Crazy trouble with love part 8
Ladies of the Shade and Peng
Series: Kung Fu Panda
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The sky was dark and crackling with thunder while freezing rain came down hard on the bamboo forest as a cloaked figure was grunting and fighting against the strong wind as they pulled a cart behind them with the cover on it nearly coming off with each gust.
"C-Come on.. I just want to...get to… the village.." Groaned the figure as the winds roared, blowing his cloak off. Peng himself cursed and watched it go far off and growled before he forced himself to keep on going. "Need...to get some...shelter…" He groaned as he kept moving forward, only for his cart to halt as it began to get bogged down in the mud. He stopped and looked at it before shaking his head and moved to the back before grunting and tried pushing it out.
"Get...going!" He groaned, only to hear the sky explode as the lightning struck his cart, destroying it and sending him flying back. "AHHHH!" He let out before slamming into the side of a rock and groaned before sliding down and landed on the ground, groaning since the impact knocked the air out of him with him feeling a little dizzy. "No...my...cart.." He let out before everything went dark.
(Later)
Peng groaned in pain since his head felt sore and he felt like his body was weighed down by something. He began to slowly open his eyes and saw that he was covered in water, mud, and pieces of his destroyed cart. He tried to move up, but winced feeling his head pound and stayed still. 'Ow...well this is a fine way to wake up.' He groaned as he tried to get up, only to feel sore all over. He inwardly growled before he heard what sounded like cart wheels and spotted some figures moving by pulling a cart, but his vision was foggy and he couldn't see them clearly.
"H-Hey, hello? Help… please?" He groaned as he tried to move again.
The figures stopped and turned with a gasp heard before one of them ran over and crouched down near him. "Oh no, are you alright?"
"No...help, please?"
"Whoa, what happened to him, and why does he look like he was in the middle of an explosion?" asked one walking over.
"He must have been caught up in the storm. Tell us, where does it hurt?"
"Everywhere...lightning hit my cart." Peng groaned out while a third figure walked over and gasped.
"Oh no, we better get him to the village, he doesn't look like he'll make it far on his own."
"Righ-hey, wait, is it just me or does his fur look white under all that mud?"
"Wait… hey, you're right! Hey, are you a snow leopard?"
Peng groaned while feeling a hand on his cheek.
"Don't pass out on us, tell us, are you a snow leopard?"
"Y-Yes…" He said before losing consciousness again.
"Oh no, quick! Help me get him on the cart!"
"Right, let's get him to the camp, the village might not be safe!"
"Hurry!"
The figures carefully lifted him up and over to the cart before they resumed going their way while one tried to remove the dirt off him as carefully as possible. "Please be ok little guy, please be ok."
(Later)
Peng was slowly starting to come too, and this time he could actually feel less pain, in his head and body while feeling something warm over him. He softly groaned as his eyes opened up and he saw he was in a large tent and was covered by a large blanket and was atop some large pillows. He was surprised and moved to slowly sit up and rubbed his head while feeling some gauze on it. "Where am I?"
"You're at our camp, you were in rough shape when we found you." Said a voice behind him.
Peng jumped and whirled around before seeing a tall female snow leopard with a red vest on with matching boots and holding a red umbrella folded up at her side. "Who are you?"
"My Name is Song, and I am the leader of the Ladies of the Shade, the real question is who are you, and why are you traveling alone?" She asked with Peng moving his legs over the side and sighed.
"Well, my name is Peng, and I was on my way to the next village over. I was hoping to sell some of my wares there to make money, but the storm came and I couldn't find shelter in time, so I tried to endure it and force myself to keep going."
"Well, the carts completely destroyed, all we found was rubble." She said as she shook her head. "You're lucky we found you and not someone else."
"Well thank you for bringing me here, but I best be on my way." He stood up and winced. "I don't want to be a problem. Besides, I need to try and rebuild the cart and try to make new pots."
"Yeah I wouldn't do that if I were you for multiple reasons."
"Oh yeah? Like what?" He said as he hopped off the pillow and onto the ground, only to cry out in pain.
"The broken ankle is one of them."
"Ow! Ow ow ow." He winced and hissed in pain while Song moved over and helped him back onto the pillow and grabbed his leg.
"Yeah, the ankle is broken and it's going to take a few weeks to heal up properly, so I don't think you should be moving at all until then, or at least for awhile." She advised while Peng groaned.
"But I can't stay. I mean, it wouldn't be right of me." He spoke while looking at her. "I appreciate bringing me here, I really do, but if I'm injured like this, and I can't sell any clay pots, how can I repay the favor?"
"Well, you could make some for us, plus we snow leopards have to stick together, right?"
"Um, sure, I guess? But really, if there's anything I can do, just tell me." He spoke with her smiling.
"Don't worry about it, right now you just focus on staying off that ankle and get some more rest. You took a nasty blow to the head." She said as he nodded. "I'll tell the other girls that you're up."
"Could you let them know I'm thankful?"
"Will do." She turned and left the tent with Peng adjusting himself and laid down to look at the top.
'Well, at least I'm alive, that counts for something. Plus she seems nice, so I must have been found by some kind women. As soon as I can move around, broken ankle or not, I'm gonna repay their kindness.' He thought as Song began to approach the other girls who were sitting around a large fire.
"So, how's the kid? Any brain damage?"
"No, right now he seems perfectly ok, although he had to learn the hard way why he couldn't just get up and move around so soon." She said with a sigh. "And before you ask, no, I don't know why he was alone, all he said was that he was selling pots."
"That's pretty obvious. The remains of the cart weren't anything but broken pottery. Besides, what could he manage to lug by himself on one cart all by himself if it was anything heavier?" remarked one of them.
"I don't know, I wonder where his parents are, do you think they're dead?"
"Well if they are, then he's lucky to be around." Spoke one looking down with the others getting the hidden message and got expressions like it.
"Yeah… they like them young some time, right? I wonder...but if he's going alone, maybe he doesn't know of the purges or hunts?"
"I don't think so. If he did, why wouldn't he just try to lay low and keep from sticking out?"
"Huh… maybe it was a good thing we found him then, right?" Said one as the others nodded.
"Yeah… so, uh… what are we going to do about our… business ventures?" Asked one, making the other's eyes widen. "I mean, can we take the chance of keeping it going while he's resting up?"
"Ah… I hadn't thought about that, for all we know he's one of those guys with a high moral code who might not like that he's suddenly traveling with a band of thieves."
"Then we don't tell him." Remarked one with a shrug. "Think on it. He's limited on how much he can move around, and it's not like we'll leave our spoils out in the open. All we'd have to do is come up with a good enough excuse and keep eyes on him all the time."
