And here is Chapter 3. I'm keeping my promise with long chapters here. It looks like, in the future, my chapters may end up being as long as some of Nievelion's (you see the effect you have on me, Nieve?), which benefits you all, certainly. As I love drama, this will be another chapter full of exactly that. As for updates...yeah, they're going to be sporadic. My apologies for that. Anyway, enough of my moaning: Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Kung Fu Panda, it is the property of Dreamworks Animation Studios. All OCs depicted in this fic, however, do belong to me, so please do not use them without my permission.
Chapter 3: Schisms
Su Lin fidgeted in her new dress, something she had thrown together a few days before. She absently picked at her sleeve, sighing nervously. Tonight was the night, she was certain. Tonight had to be the night. What Tai Lung had said yesterday was uplifting…and extremely flattering. If he, Tai Lung, easily the handsomest example of his species (at least as far as the female panda's experience with snow leopards went), thought her attractive, surely that meant Po found her attractive too? But for the life of her, she couldn't ascertain why her boyfriend, after one and a half years, had not made a single move. Sure, they had kissed, made out, hugged and caressed, but it never seemed to go beyond that. Was she giving off the wrong signals, she wondered? Or was she not cluing in on his signals?
Her nervousness didn't help. Why should she be nervous? It wasn't as if this was her first date, but, she realized with ever increasing dread…she was nervous about the mystery of what was to come. She had no idea what she was doing, no experience whatsoever—was she out of her mind? And what if he rejected her? Or what if he ignored her signals? Should she just come out and say it? Oh, but how could she! Su Lin was by no means a direct creature, something she envied her feline neighbors for. True, Dalang and Mei Xing tried to avoid conflicts whenever possible, but that didn't stop them—or their spouses—from saying what they meant, and meaning what they said.
Oh, grow a backbone already! she chastised herself as she looked in the mirror. The female panda turned this way, and that way, viewing herself at three-quarter angles, then in profile, sighing and frowning at her own 'padding'. She could perhaps stand to loose a couple pounds, she thought as she ran her hand over her stomach. Su Lin was realistic though; she knew she would never be as slender as Tigress and Mei Xing. Heck, both her parents had been "big-boned" as the case went, as were her siblings. And she supposed there was a reason they were called giant pandas.
She turned all the way around, took a few steps, then looked over her shoulder at her back side and frowned again. Oh, why did she make this dress?! It didn't flatter her at all! The darts were in the wrong place, the waist too high, and the skirt too tight, leaving little room for her hips to move, and too much room around the bust and neck…this was a huge mistake. The only positive thing worth mentioning was the color, a teal blue that Po said brought out the warm brown of her eyes.
Sighing again, this time fretfully, she smoothed the skirt over her thighs and anxiously waited, sitting on the edge of her bed. Actually, it had been Po's bed, before he moved up to the Jade Palace, permanently. Because she had nowhere else to go, Mr. Ping graciously offered his son's old room, even before she asked. She smiled; it was easy to see where Po got his generosity.
After their landlord had essentially kicked them out of the short-lived "Aunt Wu's Dim Sum and Then Some", Ping had opened his doors to the unfortunate souls. The restaurant and family apartments had been crowded for a good long while, until Auntie Wu had moved up to the Jade Palace to be with her husband Shifu, and Mei Xing had married Tai Lung. Su Lin did not feel belonged in the Jade Palace, as she was decidedly not a kung fu warrior, despite what Po had taught her. And she certainly didn't want to move in with the two newlywed couples—she would have certainly felt like a cart's third wheel! Before this conundrum moved her to extreme debilitating anxiety, Mr. Ping offered to convert Po's old room into Su Lin's new residence.
There hadn't been much to change. A fresh coat of plaster to the holes in the wall, polished floorboards and a fix to the leaky roof were all she was comfortable with. The crude drawings Po had left on the walls, artifacts of her boyfriend's happy childhood, she couldn't bear to cover with fresh whitewash. Nor could she part with the bed—if it was good enough for him, surely it was good enough for her.
She did add a few traces of her own personality, to make it her own space. She hung a couple paintings, placed fresh flowers around the room, and almost always had the window open to allow sunlight into the room. And then there was the full-length mirror, where she was still studying herself.
He would be there any minute. She took in a deep breath and started to pace. Ping had given her the night off to go on this date; she suspected Po had to ask Shifu's permission to leave the Jade Palace for the occasion, despite the fact the red panda had relaxed his controlling personality. Perhaps, she thought with a blush and a smile, the red panda had plans of his own that same evening…
She jumped when a familiar knock rapped against the door. "Coming!" She looked herself over one last time, sighed, then forced a smile and went to answer the door.
"Hey sweetie," she smiled.
"Hey, babe," Po grinned, hugging her and giving her a sweet kiss. "I missed you."
"You saw me just yesterday!" she giggled.
"Still, I missed you," he said, gently tightening the hug. "You were all I could think about, all day."
"Oh please don't, Po, you're making be blush!"
"But you're cute when you blush," he said, pressing his palm tenderly upon her cheek. Su Lin took a moment to take in his appearance. He had certainly made quite the effort—more effort than herself, she wondered?—to look good for her, wearing new, freshly pressed clothes he had gotten from the last major festival: a forest green shirt and darker green trousers. My, he did look quite handsome tonight! The greatest accessory that brought his whole look together, she thought, was that warm, loving smile and his shining green eyes…"You ready?"
She nodded, grabbing a shawl for the chilly night. "Ready as I'll ever be," she said softly.
"He's got it bad."
"You think?"
"Totally; did you hear that? 'You're all I could think about'? He's deprived."
"Don't say that! Po's not the kind of person to do something like that."
"I'm not disagreeing with you…but just when are they gonna do it, already?"
Tigress sighed, fighting down the inevitable eye-roll at her husband's comments. Dalang had stuck his head out the open window to listen in, having heard the entire exchange between the pandas. When did he become an eavesdropper? she wondered. "Maybe they believe in waiting until marriage, did you think of that?"
Dalang glanced back at her, "You didn't think that."
"I didn't at first, because I thought that with all the time they were alone…well, you'd think…"
"Yeah, but you know as well as I do how notorious pandas are for the libidos."
Tigress looked up from nursing Baby Shang to give her husband a curious look. He explained, "Real severe lack of libido."
"Not the way I see it," Tigress replied. "I don't think you're giving them enough credit. Maybe they're just not ready for that step."
"We were ready for that step long before we got married," he pointed out.
"Need I remind you how notorious tigers are for their raging urges?" she smirked.
"Not at all," he smirked suggestively. After a pause, he added, "You know…it has been over a year since…you know…"
Tigress blushed, hiding a coy smile. "Why, I have no idea what you could mean, Husband."
"I think you know exactly what I mean, Wife." The purr in his voice was sending delightful shivers through her body.
Her smile widened, teasingly, the blush deepening. "I think you may need to remind me…" She looked up in surprise when he was suddenly looming over her, a mischievous light in his eyes above a deeply suggestive grin.
"Auntie told us to wait for three months after Shang's birth…it's been six months, you know," he pointed out.
"You don't say? Six months already; when did that happen?" Tigress was absolutely unable to hide the grin at his desperate, needy gaze.
"Damn it, woman, don't do this to me."
"Don't do what?" she pulled Shang away from her breast to burp him, then quickly covered herself, fighting the blush as Dalang stared unabashedly. Shang, however, was in quite the mood to play, despite it being nearly his bedtime. Well, as much as Tigress loved her son, she loved her husband too. Very much. As a matter of fact, he did have a point…it had been a while since their last…and she was feeling the withdrawal about as strongly as her husband was.
She surprised the older male tiger by going to the door of their room instead of laying Shang down in his crib by their bed. Dalang audibly groaned in frustrated defeat, feeling that, once again, the opportunity had slipped right through his fingers. Then, to his amazement—and hope—he heard Tigress saying,
"I know this is short notice, but would you mind watching Shang for a couple hours?"
The potential babysitter paused, then Dalang recognized the drawl. "Oh, why not?" Tai Lung asked. "Good practice, isn't it?"
"Very," Tigress agreed. "He's already fed, had his bath, all that's left is to play until he falls asleep. He should do that on his own when he's tired enough."
Tai Lung paused. "As his crib's in your room…should I knock first?"
