Ok everyone I know that my writing hasn't always been to your liking but I promise that if you are patent and read all of the story you see more than what the first few chapters portray. R&R and no burns please.
Lilly walked down the steps of the Jade palace to the large memorial that now sat a quarter of the way up the massive stairs. It was part of her routine ever since her parents died in the war against the hun's. Stopping a flight above the memorial she saw a huge black and grey tiger standing before the massive statues a. She couldn't really make out his features for the hood but the long dark box he set before showed the coat on his arms. Talking a deep bow he turn and jumped down the length of the remaining steps landing softly at the bottom a massive dai dow Saber slung across his back revealed beneath his fluttering cloak before he stepped into a shadow and disappeared.
Curiosity peaked she walked the rest of the way down and stood in front of the memorial and bowed to the giant forms of the Dragon Warrior and Furious Five. Tigress stood in the front with Po in an affectionate pose. Viper and Crane were to their right Mantis and Monkey their left. Straightening up she softly spoke. "Mom, Dad, I'll be twenty one soon. Don't worry I won't go out and drink I have training. Shifu is starting to teach me about inner peace, he says that you were amazing at it dad and even used it to defeat Shen. Well I guess I had better get back to the palace I love you."
Bowing again she walked up to the box and gently lifted it inspecting it as she walked back up to the palace. It had a few wet spots on it as if he had been crying. It made since many of their friends from the war came and grieved for the loss. She remembered when the message they had died reached her. She had only seen them just the month before at her eleventh birthday. The news devastated her, she had cried herself to sleep for the better part of a year afterward, and the deaths of the other masters over the course of the following three years didn't make it any easier. Now it was just her and her grandfather's.
Walking into the hall she found the now very aged Grand Master Shifu standing before the hanging where they saved all of the offerings left at the monument and put them on display. Smiling at her master the white and grey striped tiger bowed to him presenting him the long box. He gave her a curious look. "What do you have there." Walking up to her he opened the box. Inside a set of swords lay in silk one was a long slender Chinese long sword and the other was The Sword of Hero's. Shifu's eyes grew wide as he leaned heavily on his staff. "Where did you get these."
I looked at the blades with the same shock. "I saw a grey tiger with Black stripes leave it. He wore a black cloak and had a huge Dai Dow on his back."
"He survived?" Shifu half whispered before turning and making his way towards the barracks. Curious she followed him to one of the rooms that had once been used for guest fighters. He stopped at a door across the hall from where my mothers had been before she married. "What is it master?"
He gave me a tired look. "Its… nothing Lilly now get on to the training hall I'll join you shortly."
Doing as she was told she leapt into the spinning dummies hammering them with power her mother would be proud of she was unaware Shifu had entered and was watching her. He stood watching her and remembering his daughter when she was that age. Back then all of the fighters had been here and he had been just as prowed of her as he was his granddaughter. When lunch time came he coffed anouching his presence. "Lilly why don't you go and see Mr. Ping for lunch I'm sure he would enjoy the visit."
Bowing to her master. "Thank you master Shifu." Then took off running down the steps to the valley stopping to say hi to her parents as she passed.
As she neared her Grandfathers noodle shop she could hear the angry yells of bandits. Running to his shop she found three crocks trying to rob him. Taking a stance she yelled, "Get lost you crooks before I nock you a good one." Jumping they turned around the middle one letting out a sigh. "Lilly I've had enough of this beating us up I think it's time we beat you."
Smiling at him she taunted. "How do you expect to do that."
"Like this." The croc on the left and right leveled flintlock pistols at her.
Becoming nervous she backed up a few steps. Pistols and rifles were some of the few weapons Shifu couldn't teach her to fight.
She was about to try and grab her grandfather and run when to loud booms filled her ears and the guns the crocs were holding exploded into splinters and metal parts. They held their bloody hands looking at the figure standing above and behind her. He was wearing a black cloak like the tiger this morning but was more her size and had a large two barreled gun. In a deep growling voice he snarled. "It is dishonorable enough to be facing a woman alone but to pull a gun on an unarmed opponent is disgraceful." With a grace to match the tiger from earlier he jumped and landed in front of Lilly. The lead croc pulled a long knife from his belt hissing. "Who do you think you are jumping into my fight." Instead of answering the figure struck the crock repeatedly his fur a red brown and black blur as he pummeled the crock before sending each of them careening over her head and into the street.
Not bothering to look back at Lilly he half bowed to Ping who still stood frozen gently saying. "I hope you are unhurt now if you will excuse me." He leapt high into the air back flipping onto the wall then jumping to the neighboring roof and running off. Lilly walked up to her grand father and sqated down to his level looking at the balding goose. "Are you ok Granddad?"
Blinking a few times he looked back at Lilly. "Why yes I'm fine. Do you know who he is?"