"Huh… yeah, you're right, as long as we're smart about this we should be fine."
"Then it's settled. We keep tabs on him while he's recovering and keep it quiet on what we do."
"Agreed, and see if he has a cute older brother and father too~"
That got several of them giggling with Song rolling her eyes.
"Calm down girls, I know it's been awhile but control yourself."
"Hey, it's hard to find a male leopard ever since Tai Lung went on a goddamn rampage and made everyone go nuts!"
"You know my uncle?"
The girls whirled around and saw Peng standing there while balancing on his good foot with surprise.
"Wait...Tai Lung's your UNCLE?!"
"Yes, my mother told me that before she passed, but I couldn't find out any more besides that, do you know where he is and how he's doing?" He asked with interest with the girls sharing some uneasy looks while some looked away. "What's wrong?"
"Kid… any chance you grew up mostly in iccolation, away from most roads and villages?" Asked one slowly.
"Yes, up in the mountains, why?"
"Ah...ok, so you were in hiding or weren't born yet during the purge and hunts then, right?"
"Purge? Hunts? What do you mean?" He asked with a growing dread in his stomach.
"Oh boy...kid, you do know your uncle was a mass murderer and dangerous criminal along with being a stupidly powerful kung fu master, right?"
"...WHAT?!" He cried out with horror while some of them looked away and nodded, him clenching his hands and looking down at the ground and closed his eyes before shaking his head. "That's not true! My uncle isn't like that!"
"Have you ever met him?" Asked one of the girls. "After his rampage through the valley of peace no one trusted snow leopards, massive witch hunts began similar to the panda purge many years ago, but to a lesser degree, but that's when the emperor's daughter at the time gained a sick love for snow leopard pelts."
"Stop it!" He cried covering his ears and dropped to his knees with a growl. "That can't be true!"
"It is, after that the witch hunts turned into hunting expeditions, for almost a decade wearing one of our pelts was considered the pinnacle of fashion among nobles, but we were fortunate and the emperor finally had enough and banned all hunting and killing of our species." Said Song as the others nodded. "But by then the damage was done, over three quarters of the snow leopard population was decimated, and a few nobles still indulge in their illegal hunts every now and then."
Peng shook his head while trying to deny this was possible, but looking at their solemn expressions he subtly felt it was true. "B-But… mother...she said that he was a good man...why would she lie?" He muttered while Song moved over and tried patting his back while he felt tears in his eyes. "I've been trying to find him this whole time…"
"Well, you wouldn't have anyway, the dragon warrior killed him about a year ago." Said one bluntly, making Peng freeze.
"...what?"
"Yeah, he broke out of prison, killed a bunch of guard and went on a rampage towards the valley of peace where he was killed."
Peng stared at them slack jawed before letting out a loud roar and slammed his fist on the ground making Song jump with the teen snarling. "He...KILLED my uncle?! PO! YOU LIED TO ME!"
"You met Po?" Song asked in surprise.
"Yes! He told me that he didn't know where he was!" He roared out in anger, making the ladies of the shade look at each other nervously.
"Well… did you expect him to tell you 'hey, I killed your evil uncle, no hard feelings?' or something?"
He gave a hard stare that made several girls cover her mouth as he pushed himself to stand on his good foot before turning and started hopping away.
"Hey, wait, Peng! Where are you going?" Song called out as she began to follow him.
"Valley of Peace!" he snarled. "I'm going to make Po pay for lying and KILLING my family!"
"Wait!" She said as she ran towards him and grabbed his shoulder. "Do you know why he did it? Because Tai Lung didn't give him a choice! He was going to kill thousands, all because he wanted to be the dragon warrior! Did you expect Po to spare him? Master Shifu did all those years ago and Tai Lung just broke out of prison to kill him and everyone in his way!"
Peng slapped her hand away and whirled on her with a snarl. "That still doesn't make it any less right! He should have told me the truth! He should have been honest with me! I told him I was looking for my uncle, but he didn't say he knew him! He lied to my face and knew what happened!"
"And then what, what would you have done if he did?!" She snapped leaning down in his face making him lean back. "Would you have gotten mad and tried to fight him?"
"I..I.. maybe I do-"
"And what would have happened? Anyone watching it would have instantly assumed it was Tai Lung junior! The army would have killed you, or you would have been imprisoned! Po saved you, either knowing this or just not wanting to upset you, he didn't want to hurt you!" Spoke Song grabbing him by the shoulders with Peng looking her in the eyes as she looked at him with sympathy. "I'm not saying you don't have a right to be mad, you do, but Po isn't someone who would knowingly keep quiet about something unless he had a good reason. He didn't want you to find out your uncle was the opposite of what you were expecting."
"But… everything I've been told has been a lie, from my mother to Po… what am I supposed to do now?" He spoke while looking down as Song tried to hug him and rub his back as he felt tears run down his cheeks. "My whole journey, it's been a waste. And kung fu? If my uncle used it to hurt so many people...does that mean I'm bound to end up the same?"
"Do you want to hurt people?" Song asked as he sniffed, wiping his nose.
"N-No, bu-"
"Then you won't, try to stay focused on what matters and you won't end up like him, I promise." She smiled with Peng looking up at her and hugged her tighter which made her rub his head while some of the other girls walked over and rubbed his arms. "It's ok to cry, get it out of yourself."
The ones who didn't move over tried to keep themselves from getting teary eyed and break down while letting the young teen let out all his pain. They stayed like that for an hour before Peng began to lose steam.
Song noticed and heard him let out small sniffles. "Come on, let's get you back to bed, you really need the rest."
"...Ok." He sniffed as she began to lead him back to the tent with the others he got in bed with Song pulling the blanket over him.
"Now you rest up and someone will bring you some dinner later."
"Ok… hey Song? Thanks."
"No problem Peng, just let us know if you have something to get off your chest." She said as she patted his head. "Now you get some sleep, ok?"
He nodded and closed his eyes as the girls walked out of the tent with Song closing the door flap.
"So… I think that went well." She said as she turned to the others.
"It could have gone SO much worse." Spoke one getting nods. "If he didn't have one leg to work with, he might have started running right away and we wouldn't have been able to catch him."
"Yeah... Hey, crazy idea, what if we keep him?"
That got the woman several stares from the others with raised eyebrows.
"Are you seriously suggesting we keep him like he's some loot we found?"
"He's a kid."
"Who knew she was THAT de-"
"Finish that sentence, I dare you." She growled. "I'm not saying we lock him up, chuck him with the goods, and look him over like a pretty statue, I'm suggesting we let him stay here, with all of us." She said, getting some new looks. "Think about it, the kids family is obviously dead, and the only reason he was traveling alone was to find out more about his uncle, and now that he knows the horrible truth, what other options or plans does he have left?"