"We'd both appreciate it. Thanks."
Dalang's heart—among other parts of his anatomy—swelled with hope, his heart hammering in his chest. Was he…were they…really? He got his answer when Tigress walked back into the room, closed the door…and turned the key in the lock. The audible click was the only mechanism he needed to pounce on her, kissing her roughly and pawing at her clothes. She gasped as he groped and caressed her, pressing his body hard against hers, sending pleasurable shivers coursing through her body as she returned the favor. Just as desperately, she tore at his clothes, licking and nipping at his sensitive neck, then gasped when he grabbed her wrists and pinned her against the door.
"Anything in particular you want, Mrs. Jiao?" he smirked wickedly, passion burning in his eyes. Tigress purred; she loved it when he called her that. She thought about it a moment, then asked with a blush and sly smile, "Perhaps, Mr. Jiao, you might know where we put the straps?"
He grinned and pulled her over to the bed, reaching under the mattress for the items in question. Taking her hands, he pinned her to the mattress and kissed her hard, breaking away for a breathless moment to declare, "Gods-dammit, I missed you!"
Mei Xing smiled when Tai Lung entered their room, holding a very playful cub in his arms. "Hey, Trouble," she grinned as he sat next to her. "Oh, and you brought Shang, too!"
Her husband chucked her chin with his knuckle, growling with a playful smile, "Quiet you."
She giggled as she accepted the squirming infant into her arms, holding him close. "Aww, he looks tired…"
"He'd better be," Tai Lung said, laying back on the bed with a groan. "How can a six-month-old have so much energy?"
"Just wait until ours gets to be that age."
"Gods almighty; are we in trouble!" They shared a laugh as they watched over the playful tiger cub, who kept trying to gum Tai Lung's fingers. "I'm grateful he hasn't got teeth yet."
"The teething will be the worst. You know a good remedy for that, don't you?" she asked.
"Rub some baijiu on their gums."
Mei Xing stared at him. "How did you know that?"
He shrugged, putting Shang on the floor and allowed the cub to stalk and pounce on his tail. "Shifu said he used it on me; he also used it when I was older, whenever I had a toothache, though he obviously used a little bit more. I remember I got a rather nice buzz from it."
"That explains a few things," she teased.
"Quiet you."
She giggled and watched the cub try and chase the fluffy spotted tail. "Why are you doing that?"
"To develop his predatory skills; I wager Tigress wants to train him in kung fu, so this is a logical step…"
"How is it logical?"
"I don't know; that's how Shifu taught…me…" Tai Lung trailed off, so lost in his thoughts that the pain of infant claws sinking into his tail didn't immediately occur to him…until he let out a strained noise and sank his claws into the sheets, gritting his teeth to keep from crying out. Baby Shang, completely oblivious, had opted to curling up and cuddling the fuzzy—and hurting—appendage like it was a stuffed toy.
"Honey?" Mei Xing ventured. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," he gritted out. "I'm perfectly copacetic."
"Then why did you trail off like that?"
Tai Lung looked down at Shang, who had suddenly become rather drowsy and had curled up on the rug, still hugging the snow leopard's tail. "I think I understand why Dalang was so nervous about fatherhood…he didn't exactly have the best role model. I wonder though, if I might be just like Shifu…"
"What's wrong with that?" she asked, scooting closer to him. "You turned out alright."
"But to what end?" he asked. "I tried so hard to live up to his lofty expectations, and when I failed it cost me twenty years of my life I can never get back. What if I make the same mistakes he did?"
Mei Xing silently wrapped her arms around him. Wordlessly, he draped an arm around her shoulders. "Tai-Tai," she purred, "You are going to be a great father. You see how all the little kids love coming by the café after school, just to see you? Like little Chin Fu? Kids love you, and you love kids…you'll be fine. Hell, you'll do a better job than my dad did, I'll tell you that."
They trailed off together, watching Shang finally fall asleep. Mei Xing quietly confessed, "I wonder…I wonder if they even care about what happened to me. After they sold me to my ex, I begged them to let me come home, to dissolve the marriage. They ignored me. I haven't spoken to them since I was eighteen. I wonder if they even care that I'm happy now."
"Let's not think about that," Tai Lung said as he reached down to pick up the sleeping infant; he was careful to cradle the child's body correctly in his arms. "My feeling is that if they did, they would have tried finding you by now. I don't care what your old man's reasoning for marrying you off was…I can't forgive him for it. Ever. Especially knowing all that happened to you. And I swear on my mother's grave, if I ever see that bastard again…"
"Baby, please don't," she urged. "I don't know about you, but I've got a problem with you going back to prison."
He sighed and nuzzled her. "Fine…but is that code for me leaving him to you?"
She shook her head. "Punching him was enough payback. Well, as legal a payback as I could get."
He chuckled, handing the baby over to her to let her hold him. Mei Xing sighed happily, "I can't wait…as nervous as I am to give birth, I can't wait until it's our baby I'm holding, you know?"
He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and kissed her cheek, his hand gently rubbing her round stomach. "Soon, love, soon…"
The crash of something falling from across the house caused both snow leopards to jump. Mei Xing shared a look with her husband, then both looked down at Shang, who had been roused by the loud noise.
"Should we give them another hour?" she asked.
"I would," he nodded.
Su Lin still fidgeted with her dress. Everything was set, everything was perfect, the perfect time for her to make her move…but she was scared stiff. Po had taken her to the Valley's largest lake for their date, a candlelit picnic, just the two of them, in one of the more secluded spots. Now that night had fallen, the fishermen had all returned to their homes, pleasure boats back to their docks, and all other visitors had gone home to be with their families. The two pandas were likely the only people for a good half mile, but that didn't ease her nerves.
She sat next to him on the blanket, the remainder of their dinner gone cold as they cuddled beneath the stars. She wrapped an arm as far around his belly as she could, nuzzling his chest and she sighed, listening to his heartbeat. To her surprise, and her wonder, his heart was racing. But should she say something? He had been awfully quiet all evening, and rather awkward too. It was like they were on their first date all over again.
For the life of her she couldn't figure out what the problem was. Not only did Po appear completely distracted, but he also seemed particularly distant, too. He hesitated when she tried to kiss him, and stiffened when she hugged him. A horrible thought entered her mind: did he not love her anymore? If that was the case, should she even bother to try…what she had planned to try? What if—gods forbid!—she went through with it and they broke up? Could she live with the shame of it all?
"You okay, Su honey?" he asked, shocking her out of her reverie. "You're pretty quiet tonight."
She forced a smile and looked back up at the stars. "I'm fine, just…a little bit chilly." Su Lin knew she was a terrible liar, but somehow Po seemed to accept it.
"Why didn't you say something? Here, you can take my jacket…"
"Oh, I couldn't, what if you get a cold?"
"I'm good," he smiled, draping his jacket on her shoulders and kissed her forehead. "You're more important to me, anyway."
But how important am I to you? she miserably wondered. She looked back up at the stars, as if seeking guidance for how to proceed. All she got was complete silence. Frowning, she fought down her thudding heart and lightly quaking body. Okay, if she did make a move, if they did take that step…what would it ultimately mean? Hadn't Auntie said that that wasn't love, just…an expression of physicality? At least Su Lin knew Po wasn't after that, otherwise he would—they would—have done something by now.
But perhaps that was being too hard on him. Po had to focus on his training, surely, and he had filial obligations…its not as if she came first, and she knew that. Family came first, then kung fu, then her; she knew the hierarchy, and didn't question it. It was Po's life, Po's future. But—and she felt terribly selfish for even asking—what about her? What about her life, what about her future? And was the male panda sitting next to her the key to her future?
It was getting late, and she knew it. It was now or never. But…how to proceed? Where to start? Darn it, what did Mei-Mei do to get Tai?
She cuddled closer to him, nuzzling him just hard enough to get his attention as her hand gently massaged his stomach. Her heart pounded, wondering how he'd react…then smiled as his own hands moved to her waist, moving their bodies so that he could kiss her, long and hard. She outwardly sighed with satisfaction, and inwardly with relief. Her heart pounded harder as his hands tentatively moved to her hips, which sent a surprising jolt of pleasure through her body. Po had never touched her like this befo—she gasped against his lips when his hand moved further down and gently groped her backside, but just as soon, he began to pull away.
