Yes, new story. I'm posting this now, cause it's been haunting me.
Disclaimer (For the entire chapter) : I don't own Kung Fu Panda.
At the doorstep
A bright full moon shone up in the sky as stars around it sparkled like pieces of broken gem. A cool, evening breeze blew by making the trees and bushes in the landscape rustle softly. Crickets chirped, but all was still. Not a single cloud was in the sky.
An old sheep stood by the entranceway of Bau Gu orphanage. She had deep brown eyes and she wore a red dress trimmed blue with a yellow sash around her middle and a pair circular glasses sitting on the rim of her nose. Her name is Mrs.. Han, and she was the head caretaker of the orphanage.
A candle placed on a tea-cup shaped candle holder was flickering on the ground next to her; something to help combat the darkness. But such a thing seemed irrelevant for the moon provided enough light already. She was gazing upon the star-filled heaven. She rubbed her hoofs against each other than placed it upon her shoulders to give herself some warmth. Mrs. Han turned to both sides, checking for any other person besides herself who was still awake at this hour. When she found none, she spun around and closed the doors behind her quietly.
She picked up the candle and walked across the courtyard, an orb of orange glow following her every step. She passed by the huge tree that her parents, the founders and first caretakers of the orphanage, had planted at the center of the tulou. She silently strode along the Hallway and stopped at the orphan's sleeping quarters. Han opened it ever so slightly as it made a dull creaking sound, the light of the candle washing through the dark chamber and it gave her enough luminescence to gaze at the sleeping figures of the little children wrapped around in warm blankets. Mrs. Han smiled before closing the door.
The sheep was heading for her bed chamber when she heard a muffled sound of a child whimpering. Mrs. Han stopped, turning back to stare at the darkened Hallway. She strained her ears to listen for the sound again but three minutes had passed and she heard nothing, only silence. With a shrug, she continued on her way. She was almost to her room when she heard it again, the strange sound of a whimpering infant.
Mrs. Han whirled to gaze through the corridor once again, adjusting her glasses. "My goodness, I think my age has finally taken its toll on me!" she whispered.
The whimpering sounded again, and this time Mrs. Han felt a chill run down her spine causing her to shiver. Could it be a ghost? She dared assume. After a minute's pause, she went down the hall to where the sound came from. She mentally scolded herself for thinking that it was some sort of wandering spirit.
As she made it the end of the hallway, she stepped into the veranda listening to the whimpering. It got louder...and it came from outside the gates. She rested a hoof upon the wooden pillar supporting the top floor as she stared at the large doors, hesitating whether to proceed or not. Releasing a deep breath, Mrs. Han gripped the candle holder's handle tightly and walked towards the gates.
Her dark shadow stretched in front of her. Her footsteps were light, almost inaudible in the stillness of the night. Mrs. Han tried not to be scared but the shivering of her hoofs betrayed her. She had just reached the tall tree amid the orphanage when she sensed a new presence in her surroundings.
Mrs. Han instantly stiffened as her eyes widened in terror. She could make out faint sounds of footfalls heading towards her and she silently prayed that whoever it was that's approaching did not have any bad intentions towards her.
A hoof rested atop her shoulder and instantly her instincts kicked in. She grabbed the hoof and with all the strength she can muster, tossed the figure overhead and slammed him on the ground in front of her. A dull thud followed after Mrs. Han's feat. She glared at the figure but her eyes widened upon recognizing the nineteen-year-old looking pig wearing a blue night robe. "Ding?"
Ding smiled awkwardly towards the sheep. "Good evening, Mrs. Han," he croaked.
"Gracious, boy, you gave me a fright!"
"Sorry." Mrs. Han helped him to his feet and dusted the dirt off his clothes. She held the candle at shoulder level as she looked at the young pig curiously. "Why are you still awake? It's past bedtime."
"I couldn't sleep," Ding replied. "Shouldn't you be in bed too?"
"I was about to head to my room when I kept hearing a child crying."
As if on cue, the whimpering sound Mrs. Han was telling Ding rang again, and this was the loudest the sheep had heard it. Both simultaneously turned towards the gates where it was coming from. Ding scooted closer to Han, frightfully grabbing a hoof-full of her night-dress.
The two were silent as the tree beside them, until Mrs. Han began to move towards the closed gates.
"Mrs. Han! What are you doing?" Ding panicked.
