Lies
Tigress's vacation went through the weekend, so she decided to catch up with Song and tell her some of her juicy details.
Hey, are you free?
Yes, where do you want to go?
Song sent the text pretty quickly. Tigress only blinked from her phone for five seconds and the snow leopard replied.
Cafe?
No.
Then where?
How about the gym?
Tigress stared at her phone, narrowing her eyes.
I don't know if Po is there.
It's fine. I just need to get some steam out.
Is everything alright?
I'll tell you when we get there.
Tigress stared at her phone before grabbing her gym gear and heading out. A train ride away, she found Mei Ling standing at the front desk. "Hey, Mei Ling? Did you see my friend here?"
"The male or female snow leopard?"
"Female. The male isn't my friend, remember?"
"Of course," Mei Ling chuckled. "How could I forget? She's over at the treadmills."
"Did she seem okay when she came in?"
The golden feline stroked her chin, staring into the desk. She lightly pulled at her dull green polo uniform. "Now that you mention it, she did seem mad. A little upset."
"Thanks."
"You think that spotted jerk did something?"
"No, I think it's something else," Tigress replied. "I hope it is." She found Song running to her heart's content at speed ten on the treadmill. "Song?" The snow leopard didn't reply; she had earphones in. "SONG!"
"Huh!?" Song looked around, nearly flying off the treadmill. She quickly stopped the machine and came to a halt. "Oh! Tigress, there you are."
"You okay? You never run like that," Tigress thought for a moment. "Actually, you don't run at all."
"I'm fine," Song muttered, panting heavily.
Tigress's eyes narrowed. "Is it Tai Lung?"
"Yeah."
"What did he do to you?"
"Nothing. He didn't do anything."
"But it's related to him, right?" Song nodded. Tigress looked at the snow leopard from top to bottom. "How long have you been running?"
"About 20 minutes?"
"At that speed?"
"Yeah."
The striped feline looked over to the track on the second floor. "How about we do some stretching? That way you can talk to me about what happened."
Song huffed as they walked. "I can tell you what happened right now."
"Okay, what happened?"
The snow leopard sighed, "Tai Lung got this idea to try and challenge that crocodile at darts again. Trying to impress me."
"Did Tai Lung win?"
"Of course not," Song scoffed. "It's what happened afterwards that... got under my fur."
Song could remember sitting down at the bar table, watching a frustrated, snarling Tai Lung throw the last shot that barely hit the edge of the board. Fung flung the last dart in place and won the game. "GRAAH!"
"Easy dude, it's just a game."
"I!" Tai Lung quickly stopped himself, remembering Song was there. "Good game." He grumbled. The crocodile nodded and returned to his place at the bar, near that silent black goose that seemed to follow him around. Song's bored face quickly changed to a sympathetic frown.
"It's alright, Tai Lung. You'll get it next time."
"Bah, it's not the game. It's... it's something else," Tai Lung muttered under his breath. His fiery amber eyes stared into the table. "I fought with my parents."
"Oh!" Song's masking sympathy evaporated. Tai Lung never talked about his personal life, not that his personality ever led Song to question it. "What happened?" Tai Lung picked his head up. He seemed to examine Song's figure a bit more than normal. The female leopard swallowed hard. Had her mask broken?
Tai Lung sighed, "They said that I'm being a leech on their payroll. It's not my fault they make so much money."
"They want you to make more money?"
"Yeah, gotta keep the Zihao legacy going," Tai Lung grumbled.
"Your last name is Zihao? What did your family do that was so important?" Zihao can loosely mean pride.
Tai Lung took a little longer to answer. "Absolutely nothing other than escape China. That's it. Have a lot of boys and girls to keep the legacy going. Gosh I hate it when they're stuffing their crap down my throat," Tai Lung grunted, rolling his eyes. "They're upset that I use too much of their money."
"For what?"
"Going out with you of course," He smiled grandly.
Red flag.
"But they said that a 29-year-old guy like me should learn to not place such stupid bets for show."
"You... bet?"
"A little. I'm really good at blackjack, you know," Tai Lung smirked.
Red flag.
Asking about his success wasn't important right now, so Song asked, "What caused all of this?"
Tai Lung's frown grew larger. His eyes softened as he propped up his head in his hand. "We had dinner with one of Dad's 'important friends'. I said something that made my father look bad. He got upset, saying that if my pride wasn't as large as the city, I might be able to do something with my life other than be a pathetic wannabe playboy."
