Hey folks! Hope you all have been doing well.
Well, Jo and Jada are together again and few surprises come with this chapter. Hope you enjoy!
The Eyes of the Wolverine
Chapter 11
Caught in the Act
Tiny stone fragments rattled inside the box I had tucked under my arm. Jada had gone on another excursion to buy more polished stones for her jewelry-making pastime and asked if I wanted to come along. Ever since my dye-job I never turned down an opportunity to walk around in public. We had trekked to the store and were now on our way back the house. It was early afternoon now and pedestrian traffic was at a high.
Passing a series of fruit carts, Jada said "Like I said, the store here doesn't have much variety." It was true. The store's selection was limited. I'd seen scores more in my parent's business. "I'd really like to eventually see your parents' store."
"Maybe you can visit some time." I said hoping this was an event that would actualize by itself and not just be spoken of as a good idea.
"Me and my dad actually were talking about traveling there for the winter festival. Our city's annual Autumn Festival is actually getting pretty close."
"Is it?" I asked not realizing the time passing. I couldn't tell if the day we came seemed like yesterday or a year ago. "How long have we been here?"
"A couple weeks I suppose." Jada said. "Does Rem Hai feel like a second home now?"
"I guess it does. Maybe not as much as the-" I suddenly forgot what I was talking about, too distracted by the oncoming sight. I thought my eyes were deceiving me. But they weren't.
The wolverine was on the sidewalk. And walking right toward us.
Here? It seemed a rather public place for me to be seeing him. He almost blended in with all the other pedestrians. He wasn't pointing to himself. The glowing rings weren't on his chest like last time. He wasn't even staring at me.
We were getting closer. I wanted to say something. But my ability to vocalize apparently went truant. I looked right at him, and just for a second we made eye contact.
And that was it. It was no more or no less than a look you would give to a random passer by.
Then he passed and was behind me. I thought to look back but I didn't.
"Did you just see that guy?" I asked Jada almost instantly.
"What guy?" Jada said.
Had she not seen him? Was she distracted by our conversation or had he only been in my head again?
I practically wanted to ask some of the surrounding people if they had seen him too, but that of course would have looked more bizarre than my question to Jada.
"Just someone I thought I knew." I said. "Looked like someone I'd seen back in the valley."
"A friend of yours?" she asked.
"I think so."
When we made it back to her house I set the box down in the living room.
"How was your morning?" Jada asked. "Do much of anything?"
"Not a whole lot. Lately I've been busy training outside training lately." I said not realizing the redundancy until the words left my mouth.
Jada giggled slightly. "Well you must be doing it alot then."
I sighed smiling. Sometimes this girl was just too much for me. "How do you just overlook all the dumb things I say in front of you" I asked.
"I don't think you ever sound dumb." Jada said as if it were a completely foreign idea.
"Then you must not listen all the time. I'm kinda stupid when it comes to talking sometimes" I said with a chuckle in self-deprecating humor.
"Stop doing that." she said suddenly turning serious.
"Doing what?" I asked not sure where her statement was coming from.
"Putting yourself down like that." she said folding her arms with a look of disapproval.
"I'm just joking." I said trying to shrug it off with a smile. Though I could see by her expression that it was going to take more than that to dissuade her.
"But you believe it."
I saw that her concern was legitimate in her eyes, and a seed of guilt speedily grew inside me. "Sorry," I said I just thought it would make you laugh."
"You make me laugh more with your actual jokes." she said warming up again. "I've been meaning to tell you... You remember the kiss we had?" she asked then adding "that day down by the lake," as if I could forget our one and only kiss (let alone my one and only kiss).
"Yes." I said.
"I know we haven't really talked about it. I just wanted to let you know... it was my first kiss of my life, besides my dad I mean."
I let slip out "I know." I followed up with "It was my first too."
"I'm really glad you were my first." she said. I could tell she meant it.
"Me too."
She leaned forward. There was no mistaking it this time. She was the one who initiated the kiss. Before I knew it, her hand was on my chest pressing ever-so slightly. Gentle as it was, it still was enough to push me up against the wall. My own hand, braver than I, ventured to her hand and held it there against my chest continuing to feel her fingers work their way through my chestnut fur till she could feel my heart beat.
Our lips parted at a sound in the room and we both froze.
There, in the living room with us was Saxon. Neither one of us had seen him enter the room and walk passed us while we were blissfully only taking in each other. But what confused us both and made it even more unsettling was that he wasn't currently looking at us, but rather had his attention on the contents of the top drawer of a desk in the room.
Had he not seen us? It was impossible. He had to have seen us. But there he was rummaging through the drawer as though we weren't even in the room.
He produced a small metal tool from the drawer, apparently what he'd been looking for, then looked toward me and Jada, no longer kissing but still together, both standing there watching him not sure what to say.
