Chapter 20
Jian walked towards the kitchen in total silence, getting ready to wander into the room like nothing ever happened.
His abrupt leave led Viper to find him outside, sitting by the door that led into the bunk house. She had curled up beside him, and waited for him to speak... but when he didn't, she asked him if he needed to talk. He shrugged the question off, but that didn't stir the snake away. Instead, she stayed by him for a while longer, filling the space between them with small talk; something he was never good at. But seeing her try to comfort him, he smiled at her thankfully, before telling her what was going on; about how he never told Po about Tai Lung, and that he was clueless on how to tell him... if he had the courage to.
"You miss every shot you don't take sweetie... I can confidently say his view of you won't change."
Maybe she was right.
Viper went in once she heard Mantis call them for dinner. Jian said he would follow her in, but when she disappeared inside, he remained where he sat, trying to find the strength to stand up. Even though she spoke some sense, he was still unsure about going into the kitchen. He could say he didn't feel too well... but then Po would come find him after, and surely have some questions.
Looking up into the night sky, he focused his gaze at the sight of a cloud of... something, glow among the stars above him. Millions of little shapes, all clutters together in this giant, yet gentle cloud. He wasn't sure what it was... but it disappeared into the night before he could question it further.
Maybe it was a sign, from Azure somehow; she was the wiser of the two, despite being the younger twin- no matter what, she always had the best advice... maybe this was her way of telling him that the best way to handle this uncertainty is to just deal with the trouble when it rises...
Only then he went back inside.
"...So I'm like, fine, you may be a wolf..." he turned into the kitchen, to find Po cooking, and the five sitting at the table, listening to him talk with amused skepticism, "you may be the scariest bandit in Haijin Province..." the panda didn't notice Jian coming in as he chopped a radish mid-air, letting the pieces drop into the pot that bubbled away.
Viper and Monkey smiled at Jian when he materialized from the dark hall, before motioning at the empty seat in front of him; but Jian declined, before tuning into Po's tale.
"...but you're a lousy tipper." Po turned briefly, only noticing Jian's presence there and then.
"Really?" Crane spoke incredulously, while the leopard smirked wickedly, which only confirmed everyone's thoughts at the table. "So... how'd you get out of there alive?"
"Uh-well..."
"This isn't one of your confabulations, is it?" Jian asked, which earned him a nervous chuckle from the panda as his confidence, that was so evident in his words... start to falter.
"I mean, I didn't actually say that, but I thought it... in... in my mind." Po mumbled, flipping six bowls in a line up his arm, spooning soup into each one. It gave him a chance to cover himself. "I mean.. if he... could read my mind, he'd have been like, 'what'?" Jian took hold of one bowl, and placed it before Viper, who thanked him, while Po dished out the rest in front of the others... apart from Tigress. She had been offered a bowl previously, but she had declined; a plate of tofu sat in front of her, awaiting to be consumed once everyone was eating. Jian told Po to sit at the table, and he would serve himself.
Just as he got a hearty amount swimming in the bowl, everyone else had taken a sip. "This is really good!" Mantis praised, diving his spoon back in for more.
Po looked at Jian excitedly, yet bashful as he replied; "No, c'mon. You should try my dad's secret ingredient soup. He actually... knows the secret ingredient." Jian leaned back against the counter, smiling as he brought the spoon to his mouth. Anytime he came down to the Noodle Shop to see Po over the years, the first thing Mr. Ping always offered was a bowl of his noodle soup, which he took gratefully, especially in the cold winter months. There was nothing better then a bubbly broth bursting of flavor with every mouthful after fighting off bandits or pirates.
"What are you talking about? This is amazing." Viper praised.
"Wow, you're a really good cook!" Crane commented.
"I wish my mouth was bigger!" Everyone (minus Tigress) laughed at the bug's remark.
"Tigress, you've got to try this." Monkey was almost begging as he finished off the soup.