"Whoa," Song said, surprised that someone voiced her thoughts of Tai Lung so perfectly. Regardless of what she thought of him, she didn't think that his parents could be that brutal. Then again, Song had no idea what he was like 24/7. The very thought sent a shiver down her spine, but Tai Lung took no notice. "But what's upsetting you?"
"It's just... My father told me that his friend did show business, but I ruined my chances of getting in." A churning mix of relief and shock stirred in Song. Shocked that Tai Lung's father had those connections but relieved that the universe wasn't so cruel as to make this guy famous. "It just got me thinking. Am I really getting in my own way? Am I just a selfish jerk who's messing up his own life?" He looked at Song.
The female leopard had a very interesting choice. Lying would actually be wrong in this case. She would be wholly responsible for leading Tai Lung down this path rather than letting him cause his own suffering. But if she told the truth, then she became invested in the betterment of Tai Lung's character, if there was one. She couldn't just say, "Yeah you're a jerk," and not say, "And here's how you can fix that." The fact that Tai Lung could self-reflect showed growth.
Or at least that's what she thought until Tai Lung spoke again. "And then I thought, what does a guy who's had two wives, an affair, and is a self-righteous jerk know about me? Turns out that the guy wasn't there for me, anyway. He just came for a business deal with my dad. I'm so glad I'm moving to my own apartment."
"With your father's money?"
"Hey, he's the one that won't stop complaining about me. He might as well finance me 'growing up'," Tai Lung griped.
Red flag.
Just then, someone came into the bar and caught Tai Lung's eyes. "Ugh, I've got to go."
"Already?" Song asked, genuinely surprised.
"Yeah, my... parents are calling. Probably an emergency. I'll catch up later. Any word from Tigress?" Tai Lung asked.
Song had to simper. Amazing. The snow leopard was still caught up on what he could never get.
"I'll try and get in touch with her," She smiled charmingly. "See you."
"You too," Tai Lung winked. His 'friendly' voice didn't match his hastened stride out of the bar. His head looked over at the person who came in. They briefly exchanged looks before Tai Lung dove out without another word.
Song looked at the woman. She had a vanilla purse and wore a bright pink shirt with some cream wide-bottom pants. But her midnight fur shone beautifully in the bar's sunset atmosphere.
Song tilted her head a bit.
The black panther looked familiar. Too familiar. She got up and walked over to the dark cat who sat at the bar. "Um... excuse me?"
"Hm?"
"I'm sorry but you look familiar. Do I know you from somewhere?"
The black panther's eyes widened as a smile stretched across her face. "Song! It's me, Malia."
For the briefest moment, Song's tight lips, furrowed eyebrows, and narrowed eyes formed before she could return a masking friendly smile. From a spotted jerk to a midnight high school bully. This would be fun. "It's uhh nice to see you, Malia. I haven't seen you since... well, high school."
The black panther smiled as Song sat next to her. "I know what you're thinking. And yeah, I'm sorry for being such a jerk back in high school. Stuff like that happens when your parents are fighting each other."
"Oh. I'm... sorry," Song didn't know what to say.
The black panther still smiled, "It's alright. It's totally my fault. I shouldn't have done that. Forgetting what my parents did, I could've chosen to be a better person sooner."
Song blinked for a moment. Her narrowed eyes stayed on Malia's face while her mind stopped. This wasn't fitting any of her mental schemas. By all means, Malia should've ended up worse than looking like a well-dressed mature woman.
"Why are you here?"
"Wanted to be a little social. Heard there were some expert dart players around here."
"You play darts?" Song said doubtfully.
"No, but a game that men are known to play can't hurt."
"Ahhhh," Song grinned. For some reason, the black cat's cunning felt reassuring. "Hey, bartender. Couple drinks here."
"Soda please," Malia replied. The bartender gave the two felines their drinks. "It's a stupid plan, but I guess I was hoping to be lucky."
"Well, you just missed out on my fling, so I guess you are lucky," Song smirked. Malia laughed.
They started off pretty well. Malia worked as a data entry specialist while going to school for her MBA. Song told Malia what she thought was safe: working in cybersecurity at Jade Inc., keeping her form, and making new friends. It wasn't completely a lie; Viper was becoming a closer friend than Song thought. Malia didn't seem to mind the limited information until Song mentioned Tigress.
