Archive of Our Own

Little by little, you are getting sleepy.

~
It was just an ordinary day.
Nothing new or too different.

Well, that’s not entirely true. They had a new lesson today courtesy of Master Shifu of course. He wanted some of them to have a better grasp of weapons and utilizing them to the best of their abilities. Crane as he was, was cautiously optimistic about this new venture!

There were a variety of weapons that could fit each of their unique styles and as Monkey so excitedly mentioned with a cheeky laugh  “Now, I won’t be the only one using a weapon!”

The avian merely shook his head at the simian’s behavior but he could understand wanting to share an interest with his team.
Even if that meant begging everyone to try the bo staff out.
Despite that…

The light green bo staff swirled in between his feathers, it was nice and light. He couldn’t help but think how easy it would be to carry one on his back while he flew with the right strappings to hold it.
When Tigress and Po had told him later, which left poor Monkey with a dejected face as the others looked around. He just had to volunteer. A happy Monkey was better than a sulking Monkey.
“And I can usually push back opponents with the tip of my staff if I put enough power into it!” The Master explained as he moved around quickly, showing off any moves he had or simply wanted to show off a bit for his ‘new student’.

“So, I’m guessing you consider it an extension of yourself?” Crane stopped twirling the staff in his hold, now that he was thinking about it. This reminded him of his mop…
Monkey swirled around one more time with his staff letting it drop against his shoulder in a nonchalant gesture as he looked towards him.

“Yeah!” Monkey walked over to him on all fours, putting his hands on the staff and moving it slightly upward. It felt more comfortable now. “I can’t always use my tail with what’s in front of me.” The Master took a step away from with his arms wide open, eyes scanning the Bo as if it was his own art piece.
“So I have to adapt.”

Crane hummed appreciatively at the explanation, truth be told he was impressed by Monkey’s thought process on his usage of the weapon. It wasn’t merely for injuring but to improve his own shortcomings. He nodded and smiled at his friend. “I’ll keep that in mind while I practice with this. Thanks, Monkey.”
“No problem!” The simian shot him a beaming smile and thumbs up before his attention was taken to the right of the training hall by a loud sound.

Crane soon followed his sight and now very much understood why he was snickering to himself.
“Mantis! Are you really trying to use nunchucks!? Now I gotta see this!” As to be expected, Master Monkey was off in a blur leaving him behind with his own thoughts. But he couldn’t even bring himself to be annoyed, it seemed as if everyone was having fun trying out new things. He was about to check on Viper who had told him she wanted to look into spears just for a moment. Which he was still questioning but who was he to stop her?

“Chuhau are you okay?”
The voice of Po’s concern made him stop midstep and he fully turned around, bo staff still in hand if needed but what met his sight caused him to pause.
Po was placing the Jian, a double-edged straight sword to the side on the floor as he checked over Tigress’s left arm. “Thankfully, it doesn’t look too deep…”

“Yes.” She pulled up a thumbs up towards the panda as an extra affirmation. “Why?” Was the small reply Po received and she sounded confused by it. He watched amber eyes carefully watch the panda carefully check her over.

“Because I wanted to check on you. That and you cut a piece of your changshan’s sleeve in two somehow...” The dragon warrior exaggerated a tad bit but as Crane started to walk closer to the pair, he could see the soft red discoloration of her orange fur under the black of the fabric.
“Also you really shouldn’t give me a thumbs up at that. This is not a happy moment.”

“I didn’t notice it.” The avian blinked in confusion, he must have missed Po mumbling something to her as he stared at her arm. The Jian was still in her right paw, the bright red tassel catching his attention for a moment. “And I’m fine. I can barely feel it.”

‘Why did this seem familiar?’ Crane frowned to himself.
“Well, we’re going to patch you up right now,” Po announced and he was given a sight he was growing more used too, a bop on her nose from him. “Or we’re not continuing.”

In the end, Tigress relented with a frown of her own alongside a sound of disappointment as her older sibling dragged her off to the palace for medical supplies.
It was brief as was everything in the training room. Their eyes met, yellow glancing towards ember, and a simple nod was exchanged from the Tiger master to him. A silent ‘I’m okay’ something the five had grown accustomed to under Shifu as their training went on over the years.

As the doors of the training hall closed with a soft gust of cool autumn air, questions of the past weighed heavily on his mind and body.
When had that become normal?
When had he stopped asking outwardly?
~

Sometimes, I might get hurt
~
Viper was happy beyond words.

She could tell even without looking at her warm and friendly face, the snake was simply beaming with energy as they walked together through the lively streets of the Valley. It was bustling with business in the shopping district as people loudly proclaimed sales and to try out their merchandise.
Tigress was getting used to it all at her own steady pace, not wanting to back down after agreeing to go out with her friend… Tigress paused in her thoughts at that, her eyes looking at the back of the snake’s long body. ‘Yes, they were friends.’ The tiger reaffirmed herself.

Viper had been nothing but kind to her from the very beginning and this was the least she could do for her after telling her no for so long.

“It should be right around here.” Master Viper happily informed her before taking a small turn to the right, passing the apple vendor’s cart.
Tigress kept her gaze forward, they could get food later! “Right…” The tiger nodded, keeping her sights forward. “What did you say this place was called again?” She was following the advice of Po, because quite frankly even after a year she still felt very unsure talking with her teammates about things outside Kung Fu. 

First, just make small talk. Try to sound interested!

Viper moved her head about a moment, mulling over the question as they passed by a vendor with small bracelets on display. “Oh.” The snake hummed to herself before turning back halfway to acknowledge her. “I actually don’t know the name of it. Sorry.” Her blue eyes twinkled as she softly giggled to herself. “I only know its location considering I’ve only been there a few times. They never had anything intended for my body type before now.”
Tigress nodded, showing she was attentive. The same way she would to Master Shifu during training. “How did you find out about it?” Was the only question she could come up with.

‘Second!’ The inner voice of Po sounded out in her mind. ‘Be your wonderful self and have fun!’
Ah, yes. The unhelpful tip. The tiger huffed remembering that tidbit.

“That’s actually a  funny story! A nice lady I helped once, saw me at the noodle shop, and said I would and quote look “fabulous” in a Qipao made for my type at this shop!” Viper’s slim body happily shimmied upward at the memory. “I haven’t worn a Qipao in so long because they simply aren’t available around here and it’s too much of a hassle to order it personally.”

The snake tutted while Tigress merely nodded. She had no room, nor way to respond much outside that, “That was nice of her.” Before Viper continued with her story.
“I’d heard rumors ever since you and Po started frequenting Ying’s place, still can’t believe that’s the name of his shop but oh well.” The snake rolled her tail as it was a paw with a wrist to signal and so on. “That more shops we’re considering opening their selections to other species so I suppose I have you to thank.”

