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Whisper of the Mountains 03

Wairu had so much to think about in his time on the Whispering Cliffs. He knew he was an unpleasant cub and a rebellious teen, but as he reflected on his life he had no choice but to accept that he was a terrible person for most of his life. He didn't mean to be unpleasant - it wasn't like he was callously taking advantage of others or stealing - but his actions had a negative impact on those around him when he got in one of his moods.

Though he was a pleasant cub most of the time, he must have really tested Master Bouzhung's patience with his petulant, entitled attitude or during his outbursts. When he was a teen, he got outright violent when he felt he was justified in his actions, which was dangerous considering he was trained at the Shrine of the Whispering Spirits.

So many elements of his life that seemed innocent at the time now looked like the immature outbursts of a child now that he was an adult, looking back with the benefit of hindsight. Deep in his mind, he tried to justify his actions or explain away any unwarranted behaviour, but in the end he just had to accept that he had a lot of growing to do. Even in the weeks leading up to his travels to the Whispering Cliffs, he had shown the juvenile petulance of his teen self, even though he was a fully grown adult now.

Given the time and serenity he'd acquired in the recent days, he was able to really piece together the last few months at the temple, and it was something of a gut wrenching revelation.

His arrogance had carried on through his life, guiding him towards the greatness he felt he deserved. Problem was, the only greatness he was chasing was physical prowess and skill in the ring. Sure, he wanted to be known as a hero of the valley, protecting the other monks and the villagers, but to him that just meant learning how to fight. He was a master of offense and defense, but Master Bouzhung had insisted time and time again that there was more to self improvement than learning how to punch really hard or manipulate the wind.

Wairu kept ignoring that advice, saying that he'd reach zen after mastering all the combat arts he could. In his mind, being peaceful allowed others to walk over him and in the event of a fight, he would be beaten if he was too passive. In the previous weeks before leaving, Wairu had noticed a frustration building up in Bouzhung's teachings. He would invite Wairu to train, only to give up soon thereafter.

At the time, Wairu just thought this meant that there was nothing left to be taught. He thought he had mastered the arts and that he would be ascending into zen soon enough. When Bouzhung announced it was time for him to visit the whispering cliffs to advance his training, he initially thought that it meant he was done.

Thanks to his meditation and vivid recollections of his past, Wairu now realized that he was sent here not because he was ready to ascend, but because he couldn't learn any more from Wairu if he didn't calm his mind. He was here more as punishment than honor. He was here because if he didn't seek the zen in his mind, Bouzhung would get fed up with him and kick him out of the temple.

That realization could have made him angry, but it didn't. A younger, less enlightened Wairu would have turned that into an excuse to storm back to the valley and argue or pick a fight, proving his skill. The older, wizened Wairu realized that the reaction he would have experienced would have perfectly illustrated the point that Bouzhung was trying to make.

Now, he just smiled. Bouzhung was right about him. The master was always right, and though he always respected that silly old goat, he had never felt the pride he did now, knowing the patience he must have had to train Wairu and deal with him all these years. He saw something in Wairu, and though he was frustrating as a boy and a rebellious nightmare as a teen, he had finally allowed himself to truly grow into an adult.

He remained on the plateau in the mountains, smiling as he stared out over the cloud-covered mountaintops. For the first time in his life, he didn't know what to do next. Should he return to the valley, sharing his experience with Bouzhung, or should he stay in the mountains for more meditation? If he had truly achieved zen in only a few days, that would probably be record time, but his new self-realization made him understand that speed wasn't the goal, purity was. No, the better option would be to relax and enjoy himself on the Whispering Cliffs. He still had food in his pack for another week or so before he felt he had to go back home.

A smirk curled up his lip at the corners before he quickly got to his feet and darted back into the cave to grab a strip of pressed mango-melon fruit. He nibbled at the tip of it as he walked back out to the platform, standing tall above the world. He was there. He was here. He was everywhere and he felt like he could rule the world with this new understanding of life. Of course, that feeling quickly faded as he had to remind himself that the world was not his to rule.

