WELL, after the absolutely wonderful feedback I got from my last story, and the fangirly joy I get from this pairing, I decided I needed to keep writing. So I started a mini prompt table! :D There'll only be ten, so it won't be long at all. The table was found over at the 10iloveyou LiveJournal community, the theme being "Mystic." SOOO, that all being said, I really hope you guys like what I have to dish out here, and pleeeaaase let me know what you think C:

Prompt 001 . S a n c t u a r y .

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The Dragon Grotto was a place Oogway had spent most of his time. Shifu had accompanied him there on a number of occassions, but he'd never liked it much. Of course it was beautiful, tranquil, but something about it never made him feel comfortable. It was itoo/i peaceful, and at the time, he was everything but. Still guilt ridden even though Tai Lung was in prison, even though his master tried to reassure him that the dark path the leopard had chosen to take was no one's fault but his own. It seemed nothing could quell the regret he felt deep in his heart with each passing day. His meditation decreased drastically, so he tried to avoid places like the grotto.

Now, however, was a different story. After Po had defeated Tai Lung, Shifu was at last free to conquer inner peace, something Oogway had so wanted him to be able to achieve. He'd felt sad that it took so long for him to do so that his master could not be there to witness it, but that was how it had to be, he supposed. Things almost never turn out the way you think they will. For example, never in a million years did he think he'd ever train a panda to become China's greatest warrior. Or that said panda would get him to open up to someone in a way that he hadn't since Tai Lung. For it wasn't Po defeating him that had brought Shifu peace, but Po himself. He was the first to make Shifu smile again, the first to let him believe in himself as a teacher once more. Where he'd blocked everyone else out, Po had wormed his way in with his earnesty, kindness.. and eventually love.

And that was what had done it. The moment Shifu realized he was able to trust someone again, enough to let himself succumb to love, was the moment he'd attained peace with himself, his past, and the present. It wasn't long after that the grotto became his favorite place to go. If he wasn't at the palace, he was there. Sometimes Po would join him, either to meditate, or just sit together at the edge of the cave and enjoy the view. On a few occassions, they'd fallen asleep there together. Shifu was always the first to nodd off, usually against Po's arm, only to wake up being held flush against him, the giant panda snoring away.

Once, Tigress had ventured up there looking for the two of them, only to find Po asleep against a rock and Shifu curled up in his lap, just barely awake. His immediate reaction when he first saw her there was that of fear. He went rigid, and the two of them simply stared at one another for a solid few seconds. But then she smiled, nodded, and left again.

Since then, it was only in the case of an emergency did anyone else ever come up there. So the cave was very much his and Po's. A little haven that embodied the peace Shifu at last felt, shared with the one who'd enabled him to grasp it.