Looking in the direction he had taken off to. "No I don't. Now how bout we get some noodles for old times sake." The old goose smiled leading her into the kitchen as he began to tell her a story about Po when he was younger. She loved to hear how goofy her father had been before going to the palace. When she was growing up he had cracked a lot of jokes but wasn't as clumsy or uncoordinated as her Granddad told her. After spending most of the evening with him she made her way home still wondering who the warrior from earlier had been.
Making her way back up the steps she once again stopped at the memorial picking up another small box and continued up the steps. With her concentration away from where she was walking she almost fell when she stepped on the pool of water from a fallen and broken bamboo bottle. Picking it up the strong smell of sweet liquer nearly made her real. Poor the rest of the contents out she continued up the stairs. Reaching the gates of the Palace she could hear Shifu yelling at someone jogging towards the sound she prayed that he wasn't yelling at a villager again. Rounding the corner she found the doors to the Hall of Hero's standing open. From inside she could just hear her masters yelling. "I will not send her off is it not enough that all of this conflict has clamed six of my students one of which my daughter. Now get out before I throw you out."
Deciding to intervene before things worsened she saw the figure from before standing in front of a furious Shifu holding his clawed paws up in a peaceful gesture. "Look Grand Master Shifu I'm just here to pass on Master Gore's message." Shifu began to shake. "I WILL NOT LET YOU COMBAT CRAZED IDIOTS CONVINCE A NOTER OF MY STUDENTS TO FIGHT YOUR CRAZY BATTLES." The dark snarl began to enter the stranger's voice as the once peaceful hands clenched. "Listen Shifu. You may not have cared for how my master fought but that gives you no right to talk bad about the man who has gone through as much as he has to keep the people of this country safe. Out of respect I will ask that you at least allow me to present her with the weapon he sent as a gift."
Shifu gave him a cold stair. "Fine but I want you to leave in the morning."
"Thank you Grand Master."
At this moment Lilly came into the hall. "Master Shifu what's going on in here."
"Nothing. If you would fix dinner for our guest and yourself I will be in my room for the night." Walking off to his chambers in the Hall of Heros.
The figure turned to her and in the now dimming light it was impossible to tell what he was much less any other details though the cloak. Leading him to the kitchen she started to pull out various pots and pans before having to hunt for the striker to start the fire. Unseen by her the stranger had draped his cloak across the back of the chair revealing a large spotted hyena wearing a harness with two rolls and several sheathes and holsters on it. Removing that and putting it on the chair he took out his gun and a small packet. Walking up behind her calmly. "Excuse me for a moment." She steped aside as she stared at his foregn apearence as he squatted in front of the stove. Opening the breach on one of the cambers he pulled out the shot and put the pack in then closed it and pointed it at the fire. There was a click then a small flame erupted from the barrel lighting the wood and coals. "There you go." Standing he returned to his chair and replaced the shot before holstering the gun.
Trying to fight the flood of questions she continued to cook while he sat patiently watching her. For some reason she began to worry about how her fur and clothes looked. Shaking her head she focused on her cooking willing herself to put those thoughts aside. Finally done she sat a plate of stir fry at each place of the table and sat down. He smiled at her before he started to eat. Trying to hide her slight blush she tried to do the same. "So I guess I should thank you for earlier."
He gave her a large lopsided grin that was cute and creepy to her at the same time. "It was my pleasure."
She felt the heat returning to her cheeks. "I've never seen a wolf like you before. Where are you from?"
He began to chuckle as hyena do not that she had ever heard one. After getting control of his mirth he told the confused tiger. "I'm not a wolf I'm a spotted hyena. We are treated like wolves are here though we are neither canine or feline."
Intreaged by his vocabulary and intelligence more questions came to mind as she watched him eat. For one since when do fighters bother to learn things like he had, and second why was here. As they finished she decided to start with the second question. "Why did you come all the way out here?"
He smiled at her and pulled a short sword from one of the wraps on his harness. "My master asked me to deliver this to you in memory of your mother. It's a shorter version of the one your mother used in the war. He said that he was going to give it to you this morning when he left the other two but couldn't take the pain of seeing you. I don't know what his connection to your mother was but they were apparently really close."
"You mean that giant grey tiger is your master?"
"Yes Master Gore is an accomplished Combat artist and his wife was once China's most feared assassin. I've been training with them since I was five."
"Wow that's when my parents started with me."
Smiling to each other the hyena took a breath. "Well I had best get to bed I've had a long run to get here in time to meet my master."
"Alright." She half purred and lead him to the room Shifu had stopped at that morning. "I think this was your master's room when he stayed her."
"Thank you." He stepped past her and set his pack on the floor beside him the hilts of his weapons in easy reach then laid down using the cloak as a blanked on the bare bed. Closing the door Lilly made her way to her room across from the kitchen thoughts swarming around her mind.