This is where I tell people that I own my OCs, but I sadly do not own anything that belongs to Dreamworks. This is also where I burst into unashamed tears at such a fact. Alas, I weep. -_-;

Chapter Four

Tendaji was very happy. With a satisfied groan, he laid back in the pile of new blankets in his small tent. They weren't really new, per se, but he had aired them out in the frigid winter winds for quite some time to get Captain Ige's stench out of them. He splayed his toes under the thick material, enjoying the warmth that had collected against his fur.

Blackmail was definitely a good thing. And he enjoyed good things.

Ige had been both furious and terrified to hear that a traveler had successfully passed by one of his guards. That sentry had nearly been killed in Ige's senseless rage, babbling something about practically gutting the small stranger. That much seemed true, according to Otieno's depictions. But what really caught Tendaji's ear was the mention of the stranger's ability to move like lightning, and that he had practically floated up the side of the mountain even as he left a trail of blood behind.

This intrigued the teenage hyena. In a way, he almost wanted to meet this rat-like person. If he lived through the custard apple poison that laced every weapon in the Fisi Clan. In which case he was probably long dead, seeing as the sentry had failed to stop him six days ago.

Tendaji shrugged to himself. Oh well, it would have been an interesting encounter. Now, though, it was almost time to tell Amadi what he knew. He'd gotten all that he could out of Ige – blankets, extra food, some of that strange Chinese armor they'd looted several villages back – as payment for keeping the failure of his guard a secret from the clan leader. Tendaji was eager to see how Amadi would reward him with that same information he'd been keeping to himself for the past few days. It wouldn't be as lush as what he could blackmail out of Ige, but all things considered, he saw a lot more reward for himself in the future if he played his cards right.

Why hurry the good things that would inevitably come his way?

With a smug grin, Tendaji stretched one last time, stood, and left his small tent to brave the slowing flurries. He didn't like being in Amadi's presence, but good things didn't always come easy.

~*~*~*~*~

Master Oogway scanned over the scroll again. There were very few times in his memory that he could recall feeling this distraught. Even fewer were the occurrences in which he had no idea what to do, and this was one of them.

So he scanned over the scroll. Again.

"Oh dear…" he finally said.

Ling, the messenger hawk that had arrived at the Jade Palace less than an hour ago, watched him with concerned eyes. She was the fastest messenger in Cha Gung, having made the journey in less than two days' time. She was exhausted, and she needed rest. Any message Oogway wanted to send in return would have to wait until tomorrow.

"Is this everything?" he asked the hawk. She took a quick sip of her tea before speaking, her sleek red-brown plumage ruffling a little in her worry.

"No, Master Oogway. Master Flying Rhino almost had me wait a few hours before leaving because of a request from Tai Hui. I didn't hear the conversation entirely, but it was something about infection setting into the wound. Apparently she needed help keeping Master Shifu still enough to change his dressings."

Oogway nodded absently. That must have been part of what he'd witnessed the previous day in his vision. The kung fu founder also had the distinct feeling it wasn't the only trouble Shifu was going to face in the near future. It was difficult to think about his closest student fighting for his very life in the cold mountains while Oogway was here in the Valley, safe and snug. There was no doubt in his mind that he would be leaving for Cha Gung Pass in the next day or so, but the village and palace needed to be properly looked after first.

Making a long inner monologue short, Oogway needed to alert his helping hands before he left to tend to his student, and they needed to know what was going on. It would take several hours to corroborate his departure, making it too late to leave today. And if the citizens heard of Shifu's predicament, he could only imagine the heartbroken outcries it would induce. The guards would have to be prepared for that as well. The red panda had no idea how attached the citizens had become to him. If he never came home…

"Master Oogway?" Ling's soft, strong voice brought his mind back to the present, alerting him to his wandering thoughts again. He was certainly lacking in his meditation of late.

"Hm?" he replied with a small smile.

"If you have a message you want me to take back, I can leave immediately."

"I have a message," Oogway nodded slowly. "But you are not to leave the palace tonight. I expect you to rest, and you may leave in the morning. This will give me time to compose my reply, after all."

"Yes, master," Ling said with a small bow of her head, though she sounded uncertain.

"Good. One of the palace hands will escort you to your guest room. Once he's shown you the kitchen, help yourself to anything you would like to eat. You should be strong and rested before your departure."

"Thank you for your kindness," the hawk said quietly.

With a nod of his long neck, Master Oogway stood with scroll in hand and left the room. He retreated to his quarters, sliding the paper panel closed with a sigh. After settling at the small letter desk in the corner he opened the scroll again and read over its contents for what felt like the hundredth time.