Yeah, he still had to stick around on the cliffs for a little while longer. He had to fully purge that arrogance from his mind. It wasn't enough to remind himself to be zen, he had to truly feel it and not allow his emotions to bubble up and obscure his calm. That was key.

Before long, he felt himself growing fatigued, which was odd because he wasn't burning incense or drinking the tea. He tried to blink it away, but that only made him more tired. "What's going on this time?" He asked himself as he grew dizzy and fell onto his back, arms and legs sprawled out on the grass as he stared at the evening sky. The sun wasn't set yet, but it was about ready to dive over the horizon and some stars could be seen dotting the cool blue horizon opposite the sunset.

As he stared, he noticed the stars grew blurred as the peaks of the mountains started swirling into the clouds that blanketed them. His vision was melting and dissipating into nothingness as the sky turned into a screen to his past. This time, rather than struggle and resist the hallucinations, Wairu smiled and embraced another look into his past.

==================================

Many minutes passed while Wairu heard only faint sounds of bugs chirping in the distance accented by the steady drone of the tree-insects that littered the valley that housed him. It was clear he was back home for this memory, he just needed to find out what it was that was happening. When in his life was this?

His eyes opened and he got a look at his own hut's ceiling. It was dark outside, so definitely night time. A moment later, he heard a knocking at the tiny window next to his sliding door. He looked up to see a figure's face obstructing the view to outside.

"Hey, time to get up!" Zephyr called to him. "We have a date to go on!"

Wait, no. They never dated. That couldn't be right. "I'll be right out, Zeph." Wairu groaned as he swung his legs out to stand next to his bed. He gave a gentle stretch, followed by a lunge position on each leg before kicking his door open, sliding it to the side. "Seems I forgot."

She smiled and poked him on the chest, a playful flirt. "Of course you forgot. I bet you got so busy with your training that you exhausted yourself to the point you just stumbled in and fell, face down, on your pillow. Right?"

Wairu shrugged. "You could say that, yeah. So what do you have in mind? Or is that my job?"

His orient chimera friend rolled her eyes before pulling him in close for a hug. "This isn't a real date, you goof. I just want to spend a night on the village. Come on, don't be such a spoil-sport." She wrapped her arm around his hip and guided him towards the path that would lead them down towards the village.

"Alright then, so you're in charge. What have you got in mind?" Wairu asked as the two of them padded their way down the gold-stone steps through the valley, arms hooked around each other.

Zephyr skipped gently, kicking at stones as she went. "Well, I was thinking sushi. There's a guy in the village who invites people into his home and he prepares it for them. Don't worry, he does vegetarian sushi too. It's really good!" The gems on her shoulder and forehead were both glowing, showing the purity of her excitement.

That sounded quite good to Wairu. Sushi was one of his favorite meals and he didn't get to enjoy it all too often because he didn't keep very much coin in his hut. The monks were urged to only keep the possessions they needed to survive, and money was rarely considered a valuable commodity when they grew their own rice and harvested their own crops in the mountains. Still, Wairu would do odd jobs around town to get some coin here and there in order to buy himself trinkets or, more commonly, take Zephyr out to eat.

The two continued to talk about the sushi rolls this old man apparently offered in his home, mostly discussing the vegetarian options since that's what Wairu was more likely to eat.

Half way down the path, Zephyr ambushed Wairu by jumping onto his back and commanding him to carry her the rest of the way. She pointed forth and bellowed "Onward noble steed!" As he galloped down the pathway beyond the many tiny huts that lined it, he eventually got tired and made her hop off once they reached the farmland that surrounded her village.

"You really can run like the wind, Wairu." She complimented him, patting him on the shoulder.

Wairu, however, was quite exhausted. He'd been carrying her for fifteen minutes straight. While she was not heavy and fifteen minutes didn't seem that long, it seemed to last forever with a friend riding you like a horse.

He was about to make a sarcastic comment to her, only to hear a distinct rustling in the wheat fields on either side of the path. "Wait, what was that?" He cautioned, raising a hand as he focused on the fields. His eyes weren't the best at night, but better than most even if his sight was best during the day.