"That… actually kind of makes sense…" Said one slowly.
"It's not like he couldn't just set up a pottery shop somewhere." one remarked. "I mean if he's made it this far, he must be good."
"But how long will that last? How long until word spreads about him and he's targeted?" one pointed out. "We've managed to get around just fine because we keep moving, but if he stays in one spot too long, he might get captured without warning and...you know."
"Yeah, it's a miracle he hasn't been found out yet, do you think he knows kung fu?"
"He said he does and was scared he might end up like Tai Lung." revealed Song.
"Well there we go, he can defend himself and we can help teach him our style if he's interested."
"Maybe we should wait on that." Spoke one twiddling her thumbs. "I mean, it might be weird, you know?"
"How?" Asked one with a raised eyebrow. "We're just trying to make it safer for him. With so few of us around, it's better we stick together then get spread out and picked off one by one."
"Right, but we're trying to trick him into thinking we're just a traveling band of dancers."
"Which we are, we just happen to do a little 'extra' on the side, so it's not really lying. More like…'accidentally' keeping some things out." Remarked one with a chuckle. "Besides, it'd be nice to have a guy around for a change."
"Yeah… I guess it is." Said one with a smile. "How old do you think he is?"
"Oh for goodness sake." Song facepalmed. "Really? He hasn't had a chance to rest for one day and you're all thinking like that?"
"Don't blame us, name the last time a guy came here." Countered one of them balancing on top of her umbrella with her hands. "And the dragon warrior doesn't count."
"...ok, fair enough, but still! Just let him rest up a bit!"
"Aw come on, you were the one who washed him when he was out, did you happen to take a peek?"
Song blushed while a few chuckled before shaking her head. "Everyone just get back to what you were doing before!"
"I'll take that as a yes." One whispered getting them giggling before walking away with Song groaning to herself.
'Why do I have a feeling this is going to go downhill soon?'
(Later)
Peng was staring at the ceiling in utter boredom while twiddling with his fingers while looking down at his ankle on a pillow and sighed. 'A few days like this and I'm already going nuts with boredom.' He thought as he closed his eyes. 'I just want something to happen, I don't care what!'
"Excuse me, are you awake?" Came a voice making him turn and see one of the ladies walk in with some gauze. "Sorry if I woke you, but I came here to replace the bandages around your ankle."
"Ah, thanks." He said with a smile. 'I guess this is technically something, right?'
The snow leopard moved over and moved the blanket off to see the ankle. "Brace yourself, this is gonna hurt until the new gauze is back on."
"Please, I'm sure I can handle i-AUGH!" He cried as she pulled it off. He hissed feeling his ankle turn the wrong way with the lack of pressure and gripped the sheets.
"Bare with it for a little bit." She said as she began to clean the area before she started to rewrap the foot. "I'm almost done."
Peng growled and gritted his teeth feeling the tight bandages and tried to keep from letting tears slip out. 'It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!' He thought before letting out a high pitched whimper.
"And...there." She spoke as she finished and moved the sheet over the spot while he panted. "You alright?"
"I-I think so..." He groaned as she nodded.
"Ok, well, is there anything I can do to make you feel more comfortable?" She asked as she patted his head.
"No, it's fine, I'll be ok." He nodded while she looked at him with a frown.
"You sure? It must get a bit boring sitting in here by yourself."
"Well ...maybe a little bit, but it's fine, I'll manage."
"Oh come on, if you want something to do just tell one of us, we'd be happy to try and entertain you for a bit." She smiled while putting a paw on his making him look down and blush. "Just be honest with us."
"O-Ok, if you say so." he said as his face heated.
"There you go, now was that so hard?" She said as she rubbed his head, her paw accidentally going behind his ear and making him let out a purr. "Oh? What's this? Did you like that?" She smiled making him blush harder and gulp.
"Uh...Uh…" He stuttered as she just smiled.
"How about we try that again?" Se said as she began to rub behind his ear once more. Peng stiffened up and let out another purr with her rubbing the spot making him shiver and his tail stood up in response. "Does someone like getting rubbed right there?"
"Y-Yes, I d-do…" He let out meekly as she just chuckled happily.
'I could do this all day~' She thought before hearing someone clear their throat making them jump and turned to see one of the girls poking her head in with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"
"N-No!/Yes." She and Peng said at once.
"Hu, come over here, you got to see this." The girl who had changed Peng's bandages said with a smile.
The snow leopard walked over and crossed her arms. "What?"
"Rub your hand behind Peng's ear, just do it." She said as Peng blushed even more.
"Uh, that's not necessary, really"
"No, I want to see what she is talking about." Hu said as she did as instructed, only to freeze as Peng began to purr. 'Adorable!'
"Doesn't he remind you of when we were young? We'd always do that when rubbed just the right way."
"You're right, I'd almost forgotten what it sounded like." She said as she began to resume rubbing behind his ear.
Peng shivered while feeling both ears get rubbed and felt his body start feeling weak and content. 'I-I haven't felt like this before, since when could rubbing my ears cause this?!'
'He's like an itty bitty kitten!' They both thought as a few of the girls began to hear the purring from outside the tent.
"Hey, you hear that, right?"
"Yeah, it sounds like… purring?"
"Where is it coming from?"
"I think the tent Peng's in."
They all shared looks and headed over quickly before looking in and blinked seeing two of the girls scratching behind his ears with Peng himself looking like he was on cloud nine.
"...Are you seeing what I'm seeing?"
"Yeah and I want in."
"Me too, but would it be ok? I mean isn't it taking advantage of him?"
"Well I don't see him complaining, and he seems pretty happy about it."
They all glanced at each other and silently tiptoed inside.
"Do you like this Peng, how do you feel?" Hu asked as Peng just kept purring.
"It's...really nice…" He murmured happily.
"I wonder what would happen if you scratched under his chin?" chimed in a new voice.
"Or stroked his tail?"
"Let's find out~"
"H-Huh?" He said as he opened his eyes to see multiple girls heading towards him, all wearing devious and mischievous grins. "W-Wait!"
"Move over, I want a turn."
"Yeah, you two already had a turn!"
"Aw, no fair, I found out about it so I should be able to do it as long as I want!"
All of them tried to get some space with Peng finding numerous paws rubbing around his head, back, and tail, making him blush bright red and be overwhelmed.
"A-A-A-aaa!" He cried out before his eyes turned to swirls and he passed out.
The girls blinked with one turning his head around and didn't get a reaction.
"Uh oh, we MIGHT have gone a little overboard."
