Jake spent the better part of the next three hours trying to get his wings and tail to disappear. He was getting better at it, but it seemed like every time he got on the verge of pulling the chi back in he would hit a 'wall' and everything would return to normal. On his twentieth try, he leaned forward with a groan and held his head in his hands.
Fu walked over with a small grin and put a paw on Jake's knee. "Don't worry kid, you'll get it. And trust me, you'll appreciate the bigger wing span once you get into the air."
Jake growled and pushed himself back up onto the couch and leaned back with a wince as he slid into an awkward position to compensate for his wings. "Yeah, maybe. But I don't want to deal with this right now, you know? I have stuff to do, peeps to greet and pipes to grind. The last thing I need is to be stuck here."
"Calm down kid," Fu said with a laugh. "Look, I know that controlling magic isn't the easiest thing in the world but nothing, and I mean nothing, comes from getting impatient with magic. Also, you're not used to controlling your chi yet, maybe it would be a good idea to sleep on it and try again tomorrow?"
Jake shook his head. "Nah, I can get it. 'Sides it's only eight, and I'm not going to bed."
"Well you can't go outside," Fu said with a raised eyebrow.
"I know that," Jake said exasperatedly. "That's why I'll keep tryin' to get this chi flow thing."
"Suit yourself," Fu said with a shrug as he left the room and went to the front of the shop where Jake's grandfather was watching the door.
Two hours later Fu returned to the back room to find Jake lying face down on the couch with his head buried under the nearest pillows. Fu gave a short laugh and the unexpected sound startled Jake out of his almost sleep. Fu padded over as Jake blinked sleepily at him. "Sorry kid," Fu murmured with a grin.
Jake sat up and rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands. "Nah, I was just resting a little. It's okay."
"I think it is time for bed," Lao Shi said softly as he came into the back room.
"Gramps, no," Jake groaned. "I've almost got it, really."
Lao Shi shook his head and tucked his hands away into his sleeves as he walked towards the stair case. "No, that is enough for now young one. Also, it is ten."
Jake blinked in surprise. "Ten already?"
Lao Shi nodded. "Yes, now time for bed."
Jake sighed and followed his grandfather upstairs as best he could with Fu padding quietly behind them. Jake grumbled as he went straight for the guest room and fell face first into the bed. Fu followed him into the room and grinned as Jake situated himself as comfortably as he could on the bed. "Told you you'd get tire, kid."
Jake did his best to glare at the dog but he was too tired. "Whatever," he murmured as he curled up around the pillow.
Fu sighed and clenched the throw at the end of the bed in his teeth and dragged it over Jake. Jake curled deeper into the blanket and Fu turned and started to walk out of the room. Jake opened one eye suddenly and looked at Fu as he left. "Wait, Fu?"
"Yeah?" Fu asked.
"How long does it usually take to hide the wings and tail?" Jake asked.
Fu paused and Jake could tell he was uncomfortable with the question. "It's okay," Jake said. "I don't care how long."
Fu sighed and shrugged. "There's extremes for everything but I've noticed it usually takes a week to a week and a half."
Jake was silent and Fu peered into the dark room. "Kid?"
"Nothing, it's fine. Thanks Fu," Jake said.
"For what?" Fu asked.
"For not lying to me," Jake replied before he lay back down.
Fu grinned and left Jake's room and pushed the door closed before padding over to Lao Shi's room. "Heh, I almost forgot why the council chose him," Fu said with a grin as he walked over to Lao Shi's bedside.
Lao Shi grinned. "Oh?" he asked.
"I told him the truth about how long it's gonna take for him to control his magic and he thanked me for not lying to him," Fu replied as he crawled onto his cushion on the floor.
Lao Shi nodded and prepared to go to sleep himself. "He does not like being treated like a child," he said. "He is too proud for that. However, he will have a hard time staying still for that long."
"Don't worry gramps. I've been around him since he was a little kid, I know every trick he has," Fu said with a laugh.
"Yes, but now he knows you can talk," Lao Shi reminded the dog. "He is going to be much more guarded around you from now on."
"Yeah, well," Fu said non-chalantly and curled up. "We'll deal when it comes."
The next morning Jake woke up slowly and painfully. He winced as his head pounded and his back throbbed. He pushed his face into his pillow and tried to gain back the sleep that he had lost.
Fu burst any hope of returning to dreamland when he came through the door. "Morning, kid," he said with his unique laugh.
Jake groaned and pulled the throw over his head.
Fu laughed and sat on his haunches while grinning at Jake. "The chi flow will right its self sooner or later. Your body's just not used to it, that's all."
