When Chase showed me my room for the night, (merely a large one divided by curtains into little cubicles) I was a little doubtful. It was going to be hard to sneak away tonight.
I managed it. I don't sleep anymore, not since I discovered my powers. Sleep is too close to death. Besides, there are too many things to do at night, when the world is shrouded in shadows. When I sneaked out , I headed for the forest I was in previously. What I did was my business.
It was a little to dawn when I scaled the walls of the temple, hoping to sneak back unnoticed. From my vantage point, I spotted three figures at the temple's training field. Bounding lightly from the walls, I landed silently on the ground. From behind a building, I spied on them.
Dashi was practicing on a course of wooden stakes mounted on the ground. They were similar to what I used to train on with my mentor, except these were higher and further apart.
Why am I not surprised, I thought dryly.
Chase and Guan were sparring in the middle of the field. I have to admit, I was impressed.
Chase's attacks were elegant slicing movements, reminding me of a whip, or the Japanese katana. He shifted easily between attacking, evading and defensive stances in smooth fluid motions. Just like flowing water.
Guan's moves, on the other hand, were quick, successive and ferocious, executed with surprising agility, and flexibility for someone of his size. Fire indeed.
Chase finally won by striking Guan at the back of the neck, hard. Guan collapsed in a lifeless heap gracelessly. Chase must have struck an ancupoint.
"Nice," I smiled. Few can really appreciate the beauty of martial arts.
"Where were you?" Guan snapped, grouchy as ever.
"What I do is my business," I shot back, annoyance coloring my tone. Really. What was his problem???
"Don't listen to him," Dashi cut in, defending me.
"It's a little hard not to," I answered, still irritated. How I longed to slash Guan apart….
"Your attacks were weak," I snapped at Guan, making my tone as insulting as possible.
" i What?!? i " Guan spluttered in shock.
"You heard me!" I retorted. "You use only brute force, so you tire faster. Although your attacks looked impressive, your defense were only simple dodges and blocks, which any novice could have done."
He looked like he was about to explode. I smiled, satisfied.
"If you know so much, why don't you show me what you can do!" he taunted. I saw a vein in throbbing at his temple.
"Guan, she's just a girl!" Dashi exclaimed, attempting to defend me again. Bad idea. I get even more upset every time I hear that.
"What do you mean by that?" I glared at Dashi, my anger intensifying.
"Since she has such a big mouth, let her prove her skills!" Guan snapped.
"Fine." I agreed to fight, but only with Chase. If I wasn't careful, I'd end up ripping out his intestines. That wouldn't leave a good impression of me.
Chase was a little awkward to be fighting a mere girl but I can be very stubborn. He finally agreed.
The next few minutes were the fastest I had experienced in my life, apart from the spars with my mentor. Chase attempted to go easy on me, still thinking I was just a girl, even after seeing my power over the earth. I may be a girl, but I'm certainly no ordinary one. He was foolish enough to leave his guard open, and I immediately took advantage of it and left a bruise on his shoulder. He stopped fooling around after that.
His fist shot towards my thigh. I blocked the attack by knocking his arm to the side and proceeded to slam a counter punch to his stomach, my fingers locked together like a dagger. The muscles on his neck tightened when I sprang away, but otherwise, he gave no indication he had felt the blow.
Always attack like you mean it, even when practicing. My mentor's voice echoed in my head.
As the fight went on, I enjoyed looking at the amazement grow on Guan's face. My mentor went on instructing me, telling me to watch out for an oncoming attack, or a undefended limb.
I spotted his leg, aimed for my hip. Dodging it, I hooked an ankle around his leg and attempted to drag him down, but he realized what I was doing. Surprising me with his agility, he leapt out of my grasp. When I spun around to face him, he pushed me down, but the split second before I fell, I kicked wildly, satisfied to feel impact, but also worried that I hurt him too badly. I landed on my back, furious at myself. I had overestimated my abilities. He offered a hand to help me up, ever the gentleman he. I smiled at him, masking the humiliation I felt.
"No one said the match was over." In the next second, he was the one flat on the floor, headfirst. I locked his hands and legs together behind his back.
Never hesitate to take advantage of your surroundings. Yet another useful lesson. I was wondering how these monks had been trained.
