"Po, you're not making any sense." Crane said in exasperation.
The panda wouldn't have it, however. "Sure I am! I just need to get my thoughts together. Now what was I saying again...? Oh yeah, this is such good news that it's shocking how good it is!" Pause. He scratched his head as his straw hat hung behind his neck. "Hold on...that really doesn't make much sense, does it?"
Crane shook his head, sighing. "Po...you really need to learn that just walking up and asking someone to come with you out of the blue...isn't always the best way to have them do so. Especially when the one you're asking is female, and even more so when you do that in public where everyone sees and hears it!"
Po blinked at Crane. "...I don't understand what you mean."
"Ah jeez..."
"Ignoring the boys for a second..." Mei Ling cut them both off, as she turned to the utterly confused snow leopardess known as Song. "Let's see, Po has already told you our names, and you told us yours. It seems to me that we have a pretty decent introduction on here."
"It would seem so." Song said, plucking her parasol from it's hold and held it over her head. "So, Po seems like he's actually glad to see me, despite this being the first time we met. Is there some particular reason that he would do such a thing?"
Po smiled. "Would you like to be our new friend? It'll be so awesome if you were our friend! C'mon, what do you say?"
Song was rather surprised that he would ask her such a thing out of the blue, and apparently Crane was as well. Crane facewinged a bit as he remembered this was how the panda approached him and Mei Ling. "Po...I get that you're a nice enough guy to just flat-out ask someone to be your friend, but that doesn't always work out."
Song smiled. "Okay. I can be your friend."
Crane's beak dropped a little from the instant acceptance. "Okay...on the other hand, maybe I'm completely wrong about that theory. How can she accept so quickly so easily?"
"It worked on us." Mei Ling pointed out. Crane just sighed when he realized that she had a good point.
Tigress kept her eyes on Song without drawing her attention. Song definitely did not seem like a bad person, and she actually seemed pretty nice. Though she also had an air of trickery hovering around her, a sneaky kind of trickery. Not the trickster kind of trickery like Monkey does, but something else related to that. She just felt...very sly. Tigress pounded her head softly with a fist. She knew there was a word for it, but she had no idea what it was. Something relative to-
"THIEF!"
...That's the word. She has the aura of a thief. But who could have said that...? SHe got her answer when a pig came up from behind thrm, huffing in exhaustion. He must have been running for a very long time, because exhaustion was definitely evident. He also seemed pretty angry. Song turned to him with an oblivious expression on her face, as if she didn't know what this pig was talking about.
"Theif? Who? Little ole me? Now how can you say such a mean thing?" She said with her head tilted to the right.
"Don't play innocent, you know what you stole!"
"Hmm...not really. Nope. Sorry." She shook hernhead while holding her paws up. "I dunno what you're talking about."
"I see the jewels hanging right on your parasol!"
The others blinked, only to see that he was right. There we're jewels of varying colors hanging clinging to her parasol. She failed to hide them when she first spotted Po...that was definitely a rookie mistake on her part. Though she attempted to play it off.
"...Eh? How'd those get there...?"
"DON'T ACT SURPRISED!"
Song sighed. "Alright alright, you got me. So what happens next, though?"
"Obviously you should give them back!"
The snow leopard thought about it for a little bit, placing a paw on her cheek and tilting her head. When she took a minute to think about it, she shook her head. "Nah, don't feel like it." She answered while sticking out her tongue. The reaction from the others was pure shock from her decision and the attitude she chose to display it with.
Tigress turned to Po. "Po, I don't think we should take her after all. She just admitted herself to being a thief. And I don't think we can trust a thief too much."
Po blinked when he thought about this, while turning to Song. "Hey. Are you really a thief?"
"...No."
"You fibber." Mei Ling countered.
"Okay okay...yes, I am a thief. A really skilled one at that."
Po folded his arms. "Hm...this might be a little tough after all." He closed his eyes and tilted his head to the left. "She's a thief and they are pretty untrustworthy at times..." he then tilted it right. "But on the other hand, she's on my friend list, and I don't want to deny the chance just becuase of this unexpected detail. Hmmm..."
