Hello! Gosh it sure has been a while since I've updated any of my stories. For that I can only apologize profusely. I promise I will update my profile shortly this evening for those of you who are curious as to what's been going on and where I have been. I know it's been a long time coming but man am I happy to be able to get back to writing my stories. I have so many ideas for new KFP fics that I wish I could type for about a month straight nonstop...but alas I don't live in such a world.
I will be updating a few of my stories tonight shortly so without further ado, Enjoy the Read!
Chapter 3
A few hours later...
Hours had passed and Tigress still hadn't managed to locate the Panda she was searching for. After her conversation with Master Shifu, Tigress had set out in search of her comrade with her resolve in hand, in an attempt to apologize to him and prove that she indeed regretted her previous actions and her harsh words. However, much to Tigress's misfortune, it appeared that Po had seemingly vanished without so much as a trace.
Normally it wasn't too difficult to find the Panda. Usually whenever the Warriors had been given any amount of free time he was normally either in his room taking a nap, cooking in the kitchen, or perhaps doing his personal laundry outside the barracks. When Tigress had failed to locate the bear after checking these places, she then ventured over to the Training hall, the Hall of Heroes, and even the Palace arena where the Jape Palace often held events such as tournaments and such, yet still Tigress had failed to find the Panda at any of these locations.
With the sun now starting to inch it's way closer to the Mountains, beginning to cast the Valley in an evening orangeish glow, Tigress had soon found herself wandering over towards the Sacred Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom, with her sack of Dominoes still tied securely to her waist, making quiet clicks and clanks within after every step she took.
Tigress knew that normally whenever the Panda was feeling down, this particular location was somewhere the Panda would come to ease his mind and enjoy one of the many peaches that the great tree provided. Tigress had also spent many afternoons and evenings beneath the tree's branches together with the Panda as the two often would meditate beneath it together. But, once again the Panda was nowhere to be found.
Frustrated that she still hadn't managed to locate the Dragon Warrior, Tigress leaned up against the side of the tree once she reached it and whispered, "Where in the world are you Panda? I've searched every inch of this Palace and I haven't managed to locate any sign of you ...where did you go?"
It was right then that the wind had suddenly blown in Tigress's direction, causing her to squint her eyes slightly. But along with a gentle breeze, the wind also managed to carry with it the sound of multiple voices that Tigress was able to recognize. Turning in the direction the Wind had just came from, Tigress was able to make out the various forms of her remaining comrades, all making their way up the thousand steps coming from the Village. "Perhaps one of the others has seen that Panda since this morning." the Feline wondered, before she quickly turned around and proceeded back down the steps away from the tree and over towards her comrades.
By the time Tigress had finally managed to make her way over to the Palace court yard, the rest of the Five were just arriving at the top of the Thousand Steps and making their way through the Palace Gates. As she approached, each Member of the Five noticed her and waited to see what she wanted of them.
As Tigress came to stand before them, she asked while looking at each of her comrades, "Good, you've all returned. Tell me, do any of you know where Po is?" Monkey and Mantis both looked at each other upon hearing this, while Crane sighed and just looked away. But when Tigress looked over at Viper she was met with the Snake's angry stare.
After a few seconds, Viper took a deep breath before saying, "Unfortunately...we don't know where Po is, Tigress. We haven't seen him since...well, this morning in the training hall." As Viper finished, her eyes narrowed slightly and Tigress knew that the Snake was beyond furious with her but was being surprisingly peaceful, all things considered.
Crane then spoke up saying, "After what happened between you two, we all searched the Palace a bit for him but when we couldn't find him we all went to look for him down in the Village." Monkey then added, "Yeah, we spent the entire day trying to find him, but no such luck. He wasn't at the Market, or in the Bamboo Forest. Heck, his own Father hasn't even seen him for a few days now."
Hearing this, Tigress lowered her head as she muttered, "I...I see." Mantis then hopped over towards the Tiger Master and spat, "Why are you asking anyway Tigress? Don't you think you've said enough to the poor guy for one day?" Immediately Tigress glared at the insect for being so blunt with her, but Mantis remained unfazed under her stare as he continued to glare right back. Apparently he too wasn't too thrilled with Tigress today, much like Master Viper.