Master Oogway,

I am sorry to say I have urgent news concerning Master Shifu. It is unclear to me how events transpired, but I can say with certainty that his situation is dire. He has been poisoned by a Fisi weapon, and as of the present day, Shifu's life hangs in the balance.

I and my wife Tai Hui are doing everything in our power to ensure that he survives, but I fear it may not be enough. But please, Master Oogway, I beg you to stay at the Jade Palace until my men and I disperse the hyena clan and clear them from the pass. While I would never be so ignorant to think you couldn't handle them, one touch from their weapons is deadly.

Keep Shifu in your thoughts. I will send word as soon as I can.

Master Flying Rhino

Oogway sighed deeply through his nose, contemplating the words of his response carefully. In lieu of Rhino's request, he knew he was being a little bit stubborn in choosing to travel anyway. He wasn't about to leave Shifu or Cha Gung village without aid in the face of a threat as large as the Fisi Clan. He'd heard of their travels, even seen them from afar several times in his centuries of travel and study. The hyena clans of Africa were not a force to be trifled with, and they masked their intricate inner structure with the chaos and mayhem they could cause. With this in mind, the tortoise unrolled the scroll a little to expose a length of blank space, dipped a thin brush in the ink well, and wrote his response.

Rhino,

In any other circumstances, I would be very happy to hear from you. In light of the current situation, however, it has come to my attention that I must travel to Cha Gung despite your request. Not only would I never leave Shifu in such a condition, I would also never leave a village to face hyenas alone.

I would be honored to have a temporary place prepared at the edge of the village, where I can observe the pass at all times. It is only natural for me to want to see my friends again, as well as lend my aid any way I can. I very much look forward to seeing your wife again, and acquainting myself with the rest of the village will be a pleasure, I'm sure.

I will begin the journey within two days of this message. Please be sure to take care while I am on my way.

Master Oogway

Well, it wasn't as cheerful as most of the letters he liked to send, but it would have to do. He would make sure to cheer everyone up when he arrived. With a clarifying breath, Oogway rolled up the scroll and set it aside. He rose, staff in hand, and left to fetch Hong. The goose would be sure to get word quickly to the guards in the village, and they would be here within the hour. There was much to be done before leaving, and he would be sure to get it all done as quickly as a tortoise could.

~*~*~*~*~

I had no idea how long I was going to suffer like this. I'd lost track of how long I was awake. It was hard to keep time when I kept fading in and out of consciousness. I had tried to meditate once, maybe twice, to clear my head, but kept falling asleep somewhere in the efforts. I recently realized the people taking care of me were Flying Rhino and his wife, and I could only guess how long.

I couldn't get a descent breath to save my life. My lungs burned, my head and my side were splitting with pain, and my body trembled as if I'd just come out of a war. Perhaps I had… I felt cold and damp, my vision swam in sickening waves if I held my eyes open too long. Even laying as still as I could I was dizzy. Something stunk like the dead, engulfing me in a horrible smell that made my stomach turn. … I think it was me.

Just as I had begun to crawl out of this horrible fog in my head, I realized something was very, very wrong. Though such language rarely crossed my mind, I had to admit that life truly sucked right now.

I felt pressure on my ear, and opened my eyes against the brightness of the room. Tai Hui was hovering above me again, pinching my ear. She looked upset. I wondered for a moment if I had done something to upset her before my tired brain remembered I hadn't done anything in ancestors knew how long! I hate being frustrated and confused, but it was all I knew at that moment.

I blinked hard to refocus on her, and her mouth was moving. …Was she speaking to me? Someone must have stuffed cotton in my ears, every sound was dull and muffled if I could hear it at all. It unnerved me. I squinted at her. Like that was supposed to help me hear her. Right. She seemed to get the point, though, and merely studied me for a moment. She looked away then, speaking to someone else.

And suddenly I was so tired. I was resigned to let the darkness close over me again, and I didn't mind the respite.

…

I woke with a jolt after what seemed only a few minutes of rest. It seemed a pattern – one I didn't appreciate. It took me a moment to realize Tai Hui was moving me; yet another detail I didn't appreciate. My wound flared with burning pain, gritting against my nerves in a way that made me wonder if my innards had been pulled out through my side and then stuffed back in in the wrong order. The mental image didn't help my weak stomach, either.

I opened my eyes in time to see her say something to me. It was no use trying to understand; I was subjected to the whims of my caretakers, anyway. What did it matter if she tried to explain things to me?

And then she lifted me off the bed.

My whole body tensed with the pain of the shift, I tried to bite back a groan, but had no idea if I was successful or not. Probably not. All I could do was close my eyes and hold my breath against the nausea that swam over me in hot and cold waves. One of her cold hands was against the back of my neck as she carried me, and I tried to focus on the coolness of it. My trembling worsened with every step she took, but I had no idea if it was because of the pain, or if something else was causing it. That innate feeling of dread lingering under my chest told me it was something else, but I was too detached from it all to deduce what was wrong. I was furious with my helplessness for a moment, and then it was swallowed up by waves of unnatural cold.