That moment was when the adult Wairu watching this remembered what day this was. There was an attack on the village by a force of only five ninja. They were seeking out Zephyrue to get at Wairu for some reason. He killed each and every one of them in a rage, a black spot on his record that he was ashamed of to this day.

Curious to relive those events - maybe he had something to learn about zen - he kept his focus on the environment around his past self, watching to see if he could pick up any additional details.

"No, I don't hear anything. Just a bit of a breeze. You sure that wasn't you with your wind powers?" She teased, pushing him into the ditch that separated field from the pathway.

His instincts kicked in and he hopped over the rivet of water to kick off the opposite ledge and hop back up to the road, where he tackled her and lifted the chimera up on his shoulders. Her little assurance of the breeze distracted his mind from the danger that lurked. Of course hindsight was clearer than the future, and it was not so obvious that they were being stalked at that time so he paid the sinister warnings off like they were shadows in the night, nothing more.

They kept walking towards the village, playfully batting at each other and joking about how much fun it would be to have travel the world together, getting to learn combat styles from the other temples and shrines. On the side, Wairu had been teaching her as Bouzhung had taught him, making her sort of an honorary monk, even if she wasn't official.

Another shadowy figure could be seen darting between the houses, hopping from one roof to the other before disappearing behind a chimney. Again, Wairu ignored it, assuming it was a bird or something. His modern self was once again screaming at him to pay attention to the threat that was looming, which actually made Wairu stop and look up, only to find nothing.

"What has got you so spooked?" Zephyr asked as she looked back, noticing that he was pausing every few moments to look around.

Wairu shook his head and shrugged his shoulders a bit. "I really don't know. I keep getting the feeling I am being watched, like I should be keeping an eye out, but then it fades and I feel fine. I dunno. What about you?"

She booped him on the nose with her finger. "I'm fine, just hungry! Come on, let's go get some sushi, okay? We're really close, just a block or so away." She grabbed at his paw and dragged him forward, passing by a series of homes, small buildings, and locked up store fronts.

Zephyr was certainly correct in saying that they were close. Once they were there, she stopped and extended a paw to the front door of a small, flat building. "See? Delicious. Let's go in and eat. I could definitely eat; I've been waiting all day for this. Little disappointed that you slept the afternoon away and forgot, but I think I'll forgive you once we're both full of sushi."

The two of them knocked at the door, waiting on the elderly monkey to open it. He was dressed in a smock already, eager to cook. As it turned out, Zephyr had already talked to him about wanting a sushi meal earlier in the day, so he was ready and already had the preparation stages taken care of, rice cooked and kelp flattened.

His accommodations were quite simple but nice. A single small room with only four tables left low to the ground with cushions for the guests to sit at. It was late, so Zephyr and Wairu were the only ones there.

Wairu remembered that meal very well. He had a sampling of every kind of vegetarian sushi roll they offered, and he loved all but the one with eggplant in it. That one wasn't that good, but the rest were quite delicious. His favorite was an odd combination of cucumber and fried tempura batter. Very unique. They ate until they were full and both of them paid for the meal - she paid for both and he paid for both - which resulted in a massive tip for the generous sushi chef at a rate of a 100% tip. Was not a cheap meal, but totally worth it and they would return there many times again in the future. He remembered he enjoyed the meal so much that they both offered to help him clean up and put the tools and equipment away.

He had to convince himself that it was part of his zen training. The whole event happened only a few months prior to his coming to the Whispering Cliffs.

After they finally left, they wished the monkey chef the best of nights and were back out into the village. The nearly full moon was out and the clouds had parted, illuminating the night in a cool blue.

"You have quite the belly there!" Zephyr teased as she tapped her fingertips to Wairu's gut. He was in peak physical condition, but his belly was bulged a bit due to how much sushi they had eaten.

Though he knew that she was just playfully teasing, the comment came across as a little insulting, and he pulled away from her. "I'm not fat, Zeph." In his quest to be the best, that also meant he couldn't be anything less than perfectly toned.

"Oh, You know I'm just playing with you. We both know you're the finest fighter in the land!" She laughed a bit and pulled away from him.

