Okay, I apologize for the LONG wait. With school and all and Deviantart is just that awesome...But I'm just glad I finally had a chance to update this story.
PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!
_
Squirrel smiled at Panda, sliding her fingers through her long blonde hair as she smoothed her tunic and shorts. "Master Panda," she said finally, going on her knees and bowing before him.
The elderly panda gazed at his old student. She had grown into quite a young woman over the years. Her hair had become longer and more luxurious, her height made her almost as tall as him, her sparkling brown eyes shone in the sunlight, and she seemed to have applied some lipstick. He noticed the clothes she wore, and he completely understood why.
She was definitely grown up.
"Ah, have the years past since I last saw you, young Squirrel," Panda chuckled, "I welcome you back to the Valley." And he gave her his respected bow.
Squirrel smiled at her old master, the man that had started her life before she took on it and continued the rest. She gave a bow in return, locks of golden hair cascading across her face.
"It's great to be back, master," Squirrel told him. She turned to Skunk and the others and smiled. "Hi."
It took a few moments before Skunk could regain himself as he finally blinked and started smiling nervously.
"Hi," he greeted, blushing. Never had he seen a face so beautiful...
"This is truly wonderful!" Panda exclaimed happily. "I will tell the rest of the Valley on your return, and we will have a big feast to celebrate!" He motioned
for Squirrel to follow him. "This way, young Squirrel. Mrs. Duck and Turtle will certainly be pleased to see you."
"I can't wait to see them," Squirrel said happily as she followed her master, the other animals behind her.
Skunk kept his eyes trained on Squirrel during the walk, he barely blinked as he watched her lush tail swish back and forth and her blonde hair motioning as she walked gracefully.
"She's just so..." Skunk managed to say as he walked beside Rabbit as they trailed behind Squirrel, "so...so pretty..."
"No, duh, genius," Rabbit said. He smirked as he watched Squirrel's soft tail move up and down as she walked. "I'll tell you one thing...we sure got nothing
like that here in the Valley; it's almost impossible to believe she came from here." He gave Skunk a playful but warning shove as he walked ahead of him to get a better view of Squirrel. "Sorry, squirt. Tall, curvy, and gorgeous is right for the picking."
Skunk seethed as he rubbed his arm. "Dream on..." He muttered.
When they informed the other Valley animals and Squirrel was reunited with Mrs. Duck and Turtle, preparations were made and soon a big feast was
cooked.
"Oh, Squirrel," Mrs. Duck sighed as she stood by the young girl as they began baking in the kitchen, "have the years passed and look how grown up you are.
You certainly blossomed into such a woman...just as you started when you were eight."
Squirrel blushed. "It's been such a long five years, Mrs. Duck, and I've seen so much during my world travels." She began stuffind a thick piece of dough
with chunks of meat.
"I say," Mrs. Duck said as she watched Squirrel prepare the unusual meal, "what is that you're making?"
"It's called calzone," Squirrel explained, "really good Italian food."
"Just as you were when you were a little girl," Mrs. Duck chuckled, "you have such an advanced mind."
Dinner had been prepared and soon everyone was seated around the dining area; Squirrel sat as the guest of honor with the elders. She smiled at the group of animals she knew only little about when she was younger. She spotted Rabbit and Fox and tried not to giggle; the fight scene was still fresh in her mind after all these years.
"She sure is pretty," Ox said as he sat with all the other young animals at a nearby table.
"Yeah," Bird said, giving off a whistle. "A real dame."
Panda tapped a spoon to a cup, calling for the others' attention. Standing up and clearing his throat, he began to speak.
"A lot of you are still wondering who this young lady is," Panda began as he motioned to Squirrel, "and you have every right to be..." He closed his eyes for a few moments, then he continued his monologue. "She was an old student I had found fifteen years ago, back when most of you were still children..."
The animals murmured amongst each other, recalling the past and how they had never even seen Squirrel during that time. Confusion rose among them as well as curiosity to why the elderly panda had hid this from them until now.
"How come we haven't heard of her until now?" Fox asked. Her eyes glazed over to Rabbit, who was busy smirking at Squirrel as well as winking at her every now and then.