"Po...what are you thinking about?" Crane asked cautiously. The pands was in such deep thought that he actually got concerned for him.
When the time passed, Po opened his eyes and pounded his left fist into his right paw. "I got it! It's such a great idea!"
Tigress managed to take her attention off of Song to listen to Po's idea. "Did you really think of something about this situation? What is it?"
"Song can be our team thief!"
A long silence passed through them, taking the time to process what Po had just offered that they do. And he was completely honest about it. Song could only blink at the amount of trust he was putting into her when they just met. Crane was shocked, Mei Ling shrugged, not having anything against it.
Tigress, on the other hand...
"No way, Po. The others we're pretty decent, but she admitted herself to being a thief. And I'm not fond of having our stolen and she disappears along with them." She folded her arms.
"Aw, come on Tigress. We won't know until we give it a go! I know she can be trusted. We just need to give it time, that's all. We're still taking time getting used to the others, still. Ya know, development...and stuff." Po held out his paw. "We can set down some ground rules after a certain amount of time passes. By then we'll be sure to trust one another."
Tigress was still reluctant. "Po she's-"
"Please, Tigress?"
"Po-"
"Please?"
"She's-"
"Please?"
"But I-"
"Pretty please with bean buns and tofu in top?" He begged, his eyes getting bigger and sadder. Tigress found it extremely difficult to keep her resolve intact. But his sincerity in the request endured longer, and she sighed.
"Fine..."
"YES!"
"However...she has to return those jewels first. This pig clearly isn't a bad citizen, so she shouldn't keep them at all."
"What?! No way, I didn't agree to that! I just got these!" Song denied.
Tigress turned to the snow leopard and smiled. "Song...please return the jewels to the pig." Her voice was indicating her asking nicely, but the look behind her eyes suggested something else: If you continue to disobey, I will smash your face into the ground.
Song sighed in slightly frustration in learning that her hard work was rendered to moot. She returned the jewels to the pig, who rudely snatched them back and marched off, mumbling about 'Troublesome Youths these days' and something about them actually acting like adults. She pouted childishly. They owed her so much. For some reason the panda wanted her to join up with them, and he made it pretty clear that denying it was not an option she had. She wondered what she would be doing now that she got herself into this arrangement.
Po folded his arms and grinned. "See, that wasn't so hard, was it? Now our next objective...wait a moment. We we're supposed to get some sort of map, right?"
"No. That job goes to Viper and Monkey. We're just exploring the place, Po." Crane reminded him.
"Really? Well in that case let's join up with one of the others! They're bound to have something cool to do here! Maybe my Dad and the others will have a couple ideas."
"Po. You're hungry aren't you?" Mei Ling asked. Her question was answered by Po's rumbling belly, and he pouted.
"I can't help it!"
"Alright Po. We did get something major done just now. I guess we can get something to eat while we're waiting for an update from the others." Tigress reassured him.
Po smiled and nodded in approval. "That sounds great! But first...initiation hug!" He swiftly wrapped his arms around Song in a bear hug, before letting her go and dashing off in search of his father. "Next, lunchtime!"
Song blinked. "Initiation...hug?"
"Its a thing we do. Hug the panda, you're officially one of us." Mei Ling explained with a smile. "In simpler terms, he's a hugger. A really friendly hugger."
Song decided that made plenty of sense. He did seem to be a pretty friendly guy...why not? She'll stick around and see what happens. Though she was acting incredibly wary of Tigress, as she had already voiced her disapproval of her due to her status as a thief. She only allowed it after Po had begged her a certain amount of times. Which meant that while Po had no problems with her, it didn't mean that Tigress would feel the same. Understandable, since she was most likely the more logical one. In a way.
They all turned and ran to catch up with their panda leader.
(With Viper and Monkey)
"Scrolls, Viper. SCROLLS." Monkey whined, placing a paw on his forehead. "We got stuck with a crappy job...how did that happen?"