Wairu paused, having thought he heard a snap of a twig nearby. There were no others in the village, only Zephyr and Wairu. No children - everyone must have been sleeping or curling up in their beds by this hour. By Wairu's memory, he ignored this and proceeded to fool around with Zephyr. However, the stronger willed mature Wairu was screaming at himself to look up, to investigate. He knew what was coming, but his younger self did not. The change of inner monologue had him glance around, catching a wisp of a shadow darting from the roof of the sushi hut.

Zephyr started to talk, but he flicked his ear and squinted. "Hey, I think I saw something again. Are you sure you don't have something special planned for our little excursion?" He asked, voice wavering a bit.

"No plans, just sushi. Come on! I think it's time to head back to my place; I'm not sure if you can make it back up the mountain with such a belly!" She grabbed his hand and kept dragging him forward until he heard the sound of a rock landing next to a building nearby.

He stopped and looked back, glancing up to see the source of it. Atop the building was a figure in a dark blue sash, hood covering their head and a mask obtructing their face. Whoever it was held a sword on their back as they looked down at him. Their eyes locked for a moment before Wairu came to realize that this ninja must have been an assassin, here for him. For all he knew it was something else entirely, but his ego convinced him that the assassin was here for him.

Zephyr stopped her excited tugging at his arm when she noticed what it was Wairu was looking at. She leaned in close to him to stare up at the ninja with him, unsure of what to do next. The adult Wairu remembered exactly what they were here for, but his young self was simply amping himself up for a fight, eager to once again prove his skill and value. He wanted to leap forward and attack, but seemed to hold back when his older incarnation assured him that there would be no gain in bloodshed. That struck the current Wairu was odd, since he was noticing with increased clarity that the events were not happening as they actually had. His influence could be felt in his flashback, like he was altering time itself.

Or, at the least, seeing a different course of history.

"Who are you?" Wairu asked, eyes still locked at the hidden face of the figure, his hand reaching out for Zephyr, knowing he would have to protect her. When they didn't respond, Wairu asked again, but this time in a more firm tone. "I asked a question: who are you? More importantly, what do you want?"

The gentle night wind whipped at the ninja's cowl and dark blue sash, but he didn't say a thing or move. That was when he noticed that this hooded figure was not the only one watching them. As he glanced around, he could see four others, each standing on a building looking down at both Wairu and Zephyr.

Another urge bubbled up in him to leap into the air and attack this ninja, but the newly calmed Wairu urged himself to not attack. This mysterious figure might have something to say. At this point, the events were not as they truly happened - Wairu was ambushed by five of them all at once and never had the opportunity to get a good look at them last time since he was too focused on frolicking with Zephyr.

It became increasingly clear that this was not the true way things had happened, so Wairu looked back on himself and did what he could to control the memory, as though he were lucid dreaming. His increased self restraint allowed him to resist attacking, and to hold Zephyr close to himself. He knew she could fight - with more skill than most of the monks - but as far as Wairu knew she had never been in a potential life-or-death situation.

Right then, all that mattered in his mind was protecting her, if it so came to that.

Without warning, the first of the ninja jumped off the roof of the sushi hut, flipping in air and brandishing his weapon in one fluid motion before landing. The other four all did the same, surrounding the two of them within a moment.

Wairu backed away from him, nearly stumbling over Zephyr's feet to stay equally distanced from each of the five warriors. She yanked her wrist from his hand and pressed her back to his, preparing herself in a combat stance, the gems on her shoulders and arms glowing again, this time with the anger and alertness needed to defend herself.

"This was not how I hoped to spend my night with you, Kitty." She muttered, elbowing him on the side, keeping her hands up in a defensive position.

"Me neither, my friend. But we must do what is needed to survive." Wairu cautioned, preparing her for the inevitable bloodbath. However, as a last-ditch effort to diffuse the situation, Wairu lowered his hands and puffed his chest out, sure to stand tall above the ninja. "Just tell me, what do you want? Why are you here?"

The constant insistence to resolve this in a peaceful way astonished Zephyr and even took young Wairu by surprise. That was not the way of the young, zealous apprentice. It seemed to confuse the aggressor as well, who spoke in a raspy, strained voice. "It does not matter who I am. All that matters is that your life ends today. You have been a blight on this region for years, and we will finally be rid of you. Your friend, she is free to go if she pleases, but you, Wairu, you will meet my blade."

