~Kitty~
This is a request from Crystalix (sorry if I spelled that wrong ^^) that I couldn't get out of my head! Thanks -.- Lol, jk. But still, I liked the idea!
Xue is an albino little snake girl Mantis and Viper adopted on a mission when her birth mother died. The father is out of the picture, the woman rumored to be raped. She is smaller than snakes her age, with no venom, very small fangs, white scales, and red eyes. She has dyslexia and a few other disabilities to be named later, but, like Mantis and Viper, I wouldn't have her any other way ^^ Please don't use her without my permission!
~Kitty~
"... And then she likes to have a snack before bed."
"And make sure she has a bath every night! ... Good luck, Po."
"And here are her special glasses in case the sun gets too bright*."
"Oh, and don't let her train on anything accept the dummy, or she'll hurt herself."
"Dear gods, if you let her get hurt, I will end you, Po."
Po held his paws in front of him. "Geez guys, I've got it! You already gave me a list..."
"And that's your game plan!" Mantis shouted, hugging the six-year-old Xue protectively against him. "Learn it, live it, love it!"
"Relax, bro," Po smiled. "I've babysat before."
"For the dyslexic child of two kung fu masters?" Monkey asked, severely doubting Po would survive the week they were to be gone.
Po paled. "I'm going to die, aren't I?"
"Either from Xue or Mantis," Crane shrugged. "Good luck."
"That reminds me," Mantis said, "you need to practice her alphabet with her every day."
Xue smiled. "I gots ta G taday." She then frowned. "I'm... I'm gonna m-miss you guys," Xue sniffed. "Why does the b-bad aminals gotta be bad?"
"It's animals, sweetie," Viper corrected, slithering over and fixing Xue's black snowflake head-dress. "And they just are. That's why we have to put them away so they can't hurt anyone."
"Alwight," she smiled. She slithered over to Monkey. "Bye-Bye, Uncie Monkey."
He laughed. "Bye, Xue-Xue. Don't let Uncle Po into my cookies, 'kay?"
She nodded and made her way to Crane. He picked her little form up in his wings, tickling her. She giggled. "Bye, Uncle Cwane."
"See ya, squirt," he chuckled, handing her to Tigress.
Xue whispered something to her, and Tigress's eyes widened. "But-" Xue interupted her and continued whispering. Slowly, a smile crept on Tigress's face. It turned into a smirk as she kissed Xue on the forehead. "You got it."
Xue giggled. "Tank you, Auntie Tigwess."
"No problem," she smiled, setting her down to Mantis.
He tried to look brave, but the others knew that he didn't want to leave her. He hadn't ever since she had been adopted for more than a couple of hours. "Heh, Daddy and Mommy will be back before you know it, honey."
"'Kay, but twy not t-ta hurt the aminals too bad."
"Animals, sweetie," Viper corrected, sweeping her in for a hug. "And we promise we'll punish them justly, if you promise to behave for Uncle Po."
"Deal!" Xue giggled.
They waved as the Furious Five decended the stairs. Po looked to the list for guidance. It said that Po needed to supervise her training. He also remembered that it had to be on the dummy.
"Okay Xue, how about we head to the Training Hall and work on your fighting skills?" he asked with a grin.
"I'd love that!" she grinned.
They went to the Training Hall together. Xue immediately attacked the dummy as soon as she laid eyes on it. Po was surprised by her strength and skill. She was six and she was better at beating that thing than he was!
"So, uh, I guess there was no Level Zero for you, huh?"
She giggled. "Daddy t-tolded me about that." She then glowered and preformed a whip that made a cut in the dummy.
"Woah!" Po shouted, hopping from one foot to the other. "That was totally awesome!"
"Tanks," she smiled.
"It's thanks, Xue," Po corrected. He then looked devious. "Wanna see me try it?"
"Sore," she nodded, moving out of the way.
As Po jumped around shouting random things and doing all but attacking the dummy, Xue found herself bored. She started to wander off, deciding to check out the adult training equipment. She often found herself in different places with no recollection of what lead her to get there**. Sometimes Daddy would get angry with her, but he wasn't there. With Po distracted, she slowly approached the wooden warriors. She let her curiousity get the better of her and reached out to touch the shiny spikes...
"Xue!"
Faster than she could comprehend, a strong arm yanked her out of the course. She looked into the gentle-yet-scolding eyes of Tigress. She shrunk. "I-I just wanted t-ta know what you... twained on..."
"What I train on is dangerous for little girls," Tigress said, dropping Xue by a nervous looking Po, who had stopped making goofy faces at the dummy. Her gaze hardened as she looked at Po. "What are you doing? Xue could have been hurt!"
"Hey, I turn around for two seconds and she's gone! Totally not my fault," he defended himself. Unknown to them, Xue had already decided that she was bored again and quietly slithered off.
"A child with her disabilities needs to be watched all the time," Tigress glared. "If Mantis and Viper could see you now..."
"That reminds me..." Po tilted his head. "Weren't you supposed to be with the others on your way to the Imperial City by now?"