Tigress then looked away from the insect and took a deep breath before explaining, "I know...I know what it is that I did today. Which is why I need to find Po so I can...apologize." As Tigress all but whispered the last word, she quickly avoided her friends looks of surprise that were all aimed at her.
Nobody said anything right away, but eventually Viper spoke up and said, "That's...well that's great Tigress...really. But, you may have to wait until tomorrow to get your chance. Like we said, we haven't seen Po, so you might have to wait until tomorrow at training. If I had to guess, I doubt we'll see him much if at all before then. The poor thing was REALLY upset this morning." and with that, Viper began slithering her way past Tigress and over to the Barracks, the others following closely behind, leaving Tigress all alone in the Courtyard with nothing more than her thoughts and the dust beneath her feet.
"But Viper...I can't wait. If I wait...I might never follow through with it." as Tigress thought about this, she slowly began to walk over towards the Thousand steps, her eyes completely focused on the Village below. As she stopped to lean up against the gates she was about to consider taking a lap around the Village in search of the Panda for herself, when her ear twitched ever so slightly, causing her to freeze in place.
It was faint, practically non-existent in fact, but Tigress's ear was just able to catch the faintest sound of something... scraping? As Tigress stood up straight, she closed her eyes and focused with all her might. She was positive he had just heard something right then. "But what was it?" Tigress wondered before the same sound caught her ear once more, this time just a bit louder. "Where is that sound coming from?" Tigress wondered aloud as she turned around and proceeded to walk back into the court yard.
Once she reached the yard's center Tigress closed her eyes once again and waited. In just a few seconds, Tigress managed to hear the strange scraping noise once more but this time it was followed by a new sound, a voice in fact that grunted, "...easy...easy." Tigress's eyes then snapped open when she realized that she recognized the voice. "Po?" Tigress muttered aloud as she began looking around trying to see where the Panda might be. But the more she looked, the more she realized he wasn't anywhere she could see him. It wasn't until Tigress's ear twitched yet a final time that the Feline looked up and over in the direction of the Jade Palace and her eyes widened in surprise.
High up above from where she stood, Tigress was just able to make out the silhouette of the Dragon Warrior as he sat up on the roof overlooking the village. No wonder Tigress had such a hard time finding him. She never would have even thought about looking on top of the Jade Palace...mostly because it never even occurred to her that Po could even climb up to roof to begin with. As Tigress watched the Panda, she noticed that he appeared to be focusing on something that was in his left Paw, staring at whatever it was with intense focus and concentration.
"Found you!" Tigress muttered to herself and immediately Tigress began running over towards the Palace as a sigh of relief escaped her. She had found him. Now came the hard part. She only hoped that for her sake, as well as the Panda's that she didn't get cold feet before she could make things right with the bear.
Climbing up the side of the Palace wasn't even remotely challenging for the Tiger Master, what with having done it countless times before. What was challenging though, was doing so in a manner that never alerted the Panda that she was coming. The slightest movement caused the sack filled with the dominoes attached to her waist to click and clatter inside, causing Tigress to freeze and wait for the wooden blocks to cease their infernal noise making. Eventually though, Tigress was able to make it up on to the roof without Po noticing her as he continued looking away from where she had climbed up with his back to her and still looking out towards the village.
As Tigress slowly neared the unsuspecting Panda, she listened as he continued to mutter under his breath, "Now just a bit more here...nice and easy...careful..." while he appeared to be fiddling with something in his paws that she could not see at the moment. Not wanting to make her situation with him any worse and disrupt his concentration, Tigress stopped a small ways away. This also gave her some time to gather her wits about her and prepare herself for what she was about to do.
For a good 5 minutes Tigress waited in complete and total silence, watching the Panda from behind. Whatever it was he was doing apparently required a large amount of concentration and focus. As she waited several thoughts passed through her mind. Would he even grant her the opportunity to do what she came here to do? And if he didn't... what then? Shifu made it perfectly clear that she needed to fix this situation but what if Po never even gave her the chance? Tigress was quickly beginning to realize that this entire attempt to right her wrongs completely depended on whether or not Po even wanted to see her.
As she was beginning to contemplate the notion of turning back to better plan out her approach, she heard the Panda before her give a thoughtful "Hmmm...still not right, but what am I missing?" As Po appeared to be thinking over his next course of action, whatever it may be, Tigress decided to steel herself and before she could back out she blurted out in greeting, "Dragon Warrior."
