Jaguars, Tigers, and Dragons, Oh My
Yang and Tai were ushered in with the same cordialness Kenshi gave everyone… even if he was kind of disrespected by said people. Ignoring that, he led them into the tearoom. To both of their shock, Ruby daintily sat next to Azura on a chair as she helped patch up his hand. The massive lord sat with an unearthly stillness as Ruby gingerly applied bandages. Only after she was done with her work did she see her family come in.
"Dad, Yang? What are you two doing here?" Ruby asked with curiosity and confusion in her voice.
"Ruby… What's going on? Who is this? And why are you here?" Yang asked in concern, rapid firing the questions at her little sister.
"Calm down, Yang. This isn't what it looks like. He just crushed a teacup and cut up his hand." Ruby explained simply, as if it were common knowledge.
This confused and concerned Yang and their father. "Okay… why did he crush a teacup?" Taiyang asked his youngest.
Ruby was about to speak before Azura put said cut hand on her shoulder. "Forgive my poor manners. I am Sōtora Azura. I apologize for the bizarre looking situation here. I merely… let my anger slip its reins. It was quite regrettable." Azura explained, bowing his head a bit to them as he did.
"I… think we're missing some context here. Start from the beginning, please?" Yang asked, not trusting this lord who was nearly as tall as her father.
"Please have a seat. Kenshi, get more refreshments for our guests." Azura said, motioning to them to sit at the couch across from him, and to his brother.
"What do I look like, a fucking servant?" Kenshi grumbled in the doorway before leaving for the kitchen.
"My apologies, Kenshi. Would you be so kind as to get some more refreshments for us all, dear brother? Including yourself, of course." Azura replied, trying to rephrase his words.
"FINE…!" A loud, long groan came from down the hall.
"Is… is he always like that?" Yang asked, looking from down the hall to back at Azura.
"He is not a fan of living on mountains. Or doing actual work. He is a special creature." Azura responded with a sigh.
"Right… Can you please explain what led to this situation?" Taiyang asked the foreign lord.
"May I?" Ruby asked sweetly to Azura.
Azura smiled and nodded. "Be my guest." He replied.
Ruby looked at him with a confused look in her silver eyes. "But I thought I already was?" Ruby asked.
Azura chuckled. "That means to go ahead, Lady Rose." He replied in amusement.
With a simple nod, Ruby began. She did not leave a detail out. Her going to lunch, talking with Balam, talking with Kenshi, and eventually talking with Azura. The minutes dragged on as Yang and Tai were enthralled. Though Azura could not tell if it was the words they were enthralled by, or by the intention of Lady Rose in her actions. Not even Kenshi arriving, pouring tea, and sitting down at a nearby chair next to them stirred them. Only when she finished did Tai and Yang get roused to a form of action. And it was one the brothers did not expect.
"Ruby… What were you thinking? You didn't know yet if we could trust them." Taiyang asked, his tone purposely very even as he sipped his tea.
"But they're so nice, and welcoming. Who else would invite someone into their house for tea?" Ruby asked sweetly, not getting what her dad was saying.
"I can think of several untrustworthy kinds of people…" Yang muttered, eyeing the brothers in suspicion.
"I'm starting to think you two worry too much." Ruby said, putting her hands on her hips indignantly.
Taiyang glared, took a deep breath, and set his cup down. "You. Could. Have. Been. Executed." He told her, trying to remain calm.
"Do they look like Golden Nobles?" Ruby asked, pointing to the two brothers.
"We don't know anything about them! For all we know, they could've been foreign warlords looking to conquer and enslave the entire region!" Yang snapped out in anger.
"Well, you did get the first part correct." Kenshi said and was about to sip some tea only to get an elbow to the gut from Ruby. "Lady Rose! That is most unladylike!"
"You are not helping the situation, brother." Azura replied with a dirty look to Kenshi.
"Oh, sure. Invite me for tea and I don't get to say a damn thing. Not like I halfway own this mercenary company or anything." Kenshi grumbled into his tea.
This surprised Taiyang and Yang. "You're mercenaries?" Yang asked, surprised by this news.
