Chapter 1
The sun was setting that day, and Tianhuo had decided to set up camp that night; she hadn't found any town nearby to sleep in. The blazing heat in the mountains would have been uncomfortable to any other creature, but to Longma's, it was just another average day. It had been two weeks since Tianhuo had set out to find the key, and so far, she had not had any progress. She has passed many towns, but most of them had nothing interesting in them, just filled with reindeer who seemed surprised to see her when she came through.
Probably haven't heard much about us, Tianhuo thought. We Longma usually keep to ourselves and do not mingle with other tribes. Why when we have a wall that protects our land from predators?
Tianhuo shrugged off this latest thought. It was arrogance to think that they could hide and be safe from predators forever while other tribes may not have such luxury. Tianhuo grabbed some rocks, made them into a circle, and put some sticks between them. She then breathed a little stream of fire to light up the campfire, creating a pleasant glow throughout the tree lines. She then grabbed a fish she had caught earlier that day and put it on a stick to heat over the campfire.
Ah, this is fun, Tianhuo thought. Camping in the wilderness is so much fun, even if Tianhuo couldn't do it much back home. But on certain days when she led the Imperial Guard out of Huoshan, she would have them camp for the night and always used it as a lesson to teach them what to do if they got lost in the wilderness. That way, they could survive until they could either get home or find some sort of way to alert the search party where they were at. Every Longma always thanked Tianhuo when she taught them these skills since it wasn't something that they were usually taught. But, unlucky for Tianhuo, she had to learn them very early on, and she swore if she ever found out who…!
A crack in the tree line had Tianhuo snap back to reality. She quickly flew into the sky and tried to find where the noise came from. She then saw scuffling in some bushes below, and the hint of a black tail peek out.
PREDATOR! Tianhuo thought. Oh, I've got you now!
Tianhuo snuck up behind the bush where the creature was still wiggling and, with a pounce, knocked and pinned the beast to the ground! Tianhuo was so happy for a second but then looked down and realized that this wasn't a predator; instead, it was a little black dog. Tianhuo was confused at first until she heard someone calling out in the forest behind her. The dog underneath her hooves got excited and wiggled out from under her and ran out in the direction of the voice.
Oh no, you don't get away that easily! Tianhuo thought and ran after the dog. The dog was definitely smaller than Tianhuo, allowing it to squeeze through small gaps in trees or branches, but Tianhuo was fast and could quickly get around the obstacle in her way. She was catching up on the little pooch and was about to catch it when it broke through the tree line, and Tianhuo collided with something on the other side. Dazed, Tianhuo tried to figure out what had happened when she heard someone speak.
"Oh, I'm… so sorry," the voice said. "Uh… are you… good?"
"Ow," Tianhuo said and opened her eyes to see a sheep standing in front of her with a bunch of sheepdogs around her. She rubbed her head to ensure she was seeing things clearly and still saw the same thing in front of her.
"Uh, why yes… I'm good," Tianhuo said, not knowing what else to say to this sheep out here at night in the middle of the woods.
"Oh, that's good," the sheep said. "I wouldn't have wanted you to get hurt while I tried to catch this rambunctious little one who decided to chase a winter sprite from Reine City."
Tianhuo looked down at the little one that she was chasing, and it was trying its best to look innocent.
"Argh, whatever," Tianhuo said. "Who are you anyway?"
"Oh well, uh, I'm, Pom," she whispered so low that Tianhuo didn't hear her.
"Uh, what was that again?" Tianhuo asked.
"Pom," she said, more loudly for Tianhuo to hear. "My name is Pom."
"Well, nice to meet you, Pom," Tianhuo said. "I'm Tianhuo, captain of the Imperial Guard and Champion of The Volcano!"
"Oh, so… you're… you're a… Key Seeker?" Pom asked.
"Soon to be Key Keeper when I find it and lock away the predators from Foenum!" Tianhuo said and then turned her gaze back to Pom. "But I do wonder. Why are you out this far away from the Meadow? I've never seen any sheep this far out, only reindeer."
