Blurring the lines
#9 of The World Beyond
Alrighty, been a while for this story series. As always comments are appreciated and requested.
I hope you enjoy it.
Continued from 'Trouble in Paradise'...
Drawing in a deep breath, I straightened up, trying to ignore how sore my body was, wiping the sweat from my head with the back of my hand. My temples were throbbing in almost perfect sync to the beat of the stereo system, making my eyes hurt as I stood in the center of the bright ring. The volume had been turned up so loud that it rebounded endlessly off the stone walls of the room, but even over the music, the cheering of the crowd could still be heard. I managed a smile despite my pain, bowing from the waist to my opponent, before turning and walking off the mats that covered the space in the center of the room, which, since it was raised a few feet off the ground to give the crowd a good look at the action, required a short hop to the floor.
Despite the towering ceiling, the room was very hot and stuffy, but no warmer than my paradise world usually was, so it wasn't like I wasn't used to it. This event was something I had looked forward to all year, the regional's of the National Full Contact Martial Arts championships and I was doing rather well. I had been competing in this nationwide championship since I was sixteen, the year I had earned my black belt. Only those of black belt rank were allowed to compete in full contact events, and most didn't compete at all, as injuries were common despite all the precautions, but I loved it. Of course, in years past I hadn't gotten very far, losing before even getting to the quarter finals, not that I had really expected much. All ranks of black belt, from Masters on down, could, and often did, compete, which meant that lower ranked black belts rarely placed high in the competition. But this year was different, this year I was doing extremely well, having already won six matches, including the quarter finals, which was very rare for independent competitors. Most people who made it that far were part of competition teams who did this sort of thing all the time, like the nationally ranked XMA team.
Grinning widely, I gave a high five to Shane as I passed him. The black haired boy had done well this year too, having made it to the semi-finals just like me. His school had its own team, their uniforms all royal blue silk, a yin yang encircled by dragons as their symbol. I had fought him and his team mates before in tourneys like this one, and I knew the reasons why they wore such flashy uniforms. It was all about deception and 'flash', the snap of silk distracting their opponents and catching the light during katas, making them stand out in a crowd. Or they were supposed to at any rate. The truth was, every team had uniforms that were meant to stand out, so in all the mishmash of colors and styles, it was actually very difficult to pick people out. The uniform I was wearing was one of the only ones that actually stood out among all the bright colors because it was the complete opposite of what everyone else went for.
I wore simple black cotton pants, and likewise a simple black tunic and belt, which, because it was so simple, drew the eye like a sun spot on a star. The only concession to ornamentation that I had on the uniform was the stylized white wolf on the right sleeve and back, opposite the crossed American and South Korean flags that marked me as a practitioner of Korean based martial arts. My uniform also had the advantage of breathing really well, as opposed to silk, which very quickly got stifling in the heat. Not that it mattered at the moment of course. I had been fighting since early in the morning in the hot room, and my uniform was sticking to my body almost as if it had been dipped in glue.
Trying not to wince with every step on the hard floor, I walked off towards the relatively quiet, out of sight corner of the huge room where I had stashed my equipment bag, intending to relax some before my next match. I had a couple of hours to kill before the semifinal matches started and I needed very badly to clear the fog out of my head. My last opponent had clouted me on the back of the head with a hook-kick that had seemed to come out of nowhere and that, coupled with the heat, had made my head spin.
Out of sight of most of the crowd and the other competitors, I dug around in my pack, finally locating what I was looking for after about a minute of searching through my equipment; a pair of noise canceling headphones and my ipod. Grinning, I sat down with my back to the relatively cool surface of the wall, crossing my legs and settling the headphones over my ears, their design already dimming the sounds of the crowd to a dull roar. With a flip of a switch, the dull thumps of fighters striking each other , the roar of the crowd, even the thunder of the techno beat the stereo was blasting out faded away into near silence, as if I was suddenly sitting out in the hall, on the other side of the wall I was leaning against. Turning my ipod onto a playlist of calm, soothing music mixed with the sounds of nature completed the illusion and I was alone in a sanctuary made of sound. I could still feel the beat of the stereo pounding through the floor, and my head was still reeling, but for the moment, it was like I was somewhere else entirely. Closing my eyes and putting my hands face up on my knees, I allowed my mind to drift away into the sweet sound, losing myself in the music, drawing in deep breaths and almost thoughtlessly making my body as still as I could. Meditating like this was something that I had gotten into the habit of doing between matches several years ago, and I had found that it vastly improved my performances, the meditation keeping me centered, keeping the worry and anticipation that all fighters felt at bay, no matter who I was facing. I actually did the same thing before tests at school and before project presentations, finding that it killed nerves as well, letting me think much more clearly, an advantage that was absolutely worth the effort to attain.
