Chapter Eleven- A Day of Rest
When Chao, Tigress, and Siren returned home that evening, Anuli finally gather the courage to reveal her ears and tail. She even told them about her mother Vixen. Chao and Tigress were very surprised, but managed to shake it off. There was no news on Ren, Junjie, or the panther. Shifu was completely ready to tell them about his dream. He was still confused about it. That, and his conversation with Anuli still rung in his head like a gong next to his ears. He knew Vixen very well. She was a kind and strong doctor of the Jade Palace, who had left with Ren to the human world. He never could've imagined that she'd fall in love and have a child. But it explains a lot; Anuli acted very much like her mother.
At dinner, the group tried to figure out where to go next, but with no new leads or clues, it seemed like the only thing to do was to continue what they were currently doing.
Anuli found no sleep would come to her that night. No matter how much she tossed and turned, she still felt fully awake. Maybe I should've danced a bit more to tire me out. She thought. But she only shrugged and carefully slid out of bed as to not wake Siren. The paler of the two girls was snuggled deep into her blankets to keep out the cold. Anuli made sure the blanket was still covering her before sneaking off down the hall. She walked to her room first and opened the door. Tigress was asleep on her bed, her breathing even. But if Anuli listened, she could plainly hear Tigress purring in her sleep. One could only wonder what she was dreaming about. Anuli shut the door and turned to the first guest room. Chao was also asleep inside. Anuli had to stifle a laugh when his tongue involuntarily flicked in and out of his mouth. She smiled and moved on to Shifu's room. But when she opened the door, the elderly red panda was sitting on his bed, meditating.
"Couldn't sleep?" Anuli said softly.
Shifu's ears flicked in her direction as he turned from the window. He looked absolutely exhausted. "I'm fine, thank you."
"It doesn't sound like you're fine." Anuli said, an accusing look on her face.
A smile tugged at Shifu's lips. "Now I know you're Vixen's daughter."
Anuli smiled and came to sit down next to Shifu. "What wrong?"
Shifu sighed, returning his gaze to the window. "There's so much happening right now. And I'm not sure I even understand it all."
"What do you mean?" Anuli asked.
Shifu scoffed. "You wouldn't want to listen to an old man's woes."
Anuli turned to sit parallel with Shifu, sitting with her legs crossed. "Try me."
Shifu looked up just enough to see the caring glint in Anuli's dark eyes. He sighed. "First we find that someone I know personally is trying to kill me; and I have the strangest feeling I really know them. Then we find a portal to another world, and that Ren is alive. I had always looked to Ren like a sister, and to know she's alright after believing her dead all these years is just….." Shifu bit his lip and sighed. "Junjie's still out there. We've been through a lot together and I don't want to see him dead…yet." Anuli giggled a little. Shifu even mustered a smile, but it was gone in an instant. "What's worse is the rest of my students at the Jade Palace. That sorceress sent people to take control of the palace. No matter how great of warriors they are, I still fear that something has happened to them. They probably think I'm dead."
Anuli nodded in understanding. "It's not good to dwell on such things. From what you've told me, your students are great warriors. I'm sure they'll be fine. And we're going to find Junjie and Ren and we'll all ban together to beat this sorceress. Then you guys will go home, where you belong. And I promise I'll help you in any way I can."
Shifu glanced up to look at Anuli fully. He noticed her fox tail wagging happily, and he couldn't help but think about how Junjie's tail always did that after playing a prank on someone. Shifu smiled, stood, and bowed.
"Thank you, Anuli." He said. Anuli smiled and pulled Shifu into a hug before he could react. "Anuli, put me down!"
"Not a chance." Anuli stifled a laugh to not wake anyone. "First you have to tell me why you think you know that sorceress."
Shifu's face burned under his fur. "Uh, it's a little more complicated than that."
Anuli set Shifu down and noticed the look of embarrassment on his face. "What do you mean?"
Shifu sighed. "How long are you willing to stay up?"
The next day, Anuli made announcement at breakfast.
"We're going out today." She told them. "Somewhere very special."
"Where's that?" Tigress asked.
"A place out in the forest." Anuli answered. "Make sure you're dressed to swim."
Nobody truly understood what she meant until they arrived at the place deep in the forest. Everyone but Siren and Anuli stared with awe.
A small waterfall poured into a large, clear pond. A stream led down various levels of rocks and into a creek that traveled further into the forest. The area around the water was mostly rocks with grass dotted here and there. With the warm sun in the cloudless sky and the waters sparkling, it defiantly seemed like the perfect place to be.
Anuli dropped her towel and shed her shorts and T-shirt to reveal a red bikini that matched her fox features perfectly. She was the first to jump off the rocks and do a cannonball into the waters. She resurfaced soon after, laughing. "Come on!" she called up. "Water's great!"
Siren hid in some bushes to change out of her pants and vest. When she came out, she also wore a bikini, but hers was blue with rhinestones.
"Shouldn't you cover up a little?" Chao groaned.