The tiger master blinked. She wasn’t really sure how to respond to that, it sounded similar to a playful joke but what if she was actually thanking her.
“Here it is.” Thankfully they came upon their destination while her thoughts spilled everywhere.

“Fleece Fashion…”
“Fleece Fashion…” Both Masters peered up at the sign, squinting at it as if to see if that was the real name of the shop. It wasn’t anything too fancy, all in all, it seemed to have a similar design to Mr. Ying’s place. A nice assortment outside to show off their wares. The only difference was the windows of the shop had red curtains covering the inside rather than the open feeling the snubbed nose monkey’s shop had.

It seemed rather fancy to her.

“Huh.” Viper made a strange noise that sounded astonished at the sign. “That’s interesting. Shall we?”
Tigress only nodded as she followed after her friend inside.

Surprising no one, the shop was run by a nice old sheep by the name of Miss Baozhai, the tiger master could not be helped but be reminded of the Soothsayer. Her horns were magnificent and long despite her short stature, she wondered if she sharpened them? The woman wore her own Qipao, it was purple with gorgeous white designs around them. If she didn’t know any better she would assume the sheep was of royalty.  Although she shouldn’t be shocked a store owner who specializes in selling beautiful clothes would be well kept.

“Your Qipao looks very nice Miss Baozhai.” Tigress commented after the older sheep was done telling Viper about her wide range of selections. She wanted to show a friendly exterior as her friend did.

The sheep’s eyes closed and wrinkled in a small smile as she laughed a bit in her hoof. “Why thank you, Master Tigress.” She calmed herself down from her short bit of laughter, ever the professional. “Mr. Ying has told me much about you and he was right. You are polite beyond words but that’s a good thing for someone your age.” She waved her hoof at her. “You can call me Auntie if you like.”

Viper merely laughed along with the older sheep. “Yes, she is quite formal. I’ve been waiting so long for her to call me big sister.” There was that playful edge to her voice again and once again Tigress had no clue how to respond.
She’d called her sister a few times and maybe it would have been fine to say it back but they were fellow masters…

“Yes, Auntie Baozhai.” Was all she got out of this entire awkward exchange she was in the middle of.
The tiger master was rewarded with the elder sheep taking the few steps to stand beside her and pat her arm in a friendly gesture. “There, that’s better. Now if you need any help just holler for me alright? Oh.” The old sheep’s hoof was still on her arm as she paused as if remembering something. Her hazel eyes looked up to her. “I didn’t ask you what you were looking for dear.”

“I’m not here for anything. I’m just looking for something with my frie-”
Viper happily interjected before she could finish her sentence. “We may pick up something for her if we spot anything,”

Tigress said nothing as to not ruin Viper’s good mood.

~

Viper felt bad.

She felt really bad despite the fact she really loved the Qipao that was within Boazhai’s selection, it was perfect just what she wanted. But she still felt bad for interrupting Tigress back there. She was just so happy that they were out doing things like this together she just blurted it out without thinking.

The master sighed as she fixed up the dress she had put on in the dressing room, it was black and red, with detailed dragon details that wrapped perfectly around her front and even flowed but not too far, near the end of her tail. And it was comfortable to boot!
Tigress was most likely irritated with her ramblings and constant butting in but sometimes she just couldn’t help it! She wanted to help her friend pick out something nice so it could be a nice memento of their day and it might make her dear friend happy.

Viper finally pleased with how she looked, opened the curtain to see her friend waiting in the same spot she left her despite telling her it was okay to look around.
But that might not be happening.

“How does it look?” She questioned, trying not to move around too much so the tiger could take in the outfit.
As much as it disappointed her that she could barely make her friend happy.

Tigress was sitting on a stool, her paws meeting one another as she inspected her with cool eyes. “It looks nice on you.”
And then came the thumbs up which still confused her a bit. She’d have to ask Tigress about that later.

That was it? She smiled. Nothing else? “Thank you.” She said despite her own thoughts, she didn’t want applause or anything but you know a little more flowery words here and there wouldn’t hurt. A ‘You look pretty’ would have been fine too. “Maybe I could get some blue flower clips to go with it.”
“That could work.” The tiger merely nodded as always.

Viper smiled to herself again before turning around back to the changing room. This felt similar to shopping all over again. The short answers with a tad lack of obvious boredom and being distracted. ‘You can’t expect everyone to have colorful responses to fashion.’ She reminded herself with a small chide, modeling had made her a bit conceited it seemed.

“How about we get some noodles after this?”

~

I’m so sorry for making you see me

~

After Viper purchased her dress, the two went straight to Mr. Ping’s noodle shop, it was as lively as ever, even in Autumn when the air was chilly but it was perfect with warm delicious noodles.
It was packed to the brim with barely any seats left!

Which was why she was seated in Po and Tigress’ room upstairs, it was funny to think her friend had picked up a similar habit to Po always saying they could sit up here if it was too crowded downstairs. Tigress or rather Chunhau was quick to tell her she could sit atop the bed instead of the floor and then shuffled downstairs to prepare them noodles with her father.

Her tail kept lightly touching the bag that held her dress near the end of the bed.
She realized with a huff that she was beyond bored up here, despite how colorful her two friends had made this room with their interests and items. She didn’t really want to look too much into them, she’d gotten too used to watching them all cook!
It seemed over the course of the years, it just didn’t seem right to not watch what they were making you eat, it was basically a tradition at this point!

So without further delay, she slithered downstairs past the not so new walls of the noodle shop into the frenzy of the kitchen.

“Chuhau be careful! Are you alright!?”
Viper raised her brow at that, that was Mr. Ping! She was no longer leisurely strolling down and popped her head out into the kitchen to see what was going on.
The steamer for the dumplings was quickly forgotten by the shop owner as he inspected his daughter’s paw.

“I didn’t feel anything. It’s fine.” Tigress as still as ever spoke up.
“That’s not fine.” Mr. Ping was stern but still obviously worried about her well being. “You could have burned yourself touching that steamer. I know you’re used to using your paws like that but…” The old goose’s expression was one of low spirits. “I’d feel better if you were more careful with yourself okay?”

There was a long silent pause between them, one in which Chunhau contemplated.
“I’ll try.”

“That’s all I want.” Mr. Ping lightly rubbed her left paw one more time before lifting the top of the steamer himself, giving her instructions on how to do it properly.

Meanwhile, Viper had slithered back upstairs thinking about what she had just witnessed.
What did she mean by she couldn’t feel anything?

~

“That’s not my story to tell.”

“Come on.” Viper urged the panda on as he cooked, the sounds of vegetables being chopped filled the room between them as the others had yet to come back to their dorm. “She tells you everything. You have to know why she says that?” The snake leaned on the flat of her tail as if it was a hand. “Is it a figure of speech like your hardcore thing?”

