Eusi sighed, his copper colored eyes staring at his reflection in the lake. He knew he should be practicing, learning the graceful movements of the deadly dance his instructor was trying to teach him. The problem was, Eusi took to fighting like a bird did to flight, and frankly he was bored. He could already do the full form from beginning to end, at full speed. Not that he was going to show his instructor that he could, well...at least not until tomorrow anyway. He could at least pretend to be practicing, and steal these few moments alone.
Alone...there was a word he was all to familiar with, he may be young, but he was pretty sure that he shouldn't feel like a stranger among his own family, or even his own House, but he did. There was a restlessness that he had, a disquiet he couldn't put a name to. He knew his father had not been of his House, or of any other for that matter, and he couldn't help put wonder if that was where his disquiet stemmed from.
Who had been his sire? What kind of lion had he been, no..what kind of lion was he? Surely he was still alive, alive and out there somewhere, somewhere past the lake, past the horizon. Did he have the same markings on his pelt, or the same burnished eyes? Did he even know he had a son? Would he even care?
Eusi let out another long breath, his eyes closing for a moment as he tried to recenter his emotions. If he allowed them to rule him, then he could not find the balance of his mind he needed to keep training, to keep learning. He would excel in this, and he would excel in the art of calligraphy as well. He would balance his mind and his body, make them both strong, and when he was ready, he would leave this place. There was no other path for him.
His Shīfu had told him often enough that his heart was stronger then his head, and he had to feel within him to know his the right path for his paws. Looking at his reflection in the water, at his burnished copper eyes that were not his mother's, but rather those of a lion whose only link to him was a name his mother once told him, he knew this was the right path...but not yet, no it was to soon yet. He needed to learn, he needed to be able to fend for himself.
The young lion could guess that his mother would be disappointed in him, for he had always planned to become a Guard, and perhaps with time, a Royal Guard, make a good marriage and have cubs of his own. He hated to hurt her, but did he really have a choice?
Looking back over at his reflection, he touched his paw to the center of it, watching the ripples distort his image, and reform it in another way. Still him, but subtle different. Straightening up, Eusi turned to head back to the House, and his Shīfu. There was another form to learn...
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