Strong
Don't own KFP
Chapter one: The Howl
Po looked at the night sky as the cool wind ruffled his white and black fur. A small smile sat on his face. His hand grabbed the peach next to him and ate it, slowly munching into the soft sweat texture. The wind blew again. "Hehe, I know. I know," He said to himself. Somehow the earth itself knew when it was time to go to bed. Po stood up and tossed the fruit's core to the ground for the next peach tree to grow. He turned to go.
Then he stopped.
The wind felt different all of a sudden. A chill, a warm chill ran down his spine. The hissing of the breeze swept past his ear, and on the distant reach of the valley's mountains, he heard a sound, a moan, no.
A howl.
"OOookay. Weird." Po shook his head and walked down the steps to the barracks. He carefully tiptoed to the kitchen where Tigress was. "Oh! You're still up?"
"I was actually waiting for you," Tigress said. "You've been spending a lot of time at the Peach Tree. Is everything alright?"
"Everything's fine. I was just reeeaaallly craving some heavenly enlightened food," Po chuckled. A small smile graced Tigress's lips. "Why aren't you asleep? Shouldn't a master get rest?"
"A true master can control the time he or she can or can not rest, lest they fall prey to their enemies' attack."
"Rrriiiight. Uhh okay. That's uh... nice to know," Po said. "Anyway, I should go to bed."
"There was something else I needed to tell you," Tigress spoke up.
"Hmm?" Po poked his head around the kitchen's entryway.
"There's supposed to be a new councilman coming to the Jade Palace tomorrow. Master Shifu wanted me to make sure that you were briefed."
"Huh? When did he say that?"
"A few hours from now."
"Why didn't anything tell me earlier?!" Po exclaimed.
Tigress rose her eyebrow with a smirk. "You were munching on Heavenly food."
"Ha. Ha. Alright. I'll get some rest for the new guy. You know what he's like?" Tigress shook her head.
"I do know he's supposedly a former warrior of incredible strength," She said. "His name is Platon."
"Why is a warrior doing boring paperwork?" Po asked.
"There's good to be done everywhere, Po. Not everything has to be punched through."
"Where's the fun in that?" Po smiled. Tigress slightly glowered at him.
"I would hope that the Dragon Warrior knew that sometimes a delicate approach is needed."
"Ahh what I mean is... uh... anyway, I should get to bed. Hehehe." The stammering panda rushed off to his bedroom and shut the silk door behind him. "Wow, I'm such an idiot sometimes." Po hadn't gotten better at talking with Tigress. Mostly because it was still like talking to a walking powder keg at times. He didn't know what might set her off. Of course, while some things were more obvious than others, it still didn't make being her friend any easier.
Po sighed and crawled into his cot, but he didn't go to sleep right away. The howling wind unnerved him. He felt its prickly fangs grazing his back. "I need another blanket," He muttered, thinking it was just the cold.
Hopefully, it was just the cold.
**********H**********
The fog from the lake puffed around and killed any noise that dared tread through it. The waters stood in front of the craggy mountain and sat on the mouth of a dark toothy cave with dripping mist drooling from its throat. Yet, the cloaked man didn't fear the darkness. His face was mostly hidden as he carefully walked in and down the cave's throat. Moans and groans escaped from the cave's depths, yet the man simply clenched his jaw harder as his torch flickered in the darkness. Each step loudly announced his presence as the cave silently peered at him through the darkness. At last, he came to a wooden bolted door with two large rhinos guarding the entrance. "Who goes there?" They asked. They didn't make a move for their spears. They knew anyone who stepped in that door would have to be strong enough to come out of it alive.
"It is me," The cloaked man said in a deep yet surprisingly warm voice. "How is he?"
"He's been silent as always. No trouble. He was moving a lot in his sleep... bad dreams... bad memories." The cloaked man nodded and opened the door, taking the torch in with him. The man locked it back. Water dripped and turned to steam on his torch, hissing into the air as he drew further into the dark prison. He grunted at the pain in his knuckles as he set the torch into the stone wall. The moisture attacked his hand's joints. He rolled them around, but it didn't alleviate anything.
