Matriarch

By corset-rebellion-follower

Disclaimer: I don’t own Kung Fu Panda

Chapter 27- A Helping Paw

It is effective to say that the Jade Palace and the village below are different worlds.

Separated by a steep slope of stairs and altitude, it was very difficult to communicate between the two places. Of course there were messengers to carry news to the residents on the Jade Mountain if need be, but they couldn’t be everywhere at once. And the world of the Jade Palace was a mystery of closed doors to the people of the village. This was how Tigress managed to keep her pregnancy a secret from most. After her belly had grown big with child, and no longer looked like she had just gained weight, she stopped making trips to the Valley.

However, the communication barrier was also working against her. Mostly the everyday problems and disputes of the Valley were taken care of by the villagers themselves. If they didn’t think that a disturbance of the tranquility was important enough to notify the Jade Palace about, usually Master Shifu never heard about it. So if a petty theft was committed, but the thief caught and punished, no one thought twice about it. There were domestic disturbances everyday that everyone was used to. Thieves, fights, drunks…

They were all dealt with privately.

“I HATE THIS GODDAMNED PLACE!”

A loud crash resonated through the area, and dozens of apricots rolled out into the open road, overturning a few passing carts in the process. A man stumbled into the street, stepping on the apricots as he went. He didn’t seem fazed by it. His eyes were a bleary red, and he couldn’t walk in a straight line.

The mothers with their children shook their heads at the man before hurrying their children away. The other men in the area eyed him suspiciously. The owner of the apricots stormed over and grabbed the drunk’s wrist. “I hope you can pay for the merchandise you damaged,” he scolded sternly.

The man wrenched his arm away from the man. “Back off, ya sonofabitch! I’ll pay for whatever I feel like!”

Some of the women gasped at his vulgarity. The shopkeeper rolled his eyes. “There’s no need to make a fuss. You can stay at my shop until you sober up, then we’ll discuss the apricots.” The drunk ended up putting up quite a struggle.

“Get yer hands off’a me; I can walk on my own two damn feet!”

A few of the men who had watched the scene came over and eventually got the man under control enough to get him into a small open-air tent, filled with produce. The shopkeeper laid the drunk down and put a bag of apples underneath his head. “Stay there for now.”

The drunk tried to get up. “I don’ have to listen to you! I-I can take care of myshelf!” he said, slurring badly.

The shopkeeper paid him no mind, and went to attend to a customer. After twenty minutes more of yelling at no one, the drunk passed out. The shopkeeper shook his head. “The poor man. He probably doesn’t even know what he’s doing to himself.” The day continued on as usual, except that every single customer that came to the produce tent asked about the drunk, and had a long talk with the shopkeeper what a shame it was, what some men were willing to succumb to.

Around noon, the drunk woke up. He squinted and asked, “Who put this light in front of my face?” His voice was harsh. It was quieter than that of a normal man. He immediately brought his paw up to his head. “Who hit me with a sledge hammer?”

The shopkeeper smiled a little. “There’s no light and no one hit you. You had a bit too much to drink.” The drunk clapped his paws over his ears.

“Not so loud! I can hear you without screaming!” The shopkeeper nodded, and went to talk to a customer. The drunk’s teeth grated together roughly. Every noise seemed to be amplified by 1000. His head felt like it was about to split open. Man, I could use another drink. Think the bird has any choujiu? He started looking around for it.

The shopkeeper noticed and asked, “Do you need something?”

“Got anything to drink in this stand?” the drunk asked.

The goose frowned. “Even if I did, you wouldn’t be getting any. Not after making that much of a scene as a drunk.” The drunk growled.

“Don’t get in my way, feather-brains. I can drink all the fucking alcohol I want.”

“Not anymore. You’re under my care now, and you’ll be going sober for as long as you’re here. And watch your mouth. There are women and children here.”

The drunk stood up swiftly. “Don’t tell me what I can and can’t do! I’m a grown man, aren’t I?” He stumbled, and fell back to the floor.

The shopkeeper shook his head. “A grown man that’s acting like a child.”

The drunk didn’t respond except to glare murderously and clutch his head.

“Excuse me.”

The shopkeeper realized that he had left his customer standing there. “Oh! Forgive me, sir. What was it you were looking to buy again?”

“Actually, I wanted to ask you about him,” the customer said, pointing to the drunk.

The goose glanced back at the drunk. “What about him?”

“I’m a doctor, and if you need someone to take care of him, I can help.” The shopkeeper smiled.