Upon hearing himself being addressed, Po instantly froze in place as he realized he was no longer alone. Slowly, Tigress listened to the Panda sigh in disappointment and watched as he slowly turned around to face her and Tigress noted that he did not appear at all too happy to see her right then, not that she blamed him. As he turned around, Tigress was able to finally see what was in the Panda's paws that he had been messing with all this time.
In his left paw, Po held a piece of wood of some sort, while in his left he held a sharp red handled knife. It was then that Tigress also noted a small red painted wooden box filled with other smaller knives nearby and Tigress deduced that they were all part of the same wood carving kit.
Looking back up from the tools beside him, Tigress saw the Panda was watching her with a saddened expression but still had yet to say anything. But it wasn't much longer after this did Po finally whisper, "Oh...hey Tigress. Do you want something?" Tigress stared at the Panda briefly before she brought her paws behind her back and nodded her head and answered, "I do. I've actually been looking for you for a while now, Panda." At this, Po was beginning to turn his head away from the feline as he asked, "Yeah?" Tigress nodded before she took a deep breath and released it before saying, "Yes...I...I was hoping that I might be able to find you because...because I wanted to... That is to say...what I mean is...well..." But no matter how hard Tigress tried, getting the words to get past her lips was proving to be impossible.
As Po turned back to face the Feline he asked once more with a slightly raised brow, "Yeah?" Tigress then sighed in frustration as she then clenched her fists, ashamed at her own cowardice. Why couldn't she just say it to him!? It shouldn't be this hard! But just as Po was turning away from her again, Tigress's eyes narrowed as she nearly snapped "I'm sorry!"
Silence was all that followed as Tigress's words hung in the air. For a long moment neither Po nor Tigress said anything. As Po was now staring at Tigress, his face somewhat covered in disbelief, Tigress was watching him with baited breath, waiting for a response of SOME kind and yet he appeared to be refusing to offer her any of the sort.
Eventually Po had turned away completely once again and muttered, "Oh...gee Tigress...uh...thanks." Tigress stared at the Panda's back for several seconds completely floored. That had to be the most obviously forced response Po had ever given her in the amount of time they had known each other, which made his true feelings that much more obvious as Tigress stated, "You don't believe me."
Po then asked in a solemn tone, "What do you mean? I just said thanks. We're all good now. Thanks." But this time Tigress shook her head and objected, "No...you don't believe me. So please stop telling me that you do." At this, Po merely lowered his head as he continued to look away from her. It was true, Po truly didn't forgive Tigress for what she had said to him that day, even though he knew she really didn't understand how much her words hurt him in that moment. But still Po said nothing as he listened to the Tiger slowly approach him and walk around to stand beside him.
Looking up, Po saw Tigress staring down at him with a face that he wasn't quite expecting to see. She looked sort of... sorry. Sorry, and a little bit...was it hurt? It seemed unlikely to the Panda but nonetheless she now had his attention.
Tigress then dropped down to kneel before the Panda and said, "Po...I know It may not seem it...but I am truly sorry for my words from earlier." Hearing this, Po's eyes fell as he looked away, refusing to make eye contact with the feline while saying, "Yeah, you said that already Tigress. Thank you, really. But you don't have to apologize anymore."
Hearing this, Tigress studied the Panda's face for several seconds before she lowered her head and gripped her knees in frustration. Still...he was still lying to her face. He didn't forgive her, he couldn't even look her in the eye right now. He just wanted her to leave so he could be alone doing whatever it was he was doing.
As Tigress realized this, she opened her eyes again and began looking around where the two were currently seated. She could easily count 4 wooden blocks scattered around, each looking as if Po had originally started carving something like the last, only to start anew after reaching a certain point. It was only once Tigress's eyes spotted the most recent block did she notice the top of the block had been carved out into the shape of a head with short pointy cat-like ears. But as she looked to her right Tigress's face instantly fell once again upon noticing another item.
Inside a small wooden box, sitting just a small distance away from the Panda was the pieces of Po's prized Master Tigress Action Figure. It was only then upon seeing this box did Tigress truly understand what Po had been doing up here all this time. He had been trying to craft himself a second Action Figure to replace the one that she had destroyed.
