Discovering Bai Hu

As Theos was wondering what his next step should be, a voice called out to him "Hey! You there! Stop messing with my fountain!" A Jyagamon said hobbling towards Theos. "That fountain is not made for drinking you hear me pipsqueak?" The clearly smaller digimon said. "Hmm?" Jyagamon said circling Theos, "I've never seen your kind before. What in the heck are you supposed to be?" He said sniffing at Theo's hooves.

"Hey! You there! Stop messing with my fountain!" Theos turned towards the sound watching a small digimon hobble towards him. "That fountain is not made for drinking you hear me pipsqueak?" Theos was pretty sure he was taller, so it didn't really fit. He cocked his head. "Hmm?" Theos watched him circle him and he felt as though he was being scrutinized. "I've never seen your kind before. What in the heck are you supposed to be?" He sniffed at Theos's hooves making him step back slightly the air tickling between his toes.

"I'm a Theowmon... The name is Theos." he says putting on a polite smile. "I'm sorry I didn't realize this fountain belong to anyone. I just came down from Mountain Savage. It is my first time in this city." He wondered if this digimon was friendly. He didn't sound like it but sometimes they acted gruff but were teddy bears. He remembered a Unimon who was similar but he couldn't be nicer if you were polite to him.

Jyagamon stopped sniffing Theos' hooves and looked up at him, "I'll be! You came down from the mountain and crossed the desert all alone? Kids are getting braver and braver, no wonder you dived into the fountain. I mistook you for a hooligan, my name is Jared and I'm 180 years young." Jared said proudly. "You must be hungrier then a starved Greymon! Come, let me cook you up something." Jared said. "I won't take no for an answer young fella, come on and follow me I insist!" Jared hobbled away towards his home a few feet from the fountain. It was dome shaped and seemed oddly big for someone so small, in any case it was big enough to comfortably fit Theos. Jared opened the door and made his way inside, the house was made entirely of clay. The house was one giant room, the layout of the furniture helped visitors determine what was what. The center of the home had a clay round table, much to big for a single Jyagamon to use up but the perfect size for someone like Theos. On the far end from where the table was; where Jared was hobbling towards, was the kitchen. It was primitive in nature, it had a fireplace and a pot for cooking and a single faucet for water. On the far left side of the table was a very soft plump of dirt, it was Jared's bed but anyone not familiar with the sleeping habits of Jyagamon would wonder.

On the far right side was a clay toilet and next to it a large dug out hole with a faucet. It seemed this was the bathroom but it had no privacy whatsoever. The walls inside were adorned with pictures of Jared and other Jyagamon, some very small. Some pictures were very faded and others looked clean but all of them were framed. There didn't seem to be much of anything else in this house. "Make yourself at home Theos. Now, how does a mountain boy like you come all the way out here to this town?" Jared ask as he started the faucet in the kitchen and began to fill the pot.

"I'll be! You came down from the mountain and crossed the desert all alone? Kids are getting braver and braver, no wonder you dived into the fountain. I mistook you for a hooligan, my name is Jared and I'm 180 years young." Theos let out smile. "You must be hungrier then a starved Greymon! Come, let me cook you up something." Theos nodded a little. "I won't take no for an answer young fella, come on and follow me I insist!" Theos followed him to his dome shaped home. It looked like the picture of comfort to him. In the mountains the rock was so hard on couldn't get running water inside. They would have to drink melted snow or eat the snow itself. You also went where ever you wanted to go so long as it wasn't on one of the paths. He felt like this home as very civilized. Though he couldn't say for sure since this was his first time in a city.

He looked to the pictures or other Jyagamon like Jared. He wondered if they were his family. "Make yourself at home Theos. Now, how does a mountain boy like you come all the way out here to this town?" Theos heard the water and went to sit at the table.

"Well, I've never left my mountain home. I'd heard so many stories of other places though and it made me feel small and....well naive. I figured the only way to get rid of the feeling was to educate myself." Theos explained. "I may never know or see it all but I'd like to experience what I can."

Jared laughed to himself at Theos' answer. "That is a good mindset to have Theos was it? I remember when I was your age maybe even younger, I to lived on that mountain. Though those were different times, I came down with my parents when my sister got sick so we could find a doctor. I been living here in this little home ever since." Jared opened up a small compartment hidden in the kitchen, chilled air could be seen escaping. He grabbed some vegetables and boned meat and placed it on a small clay counter next to the fireplace. He reached into another hidden compartment and pulled out a small dulled knife and began to cut the vegetables. "Say Theos, where are your parents? Did you leave home without them?" He asked his small green plant like tail wagging a mile a minute. "You came without supplies so are you a runaway?" He asked.

