Chapter Seven
The doors opened noiselessly, and the chill wind rushed in, contrasting with the warm and gentle aura of the phoenix. All eyes turned to her instantly, and she struggled back a blush. She should be used to stares! But sadly, she was not.
It was Crane, shy, unobtrusive, Crane, who walked forward first, removing his hat and bowing.
"Yin, we welcome you to the Jade Palace. Our home is yours."
"Th-thank you," came the reply, as Fenghuang closed the doors behind her, shutting out the cold, "I am gladdened by your hospitality..."
"Make yourself comfortable," Crane continued, "We are here to serve..."
"Speak for yourself," Monkey mumbled to himself quietly.
"Thank you... But I'm quite comfortable already, thank you though..." Fenghuang replied, then added, "Actually, there is one thing. Where is Master Shifu? I must speak with him."
"Master Shifu is meditating," Tigress came in, bowing quickly, "Do you want me to fetch him?"
"Oh no, don't interrupt him," the phoenix sighed, almost relieved, "I'll just wait. Do you... have anywhere to sit? I am regrettably not up to my usual strength..."
Everyone in the room jumped, and went to fetch a chair. Po guided the phoenix to a seat.
"Here's a chai... Where'd she go?" Monkey asked, confused, pulling a chair behind him.
"Already done it, guys," Po replied, an almost-smirk on his face, "She's in the dining room."
Tigress blanched. "Po! The dining room is not for formal guests! It's too casual... Master Shifu will kill me!"
She rushed past the panda, into the dining room- and found Fenghuang, sitting very comfortably in a wooden chair by the table. Her way of sitting made the simple chair look like a throne, proving the saying, 'royalty is on the inside, coming out'.
"How do you politely ask a phoenix to move?" Tigress asked Crane quietly, shifting uncomfortably on her feet.
"Hello everyone!" Fenghuang said cheerily, tilting her head sideways, "You...wouldn't happen to have something to eat, would you? I haven't eaten for two days..."
"Oh, right!" Po exclaimed, jumping to his feet, "Here, let me get you something!"
"Thank you, Dragon Warrior," the Phoenix sighed, "I am indebted."
"You are sure this is the sacred Phoenix?" Monkey whispered to Crane, "I always imagined her... Loftier, perhaps."
"Of course she is," Shen jutted in, unable to stay quiet on that matter, "Who else looked like that? Besides, I have seen her picture several times. It was everywhere in the tower of Sacred Flame."
"I'm sure you got a good look at her then," Monkey could not resist the dig, "Before you knocked it down."
Shen frowned. "Will I never be able to live that down?"
"Don't take it so seriously Shen," the primate reassured good-heartedly, "We have all done worse than knock down a building."
"No-one makes stupid jokes about anything you ever did though..." Shen pointed out coldly, "But me... I have to forever swallow the bile of my past mistakes."
"Oh come on, you," Monkey sighed, rolling his eyes, "We make jokes about it because it's so much more interesting to talk about a crumbling tower than a falling card house."
Shen mumbled something unintelligible, and turned away.
Po brought in a steaming bowl of noodles, and handed it to Fenghuang with a flourish. She took it gratefully, smelling it deliciously.
"Thank you, Dragon Warrior," Fenghuang smiled, "This smells lovely! Did you make it yourself?"
"Aah, yeah," Po replied bashfully, rubbing the back of his head, "It's nothing really. You should taste my dad's. It's way better!"
"The Dragon Warrior is a bear of many talents, I see," Fenghuang murmured, "Now, I must try these noodles..."
She brought her beak near the steaming bowl, and was about to dip it in- but abruptly changed her mind.
"Hmm, seems hot," she twittered to herself, "I believe I shall blow on it a little..."
She proceeded to do so, blowing the broth gently. Finally, the steam died down, and she raised a few noodles in her chopsticks. Slowly bringing her tounge along the length of a single noodle, her eyebrows raised, and she quickly placed the rest in her mouth.
"These taste every bit a good as they smell, Dragon Warrior," she exclaimed, after swallowing, "Best thing I've eaten on this world."
"Please, call me Po," the panda responded, with a waving gesture of his paw, "That's what all my, friends, call me."
"Very well, ah, Po, if you say so," came the laughing reply.
With that, the Phoenix and panda seemed to hit it off, and were soon chatting just as informally as you please.
"I don't believe it," Crane shook his head, "Po just seems to make friends with everybody."
"She's a lot more social than I imagined her," Mantis observed, "Prettier, too. Man, I know people who would kill for looks like those."
"Mantis!" Viper hissed in reprimand, "That is no way to speak of a lady behind her back!"
"That's not a proper way to speak of her, at all, in front or behind," Shen whispered icily, "Ah, I suggest you keep your thoughts to yourself."
"Hey, I'd say it in front of her as well!" Mantis defended, holding his arms out in front of him, "I'm a guy, it's just the way I think!"
"No excuse," Shen retorted, "I don't find myself thinking anything of the sort. Stop giving males a bad name."