With that last thought hanging over her head, Tigress shut her eyes tightly before she stated in a slightly frustrated tone, "Do you have any idea how hard this is for me, Po?" At this, Po looked forward to stare at Tigress as he asked, "Huh? What do you mean?" Tigress then said while gripping her pants even tighter, threatening to tear the fabric with her very claws, "To admit that I was wrong...do you have any idea how hard it is for me? To sit here and admit that I, Master Tigress, was in the wrong, only to have you brush it off like it's nothing?"
It was then that Po's eyes narrowed slightly as he spoke in his same quiet tone,
"Look...Tigress, just don't worry about it. You apologized, I'm sure That's all Master Shifu cares about, so we're good." Instantly Tigress's eyes snapped open upon hearing his words. There it was. Her proof. Proof that he didn't believe her.
But as Tigress looked up at the Panda and met his stare, before she could voice her objections Po spoke first silencing her, "That's why you're here right? Because Master Shifu sent you to apologize? Or one of the Five maybe? Well then you're fine. You apologized, so you can go now."
But while Po was expecting Tigress to get up and thank him for his "Understanding" when she refused to move, he remained confused. After a long moment of Tigress just staring at him, Tigress then whispered, "See...you really don't believe me." Po just sat there and said nothing while Tigress continued to hold his gaze while saying, "And in truth, I suppose I cannot fault you. Which is why I am prepared to prove myself to you Po. To Prove that I am sincere and that I am not simply here because Master Shifu may or may not have sent me."
Po then asked as he shifted slightly, giving Tigress more of his attention now, "Why?" It was then that Tigress stated seriously, "Because... because I want to."
Admittedly, Po was surprised. There was just something in the tone of Tigress's voice just now that made him think maybe she really was being genuine. Po watched as Tigress began to remove an old worn brown pouch from her sash that he noticed for the first time. Wondering what it was Tigress could have brought with her, Po was about to ask when he heard a small series of clicks and clanks coming from the pouch as Tigress shifted it.
It took Po a second, but eventually he began to suspect just what it was that was in the pouch as he looked from it to the feline saying, "Wait a sec... are those...did you really-?" but before Po could finish, Tigress uttered quickly in a hushed tone as her ears fell, "-Yes Po...these...these are my Dominoes. The same dominoes that Master Shifu gave to me when I was a small child. Something that I have never shown to anyone but Master Shifu...and now you." and with that, Tigress pulled back the draw string and opened the pouch up to allow the evening light inside it's confides.
As Po leaned forward and looked inside, he saw that the soft evening glow from the setting sun was reflecting off of several of the painted wooden blocks inside, allowing the dominoes to shimmer from within. "Woah." was all Po could whisper while Tigress continued to simply look down at the object in her paws, hating what she was about to do next, but she knew it would be necessary. She had to show Po just how sorry she truly was...no matter what she lost in the process.
As Tigress was about to speak, Po was the first to say, "Wow...I can't believe you actually kept them. Master Shifu told me you used to have some Dominoes a long time ago but I never thought you would have actually kept them." Tigress smirked as she nodded her head and replied, "Yes...in truth, I had managed to hide them long ago and had completely forgotten about them until recently when... when you reminded me."
Po finally looked up from the dominoes and immediately felt bad as he remembered how he had snarled at Tigress earlier that day before whispering, "Oh...yeah." Tigress nodded before she took a deep breath and readied herself. "Here goes nothing."
Tigress then looked Po in the eye and said, "Po...my actions today were beyond inappropriate...they were inexcusable. But more so than my actions, were the words that I said to you." At this Po blinked twice before Tigress continued, "I cannot take back the terrible things I said to you in the training hall, or the things I did. But there is something that I can do and that is to show you how sorry I am."
Tigress then looked down at her dominoes before continuing, "What I did...although it was initially an accident...my words made it an act against you and for that I am sorry." Tigress then looked up and made eye contact again before saying, "Which is why I want to prove to you how sorry I am. Po, I destroyed one of your precious treasures-" at this, Po's eyes widened in surprise, while Tigress went on, "-and no matter how many times I say it, my words alone can not fix my mistake...and that is why I have brought you these." as Tigress suddenly held out her dominoes to the Panda she then finished as she lowered her head, "I destroyed one of your treasures...some of your cherished memories...and so, to prove to you that I mean what I say... I want you to destroy my dominoes!"
