young it may be to difficult… but it is your choice to go or stay. If you go you will have to go now, take only what you can and I will explain to your father. Master Hoot I trust you know what you must do." Master Mao said as he stood once more and turned to go find Master Swoop so he could explain where Cassidey would be going.
"Cassidey go and pack your things I will tell your friends for you while you do that, you can say your good-byes at the gate, quickly Cassidey." Master Hoot gave her a light push in the direction of her room so that she could gather the things she would need. Cassidey stopped briefly and turned around to see Master Hoot heading toward RJ and their new friend Dominic. Before smiling happily and running off to do as she was told.
Everyone was pulled after Cassidey, and they realized that this was her memory they wouldn't be able to follow after any of the others to find out what was said. They watched in boredom as she packed what little she had that she would need to take before she ran to the gates where she was hoping to find RJ and Dom so that she could say good-bye to them, but they were nowhere to be seen. Cassidey bit her lip and tried to hold back the sadness in her voice as she said good-bye to her father. "G-good-bye daddy I love y-you, and I promise to take good c-care of my-self."
Master Swoop smiled and knelt down next to his daughter. "I know you will Cassidey, I have complete faith in you." He gently wiped away the tear he could feel rolling down her cheek, "but what has you so upset my daughter?"
Cassidey blinked up at her father before smiling softly into the hand he still had against her cheek, her answer was laced with sadness, "it's just that I was hoping RJ and Dom would come say good-bye to me. I mean I can kinda see Dom not saying good-bye we really only just met a day ago, but RJ promised to be my best friend for ever and ever and he isn't here, he didn't even come to say good-bye."
Master Hoot looked down at his former student, "I'm sorry Cassidey when I spoke to them they said they thought it would be easier on you to have a clean break, they didn't want to cause you to doubt this choice." He laid a hand on Cassidey's shoulder, as he did so everyone heard a sharp growl next to them and turned suddenly to see RJ with a murderous look in his eyes.
Dom looked at RJ and with his eyes narrowed very slowly asked, "Hey RJ are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Yeah Dom I am, he never actually told us, and from the way he was talking with Master Mao he didn't want Cassidey to become a Master any more. I think he knew all along that we would've found a way to go with her, that's why he never told us and lied to Cassidey about why we weren't there…" No one had ever heard him sound angrier then he was in that moment.
Dom regarded RJ for a moment, "You don't think that he was hoping she would go insane and get lost in the jungle do you?"
Master Swoop sighed softly, "I had considered it at the time, now as we move through Cassidey's memories I am positive that this was his plan. Master Hoot was one of the first masters, he and Master Mao both fought with Dai Shi ten thousand years ago. He had never approved of the Butterfly Masters or their ways. In his search for the perfect student if anyone had so much as an original thought that he could not prevent he would promptly stop teaching them…" Though it was hard for most to tell RJ could feel that Master Swoop was just as angry he was.
The others looked at Master Swoop, RJ, and Dom with looks of horror on their faces, to think that anyone among the Pai Zhuq would be so cold to a young girl; even the other masters among them had a hard time believing this. They all felt a tug in their guts and turned back to see Cassidey her head hung low and a bag over one shoulder trudging out of the academy and they all quickly followed after. The rest of the memory was like watching a time lapse movie. They could tell that several weeks had passed between her leaving and the place they found themselves at now, but it had passed in no more then a few moments. They now stood before what appeared to be Meso-American temple only there was no apparent way in and the only image carved into the stone wasn't a glyph of any kind but a very detailed image of a sunbeam butterfly. Cassidey sighed with happiness, "weeks of searching and I've finally found it, the butterfly temple. But how do I get in?" The memory faded though Cassidey's voice could still be heard, her whispers as she meditated and communed with her spirit beast, learning of the powers and abilities that would be hers. Slowly everyone began to see her more clearly, and they could tell that some months had passed, and that somehow this young girl child had managed to survive on her own for at least this long.
"Wing-Song," she said softly looking toward the flower garden to her left, "do you think I'm ready to leave this place, and return to the Pai Zhuq Temple, I mean I love it here and every thing but I miss my father, my friends, my masters…" she trailed off as she stared at the flowers, then suddenly there was a flair of pink light, which seemed to be the response Cassidey was waiting for. She gave a happy nod and jumped up to start preparing for a trip.
