"Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see."
Mark Twain
Kung Fu Panda
The Long Night
Chapter VI: Blind Kitten
The snow is melting slowly. The fire heats the kettle and soon I will be able to put the rice into it.
Rice…the only food available for me right now. For days nothing different.
The days were peaceful, that I can't deny. Days of meditating, training, eating and sleeping…..such luxuries combined with not being chained I had the last time, while being Shifu's disciple.
Shifu's disciple….long ago and it will happen never again.
I put the rice inside the kettle and it begins boiling.
My supplies are beginning to end. What should I do, when they end ultimately? Back where I have come from or should I go to the village?
Till now I have not visited it. Somehow I was not interested in it. If the words of the host would have proven themselves wrong….I don't want to trade my peace for this risk…at least for now…
I fish the rice out of the kettle and put into the bowl in my hand. I blow the warm air away from it and walk to the table and one of the two chairs. It is not dusty anymore since I live here.
I take my chopsticks and begin to eat…still hot, but acceptable.
I think I have no other choice than going to the village. The alternative is riskier. Hope the villagers have something left for me….the early winter could have surprised them as well like me.
The last days it had snowed almost every day. The reason why I needed to train inside the hut and mediate more than training. After all I want to train my See without Seeing more with the help of the snow. It is a great opportunity….
I hear something. Slowly I put the bowl down and go to the next window….I see something before it hides…People? Yes probably. They have seen me. Hmmm….should I greet them? Maybe a more sneaker approach would be more useful.
I go to the other side of the hut and leave the hut through the window there. After touching the snow I focus and sense the ones, who are hiding….children…,.four….I shake my head grinning. They seem to have come from the village and are hiding beside a small snow hill on the other side of the hut….I think I will play with them.
I look to my left, where the smooth cliff down to the valley is found. When I go low enough I will be able to hide from their sight so I go there.
While circling the kittens I focus my other seeing on them. One of them has left them and is going to the hut. Sneaking….Wrong direction, when you ask me….
I have circled them finally and am right behind them. The other three are felines. Mountain Cats like it seems. I can't judge their gender, because their backs are directed at me. They are wearing dresses prepared for winter…but not so high quality. They look….used….The last one has reached the hut already. I sneak further.
"Why is she taking so long…?" the voice of a boy asks whispering. It is the kitten to the left.
"You know why…" the voice of a girl replies. It is the kitten to the right.
"Yeah I know, but still it would be better, than she would hurry up…." the first kitten continues talking. "And risking being captured by the person there? Not a chance…" the third kitten – a boy – says.
"By staying here for too long, we risk being captured as well. And don't forget, that Yan wants to know who this guy is as fast as possible." the first kitten replies.
Yan? Ask myself who this is. I look up and see that the fourth kitten – a girl – is looking in my direction, while shaking her head….and I realize something else: She is blind.
That is confusing. Why have they sent her?
"Go…Go further. Look more properly…" the other girl whispers to her. The blind kitten hesitates….has she noticed me although being blind? Finally she nods. She goes to the door, while I reach the three others. They still can't sense me. I am still good in sneaking.
I lower my head to them.
"He is not in the hut? Where can he be?" the third kitten asks.
"Or she.", the girl suggests, "Don't know…maybe Zhu's technique doesn't work on this old hut…"
Technique?
"Till now it had worked always." the first boy replies, "No matter which house or hut. Her range is only limited. He or she is somewhere inside…"
"Nope he isn't.", I whisper to them.
I see the reaction of their bodies like they slowly realize what they have heard. They turn around slowly with a frightened face.
"Boo!" I say loud enough and all of them begin to scream. I begin to laugh, while they leave their hideout immediately and run crisscross in the direction of the hut. Not very effective, when you want to flee after my opinion. I follow them directly.
Before they can realize their mistake, they have reached the hut and turn around to me once again. I am standing exactly in front of their noses. I think I scare these kittens a little more.
"Seems I've caught three little rats here…What should I do with you?" I say in a dangerous sounding voice grinning evilly.
"No…no…please…" the third boy says. His grey fur looks almost white, because he seems to be so pale.
"We beg you…" the girl says and the first boy can't speak at all…I am still as intimidating as ever.
I sense something. The fourth kitten jumps in front of her friends and wields my staff in her hands. She doesn't look frightened although she is blind.
"Let my friends alone!" she yells at me. I examine her properly. Her fur is rather dark grayish than the lighter grey or brown of mountain cats and the spots on her body seem to be red instead of brown. She wears like the other kittens a brown dress prepared for winter, but hers look even more used. But still I bet she has it warm in it even during a blizzard. While thinking this I realize that it is rather cold topless like I am.
I look directly into her faded yellow eyes and can see resolve there despite the blindness. The bravest of all of them is like it seems the weakest….I chuckle.
Before she can react I kick the staff out of her hands, grab it and point it at her.