Panda sighed, clasping his hands together. "With Dragon turning to the dark side and many of you who were young back then were in great danger, I couldn't bare to endanger another child." He gave an apologetic smile to Squirrel. "So until she was ten, we three masters had trained her and raised her in secret, until finally we realized that she deserved the finer things the Valley couldn't offer."
Squirrel regarded her old master. It must have pained him to let her go like that. But he knew definitely that the Valley life just wasn't her cup of tea entirely and she was eternally grateful that he had sent her out into the world outside of the Valley. A lot of things have changed in her growing life...
"But I'm here now," Squirrel said finally, giving Panda an assuring smile. "And this place has offered me so much since I came back." She raised her glass to make a toast to her master as well as the the animals themselves. "It's good to be home."
And the others raised their glasses in agreement and soon everyone began eating.
_
"And here is your new home," Panda told Squirrel as they looked up at a big tree, "the finest tree in the Valley."
Squirrel looked at the tree with fascination. It was more enormous then those trees of the woods, and the texture of the wood was healthy and strong. She would make a find home out of it.
"I love it, master," she said. "Boy, I can't wait to make adjustments on this!"
"Adjustments?" Panda asked, looking at her.
"You know, make it into a house," she explained, "I placed all my things in the woods before seeing you guys, my tools are in the stash. I'll be able to make this treehouse into a gleehouse by the end of the day." She showed him a magazine. "To look something like this."
Panda took the magazine in his hands and looked at it in pure amazement. Such an interesting article Squirrel must have possessed from the 'outside world'; the glamorous and extraordinary things he noticed on only once picture in this magazine.
Truly, Squirrel had let go of her 'Valley girl' character and had given herself a life of luxury and prosperity.
He chuckled. "Ah, Squirrel, certainly the advanced one, yes?"
"Just keeping up with the generation, sir," she said, "not that I'm saying you guys are way behind the generation..." She chose her words carefully, knowing how precious the life of the Valley was to the elderly panda.
"Well," he said, "I'll be happy to lend a helping hand, and so will the other animals." He looked over to some bushes. "Isn't that right Skunk?"
The bushes shuffled and out popped Skunk's head, his face completely red. He chuckled nervously as he gave a shy wave to both Squirrel and Panda.
Apparently, Squirrel had many interesting possessions as the Valley animals began hauling things into her home. They were amazed at the changes Squirrel had done to the tree using the skills she had been given both from the masters as well as the world she had just came back from; she was a whiz with power tools.
They never seen such an amazing home, despite it being out of place among these old-fashioned animal made homes that the Valley animals constructed through mud and twigs.
"What's this?" Mrs. Duck asked, pointing to a giant screen television.
"That's the TV," Squirrel explained, "it totally runs on a forever-lasting battery."
"What are these?" Turtle asked as he looked through a box of DVDs.
"They're called DVDs," Squirrel explained, "we can watch them together some time. Usually, I just watch them on the laptop." She showed them her
laptop.
"And what do you call this?" Panda asked curiously, gazing at the new devices that was unlike anything he had ever seen before. "Technology?"
"Yes," Squirrel nodded, "and more technology is created as the years go by, such as, behold..." she held out an i-pod, "the i-pod."
"It looks like a little television itself," Mrs. Duck said as she looked at it.
"Oh, it can play movies and episodes you download from i-tunes, and it can hold lots of music," Squirrel explained.
Panda gazed at the small device in her hand. This word 'TV'...it sounded so foreign to him. And all this metal and machinery...the Valley never had anything close to this.
"It's amazing to think what you've done over the years you traveled," Panda chuckled. "We will leave you to your new home. Again, welcome home." He gave her another bow before he and the elders walked out the door. "Come and join us later if you want."
Squirrel waved farewell to them before she began shifting her furniture around. It was good to be home and back with the people she loved. She sorted through a few small boxes filled with trinkets and tiny souvenirs she had gotten during her travels.
She took out what appeared to be a blue, heart-shaped locket...and immediately her lip quivered.
"Squirrel?"
Squirrel quickly placed the locket back into her jewelry box and turned around. There stood Skunk at the doorway, a flower in his hand.
"Hey, you," she greeted sweetly, "we sure hadn't got to know each other better for most of the day."
