The movement of carts and merchants could be heard from outside the open window. Golden Beams of lights streaming onto the prone form of a black mass. Lang slowly rose from his bed mat, giving a loud yawn as he rubbed the crust accumulated in his eyelids. He wasn't a morning person. He hated the slight burn in his eyes from the sun and stiffness of his bones. He would admit that he was getting old, but being reminded of it in the morning wasn't his ideal start to a day.
Rolling over, he planted his hands and feet on the wooden floor and arched his back. Giving a content sigh with every pop along his spine. It wasn't till a particular loud crack reverberated throughout the room made him stop in pain. He gave a loud yelp and instantly stopped his stretching, holding his back in pain. Giving a grimace, he listened to the citizens outside and a loud crash.
Apparently he was loud enough to be heard outside and cause surprise and a small incident. He hoped it wasn't too bad, since fingers would obviously be pointed at him when he walked out the apartment for being the perpetrator for the noise. Lang gave a chuckle. Age really did suck.
He got up and walked to a table that sat in the corner, holding his back the whole way. All of his things laid sprawled put atop it. A coin purse, and a small satchel bastardly kept together with poorly sewn leather. He had it for a long time, mostly holding food and a souvenir or two that he picked up. Though those souvenirs didn't last long since they broke during travel.
He dug into the satchel, pulling out a fresh, new shirt which he quickly replaced with his brown one. He did have an extra pair of pants as well, but he felt like reusing his current pair for another day. He really did abuse the rule of wearing the same pair of pants for more than one day. But hey, he only had two pairs so he had a right to.
He cautiously tested out his back, shirt stretching uncomfortably as he did so. They really didn't make many civilian clothes his size. Nodded his head with a smile, his back was holding out ok. He squeezed through the doorframe and began making his way outside. The apartments weren't built for species his size either.
Making it to the street he tried to appear inconspicuous, lightly whistling as he passed a few people with knocked over carts. He would help if he could but he needed to find himself a job. Traveling didn't really bring in money and this was one of the many towns he would settle in for a short time. There was the option to just up and rob a few stalls for money and supplies, but it didn't feel right to do so. So he needed to do it the original way, find a job. He used the last of his coin yesterday, a week after he met Tigress, and he already started feeling hungry.
After taking a few hours of searching the small city he was feeling a little disheartened. A lot of stall and shop owners either didn't have any jobs open or didn't wanted to hire him 'cause he was a wolf. But through all that he just grinned and bared it. Shocking people with his politeness was one of the many reasons he enjoyed being nice. It was always worth it to see their faces.
He was brought out of his thoughts rather abruptly by a feminine voice, "Hey!"
Lang turned his head, looking down the road at a small group of people and a large wagon. The voice came from a young looking panther standing beside a alligator holstering a sword at his hip and two boars. He guessed they were boys with the way they slouched around. He always found it hard to identify the difference of sex with those particular species. He once called a boar sir while asking for directions and got a hoof to the face. She was not happy.
He suppressed a giggle from reminiscent and walked over to them. The Panther raised an eyebrow as he got closer, "sorry, I made a mistake." She started scanning the surrounding area, "you can go."
Lang raised his eyebrow in return, "excuse me?" She returned her focus on him, giving a blank stare but sounding quite impatient, "I said you could go."
"Well, what you call me over for?" he asked, her attitude didn't seem very friendly.
She gave a sigh, "I need help moving some heavy cargo and the help I hired," she motioned to the two boars, "couldn't lift a box of silk if they tried."
One boar look dismayed and kicked the dirt while the other seemed angry, "I told you, there was a lot of material in that box! It's heavier than you think!" He snorted angrily at her in challenge to continue the argument.
She was more than willingly to oblige, "you dropped it, broke the crate, and ruined half of the merchandise!" She continued hotly, "that's why you are working for free the rest of the week."
Turning swiftly, the panther glared hard at him, "anything else you wanna say Cong." The boar did nothing but stand, glaring angrily at the ground muttering obscenities.