Oh, no you don't!
She grabbed a handful of his shirt and pulled him closer, her clearly surprised boyfriend letting out a soft, astonished noise, then a louder pleasured moan as he pulled her closer. Oh yes, this felt much nicer, she thought as she completely gave in to her instincts, lying back as he deepened the kiss, both closing their eyes and moaning in bliss. When Po broke the kiss to breathe, he looked down at her with mingled astonishment…and desire.
"Not that I'm complaining," he panted, "But what brought this on?"
Su Lin blushed, casting her gaze down shyly. "I…I just wanted to show you how much I care about you, how much I love you…" she paused, timidly looking back up at him. "Don't you like it? I can stop if—"
"No! I mean, uh, no, I like it. I like it a lot," he bashfully grinned. "Just um, let me know if…if y'know, you get uncomfortable or anything, okay?"
She nodded, smiling again as he leaned down to kiss her. His lips ghosted over hers as he whispered, "I love you." She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him there as they deepened the embrace. All her fears and trepidations of what was to come evaporated, melting away as his lips caressed hers, as his hands moved down her sides and to her hips. Her body felt electrified in a way she had never felt before.
Sure, they had kissed before, and yes, they had also made out…many times, she thought with an inward blush. But it had never gotten to the level they were quickly ascending. There was a burning, aching heat deep inside her, begging for more. Her wish was granted when Po broke away to nuzzle and kiss her sensitive neck. Su Lin moaned softly, biting her lip as his lips moved down to tug at her collar, sending electrifying jolts up her spine. She couldn't think, couldn't speak, and it was glorious. Only a moment later, however, she felt an entirely different surge in her brain as his hand moved down from her hip to her thigh and down her leg, then slowly worked its way back up, taking her dress hem with it…
That was when the thought hit her so quickly and so hard that she literally gasped and shot up, scrambling away from him. She panted, grasping her collar closer to her neck, which still tingled from his gentle kisses, even as her mind was spinning in a tumultuous whirlwind. Her body told her she was ready, her mind told her she was ready, and her heart ached for him so much it frightened her. What had stopped her was the most sobering and terrifying thought:
If her mother were still alive…what would she think of this…this sin?
Furthermore, if she had gone through with this…what would that make her? A slut, she realized, fighting down nausea and guilty tears, a slut, and a harlot…Mama wouldn't be proud of what I'm doing…what was I thinking?
"I…I'm feeling really tired," she offered as an excuse. "And cold, too. Can we go back?"
Po looked positively confused, dejected and…oh, he looked angry too! Su Lin turned her face away from him, fighting back tears. What had she done? There was only one name for the kind of girl she was now, and it wasn't polite even in the worst kind of company! Now Po was angry at her, and surely had lost all semblance of high opinion for her. That much was evident as he sighed heavily and stood.
"Okay. Okay, I'll walk you home."
"I…I'm sorry, for…for cutting this short." You have no idea, Po, you just have no idea!
"It's okay," he said unconvincingly. "Really, its fine. It is gettin' kinda chilly anyway, and I don't want ya gettin' sick or anything."
Lowering her gaze, she helped him pack up and stood to leave. The two pandas didn't exhibit the kind of open affection they had shared at the beginning of their date, the hand-holding, kissed cheeks and shared shy smiles. Instead, they walked through the village shoulder-to-shoulder, evoking the type of overwhelming silence that comes with one or both people wishing like mad to say something to the other, but either too scared or too angry to say anything, lest they say something they regret. By the time the couple got back to the Long and Feng, the two houses were dark and silent, all the inhabitants having gone to bed long before. Su Lin took the picnic basket from Po and placed it in the kitchen, intending to wash the dirty dishes in the morning. Or perhaps, as conflicted and emotional as she was now, maybe she'd wash them as soon as he'd left.
"I had a great time, as always," she said bashfully, giving him a small smile. "It's my day off tomorrow, and I'll be watching Shang for Tigress and Dalang, but if you come by, I'll make those rolls you like so much…"
"You don't hafta do that," he said.
"I want to—you treated me to a wonderful dinner; makes sense I should return the favor, right?"
An unreadable expression crossed his face, but he managed to push it away before she could say something. He gave her a smile, albeit a strained, unhappy one. "Sure thing. I'll, uh…I got training with Shifu and Tai tomorrow, most of the day, but I'll be down to help Dad about mid-afternoon."
"That's great," she nodded. "Shang will be having his nap then. It'll be perfect."
"Yeah. Perfect."
The pandas stood there a tense moment longer before Po broke the silence and leaned forward to kiss her forehead. "Have a good night, Su Lin. Sleep well."
Su Lin felt her heart aching as he turned away and left without anything further to say, not even a good night kiss. The pain in her heart was so great; she knew she couldn't sleep at a time like this. Regardless, she went upstairs to change into her nightdress and dressing gown, then came back downstairs to wash the dishes. Sinking her paws into the hot water, and scrubbing against the hardened rice and other dried food stuck to bowls and chopsticks gave her little peace of mind as she ran over the night's events in her head.
Tonight was the night. Tonight was the night! And she blew it. At the critical moment, the moment she needed to prove how much she loved him, and she had choked. She had completely ruined an otherwise perfect evening, and now she was sure she had made Po completely mad at her for leading him on and rejecting him like that, and had probably lost all respect he had for her. A good girl did not act the way she had; good girls did as their mothers told them, as was expected of them, and giving in to baser urges, no matter how strong, was not the mark of a good girl. When she was still alive, Su Lin's mother was her daughter's closest ally, her best friend and confidante. And had the matron not told her that girls who knew men before marriage were no better than lower-class courtesans? Wasn't a virtuous and a pious girl supposed to be chaste until marriage? Wasn't a virtuous girl held to a higher standard than others? And wasn't a girl expected to honor and respect her mother by obeying her until she got married?
But…as much as Su Lin loved and missed her mother, her love for Po was just as strong—stronger—and the need for him to know just how much he meant to her… That's not love, her mother would have said. Those girls who chase after boys like that don't love them, and those boys certainly don't love or respect them! You show your love to your future husband by being chaste and docile, and never doing anything to make him ashamed of you. He will respect you and love you more if you don't give it up before marriage.
She suddenly felt ill, her stomach churning at the implication. She had been willing to give herself to him, her heart, mind, soul, and body, that very night. She had behaved as an immoral wretch, a terrible sinner, and now there was no way Po could respect her now…or love her.
Two hot tears fell into the basin as she sucked in a breath. She let the bowl in her hand drop to the bottom of the pot of cooling water as she hid her face in her hands, only able to choke out a single frustrated, defeated sob:
"Shit."
As soon as Po had made it back to the Jade Palace, in lieu of sleep he made his way to the Sacred Hall of Warriors. It was here that he stood, gazing down into the Moon Pool with his hands thrust deep into his pockets, the panda sighing dejectedly. Tonight had been going so well, he thought. Okay, fine, he was nervous about it, as nervous as if it were their first date again. In fact, he had worn this very outfit because Su Lin had told him how handsome he looked in it.
Had he been expecting too much? Hell, this was a conversation they had a long time ago. Su Lin had said she wanted to wait until marriage, but lately she'd been acting like she was reconsidering. Tonight, for example, was the clearest signal that she was ready. At least he had thought so. And Po suddenly felt terrible, recalling how important her chastity was to her, that he had initiated and gone so far…too far. Why else would she have pushed him away like that?
He looked down at his reflection and frowned at what he saw. Oh yeah, that probably had something to do with it, he thought dejectedly, running his hand over his still large stomach. Three years of constant training under slave drivers like Shifu, Tigress, and now Tai Lung, should have done something for the panda's physique, and yet the only improvements he saw were slight muscle definition in his arms. The belly was still there, and the flab…the fat…
No wonder she pushed him away.
He closed his eyes and groaned, hanging his head. He'd been such a jerk, forcing himself on her like that. He should have realized that wasn't what she wanted; had he been paying closer attention, he would have stopped before it became a problem. Now she was mad at him—she had to be. If he'd been in the same position, he'd be mad too.