"Well, with you being busy and all," Skunk said, blushing. He lightly twirled the flower in his trembling hand. "For you. It's kind of a welcome gift."
Squirrel cooed at the small gift before she sniffed it. "Thank you, Skunk." She slipped it behind her ear, and it made her look even more pretty if that was even possible.
"Whoa!" Skunk gasped as he raced over to a game system plugged into the television. "What's this? It's so shiny!" He took ahold of the game console, his eyes glazed over the colorful buttons.
"That's my XBox," she explained, "I hadn't plug in the Wii yet."
"What does it do?" He asked excitedly, wondering what this newfound object could do to entertain him.
"Simple," Squirrel explained as she took out a remote and turned on the televsion and out popped the game that was on demo.
Skunk's eyes widened as he looked at the screen. Pictures on a box? And they're moving? Wherever Squirrel went, she definitely made a good life for herself there.
Oh, yeah, he thought happily, she's definitely the one.
_
Night came and Squirrel and Skunk joined a few of the Valley animals for some night games and mischief. Rabbit, of course, was being his cocky himself as he twirled a grass stem in his mouth while sidling up to the blonde squirrel.
"Squirrel, babe," Rabbit winked as he flexed his muscles for her, "you probably ain't seen any of this anywhere."
"Actually, I have," Squirrel chuckled, giving him a once over with her brown eyes. "And Canada in particular."
"Tell me, Squirrel," Fox cut in, shoving Rabbit lightly. "What have you accoplished during you travels?"
"Well, everything I guess," Squirrel replied, "I mean, graduating from a top school in England at age eleven, got pretty awesome work, life in the fast lane and the city life and all that luxury..." She trailed off as she eyed the others.
"Forget it, Fox," Bird whispered teasingly to Fox. "She's always one step ahead of you."
"Shut up," Fox warned him.
"Heads up!" Rabbit said as he lowered one ear to the ground. "I hear footsteps!"
The animals shot up in alert as they gazed among the shadows. Suddenly, black figures sifted through the night sky, and screeching was heard.
"Ninja monkeys!" Skunk exclaimed, placing himself in a fighting stance.
Squirrel gasped as stood beside him, seeming a bit fearful at first. But she overcame her anxiety soon after as she brought out her special bo staff. Soon, ninja monkeys were attacking them from different sides and they, minus Bird and Ox, fought each one down.
"Can't you lazy boys do anything?" Fox demanded as she knocked out another monkey.
"Meh, you guys look like you got it under control..." Bird muttered as he laid against the hump of Ox, whom had now fallen asleep.
Squirrel knocked out two monkeys with her bo staff and sent a swift kick to an upcoming one. They were just too many surrounding her and it would take forever to get rid of them all...
"Time to take out The Big One," she said as she reached into her tunic pocket and threw something on the ground.
It was a metal orb of some kind and it rolled towards the monkeys. They observed it with curiosity...
BOOM!
It exploded and sent a cloud among them all. It smelled horrible! The animals held their noises, muttering an complaining of the awful stench.
"Whoa!" Rabbit exclaimed as he held his nose. "Smells worse than Skunk!"
"Hey!" The young skunk retorted. His anger immediately died down as he turned to Squirrel. "That was awesome!" Skunk exclaimed. "What is it?"
"I'd like to call it my special stink bomb," Squirrel said proudly as the orb closed up and she picked it up. "I designed it while back in New York."
"Man, with these doohickeys we'll be unbeatable!" Rabbit exclaimed.
"Another reason why I'm here," Squirrel chuckled, trying to sound modest. "With my genius mind and tinkering hands, we just might beat Dragon once and for all."
It was with that said that Bird casted Skunk a knowing wink before he began to speak. "You know, Squirrel," he began, "Skunk here's been training on account of being 'the chosen one'."
Skunk blushed, shifting his feet.
"Really?" Squirrel asked, impressed as she gazed at the young boy. "Well, despite being young, I can sense great things in you." She smiled at Skunk.
"Well, I..." Skunk began, his face as red as his nose.
"You're welcome," Bird whispered to him before giving him another wink.
_
High up on a mountain, deep into the darkness of a cave, Baboon cautiously approached toward a large, bounded figure in an area that almost seemed like it was covered in snow.
