What an exhausting week. What an busy weekend ahead.
I am glad everyone is enjoying the story so far. I don't have a set amount of how long this story is going to be, but rest assured it still has much to do before the end. For now, sit back and enjoy the plot
Once the newly christen Lan-Ying had eaten her fill of the feast Chase had prepared for her, she curled into a ball on the warm bed and fell asleep to the comforting sound of the crackling fire.
A loud scratching sound against the wooden doors is what eventually woke Lan-Ying from her slumber. She was still tired from her exhausting previously day, but some part of her told her to rise now, for sleeping in was a lazy way to begin her training.
Slithering down from the bed, she watched as a large lion entered the room and began to stare her down. He was an intimidating sight, with his intense white color and bright ruby red eyes. Every muscle in her body clenched and she mentally began to plan how to fight the larger beast, when it surprised her by bowed before her.
Cocking her head in confusion, she watched the cat raise and exit the room. It took a few moments before she realized that she was expected to follow him.
Peaking out from the door, she watched the tip of the lion's tail disappear behind a corner, and hurried to chase after him when it was clear he was not planning on waiting on her.
The clicking of both of their long claws against the marble flooring was oddly menacing, with the blue dragon feeling as though she was being lead to her doom.
Eventually, they came to two large, red doors that reached from floor to ceiling. Both creatures stared at the doors, Lan-Ying unsure of what to do, while the lion waited for the dragon to make her move. Realizing she was not planning on going anywhere, he bumped the dragon hard, sending her flying through the doors and landing ungracefully at the feet of the lord of the castle.
The doors slammed shut behind her, leaving her to stew in her humiliation.
A foot under her chin lifted her face to look into the displeased eyes of her new sensei.
" I expect you up and prepared for training at dawn. Any tardiness will result in discipline," removing his foot, Chase walked away, giving her the space to lift herself up.
" Understood" she growled out, annoyed at the fact that she was getting attitude for not doing something like predict the man's desires.
Bracing herself on all fours, she rose and looked towards the man who had declared himself her new master. He had been dressed in his usual armor when she came in but now was removing it piece by piece.
" Why don't you just snap you fingers and change like before? It would be less time consuming."
Chase did not replied, just continued to disarm.
While he carried on doing that, Lan-Ying assessed the room she was in. It was very large and circular. Columns stretched to the ceiling, which was covered in black stalactites. The light in the room came from the torches lit all along the wall.
Overall, her impression was that it was daunting and warm in the room.
Looking back, she saw that Chase had finished removing his outer layers and was now sitting on the floor in his under layers, eyes firmly shut and still as a statue.
Lan-Ying slinked over to him and rested right in front of his face.
" What are you doing?"
Chase cracked open one golden eye, looking at the curious dragon before returning to his previous demeanor.
" What you should be doing. Today, we are focusing on deep breathing exercises. All forms of strength come from the ability to control one's own body. If you cannot control your breath, you cannot live or fight," he replied.
" Fold yourself in, like how I have my legs. it will ground you to the earth Then, just breath in deep. Feel the air circulate within yourself. From your head to your feet. Your blood, your heart, your soul. Then let it out, along with every other thought in your mind. There is nothing but you and the air. Like a flame, it gives you life."
Unable to get into the exact same position as him for obvious reasons, Lan-Ying managed to coil her lower half and hold her upper body straight. Closing her eyes, she waited for instruction. After a very long moment of silence, her impatience got the better of her.
" So is that what you meant by training? To fight? Because you were not exactly giving details yesterday," she asked, re-opening her eyes to stare at him.
" Yet, you were quick to make a deal. And calling it fighting is a vast understatement. I am going to train you to control yourself. First through physical means, then we shall work on your underlying powers."
Opening both of his eyes, he shot the blue creature a glare.
" Apparently, though, we must work on your patience first. Since you do not seem eager to learn what I want to teach, maybe it is best to tire yourself out first."
Lan-Ying was about to point out she has plenty of patience, when lightening was shot at her feet. A spark flew throughout her body, not overly painful, as if it was a warning.