"Dancing," the sheep replied sarcastically. "What does it look like, boy?"
"B-but...M-Mrs.. Han!"
"Shssss!"
They had reached the gates and the pig was clinging to Mrs. Han like a child.
"Unhand me, Ding!" She pulled the pig away from her. She gave him a stern glance. She thrust the candle towards him, Ding tentatively grabbed the candle holder.
Mrs. Han shifted her attention back to the door. She stretched her hoofs into the heavy door's surface, delaying for a few seconds before she placed her other hoof on it and gently pushed the entrance open. Both of them were a little shock at what the other side revealed.
A red bundle of cloth with golden bamboo patterns wrapped around a tiny figure at the doorstep. It squirmed a bit and it was where the crying noises were coming from. Mrs. Han walked forward and scooped it up, wrapping her arms around it protectively. She rocked it as it continued to cry, shushing it ever so gently. She took the fabric away from its face and she was a bit shocked upon seeing a species she had never seen before in her life.
The baby...was a tiger. And she was a female.
"My word..." Han breathed.
Ding scooted closer and his eyes instantly fell upon the cub in her arms. His eyes widened as though he hasn't seen a baby before in his life. "Where did that come from?"
Mrs. Han gave Ding a withering look. "Goodness, boy, you're almost 20 years old and no one has given you 'the talk' yet?"
Ding pouted. "That's not what I meant, Ma'am. Who left it here?" He pointed at the cub.
Mrs. Han lowered her gaze. She then searched the cub's wrappings for any notes left by her parents. But she found none. "I don't know. There's no note anywhere." The tiger cub started crying again. Mrs. Han rocked her to quiet her down.
Ding reached a hoof and touched the infant's forehead. He began stroking it tenderly and the tiger cub calmed down. It even smiled and began to purr softly. Ding smiled at her sweet face. "What should we call it?" he asked the sheep.
She honestly didn't know. For years she was assigned the task of naming every abandoned child that had no identity. She loved doing it so much, but due to the many names she gave the previous children, she was running out of ideas for good names.
Mrs. Han bit her lips as she thought about it. She looked at the tiny stripped person sleeping peacefully in her embrace, searching. What to name you? She thought. Her eyes narrowed, and then her face brightened as she snapped her hoofs as the idea popped into her mind. "Tigress!" she declared.
Ding scoffed. "Tigress? That's the best name you can come up with?"
The sheep scowled at him. "If you don't like it then you name her."
Ding searched his mind. But he couldn't come up of a good one that'll suit the child. He sighed, "Fine. Tigress is it."
Han smiled in victory. "Good."
She decided that the tiger cub should sleep with her tonight, and for the next following nights for she needed proper supervision. Mrs. Han requested Ding to fetch a spare crib they had in the storage room and bring it to her room. The sheep gave the little cub a quick bath and wrapped her in clean new sheets. But Han didn't discard the cloths which the cub had been covered with for she might need them in sewing the infant new clothes.
Ding came inside the room carrying the object Mrs. Han requested him to retrieve. "Where do want this, Ma'am?" he asked his voice slightly strained as he struggled against the crib's weight.
"Near my bed, dear," Mrs. Han replied and Ding placed the crib close to her bed.
Yawning, the pig bade the caretaker goodnight before leaving for the Caretaker's Sleeping Quarters. Once he was gone, Mrs. Han placed the newest member of their "family" in the crib. The cub stirred a bit then gave a cat yawn. All of a sudden, the cub's eyelids twitched and after several blinks, she opened her eyes for the first time.
Han was so astounded by the color of the infant's eyes: scarlet cores set in a sea of golden-yellow. Like the view of the glorious form of the red sunset. Tigress reached her tiny paws up and Han dipped her head lower so that the cub's small paws placed themselves upon her nose. Tigress giggled and made cooing sounds as the both of them locked eyes.
She couldn't help but smile at the cub. She picked her up as she thrashed around and laughed. Mrs. Han blew a raspberry at the back of the feline's ear, making her giggle. The sheep chuckled. "Time for you to sleep, darling."
She hummed as she gently rocked Tigress to sleep. After a minute or two, Tigress' eyelids started to grow heavy and she gave a yawn. Then a few seconds later, she lay back against Han's arms as she rubbed her face into her chest, and finally fell asleep.
Mrs. Han deposited the infant into the crib, placed a kiss on her forehead and climbed into bed. "Good night, Tigress."
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