So my internet is down currently. But by the time you read this chapter, obviously it will not be. And to Veronica: why, yes it does. I've had to PM people about the meaning of last chapter's title, and it's Latin. Kind of iffy for a china-based story. But I liked the way it sounded.
Let's continue.
-It Comes From the Middle-Land-
The town and village outside of it where Tigress Dai Lin and Seytu resided, was mostly known as the Soaring Corner. A villager once described it was because you could hold out your arms and feel as though you were flying- due to the constant windy weather. Dai Lin thought that was why Tigress moved there. Because, he knew Tigress wouldn't run away from any problem, no matter how much it seemed that way.
Seytu and Valia roamed around the town on their last day together. Dai Lin, Tigress and Po went to pick up food to make later. Seytu wanted to spend as much as time with Valia before she had to leave; today was her last day before her parents would make her leave.
"Oh that one's nice." Valia said, crouching with Seytu by her side. Seytu held up the sparkling blue shaded rock. "Yeah, let's keep looking though." Valia smiled at how hard Seytu concentrated looking for stones. The day was bright, and they loved the warmth. Seytu picked up a stone that seemed to be chalked a light green. The smooth stone seemed to glitter under a ray of sun. Valia eyed it.
"You know what that one looks like?" She said.
"…A … a stone?" Seytu said, clearly confused. Valia giggled.
"No silly, your eyes." She pointed out, picking up an ordinary stone and getting frustrated. Seytu looked at her.
"My eyes?" She smiled. "Yeah, they're so earthy and electric. Just like that stone." She continued to stare at her ordinary rock, looking for something special about it. Seytu seemed to think hard about her words. "My eyes aren't anything special. Just something to see with." He continued to look at his stone as well. Valia ignored what he said, she disagreed with him anyways.
"Run, run! For the gold head willn't die!
He'll search and search, and won't act too shy!"
A singing, smoky, female voice came from down the road. Seytu and Valia looked to see who would sing such a strange song. An old boar, carrying a merchant's case and a tattered parasol. She seemed to wear rags for clothes. The discoloration in her eyes claimed she was partially blind. Seytu told Valia to keep looking for stones while he went to talk to her. He walked up to her slowly, and a bit frightened. As soon as she snapped her attention to him, he stopped.
"Boy. Come close." She said with an outstretched finger, waving his way to hers.
Seytu slowly walked her way again, but unsure of this decision. She gasped.
"My word… your aura… it's horrifyingly strong. Tell me young one, what is your name?" Her eyes were suddenly wide, and her lips formed an odd smile. Seytu's fingers twitched. "S-Seytu, miss."
Her smile disappeared. "Impossible…" She whispered. "Pardon?" He asked questionably.
"Nothing, deary. Come closer, son." She said, her voice cracked. He placed his paws on his stomach and walked forward. He was then face to face with the elderly boar, and almost as tall as she. "I sell, you know. You do not want something?" She asked, placing the case strapped on her back on the ground. "No ma'am…" He said, watching her set up shop right in front of him on the road.
"Good, because I haven't planned to sell to you." He rose an eyebrow at what she said. "Then, why are you set-"
"I'd like to give you something, little one." She said pulling out a medium-sized silk bag. "Tell me dear, do you fight?" She asked. Seytu shrugged. "Mother and D teach me Kung Fu." He looked at the nbag again. It was a royal red color, with a thin golden string tying it closed. Carefully, she opened the soft bag, pulling out a three-pointed dagger. It was a beautiful dagger with a golden handle and dazzling rubies encased in the handle and down the blade itself. On the side of the blade, were the words, "从血淋淋的苦难和失踪意"(From bloody suffering and a missing conscious.) carved in it. And at the end of the handle, exactly where it ended, held a pointed diamond. Cracks formed in it, and in those cracks, was a red liquid.
The beauty both charmed and frightened Seytu. "I-it's beautiful…" Seytu stuttered. The boar smiled widely, revealing she was missing teeth.
"The Dagger of Return." She said entertained by Seytu's expression. Seytu snapped his attention to her.
"Like… like a time traveling dagger?" He said with pure curiosity. The boar stared at the young feline. "You'll learn in time, Seytu. Until then, take care of your friends." She averted her gaze from him to Valia. Valia was still looking through a pile of stones, picking one that was actually interesting. Seytu looked back at her and rose an eyebrow. Turning back to the boar, he discovered she wasn't there. He jumped back in surprise, how could she have left so quickly? Seytu quickly buried the dagger she had left him in the pouch, and into his bag. He then turned and ran to Valia.
-With Tigress, Dai Lin, and Po-
"Man, this place is nice!" Po exclaimed, looking around. Tigress smiled.
"So, how are things back at the palace, Po?" Dai Lin said crossing his arms. Tigress' smile disappeared.
"Actually, things are pretty strange. It seems the Valley of Peace is just one of many targets lately." He said with slight sorrow. Daze and Tigress glanced at him questionably. "Target? Po, what do you mean target?" said Tigress.
"Well, lately it seems as though the valley keeps being attacked by masked enemies with flutes as weapons. Pretty cool, besides them being evil and all. Each one of them has a different symbol on their white masks. They draw villagers in with their flute and kill them with it. Though, that's what we've heard. We chase them off before they ever do kill our villagers. But they seem to just keep coming back…" Po let his head hang slightly. Tigress was taking in the news.
"Wait, Po, what are you doing here? Don't they need you? Wait, what do the others think?" She said wanting to ask more. "They know I'm gone, obviously. They don't know why. I told them someone called me, and me out personally to a secret mission. Being the Dragon Warrior and all, they didn't mind." Po said proudly. Tigress doubted Shifu would ever allow that without knowing what was going on. "Po are you lying, Master-"
"He actually was really cool with it. I told him about the secret mission, he took a little time to think about it, allowed me, smiled, then turned and walked away. Odd. But I know the four can handle the masked ones. They always run off and come back. Why they don't try a little harder, is beyond me. It just seems fishy…" Po stated in deep thought.
"I'm sorry to hear about that…" Dai Lin said, placing a helpful paw on the panda's shoulder. "We… we really don't need to talk about that if you don't want to."
Po nodded. "Thanks, D."
"Well, how are the others at the palace?" Dai Lin asked curious again. Tigress scowled at him.
"Good actually, Master is trying something new. He's assigned them all children to teach for the next month. They are going to have to teach them to the best of their ability until the week after, when Master Shifu tests them." Tigress -though slightly angry with having to hear stories of ones from her past- listened anyways.
"Ha, and how's that working out?" Dai Lin said, as the three walked into a small vegetable store.
"Viper's all about it. Crane tries to hold conversations but it ends awkwardly. Mantis does pretty well. And Monkey teaches him all about pranking. So… pretty good." Po smiled. Dai Lin chuckled.
Tigress and Po sat at a small waiting table while Dai Lin went to order a few boxes of fresh-steamed vegetables. "Five boxes, please." Dai Lin said to the pig over the counter. The pig nodded and went to prepare their vegetables. Dai Lin leaned against the pillar beside the counter and waited. He fidgeted with a coin in his pocket, until someone called his name.
"Daze?" A feminine voice said. Dai Lin looked up to discover a familiar saber-toothed tiger.
"H-Haley?"
… And that's it for this chapter. Sorry I had to cut it short. I just couldn't let this one sit for so long. Please review, thank you guys for being great supporters. I think I'll have another chapter up by tomorrow. We'll see. Bye : )