Is Love Safe?
Chapter Twenty One- The Glorified Reunion
Ming, Little Shen, Fu, Hao, Hei Xin, Jai, Leo and Shen (c) mine.
Shen smiled delightedly as he leapt up into the air, flipping over his enemy as he grabbed hold of the attacking creature's shirt collar. With his feet placed firmly back on the ground, Shen pulled effortlessly with his arms against the animals' fabric. The creature convulsed as it choked against the tugging of the shirt collar against its throat. The animal was lifted entirely off the ground and pulled backwards over Shen's shoulders, thrown through the air in a vertical spin before plastering into a nearby pine tree. The creature groaned and fluttered its eyes open in time to see Shen flip its dropped weapon- a gruesome-looking axe- up from the ground and into his paw and throw it with an underarm twist in its direction. The creature screamed before being silenced as the blade of the weapon lodged itself in its body, pinning it to the tree. The attacker's head bobbed forward, a line of red drool falling from its lips.
Shen did not have the time to relish in new found strength and agility from him becoming fully feral. His ears twitched either way atop his head to the sound of two oncoming assailants. Shen hesitated till they were close enough; so close he could see the fury in their eyes. He leapt into the air. The two bodies below connected in a tangle of arms and legs. During his mid-flight jump, Shen reached into the depths of his cloak and felt the cold touch of Jai's throwing knives. Picking out one in each paw, he removed them from the sheaths on his belt and spread his arms wide, blades pointed down. Falling back to Earth Shen plunged the two knives deep into the backs of the creatures. They yowled in pain and collapsed beneath Shen's weight.
Yanking the knives free, Shen's red eyes snapped up as he gazed over to his sister.
Jai moved with precision and grace that Shen had never seen before. Her actions were fierce and strong, like Tigress, but with the fluent twirls and durability of Viper and Crane combined. Shen was marvelled, almost, by her attacks. The lioness held the handle of her dragon's carved sword tightly within her paws, swinging it with potency as it cut through the oncoming wave of creatures as they materialised from the shadows of the forest. The long bade sung a high tune as it tasted the blood of its fallen victims. Shen caught a glimpse and, if just for a second, believed Jai was enjoying all of this. Quite frankly Shen, too, felt the same way. It almost was like a game to them.
Casting a glance to the right, the feline saw as Leo took on a wolf. Both lupines moved in a writhing mass of grey and white fur. With gawking orbs, Shen looked on as Leo rolled with his enemy, using the momentum of their tumble to put himself on top. Without hesitating the white-masked Pure One opened his large maw and flashed his glistening fangs before sinking his head down upon the pinned wolf. The animal's body arched and a piercing howl escaped from its throat as Leo bit down terribly on its neck. Taking a firm hold with his teeth, Leo stood poised on all fours as he lifted his muzzle with the still-alive wolf in his bite, dragging it across the ground as if sweeping the forest floor clean of its litter of dropped leaves and broken twigs. With a great swing Leo pulled the creature off the floor and let go with his maw. The wolf was thrown from through the air, a trail of blood spurting from its throat following as it crashed into the bodies of the attackers who were fighting Jai.
Shen saw the opportunity at hand. "Quick!" He bellowed, catching Leo and Jai's attention. "Follow me; I know a place where we can be safe!" He motioned to his sister and the wolf to follow, sheathing the throwing knives back onto his belt. "Come on!" There was a sudden chorus of snarls and growling from behind the trio. All three of them looked back to see a flurry of burning eyes travelling in their direction. Shadows moved in and out of the morning light rays that filtered through the branches of the forest trees. Those who had been knocked down by the now-dead wolf, which had been tossed by Leo, were starting to back onto their feet.
Jai was hesitant to chase on as she glared at the oncoming attackers, lusting for more blood but was pushed to do as her brother said when Leo pulled on her arm. "Go!" Leo shouted through bloody fangs and crimson dripping lips. The lioness turned away from the oncoming wave and looked to Shen as the black feline spun on his heels and bolted past the erect trees.
For a good five minutes Jai and Leo ran in the wake of Shen's footsteps, their movements swift and their steps so light that no leaf or twig crunched beneath their feet. Sharp turns left and right they ran deeper into the depths of the forest. Leo gave a few glances back every now and then to see the flood of burning eyes trailing behind them. These guys were fast. "Go! Go!" The white-masked lupine barked.