"How is she?" Malia asked.
"She's... okay."
"Are you two not close?"
"We are. We work at the same place."
Malia narrowed her eyes. "Then... how are you two just... okay?"
Song shrugged, carefully making sure her body wouldn't give away anything. "She's very determined when it comes to work so she's not really the one to... tell me everything."
Malia turned her body towards the snow leopard. Her face was flat and neutral, though she raised an eyebrow. "Amazing."
"What?"
"7 or 8 years and you're still playing games."
"What are you talking about?"
"Song, what am I going to do with info about Tigress? Go over to her house and bully her again?" Malia asked. "If I remember correctly, she could flip me over with ease. She still does martial arts, right?"
"Y-yeah."
"Then why are you being so elusive about telling me what's up?"
"With her?"
"With everything! I know you don't trust me, but I'm not asking for personal information. I just wanted to know how you're doing," Malia said plainly.
Song blinked, unsure what to do. "I... I didn't-"
"What? You didn't think I knew what you were doing?"
"Not... really."
A mixture of smug and understanding rested on Malia's smile, "I still know how to spot a fake, even though I don't have anything to hide. Not anymore anyway," the black panther sighed, looking into her empty glass. "I guess once you've had yourself stripped bare, you realize how freeing it is."
"What do you mean?"
"Eh, went through a lot of personal growth in college." Song held her mild shock. She didn't think someone like Malia who bullied nerds to do her homework would go to college. "But that's not the point," the black panther said, "I-"
"What happened in college?" Song interrupted.
Malia raised her eyebrow. "Curious?"
"Just a hint."
The black cat shrugged. She propped her elbow onto the bar, "Met a friend of mine that really changed my outlook on life. Really great guy. Wish I could tell him that now."
"What was so wonderful about this guy?"
"Other than he was a total sweetheart?" Malia smiled. "He went through a lot and I couldn't bring myself to bully him. Heh, not that I could. He was twice my size and an adorable lug. Anyway, he had a knack for figuring out why I was upset pretty quickly. I teased him about being a shrink, but ultimately he made me 'reflect' on my life a lot. Some stuff I wish I could bring back, others I wish I could get rid of." The black panther sighed. "But after that, I switched colleges, and I haven't seen him in a while. But I'll never forget anything he said." She turned to Song. "So that's why I, the big bad bully, have changed."
"Something tells me you're not sharing some details," Song pointed out.
"There's a lot of details you're not sharing," Maila countered.
"Like what?"
"Like the fact you seem to be making one of the dumbest dating decisions in your life," Malia said. Song tilted her head. "The big snow leopard. Tai Lung?"
"You know him."
"Dated him."
"Was he-"
"No," Malia vigorously shook his head. "Two different people. Night and day. The other guy was a gorilla. Tai Lung's a cheater and a narcissist, you know that, right?"
"I know," Song smirked, "And I'm not dating him."
"What are you doing then?"
I'm just... talking," Song answered carefully.
Malia stared up and down the snow leopard's form and sighed. "You're scheming again."
Song frowned, "You always have to have a plan, Malia."
"Okay then. What do you have in mind for the jerk?"
"Some things."
"What did he do to you?"
"Hurt one of my friends."
Malia frowned, "I get that Tai Lung's a jerk, but revenge is sorta stooping to his level. Song, he's not to be played with. Not him and especially not his family."
The spotted cat took a mental note of that and smirked, "Don't worry, I've got it."
"Are you sure?"
"I've got a few ideas to keep the big guy humble."
"I don't think that's possible."
"For my scheme it is," Song said.
Malia shook her head. "Why does everything have to be a scheme for you? Why don't you just leave him? Move on? There are other jerks in the world you can 'defeat'."
"Like you?"
The black panther's eyes widened. A pit of regret started to boil in Song. "Unbelievable," Malia shot up from her stool. "I'm trying to be a better person. One that doesn't rely on deceit and manipulation to get what I want. But you? You haven't changed at all. You just keep conniving, again and again. Isn't it tiring?"
"You have no right to lecture me on deception and manipulation," Song shot up. "I'm doing this because if I don't, people will get hurt. Like my friends."
"So you're the sacrificial lamb that's going to poison the wolf that bites you?"
"If so, sure."