"You cheated," Guan stated, contempt dripping in every word. I was i really /i starting to hate him.
"But her technique was impressive," Chase defended me as he got up, rubbing his chin. I noticed he had a cut on his lip, and wondered when it had been inflicted. Then I glanced at Dashi.
"That was awesome," Dashi beamed broadly. Then a frown creased his face. "Eva, where did you learn to fight? Your style is... unusual."
"My mentor developed his own unique style," I replied. "He's dead now." My voice was flat and emotionless as I struggled to keep it steady, but my hands balled into fists instinctively.
"You're an Earth element." I could hear the barely concealed surprise in his voice.
"Yep," I grinned. There was no way they could Read my aura to see my other element, no matter how skilled.
"The promised Xiaolin Dragon of the Earth?" Guan's tone was incredulous. "A mere female?"
"A mere female?" I raised an eyebrow, trying to keep my face from twitching. Internally, I raged to rip this insignificant creature to shreds. Surely he had seen my skill… My thin veneer of control shattered and I lost control.
"Earth!" I shouted. The ground beneath Guan's feet shuddered and tore open at my command, revealing a gaping abyss, which he promptly pummeled into. It happened so quickly no one had any time to react. At my direction, two vines from a nearby tree extended and grabbed the big man at light speed before he fell too far in. The vines dropped him unceremoniously on solid ground just as the abyss closed up.
"Hand me a sword and I shall prove my skill with the blade to you," I hissed, yanking to him to his feet by pulling his robes. I noticed, with satisfaction, the fear in them. I imagined how he would look with a sword sticking through his heart.
"Eva…" Chase pulled me back from Guan. I let go of Guan's robes and he fell back with a thump. Inhaling deeply, I ordered myself to regain control, concentrating on the warmth of Chase's hand on my back. It was the only thing that kept me from annihilating Guan there and then.
"Woah!" Dashi cut in, his amicable smile on his face, trying to take charge of the situation. "Guan, it's pretty obvious Eva is an Earth element, and it doesn't matter if she's a girl or not." He glanced at me and I saw admiration flicker in his eyes for a second. "Eva that was wicked fighting back there. Just save it for the bad guys."
I continued to glower at Guan, but my temper had cooled. Dashi's brightness was contagious. It was like he was a minature sun, dispelling my dark mood. At least, some of it. Chase pulled me away from the two.
"Don't say anything," he muttered and grabbed my hand to lead me out of the field.
"I have never seen Guan like that," he said, still pulling on my arm. "I apologize for his behaviour."
"I'm a girl after all," I answered tonelessly, repeating what I had been told my entire life.
You're just a girl! You can't do this!
A girl? Learning martial arts? Are you crazy?
She'll never find a man if she continues to dress and behave like a boy. Ever.
That last comment pierced me the most, for it was true. Which meant I had absolutely no chance with Chase…
If I had been born a boy… I whispered, my hands curled into claws, crushing the front of my shirt. "My life would be…"
"Don't say that." In the next second, his warm breath, smelling faintly of salt water, was so close to my cheek. My heart froze for a second as his lips came into contact with my skin.
"Don't ever say that," he whispered fiercely.
I blinked, certain it was a dream. Did he just…
I don't know what possessed me in that instant. Suddenly, I grabbed his face and pushed my mouth to his. He tensed, for a split second, then pushed himself against me, hard. I moaned, giving myself up to him.
When we finally broke away, our faces were flushed.
"Wow," I gasped out, leaning down for support.
"That was…"
"The best thing that has ever happened to me," I grinned.
"Same here," he smiled back, then took hold of my hand again and began to run.
"Where are you taking me?" I asked, not really minding. I would do anything, just to be this close to him.
"You'll see." He gave an enigmatic smile and continued to run.
We had exited the temple and entered the mountain range. From what I could sense with from my element, the place was mostly bare rock.
Chase shoved aside a boulder, revealing a fairly large cave. He smiled gallantly and took my hand, leading me in. The inside of the cave was dark but dry, filled with twisting passages. After only a few seconds, we turned round a bend and dazzling rays of light hit me in my face. When my vision cleared, I gasped.