Zephyr turned and glanced over Wairu's shoulder to get a good look at the head assassin. She didn't even consider taking his offer. "Wairu is my lifelong friend. If you are an enemy of him, you are an enemy of mine. I fear it is your throat that will meet my claws, should you lay your steel on him." She growled, a menacing warning to any who would threaten her or her friends.

"Very well then." The assassin acknowledged. He gave a gentle nod before lunging forward, with all four of the others joining in to attack Wairu and Zephyr all at once.

Wairu knew it was a clever tactic, to attack them all at once, but he was expecting it. He knew how to counter attacks with blades when he himself lacked a weapon. He needed to get in close, inside the attack zone but not within easy slashing range. He leapt in towards the leader, ducking and twisting under the slice of the blade to land a few swift blows at his chest, knocking him back against the wall of the sushi hut. Two more were on either side of him, with Zephyr behind him fending off two of her own.

He ducked and spun, leaning into the one on his right, his thick tail sweeping around to force the feet out from underneath the attacker. All at once, he grabbed the handle of the blade with one hand and brought his foot up to kick at the ninja's chest while he was still falling. The pressure and force knocked him back over a potted plant and into a mess of dirt and leaves between the pot and a fence post.

Using the momentum from that attack, Wairu slid his foot around in a semicircle and turned to face the third opponent, bringing up he blade that he had yanked from the second's hand to block another attack. Thanks to the swift movement, he was able to deflect what would have been a decapitating blow. There was a moment of doubt as he head the gentle shrill of sword of sword - he had made a pledge to never wield a blade, but given the circumstances he felt it was needed to properly defend himself. Naturally, he felt the power of the wind in his chest, but before he could use it to knock the third one away, the leader came back to attack him from the other side.

A blade slipped up from the ground to slash at Wairu's side, catching the tips of a few hairs as he narrowly avoided it. He spun and sidestepped, forcing his palm forward to knock him off balance enough so that he could once again kick at his chest, knocking him back. In a quick flurry, the second one was back again and slashing aggressively. Wairu ducked, shifted, and snaked his body to avoid every one of the attacks, briskly mustering the force to counter-attack with another burst of wind.

His blade clanged and clashed against his in a violent back and forth. He was quickly gaining the upper hand with increased skills and speed, but the leader was back on his opposite side. He turned to meet blades with him, guiding his attacks away from Wairu's own torso and knocking him off balance before returning to the underling. Back and forth he alternated until the second ninja that he'd kicked into the potted plant had returned, this time with a series of bladed stars tossed Wairu's way.

There was a brief moment of opportunity and clarity for Wairu. He turned to the second attacker and crossed his wrists followed by parting them quickly, a gust forming between the two stars to redirect them into the other two opponents. Both the leader and the third assassin had to turn and use their blades to deflect the ninja stars so they clanged harmlessly against the wall on one side and a rock on the other.

Wairu did a quick flip and a kick, the crook of his foot catching the neck of the third assassin to slam his head down against the rock, knocking him unconscious nearly immediately but not killing him. He dove and spun, grabbing the second blade so he had one in each hand. A moment later, he turned and raised both ninjato to the leader and the second unarmed one. He looked back to Zephyr to see she was handily fending off both attackers with relative ease. She didn't have a sword, but her claws were quite good at offense.

"You okay over there?" Wairu asked, willing to offer a sword to her.

"I'm fine, just about done with these to." She responded as she jumped high to flip over one of the assassins, kicking him forward and rolling off the impact to somersault and get back to her feet, ready to fight again.

Wairu then turned back to the leader, confident in Zephyr's abilities. He held one blade up to him, with the other out to the unarmed ninja. He could feel the base urges for justice tugging at his mind, but at this point the older Wairu was in control of the memory, guiding it to his own desired ends. He had no desire for bloodshed, and no desire to harm the assailants; deep down he knew that there must have been a good reason to send assassins to kill him, and he wanted to know why. When the actual event happened months prior, he never took the time to talk to the assailants, simply getting into a fight and finishing it by executing them before asking any questions.

