Chapter 7

Around the second month, after Xiang ge ge left, a hawk flew down and landed at the front of the cabin. Liang Lia Jiao recognized it as Xiang ge ge's and gently pet it. There was a message tied to its leg.

'Keep this bird. He can help you hunt'.

She smiled at the majestic bird, her heart swelled with gratitude. In all honestly, even though she was managing to live out here alone, she was struggling. She hadn't eaten meat in over a week.

"Can you find us some dinner?" She asked the hawk tilting her head to look at it. The hawk stared back at her, tilting its head back and forth before lifting off into the sky. She watched it with joy, it's enormous wings fanned out splendidly as it circled around.

Sure enough, when it returned, it had a squirrel in its mouth. It took her a while to clean it, the blood still made her uncomfortable, but the desire to live overshadowed it. She remembered the way that Xiang ge ge had shown her before he left and quickly had a few pieces of meat. She tossed the inner parts to the hawk and tied the skin to a rope to hang and dry.

Inside her little cabin, only the middle was tall enough for a grown person to stand, the rest of it was smaller slanted with the slope of the roof. She was still small enough that she could walk around freely, though. She started a fire with flint and roasted the meat with a smile on her face.

Over time she and the hawk became inseparable. She worried that it would leave her at first, but after the first few weeks passed, she felt like they had always been together. She gave him the name Xiang Xiang. Usually, she only called him his name at night when the sky was dark, and she felt the most alone. She would whisper secrets to him and pet him gently under his chin. Sometimes he would perch over the bed while she slept; most of the time, he would sleep in the trees at the edge of her house.

She never neglected her sword practice or her archery. When Xiang ge ge finally came back to visit her, it had already been seven months. Xiang Xiang called out several times, letting her know that someone was coming, and Lia Jiao perched herself in a tree to watch with nervous eyes. When she saw him, her entire face lit up. She jumped down and ran towards him, showing off a missing tooth when she reached him.

Fan Xiang stared at the dirty little girl in surprise. Her hair was wild and messy, and her face was caked in dirt. But she looked happy.

"When's the last time you bathed?" He asked, taking a step back.

Liang Lia Jiao looked up at him with pained eyes. "Xiang ge ge, it's not that I don't want to clean up; it just that last time I was there, a wolf came out. I only have a little water left to drink, and I don't know when it will rain again." She looked at him with pitiful eyes.

"Ok, ok, Xiang ge ge understands. I'll help you get rid of the wolf, ok?"

"Xiang ge ge, I was scared I would never see you again," she admitted shyly.

"Oh? You missed me? When I left last time, you didn't even ask me to stay. I thought you already forgot about me by now."

Her eyes widened in shock, "How can that be? Xiang ge ge after my parents, I think about you the most!" Her little lips were set in a pout, and even though she was filthy, she was also cute.

"Alright, I believe you." He gave her a smirk and looked around. She had kept the place neat and tidy, much cleaner then she was.

She saw him looking around and quickly spoke out, "I did my best, Xiang ge ge. I kept it clean and took real good care of it while you were gone."

He quirked a lip and laughed. He didn't get a lot of time to enjoy himself. Every day he was expected to be a representative of the Seven Tigers Clan. He was supposed to live and breathe for the clan. His happiness was just a side point in his life. Being able to laugh felt nice.

He spent the next two months with her. They practiced sword fighting and shooting with the bow. He helped her get rid of the wolf that lived near the stream and made her wash up every night. She lived alone, but he wanted her to understand that she still needed to take care of herself.

When he left, she cried for a night, but soon got back into the routine of things.

While exploring near the stream looking for a good place to fish a week or so after Xiang ge ge left, she heard soft whimpers coming from a little cave. She bravely went inside and found a den of wolf cubs. There were nine of them, but three were dead. These cubs were starving. Their bodies were lean and showed ribs. She knew right away what had happened. She was responsible for the death of their mother. She cried for them, filled with guilt, and brought the surviving ones home.

She nursed them back to health as best as she could but lost two in the end. The remaining four became an integral part of her life. They slept with her at night and helped her hunt. They warned her of predators and kept her company.

It took Xiang ge ge almost two years before he came back again. At that time, Liang Lia Jiao was now turning twelve. She was blossoming into a young lady, but she was wild like a stealthy cat. She jumped from tree to tree and ran across the branches as though it was the forest floor. When she spotted him this time, she was hesitant.

He was much taller than the last time she saw him. He was nearing sixteen and no longer a young boy. He felt her eyes on him and turned in her direction. The startled surprise in her eyes made him chuckle.

"Don't laugh at me, Xiang ge ge!" She pouted, jumping out of the tree. "I haven't seen you in so long, and now you look like a stranger."

He looked her over happy to see that she was clean. She wore furs for clothing and had a wild appearance, but she was reasonably clean. She was growing into a beautiful young lady, and it made his heart feel tender towards her. He was a lonely person, his life consisted of the duties of the clan successor. He didn't have siblings, and his parents were distant. His closest companion was his manservant Cheng Kang. This little girl didn't' know it, but sometimes she was the only thing that brought a smile to his eyes. Thinking about visiting her, wondering how she was living, they filled him with purpose at night when things got too lonely.