There are many plans one would hope would come along nice and simply without having to make delays. Wedding plans are a prime example of that. Muxing was hoping that she'd be able to have her wedding with Li-Wei and Fang before the cherry trees lost their blossoms. However, weddings weren't as quick and easy to arrange as she thought. She wouldn't have thought she'd be so impatient to be married, but she hadn't truly envisioned a life with someone like Li-Wei before.
Part of the reason they haven't had the wedding was that she and Sylvia had agreed to be at each other's weddings. It wasn't as simple as having a double wedding or two weddings on the same day. With Sylvia having a Christian wedding and Muxing have a Buddhist wedding, the ceremonies were bound to contrast with each other. And Sylvia wasn't having it easy on her end as she discussed with Muxing via facechat.
"I would have been fine with a small wedding, but Andrew's folks want something extravagant," said Sylvia, "It's hard enough to talk them down about how fancy my wedding dress will be. I don't need a long train."
"Well, at least you can't trip over it," said Muxing with a light show of humor.
"I know every girl dreams about a big fairy tale wedding, but they never realize how much work it would be," said Sylvia.
"I never dreamed of having a wedding at all, but I guess I'm glad to be proven wrong," said Muxing, "But I think this shows how much Andrew's aunt and uncle approve of you marrying him."
"Yeah, a young lawyer who's still trying to get established in a firm marrying a handsome millionaire does sound like a fairy tale," said Sylvia, "I just didn't want to see Andrew sent to jail for murdering his father. I didn't think it would grow beyond that."
"And the fact that you're a rattlesnake doesn't bother them," said Muxing.
"Yeah, I'm glad this country is more open to Animalians. And I'll admit, I've been dying to know what Andrew will look like," said Sylvia, her cheeks probably turning pink if she were still human.
"Are you converting him before or after the ceremony?" asked Muxing.
"After, they were insistent on him wearing his dad's old tux," said Sylvia, "But he'll probably be changed by the time we go to your wedding."
"Which hopefully will be in only two weeks," said Muxing.
"I hope so. If they want to throw in one more detail like peafowl at the ceremony, I think I might scream," said Sylvia.
"Show them your fangs and rattle your tail, that'll let them know you're at your limit," said Muxing.
"It's very tempting, but I'm trying not to scare them off," said Sylvia.
==========
There was also another important piece of business that Muxing had been working on. Muxing hadn't thought that she'd be leaving the Five Elements like Tuxing did. Unlike Lenard, Li-Wei and Fang have no reason they couldn't move in with her. However, Muxing was aware that her quarters would be crowded enough between the 3-4 of them. But she and Fang were going to be having Li-Wei's children eventually and the Five Elements building wasn't built to house a potentially large family unless someone moved out. And Muxing wasn't going to force her sisters to move.
As such, before Muxing could consider departing, she would need to have a replacement ready. Mizu didn't have as close a relationship with Muxing as Liao did with Tuxing, but Muxing did take her under her wing as Mizu didn't have anywhere to go. Their choice of snakes were quite different as while Muxing became a venomous Chinese Tree Viper, Mizu had become a common watersnake from North America. Also, while Muxing had double-dosed with her conversion, Mizu only had one dose and chose to grow up naturally.
Mizu had blossomed into a fine young woman. Her dark brown and brown bands stood out in contrast to Mizu's emerald scales, but their bodies were quite alike otherwise. Under Muxing's tutelage, Mizu had built up a fair amount of muscle, though not so much as to make her bulky. As she went through her teen years, she developed the large breasts and wide hips that were so common for Animalian women. She also wore her black hair long like her mentor.
Over the last few months, Muxing has been training Mizu quite intensely. Even after the Year of the Snake competition was over, Muxing had kept her at it. And Mizu was definitely showing the results, her form was almost flawless. Kung fu was still difficult when it's no longer possible to kick, but Mizu was able to lash out her tail considerable effectiveness.
During their latest sparring session, Muxing eventually said, "Enough, Mizu. We have important things to discuss."
Mizu stopped, though she was still huffing from effort. It was times like this she wished she still had her sweat glands and glad that she didn't. "Is there...a problem?" asked Mizu.
"Not with you," said Muxing, "You are almost as much of a master as I am, so I think you're almost ready."
"Ready for what?" asked Mizu.
"After my wedding, I suspect that life would become more...domesticated for me," said Muxing, "My eventual children are going to take up a lot of my attention. Therefore, I must consider stepping down from my position in the Five Elements and it looks like you could possibly take my place."
Mizu bowed and said, "Sensei, I would be honored to be your successor, though I'm not sure what my duties would entail."
"Not too much, admittedly," said Muxing, "The Five Elements feature more in manga and manhwa than actually fighting anyone. I'm sure you and Liao will be able to share notes. Though I'm not stepping down just yet. I may not even do it at my wedding as Tuxing did. I could continue to mentor you until I am swollen with offspring. But when my children are born, I shall retire if I haven't already."
Mizu nodded and said, "I hope I will be able to fill your place."
"Oh, I think you should do well," said Muxing, "After all, you're a flowering lotus floating in a rich pond. I'm just a hard tree that finds it hard to bend."
"But you've come to flower in your own way," said Mizu kindly.
"I suppose I have," said Muxing.