Chapter II
Grey clouds masked the once marvelous blue hues of the morning sky, blocking the lustrous sunlight thus dulling the world below, creating a gloomy atmosphere. Thunder cracked and lightning flashed concurrently, rain stormed down relentlessly and immersed area with swift, thick sheets of downpour.
The storm's intensity drowned out the sound of footsteps tapping against the coarse cobblestone road that stretched across the vast terrain of grass and trees. A figure stumbled across the road, the rain showered onto its slender form. Rain droplets cascaded down its face and soaked its spotted fur. Rain mixed with dried blood and dirt.
Its light blue eyes were faded and hollow. The figure's breaths came out in uneven pants; the figures lips parted.
"Have to keep moving." It said with a feminine voice.
The female creature fought the throbbing pain in her feet and the harsh cold. An abrupt gust of wind blew against her person, the figure's teeth clattered and goosebumps formed on the skin beneath her fur. She lifted her shaking paws and rubbed her arms as an attempt to warm herself, but no avail.
Her spotted fur whipped around violently in the wind; the memory of that tragic event that occurred only days ago was still fresh in her mind. The images of the blood and the mutilated bodies flashed before her eyes while the shrill cries of agony echoed in her mind.
The figure placed both paws against her temple, she shut her eyes tight and collapsed onto her knees. Fresh, warm tears streaked down her face and mixed in with the rain droplets. The figure sobbed and bent upperbody forward.
She remained in this state for what felt like hours; the thunder's continuous bellow rung in her ears. Finally, she lowered her arms and rose to her feet.
Her bloodshot, blue eyes gazed ahead. Then, the figure trudged on.
The ferocious rain pounded against the tiled roof of the Jade Palace's training hall. The barely audible sounds of grunts, thuds and crashes could be heard from within the walls.
"Get ready to feel the thunder!" Po shouted, thrusting his left fist at Feng. Once his knuckles connected with the tiger's stomach, Feng grunted and was thrown across the hall due to the panda's immense strength.
Feng skidded against the wooden floor, before finally slowing down to a halt. The white siberian groaned and pulled himself to his feet, Feng shot a glare at Po who had assumed a combat stance.
"You're gonna pay for that one panda!" Feng spat.
Feng crouched down onto all fours and charged Po with remarkable speed, the panda's eyes bugged wide in surprise. Feng lunged at Po, he twisted in mid-air and executed a perfect kick to Po's face.
Po was knocked off his feet and hit the floor hard, the panda stirred on the ground- fighting the pain in his back and face. Feng smirked cockily.
"Not so tough now are you, Dragon Warrior?" Feng mocked. Po pulled himself to his feet and charged at Feng. The tiger's smirk fell.
"Look's like you want more." Feng sprinted towards the incoming panda, but once the gap between had been shortened- Po lunged at Feng. The Siberian skidded to halt and gaped in surprise as the three-hundred pound panda tackled him to the floor.
Viper and Tigress approached the struggle and grimaced at the two.
"What're they fighting about this time?" Viper asked.
"I don't know, something about who could beat who." Replied Tigress.
Wei leaned against the wall, his arms were folded over his chest. He watched his brother and friend roll across the floorboards, wrestling each other while cursing loudly.
He closed his eyes and shook his head in disapproval.
"And this is why people always thought I was the older brother." He murmured to himself. A loud thud made Wei's ears twitch.
He twisted his neck to the left, where he saw Mei-Lien sitting up on the floor, rubbing her back with a pain expression etched on her face. Wei unfolded his arms and shuffled towards the young tigress.
Mei-Lien's nose wrinkled as she punched the floor in frustration.
"Need any help?" A deep, monotone voice asked. Mei-Lien's ears perked and her eyes bulged slightly, she glanced to her right to see Wei sauntering towards her. Mei-Lien immediately shot up to her feet, the pain in her back had somewhat subsided. Her cheeks flushed, as she embarrassed that her crush had just witnessed her commit a childish action.
Wei slowed to halt, placing his paws on his hips he stared at the tigress. Mei-Lien swallowed, she averted her gaze as her face began to heat up.
"I-I'm fine!" She blurted.
"Are you sure?" He asked. It was vague, but Mei-Lien could detect a small hint of concern in his tone; it made her heart flutter.