The dragon warrior in his worst Oogway impression merely hummed while he pushed his veggies into the steaming pot of water. “I wonder. Also, she does not tell me everything.”

The scaly master pouted at the bear’s back. “Yes, she does. You know more about her than any of us have learned in five years!” The longer she’d thought about it, Tigress was very secretive. Sure, there were some moments of vulnerability but they were small and few between. The barrier between them was deep, to say the least.

“I wouldn’t say everything, maybe exclusive tidbits.” Another set of veggies were now gone into the pot, and he began to stir its contents. “Everything goes to my dad.” And she could hear that tiny eye roll from him at that. “But that’s beside the point!” The bear abruptly lifted his spoon from the pot and pointed it at her. “Like I said earlier and I can’t believe I’m saying this to you but it’s not my place to tell you that. You need to ask her that yourself. Oh!”

In a matter of seconds, he was back to the pot, seeming to remember he was in fact cooking. She heard an audible slurp and a small, relieved. “Okay.”
Truth be told, she wanted to but she was unsure if the tiger would even entertain her suggestion. Sure she’d been opening up a bit better to them all, especially Crane and Mantis. But there was still some cold distance between them. At least that’s what she felt.

“Actually,” The panda started as he moved away from the pot, reaching up to the cabinets and placing a few spices, she and Monkey liked to the side. “I can give you the perfect opportunity to ask her right now.” The jolly panda took those few steps to stand in front of her with that familiar smile, that she knew meant ‘I believe you can do this!’ “Tell her dinner will be ready soon. She should be in the training hall practicing with her Jian.”

“She’s still using that sword?” Viper questioned, although Crane was keeping up with his Bo staff training. Mantis and herself had decided to leave weapons behind since it didn’t fit their styles. Her ribbons served her well enough.
Po’s paw found its way up to his face, squishing his cheek. “I know. She’s shown so much interest in it. I’m trying to keep up with her since it’d be awesome to learn how to wield a sword! Ah!” His paw moved to his chin. “I wonder if we could be a sword-wielding duo!?”

She heard him whisper ‘That’d be sooo cool.’
Viper smirked a bit at that. “Well, why don’t you ask her?”

“Oh. Hardy har har har. That’s so funny.” Despite themselves, they both laughed amongst themselves.
Po placed his paw on the table before her after a moment still smiling and her sights met those jade eyes. “But I do want you to take that first step towards her. That distance isn’t as far as you think it is.”

~

I want you to be happy! But most of all I want to smile with you!

~

When Viper slithered out of the main dorms and up the path to the training grounds as the sun was lowering and turning the sky from orange to black.

“Ha!”

The sound of feet stamping the ground of the courtyard caught her attention, her tongue flickered out as she moved a bit faster to see what all that sound was.
The bright glare of metal against the last bits of light caught her attention as it was brought down by its owner, from this spot the tiger master’s body was slowly being covered in a shadow as she moved slowly but precisely in wide movements. Lifting one leg high and bringing the Jian forward in one swift motion!

Viper found herself moving closer as she watched her friend practice, completely concentrated on the task at hand. She could tell when the young tiger was adjusting her stance when she felt she was off. Sometimes even taking a step back to redo a maneuver and yet she still pushed forward.
She soon found herself seated near the steps of the palace, just a few feet away from the tiger. She couldn’t help but smile at her effort, it reminded her of those first rough years of training. She noted how Tigress kept a hold of the Jian with both her paws even when she lifted it up before moving her right foot back as if dodging a blow, holding the sword forward firmly.

And then in a matter of moments, the curtain of night fell upon them to the point when Tigress did notice her all she saw was two bright yellow orbs.
“Master Viper?”

The snake merely nodded, noting how the tiger stilled in her form, still holding the sword forward. “There’s no need to be so formal with me.” She embodied the image of a hero at that moment. “Are you only focusing on the basics?”

Tap. Tap.
The shuffle of feet upon dirt began again as Tigress began to move again, moreso letting the sword fall forward than pushing it. “Yes, I need to focus on my form while I use this Jian.”
She stopped at the end of the form, sword raised upward, one knee forward and one back as she lowered the sword once again. “And it’s only right I act formally towards you. You’re older than me and I should show you respect. Otherwise…”

The power in her movements grew more confident. “I would be considered impolite or worse, childish.”

“How is being perceived as childish worse than impolite?” The snake asked mostly herself hoping the other would ignore it, as she turned her head away slightly. Only to notice quite a few scrolls were put a few paces away from her. She moved closer to them and noticed something. “These scrolls seemed to suggest using the wooden practice swords first.”

“I know. But, it's just” Noticing the other had stopped, she couldn’t help but look up at Tigress. She stood straight holding the blade upward and looking upon it as if it was art. “I love how this sword feels in my paws, the weight, and” The tiger released her claws and lightly tapped the metal. “The sharpness of it.” It made a resounding ting noise.
If Viper could blink at that comment she would have.

What did it’s sharpness have to do with anything?

“But I’m guessing you didn’t come here to hear me speak of such things.” From this point, she could see the tigers glowing eyes reflected in the sword's metal. “Did you need something?”

Tigress hadn’t even moved her gaze away from the sword as she asked this question. “Po wanted me to tell you dinner was ready but,” The question she wanted to ask was stuck in her throat as she watched Tigress walk up to her. It wasn’t fear she felt, no but hesitation was there.

The tiger made a swift motion of bringing her Jian downward to her side, which looked far too impressive to be that of a beginner.
Maybe a bit of fear was there. What if she angered her? Took two steps too far that she usually wouldn’t.

Tigress tilted her head as she held the sword down at her side. “But?”
“Why do you always say you can’t feel anything?” She looked down to the ground without thinking, worried about the others' reaction.

“Ah, right.” She sounded far too casual and distant. “I never did tell you about that.”
“About what?” Suddenly the concrete of the steps looked very interesting to her, she still didn’t want to face Tigress after asking that. It felt strange to ask her to be open again after so many times she’d been shut out with only a bit of elbow room to work with.”If you don’t want to tell me it’s fine. I’d understand.”

“No. I…” She heard and felt the shuffle of her friend's feet and the movement of when she walked by her. She chanced a glance at the feline’s back. She was wearing her usual vest today rather than a changshan. “I don’t mind if anything you deserve to hear, at least part of why that is.”

She watched Tigress pick up a scabbard and sheathed the sword with the utmost care.
“Since you were the one who led me to the starting place of my journey to find a name.”

Viper stayed silent.
It had been a passing moment really, not one you would revisit since it was so small in the span of one’s lifetime. One small comment, remembered by one and forgotten by another.

Until this very moment as they intertwined once again.