"Oh, Xue's little mastermind came up with that," Tigress smirked. "She talked 'gong gong' into letting me stay here."
"Why not Mantis and Viper?"
Tigress frowned. "Yeah, why not-?" She froze when she looked in the direction Xue was supposed to be in. "Shit!" she quietly cursed.
"What was that about her needing to be watched all the time?" Po teased.
Tigress glared. "Barely the time, Po!"
She and Po tore up the place looking for the lost albino. She wasn't in the Training Hall, any of their rooms, the courtyard, the kitchen, or the Hall of Heroes. Po was freaking out, but Tigress tried to keep a level head. Po knew that if anything happened to Xue, it would be on his head, which would no longer be on his body when Mantis and Viper were done with him.
"Oh my gosh, I'm too young to die! This is all my fault! We've got to find her, like, now before she gets hurt, or-"
SLAP!
Po rubbed his cheek. "Thanks, I needed that."
"Anytime." Tigress breezed past him, opening the large doors and joggiing down the steps. "Come on; like you said, we have to find her soon."
Po nodded and followed her. "But where do we look?"
"The Peach Tree."
As they came closer, they could hear the music of a very familiar bamboo flute being played. Once they got close enough to see the scene, Po let out an "Aw!" and Tigress smiled. The sun was setting as peach blossoms gently fluttered to the ground. Xue was curled in the lap of Master Shifu, swaying to the gentle music and occasionally yawning. Master Shifu had his eyes closed, but he knew that the two of them were watching because his large ear twitched. He finished his song, placing his flute down and picking up the sleepy snake. He walked over to them, smiling.
"I see Xue told you that you could stay, Tigress," Shifu said, handing the snake to his daughter.
"Tank you for the p-pwetty moosic, gong gong," Xue mumbled, then started to hum the song quietly to herself.
Po laughed. "She's so cute."
"She needs a bath," Tigress smirked.
Xue shot straight up. "NO! I good!"
Tigress giggled, shocking Po and Shifu. "No way. Straight to the hot springs for you!"
Po cast a glance at Shifu as she carried the little snake off. "Did you know that Tigress could be that motherly?"
"Not really," Shifu confessed, nose twitching with curiosity.
"Well, I'm going to make lunch," Po said, starting to walk off. He stopped and looked back. "Thanks for finding her, by the way."
Shifu smiled. "Oh no, she found me and demanded I play her a song."
Po smiled and continued on his way to the kitchen.
~Bathhouse~
"Come here, you!"
"Ah! Auntie Tigwess, stop! You know I'm ticklish! EEP!"
"Oh really? I had no idea!"
Xue laughed uncontrollably as Tigress tickled her stomach. She grabbed her head-dress and set it down, picking up the giggling snake and setting her in the water. She grabbed a rag and put a little soap on it, gently cleaning her scales.
"I alweady miss M-Mommy and Daddy," Xue said. She sneezed, rubbing her nose. Tigress frowned. Xue had been sneezing all day, and Tigress was starting to get worried.
"Don't. They'll be back in no time. But are you feeling okay?"
"My throat is hurting a l-little, and I is a little-"
"I am, Xue," Tigress gently corrected her.
"... Right, I am a little st-stuffy."
"It sounds like you're getting a cold," Tigress frowned. 'Or the flu,' she added mentally. No need to worry Xue, though.
"Daw, I's-"
"It's just I."
"-I don't wanna b-be sick!"
"Well, if you are, you'll be back in the Training Hall in no time," Tigress smiled, knowing that Xue enjoyed training just as much as she did when she was the tiger's age.
"I's-"
"I."
"-Ri-Right, I better be."
Tigress smiled sadly. Not only was Xue's spelling and speech bad, but her immune system wasn't the best. Xue must have had very bad genes. Only the mother was known, and Viper had said that she looked perfectly fine. It must have been from her father's side.
"C'mon, lets go get something to eat and get to bed, alright?"
Xue smiled as Tigress helped her dry off. "Oka-" A sneeze interupted her.
Tigress couldn't help but let concern and worry take over.
~Kitty~
Dyslexia is attributed to neurological factors that influence the individual's ability to read, write, and spell written language. Experience of speech acquisition delays and speech and language problems can be due to problems processing and decoding auditory input prior to reproducing their own version of speech, and may be observed as stuttering, cluttering or hesitant speech.
* Scotopic sensitivity syndrome- a term used to describe sensitivity to certain wavelengths of light which interfere with visual processing.
** Developmental dyspraxia- a neurological condition characterized by a marked difficulty in carrying out routine tasks involving balance, fine-motor control, kinesthetic coordination, difficulty in the use of speech sounds, problems with short term memory and organization are typical of dyspraxics.
My little cousin has dyslexia, scotopic sensitivity syndrome, and developmental dyspraxia. Guess who Xue is based off of? I love her to death, but we're always correcting her speech and helping her with her ABCs. Just because a child has a disability doesn't mean they can't be cute little buggers!
I love my Amanda-Ann and Xue!
~Kitty~