"Yeah… maybe us more or less bum rushing him to feel him over to see what happens wasn't such a good idea?"
"You did WHAT?!" Cried a voice behind them, making them turn to see Song standing by the door.
"Song!" Jumped one while fiddling with her fingers. "Uh...since when did you get here?"
"Since I heard you admit to bum rushing our guest and touching him all over!"
"C-Calm down, you heard that out of context!" Spoke one as Song marched over with a growl.
"All of you, out! Now!"
"Y-Yes ma'am!" They all ran past her with Song checking on Peng and saw he was just passed out.
"Thank god, for a second I thought they hurt you even more." She muttered as she let out a sigh of relief. 'Honestly, what were they thinking? I'm gonna give them one heck of a talking to later on.' She thought as she looked Peng over. 'I wonder where they were so excited to touch him though?'
She shrugged and shook it from her mind before covering him back up and moved to leave. 'I just hope he wasn't just traumatized by them.'
"N...not the ears…" He mumbled in his sleep, making her stop.
'Ears?' She looked at them twitch and blushed. 'Oh, he must be sensitive there like the others. No wonder they swarmed him.' She thought as she shook her head. 'He must have purred or something when they touched them, how childish can they get?'
With that she turned to leave while closing the flap and letting Peng get some sleep.
(Later)
Peng was currently in the middle of the ground, lifting himself up by his two arms in a reverse form of sit ups by lifting his body up to try and keep his muscles up since he couldn't use his legs too much.
"Are you sure you should be doing that? You're still hurt Peng." Spoke one of the girls while checking the medical supplies.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. I just gotta stay off the ankle, easy." He grunted each time he came down.
"You sure? If you want you can go back to the bed we set up for you, it's nice and soft and comfortable."
"It's a giant pillow. I am a practitioner of kung fu, I can't just laze around for so long!" He spoke determined with some sweat on his face. "If I do, it'll take me forever to get back into shape. Just a few more and I should be good for the day."
"If you say so, but if you hurt your ankle before it's finished healing you'll be more than just a little bit bed ridden." She said as he just shook his head, tuning her out. 'Stubborn kid, he's got determination but he needs to know when to take it easy.'
'Come on Peng, don't give up. After this, then you can take a break, but not before.' He thought as he tried to do one more push up, only for a strong breeze to blow through camp, knocking him off balance. "W-Woah, woah!"
"Woah, hang on Peng!" Cried the girl he had been talking to as she raced forward in hopes of catching him before he fell. She dove and managed to use her body to soften his landing as he fell face first on her chest with her holding him. "Are you alright?"
"Yeph." His muffled replied came before he realized where his face was and turned bright red. He heard her sigh and felt her stand up without letting him go.
"I told you to take it easy, stressing yourself when you need rest isn't helping. Ankle or not, you'll still risk it getting worse." She said as she held onto him tightly. "Time to go to bed Peng."
'Ah...ah...ah... ' He thought with his mind going a mile an hour since he's NEVER been in this position with a girl before, especially right up against them.
"So here's what's going to happen, you're going to sleep and stay in bed for the rest of the day, and no more exercise until you're fully healed, got it?" She spoke firmly looking down at him with Peng not moving. "Peng? Are you ok? Did you pass out from that fall? Because if so we might want to see the medic about that later, you've been passing out a lot lately."
'I-I can't say anything! I might be seen as a weird sicko! B-But if I do say anything, isn't that just as bad? Oh man, I feel...feel...calm...and safe like this...like when my mom use to calm me down when I was scared…' He thought as he began to slowly feel at ease as she carried him towards the tent they had set up for him.
The leopard didn't feel Peng fight it and looked down to see him looking content. "Peng? You alright?"
"Mmmmhmmm." He mumbled as she sighed and spotted the large bed/pillow.
'Y'know, I don't think I ever got to try that thing out, I wonder if it's comfortable?' She thought while looking around the tent and closed the flap. 'Maybe a minor break wouldn't hurt.' She thought as she marched towards it.
'Ok, I can do this, she'll put me down then I can apologize, that's not creepy, right?' Thought Peng before he felt her move down and noted something soft on his side. 'Alright, I'm on the bed, now to-what is she doing so close?' He thought as he looked over and saw her curling up on the bed next to him, spooning him as she let out a content sigh. 'Wait, is she...no no, she wouldn't, would she?'
"Oh man, this thing is amazing, why was I sleeping in a hammock when I could have been sleeping on this?" She muttered with Peng unable to speak up due to the close room while she nuzzled his head. "Maybe a little nap would help."
'N-no, you have to let go of me, this is inappropriate!' He thought as he tried to struggle a bit. The grip though tightened as he heard a yawn and heard her start going to sleep. 'No! Come on, go sleep in your own tent!'
"Zzzzzzzz." She snored as she snuggled up to him even more, like a mother cat against her kitten.
Peng groaned and tried to use a bit more strength to spread the arms and scoot away, but found the arms hold him like a vice. 'Oh man, this is not good! W-What if someone sees us like this? They'll get the wrong idea!' He thought as he kept trying to struggle, but it was hard due to both the grip, and the fact that he had to make sure his ankle wasn't moved around too much.
"Zzzzzzzzz."
'O-Ok, she said she just wanted to take a quick nap, maybe I can just wait until she wakes up?'
(Later)
'This isn't napping, it's sleeping.' He thought since they had been like this for hours and she hadn't woken up yet. 'Ok, I need to wake her up now, this is just ridiculous.'
"Peng? Hello, Peng, are you in there?"
'Oh no!' He thought as the tent flap was opened up and Song poked her head in.
"Are you-oh come on!"
"It's not what it looks like!" He tried to same though it came out muffled due to the position he was in.
Song blushed and stamped over with her hands on her hips before shaking the snow leopard. "Wake up!"
The leopard groaned as her eyes began to open up. "Ughhh… five more minutes…"
"No, out now." Growled Song as the other woman rubbed her eyes. "What do you think you're DOING?!"
"I was sleeping...wait, this isn't my hammock...and I'm guessing I'm not snuggling against a soft pillow?" She groaned as she began to remember what happened.
"What do you think?"
"...hi Peng, um… did you sleep well?"
"I didn't sleep." He admitted with a blush while Song pointed to the flap.
"Go back to your own tent, you just got put on laundry duty for the next week."
"Aw come on!" She groaned as she got and began to leave. "I just wanted to take a quick nap, he has the best bed in camp!"
"March!"
"Fine, fine, see you later Peng!' She called as Song let out a sigh.
"I apologize for her Peng, are you ok?"
"Y-Yeah, perfectly." He nodded while slightly missing the warmth near him. "B-But she didn't mean anything by it, she was actually on her way to bring me here when I almost fell."
