Shadow wandered through the halls of the temple, amazed at the many ornate designs surrounding him in the halls. He felt the temperature of the hallway rising; he must have been getting closer to the fire pits. As he passed an open doorway, he noticed Master Tigress practicing her fighting techniques in a different training room; he hesitated, stopping for a few seconds, but then continued onwards. Tigress sensed something behind her and she quickly turned around, spotting the new recruited member, the wolf. She shook her head, her eyes rolling as she ran, her front paws touching the floor lightly as she ran on all fours. She did a quick flip, stopping in front of Shadow. She growled a little, glaring at him with her large, piercing yellow eyes; "What are you doing?" she demanded, crossing her arms across her chest. Shadow took a step back in surprise when Tigress landed right in front of him; he may have been half a foot taller than her, but she still intimidated him. "I am going to train with Master Viper in the fire room," he said, trying to sound as businesslike as he could and not let on that Tigress was intimidating him. He swished his seven-foot tail on the floor behind him, trying to remain calm. Tigress laughed, shaking her head; "If you think it's going to be easy, you'd better think twice. I don't even believe you should be here; I didn't accept Po at first, and I certainly won't accept you. And besides, why would any of us want to train with a creature that can't be trusted anyways?" she scoffed.
Shadow's ears drooped sadly at Tigress's last statement; he may have been tough, but he didn't exactly have the highest self-esteem, not to mention he was a perfectionist. "Master Crane seemed very enthusiastic about my performance in the balance test. I do not expect anything in this training to be easy; in fact, I expect the exact opposite," he explained. "They're just probably trying to be nice," Tigress scoffed, rolling her eyes as she pivoted on her feet; her striped tail flickered behind her like a long, furry snake as she walked away to go back to training. Crane walked out of the balance room, seeing Shadow standing alone; "Shadow, are you all right?" he asked, staring at Shadow, wondering what he was doing. Shadow looked back up and glanced over at the bird; "Yes, Master Crane, I'm... I'm fine," he muttered, continuing on his way to the flame pits where Viper awaited him for the next training session. The heat in the hallway became increasingly intense, but Shadow continued on his way. Crane shook his head, sighing a bit as he turned around, heading back into his room; "I just hope he'll survive…" he muttered to himself.
Viper opened her door, her eyes focused on Shadow. She had sensed that he was close by; "Shadow," she whispered, slithering over to the hallway. She could sense that something was wrong with the wolf, but decided to ignore it; she was going to teach him to be precise, to be strong, and whatever was on his mind would disappear... at least, she hoped it would. Shadow inclined his head as he entered the room; "Master Viper, I am ready to learn whatever you have to offer," he said in a humble tone as he got down on one knee in his signature bow, partly so that he could look eye-to-eye with Viper. Viper laughed a little, staring at the long-tailed wolf. "What do you think I am going to offer you?" she asked, wanting to see what he thought he was going to learn from her. She was curious and wanted to make sure to teach him at least something he wanted to truly learn, if she herself could really teach him depending upon the subject. "If any of the others said anything to you, I want it to be forgotten now; this is a place to learn, and your mind should focus on that, and that alone," she hissed quietly, not wanting any of the others to hear.
Shadow stood up, absolutely towering over Viper when she was coiled up; "Well, Master Shifu did say that you were to teach me to work on my speed; is that your plan, or did you have some additional ideas as well?" he queried, flicking his long tail curiously. His ears perked up when he sensed a powerful energy coming down the hall towards the fire room; it had to be Tigress, but he couldn't imagine what she was doing. "Speed is indeed what you're learning today, along with very deep focus," Viper said, nodding her head as though she was discussing something with herself. Tigress was walking the hallways, listening to the conversation between Viper and Shadow. She was disgusted that she was required to HELP this wolf; she couldn't even begin to understand why he was here or how he could help the group. They were the Furious Five, not the Furious Five plus a wolf! Po was different, and as much as he had helped, she still didn't particularly like him, so why should this wolf be any different?