"Dragon, sir," Baboon began as he bowed. "I have big news: word has reached that an old student of Panda's has arrived. They call her Squirrel."
"Squirrel?" Dragon repeated as he shifted in his bounded area. "So, Panda thought he could hide such a child from me, could he?" He snorted, puffs of air
escaping his nostrils. "Figure out a plan to capture this 'Squirrel', until then, have your monkey ninjas at full attacking speed."
"Yes, master," Baboon said before bowing down. "Hey, is it true that there actually is a way for you to escape your confines?"
He had heard the rumors and the stories that since the day Dragon had been punished by the gods in the Heavens to a secluded life of being trapped in his gave, he would be granted temporary freedom as his time began to consume the years passing by.
"Indeed there is," Dragon responded slowly, and Baboon thought he saw a chilled smile on the beast's lips. "For many, many years, have I been placed in this dastardly place, until now has the darkness reached in to provide me sanctuary...the darkness has increased as we speak. Soon, as the darkness comes, I will be released, and punish those for my faults."
"And who exactly is this dark hand?" Baboon asked.
"That is for me to know and for you to find out," Dragon replied irritably.
"No fair!" Baboon retorted. But a blast of Dragon's fiery breath sent Baboon running away like a child.
_
For many days, since Squirrel's arrival, Skunk felt something deep within himself that none of the other males of the Valley could be equal to in comparison.
He was in love with Squirrel.
Of course, he was very young while Squirrel already reached the age of a teenager, but still...She certainly was not like all the rest, and not because she wore clothing all the time.
"Hey, Skunk!" A young, female rabbit shouted as she tossed in the air what Squirrel explained was a frisbee. "Catch!" And she threw it in his direction.
Skunk was still deep in thought when the frisbee hit his head.
"Ow!" He cried before picking up the disk. "Hare!"
Hare gave him a cocky grin as she patted the flower placed on one of her long ears.
"Geez, man!" A young cat said. "What's up with you today?"
"Nothing, Cat," Skunk said quietly.
"Oh, oh, I know!" A young raccoon said, smiling teasingly. "He's thinking about Squirrel!" She pointed fingers at him playfully.
"Am not, Raccoon!" Skunk retorted, blushing.
"Oh gross!" Cat said. "Love is gross!"
Skunk rolled his eyes at the three girls. They were Cat, Hare, and Raccoon, three girls that had been accidentally dropped by the stork a few months after Panda had found Skunk when he was a baby. Crane took them in and had trained them under her watchful. Cat was, of course, a cat with white fur and green eyes; much like Squirrel, she had a bit of blonde hair growing on her head. And there was Hare, a hare of light brown fur and blue/gray eyes; the young, girly equivalent to Rabbit, whom she harbors a crush on. And Raccoon, much like Cat, had hair that was brown as wood as well as brown were the same age as Skunk, but they tried to act older just to tease him; Cat, especially, since she was like the leader of the girl pact.
"Get use to it," Hare told her, "because looks like the guys are duking it out who gets her first."
"They're what?" Skunk exclaimed.
"Aw, see?" Raccoon teased with a girlish giggle. "You love her, you love her!"
"Do not!" Skunk responded hotly. "Where is she now?"
"Over by the stream," Hare replied, pointing behind her. "You can't miss her!"
And with that said, Skunk dashed past the three young girls.
"Run, Romeo, run!" Raccoon laughed.
"I still think love is gross," Cat muttered.
_
"Excellent work, Squirrel," a small fish said from a pool of water as he watched Squirrel swim, a breathing apparatus on her, "you're doing mighty fine for someone who hasn't been to the Valley in years. Say, what do you call that thing on your back again?"
Squirrel disconnected the tube from her mouth. "It's called scuba gear, Master Fish," she explained, "it helps you breath underwater for a long period of time, like a fish."
"Child, where do you find this stuff?" He chuckled, shaking his head.
"In the pacific coast of Asia and the beaches of California," Squirrel said, smiling.
"Maybe I should've left the Valley and traveled the globe," he laughed, "you sure sound like you had fun."
"I did," she replied, "but I'm sure having fun here."
Skunk, huffing and puffing, stopped abruptly between Squirrel and Fish. His face was a bit red from all the running, but it became even redder as he found his eyes gazing at Squirrel.