She ignored him and returned her attention back to Lang, "the only other help I got is Haung-fu here" she motioned to the gator with her head.
Haung-fu didn't seem bothered by his boss' anger, "my job is to protect your wares, not be slaved around with moving boxes." Crossing his arms, answer final.
She sighed, wiping her face hoping that would remove her rising stress. She was having a hard day and Lang could easily tell. He gave her a wolfish smile and opened his arms, as if showing that he was the answer, "I'd be happy to work for ya, if you'd have me that is."
Looking at him, she didn't seem very relieved, "that's nice of you but I need strong, capable hands with this job. I have a lot of business here I need done and you seem a little too…."She didn't want to be rude and she guessed Lang had already picked up on what she meant.
"Old?" Lang knowingly asked. She probably called for him because she thought he was younger from a distance. He wouldn't hold it against her though, every time he looked in a mirror he doubted the capability of the old canine staring back at him. He may be big but the visual sight of age really lowered the bar for any species.
All Lang did was continue smiling, not faltering in his happy visage, "I have more than enough capability to help ya." He gave his bisect a flex, showing a large bulge of muscle rise from under his coat of hair, "just because I'm old, doesn't mean I'll be down and out any time soon."
(!)
In the training hall of the Jade palace yelps of pain and screams of 'awesome' could be heard. The Furious Five, defenders of the city, masters in their own arts, protectors in the name of kung fu, watched the sight before them with varying thoughts.
"Guys! A little help please!" Po screamed as he was hit in the face by a revolving wood post, only to be knocked into another. He blocked a few of its hits and gave a yell of triumph before being hit in the crotch….again, "EEEeew-whowhowhoeewww"
Monkey covered his mouth from laughter along with Mantis, Crane subconsciously crossed his legs, Viper flinched, and Tigress face palmed. How could someone like Po defeat Tai Lung in the first place. She always wondered this while they trained, Po showing his incompetence every time.
"Training," She thought with slight disdain. Though it was one of they few ways that helped her think, doing it every day sun up to sun down began to bore her. Po's annoying screaming didn't help either. She respected him without question for Tia Lungs defeat, but him as a person bugged her. He is so childish, even having dolls of them kept in his room.
She pushed the thoughts away for the moment, "you need to stay focused Po. Don't get excited with every little achievement."
Po held his crotch in pain, giving only a nod to show he heard her. Tigress would have continued lecturing till the sound of the heavy doors interrupted. Master Shifu walked in, adorned in Oogway's old cloak and cane. He had taken Oogway's position as senior master of the Jade Palace shortly after the turtle's passing.
Even after the events of Tia Lung, Shifu still didn't change that much, "students, front and center." They all swiftly kneeled before their teacher except for Po, waddling over still holding himself. Tigress ignored him, focusing on the one word Shifu continued to call them. Students.
She had been training herself for years in the tiger style, even perfecting it in more than a few ways. Breaking open skin and bone to earn the title of master to show Shifu her capabilities. When earning the rank, Shifu continued to point out flaws in her movements and call her a meanly student. She wanted more, she wanted his acceptance, to be seen as his equal not a student.
"As you all know, its that time of the week again," Shifu hid a smile at their quiet groans. He remembered being Oogway's student and doing the weekly tavern rounds by himself. It felt good to be the one in charge of his own disciples now.
He turned to Po, it was his turn this week, "Po it's your tur-" he stopped at the sight before him and rubbed his eyes in annoyance. Maybe he needed to give Po more training before attempting the assignment again. "Viper if you wouldn't mind….?"
Viper glanced at Po, giving a huff in disappointment but gave an understanding nod none the less. She really hoped Po would get better in fighting soon, future plans for relaxation mentally put on hold. She slithered to the window after Shifu's dismissal and noticed the setting sun. She better get started.