This cold feeling seemed both wrong and familiar.

I must have blacked out or dozed off or something, because when I was able to focus again I was in a different room. I was distantly aware that my body didn't seem to be listening to my brain. The trembling had worsened. I should have been uneasy about all this, but I couldn't find the energy to care. I made a mental note to chastise myself about my carelessness later, as it would certainly lead to further injuries in the future if it kept up. Hm… that last thought was out of place…

I seemed to be losing myself somehow. Eh, that didn't make sense either!

With a shaky breath, I concluded something was definitely wrong. I tried to focus.

I didn't know what I was laying on, but it was soft enough. Tai Hui was hovering over me – no surprise there. She was pulling bandages away from my body in a hurried manner, and I realized I should have been feeling every movement. That dead smell hit my nose a hundred fold so suddenly it made my eyes water. I finally found it in myself to be uneasy.

So I was unnaturally cold, I smelled like death, and I had very suddenly lost all sensation below my shoulders. If those weren't red flags on a training ground, then I was a chow chow. And yet all I did was watch Tai Hui with a retarded sense of fascination. My vision was shaking… must've meant my head was trembling, too. Huh.

I was vaguely aware of Tai Hui lifting me up. As she set me down, I felt as if I was floating. I felt water on the back of my neck, cold and soothing.

I was sleepy. I had certainly done enough useless monologuing for one day. I was…

I… was ready… to…

~*~*~*~*~

"Come on, Shifu, you can make it…" Tai Hui found herself whispering fervently to the unconscious red panda. But it wasn't up to fervent prayers now; it was up to Shifu.

She had known the fever would be severe; in fact that was a good thing. High fever spikes were the last obstacle in fighting off the Fisi poison. If the tiny warrior made it through, he would most likely be in the clear. The majority of his fighting would be done with. He'd made it this far, she was certain he would make it!

But worry reared its ugly visage in the back of her mind. She hadn't expected infection to set into his wound so quickly. She had been so careful to dress the sword wound and keep it as clean as she could, but there was no accounting for the clean furless skin of a rhino when her patient was a thick-furred fire fox.

"Rhino!" she called, her voice echoing through the kitchen and down the hall. "Bring me more bandages and towels!"

"Yes, love!" Rhino answered just as loudly.

If the situation hadn't already gotten Tai Hui's hackles risen, she would have laughed. Her hands, along with Shifu, were submerged in a cold water bath she had chosen to conduct in the kitchen sink. She was afraid of losing him in the actual bath, made for the greater dimensions of a rhinoceros. The sink was a perfect fit for the smaller master, though she didn't think he'd handle it very well if she ever explained it to him later. He was still young, and still full of pride.

As it was, she cupped one of her hands and poured water over the top of Shifu's head. He'd fallen unconscious just moments ago, and it had her worried. She hadn't taken into consideration how a high fever would affect a smaller creature. She had no idea what else would be different between caring for Rhino's injured soldiers and caring for their tiny young friend.

She wished for Oogway's wisdom now, lest she make a mistake in caring for the young man. For now, muttering made her feel better.

"Damn you fire cats and your complicated tiny bodies," she groused quietly, pouring more water over his head. "Can't make anything simple for anyone, let alone yourselves. Is it so much to ask –"

"Tai Hui?"

"Hah! Yes Rhino?" she spluttered, looking over her shoulder with a none-too-subtle blush coloring her snout. Her husband watched her with narrowed eyes as he set the towels and bandages down on the counter.

"…Perhaps you should take a break, get some rest?"

"No," she answered a little too quickly. "No, I'm fine. I'm just… worried, is all."

"Uh huh…" Rhino was obviously skeptical. Tai Hui focused instead on cleaning the clay pack out of Shifu's wound. Slow clouds of silt migrated through the water, blood and infection dancing along in sickly green and rusty brown swirls. Along with the soggy clods of fur shed caused by the fever, the sink was a disgusting sight. If Shifu ever remembered how filthy he was at any point during this ordeal, he would likely have a heart attack!

As it was, she was just grateful he was unconscious for the cleaning out of the clay pack this time. Tai Hui was a tough woman to shake, but she wouldn't wish that kind of pain on anyone she held dear.

"Do I need to get more clay?" Rhino asked, peering over her shoulder. The reluctance in his voice was impossible to miss. When she glared at him, he pointedly ignored the look. He huffed, expelling the acrid smell out of his nose as best he could.