Silence was all that followed after Tigress had finished and for what seemed like forever Tigress sat there holding out her dominoes to the Panda. Eventually Tigress couldn't take the suspense anymore and she slowly raised her head and was surprised at what she saw. Po was looking back at her with a slight smirk on his face as he slowly shook his head and said, "Tigress...I don't want to smash your dominoes."
Again, Tigress held out her dominoes as she insisted, "But you must, I destroyed your action figure, it's only right for you to destroy my dominoes!" But again Po merely shook his head and reached forward and pushed the pouch back towards Tigress as the Feline whispered, "I don't understand."
But as she looked back at the Panda she saw his smirk was now growing into a smile as he patted the spot on the roof next to him for Tigress to sit down on. Slowly Tigress obliged and moved to sit next to the Panda as he looked out over the Valley and said, "Tigress, breaking your Dominoes won't fix anything. It won't fix my action figure and all I'd be doing is hurting you... and I don't want to do that." Tigress then stated, "But you should." But again Po shook his head, his smile never wavering.
Tigress then asked, "Then what will it take? What do I have to do to make this up to you?" After thinking for a moment, Po then looked back at her and said, "Tigress...I believe you when you say you're sorry about what happened, really...but I don't need your dominoes. Instead...well...I want you to understand why I keep those action figures. I want you to understand why they are so precious to me, like your Dominoes are to you."
Tigress stared at the Panda with a face covered in confusion as she asked, "That's it? That's all you want from me?" Po nodded in affirmation and so Tigress sat her dominoes down in her lap before saying, "Alright then...if that's what it takes then tell me, why do you hold on to those action figures of yours? What makes them so special to you?"
Again Po turned to look out over the Valley for a moment while Tigress waited for him to gather his thoughts. Without looking away, Po then began, "Well...you see, growing up here in the Valley was great and all, but it wasn't always so... "great"... all the time." Tigress tilted her head slightly as she wondered where in the world Po was going with this or how any of this was going to be relevant.
Po then continued, " When I was younger, I wasn't really all that great with making friends. Being the only Panda around in the Village, it kind of made me the odd bear out with everyone else, you know?" Po then looked over to Tigress for a response and to be honest, Tigress was more than able to relate to what Po was saying. Being the only Tiger back in the Orphanage certainly made her time there nothing short of miserable.
Tigress nodded that she understood and so Po continued, "I mean, I still tried to make friends and all. For the longest time it was what I wanted more than anything. Just some one to... you know... pal around with. Someone to call my friend."
Po then sighed as he recalled many of the darker days from his childhood before saying, "But...I wasn't that lucky. Pretty much my entire life, none of the other kids in the Village wanted anything to do with me. Every time I tried to make friends I was always just made fun of instead. Whether they would make fun at me for at how fat I was...or how I always, you know...smelled. It was always the same and it only got worse the older I got. Eventually I just kind of gave up trying altogether and I just stayed at home and helped my Dad in the shop. At least there, people didn't always make fun of me to my face, only when they thought I couldn't see or hear them."
Tigress turned away from Po and began staring down at the pouch in her paws as she whispered, "That sounds... really lonely." while she added to herself, "And also...familiar." Po nodded as he replied, "Yeah, it was." Po then looked over at Tigress and smiled before saying, "But it wasn't all bad. I mean, I still had my Dad. He was always trying to cheer me up back then, so it wasn't all bad." At this Tigress nodded and continued to listen as Po went on, "But anyway, after I accepted that I was just better off being by myself, Grandmaster Oogway introduced you guys to the entire Valley of Peace!"
Tigress recalled that day perfectly as Po went on while looking up towards the setting sun, "I'll never forget that day. When word got around the Village that Grandmaster Oogway was giving an announcement, I couldn't get to the Village Center fast enough. I sort of had to lie to my Dad and say I was going out to buy some more bean buns, but it was enough to get out of the shop."
Po then turned back to Tigress and said, "And then I saw you guys, the Furious Five!" Tigress smirked at Po's enthusiasm as if she were amused while he continued, "The way you all each revealed yourselves as Master Oogway introduced you, You know, by performing all of those moves and stances, it was unlike anything I had ever seen before. And it was that day that I fell in love with it all. With Kung Fu! The way you guys moved with so much grace and poise but also with so much strength and power. It was...well it was Awesome!"