This time would be different. If he was able to get information, it would be relevant and help him to more effectively see the error in his ways.

"Are you sure you want to continue fighting?" Wairu threatened the unarmed ninja. "You are unarmed, and you couldn't defeat me in a three on one match when you all had weapons and I did not. Now, it's two on one, you are unarmed, and I have to swords. It's not looking good for you at all."

The second looked over to the leader for a moment before shrugging apologetically and darting off between two buildings, kicking off each wall to reach the roof. He left the leader behind and the two that were fighting Zephyr both held back and did the same, scattering in different directions. Now it was Wairu, Zephyr, and the ninja leader with one unconscious underling lying and groaning on a rock with a star wedged in his shoulder.

"Well that's the end of that, isn't it?" Wairu gloated as he leaned into the assassin that had come to take his life, both blades aimed at his.

It was no match now, and he was backed against the wall with Zephyr and Wairu cornering him and keeping him from escaping in any direction. He coughed as he dropped his weapon, raising his hands to show he was unarmed. "You win again, Demon Dragon." He admitted with a sneer.

"Again?" Wairu asked back. The young, angry part of him felt the urge to lob the assassin's head off as a retribution for the attempt on his life, but he held back. Rather, he thrust the ninjato against his neck, holding it in place to draw just the tiniest well of blood down the groove of the sword. It wasn't meant to kill or even seriously hurt, but to warn him. "Zephyr, could you please take this knave's mask off? I want to know who he is."

"No need." The assassin grunted as he peeled the hood off and lowered the scarf that served as a mask, revealing himself to be Jurmin - the battered and beaten monkey victim of Wairu's teenage rage.

"J-Jurmin?" Wairu stuttered as he lowered his blade. "But why? What did I do to deserve this?"

"Are you really asking that, Demon? You destroyed me all those years ago, you have continued to be a thorn in the side of Master Bouzhung and the other monks, and you have constantly done all you can to undermine the ethics of the Temple of Whispering Spirits. Your life needed to end if we were to continue on as the peaceful masters we were known as before you came along."

Wairu shook his head and stifled a whimper. "B-but I've grown. I'm not the foolish youth I was at that tournament. I've learned how to control myself. I mean, I could have killed you, and I wanted to, but I didn't. That shows that I'm-"

"Are you really that mature, Wairu? You say you didn't kill me, but you know you did. You cut my head off and left me to rot in the village when you cowered back at the valley. The townspeople had to wipe my blood from the stone paths and clean up the entrails you left in your wake comprised of the remnants of the others. I'm dead, Wairu, and you have nobody to blame but yourself. Not Zephyr, not Bouzhung, and not even me."

"But I'm not that way anymore...." Wairu trailed off, repeating himself as the images of the memory began to swirl, the clearing where they fought being replaced with a bloody mess of corpses, Jurmin's body laying prone on the ground with his head on the other side of the rock. He was still looking up at Wairu with an intense stare.

"Have you? Have you really changed? Only time will tell, but for now, dwell on what you have done." With that, the mask slipped back up his face and the hood draped over his head, despite no longer being connected to his body or the cowl that he wore.

In a sudden lurch of self realization, Wairu's mind spun and the world around him faded into a mosaic of blood red and the cool blue of the moon. A Yin and Yang of life and death before him for a split second before once again being overcome by darkness.

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Wairu gasped as he sprung to an upright position, grasping at the grasses and rocks around him. "I've changed!" He called out as soon as he caught his breath, voice echoing off the mountains in the distance, reverberating back to him time and time again until he could have sworn he heard the 'haven't changed' instead. The whispers of the cliffs, they were speaking to him, giving him the insight he knew he had but couldn't bring himself to accept.

His body was shaking with unease as the details of the lucid dream swirled in his mind, merging with the memory of what had actually happened.

The events of his little vision - the flashback - happened quite differently than he re-imagined it, altered to suit his hindsight. What had actually happened was that he had been leaving the sushi hut and, nearer to Zephyr's house, they were ambushed. They never talked to the assassins, they never caught them before the attack, and they certainly didn't show mercy.