"Hi, Squirrel," he breathed quickly, "hey, Fish."
"Boy, you here to watch how a top-class student swims?" Fish chuckled.
"Water's great!" Squirrel laughed, splashing at him playfully. "Come on in!"
"Sure," Skunk laughed before hopping into the cool water.
"Say, why don't you let Skunk try your breathing thing on, Squirrel?" Fish asked. "Might give him a leg-up."
"Sure thing," Squirrel said before taking off the apparatus and connecting it along Skunk's body. "Careful, it can be very heavy for a small child like you."
"I ain't small," Skunk retorted meekly, blushing. The device felt odd on his back, and the straps made him feel uncomfortable. But if Squirrel could manage it, why not him?
"You're just a child, remember that now," Fish chuckled.
"Just breath into this," Squirrel explained as she connected a tube to Skunk's mouth.
Soon, Skunk dipped deep into the water, and he found himself able to breath without gulping any liquid.
"Wow," he breathed through the device as his eyes shifted from Squirrel's waist to Fish's fin. "It feels so easy now."
Suddenly, he accidentally bumped his foot against the gas tank and he found himself dipping deeper into water.
"Uh-oh!" He cried. "Help!"
"Skunk!" Squirrel cried before she dashed down into the water.
Soon, she came up with Skunk in her arms. She flopped him on his stomach and made sure he was alright. She quickly removed the tube from his mouth as well as the rest of the apparatus and gazed into his flushed face as the young boy began breathing, not from lack of air but from fear.
"Well, he doesn't seem like he needs CPR," Squirrel said to Fish as they both looked down at Skunk.
Skunk coughed. "I'm okay." He smiled nervously at Squirrel.
"Boy, maybe you should stick to the old-fashioned breathing," Fish insisted, "the stuff Squirrel's got may not be ready for you to handle."
"I'll be taking this back now," Squirrel said before taking the apparatus and hoisting it on her shoulder, "I'm going to go now; Mrs.
Duck may need me in the kitchen."
"Take care, child," Fish said as she went away.
"Say, Fish," Skunk began, "what's CPR?" He gave Squirrel one final glance before staring at the elderly fish in curiosity.
"It's when someone has to give you a mouth-to-mouth to help you breath," Fish explained.
Skunk's eyes widened.
"D'oh!" He grunted.
_
Squirrel kneaded some dough while Mrs. Duck began boiling some miso soup.
"Smells good, Mrs. Duck," Squirrel said, taking a whiff of the delicious scent.
"Oh, thank you, dear," Mrs. Duck said, "um, what is this again?" She motioned to a certain machine on the table.
"It's called a blender," Squirrel explained before placing some fruits into the container, "it can whip a smoothie in seconds!"
"Smoothie?" Mrs. Duck repeated in confusion.
"A healthy drink that teens love," Squirrel explained before putting the top on and pressing a button.
"My word!" Mrs. Duck exclaimed as the blender made a powerful noise while the fruits mixed together. "Sounds like a beast is trapped within it!"
"No, that's the machine talking," Squirrel chuckled. She poured the smooth liquid out into a mug. "Here try."
Mrs. Duck glanced at the frothy drink before finally taking a small sip. She smacked her lips as she imbibed in the taste.
"Why, this is very fruity," she said, "this could be a tea substitute."
"You know what that would go great with?" Squirrel said happily. "A cheeseburger."
"A what?"
"America's favorite food," she explained, "a slab of Angus beef between two pieces of bread."
"Perhaps that would be a great meal to serve tonight for the Valley," Mrs. Duck insisted.
"Of course," Squirrel nodded, "anything for you guys."
"Food..." Skunk slurred as he trailed towards the kitchen, drooling. He reached for some raw dumplings on the counter.
"No, no!" Mrs. Duck said as she smacked his hand with a spoon. "You wait until dinner."
"Here, Skunk," Squirrel said before handing him a glass of smoothie, "this should hold you until later."
Skunk gazed at the interesting drink in wonder, then he took a long sip; he had fruit liquid all over his upper lip when he was done.
"Wow," he said, clutching his head, "that was good yet painfully cold at the same time." His teeth chattered a bit as his mind felt like on big ice cube.