“For a long time, I did consider myself unfeeling and sometimes I do wonder if I can experience happiness the same way you all can. Brightly.” Tigress moved the sheathed sword from her front, now letting it hang to her side in her grasp as she looked upwards to the sky. “I’ve been referred to as cold and...much worse in my time, Viper. And I used to believe I could use those names to make me stronger. Better.” She found herself following her friend's gaze upward, it was a clear sky filled to the brim with stars.
“You have no idea how soulless those words are. To lack individuality in this world.” Her voice sounded dreary as she spoke on.

“Is a great pain.” It sounded as if it was getting more difficult to compose herself as she spoke. “The only thing I have even now is the battlefield where people admire me the most.”

“But you, you helped me to step forward, to think. To want. And now I have so many things to experience and understand, that are as numerous as the stars in the night sky.”

~

Any dream can come true because everyone is with you.

~

The warning gong sounded off with a dark full timbre, signaling to those who heard it that danger was afoot! And that the masters of the Jade Palace would answer the call, no matter what!

The master’s had quickly been informed by Zeng that a message from a village not too far to the east had been attacked by a gang of Crocodiles, they were holding a small shop of people hostage for a ransom. In the scroll, it had been noted that the authorities were present, it was a rhino General by the name of Delun that had requested their expertise.

Without a second to lose, the Dragon Warrior and the five started off their journey towards the village.

Being the fastest part of the group, Tigress, Crane, and Mantis were given the go from the other three to go ahead as they would act as backup.
Mantis stood atop Crane’s hat as he flew by in a hurry, while Tigress pounced and ran across trees and terrain alike to keep up with the avian.

The three stopped before the village already feeling and seeing the tension of an attack upon the village. Tigress looked upon the tattered remains of the wooden opening gate of the village as they proceeded onward.
The town was small but had a similar structure and style as the Valley of Peace, stone pathways with buildings of the same material. The Tiger master was walking ahead of her small team.

“I’m already geared to get rid of these bandits but they really made their mark on the town,” Mantis noted slowly on her shoulder.
Tigress nodded in agreement as she looked upon chipped and smashed in surfaces, knocked over carts. It was a mess.

As they walked forward, she couldn’t help but think this place reminded her of the town she’d gone to a year ago-
Master Tigress shook her head. ‘No, there was no time to mull over the past.’ She had to come on top for everyone.

Her family.

Her friends.

The ones who cared for her most. She had to be number one for them!

“Hey!”
She lifted her paw up to signal Crane to come to a stop, her amber eyes looking straight to the alley she heard the voice from. It was a Rhino.

“Are you General Delun?” She asked, not moving a step from their position.

The large rhino stepped out from the alley revealing his armor, unlike Vachir he wore a similar protective metal vest as the rest of the squadron. The golden horn was a dead giveaway to his position as a leader. “Yes, it is an honor to meet you all.” Delun bowed before the master’s respectfully, upon closer inspection he was much older than any general she had met in her time. He was of a darker grey almost black with scars littering his aged body. “We’ve set up an area for discussion near the barricaded shop.”

“Lead the way.” Master Tigress respectfully nodded towards the general.

~

Crane flew above around the edges of the town as to not be spotted by any bandits as it seemed they’d all huddled around the shop they had barricaded.

The plan had been set pretty quickly, Tigress and Delun had thrown ideas off one another smoothly, never stepping over one another too much in order to come towards a plan of distraction and using Mantis and himself to sneak behind the shop to get what they knew now where, two elder bunnies, an sheep, and one child who was also a bunny. 

“See anything?” Mantis hollered over the loud winds, the clouds were growing dark in color, he hoped it wouldn’t storm and that it would simply pass over them. But that would be too much like right.

He swooped down a bit lower but not too low as to be seen, all in all, what Delun had reported seemed to still be correct, not many of their archers had moved and they seemed to be focused downward. They had no idea they were here.

“Only what Delun reported but we should still be careful, I’ll set you down where we planned and fly around again so I won’t look suspicious or make them freak out.”

“Alright! Time to break out those lock picking lessons Viper taught me!”

~

Despite the fact, she’d agreed to Crane’s suggestion at the discussion table, the thought of being deployed last or as Mantis put it 'There last resort'. But it did make sense she was a larger animal and could easily be spotted or heard behind the scenes and here, she could protect guards or civilians.

The cool wind brushed against her fur as she watched from above a building as Delun, for a third time during this whole ordeal, announced he wanted to talk again. Multiple large, heavily armored crocs peeped from behind the poorly put together barricades they pieced together from fallen carts and boxes to hear the old Rhino. There were two sets of barricades in front of the small shop.

“If you ain’t got my money, I don’t care what you have to say you old fart!” A shrill voice screeched from the far back, possible leader Tigress noted.
Delun stood unbothered and as still and stubborn as a stone statue. “I’ve already told you we can’t provide you six million yuan. That’s impossible-”

“Then no prisoners for you!” A different voice, much closer this time.
Even from behind Tigress could tell Delun was frowning from the way his body tensed. “But I’m willing to give resources to you, produce. A leader has to feed his men and you can’t keep this up forever.”

A large dark green croc stepped from the furthest barricade, a large hammer at his back could be seen. “I don’t remember asking to negotiate, Guard.”
Tigress did not move despite the fact some droplets of water pelted her fur, she stood still above the chaos and waited to hope to hear of her teammate’s success in using this moment to get those villagers out the back of that building.

A sign of movement near the left of the second most barricade caught her attention, and something finally clicked in her mind.
There was one unnamed archer below and he was aiming at Delun!

~

It’s an amulet that will always give you strength

~

After Crane flew around again, he was now back near the shop. He slyly landed in one of the possible blind spots of the archers on top of the building and was thankfully not shot at.

He moved carefully around the back, Tigress had been pretty spot on saying that the exterior was similar to Mr. Ping’s shop which meant it had a back door to get inside the building.

The laundry swung back and forth as the wind picked up.
He was greeted with a destroyed lock upon the ground and an opened backdoor. ‘So much for picking the lock.’ He thought with a sigh, he had a feeling Mantis didn’t have the patience for that kind of thing but at least he got in. He took one last glance in the alley just in case the commotion caused any Bandit to investigate the back.

“Dude!” Crane whipped his head up quickly to the entrance. “What are you standing around for!? Let’s go! I just got the basement lock undone, all the people are accounted for.”
“C-Can he carry us all?” The sheep asked fearfully while shaking like a leaf.

The avian blinked, looking out the door one last time before leaning his beak down low in order for his face to be better seen. “Don’t worry I can carry you all.” If he could carry Po and Tigress, then he surely could carry a few lightweight civilians! “But we have to walk a few steps into the alley so I have enough room to take off.”
Mantis hopped on his shoulder and winked while pointing his thingies at the people. “Just stay behind us. We’ll protect you.”