"This way!" Shen shouted as he made a sharp left turn, skidding across the soil and running around a tree. As Jai and Leo followed, they both stopped when they saw Shen standing in a ray of light, staring at a panda with a staff in hand and a snow leopard. "Po!" Shen acknowledged as he ogled the panda. "Tai Lung!" He said, looking at the snow leopard.
"Shen!" Both men shouted back with joy. But then the smiles left their lips as they noticed the change in colour in the black feline's orbs. "Hey Shen...what's wrong with your eyes?" Po asked with hiked eyebrows.
Jai and Leo twisted their heads over their shoulders as they heard the sound of their pursuers draw near. The gang of bandits rounded the corner, spotting their targets. "No time for reunions!" Jai cried as she and Leo bolted past Shen, Po and Tai Lung. Shen glanced back and saw the creatures upon them. Their eyes burned intensely at him, teeth bared, throats and lips rippling with a wild fury for bloodlust. They paused for a few seconds and stared at Jai and the group of males.
Po's monochromatic fur stood on end like a frightened cat as his green eyes gawked at the snarling mass of animals glaring right at him: cheetahs, wolves, leopards, tigers and a few boars. Tai Lung was just the same. Neither of them had ever seen such creatures with irrepressible predatory behaviour. It chilled them to the bone, frozen by the fear of what they had just seen, though they did not get to stare for long as Shen grabbed hold of their shoulders and pushed them away from the animals. "Run! Get back to the house!"
Tai Lung and Po needed no encouragement as they spun for the cabin, running after Jai and Leo. Shen paused before going after his friends and sister. Spinning around on the spot, he reached into his cloak and took hold of a multitude of knives between his claws. With rapid and lightning-fast reflexes he threw them in the direction of the creatures. Although a few of them fell, those smart enough to jump aside charged for Shen. The black feline twisted on his heels and ran towards the cabin, up the stairs of the porch and into Tai Lung's house. He slammed the door behind him.
Shen moved away from the wooden access and marched up to Tai Lung. "Get Fu and Hao into your room. Stay there and guard them with your life." Shen snapped his head to Po. "Get the Furious Five awake! Now!"
There was an explosion from behind: fragments of wood and splinters flew through the air. The gang shielded their eyes.
Jai lowered her arm and saw a figure- resembling a tiger- barge into the house and hurtle straight for her brother. "Shen! Look out!" It was a useless attempt. By the time Shen looked around to preparing himself, the striped feline had connected its body with his own. The two felines were sent through the rice paper door leading into the training dojo.
The swarm of bandits dove in through the windows and broken front door. Jai moved to help her brother but was intervened as a leopard swiped at her face with its claws. A wolf bolted for Po, sending the panda and lupine into the kitchen and out of sight. Jai finished off her leopard adversary and stepped forward, dropping low as she cut the sword through the air, slicing into the torso of a wolf. The animal dropped to the floor instantly. She got to her feet and thrust the long blade of the sword upwards, cutting a cheetah from the bottom of his waist up to his forehead in the form of a neat red line. Leo took his chance and barked as he leapt onto the charging mass, taking hold of one of them by the tail in one paw and pulling the creature back as he snatched a boar by the throat. He squeezed his paw and snapped the hog's spine, throwing the limp body into another boar, piercing it with the tusks of its already-dead brethren.
Tai Lung paused in the moment of the fight. He wanted so desperately to help the wolf and lioness but remembered what Shen had said before being sent into the dojo. Tai Lung looked to the kitchen where Po had vanished with a wolf on his body. There were sounds of battle cries and growling coming from inside the room but still no sight of the panda or the wolf. The kung fu master took one last glance to the Lei and Jai, seeing how they were managing to hold off most of the creatures. They didn't need his help. Deciding to obey Shen, Tai Lung lit into the dojo.
When Shen had been tackled by the striped feline in a surprise attack, the both of them crashed through the doorway of the dojo and tumbled across the floor in a fit of snapping jaws and swiping claws. Fu, Hao and the kung fu masters had all been stirred by the sound of the front door being sent off its hinges in a splatter of wood. But were fully brought out of their half-wake dazes when Shen and the tiger came rolling through the entrance. Everyone, literally, jumped out of their beds and backed up against the walls of the dojo, staring down with shock and astonishment to the two felines battling for their lives on the floor in the centre of the room. Monkey had jumped up onto the beams on the ceiling due to the sudden fright. Mantis and viper had pretty much done the same thing, along with Shifu. All eyes then snapped from the duelling felines to Tai Lung as he jumped through the torn paper door, making his way over Shen and the tiger, straight for Fu and Hao. The lynx and hybrid pushed themselves as far as they could up against the wall. Tai Lung stood between them and Shen.