"You just had a brain freeze," Squirrel chuckled.
"Skunk," Mrs. Duck said, "shouldn't you be training with Panda right now?"
"Aw, can't he wait?" Skunk whined. He just wanted to watch Squirrel all day...
"It'll be worth it until dinner," she said before pointing her spoon for him to leave.
Skunk grumbled to himself before he left. He glanced over his shoulder to see Mrs. Duck returning to her cooking. His gaze caught Squirrel's...
She smiled at him and waved. Skunk blushed before waving back, then rushing off feeling all giddy.
_
Night came as everyone was seated around the dining area. Squirrel pushed a cart around and placed a cheeseburger down for each animal. The animals were amazed by the new kind of food placed in front of them. It smelled wonderful and it was making their mouths water.
"Oh, cool!" Hare exclaimed. "A sandwich!"
"It's a burger," Squirrel explained as she continued pushing her cart around. She nearly ran over some kind of rope if it had not moved.
It was Snake.
"Greetings and salutations, Squirrel," he hissed contentedly as Squirrel placed food on his plate, "my, you sure are looking lovelier by each passing
moment."
"Thank you, Snake," she said, "and your hissing's sure become a lot more reverberating since I came here." And she continued on as she pushed her cart.
"Thanks, I-" Then Snake's eyes blinked, "what does reverberating mean?"
Squirrel stopped beside another table and smiled at Skunk.
"Hello, Skunk," she greeted before placing food on his plate, "trained well?"
"It's tiring," Skunk replied, blushing. He and Squirrel shared another smile, and he felt he could just melt in his seat.
"Hey, hey, Squirrel," Rabbit called out, taking her attention away from Skunk's. "Got anything for a very hungry warrior?" He flexed his muscles at her and winked.
"As a matter of fact, I do," Squirrel replied softly. She took a few graceful steps toward him, smiling at him.
Rabbit smirked at he closed his eyes, awaiting for what was to come.
PLOP!
And she dropped a burger unto his plate and a cup of smoothie beside it, some it splashing at his nose. Rabbit leaned back in his seat in surprise as the frothy liquid dripped from his nose. He gazed at Squirrel, whom gave him a satisfied smirk.
"Enjoy," she said automatically before continuing on.
Skunk was unable to hold his laughter as Rabbit wiped at the frost on his nose.
Suddenly, there was a noise in the distance as Squirrel halted her cart and looked ahead. The others heard it too as they stopped eating and looked on.
"What's that?" Ox asked with a moutful of burger.
"Monkeys!" Ordered a demanding voice. "Attack!"
Soon, from out of nowhere, ninja monkeys flew in and surrounded the Valley animals.
"Ah, great," Rabbit whined as he hopped from his seat, "and at dinner too."
Skunk stood beside Squirrel protectively as he tried to play the hero. The other animals prepared to fight and soon another battle began between them and the ninja monkeys. While everyone else was fighting, Squirrel and Skunk were luckily kept at a distance.
But then a white figure with sharp teeth appeared before them. It was Baboon, and his fangs gleamed as his eyes trailed over Squirrel's form.
"So..." Baboon said as he gazed at Squirrel, Skunk still standing by her protectively, "you're Squirrel, eh?" He grinned evily. "Lovely thing, aren't you?"
"Back off, Baboon!" Skunk warned, his feet planted firmly on the ground as he bared his teeth at him.
"Or what?" Baboon laughed. "What are you going to do? Pinch me?"
WAP!
Skunk sent a high kick right into his chin, sending him flying into a group of monkeys. Baboon groaned as he rolled on his back, his mind spinning; a faint bruise appeared on his chin.
"I better watch my words around you now..." he said dizzily.
"Thanks, Skunk," Squirrel said before patting his head.
"Anything for you, Squirrel," Skunk said, a goofy smile on his face.
As before, the ninja monkeys retreated and the Valley cheered in victory. And Squirrel served everyone a victory dessert known as baked Alaska.
_
"Very lovely thing she is," Baboon explained to Dragon while he held an ice-pack to his chin, "she appears to be very smart, too."
"And she has been to 'the outside world'?" Dragon asked curiously.
"From the looks of it, yes."