"That is a good mindset to have Theos was it? I remember when I was your age maybe even younger, I to lived on that mountain. Though those were different times, I came down with my parents when my sister got sick so we could find a doctor. I been living here in this little home ever since." Theos watched curiously as he began to prep the meal. "Say Theos, where are your parents? Did you leave home without them?" Theos looked thoughtfully. "You came without supplies so are you a runaway?"

"Honestly I raised myself. I hatched with no one around. It's a strange thought now that I look back. I've never seen my parents or any others like me." Theos stopped and thought about it. "There was a nice Unimon who once told me he'd seen them though. He said they looked like moss covered horses with dragon heads." Theos imagined it and it looked funny in his minds eye. He smiled. "I never minded though. I can't miss what I never knew and I am not going to dwell on what could have been. Instead I'm going to learn and maybe become famous. Once my name has been heard about maybe they will find me." Theos looked at Jared continuing to smile. "After all searching the world for digimon who may not want to be found would be a lot harder.

Jared listened to Theos' story and frowned, "I see it might be that your kind of digimon is solitary. That might be how your folks were raised and why they left you on that mountain." Jared placed the vegetables into the pot and then began tending to the meat. "I've seen a few Digimon who lived that way, them poor children growing up without knowing a parents love. It's hard for us Jyagamon to fathom being a herd and all." Jared had carved up the meat and dropped it into the pot and began to stir. "How do you like your meat son?" Jared asked.

"I see it might be that your kind of digimon is solitary. That might be how your folks were raised and why they left you on that mountain." Theosthought about it. That could explain a lot but he truly didn't know. "I've seen a few Digimon who lived that way, them poor children growing up without knowing a parents love. It's hard for us Jyagamon to fathom being a herd and all." As he thought the pictures were of his family then. He looked back to the photos. "How do you like your meat son?" Jared asked.

"Medium." Theos responded. He rarely ate meat if at all. His body had adapted to the mountains so since he wasn't that strong he would eat rocks. Somehow he could digest them and get the nutrients he needed. Though he also had to eat greenery for the rest.

"Where is the rest of your herd?" Theos says questioningly. With it only being the two of them he felt like this house was a lot emptier than it was meant to be.

Jared's tail stopped and there was a slight pause as he slowly stirred his pot. "My herd is gone. I have outlived them all. I am the last of my family and have been for the last 75 years. We Jyagamon get sick rather easy, there was a time this place got non stop rain for several months. The temperature cooled unnaturally, our bodies were incapable of fighting off the flu that the cold brought. The children died first, then my daughters. My sweetest wife Isabelle, she lasted only three months. My sons survived the rainstorms but they could not bring themselves to live on in this world without their wives and children. They became depressed and wouldn't eat or talk much, as their father I tried my hardest to be their foundation but I knew exactly what they were feeling. My efforts wasn't enough, I came back from the market one afternoon and they had passed to from heart break. The house has been quiet ever since." Jared had taken up a ladle and poured the stew into a clay bowl and placed it on his back. He hobbled over to Theos and propped the bowl onto the table. "I went through a rough time after that, but I found love once more. A passing Jyagamon heard came through here and I met a lass named Anastasia several years later, she was very beautiful. Not quite as beautiful as Isabelle but you can never replace your first love." Jared hobbled back into the kitchen.

"Blow on that before ya eat it. It is quite hot." He said then gathering some rocks that to Theos and Jared would be very nutritious to their kind. He hobbled back over to Theos placing them on the table, "We fell in love and married, she left her herd to start one with me. Unfortunately, we came to find out that I had become sterile. I could not give her the family she wanted, so as a man wanting her to be happy released her to be with another. I made her a promise that I'd live to my dying day for her and my fallen herd. I don't know where she wound up but I pray to Yggdrasil every night for her happiness." Jared smiled at Theos and then hobbled over towards the bathroom while he would be eating. "There is more where that came from Theos, you may have as much as you like. I insist you stay with me for the night, regain your strength." He said.

"My herd is gone. I have outlived them all. I am the last of my family and have been for the last 75 years. We Jyagamon get sick rather easy, there was a time this place got non stop rain for several months. The temperature cooled unnaturally, our bodies were incapable of fighting off the flu that the cold brought. The children died first, then my daughters. My sweetest wife Isabelle, she lasted only three months. My sons survived the rainstorms but they could not bring themselves to live on in this world without their wives and children. They became depressed and wouldn't eat or talk much, as their father I tried my hardest to be their foundation but I knew exactly what they were feeling. My efforts wasn't enough, I came back from the market one afternoon and they had passed to from heart break. The house has been quiet ever since." Theos felt sorry he had asked. He'd had a hard time being alone but at least he had never known the pain of heart break. He kept the tears at bay as he say jared approach. "I went through a rough time after that, but I found love once more. A passing Jyagamon heard came through here and I met a lass named Anastasia several years later, she was very beautiful. Not quite as beautiful as Isabelle but you can never replace your first love." Theos smiled sadly. Maybe one day he could say the same. Though it made him wonder if it was best to have loved and lost or rather to never love at all.