"Let me guess, getting those arms working?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Well, yeah, I mean I need to stay in sha-"
"Didn't we agree that you need to take it easy?" She cut him off with a sigh while he nodded.
"Yes, but it's just my ankle. As long as I don't put any pressure on it, then it should be ok, right?"
"Yeah, except that Ming apparently caught you falling? Mind explaining how that happened?"
"...well, I was doing upside down pushups when the breeze knocked me off balance…"
"Exactly my point. This is why I want you to keep any exercises down to a minimum. If she didn't catch you, your ankle might have gotten so much worse, it wouldn't be funny." She said as she crossed her arms. "No more exercise until it's fully healed, ok? You'll survive a few weeks of taking it easy, right?"
He looked at her and let out a deep sigh and nodded. "Alright Song, I'll stop."
"Good, now do you want to come get some dinner? I saved you some leftovers that aren't completely cold."
"Well I am getting a bit hungry, sure." He said as he got up and began to hobble towards her.
"Here, you can lean against me." She said as she held her hand out towards him.
"O-Ok, thanks." He took it and used his good foot to keep balance as they left the tent while looking down. 'Wow, I'm holding her hand. Keep it together Peng, this is just keeping balance, that's it.'
"So, Peng, I have some news for you, tomorrow we're gonna be moving camp, and I was asking if you'd like to come with me?"
He looked at her in surprise before getting an idea what she meant. "Oh, you mean so I don't get lost or injured more, right?"
"Yes, plus we like having you around, do you like being here?" She asked with a smile, surprising him.
"Well, yeah actually." He replied while looking around the camp and saw some of the girls already in the act of moving stuff around. "It's a little small, but cozy. Easy to know who's around, and everyone's real friendly."
"Yes, it's not much but it's home, and family, so will you come with us?" She asked with a smile. "And maybe when you finally heal up… maybe you'll decide to stay?"
Peng felt like he almost tripped hearing that as they reached the fire and sat down while she went to get the leftovers and let that repeat in his head. Stay with the Ladies of the Shade? As in, for good? Be part of their group and home?
He was unsure, he had left home to find out more about the world...but he had done that, and he had also learned that his uncle, the reason he was traveling, was not only a bad guy, but also dead, he was unsure what to do, maybe this was a blessing in disguise?
He saw Song come back with a bowl and accepted it with a smile. "Thank you Song."
"No problem Peng, and I'm sorry if I'm unloading a lot on your shoulder, there's no reason to respond right away, ok?"
"No no, it's fine." He spoke before picking some noodles up and slurped them up with a hum. "It's a lot, but not in a bad way. I don't think I have anything else to say but yes."
"Wait, really? Just like that? You want to stay here with us?" She asked in surprise, catching the other girl's attention.
"Well, yeah." He nodded looking at the bowl. "I mean, you've all tried to help take care of me, and even when my ankle heals, there's not really much for me to do. I mean, I know who my uncle was, and I haven't really had any plans on where or what I'd have in mind on settling down. And it's like what the others say, we snow leopards have to stick together."
"Yeah… I guess we do, huh?" She said with a smile before one of the girls cleared her throat.
"Um, Song? Can I talk to you quick, in private, like now?"
"What is it? Is it an emergency?"
"Um… yeah, I'd say so.. Actually everyone but Peng meet up in my tent." She said before running off.
Peng was confused as he saw the other girls follow her with Song raising an eyebrow. "Uh, was it something I said?"
"I don't think so, just wait here, I'll be back in a moment." She left him alone and went to the tightly packed tent and crossed her arms. "Alright, what's this all about?"
"Have you forgotten that we are all thieves, very active ones mind you, along with being called the Ladies of the Shade?! Now tell me what will happen when Peng joins the group!" Hissed the leopard who called the meeting.
"Whatever happened to sticking together?" She retorted while looking around to the other girls. "You say it, and Peng seems all for it, but now you're doing a complete change of face?"
"No, god no, I would love Peng to join us, but first off, we've been able to shake off a few scumbags and government officials by being women only, and secondly what do you think Peng is going to feel when he realizes we've all been lying to him about what we do?" She asked as a few of their eyes widened. "He hasn't asked, but he's gonna start asking HOW we can afford our stuff, and when he does, what do we tell him? Make up more lies? You saw how he reacted when he found out his uncle being good was a lie, but what do you think he'll do when he finds out we've been lying to him too?"
"Shit, you're right, he wanted to go fight Po when he found out, what do you think he'll do to us?"
"Wait, wait, wait, let's calm down here, we have options!" Song called out in an attempt to bring order to the chaos. "Think for a second, has he ASKED us what we do yet?"
The girls looked at each other before slowly shaking their heads.
"Ok, good, then that means we haven't lied to him yet! So, here's what our options are right now, we can either lie to him when he asks, or we could tell him the truth in a controlled environment where we can explain our reasoning, which sounds like a better idea?"
"...what if we just dodge the question?" One girl asked.
"Really, and how long will we be able to keep that up?"
"It was just a suggestion."
"Look, how about we vote, raise your hand for telling him now, keep it down for lying, ok?"
The ladies nodded with several either raising their hands up with the others keeping their down.
"Ok, let's see, twenty six...thirty… ok! Thirty seven hands up, just barely over half, we'll tell him the truth."
That got some groans from the girls who voted the other way.
"Well, we better go tell him before he starts to get suspicious. Trust me girls, this is for the best."
"Can't we tell him later, like after we move?"
"Yeah, if we tell him now, he might get second thoughts."
"I say we do another vote, let's tell him much, much later!"
This slowly turned into an argument with the girls speaking over each other.
"Later!"
"Now!"
"Tomorrow!"
"Tell him now!"
"SHHHHHHH!" Came the loud shush from the Twins putting their fingers to their lips.
"What, what is it?" Song asked, starting to get a headache from all the bickering.
The two made gestures to the flap while making motions of Peng with them covering their mouths.
"They're right. Argue like this and Peng will hear us, find out what we're talking about, and then we'd really be in trouble." Sighed Song. "Look, think of this like a bandage, it's better to just rip it off now than dread taking it off, ok?"
All of them went silent with a few looking at the ground with a nod.
"Good, now let's go out there...and explain what we are to him." Song said as she made to leave the tent. 'Even if it's going to be hard.'
The others nodded as they left the tent and marched towards Peng solemnly who had finished his meal by now. When he saw them all gather around him he was confused and quiet.
"Um… is something going on?"
"Peng… before you decide to join us for good… we have to tell you something." Song said as she sat down in front of Peng slowly.
"Tell me what?"