"Ever since that day, I always dreamed about it. Learning Kung Fu, going on missions, training at the Jade Palace. But what I really wanted to do was just meet you guys, The Furious Five." Tigress then asked while raising an eyebrow, "Really? That was what you wanted most? Just to meet us?" Po nodded as he explained, "Yup, you guys were my idols, my heroes. I'd have given anything just to say Hi to you guys!"
Po then started scratching the back of his head while saying, "Kinda lame, I know." But Tigress just shook her head and said, "Not at all... a little strange...but not lame." Po smiled at her in thanks before continuing, "Anyway, I never got the chance to actually meet you guys back then, no matter how much I tried. But I always bought your Posters whenever a new one was made, but it just wasn't enough. And then I had an idea." Po then shifted himself so that he was now siting while facing Tigress as he picked up the wooden block he had been working on before she had arrived and held it out towards her to see, "You guys always had posters being made of you guys down in the village but that was all. Nobody ever made anything else and I just thought, what about action figures?"
At this, Tigress tilted her head slightly while Po looked back down at the piece of wood in his paw, "Nobody else ever even considered making any of you guys before, and the more I started to think about it, the more I really, REALLY wished I had some. So I saved up all of my tips from working in the restaurant which took me forever, but eventually I was able to earn enough money to buy a really nice wood carving kit!" It was then that Tigress looked away from the Panda and over towards the red box nearby before asking, "So then...does that mean that kit there-" But Po finished for her as he nodded his head, "-Yup, it's the same one I bought a long time ago. The same kit I used to make my first action figures."
Tigress smirked as she turned back to Po as he continued, "It took me a long time to make those action figures. The first ones I tried making looked pretty lousy, but I kept at it. Every minute I could spare was spent working on those Action Figures. Any time My Dad actually gave me a day off I would just spend it up in my room carving or I would stay up late working on them. It took me a while, and a ton of practice... but eventually I had finally done it. I had made a complete set of the Furious Five action figures! The first ones EVER! I was so happy that I had done it that at first I wanted to even come up here and show you guys, you know, just to show you how much I appreciated you all. But that never happened. Instead, I built a shelf for them to stand on in my room so I could always admire them."
Tigress nodded as she turned away from the Panda and looked over towards the small box holding the remains of Po's Tigress action figure before asking, "So that's why you treasure them so much? Because of all the work you must have put into simply crafting the first ever action figures of us?"
Po shook his head which confused Tigress. But before she could ask what he meant, Po explained, "Not exactly. I mean, yeah that's a big part of it, but it's not the REAL reason why I'm so attached to them." Tigress then asked, "Then what is?" But instead of answering her right away, Po became incredibly silent, as he looked down into his lap for a long moment.
Eventually, without raising his head, Po began once again, this time in a significantly sadder tone, "Remember how I said, growing up in the Valley wasn't always so great?" Tigress nodded as Po went on, "Well, it was still true and the older I got, the worse things got. Being a Panda, I was always getting bigger while everyone else around me stayed small. It made my everyday life...challenging."
"Moving around the shop got more difficult for me. I was always bumping into customers or dropping a dish just trying to get around a stupid table. Eventually I got too big for my Dad's kitchen and now I can't even stand up in it. And every time I messed up, the people and sometimes even my Dad, depending on what it was, always made sure I knew it."
Tigress watched Po's face fall even more as the memories of those days resurfaced, along with the long forgotten sadness of those times. "It was hard...constantly being made fun of whenever I tripped or dropped something...being criticized by total strangers about my "performance" in the shop day after day... and all the teasing that came in between from all the other kids my age. It was just...really hard to take."
Po then looked forward and added, "And not having any friends to talk about any of it with...that was hard too. I mean, most of the time Dad would try to be sympathetic I guess, but deep down I knew he thought that I shouldn't have just let it bother me so much. So he wasn't exactly helpful. So I didn't really have anyone to turn to for any help or comfort...I just had my Action Figures."
Hearing this caused Tigress's ears to perk up. Finally, this was the reason Po was so protective of those wooden toys of his! Po then continued, "Anytime I had a particularly hard day, or was just lonely, there they were just sitting there waiting for me at the end of everyday. I could talk to them about anything and not worry about them making fun of me." Po then turned to Tigress and stated rather quickly, "And before you even say it, yeah, I know how stupid that sounds, talking to Action figures as if they were real and all but...the thing was, they were all I had."