She flew back in a mass of limbs and her long tail, landing on the ground a few feet away. Looking at the man like he had lost his mind, she was unable to retort because she had to dodge the next bolt of lightening.
Flinging herself onto the wall, she was relieved to find her claws were long enough to dig into the stone and keep her suspended.
" What are you doing? Are you trying to kill me?" she yelled, as he paced like a trapped cat beneath her.
" I believe young humans call this game " The Floor is Lava". The goal is for you to stay off the ground," Chase calmly explained, before aiming and sending another bolt her way.
Lan-Ying barely managed to dodge.
" If I only have to stay off the floor, why are you shooting at me when I am on the wall?" she shouted down to him, breathing heavily. She had managed to latch herself to one of the stalactites from the ceiling.
"To teach you how to wait. Stay up there until I say so. If you fall, no one will catch you. If you try to move, I will shoot you, and I won't purposefully miss like before."
With that, he went back to his meditation poise and the room fell silent.
Chase fell into a deep calm, still listening to his new apprentice breath above him.
He expected her to last a few minutes, before either her muscles gave out and she dropped, or she voiced her eagerness to be let down.
Surprisingly, hours passed before he gave into temptation and looked up.
The turquoise-eyed dragon had closed her eyes and had wrapped her whole body around the stone. If he did not know better, he would have mistaken her for a decoration carved into the rock ceiling.
" Come down," he ordered.
Watching carefully, Lan-Ying opened her eyes. She untangled herself from the ceiling, but as she made her way to crawl down from the wall, she lost her footing, most likely from using every muscle in her body to stay attaching to the stalactite.
Chase was quick on his feet and caught her before she could hit the floor.
" Well done. Unfortunately, you wasted the morning playing games, so now you are going to skip lunch to catch up."
Lan-Ying looked like she wanted to protest, but decided it was unwise.
Chase left the room, leaving her with instructions to resume her breathing exercises.
Walking to his throne room, the dark emperor was flanked on both sides by two of his generals. While they normally took the form of a large white lion and a sleek black jaguar, he allowed them to maintain their human forms when communicating and discussing plans.
They entered and bowed before him as he ascended his throne. Once he was seated, he raised his hand, allowing the generals to stand.
" Report."
General Stein was the first to step forward. A Viking warrior before his defeat at the hands of Chase, now a brute of a man who excelled in leading his distant forces in the name of conquering the world for his master.
" Your territories are still ever growing. We have recently succeeded in overtaking the western cities on the coast, giving our ports more strength and access to naval fleets. The northern territories are suffering a harsher winter than normal and are requesting aid in the form of more able bodied men and food to be sent at the soonest possible time."
Chase rested back into his seat, nodding General Mao to approach next.
A slight Asian man in imperial armor, he had been fighting for Chase for hundreds of years and was clever and a trusted advisor. He led a team of jungle cats that kept him informed of all current affairs.
" On a more intimate matter, the Xiaolin monks are in a panic. They are sending out threads to weed out information on a missing monk. The official understanding is that the female disappeared in the middle of the night and left no trace. Wuya is using the distraction to plan an ambush during the next Shen Gong Wu activation."
Mao and Stein both waited for Chase to speak before moving again.
" Use the new naval fleet to send 50 warriors and 400 bags of rice, along with any pickled seafood that the western port has to the north. Remind them that this kindness, however, will come at a price before they accept it. "
General Stein gave a quick bow before turning and exiting the room, signaling other cats to go with him.
As the doors shut quietly, Mao turned back to his emperor. The man had leaned his head into his hand and seemed to be in deep contemplation.
" My lord?" Mao asked, unsure of what to say.
Chase stood up and proceeded to descend the stairs.
Moving to walk past the general, Chase stopped when they stood shoulder-to-shoulder.
Chase did not move to face the man, instead keeping his eyes locked firmly on the door leading to his main halls.
" Cut of the Xiaolin's resources. No new information is to be past to them. Keep the Dragon of Fire's disappearance to minimum exposure and alert me when Wuya goes on the move."
A wave of the hand turned Mao back into his feline form, and then Chase moved to get back to his training room.