Po sighed and looked up to the ceiling, where the golden dragon's jaws were conspicuously empty. The panda kept the Dragon Scroll among his personal effects, and considering the more philosophical "secret" the scroll contained, he felt it wasn't as much a danger as it had originally been thought. The secret was simply to believe in yourself, and be your own hero. And heroes didn't need to be able to fight. For example, Po's hero had and always would be his own father; the goose kept him grounded, even after the panda was given the title as the Dragon Warrior.
But how would Mr. Ping react to Po's actions that evening? 'I thought I'd taught you better!' he'd say. And he had, he had taught him better. Po groaned and hung his head again, absolutely dismal.
"What are you doing?"
Po jumped, holding a hand over his heart. He hadn't even heard Wu Lien as she entered the Hall, the elderly red panda in her house coat and holding a small lantern in her hand. She gave him a curious look. "Didn't mean to startle you, dear, but it is rather late for such deep introspection. Is something on your mind?"
Once Po had settled down, and gotten his thudding heart under control, he sighed and shook his head. "I don't know…"
"Didn't you have a date with Su Lin this…" then she realized, and looked worried, "Are you all right? You two are still together, aren't you?"
"Yeah, yeah, we are…as far as I know."
Wu frowned. "Su Lin is not the sort of girl to string a man along, or to let a fine gentleman like you slip out of her hands—you're a godsend to her, and whatever transgression you think you committed can't be held against you."
The pair stood silent, gazing into the Moon Pool. Wu cast her green-eyed stare up to the panda, studying him a moment. What she said next nearly gave him a heart attack. "Tried to make a move, did you?"
"What? No! I…" he stammered guiltily.
"Oh for heaven's sake, I won't beat you over it." She shook her head. "Su Lin is simply not ready for that. She wants to remain chaste until marriage."
"I know…I know. Gods, I'm such an idiot. I mean, I know how much it means to her, and yet I still…" he said.
Wu snorted, "Po, I see no reason why two people so in love—like you two—would deny themselves the ultimate expression of that love just because of some silly social rules."
"So…you don't think I'm the scum of the earth?"
"Of course not, that would be hypocritical of me. I wasn't a virgin when I got married, and neither was Shifu. Not that it really mattered," she smirked suggestively, her persistent sly smile on her lips.
Po made a face. "You guys still do that? Gross!"
"Ahem," she hemmed crossly.
"Sorry. I just uh, don't like thinking of Shifu doing…"
"For heaven's sake, Po, everyone does it at some point in their lives."
"But what should I do about…about me and Su?" he asked. "I mean, I could ask Shifu, but…he doesn't seem to be an expert in how women think, y'know?"
"Of course I do; I'm married to him," she tittered.
He cracked a smile, allowing her to give her advice: "Su Lin has been through an awful lot in her young life. You have to understand that she was rather close to her family and loved them dearly. She was thirteen when they died, and to imagine that she went through such tumultuous years without that support…" Wu shook her head. "Her adolescence was a rough one. I think as a result of losing her family like that, she became more pious, to try and make sense of it all, to have some of that comfort."
"But you gave her comfort, didn't you?" he asked. "I mean, you adopted her."
"I did, but sweetheart," she looked at him meaningfully. "I can never take the place of her mother, Dalang and Mei Xing can never take the place of her brother and sister, and Shifu can never take her father's place. My best guess for her refusal to 'take the plunge' is trying to honor her family's memory."
Po looked back into the pool's still waters and sighed. "Now I really feel like a jerk. I should've known that…"
"No one holds that against you, dear-heart," she said, patting his hand. "I certainly don't. I have a feeling that had they lived, her family would be quite happy with you." She paused, then added, "Though I must say, as her acting mother, I have my own two fen to add… I think you should really talk to her about this. The sooner, the better. Don't let this fester, Po. Talk to her, figure out if there was some sort of miscommunication, which I'm sure there was."
"She's gotta be mad at me. Shouldn't I wait?"
"When I have a fight with Shifu," she said, exhaling shortly. "And we've had many…sometimes I would let it wait until morning, but all that does is lead to a sleepless night. Sometimes, in the morning I am less mad than I was, other times I'm still livid. I'm telling you, right now—and Shifu would say the same—don't let this wait. This is one conversation that needs to happen."
Po sighed heavily, knowing that she was right. But his heart hurt too much to consider going back now, going down to the village to apologize, to talk, to get her side of the story…to face the music, as it were.
"It's late," he said. "She's probably already asleep."
Wu fought back the groan, and fought the greater urge to slap her hand to her forehead…or to slap him. Whatever had happened must have been traumatic for both. She, however, sighed and shook her head, "Fine. I suppose it could wait until morning. You'll have had time to think it over, which will help. Now come on, dear, off to bed with you! I'd better be getting back before my Shifu misses me."
Which made Po wonder… "Why did you come in here anyway?"
She shrugged. "Call it women's intuition. Trust me, I'm sure everything will be alright." She smiled hopefully. "She is very understanding."
Po hoped she was right. He really hoped she was right.
Shang woke her up bright and early, as always. Tigress rarely needed the gong anymore; her son's hungry wails were enough to keep her on schedule. Sighing, she opened her eyes and felt her husband's side of the bed. It was empty, already made, but still warm. He must have only just gone downstairs to begin preparations for the workday.
Shang cried louder and Tigress groaned. "Okay, sweetie, Mommy's coming…" she groggily stood and made up her side of the bed, wrapping a warm robe around her as she picked up her son and held him to her breast. She let him nurse, sighing tiredly and fighting the urge to fall back asleep. Taking care to burp him, she set him back in his crib, quickly dressed in warm robes, and took her son with her into the home's main room.
Mei Xing was already up, her sewing abandoned in favor of the restaurant's ledgers. After Wu Lien had retired from the restaurant business in order to teach again, Mei Xing had picked up the finances as part of her duties. And it was one of the few duties her doctor still allowed her to do during her pregnancy. The snow leopardess looked up and smiled,
"Morning, Sunshine."
"Ngn…" Tigress groaned.
"Dalang didn't let you sleep much last night, did he?"
"You heard us—you should know."
"Oh, I know," she smirked, subtracting expenses on the abacus in front of her. "We heard the banging of the headboard quite clearly…"
"Mei! Not in front of Shang…"
"C'mon, he's six months old, he's not going to remember. Hmm, we lost a little bit in the last quarter," she mumbled to herself. "About a two percent loss…not significant, but…"
"Where is Tai Lung, by the way?" Tigress interrupted, setting Shang down on the rug, right in the middle of his favorite toys.
"He's getting ready; he should be down in the kitchen soon enough." The snow leopardess put down the abacus, closed the ledger and moved across the room to keep an eye on Shang. "Are you off to train again?"
"Might as well. I'm not going to get back to sleep…" she said, noting her rambunctious infant. "Are you going to be okay watching him today?"
Mei Xing nodded. "I should be. Su Lin won't be able to…"
"Why not?"
She looked up from dangling a stuffed animal in front of the baby. "She said she's sick. Or Mr. Ping did, anyway. She's still in bed."
Tigress looked worried; it wasn't like Su Lin to get sick. As long as Tigress had known her, the female panda had never had so much as a sniffle. She took very good care of herself.
"I kind of expected it though," Mei Xing added. "She had a date with Po last night, and it was pretty chilly…"
"Right." The tiger master had her own suspicions of that, but kept silent. "Well, if you've got everything under control, I'll go grab a quick bite and head up early. You need anything?"
"I'm good; you go train. Have a good session!"
Nodding in affirmation, Tigress knelt to kiss her son goodbye and slowly descended the stairs. She winced once or twice, feeling a familiar—yet slightly unwelcome—ache in her lower abdomen…not that she terribly minded, thank you. Still, it had been quite a long time since her last, and last night especially proved that Dalang was as deprived as she had felt. Still, the discomfort associated with a year of no marital relations had less to do with not being used to near-constant coitus, and more to do with the frenetic, passionate love making of the previous night.
Tigress poked her head around the corner and spied her husband already at work, stoking the coals in the stove, enticing them to ignite the logs and kindling he had put in there. A line of eager customers were already waiting for his signature breakfast dim sum, including one particularly obnoxious goat…
Tigress frowned; she knew that goat all too well. A cantankerous grouch, he complained about everything, and that meant absolutely everything. If the weather were warm and sunny, he would complain it was too warm and too bright. If it were cool and crisp, it was too cold. He was also Dalang's worst customer. Now, Mr. Ping had known the goat for many, many years, so Po was used to him (though he confessed to Tigress, he was glad he was no longer working full-time in the restaurant, just because of that one individual). Tai Lung didn't tolerate the attitude, and made that quite clear the first time the goat gave him a piece of his mind. Idiot, she thought. What kind of fool do you have to be to want to piss off Tai Lung?
