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I was a tad disoriented when I woke up. Mainly because I woke up when we landed in China.
Yeah, I'm a really heavy sleeper.
Mother had seen fit to dress me when we were still at home, and I was thankful, because the jet carrying the Lupine and the other members of the Black Bouquet was already in sight and preparing to land, and I really didn't want to be seen gallivanting around in my PJ's.
As the engines cooled, Touya came and stood next to me, our parents slightly in front of us, Yue-san, Kero-chan and Yukito-san behind us, Doumeki-san and Kudo-san slightly behind them.
I felt the sharp pain as my nail dug into the heel of my palm. The formation we were in put the weakest member in the close middle where they had the most security, and the continuous glances from all the others made me realise, without a doubt, who was being protected.
Me.
As the jet's door opened and its occupants began to exit, I forced myself not to think on it. After all, we were in the middle of a war.
Our formation stepped forward, greeting everyone, before Mother spoke.
"This in an airstrip that to all others in the world is no longer fit for use; from the sky the cracks and warps in the tarmac look to be debris and refuse, which no pilot will risk landing on aside from life or death situations, which has not as of yet proven to be a problem. Our temporary lodgings here have been sorted, but we shall be leaving by tomorrow afternoon."
Mother sudden rose her hand, cutting off the questions that were mere seconds from being voiced by the Lupine.
"We have discovered that the Elders employ certain aerial surveillance measures, and the only time for us to get into China was so early, as well as the only time for us to safely leave the air-field being the same time. Since our window of opportunity for the day has closed, we must make due with what we have."
Although looking more than a little disgruntled by the news, as well as some traces of furiousness at not knowing such security measures were in place, the Lupine settled and we made our way into the buildings surrounding the airstrip, while the pilots and air-staff rushed to move the Jets into the hangars.
The accommodations were nothing flash, but they would do for the day at most we would be staying within them; beds and couches to rest on and various board games and card games to occupy our time should they be needed. The windows had all been boarded up to prevent light escaping to the world outside, as well as to keep up the 'abandoned, derelict' look.
All in all, the place reminded me of a bunker.
Father clapped his hands twice, motioning for everyone to gather around the largest table, taking his seat once they had been notified. Mother began speaking once again, pointing to the map on the tabletop.
"As you should be at the very least peripherally aware, ten generations past the Lupine Alpha divided China's land into the four quarters and centre city, while he designated families within the Lupine to overlook the care of their areas; Ashura at the centre, Kendappa in the East, Karura to the South, Ryuu within the West, and Yasha of the North."
The Lupine all nodded as the information was presented, wondering why they were being treated to a history lesson, but keeping their thoughts silent.
"For two or three generations, the families were completely under the command of the Alpha, obeying orders with little question. This changed when the latest Alpha demanded something akin to 24 hour protection of the borders and city for no visible cause. Intelligence tells us that this Alpha used various unscrupulous means to gain his position and began suffering bouts of extreme paranoia that enemies would strike him down. He began threatening all the families with execution should they disobey him."
Ashura-chan hung his head, curling his body into Yasha-sama's protective embrace. Yasha-sama's face grew cold, as he realized what would soon be spoken of, his arms securing Ashura-chan in an attempt to fend off the information.
"The Ashura family was the only one to fall, though a number were able to escape. My understanding is that the man was renounced from power once the remaining four families took up arms, threatening to storm the city which was now defenceless should they be forced to remain under exclusive rule." Mother looked to Yelan-sama for confirmation, which was reluctantly provided.
"The four families have since been under private ruling, and the leader of the family at the time took on the family name as their title; case-in-point Yasha-sama. The reason I bring this up is because we will have to get past the protections placed down by the guardian families. This airstrip is -alas- in the Western quarter, close to the boundaries of the Southern quarter. If possible, I'd have liked to land in the North, as with Yasha-sama's presence, our own would remain uncontested, but fortune is a fickle mistress, and we are not amongst the blessed at this time."
Looking briefly at the map, Kurogane-san cleared his throat before speaking.
"Where exactly are we? I might have a solution."
Father pointed to the place on the map that was our rough location. Kurogane-san raised his hand to cover his mouth, his fingers on the opposite hand tapping the table's surface as he thought. After a few moments, Kurogane-san removed the hand from his face and pointed to a spot on the paper.
"About here is the main house for the Ryuu Family, aptly called the Dragon Palace. Six, seven years ago, I went on a training trip. Don't ask me how, 'cause I'm still not sure, but I wound up at the Dragon Palace, and became acquainted with the head and heir to the family. I've kept in contact with the heir, little spitfire called Nahga, and I know that he'll soon be made into the family head. He's always felt that the way things are run by the Lupine needs to change; Nahga would've protected the West as his family always have, but he would've been denied his right to become family head if he wasn't Lupine."
Yasha-sama spoke up.
"I myself am rather familiar with the Water Dragon. It is tradition for the heads and heirs of the families to meet up yearly, and Ashura got along quite well with Nahga, so we've kept our ties open. Our mutual presence may convince the Ryuu family to help us pass into the inner ring. Though Northern relations with the South are strong, Karura has always held an extreme loyalty, and hides nothing from the Lupine sent to inspect us. The West may be more sympathetic to our cause."
Mother and Father smiled, pleased that such a connection was held, and made motion for us to busy ourselves with the games for a few hours as we rested. As we stood to move, a low buzzing filled the room, the lights automatically dimming and in some cases even shutting off. Kero-chan jumped up and pulled me away from the windows to the centre of the room.
"Everyone, quickly! Lupine Aerial Surveillance has picked up on something!"
Duh-duh-dum!
Barely even in China, has our party of intrepid justice-doers already been caught by the Corrupted Council? Will the aerial surveillance ruin all hope for the reforming of morals with the ranks, or will the Elders dismiss the pickup as unimportant? Tune into the next chapter to find out.
Toodles and Love
Oky Verlo