"Very well," Dragon said, "for now, remain low until further notice."
And Baboon bowed before leaving.
_
Skunk whistled to himself as he took a stroll down through the Valley. It was a beauitful day today and he thought he would get a little exercise before training with Panda. Squirrel would train with him, too, so she could make up for the time she was away.
"Morning, Skunk," Squirrel greeted as she trailed beside him, wearing a white sweatshirt and spandex and a band around her head, "jogging?"
"Yeah," Skunk replied. He looked at her attire. "Hey, um...can I ask you something?"
"It's not about why I wear clothes, is it?" Squirrel told him knowingly. "Everyone's been asking me that, and I remain silent."
"Um, no," Skunk said, "nothing like that, I promise. Just...what's 'the outside world' like?"
Squirrel looked at him, and her smile widened as she thought back. "It's simply amazing. There are people out there just like me!"
"Other squirrels?" He asked in disbelief.
"No, silly," she laughed, "human people, like me, a humanesque squirrel."
"Humans?" Skunk asked.
"If you were there, you'd know."
Soon, the two arrived back to Panda for their training, and this time they were to go against one another in a fan fan duel. Skunk posed with his fans held tightly to his sides while Squirrel posed beauitfully, her fans flapping like wings.
"And begin," Panda said, bringing his hand down to start.
Soon, Squirrel launched herself at Skunk and attempted to slash at him with her fans, but Skunk dodged her and his fans pressed against hers as they were in a tight grapple.
"You're pretty good," Squirrel said, very impressed.
"You're pretty...good yourself!" Skunk said quickly, his face red again.
Skunk pushed Squirrel back and jumped high into the air and was aiming towards her. Squirrel jumped out of the way before she threw her fans at him in fast motion. But Skunk dodged them and they bounced right off a tree before they came back in her hands.
Squirrel let out a battlecry before she rushed at Skunk. Skunk jumped into the air once again, but something unexpected happened...
FWAPPPP!
Skunk had accidentally let out his stink on Squirrel, and she fell to the ground coughing and sputtering.
"Oh, gross!" She cried, tears running down her cheeks from the horrible stench.
"Oh, man!" Skunk cried. "I am so sorry!" He rushed to her aid.
"It's okay, okay," Squirrel assured him, her hand flapping in front of her face in desperation for some air. She sniffed her hair. "Great...I smell like vermin..."
"Retreat to the stream then," Panda told her, deciding to end the training a little early. "Try and bathe it off."
"That's okay," Squirrel told her master before picking up her fans, "I'll just use the shower in my bathroom." And she walked off.
"Bathroom?" Panda asked in confusion as he watched her leave.
_
Squirrel quickly dried her hair as she emerged from her bathroom and walked into her living room, beauitfully decorated and all.
There was a knock on the door.
"Skunk?" Squirrel began as she opened the door to find a very nervous skunk looking at the ground.
"I didn't mean to, I swear," he said innocently.
Squirrel sighed as she brought him inside. They sat on the couch and Squirrel turned on the television.
"Hey," she assured him, "it's okay, okay?" She gave him an assuring smile. "I mean, you're a skunk, remember?
"It's kind of a flaw that I have," Skunk chuckled nervously, "but it can be used as a great weapon sometimes..."
"Hey, I have flaws, too," Squirrel told him.
"You?" Skunk asked in disbelief. "No way! You're perfect...ly capable of anything!" He chuckled nervously. How many times has his face been so red?
"I'm a pacifist," she told him, "I'm rather talk than fight. Violence just isn't me, you know?"
"I think so," Skunk nodded.
"But you," Squirrel said, "while I was gone, Panda has trained you to fight against Dragon, I mean, you're 'the chosen one'!" She looked down. "I guess I
wasn't chosen for this at all..." Her voice trailed off.
She remembered when she was a child, Panda often told her of her 'destiny' and that she was destined to fight Dragon and restore peace to the Valley. But she felt that the Valley just wasn't for her, and this destiny thing just wasn't what she wanted in her life. Looking back now, she wondered what would have happened if she remained. Would she still have kept her destiny?
"I feel like I'm unimportant to Panda..."
