One Tail at a Time

A Whale of a Time

Three months have passed since the naming ceremony and life on Kunlun Mountain has taken on a life of its own.  Mo Yuan, myself, Ye Hua and Chang Shan are the only full time residents whereas the rest of my brothers come and go while the little ones are taking a break and have returned to their homes and wont be back for at least three months.

Being the youngest of Mo Yuans students, they are not expected to be on the mountain full time, their tuition is three months on the mountain and three months off in order to continue the bonding they have with their own families and to give us a break because they really are a full time job.

Yet we are far from relaxing, because there is a new chamber to be created, a Palace in the Celestial Heavens to be decorated and a special caregiver to interview for when we want to take a break from a very active and noisy child.  My parents have returned to the Mortal Realm for their own break and seeing as Mo Yuan wants just the two of us to take a short holiday on our ship which we have not visited for some time.

Ye Hua will come of course, but there is a need for one special woman who will accompany us and he will be her sole responsibility, so she has to be clever, fast, fit and healthy and prepared for the tantrums which are already beginning.  In fact, Ye Hua can be outright diabolical, his temper is becoming quite an issue, so I need someone who can manage his challenging behaviour without worrying for his safety and her sanity, so someone tough but compassionate.

Only the women I have interviewed so far have been just as diabolical as he is.  The last one was thrown out so fast, that had Mo Yuan been present for her interview, he might have actually struck her.  From the far West, she is a woman who was highly recommended to me by my older brother Bai Yi who apparently used her services when they needed a sitter, only this woman turned up with a box which she called her Box of Compromises which I thought might be filled with candies or small toys only to gape in horror when several punishment tools were removed, one of which was spiked at the end and used to flail a backside, though she did offer me a choice of rubber or hemp.

Heavens have mercy, I nearly killed her on the spot, I was so outraged that she would actually present such atrocities to me personally, but that she was actually my nieces sitter when my brother was away.  It's little wonder the girl has little respect for her father when he gives her a minder like that!

I am about to give up and do away with a minder altogether when I am made aware of yet another applicant and one I am about to send away without even looking at them, I am that fed up, but the way Ye Hua suddenly scoots across the floor towards the two hands that have appeared to pick him up, has my grin widening by the second.

"Mi Gu?" I ask with a surprised smile of delight to see him here.

"I heard you were interviewing for a minder Gu Gu, and well........" he trails off with a chuckle when Ye Hua tries to ram his fingers into his mouth.....  "I thought I'd apply." he gargles through the thick fingers that are trying to pull on his tongue.

"You?"

Pulling his mouth free, he lightly nudges his nose against the baby with another chuckle before pulling him in for a cuddle.

"The Empress and Emperor have left for the Mortal Realm Gu Gu and Feng Jiu is back in the Nine Heavens.  So there really isn't much else for me to do." he says as Ye Hua now begins to pull on his leaves which he thinks are food but are actually attached to his body.

Almost bursting into tears at the sheer joy at finally having a sitter I know without a doubt that I can trust, especially after such an horrific morning, I am on my feet and hugging the both of them.

"Then stay here with us, there is plenty of room and Mo Yuan won't mind, in fact, he will be just as happy as I am." I say with a quick squeeze to his shoulders before dragging him to the back of the temple where Mo Yuan is busy with the birds he keeps back there.