Chapter 13: Rumors

Kai stepped into the room that Silvermist was recovering in. He walked in quietly as he saw that his friend was sleeping peacefully. Next to the young she-wolf was Gwen, the kind goat who was treating her.

The goat spotted Kai from the corner of her eye and motioned with her hoof to calm closer. Kai came slowly and looked at his friend worriedly.

"She's just fine," said the goat. Despite her saying this, Kai was still depressed seeing Silvermist like this.

"When is she going to wake up?" Kai asked, bending down and sitting next to her.

Silvermist lied on the ground, since that's all the psychotic goat would provide those captive in his dungeon. The mountain lion cub could've sworn he saw her shivering. He felt frustrated that he couldn't do anything at the moment for her. He had been trying to find some more blankets for her, but he couldn't find any in the past two weeks.

"She needs to recover. It may take a lot of time," Gwen told him.

"But she's already been like this for days!" Kai argued.

Gwen placed her hoof on his shoulder and said, "Calm yourself, young one. Why don't you go and meditate or play with the young ones to take your mind off of things?"

"I don't want to go and play, I want to stay here with Silvermist. She needs me," Kai insisted.

Gwen shushed the cub as Silvermist stirred in her sleep. "You need to calm yourself. Just stay here while I go out and get something to help her, alright young cub?"

Kai looked away, but nodded his head slowly after a few minutes. He wanted to do so much more. For now, he would just have to settle for this. He crouched down and sat next to his friend.

For what seemed like years, he sat there by his friend. He looked around the room while in the quiet.

Kai dreamed of coming out of here one day. Everyone would be set free from this awful dictator. He could still remember the beauty of snow. For that brief moment he felt free. He wanted to have that feeling again so badly.

As Kai was stuck in his daydreams, he didn't realize that the door was beginning to crack open. An elderly goose walked in and saw the two sitting there. He recognized the young she-wolf and mountain lion cub. He became nervous as he wondered what to do. They were taught to report anything unusual immediately. These two were also wanted by his master and a great bounty was over the two children.

The goose silently watched the two for a few moments longer. He pondered why these two could cause so much harm. They were just children. Plus, they were living in a nightmare. Children should be out playing or enjoying their youth; not stuck in a dungeon. His thoughts were interrupted as Kai ceased daydreaming.

The mountain lion's eyes shot a fierce glare at the goose. Kai immediately got up and ran towards the intruder. The goose was shocked by his speed and before he knew it, Kai was on top of him. The goose shut his eyes tight as the cub unsheathed his claws.

"Who are you?" he said in a low growl.

Shivering from pure fear he managed to spit out, "Pong."

"What do you think you're doing here?" Kai whispered harshly.

Pong opened his beak, but no words came out. He was stunned by this cub's strength. He began stuttering and mumbling gibberish. Kai wasn't going to tolerate this.

"It doesn't matter. Whatever you were going to do isn't going to happen," Kai hissed. Kai rolled back, still gripping the goose by his neck, and kicked Pong over into the room. He quickly closed the door and grabbed the goose's feet.

Pong struggled to get out of Kai's clutches, but to no avail. Kai tightened his grip on the goose's legs and pulled him away from Silvermist. Pong was mere inches from her. "W-wait! Stop!" Pong cried out.

Kai noticed Silvermist stir uncomfortably in her sleep. Her whole body seemed to tense up. He had almost forgotten about not waking her up.

"Stay quiet," Kai told the goose.

Pong lay completely still; fearing that the cub might do something to him if he made the slightest sound. Kai kept glancing over at Silvermist. He was debating what to do with this intruder. He didn't want him to go and tell the goat where they were. Yet, he didn't want Pong around to possibly wake Silvermist up.

Kai dragged Pong over to the other end of the room. "Tell me, quietly, what you're doing here."

Still shaking, he replied, "I was just coming in to sit down."

Kai's eyes narrowed. He wasn't buying this excuse. "I swear! I was so tired, but I was still supposed to be on duty. I... I just wanted to take a rest. My legs are killing me," Pong told him.

Kai knew how hard the goat could be to new guards. The mountain lion let go of the goose's shirt. "Alright," he said. "I'll accept that."

Pong slowly fixed himself into an upright, sitting position. "So, is that who I think it is? The silver wolf my master is looking for?"

Kai didn't answer his question. "Are you new here?"

"Yes, yes I am."

The mountain lion looked down. His angry eyes returned to the goose. "What possesses you people to become guards for this sick goat? What makes you stay and obey him?"

Pong sighed. "For most of us, it's not our own free will," he started. "Just like me. You see, I was traveling all over China. I tried going to every possible noodle shop. I wanted to see how they served their special dishes. What made them great and what made them just plain disgusting." A small, weak smile formed on his face. "It was my dream to open a Noodle Shop of my very own. I wanted to make the best noodles in all of China!"

Kai listened intently now. This goose didn't seem so bad anymore, but he still had to keep his guard up. In case these were just a bunch of lies. Pong continued, "I was heading over to a popular noodle shop in the Valley of Peace when I ran into the goat. I accidentally bumped into him and he ranted and raged over it. I tried to apologize, but he wouldn't hear of it. Then suddenly, he calmed down. He apologized for getting so angry and offered to help me with my dream. He said he knew a good place for me to start."