Master Tigress... still didn't try them. In fact, she ignored the primate's request completely, and picked up her own plate, which Jian wrinkled his nose at. He remembered trying to copy Tigress' every action once, just for a laugh- and for most of the day he mastered her motions and facial expressions to a T, and Mantis and Monkey found it amusing, daring him to eat exactly like her too, just to see how far he would go. He did just that... but he's appetite wasn't fulfilled, and was starving not long after dinner was over. He never understood how she could live on something so... bland, and never tried it again.
"It is said that the Dragon Warrior can survive for months at a time on nothing but the dew of a single gingko leaf and the energy of the universe."
Silence reigned, and Jian rolled his eyes towards the ceiling at her response... but wasn't expecting Po to shrug casually.
"I guess my body doesn't know it's the Dragon Warrior yet." He then proceeded to eye her plate, almost disapprovingly. Jian's eyes opened a little wider, almost like a warning. "I'm gonna need a lot more than dew..." Tigress' eyes narrowed a little, but Po pretended not to notice, "and, uh, universe... juice." He then brought the bowl to his lips, and drank the rest down like it were a cup of tea.
When the bowl rested on the table again, Mantis and Monkey laughed. "What?"
"Oh nothing... Master Shifu." Jian looked up from his plate, a little confused. That was when Po realized that a single noodle hung around his muzzle... looking like a long moustache. Laughter picked up again once Crane and Viper noticed, before Po had an idea. Deciding to play it off, he got down from the chair, and knelt on the floor, picking up a chopstick, while Jian pierced his lips together to stop a snicker from escaping.
"You will never be the Dragon Warrior, unless you lose five hundred pounds and brush your teeth!" He spoke gruffly, pointing the chopstick in Jian's direction. The Five laughed, but Tigress remained silent, a little taken aback from their reaction. Jian let out a laugh then, only to gain a disapproving glare from Tigress. "What is that noise you're making? Laughter? I never heard of it!" Po straightened his back, while Jian continued to laugh, seemingly ignoring Tigress' stare. "Work hard, Panda. And maybe, someday..." Picking up two empty bowls, he placed them infront of his ears. "You will have ears like mine!"
The gag had Monkey is hysterics, and this time Jian had the decency to conceal it... only for them to all look up and wait for Po's next move... and stopped laughing altogether.
"Ears..?" Po spoke normally, but failed to notice Master Shifu standing behind him, halfway through the door, watching them silently. He had Oogway's staff with him, which was strange, but there was one heck of scowl on his face. "It's not working? I thought they were good!"
"It's Shifu." Monkey whispered frantically.
"Of course it's Shifu. What do you think I'm doing?"
Jian coughed, and nodded in his direction, while Monkey pointed. Crane, Viper and Mantis shifted their eyes to whatever was behind him, and then Po turned, and jumped in surprised, pressing the bowls against his chest. "Ooh! Master Shifu! I..." He quickly slurped the noodle, and lowered his arms as Shifu turned to glare at him. The bowls didn't follow his movement... and remained glued to his chest like a bra. Crane, Viper and Mantis still giggled, while Monkey covered his mouth to stop the laughter, and Jian smirked amusingly at the red panda's glare. Tigress just shook her head, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"You think this is funny?!"
"A little." Jian muttered, and Shifu just glared at him, before scolding the others.
"Tai Lung has escaped from prison and you're acting like children!" Everyone was silent almost immediately... apart from a abrupt 'what?' Coming from Po. "He is coming for the Dragon Scroll, and you are the only one who can stop him!"
Po's mouth hung open to speak... before the bowls fell from his chest and clatter across the floor, not breaking.
"You're joking... right?" Everyone either looked ahead, to the side, or behind them (in Monkey's case) to remember Jian was there. There was this coldness overcoming his body, a heavy feeling in his stomach urged him to put the bowl down on the counter before it ended up on the floor.
He was staring at Tigress, lips barely apart, but his chest rose and fell with every breath. Tigress didn't move from her chair, but was staring right back at him; Jian was like a little kid again; waking up from a terrifying nightmare, and when Sying wasn't around, Tigress was there to ensure he went back to sleep...
But he was wide awake.