"Come with me!" He snarled. Reaching down and taking Hao in his arms, pulling Fu by her arm. The three felines moved around Shen and the tiger. Once out of the dojo, Tai Lung ran with the lynx and her son into his room, where Ming was looking blankly from underneath the covers of her bed, confused by all the noises that her heightened ears caught. Tai Lung slid the door open and wretched it shut once he was sure Fu was inside. Little Shen lay in a crib right beside the blind female snow leopard's side of the bed, the sounds of whimpering began to escape from him as he awoke to the sounds of the battle next door.
"What's going on?" Ming spoke, the panic and alarm in her voice.
"We're under attack!" Tai Lung replied as he dropped Hao to the floor in the corner furthest from the door. Letting go of Fu, the lynx knelt to hold her cub close as she looked frantically between Tai Lung and the door of the bedroom. Tai Lung ran over to his wife and swiftly picked her off the bed, placing her beside Fu and Hao before running to collect his cub and placing him in Ming's arms. He quickly cupped his wife's cheek and kissed her. "Stay here and be quiet. I'll protect you."
Shifu and the rest of the Furious Five all watched as Shen and the tiger rolled about on the floorboards like cubs, the only thing different being that they were trying to kill each other. Shen managed to grab hold of the striped feline by the hem of its shirt, rolling onto his feet he pulled with his arms. Seeing that Tigress was in the way, he called. "Excuse me!" Tigress moved aside. And in one clean movement, Shen yanked the snarling tiger off the floor, swinging it in an arc through the air and slamming it into the wall, upside-down. The striped feline groaned as it lay plastered up against the wall of the dojo. Shen wasted no time as he spotted the body of his old sword. With a flick of his foot, Shen launched the sheathed sword into the air, grabbed the handle and pulled the blade free before thrusting it through the stomach of the tiger. The weapon went right through the body and wall with ease. The tiger screamed in pain before Shen wrenched the sword free and silenced the creature for good with a spin, slicing it across the chest.
The corpse tumbled to the matted floor, a pool of red blood forming around its upper body. Shen panted heavily as he stared down on the dead body, gripping the hilt of his sword in a constricting grip. After a few seconds, Shen raised his eyes up to Tigress. The kung fu master stepped back a bit as she saw Shen's glowing bloody orbs glance at her. She felt a cold chill run down her back to the base of her tail. She watched as Shen looked around the room to the various colours of eyes of the kung fu masters that stared down upon him, seeing the flames burning within his red orbs. Shifu peeked from over the beam and perked his ears upright in recognition. "Shan Yi?"
Shen couldn't help but give a little smile; Shifu still believed he was Shan Yi, the Black Panther who held them cure Po from over a year ago. It warmed his heart a little, but was short lived as he snapped his head to the torn doorway. A small pack of wolves leapt into the room. "Here!" Shen tossed the sword t Tigress who instinctively caught its handle. "Introductions later." He managed to say before reaching for move knives, producing two held downside and lighting into the on-comers. Tigress regained her composure and joined Shen as a fierce scrap filled the room. Shifu, now filled with the energy from the unexpected wakeup call and seeing the feline once more, swung himself round the rafter and pushed with his feet against the bottom, soaring through the air and landing a powerful kick into the face of one of the lupines. The rest of Furious Five were quick to join the clash.
Back inside of Tai Lung's room, the group of felines huddled close, clinging to each other desperately as Tai Lung stood over them. His heart raced profoundly, beating against his toned chest, as he listened to the violent sounds of the brawl occurring just beyond the paper door which his eyes never left for a second.
Suddenly, the frame was kicked in as another leopard pounced into the room. The animal's eyes scanned the room from left to right, landing on the group huddle in the corner of the room. Tai Lung had moved into action as soon as the leopard entered the room, rolling across the floor and sweeping the creature's legs out from beneath it. Once on the floor, Tai Lung moved himself on top of the feline and brought down a strong fist onto his enemy's cheek. The leopard's head cracked from side to side as Tai Lung rained down a flurry of punches to the feline's face with purpose and determination. The leopard growled as it managed to get its leg between them and push forcefully against Tai Lung's muscled frame, sending the clouded leopard up and into the ceiling. Tai Lung yelped in pain as his back hit the beams, breaking the thick plank of wood. The feline below rolled aside as Tai Lung's body came crashing down, landing on the floor with a bounce and a whispering groan. The assailant used the moment to get onto Tai Lung's back and take a firm hold of his pony tail. The leopard yanked Tai Lung's head up, the dazed clouded feline only moaned with dizziness. The straddling leopard lifted its paw into the air and unsheathed five menacing black claws. Lowering its paw down across Tai Lung's neck, the feline readied for the blood to spurt from the snow leopard's throat.
