Strangers in a Peaceful Land
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Kung Fu Panda or its affiliated characters. Those belong to Dream Works. I only own Nicodemus (aka Blackheart) and the plot.
A/N: Okay, so in case you're still confused, Po is on a short vacation from the Jade Palace & is helping his dad in the noodle restaurant again. Also, the dream in the previous chappie was a filler & will never come up again, I think. (Maybe a future one-shot? Heh heh…)
To hulkma: I'm so happy you like it [grins in idiotic joy] & does the figure have dark powers? Well… yes and no, you'll just havta find out cuz it'd ruin later chappies. ; )
Chap3 Odd Talk
"Here's your order, Mrs. Kay." Po announced cheerfully whilst placing a bowl of steaming hot soup in front of an elderly rabbit. "Oh Po, you're such a gentleman." Mrs. Kay said in her wavering voice as she picked up her spoon.
"So, is the Great Dragon Warrior no longer needed at the Jade Palace?" She inquired. "I'm still needed; Master Shifu just let me have the week off, provided I stay on high alert for trouble." Po explained.
"Well, it's nice that you can finally get a break from all that work, with all the things you've done for the village these past months, stopping Tai Lung and re-building the village and all." Mrs. Kay stated firmly, standing and handing Po some Yuan, then leaving before he could say 'Have a nice day.'
Po threaded his way back to the kitchen through the sea of tables, intending to put the Yuan in the money tin, that was, until he noticed that the only customer left was the cloaked stranger he had asked his dad about earlier; if he was going to strike up a conversation with this guy, now may be Po's only chance.
Abruptly changing course, Po sidled over to where the figure sat with a cup of tea held loosely in his grasp.
"Was the soup to your preference?" Po's soft question seemed to rouse the stranger from his thoughts as he turned to look at the nervous panda.
"To answer your question, yes, I do like the soup. But I have to say; that kind of dialect truly does not belong in your normal vocabulary does it?" The stranger's husky, baritone voice only succeeded in making Po more nervous as he listened attentively to the figure's answer.
"N-no, I do-don't usually speak like that, b-but my dad said it would be more proper for the Dr-dragon Warrior to sp-speak cul-cul-culturedly." Po responded, unable to keep from stuttering and proving the stranger's point as he messed up on his grammar.
"PO!" Mr. Ping's exasperated cry caused both males to whip around in surprise.
"Yea, Dad?"
"Quit pestering our customer and put Mrs. Kay's Yuan in the money tin… I'm sorry sir," After rebuffing Po, Mr. Ping turned to the stranger, "would you like some more tea?"
"Yes, that would be appreciated, and please, don't blame your son; he was kind enough to come over and strike up a conversation and because I'm new here, it'd be nice to know someone who knows their way around." While speaking, the stranger handed Mr. Ping his cup; Po realized that the stranger's paws were as black as night, not to mention huge.
"Thank you, sir." Mr. Ping said, accepting the cup and refilling it. "Please, call me Nicodemus." The stranger, or Nicodemus replied, but something caught in his voice when he spoke that caused Po to pause in closing the money tin to try to identify it. Sadness? Regret? Nostalgia? Po wasn't sure; all he knew was that Nicodemus was hiding something, something that would most likely end up causing Po to be really sore for the next few days.
"Well, come over here and sit down. I won't bite." At Nicodemus's comment Po realized that he had been standing in the same spot staring at Nicodemus for the last twenty seconds.
"Sorry." Po mumbled, walking over and sliding into the seat across from Nicodemus.
"I intimidate you, don't I Panda?" Nicodemus growled, looking Po full in the face for the first time, but not removing the hood of his cloak.
Po nearly wet himself.
Sharply angled cat eyes burned in the shadowy interior of the hood, their color like that of an inferno or a wild ember, slit-like pupils only enhancing the effect. Although Po could not make out the details of Nicodemus's face or identify what kind of cat he was, his knees were still knocking together so loud he thought Nicodemus could hear them.
"I-intimidated, n-no of c-course not, Wh-whatever g-g-gave you an idea like th-that?" Po stuttered, fear showing plainly in his face.
"A lot of people are when they first meet me," Nicodemus rumbled, a light chuckle evident in his voice. "Unfortunately, some people never get over my frightening appearance." He sighed, becoming sober once more, "and with good reason to." He said under his breath, but Po was just able to catch it.
"'Good reason to'?" Po echoed, "Why?"
"Well, let's just say that when me and my team come knocking, it's usually not for a midmorning snack." Nicodemus admitted, solidifying Po's growing fear.
"Panda, you're due back at the Jade Palace tomorrow, correct?" Nicodemus's sudden question knocked Po off guard, as well as Nicodemus's use of the term 'Panda'.
"Yes, why do you ask? Also, what's up with calling me 'Panda'?" Po asked, going from guarded to slightly miffed with the latter of the inquiries.
"Good. As for calling you 'Panda' it's just an informal formality, if you get my drift." Nicodemus said, rising from his chair. Po didn't quite get his drift, but rose also; he was aware of Nicodemus's smart sidestep as to explaining why he wanted to know if Po was going back to the Jade Palace, but let it slide.
"Here we go; I believe this covers my tab." Nicodemus commented, handing Po a few Yuan before striding to the entryway leading to the busy street.
"Wait!" Po called out, knowing he was on thin ice but decided to take his chances.
'Hey, he knows I'm the Dragon Warrior, so he could've killed me several times by now if that was his intentions.' Po reasoned as he jogged up to a hesitating Nicodemus.
"'Nicodemus 'isn't the name you commonly go by, is it?" Po asked, praying to all known deities that the frightening cat wouldn't beat him up before answering him.
He came close to not having his prayers answered. Nicodemus's eyes flared and he instinctively gripped his cloak tighter with one paw, balling the other into a fist. Po had a feeling that, if he had been able to see the whole of Nicodemus's face, he probably would have seen Nicodemus curl his lip in the beginnings of a snarl.
Then Nicodemus relaxed and sighed before answering in his husky growl: "Hmph, smart guess Panda, you got it in one. People nowadays call me 'Blackheart'." With that Nicodemus turned and disappeared into the crowd, leaving one terrified panda standing in the archway.
'Oh snap…'
A/N: Wow that was a long chapter! My fingers hurt! So, Po has now officially met Blackheart aka Nicodemus, and is scared silly by both the cloaked cat's words and appearance. And frankly, I would be too. Who is his team? Well, they will be coming in one by one over the chapters, but I ran out of ideas for names, species, and attitudes. SO, PLEASE HELP ME! PLEASE SEND ME IDEAS FOR CHARACTERS WORTHY OF BEING IN BLACKHEART'S GROUP/TEAM! MY IMAGINATIVE WELL HAS RUN DRY! (Takes deep breath and finishes rant.) If you didn't get the above memo, please review, review, review, and tell me what you think, I need the input (for obvious reasons). ; D
PS I will give thanks to whoever sends the character ideas to me. Example: 'thank you xxx for letting me use xxx…'