"Be grateful we got to help out at all, Monkey." Viper lightly reprimanded him. "I'm always willing to help. Are you?"
"Yeah yeah." He sighed. "I just wish I could help out in more...interesting ways, right? I mean going on an errand to fetch a couple blank scrolls...that sounds so awfully boring. This boring, Viper. I just want something to happen so that I can take my mind off of this stupid boredom." Monkey paused. "...Did I mention that I'm bored?"
"Yes. Plenty of times." Viper sighed. Monkey sure was impatient, this she was beginning to learn. His impatience doesn't amount to Mantis and his own impatience, but it definitely leaves an impression.
The primate had his eyes wondering for a while, trying to find something to occupy his need to be active. He had grown so used to being chased anround by angry villagers he pranked that he was actually beginning to miss it. That doesn't mean he regrets his decision, but still. It would be nice if he could get a good prank in and get away with it.
His eyes had set on a small orphanage, and he stopped in his tracks. "Hey Viper...check this out."
The snake paused her movement to follow Monkey's gaze to the orohanage before them. This one was definitely occupied, but it surely wasn't well cared for. Which surprised the both of them, sense they thought that keeping orphans in a relatively safe environment where they could be happy was the best place to keep them until their adoption. This didn't look safe.
Without hesitation, the both of them walked past the walls and into the small building. Not even a couple moments in, they heard a young voice call out to them.
"You two shouldn't be here."
Viper was the first to turn to the voice, and it was revealed to be a rabbit peeking behind a wall. She lowered her guard and smiled gently. "Hey there, little one. What do you mean we shouldn't be here? And is there anyone watching you?"
"Not really." He came out from the corner, and five more children came out from hiding. In total, there were two rabbits, two geese, one goat, and one pig. They all had dirtied clothes on, and they had a couple bruises on their bodies. This did not sit well with Viper or Monkey. "We were left here by ourselves. Our caretaker isn't here."
"What the he-" Viper glared strongly at Monkey, enough to make him flinch. Right, they had already established the 'No Swearing Around Children' rule. Judging by their slightly hardened faces, however, it looks like they had heard a couple swears in their lives already. But he was not risking a slap to the head just to test the theory. "What kind of caretaker just leaves five kids here by themselves without anybody watching them?"
"A really mean one." The pig child stated. "Anyway...my name is Piggy. The others are Ho, Lippy, Chang, and Yue Yue. And Liang is our leader because he's the oldest."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah. These are my brothers and sister." Liang nodded. "We may not be directly relater, but we've always looked out for one another despite how tough it's gotten. And it's gotten tough..."
"Tough? How so?"
"W-We can't tell you. If we start telling people about our troubles, we'll get hurt some more..." Yue Yue whimpered, clutching her rabbit doll and sucking her thumb.
Viper and Monkey kept themselves in check, because they were starting to get angry. But they calmed down, they didn't want the children to be afraid of them. Viper looked towards Yue Yue, it was clear that she was the youngest. "What do you mean by that?" The small rabbit stubbornly shook her head, but the serpent was patient. She slithered up to the child, surrounding her in a circular motion, before she gave her a gentle nuzzle. "Come on...talk to us."
"Tell us who's hurting you." Monkey asked, positioning himself next to Liang. "Let us help."
The rabbit hesitated a little, before he looked up to Monkey. "Our caretaker is a jerk. He makes us clean this entire place, barely gives us food, yells at us a lot, and he even hits us if we don't listen to him or don't follow his every direction. He doesn't care about any of us at all!"
"The only reason we kept enduring it is because we have each other." Lippy said quietly. "Our caretaker could care less if we're happy or not. And his rats are even meaner than he is."
"Rats...?"
"Mh-hm..." Yue Yue nodded. "There are so many of them and they're all very mean..." she held up her little paw, which had a bite mark on it. "We even got bitten a couple times just so they could make us cry...we don't want to be here anymore...we just want someone to adopt us and take us away from them...but they won't let that happen."
"But we wanna go...we don't like it here..." Ho sniffles, wiping his eyes..