"Well, you might not think that way," the insect half-shouted back, becoming angry, "Because you might only be thinking about how good her head would look on a WALL!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Mantis wished he could suck them back in. A dead silence echoed around the room, and the poor insect found all eyes going between him and Shen, wondering at his reaction.
"Eeh... I shouldn't have said that..." Mantis shrunk under the words, "I wasn't...thinking..."
"The mantis has a point," Fenghuang stated, framing her head with her wings, "I WOULD make a lovely wall decoration, don't you think?"
Oh, Mantis suddenly wished he could DIE! Him and his big mouth! He was going to stick a pin in it. Then cover it in tape. Then eat some sticky dumplings. Then cover with more tape.
"If...If that is what you presume to-... to be running through my mind," Shen spoke, enunciating each word clearly and calmly, "Then... Then you must have a smaller mind than I thought. Even for such a tiny head."
"HEY! You take that back!" the insect chirped, but Shen didn't respond, instead whirling away into the far rooms of the palace.
"Smooth move, there, mr. Popular," Monkey grinned.
"Monkey?" Mantis asked, crossing his arms.
"Yes?" the primate replied.
"Shut up."
Fenghuang watched all this intently. "I take it," she began, "That your peacock friend still has some unsolved moral dilemmas? Do they still plague him?"
"Aah, yeah, but nothing too serious," Po said dismissively, "He still has trouble fitting in... You know, what with the whole 'I killed pandas' thing..."
"I understand. That crime will haunt him for the rest of his life," Fenghuang stated simply, "Indeed, it is almost unforgivable."
"Almost?" Tigress whispered to herself quietly, "It is unforgivable."
"Nay, Master Tigress," the Phoenix sighed, taking another few noodles in her chopsticks, "No crime is unforgivable. I have already forgiven him. I would think someone who values compassion as a necessary skill would have as well."
Tigress looked up quickly, surprised that she had been heard.
"So you did send him back, then?" she asked, changing the subject.
"Indeed I did, Master Tigress, but I was told to do so, I did not send him back solely because I had forgiven him," the avian replied.
"Then why?" Tigress growled softly, "Why, with all the good people that died, why send HIM back?"
Fenghuang paused a while, eating.
"Sometimes, it is the most unlikely people, who have the largest roles in the play of fate," Fenghuang said sagely, looking the feline in her eyes, "Take for example, your foster brother, Tai Lung."
"His memory is distasteful here," Tigress and Crane said together.
"Yes, but sometimes, it takes something horrible to make a lesson memorable," the Phoenix replied, "If Tai Lung had never had his rampage, do you think that Shifu would have searched, in a moment of loneliness, a certain orphanage? And if he had, do you think he would have taken it upon himself to 'tame a monster'?"
"He-he may have," Tigress stuttered, at a sudden loss for words.
"He may have indeed," Fenghuang repeated, taking a slow sip of tea.
Tigress said nothing trying to clear her mind. The phoenix had confused her, made her lose track of what she had originally been trying to say. Nevertheless, what had been said was true. In that moment, Tigress realized that it was not only the great acts of heroism that meld the world for the better. Fate is a fickle thing, and sometimes, it is the worst actions, that have the greatest results.
Tigress also remembered her original question.
"He may have, but, that doesn't answer my question," the feline stated, placing her paws on the table, "Why would you send SHEN back? What is HIS purpose?"
Crane brought his head back, and made 'shushing' motions with his wings. This was not in the decorum of actions, not how you were to speak to someone in her position!
Fenghuang seemed to ponder the question, before turning to Tigress directly.
"Tigress," she said somberly, "In all reality, I do not know."
The sound of footsteps, coming down the hall, prevented further conversation.
Shen turned the corner, re-entering the room.
"I would like to apologize for that... Childish display of anger, to everyone," he said, half-quaveringly, his head shaking, "Especially to Master Mantis. It was acted on in a moment of thoughtlessness, it will not... happen often."
The peacock moved over to a corner of the room, and stood in silence.
"It's OK!" Mantis shouted over to him, a little too loud, "No need to apologize!"
Shen did not reply. He would most certainly not have apologized, not normally, but... there was a guest here, so best behavior...
Fenghuang continued to eat, as she, Po, Shen, and the Furious Five waited for Master Shifu to finish meditating.
Finally, Tigress has enough. "I'm going to get him," she said cooly, rising from her seat, "He won't be happy that he kept his guest waiting."
She turned, and walked out the room.
"Brave girl..." Mantis whispered to himself. Shifu hated being interrupted...
Shifu, contrary to whatever the Five thought he was doing, was not meditating. He was walking restlessly back and forth in his room, making sure everything was in perfect order.
Of course, he didn't need to. The room had been cleaned five times.
He heard footsteps, and looked out. Tigress was walking past, heading towards the meditation rooms.
"Tigress?" he called to her, coming out of his room.
Tigress started, and whirled, before bowing quickly.
"Master, I was just going to find you," she began, "Our guest has arrived-"
"She has?" Shifu interrupted, "When? When did she arrive?"