Azura quickly corrected. "We were mercenaries. After what we learned of the 'Golden Nobles' of this region, we could not stand idly by and even take orders from such unworthy folk. Our clan may have long been warriors of fortune in various eras, but we fight only for those worthy, and to protect those who cannot protect themselves. It is an ironclad oath we have lived by since our founding. And we would rather fall on our swords than fail in that oath." Azura explained, speaking from the depths of his breast and soul to them.
Ruby was amazed to hear this while Yang was still suspicious. Taiyang, however, seemed cautiously optimistic. "I see. And how did you happen to hear about them?" Tai asked the younger man.
"Oh, a crazy old man who ran a tavern." Kenshi blurted out, which got a glare from Azura.
"What tavern?" Yang asked, still suspicious.
"It was called the Stone-Cold Rooster. It was at a lowland crossing before we headed up towards your merry village." Azura explained, though his attention partially focused on Kenshi to keep his trap shut.
"I know of that place. I thought it was shut down months ago." Taiyang replied, suddenly suspicious of the story.
This also caused the brothers' hairs to bristle on the back of their neck. Not out of anger, but out of suspicion. The day they went in, it was busy, bustling one would say. Servants and cooks and everything right in a tavern. This bizarre turn to the story let the air hang with a cold tension. One that stayed until Ruby finally broke it, a thought coming into her head.
"I think I know who the tavern owner was…!" Ruby said, visibly trying to contain her excitement.
"Ruby, you've never left the village except to nearly get yourself killed by a Leo. How could you possibly know who a random old man in a tavern is?" Yang said, looking at her sister with an annoyed look.
"I do know, Yang! It was the Thunder Blade God! I prayed to him for someone to come and free us so I could live my life on my terms!" Ruby insisted, sounding suddenly very passionate about her theory.
The room fell silent again, with this time being one of disbelief. Only for Kenshi to break the silence like glass.
"I told you there was something weird about that old man!" Kenshi yelled, leaping from his seat to point at his brother in immense accusation.
"No wonder his presence felt so off!" Azura replied, amazed at having met an actual deity.
"Wait… why are you agreeing with this poppy cock?" Yang asked in confusion.
Ruby gave her sister a deadpan look. "Yang… I have a literal Nature God contained within my soul. Is this really so out of the question with that in mind?" She asked, a bit annoyed.
"Wait, what?" The two brothers asked in utter shock, turning to look at the sisters in unison.
"Oh, for fuck's sake…!" Taiyang muttered in frustration.
"Balam." Ruby said simply.
"Balam? As in the Lord of the Night and the Master of the Jungles? That Balam?" Kenshi asked in sheer disbelief as Azura looked visibly both shocked and excited.
As if appearing from nothing to answer that very question came the small green form of Balam. Though, much to Ruby's annoyance, he appeared on her lap, curled up like a common house cat. This only got more infuriating for her when he started to snore.
"Balam! Wake up!" Ruby yelled at the cat sleeping on her lap.
Twitching, the chibified Nature God yawned and stretched out before rubbing his eyes. Looking up, he bowed his head. "Greetings, young warrior cubs. This one is Balam, the Lord of the Night and Master of the Jungles. Pleased to make your acquaintance." He replied humbly.
Azura and Kenshi both looked absolutely gob smacked at what had just happened. They were in the presence of a real Elemental. A Nature Spirit. An honest-to-the-Throne-of-Heaven God of the Land!
"Wuh… how… What…?" Kenshi uttered in sheer disbelief.
"Is something wrong?" Ruby asked innocently, not sure if she had somehow offended them.
"HOW…!?" Azura asked in amazed disbelief.
"I found him in a shrine in a cave." Ruby simply answered, not sure exactly what he was getting at, but doing her best to be honest with him.
"Y… you're a Mystic? The host of a Nature Deity…?" Kenshi asked in disbelief, his mind still processing this information.
"What are you deaf or something all of a sudden?" Yang asked, raising her eyebrow at the two's antics.