Shadow simply nodded; "Of course, Master Viper; what does this test involve?" he queried, flicking his tail curiously. "Tell me, when you take a test, do you know what's going to be in it? Because this is not a regular test; you will figure it out along the way," she said, smirking as she slithered away from the wolf; "Close your eyes," she commanded, stopping about thirty feet away from Shadow. Tigress peered into the room, her eyes locked on Shadow; she knew this test, and was eager to see what would result, secretly hoping that the wolf would fail. Shadow nodded and closed his eyes; "I only ask because Master Crane explained his test to me," he said, wondering now if Crane had been going easy on him. "I'm not Crane, though; I'm Master Viper. Now, for this test, you need to learn to listen with your ears and feel with… those things you call paws," Viper said, grabbing something resembling a glass bowl; she then threw her head back, then forward, releasing the bowl and throwing it towards Shadow.
Shadow simply twitched his ears, which quickly honed in on the faint whirring of the object against the wind; being a wolf, his hearing was exceptional. As the bowl neared him, one of his large paws shot out and caught it in mid-air. "Good," Viper spoke as she saw Tigress peering into the room; she flicked her head to the side, and Tigress simply nodded as she backed up. Tigress had a small smirk on her face as she quietly ran on all fours and jumped over Shadow, making sure not to touch him. She grabbed the bowl from his paw and set it down as Viper slithered over to Shadow's feet. Viper wrapped her tail around Shadow's legs, then Tigress swatted at Shadow's head. Shadow let out a yelp of surprise as he felt something hard hit his right temple, unable to steady himself because of Viper binding his legs. The blow knocked him to the hard floor, forcing his eyes open; "Hey, what's going on?" he exclaimed in protest. "Learn to dodge," Tigress spat at the wolf, peering over him. She rolled her eyes, pressing her right hind paw firmly against his stomach; "If you want to learn from the best, you better already be good, but you're not even that!" she growled as she stepped away and exited the room, slapping her two front paws together, a cruel smile on her face.
Viper unbound herself from Shadow and slithered over to him, stopping by his head; "Sorry, Shadow; I was hoping you'd hear her paw and dodge it." Shadow sighed as he got up; he rubbed at his head, which was throbbing in pain; "That's okay, you had the best intentions; she's just way too fast for me," he said with a sigh, his ears drooping sadly. As much as he respected Tigress, she really seemed to hate him. "Cold or hot?" Viper asked as she looked at the wolf; she could now tell that something was very wrong. She slithered out of the room, heading towards Crane's room; "Crane?" she called softly, peeking her head in while the bird was standing up with his eyes closed. He hummed, letting Viper know that he was listening; "I think something's wrong with Shadow."
Crane's eyes shot open and he flew past Viper, heading to her room; "Shadow?" he asked as he entered, watching the wolf rubbing at his head. He threw a glance at Viper, who pointed her tail towards Tigress's room. Crane then looked back at Shadow; "You all right there?" he asked nervously. Shadow shook his head; "Not really; Master Tigress nailed me pretty hard," he muttered darkly. He didn't know it, but he had a minor concussion from the combined hit of Tigress and the floor; "Whatever you do, please don't get angry at her; she's only testing me," he said, although he withheld voicing his belief that she hated him.
"Lie down; I think she was just a little too rough," Crane muttered, shaking his head; "You and Viper will have to practice together some other time." He turned to look at Viper, giving her something that looked a bit like a glare. Viper frowned; "I really am sorry, Shadow," she said, slithering away and curling up in the corner of her room. "Come on," Crane said softly, nudging his beak into Shadow's left shoulder, motioning for him to exit the room. Shadow nodded and walked alongside Crane, his ears drooping sadly as they passed Tigress's training room. He had the feeling that Crane knew something was up; it was just a matter of time until he asked about it. Crane watched Shadow closely, noticing his ears drooping whenever they passed or spoke of Tigress and knew that she had gotten to him somehow; "What did she do?" he asked, fluffing his feathers.
