Spotted Chin - Chapter 1

She doesn’t know her real parents being left as an egg in an alley, abandon. It was not until later when a by passing falcon found the egg and took it home, planning to eat it at dawn the following day. But a few hours later the egg hatched and the falcon had to decide what to do next. With her laying in the basket with the other eggs he finally know what to do as she cried for food. Like all hatchlings she was blind and helpless, but he happened to known someone who could help him and quickly took her there. The tiny bird knew exactly what to do and feed her quickly within an hour as she taught him how to care for her. She allowed the hatchling to stay a week or two before the falcon had to take her back to his house, right outside the town where he lived in a tree house high above the ground.

As weeks passed by she learn how to walk and talk and soon she runs around all around in the house laughing. He quickly puts up a few simple rules knowing he doesn’t want her all over the place as he disciplines her in how to behave. Watching her smile is one of the few things that make him happy since he never had a single chance of getting a mate in his younger years. He always thinks back wondering if maybe he could have changed it somehow that maybe he just missed it. The chance of starting a family just like his brother. He decided to write him a letter telling what he's been up to these past years since they parted ways that day.

As the years passes by he taught her how to survive in the forest in case she would need it one day. He didn't know what species she were but he never thought much about it. They had lots of fun everyday but once in a while he had to leave her to go into town to get them a few things. She didn't know why he left her alone like this and often asked if she could come with him. At firs he said no, but as days passed by he finally gave in and allowed her to come with him. It went better than he thought it would. As long as she stayed close to him and didn't wander away of her own she got to come with him.

A few years later at the age of 7 she meets another bird that almost looks like her but much older and taller as she and her father walks around buying things in town. The older peacock quickly notice the eyes looking up at him when her father calls on her to come. He tells her that it’s not nice to stare at others too long as they may not like it. The older peacock looks at her feeling something familiar about the young one, still as he’s unsure and decides to ignore it.

At the age of 9 the peacock she met a few years earlier sees her once more and as he watches her he notice the white cheek on both sides of her head, going down along both sides. He watches her knowing that he have seen it before, but where? He can’t remember. Walking pass him she greet him, knowing he’s one of the palace guards. She has seen him many times and the way he keeps looking at her. Her father says that there’s nothing to worry about and that he’s only doing his work to keep the city safe. Still she can’t shake off the feeling that something is wrong, very wrong.

Six months later at midnight when it’s quiet and most people are asleep a young peacock sits at her window, looking at the stars when she suddenly notice something moving far away right before a knife almost hit her head and she scream in fear as she hurry to her father. He quickly wakes up by the scream of her voice and feet on the roof, noting something is very wrong. She run through the house and hides behind the couch where she stays quiet, looking around. Soon she hears claws scratching against the floor as they get closer and closer, step by step. Just as the intruders is about to look behind the couch someone attacks them. The sound of blades hitting against each other and the screams of pain and angry voices fills the air. She stays still, not moving a feather as the intruders soon leaves and she dare to see what have happened.

What she saw that night chock her as with his last bit of strength told her to run far away and never return. He said it was best that way, that she had made the last 10 years worth something great in return. He told her the story how he first found her and now it was time for her to leave, to pack a bag with everything she could carry with her. When it was done he gave her one last thing and told her to leave. One last time she smiled for him with tears filling her eyes before he passed away.

They did not have much stuff as he liked to keep it simple and she took all the money they had saved for worse days. She placed the straw hat he had given her at the age of 9 on her head and bowed down before leaving to never return. Still she swore to make them pay for what they had done to her father, that she would become a great fighter one day and return.

For days she walked without stopping, only to eat when needed as well as drinking water. She hid in bushed whenever someone was getting close. She could not risk getting noticed after what had happened five days ago. A day later she decided to sleep and hid high up in a tree where she sleep until the first rays of the sun woke her up. Quickly she hurried and reached a town she had never seen before or even heard about.

Still it wasn’t safe enough to stay here she was still too close. She got some more food for the long journey and headed on. Two months later she had only a few coins left as she looked around for a place to work at when she suddenly heard something. Not knowing what it was she slowly got closer but to see she had to climb a tree to see what was on the other side of the wall. As she got to the top she looked down just in time to see a young falcon fight against five others.

She watched him beat them all to the ground within seconds and without thinking she jumped down on the wall to get a closer look. They didn’t seem to have notice her yet so she followed the wall until she found the gate, there she waited not knowing what to do next. She stayed there for over an hour until one of the young falcons eyed her closely, she got a bit worried but he soon walked away and she calmed down as she waited.

