Strong

Trust

Night in the dungeon was different from the cave. The wind brought new clean air, but with a chill that the thin blanket Po gave Wolf wouldn't protect him from it. He was used to it, though. As the night fully took its reign, he suddenly heard footsteps that he didn't expect. His curiosity was confirmed when the servant duck came into the dark dungeon with a torch in hand. "H-H-Hello," Zeng said. Wolf made an awkward wave. "I'm just... gonna sweep. Did you need the...broom?" Wolf shrugged and took the broom, sweeping up his cell again as the chains around his waist jingled. "Soooo, I was wondering. You clean very well. You wouldn't... happened to write well... would you?"

Wolf tilted his head. Why was he asking? The dog nodded his head. "Great! Wait right here! I mean... you know what I mean." The duck rushed out of the dungeon and returned with wings full of scrolls. Wolf rose his eyebrow. "Look, Shifu's been giving me a lot of scribe work and I can't do it alone. I'm his head servant, but I need help. The other warriors... I don't want to bother them, but... maybe... I mean, since you're here... could you... uh... help?" 

Wolf blinked emotionlessly. Zeng nervously shivered. He was taking a big risk here. He didn't know what the wolf was capable of but... he seemed nice and writing didn't hurt anyone, right? Especially if he's just copying them down. 

Finally, Wolf nodded. Zeng beamed. "Great! We can get started on the articles of official board meetings that he wants me to copy and then the imperial battles." Wolf smiled and sat down as Zeng passed the small writing plank he'd use. With an inkwell and a pen, the wolf started scribbling words alongside Zeng. 

Meanwhile, the Furious Five and Shifu sat in the kitchen, eating some of the food Po had prepared. The red panda rubbed his temples and groaned. Today had been difficult, and they were all swamped. "From now on," Shifu muttered, "We'll teach children down in the village. I'll make plans to create a training faculty there. And we'll be closer to the villagers if any bandits arrive as an added bonus. Master Tigress, Master Viper, tell me again what Haizi saw?"

"She... met Wolf, but... she didn't seem scared of him," Viper said. "Maybe we're wrong about this person, Master Shifu. He could have hurt her, but... he didn't. Maybe if we-"

"Viper, focus on the situation here," Tigress coldly said. "This wolf is a criminal, plain and simple. We were instructed to protect the villagers from him. If Mr. Three and Mr. Four AND Councilman Platon think he's dangerous, then he must be. Don't be soft." Viper sank her head. 

"Tigress, she has a point," Crane argued. "We've been watching this guy for a while and all he does is look outside and clean his cell when Zeng's down there."

"Looks are deceiving," Tigress answered quite harshly. "Don't let your thoughts or your... personal feelings blind you to that, especially yours, Crane." Crane narrowed his eyes but simply huffed and crossed his wings. "For all we know, this little stunt with the children was a way for him to win us over without the panda's help, right Master Shifu?" Everyone stared at her. Whenever she said panda, they knew something was off. Shifu's frown hardened as he sighed. 

"Right," He said more to himself. "In the end, we must keep the wolf from the villagers. Councilman Platon wouldn't have chosen us to escort him if he thought the wolf was harmless." 

"Yeah, or he wanted to make a show out of it," Mantis mumbled as he finished his soup. Tigress's amber eyes bore daggers into his exoskeleton. "What?"

"Why would you think he'd make a show of it?" 

"I don't know. It was a joke!" Mantis exclaimed. "It's not like Platon set us up so we can keep the dog!"

"Maybe it wasn't Platon," Shifu murmured to himself. As he stroked his beard, Po walked in. The room fell silent. Without a word, Po left them and walked sadly away. It was hard bearing this secret. He couldn't talk to his friends, his best friend was angry at him because of it, and it felt like everything had been reversed to the time he first came here.