Dalang, however, took the abuse the only way he knew how: by killing the tetchy bastard with kindness.
"Mr. Lu, the restaurant isn't due to open for another fifteen minutes," he said with strained calm, but she could tell from the way his ears and whiskers twitched that he was becoming steadily more irritated. That much was evident by the slightly raised diction and articulation: "The oven needs time to fire up. I will start taking orders and preparing them. In the meantime, there is hot tea for everyone, so I suggest partaking in that while you wait patiently."
"Patiently!" the goat griped, "I hope you all are listening to this! You have some nerve telling me, an old man near the end of his days, to be patient!"
Dalang only smiled sweetly—disarmingly so—at the goat and said something in a language Tigress didn't know, the words inexplicably deepening his voice, a surprising enunciation she was not used to hearing from him, and a rumbling purr that both surprised her…and turned her on. No, down girl.
"What did you say to me, boy?" the goat rankled.
The tiger went unfazed, still smiling, "It means 'Patience is a virtue blessed by the gods'. I also wished you good tidings and a pleasant day, blyadskii mudak." The tone sounded so sweet, so friendly, that the goat immediately took that as an honorific, and nodded curtly.
"Well, that's better. Otherwise, it would seem your family didn't have the good graces to teach you some manners."
"I'm not the only one," he muttered. He suddenly noticed Tigress standing in the doorway, smiled, and got down to the business of rolling out the dough for the dumplings. "'Morning, sweetie; what're you in the mood for this morning?"
Tigress walked up to him to kiss his cheek. "Whatever you feel like making. Take your time, I can wait," she said, sending a pointed glare at the goat, who had the grace to back away and look repentant for his behavior. She added, "I'll enjoy a nice cup of tea while I wait." The spoken suggestion was all the crowd control needed as the line dissipated and went to sit at the tables.
Dalang turned to her and mouthed, "Thank you." But before he could go back to his work, she interrupted him.
"What did you say to him?"
"What, to Lu? I just told him to wait."
"No, in that…language you used. What was it?"
"Huh?" he looked at her curiously. "Oh, wait…oh yeah, yeah, that…um…" he beckoned her closer and whispered, "Sorry, sometimes I forget I switch over to it. I told him that if he kept complaining, I'd help him get to the Other Side a lot faster."
"Dalang!" she scolded.
He shrugged, unfazed by her reprimand. "Not my fault he doesn't speak Russian."
Tigress stared at him a moment before she asked, "Since when do you speak Russian?"
He froze, one hand in a bowl of sweet breakfast dim sum filling, the other holding a small doughy circle. His stiffened shoulders told her he had revealed more than he was comfortable exposing. But it was too late to back out now.
"Dad, er, um, Shen, he had, uh…well, he had a few Siberians in his army. Couple of them taught me Russian—started with the swear words, like you're supposed to do when you learn any new language."
"I thought you were supposed to learn greetings first?"
"In a classroom setting, yeah, but I wasn't exactly attending a traditional school, you know?" he ironically smiled.
"Did Shang know any languages?"
He nodded, starting to prepare the breakfast. "He knew three, aside from Chinese. He spoke Russian, Mongolian, and a smattering of Korean. He was really smart, told me he'd teach me how to speak them, if I was interested."
"You didn't tell me you went to Korea," she said, leaning against the table.
"I was really young," he answered, frantically working so he could appease the crowd outside. "I hardly remember it. I know my mom liked the place well enough. They're nice people, Koreans. She got some nice silks from them. I still have a couple yards of it upstairs."
"Really? How come I've never seen them?"
"You have—they were one of my wedding gifts to you."
Tigress thought about it a moment, then remembered…he had given her a yard each of a soft yellow, pink, bright red, jade green, and a dark blue silk, all embroidered with golden yellow thread. She had been repulsed by the pastels, due to her untraditional upbringing as a tomboy, but said nothing about it at the time, not knowing, but suspecting, how important the gift was.
"I'm surprised you managed to hold onto them," she said softly, wondering how he had kept them even after running from almost certain death at Shen's hand.
"Wasn't easy," he affirmed, but didn't elaborate. "The lighter-colored silks are left over from some of Mom's favorite dresses; the blue was left over from a jacket she made me when I was…five, I think? After she died, all seven of us saved something of hers. I kept the silks, because they reminded me of her. She liked to sew. She embroidered those silks herself. I remember sitting at her side, learning reading and arithmetic while she did her embroidery." He stopped, staring off into space, but she noticed a small, sad smile, fondly remembering, but full of regret.
And now she regretted her initial aversion to the gift. Something so priceless to him had to have been difficult for him to give up. But if he'd held such an iron grip to that one connection he had to his mother for so long, it was proof how much he loved and missed her…and in giving those same silks to Tigress, a testament to how much he loved her.
"I wish you'd told me sooner," she said. "I know it's not easy to talk about it, about your family, I mean. I just wish you'd be more open about it; there's still so much I don't know about you."
He sighed, shoulders visibly heaving. "I don't mind telling you about Mom and Shang…they were the only light I had. I didn't have much love for my other brothers." He paused to think. "I…I guess the Twins weren't so bad, actually—Chang was a bigger prankster than I was, and loved to piss off Shen any chance he got. He annoyed me and picked on me a lot. Ang was more cautious, less impulsive, more serious too, though he did have a mischievous side. He didn't nearly pick on me as much. I admit, though, that some of the pranks I use on Tai, Mantis and Monkey were inspired by them."
"Like what, for example?"
Dalang smirked. "Remember the time Monkey made fun of my failure at baking?"
She grinned, "You mean when you hid his favorite nunchucks in a cake, and served it to him?"
"That's the one," he impishly grinned. "That was a Chang classic. Then there was the time he convinced Xiang—when he was high, of course—that a women's qipao was actually more flattering on him than a hanfu pao…and convinced him to invest in purses because 'a lot of men are carrying them now, it makes them manlier'. Shen had a fit when he saw Xiang all dressed up in full drag." He chuckled.
"Any others?" she asked, sitting on a nearby chair. This was the most open he had ever been about any of his brothers, except his eldest. The fact that Chang and Ang were so close to him in age probably had something to do with the fondness he now exhibited to them.
"Loads! There was the time they convinced Huang to form an 'alliance' with them to keep him from fighting on the front lines, and that our other brothers were conspiring against him…Chang managed to get everyone in on the prank, even a few of the Siberians in the ranks. Huang was so humiliated he wouldn't show his face for weeks. Of course, losing an eye because of that prank probably had something to do with it…"
"Let me guess: Shen was furious?"
"He almost had a coronary that time," he cheekily grinned. "And the time we went to Anshan—you know the place, its famous for its hot springs—Ang actually convinced Feng it would be a good idea to get close to the geysers because they 'had healing properties'…"
She laughed—having fought Feng, she could easily see the archer falling for something like that; though she had never been to Anshan, she knew better than to go anywhere near the scalding hot geysers. "Did Feng do it?"
He scoffed. "Of course he did it; he was a frickin' idiot. He was the dupe most often in their pranks because he fell for it every time. And Shen…"
"…was furious," she finished with a grin. "I'm beginning to see a pattern."
"Well, Shen did have it coming; he called them 'weaklings' and…well, a couple times he called them 'pansies', because they practiced knitting and embroidery. They picked it up after Mom died—before I was cast out of the clan, they told me they did it because of battle stress. They were the mellowest of us all; I think the crafts had something to do with it."
She furrowed her brows in confusion. "But…a lot of men sew and knit and…things like that. They have guilds for that sort of thing…"
"Yeah, but Shen had some pretty rigid ideas of manhood," Dalang confessed with a dour look. "I think he even questioned their, uh, orientation a couple times…that was all the fuel Chang needed to get back at him. Ang feared his wrath too much to admit to anything."
"Were they…um, you know…" she faltered, not sure if she was being too nosy.