"No," she replied, pinching Shifu's ear to check his temperature. It flicked away when she let go, a good sign. His trembling had nearly disappeared, too. She sighed with mild relief, taking it as a sign that she was doing things all right so far. "I'll pressure bandage it for now. When I'm sure the infection is gone I'll stitch him up."

"Hm, I'm sure he'll like that," her husband replied sarcastically.

"Would you like to do it?" He held up his hands and shut his eyes in calming gesture, speaking in a wise tone.

"Far be it from me to doubt my wife's skills with a needle and thread, no matter what the subject may be."

"That's what I thought… Hand me a towel, would you?" Rhino complied without question. Tai Hui took a moment to meet his charcoal eyes, her heart swelling with a comforting wave of giddy love and thankfulness for her perfect mate. She opened her mouth to voice her appreciation of him, but he smiled and kissed her short.

"I know," he said, sounding a trifle smug. He reached in front of her, taking Shifu gently from the makeshift bath. "And don't worry about him. I have a feeling the worst of it is over."

Tai Hui sighed, offering only a shaky smile as she the towel over her arms and welcomed the sopping warrior back into her fold. "I hope you're right, dear." There was little left for the poison's course, but what she truly worried about now was keeping Shifu's fever down. And, most of all, keeping him from doing something boredom-driven and stupid in the long weeks of recovery to come…

~*~*~*~

They jumped. They danced. They yipped. They yowled. They stomped circles around the great fire, those who shoved and nipped their way to the front of the massive crowd. The drums vibrated loud and rhythmic across the camp, the heartbeat of the clan. The colorful dancing beads clattered with movement and glistened with the melting snow of warm bodies.

Amadi was perched on a mound of tamped snow, the whole hill covered in the stolen armor of her conquests, a makeshift king's rock. She watched a half-body above the jumping droves, observing her people's guile, mirth, and celebration. They stomped their paws on the rock-hard drifts and raised their heads to call out in tribal trills. Thick clouds of breath seared the scant flurries into a shroud of mist about them, beckoning the spirits of their homeland to the feast.

The feast of their own brother.

Amadi's smile grew wide and wicked, a sultry cackle rising in her throat. The giant fire blazed hot and tall before her dais. Beyond it dozens of smaller fires were being danced around by those too weak to fight their way to the great blaze. She peered through the licking flames, catching the wavering visage of him.

The failure.

Ige had been punished, but was still too valuable to be made an example of. His failed sentry, on the other hand… She would gladly sacrifice a failure to raise the morale of the entire clan, however tiring the task.

The castaway was strung by his wrists and ankles to a sturdy straight post, held high in the air by broken wrists and dislocated shoulders. He whimpered, he wailed, he cackled with every breath. He would die laughing.

Amadi's hand shot into the air, and she let out a single, ferocious bark. The drums stopped. In the moments that followed, silence broke the festivities like a ripple in a pond. Every Fisi knelt as the quiet fell upon them, watching the largest pyre with rapt attention and eager tongues. The only sound beyond the chilling breeze howling through the pass was the crackling of the fires and the clatter of Amadi's bead adorned body. Slowly, gracefully, she left her mountain and walked around the fire. She craned her neck to look up at the sniveling outcast, who hung his head in both shame and submission.

The silence turned brittle and tense while she stared and he wept. Now was the time of her judgment. Amadi was to choose the weight of his curse. Her lips curled in a disgusted sneer.

"May the spirits leave you to wander alone for all time," she spat. As he wailed and screeched, she cut the air with her hand. Cheers erupted loud and raucous as two hefty warriors shouldered the post and pushed. Its shallow footing in the snow gave easily, and it leaned. With a hysteric laugh, the failure fell forward. The tope of the post crashed into the king hill, leaving him stretched out to roast in the top of the fire.

A victorious trill rose thick and hot in Amadi's chest, and she threw her head back and let it echo through the pass. The drums burst to life again, and the leader of the Fisi Clan danced with her people. She relished the anticipation of the long night ahead. She would eat his brain. Her lover would get his heart. Her seer would take the eyes. The rest of him would be carefully cut and dispersed, a tiny morsel for every Fisi. His power – what little there was, all the potential he had left unclaimed – would flow into the Clan, make them stronger.

There would be drinking. More dancing. Lots of sex.

In a way, Kgosi Amadi loved killing her people.

~*~*~*~*~

A/N:

Thank you again, to those who have read, enjoyed, and especially to those who have reviewed. Reviews really help to keep a writer going, and I'm no exception to that, so please R&R if you would be so kind, or I won't know if I'm pleasing you as a reader or not. This chapter skips around a bit more than usual, but important gaps are being filled before the plot really snowballs. Hope you enjoy!