Wings of Fire Ch. 06

The alarm clanged its bells, ringing merrily as it was supposed to. A groan sounded on the air and James Brighton turned over, his hand slapping the machine. The alarm stopped and James yawned, sitting up in the bed he occupied. He blinked and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he woke up. He checked the clock on the nightstand and saw that it was five-thirty in the morning.

He sighed and slowly got out of bed, stretching and cracking his limbs. Standing up, James stretched even more, getting his circulation going. Once he was awake enough, he figured it would be best to show up clean and headed to the bathroom to shower. James wasn't in it for very long, just doing a cursory scrub and letting the hot water bring him to full wakefulness.

Once he was clean enough, he killed the shower, dried off, and got dressed in some clean clothing. James didn't have much and knew he'd have to rectify this soon, or risk looking and smelling like a bum. He grabbed his coat and Katana sword before leaving his cabin behind. He took the nearest stairs he could find and headed straight up to the flight deck.

It didn't take him long to reach it, as the stairs were all stacked close together. The moment he walked out of the door, he took in the early morning light. It was a beautiful thing, watching the sunrise from this altitude. James took a deep breath, as the air was thinner on the deck than it was inside the ship. He spent another minute staring at the sunrise before he turned to find Sifu Chang.

He spotted her by the zone that had been cordoned off as a sparring area. She stood there impassively, watching the boy approach with an almost amused smile on her face. James checked his watch and saw that he still had ten minutes before their lessons were about to commence.

James headed to her anyway, as he figured it was always a good idea to show up early. That way, you didn't make anyone feel like they were wasting their time with you. He trotted up to the Sifu, and he bowed to her respectfully. Once he rose back up to a standing position, he saw Li-Fan give him a nod of her head in reciprocation.

"You are early," she said simply.

"I did not wish to waste your time, nor show any disrespect... Sifu," James replied sincerely.

"Good boy. I see you brought your weapon. You will continue to bring it every day, though there will be days you will not need it. Place the weapon there and pick up one of the bamboo practice blades. We will begin there," she told him.

James nodded and did as he was told, placing the blade on the rack where the other weapons waited. Some were edged steel, while others were wooden practice blades. James selected one of them and picked it up, swinging it a little to get a feel for it, before turning back to the woman.

"Take ready position, as Ernest showed you yesterday," Li-Fan commanded. James did this, placing his left foot forward, while putting his right behind him and he leaned forward in basic stance. The woman walked around him and grunted in disgust, tapping his feet with her own blade so he stood properly. Li-Fan then walked over and collected a weapon similar to his, then assumed the same position he was in.

"Watch my movements first, then follow along the second time," she told him.

James nodded, and he watched as Li-Fan made five precise movements. She moved her feet with each swing of the blade, showing James what his feet were to be like as he moved. The moment she was done, Li-Fan looked back to James, and he nodded, understanding the movements he had seen.

Li-Fan then stepped back into ready position next to James and walked through the basic kata again. James mimicked her actions, almost a perfect mirror of her moves, with a few small flubs. In the last movement, James had shifted his foot too far and received a sharp blow to his leg for the mistake. The man winced at this, but otherwise kept his mouth shut, knowing that masters like Li-Fan expected nothing but obedience.

"Again. Properly this time," she snapped.

James just nodded and set himself in ready position once again and went through the kata. It took him several more tries before his movement was satisfactory enough to move on to another kata. Each kata was primarily about foot work and less about swinging his sword. James would have complained about this until he remembered something from his days of being tutored.

When it came to instruction, he was the one who was expected to listen and obey. It wasn't his place to question, as he was the student, not the master. When he was a master of his own in whatever field he pursued, then he could question the methods of others. Until that day came, his place was to listen and learn as best as he could.

Li-Fan was a bit harsh in her demands of proper form and footwork, but she was fair. More than once, James had either under stepped, or overstepped, which would earn him a blow on the offending limb. The blows were less frequent as he went on, as he knew that perfection was going to be expected of him. If someone as skilled as Li-Fan made enough of a fuss to train someone she didn't know, then there was a reason for it.