He shrugged. "As far as I know, they weren't. They were good at what they did though, extremely good. Chang and Ang were skilled with chain weapons and spears, cross-trained, and they'd come back from savagely killing a score of men, sit down, and pick up their crafts, like nothing had happened. Ang was pretty good at embroidery—he sewed good luck and longevity symbols into our clothes, to protect us from harm. Chang made socks, lots of them. He was quick—he could knock out a pair in two days. I still have a pair he made me, a gag gift, for my seventeenth birthday. You remember those socks you wanted to throw out because they were so worn out?"
Oh yes, she knew. They were so holey, they deserved to be sanctified. And they were ugly too, with garish rainbow bright colors forming an intricate striped pattern. She could easily see them as a prank gift (or a function of her husband's oft-times poor taste in clothes), and now that she knew the history of the knitter in question…she could see why Dalang was so reluctant to get rid of them.
"Were you close?"
"Not as close as I was to Shang," he said as he placed the dim sum in the steamer. "But yeah, I suppose you could say that." He paused for a moment as he began to prepare more of the breakfast dumplings. "He tried making a sweater once, Chang did. Made it out of the most putrid green string he could find," he chuckled. "It was an incredible failure. He ended up unraveling it and made all seven of us more socks. I think Huang and Xiang threw theirs away first chance they got; I mean, that color was ugly as sin. Shang and I held onto them, because we wore through socks pretty quickly." After another pause, he replied, haltingly, "I was wearing those rainbow socks the night I left the clan. I couldn't keep anything Ang made—Shang needed it as proof he'd 'killed' me."
"Why would you keep something to remind you of…I mean, you don't like talking about the past," she gently started. "But if living with the Jiao hurt you so much, why hold on to those mementos?"
"…I don't know how to answer that." he sighed and shook his head. "I honestly couldn't tell you."
"Can't, or won't?"
He turned to stare back at her. "Excuse me?"
"Don't you 'excuse me' me," she said, giving him a no-nonsense look. "I might have a perfectly good excuse not telling anything about my life, because I don't remember a lot of my early years, but whatever trauma happened to you, I need to know."
"No you don't," was his clipped answer as he turned away.
"Don't you turn your back on me, Jiao Dalang," she growled low, not wanting to arouse attention to their disagreement.
"I'm not turning my back," he snapped. "I'm just not telling you for your own good."
"My own good?" she demanded, standing abruptly. "You have some nerve! I do not appreciate you lying to me!"
"I'm not lying—"
"Withholding the truth is the same thing as a lie, Dalang," she huffed. "I thought you learned your lesson two years ago when you 'neglected' to tell me your heritage! You told me then you were trying to protect me, and it bit you in the ass; don't you dare tell me you're protecting me now."
Before Dalang's astonished eyes, his wife marched straight for the back door, grabbing her cloak on the coat rack. "I'm going to train."
"Don't you want breakfast…?"
"I lost my appetite," she said coldly, then slammed the door behind her.
Dalang stared at the door in mute shock, his mind whirling. Had that really just happened? Over his shoulder, someone cleared their throat.
"She's got a point, y'know," Tai Lung said quietly, coming down the stairs. "Lying to her did bite back pretty hard."
Dalang groaned and leaned heavily against the counter, begging the question, "What do you want from me? That chapter in my life is done—I just want to bury it and let it stay buried. Is that too much to ask?"
Tai Lung walked over to the other stovetop to begin boiling water for another order. "But it won't stay buried—too many people remember what Shen did."
"Don't remind me," the tiger said dejectedly. "Dead two years and he's still messing up my life…"
Shifu heard Tigress long before he saw her. In fact, in a rare occasion, her battle cries from the training hall had actually awoken him. The red panda quietly got out of bed so he wouldn't wake his wife, then dressed quickly and made his way to the training hall on that chilly autumn morning. Passing through the gate, he saw the hall's doors thrown wide open, and Tigress doing a full run-through of the obstacle course. She wasn't doing her usual carnage on the Seven Swinging Clubs of Instant Oblivion; instead, she had commandeered Mantis' place in the Gauntlet of Wooden Warriors.
Shifu sighed—she must have had a fight with someone. Impressive, considering how early it was. The old master made his way inside, burying his hands inside his sleeves as he watched her pulverize the wooden warriors. A second later, he sidestepped to avoid a wooden head that she had knocked off. Clearing his throat, he saw Tigress freeze, then turn to stare at him.
"Rough morning?" he asked.
"You could say that, Master."
He sighed. "Was it Tai Lung again?"
"That's none of your business."
He looked at her in surprise; he knew what that was code for. "You and Dalang had a fight? What's wrong?" he asked worriedly.
"With all due respect, Master," she said as she hoisted herself up onto the landing, "My marriage is really none of your business."
"It is my business when my daughter is unhappy," he shot back. "Now tell me what's wrong."
Tigress sighed, arms akimbo as she hung her head, visibly thinking of how to word it. Shifu beat her to the punch:
"He's still distant about his past, and that's bothering you."
"Wouldn't it bother you?" she asked. "I don't care about the things he did with that clan—he's not the same person he was as a teenager; I'm not the same person I was as a teenager."
Thank the gods for that, he thought, but he said aloud, "He's not the only one who withholds that kind of information."
"But you and Wu Lien are at least open with each other, and honest…aren't you?" she asked after his pause.
"Tigress, the thing I've learned about marriage is that you are always going to keep secrets from your spouse," he said with a sigh. "As much as you love Dalang, there are certain things I know you don't want him to know about. There are many things I'm not comfortable telling Lotus about," he confessed, "And many more things she's not comfortable telling me. I've come to accept it, as she has. Perhaps it's not the ideal, but the point is…"
He smiled, softly, thinking of his wife of one year; Tigress saw the fondness there, and the undeniable love he had for her. "The point," he continued, "is that you love them. Now, you need to understand that I don't care if I ever know Lotus' full story."
"Why not?" she asked curiously.
Shifu smiled again, "Because I didn't fall in love that the woman that she was; I fell in love with the woman that she is. You're right in that people do change, and sometimes the person they were as little as five years ago is nothing but a distant memory, a completely different person. You didn't fall in love with the Jiao Dalang who was a member of the Jiao Clan…you fell in love with the Jiao Dalang who is a chef, and a damn good one at that; you fell in love with the gentle soul that we all know now, with the happy prankster…with admittedly the funniest pranks I've ever seen," he smirked, clearly remembering the Nunchuck Cake incident. "Do you see what I'm saying?"
"I do," she nodded. "But isn't it important to know where you come from, where your loved ones come from?"
He paused, "It is important, but not vital. As long as he is not keeping something life-threatening from you, I see no reason to worry."
"But shouldn't husbands and wives tell each other everything?" she asked. "I love my husband, but if I can be perfectly open with him, why can't he be the same with me?"
"What are his reasons for keeping things from you?"
"To protect me," she said crossly. "Not to brag, but I am Master Tigress of the Furious Five! I don't need anyone to protect me!"
"But he doesn't see that. To him, you are not Master Tigress. To him, you are simply Tigress, the woman he loves above all else. You are the light of his life, the woman he loves so much that he would die for."
What he said had an odd effect on her mood. Tigress stared down at the floor, deep in thought, then said, "Maybe…I changed too much. I know you thought I changed to fit his ideal woman, and I respect your opinion…"
"I don't think that anymore," he confessed. "Like Tai Lung, I made you too hard, too rigid, and mistakenly taught you that your emotions would be your greatest enemy. All that matters to me is whether or not you're happy. Dalang makes you happy, your son—I see it—makes you happier than I've ever seen you."
"No," she shook her head, sighing and sitting on the edge of the walkway. "No, I did change…I used to be so independent, and when I fell in love, I became so dependent on other people; I became a completely different person."
"Tigress," he said sternly. "Everyone changes after marriage, after falling in love. For good or ill. In your case, for good."
"But you didn't change…at least, not that I can see…"
He smirked. "Well, you aren't up at the Jade Palace as much anymore. Believe me, I've changed. Crane and Viper, certainly, have changed."
Tigress smirked, "I'll say—I thought he'd never tell his mother where to go."
The red panda grumbled, "You're telling me; I lost ten yuan to Monkey on that one." After a pause, he cleared his throat. "If you need to go home…"
"I don't think that's a good idea," she sighed. "I think I might have overreacted; he'll be mad at me."