As it was an ambush, both Zephyr and Wairu were outmatched and outclassed. They nearly ran Zephyr through with their blades until Wairu allowed his beastly side to take over, slashing and gnashing at the assailants one at a time, using the blade to sever each of them from their limbs and eventually head. By the end of it, He stood over a whimpering leader who was begging for his life. In a fit of rage, he took two blades and crossed them on his shoulders like a scissor, parting the leader of the group from his head.

Once his rage had subsided and he came to his senses, he saw the brutal mess he'd left, changing him inside. He and Zephyr both fled the scene and hid in the valley that night, vowing to never speak of the slaughter again. He never revealed the identity of the leader or any of the four others, and opted to not delve into it.

He did, however, vow to never, ever wield a blade again. A bo staff had better range, was equally capable of defending himself, and most importantly able to incapacitate an enemy with nonlethal methods. It was the way of the temple, and an honorable way to respect his master Bouzhung - who also exclusively used a bo staff.

There was a brief moment of self doubt as he wondered how true the alternate version of his memory was. He saw things he couldn't have ever seen, revealing the identity of the assassin leader. There was no way to truly tell if what he saw was accurate, but the more he thought about it, the less it seemed to matter. Jurmin could have been the disgruntled ex-monk with a vendetta, or that could have been a convenient plot device in the telling of his own past to prove a point; it didn't matter. What mattered was that Wairu saw a believable alternate history where five more souls were alive due to him embracing restraint and not giving in to his bloodlust.

Had he taken the time to ask them questions and get to know the circumstances surrounding the attempt on his life, he might have learned a thing or two about how he was seen by the other monks. Had he spared Jurmin's life, he could have redeemed himself for the past indiscretions he had levied upon his fellow apprentice.

But that wasn't how things happened. No, he executed that monkey in cold blood, and at the time he justified it as self defense, when it was clear he was letting his emotions get the better of him. Though he didn't want to accept it, the more he thought about the identity of the assassin, the more clear it was that it was Jurmin all along. The fighter held a similar style as Jurmin, had the same body type and was the same species, and Jurmin had left the temple a few months prior and was never seen again, alongside a half dozen other disciples. It all fit, making him question how he was possibly able to see that in the vision if the knowledge hadn't been in his mind before.

His emotions were quite overwhelming at the time, but he felt that he was going to learn all he could from this trip. He was at peace with himself, he had seen the error of his ways, and was prepared to make amends. There was an immense mountain of kindness to catch up on, and if he put as much effort into serenity as he did into his quest for power, he would maybe rectify his past transgressions.

If nothing else, he had a long and fulfilling quest ahead of him unlike anything he'd ever experienced in the past. He leaned back and smiled, enjoying the view of the moon in the skies above him. The entire mountain range was bathed in the cool blue lunar light. Wairu felt that, while he could have left and returned to the valley at any time, he opted instead to spend another night atop the Whispering Cliffs.

Perhaps that decision was the first in a series of many that would aid him in his tranquility.

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The following morning, he packed up his things, enjoyed a breakfast of fruit strips, and resumed his way back down the mountain to once again return to the Temple of the Whispering Spirits. To his delight, climbing down the cliff faces was much easier than climbing up them, and the trip seemed to last a fraction of the time since he was going down stairs and inclines rather than up them.

Before long, he found himself on the winding mountain path that led to the village to the east and to the town in the plains to the west. He went to the village. When there, he made a brief stop to Zephyr's home to see if she was around, but there was no answer. He would have liked some tea, but it was fine to wait. She could have been in the market, or out to the west of the mountains selling her teas.

Content with his own serenity, he happily trekked southbound on the path between the farmland plains to the twisting pass that connected the valley high in the mountains to the village.

Half way up the pass, he saw Zephyr on her way back home from the temple. She paused the moment he saw him, not sure what to do.

"Kitty?" Wairu suggested, opening his arms for a hug.

She lunged at him and gave him the warmest embrace of his life. "KITTY!" She shouted, her voice echoing off the tall mountainsides. "Where have you been?"