"No one is nice here but ourselves...it's not fair!" Chang shook his head furiously.
But his fury was nothing compared to Viper and Monkey's. If Po had come here instead of them, they we're positive that there would be a much bigger ruckus. Unhappy children means a very unhappy Po. He would...no, he will be livid when he hears about this. This was something he had to know. Though the duo are more than happy to step in for him for the time being. Monkey could hear someone messing with the gate behind them, and he looked towards the orphans.
"Kids...go upstairs and close the door, will you?" Monkey asked gently, trying to keep himself together. They all heeded his request, as they all left to the upper levels of the house. He and Viper then heard the gate open, but they didn't move.
They heard a bit or scurrying, and a gasp of shock. They turned at last to see a rat standing in the doorway, his mouth agape in disbelief that someone got in here. But he did not realize how much danger he was in, as he didn't see their eyes darken considerably.
"W-What...? Who are you two? How'd you get in here?!"
"...Who's your boss?" Viper asked quietly.
"What?"
"Don't play dumb with us. I can tell just by looking at you that you're not the one in charge of whatever gang your in. Now let me ask again...who are you working for?"
The rat paused in confusion, before he clenched his fists. "Damn brats told on us! When I get my hands on them-"
That was a very poor choice of words. When it was clear that he intended to hurt the children some more, Viper swiftly wrapped around him and constricted him with the strength that rivaled a boa snake. "When you get your hands on them, then what?" She asked quietly. "Go on. Finish your sentence. Don't let me stop you."
It was impossible to fulfill that rhetorical request. The rat was utterly frozen in fear of Viper's gaze. Her calm blue eyes were now slitted with fury, and it showed through her occasional hissing. He sensed a very painful future if she did not like his answer.
"To the weaker foes, you paralyze them with fear." Fu-Xi once told her. "You let them know through your eyes. They are trapped in your coils with no hope of escape. Once you have them in your grip, you are in control. They'll have no right to demand anything from you. They are completely under your control, which fully stimulates that fear. They have no control over what happens next, and that's why they will be afraid. They lose the will the move, and they will be too afraid to look away from your gaze. They're not free unless you decide it. Once they are trapped...they are yours until you decide otherwise."
And this lesson stuck. The rat was too afraid to respond to her in a way she did not like, and it seemed that no matter what he does, the end result would be excruciating pain. Viper was not normally that kind of person, but she was too angry to care. But she did make sure that she kept herself under control.
"Now I'll ask you again since you won't answer my question about the kids. Who are you working for?" Viper asked again, squeezing the rat more.
He was definitely in pain, though it seemed he gained a bit of his backbone back, and he glared back at her. "I'm not telling you anything!"
"That's not an option for you. Either you start talking...or I start breaking bones. And you don't look very sturdy." Fu-Xi's training had definitely made her colder when in a state like this, but she was careful not cross a line she couldn't come back from.
He didn't need more than that. "Alright alright!" She released him from her coils allowing him to breathe. When he took in enough air, he spoke again. "I am just one of many members from the renegade group, known as the Lao Shu..."
(Shifu and Fenghuang)
Shifu was feeling quite a plethora of emotions at the moment. The absolute last this ngnhe expected to do today was run into his ex-best friend while simply searching for a mad. Nor did the ex-best friend in question, Taotie. He was just minding his own business, as in being ignored by his child and bugged by his neighbors. And then Shifu shows up and says that he has to take Bian Zao with him. Obviously he isn't obligated to let that happen, which led to the conflict they placed themselves in.
Fenghuang had chosen to remain neutral in this encounter, and stayed out of their argument. She'll have to wait for them to finish up though, or else they wouldn't make any real progress for a while. She'd like to just leave them here and go off on her own, but she wanted to make sire Shifu didn't do anything stupid. It was not likely, but the possibility cannot be denied.
"You think you can just waltz into my home and just snatch up my son without an explanation? Well then you got another thing coming!" Taotie shouted.
