Title: The Hero and the Five Senses
Author: i-donate-organs
Rating: G
Characters: Mr. Ping, a handful of kids, and some not completely fictional characters. No pairings.
Genre: Fantasy
Warnings: Don't think there are any
Summary: Mr. Ping tells a story, but since he can't tell the story about the three princes and a rabbit again and no child wants to hear about the Dragon Warrior's harrowing adventures in the kitchen, he's forced to make one up on the spot.
Notes: I kinda wrote this to just be one long dialogue from Mr. Ping so um. Just. Try to imagine the entire thing in his voice? why did i think this was a good idea
So, what story does everyone want to hear tonight? Hm?
Oh, now, you know I can't tell you the story about the three princes again! Poor little Mei had nightmares about that one, remember? And then her parents almost refused to come back to my restaurant! How about a story where no one gets skinned alive, uh? That sound nice? Hm?
...Oh! In that case, I do have a story about the Dragon Warrior and the first time I had him chop vegetables-
I-
Wel-
What's with the faces?
What do you mean, not interesting? I'll have you know I keep my cleaver ve-ry sharp! The sharpest! It can be harrowing if you don't know what you're doing - you could lose a finger like tha-
Ah, oh, well, maybe a different story would be best, eheh. The Dragon Warrior still has all of his fingers, boys and girls! ...but you should still be careful with sharp things. Ahahaha- hhmmm... Ah, where was I?
Oh, a story! How about a new story about a different hero? Maybe one that was also a noodle chef? Ah? ...No? Well, alright then. I guess he can just be a regular, boring one then...
Hmmm...
First, we'll start with the house. A long time ago, there was a pretty house, and a happy family lived in this house. There was a father, who was an old teacher, and his six children: the dancer, the clown, the artist, the medic, the daughter, and the son.
They maybe didn't look like each other and maybe didn't act much alike either, but they were happy and they loved each other very much.
But then, something bad happened.
...
Well, that's just the thing! No one would explain what that bad thing was.
...
Oh, they all knew what it was, they all knew what had happened, but it couldn't be talked about. It was just there, in every room, and it wasn't long before it was all they could think about. They even could barely look at each other without blurting it out. The family began to see less and less of each other.
Finally, the father found a little box, went inside, and shut the door behind him. He wouldn't come back out, no matter what season or time, no matter how hungry or thirsty he was. No matter what his five children said.
...
Huhu, you're a sharp one, aren't you? There were six... in the beginning. But, that's not the important thing right now; what's important is that all the children eventually followed their father's example and found their own boxes, beginning with the daughter, who almost seemed to be able to not find a box fast enough!
But she spent days afterward peeking out of it, waiting to see if it was just a passing phase, and if her father and siblings would do the same.
Hm... but it wasn't just a phase, and she gave up for a lonely life in a little box.
Before long, the entire family had all shut themselves tight in their own little boxes and the house became very quiet and cold and stale with an old secret that couldn't be laid to rest.
Huu... Ah, this is getting a little heavy, isn't it? Why don't we make this where our little hero comes in? Because he had heard about this silent, miserable house and the strange family who had locked themselves away in boxes inside of it, and he wanted to help.
There wasn't anything extraordinarily special about him, but that didn't matter because he was already everything he needed to be. He was kind and gentle... hm. Very determined and stubborn, but never with cruel intentions! I don't think he could ever truly hurt someone... But most importantly, he understood.
The hero understood he couldn't simply drag the old teacher and his children out of their boxes by force: they wanted to stay inside as much as they needed to go outside. It would be a complete disaster! And not a very nice thing to do anyways, huhu. So! He decided the best way to proceed was to make the world outside as beautiful as he could and hope they would come out by their own choice. It was just a matter of appealing to their five senses. How hard could it be competing with a box?
...That was a good idea, wasn't it? Kind of proud of myself, really. Hmm... he probably doesn't know it, but the hero is smart. He just needs a little time to... to- eh, but where was I? Got a little lost there...
