Chirp~ chirp~
Tweet~ Tweet~
Echoed the gentle orchestra of countless birds practicing their own unique mating calls, unseen, as they perched on the clustered pastel-flowered bodies of the cherry blossom's branches.
Splosh!
Twhoosh~
Thump~ thump~ thump
Sploshed the distinct silent noise of the running water from the stream nestled in the center of the large zen garden as it traveled through the dense clusters of water-time litter.
Swoosh!
A cherry-red salmon shot out of the water like a bullet. Now airborne, the fish instinctively sprouted a set of neon orange wings from its gills before it soared into the
sky.
Sensing their brethren's departure, another fish followed suit.
Swoosh!
Seeing this, another denizen of the stream departed as well.
Then another, and another and another…
Swoosh!!!
Soon enough, dozens of similarly textured fish had taken into the air, collectively grouping back into their school.
The school of flying fish took off into the unknown distance.
This little foyer of nature was one of the countless examples in the garden.
The garden's expansive ecosystem stirred with life—foxes trotted stealthily through the dense brush, birds chirped happily, fish flew, the plants bloomed year-round in striking resemblance to their constant peak.
Built bridging over the stream that cut the zen-garden into two was a three-storied red and gold monastery which bore a striking resemblance to one built during the Edo period of Japan.
Trudging along a well-kept cobblestone path was a gray-haired fellow dressed in a striking traditional red and black kimono.
His expression spoke of simple carelessness to say the least; however, in contrast to his expression and physically expressed demeanor, his amber and green eyes brewed with a storm of conviction and barely restrained anticipation.
The fellow walked alongside a stunning pink-haired woman clad in similar attire.
The woman, unlike Rue, had put up a deliberate front of innocence.
Her face betrayed none of her typically displayed emotions.
Her sass was buried under annoyance, her ego swallowed, but most certainly not hidden was the gentle—almost mocking—smile she had on display for the world to see.
Livia used her perception to sense her surroundings rather than her eyes, which were kept closed for the sake of hiding her similarly shared sentiments as her disciple.
As the quote typically went, "The eyes are the window to the soul."
The eyes shared the truths that people hide or lie about; they were the true voice of a person.
The part of you that never hesitates to express subjective feelings or desires.
Be it greed, lust, envy, determination or other, the eyes never fail to share their thoughts.
However, this was only true until you met a particularly talented connoisseur who had honed the ability to control and gauge certain nit-picked characteristics based on the gauged reactions of the observer.
Such people were scary…
Livia, of course, lacked this ability, so rather than threatening the risk of keeping her eyes open and exposing her feelings of smugness, detest, and negative will lashed towards the council members, she opted to play it safe until her disciple ultimately won by keeping them closed.
Taking his eyes off the flying fish in the distance, Rue glanced over the beds of trees in front of him.
Catching his eye was an oddly structured roof.
It was a complexly carpentered red steep-sloped, eaved-edged roof.
"Are we meeting them there?" Rue suddenly asked.
Washing her perception over the structure, Livia nodded.
"Yes, that's the place." she confirmed.
The silence between them returned, with the only sound being from the faint background noise coming from the surrounding garden.
With his perception, Rue, wanting to pass time, began to play a solo game where he noted every absurd event taking place around him.
Distantly, a few hundred yards or so, Rue cursorily watched as a fox went to town on another—assumingly the male was breeding its mate.
Shifting his gaze, he coincidentally spotted a rugged boulder animate to life.
The sides of the boulder sprouted five segmented legs, while at the same time two varied-sized claws burst from the front, and two stem-like eyes crept out of the small burrow-like holes on the boulder's surface.
Like this, several minutes passed.
Spaced out, admiring the bizarre scenes within the forest, Rue, before he knew it, was already before the polished stone steps leading up to the monastery.
[Just act natural,] Livia mentally transmitted.
Pausing briefly, she continued.
[And for the sake of it, don't forget to follow along with what we discussed earlier.] She chimed with a note of light-heartedness, however that didn't deter the all-too-glaring underlying threat behind her words.
[Remember this Rue, if you fuck this up you die, simple—your death will be a dogs death.] she warned with no real substance of worry.
It was more of a reminder, just in case things went awry.
Livia's expression shifted into a wide mocking smirk.
She had the utmost confidence that Rue was going to take the gold against the feeble grandson of the council's head.
After all…
He was an anomaly not originally from this world.
With this, both master and disciple took their first step onto the polished stone.
~~~
~~~
~~~
Taking their final step of the staircase, Livia and Rue stood on the large marble-tiled plateau that led grandiose into the monastery.
Rooted on the spot, Rue marveled at the architectural grandeur.
The walls neighboring the entrance etched with great murals of mythical creatures.
Large carps that dominated the ocean, magnificent birds whose wingspans stretched across mountains, earthen golems who spiraled hundreds of miles into the air, and other breathtaking illustrations of elemental gods were ever present throughout the canvas of the wall.
Livia took the lead, stepping gracefully ahead of Rue.
Following behind, Rue moved in sync with Livia.
Passing through the plateau and past the entrance, they entered the monastery.
Ting~
As if on cue, the dim chimes of a bell echoed through the monastery announcing their arrival.
Hearing the bell, a silver-haired attendant similarly dressed to Liana but with a bandage wrapped around her neck, stepped out from behind one of the many decorative pillars near the entrance.
"Welcome, Lady Livia and disciple," the attendant said with a professional smile and customary bow.
"May you both please follow me as I lead you to my master's chambers." she finished.
Livia stubbornly remained silent.
Taking the silence as a sign of acknowledgement, the maid nodded, flanked her gait, and began to walk in a specific direction down one of the many halls.