"I keep telling you my intentions are not anything that causes concern, I just want him to come with us for the sake of having a bigger number of us. He's one of our recruits." Shifu tried to explain, but was quickly losing his patience with this man.
"That seems pretty concerning to me! Why is this thing so important to you anyway? Is it because of Oogway, did he send you to do this?" Shifu flinched slightly, and the warthog caught wind of it. "Aha! I'm right aren't I!? You're not even doing this just to do so, it's just following orders for you!"
'Oh boy...' Fenghuang groaned quietly. Not only was Taotie right about why Shifu was still complying with the recruitment thing, it seems that even he himself doesn't realize it either. She doubted that he'd realize his error anytime soon.
Shifu stobbornly shook his head. "That's not true!"
"Is it really? How long do you plan to play the lap dog, Shifu? Because as you grew up, that's all you've ever been!" The Warthog folded his arms. "You'll do anything to stay on his good side, won't you? I know that you're just repaying him for taking you in when you we're abandoned, but was your intense loyalty worth the cost? Everything that isn't okay with Oogway wasn't okay with you. You know what? Where is that old turtle? Is he with you? I wanna give him a piece of my mind as well!"
Shifu unclenched his fists and stared down at the ground. "...He isn't with us anymore."
Taotie widened his eyes and unfolded his arms as he heard what the red panda said. "What...?"
"You heard me. Oogway had passed on. And during my absence too. And because f both those factors, our home has been destroyed, along with everyone in it. Me and my associates have no where else to go but on a oath to the unknown. No clear destination, we just know that we have to move. This is why I stand before you, Taotie. I have nowhere else to go, and I don't even know where I'm going. I just know that I have to try and fulfill Oogway's last request before I completely start acting on my own merits..."
Taotie's anger had disappeared, and had been replaced with sympathy and sadness. It was clear enough that Shifu wouldn't lie about such a thing, and he could tell that he isn't. The Valley of Peace was his home too, and now it's nothing but a charred wasteland. Oogway's attempt at peace for the Valley has been rendered pointless in the time span of one night. The 'Peace' in the title never truly stuck because of the amount of chaos inflicted upon them. Now it's been removed entirely, it no longer needs to worry about that.
Taotie once again met Shifu's eyes when he snapped out of his short grieving moment. "Who did it?"
"The Lin Kuei."
"Lin Kuei, huh? Stupid dogs. Hey...the training hall..."
"Also destroyed."
"THOSE MISERABLE MUTTS! I EXHAUSTED MYSELF CLOSE TO STARVATION WORKING ON THAT MASTERPIECE!" The warthog fell to the ground, his arms the only thing holding him up. "I put my blood, sweat, and tears...mostly my blood...into making that Training Hall. And what happens? It gets smashed to pieces by a bunch of canine hooligans! Gah, it infuriates me that this had to happen!"
"For all it's worth...I'm sorry." Shifu tried to relieve Taotie's frustration.
The warthog calmed down, and chuckled. "How odd this is, Shifu. You and Oogway sent me away. Oogway passes away and them the Valley gets destroyed, and you had no choice but to leave it all behind. What a turn of events this turned out to be. Our loyalty to Oogway and look how it gets repaid. We both end up with almost nothing. I'm beginning to think that some higher power is out there watching us, and finds it funny to watch life repeatedly kick our butts."
Shifu understood what Taotie was trying to say, and that he was feeling just as sore about it as he was, even when he was just told about it. He could not fake sincere grief. As stated already, the Valley of Peace was his home, too. "So...do we-"
"HELLO!" They we're interrupted by the sound of Mr. Ping's call. He, Zeng, Fung, and Mantis returned with plenty of food and still a bit of money left. "Po is gonna be so happy that we bought more foood. Enough for him and everyone else...hm? Am I interrupting something?" The goose tilted his head.
"Not at all, Mr. Ping. In fact, I'm glad you came. You can spent time with them. I'm searching for a map." Fenghuang yawned as she flapped her wings and took off in the air towards another part of Mosho Town. Shifu sighed.