Shifu's gaze softened slightly, mouth opening as if to speak, but it Po's laughter brought it back up a notch of annoyance. "Of course he is! When I didn't think you had a sense of humor, ha!" Everyone glared at Po's ignorance, and when he noticed no one else was laughing, the realization hit him. "Wait you're serious?! I have to... uh... no! Master Oogway will stop him! He did it before, he'll do it again-"
"Oogway cannot!" The staff found itself laying in both of Shifu's paws. "Not anymore..."
The Five turned their gaze back towards their Master in shock; it didn't take too long for any of them to realize what he meant, and looked back at one another, saddened by this news. Jian leaned back against the counter, heart twisting in his chest.
That was what he saw float across the sky. The petals of the peach tree.
Oogway was one of the few people to believe in him from the beginning; of course Tigress and Po were the only ones not to judge him at first, but Oogway was always there in their absences. He was that ear to listen to his worries... the one who gave him the time of day, who never sided with anyone in disputes. When it felt like the world had shoved him into a corner, alongside the seemingly permanent reputation his father left imprinted on him, Oogway was there to assure him that it wouldn't last forever.
How would he tell Azure?
"Our only hope... is the Dragon Warrior."
"The panda?"
"Yes, the panda!"
Jian's attention snapped back into reality to see a chair getting pushed back, and Tigress was up on her feet. "Master, please! Let us stop Tai Lung, this is what you've trained us for!" She was nearly baring teeth.
"No! It is not your destiny to defeat Tai Lung. It is his!" He dramatically pointed to Po... who was no longer in his spot. "Where'd he go?"
Monkey pointed out towards the hall, and Shifu ran out after him. It wasn't until the dust settled that Tigress turned back towards Jian, and hold of her chair. "Sit down," everyone else snapped out of their thoughts, and Monkey was up to help Jian sit down.
Jian sank into the chair, leaning forward sickly, head in his paws. He felt Crane's wing settled along his shoulder, while Viper and Mantis looked up at his face worriedly. "Are you okay sweetie?" Viper asked gently.
"I..." He mouth opened, closed, opened again... but a nervous laugh came out. "I don't know."
"We'll make sure he..." The words faded away, and Jian just watched their mouths move. He wasn't sure how long this went on for... but his focus was back in once he heard; "We need to warn Azure and Sying."
"She'll warn my mother." Jian assured them, straightening his back. "She knew was going to break out in the first place."
"That's right... Azure had the dream that only back up Oogway's vision." Viper nodded quickly.
"Well... that's the purpose of her job right?" Mantis said.
"It is. That's why she came here in the first place-" he stopped.
"What is it?" Tigress asked.
"She already knew he was getting out... she's on her way to meet him right now."
"What?!" The five had to make sure they had heard him right.
"How do you know?" Crane asked.
He began slowly to collect the words in the right order. "I asked why she wasn't staying, and she told me she had two clients... one in the Valley, and another one somewhere on the way back to Gongmen City. He only got out then." They all glanced at one another quickly in realization, but turned back to Jian when they heard an angered growl escape his throat. "How could she be so stupid? He could hurt her and-"
"Azure would know better then that, surely?" Monkey added in a poor attempt to calm him down,
"She'll lead him right to my mother."
Tigress shook her head. "She wouldn't do that-"
"How the hell would you know?!" Jian's voice rose like a high tide and cut out the words that were coming out of the striped feline's mouth. The rest of the five went deathly silent... Monkey going one step further by covering his mouth with his hand, ensuring no sound got out. Realizing who he was talking to, even Jian shrunk back a little. Tigress, however, remained where she stood, tall with authority. The only thing that was altered in her expression was that her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Excuse me..." Jian only took so much, before he moved past her, out of the room and down the hall.
"Jian-" Crane moved to follow him, but Tigress raised a paw swiftly.
"Leave him." Her voice remained strong. "He needs his space."
Chapter 20 done and done!
Sorry for the absence everyone, college has been a little bit hectic, but I didn't want to keep you guys waiting any longer for a new chapter! Shifu has broken the news of Oogway's death and Tai Lung's breakout, and all eyes are on not only Po, but for Jian too!
Chapter 21 coming asap!
