"What are you doing?", Tigress asked carefully while Master Shifu's right pinkie glid down along her spine.
"Watching and examine", he replied.
It was a warm, sunny morning, where he wanted to test every single one of the Furious Five, alone.
"Lift your shoulders up.", he criticized her again. Tigress sighed quietly, but followed his order.
The feline froze and he watched her stance for any flaws. Embarrassed as his hands touched her thighs lightly and moved them asunder, she turned her head away. She knew, she did it deliberatly, because he would do everything no matter what, to put her in the right fighting position.
Suddenly Master Shifu chuckled. "You blush."
She tried to appear cool as a cucumber. "That is news to me."
As she realized he smirked nontheless, she gave her words more utterance and said: "No, I don't." Tigress got back to her normal position. Master Shifu smiled and tapped his bamboo flute hard on her paw. She flinched back caused by the sharp pain, but kept still.
"You're allowed to leave."
The feline respired. The testing was over. But anyhow there was a mission she had to fulfil.
Tigress walked outside of the Hall of Training and gave Mantis a sign to step in.
"So?", Monkey asked.
She went on her knees and panted. She felt like her master had tortured her. Every single knuckle felt bloody and ailed.
"What's wrong Tigress?" Vipers anxious voice made her feel better. Tigress enjoyed having such a good friend.
"I'm tired.", she lied. To give her words more expression she added: "Exhausted. It was really hard work." She tried to smile.
"Oh yeah, you really look like.", Crane agreed. His friendly voice made her feel better too.
"But it was hard for me too!", he laughed and stepped forward.
The tigress didn't say anything. She really wanted to ask him something, but would he help her? She remembered Mei Ling's words: "If you don't try, you'll never know." And she was right.
"Crane", Tigress began. "I would like to ask you a favour." Her voice sounded too seriously, but it was very important.
"Of course, what's wrong?"
Her tail twisted itself; the feline was nervous. "Could you bring me to Chor-Com-Prison?"
No one breathed. Everyone looked at her as she were crazy.
"Is there something for you to look out?", a cold voice, cold as ice, asked her. Tigress slew and descried Master Shifu standing in the door with Mantis by his side.
She knew exactly, she would stutter, if she tried to talk, so she silenced.
"Crane, come with me.", the feline whispered, hopefully he would run away with her and hopefully, Master Shifu didn't hear that. But his left ear jerked.
This was their chance. There were only a few seconds left until she could forget her plan. A few seconds which decided whether her plan failed or worked.
"Go!" She shouted and grabbed Cranes chest to get away.
The sound of a sharp airbreeze let her know Master Shifu chased them. He was so fast!
And Tigress had to imagine how she could be faster with Crane in her claws. How lucky he didn't move against her grasp.
"Fly forward, crane! I need you!" She threw him above her head and he spread his wings out.
She jumped from roof to roof of the citizens' houses, so the skinny animal escaped from one of Shifus mighty strikes. Crane dived down to help her, but she was afraid the Red Panda could catch him instead of her. And she really needed him.
So she told him to go ahead. Suddenly in her jump something small landed on her back. She lost the balance, as he turned her around. Shifu had grabbed her top and pushed the young tigress down as they fell. She knew: When they reached the ground, he would use her to break the fall.
"You can't leave! A real warrior never quits!"
He had chosen the same words, he used when Po tried to get away.
"But I have to!", she said and did a hopeless try to get him away of her thorax.
"Then tell me why!", he demanded as they still fell.
Tigress' heart pounded. Her powers began to leave her and she didn't want to run away.
But I have to. I have to.
"I'm sorry master.", she whispered and pushed him away from her against a street lamp with a sharp bill. His garb ensnared itself at the blade and her master fell astern.
Tigress was so glad, Crane came and grabbed her shoulders to fly away with her. At least there were one friend she could count on. She looked back when he accelerated his wing flaps and left the valley of peace behind them.