Every breath drew more and more tension out of my limbs until I was as relaxed as I was while sleeping and I smiled, feeling the trance state of true meditation closing in on me. I had to be careful not to succumb wholly to the trance, because once, when I was still perfecting this technique, I had meditated for several hours by accident, trancing right through a scheduled match. Letting the smile fade as my muscles relaxed, I allowed my mind to drift as it would, carefully maintaining the same state I had just attained, not allowing myself to sink deeper. And, as usual when I was idle, I found my mind dwelling on the other world. It was hot there too, and usually as quiet as this was. And then, as I sat in quiet meditation, a sudden thought occurred to me. I had recently spent a lot of time in the other world, sparring with Cayden day after day for hours at a time, every chance I got, and that seemed to have given me an advantage in the tournament. Even though we rarely did full contact at my school, I had done it so often with my companion in the other world it had become almost second nature for me. And now, though I did ache just about everywhere, I didn't mind so much. Strangely enough, if the floor hadn't been throbbing with techno music, I could easily imagine myself as being in that wonderful house, meditating after a particularly strenuous match.
Grinning, I allowed my mind to indulge itself in that thought, the memories of the mansion, but especially of my companions, filling me with a feeling of utter serenity that even the usual calm mix of music couldn't come close to matching. Seeking the same euphoria that being in that world seemed to create, I focused my mind, blocking out the vibrations through the floor, letting go of the soreness in my limbs. And then, even though I had not expected to succeed, I suddenly found a curious sense of wellbeing come to life in my heart, the same sort of feeling that being in the other world gave me. The music that filled my little shard of peaceful quiet began to fade away into the background, getting quieter by the moment; not quite as if the volume was being turned down, but more that I was leaving it behind, moving further and further away from it. And then, I became aware of the hard floor beneath my body softening, as if it were becoming a layer of soft pillows. I shivered as a breeze caressed my sweaty body, curving beneath the uniform to curl around my body, the sensation luxurious, like cool hands caressing my flesh. And more, the stuffy, almost stagnant quality of the warm air was fading, replaced instead by the clear, pure, sun-filled scent of the mountains. I couldn't help but smile as the new sensations washed over me; as far as self induced illusions went, this one was surprisingly detailed. And then, without warning, I half felt something clasp my hands, and the music suddenly cut off altogether. My smile became a frown in an instant. That couldn't be right. Unless...
Opening my eyes a crack for a quick instant before quickly shutting them again, I shook my head. This wasn't possible...or was it? Bracing myself, I opened my eyes fully and then I knew that yes, it was certainly possible. I was no longer seated in the event center's massive room, in fact, I wasn't in a room at all. I was outside, the clear, shining sunlight streaming down from on high, totally undimmed by clouds. And what was more, I was seated in the same mediation position upon a soft pillow rather than the thin, rough carpet I had sat down on. And, sitting in an identical posture, almost knee to knee with me, was Ronan, the massive white wolf looking at me with an odd smile on his face, his hands gently gripping my own. Looking around, I realized that I knew exactly where I was, though how I had come to be there, I didn't have a clue. I was seated on the sundeck atop my house, in the paradise world where my wonderful companions lived. Not far behind my wolf companion, the unoccupied hammocks that took up much of the space up here swayed in the light, cooling breeze.
"Hello." Ronan said when my eyes returned to his face. "Fancy seeing you here."
"How on earth did I get here this time?" I asked, smiling at his feigned innocence. "I know that I never touched a mirror while I was in the tournament."