Everyone else scattered after that, going to do their own business for the day. However, Tigress stayed until everyone left. As soon as they were all out of ear shot she instantly went back to the training posts to think.
One, two, three, kick….
Assaulting the post physically, Tigress lurched back into her thoughts. She needed to calm down, needed to control her anger.
One, two, three, kick….
Needed to work out her anger. She thought of Po and his failing attempts to learn, Shifu's ignorance of her skill.
One, two, block, kick….
Maybe Shifu wasn't ignorant of her capabilities, maybe she wasn't as good as she thought. That only made her madder. She focused her punches for killing blows. Moving swiftly and doubling her efforts.
One, two, kick, kick….
She would have to be better, try harder, push herself further.
Kick, one, two, block….
She would be better, she will prove herself. Prove that she deserved the title of master, that she had mastered her style, That she was as stronger than any other martial artist.
One, two, 'CRACK'
Tigress stopped instantly, surprised from the splintering of wood and the pain in her hands. Holding them closed in her armpits, she squeezed them hard in hopes to stop the pain. The training post was mangled and painted with rouge fist prints from who knows how long she was hitting for.
She pulled her paws into sight and looked at there bloody, shaking state. Tigress willed them to stop, but they ignored her and continued shaking uncontrollably.
She quickly ran outside into the pale moonlit night toward the medical room to treat them. If they got infected she wouldn't be able to fight or train for a while till they healed. Shifu would be disappointed at her lack of control on her emotions. Tigress didn't want that.
Sneaking into the medical wing of the living quarters, Tigress quickly started applying alcohol on her hands. She hissed in pain and gathered together some gauze. She was thankful for the doctors absence. If he had found out about the injury he would immediately inform Shifu.
When finished, Tigress made her way back to her room. She wasn't tired at all, but didn't have any other options for places to go. She looked down at her hands. They were still shaking and speckles of blood already started soaking through the amateurly wrapped gauze.
Tigress slid open her room door and dropped cross-legged on her bed mat. She didn't know what to do. Shifu was sure to find out about her hands and she loathed the thought of even imagining the disappointment on his face. There was no way of hiding it, with training everyday and all.
The only option there was to accept it and tell Shifu what she had done. She wished she could go to someone else for answers, but the only people she could think of were the rest of the Five and Po. They definitely wouldn't help her. At least, that's what she thought.
Shifting her form, Tigress' hand landed on a soft, tough cloth. She grabbed it and brought it up to her face in confusion. It was a heavy, black cloak and she took a moment to rake her brain for any indication of its origin.
"Lang…."
(!)
"What am I even doing here?" she thought out loud as she stood out side the same tavern where she met Lang. She hadn't even bothered learning the name last time which she now knew was 'The Jade Corner'. The thought of even slightly thinking of the bar to comparison to the Jade Palace was comical at best.
She held the folded cloak under her shoulder and slowly walked through the swinging doors. Her senses were assaulted immediately by the sent of alcohol and the sounds of customers.
"All I'll do is return the cloak and go back ," She thought to herself. Though that wasn't the reason initially, she wanted to take up his offer and talk to him. She mentally fought herself the whole walk here, and wouldn't admit that she wanted to talk.
She shook her head, trying hard to focus now, "just return the cloak and leave."
She walked further into the bar and scanned the room and its inhabitants. The usual sight greeted her, alligators, boars, bulls, and a wolf or two but not the one she was looking for. The tiger continued her search when her eyes landed on Viper sitting in the same corner she herself had sat in last.
Viper seemed just as surprised and waved her over with a flick of her tail. The kung fu master moved forward until catching the sight of Viper grow stiff after looking behind Tigress.
Tigress felt a presence loom over her and she instantly retaliated when a hand landed on her shoulder. She grabbed it, ignored the pain in her hands, and shifted her weight as she threw the owner of the hand over her shoulder and onto a table. Dust and debris cloaked the assailant where he landed. Viper slithered by her side instantly and took a fighting stance along with Tigress.
