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For years, no one ever really shared their stories with every member in the Palace... that, until Po came along. Before then, one member always had another member or two to confide in- whatever they wanted to talk about was always fell onto caring, listening ears, and kept save under the lock and key, and nothing was said unless it was in desperate need to. You'd think it'd take a while for them to open up. You're correct if you thought of it this way.

For Viper, she felt it was best if she spoke to Tigress about anything. Not just because she was the only other female inhabiting the Palace, but the little snake got a trustworthy vibe... and being from an old fashioned family, where the mother, or sister would be the number one go-to in times of need. You'd imagine what I'm trying to say in longer sentences, that Viper could only trust another female with her problems... or certain problems. Personally, in her opinion, she was far too embarrassed to talk to the other guys about certain... issues, only Tigress could answer or relate to, and was always happy coming out of their conversations.

Monkey had Crane... more for advice on future... jokes, on certain members of the palace. Crane knew when it would be okay or not. If it wasn't for the avian, Monkey would've been dead by every member in the palace years ago, if he went ahead with the honey bath prank...

Crane had Viper about his family problems. His relationship with his father wasn't always the best as he was barely home when the bird grew up, while the relationship he walked away from his mother was almost toxic if he stayed there. She was too protective, and nearly died when he brought his first girlfriend home. She felt replaced, and tried to control what they did. It destroyed the avian's relationship with the first girl he had ever been with. It took a long time, but with Viper's help, he was able to restore his relationship with her, but at the healthy level it should've been.

Po went to each off them about everything. He didn't just have one person to talk to. Simple.

Shifu was always a private man, but lent an ear to Po in his troubles... and complaints.

But there's always someone who takes longer to come out of the shell, and it's usually the very faults of their past that made it hard to surface. By now you should one person on your mind...

And it may not be who you're thinking!

Tigress had Viper, Crane, and Po. For Viper and Crane, they were able to keep their chats private and confidential, even from each other. As for Po, they had a lot of things in common. Both had been adopted, but led very different lives until Po came to the Palace. Even as an adult, Tigress tended to think about the who's, the why's, and what could've been different if she was never left at the orphanage. Po would support her on that with his own experience, but once commented that for both of them, they may have never came to the Palace. At the same time, Tigress commented she'd have more compassion and feelings to everyone, which Po did agree too. However, he ensured her that he, and the others wouldn't of wanted her in any different way.

When it came to Mantis, he... surprisingly enough, was a mystery. He was actually mute about almost everything...

Po pointed this out one morning when the bug decided to sleep in and skip breakfast, for the third time that week, and much to Po's worry, Mantis reassured him that everything was fine. No one pushed themselves upon the insect with anymore questions, and Po was dragged along so he couldn't pester Mantis any further.

No one listened to Po until then, and his statement made almost everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at him. Tigress continued to eat her tofu cubes, as if the Panda said nothing at all, but she did look up right on cue. Crane looked up at the same time, but he stopped eating, and then they all exchanged quick, silent glances.

"Oh come on," Po was close to sounding like a whining child. "Don't you think he has more to say?" He looked out the window with a curious sparkle in his eyes. "You know, more than his secret to mastering chat up lines?"

Viper laughed. "So saying a girl is 'the dumpling to my eye' is the top of all pick up lines?" Crane and Monkey immediately burst into laughter, recalling the time when Po tried to chat up Tigress on a dare. How he didn't lose his two front teeth then, or now only able to walk in a different stretch of time than the recent? Everyone thought it was a whole miracle in itself. "I wouldn't call that 'mastering' sweetie..."

Po chuckled, before smiling at Tigress nervously, when she raised an eyebrow, and crossed her arms, leaning back into her chair. She had a smirk on her face, but her eyes were fixed with slight annoyance.

"Anyways... seeing that we go to Mantis..." He paused when he felt Tigress, Crane, and Viper looking at him. "I mean... seeing that two, of us go to Mantis... isn't it strange he doesn't come to us when he needs to talk?"

Crane, Viper and Monkey shot the panda a look of touché, and then looked at Tigress. The feline sighed and stood up. "Start respecting his privacy, call me when you're ready." And with that, she was up and out of the room.

Tigress was walking towards the corner that guided her towards the bedrooms, and Mantis' closed, unlit door was slowly materializing in sight. She felt the sun's afternoon warmth crawling along the dark floorboards, and slowly crawling along the board until it was at the tips of her shoes. It was humid, benign, and welcoming... even better when you stood directly into the light, but even the lovely weather could have the other inhabitants dying from the heat, and the doors were always slightly open in order for the air that couldn't feel to come in and travel around to drag out any sweat, or unwelcoming smells that usually plagued the hallway.

The silence was unusually dissettling today, and she couldn't shake it away. Her eyes were drawn to one door.

Master Mantis.

She was just about to reach out to knock, but the sliding sound got there before her. Mantis watched her between the crack, and she saw him. "Tigress?" He said.

"Mantis." She gave a nod. "Is everything okay?"

The insect was only starting to nod, when he gradually stopped, sighed, and whispered. "Can I... talk to you?" Tigress paid more attention to the tone in his voice than the words that fell out of his mouth. He sounded tense, serious, and on edge. "In private?"

She looked up the hall, to make sure no one was lurking about. "Of course you can..." The insect opened the door a little wider, but then left it for her to open, and he backed up into his room, rotating his body and crawling back towards his small mat. He waited on his bed until she was in, and without having to ask, she shut the door. Turning on her heel, she wandered quietly, until she was knelling in front of him; on one knee, with her right forearm resting atop of that. "Is everything okay?"

Mantis' lips twitched a little off to the side. "I don't know... maybe if you answer my question, it can be..."

Tigress' head began to unbalance itself from the rest of her body, itching a little off to the left. That tone was a little tense; his voice sounded like it was going to break soon. There was a pause between his words, and a bit of a drag at the end, like he wanted to say more... but something was stopping him, but Tigress wasn't sure what it was. Could it have been Anxiety? He tended to get one or two tiny (not meant to be a pun :p) unwanted visits from that demon. Maybe it was, she thought pensively. But it could have something else put into the mix...

"Is it your fault if you let someone so close to you... go?"

Tigress leaned forward a little. "In... what way, exactly?"

Mantis swallowed back twice the amount of saliva to get the words out.

"Is it your fault... if you let someone so close to you... to let them die?"

Hope you like it so far.

More coming soon :)

Ciao!