"I was meditating in the Whispering Cliffs. Trying to find my inner peace. Did Bouzhung not tell you?" He answered as he rocked side to side, holding her close every second.

She sniffled a bit before answering. "No, I asked but all he said was that you weren't available for the time being! I thought you'd grown ill, or passed on me!" She leaned back and held him at arm's length. "Oh, who am I kidding? I knew exactly where you were! I'm just kind of shocked you were gone as long as you were!" She winked at him, gently teasing.

Of course she knew where he was. She'd served him tea on his trek up to the mountains a week before. He was just playing along, since that's what their relationship was like. Of course, she had to tease him about underperforming; before, she'd made a joke about how he'd be there and back within a weekend, knowing how easily he picked things up in the past. "Well, what can I say? I was distracted. It's beautiful up there, you know." He shared, suddenly growing sincere.

She sniffled again, wiping her nose on her wrist. "What did you see?"

"I saw so much about me, about you, about my life. I will be sure to share it with you some day, but not today. I still have to process a lot of it. Some of it hit me really hard and I really need some time to come to terms with my spotted past. Just, Zeph? Thank you so much for being there for me, even when I wasn't the best of friends." He pulled her in for another deep, powerful hug as his eyes began to water, moistening the fur on his cheeks.

Zephyr seemed hesitant at first, but quickly embraced him by snuggling into his neck, whisperng, "My kitty." In his ear, more of a declaration than an agreement.

He sniffled again before pulling away and looking her square in the eyes. "I'm going to head up to see Master Bouzhung. You can come with me, if you wish. I'd be honored by your company."

"I'd love to but this time, I think it would be better if you went on your own. I will happily go with you to the valley, though."

Wairu nodded. "I will have to stop at my hut to drop my bag off, so that works for me. Come on, let's go."

He took her hand and held her close the rest of the walk up the pass, eventually emerging into the valley of the Whispering Spirits. Once again, he was at the foot of his homeland, a crescent shaped valley surrounding a high mountain plateau. As he reflected, he thought about how peculiar it was that, on a map, his home, the village, and the Whispering Cliffs formed the yin and a yang. Everything was balance, everything was equal in life and in death. That was important, a zen philosophy that he had never learned to embrace.

The two of them ended up a at Wairu's little hut - a single room cabin near the entrance of the valley. There, he dropped off his bag and his personal possessions before giving Zephyr a gentle kiss on her forehead gem before departing, leaving her sitting on his bed cot.

He took in a long, deep breath as he braved the pathway from his home to the prime temple, where he knew Bouzhung would be waiting. Confident and calm, he held his head high and bravely forced his way forward. Many other monks passed Wairu, giving him a gentle, respectful nod of approval that he returned to them with a smile.

A large part of him was starting to get nervous. Had he come home early? Was there still more to learn atop the cliffs? Did the Whispering Spirits have more to tell him? Above all else, was he ready to carry on with his training and ascend to the level of monk? The fact that he was even questioning himself instead of brazenly assuming the best of himself was, hopefully, an indicator that he was in fact on the path to self serenity.

Once he was at the foot of the temple steps, he paused and gulped down, keeping his heart from beating up through his throat.

"It's fine. Master Bouzhung has never once been unkind to me, there's no reason to be worried." It was a nice assurance, but his position was still overwhelming.

The moment he built up the confidence to go forward, he bravely entered the temple. Alone.

Before him, sitting cross legged towards the pool of serenity with bo staff laid out before him, was Master Bouzhung. He didn't pause to look back, nor did he acknowledge Wairu's presence. For all Wairu knew, he was asleep or in a meditation trance.

Rather than mess around, Wairu gently padded his way along the golden-stone floor of the temple to approach his master, careful to not let his claws tick at the ground as he did so. Once he was up close, he took one final step to look at his master.

Without saying a single word, Bouzhung turned to look at Wairu and smiled. His soft but sincere look assured the ha'dareash that his master was proud.

That was all Wairu needed. He returned the smile and stepped forward, standing next to his sitting master. He crossed his legs and sat with hands resting on his knees. With one final glance, he and Bouzhung shared a glance before turning to the pool of serenity, collectively enjoying the quiet for the first time in decades.