Sandy

This is completely the writing of my friend.

"Let's see here..." Sandy murmured, scanning the map in his paws. "Monkey king's palace... Monkey king's palace..." After a few moments, a small mark on the map caught his attention. "Monkey prince's palace. That's gotta be it."

 

...

 

When he arrived at the palace, Sandy found it strangely empty. That's odd... He thought, glancing around, the emptiness putting him on edge. He snuck into the palace, passing numerous jade statues on his way to the throne room. "Hey, monkey!" He called. He waited for several moments; no answer. "Where are you!?"

Again, he was met with only silence.

Damn it, why didn't I bring jade with me!? "Monkey! Can you hear me!?" He shouted, his voice echoing off the walls. I can already feel this foul realm's taint seeping into my soul...

"Hey, kid." A voice purred in his ear. "Whatcha doin' in my palace?"

Sandy didn't respond, panting quietly and attempting to get over the shock.

Hóu smirked, draping a jade pendant around the Varixian boy's neck. "Here. This should keep you safe until you can leave."

"Thanks..." Sandy breathed. "I came here because I need your help."

The demigod snorted derisively. "Don't butter me up, kid, it ain't gonna work. What did you come here to borrow and why?"

Sandy sighed. "I need your staff. There's a tournament coming up, and ranged weapons aren't allowed, so I can't use Poison Song."

"You better not be talkin' about my Monkey Staff." Hóu replied. "I sleep with this thing under my mattress, I'm sure as hell not gonna lend it to you."

Sandy shook his head. "It doesn't matter which one you lend me. Hell, you can just give me a plain old staff if you want to."

"And then you're gonna guilt me." Hóu stated, striding past Sandy and heading for his throne, tail twitching in agitation all the while. "Tell me that I'm being mean, that you 'could've just bought one if you wanted a normal staff'."

Sandy grinned, taking a seat in front of Hóu's jade throne. "Since you already know, how about it?"

"Two conditions." Hóu responded. "One, I'm teaching you how to use it first. That pendant should give us about a month before the taint starts taking hold."

Sandy's eyes widened, the Varixian boy staring up at the demigod. Staff lessons from a demigod...?

"Two," Hóu continued, "you're bringing me to that tournament with you. Here." The monkey boy said, tossing a long bamboo staff at Sandy. "Catch! We're starting right away."

Sandy snatched the staff out of the air, rolling to his feet and following Hóu outside.

 

...

 

"Listen up, 'cause I'm only gonna say this once." Hóu said, tapping his staff against the ground. "You're gonna learn to fight like a monkey, and monkeys aren't afraid to fight mean, fight unfair, fight dirty."

Sandy nodded. "I understand."

"Good. Now, first and foremost, I'm gonna show you how to fight from the ground. Once I'm down, try to hit me." Hóu instructed,  dropping onto his back. "The worst place to be in a fight is the ground. Unlike most, monkeys are just fine with fighting supine."

Sandy raised his staff, swinging it downward and aiming for Hóu's head.

The demigod leaned sideways, the Varixian boy's staff striking the ground an inch from his head. He swung his own staff over it, then rolled backwards, locking the staff in place and allowing him to hook his legs around Sandy's neck. "At this point, I'd hit you with my tail, flip you, or use my Chaos Touch on you." He said, releasing his grip. "Wanna give it a shot?"

Sandy shook his head. "Nah, I'd rather just spar with you and analyze your movements."

Hóu groaned, rubbing his temples. "It's gonna be a long month..."