"About an hour ago," Tigress answered, "Po took her to the dining room, and gave her something to eat."
"The dining room!? That is far too informal!" Shifu exclaimed, shaking his head, "And why was I not told?"
"Master, we assumed that you were meditating," Tigress replied, "And you gave instructions that we were not to interrup-..."
"Meditating!? How could I meditate, with the entire history of the Jade Palace at stake?" the red panda almost yelled, "Now take me there, Tigress!"
Not waiting for the feline, he hurried down the hall, towards the dining room.
How could they not tell him? Sometimes, he felt really disapointed in his students. Didn't they think he would want to know when the sacred phoenix dropped in? Really?
He stopped outside the dining room door, composing himself, before walking in calmly.
"Greetings, everyone," he began cordially, "Welcome, Yin, to the Jade Palace."
Fenghuang raised her eyebrows at the use of her title. Of course, that was decorum... she never thought much of that.
"Your students have already welcomed me," she smiled, rising from her seat, "It is indeed a pleasure."
"The pleasure is ours," Shifu replied, "Please, sit down."
The Phoenix did so, raising her head-crest uncomfortably.
"Please, you sit down as well," she asked, "It makes me somewhat... uncomfortable to be the only one sitting."
"Of course," Shifu responded, as Monkey pulled him out a seat. He sat down.
After a few minutes of rather awkward smalltalk, Shifu decided to get down to business.
"I understood that there was some matter that needed discussing?" he asked slowly, sensing his guest's discomfort on the subject, "If you do not wish to talk about it now..."
"No, no, I shall do what I must now, lest I become bogged by procrastination." came the phoenix's reply.
"Very well," Shifu responded, leaning back slightly in his chair, "Begin when you will."
He did not want to rush his guest. She was a very important person, after all.
"I will, Grandmaster," Fenghuang sighed, "Do not worry."
A few minutes passed around the table in silence, as Fenghuang continued to eat her noodles. When she had finally finished, she sat up, and took a deep breath.
"Grandmaster Shifu, I will get straight down to the point," she said, straightening her head-crest, "I wish to take the Dragon Warrior with me, to Mount Malaku, in Nepal."
And there was silence at the table.
It was quiet at night, out in the mountains only just beyond the Valley of Peace. The stillness was lulling and peaceful.
A small glint of fire shone in the dark.
White fur, striped with black, showed faintly in the dim light of the flame.
Suddenly, the crackling of flames increased, as did the magnitude of the fire. The flames licked and twirled upwards with a roar, until it towered at face-level.
The white animal flinched.
A sound like wind echoed quietly through the fire. And almost instantly, the flames took a form. A form, of which nothing was clear, save rows of razor-sharp teeth.
"Ahhhhh..." the form in the fire breathed out, sending a small puff of flame in the animal's direction, "There you are. I trust that you have succeeded?"
The animal stood to the flames, his whiskered face standing out harshly in the orange light.
"I-I..l have not, Master," he replied haltingly, fingering the hilt of his enameled sword, "I was within reach, but she evaded me, teleporting to someplace."
"Oh, so you failed? This is not what I expected, this is not what I asked for!" the face in the flames roared.
"You gave me no warning as to her abilities!" the white animal shouted back angrily, "I was unprepared! Let me find her again, and it will NOT be repeated."
"Excuses, Zhung Chai. Excuses which fall on deaf ears, I am afraid," the creature of fire hissed back, surprisingly cooly for something made of fire, "I expected you to use your own mind to accomplish the task. Now that you have failed..."
"I have not failed yet, Master," Zhung snarled, "Give me another chance. It shall not happen again."
"Determination, Zhung," came the reply, "An admirable trait. However, it is without aim. Do you even know where Yin is now?"
The tiger looked down. "N-no," he admitted sourly, "But that is not my fault! I was left with no trace, she teleport-..."
"Silence!" the form of fire growled, "Where deduction fails, reason must suffice. There is only one place on earth where Yin would feel safe. Her presence here is no accident."
"And... Where would that be, Master?" Zhung asked slowly.
"Surely you can see by yourself?" the flame-beast roared, "Or do you have even less intellect than I had thought?"
Zhung said nothing.
"It appears to be so, then," the fiery creature sighed, "Think. Why land HERE? What is nearby?"
"Well... The Valley of Peace?" Zhung questioned, "That hardly seems the place for a Phoenix-"
"Excellent. Mark my words, you will find her in the Valley. Search, and find," the creature instructed, "The Yin will have fled to her Yang. Oh, and Zhung," the beast added, "Fo not fail me this time."
With that the flames leaped upwards, towards the tiger. Zhung raised his arms, and forced the fire back down with a yell, clenching his claws.
And there was silence once more.
Author's note: Who was this mysterious fire-beast? Why does Fenghaung want to take Po to Mount Malaku, which is like thousands of miles away?
Do not worry, dear reader, all will be explained in the very next chapter.
Oh... And please review. Not to sound desperate or anything, but I LOVE reading your reviews!
