Author's Note: Yum Cha, literally 'tasting tea' in Cantonese, is a meal similar to the English tea time. Instead of scones, sandwiches, and the like, Yum Cha's tea is served with little dumplings called Dim Sum; each filled with different ingredients (ranging from spicy, hot, sweet, pungent, or just plain weird), served in (what seems to me) a never ending amount of courses. I got the idea from reading a couple of very well done drabble/one shot short series over in the Avatar: The Last Airbender section, and noticed that the Kung Fu Panda section was severely lacking. (shipping is fun and all, but come on everyone, there's a wider world to explore here!)
So, I'm going to help fill the void and take a crack at it myself, with a 50 sentence variety challenge as the first course. Enjoy!
#01- Ring
Hearing the morning gong's clear note ring over the valley wasn't the real wake up call for the Five, but it certainly signaled the time to be ready for whatever the day might bring.
#2- Hero
It's at age thirteen when Po- voice cracking awkwardly and hitting (another) growth spurt- begins his love affair with the world of Kung Fu, for the first time imagining that there could be something more for him than just noodles.
#3- Memory
When questioned by Po about the little beads that adorn the end of her tail, Viper smiles and remembers aloud the great victories they represent, while privately remembering the one unmarked victory that started them all.
#4- Box
It was the spring of Tigress' ninth year when she discovered Shifu's box of treasures- letters carefully rolled up, the bamboo flute, a portrait of a much younger version of him and a woman she did not know, a worn out looking stuffed animal- and realized she was going to be in big trouble for peeking before she carefully put the box back.
#5- Run
Running was never something that pandas were particularly skilled at, but fleeing for her infant son's life made the young mother reach speeds she never thought was possible.
#6- Hurricane
It was when she had first correctly predicted a terrible typhoon coming as a child that started Nima on her quest to become the Soothsayer that she is today.
#7- Wings
It's well known that Rhinos do not have wings, but when out in a battlefield, it was Khünbish's great flying leaps that earned him the name of Master Flying Rhino.
#8- Cold
It was a madness most discreet, the Soothsayer noted, as she looked upon her one time ward; one could only tell it lurked there in the cold, detached expression in Shen's eyes.
#9- Red
When Viper flashed her red ribbon and offered to use it as a makeshift jump rope, Tigress couldn't help the grin on her face as she accepted the offer for what it was: her first real friend.
#10- Drink
Alcohol and the Furious Five, Mantis decided, most definitely did not play nicely together- he and Monkey were the only ones even remotely unscathed by last night's party, and no one could give a scowling Master Shifu a straight account as to what exactly happened last night.
#11- Midnight
Night was always a great cover for stealth missions, and no one could use a moonless midnight to their advantage quite as well as the Wu sisters.
#12- Temptation
It was such a temptation- but after one peek in the bathhouse (which resulted in the righteous fury of the girls and a heck of a beating for him) Po decided that peeping at Viper and Tigress would no longer be so tempting...
#13- View (companion to #12- Temptation)
He had to admit that the view he had was awesome, even if both his eyes were now hopelessly swollen shut.
#14- Music
No one outside a few trusted members of the pack knew, but of the things brought back from the Musician's village the Wolf Boss kept a Fangxiang from the melting pot for himself.
#15- Silk
Lord Shen fumed as he changed into a fresh pair of robes- yet another set of fine silks ruined by that crazy old goat!
#16- Cover
Okay, Po had to admit how silly it was, but the dragon/lion costume really was all he could come up with for cover during 'Stealth Mode'...
#17- Promise
"You are destined for greatness," Shifu would promise with a proud smile, and as Tai Lung grew, so too did the notion that promised that there was nothing he couldn't do...
#18- Dream
Mr. Ping Wei laughed at his son, not unkindly- "What a silly dream, my son, making tofu over noodles!"
#19- Candle
The task of lighting all those candles surrounding the Moon Pool now lay to Shifu, and it pained him to add one more to the collection in memory of Oogway.
#20- Talent
Shifu loathed admitting it, but he was both greatly disappointed and immensely relieved that not one of the Five bore quite the same rapid growth and raw talent as Tai Lung.
#21- Silence
Sometimes when it came to Po's antics, silence was golden for Tigress- all she really could do in most cases was simply smack her forehead in disbelief, words failing her in the face of his stunts.
#22- Journey
"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step," Oogway comforted the frustrated young red panda, and was rewarded with a smile of determination as Fu got up and tried again.
#23- Fire
"Now you know, son," Mr. Ping patted young Po's chubby arm while trying to clean up the now ruined kitchen, "sesame oil is highly flammable!"
#24- Strength
There had been times Tigress had despised her abnormal physical strength, but now- as she anchored herself to the edge of the cliff and prepared to pull on the chain that the rest of the Five made up to rescue Po from an early death- she was deeply grateful for it.