"The truth...on just how we maintain the camp and supplies." She said as she steeled herself before spitting it out. "We're bandits."
"...what?" He said in shock.
"Technically we're thieves, but I swear it's not as bad as it sounds, just hear us out, please." she urged with her hands up. "We're a group of thieves who survive by moving from town to town...taking valuables and money."
"What?!"
"And not from the super poor, I swear! We usually hit up middle class towns, I promise! We also sometimes steal from nobles caravans, not a lot, just necessities, where do you think we got you that bed on such short notice?"
Peng looked at her and then the other girls who either looked away or didn't deny it, making him look at the camp and start seeing how it all made sense. He looked at the ground and let out a deep breath before sitting down. "So this whole time, while I was laying in bed, you all went out and stole?"
"Only once, but yes, but we can explain, what were we supposed to do after the purge? Can't stay in one place or we'd be found, no one trusts us for us to live a decent life in a village after Tai Lung, and this was the only way to avoid the red light district." Song said with a sigh. "We aren't that bad, we never take from those who would be worse off with what we took and no one dies, but this is just who we are, and you need to know this now rather than later."
"Well...I'm not happy about the truth, but I am happy you told me the truth." He admitted. "I mean, I'm not someone who can say what you're doing is wrong. I know how some people might not have much choice if it means surviving, but that doesn't mean I can advise doing it."
"Well, as bad as this might sound we kind of enjoy it, it's fun to dance, it's a bit of revenge for the hell we all went through, plus we make sure to cover our tracks pretty well, only hit towns and roads that have a history of thievery before we arrive."
He saw several of them nod with him looking away. "But isn't that even more risky? You know, about the whole small numbers thing."
"Not quite, we may not look it, but we are skilled martial artists, and believe it or not sometimes being an all female group helps, makes it more enticing for a kung fu master to come by and 'save us' so to speak. It deters most gangs and corrupt nobles from attacking us sometimes too." She chuckled.
"They can never resist cute faces." One of them spoke up with a few chuckling.
"Yeah, plus the glory hounds know they can use the 'I saved a group of beautiful maidens from certain doom' story to help gain recognition, people love that kind of stories."
"Well, I'm not gonna get upset or act like I've never done something like that. Truth be told, on the off chance that I didn't have enough money from selling pots, I'd...do some pick pocketing, but only if I had no other choice." He admitted rubbing the back of his head.
"See? It's kind of the same for us, so what do you say Peng, still want to join us?"
"Well I'd feel pretty bad after all the stuff you've done for me. So...yeah, I do." He said as the girls perked up and few began to cheer.
"Great! Glad we talked this out." Song said as she held her hand out for him to shake it.
He took it and gave it a shake while the Twins moved over and hugged him on both sides, catching him off guard before hugging them back.
"Heh, I think they like you Peng." Chuckled Song as a few of the girls looked at them enviously.
"I-I guess so." He stuttered before the two girls pecked him on the cheeks, making his whole face go red before his eyes rolled in the back of his head and made him pass out on the ground.
"Hey, no fair!"
"Wow, the kids pretty innocent if he faints after a kiss, huh?"
"Yeah… and that's how I like them~"
"I call next!"
"No you don't!" Spoke Song with a shake of her head. 'Well, at least that went well.'
(Timeskip)
Peng was balancing on his one foot with his ankle currently in a small cast while doing breathing exercises outside his tent with the camp currently stationed near a small river.
'In...and out ...in...and out….' He thought as he breathed in and out, focusing on the exercise.
"Hey Peng." Greeted one of the ladies walking by carrying a box.
"Morning." He greeted before he inhaled. 'In...and out…'
"Hey Peng." Greeted another walking by with her parasol over her head.
"Morning." He greeted back and exhaled. 'In...and out…'
"Hey Peng." Called another as she dragged a large roll of silk behind her.
"Morning." He greeted once more. 'In...and out...'
"Hey Peng." Spoke three of them at once walking by with a wave.
"Girls." he nodded. 'In...and out…'
"Hey Peng." Called several more before the Twins began to approach him.
"Girls." He said before finding himself grabbed by them. "Huh, girls? What are you doing?"
One just held up a bar of soap as another held up several brushes as they made their way to the tent by the river.
"Hey wait, what are you-wait! I'm good, I already bathed!" He blushed.
One just shook her head as she and her sister kept walking. "It's been three days-"
"-And that's far too long Peng." Finished the other one.
"But I haven't been sweating, or getting all that dirty, see? My fur's still nice and shiny." He spoke up.
"I know, but you still need to clean-"
"-regularly or you'll fall out of habit and end up-
"-a gross slob." They finished as they reached the tent and opened it to show several large buckets full of steaming water in them with a few large cauldrons full of boiling water over several fires near the back.
"B-But I won't! Honest! At the very least, let me do it myself." He blushed.
"We can't do that Peng because-"
"-Your ankle is still hurt, you could slip-"
"-And end up more injured than before."
"But I managed to last time." He said as they made their way towards the largest bucket that was large enough to fit several people. "This is overkill!"
"Don't be silly Peng-"
"-We're doing this to make sure you're all-"
"-Squeaky clean." They finished before they began to lower him in.
"H-Hey! I'm still wearing my clothes!"
They stopped and looked at each other before giving grins which made him feel nervous.
"Uh...on second thought, maybe this'll help get them clean too." He said before they began to quickly take his clothes off. "H-Hey, stop that, stop it! I am not a child, I can do this myself!"
The two didn't listen and tossed his clothes aside before lowering him in the water with him blushing.
'I feel more embarrassed than wrong.' He thought before the twins began to pour multiple shampoos and lotions on him before they began to lather him up. "H-Hey, what is all this, don't I just need one?"
"Relax, we have extras-"
-to go around, besides-"
"-it'll help you smell like springtime." They said with a smile as Peng began to get covered in bubbles.
"I don't need to smell good or like springtime, I'm just going to get sweaty again later!" He spoke up before one of them grabbed a basket filled with water before dumping it out and washed the suds off him. "Ah! T-That one was cold!"
"Ah, my bad Peng. but-"
"-cold water is good for the soul." They said before bringing out several bath brushes.
"H-Hey, I can scrub myself down you know!"
"Please-"
"-we-"
"-insist." They said before they began to rapidly scrub him over.
(Later)
"All done Peng-"
-Now it's time to dry you off-"
"-And take care of you." Said the twins as Peng groaned.
"Again, I can do this myself and what do you mean by take care, all I'm doing is drying my fur and putting my clothes back on." He spoke while feeling exhausted, even if it was just the girls doing all the work.
