The Devil-Tiger reached over and flipped shut her cell phone, leaving it on the dashboard. Shard’s words stung, not only because of the veiled reprimand. In her rush towards enlightenment, towards leaving her human life behind her, she had neglected her duties to her uji. Zhizhu was a solitary creature in her Second Breath, reluctant to open herself. But Shard was correct; had the uji needed her, she would have been beyond their reach.
She admitted, silently, that she needed to find a balance between her solitary leanings and the need to communicate with her uji. Things had gone well at Yi’s house. She allowed herself a brief, satisfied smile. But they may not have. Yi might have returned with others. Unknown multitudes of things might have gone wrong, and she would have been alone to face them. Doing so might be her preference, but she had agreed to be re-bound to the Thousand Li Scouts. She could not ignore them, nor exclude them so completely from her dealings. Their fates were bound.
After the report, she decided, when we return to Anjiro, I will speak to them. Reluctantly, she admitted that she must apologize as well. She glanced at the Hollow Reed in the passenger seat beside her. If Keeper could learn to use a cell phone, she mused, then I may yet learn to cooperate with my uji.
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