Pong's head hung low. "I believed him... and he brought me here. Next thing I knew I was a captive. I'm the one who cooks for the goat and the other guards. This is my so-called 'start'."

Kai crossed his arms. He never really knew that the guards here had any feelings at all. Hearing Pong's story began to change his perspective of some of the guards. "So, why are you here?"

"The goat is looking for her," he gestured with his wing to Silvermist. "She's very important to the goat for some reason."

"He has a funny way of showing it," Kai muttered.

"Now listen," Pong said, getting up. "I'll keep this whole meeting of ours a secret if you let me go free."

Kai pondered over this for a few minutes. "Why should I trust you?" It was something he didn't think would come out so harshly, but it was the truth. It was how he felt.

"I would never do anything to hurt anyone, but that's all I can give you. My word," he stated. He paused for a moment and offered, "I'll cook for you and the little girl over there."

Kai cocked his head slightly. "You mean... you'd make us noodles?"

Pong nodded. "I am a chef here. I make the noodles, the bean buns, an-"

Kai cut him off. "The dumplings?"

He nodded. Kai could hear his stomach growling as the thought of dumplings filled his mind. He craved those dumplings and, unless Silvermist was a fantastic actress, he thought she craved them too. He slowly outstretched his paw to the goose. "It's a deal."

Pong shook his paw and smiled. He gave a weak laugh, "I promise I won't bother you too much."

Kai didn't reply to the goose's teasing. It was partly because he didn't want Pong to bother them too much either. It sounded cruel, but he wanted to make sure Silvermist was safe. He was going to watch this goose closely. The slightest hint of this goose telling anyone they were here would be the beginning of the end for Pong. He would be sure to make this goose's stay here even more of a living nightmare.

Kai gave a fake smile to Pong, so he wouldn't suspect his distrust of him. With that, Pong left quietly; giving one last glance at Silvermist before he left.

Kai walked back over to his sleeping friend who began to stir again. Soon, her eyes began to open slightly. He smiled warmly at her as she gave a little yawn.

"Kai?" she asked in a distorted voice.

Gwen told him that her voice might be altered from the accident. She had even been skeptical of her ability to talk at all.

This made him thrilled to hear her voice. "Misty?"

"Kai... so... tired," her words barely audible and still distorted. He could tell what she was saying though.

He gave her a weak smile back. "Get some sleep. You've been through a lot," he told her. With that, she closed her eyes and fell back to sleep.

+:*:+

Three weeks had past and Pong seemed to be trustworthy; or at least, that's how Kai saw him after watching him. He stopped by everyday to check up on Kai and Silvermist; bringing some food for them both. Silvermist couldn't really eat, just drink liquids.

As Silvermist was getting her rest, Kai and Pong sat down at the other side of the room to talk. "Is there anything new that the goat is planning?"

"Not that I'm picking up on. They're still looking for her," glancing at the wolf pup. "However, I don't think we'll be here for much longer."

"What makes you say that?" Kai asked, his attention aroused. He even placed down his egg roll to hear this.

While they were still in a private room, he leaned in towards the mountain lion cub as if someone would hear and whispered, "Well, rumor has it... there's a hero coming."

Kai gave him a quizzical look. "A hero? Who do you mean?"

"They say a legendary warrior is to come into the light soon. Have you ever heard of Kung Fu?" Pong asked.

Kai paused for a moment, thinking it through. He shook his head no. "Is this Kung Fu person going to come and save us?"

"No, no. Not a person," he said, waving his wings while saying so. "It's a means of self-defense; Chinese martial arts. Kind of like different fighting styles. It's an art, really."

"So, what's your point?" Kai asked, crossing his arms.

"I'm saying that the Dragon Warrior, who knows Kung Fu, might come to save us! They... just need to figure out who it is," says Pong, with a nervous chuckle.

Kai wasn't impressed. "Then how do we know he's even going to find us? This so-called Dragon Warrior hasn't even been found!"

Pong shushed the cub as he noticed Silvermist stirring in her sleep. Kai looked down and sighed, regretting raising his voice at that last statement. "All I'm saying is that we shouldn't get our hopes up for something that's not certain. I just don't trust it and we can't put our lives on hold for this 'warrior to come'."

Neither of them talked the rest of the time they ate together. They were both silent, but they thought of the same thing. The Dragon Warrior.

Kai was still skeptical about this Dragon Warrior and if they'd ever come to save them. Pong was much more optimistic. He believed that this Dragon Warrior would save them.

Hopefully... it'll be soon, thought Pong, taking a sip of his soup.

Over two years... man. It's unacceptable and I'm ashamed to give you all this chapter when you all deserve something more epic. I'm going to try and step-up my game. I can't promise that my other Kung Fu Panda story will be continued though. I'm having trouble continuing both of these, but the other one most of all.

So, please don't forget to Review! Creative criticism is very much appreciated.