"It's possible. You're both very passionate people, it wouldn't surprise me if your tempers flared every so often. If you insist on staying, Viper and Crane should be up soon, if you feel like cross training…"
"Honestly?" she asked, a smirk slowly growing on her lips. "I think Mantis owes me."
Shifu tried very hard not to laugh; he knew what was coming. "Very well, carry on."
As Tigress was leaving to greet her friends, Wu Lien was walking in. The female red panda exchanged quick greetings with the tiger before turning to her husband. "She's here awfully early…"
He sighed.
"Dalang again?" she asked. "He'll come around. The fact he reveals anything at all to her is an improvement."
"She said she changed too much," he said, watching after his adoptive daughter worriedly. "The thing is, Lotus, I don't know if she's right or not."
"I haven't known her as long as you have, dearest," Wu said, cuddling up to her husband, "but if I had to hazard a guess: she's restless."
"Isn't that the truth," he admitted. "Sometimes I wonder which cub had more energy: Tigress or Tai Lung."
"Tough call." After another pause, she cleared her throat and took his arm in hers. "Come on, Shifu, lets at least have some tea before having such deep conversations so early…I get the feeling the rest of the day will be rather trying."
"How do you wager that?"
Wu sighed, remembering her talk with Po the previous night. "Women's intuition, love, women's intuition…"
"Not cool."
"Sorry you feel that way."
"Seriously, it is not cool."
"My apologies, Master Mantis," Sonam growled, "but my son and daughter-in-law are rather important to me."
"But why do you have to move down there?" Monkey asked. "When we are all up here? We're thick as thieves, us three!"
"Yeah, with you gone, where does that leave us?"
"You lads were perfectly fine before I came along," the old snow leopard reminded, reaching for another rice ball. "Besides, its not like I'm going halfway across the empire, I'm just down the slope. Now start eating; I don't want to argue at breakfast. Bad form, that."
"But you live up here," Monkey pointed out. "I thought you said you couldn't stand living in the village."
"Yeah man, you're more antisocial than Tai Lung. Not that that's a bad thing," the insect covered quickly.
Sonam closed his eye and forcefully exhaled. "Lads, we all knew I'd move down there to help Mei Xing before she gave birth…"
"The kid's not gonna drop for another two months! And Mei Xing's tougher than you think; she punched Tai Lung so hard one time she chipped his tooth, remember?" Mantis said. "C'mon, you can stay! You said so yourself, she's not that far, and she's not really going anywhere…"
"I made a promise to my son, and I'm keeping it. End of story." After reaching for another rice ball, chewing, and swallowing, he fixed them both with a look. "…Just out of curiosity, why are you lads so resolute about my staying?"
"Good morning, everyone!" Viper said cheerily as she and Crane came into the kitchen. "I hope everyone slept well, I know we did…" she gushed while her husband blushed.
The looks Mantis and Monkey sent him told Sonam all he needed to know. "Oh. Right."
"Where's Po this morning?" Crane asked, setting his hat aside. "He's usually up by now."
"Beats me," Monkey said. "Me and Mantis had to cook…"
Sonam coughed and choked down the last morsel, taking on a sudden greenish pallor. Even while the insect and simian glared at his reaction, both Viper and Crane blanched.
"Um…" Viper said. "How about we go down to the Long and Feng for breakfast? Dalang's got a cinnamon apple dim sum special this week."
All the males cast a look at the rest of the breakfast fare…and Sonam wondered just how out of it he must have been not to recognize the monstrosity Mantis and Monkey called "cooking". The two were die-hard bachelors…and thus terrible cooks. And now that they got a second look at what they had concocted, even the would-be chefs were also having second thoughts.
"Okay, I'm buying," Mantis said.
The roar from Tigress was what finally woke Po. If she was here and already training, that meant he had slept in—and knowing Shifu's policy on that, he was in trouble. The panda snapped up and gasped, "I'm late!" Scrambling to pick up his clothes and throwing them on haphazardly, he ran for the training hall before he faced Shifu's wrath. Tying the belt of his training robe as tight as it could go around his stomach—and again making him regret being born a giant panda—he flew into the training facility, and was nearly bowled over when a long scaly thing wrapped itself tightly around his neck.
He fell flat on his back, and almost immediately, Viper began apologizing.
"Po! I'm so sorry, brother, are you all right? I didn't see you there!"
"Should I take that as a compliment?" the panda asked. Over the war cries coming from Tigress in the training hall, he heard a familiar sigh, and felt Crane's talons taking hold of his arm to help him up.
"You shouldn't be so hard on yourself," the avian master said. "I can tell you had a rough night."
"I know! Po, you look so pale…maybe you should take the day off from training," the serpent said, worry etched on her lovely face.
Po shook his head and slowly stood. "Nah, nah, I'll be okay. Just got a lot on my mind…"
"You're distracted," Crane started, "And you want to train on Shifu's regimen?"
Po stopped, then thought about the wisdom of taking on the red panda's course of therapy. "…Maybe I should meditate."
"I'd do that."
The panda paused, looking at the newlyweds, then decided to broach the subject, "You mind if I ask you guys somethin'?"
"Sure!" Viper smiled. "What can we help you with?"
"Well, uh, I guess this is something Crane knows better about…no offense…"
"None…taken?" Crane shared a look with his wife and shrugged. "What's up?"
"Well, uh," the panda cast a quick, uncertain look towards Viper, and suddenly wished he hadn't bothered. "Nah, forget it, its stupid."
"No, its okay," Viper said. "Something's bothering you, and you know we want to help."
Po looked back at Crane and asked, "Well, um, I…I remember you telling me once that, you…y'know when you were still a janitor, that you uh, had uh…image issues?"
Crane and Viper shared a look before Viper smiled. "Oh, is that what this is about? Oh Po, how could you think there's something wrong with your image? We think you look fine!"
"That's not what you said when you first met me," he glowered.
The couple thought hard about that. Crane cleared his throat and said, "Well, in our defense, we were kind of bitter at the time. We didn't behave the way kung fu masters are supposed to, and we are very sorry for that…"
"Besides, you proved us all wrong," Viper said. "I think it's safe to say that we're all older and wiser now. I mean, Tai Lung wasn't the only one who thought a Dragon Warrior should be…well, should be a predator."
"Hindsight's the clearest sight of all, right?" Crane offered. "It makes sense though. Dragons are harbingers of peace and prosperity, the ones who bring rain and floods, and are the protectors and givers of life. It makes sense that the title should go to a panda, a symbol of peace. And makes sense that it should go to a creature that doesn't have a form of kung fu named after them."
"Though if you ask me," Viper smirked. "After winning the battle against Tai Lung, there should have been a 'Bear style'."
Po's lips curled slightly into the ghost of a smile. "Yeah, but…wait." A look passed over his face, and then he brightened. "Wait…you're right. That's it!"
"So, did we solve your problem?"
"Yeah, yeah, and if I got more questions, I know just who to ask. You guys are the greatest!" he grinned. "Hey, did you already eat? I can make you something…"
Viper suddenly looked greener than usual. Crane coughed into his wing and answered haltingly, "Um, actually, we lost our appetites."
"Um…why?"
"Because when you didn't get up on time, Mantis and Monkey decided to cook."
Po recoiled in horror. "And you let them?!"
"They made a good show of it," Viper said, though half-heartedly. "Sonam even took a few bites of it without complaining…"
"…Because he thought Po had cooked," Crane pointed out. "They went down to the village for Dalang's breakfast specials. After they left, we took the leftovers out to the refuse pile and burned it. Turned the flames some pretty interesting colors…"
"Please don't tell me they gave everyone food poisoning," Po groaned. "I remember what happened the last time I was sick and you guys had to fend for yourselves…"
"You ended up locking the door to the kitchen and sent us down to the restaurant," Viper nodded. "We did the same today. At least if Sonam does get sick, Su Lin is there to treat him."
An unreadable expression crossed Po's face, alerting the married couple that perhaps something was quite amiss. "Okay," Po said. "That's cool. I mean, that's good."
"You know, Po…" Crane stepped forward, "If you're not feeling well, you should go back to bed…"
"No, I gotta keep training. 'Sides, if I don't, Shifu'd kill me…"
"Oh he's down at the restaurant with everyone else."