Azura smiled brightly. "This is perfect! If you can deepen your bond enough with Lord Balam to the point where you can safely use his power, then, between our forces and your combined mystical might, these Golden Scum won't stand a chance!" He called out in excitement.
It was at this moment Tai stood up, clearly flustered. "You are not using my daughter as a weapon of war!" Tai boomed with his voice.
"They're not! And whether or not I fight should be my choice, dad!" Ruby told her father sternly.
This shocked everyone else in the room at Ruby's bold candidness. For Azura and Kenshi, it was something that they were not used to from women outside of their clan. To Tai and Yang, it was completely unlike Ruby to stand up to them in such a fashion. Balam, however, simply sat in Ruby's lap, as if enjoying the fireworks he had caused. It was a most amazing sight to behold, these mortals and their squabbles.
"Ruby… you know you can't safely use Balam's power yet!" Yang insisted.
"It's still my choice to make! Coming from someone who always makes their own choices and damn the consequences!" Ruby shot back at her sister, causing Yang to flinch.
"Ruby, this is too dangerous!" Taiyang tried to insist, attempting to make his youngest see sense.
"If I can get a handle on these powers, then it wouldn't be. And how am I supposed to get better with them if I don't bond with Balam and use them?" Ruby asked the two.
"Lady Ruby speaks the truth, Sir Taiyang and Lady Yang. If she does not deepen her bond with this one and learn to use our combined strength, how can she hope to use it to even protect herself? Much less those important to her or her home." Balam pointed out logically.
The two were left with a quandary to think about. They stood and sat in such silence that, for a second, Ruby thought they had died from Balam's words. Even the brothers were somewhat concerned. However, they then finally spoke with a proposition for her.
"If you're really so insistent on doing this, Ruby… then okay." Yang sighed, seeing that they had no other choice.
"But your sister and I have a few conditions." Taiyang added in one last attempt to protect his daughter.
"... I'm not going to lie; I didn't think I'd get this far." Ruby said in utter shock.
"Do you wanna hear our conditions or not?" Yang asked, a bit annoyed.
"Does a cat like milk?" Ruby asked sarcastically.
"Milk!?" Balam asked in excitement.
"K-Boy, get the kitty some milk." Ruby said to Kenshi.
"I'm not a… fine." Kenshi sighed, going to get some milk.
"What are the conditions?" Ruby asked, refocusing on her family.
"One, no more midnight jaunts up into the mountains until you can safely use Balam and are properly trained. Number two, you're not going on the frontlines until you're fully trained. And number three, we are going to be involved with your training." Tai explained.
Ruby thought about it, before letting out a small sigh. "Deal." Ruby replied to her father, which made both Tai and Yang feel a bit better.
Azura nodded. "Those are more than reasonable conditions." He replied before turning to face Ruby. "Lady Rose, when would you like to begin your training?"
"Um… I don't know…" Ruby said, getting a groan out of everyone else.
Bringing in the milk, Kenshi set it in front of Balam on the table for him to drink from. Licking some milk from his lips, Balam spoke up. "This one would recommend starting seven moons from today. That way, Lady Ruby and I may have some time to get to know one another better before the training begins." He told the mortals.
"Of course, my lord. Do you enjoy the milk?" Kenshi replied to Balam, with a hint of fear in his voice.
Balam gave a small smile. "You have nothing to fear from this one, Sir Kenshi. And yes, the milk was delicious. Yak milk is this one's favorite." He replied, licking his paw and cleaning his face.
"What's there to fear? I punched him before and I'll do it again." Yang said with a deadpan tone.
Kenshi and Azura were aghast by this statement. "Y… you punched a god!?" They asked in disbelief.
"Am I supposed to be afraid of a tiny kitten currently drinking milk from a saucepan?" Yang asked, raising a confused eyebrow.
"... That's hot…" Azura replied, sounding a bit aroused.
"BROTHER!!! She has disrespected a deity!" Kenshi exclaimed.
"This one does not mind. The blow was quite impressive for a mortal." Balam replied simply.