Po then turned and reached for the small box containing the pieces of his Tigress Action Figure and held it in both of his paws before whispering, "When it came down to it...they...well...they were my... friends."
Silence was all that followed for a long moment before Po sighed and closed his eyes while saying, "Go ahead...laugh at me, tell me I'm being stupid or childish." But when Tigress never responded, Po turned and looked over in her direction and found her expression a little unnerving.
Tigress's face was unreadable, even more so than usual. She just continued to sit there staring at Po as she continued to digest everything he had revealed to her. Eventually Tigress looked down at her sack of Dominoes and muttered, "I admit...it is not what I was expecting to hear. In truth, I don't know what I was expecting you to tell me at all, but...that ...hmmm." Po watched as Tigress struggled to find her words. By exposing this little secret of his, Tigress had learned a great deal about the Panda's past that he wasn't exactly crazy about too many people finding out about. After all, it could harshly affect his reputation as the Dragon Warrior and Po knew Tigress was aware of this.
Eventually Tigress did gather her thoughts enough to pose a question, "So...in the training hall, when I ...broke your action figure-" Po then nodded as he finished, "-It was like... well... like watching one of my good friends getting hurt."
Nobody said anything after that and silence once again hung in the air around them. As they sat there on the roof, Tigress couldn't help but feel that what Po was saying was beyond ridiculous, but at the same time she was really trying her best to see things through Po's perspective. As she looked over towards her friend Tigress was studying his face. His eyes were filled with what she gathered to be sadness and it looked like he might have actually been close to shedding a tear pretty soon. So, without thinking Tigress reached over hesitantly with her Paw and gripped Po's own paw slightly, giving it a squeeze to gain his attention before whispering, "I...Understand."
Slowly, Po's face went from being sad to being one of gratitude as he nodded back to Tigress and replied, "I'm glad." to which Tigress just nodded and offered the Panda a small smile. Po smiled back and together the two just sat there and turned to look out and over the village beneath them.
After a few moments of the now comfortable silence, Tigress then looked over and saw the latest piece of wood Po had been working on before she had come up here and casually she reached over and picked it up while asking, "So...you've been trying to make a second Action Figure then?"
Happy that Tigress was breaking the silence, Po nodded while saying, "Yeah, I've been working at it all day but I haven't been getting very far. The head is always the hardest part because of all the small details but for some reason I just can't seem to get it right."
Tigress then turned so that she was now seated while facing the Panda and said, "That's a shame. I wish there was something that I could do to help." Po was about to laugh at that and say that there wasn't really anything that Tigress could have done to help even if she wanted to, when he stopped himself at the last second and began to look at Tigress with a new focus.
Maybe it was the way the evening light of the setting sun was capturing her in that moment or perhaps it was the way she was sitting in front of him, but in that moment, Po was suddenly seeing Tigress as if he were laying eyes on her for the first time. And before he knew it, Po found himself reaching for his knife again while also reaching for the block of wood Tigress was holding while asking, "Really? You're serious?" Tigress nodded before replying simply, "Well, yes of course I am." So before Po could give Tigress the chance to back out, Po quickly reached forward with his right paw and grabbed Tigress's chin while tilting it just a little bit to the left and before Tigress could reach up and break the Panda's paw for invading her personal space, Po finished quickly, "Then stay just like that!"
Tigress raise an eyebrow before asking, "Excuse me?" but Po simply reached forward once again and readjusted her head before saying, "Just like this...don't move. Not an inch. That's perfect!" Tigress was beyond confused and honestly a bit weird-ed out, but as she watched Po start to whittle away at the block of wood in his paws, she slowly began to realize what was going on. Po was having her model for him, like one would model for a painting, statue, or such. Upon realizing this, Tigress then locked herself in place exactly the way Po had placed her before asking, "Like this?" Po looked up from his block and over to the Tiger and stared at her briefly before he smiled and whispered, "Yeah...that's perfect." and so Po once again began his work.
It made a sort of sense now that the Panda thought about it. Why he had been having so much difficulty carving his new action figure earlier that is. Years ago back when Po crafted his first set of Action Figures, Po had dozens of pictures and posters of the Five to look at whenever he needed to reference off of. Pictures and images covering the Five's practically every angle. Now, with Tigress sitting right in front of him as still as a statue, while the evening glow of the setting sun was shining down on her just so perfectly, Po realized he now had the perfect reference source for his new action figure in Tigress and he couldn't be more pleased.