It was then the feline was tackled by Hao's small form. "Leave him alone!" The hybrid cub screeched as he pushed against the larger feline with his small paws.
Fu pulled away from Ming and moved after her son but was halted by the blind snow leopard's paw on the hem of her vest. "Hao! Let me go! Hao!" She shrieked, reaching out a paw to the door.
Done without the slightest of thought to the risk and immediate danger he had put himself in, Hao flew through the door of Tai Lung's room and into the main area of the cabin with the leopard. The two felines crashed into the table positioned in the centre of the room. Hao was flung from the creature and onto the surface of the table. The hybrid groaned and clutched his head, a headache starting to brew. There was a snarling sound coming from above his head. Hao's multicoloured eyes looked up to see the upside down face of the bandit's muzzle rise from over the table edge. Hao gawked as the creature brought up its unsheathed claws and sliced down through the air towards him. Hao instinctively rolled off the table and onto the floor, scurrying beneath the wooden furniture and kicking the chair where the feline stood out so it smacked into its stomach. The leopard doubled over with a puff of air knocked from its lung, but snarled in its throat as it jerked the chair aside and bent down, reaching past the legs of the table for Hao. The cub scurried away in fear but the feline lifting the table up and crawling across the floor for him. Hao soon found himself blocked by the other chair at the other end of the table, his back pressing up against wooden legs as the leopard's claw came within reach. Hao curled up his knees and felt tears in his eyes as he cried out in terror. The leopard sneered with a smile as it stretched out its arm towards the cub, its paw ready to grab hold of him.
The feline, then, howled in sudden pain. Its eyes widened. Hao witnessed as the leopard slid across the floor and was pulled out from under the table. Its claws scraped into the wooden flooring but proved without success. As the leopard was pulled out from under the table, it looked to find Leo's muzzle glaring up through his white masked; red eyes blazing with fury and hatred behind it. The leopard drew back its ears and hissed at Leo. The Pure One ignored his adversary's threat and released his jaw on the feline's foot to jump onto the leopard and snap his muzzle at its neck. The leopard was defenceless on its back, swiping its razor claws at Leo's face maliciously with endless mercy to prevent Leo from getting a good assault.
For a small moment, the entire cabin was sent into a deafening silence as an echoing noise of what sounded like a gong being struck rung through the air. Those in the training dojo stopped their fighting and all peered through the torn paper door. Jai halted her actions, the tip of her blade pointed at the chest of a cheetah. On the floor, Leo and the leopard paused and turned to look at the doorway of the kitchen. From underneath the table, Hao's coloured orbs peeked between the legs of the chairs. The sound came again and again, following with the whines of a dog. Silence once more filled the cabin. At that time, the wall connected the kitchen burst open as a body soared through the air and knocked into the table, toppling it and the candles atop. Hao squealed anxiously, covering his eyes as his hiding place was revealed. He looked through his claws as everyone looked to the body on the floor of a dead wolf. They all, then, glanced to the hole in the wall as Po's massive figure stepped through. In each of his paws, he held a handle connected to a wok. The panda's eyes were shining brightly and he smirked coyly. "Order up." He said with a smile. For a good moment of stunned silence, everyone gazed at the panda, but the silence of his audience was broken as a tiger- who was stupid enough- charged. Po dipped his eyebrows and broadened his grin as he gave a cry of battle and spun. The first wok smacked into the feline's cheek with a low song emitting from the vibrating metal. The second one knocked the tiger off its feet and sent it spiralling to the floor with a broken neck from the force of the strike. "Shasabooey!" Po said in a stance as he readied for the next animal to bolt at him.
Instantaneously, as if acting like a bell to the start of a tournament, the two sides of adversaries faced each other and began the brawl once more. Over time, one by one, the numbers of the bandits dropped along with their bodies. Blood flew forth from them as Shen's knives, Jai and Tigress' swords cut into their skin. The unorthodox tune of the woks in Po's paws filling the cabin and overpowering the cries of the dying assailants. Necks snapped, bones cracked, skin was torn and blood spewed in a gruesome show of violence. Soon the enemy was defeated, finishing off with Leo. The great wolf hoisted the leopard who tried to assault Hao by the throat up against the wall of the main room. Shen stood at his side. The leopard's legs banged against the surface, and his arms tried to pry Leo's large paw from around its neck-effortless as it was. Everyone had been gathered together. Tai Lung had regained consciousness and remained in his room, comforting Ming and their son, who had stopped crying by now.
