"A pleasure to meet you. Shifu". She smirked as Shifu kept his tightened face.
"Indeed, Yinshen was it"?
The panther nodded.
"Python. A word"?
Shifu gestured for me to follow him to the side, leaving our... guest... to do what she pleased.
"This is the one you've spoken of"?
"Yes Master Shifu. Is... there a problem"?
"Not as such, I just expected her to be more"... Shifu took another look at Yinshen who was now spinning a small metal shield on one of her claws as though it was a toy. "... disciplined".
"And I expected you to be taller and have normal sized ears so we're both disappointed".
I held my tail to my mouth, hiding a snigger as Shifu's ear twitched.
"Yeah... she's got very good hearing too". I choked upon a giggle.
"Be that as it may, we have nowhere for her to stay within the Jade palace".
That did seem to be a bit of a barrier. I gave a few seconds to think about what to do about it. At least until a familiar cat and bug walked through the door.
Shit.
At once they both noticed the black robed stranger standing in the middle of the hall, messing around with a shield. Yeah, awkward.
Before fists could go flying, I stepped in between and spoke just as Tigress stepped forward with closed fists.
"Tigress, don't! She's a friend". I spoke, holding her by placing my tail in the middle of her chest to stop her from advancing, though it didn't stop Yinshen from putting down the shield and doing the same. Tigress slapped my tail away and kept on walking until the two were face to face.
The resemblance between the two was remarkable. They looked almost similar in a way. The only differences being the fur and eye colors. Not to mention Yinshens whiskers were smaller. As the two starred each other down, Mantis hopped onto my head.
"Who's the chick"? He asked.
"That would be Yinshen". I got between the two again. "A friend". I repeated to Tigress who looked to Shifu who nodded to confirm. Thankfully she backed off. As I led her back a few feet, Mantis was quick to introduce himself as he hopped off of my head and onto Yinshen's shoulder.
"Hey there baby. How's it going"? He rudely asked, leaning on the side of her face as though he was trying to impress her. Unfortunately for him, it didn't work.
"None of your business tiny". She said flatly before flicking the bug off her shoulder and onto the floor. Meanwhile, the talk between me and Tigress seemed to be going a little better than I had hoped. Sort of.
"I don't trust her".
"Tigress, you don't bloody trust anyone".
"I trust you".
"Yeah, not entirely".
"Look, as far as we know, she could be plotting something against us".
"Oh sure, that's why she saved my life and risked losing everything for me. Yeah she must obviously be plotting something big". I spoke sarcastically. Tigress just glared at me.
"Look, Tigress, if she was up to something, she's had many chances to try something. She's trustworthy".
Tigress glared at the panther who at the moment, was talking to Shifu.
"Fine. But I'm keeping an eye on her".
"Thats... actually a lot better than I expected. Deal".
Well that's one fight avoided. I can't wait to see how the others deal with our new guest.
FIVE MINUTES LATER...
"So, you saved Mike's life? Thank you. I am very grateful for what you've done".
"You wouldn't be happen to be Viper would you"?
"Oh, you've heard about me"?
"Not really. Mike never really mentioned anything about you".
"OKAY... How about we introduce you to Crane"? I cut in quickly before leading Yinshen away.
"You know, you could at least try to be a little nicer". I hissed at her.
"What? All I did was tell the truth".
"Guess what? The truth hurts. Now come on, let see if we can try and have you get along with at least one person".
I was quickly beginning to regret ever having to reveal Yinshen's identity. So far, Tigress already hates her, wonder who could have predicted that? Mantis had tried hitting on her and I'm pretty sure Viper had just lost some respect for her. I shudder to think how the remaining three are going to go down.
The barracks seemed to house both Po and Crane which cut my work by a third. I just hope things go a little smoother, though I was hanging by a thread if I really believed that.
"Hey guys, I'd like to introduce you to a good friend of mine. Say hello to Yinshen".
"... Hello". Po smiled. Yinshen gave a mock salute. Crane was quick to introduce himself as he shook the panthers paw with his wing.
"Pleasure to meet you. My name's Crane. That's Po".
"Ah, well, nice to meet you. More or less".
I face palmed with my tail. First sentence uttered and she's already effed up.
"I uhhh... excuse me"?
"Oh nothing, it's just that I've heard a lot about you two. One's supposed to be a walking germ factory half the time and the other chooses to just snack non stop".
She took a moment to glance at Po who had stopped stuffing himself as he heard the word "Snack".
"I think it's clear which is which".
"Uhhh... I...Eheh"... Crane stuttered, unable to speak anymore as he almost went into one of his nervous fits. Po looked at his stomach, muttering something about being big boned. I had to lead Yinshen outside. Clearly things had not worked out.
"Congratulations Yinshen. You just destroyed the morale of two people in one go. Well done". I spoke with a hint of annoyance. "Exactly how do you expect to be accepted if you're going to... well... be an asshole to everyone you come across"?
"Hey it's not my fault. I'm just not a very social person".
"So why be nice to me in the first place"?
"Meh. I suppose you seemed like someone I could trust"?
"... I don't know whether to feel better or worse off now".
"MIKE"?
I turned to see Viper slithering up to me.
"Hi Viper".
"Hi". Yinshen replied. I quickly turned back to her.
"Yinshen, why don't you introduce yourself to Monkey? He should be in the training hall".
"Very well. See ya". She walked away.
"AND REMEMBER, BE NICE FOR A CHANGE"! I called after her. Whether she would choose to follow my order or not was unknown. Though it would most likely be ignored.
"Listen Mike, are you... sure about her? She seems a little... unfriendly".
"Don't worry, she'll warm up to you. She just needs a little time to, you know, settle in".