"Well, that is a little tough to explain." Ronan said, getting to his feet and offering me a paw. When I took it, he hauled me to my feet, revealing that my ipod and headphones had not made the journey with me, though my clothes had. "Sometimes, when you let your mind wander, as you do when you meditate, you come very near to the border between worlds. In the deepest states of mediation you are actually poised right on the edge. It just took a little extra nudge to push you over." Getting to my feet and wincing at the sudden soreness in my legs, as if I had been sitting cross-legged for hours, I finally spoke again, pondering this new development.
"'A little extra nudge' meaning exactly what?" I asked, letting Ronan support me for a moment. "I always thought that only touching a mirror could bring me here."
"Well usually that is true." He replied, leading the way off the sundeck and down into the house. "See, by a nudge, I mean a little bit of an extra something that draws you into this world. When I saw what you were thinking of this time, I confess that I gave you a little tug." When I raised an eyebrow at him in mock consternation, my wolf half grinned sheepishly. "We know how hard you trained for this. We just wanted to give you a little break."
"I have to be back in tournament for the next match..." I started to say as we rounded a corner into the house proper and stopped short.
"We know." The voice of my beautiful tiger girl said and I stared, for all of my companions were there, apparently waiting for me. Keira smiled, walking forward towards me, her arms open wide. "But what sort of friends would we be if we let you fight any more matches without soothing you in the meantime?" I grinned, allowing her to pull me into a close hug.
"What do you mean soothe?" I asked in reply, my voice muffled from within the fur of her neck, unable to restrain the wide grin that was spreading across my features.
"Well, for starters," Edana, my vixen lover began, walking up beside me as Keira released me and looping one arm around my right. "You are gonna take a nice long soak in the pool."
"I am, am I?" I asked, amused. Rose, the red dragoness, took my other side and began to pull me towards the stairs leading down.
"Uh huh." She confirmed, the other women falling in step behind us. "And while you are soaking, we are going to tend to your injuries."
"And when they are done, we will have one last surprise for you before you return." Ronan called from behind me as I was half carried down the stairs by the procession of furry bodies...
***
"Are you ready?" Ronan asked, settling himself once more onto the pillow across from where I was sitting. Drawing in a last deep breath, I smiled.
"I guess, though it is hard to want to go." I said and Ronan returned my smile. The last hour had been nothing short of wonderful. I had floated out into the hot water of the pool, the heat soothing the aches, returning my body's strength. And, as I had floated, I had been joined by my female companions, who had surrounded me on all sides. Then, they had all started to massage my sore muscles at the same time and it had been the best massage I had ever experienced, far and away one of the best things that I had ever felt. But it had eventually ended, dizziness from the hot water making my sore head spin and I had carefully climbed from the pool with my companions, finding that my uniform had been laundered and dried while I had been floating, and I had reluctantly clothed myself once more. Then, Ronan had led me back up to the top of the house and I had found all my companions there, seated in a ring around the pillow where I had arrived.
On the wolf's instructions, I had settled down on the pillow once more, into the same position I had meditated in. Now that he was seated in front of me, he grinned, reaching out and taking my hands in his. In an instant, I felt the wonderful world began to fade, the tournament grounds coming back into focus, one image overlaid on the other, gradually taking its place. It wasn't until I was about halfway back that I realized I had completely forgotten about the last surprise Ronan had mentioned. But by then, it was too late to ask and I let my eyes close for a moment, the half-transparent form of my wolf half's smile frozen in my mind. When I opened my eyes again, I found myself sitting against the wall, the soothing music of my playlist in my ears. Shaking my head to clear the last bit of the calm, placid tranquility the trance had brought, I looked up and found Shane coming towards the corner where I sat, a confused look on his face.
"Dude, where have you been?" He asked when I had taken off my headphones. "I have been looking for you for the last half hour."
"I have been sitting right here." I replied, stowing the ipod and the headphones back into their case, having to wonder once again if I had just dreamed up my trip into the other world. Everything seemed to be exactly the same as before, except that my uniform wasn't sticky with sweat anymore and I felt rested and refreshed as if I hadn't even fought a single match.
"I could have sworn..." Shane started to say, then shook his head. "Nevermind. They announced the semifinal match-ups."