The hours passed as she sat there waiting, for what she did not know. Soon she started to get tired and cold as the night cam and she headed back to the tree to sleep. The following day she sat on the wall close to the gate as the sun rise above the town. The falcons didn’t know what she was because of the dirt covering her feathers. She sat there every day for a whole week as she watched them, all her food was gone now as well as the money. A few days later she was pretty much sleeping on the wall, her head hung low, still she held it up until she lost her grip and fell.

By the time she woke up she had no idea where she was as she looked around when suddenly someone gave her some water to drink. Slowly she took it, drinking a little before looking after who gave it to her. She got a little worried but did not hide. He asked where he came from, mistaking her for a he. Sadly she could not tell as she looked away, if she did her life as well as theirs too might all be in danger if she did speak. Then he said that he had nice white feathers along both sides of his (her) head on both sides. She froze a moment before quickly looking at her left with seeing the clear white feathers and quickly hid herself.

The next following days she refused to leave the bed sheet in the bed as she kept her backpack close to her all the time. Never a single word left her beak but it didn’t take long for her until the rain fell and she hurried out and covered the white feathers all over her body, but most her head, neck, wings and tail feathers as she sat on the ground covering herself in mud. Even after the rain had stopped she still sat there putting more dirt on herself. For hours she sat there covering herself, shaking her feathers once in a while as she got close to finish.

As soon as she was dry she looked in a mirror she had to make sure they were all covered up and not a single while feather could be seen. They did not know the case of this behavior. But the white feathers had hunted her for as long as she could remember. Suddenly the master stood behind her and she got a little worried. He told him (her) to come and she slowly followed knowing this might be important. As they walked inside a room he told him (her) to close the door and she did as told, but as she turned to look at him he held a weapon against her throat.

Then he asked something she did not expect. “Did you kill him?” he asked. She looked at him with big eyes not knowing what he was talking about at first. Then he held a photo before her eyes that she looked on for quite a long while. At first she did not know the falcon he showed to her but then she noticed the scar on his beak. The falcon could tell that he (she) known the one he showed on the photo but then he (she) took out something from the back pack. She showed him a photo in return that made him drop the weapon as he grabbed the photo, starred at it.

It was a photo where a falcon held an arm on the shoulders of a young peacock right by his side as the photo was taken years ago. He gave it back after a while when she suddenly gave him something else that she got right before he died. A letter stained with blood and the text “Please help my child, brother.” Falcons often called each other brother or sister even if they were not related by blood they were all birds of prey.

He gave back the letter and she putted it back down. She could tell that they mistook her for a male, with was kind of a good thing. Often females did not get the chance to learn how to fight kung fu at all, because of stupid ideas. This could be her one and only chance to learn it. The falcon before her was the master of this martial fighting school after all. She tried to get him to understand that she wanted to learn without a single word from her beak.

A few weeks later she stood among the other falcons as they trained. The one and only thing she had to do to be allowed to stand with them was to fly. Being a young one it hard since she had never used her wings in that way before. Many times she failed, many times she hit the ground hard until she found a lake nearby where she went every day. She learned to swim, to keep her breath, this was her training ground, her own place in the world.

Soon she stopped to cover herself in dirt and mud as it quickly disappeared in the water. The other noticed the colors were quite beautiful and could not really understand why he (she) wanted to hide them all the time. The dojo master could see a change in behavior as he (she) grown for each month that passed. Since he (she) did not tell his (her) real name they called him (her) ‘Spotted Chin’ a nickname he (she) accepted. Better to have a new identity then be hunted for the rest of her life.

As the years passed by she became one of his best students as well as the tallest one. The others sometimes challenged him (her) in battle, a battle that he (she) often won. Even so he (she) did lose on purpose just to be kind to the others, something the Dojo master soon noticed after watching him (her) fight a few times. He could see how Spotted Chin prefers to fight without weapons rather than with any at all, that he (she) used the surroundings to win.

She did a lot of work here and there, gaining lot of coins saved for the right time when they would be needed as most. Little did she use for food but one day she would need to get a few things and that day they would be needed. She wanted to travel to new places and see the world as she become a great warrior one day. That’s what she wants. Still... There was something she wondered sometimes like... Why did those intruders try and get her? She was only a child, nothing more. Thinking back at old times made her a bit sad but she never cried even once. She liked to read books and draw when she wanted some time alone.

The dojo master could tell that Spotted Chin had to go out and face the world alone. Even so one of her best friends wanted to go with him (her) to see things and places he had never seen before. He gave them both a weapon to keep them safe from danger as he told them to return back here one day.

By the next morning they left early as the sun rise above the land, she had no idea how much things had changed since the day she left her dead father. As for her friend he said bye to his mother and father the day before they left. At least she had one friend with her on her travels as they would face a lot of things in the future before them.

FIN/End of chapter 1