Crane kept his left-wing out as to signal the villagers to go slow and stay behind them. All they had to do was get back to the blind spot and hopefully, they would be home free. But something was nagging at him.

“Can you maybe hurry up? Seems clear to me.” Mantis whispered at his side.
Yeah and that’s what worried him most. It was too easy, too convenient. Something was wrong and he wanted to be careful especially with the elderly and child.

Tap.

Crane stopped dead in his tracks as his wing stayed up, even Mantis stilled on his shoulder as they heard footsteps around the edge of the building near them. It was the sound of metal shifting, armor, and footsteps, heavy.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

‘What should they do?’ Master Crane gulped knowing there was only one way out of this, they would have to fight this bandit and hope no one heard or was alarmed and rushed to escape and inform the other bandits. The avian slowly lowered his wing, stepping closer to the end of the alley they were in. As soon as he reached the end, he could sparsely see the crocs large green tail.

He breathed in preparing to take a stance and make his move. He hoped the villagers would stay put, maybe he should tell Mantis to stay with them.
Thunder crashed loudly!

“Is that a damn tiger!?”

Both Crane and the croc bandit just a few feet ahead of him stilled at the same time at the voice and scream that was clearly from in front of the building.
‘Tiger?’ Crane felt his heart stall as he watched the croc bandit run off to the right, an alley he noted that led to the front away from their blind spot.

“You don’t think…” Mantis whispered as he moved about his shoulder, taking a look around the building too.
“We can’t think of anything else but the villager’s safety.” He lied to not only Mantis but himself. Soon the horrors that took place at the front of this shop would be revealed to them.

“Come on!” He gestured for the small group to move. “We have to take this chance quickly!”

He hoped Tigress was okay.

~

I’d like to grab a star and gift it to you

~

Her body fell against the stone.
But she barely felt it as with most things.

She lifted her head up slowly to check on Delun, she’d pushed him a fair foot away from the position he’d been in and he seemed to be able to move despite the force she had to put in to run to his side.

Tigress took in slow, steady breaths to calm herself, she’d practically launched herself from her drop from the building she stood upon and used her momentum to push away the old Rhino from getting shot.
“Where the hell did that thing come from!?”

With shaky paws, she slowly lifted herself up, her vision glue to the stone for but a few moments as it began to drizzle.
“Holy crap. Did she crack the stone!?”

The voices. She pushed them aside as she stood straight, rolling her shoulder, only to wince a bit as she noticed. The arrow had pierced her shoulder.

Amber met pure red eyes of the Croc Bandit leader. And his eyes grew to slits as he raised his arm high and pointedly directly at her form.
Tigress took that moment to break a piece of the arrow and throw it down without breaking eye contact. Here, she would stand against them.

“Shoot them!” He shouted angrily, balling his claws into fists.” SHOOT THEM!”
Master Tigress stood her ground, knowing that now, she served as a distraction for her friends. She had to keep the arrows off Crane and Mantis even if it meant she had to get hit.

The sound of tight strings and arrows being prepped to shoot were clear in her ears.
Twing!

She moved to the right side as the first arrow was let loose. “For not fleeing upon seeing my visage,”

And then a flurry of arrows from four sets of archers fell towards her.

The tiger master closed her eyes and breathed in.
“I applaud both your courage and your stupidity.”

And so the dance began.

~

Crane was starting to regret his earlier comments, either Po and Tigress weren’t as heavy as he thought which was unlikely or he was heavily out of shape.
Most likely the latter.

That along with the fact some of the winds were starting to pick up and not in his favor. He forgot how difficult it was to navigate with grabby passengers. He was flapping his wings as hard as he could as the sheep lifted his hooves to hold on for dear life to his ankles, his talons were already holding him up by his vest.
Thankfully they were soon reaching a height he wanted, now being past the point of the building's roof, he could take the safe route he’d taken twice considering Tigress was keeping their lookout busy.

His stomach still turned at whatever she’d gotten herself into. He trusted her, that was non-negotiable but when it came to her own wellbeing as he’d seen recently.
Well, he couldn’t help but worry, she was their youngest member, their leader, and a dear friend and member of his family.

He reluctantly turned his head slowly as he moved a fair distance away from the barricaded shop, the height giving him a birds-eye view of the scene below.
And what he saw made him want to scream out her name!

The scene below was soaked in the blood of the tiger master, she was dodging left and right in any way she could against the onslaught of arrows being shot her way as the leader demanded they kill her!

“GET HER! She’s just one scrawny little Tiger! She should be dead by now!”

As expected Tigress couldn’t catch every arrow coming her way, she caught a few but some she just had to take so they wouldn’t hit any stray buildings or worse villagers in their houses.
Even from this altitude, he could see the concentration in her body, she was not moving. She would stand even with arrow after arrow jutting out of her body for the sake of this town.

He almost did yell out her name when she fell after a particularly nasty shot and her body momentarily hit the ground.
“Stay down freak!”

Twip!
An orange paw, soaked in red and covered in a tattered black sleeve caught the offending arrow and broke it in half as she stumbled to get up. He wanted to tell her to stay down, to stop, that what she had done was enough but he knew…

Tigress took her stance, One paw forward and above as she leaned even in tatters she was refined in her craft.
He knew that as a kung fu master, no as herself she had something to prove.
Something to protect in this instance so he flew on despite the fact he wanted so badly to swoop down and help her.

He continued to flap his wings, trying to tear his gaze away from the gruesome scene. The drizzle was starting to grow into rain which made him falter for a moment.
He looked towards his young friend one last time as the rain pelted his hat.

A moment was all it took.

Their eyes met and it was far from comforting, he knew that if she could see him someone down there possibly could too. She gave him a very quick, bloody thumbs up.
‘Wha?’

Tigress’s eyes dilated.
All he could do was watch her move as he glided forward towards the city entrance, she ran hard and pushed through arrow after arrow, catching some and allowing some to simply hit her body.

She cut contact with him as soon as she found her target, her brazen fist making the crate the archer hid behind practically explode in pieces, she fell out of his sight as he kept soaring but he could clearly hear the strung of an arrow being shot close quarters and her loud growl resounded in the area as a croc was sent flying before the other bandits ran straight for her. Attempting to jump and overwhelm the master with their numbers and weapons.

“Crane!” Mantis yelled and he could feel the bug, shaking with unbridled rage. “We can’t just leave her like that! Take us down!!”
Crane continued to fly, trying to stay calm in this situation, it was what Tigress would do. It was what he needed to do. “I have to go on.”
“What-!”

Before Mantis could argue with him he interrupted him, keeping his gaze forward as the commotion below grew louder. “I said I have to go on.” He let his wingspan spread, allowing himself to lower his altitude. “Not you.”