After a colossally uncomfortable second Saxon shrugged. "Well don't let me interrupt." he said matter-of-factly. "Continue." Then he exited the room with his tool in hand.
I was separating stones again in Saxon's shop. Sorting them by color just like last time. Only an hour had passed since his unnoticed intrusion on our osculation. I had walked in here when Jada and I wordlessly agreed one of us had to say something to him after the encounter. So, I had walked into his shop to work and clumsily brought the subject up. To say I was nervous would be an understatement.
"She's had the occasional crush, sure." Saxon was saying while fine tuning the point on a new blade. "But she never... well I knew once she turned thirteen that it was bound to happen."
I was curious if he was playing what he saw over and over in his head. Walking into the living room, seeing us kissing, then passing by casually to retrieve his device. How could any father ignore a sight like that.
"In a way, I guess I saw it coming," Saxon said.
"What do you mean?"
"What with the amount of time yall've been spending t'gether and the way she talks about you."
She talks about me?
"I guess it's pointless to say the rest. You've probably heard it said before. I just want to make sure she's treated well. Especially ever since... Lian left."
"Your wife?" I asked. "Jada told me."
Saxon smiled humbly. "Of course she did. Lian's leaving was so sudden. I hadn't known she was so unhappy here. If I'd only known..." Saxon trailed off not wanting to go into the agonizing details. It was clear the events had affected him and Jada both. Maybe that's what gave them such a strong bond as father and daughter. The full events were coming back to him. I could see it in his eyes. "It devastated me but it crushed Jada. For a while I wasn't sure if she'd ever get over her mom's absence."
"She's been a great friend to me, Saxon." I said earnestly. "She sees me. Like... really sees me. She's able to look past all my imperfections."
"Jada's aways been good at doing that." Saxon said.
"So you're ok with me and her being together?" I asked knowing his reply would be all too important.
He took the knife off the grinder examining how the edge had grown sharper reflecting on my statement. "I guess you're as good a candidate as anybody to be my daughter's first." He then turned still holding the blade in his hand and pointed toward me oblivious to his stance that looked even more threatening from my point of view. "But, Jo," he said returning to his tough demeanor that I knew so well from him. "Treat her right."
I nodded quietly to show respect appreciatively. "Yes Sir."
He smiled. "And don't ever call me 'Sir' again."
"Yes ma'am- I mean sir- I mean Saxon- I mean..."
He held up a hand to stop me. "Jo, relax. I know what you mean." He showed his toothy grin and my quickly nettled nervousness lessened.
"Right," I said edging toward the door feeling I had said all I needed. As I entered back into the house I found Po right behind the doorway with his smirk that was becoming a common thing when Po thought about me and Jada together.
Po asked beginning to laugh "Making a good impression on the future in-laws?"
For the second night in a row we were all sitting in the living room, the only difference being that Saxon wasn't here this time. "I know that this excursion hasn't been an easy fix," Master Shifu said to us all. "But our efforts may be rewarded within the coming week."
I couldn't imagine what conclusion we would be coming to tonight. Most of us, including Master Shifu, were stultified by the lack of progress. Visiting houses that Severin had broken into didn't give as much information as we had hoped. We knew we couldn't do it forever, but we all thought another idea would come from it. Now it had just become a boondoggle in a sense. Outside of the medal, we had very few leads.
"We may have found a way to get into that building Saxon mentioned the other night."
None of us had been expecting this. This was much bigger than what we thought, but it raised so many questions at once.
"But Master Shifu, how do we even know if Severin will be there the night we try to sneak in?" Crane asked. "I thought that Severin hasn't had many street fights lately. Wasn't that why he started robbing?"
"Severin is set to receive a new challenger very soon. He will be there." Shifu said
"Are we really gonna try to sneak in?" Tigress asked doubtfully. "Saxon made it sound like the place was air-tight."
"Chor Gom prison was once called 'air-tight,'" I said. Tigress looked caught off by my remark. Not angry, only surprised.
I hadn't thought as I had spoken that I was popping a hole in her logic. I had meant only to put whatever Shifu's plan was into perspective. I wasn't sure how Tigress was taking it now. But she returned to her normal state. Maybe it was stupid to think she'd be upset over a little thing like that.
"And this place isn't likely to have half the security." Shifu said following my statement. "If the plan works well, we won't even have to sneak around the security."
"How do we get in without sneaking in?" Po asked. The rest of our speculations began to grow. We all felt Master Shifu was keeping some piece of the puzzle hidden from us.
"We won't be sneaking in. We'll be walking in. Right along with Severin's challenger of the night."
"His challenger?" Viper asked.
"Monkey and I have had a long talk about it. And well... Monkey why don't you tell them." Shifu said.
We all looked toward monkey who was sitting up straight with his hands folded, quite a contrast from his usual conduct. The gears had begun to turn in our heads but we had only just understood after he took a deep breath and said "I will challenge Severin."
Did you see that coming? Hope not
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