Senses. If- if he could create a feast for all five of their senses, surely they'd leave their boxes and rejoin the family. So, which sense do you think he should start with?
Smell is a good one! ...Mm, but maybe a little too good. Why don't we leave it for a little further down the road, okay? What other senses can you think of?
Sight, uh?
Oh! N-no, no, don't feel stupid, Shu! The family couldn't see outside their boxes, it's true, but it was still important! Imagine if they stepped outside just to see a dark, trashy mess! They'd turn right back around and lock themselves in again no matter what happiness the rest of their senses brought them. And for good probably, too.
So, the little hero opened all the windows in the house and let the sun in. He swept the floors and repainted the walls. He righted the felled vases around the house and laid their old plants and flowers back in the yard to rest while planting new ones. What else... Ehhh, he made the old house look very nice! It was hard to believe it was even the same place!
It was the sunlight and the brightness of new paint that lured two family members outside, the dancer and the medic. They were both amazed at the house's transformation, and they became very quick friends with the little hero. For them, all it had taken was a little bit of sunshine and warmth.
But the rest of the family had sealed all the cracks in their boxes: they couldn't see any of the new, bright house around them. It would take another sense to bring them outside. So, what should the little hero try next?
...Touch. Very good! That is a sense; that's...
That's ... that's a tough one. Let me think.
...
...
...
...I'm still thinking! So... to... appeal to the sense of touch, the little hero replaced all the old chairs in the house and added new, soft cushions to the ones that couldn't be replaced. He- hm? Well, it's true, sometimes some things can't be replaced. Maybe they have too much meaning or memories to them!
...
Mm-hm, even a chair.
So, then... Hmmm, he put nice rugs down and draped fancy silks over the furniture and the windows. He got the dancer and the medic to help him reach places maybe he didn't know about, the - corners and crannies they knew their siblings and father would notice.
Finally, they scattered a few flower petals around the boxes themselves so that if more family members decided to leave them, their first sensation wouldn't be just the cold, hard floor. What a letdown-!
The combination of the earlier flash of light and new colors with this softer environment finally enticed two more family members enough to leave their boxes: the clown and the artist. They, just like their siblings, marvelled at the new look of the house!
Hm... can you imagine such a happy reunion? I'm sure they were so happy to see each other again! They would have spent so much time just catching up, just enjoying each others' company again... Hu...
Now the dancer told the little hero how the old teacher was the first one who had disappeared into his own personal box, and how it had all started there. If their own father had vanished, what reason did they have to not do the same? So- hm?
...Well, that is a very nice reason, Ming, but let's just say they didn't think of that. It's hard to remember the nice things sometimes when you're feeling very sad...
So, next, the little hero- ah? Well, there's no need to shout! You're sitting not even a yard away from me, Mei. But, yes, the little hero can try the sense of hearing next.
Hmmm... really, it wasn't so much that he had to create situations for happy sounds or noise, they existed just by virtue of the house no longer being empty! The family members talked and laughed among themselves again; they traded stories with the little hero and enjoyed music and dancing again.
The little hero even found some wind chimes to hang outside the house.
But no matter how much the family laughed or sang, neither the father or the daughter stirred. They had padded the inside of their boxes so tightly and thickly that the music and the laughter couldn't reach them. They couldn't hear a thing. It would take a different kind of beauty to reach them and convince them to leave.
What sense do you think he should try next?
...
It is a good time to use smell! That's a powerful one, you know. Did you know, if sometimes you can't remember a thing, a familiar smell can jar it right out of you? Just something to keep in mind the next time you can't find your favorite toy...
So, the hero went to the house's once-grande kitchen, dusty and forlorn and unused, mmph, what a shame... and immediately set to work making... noodles.
N-no, wait! Don't look at me like that - there is actually a point to it this time! You'll see!
Um...
Noodles. So, the hero stocked the kitchen and pantry with food and got to work, airing out the dust and stuffiness and filling the house with the smell of food again. Soup and dumplings and tea... hm, and peaches. Peaches have a nice smell, don't you think?