"Brave, but that is not enough to beat me kitten." I say. Her face still doesn't show fear.
"As long as I am able to protect my friends I don't care." she replies stubbornly and gets into a battle position.
"Zhu…don't risk our lives with your big mouth." the first boy says. I glare at him. Does he not understand what she is doing or what?
I take the staff away and position it on my shoulder. "Go.", I say, "Leave me and my hut alone.", and begin to walk away. Slowly I hear like they leave, while this Zhu girl seems to be the last. I look behind her, while she leaves the hut. Brave kitten…
Then I think about this matter. Why have they sent the blind in advance? And what have they meant with…?
I realize it. She was able to use See without Seeing. But where have she learned this…..I think I have another reason for visiting the village now.
During night it begins to snow once again. And stronger than the last days.
I guess that my visiting tomorrow will fall through. DOH.
I get to bed, but can't sleep. How could have she learned See without Seeing? Till now there was only one person able to do it and that was Thorn. And he lived his life in the Swamp. So where have she learned it? Are there more Masters of this technique? Or has she learned by instinct, because she is blind? Questions over questions, which can't be answered tomorrow. I don't know even when it will be possible….DOH!
I leave the bed and get into a meditating position. When I can't sleep then I can train at least.
I close my eyes after getting into position. Calm down and relax. Calm down and relax.
Focus. Focus. I sense the wood of ground beneath me. Focus. I sense the hut with all its furniture. Focus. I sense the walls outside of the hut. Normally here it ends, but this time I try to go further. Focus. I….sense the snow outside of the hut.
I open my eyes immediately….this was the first time that I was able to change the material while Seeing without Seeing. From wood to snow….I get better.
I close my eyes once again. Calm down. Focus.
I sense the hut once again. Focus. Focus. I sense the snow outside again. Focus. I sense….
I open my eyes again and get on my feet. I go to the window and look out. The Blizzard is strong and it is hard to see something. I focus with my eyes and still can't see more than silhouettes.
I take my cloak, hat and Staff and leave the hut immediately….which is easier said than done. The wind is so strong that it is difficult to close the door once again. But after I have done it, I go there where I have seen them.
Before I reach them, I focus on my other Seeing once again….it is harder during this blizzard. It is more chaotic. If they would be further away, I would have had problems to see or sense them at all, but this time I can sense five of them. Three in the front and two behind me. I continue walking through the snow and come into range of the first one: A Yak. He wears only pants.
"Are you searching for someone?" I ask him. He glances at me and then charges. He is using a spear against me, but I can dodge it easily even in this blizzard. Before he can attack me again, I hit his belly with my staff hard enough that even his pelt is useless. Then another hit at his head and he needs to trip backwards. I sense like the next two – again Yaks – charge at me. I dodge their spears one hit after another. They are attacking in a duo attack and are in this way much more effective, above all in this snow chaos. But they are still no match for me. I dodge in the right moment and they beat each other with their own spears. They trip back and I use this opportunity to attack the first one with a combination of attacks with the legs, arms and staff. He falls into the snow fast.
Before his friend can grab me, I dodge by kneeing down and then hammering my head into his chin…..Ow….hard chin, but he becomes unconscious still.
I look around at my first attacker, who doesn't seem to be as brave as at the start of this fight.
"Want to give up?" I ask him while increasing the volume of voice, because of the loud blizzard.
First he looks like one, who would consider this, but then his face lightens up. Probably because he can see the two remaining guys, who are trying to sneak behind me. I grin.
I hammer my staff into the snow, while they attack me. Both of them swing their spear at the same time, while I dodge the attack by stepping back and then grabbing both spears. Before they can react, I have dashed both of them against each other. They collapse, while I glare at the remaining one.
"So will you talk now?" I ask with a threatening voice this time.
He smiles obviously showing his fear. And then when I think he will talk finally, he turns around and flees. I sigh and shake my head. If he could escape me.
I begin to follow him and come closer and closer…even in this snow he is simply too slow for someone like me. I am close to grabbing his shoulder and spinning him around…what?
I sense something. Another person not far away from here lying in the snow…It is smaller…It is….I stop when I realize what I sense there. A kitten!
I turn around immediately and run to the position, where I have sensed it. It is buried below snow, so I begin dig for it. It is much snow…how long this kitten is lying there already? Finally I can free it from the snow: It is the blind kitten.
DOH! She is almost frozen to death. I look there where I can sense the fleeing Yak. He is going down to the village. DOH! Flee as fast as you can, because you had luck today.
I take her on my arms and turn around to my hut. Don't die, kitten! Don't die! I will save you!
I run back to the hut.
And Tai Lung is back! Hope you like his other side :) and I appreciate it still when you would review this chapter.
Another thing I need to mention: No Update next week. Hope you will not want to stone me for this, but it is like it is.
"Kung Fu Panda" (c) DreamWorks Animation
I own nothing except for the written word.
Characters you don't know are from me. The Idea is also from me.