"That's not true at all-"
-Peng, we have to make sure that soft fur it all combed-"
"And brushed, so hold still~"
"W-Wait! I'm good, really!" He cried as they pulled him out and began to pull out brushes, combs and towels from behind their backs. "Help!"
"Hey! What's going on here?" Called a voice as several of the girls walked in with the Twins turning and Peng sighing in relief. "Peng? What are you doing in here? I thought you liked to wait after everyone else was done?"
"I do, but the Twins grabbed me and gave me a bath against my will! Help!"
That made them turn to the Twins who tried smiling innocently before the group of women looked at each other and nodded before smirking. "In that case, why waste good water? We better make sure THEY get all nice and clean too."
"Wait, that isn't necessary-"
"-We assure you, all we need to do is dry off Peng-"
"-And make sure his fur is nice and soft." They said before the women grabbed them and tossed them into the bath.
"Relax, we're just lending a little hand. Peng, you can go ahead and finish up on your own if you're good."
"I-I am, thanks girls." He said as he quickly grabbed a towel and his clothes before hobbling out of the tent. 'Thank god they showed up!' he thought as he wrapped the towel around his waist as he beelined for his tent.
The girls looked at the Twins while crossing their arms as the leader walked over with a glare.
"So, did you really think we were gonna let you get away with doing that? Without telling us?"
"Yeah, that wasn't very nice, now was it?"
"Whatever happened to snow leopards sticking together, huh?" They said as the Twins groaned.
"We wanted it to be a surprise-"
-And show you him at dinner, all nice and clean-"
"And soft too!"
"Well now you two get to be all 'nice, clean, and soft'." They smirked evilly while pulling out their own brushes making the Twins gulp.
'We may have made a mistake!'
(Later)
"Peng, good news." Smiled one of the women entering his tent as he laid on the pillow.
"Huh? What is it?" He asked curiously as he sat up.
"It's been quite a while, but I think it's safe to say that your ankle is healed up."
"Wait, really? You mean it?" He asked excitedly as she nodded.
"That's right, I just need to get the bandages off and make sure you don't put too much pressure on it. Even if it's healed up, you still need to give it time before you can go jumping around." She advised as he nodded eagerly.
"Of course, of course, but I can't believe it's finally coming off!" He laughed happily.
She smiled and moved over before unraveling the bandages and tossed them aside. "Alright, now calmly try to stand up on your own."
"Ok." He said as he did as instructed only to wince a little as he put weight on his previously injured ankle.
"How does it feel?"
"A little bit sore, but I'll live." He said with a smile.
"Why don't you go ahead and go for a walk outside? I'm sure everyone will be happy to see you're better." She said as she patted his head.
"Ok, sure!" He said happily as he began to move towards the door. He opened it and looked around the camp before walking in a random direction while feeling glad to be on both feet. "Hey, girls! My leg is all healed, I can finally walk again!"
"Way to go Peng!"
"Glad to see you're on your feet."
"Finally, we can stop holding back around you!"
"I'm so happy you're all better now!"
He waved around while getting an idea and took off running to some crates. He jumped and did some front flips before landing on the top and balanced on his healed up leg while his foot was balancing solely on an apple.
"Wow, someone sure has nimble feet." Muttered one girl in amazement. "What else can you do Peng?"
"Throw me something and I can show you."
"Here!" Said one before throwing a parasol at him.
Peng swung his paw and knocked it into the air and jumped up before landing on the tip while the parasol opened up and landed on the crate, end down.
"Awesome!" Called another before grabbing one of the leopards next to her and throwing her at Peng.
"Waah!" She cried as Peng's eyes widened.
"Whoa!" He cried as he jumped towards her and caught her midair. He managed to land on his feet and winced due to the sore foot, but didn't fall or drop her.
"Thanks Peng." She sighed in relief before glaring at the one who threw her. "Why did you throw me?!"
"I wanted to see if he could manage to handle your weight."
"Are you calling me fat?!"
"No, implying maybe. I mean you HAVE been eating some extra sweet buns." She said with a chuckle.
"You bitch! Let me down Peng, I'm gonna kill her!" Snarled the girl before Peng let her on her feet before she ran after the other one who took off laughing.
"So, those two aside you're more or less healed now, right?" Asked one as Peng nodded.
"Yeah, which means I can get back to exercising completely. I was starting to feel a bit lazy." He said with a grin as Song walked forward.
"I'm glad to hear that Peng, you go do that while we start dinner, ok?"
"Thanks Song." He nodded before walking away and took a few practice palm strikes. 'Man it feels good to be unrestricted, I was starting to go a bit stir crazy.'
As he walked by some of the girls, they gave devious grins.
"So...you girls thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Now that we don't have to worry about his ankle we can have some real fun with him?"
"Bingo."
"I'm not so sure." Spoke one with a shy tone. "I mean, isn't he a bit young?"
"Oh yeah, we won't go ALL the way, but we can entertain ourselves by making him overreact, right?"
"Besides, if he's sticking around, imagine what he'll turn into when he hits puberty. Go on, imagine it."
"Oh yeah...I definitely am~" Chuckled one with a bit of drool. "And I'm liking what I'm seeing~"
"Yeah… if he's related to Tai Lung we have a lot to look forward too~"
"And I know just the perfect way to get a rise out of him." Said one with a grin as she began to saunter up towards him. "Watch this, oh Peng~"
"Huh? What is it?" He asked as he turned around.
"Could you do something for me?"
"Um, sure, what is it? Getting firewood, putting up a tent, hunting dinner?"
"I was thinking more along the lines of helping me with my laundry."
"Oh, really? Um…. can it wait? I wanted to practice kung fu for a bit…"
"You sure? There's an awful lot, and I need someone with big arms like yours to help~" She whispered trailing her hands across his arms making him blush. "It won't take too long, I promise."
"O-Ok...um ...I-I guess I could help a little bit…" He admitted making her smile and lead him to a tent while flashing a thumbs up to the other girls.
"...Damn, lucky bitch."
"Hey, dibs on 'accidentally' falling asleep in his bed with him tonight!" Said one as she got an idea.
"Oh yeah? Well dibs on getting him to help scrub my back."
"Dibs on scrubbing HIS back."
(Later)
Song sighed as she shivered in her hammock. 'Great, another freezing night.' She rubbed her arms to try and warm up while curling her tail around her waist. 'I wonder if we have any spare blankets I could borrow?'
She climbed up and left her tent before making her way to the storage tent. As she walked she saw two other girls quietly sneaking out of said tent with several blankets, but headed in the opposite direction of the sleeping wing of the camp. She frowned and narrowed her eyes. 'Where are they going off to?' She thought as she began to follow them. 'And why do they need so many blankets?' She thought before seeing them sneak into Peng's tent. 'Oh no, not this time.'
