Renegades

With the help of Nyandak leading the fastest way back on his glider, I carried the broken and bruised body of Tuen, tightly bound with my upper robe on my back, with his staff in my right hand. We had just barely made it away from, That Thing, by its own whims. Simply because it decided to let us leave to live another day. Most likely because it was amused. It really pissed me off, as though being its plaything was all but guaranteed. But there isn't time for these thoughts now. We have to get back before it's too late.

"Come on, we gotta hurry and get him to the healers!" Nyandak called down to me.

"I'm moving as fast as I can! If I pull a move recklessly, it'll be worse!" I was leaping atop the stone pillars like a Kanga-rabbit, cushioning my rough landing as best as I could by displacing the patches of rock downwards as I used them to catapult myself back up and forwards.

"Dammit!" A look of frustration was evident on his face as he rose higher to catch sight of where we were.

"How much farther!?" I shouted before he came back down to my leaping apex height.

"... I think I see it!" Relief bled into his tone, "This way!"

"Go ahead of me! Tell them so that they can be ready to work on him as soon as I get there!"

"I'll see you soon!" And with a burst of wind, he sped off into the distance.

"Don't worry, Tuen," I muttered under my breath as I felt his breathing became more haggard.

"We're gonna change fate. I can still fix this. It has to work. It has to."

After a few more minutes, I could finally see the outline of the temple. Between it and us was a wall of mist leftover from a low-hanging cloud. When I broke through to the other side, I landed torso first against the wall side of it before hastily bend climbing my way up the remaining dozen or so feet.

When my head broke past the base, a hand reached down to me. I didn't take the time to hesitate before grasping it and using it to hoist myself up.

"Come, child, there is little time." Regulating my breathing, careful not to lose my footing and tumble back down, an elder took Tuen from my back as I stood.

***

Nyandak was across from me, pacing back and forth. After close to three hours of waiting outside the healing chamber, I was fidgeting up a storm, my heel bouncing while my hands were tentatively going over the tattered and bloody fabric of my vest and shirt as I sat on a bench that had no backrest. My eyes fixed on each and individual thread soaked in crimson. Blood. Tuen's blood that was not only on my clothes but literally on my hands.

"What happened back there?"

I could hear the fear in his voice. And who would blame him? It was downright terrifying.

"I mean, you saw it, right? What the heck was that thing?"

"..."

"Everything. It shouldn't be possible. I mean one moment I was in the tunnel, the next thing I know I was in a dark room just... I was suspended there. In... nothing."

"..."

"I couldn't air bend. I couldn't even move, surrounded by all manner of creatures."

"..."

"They couldn't have been spirits, right?" I heard him come to a stop. Likely waiting for me to give an actual answer this time. For a while now, he had been speaking to himself, likely trying to make heads or tails of things. Just as I was trying to do.

"I... don't know." Those were the first words that I spoke since I got back.

"This doesn't make any sense," he resumed his pacing for a few more moments.

"..."

"They will take care of him to the best of their ability, I assure you. It will do good for no one if you two sit here building stress on yourselves. It is best to use one's time wisely" A considerably younger sounding man came up to us.

"But teacher-" Nyandak didn't even get his statement out before he was audibly stopped.

"Nyandak, I understand that you've seen something very traumatic happen to your peer. But that is no excuse to disregard your duties. It is your turn to feed the flying-lemurs in the garden. After you finish, come to my study, I wish to listen to you further on what has transpired today."

"... Yes. I understand." After a moment of hesitation and unease, I heard him take a few steps towards the man, pause, heard a few pats, and heard his feet go down the hallway.

The man then turned his attention to me,"You have grown attached to the other kids in no time, haven't you?"

"Yes."

"Thank you."

"You shouldn't thank me. It's my fault he's hurt, I should have protected him," my fingers clenched the cloth in my fists.

"Perhaps so, however, that doesn't change the fact that you saved his life. If you didn't make it here sooner, Tuen would be dead right now. So in that regard, you have my personal gratitude for saving his precious life."

For the first time during our conversation, I looked sideways at his face. He didn't have as many wrinkles as the other monks, and his build wasn't anything of note or out of the ordinary. But he did have a serious look about him. I could see the conviction in his eyes. I didn't feel as though I was worthy of his words, but I couldn't bring myself to voice my emotions. In order to not trample upon his gratitude, I nodded my head. It was the most I could offer right now.