...What, you don't like peaches? What's wrong with peaches?
...
...Well, maybe you should try listening to your mama and only eat the ripe ones. That might help, hm-hm. Now... where was... ah, so the hero and the family cooked all day and ended up with a very nice dinner, with enough for all five of them and then some!
And they had that very nice dinner, heh, but they were interrupted when the door opened. Who in the world could it be? They were all there in the kitchen!
The father had abandoned his box without any of them realizing it. Because, it turned out he hadn't been blind and deaf and-and... eh... let me start that again- he'd watched everything that had happened, right from the beginning! From the first step the little hero had taken into the old, silent house, the father had watched and doubted. He didn't think this little hero could help in any way, no matter how determined he was!
But... he saw his children leaving their boxes, one by one, and- well, wouldn't you know it- he was impressed! What he had thought of as nothing but a misguided bother turned out to be quite a hero after all, huhu...
So, he followed, and he left his box.
He hadn't joined them right away, having left the box in the middle of the night before. He wouldn't say where he'd been, but it didn't matter anyway. What really mattered was he was there, standing with all of them again, and he wanted to be there.
With that, there was only one family member still missing.
...
That's right, the daughter! She had followed the father's example before any of her siblings, and she was the only one who hadn't stirred at all through all the little hero's renovations of the house. New colors could fade and chip, and new, soft fabrics could be torn and ripped with such ease, and laughter and songs could be silenced with something as simple as the wrong look. Hm... the poor little daughter...
Ah, but-! Eh, the smell of food had lured her to the very edge of her box, sitting right in front of the door, but she was afraid to go any further! She'd already spent as long as she could hoping, looking for a sign that the rest of her family might grow tired of their boxes... but they never did, and her hope had run out. She was almost certain it was all in her mind, or worse, a cruel trick.
So, it must have been quite a shock, then, when she heard a soft knock on the door to her box.
The father had come to share a bowl of soup.
...
Yes, you can say the last sense, Heng.
That's right, taste! Eh- what?
...
What, you think that's a letdown? You don't think taste is the strongest sense?
...
Well, maybe it isn't quite the strongest... But, how about this? I always made Po a special soup when he was just a baby and he didn't feel good. Now, there wasn't actually anything special about it, but that didn't matter, because he liked the taste of it and it made him feel better, hm-hm~
And a happy, quiet baby makes a happy, quiet home, whew.
...
Right? It is just like that! And Po still sometimes asks for that soup, even though he's not a baby anymore and when he's not sick, because it still makes him feel good. Now imagine if you couldn't taste those plum dumplings your mother makes for you on your birthday, never again.
...
You see? I think taste is just as important as the others! We put a lot of comfort into foods, don't you think? Maybe more than anything else sometimes. And they always taste better when they're shared with someone you love...
So, with that in mind, don't you think the daughter might be swayed to leave her box after sharing a bowl of nice noodle soup with the father?
...
I think so, too.
So... with that, the father and the daughter left the box behind, hand in hand, and joined the rest of the family again. And they all lived happily ever after, eheh.
Eh, what?
I forgot the son? Hm. Oh, I think you're right. Well, maybe he'd gone away for a long time o-or something..
...
W-well I never said I- no, I-!
...oh, do you hear that? Sounds like Master Shifu is trying to send a message- no, I definitely heard something-! It's time for bed! Hmmm, I'll be back again with a new story next time, children. Maybe by then I'll have figured out what did happen to the son...
Goodnight! Sleep tight! And don't let the bedb- aah, eh, never mind, just good night~
A/N: i am so sorry to the people who saw this before i fixed it wow
Anyway, I'm uh. Pretty sure Mr. Ping wouldn't have actually known everything to tell this story but. Well here it is. It wouldn't leave me alone. /rolls away
Also I just realized this was probably early, unintended practice for getting Mr. Ping's voice down before attempting an RP/ask blog :o Go me!
it took me an embarrassingly long time to write this you have no idea. this is the one i started mid-december of last year.