"I'm beginning to understand a bit more about why she just leaves us..." Until she finds something that truly deserves her intervention, she won't do too much. Be it her own laziness or just having enough confidence in Po and the others. The latter was much more likely, but she did admit to being lazy. However, that doesn't mean she didn't get cautious and concerned when he and his friends were in serious danger. It's just that if the owl bails them out of every serious situation coming their way, how can they improve? Thats her reasoning, anyway.
"Odd...anyway..Shifu, who's your friend?" Shifu was brought back into focus, and turned to Mr. Ping and Taotie.
"Oh, right...this is Taotie. He's...an old acquaintance of mine."
"Uh-oh. You said 'old acquaintance' in a very solemn tone. Did you two have a falling out?"
Taotie looked at the goose in surprise. "How could you tell...?"
"I have seen it happen plenty of times. As well as Mrs. Yoon."
"Indeed." The elder goat nods, holding an apple basket. "Friendships are often broken off by disagreement...what did you two disagree on?"
Shifu and Taotie looked at one another, then looked away. "Kung Fu. Taotie's mechanisms and his intent on using them in replacement of Kung Fu was dishonorable, and he was dismissed from the Jade Palace."
Mr. Ping groaned with a facewing. "How come this doesn't surprise me? Shifu, I'm beginning to think that Kung Fu is both the best and the worst thing that could ever happen to you."
"Mr. Ping, how can you say such a thing!?"
"You dropped your friend because you wanted to stay honorable to Kung Fu. While I do find it admirable, you could have found another way to keep Taotie by your side without completely abandoning him. Though given your young age at the time, I guess I can't fully blame you. We do get a bit rushed and fearful of consequences."
"Youth does tend to make us a bit impatient. But we can't do anything about it now." Mrs. Yoon said. "Maybe this is an opportunity waiting to happen. You two can patch things up."
Shifu and Taotie looked hesitantly towards one another, and back to the others, both of them rubbing their necks. "We-"
"I SMELL FOOD! FOOD!" They all jumped as they heard Po running towards him, towards the smell of the groceries they just bought. "Hey guys, I found another friend from the friend list!"
"You did? Well ain't that a lucky break!" Mantis cheered.
"I would keep an eye on her though, she likes to play the thief." Tigress grumbled.
"Hey guys! Its very nice to meet you all!" Song bowed.
Fung groaned. "Po can you at least wait until-" he paused. His eyes widened and his jaws parred open in shock. He stared at the snow leopard before him, and found himself unable to look away for a couple moments. His rising blush was also not within his power to stop. But where was this coming from?
Song could see how surprised he looked, and blinked. "Whats the matter? Do I have something on my face?"
"Bah...Fah...gah...ah...kah..." He babbled, his jaw occasionally opening and closing, as he could not form actual words at the moment. He then slapped himself and shook his head. "Uh, nope! Not at all! Nothing on yournface, everything is alright! He he...hm..."
"Ookay..." She seemed confused, but to Fung's relief, she dropped the small issue.
Po looked at the group before him, noticing that Monkey and Viper were not here yet. "Eh? Monkey and Viper aren't here yet?"
"Now we are." They heard Viper call out to them, as she and Monkey were heading towards them with six children in tow...and Po gleamed in excitement.
If it hasn't been established already, Po loves children.
"Oh my gosh...there's a bunch of little buddies over there...I gotta...I just gotta." Po says to himself before running over to them and giving off a wave. "Hey there!"
"W-Woah!" They all stopped in place at seeing the panda stand over them with a wide smile on his face. He looked at Yue Yue, identified her as the youngest and picked her up in his arms.
"Hey there, little buddy." He smiled at her. She flinched a bit and clutched onto her doll, looking a bit fearfully at him. He was not discouraged by this. "There there, I'm a nice fluffy panda-bear." He realized he made a small rhyme, and chuckled a bit. He then softly petted the top of her head, with one paw while holding her with his other arm. "Relax." Yue Yue found herself relaxing in the warm fur of the panda holding her like he asked her too, and she found herself able to look him in the eye. His smile expands farther. "There ya go. Now can I get a smile? Come on, lemme see your cute little smile. I already showed you mine, it's only fair." She took a moment to think. Then she shyly gave the panda a warm smile, which pleased him greatly. "There ya go! Cute rabbits should have cute smiles!" He then lightly pressed his finger towards her belly, which caused her to laugh cheerfully. Which in turn made him laugh.