They were more than surprised when a scratchy, choked bark of a laughter erupted from the wreckage. Tigress immediately dropped her stance, "Oh no." She walked toward the dropped form and gave him a helping hand.
"Haha 'cough' ha, jeez girl you sure got an arm," Lang sputtered out while holding his back in slight pain as she helped him up. That panther wasn't kidding when the cargo was heavy and he was already close to throwing out his back. That little bit of air time almost did it too, but he wouldn't let Tigress know that.
Viper slithered up next to them voicing her confusion, "do you know this man Tigress?"
"Yeah, he's an….acquaintance." She only met him once and didn't exactly know what to call him.
Lang happy domineer deflated slightly, "ahhhh, come on. I'd say were friends, you even came to visit." He was instantly happy again and gave a eye smile with his uncovered eye.
Viper raised a nonexistent eyebrow at the wolf's strange attitude and glanced at Tigress, who in turn was just as perplexed.
"Actually, I came to return something of yours," She picked up the folded cloak she dropped and gave it to the old canine.
He gave it a quick look over, "oh, my cloak. You didn't need to do that, in fact" he handed it back to her, "you can have it. I planed on buying another one when I gave this to you so you might as well still keep it." he gave a grin, "you'll need it tailored to fit but I bet it suit you perfectly."
Tigress didn't know what to say. She was about to hand it back immediately but he stopped her, "well lets all have a seat shall we, I mean you to little miss." he indicated to Viper. Everyone was staring at them because of their little incident and Lang wanted normalcy to return as quick as possible. His back was also a reason, he really needed to sit down.
Dragging them, Lang sat the duo down at their old table, "know, how do you two know each other?"
After some time, explanations were complete and Lang had broken the ice with one of his old childhood stories. During so, Lang had paid the waitress for the damages which Tigress was completely against the idea of him paying for something she caused. Lang talked her down, saying it was his fault for walking towards a kung fu specialist from behind.
It was now that Viper took notice of Tigress' hands, "Tigress what happened?" Lang stopped sipping his alcohol and noticed her hands as well.
Tigress was caught and she knew it, "I….I lost control" she continued, "I had a lot on my mind and thinking of all of it mad me angry." Lang's face was oddly devoid of any emotion and Viper listened intently, wanting to know what happened to the fellow master.
Tigress didn't know why she was telling them this. Usually, she would tell others to buzz off and mind their own business. But it just felt…good. Good to let it out, like she was having a weight lifted off her shoulders.
"I tried more training to help, but that only made me go over edge and hurt myself," She began to feel angry, "I know this will disappoint Shifu greatly with my loss of control, I don't want that."
She felt a firm hold on her shoulder from Lang, "It's alright to feel mad sometimes and it's good to let it out. Whether by talking about it, or blowing off some steam." Tigress didn't look at him but he knew she was listening, "You're still young and it's alright to make mistakes. That's how you learn and grow, it's from those mistakes that you can better yourself, to make yourself stronger."
Tigress didn't speak, Lang's words fought against her negativity and doubt. All she could do was sit mesmerized as they combated each other.
Lang could tell of the inner conflict and decided to leave her alone for now, "that goes for you too, Viper."
Viper only stared, mouth hanging slightly ajar before closing it and nodding dumbly. His words greatly reminded her of Master Oogway. Old age was really cool in a way, besides the loss of some abilities anyway.
Lang gave a large bark, quickly gaining both master's attention. He held his back painfully and punched his leg in an effort to try and deal with the pain. He noticed their slightly worried faces and instantly tried to divert their attention.
The wolf schooled his features, masked his pain with a smile and gave a large laugh, "Now which of you two want something to drink, I wanna see ya try some alcohol Tigress."
The two instantly forgot about the wolf's pain. Tigress gave a disgusted grimace, while Viper looked quite interested.
"Oh, my back…" Lang frowned mentally.
(!)
(A/N)
And so are story continues…