Mantis was off his shoulder as soon as he was within safe jumping range upon a roof near the entrance and Crane flew as fast as he could spurred on by his worry and need to give assistance to his friend.

Despite that need, he still gently placed the sheep down on the ground and allowed the other bunnies time to leap off of him.
“Crane!”

His neck shot up to the point of making him dizzy, there Po, Monkey and Viper were exiting the forest towards the town.
Po was the first to ask him a question as he jogged towards the tired Avian. “Where’s-”

“Help her!” Was all Crane could get out of himself, he pointed towards the inner parts of the city hoping the panda would understand. “Help her please…”

Po only gave him one stern glance he knew all too well before he jogged forward with a fever, Viper was right behind him after checking over him once and Monkey followed behind the panda without question.

Crane looked after them wide-eyed as he leaned against the tattered remains of the standing wooden entrance, the exhaustion in his body settling in as he realized how desperate and pained he sounded.

“I have to trust her.” He told himself. “And hope she’s okay.”
As he began the long walk back to the shop.

~

I want to put it into words and gift it to you

~
The rain poured without forgiveness on his feathers as he walked through the town’s walkways.

He didn’t have the energy to fly but he would make it back to his friends' side.
As he walked the rain somewhat drowned the sounds of battle, as he breathed heavily towards his destination. He had no clue how long it had taken him to get there. The sky was filled to the brim with dark clouds.

But what he stepped into was quiet.

Crane hadn’t even noticed he was looking down until he lifted his gaze from the ground noting a certain speck of color upon the ground. From what he could tell, the guards, with what few they had, joined the fray after he had left. Tigress has stood long enough for them to assemble it seemed. He kept moving forward, his claws lightly scraping against stone as he dragged himself further.
Where?

“We need bandages!” His head moved automatically to the sound of Viper’s voice.
There.

In the middle of the two-row barricade was Tigress kneeled in the middle of the torn street, similar to a warriors statue with her soaked paw wrapped around a rather large sword. He ignored the villagers who gawked and stared as he made his way to his injured friend surrounded by the rest of the team. It was to no surprise Po was beside her side, that was his sibling now and no doubt he felt responsible. Viper did what she could with what they had which wasn’t much outside torn rags covering gashes and other wounds upon the tiger.

She looked as if she was going to cry at the sight.

Master Crane stopped beside Tigress finally as the rain continued on without skipping a beat. He stretched his wing outward above her frame. “I’ve got you Chunhua.” Despite how exhausted he felt, he leaned his head down just as he did when they painted or did calligraphy together to check on her. Maybe she would look up and see him? “I’ll make sure you get home.”

All she did was breathe and stare into the red-stained puddle beneath her but that was fine.

As long as she was okay, she could think as long as she wanted to.
He wasn’t going anywhere.
He would shield her.

~

I wish that…

~

Two weeks had passed since that mission.

A Lot had happened, none of them could stay and help with repairs to the village as they usually did but the townsfolk understood considering Master Tigress’s condition.
The walk back via a large cart supplied by the elders of the village was a long one.

Po, Viper, himself, and even Mantis had to get on the young tiger for trying to stay awake or sitting up too much during the trip back.. She’d been bandaged all over and the local healer said it was a miracle she’d stayed conscious for so long much less survived. Despite that, she relented from time to time, mostly sleeping next to and beside Po or himself as they took their time transporting her back to the valley.

Crane found himself appreciating those small moments, of the cart rolling along in the forest as she slept peacefully. Usually, he would stay above and continue to fly but to be frank he, just like everyone else, didn't want to leave her side after that.

They had all agreed it was best to let her stay at her second home, Mr. Ping noodle shop so as to not jostle her too much.
Mr. Ping was upon the cart before the polite bull had even stopped fully in front of his establishment. He was a flurry of feathers that rivaled Master Shifu’s speed, he checked over his son first and then…

He tried not to smile because it wasn’t funny.
Okay, it was a little funny.

And then screamed “My baby! What happened to my baby!?” from the top of his lungs as soon as he saw Chunhau, Monkey swore the emperor himself could hear it clearly from his palace. The puzzled look on her face was something else, her amber eyes were wide and her expression was baffled. She probably never expected anyone to refer to her like that.
But still gave her dad a thumbs up to indicate she was alright.

So, they had no reason to worry she was going anywhere because they knew Mr. Ping wouldn’t let her go anywhere until she was fully healed.

Which brought him back to the present day, now. As he walked to the noodle shop she was still being held in. This was usually the time he’d visit her, in the afternoon after Mr. Ping made her lunch and before Po came back from shopping for the restaurant to help with her exercises.
They usually spent an hour talking about simple things, what did you do today? How do you feel?

But today he had a burning question to ask and something he needed to tell the young tiger. After that event he realized something.
“Crane?”

He looked up as his name was called, and then slowly looked downward.
It was Viper.

“What are you doing here?” The snake in fact looked confused at his person as if he shouldn’t be here. Suspicious.
He tipped his hat forward a bit with his wing. “Viper, I’ve been coming here every afternoon…”
Her blue eyes widened and her mouth formed in an ‘o’ shape. “I’m sorry I thought you came here in the evening.”

Alright, it was an honest mistake. “No, you’re mixing me up with Monkey. Did you want to visit her?” He ruffled his wings a bit before gesturing towards the main gate with his beak. “I don’t mind you joining me, she’d probably be happy to see you.”

Viper made a noise that was more akin to him, a sarcastic laugh.
Did she not believe Chunhau would be happy to see her?

The rest of their trip inside the noodle shop outside greeting Mr. Ping who informed them he’d be across the street for a moment was quiet. He had no clue what was wrong with Viper, she seemed fine today.
So, this was jarring.

“Afternoon Chunhua.” He popped his head in the doorway first as he always did, which seemed to earn some nice small smiles from the tiger. He was about to say more until he noticed she was reading a scroll. “Viper’s with me.” He spoke up as he walked to the tiger’s bedside. “What’s that?”

Chunhau finally tore her gaze from the scroll and greeted him with her small welcoming nods and did similar for Viper when she entered behind him. “General Delun would like to award me a meritorious medal for my actions. He said he’s willing to wait for my recovery to award it to me in person.”

“That’s great!” He genuinely smiled down at the tiger. “You deserve it after saving his life.” Minus all the other gruesome details. She was still bandaged up to her shoulder so it was a sore subject for him at least. The young tiger didn’t seem phased by it from what he knew.

“It is an honor.” Chunhau rolled the scroll up as she looked out her window, it was still cool and chilly but he noted how the tiger never minded it too much. “But I don’t think I should be awarded for simply doing what I was meant to.” She sat the scroll by her leg.

Crane was taken aback by this reasoning. Thought process? Could he call it that? He blinked, seeming lost for words at the moment. His claws scraped the wooden floor by accident.

“How can you say that?”