James continued on through the lesson, as painful as it was, but he then heard an alarm clock ringing nearby. Li-Fan stopped her movements, casually walking over to the source of the sound. She bent over and stopped the clock's alarm before standing up and turning to James.

"That is all for today. Meet me here again tomorrow, at the same time," she told him curtly.

With a nod, James then bowed and thanked his Sifu for the lesson before he headed off. Placing the practice blade back on the rack, James then picked up his own blade before he left. A buzzer sounded a minute later and James guessed that was the breakfast alarm. Smiling at the prospect of food, he headed on towards the mess hall to get some breakfast.

Li-Fan wasn't far behind him, as she too, was hungry after the lesson. She went into a different door than the one James entered. Since she was the First Officer, James assumed she was headed to the Officer's Mess. James continued on through the door and headed down to where he knew the mess hall was located. He got lost for a few moments until he thought he should follow his nose.

Doing this proved fruitful, as he found his way towards the mess hall in no time. James heard the people chatting and yammering as they walked. Chuckling, James found the group of people as they lined up to get themselves some grub. As the line moved, he heard familiar voices behind him and turned to see who it was. As luck would have it, the Black family was right behind him, lining up to get themselves some food.

"Good morning, Ernie, Mama Rae, Zhade!" James greeted.

"Morning Jim! Sleep well last night?" Ernie asked.

"As well as can be expected. Never slept on an airship, so it'll take me a while to get used to it," James replied.

"It does take a little getting used to, I'll say that. But, with enough... distractions, you'll find yourself sleeping like a baby in no time," Raeni said with a smile.

Ernie chuckled as he pulled his wife close and James couldn't help but shake his head. Seeing an older couple like them passionately in love with one another made James wish for something like that once he decided to get hitched. James then looked around, noting that the younger of the Black men wasn't there.

"What you looking for, son?" Ernie asked.

"More like who. Just wondering where Jr. is. Doesn't he take meals with you?" James asked out of curiosity.

"Normally, he does, unless he's working late on something. The boy... might have headed off to the workshop last night," Ernie Sr. chuckled nervously as they picked up their breakfast, which were bowls of oatmeal with blueberries in them. There was a small dusting of what looked like brown sugar on top, which did make the meal a bit more appealing.

"I told you we were being too loud! Especially you with your growling and rumbling like you did last night," Raeni admonished her husband as they got to a table to sit down and eat.

Ernie smiled lopsidedly, then stood up to go and get cups of coffee for everyone at the table, except for Zhade, who was too little for such a beverage. Ernie grabbed four cups, figuring that Jr. would be joining them soon. Not even a minute later, Ernie Black Jr. walked in, grabbed a bowl of oatmeal, and sat with his family and James.

"You manage some sleep there last night, son? I know your father can be a bit... loud," Raeni asked him.

"It wasn't dad that kept me up last night, ma," Jr. stated simply as he sat down with his oatmeal. Hearing this prompted Raeni to bury her face in her coffee cup, while Ernie Sr. chuckled to himself. He was certain that he'd dialed it down with his own sounds and his son just confirmed it. Raeni just huffed and ate her breakfast, not wishing to hear any more of it.

"You look no worse for wear, though. You even have an actual smile on your face!" his dad stated, which had Jr. bury his face in his breakfast as he blushed.

"Oh! He does indeed, dearest! Tell me, young man, was there a certain someone who helped you... rest last night? Because you are looking awfully awake for the amount of sleep you would have had," Raeni giggled, pouncing on the moment.

On reflex, Jr.'s head turned to look at Ottilia, who was ladling out more bowls of oatmeal for the other men. She caught his gaze and smiled at Jr. blushing slightly as she looked at him. Ottilia quickly returned to the task at hand, not wanting to spill any of the food onto the floor. Jr. turned his head back to his family, who were smiling at him as he groaned.

"Told you he had a thing for blondes," Raeni giggled.

"Not surprising, given how whenever we were on shore leave, the ladies in the Republic always turned our boy's head," Ernie Sr. laughed.

"Lots of blondes in the Republic are there?" James asked, curious about what life was like over there.

"Especially tall ones. Them and redheads. Honestly, it's like they grow on trees out there," Ernie Sr. told the man.

