A/N: This is my first Fanfic [well, first one to be published, anyways...] so please, give me a little leeway for error! I know I've made mistakes and I've got flaws in it that I didn't see. Also, I did my best to play cub Tigress in character, and I think I came fairly close.

Anyhoo, please drop by reviews! Criticism, especially of the constructive sort, is very welcome!

Disclaimer: I own nary a thing, save for my OC's, Jiang and Yi Shan, along with the Temple of The Singing Blades. [Crappy name for a temple, I know. It was what came to mind, though.]

Bao Gu Orphanage, twenty years ago…

"Aw, c'mon, Tigress! One more game?" The other tiger cub, a male, asked from his seat on the far side of the small table he and young Tigress were seated at. "We've been playing this silly game of yours all day! Can't we do something else?" She replied with a laugh. "Checkers isn't a silly game… But, you're right, I guess we could use a break." He said, running a paw through the thick fur covering the top of his head, then turning and sliding off his rough wooden stool and onto his paws.

Tigress grinned and hopped off her stool, then zipped around the table to the taller cub's side. "Do you think we could play hide-and-seek, Jiang?" She asked, beaming up at him. Jiang was a Amur tiger, and at seven years old, he was roughly a year older than her. The cub stood a good three inches over Tigress, and like her, possessed remarkable strength for his size. Unlike her, though, the boy was fully aware of his strength, and never failed to keep it in check. Ever since Jiang had been brought to the Orphanage three years ago, the pair of tiger cubs had been inseparable.

"Sure, Tigress! You hide first! I'll count to a hundred, then I'll come for ya!" The boy immediately turned and marched to the nearest wall, where he stood facing it, paws covering his eyes. "One… Two… Three…"

Tigress was out the door of the small room, down the hall, and off to find a hiding place, all before her friend finished saying 'Three'. She made her way to the kitchen, which, thanks to the fact that it was late evening and past suppertime, was utterly empty. She poked her nose around for a few moments, then decided that she'd hide best in the closet-sized pantry. She stealthily slid open the door, then ducked inside the pantry and shut the door.

The striped feline unsheathed her claws and ascended the wooden walls to the very top shelf of the pantry, where nothing but empty sacks were kept, as it was out of reach of the rabbit cook. She tucked herself into the shelf, confident that she would be well hidden within the darkness of her hiding place.

"Fifty-one, fifty-two, fifty-three, fifty… Huh?" Jiang cut himself off when he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder. He let his own paws fall to his sides as he turned around to face whoever was in the room with him.

His guest was a huge black panther, standing at about six foot five and possessing a powerful frame and dark green eyes, making him a very imposing figure to the young cub in front of him. He wore dark red slacks and a matching vest, which was beautifully embroidered along the collar and arms, and had the image of a dragon coiling about itself embroidered upon the back in black. A traditional bronze Jian, a double-edged Chinese longsword, was nestled into a leather holster upon his back, indicating that this man was a warrior.

"Who are you?" Jiang asked, pressing his back into the wall out of fear of the man. The panther paused a moment, then knelt down and mustered up a small smile. "My name is Master Yi Shan. I am here to take you to the Temple of the Singing Blades, young one."

"Bu…. But…." The boy was shocked. He wanted to be adopted, but he had promised Tigress that when he was adopted, he'd take her with him. In return, she had promised that if she was ever adopted, she would make sure that he came with her. At the absolute least, he wanted to tell her what was happening. "Can… Can I bring Tigress with me? Or at least tell her where I'm going?" He pleaded with the warrior kneeling in front of him.

"No, little one. I have room for only one more at the Temple. And we have many miles to travel before the night is out, and so we must leave now. But do not worry, you may send this 'Tigress' as many letters as you want." The panther assured him. Before further argument could be had from Jiang, the man rose to his feet and gently ushered him along, out the door. "But I promised!" He protested, even as he was ushered to his room, where he was given a bag to place his few personal belongings into. But the panther didn't seem to hear him, for he simply had Jiang finish gathering his things, then he led the cub downstairs, and straight out the front gates of Bao Gu.

Tigress stayed in that pantry for nearly three hours before she got bored and came out to search for Jiang. After searching the floor she had hidden on, she headed up to Jiang's room, and poked her nose in. It had never been well furnished, bearing only a mattress laying on the floor with a few sheets tossed over it, a crudely constructed table tucked into one corner with a equally shoddy chair slid into it, and having a single dresser, upon which Jiang had placed his diary, a few ancient but well-cared for action figures, and every gift she had ever given him, ranging from a tiny doll she had found to a collection of smooth and beautifully colored rocks she had plucked from a nearby stream.

But now it was even more poorly furnished, thanks to the absence of those few precious items that her cubhood friend had possessed. "Jiang?" She called into the room, hoping he'd pop out of nowhere, just like he normally did.

Instead, the only thing that answered her was silence. Heavy, unbearable silence. She stood there, staring into the room, for several more moments. "Excuse me, little one." A sheep said, scooting past her and into the room. "I've got to clean this room. What with that tiger adopted, it's going to go to one of the other Orphans." The fellow said, whipping out a feather duster, and going to work, not once noticing the utterly stunned expression playing out upon the girl's face.

But he promised! He promised he'd take me with him! She thought frantically, as she headed away from the room, wandering aimlessly about the orphanage. He broke his promise… Why? Why'd he do that to me!? No! It has to be some mistake, Jiang wouldn't leave! We're best friends! Tigress did her very best to console herself, but to no avail. Tiny tears slipped from the corners of the little one's eyes, as she finally came to grips with the harsh reality of the situation.

Jiang was gone, and he hadn't kept his promise.

And now she was alone at Bao Gu. Her only friend was gone.

/-\

"Tigress? Sister, are you OK?"

Tigress awoke to the combination of Master Viper's voice, and a gentle shake as her serpent companion used her tail to nudge her shoulder.

The feline master slowly nodded and sat up in her bed, rubbing her eyes with one paw. "Yes, Master Viper, I am fine. It was nothing." She said, hugging her blanket to her torso with one paw, a unnecessary act, since she was wearing a nightgown.

"Are you certain? You were tossing and turning, and muttering something. You've never done that before." Viper persisted. "It was little more than a dream, Viper, and dreams are meaningless. It was nothing."

The snake sighed and nodded, then slithered off Tigress's bed. "If you say so, sister." She replied, before slithering out the wood-and-paper door, flicking it shut behind her with her tail.

Once she was long gone, Tigress sighed and fell back in bed, letting a heavy sigh escape her. She had a extraordinary sense of time, and right now, she guessed that she had a hour before the morning gong rang. Since there was no way she was getting back to sleep, she [somewhat reluctantly] picked herself up out of bed, washed her face, dressed, and made her way to the training hall.

She needed to do something, anything, to get the events of her that horribly vivid replay of that depressing childhood memory out of her mind. And destroying a small army of training dummies seemed like just the right way to do that.

[Yes, it's short, but it's just the start. More to come, and soon!]