"Great, who are we facing?" I asked, hoping I wouldn't have to fight Shane yet. We knew each other too well to make winning easy.
"Not each other, not yet anyway." He said, knowing my worry and I grinned over at him, looking up at the tournament clock and realizing that the matches were scheduled to start in about fifteen minutes. "Listen, I have to go, my master wants to talk to me. Good luck in your match."
"And you." I said, slugging his shoulder lightly as my friend ran off. "See you in the finals."
Flashing me a thumbs up, he ran off to where a row of blue clad fighters knelt before an older man in the same uniform. Shaking my head, I headed off to the staging point for the matches, looking up at the standings board. My match would be up first, so I headed right for the match space, notifying the judge as I passed that I was ready. Standing beside the platform, I could hear the crowd beginning to chatter in anticipation of the coming matches, and the competitors that had been eliminated were adding their voices to the murmur, causing the brief spike of nervousness to suddenly spring to life in my mind. Closing my eyes, blocking out the space where the match would take place, I took a moment to reassert the control that the bout of meditation had left in me. Across the ring, my opponent was probably watching me, trying to size me up ahead of time, but I refused to look. I knew fighters who would try to stare down their opponent before a match, try to intimidate them so their resolve would already be weakened, but that tactic never really seemed to work. In fact, they almost always ended up getting beaten because their opponent wanted to prove that they were better than they were. Finally, when the announcer began his opening speech, I opened my eyes, walking up the steps to the well padded square of open space where the semifinal and final matches would take place. And finally, I looked at my foe.
My female opponent looked to be a few years older than me, dressed in the short sleeved red tunic of a Wing Chun school and I tried to remember what my master had said about that style. Wing Chun was a style that had been developed originally for the use of women, playing on their greater agility and dexterity to defeat larger and stronger opponents, utilizing very quick, close-in strikes and some grappling techniques, all of which were legal in this match. This would be a challenging battle, as that style was designed specifically to get around fighting styles like mine. But then, as we stood in the center of the ring and looked out at the crowd, I forgot all about my opponent for the moment, staring instead at the front row of spectators, my heart skipping a beat, confusion momentarily blowing my calm apart as the announcer explained the rules of the match to the crowd.
Seated in the first row, grinning broadly and applauding along with the crowd, were my furry companions. As I looked closer, I noticed something that made my heart suddenly soar in my chest, the confusion intensifying right along with it. This wasn't the first time I had seen anthros walking around in the world to which I had been born, but it most certainly was the first time they had been anthros I recognized. Every time before, I had figured that I was just seeing things, and when I had looked away, they had disappeared, but this, this wasn't going away. And more, the crowd around them didn't seem to notice that they were not human. But, as I looked closer, I saw that all of them were clad in uniforms that were exactly identical to my own, a show of support that made me stop caring whether I was hallucinating or not. Now I knew what the surprise Ronan had mentioned was.
Turning, I faced my opponent with utter confidence, feeling all of a sudden like I could do no wrong, even though this was first time I had ever faced a Wing Chun fighter. With neither a smile nor a frown on my face, I bowed to her, then set back in a fighting stance, a strange calm descending on me. It was just her and me now, and I felt like I couldn't lose. I waited, watching for the judge's signal. Then, with a quick motion meant to bring him out of our way, the judge raised the flags he carried and the match began...
***
Looking out at the sun that burned the horizon behind the mountain peaks scarlet with its failing light, I leaned against the balcony that bordered the sun deck of my home. Down below me, my companions were gathered on the patio beside the grill and the large barrel shaped smoker, their laughter and easy chatting drawing my heart down towards them, but I couldn't seem to go down yet. It had only been a few hours before that I had won the final match of the tournament against Shane, only a few hours since I had accepted the first place trophy and then retreated to my hotel room. Shane, ever the good sport, had invited me to hang out with his team after the match, but I had declined, saying that I wanted to have some time to myself. But, the moment I had gotten up to my room, I had gone into the bathroom and passed into the other world. But, unlike all the other times I had come here, I didn't feel the euphoria that usually filled me here. Instead, I felt almost withdrawn from myself, something that I knew wasn't good to feel, and certainly not in this world.