#25- Mask
When asked by a fellow student if he missed his family, Fu slipped on a not so believable mask of indifference and shrugged the question off, too proud even at age five to admit to his friend that sometimes at night he still cried for mother.
#26- Ice
A loud, alarming CRACK! split the chilly winter air before Shifu finally cursed his decision to cross a frozen lake with a fat panda in tow.
#27- Fall
Monkey had long ago renounced his hooligan ways, but he couldn't help himself as he slipped one last prank intended banana peel in the approaching Dragon Warrior's path.
#28- Forgotten
It had been years since Crane had seen Mei Ling, but he never forgot her as the one to inspire him to pursue his own undiscovered talent in Kung Fu... though he had quite forgotten the little crush he had once had for her.
#29- Dance
It had all started with a little dance... and when Viper's father finally noticed his daughter's grace (in fighting a gorilla with nothing more than her cunning and her ribbon!) he realized that- venom or no venom- she was meant for greatness.
#30- Body
When questioned, Po had to tell the truth: "I honestly have no idea what happened to Tai Lung..."
#31- Sacred
It took a lot of discipline to keep his voice calm as he scolded Po- "Panda, we do not wash our pits in the Sacred Pool Of Tears."
#32- Farewells
Watching Oogway ascend in a swirl of light and peach blossoms, Shifu felt that this farewell was the worst of all the painful goodbyes he'd accumulated in his lifetime.
#33- World
Oogway knew the Wu Dan mountain would be a world away from everything that any of the students had seen- and it was a pleasure each and every time to see the bright faces of his students light up when they saw nature's untouched beauty.
#34- Formal
The Winter Festival had always been a formal affair at the Jade Palace, but when it was held at Mr. Ping's Tigress realized just how much she liked the holiday when all formality fell away and joyous festivity reigned supreme.
#35- Fever
Desire coursed through Tai Lung's veins, running hotter and higher and burning visibly in his eyes until he felt he was slipping into a dangerous but intoxicating delirium for want of the Dragon Scroll.
#36- Laugh
Master Thundering Rhino couldn't help but laugh at the rather childish pout Shen sported; "You might be heir to the throne here in Gongmen City, but you are mistaken in believing I'll let you off easy in your requested training!"
#37- Lies
His words dripped honey and acid all at once as he spoke to the panda about parental love and the lack thereof, and the longer he spoke, the more Shen wondered who he was really lying to.
#38- Forever
After the first three hundred years of witnessing him, everyone through the Empire and beyond thought that the ancient Grand Master Oogway would go on living forever; even Shifu didn't really believe his beloved master was serious whenever Oogway spoke of his own end.
#39- Overwhelmed
Po, as sociable as he was, found that he was starting to get overwhelmed with the hero worship he was suddenly receiving whenever he stepped foot outside his own village.
#40- Whisper (companion to #16- Cover)
"So that was stealth mode, huh?" Crane whispered sarcastically, to which Po could could only shrug and mumble that stealth wasn't exactly his strong point.
#41- Wait
"One often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it," Oogway sighed as he cautioned his old friend, knowing that his advice had arrived too late to do much good.
#42- Talk
The three snow leopards had heard plenty of talk and rumors about themselves, and were pleased with the reputation they had managed to build- after all, it made their targets (who normally wouldn't fear even one woman, never mind three) quake in fear just at the very mention of The Sisters Wu.
#43- Search
Monkey miraculously never noticed the horrified/guilty look the panda sported (or the crumbs for that matter) when he asked, "Po, do you have any idea where my almond cookies have gone?"
#44- Hope
Po had been the regional symbol of hope and peace when he had defeated Tai Lung, he just hadn't expected to go on to become a national symbol when he defeated Lord Shen's attempted coup.
#45- Eclipse
"It is my fondest hope and belief," Oogway confided once to a wide eyed young Tai Lung, "that the Dragon Warrior's reputation and abilities will eclipse my own."
#46- Gravity
To the awestruck children that watched the tournament, it seemed as if each of the Kung Fu warriors defied gravity right from their very entrance into the arena.
#47- Highway
Po had no trouble what-so-ever in complaining to the Furious Five just how hard of a journey it was for him as they traveled to Gongmen City: "After we kick butt and take names, I'm going to try to convince somebody to build a couple of decent roads out here!"
#48- Unknown
Sometimes, Tigress would lay awake at night and wonder about what might have been, had Oogway really been pointing at her during the Dragon Warrior tournament.
#49- Lock
"He won't be picking this lock," Vachir boasted, rapping his knuckles against the acupuncture shell that bound the criminal in question, "He'll be kept securely 'till Heaven and Earth pass away!"
#50- Breathe
When Shifu finally (finally) told her he loved her and was proud of her, Tigress suddenly felt as if her stifled spirit could at last relax in the warmth of those wonderful, longed for words and simply breathe.