"Oh, uh, well… my tribe… uh… picked me… uh… as the… as the… as the…"
"As the what?" Tianhuo asked impatiently.
"As the champion of the Meadow!" Pom blurted out, scarred, and then covered her mouth, but it was too late as Tianhuo knew who this little sheep was.
"Champion of The Meadow!" Tianhuo announced. "I declare a battle against us to see who is the better champion and who should continue their quest to find the key!"
"Oh, that's fine," Pom whispered. "You can just… take the victory."
"Nonsense!" Tianhuo said. "We champions are to fight to see who's better! Our tribes picked us for a reason! We were the best out of everyone! Now we must prove it in combat!"
"Or not," Pom said. "I… uh… I could just… surrender."
"Let the battle commence in three!" Tianhuo said.
"Please, no," Pom said.
"Two!"
"Please stop."
"One!"
"Eep!" Pom said and curled up into a little ball on the ground.
"And go… huh?" Tianhuo said. "Hey, get up! We are to be fighting each other!"
"I don't… I don't… I don't…."
"What?" Tianhuo asked, stepping over toward Pom, curled on the ground.
"I don't want to fight!" Pom screamed, facing Tianhuo, and then curled herself back into a ball.
"What?" Tianhuo said. "But you are the champion of your tribe! You are the best one out of all of them."
"No… I'm not," Pom said. "I didn't want to be the champion. But no one else stepped up, so they picked me."
Tianhuo didn't know what to think. Here she thought this sheep would be an epic fight, now to learn that she didn't want to be champion but was forced.
That isn't right, Tianhuo thought. No one should ever be forced to be something they're not. So I… I can't fight her. It's not a fair fight.
"Okay," Tianhuo said. "Listen, we don't have to fight. Obviously, you don't want to fight, and I won't challenge someone who doesn't fight back."
"Oh, uh… thank you," Pom said.
"No problem," Tianhuo said. "Here, do you want to sleep at my campsite tonight? It's better than being out here alone with all the predators around."
"Oh… I would like that," Pom said.
"Then come on, I'll bring you there."
Tianhuo brought Pom back to her campsite and saw that the fire was dying. She quickly went out and grabbed more sticks to put onto the fire to keep it alive. She then grabbed a second fish that she was saving for tomorrow and gave it to Pom.
"Here, you must be hungry after chasing your dog throughout the woods," Tianhuo said.
"Oh, I'm fine," Pom said and split up the fish to give to the pups at her feet. They all ate their share hungrily and yipped in excitement after they finished.
"Sorry, doggies, I can't play fetch with you right now," Pom said. "It's too dark to play right now."
Woof! Woof! Woof!
Tianhuo smiled as the dogs ran around as Pom tried to corral them together. Then the one little dog that Tianhuo had met earlier walked up to her and fell asleep at her hooves. She smiled at the pup and petted it gently on its head. Eventually, Tianhuo saw that Pom was able to get the dogs to calm down and get them to fall asleep.
"Huff, they really can be a hassle," Pom said, lying on the ground.
"I can tell," Tianhuo said. "What made you take care of so many?"
"Well, every sheep has their own sheepdogs," Pom said. "I guess I felt better taking care of multiple of them."
"Hm, interesting," Tianhuo said.
"So, uh, I hope you don't mind me asking," Pom said. "But what are you going to do tomorrow?"
"Why does it matter to you?" Tianhuo asked.
"Oh, uh, well, I… just want to know," Pom said. "I mean, I don't have anything else that I'll be doing tomorrow. I would like to see what you're doing."
"Ok, well, I'm thinking of visiting that Reine City you talked about," Tianhuo said. "If there is anything that may give me a hint on where the key is, then it has to be there."
"Oh, nice," Pom said.