"Redheads? Like our old neighbor, Liza MacMillan?" Raeni questioned with a gleam in her eye.

"Very much so! I have a feeling that once we get to the Republic, sweetie, you will see just how much better it is than what we had before," Ernie reassured his wife.

"I look forward to seeing it! Especially those beaches you told me about!" the woman enthused.

"I've only read about them in the books I had access to back home. Is it true that the waves coming in can get to ten feet high?" James wondered, never having seen the sights on the west coast.

"They can get higher than that! Much higher! On the most ideal days, they can get to nearly twenty-five feet in height! Perfect conditions for surfing!" Jr. enthused.

"Surfing?? You've been surfing?!?" James questioned, blinking in disbelief.

"Whenever we stop by that area, yeah. Have a few friends I go with whenever we make berth in Los Angeles," Jr. told his new friend. "They are all total surf bums, by the way. I swear, it's like sometimes, they just live on the beach."

"I hear that's what they actually do. Bill Tompkins told me that his son, Nolan and the others you hang with, bought a house right by the beach," Sr. told his son.

"They did??" Jr. asked, taken aback for a moment.

"Yup. You surprised, given how much they love doing it?" he asked.

"I heard them talk about it, but never expected them to do it! Did they get the land surrounding it as well?" Jr. queried.

"As a matter of fact, yeah. Why?"

"I thought what they were talking about was a pipe dream, but I guess they got their acts together and are making it happen! They often would talk about buying a rundown old home by the beach, then fixing it up so they could all live there. Rebuild the house so it would be bigger and everyone could have their own space," Ernie Jr. explained.

"Looks like they are building their dream, one piece at a time," Sr. smiled, thinking about the dream he had, which he now realized could become reality. "Be sure that you have your dream in your mind, so you can achieve it one day."

"I know, pop. I know," Jr. replied with a smile. He turned his gaze back towards Ottilia and winked at her, causing the girl to blush some more as she went about her work.

"Also, make sure that you don't go ahead and make me a grandmother, yet," Raeni told her son.

"Mmooooooommmm!!" Jr. groaned as he finished his oatmeal and coffee. "Do you have to talk about that right now?"

"Just making sure that you have your priorities straight, young man. It is a mother's right to worry about her son," she told him.

"If you must know, that isn't in the deck of cards at the moment! We're taking our time with things and seeing how it works with us," Jr. told his mother.

"Good boy," she smiled.

"If I can be done with these questions, I'm going to head off to work," Jr. stated as he rose and left the table, depositing his bowl, spoon, and coffee mug in a dirty dish receptacle as he walked out of the mess.

"Try not to press him so hard about it, dear. The boy has had it hard enough as it is sometimes, without us giving him a hard time about things," Ernie Sr. told Raeni.

"I haven't seen him in years, dear. So maybe I'm allowed to fuss a little bit about our son? I mean, you raised him through some of his most important years on your own," Raeni said with a sad smile.

"We both worry about him, hon. I'm actually happy for the boy! These last couple of years, he's been more than a little absorbed in his work! I often think he works too much! Was of the opinion that he was pushing himself too hard and not taking any time in looking for anyone for his own," Sr. replied.

"Well, if this Ottilia girl can keep him smiling and lets him be his own man, then I don't think we will have any cause for concern," Raeni said with a smile.

"Everyone finds who they're meant to find in their own time. There is an overall grand plan for everyone. We all need to trust ourselves, our instincts and those we love to make the correct decisions. Because in the end, the universe tends to unfold as it should," James told the couple. They stared at him for a moment, not expecting to hear something so profound out of him, but they applauded the boy all the same.

"Well said, young man!" Raeni told him, clapping lightly, as was Ernie Sr., seeing the apparent wisdom in James' words. The quartet finished their breakfast, with Zhade pouting when there was no more oatmeal to be had.

"Someone here really likes their oatmeal!" James chuckled as the little girl huffed.

"Sometimes, it's a chore to get this little one to eat anything else!" Raeni replied, with a pointed look at her husband.

"What? You said our kids were to be raised healthy, so I went with the one thing that is extremely healthy!" Ernie said in his defense.