"What is it that troubles you this time?" Ronan asked, coming up to stand beside me, looking out westward. Sighing, I looked down at the smooth wood of the railing beneath my fingers and traced a knot with my eyes, trying to find a way to say the things that I needed to say without sounding as harsh as they were.
"Ronan, don't take this the wrong way, but I sometimes get the feeling that you are hiding things from me." I said, and I could sense the white wolf looking at me with a contemplative expression. "And I don't mean your little surprise earlier. Well, I guess it is sort of related to that."
"Is there something specific you are referring to?" He inquired and finally met his gaze. In it I saw understanding, and yet, there was something else there too. Worry, maybe?
"Ronan, several times before today, I have thought I have seen anthros in the other world, anthros that I don't recognize." I explained, watching his face carefully. "Every time, they have vanished the second I tried to get a closer look. I always dismissed them as my imagination, but now, you and the others just appear in the other world, as if it is a normal thing."
"And you wondered if you had actually imagined it or not." Ronan said, finishing my thought for me. When I nodded, it was his turn to sigh. "I figured this would come up sooner or later. The answer to your question is both yes and no." When I raised my eyebrows at him he smiled. "Do you remember when I said everything in this world is as you wish it to be? Well, that is the truth in this world. But, what I didn't explain is that this world, and the other world, the one you originally came from, are more linked than you would think. As I demonstrated to you earlier, sometimes, the borders of the world brush right up against one another."
"Uh huh, and that means?" I prompted when he paused and he grinned sort of sheepishly at me.
"Well, since you created this place, you have gradually been pouring more and more of yourself into this world." He said, and I cocked my head to the side, still confused. "Well, let me put it this way. Since you spend so much of your time with your mind on this place, in a way, this world has gotten stronger than the other for you. So when the two worlds get close enough, some of this world sort of... bleeds through into the other. Most of the time it takes the form of random characters you have created, and their existence in the other world lasts only a few moments once you notice them, because your mind moves away from this place. Does that make sense?"
"Sort of, I guess." I answered, trying to make sense of what he was saying. "But, why am I the only one who can see them?"
"I would have thought that was obvious." Ronan replied, "They are from your mind, and this is your world. It makes sense that even if they bleed through, they are only visible to you."
"Hmmm..." I said, looking down over the edge. Keira was looking up at us, and she motioned for me to come down and join her. "I guess that makes a certain amount of sense."
"So, in other words," Ronan began, taking me by the shoulder and guiding me towards the stairs. "Don't worry about it."
"Easy for you to say." I grumbled, letting him guide me down into the gathering. Xin was once again at the grill, finishing off a batch of grilled corn on the cob, the scent coming from the large metal barrel of the smoker beside her setting my stomach to growling, immediately taking my mind off of my troubles. When we reached the deck, Ronan guided me over to a seat beside the white tiger woman, who grinned and put an arm around me when she saw my expression.
"What was that all about?" She asked and I shook my head.
"Ronan was just explaining something I didn't understand." I replied and her smile widened as she leaned in to kiss my cheek.
"So you were worrying again." She commented as Xin turned away from the grill, carrying a platter of food. "I seem to recall you promising that you weren't going to do that anymore here."
"I know." I stated and Xin extended the platter toward me, grinning as she pushed a rack of ribs slathered with homemade barbeque sauce onto my plate. "I am trying to work on that."
"Is he worrying again?" The herm dragon asked as she rolled an ear of corn onto my plate, using her talons like tongs, the heat not bothering her.
"Yes," Keira confirmed. "We can't seem to get him to stop, can we?"
"Alright, I get it." I said, shaking my head, unable to stop a grin from forming on my lips. "I will let it go."
"You better." Xin said as she walked off to serve the rest of my friends. "Or we are going to have to do something about it."
"Well I wouldn't want that." I said, unwrapping the foil before ripping the outer husk off the steaming corn. Though my mouth was watering at the smell of the butter and salt that glistened on the kernels, I managed to refrain from taking a bite until it had at least stopped steaming. As I sat waiting, I allowed myself a smile. They certainly had a point. What was the point of arguing?