 "I'll tell you what, why don't you go for a short walk outside? It will do wonders what a breath of fresh air will do for one's psyche," he stepped to my side and held out a brown, clay cup.

'Did he give one to Nyandak before he left? He seems very considerate.'

"Perhaps...no ...you're right." I stood up and took the cup from his palm. "Thank you, Elder..."

"You may call me Mahgil." A smile graced his face as he folded his arms into his sleeves.

"Thank you, Elder Mahgil for the water. I will be back shortly." With a light bow, I walked out till I found myself at the entrance to the Bison Pen.

~POV Maghil~

"This one is more resilient than the previous one, I must say. And at such a young age as well." Maghil muttered to himself as he watched the sturdy shoulders of the young man walking away. Little did he know that there was someone who had heard him. It, however, didn't startle him. Little did these days, and even if the person was hostile, they wouldn't be able to silence him without a fight.

"I had cut it too close last time, the more up in age they are, the more time I need to micromanage. This time is just right, I can let off the leash, and he'll roam in the right areas. It is... tedious... to make his body and mind bend to my standards, though. He's only gone against me once, you know? I wish he'd hit his rebellious phase soon."

"Hmph! You simply enjoy breaking toys, old friend." As he hid his laugh, he thought back to how often this same man would maim students because they couldn't master the forms correctly. At least that's what his excuses would always be.

"You know me so well."

"That, if only it were true." He knew for a fact that there was a method to the man's madness, however every time he thought he'd be close to figuring it out, it'd vanish just beyond his reach.

"... The Betrayer is dispatched, his blood flows."

"This soon?" Maghil was halfway turned before his gaze fell upon his brother's eyes. They were cold, devoid of all pity. Even as he laid his weight against the pillar, the Aura that surrounded him told the tale that this man was far from leaving his guard open.

"You and I both know this time would come sooner than later. Everything is in place, yes?"

"Of course they are. Their hidden tomes have been scattered and hidden well, just as we agreed."

"Hm." The man took out a short brass and wooden pipe before he began to use two flint stones to alight the substance within.

"Would you lend me your ear for but a moment?"

With his allowance in the form of a nodded head, Maghil asked him a question that had been on his mind for a few months now.

"Do you believe it was the right decision?"

Without resistance, the lackadaisical man looked away before letting out a breath of smoke. He wished to focus on the peaceful times he had experienced here as a monk and not the tumultuous pain he had witnessed as well as caused countless others. "This path has already been written on our very souls with a diamond pen, long before the first Lion turtle took its first step."

"I know it was the correct thing to do, given the circumstances. But was it Right? Our legacy will live on for generations. And I am wondering if what we are doing now should be remembered in it. The consequences of our actions could bring forth far worse repercussions than we initially believed."

"The hardest choices require the strongest wills, brother. Indifference in the face of injustice as well as unjust violence is in itself, on this scale, Evil. We refused to be willing bystanders, apathetic to the wicked deeds of what this world demands. WE, are due a choice of what our legacy even means. It is not a privilege, it is a fundamental Right. A Right that must be acted upon."

"..."

"The only thing we can do now is take advantage of what we are given and exploit the weaknesses of the enemy. There are no rules when it comes to love and pain. You and I both learned this during the invasion of Kitoyomi."

"Never again," His voice took on a sharp tone that he didn't voluntarily intend.

"Yeah, never again." after a couple of seconds, he felt his presence leave. All the while, the smell of smoke never once leaked out to the point that it was ever noticeable. Even now, he couldn't detect a bitter odor.

With a fluid motion, he slipped one hand into his robed bosom and clutched onto a cloth with embroidered stitching that no one save a few in this world would be able to comprehend. With a bowed head and a few utterances, he spoke a quick prayer, "Deus Vult."

***

A/N:I feel as though I should make an original work on here. I have so many ideas but not enough focus to settle on one thing. Maybe a few short stories could work if I pre emptively settle on a beginning middle and ending by writing it out? I'll try it for a week and if it doesn't pan out I'll just scrap it.