"So, how did you became blind?" Suya asked Kitsu after he brought the girls their meal and sat at the table with them.
"I didn't became blind, my friend: I was born like this. My parents managed to make me live through this and I even managed to convince them to send me to an academy to learn the art of Kenjutsu." The lion explained.
"So you're Japanese?" Viper asked after taking a drink from her tea cup.
"Yes: I was born and have grown up there. After my training was complete, I moved up here to open this restaurant. I ended up meeting Aton during a battle and ever since, we've become brothers in arm." He scratched his head a bit. "And you, you're from China, right?"
Suya nodded and explained him everything about the reason why they came to Egypt.
"And tell me, what is Kenjutsu?" Aicha asked.
"Kenjutsu is the art of the sword made by the samurai. It belongs to the old Japanese martial arts and enters in the bujutsu category which are the feodal Japan's warrior techniques. The masters are called "Soke" and the training is made with a bokken or a shoto. Once you've gained enough experience, you get to use a katana or a wakizashi."
He marked a pause to let the girls absorb all those informations.
"In my case, I also worked a lot with my spirit to compensate for my blindness. This is how I learned to do this." He suddenly lifted a paw and the tea cup before Suya got envelopped into a light blue aura and started floating.
"W-What?" She said in surprise. "You're the one who makes that?"
He chuckled and nodded as he putted her cup back down. "Yes, I worked so hard on my spirit that I possess Psychokinetic powers which allows me to see the world through spiritual eyes and also to move things with it. My friends here can testify it."
As he said that, the girls turned around and saw two persons have arrived from the back and looked at them.
"Allow me to introduce you to my friends. First, the guy on the left is Ghyr Qabil Lilkasr. But we call him Ghyr for short."
Ghyr is a male tree pangolin who had brown fur and golden scales that served as an armour all over his back, tail and arms. He had a small pink nose and emerald eyes.
"And this is Adhan Tawila. Call her Adhan."
Adhan is a female bunny with a rather surprising appearance. Her fur was black while her belly and facial markings were golden. Her eyes were chocolate brown and her ears pretty long. Her dress consisted of a white cloth around her chest and a skirt of the same color, safe for the top which was red and golden. Additional jewelry included a golden collar around her neck and a strange glove of the same color on her left arm that also had a ruby ornating it.
"Tahiat tayiba (greetings), my friends." Said Ghyr with a paw wave.
"So you want to join in the fight against the Pharaon?" Adhan asked with a pretty intimidating look. She suddenly got face-to-face with Suya. "You know that getting into an unknown battle can be dangerous?"
Kitsu pushed her back a bit. "Sorry, Ghyr and Adhan are both Medjays too. They are a bit more serious than Aton though."
"Okay..." Aicha said a bit uncertain. "To change the subject, do you girls want to keep practicing and learn the Hypnotizing Dance? It would be a good asset for the upcoming battle."
They all nodded and were about to follow the cheetah, but Kitsu held Suya back by the wing.
"Suya, wait. I can sense a great power sleping deep within you. A strong one that is..."
"So what?" Suya asked, rising an eye brow in curiosity.
"Go to the palace on the Oasis' hill. The queen Maghr knows a lot about hidden powers and I'm sure she can help you unlock it."
"Huh, Kitsu, I must teach Suya the Hypnotizing Dance before the battle." Aicha pointed out.
"The queen Maghr knows this technique along with many other dances too." Kitsu answered which made the cheetah jump in surprise as she though she was the only one to know this technique.
Suya didn't knew this Maghr queen, but if she could help her become stronger, she couldn't hesitate.
"Alright, I'll go see her. I'll be back soon." After saying goodbye to her friends, she walked out of the restaurant and took off in the sky.
As she flew over the Oasis, she looked down to see where Aton and Sewu left to, but didn't stopped them. She made her way toward the palace and landed at the entrance where two female panther armed with spears stopped her.
"Stop! You can't enter here! It's the palace of the queen!"
Suya did her best not to flinch before those two guards. "I-I'm not searching for trouble: I'd just like to have an audience with the queen. Nothing more."
The two panthers looked at each other before one of them got inside the palace. She soon came back and nodded to her partner.
"Alright, the queen accepts to see you, but watch your manners and your language." She warned before they led the snowy owl inside.
To her surprise, the inside of the palace was a real harem: curtains and piles of pillows were decorating the whole big room, there were fontains and small pools of fresh water around, and girls of all kinds and species dressed in beautiful dancing dresses and dancing all around. What kind of queen would want of such a palace?
Speaking of which, the queen in question was a strange creature Suya never saw before. She had the tail of a snake, but the upper body of a mammal being and the pelt of a red lion. Her scales were black with an ice blue belly and chest and orange clothes covering both the spot between her upper body and tail and her chest too. She was sitting on a big pillow and drank something in a golden cup.
Her deep orange eyes landed on the young snowy owl who wasn't feeling really at ease in this place. "Who wanted to see me?"
Suya quickly gave a bow of respect. "Greetings, your majesty. My name is Suya and I'm from China."
"Your name and home is of little importance to me, cute one." The queen interrupted her. "What I want to know is why you want to bother me during this beautiful afternoon."
Suya explained her the whole thing about wanting to learn the Hypnotizing Dance and other techniques.
"So you want me to help you unlock your potential?" She asked to which Suya nodded. "Well, it is true that I can sense a very strong potential in you. So strong that I could teach you many techniques that I know..."
She smiled and putted her golden cup down before clapping her hands to gain her dancers' attention.
"Alright, everyone, listen up! I'm gonna train this young girl for today, so you have the afternoon free! Now, go out!"
She didn't had to ask it twice as they all exited the room, leaving Suya alone with the queen who then smirked.
"Alright, let's get your training begin..."
For those of you wondering, the queen Maghr (which means "Seductive" in Arabian) is a Naga - a being half-snake half-anything else. I know we never saw any in Kung Fu Panda, but hey, WE'RE IN EGYPT :)