One Tail at a Time

The Long Wait - 2

Its now day four and Shifu still hasn't returned and I can hear the one called Zi Lan talking quietly to Shanhu and Cheng Bao.  I might now be in my girl form, but my hearing is super powerful.  I can even hear Die Feng growling the younger disciples several rooms away.  But Im not listening to them, but to Zi Lan.  He said that Shifu and some of the world leaders had to fight a battle with Papa and my four older brothers in order to subdue them, but Shifu got hurt.

Im crying again, but I keep my head down and don't let them know I can hear them, because I really want to know whats happening.  He also said that even though Shifu is hurt, he managed to get my Papa to finally listen to him and the last they heard, a big meeting was called for which Mama also attended.

Only it seems as if my Papa might have gotten himself into trouble with the King of the Celestials, because Shifu had to escort him there instead of here while Mama and my brothers went with him.

I don't know what any of this means, its all too grown up, not even Fu Yu knows what to think, so we're still here on this mountain being cared for by my foster brothers.  Thats what they tell me they are to me and Shifu is like my foster father.  They are still being extra nice to me and giving me treats when I do something good, but I can see they are worried for Shifu, so I am too.

I feel bad that he got hurt because of my birthday wish, so I decide there and then, that when he comes back, I am going to give him extra big cuddles to make up for it.  Only now they are getting ready to leave for the library where Die Feng is going to teach them all about formations and strategic planning with some of the maps I saw before, but I don't want to go, I want to wait here in the big chair for Shifu.  He will smile if he sees me in his chair and he will feel better, so that thought makes me happy.  He's been gone for almost a week and I miss him terribly, but Shanhu says I have to go with them, because I can't be left alone here, its too far away from the Library.

Even though he is super nice to me, he doesn't pick me up again, instead he said I am a big girl with big girl legs which are more than capable of walking. He said if I get carried around all the time, then my legs will fall off from disuse, and I don't want that to happen or Shifu and Papa really will have a big fight right here in the temple.

 Guiding me onto the cushion he has already prepared for me, I sit down with the big girl books he has brought for me to read while he goes off to sit with the others.  The maps are spread out all over the floor, and Die Feng is hover over the air while pointing at different areas that he thinks is important. 

"The only way to see the full area and dimensions of any battlefield, is from above.  So today we are going to talk about the advantages and disadvantages of guarding the skies during a battle." he says.

 And just like that, I am instantly bored by his boring teachy voice,  so I set about talking to my doll instead.

Her name is Mingzhu which means bright pearl and she looks like Mama.  Zhen Zhen even made her hair look like Mamas when I was little, so I think she is the most beautiful doll in the world, her bright eyes even glow like a pearl just like Mamas.

"Mingzhu, I wonder what its like being up there in the sky all the time.  I saw those guards at the Celestial Heavens making glow balls so I don't think they're very good at guarding anything." I say which makes Fu Yu laugh.

"Well its true.  Being in the sky all the time would be fun though, you could be little balls of light that can sparkle at the visitors and even during a battle." I say with a flick of my head towards my new brothers.

"And that's why I want a cloud of my own so I can zoom across the skies, spy on people and even drop flowers over a battlefield.  That would be so funny." I laugh at Fu Yu who is rolling his eyes at me.  "Can you imagine what the soldiers would do if pretty peach blossoms rained down on their heads instead of arrows?" I ask Mingzhu who I imagine is shaking her head.