Chapter 15: Arriving at Mt. Ordonia (III).
"Arf! Arf!"
I held the fur of my mom's familiar, Fenrir who was wagging his tail while watching us unpack. He circles around my luggage while Kc walks over looking like she was done packing.
"Hey, big sis do you know where the dining halls are? Shifu did tell us that we should go there but- he never did tell us where it was." (Kc) tells me, and I placed the last of my training clothes into my wooden side cabinet pushing it to be closed.
"Well I'm sure we can get by with asking a few directions from the other mountain monks." I tell her and she nods agreeing with me, for a shy kid I suppose she's not yet experienced conversing with strangers.
While I did tell her that we can ask other people for directions-I secretly took out my phone from my pocket unlocking it with the password and opening the map app to see where we are.
We were in the west wing of the place, the dining hall was a few… halls and rooms away. "Hmm…"
I zoomed in and out of the app, seeing the many labels and titles of the forest that was surrounding the hidden mountain.
"[Xiāowáng Forest], that's the name of the forest surrounding us." I should take caution when I have the time to explore it, if shifu would permit me. I want to get a grasp of the environment here.
I turned off my phone, placing it back into my pocket before Fenrir accompanied me going outside of the room.
Kc, follows behind and asks directions with the monks who were casually walking around the place. Soon we arrived at our destination, the dining hall and we saw that John was already there.
"Wow! Now this is one of my favorite spots in the world." (Kc) grins running over to see that the dining hall that consisted of small tables and mats you can sit on. It was really quiet, there was a little bell on the side and many monks were beginning to sit together on the side.
Just out in the fairly distance, we could see Xiao Lu Shifu sitting on one of the table mats, waving at us over to join him.
"I see you two have arrived, come sit we'll be having a feast soon." (Xiao Lu) smiled and we went on over to sit beside him.
"*Whimper.*" I heard a whimper from Fenrir almost forgetting that maybe- familiars are not allowed to join us to eat.
"Sorry boy… you have to wait in the corner for now. I promise I'll get you something right after this." I tell him, patting his head and he follows my instructions going into a corner, circling around before sitting down on the wooden floor.
I went to the dining area and we sat in a certain way, placing both of our knees together and keeping our back straight looking at the other monks keeping a hard posture to follow.
I turn to look at Fenrir worriedly.
Xiao Lu, who must've seen the worried expression in my face, gave me reassuring words. "Your mother's familiar is no stranger to this place, he will be given a bowl of meat by the time we all eat together."
"Here when we have visitors we tend to prepare more than we should, breaking our fasting." (Xiao Lu) tells us and I should've expected that they would have something like fasting… the only problem is I'm not sure if I can handle that.
Kc tilts her head hearing the word. "What's fasting?" she asks Xiao Lu who patiently explains to her what it was.
"There are many different meanings for fasting, but in our culture and tradition. Fasting is a way for the mountain monks of Ordonia to gain discipline- to develop spiritual strength and resist temptation." (Xiao Lu) explains, as a monk walks over us placing the food they would call 'a feast'.
It was a plate of dumplings, a bowl of rice and dried fish.
"...That's it?" (Kc) stares at the plate on her food, not being used to the limited choices of food she gave a dissatisfied face. "This is your feast…? It is um… very different from our kind of feast." she tells the head monk, trying to not sound rude.
Xiao Lu chuckles understanding where Kc was coming from, nodding as a reply. "Yes, that is a feast. Usually it would just be tea, water or if we get lucky- siu bao."
"Siu… bao?" That sounded really familiar to me.
"Steamed bun for the long version." (Xiao Lu) raises his hand, looking at the time using candles and once it was near its end of the wax he addressed to the other monks. "We welcome our guest, from an old friend of ours."
The other monks turn their heads listening in, "The old hero has sent her daughter for us to train. Let us make them feel at home!"
All the monks stood up, placing their hands by their palms before bowing.
The three of us blink in surprise, we guessed this would be a form of welcome and we had to say our thanks.
"Oh um… thank you!" (Kc)
"T-Thank you." (John)
"Indeed, thank you."
"Now for a half over prayer, let us close our eyes and pray in thanks for the feast." (Xiao Lu) announced, our bellies grunting impatiently in pain from hunger. Another thing we had to expect was the long prayers before eating. Knowing the monk's work our body and mental state would be changed by the first week of our time here.
"We thank you, for your blessing- may the god of the mountains continue to provide. Our hearts be united as one, the words of our great leader be heard-:" (Xiao Lu) continued on praying, he did tell us to close our eyes but I couldn't help but peek a little seeing everyone obediently following and listening in to the praying.
"That will be all, everyone may open your eyes and eat."
"Hah…!" We exhaled a long breath, not being used to praying in our own household. Finally half an hour later, they were not kidding when they said half an hour prayer but it certainly felt longer!
Everyone picked up their chopsticks by hand, I watched everyone eat, including my companions who had never seen such tools for eating.
"Kc… are you okay?" I ask her while she continues to struggle on trying to keep the chopsticks balancing on her fingers. Her grip was loose, and her hand was shaking.
"N-No… I don't get how we're supposed to eat with this." (Kc) tells me and I turn to look at John who was also having a hard time trying to maintain his grip.
"Hngh…" (John) struggles quietly on his own. I couldn't help but chuckle a little seeing their eyes squinting to look at the chopsticks, it was almost like they were glaring at the pair of sticks.
"I-Is this a form of torture or discipline?" (Kc) looked over to me for guidance seeing that I haven't started on eating.
"Both I think." I grabbed my chopsticks expertly, letting her see how I hold them. Holding the upper chopstick like a pencil, placing the second chopstick against my ring finger then holding it with the base of my thumb.
"Ohhh…" (Kc) mutters out and she tries imitating the way that I held the chopstick but after she doesn't get it the first time- I waited patiently for her until she got the jist of it.
"Hngh…" (John) continued to struggle and well he was close to figuring it out.
"I am surprised, you are used to holding chopsticks. Your people I know are more acquainted with the use of the spoon and fork." (Xiao Lu) saw my grip and was clearly impressed.
I chuckled nervously thinking of an excuse to tell him.
"I learned it from my mother." I told him, even though I haven't seen mom even use one of these things- but surely- she knows how to use one.
"Ah? Your mother has gotten used to using it?" (Xiao Lu) gave me a surprised look. "Back then in her youth I remember her raging quietly inside when she couldn't eat properly because her rice kept falling out."
"Well… um that's something she hasn't told us."
I don't know much about mom's past, all I know is that she's one overprotective mama bear when it comes to us. As much as possible when it comes to the past, she would like to not dwell on it.
"Oh right, sometimes the children of the place will also have chores and duties to fulfill their area of discipline. Many of them are foraging for food, cleaning and praying." (Xiao Lu) takes his chopsticks, slowly eating his grain of rice savoring them.
"Then we can do your training."