She ran towards the tent before bursting in with a large frown. "Ok you two, step away from ...Peng?" She said, to see way more than just two of the girls trying to fit on his bed, with most of them not wearing very much to begin with.
"Come on, scoot over."
"Stop pushing."
"Give him to me, you've already held him long enough!"
"Oh please, you're the one trying to rub your bare fur against his head."
"Excuse me, but what are you all doing in here?!"
The girls jumped and slowly turned to see Song glaring at them, making all of them gulp.
"Um…. it was cold so we decided to try and help keep Peng warm?"
"Oh? And what did he say?"
"Um… he was asleep, and he kinda passed out after the fifth girl came in?"
Song facepalmed and groaned. "Everyone. Out."
"...No." Said one as she held onto Peng. "It's cold and he might freeze, plus we're all here, we got blankets, I say we stay, what do you think girls?"
"Yeah!" They agreed as Song's eyes widened in shock.
"Are you… is this a rebellion?!"
"No, it's us wanting to be comfortable for just one night, is that so bad?"
"It is when you keep pulling stunts like this yes!" She groaned. "He is part of the group, you can't just treat him like a play thing, or like a pet o-or something else!"
"We're not, we just like to get him nice and comfortable. After all, this way when he really gets older he won't feel shy or meek when talking to girls." Said one as she took Peng and rested his face on her lap.
"Or you could scar him for life and make him terrified of women, or mess him up or something!" Spoke Song while stamping over. "Did that thought ever cross one of your minds?"
"Nope, not even once." Said one with a shrug. "Then again most kung fu artists are at least a little messed up, right?"
"Besides, if anything, we're just sharing body heat so nobody freezes to death. He'd be crushed if he found out one of his friends got frozen because we couldn't stay warm together."
"Yeah, I think it's even going to start snowing soon, would you like to cuddle up Song?"
"Also I vote we steal a large bed next time we cum across a caravan, or at least some giant pillows to make it bigger."
Song groaned seeing they weren't listening and made a move to reprimand them, but looked at Peng's sleeping expression and found it adorable. "I….I want to hold him and in exchange I'll… think about it."
"Knew she'd break." Whispered one of them.
"Hehe, of course." Chuckled One as Song got on the over crowded bed and took Peng into her arms.
'Wow...he's like a giant fluffy warm pillow.' She thought while feeling him purring while unconscious. 'No wonder they keep trying to get close to him, he's so cute and adorable!'
The other girls got comfy and cuddled with Peng feeling warmth all over him.
'So nice…. Like being surrounded by warm clouds ...zzzzz.'
(Two weeks later)
'Ok, they shouldn't find me up here!' Thought Peng hiding near the top of some bamboo. 'I don't get it, why do they keep coming to me for everything, I've barely been able to train!'
"Peng? Oh Peng, where are you?"
'Nooo! Ok, just stay quiet and hide, think of it as stealth training!' He thought as he saw some of the girls walk around the bamboo.
"Peng! Come on, where are you? I know I saw you run this way!"
"Maybe he went back to camp."
"Good call, let's loop back and see if we can find him."
'What do they want me for this time? I've had a bath, I'm pretty sure all the laundry is done, and I made it very clear that I am not going to help perform with them at the next village!' He thought while holding his breath. 'I don't wanna catch a sight of their...undergarments and hear them tease me or I might turn out into some kind of pervert.' He thought as he shook his head. 'I need a break from the teasing, just for a day!'
"Come on Peng, quit hiding and show yourself!"
"You know we'll find you eventually!"
'That's what you think.' He kept quiet and climbed higher on the bamboo shoots to the top and balanced on one before jumping to others with the foliage hiding him. 'I'll just stay up here for a few hours until they lose interest.'
The girls below were annoyed to see the snow leopard nowhere with a few of them hitting some bamboo with their parasols.
"How did he get away, and where could he possibly be hiding?! There's nothing around for miles but bamboo!"
"Think he might have tried digging a hole to hide in?"
"Ugh, damn it, since when did it become this hard to find him?"
"Hmmm," One rubbed her chin with a grin. "maybe we can lure him out."
"Lure him? What, like with a meal or something?"
"I mean something that gets him nice and shy about. Something he doesn't like to admit he likes to stare at."
"Oh! Ok, I think I get what you mean." Chuckled another with a grin.
Peng himself sighed with relief as he sat crossed legged without dropping and heard the sounds go quiet. 'They must have headed back to camp.' He thought as he looked around and took a kung fu stance. 'Maybe now I can finally train in peace.'
"Oh wow! Your chest has really grown!"
"Thanks, and yours is pretty big too, have you been eating something new?"
Peng's eyes opened and turned his head before shaking it. 'No, don't get distracted.'
"Wow, your butt's getting a bit big too."
"Well I guess I've been snacking a little. It's not THAT noticeable, is it?"
"It definitely is, your pants look like they'll break apart any second!"
'Ignore it Peng, you're not a pervert, you are not a pervert.' He thought as his face heated up.
"Hey, is it just me or is it getting hot out here?"
"Yeah, wanna take our tops off?"
"Sure, since there's no one around to stare, we can go full bare."
"Awesome, wanna give each other massages too?"
"Sure, we can even some lotion I have on me."
Peng's eyes widened and went beet red while gulping and looked at where he heard the voices. 'T-They wouldn't do all that, I mean, there's no cover, except for the bamboo...they just might...m-maybe I should make sure there's no one around except them, just to keep them safe.' He thought as he began to slowly head towards the voices. He poked his head from the foliage and climbed down the bamboo, only to accidentally move on an old shoot that made a loud creaking sound.
"Did you hear that?"
"Yeah, it came from over there!"
"Oh no!" He let out before seeing a few parasols flying over and broke the stalk, making him yelp and go falling down and land face down on the ground with a groan as the girls ran over.
"Yes! I knew that would work, grab him!"
"Should we tie him up so he doesn't run away?"
"No need girls." One moved over and picked him up before hugging him close to her body near her chest. "If we hold him like this, I don't think he'll WANT to run."
"Aw no fair, I should get to hold him, this was my idea!"
"Then you can get close and help hug his back."
"Huh… ok, sure."
"W-Wait, this is all a misunderstanding, I swear!" Peng cried out with a blush.
"Oh? So you DIDN'T try to take a peak?" Teased one girl as Peng wound up surrounded by them and held closely making his face heat up more.
"I-I-I just wanted to make sure you were ok!" He sputtered as they headed back to camp with Peng feeling their chests under the clothing all around his head. 'W-Why does this keep happening to me?!'