"What?" Skunk exclaimed. "No! I mean, yeah, Panda trained me specifically to fight Dragon, but you...Panda hid you to protect you, and he gave you the freedom of going around the world. Of course, he cares about you!" He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Trust me, you got your special destiny fulfilled!"
She smiled at him, touched by his words. "Oh, Skunk..." Squirrel sighed. "It's your destiny to become a hero."
"And hopefully my destiny includes you," Skunk blurted out without thinking. He immediately slapped a hand over his mouth, his eyes wide.
Squirrel was speechless and her face immediately became red. What exactly did he mean? What was this young kid trying to tell her?
Was he telling her...?
"I, uh..." Skunk stuttered, "I'm sorry...I..."
"Skunk," she began softly, though her voice sounded a bit firm and serious. "Do you like me?" Her brown eyes looked at him expectantly, needing an answer now or never.
Skunk looked at her nervously. Now or never, huh?
"Do you like me?" He chose his words carefully. There was a hint of hope in his eyes.
Squirrel bit her lip. He was so young, just little kid while she herself was that of an adult. But she saw to it that his heart was trying to be in the right place, and he looked like someone who just wanted to fall in love.
Perhaps she did, as well.
Then she slowly nodded. "I think I do."
Skunk smiled widely, his heart beating rapidly at her words. She likes him!
They gazed at each other for a long time, time seemed to have stopped. Their faces seemed to inch closer...their faces hot...eyes were closed...
Before each other knew it, their lips touched.
It was actually Skunk who started the quick kiss, and that left Squirrel with a small smile on her face. Skunk suddenly felt giddy and amazed from his first kiss, and his face was red as a tomato.
"Ha, in your face Rabbit!" Skunk laughed as he jumped in his seat.
_
"I still don't believe it!" Rabbit cried, a piece of grass between his lips. "I'm top of my game, and she chooses the squirt?"
It wasn't long before Skunk and Squirrel made their relationship public. It was quite shocking for most of the animals, mainly because of major age difference. Panda was quite shocked himself, but seeing as they were both just so young, especially Skunk, and in love, he, however, gave his blessing.
"What surprises me is that she loves him despite age," Snake hissed.
"Now, now," a black-and-white tiger said, "let's not be hasty."
"Tiger's right," a frog said, "we should be happy for him; I mean, this is the second time he's been in love."
"Don't remind me, Frog," Snake hissed, "I still remember the pain from that guitar-playing..."
Squirrel and Skunk walked through the woods toward the open Valley hand-in-hand. They had dated for a few weeks, and their relationship was going strong.
"Now don't you two look cute?" A gray crane said as she balanced herself on a stick.
"Yes," a small mantis said. "you two...are sure...a good...couple."
"Thanks, Crane. Thanks, Mantis," Squirrel said as she and Skunk trotted by.
"Squirrel," Turtle said as they walked by his lab, "think you could take care of a patient for me? My hands are full at the moment." He pointed towards Ox, who was laying on the ground; one of his legs were bruised. Bird sat perched on his head as usual.
"Sure thing, Turtle," Squirrel noded before she dragged her boyfriend towards Ox and Bird.
A few minutes later, Squirrel cut off a strip of bandage and held Ox's leg between two sticks as she wrapped it around.
"There," she smiled, "just no crazy activity for a while, okay?"
"You can trust us, dollface!" Bird chirped. "Activity ain't our game."
"Saving the Valley, too..." Skunk muttered under his breath.
Suddenly, they heard a screeching noise.
"What's that?" Ox exclaimed, unable to stand because of his leg. "Monkeys?"
"No..." Squirrel said as she stood up and looked towards the distance, "it sounds more like...tires."
"What are tires?" Skunk asked in confusion.
Soon, the rest of the Valley heard the noise and they all looked towards the distance.
Suddenly, coming up from a hill, a vehicle swirled in and was shifting left and right. Valley animals screamed as they got out of the way.
"What is that?" Cat cried as she and Hare and Raccoon ran off behind a tree. "A monster?"
"It's a van!" Squirrel exclaimed.
"Van?" Bird asked. "What, is that some sort of animal or something like that?"
Soon, the van swerved clear of everyone and stopped in front on Squirrel. The door opened and a face Squirrel thought she would never see again popped out.
Squirrel gasped.
"Donnie?"