"The guards say that you've been behaving. That's good." The cloaked man said to the darkness. The darkness of the cave shifted in front of him, and dim glowing eyes reflected the fire's light. The prisoner's black fur merged with the black cave, and his slender body was shackled at the feet and arms to the ground. "If you keep up your behavior then you'll be fine." The prisoner's silence hugged to his room while he glared at the cloaked man. "You'll soon be moved to a more comfortable place. More secure and safe." The prisoner, a black wolf, gazed up. "Relatively speaking. It will keep you out of trouble. Granted that you don't cause any." The wolf still glared at the cloaked figure. From head to toe, the hooded man wouldn't be seen, but the cloak itself was a royal red. It contrasted with the wolf, whose only clothing was a rope for a belt and torn black pants.
He had insisted on the black pants.
Without another word, the cloaked man grabbed his torch, turned, and unlatched the door. "Take care not to make a fuss. Remember that." The wolf didn't make a noise. As he exited and bolted the door behind him, he dusted the cobwebs that fell on his red cloak. "Tomorrow, I'll be sending additional guards while we're away."
"And after that?" asked one of the rhino guards, the right one.
"That has yet to be determined." The cloaked man said. The guards glanced at each other. "Is something wrong?"
"Sir, can we ask an honest question?" Asked the other guard, the one on the left. They stepped a little further from the wooden door and spoke softly.
"Mr. Four," said the guard on the right, "And I realize the capability of the prisoner. Moving him will take the most skilled warriors... and you're the only one he won't fight."
"Mr. Three is right, sir." said the other guard. "We're concerned."
"For yourselves or the prisoner?" Asked the hooded man.
"Yes," the guards said simultaneously. The cloaked man took his furry paw and stroked his chin.
"The emperor won't be pleased with this-"
"Sir, the emperor will-"
"Mr. Four!" shushed the other guard. "We would just like to inspect the escorts taking the prisoner to make sure they're... capable. "
"The escorts are still being looked into," The cloaked man said. "However, you two have been with this prisoner the longest." He stroked his chin more. "Yes... That would be understandable. I'll be sure to have you as my guards. But this meeting never happened."
"Agreed," The rhinos said. With a nod, the mysterious man walked back up the steep cave and out into the misty night. The guards said nothing, watching the light slowly disappear, and they only sighed when an hour passed by.
"We're doomed," said Mr. Four.
"Don't run out of hope," Mr. Three said.
"You know what will happen if we're off duty."
"I know. I know," Mr. Three groaned. "Where do you think they'll put him?"
"There's only one place that could actually hold him... or kill him," Mr. Four said.
"Chor-Gom Prison? It was modified for Tai-Lung," Mr. Three sighed, sliding his back down the smooth wall until he plopped to the ground. His co-worker did the same. "If they bring him there, there's only one person that I can think of that would actually hold him down AND is the nearest warrior. Besides, we would have to cross that place anyway."
"You mean the Dragon Warrior?" Mr. Four asked. Mr. Three nodded.
"Let's hope that he's as legendary as they say." A small tapping interrupted their conversation. They listened as the wolf inside tapped on the door with a small rock. Mr. Three smiled. "Don't worry about us, Blackie. We'll be fine. Mr. Four and I already got a plan for when you move." More tapping came. "I think we can pull it off."
"WAIT! If he's going that way, doesn't that mean he's going straight through the Valley of Peace?" Mr. Four asked. Mr. Three nodded. "Isn't that where the Furious Five are?"
"So?"
"Who all are in it?"
"Hmm," Mr. Three scratched his head. "There's a simian, a snake, a bug, a crane, and a-" His eyes shot open as did his co-worker. "Oh, my heavens." He whispered. The wolf tapped again on the door. "Uh... don't worry, Blackie. It's best if you don't know. It's best to keep these things in the dark." Mr. Four nodded and agreed.
Continued...
I'm back with another experiment. Let's see how this goes.