Lan-Ying could not get comfortable. Sitting in a straight-backed position was not what her body was made for.
She was made for curling and wrapping. It was why she was able to fall into a deep mediation on the ceiling, with the warmth of the rock underneath her body.
Now, she was just plain sore, but the feeling that, the moment she relaxed, Chase would hit her with lightening or something even worse, was what kept her in the same pose.
She was also having a difficult time regulating her breathing, and could not shake the feeling that she had done these exercises before, which left her feeling frustrated.
All in all, it was a rough time, but she was nothing if not patient.
And hungry.
The sound of footfalls approaching had her slightly relaxed posture snapping back into shape. Closing her eyes, she hoped to give of an air of tranquility.
She could hear Chase enter the room, shutting the door behind him. Then, she felt, more than heard, him circle her body.
A deep, aggravated sigh escaped his mouth.
" What is wrong?"
Lan-Ying opened her eyes and glanced quickly at the dark-haired man before fixating on a spot across the room. Day one and she was already a disappointment.
" I'm . . . not sure. I can't get the breathing right. I just don't feel comfortable. I feel like I am not comfortable in my own skin. I was much more at ease earlier," she explained, looking up at the spot she had been before.
Chase seemed to be contemplating something, before seating himself across from her.
" Come hear" he said extending his arm towards her.
Unsure of what else to do, she offered her scaled hand to him. Wrapping his fingers around her, he pulled her forward.
She landed with a loud " Oomf" into his lap.
Pulling her close to his body, his firm voice cut through her struggling.
" Wrap yourself around my body like you did on the ceiling, " when she looked at him oddly he raised an eyebrow, " are you objecting?"
" No, Master." she said, before slithering over him until she was completely draped around his body.
In that position, she could feel every movement his body made. She moved as he took his breaths in and out, until the feeling led her to breath in sync with him. Soon, it was as they were of one body, one mind.
Her very being, however, soon felt like it was heating up from her core. Like just being close to him was making her soul lite on fire.
It was that feeling that made both parties separate with alarming speed.
Lan-Ying almost felt embarrassed, before she noticed that Chase was breathing heavily and leaning on the floor as well.
Against her inner voice tell her to leave it alone, she had to voice the question burning in her mind.
" What was that?"
She wasn't actually expecting an answer.
" Nothing. Momentarily lapse in control." he replied, still looking like he was struggling, if the marks he was making in the floor were anything to go by.
Lan-Ying almost sneered at the lie.
" I feel like I am about to burst into flames and you actually lost your calm demeanor. Don't lie and say it was nothing."
Chase didn't say anything for the longest time, but Lan-Ying could not decided if it was because he was still fighting for control or because he was trying to come up with a better lie.
Eventually, he stood up, smoothing his hair back, regaining his self-control.
" It is actually rather simple. We are both in heat, and considering you are a physical fit and appropriate female in close proximity, our bodies reacted and prepared to mate. No damage was done. We will just have to be more careful nest time."
The blue dragon did not know how to react. Her first reaction was shock and to run away. Then, she decided that, if he was going to be detached with this, she might as well be too. And it wasn't as if she wasn't curious.
" What exactly is dragon mating like? Is it just because I'm near by or do you have to find me even slightly attractive?"
Chase's posture seemed to grow stiff at her questioning. Just as he began to turn to her, the loud sound of claws running across marble interrupted them.
The large black cat that burst through the doors gave her a passing glace before locking eyes with his master, giving a nod.
Without a word being exchanged between them, they seemed to communicate just fine.
Chase gave a long whistle; having his armor brought to him on the back of the large white lion that had guided her that morning.
Giving the lion the order to wait and watch Lan-Ying, Chase then stormed out of the doors without a word.
Lan-Ying shared a look with the lion.
" So. Where can I get food?"
Continue to read and review this story, because reading everyone's reviews make my day, and really don inspired me to work quicker. I know many of you are eager for the moment Chase realizes who exactly his new apprentice is, and i promise it is coming, but I am a bit of a masochist and enjoy letting my characters mess around for a bit before getting all dramatic.
Thank you and good night!