Tianhuo then glared at Pom. "But don't think I'm still not keeping my eye on you," she said. "You may not want to fight, but you still were picked as your tribe's champion, whether you wanted it or not. So you still are someone I should keep my eye on just in case you try to backstab me!"
"Oh, I would never do that!" Pom said.
"You better not," Tianhuo said. "This Imperial Guard armor I'm wearing would stop attacks from you or your dogs."
"O… Ok," Pom said.
"Now go to bed," Tianhuo said. "We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."
"Ok… goodnight," Pom said and fell asleep by her dogs.
Wow, she even let her guard down and decided to fall asleep right by a stranger! Tianhuo thought. I would never do such a thing; it's too dangerous.
Tianhuo then flew up onto a tall rock close by and heated the base with her fire. She finally laid down on the rock and fell asleep but kept in a defensive posture in case anything snuck up on them in the middle of the night.
This sheep wouldn't have survived out here by herself, Tianhuo thought. She would've been eaten by a predator and have no way to defend herself.
Tianhuo stopped her trail of thought so that she could fall asleep easier; there would be more to think about in the morning. Tianhuo finally fell asleep and started dreaming about the battles and missions that she had been on. All the training she has gotten would need to be applied here when she finds the other champions. Well, everyone except Pom.
While dreaming, a scream woke Tianhuo up, and she jumped up to see what it was. It was still dark out, and the fire had gone out, so she lit up her flames across her body. As the area lit up, she saw a predator approaching Pom, who was cowering into a ball. Her dogs were barking at the beast but doing nothing else. Without hesitation, Tianhuo jumped off the rock and kicked the predator in the jaw, sending it flying back into the bushes.
"Tha… thanks," Pom said, still shaking.
"Stay behind me," Tianhuo said, ignoring Pom's kindness. "There may be more on the way." And, on cue, that predator wolf came back through the bushes with his friends. Tianhuo growled at them and charged at the front one. It dodged, but Tianhuo quickly turned and smacked it into three of its other buddies, and they went flying into a tree. Tianhuo then saw two approaching Pom, and she grabbed one by the tail, launched it into the air, and smashed it across the forest. Tianhuo then went and kicked the final predator wolf away from Pom and kicked it repeatedly into the ground until it was still. Finally, Tianhuo landed back on the ground and walked over to Pom, who was wide-eyed looking at her.
"You… you… you…"
"I saved your life," Tianhuo said. "So a thank you would be nice."
"You… you… you…"
"Argh, whatever," Tianhuo said. "The sun is coming up, so we should get over to Reine City now." She went to help Pom up, but Pom jumped back and screamed at Tianhuo.
"That fighting is only the fighting of a predator!" Pom screamed, and her dogs started growling at Tianhuo. Tianhuo dismissed the threat and spoke to Pom calmly but arrogantly.
"Yeah, but we aren't full predators," Tianhuo said. "We are half-horse, half-dragon, so we are only half-predators. But we haven't told anyone that, so no one knows we are half-predators."
"Well, you can't find the key!" Pom said. "You can't be trusted with it!"
"Listen here, sheep," Tianhuo said, closing in on Pom, not caring about the dogs barking at her. "We aren't dangerous to you. We care about protecting Foenum as much as you all do. So think of me however you want, but I'm going to find that key and protect Foenum from these more vicious predators than us!" Tianhuo then backed up from Pom and ensured that her armor was okay from the battle she had. She then started walking away from Pom.
"Hang on!" Pom said. "Where are you going?"
"To Reine City, duh," Tianhuo said. "The area you said you wanted me to bring you."
"Yes, but… I'll tell them about you!" Pom said.
Tianhuo heard this and quickly pinned Pom to the ground. "You won't!" Tianhuo said. "Unless you want to be left here like I left those predators!"
"See! No non-predator would say that!" Pom said.
"I don't care!" Tianhuo said. "Now get up so that we can get to Reine City. I've got a key to find."
Tianhuo got off of Pom and allowed her to get up. She then started walking with Pom behind her toward Reine City, ready to face anything that got in her way.