Author's Note: That first chapter was too short for my liking, so I decided to get another one out right away. Don't get used to that.

Chapter 2: Teamwork

"We're out of food."

It had been a few days since the Wu Sisters made their vow, and it was clear how much good it had done for all of them. Su and Wing were less bitter, and Wan was back to her bubbly, playful self. Finally, it seemed like they were a real family again. But it was only a matter of time until the inevitable happened.

Wing glared at the empty pantry, as if doing so would make more food magically appear. Despite her tough bravado, it was clear that she was afraid of what this meant for them. They all were, though Wan was the most obvious. "What are we going to do?!"

Su put a claw to her chin, lost in thought. There was really only one thing they could do. She walked across the room to one of the house's few windows and looked outside. Over the treeline, she could just make out the city of Jinzhou in the distance. Their parents had gone into the city often and always came back with food, however little. They themselves had never been allowed to go there, but it looked like that was about to change.

"You're thinking of going into the city, aren't you?" Su turned around to see that her sisters were standing behind her. It was Wan who had asked the question, sounding even more frightened than before. Su couldn't blame her. Fear of the unknown was only natural.

"What choice do we have? We need food and that's the only place we can get it."

"But even if we go there, how are we going to buy food? We don't have any money."

Su smiled. Wan's childlike innocence could be pretty cute sometimes. She was grateful that at least one of them had retained it. "Well in that case, I guess we're just going to have to take it."

Wan's eyes widened in horror. "But...but that's stealing!" If she had any idea what she would be doing ten years from now, this wouldn't seem like such a big deal.

"Look Wan, it's either steal or starve to death," Wing said. "I mean, I know we just made that vow to always be together, but I was kinda hoping that would last longer than a week."

"But...but..." Wan tried in vain to come up with a counter-argument until she finally relented. She sighed and looked out at the city herself. "This is gonna suck."

"Woah! Look at this place!" Wan gasped.

The Wu Sisters were in complete awe as they took in the city. The sight of so many buildings, and of so many different varieties, was overwhelming to those who had lived in the woods all their lives. It wasn't just the city itself that amazed them either, but the people within it. They had never even met anyone besides their parents, let alone anyone of another species, so they weren't quite sure what to make of all the pigs, goats, and sheep that inhabited Jinzhou.

After a few moments, they were able to shake off most of their shock and start walking. No one seemed to take any notice of the three leopard cubs, which they didn't mind in the least. The less people knew about them, the better. Unfortunately. finding food proved to be harder than they thought. They had never learned how to read, so the signs just looked like a bunch of squiggly lines to them. And they certainly weren't about to ask any of these strangers for help. This left them little choice but to wander around until they spotted food. They were actually okay with this. It gave them the chance to tour the city, something they were only able to imagine before today.

It took a good hour or so, but they eventually found what they were looking for. A booth had been set up in front of a small building, being run by a large, black boar. They watched as the boar received some money from a goat and then gave him a bag of rice in return. Once the goat left, the boar turned around and went into the building, which they assumed was a storehouse where the food was kept. They hid themselves behind a nearby wall, trying to figure out how exactly they would rob this place.

"Stop! Thief!"

The sisters all flinched, before remembering that they hadn't actually stolen anything yet. The door to the storehouse burst open as a young fox boy darted out from the building, running on all fours and carrying a loaf of bread in his mouth. A second later, the boar ran out from behind him, wielding a cleaver. "Get back here you little brat!" he shouted. Seeing that he had no chance of catching up to the fox, he hurled the cleaver straight at him. The fox turned a corner and ducked into an alleyway, just avoiding getting his tail taken off as the cleaver embedded itself in the wall.

Wan gulped. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

Su was a little shaken, but remained confident. "Sure it is. We have much better chances them him."

"How do you figure?" Wing asked.

"Simple. There was only one of him, but three of us."

Wing continued to watch the boar as he snorted in anger and went back to his booth. "Yeah, that's nice and all, but I'm pretty sure we can't take that guy."

Su grinned deviously. "We don't have to. I have a plan."

Hao the merchant was having a pretty lousy day.

This was the third time he had been robbed in the past week and he was sick of it. All of the good, honest customers he made business with were lost to him in the crowd of filthy thieves and beggars that seemed to plague this whole place. He knew he should have stayed in Gongmen City.

"Excuse me, mister."

Hao's internal rant was interrupted by a small voice from over the counter. He looked down to see a small clouded leopard girl staring up at him with bright, golden eyes. One look at her told him that she wasn't a paying customer. "Go away, kid. I'm busy."

The girl cheerfully bounced back and forth on the balls of her feet. "I just wanted to ask if I could please have some food."

"Do you have money?"

"No."

"Then scram."

The girl didn't scram. Instead, she hopped up onto the counter next to him, dangling her legs over the side. "Pretty please?" she asked, giving the cutest pleading look she could muster.

This would probably get most people, but Hao had seen this routine way too much to be swayed. "Look, kid, I have a very important business to run here. Go bother your parents."

He regretted saying that immediately when he saw the look on the girl's face. "I...I don't have any parents." She started to tear up and Hao braced himself for what he knew was about to happen.

The girl let out a high-pitched wail and started sobbing hysterically. "Aw geez, I'm sorry kid. Please stop crying." But the girl showed no sign of stopping. Hao noticed that he was starting to get dirty looks from passerby. Thinking quickly, he reached under the counter and pulled out a large apple. He was saving it for himself, but if it got this girl to leave, it was worth it. "Here, take this."

The girl seemed to cheer up instantly and practically snatched the apple from his hooves. "Thanks mister! You're so nice!" She hopped down from the counter and skipped merrily away. Hao turned around and went back into his storehouse with a smirk on his face. That beggar girl thought she had gotten the best of him, but he knew that it could've been much worse. A single apple was no great loss.

That's when he noticed half his stock was gone.

"I wish I could've seen the look on his face!" Wing laughed, eating another spoonful of rice. "You did a great job, Wan!"

The youngest sister blushed at the compliment. Even though she didn't fully approve of the theft, it made her feel better that she technically didn't steal anything herself, not even the juicy apple that she was currently chewing on. "Thanks, but it was all Su's idea. She deserves the credit."

"Nonsense. The plan never would've worked without your stellar performance," Su insisted as she sliced one of the loaves of bread with her claws. "I swear, you could join an acting troupe." Wan blushed some more and this time accepted the compliment. Su suddenly took on a more serious tone. "Now, our haul today might have given us a little time to relax, but soon enough, we're going to have to do this again. Do you think you're up for it?"

Wan thought it over a little and smiled. "Yeah, I think I can manage."

"Good." With that out of the way, the three continued to gorge themselves on their ill-gotten gains. They were confident now that they could survive in this world, but today was far more important for them then they realized. For it was today that the Wu Sisters proved they could work together efficiently, and it was this skill that would one day become their deadliest trait.