“That would be so nice of you. He’s been pitching a fit ever since he woke up, and I need to run an errand.” The goose let the man in and went off into the market. The man looked over his patient and clucked his tongue.

“You’re really drunk, aren’t you?”

The drunk looked up at him with bleary eyes. “What do you think? I’m lying in the dirt using some fruit for a pillow.”

“You probably have a skull-splitting headache.”

“It’s more like someone’s slamming a hoe into my brain.”

“And your throat is dry?”

“Like the Gobi.”

“And you’re still wishing you had more alcohol.”

The drunk looked up at him. “I’m guessing you deal with losers like me a lot.” The man knelt down next to him and gave him a cup of water.

“Just because you have a drinking problem doesn’t mean you’ve failed life. As long as you have a pulse, you can still make something out of yourself. All you have to do is stop drinking.”

The drunk snorted and downed the water. “Even if I could stop drinking, I never would. My life hasn’t exactly been peaches and cream.”

The man patted his shoulder. “Think about it this way. If you keep drinking, you’re going to kill yourself. And then no matter how much you want to, you won’t be able to drink anymore.”

“I don’t give a damn. It’s not like anyone’ll miss me. My wife died years ago, my daughters are married off and my sons are grown and have families of their own, and everyone else thinks I’m useless. Basically I’m the scourge of society,” the drunk said.

The man sighed through his nose and shook his head.

“Getting frustrated?” the drunk asked.

He nodded. “A little.”

“Enough to buy me a drink to get rid of me?”

“Not that much. It’s just… you remind me of myself.” The drunk looked up suspiciously at him. “I know I don’t look it now, but for a long time, I was a complete wreck. I could barely drag myself out of bed in the morning, I almost never got dressed, rarely bathed…” He eyed the drunk. “I looked worse than you do right now. No one saw me, of course. I never left the house.”

“What happened?” the drunk asked, sitting up and leaning against the bag of apples as the man put a cold compress on his forehead.

“Bandits. They…took almost everything that was special to me. I was inconsolable at the time…everyone tried to snap me out of it, but I wouldn’t listen. One day I had a drink, and another, until I couldn’t stop myself from needing the numbness it brought. But… everything has its consequences. I came out of a drunken stupor one day, and… the thing that mattered most to me in the world was gone.”

The drunk watched him as he pinched the bridge of his nose quickly, and he could have sworn he saw the man wipe away moisture from his eyes. “It was something I had taken for granted for the longest time. After that, I couldn’t keep living the way I was. I couldn’t bear the guilt and pain. So I cleaned myself up, and I’ve been looking ever since,” the man finished.

The drunk looked down at his paws. “Wow…sorry. If it means anything coming from a useless drunk, I hope you find whatever it is you’re looking for.”

The man smiled. “It means a lot coming from a man with a wealth of untapped potential. Can I trust that you won’t be getting drunk as often?” he asked expectantly.

The drunk sighed. “I don’t know if I completely believe what you said about me, but yeah, I’ll try to lay off the booze.”

“Good.” He handed the drunk another cup. This one contained a green liquid, with the consistency of mud.

“Um…what the hell is this?” he asked.

“Its special herbs mixed with water. I always keep some on hand in case I have trouble controlling myself.” The drunk shrugged and gulped it down as quickly as he could, grimacing at the bitter taste of the herbs. Over the next few moments, a shocked look engulfed his face.

“My headache…it’s gone.” The man smiled. “How did you do that? What’s in that stuff anyway?” the drunk asked.

“Sorry, it’s a family secret. You’re welcome.”

Slowly, for the first time in a very long while, a smile spread across the drunk’s face. “Thank you. Not just for helping me with the hangover, but for the advice.”

“It’s no problem. I don’t want any more people like who I was running around without at least getting a kick in the ass for what they’re doing to themselves and others.” He helped the drunk stand up and they exited the stand. “I have to go. I can’t stop looking,” the man said.

“Wait! This entire time, you haven’t told me your name,” the drunk said. He held out his paw for the man to shake. “Mine’s Zhen.”

The man shook his paw. “I’m Hao.”

A/N: I am so, SO sorry! I honestly didn't mean for this update to take so long! I was actually clipping along at a good pace at the beginning of writing it, but right in the middle, my laptop's video card busted so my display was useless until a new one was installed. Which took two or three weeks. I swear I'll have another update up as soon as I can!

And on another note, all who read this go to my profile page and vote in the poll. It's actually important this time!

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