Shifu was more surprised than the others. He could have sworn that those children looked pretty sad, and yet Po got one of them laughing and smiling in a matter of moments. "Since when was he good with children?"
"Po wasn't treated very well as a child by most adults besides myself, Fenghuang and Mrs. Yoon." Mr. Ping said. "This must be his way of coping with that. By being nice to all children he comes across. That's what he tells me, at least."
"I can see where he's coming from. I like kids, too. Anyone else agree?" Mantis said. Crane, Mei Ling, Monkey, Viper, Fung, Song, Mrs. Yoon, and Mr. Ping nodded. Tigress seemed a bit hesitant. "Tigress, what about you?"
She flinched at the question. She then looked at her paws, lowering her eyes. Rembering how a couple kids always avoided her and her gaze, even as she grew up. It was tough having claws and fangs. "I..."
"Excuse me, Miss?" She blinked as she stared down at Liang, who was staring back in curiosity while gently tugging on her pants. "Are you friends with the nice panda over there?"
"Um...yes. Yes I am."
"Oh...are you nice like him?"
She blinked again when she realized that he wasn't looking at her in fear, but mere curiosity. And...he was pretty cute. Viper nudged her leg. "Go on, Tigress." The feline sighed and took a deep breath, before reaching down and picking up the rabbit, holding him in her arms. To her further surprise, he did not resist. She could see the trust in his eyes, he felt safe in her embrace. So with a small smile, she hugged the rabbit closer to her, and he hugged her back.
The scene causes Mrs. Yoon to smile. "It seems Tigress has a similar mindset. Though she isn't as enthusiastic as Po about the concept of being friends to children, the sentiment is the same."
Po noticed that the children were all dirty. He licked his thumb slightly and lightly rubbed Yue Yue's cheek in an attempt to wipe the dirt off. "Yeesh, you guys are filthy. Let's get you cleaned up, yeah?" He turned to Viper and Monkey. "Where did you find these kids anyway?"
"That's what we came here to tell you, Po. They're orphans." Viper said. Po's eyes softened a bit. "But they're caretaker is irresponsible and cruel towards them! Not to mention he's working together with a group of renegades that constantly steal the food from this town and keep it somewhere they can't find it!"
'That's why shopping was so difficult compared to last time...' Mr. Ping recalled.
Po narrowed his eyes when he heard the bit about an irresponsible and cruel caretaker. And narrowed them even more when he heard the bit about stolen foods. That's two things that were messed with that Po liked a lot. Children, and food. Since he hasn't eaten yet, and these children definitely required his attention...he'll take care of both issues at once.
"...let's get these kids cleaned up and fed, then you can give me the full story." Po said, as he carried Yue Yue in his arms. He stopped and looked at Taotie.."I saw a bit of your uneasiness towards Shifu, and he returns it. But can you both please put that aside for the moment? I have to deal with this. Can we use your house?"
Taotie saw the sincerity of Po's offer. He was letting strangers(and Shifu) into his house to care for children who are clearly having pretty tough lives. So with a sigh, he opened the door further. "There's plenty of room, try not to break anything." Po nodded in understanding as he entered the small house, along with everyone else. He and Shifu hesisted a bit while looking at one another once more, before entering and closing the door behind them.
Throughout the ruckus, Bian Zao saw it all through his window, and sees them enter his house. He sighed. "So much for sleep...now it's impossible with all of these people here. Might as well just stay up and think about stuff." He laid back on his bed, yawning. "Hah...such a ruckus. Sooner or later, I gonna have to go down there, and they'll see me and want to talk. Then it will get all loud snd I won't be able to enjoy my nap..." he groaned while placing a pillow over his face.
"Laaaaaaame..."