"I'm not too sure about that".
"Why not"?
"Mike, she's a rude jerk who cares about only herself".
"Viper, if you don't trust her, then, at least trust me to do what's right. Please"?
I looked right into her angry eyes and saw them soften up a bit.
"... Alright. I'll trust you to do the right thing". She admitted, giving me a little bit of hope.
"Thank you Vipes".
I gave her a quick peck on the lips. Though the moment was quickly ruined as a large crash errupted from the training hall.
"Oh God damn it! I've got to go, I'll see you later Vipes"!
I sped off before I could get a reply. How stupid could I have been for leaving her unsupervised, especially with other people around?!
I headed inside, fearful of what damage may possibly have been caused between the two. Instead, the pair of them were training together like best friends.
How the heck had this come about? I wondered as the two sparred against each other, using the whole of the training hall as one big arena, using everything they could towards their advantage. The catwalks, the roof above, even the few bamboo staffs that were scattered around. I waited a couple of minutes until I spoke up.
"HEY GUYS, YOU MIND COMING DOWN FOR A MINUTE"? I had to yell as they were right on top of the support beams about thirty feet up. The two were able to hear me and hopped down before me.
"So, I see you guy's have met"? I wanted to clarify.
I recieved a reply of either "Mhm". Or "Of course". from the both of them.
"And... you're being nice, Yinshen"?
"Yeah".
"The heck did THAT come to be"?
"I dunno. I guess I'm less tense when I've got something to do".
I took a look at the training course behind the two. It was clear that they had been testing their limits as I saw the broken limbs or the wooden spinning warriors and the jade tortoise was leaning on the right side of the catwalk.
"You really have a lot of aggression don't you"?
"Only sometimes". The panther pouted as I shook my head. On the bright side, I suppose Yinshen did seem less tense. After all, she didn't have much to do over the last few days other than running and hiding. I just shrugged and left the two. I was confident that she wouldn't cause any more problems. For now anyway.
The only problem now was to deal with her... accommodations. Somewhere for her to sleep. I doubt that old prison like structure is the most comfortable place to live in. Still, that could be dealt with later. Right now, I just wanted to enjoy the sunny weather while I could. In fact, that's exactly what I did next.
Given that there was no trouble down at the valley, I suppose I should make the best of the weather while I can. So I decided to lay down on the grass just outside of the training hall. I preferred to stay closely to wherever Yinshen may be just in case. I mean, yes I did trust her. But I can't vouch for anyone else, apart from maybe Monkey. They seemed at the least, suspicious of the panther so it would take time before any real bonds were made between any of them.
Still, I pushed the thoughts out of my head and relaxed. A tip I found to be most useful whenever I chose to either sit back or meditate. Focusing on the most pleasant thoughts your mind could think of, whether it was a memory or an image of something beautiful like say a rose garden or something silly like that.
Given the fact that it had just become spring, the hot weather made it seem as though it was summer. What I wouldn't give for a glass of lemonade right now to make me feel at peace. The only noise I could hear came from the training hall was a small clatter but nothing that made it sound like an actual fight was going on so I didn't need to be as alert as I normally would be. Still, it didn't take long until I felt a little colder suggesting that someone was blocking the light with their body.
I let loose a low hiss of annoyance and opened one eye. I calmed down upon seeing the culprit.
"Hey Crane. Everything okay"?
Seemed a bit like a stupid question considering the last time we saw each other, when Yinshen was present. But even so there was no harm in asking.
"Yeah... I'm fine. Thanks".
"Listen, I'm sorry about Yinshen. She's... had it rough lately. Few people can imagine what it's like to"-
"Actually, I was hoping to talk to you about something else about her".
"... You were"? I wonder what else could have been so important that he had to find me? It made me feel somewhat uneasy seeing how serious he looked. Only Shifu had the power to have that kind of effect on me. Tigress, I got used to quickly enough. But to see it from someone who either kept to themselves or was usually quite friendly was an entirely different matter.
"Okay, let's hear it". I replied as I rised up from the grass.
"It's about Yinshen, yes but"...
"But"...?
"Do you-Are you sure we can trust her"?
I knew that someone was going to ask this eventually. I was hoping that it could have waited a little longer. I gave a sigh.
"Let me put it this way Crane. If you had been in my position for the last four days, you'd understand why I've stuck up for her. I know I can't prove it to you or anyone else. But I'd go far enough to say I'd trust her with my life".
"But... even so, why would you say that"?
I had to lean in and whisper what I had found out about her. Something that Yinshen herself had told me the night we had escaped the Galadriel gates. I didn't expect her to be too cheerful of me telling the others about it but it was the only thing I could do to prove her innocence.`As I back away, Crane's beak dropped open in a comical fashion. It didn't take long until it shut and he spoke.
"So she's"...
"Yep".
"And you"...
"Yep".
"But... how do you know she wasn't lying"?
"Don't tell her I said this but... I thought the same thing until she showed me what was inside her locket".
Crane nodded and was about to leave me be until I grabbed him by the wing.
"Crane. Promise me you won't tell her, or anybody else about this. Promise me".
"... Okay. For you, I'll keep my beak closed".
"Thanks buddy".
I patted the avian on the back as he smiled before taking to the sky. I watched as he disappeared from my sight.
"What's his hurry"?
I jumped at the voice and turned to see the panther I had just been talking about right behind me.
"No reason, he must have forgotten his nasal integrattor again". I lied. Thankful that she hadn't heard anything.
"Hmm. Anyway, can you show me where the kitchen is? I haven't eaten all day".
"Sure. Follow me".
"Thanks".
...
Hmmm... I wonder what Mike's hiding that Yinshen doesn't want the others to know about...