Fu instantly ran to her son and scooped him off the floor. "Oh, Hao!" She clutched the hybrid close to her chest, tears streaming down her face. "Thank goodness, you're safe!"
"Mama..." The cub whimpered as he let the tears stain his mother's vest.
Fu stroked his head as she cooed him softly. "Shh, shh. It's okay. It's all over." She looked up from her son to Shen standing by the great grey wolf.
Shifu, Po and the Furious Five stood a small distance away with Jai as they watched the event unfold.
Shen glared incredulously at the struggling feline. His lips trembled with a snarl. Leo's face was calm, but the fur strands and whiskers around his muzzle stained with dripping blood gave him a terrifying image. "We were promised safe passage." Shen snarled. "You're 'Commander' gave his word that we would not be harmed!"
The leopard managed to force a laugh from its tightened throat. "Fools, the lot of ya! You honestly believed our Commander would let you go so easily?" Shen's eyebrows dipped and Leo's mask shrank with a growl from his throat. He added pressure to the feline's neck. The leopard convulsed and choked, a line of blood running down the side of its maw. "It's...you...he wants!" He gurgled, looking to Jai. All eyes glanced to the lioness and then back to the leopard. Shen's tail twitched. Leo's red teeth appeared from beneath his lips. "You...are...all he...craves! He won't stop...till you're dead. All of ya."
Shen snapped his paw down and whipped out a throwing knife, holding the tip of the blade up under the chin of the leopard. "He will never harm my sister, never again!" The black feline sneered; he pushed up on the knife against the leopard's fur and skin.
"My...Commander...may not know...patience." The leopard scoffed. "But...he will wait for 'er...and for you. You will come...to him."
Shen pulled away his knife and sheathed it back on his belt. "You're right." He said. "I will go to him. And when I walk away, it'll be with me standing over his dead, cold body."
The leopard laughed deeply, spitting blood onto Leo's face. The wolf was unfazed by the spray of liquid. "I say again...fools. You'll be...slaughtered. And when...he's finished with you...he'll move onto 'is main goal."
Leo, Shen and Jai all blinked stupidly, simultaneously and looked to each other quizzically. "What do you mean?" Jai hissed as she stepped forward. "What goal?"
The leopard laughed again. "You mean you haven't figured it out yet? Our Commander will make gods out of us all. He will make us the ultimate warriors! The ultimate protectors of this world; it's time for a new way of life!"
"What are you talking about?" Shen demanded.
"The time has come, for the true predators to stand on top and the prey to be hunted. For the weak to stand aside and let the strong take the lead." The trapped feline looked from Shen to Leo. "Isn't that the way things work, General?" The feline glared up through its eyebrows at him. Leo's red orbs blinked again, his tail slipped in between his legs and his ashen fur shivered. His ears dropped down slightly. "Yes, you know how the system works. We know that you're one of Them, the ones from the tales and myths! You're a Blood Knight!"
Fu, Hao, Shifu, Po and the rest of the Furious Five all drew their attention to the large wolf holding up the leopard against the wall. "You...you mean he's..." Po stuttered.
"He's a feral!" The leopard finished, staring right into Leo's eyes.
"But how can that be!" Shifu whispered, looking to the ground and shaking his head. "No. It...it can't be true. They're just stories." His sapphire eyes looked up from the ground to the leopard. "Just stories." He repeated with disbelief.
"Look with your eyes!" The feline shouted this time. "You seem 'im standing before you! He's twice the size of any of ya. He's stronger, faster! He used no weapon but 'is claws and fangs to kill off my friends."
Fu hugged Hao closer to her chest. The young cub stared on with curiosity through the salty tears in his eyes. "But...he...he saved me."
"He didn't save you!" The leopard snapped. Hao retreated into his mother's arms again. "He just 'ad the sweet taste of blood and wanted to 'ave more. It's like a drug to 'im. He needs it. He's wild for it." The feline motioned to the bodies littering the room with his eyes. "Those guys, the ones he killed, they were his buds. They followed 'im. They looked up to 'im. And now they're dead!"
"Only because they tried to kill us!" Jai bellowed. "He was protecting us! He was protecting me!"