"Yeah." She assured. Excluding the grunting emitting from the Po and Feng who were continuing their fight, there was silence amidst the hall. Mei-Lien forced her gaze upon the floor, daring not to meet Wei's eyes. Although she couldn't see it, she could tell Wei was staring at her, it was if she could feel the intensity of his gaze burning holes in her skin.
Mei-Lien could barely keep her breathing under control, her was pounding furiously against her ribs. Finally, Wei's voice caressed her ears and broke the awkward silence between them.
"What were you doing?" He asked. Mei-Lien's eyes flicked up, meeting Wei's. Those electric blue corneas were deep, but bright- almost glowing. Although she knew Wei would never intentionally hurt her, his gaze was intimidating. There was a lot of pain and anguish behind those eyes, as if his sanity was on the verge of snapping.
Mei-Lien finally came to her senses after realising it had been fifteen seconds since Wei had asked her the question.
"Oh, um. I was trying to learn how to do the Jumping Spinning Crescent Kick." She elaborated.
"Is that so?"
"But I can't get it right for some reason." Wei lowered his gaze and contemplated for a moment. Finally, he lifted his eyes to Mei-Lien and spoke his idea.
"Show me." He insisted. Mei-Lien cocked an eyebrow and tilted her head to the right.
"What?" She asked.
"Try and do the Jumping Spinning Crescent Kick. I'll observe you and see what you're doing wrong."
"Oh... Okay." Wei took a few steps backwards, giving Mei-Lien some room. The white tigress inhaled deeply, her chest expanded and then contracted once she exhaled.
She bent her knees slightly and hopped off the floor, she attempted the crescent kick but she failed and landed on her posterior. Mei-Lien wrinkled her nose in frustration and growled in her throat; it was a good thing Wei was standing there or else she probably would've thrown a tantrum.
Mei-Lien pulled herself to her feet and glanced at Wei, he stared at her. Mei-Lien shifted her feet uncomfortably, her cheeks flushed a light shade of pink and heat began to envelope her entire body.
"I see what you did wrong," He continued "You got the height of the jump right, but you didn't stretch your leg straight enough and you didn't twist your hips into it. The hips are the important part, not only does it help control the kick, it also helps generate more force for the attack. Otherwise you'd be giving your opponent a light brush across the face."
"Oh." That was the word Mei-Lien was able to say.
"Don't worry, I'll show you how it's done." Wei bent his knees and jumped into the air, he juts his leg straight and twists his hip into the kick. He then lands on his feet- his knees bent slightly once his feet touched the floor.
Mei-Lien gazed at Wei in awe, her eyes had bulged and her mouth was agape.
"He executed it so flawlessly."
Wei turned his gaze to Mei-Lien.
"Now, you try." He said. Mei-Lien swallowed and instantly began to feel nervous. She inhaled a few deep breathes, bent her knees and jumped into the air. She did precisely what Wei did, she stretched her leg straight and twisted her hips into the kick. She landed on the floor, her eyes were wide and her mouth hung open.
"Did... Did I just do that?" She asked. Mei-Lien glanced at Wei who smirked at her proudly. Once again, Mei-Lien's heart skipped a beat and her cheeks reddened.
"Good job." Said Wei. The tiger rotated around, with his back facing Mei-Lien and sauntered away while the white tigress watched.
Unbeknownst to Wei and Mei-Lien, Tigress had watched the entire scene. She gazed at Mei-Lien, who stared at Wei dreamily, she couldn't help but notice the rosy hues on her cheeks. She flicked her gaze over to Wei who was walking over to a wooden training dummy, he seemed completely oblivious to Mei-Lien's staring.
Tigress returned her gaze to Mei-Lien, who was still staring at Wei. She placed her left paw on her hip and cupped her chin with the index finger and thumb of her right paw. She cocked an eyebrow and began contemplating.
Finally, it came to her. Tigress' eyes bulged and her lips parted slightly.
"Could it be?"
First of all, I am sorry for the long wait! I've been dealing with writer's block, College and just got over an illness. Anyway I hope you enjoyed chapter 2, even though it's not my best work. Stay tuned!
Trivia: Wei went through a lot of concepts, originally he was going to be a sixteen year-old street fighter who joined the Jade Palace because he wanted to better himself. In the second concept, I made him older and I decided to make him a regular traveler who wanted to become a Kung-Fu Master.
After about 9 or 10 ideas, I finally decided to make him a swordsman who was on the path of revenge because I found it easier to work with.