Jake mumbled something into the mattress and Fu couldn't make it out. "Headache?" he asked.
Jake nodded.
"That's good though. It means you were at least moving your chi yesterday. Everything else comes with practice," Fu told him.
Jake sighed and pushed himself up, slowly. He sat up and did his best to push his hair into a less messy position. "Where's G?" he asked.
"Gramps went down into the magical underworld to have a discussion with some of the local leaders," Fu explained. "But don't worry, you won't have to be dealing with any of that stuff for awhile."
Jake nodded and yawned. "Fine with me," he muttered. He stretched his arms high above his head and unconsciously extended his wings as well. Fu grinned as Jake relaxed and sat back down on the bed. He looked at Fu and raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"You're going to be a natural flier," Fu said. "You'd be amazed at how many dragons start off with wingspans less than two or three feet across."
Jake shrugged. "Well I didn't know dragons existed till yesterday so it doesn't matter."
"Jeez, got out of the wrong side of bed this morning?" Fu asked.
Jake glared at the dog then left the room quietly. Fu blinked at the moody child and cocked his head to one side. "What'd I say?" he asked.
Jake went into the back room and curled up on the couch in an effort to quietly nurse his growing headache but Fu followed him and sat at the end of the couch. "So," Fu started.
"Look Fu, I know you know way more about this stuff and I actually have a million questions I want to ask," Jake told the dog. "But right now I don't feel too hot and I just kinda wanna chill, kay?"
Fu nodded and jumped into his chair. "Okay, fair enough," the dog answered.
Jake leaned into the couch and started to try and control his chi flow again but the pounding in his head increased until he was forced to stop. By the time he was too tired to continue, his grandpa came into the room.
"Hey, G," Jake muttered.
"Good day, young one," Lao Shi replied. "Have you been working on your control?"
Jake nodded and sat up. "Yeah, but my head…" he started.
"You should stop," Lao Shi told him before he could finish.
"Wha?" Jake asked. "But you said yesterday that I couldn't go anywhere until I could control my chi or whatever."
"Yes, but rushing something sometimes only makes the task take even longer to accomplish," Lao Shi said softly. "Rest for now. We'll try something new tomorrow."
Jake sighed and watched his grandpa leave the room. Fu came over and jumped up onto the couch. "So, what are you going to do now?" Fu asked.
Jake looked back at his wings and grinned. "Think G would let me fly?" he asked.
"I dunno, kid. Flying's a big step for most dragons, even if they have known that they were able to fly their whole lives. Your gramps might not be too keen on the idea yet," Fu warned.
"Hm…" Jake said quietly.
"Here's the part where you decide to try anyway, right?" Fu asked.
Jake shrugged, trying to pass it off as something he was simply thinking about.
Fu grinned and shook his head. "I'm 600 years old. You can't fool me," he told Jake. "You also told me everything you planned to do."
"Yeah, when I didn't know you could talk," Jake snapped. "That kinda makes a difference, Fu."
Fu let out a slow breath. "Tell you what kid, if you promise to tell me what you're planning to do and when you're planning to go and I go with you I promise not to tell the old man and you also have to promise to not do anything unless I say it's okay, but if it is then we can go out."
Jake looked down at Fu and grinned. "Why would you promise something like that?" he asked as he considered the offer.
"Because I know you," Fu said. "You've been bending the rules since you knew rules existed. I know if someone doesn't at least follow you you'll just wander off on your own. And I'm not going to pretend that you'll stay inside for a week, whether or not you have wings," Fu said as he pointed a paw at the wings and tail behind Jake.
Jake shrugged. "So, I have my own style. It's not a crime."
"Unless you get caught," Fu replied.
"I don't get caught as often as my parents think they catch me," Jake replied.
"I know that," Fu said again. "That's why I asked you to promise me that you'll tell me what you're planning. I won't stop you but you're still a dragon and you don't know anything about the social rules out there."
Jake sighed. "If I promise can we go out tomorrow?" he asked.
"Sure," Fu replied. "But only where I say."
"Fine," Jake agreed. "And I promise."
Ugh, AP classes are a bitch and I'm kinda failing at the whole time management thing. I hope the next chapter comes out sooner then this one did. Thanks for reading and I'm sorry for the vague OOCness but hey, the kid just found out he's not human. I'm sure he's trying to deal with that while trying not to show it. The next few chapters should be a whole lot of fun. He learns to fly in the next chapter :D
Hugs and cookies to my reviewers. Thanks so much!