Viper was the one to show bravery in speaking up first, and yet she sounded so hollow and sad. “You weren’t meant to do that…”
Crane picked up where she left off, it seemed they had come here to talk about the very same thing. He looked into Chunhau’s eyes, he’d seen a dozen times with different vivid emotions reflected in them. “Why did you go so far?” He asked far more quietly than he wanted too but just remembering that moment was… “Why do you always do that?” awful.

It made him remember the olden days. Days long lost to them.

Tigress, no Chunhau had always acted in this way. Allowing herself to be injured and telling them all she was fine because she could barely feel it.
The tiger tilted her head and looked at both of them as if the answer was obvious. As clear as rain.

Chunhau placed her bandaged paws in her lap upon her black pants. “Because... it’s the best I can do for everyone. No matter the odds I will stand between the enemy and you all.” She stared down at them. “I can’t do the things you all enjoy at times but with this-” She lifted her paw up towards them. “I can at least make sure you can keep doing the things you enjoy happily. Even if I can’t smile with you all.”

Tigress laid out her honest feelings towards them to the best of her ability, which was abundant in the way she looked away from both of them.
Crane realized he should have never stopped asking if she was okay.

“Tigress…” Viper went back to using the tiger’s title rather than her name, and he could tell by the way the snake’s head was shaking back and forth she too was fighting with similar revelations as he was. “I can’t do the things I enjoy if you’re hurt or worse.” Viper slithered up to the tiger putting her tail upon her still paws. “Not here with me. I want you to be okay.”
“Always.” The snake whispered before turning to leave.

Crane promised he would check on her afterward. They all had to lean on one another at one point or time. This was clear.
“I’m sorry.”

Crane didn’t say anything yet, just moved his wing to cover her shoulder, the fact she was sitting on a bed made it easy for this half hug. “Don’t be sorry for being honest.”
They stayed in that position for a while, the avian having to move his wing a little here and there but he could feel the weight of her head on his side.

“I know you don’t think you can smile with us all, but I’ve seen it.” He started talking without much direction as he listened to the sounds of Mr. Ping moving about downstairs. “And it’s a wonderful smile, just as bright as the rest of us. And I want to protect that part of you and every other part you may not like or hide just as you want to do for us.”

Crane stared ahead, trying to think of what else to say. All that filled his vision was Po’s old Furious five posters. “I see how hard you work every day, even the little things you think no one cares about. I can see now…” He leaned down to see her under his wing, a rather tired expression on her face. At least she was listening, he thought. ‘Maybe she’ll even fall asleep.’

If he was lucky. “It wasn’t just Shifu. Over time you added each and every one of us to your goal.”
He remembered the days of seeing her paws bruised and small winces she’d tried to hide during certain days. “You’re so much warmer than you or we give you credit for.” He remembered how she slowly stopped wincing and moved forward, breaking things with ease.
“I’m sorry it took me so long to see that and say all this to you but I suppose we all need a push forward.”

He placed his beak atop her head in a comforting gesture, he didn’t even care if she was awake or not. “I’m so happy to have a friend like you.”

~

The star of the fairy tale shines brightly.

~

“It’s kind of smaller than I expected.”
Chunhau tapped the gold metal of her meritorious medal a few more times. It was pinned upon her shirt, nice and neatly by General Delun. “I like it.” She replied to Monkey after he also tapped her medal with his finger.

“Of course you would, it looks like a star.” She didn’t mind the simian holding the medal and feeling the grooves of it between his fingers. She’d done similar and would most likely do it again.

She raised her brow at that. “Do I seem like the type who would like star-shaped things?”
“A bit.” Monkey answered absentmindedly.

“Chu! Monkey!” Both masters looked up from their position upon the front steps of the Jade palace as Po was walking towards them with quite a few red boxes in his arms. “Wha-Whoo!”

Tigress and Monkey were quick to move and catch any falling boxes from their friend who had half tripped near the edge of said steps.
They all breathed a breath of relief as the contents seemed undisturbed.

“Are these?” Monkey asked with a wide smile as he lifted the box upward to inspect it and even she couldn’t help but take a small sniff at the box, there was an unmistakable, delightful aroma that could only belong to one treat!
“Yup! It’s the mooncakes you both helped me out with. They came out perfectly!” The panda shared delightfully with a little shimmy. “Alright, we’re ready for real now! Onward Lunar team!” Po excitedly pointed forward now that he had less to carry down the thousand steps.

The pair followed the dragon warrior down the steps with equal amounts of energy, for today was the Moon Festival!
They had made it home just in time before the festival had begun after General Delun had asked not only Master Tigress but her entire family to attend. Much to the fives and even Po’s surprise, the tiger master wasn’t the only one to receive a medal for her bravery. They had all worked together to make that victory come true and Delun had brought it upon himself to make it a surprise during his speech.
It was certainly a rewarding experience.

“Knowing Papa, he’ll have made enough mooncakes to feed the entire Valley.” The tiger commented offhandedly as they neared the noodle shop. Lanterns, mostly red but of all colors covered in a multitude of designs lined homes and shops alike. “Maybe this is too much?”

“He’ll still appreciate some desserts from his kids. For sure.” Monkey walked by her while balancing two red boxes of Mooncakes upon his head. 
Po who was on Monkey’s right pushed a box that looked as if it would lean off of him, putting it back into a balanced position. Carefully. “Are you trying to insert yourself in our family?”

“Oh, why not?” The trickster giggled as he placed his hands upon his cheeks and smiled widely. “I could pass as a member of the family easily, we could be triplets even.”
Po gave a belly laugh at that. “Shut up Monkey!”

And Monkey was matching her brother's unrestrained laughter while elbowing her a bit. “What do you think Chu? Want me as another big bro?”
Chunhua was quick to free her hand and nod while giving Monkey an enthusiastic thumbs up as her reply!

“Hey! Don’t agree with him on that!”
Monkey only laughed louder.

~

Chunhua watched as Po cut the top of the pumpkin off upon the table they sat at. With the food already set out and the only thing left to be done in the kitchen was cleaning, her father and Viper volunteered to do. Now all they could do was wait for the Lion dances that would soon fill the streets of the Valley.

She watched him cleanly cut it in half before taking a spoon and pulling a small bowl over. “What are you doing?”
“Hmm?” The panda didn’t even look up fully, only slightly moving his head her way as he carefully scooped up all the seeds from within the pumpkin. “Just gonna have a quick snack before the dance starts.”

“You can eat pumpkins like that?”
“Yeah. It's a fruit.” Green eyes took a glance her way as she leaned forward to look at the bowl of seeds and strings of the pumpkin he just dumped. “It’s a little tough but still good. Here.” He picked his knife again, cutting a small piece from the half-cut pumpkin for her. “Try it. But don’t eat the skin, it's hard to chew even for me.” He laughed to himself as he handed the piece to her and then went back to scooping the second piece of his pumpkin.

