February 14th: True Love - 300 words - Your character's love for a person/thing knows no bounds. It is purer than a mountain stream and more beautiful than a supernova.
The cave was a good home. It had kept them safe and secure over the years. However many it had been. It was hard to be completely sure.
Chiaotzu stared up into the darkness, fiddling with the hems of his sleeves. The heavy green cloth had become thin and worn over time. He would have to throw it out soon. It was a shame in a way.
Lying in the dark, staring at the silvery glimmer of the moon from the narrow crack of the cave entrance, Chiaotzu's mind started to wander. His eyes became unfocused and his body relaxed. His telepathy, visible to him as a shining blue net, stretched far beyond the cave walls.
He did this fairly often. It was meditation in a way, training in another. Honing his powers, testing the limits of his energy. How far could he go? He had often approached the Crane School but had always shied away before he got too close. He didn't want to know what he'd find.
Now, for the first time, he met another wandering mind. It started as a gentle touch on the edge of his mind, a poking sensation that almost shocked him into retreating. Instead his energy hardened, formed spikes, tried to protect itself. The other energy was clumsy and awkward, moving with clear overconfidence in their abilities. Hope, an odd bubble of warmth, started to grow in the pit of his stomach.
With concerted effort he softened the edge of his mind, made sure his movements were slow and gentle. Then he reached out, kept his telepathic voice cautious. Hello.
Who are you? a small high voice demanded. It echoed through Chiaotzu's mind and caught in his chest. Tears stung his eyes and blurred his vision.
I'm Chiaotzu. Who are you? It was all he could do to stop his telepathic voice from shaking.
I'm Tienshinhan, of the Tsuru'sennin School of martial arts.
Tien sounded so proud, so pleased with himself. All of the fear and worry that had accumulated over the years, the terror that his little brother would say something or do something that would enrage Shen. That Shen would go too far, that his rage would outweigh the boy's potential.
Do I know you from somewhere? Tien asked, and the bubble of hope burst. I've sensed you around the school before but you always go away. Why?
I'm scared I guess… Chiaotzu grabbed his elbows, hugging himself tightly. Ino, perhaps sensing his distress, rolled over and delicately nudged his snout beneath one of Chiaotzu's hands.
Are… Tien's formerly confident voice softened, became uncertain. Are you a ghost?
More tears. Another catch in his chest. A painful flutter of his heart. Why would you ask that, Tien?
I dunno… Coz you feel safe and I don't know why. Coz it feels like we've been here before. A short silence. Even your name… It's like I've met you before in a dream…
A slanted smile pulled at Chiaotzu's mouth even as tears ran down his temples. Maybe we have met before, he sent, thought, whispered. If we had…I'd have missed you, Tien… Are you okay?
There was a long pause. Just long enough for Chiaotzu to start worrying that he'd offended the boy, before Tien said awkwardly, My arm hurts…
A cold fist gripped Chiaotzu's heart. You arm? What happened to your arm?
Nothing. It just hurts when it rains. There's a storm coming in…
Chiaotzu closed his eyes. He could still remember the vicious storms that lashed the forest surrounding the Crane School. The brilliant flashes of lightning that left glowing afterimages before his vision. The thunder that followed would crash and rattle the frame of the dormitories before trailing off to a rumble that was echoed in the trembling of the toddler who would crawl up into the bed and curl up by his side.
I don't like the thunder, Tien said, as though he could see the memory.
The storm will pass, Chiaotzu said. He opened his eyes and looked out of the cracks in the cave. Bright twinkling stars and the barest sliver of moon. Not a cloud in sight.
Can…can you stay here? Until I go to sleep? It's…nice talking to you…
Chiaotzu smiled, a soft, wistful smile. One hand shifted, gripped his skin in a hard pinch. At the sharp pain his smile widened and tears flowed freely. It wasn't a dream. His little brother, reaching out, asking him not to go.
Of course, Tien. I won't go anywhere.
Their minds entwined, a distant embrace, reimprinting on each other. Tien's mind was familiar and different at the same time. Grown from the impressionable toddler to a curious boy. Strength and a steely core of determination had formed since he'd been banished. And Chiaotzu was so glad.