Well, not a dream. She had been in drug-addled hazes before, since it seemed there were people who preferred to do it with a partner rather than doing it alone, but this time it wasn't one one of them. Getting out of bed and taking off her clothes from the night before, she put on a short robe and headed off to go find some kind of bathing area. The sweat of yesterday was clinging, and she liked to be clean.
What she found instead, was Talia, stood outside the dorms with a coy smile on her face, as usual. It was like the woman didn’t know how to smile any way other than coyly.
“Nice outfit” she commented, giving a soft chuckle.
“Bath” Fu replied, still groggy from the exertion the day before. So, Talia took her to the communal bath and helped her get properly washed and cleaned. It was revitalizing, and woke Fu up enough to hold a proper conversation.
“On the topic of outfits” Fushaka mentioned, drying herself off and getting back into the light robe. “Do I put my old kimono back on, or is there a uniform like yours I should be wearing?”
“There is a uniform back in your room, yes. Nothing special but good for working in. Also this” Talia would hand Fushaka a small, twelve page book, which was quickly flipped through.
‘Determination and Progression against all odds. Even if my head is struck from my neck, I shall carry onwards’ was the first line, and then some more commentary about the art, before a few pictures and advice on how to best enact them. It was a very simple martial art, and would be great to start her off with.
“That’s Twelve Stars of Xingtian. Your martial art style. Mother says you have to learn that before we can get properly married. And knowing her, she means up to the 9th level rather than just 1st or 2nd like most people” Talia explained, seemingly a little disgruntled at that, but not much she could do.
“Really? There…isn’t much to it. It’s like three dozen moves and some commentary about external energy. This would take a person about a month to master” Fu replied, leading them back to her room while pondering what she was missing.
“Yea, so most people think. Which makes it one of the most common techniques in the Sect. People train it, get it into the second, occasionally third level. And then just plateau, and feel they are facing an unbreachable wall. Eventually they give up and just go for another style that gives more dividends.
But Mother isn’t the kind to be seditious, if she didn’t want us marrying she would have told us we aren’t getting married. So there has to be some kind of hidden truth in this style, that she wants you to find”
The idea that there was something that would only be found after extreme perseverance was certainly fitting in the opening words. But if one stubbornly fought on this for years and hampered their future prospects…she could see why it got discarded.
“Did you ever try?” Fu asked, hoping to get a few pointers starting out.
“Unfortunately not. The Thundering Sky series demands pretty much my entire focus, externally. It is preparing my body for Sky-Shaking Asura. So I never got into the hype”
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Arriving back at the dorms, people were about, admiring Talia - stood to reason really, given she was the daughter of the Sect Leader - and generally just preparing for the day. Fushaka, for her part, merely got into her room and put on the uniform. It was a simple tunic, not low quality but not anything good. Embroidered with the symbol of the Sect so everyone knew who she was with.
“So, there are three major buildings here in the Outer Sect. The Recuperation Hall, which is here. Your dorms, baths, dining hall and medicine is here. The Service Hall, where you can pick up missions for contribution points that are then spent here or at the Martial Hall. Martial Hall is where the teachers and training gear is, as well as all the martial arts you can study. That is also where you buy your Qinggong, Neigong, and Waigong. Qinggong is cool to have but make sure you don’t overfocus on either Neigong or Waigong. The body needs a balance of Soft and Hard”
That, was a lot to take in. Which was to be expected really, there was a lot she was missing, joining now.
“Right. Do jobs, train hard, buy shit. I shall do my best” Fu exclaimed, nodding softly.
“Excellent. I gotta get back up the mountain, but I’ll come see how you are progressing in a week or so” Talia would give Fu a kiss well worth a week’s wait, and then turn and take off in a flash, soaring high into the air with a single bound, like she was almost flying.
“Show-off” Fushaka whispered, looking to her book. The other Gongs would have to wait, she wanted a good grasp of this Xiantian stuff before Talia came back in a week. Though she was domestic by nature, and so had to go check out the Service Hall to see the jobs.
Here there were plenty of things to do, all marked with difficulty, though some where true Jobs and others were merely chores. Fushaka took the hanging plates for cleaning and gardening, and handed them into the office, getting directed where she needed to go. It was a few hours work for a few points, and while she didn’t know the exchange rate, it seemed pretty fair given everything.
Settling into this routine, she spent a week pretty much on her own. Despite the hairstyle, nobody came to talk to her, which was fine because she was focused on this Xiantian style, and other people when she was taking a break and having lunch or dinner. She liked watching other people, because she really got into how they moved. Everyone had their own way, their own little tricks and shifts. She had not been around Martial Artists before in her life, but had had remarks on how quickly she picked up ways of walking, dancing, and bedroom arts. So long as she could watch someone do it, she did well with it’s mimicry.
Fortunately for her, this style was common and popular in the Outer Sect, so she got a lot of work done watching people, then training herself, then watching people. She didn’t mind the quiet, since there were times to think, and times to act, a lovely balance between quiet introspection and pursuit of martial excellence. Of course, the quiet days were not to last, as Fushaka was far too much of a diligent woman to just let injustice go by.
Out doing her daily gardening duties, she noticed a small group of people crowded around. Stepping up to the place, she’d note a group of people bullying their juniors into handing over the elixirs they had worked hard to buy. This sort of thing happened even when people were meant to be better than those below, huh?
“Oi! Is that any way to treat the people you are meant to be supporting?” Fushaka demanded, marching over.
“None of yer business, lass. Feck off” one of the belligerents replied, turning to look at them and then giving a leery grin. “Though, on second thoughts, you are quite good looking. You should come to my room, I’ll make sure to support you like I am meant to” he would comment. A few of his friends made a laugh, and one of the overdressed women he had supporting him even gave her a wink. They were wearing identical collars, with small coins on the front with varying different colours. Even the poor juniors cowering on the ground were wearing the collars.
“I’ve seen her around the place. So diligent, and looks so cute as well. I’d love having her around the place. I can teach her so much~” the woman exclaimed, earning more laughter. The implication of being taught by that woman was…not great, and Fushaka was wildly on edge due to this whole thing.
“Then it is settled. You are now part of our group” the man would reach out to stroke Fushaka’s cheek, clearly used to getting away with anything he wanted. So Fu dissuaded him of that notion by grabbing his hand and twisting it, shifting her weight to add more force into the move.
“Don’t touch me. Also fuck you, I am not joining any group that harrasses people like this” she replied. It did not go down well at all, but that was fine, she wasn’t in the market for making friends with people like this.