"You know I never really thought about it before but this really does explain her 'need' to have flowers everywhere." Dom said as he thought about the flowers she had used to put all over his cloths, RJ's hair, and almost the entirety of his room, RJ's room, and her own in the weeks and months leading up to their Master's Ceremony.
RJ just smile as he thought about it him-self, he had always found it, well cute that she wanted to surround her-self with the flowers her spirit beast loved so much. And truth be told he had never minded the flowers as much as he had always pretended he did after all the fact that she went through the trouble to replace them every time the boys got rid of them had let them both know she cared. Master Swoop regarded the two with unseeing eyes, "I believe that is part of the reason yes, but only part. The other part is that before her mother passed Eirlys would tell Cassidey about the different flowers, the legends about them, and the powers they were said to have. The flowers were her way of staying connected to her mother, and those she shared the flowers with were those who held a place in her heart, a friend or someone deemed worthy of being called family." The others, masters and students alike, looked shocked; none had ever felt quite that level of connection with their spirit beast. They were close to them yes, they would never even think about making a life altering decision with out first consulting them, but to completely immerse your self to that level…
They watched in silence, each thinking about what had just been said, as she traveled back much faster, more agile, and much softer then when she had traveled to the Butterfly Temple in the first. By the time she made it back to the Pai Zhuq a full year had passed. She stood out front of the gates for a long time wondering if it was really alright for her to be back here. She wasn't sure how long she stood there, just staring at the ground as she puzzled things over. After sometime she heard footsteps coming toward her, and they were coming fast.
She looked up in time to dodge RJ's fist as it came flying at her face. She had to jump and roll to avoid both of Dom's attacks. This went on for quite some time, all the while the two men in question were standing by the others looking sheepish for the way they had acted as adolescents. Eventually the fight began to die down and then finally stopped altogether, not a word to explain what had happened passed between the three, but it was clear to anyone watching that a perfect trio had just been reformed.
Cassidey smiled softly it was good to be home though the welcome had been unexpected and left something to be desired. She waved to the boys before turning and heading off to find Master Mao. She ran up to him her smile growing when she saw her father standing there as well. "Father, Master, I did it! I found the Butterfly Temple! I communed with the spirit of the butterfly, and she taught me the secret to keeping my sanity."
Master Mao smiled at her and laid a hand on her shoulder, "I'm proud of you my student, now you will continue your training here, both mental and physical. I would love to stay and hear all about your travels and your year, but the newest cubs are due to start their true training today and I must go speak to them." He bowed and Cassidey bowed back holding her position in a show of respect as he turn to go find the cubs.
Master Swoop knelt down next to his daughter and in a rare show of affection wrapped her in hug, just holding on to her for a while, she was his only child and he had already lost her mother, he was not ashamed to admit he had been worried about her. When he finally pulled back his eyes held a pride that even his blindness couldn't mask, "You have achieved something great Cassidey, the Pai Zhuq will be stronger for this and one day you will be a great master my child."
"Thank you father that means a great deal to me." She whispered softly.
"Tomorrow we will begin the day by seeing what you have learned in your year away for now go and catch up with your friends, they have missed you greatly." With those words he placed his hand in the small of her back and pushed her toward RJ and Dom, and the memory once more faded away.
A/N: Hey, I just wanted to say that I am still writing this it could just take a while for me to manage to get the chapters up, because my laptop where all the chapters are, decided to die on me. So I'll have to retype all the chapters on my moms desktop instead, please have patients and don't give up on me. Thanks.
A/N 2: Hey everyone, I'm finally almost done rewriting chapter three, but also wanted to let you all know that I have changed a few things, names mostly as in my rewrite of chapter three I came up with ones that I like better for Cassidey's butterfly spirit, which has gone from Flutter to Wing-Song, and her mother as well. I'm hoping to find a beta reader for this story and if anyone is interested let me know. The other thing is that I need a few character's to be customers in JKP for chapter four, and a few new cubs for later chapters as well, so send in some ideas I look forward to seeing them.