The Prodigal Sister
This story and all ideas, themes and original characters are the sole ownership and copyright of J.L. Scott. Any unauthorized use is actionable in a court of law.
To borrow a phrase: Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman and all characters and settings no mine, no permission, no money, no sue...please?
"It scared me Sully" Brian heard Michaela tell her husband. He was evesdropping. He knew he shouldn't be but he wanted to hear about what Aunt Bri, as she had instructed he and Colleen to call her, had done earlier today that had stirred his Ma up so much.
"Ah, Mike, it ain't nothing to worry about" Sully told her.
"That's the second time she's gotten into a fight" Michaela said.
"She wasn't fightin'" Sully corrected, "She was protectin'. And it's a good thing she did, or you might not be standin here right now" Brian watched as Sully kissed Dr. Mike. He rolled his eyes and waited for them to stop, hopeful they would continue their conversation.
"Still, it's not any way of protecting I've ever seen before" Michaela continued.
"She learned it from a China man" Sully told her, "While she was at school" Brian thought that Sully didn't sound like he approved of the fact, but Brian found it very interesting. Very interesting indeed.
"She used to practice everyday, out in the woods where nobody'd see her" Really? Aunt Bri was out in the woods now. Brian backed away and snuck outside. He took a second to decide which way she might've gone, and then took off behind the barn. He ran for a few minutes before he heard the sounds of someone grunting. He slowed down and followed them. When he could see Aunt Bri, identifiable by her indian clothing, he slowed down and crawled under the brush. She was in a small circle free of underbrush, facing a tree. She had pulled her hair back in a leather strap and he could see small streams of sweat on her face. He hunkered down to watch her practice the skills she'd learned from the China man. He could feel his eyes getting bigger and bigger as he watched. She was apparently fighting the tree. She kicked at it, she punched at it, she jumped into the air and did flips and kicks. She backed up and got a good running start, then ran straight up the tree trunk and ran off one of the branches, did a flip in the air and landed on her feet! When she landed she stopped and took a deep breath. For a second Brian thought she might go into some kind of Indian meditation, which wasn't very interesting to watch, but she didn't. Instead she kept her eyes closed and started moving her arms, fast as lighting, cutting through the air like her arms were super sharp blades and the air was melted butter. She moved her feet too, in a sort of square pattern. Brian was just thinking he could watch for a lot longer when he shifted his weight and felt a twig snap beneath his feet. Aunt Bri must've heard it because she stopped and opened her eyes. He ducked a little more and hoped she wouldn't see him.
"Brian?" He sighed and stood up.
"What're you doing out here?" she asked, though she didn't seem upset about it.
"Ma said you beat those bandits up today" he replied, "And Sully said you did it with your China man fighting" He didn't know what else to say. The rest was obvious.
"I didn't beat them up" Brianna corrected, "And anyway, how did you hear about that? You're Ma told me not to say anything" Brian looked down at the ground and shrugged.
"Heard it as you were passing through the kitchen, no doubt" Aunt Bri said, and Brian looked up. She was smiling and he knew she wouldn't tell his Ma.
"Did you really learn that from a china man?" he asked excitedly.
"Yes" she answered slowly. She studied him for a minute and then lowered herself to the ground.
"Well, come here" she said and he hopped over the bushes to join her in her little circle.
"It's called Karate" she told him, "The man's name was Po Rai. I had to sneak out of my room at night and meet him in the school barn to learn it"
"Did it take a long time?" Brian asked.
"Yep. The whole time I went to school there, and that was about ten years"
"Wow" was all Brian could think of to say, though one question did come to mind, "Will you teach me?" Brianna chuckled.
"Not a chance" she told him, "Now, come on, your Ma ought to have dinner ready by now" She got up and Brian followed her back to the house, already imagining himself doing all those fancy flips up in the air.
This story and all ideas, themes and original characters are the sole ownership and copyright of J.L. Scott. Any unauthorized use is actionable in a court of law.
To borrow a phrase: Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman and all characters and settings no mine, no permission, no money, no sue...please?
"It scared me Sully" Brian heard Michaela tell her husband. He was evesdropping. He knew he shouldn't be but he wanted to hear about what Aunt Bri, as she had instructed he and Colleen to call her, had done earlier today that had stirred his Ma up so much.
"Ah, Mike, it ain't nothing to worry about" Sully told her.
"That's the second time she's gotten into a fight" Michaela said.
"She wasn't fightin'" Sully corrected, "She was protectin'. And it's a good thing she did, or you might not be standin here right now" Brian watched as Sully kissed Dr. Mike. He rolled his eyes and waited for them to stop, hopeful they would continue their conversation.
"Still, it's not any way of protecting I've ever seen before" Michaela continued.
"She learned it from a China man" Sully told her, "While she was at school" Brian thought that Sully didn't sound like he approved of the fact, but Brian found it very interesting. Very interesting indeed.
"She used to practice everyday, out in the woods where nobody'd see her" Really? Aunt Bri was out in the woods now. Brian backed away and snuck outside. He took a second to decide which way she might've gone, and then took off behind the barn. He ran for a few minutes before he heard the sounds of someone grunting. He slowed down and followed them. When he could see Aunt Bri, identifiable by her indian clothing, he slowed down and crawled under the brush. She was in a small circle free of underbrush, facing a tree. She had pulled her hair back in a leather strap and he could see small streams of sweat on her face. He hunkered down to watch her practice the skills she'd learned from the China man. He could feel his eyes getting bigger and bigger as he watched. She was apparently fighting the tree. She kicked at it, she punched at it, she jumped into the air and did flips and kicks. She backed up and got a good running start, then ran straight up the tree trunk and ran off one of the branches, did a flip in the air and landed on her feet! When she landed she stopped and took a deep breath. For a second Brian thought she might go into some kind of Indian meditation, which wasn't very interesting to watch, but she didn't. Instead she kept her eyes closed and started moving her arms, fast as lighting, cutting through the air like her arms were super sharp blades and the air was melted butter. She moved her feet too, in a sort of square pattern. Brian was just thinking he could watch for a lot longer when he shifted his weight and felt a twig snap beneath his feet. Aunt Bri must've heard it because she stopped and opened her eyes. He ducked a little more and hoped she wouldn't see him.
"Brian?" He sighed and stood up.
"What're you doing out here?" she asked, though she didn't seem upset about it.
"Ma said you beat those bandits up today" he replied, "And Sully said you did it with your China man fighting" He didn't know what else to say. The rest was obvious.
"I didn't beat them up" Brianna corrected, "And anyway, how did you hear about that? You're Ma told me not to say anything" Brian looked down at the ground and shrugged.
"Heard it as you were passing through the kitchen, no doubt" Aunt Bri said, and Brian looked up. She was smiling and he knew she wouldn't tell his Ma.
"Did you really learn that from a china man?" he asked excitedly.
"Yes" she answered slowly. She studied him for a minute and then lowered herself to the ground.
"Well, come here" she said and he hopped over the bushes to join her in her little circle.
"It's called Karate" she told him, "The man's name was Po Rai. I had to sneak out of my room at night and meet him in the school barn to learn it"
"Did it take a long time?" Brian asked.
"Yep. The whole time I went to school there, and that was about ten years"
"Wow" was all Brian could think of to say, though one question did come to mind, "Will you teach me?" Brianna chuckled.
"Not a chance" she told him, "Now, come on, your Ma ought to have dinner ready by now" She got up and Brian followed her back to the house, already imagining himself doing all those fancy flips up in the air.