The denizens of the Wandering Isle were often quite acclimated to the warm and tropical weather that came with living on a migratory turtle. But there were summers that were particularly hot, and humid, and at times the easiest way to beat the heat was to search for a cave with a spring. The fresh water often kept the surroundings cool, and helped provide some relief from the sticky and humid weather of the summer.
These caves also provided a sense of privacy, in what felt like a crowding world. The towns were small and everybody knew everyone. It was hard to keep secrets or evade the gossip. To some of the people the life felt simple and quaint, but to others it was likely stagnant and suffocating. No strangers here, only neighbors.
The young cub needed to get away from that. It had been a month since he delved into a place he shouldn’t, and took back something he definitely should not have had. He was coming at that age where he was growing bigger, smarter, and more ambitious. But still foolish enough to toy with something beyond his comprehension. He couldn’t even be called a mage yet, having only learned a few spells from his mother, but this book, this lexicon, had things he had never even begun to dream about.
The cave provided solitude, and a place where he could consume strange knowledge and toy with magic unfettered. No one could stop him here, but even in the most remote corners of the island no one had a chance to be completely alone. And as he unfurled a cloth stuffed with various reagents and laid the book down, he heard a noise.
“Miao!”
He nearly leapt out of his skin, and something brushed and curled up against his leg. He looked down and heard the noise again, this time coming from a tabby cat, looking up at him and saying, “Miao!”
He grimaced and shook his leg, hoping to shoo the pesky creature away. And while he turned his back around, he caught the glimpse of another figure. A pandaren child who was half his height and likely half as wide. She stared at him intensely and silently. For most people her tendency to not talk was unsettling, but he was used to it. It was like he understood she had some sort of condition or nature that made her like that.
She spent a lot of time in her own head and had imaginations and fancies of her own world. It wasn’t often she came back to reality. But even she began to notice him taking off into the wilderness of the isle. The younger Takeshi child thought he had been delving into a magical world, but it didn’t seem to be the case at all.
“Shu?” he turned and knelt towards her, knitting her brow, “How did you find this place?”
She stared back at him for a bit, like she was searching for an idea in her head or an explanation. And before he could run out of patience she pointed down to the fuzzy creature, still circling his legs.
“Cat.”
“.. the cat lead you here?”
He raised an eyebrow, as she nodded her head and put her hands together, squeezing them. She turned her eyes away from him and looked sad. She struggled sometimes to keep words going between people or to keeping looking someone in the eyes. He pat her softly on the head and sighed, wondering what to do. He knew she wasn’t going to say anything about it, not until she had acquired more language. He sensed she was a smart girl, but lacked something most children would have.
“Well, you can stay for now. But you have to keep this a secret.” she said, placing a finger over his lips to make her understand. Her eyes widened like she had been entrusted with a big responsibility and in turn she wrapped her arms around his waist and placed her forehead towards his chest. He pat the small child on the back and sighed externally, finding the exchange awkward, but appreciating the effort she put forth in coming out of her shell for him.
Hantei took her by the hand and lead her to sit by the lexicon, looking down at it and deciding to close the pages for now. He was aware that she could read, but felt there were certain things in there she wasn’t ready for.
“Well.. let’s see..” he tried to think of something to do, he didn’t often have to entertain a little girl, but something did come to mind. He placed a hand out in front of her, “Did you want to see a new trick?”
Shu grunted and nodded her head for yes, glad that she could see something exciting while not just going out to play with rocks and sticks. Hantei made a genuine grin. There was this feeling of pride that he had some magical power to show, and an audience that could keep it secret for now. But some day, he knew he could get to leave this island, and go places and delve into magics no pandaren had before. For now, the only one who would get to know and appreciate his small beginnings was Shu. Even if they were only together by chance, just by the virtue of sharing blood, Shu was there to witness his humble beginnings.
He sat across from her and continued to hold out his hand, his eyes darting as he drew in a deep breath, and then concentrated. His eye twitched as he was gathering the mental and spiritual resources to manipulate the energy of the world around them. From nothing he could create something, and that tingling euphoria of power felt like it flowed through his veins. And like that, a tiny flame was born, flickering into existence from the meager bits of mana the cub could channel.
Shu’s eyes shimmered deeply as she fixed her attention upon his hand. There was a quiet moment between brother and sister, knelt across one another and sharing a moment of discovery and knowledge. And Shu reached for it, feeling the warm invitation of the flame. Hantei quickly tried to stop her a she went to place her hand in his.
“Wait, it’s going to-”
She yipped as she drew her hand back, the flame licking up against her paw and leaving it lightly singed. It was like touching a bee, a seemingly harmless gesture that lead to a lot of pain. He quickly dispelled the flame and took her hand, rubbing a thumb over her paws and startled that she even did that. Her eyes were watering and she quivered, a few soft sobs coming from her. But he knew he didn’t do something soon, she’d probably scream and cry. While she didn’t speak many words, she was still apt to screech. And they were painful, and would probably alert someone.
He shushed her quickly and tried to calm her down, keeping pressure on the lightly burnt paw as each hiccup and swallowed breath was like a ticking timebomb for an absolute meltdown. A sudden idea popped up into his head and he looked back to her.
“Shu, you’re brave, right?”
She was shaking.
“Like the woman in your drawings?”
She nodded again.
“The one that holds the sword? You’re strong like her, right?”
“I-I-I’m strong..!” she said back in a shrill voice, and for a moment he was shocked. It was probably one of the few times she said a complete thought directly to him. Even if it was two simple words. Perhaps he occupied a piece of her internal world and thoughts. But for now, he had to remain focused on calming her down.
“A tough girl doesn’t cry. A strong girl is brave. Like lady with the sword.” he said, “Do you think you can be like her?”
“.. yes..” she said back with a squeak.
“Then you know what you have to do?”
“Yes..”
She shook a few more times and gulped down a deep breath of air. And then went back to being quiet again. Hantei pat her on the head after, slowly ruffling her hair out of place and making a smile.
“Let’s get this wrapped up and go home.” he said, going to pick her up, “Just remember not to tell anyone about this, okay?”
“.. y-yes, Hantei.” she said, managing to calm herself down as they both left the cavern behind.