"But not to make it the only thing she eats!" Raeni shot back in an admonishing tone.

"It's not like we've been swimming in coin lately, you know. We were moving on up until... well, you know what happened," Ernie told his wife.

"OK. That's fair. You get a pass for that. Still, how do we get this little one to try new foods?" Raeni groused.

"Hmm. Maybe take Zhade to a diner, when we make port?" James suggested. "I mean, if you want to get her open to eating new food, maybe take her to a place where you literally smell it on the air."

"That's... not a bad idea, in fact!" Raeni replied, liking the thought of it as they got up and cleared away their dishes.

"All right then. So, what are you up to today, dear?" Ernie asked Raeni.

"Well, I'll be taking Zhade through the basics of what she should know for her age. I'll be busy with her all day," Raeni replied.

"All right. I'll be in the hangar with Jr. and James here. Come on lad, we've got a lot of work to do," Sr. told him.

The pair hurried off towards the hangar, while Raeni guided her daughter back to their cabin. Raeni just smiled, happy to feel whole once again, not just with her husband and son there, but with her daughter too. The prison she was in was a living hell, but that was behind her now. All that mattered was going forward through life with her family. With that, she took her daughter's hand and led her towards the schoolroom.

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The moment the last shift of men had come through for their breakfast, the girls working in the galley were allowed a brief break. They all headed to a small lounge that was reserved exclusively for their use. There were a few couches and squashy armchairs there, along with some small side tables and ledges for them to place whatever food or drink they had with them.

The ladies there, which were nearly a dozen, sat there, idly chattering amongst each other. While they did exchange some conversation in the galley, they still had to be mindful of the food. Here, they could talk about whatever they wished and not have to fuss about anything. Some of them lit cigarettes, as this was one of the few places that smoking was permitted, but they only did so after everyone else was done eating.

Laura and Ottilia sat on a couch together, chatting about their new accommodations and how things were for them. Neither had expected this particular turn of events, but were happy for them, nevertheless. For them, this was the grand adventure they had both dreamed of as little girls, before their parents did what they could to push that notion out of their minds.

"I still cannot believe that we are free women!!" Ottilia gushed as she sat there on the couch, enjoying the time they had to kill before they got a start on lunch.

"Si, si, si! I have often wondered if this is a dream! But when I pinch myself, and I still see us here, it is an amazing feeling!" Laura agreed as she lounged next to her friend.

"Very much so!! I am glad to see that not only am I being given the chance to choose my own fate, but you are as well! Who'd have thought that the two of us would be on an airship, heading off towards the life we always wanted?" Ottilia queried.

"If anyone had told me all of this a week ago, I would have thought they were crazy and cruel for teasing me! Lord knows I wasn't looking forward to the prospect of having to marry Paulo!" Laura replied, shuddering at the very idea of the man.

"Neither was I! After what happened... I was appalled at how he was getting away with everything he had done! I hoped and prayed that you, at least, would find a way out of what your parents had arranged," Ottilia stated.

"But all of that is behind us now! No way they would dare come after us here! They don't even know we are here, which is a good place to be in!" Laura replied with a grin.

"Si!! That they cannot find us as we are now is a tremendous boon! One which never ceases to make me smile!!" Ottilia sighed.

"Speaking of smiles, I noticed you have been wearing a big one all morning! Had yourself a strong and strapping man last night, did you?" Laura grinned knowingly.

"Laura!!" Ottilia protested as she blushed.

"What? I'm just saying that I've noticed your massive grin that you can't seem to keep off your face! A woman only smiles like that when she's had herself a good time with a good man!" Laura told her.

"And you know this how?" Ottilia questioned with a skeptical face.

"Have you seen how I have been lately? At least half of that is what James does to me when we have some time alone," Laura admitted with a grin.

"Ah, merda! (Ah, shit!)" Ottilia cursed, remembering how she had found Laura and met James.

"So, tell me! Who did you spend the night with??" Laura pressed, eager to know who it was that was making her friend glow like this.

"If I tell you, will you stop pestering me about it?" Ottilia queried.

"Si! For now, at least," Laura smirked.