"Blow on that before ya eat it. It is quite hot." Theos complied blowing it softly so that it didn't splash over. He saw the rocks and smiled. It seemed they weren't that different. "We fell in love and married, she left her herd to start one with me. Unfortunately, we came to find out that I had become sterile. I could not give her the family she wanted, so as a man wanting her to be happy released her to be with another. I made her a promise that I'd live to my dying day for her and my fallen herd. I don't know where she wound up but I pray to Yggdrasil every night for her happiness." Theos still felt bad but he seemed to take everything in stride. So long as Jared seemed okay he guessed that everything would be fine. "There is more where that came from Theos, you may have as much as you like. I insist you stay with me for the night, regain your strength."

"I feel i should repay your kindness somehow. You have been nothing but kind to me." Theos said. He slowly began to eat his stomach suddenly feeling like a bottomless pit. He wolfed down his bowl and a few rocks. It was strange but he felt as though he'd been here forever even though it was less than a few hours. His thoughts now filled with family swirled in his head.

He got up taking the bowl in mouth and got another. He refilled it using the ladle. His mouth seeming small opened quite wide as he fit the now refilled bowl entirely in his mouth. He sat it down and began blowing on it again. "I'm not very good at much but i'll do whatever I can to repay your kindness."

Jared had made his way to the dug out portion with the faucet and turned it on, water began to fill it and steam could be seen rising from the water. "Bah, no payment needed Theos. You just need to live a full life, that's more then enough payment. Now, once you're done eating I'll have this warm bath ready to go. I used to wash the young ones as a group so I had it dug especially large. You should fit in just fine, the water is good for us rock hard body types. Seeps into the skin and really cleans ya good. If you like I can help ya scrub, I've had almost 200 years of practice!" Jared began to chuckle at his own comment. "Though I have ta say, you are truly the first of your kind I have ever seen. I'm sure you get a lot a looks, you got any special ladies in your life?" Jared asked as he watched the hole fill with the mineral water.

"Bah, no payment needed Theos. You just need to live a full life, that's more then enough payment. Now, once you're done eating I'll have this warm bath ready to go. I used to wash the young ones as a group so I had it dug especially large. You should fit in just fine, the water is good for us rock hard body types. Seeps into the skin and really cleans ya good. If you like I can help ya scrub, I've had almost 200 years of practice!" Theos smiled and admittedly he couldn't reach his own back. "Though I have ta say, you are truly the first of your kind I have ever seen. I'm sure you get a lot a looks, you got any special ladies in your life?" Theos scratched the side of his face with his hoof.


"I could probably use the help.....and no i don't. There was a lovely Hawkmon but it was kinda frowned on. Since I can't fly." He shrugs and finishes his meal. "The flock was friendly enough but they said being grounded could kill them. I guess it was for the best either way."

He approaches the tub he looked uncertainly at it. He'd never bathed before. He'd roll in snow occasionally to clean himself but he definitely didn't know how to swim. It didn't look too deep though an he stepped in lightly feeling it come up to his chest as he walks in. He gave a pleasured growl as the heat seeped in relaxing his muscles. He closed his eyes resting his head on the water. It made him look like a crocodile just resting on the surface of the water.

His initial hesitation of entering the water gone. He relaxed. The water turned a slight brown color as sand and dirt came off of him.

Jared had a soft smile as Theos got into the water and it turned a familiar color as a surge of memories came rushing back to him. He was overjoyed for the first time in a very long time, Jared reached on top of a small shelf sticking out of the wall and pulled out a rag and rinsed it. From the same shelf there was a small clay cup of some kind of salve, he took it with his foot and mixed it into the rag and applied it to the top of Theos' head. The suds rose as Jared thoroughly scrubbed Theos head, Jared hummed as he scrubbed. "A Hawkmon gal eh? You're probably much to young to worry about all that, heck you probably don't even know what love is! Well, what true love is that is. I know I didn't know until I did! It's just something that happens and no amount of explaining can explain it. You're a good looking kid, I have no doubt you'll be able to find the one." Jared pulled on Theos to indicate to rise slightly out of the water so he can get at his back. "I used to say this all the time to my kids and my grand kids. I said, children don't you go looking for love, you let love find you and when it does it will last forever!" Jared subconsciously lifted up Theos' front arms one at a time scrubbing under neath.

It seemed he had got caught up in the moment, he may have even regressed to the point where he was seeing Theos as one of his own. He handed Theos the rag "Here ya go, go ahead and wash your belly and your specialties and I'll get the rinse going to was out the suds." Jared said as he moved over to the kitchen grabbing a bucket and began to fill it with warm water. "You know Theos, I have to apologize to you. That fountain doesn't belong to me, it's the towns but I wanted an excuse to talk to you. I hope you aren't angry." Jared said looking over to Theos.