The Girl with the Dragon Tongue, Chapter Four

[lonewolfprincess]

After letting the girls freak out and get the adrenaline out of their systems, the monks pulled them to their feet.

“Are you guys okay?” Kimiko asked first.

They nodded.

“Yeah, we’re fine,” Mia responded with a heavy sigh, “just kicking myself for mouthing off to the giant evil werelizard again, like it went so great the first time!”

Raimundo gave a soft chuckle. “I tried to warn you.”

A soft groan as Mia ran a hand through her bangs, face flushed with embarrassment. “Yeah, yeah, I know… Clearly my mouth has a mind of its own.”

Tori gave her sister a light shoulder pat and an encouraging smile. “Well, I thought it was cool at least. Not necessarily the smartest thing, but definitely cool.”

A huff of a chuckle escaped the taller girl. “Thanks. It’d be nice if I could be smart too, though.”

“Hey now, jumping up high to spot for us was pretty smart,” Clay tipped his hat to her, then to Tori, “and so was swiping their weapons. Not bad for your first real rodeo, ladies.”

Tori smiled warmly, while Mia fought to keep her face from burning too hot as she smiled too.

“Thanks, Tex.”

“Speaking of smart mouths…” Raimundo smirked and gently elbowed Clay’s ribs. “You were wanting to say something earlier on the phone, right, Mia~?”

Clay’s collar grew hot, and he wound up to give Raimundo that much-delayed sock in the shoulder… but then they noticed that instead of getting lovestruck or just plain flustered and denying it all… Mia’s face fell, hugging herself tightly.

“I… yeah, I was.”

And with that, she fell to her knees in the damp grass, to the monks’ shock.

“I’m really, really sorry about this afternoon…!” Mia’s eyes stayed downcast and tight with about-to-fall tears, even as Tori knelt beside her and rested a hand on her shoulder. “If I’d stayed out of it, Omi would’ve gotten the Fang just fine, but I ruined everything…! A-and then I said all that awful stuff—!”

“Hey, hey…” Mia heard Raimundo’s voice, felt four hands on her shoulders, looked up to see four soft, gentle smiles overflowing with a mercy that she couldn’t believe. “You made sure Jack didn’t get his grubby hands on it, that would’ve been even worse. And then you were freaked out.”

“That’s no excuse!” Mia turned gaze away again, hot tears finally falling. “You were just trying to help, a-and I shouldn’t have said any of that…!”

Tori nodded soberly. “I’m sorry too. I should’ve helped cool things down, but—”

Kimiko shook her head, squeezing both girls’ shoulders. “Trust me, not the first time a girl’s bitten these guys’ heads off. And… at least you guys had legit reasons.”

“A-and we could’ve done better ourselves,” Clay admitted, “mostly by… not leaving you alone when you needed us. We should’ve tried harder to stay.”

Mia shook her head. “That I don’t blame you for…” Before they could protest that they did, she spoke up again, a faint, vulnerable smile on her face. “I was wrong. Meeting you guys… you’ve made my life better already.”

Tori blinked in shock… then pulled her sister and the monks into a tight, teary group hug, knowing just how high that praise was, coming from Mia. The Xiaolin Warriors blinked in surprise too, before their arms reached out to return it, holding it there for a little longer than the three-second rule allowed.

“So… what about the Crescent Fang?” Kimiko asked gently as the hug broke. “We can still look for a way to get it off.”

Mia wiped her eyes as she looked away again, not outright refusing but… not happy about it either.

“I don’t know, I…” she held the now-sheathed blade out and placed in on the ground between them. “I’m still worried about losing control and…” her gaze fell to Omi, “and this was supposed to be yours, right? Not mine…”

Oh… everyone felt a pain in their hearts at that, but Raimundo especially couldn’t help but be reminded of his promotion to Shoku Warrior and leader… How was Omi taking this latest loss…?

Omi’s face was solemn, searching Mia’s… and then with a slowly blooming smile, two small hands reached out to Mia’s, and he shook his head.

“I believe…” he said slowly, wrapping Mia’s long fingers around the hilt, “the Crescent Fang is exactly where it was meant to go.”

“What? But I—”

“No, listen,” Omi interrupted. “All three of us grabbed the Shen Gong Wu at the same time. So… I believe that the Crescent Fang was able to choose its master. It saw that you are a very brave, clever, and loyal warrior who never stops fighting, even when afraid.” His eyes finally lifted to hers, smile bittersweet but true. “You are the most worthy master for the Crescent Fang, Mia.”