"He is, huh? Maybe I should go back to bed…"
"Or just take it easy today," Crane said, patting his shoulder. "Tai Lung's been working you pretty hard lately."
"Yeah, he has… Which reminds me, when is he supposed to come up today?"
"After lunch. He's taking the morning shift with Dalang, then he'll be up." Crane let down his wing, allowing Viper to slither up it and drape herself around his shoulders. "Anyway, we should probably go clean up the kitchen…"
"…and destroy whatever evidence is left…" Viper added.
"…So you meditate, or something," Crane said helpfully. "We'll be back in an hour or so."
Po arched an eyebrow. "You think it would take an hour to clean the kitchen?"
The dead silence that followed was all the indication the panda needed.
"There should be some lye you can use for disinfectant," he offered.
"We plan on it," Crane nodded. "Have a good practice."
"Thanks," Po said, sitting in a corner and taking up a meditation position as best he could for his still-limited flexibility. I have a feeling I'll need it, he silently added.
The rhino bartender looked up when the heavy paw slammed on top of his bar. Though much bigger than the patron, the rhino blanched and froze. His guest from Room Three pulled out a bag and casually dropped it on the counter.
"Is payment," the assassin grinned.
Behind him, the entire room went as quiet and cold as a crypt, the chill in the air as if ghosts had come to creep in through the cracks in the walls, permeating the room in a tomblike cold that had even the Siberians shivering. The leopard assassin's hood was up, the only evidence of his species being the spotted tail and paws, the broad maw, and the dangerously sharp teeth that grinned at the proprietor.
The rhino swallowed hard, knowing better than to reach forward to take the pouch while the leopard stood there. The leopard took out his pipe and a small bag of tobacco, and began stuffing the glazed wooden bowl. "Haff light?"
"Huh?"
The leopard indicated the candles burning in the wall sconces. "Light."
"Oh, oh yeah, yeah, one sec…"
The leopard chuckled, leaning forward on the counter. His low, rough voice dropped to a whisper, the grin on his tone, "You are afraid, da?"
"Dunno what you're talkin' about, pal," the rhino said.
"You know. You know vhat I talk about," the leopard said, lightly tapping his claw on the bar. "You know me."
"Dunno what you're talkin' about," the rhino repeated, reaching for a spare taper to light for the cat's use. "I never seen you before in my life, and I ain't never heard of ya, neither."
He felt the leopard's sharp blue-green eyes on his back, making the hairs rise on the back of his neck.
"Do not like liars," the leopard growled.
The rhino stiffened then boldly snapped back, "What would you rather have, bud—some guy who knows who you are and pretends not to, or some guy who knows who you are and tells everyone?"
The leopard glared at him from beneath the hood…then his teeth gleamed as he smiled again. "You, I like. Much smart."
The rhino inwardly sighed with relief and offered the lit stick to the leopard, who lit the tobacco leaves and puffed out a few clouds of smoke. The smoke curled around his whiskers, and the rhino could swear those clouds formed the shapes of demons. Fitting, considering this creature was named for the greatest demon of all.
The door to the inn slammed open and a stout, burly boar stomped in, tracking in mud and dirty snow. The rhino curled his lip. He was no neat freak, but even he liked clean floors in his establishment. The boar completely ignored the hooded figure and slammed his fist on the bar.
"Hey, barkeep! Who's a guy gotta kill to get a drink?"
The rhino jumped when the leopard snarled, his genial manner suddenly evaporating into a savage growl. "Vas here first, pig," the leopard glared from under his hood. His entire body had stiffened, and the rhino drew back, knowing what that body language meant in the realm of predators.
The boar, however, was not so wise to the ways of marauders like the one he was currently standing next to. "That's what I hate about your people, no manners."
"Haff I no manners? Vhat is in own reflection, pig?"
The boar snorted at him. "I don't like your tone, and I don't think you know who you're talking to, old man!"
The boar didn't realize he'd made a very severe gaffe until the oppressing silence fell across the room. His beady little eyes glanced over at the other patrons, who were watching him with looks full of pity, looks only reserved for a condemned criminal whose noose was quickly tightening around his neck.
"Of course," the leopard growled, low and dangerous, "vhere are my manners?"
Abruptly, the leopard grabbed the boar's forearm and, taking the elbow in one paw and the wrist in the other, slammed the arm against the edge of the bar. The boar shrieked with agony as the bone pierced through the skin, blood pouring down his arm and clothes. But the leopard was not done. He grabbed the same arm and twisted it so sharply that the shoulder popped out of its socket with a loud snap, then he smashed the boar's face into the bar until the animal's skull was little more than a bloodied pulp.
The rhino had turned away from the leopard, not wanting to watch as the northern cat brutally punished the poor bandit. Instead, he distractedly counted the money in the bag the leopard had left, then waited until the cloaked cat dropped the boar to the ground with a heavy thud. The bartender handed the leopard a rag to wash the blood off his paws, which the cat silently accepted.
"You need change?" the bartender asked, feeling sick with the smell of blood in the air.
"Nyet," the leopard answered, throwing the bloodied rag back. And suddenly, he was back to his charming self, giving the rhino another smile that should have been charming, but came out as cruelly perverse. "Keep all change. Vas much good service. One last question, before I take leave: how far Chorh-Gom from here?"
The rhino pointed out the door, his hand shaking. "About five miles west, as the crow flies. It'll be tough going…should I get you some provisions for the trip?"
The leopard pressed his palms together as if in prayer, and smiled as kindly as a monk to a pious pilgrim, despite the fact that his bloodied victim was still writhing on the floor. "You, sir, you are much good man, much good man for such kindness. Nyet, I have food aplenty to last. This…this is good place. I vill come back, yes. Da, is good place…much good place."
Uncontrollably, the rhino began to shake. He didn't mind such a compliment from merchants on the Silk Road—in fact, he freely welcomed it. Word of mouth was good for business. But to have someone like this leopard say he liked the place…it made the rhino want to cut his losses, close up shop, and run. Far, far away. "C-Chorh-Gom is in ruins, you know. There won't be anyone there."
"I know, malchik," the leopard said. "I know the gossip about this Tai Luung," he said, pronouncing a long "u" in the snow leopard's name. "I vant see if gossip is true."
"Oh it's true," the rhino said, nodding fearfully. He'd been one of the advance guard that had escorted the snow leopard there. He had felt the glares on his back, heard the vicious snarls and primordial purrs from their incarcerated victim…and he relived those memories, hearing those snarls and vicious threats in his nightmares. There was no doubt in that rhino's mind that Tai Lung would get out. It was just like an invasion by the Huns—it was never a matter of if. "I wasn't there when it happened, but I used to be. That prison was inescapable."
The leopard laughed loud and long. The rhino swallowed hard again as the leopard smiled at him.
"Problem vit callink place 'inescapable'," the leopard chuckled, "is that can be escaped, if try hard enough. You say foolproof, they make better fool. No-think is certain…except chaos."
The leopard turned and gave the crowd a mock salute with his pipe. As he turned for the door, his foot collided with the boar, who was still coughing up blood on the floor. The leopard looked surprised, as if he had completely forgotten about the swine. The assassin fixed his pipe between his teeth, looked back up at the rhino and pointed at the boar.
"Friend, you vant get doctor for this one?" he asked, his voice tinged with concern. "He not look so good."
When the rhino's face paled further, the leopard threw his head back and laughed, and continued to laugh, the merriment chilling the rhino to the core, tingeing his very soul will ice-cold darkness, until the leopard slammed the door behind him. The patrons didn't bother to relax now that the leopard had left, for the howling winds outside that battered the windows and slammed against the walls carried with them the unmistakable laugh of a madman, of one truly possessed by a darkness known only in the worst kinds of nightmares.
A/N: Is it any surprise that I can totally see this guy with Vincent Price's voice? Just sayin'…
A couple shout-outs here. First: "There's a reason they're called giant pandas" is a shout out to Hollyberry's wonderful fic "Warriors of the Heart", of which I am a great fan. Secondly: "You two still do that? Gross!" is a shout out to corset-rebellion-follower's story, "My Own Destiny"; I am a fan of all of her work. Lastly, and should come as no surprise, this last scene is my homage to Nievelion's breathtakingly amazing story "A Different Lesson". Nieve, I shall never be the Master of Horror that you are, but I hope I came pretty close. Please read and review!