“Oh cool. I didn’t know we had pumpkins here!” She could feel the light tap of Mantis hopping on her shoulder.
The tiger inspected the orange fruit for a moment and then took a bite of it. It wasn’t filled with flavor but it still tasted good!

“Did you just eat that pumpkin raw!?” The bug’s loud, shocking question was ignored as she continued to eat her pumpkin slice.
“Yeah, raw pumpkin is good!” She looked up to see Po take a bite of his own slice, he must have cut it while she was eating. A loud squash and crunch sound came from him before he took the skin out of his mouth. “Minus that part.”

“Eww! That’s gross! Don’t go feeding her raw Pumpkin Po!” He hopped right off her shoulder, shaking his head. “I’ll have to roast you all some for the true experience.”

Tigress, once done with her first piece, reached for another right in front of the panda and started eating another piece with one paw, the other was giving a thumbs up with a firm nod of approval!
“Look she loves it!” 

~

Crane could hear the first thrums of music approaching the small establishment, regardless he still took a sip of his tea at his own leisure that Mr. Ping had set out for both he and Shifu. He watched as Chunhau was the first to run up to the noodle entrance, her paw went upwards specifically touching the lantern she had made. Mantis made a very clean jump to her shoulder to join her in the process.
“Po, come on! It’s about to start!”

The panda in question was trying to push all the pumpkins they’d cut into a bag for the trash. “I’m coming! I’m coming hold on!”
A chuckle from the back caught his attention as he watched the noodle shop owner waddle past his son. “They're not going to wait for you son.”
Monkey and Viper soon follow behind them to the entrance.

The avian couldn’t help but smile at the exchange, it was all so lively. It fit perfectly for this home. He noted that even his master was smiling without restraint as he sipped his own tea.
Soon the sounds of castanets met his ears and he knew what that meant.

Crane debated on going out there right now, he usually would but maybe since he was older he wasn’t as inclined to rush out and see it. That or he just preferred watching his friends have fun from afar it was a sight to behold.
Monkey was already hopping from side to side, Viper was also keeping up with the approaching music’s rhythm as more and more people came outside and stayed to the sides to allow the performers room.

He noted happily that Chu was attempting to follow along, clapping her paws together as a goose danced by with a fan to signal the start of the show.
The avian master almost missed the first lion dance, it was a long dragon clad in bright green dancing past the noodle shop, and the way everyone cheered the dancers off made him want to join. When the dragon turned its head he got two unforgettable scenes.

First, When the dragon opened its mouth, it spooked Monkey to the point of stepping back a few paces.
Second, it seemed Mr. Ping had handed his daughter money and he got to watch her hesitantly put said money in the dragon's mouth. He was thankful the performer was nice enough to stay still for her.

“I think I’ll go join them,” Crane spoke up after placing his cup down and looking at Shifu. “Want to come?” He moved his head to gesture towards their small but happy group.
Shifu as always thought about it quietly for a moment as the music grew in pace, it was going faster as people cheered. The old red panda shrugged as he shuffled out of his seat. “Sure. I suppose it would be better to enjoy moments like this upfront”
“I couldn’t agree more.”

And with that, the two masters joined their group on the sidelines of the noodle shop. Shifu making small waving motions at people who greeted him from across the street. It was far brighter than from his spot inside the shop, as people lit more lanterns and swayed them around as they enjoyed the performance.
Master Crane found himself bobbing his head left and right along with the rhythm as the drummers enthusiastically danced by them. The energy was just too contagious not too!

He decided to take another glance at the tiger with her family, out the corner of his eye.

Surrounded in the light of the lanterns that laced the shops and buildings around them, it looked as if the Ping family was swimming in a sea of stars. Po was behind Tigress, holding her paws and clapping to the beat with her, just having fun and moving as they pleased. Even Mr. Ping danced beside them without restraint.
“Whoo! Look at that!” Po yelled as a group of performers brought another large dragon, held up by wooden pieces, it was bright gold with hints of red.

But the brightest thing in front of Mr. Ping’s shop wasn’t the lanterns, it was the smile that laced her face.

~

“Actually, why do you do that?”
The performance had not come to an end, it simply was further down the street from them, which meant it was time to sit at the table and eat.

“Do what?” Chunhau asked Viper as she handed Monkey a Mooncake, the simian took it in his mouth while taking slices of pumpkin from the plates before Po could get to them.
“You know,” The snake rolled her tail around. “The thumbs up thing? I don’t get it.”

“Oh.” The tiger blinked as if she forgot something. “I was finding different ways to express my emotions to you all.” She took a bite of her own mooncake before continuing. “Po helped me find a few good gestures for happiness.” Another bite and the treat was gone with a thumbs up. “And I liked this one best.”

“Oooh.” Monkey snapped his fingers towards her. He must have had a similar question.
Crane wiped off his beak before speaking. “That kind of makes sense but not,” He ruffled his wings by his side, trying not to move too much near the table. His gaze moved away from the table momentarily to the entrance as people danced a bit with their families. “You gave me a thumbs up when you were hurt back then.”

When he looked back Tigress was now taking a mooncake from Monkey the very same way he did. “Mmm. Well, I was content at that moment seeing you and didn’t feel much pain at the time.” She slyly took some pumpkin pieces from Monkey’s plate while he wasn’t looking. “So, I felt it was a good way to comfort you in such a dire situation. Since you would worry yourself.”

Crane looked absolutely discombobulated, he wasn’t even making coherent sentences anymore much less paying attention to his food as he stared at the unaffected tiger across from him. She had given him a thumbs up while she was bleeding, how was that supposed to comfort him in any way!?
“I-I Don’t… I do not understand???” The poor bird was beyond confused by her reasoning once again.

Shifu shushed him! Actually shushed him! “You’re not going to get it. I’ve been there.”
Mr. Ping nodded with an affirmative noise as he drank his tea.

“Wha?” Viper looked towards her Master as if he lost his mind.
Luckily Tigress’s attention was caught elsewhere out in front again. It seemed as if another dragon was passing by the street. This was far from unusual with the importance of dragons within the valley.

“She is similar to the wind,” The old red panda gestures with his arm outwardly. “Blowing in whatever direction she pleases,” He brings his small arm back towards his chest. “And who are we to question that.”

Crane looked to Po and Monkey who also just shrugged. Only he and Viper were questioning this thought process now.

“You know what Chu.” Mantis who was sitting right inbetween her and Monkey. “I’m just happy that you’re happy with how you’re expressing yourself!”
“Thanks.” Chunhau held a thumbs up to the performers outside and a few of them cheered loudly at the sight.

At least someone was happy tonight.

~

My love, my place! It’s here with you!