Malia scowled crossing her arms. "He could just go to jail. Without your help. Why do you have to be the one to deliver revenge?"
"It's not revenge. It's justice. And he has to pay." Song placed her hands on her hips.
"And then what?" The snow leopard stood silent. "What happens after you're done? Nothing personal but... it just seems you're doing one trick after the other just to get what you want. When are you going to stop lying or trying to one-up someone else?"
"Why do you care?"
"Because I... Huh, I never thought I'd be so upset with someone who was just like me." The black panther emitted an exhaustive sigh and grabbed her purse. "You know what? You're right. It's not my place to tell you what to do. But I have to tell you that you're acting like a child here."
"And what about-"
"My issues are mine to fix. And I'm trying. You don't know that because you don't know me. Not many people did when I was like you," Malia sighed, "I don't have anything to hide anymore. I don't need manipulation and deception to protect myself. I'm free. Can you say the same about you? Can your friends? I've been vulnerable yet you're just locked in your own little world of lies. Lies you're telling yourself. You're so determined to defend and protect your friend that you're failing to see the obvious."
"What's that?" Song growled.
"Don't you think your friend's more upset that you're even with Tai Lung?"
Song's eyes widened as her defensive stance dropped. Malia rested her hand on the snow leopard's shoulder. "Listen, dating him was one of the worst experiences of my life. He didn't physically hurt me, but he caused a lot of damage. Not just to me, but my other relationships." Song's mind immediately went to Po. "I was never THAT desperate again. In your... quest for justice, don't get hurt, Song. And never forget what is true. That's all I ask." With that, the black panther left the bar.
Song sat back on her stool, staring into an empty glass cup. She shook her head out of her daze, grabbed her purse, and set off out of the bar.
"She's right, you know," said a familiar voice. Song stopped and turned back to Fung. She gritted her teeth and marched up to the crocodile. He stiffened, sitting up a bit straighter as she approached.
"Not you or anyone else tells me what to do with my life. Understood?" Song slowly spoke, pressing her finger into the top of Fung's dark sleeveless shirt.
The Croc raised his hands in surrender. "Sure, but you don't get to tell me what I can or can't say." Song emitted a small growl. She wasn't used to people talking back to her like this. "And she is right."
"What would you have me do then?"
"Stop messing around with the jerk? Tell the truth," Fung answered calmly. "Telling the spotted jerk what he is to his face would be an excellent experience. I finally have an excuse to punch him if he hurts you publicly." His face frowned just a tad. Song's harsh stare immediately softened. That frown on his face pained her. She couldn't explain why. "But she's right. Take it from me. If you wear a lot of masks, you'll end up not knowing who you are." Fung turned back to the bar and took a long sip of his drink. "Something to think about."
Song stared at the reptile's scaly back before slowly walking away.
Tigress intently watched the snow leopard's face as she told the story. "It's just... I don't want them to be right."
"About what?"
"Everything!" Song hissed. "About my lying, about Tai Lung, about me not knowing anything about myself and... my friends." Song stayed still for a moment. Her eyes stared into the semi-absorbant track they were on.
Tigress sighed, "I'll be honest. Your whole deception game always worried me. I thought you would use it less as we got older but... you only got better at doing it."
Song groaned, sliding her hands down her face. "That doesn't help!"
"Why do you think you do it?"
"I don't know! I mean, I'm not a pathological liar. I do tell the truth. It just..." She said nothing. She couldn't bring herself to the words. Her body pushed to say it, but her mind said no.
Why not?
She pursed her lips together and tightly shut her eyes. A gentle hand rested on her shoulder. She saw Tigress's warm comforting smile. "It just what?"
Song sighed, feeling aches in her shoulders that she hadn't felt in a century. "It just feels... vulnerable."
Tigress helped her head up from the ground and smiled a bit wider. "Good. Being vulnerable means you're closer to who you actually are."
Song shut her eyes, saying nothing. She suddenly hugged Tigress tightly, burying her head into her shoulder. The tiger gently stroked her back. "It's okay. It's okay."
"Tigress," Song asked in a small voice. "Do you know me?"
"Not a hundred percent. But I think I'm getting to know you more," she smiled. "Come on, let's start running."
"Actually, why don't we get something to eat?" Song grimaced as her stomach roared. "I haven't eaten since yesterday."
"It's noon!"
"I was upset!" Song pouted. Tigress shook her head but smiled.
Continued...