As the gob smacked twins gawked, Ruby tapped on Azura's arm to get his attention. "Azura, you were talking about your clan's oaths earlier. Do you mind telling us more?" Ruby asked politely.
"Yes. As members of one of the 13 Zodiac clans, we Sōtora pride ourselves on being some of the strongest in the world. But, like the other Zodiac clans, we believe that we were born with this strength for a specific purpose." Azura explained before taking a sip of his tea.
"What is that purpose?" Yang asked, raising her eyebrow as Tai sat back down to listen.
"To protect those who were not born as lucky as us. Passed down among us from our founders themselves is the belief that the heavens and our ancestors blessed us with power not so that we could use it for our own selfish ends or abuse by turning it against those less fortunate, but to defend our brothers and sisters so that they, too, can find their own strength. That it is the duty of those born strong to protect those less fortunate." Azura told them, with a serious look on his face.
To the Xiao Long-Rose family, such a statement stunned them. Even Yang was taken aback in a way she had never felt in her life. Only Balam paid half attention, as his primary focus was the pan of milk before him. To everyone's further shock, it was Tai who spoke first.
"That is a noble goal, Azura. A goal these lands have not seen from anyone in centuries." Tai said, the faintest whispers of hope trailing off his voice as he spoke.
Ruby smiled wide and leaned a bit over to her sister, that smile turning into a smug direction. "See, Yang? I told you the Thunder Blade God sent them." Ruby said, beaming brightly and sickeningly sweetly to her sister.
Yang rolled her eyes. "Don't rub it in, little sis…" She grumbled, sipping her tea.
"So, you're here to stay?" Tai asked, leaning forward with a more serious posture.
"So long as we are needed here? Yes." Kenshi replied, sitting back down to sip his tea.
"And I take it you are in need of some assistance with local customs, culture, topography, and other such things?" Tai asked the two, now clearly starting to size them up.
Azura nodded, a smile on his face. "Quite astute of you, Sir Taiyang. Yes, that is correct." He confirmed.
"Don't call me sir. I work for a living." Tai answered simply to him.
"As do we." Azura replied, sipping his own tea with an amused smirk on his face.
"I would be willing to provide my own knowledge to your cause. For a price." Tai said simply, shocking Yang and Ruby.
"Name it." Azura replied, raising an eyebrow.
"Firstly, an oath that you will stay and rule these lands to the letter of your clan's oaths, Sōtora Azura." Tai said firmly, as if to make it clear what he was truly intending of the man.
"I would sooner fall on my own sword than ever do otherwise." Azura replied firmly.
"Secondly, I would like a salary. I will leave it to you to decide my rate." Tai continued, further surprising his girls.
"That is more than fair. What is your third condition?" Azura asked, mentally wondering where this was going.
"Three. Until Ruby is trained to be able to properly defend herself, you will ensure that no harm comes to her by your own blade." Tai explained, looking into the beastly blue eyes of the bushi lord.
Ruby immediately glared indignantly at that. "Dad…!" She called out in frustration.
Yang smirked at that. "What's wrong, Rubes? You don't want a big, strong, handsome samurai-in-shining-armor as your personal bodyguard?" She asked her little sister teasingly.
Ruby blushed red at such an accusation. "Sh-Shut up, Y-Yang!" Ruby yelled with indignation.
Balam gave a smile. "This one approves. He would make a fine protector and teacher for you, Lady Ruby." He told his host.
Ruby blushed deeper and stared at her Soul Partner in disbelief. "Et tu, Balam…?" She asked in disbelief.
During all of this, however, Tai's eyes did not waver from Azura's. The two men were locked in a stare down of judgment. As the window to the soul, one could find out much from a man's eyes. And the two found everything they needed to know from each other's windows.
"Do we have a deal, Azura?" Tai asked, raising his eyebrow.
Azura nodded and extended his hand outward for Taiyang to shake it. "Deal." He replied.
With that, to both Yang and Kenshi's shock, Tai grabbed his hand and shook it heartily. No one knew just where this agreement was to go in the future. But now, it had changed the six's lives forever. And in ways everyone in that room had no way of knowing.