The minutes slowly passed them by with the only sound being the movements of Po's blade swiping across the wood or the occasional word the Panda might mutter to himself in concentration as he worked. Tigress watched the Panda work and was admittedly impressed. Although she still felt a bit foolish being the live model for Po's new action figure, she could not deny that Po was putting a great deal of effort into his craft. In fact, Tigress suspected that the only times she may have ever seen the Panda exhibiting such focus were perhaps the occasions that Master Shifu might be teaching the Dragon Warrior a new technique, or perhaps more commonly seen whenever Po was in the kitchen preparing the meals for the Masters. It was fascinating... and yet it also wasn't.
Unfortunately though, Time refused to slow for the Panda to finish his project and the sun was still continuing to drop behind the mountains nearby. Just as Tigress was about to suggest that they may need to call it a day however, Po managed to beat her to the punch while saying, "Well, it still has a long way to go, but at least I can stop here for now."
Tigress looked at the bear clearly perplexed as she asked, "Are you certain? We can continue if you wish. I don't mind sitting like this so you can finish." Po smiled at the Tiger gratefully before holding up the block of wood, which he had successfully managed to carve out what Tigress noticed to be the shape of her own head, along with several facial features, before saying "Honestly Tigress, I'd love to keep working on this all night, but my eyes aren't as good as yours are in the dark. I'll have to start again tomorrow."
Tigress nodded in understanding and together the two proceeded to stand. Once Tigress fastened her pouch containing her Dominoes securely to her waist she proceeded to help Po gather up his discarded blocks of wood and said, "Very well, tomorrow we shall continue then."
Immediately Po looked over towards the Tiger and said, "That's okay Tigress, you don't have too. I mean, I'm pretty sure I can finish it from here." Tigress nodded in agreement before walking over towards the Panda while carrying some of the wooden blocks as she handed them off to Po and said, "Of that I have no doubt-" as Tigress began walking over towards the roof's edge she finished with a slight smile, "-but I want to any way. It's getting late and I'm sure the others are ready for some of your Noodle Soup...you coming Panda?"
Po quickly realized he had been staring at Tigress and immediately shook his head before saying, "Y-yeah...be right down. Just gotta grab my...kit." And with that, Tigress gave the Panda a curt nod before leaping from the roof and dissapeared from view.
For a long moment Po simply stood there up on the roof, staring at the spot where Tigresshad dissapeared from before a large smile began to spread across his face as he muttered, "Wow...thanks Tigress." Po took one last look at the remains of his old action figure and then back to the blockhe had recantly been working on . After a another moment, Po began to gather up his materials and quickly began to carefully descend the palace walls, already looking forward to finishing his new action figure with the help of his friend.
One Week later...
As Po finished applying the last of the paint to his latest creation, the Panda quietly stated, "There...all finished!" Slowly, Po hefted himself up off of his bed and began carrying his newly finished action figure over to his shelf where he kept his prized action Figures, each one placed in a memorable pose or fighting stance.
As Po placed his new Tigress Action Figure in the center of all the others right in between his Po action Figure and his Master Shifu Action Figure, he was just finishing adjusting it's position when his door suddenly flew open without warning and he heard Tigress calling over towards him, "Po! Bandits are attacking the Village Market. Time to move!" and with that, Tigress bolted from the doorway and down the hall.
Po then called out after the feline, "Coming, Tigress! Time for some Dragon Warrior Awesomeness!" but before Po could leave he stopped himself short and muttered, "Just gotta make one last adjustment-" "-PO!" Jumping at the Tiger calling for him a second time, Po quickly turned around and began running from his room while shouting, "Coming Tigress, I swear!" And with that Po bolted from his room, but not before looking back and whispered over to his shelf, "Be back soon, I promise!" and then he was gone.
And there standing proudly on the Dragon Warrior's display shelf like some sort of trophy stood his newly crafted Master Tigress action Figure in it's predecessor's signature Tai Chi pose. The only difference between the two action figures now, being the slight smile on the wooden Tiger Master's face.
And there you go. Action Figures and Dominoes has come to a close. I do apologize that it took me so long to finish but I am glad it's finally complete. Thanks for reading and remember...
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