Oh… the monks were touched, knowing that Omi was using the “most” beyond his usual superlative, meaning it. Mia… she wasn’t sure whether he really believed that, whether the others did, or whether she could, but… she could sense how much this gift meant to him.

She took in a deep breath, nodding in acceptance, gratitude.

“Thank you. In that case… I only have one question.” A solemn silence. “Can I still eat chocolate and garlic safely?”

Oh no. The seriousness of that light, easy question, after all this trouble, it drew snickers out of the whole circle. But Raimundo flipped through his memories of reading the Fang’s entry in the Scroll.

“I think so? The Scroll didn’t mention any dietary changes.”

“Oh, thank everything!” Mia flopped forward, letting out a deep, relieved sigh before sitting up again. “If I had to give up Italian food or chocolate, I would’ve gone ‘yes, please, put me in cardiac arrest for a few seconds and let the small child take the werewolf knife’!”

The monks were a bit shocked at the image, Omi even taking a few seconds before shouting “Hey! I am not that small of a child!” So was Tori, but she was quicker to recover and give her sister a light pinch on the shoulder. “Mia!”

Mia let out another huff of a chuckle. “I’m joking, I’m joking! … Mostly.” She looked to the monks as she stood, lifting Tori up with her. “Look, I have a dark sense of humor; you guys are gonna have to get used to that.”

Oh. A few wide blinks, and then a quartet of bright smiles.

“Does that mean you will join us?!” Omi asked, eyes sparkling.

“I dunno, will we?” Mia asked, turning to Tori with a wry smile.

“Wha?” Tori blinked, a bit stunned that Mia was so eager to jump aboard on a world-saving adventure.

“Yeah like…” Mia rubbed the back of her neck, smile going shy. “This feels right to me, but… I’m not gonna do this without you. Or drag you into this if you’re not up for it. Moon can’t shine on its own.”

Tori looked to the monks, then to the remains of the battlefield, thinking of the events of the day, fearing for her life and her sister’s life, worrying for Mia’s safety when the Crescent Fang morphed her like that… and then she looked to Mia’s face now. She’d never seen her sister so confident in herself outside of their little circle, never seen her so desperate for something good in her life, not since begging the judge to let her join their family years ago. If this is what a day could do… how much could Mia keep growing if she followed this path? How much could she grow? Maybe… maybe she could be the hero she’d always dreamed of being…

The Fool card: new beginnings, hope, innocence, freedom, adventure, walking off the cliff with eyes wide open for a leap of faith, don’t stop, don’t think, don’t worry, just go!

Tori broke out a bright grin as she clasped Mia’s hand. “Let’s be heroes!”

Mia’s smile was soft with awe and gratitude, before shifting to a fierce wolf grin. “Let’s be heroes!”

The other four monks whooped and laugh and ran up to pull them into side hugs and full bear hugs and just… bask in this moment of triumph, completion.

“This calls for a late-night snack feast!” Tori cried out!

Mia laughed more as she rooted through her backpack for her phone.

“Yeah, what time is—” her eyes bugged out as she looked at the clock. “Ohhh… so uh… one…” a quick pause as she pulled out a thick sketchpad and a case of brand-new colored pencils, all miraculously unscathed through today’s events, “happy birthday, Sis?”

Tori’s eyes went starry, and she glomped her sister with a squeal!

“Aw, Mia, you sweetie, thank you~!” She flipped through the paper and scanned the pencils eagerly. “Perfect for capturing the start of an epic quest!”

Mia chuckled warmly. “And two…” she rubbed the back of her neck, “weeee’re probably gonna be grounded for a week or two.”

Raimundo gave a small smile. “I’m sure we can help smooth things over. If not, Master Fung can help back us up.”

Tori grinned again as she led the group out of the park and towards the restaurant. “Yeah, there we go! Now come on, we have balsamic strawberry cobbler to consume!”

“And lava cake; definitely lava cake. Maybe with some different fillings.” Mia was never going to take eating chocolate for granted again!

Omi gave her a quizzical look. “Are you certain? Lava cake sounds most dangerous, and not that tasty…”

Everyone blinked, then laughed as they realized the understanding.

“Kid,” Mia grinned down at him, arms folded behind her head, “prepare to have your mind blown.”

“By lava?!”

Another round of laughs echoed through the night, the gentle moonlight shining down on them all.