"Don't spoil a teen's fun, Daddy dearest." Siren laughed. She jumped off the rocks with a squeal. Tigress dived into the water after her. Tigress, Chao, and Shifu really didn't have anything to swim in except their clothes, but that really wasn't an issue. At first, the elder masters refused to get in the water. But a little shove from Siren and Anuli changed their minds.
"When I get my hands on you, you're dead!" Chao snapped as he darted after his daughter. Siren only laughed and jumped into the water again. They continued the swim for a while before having a picnic lunch on the rocks.
"I can't remember the last time I was on a picnic." Tigress sighed. "And this place is so beautiful."
"My parents and I used to come here all the time." Anuli said. "It was our favorite spot to hang out. Besides, this is one of the few places where I don't have to worry about someone seeing my tail or ears."
"It really is magnificent." Chao said as he stared at the area around them. "Reminds me of the lake we went to, right Shifu?"
"Yes, indeed." Shifu nodded. He noticed Chao's expression turned a little sorrowful, and he remembered the last time they went to that lake was the day before Ren left.
Anuli noticed the masters' attitudes. Her conversation with Shifu last night had really given her a shock. If Shifu was right about this sorceress's true identity, they could really have a problem. A very big problem.
Anuli set her food down and ran to do another cannonball into the water. The splash rained down onto the others on the rocks.
"I just got dry!" Shifu snapped.
Anuli only stuck out her tongue and blew an innocent raspberry. She started doing backstrokes in the water. Shifu frowned and picked up an apple from the picnic basket. He weighed the fruit in his hand for a moment before chucking it towards Anuli. The fox/human hybrid ducked underwater as the red fruit sailed over her head.
"Ha!" she laughed. "Missed me!"
"Wasn't aiming for you." Shifu called back. The others watched as the fruit hit Shifu's actual target: a rock. The apple bounced off the rock, into the trees, rolled down a branch and landed right on Anuli's head. She growled and rubbed the sore spot on her head, glaring at Shifu. The elder red panda only smirked.
"When I get my hands on you, you'll be nothing more than a pillow." Anuli growled. She started swimming towards the group and ran up onto the rocks. Sensing the danger, Shifu sped away. But Anuli was right behind him. The others could only watch in amusement as Shifu successfully dodged Anuli's attempts to grab him. However, the result of the chase was Shifu skidding to a halt (to avoid the waterfall) and Anuli crashing into him. Both tumbled down the falls and into the water. They came up two seconds later, sputtering and glaring at each other.
"Aw, don't you two look cute together." Siren cooed. Anuli and Shifu could feel their faces burning as they climbed out of the pool.
"So Siren tells us you dance." Tigress told Anuli.
"Yeah, I've been dancing my entire life." Anuli nodded. "I love it. In fact, there's a competition coming up soon. The winner of the competition gets a lot of money and a trophy. I've been practicing for a week now."
"What kind of dancing will you do?" Siren asked.
"Not fully sure." Anuli shrugged. "I've been practicing everything. But I was thinking of doing something cultural, like an Indian dance."
"That sounds awesome." Siren said.
"You guys should come." Anuli offered. "Registration is tomorrow, and the competition is in a week."
"You think we have time for that?" Tigress asked. "We still have a job to do."
"We haven't forgotten." Shifu assured. "Still, I don't see us going anywhere anytime soon. We'd be honored to attend." Tigress and Chao agreed.
"Thanks." Anuli breathed. "That really takes the nerves away."
When they got home later that afternoon, Siren had first dibs on the shower and darted into the bathroom before anyone else could protest.
"Darn it." Anuli muttered.
Chao rolled his eyes, thinking back to when Siren did that after training. As they made their way into the kitchen, something caught his eye. "What's that?"
Anuli followed his point. "That's a telephone."
"Why is there a red light on it?" Chao asked.
Anuli looked closer. "Oh, there's a message." Everyone gave her confused looks. "A telephone is used to contact people far away and talk to them directly. If the person can't be reached, then the caller leaves a message. I guess someone tried to call while we were gone." She pressed a button on the phone charger and giggled at everyone jumping.
"You have one unheard message." The phone's recorded voice said. "First unheard message."
There was a pause, and then an angry voice came from the phone. "Vixen, this is Chang. Don't you dare try and deny what I'm about to say. When I was taken to jail, the police said they never found my daughter Siren. I know for a fact that you cared about her. Why you did, I have no idea. But I want her back. I've come home and she's not there. So I'm only going to say this once: give me back what's mine or so help my I'll come over there and rip her from your cold, dead body! Do you hear me? I want what's mine! And you're going to give it to me! You have one week!" The message stopped.
Everyone had different reactions. Anuli was staring at the phone with a deer-in-the-headlights look. Chao was glaring, his fists clenched so hard his claws pierced his skin. Tigress was utterly confused, but also put off-guard. Shifu gripped Oogway's staff tight in his hands, staring at the floor.
Suddenly, everyone became aware of another presence in the room. They turned and saw Siren standing before them. She was back in her vest and pants and her wet hair hung around her shoulders. She looked horrified.
"My stepdad's back, isn't he?" she whispered.
Everyone nodded slowly.