Gazes travelled to Jai and then the wolf. The leopard chuckled darkly as he looked to his former Commander. "We know 'bout you, traitor!" Jai blinked in question. "We know of your affair with this monster. We've always known of how you two would frolic off into the woods. You spoiled yourself! You've lost your purity to him! You've become one of Them. You loved him, so you love Them! Filth! The lot of ya!"
Jai was about to move in and kill the leopard but was beaten to it by Leo. His tail rose into the air and his mask twisted into a vigorous form of fury and rage. His ears drew fully back in anger. The large wolf's lips rose again, revealing the purple gums and teeth speckled with fresh blood. His paw tightened on the feline's throat and the leopard began to writhe in his grasp, tail twitching, legs kicking. Leo pulled the feline off of the wall and brought his face an inch from his own. The leopard could feel the lupine's warm breath on his muzzle and the stench of blood on his breath. And when the spotted leopard looked into Leo's eyes he saw not only the red hue of his irises, but a never-ending flame of pure predatory wildness. The leopard began to try and push away with fear and horror this time. "I am going to tell you something, whelp!" Leo growled, not from his throat but way down in his stomach. "I may have taken Jai as my mate, but I did it out of love. I gave her the one thing she never had! I am more powerful than you! I am more powerful than your new Commander. And I swear, on my life, that he will never harm another soul ever again! I swear that if Shen fails to defeat him," Shen looked down to the ground for a second and then to his kung fu friends. Shifu and the Furious Five- apart from Tigress and Po who both looked at him sadly- stared intensely at the black feline in astonishment. The Grand Master felt as if he had just been kicked in the groin. Their attention was brought back to Leo a second later. "...I will personally tear Hei Xin's heart out from his chest while it's still beating. I will protect my lover. I will protect these people! I will save those in the village of Xi'an! For I am a feral!"
Shen's eyes widened as he watched the spectacular performance that now seemed to come from Leo. As much as it was exhilarating and addictive to watch, Shen saw the look in his friend's eyes and felt a cold feeling in his stomach. Jai too felt this wintry sensation rush through her body. Never before had she seen this side of her lover. It scared her to the core of her heart, but it also drew her towards Leo, physically, all the more. She listened intently as he bawled powerfully.
"For I. Am. A Pure One!"
With the finishing bark of his words Leo drew back his head, opening his maw to its full size. The leopard wriggled in the wolf's grasp as he saw the glimmering sparkle coming off the lupine's blood stained, needle-sharp teeth. The creature screamed in panic as Leo thrust his head forward and sank his teeth into his prey's neck. The cry transformed into a shaken wail of pain as the leopard felt Leo's fangs sink deeper into its throat, blood squirted like juice from an apple as the wolf bit harder and harder, feeling the touch of the feline's spinal cord with his teeth. Fu covered Hao's eyes and instantly turned away. Viper, Crane, Mantis and Monkey averted their eyes and covered their ears. From inside Tai Lung's room, the kung fu master covered his wife's ears. Ming cupped Little Shen's ears down on his head, preventing him from hearing such sounds. The only ones who witnessed the event full out were Jai and Shen- who looked on without the slightest twinge of emotion- Shifu gaped as felt his stomach tie into a knot. Tigress glared at the scene like Jai and Shen. Po, having experienced the event first hand, shuddered as memories filled his mind. But, no matter how much he wanted to, he could not draw himself away from looking. The sounds of the leopard's cries soon diminished into soft whimpers before fading into nothing. A heavy silence came over the cabin.
Pulling his teeth back, and tearing a chunk of the feline's throat with it, Leo chucked the body aside with a grunt. He dropped the chunk of flesh; it fell with a wet slapping sound on the floorboards. Dropping to his knees, Leo felt a familiar sensation in the balls of his feet, rising up through his body with a familiar pure energy. The lupine could not hold it in. Spreading himself on all fours, like how had down as a cub so many years ago; Leo arched his chest out and raised his head to the roof, ears drawn flat against his skull. With a deep breath and his eyes closed Leo let out a mighty howl that lasted longer, deeper and fuller of emotion than when he had lost his parents or Ling.
In the village of Xi'an, perched atop the tallest building, Hei Xin's spitefully black claws scratched away of the stone tiling rooftop. His abyssal feathers ruffled and his piercing red eyes moved to the forest on the edge of village horizon to the forest where the howl erupted. The eagle's head dipped with malevolence and a smirked formed its way onto his long sharp beak. His mind thought of one thing only.
Everything was working to plan.