Shadow sighed as they entered Crane's room, and he sat down; "I have the feeling that Master Tigress resents me; it's like she doesn't want me here at all. I explained that I'm not like the wolves that worked for Shen, yet she treats me worse than Po said she ever treated him," he muttered darkly. "Let me explain something to you, Shadow," Crane said as he leaned against the wall, crossing his wings and looking down at the wolf on the floor; "You see, Tigress… that's just her personality. It took her a long time to accept Viper, Mantis, Monkey and myself, and then when Po joined us as the Dragon Warrior, she found it even harder to accept him; I think she was jealous because she wanted to be the Dragon Warrior. And now you're here, wanting to join us. And again, she's probably upset that Shifu would allow you to join, to train with us, the Furious Five and the Dragon Warrior. Plus, felines and canines never really truly do get along, right?" Crane smiled softly, reaching his right wing over to pat the top of Shadows head; "Don't be offended; it's just her nature. Prove to her that you are worth keeping here."
Shadow simply nodded; "Of course, Master Crane; still, I cannot deny that I'm a bit... afraid of what will happen when I train with her," he said, his long tail swishing anxiously across the floor. "If you want someone there to watch and make sure that nothing happens, I can accompany you," Crane responded, nodding his head. Shadow thought deeply for a moment; "Even though she'll probably interpret it as weakness on my part- just like the fact that I wasn't fast enough to dodge her blow -I know that there's nothing stopping you from assisting. I leave the choice entirely up to you as my superior," he said humbly.
"I'll come in and check up on you, then; not to get in the way, but to make sure that everything's fine, as long as you're fine with that," Crane responded to Shadow. Shadow smiled to indicate that he approved; "I still wonder how Master Viper thinks I did for what part of the test I DID complete; she had the best intentions in mind, she just didn't realize Master Tigress's aggression towards me," he said. "Did you consider asking her?" Crane suggested as he yawned a little. He wiped his eyes with his wings and smiled gently towards the wolf; "I'm sure you did great; you did wonderful with me training you." Shadow shook his head; "No, I didn't have any time to ask; everything just happened so fast, plus I was in a massive amount of pain all the way until you came and helped me out. My head's still hurting really bad, to be honest," he said with a nervous chuckle. "Lie down and rest; best medicine for any kind of sickness," Crane said, laughing a little and patting the wolf's shoulder.
Shadow nodded and laid on his back, his head still in excruciating pain; "It's... kind of a throbbing, cold feeling; whatever it was, it really scared Master Viper. Are you sure it's something that can be cured by rest?" he asked Crane, his tail twitching nervously. "She over-worries sometimes," Crane said, stretching out his neck to make sure that Viper hadn't heard him; "Did she happen to ask you whether you wanted something cold or hot?" he asked, tapping his beak with one of his talons. If she had mentioned that, he would have to ask her to help aid him. Shadow thought for a moment; it hurt to think for some odd reason; "Hmm, now that you mention it, I think she did; what significance does that hold?" he queried. "Well, we can give you ice or we can give you warmed up coal, whatever would help with your head; Viper does something with it, and it really seems to work to make someone feel better," Crane explained to Shadow, sticking his neck out of the doorway, ready to call for Viper. Shadow nodded; "Coal would probably help; whatever this is, it feels extremely cold. You may want to describe it to Viper, just in case she may know what it is," he muttered, wincing in pain as his head gave a particularly nasty throb.
"Viper!" Crane called out, agreeing with Shadow; he watched as Viper peeked her head out and slithered over to his room. "Yes?" she asked nervously, seeing Shadow in the room; "Are you feeling any better, Shadow?" she inquired, making her way over to the wolf. She touched her tail to his forehead and gasped in shock; "He's got a concussion; I didn't realize Tigress had hit you so hard. Coals… I need my coals!" She made her way back out of the room and headed to her own, wrapping her tail around the bag holding the coals and dragging them slowly back to Crane's room. "This should work; just stick them where it hurts, Shadow," she said softly. Shadow gave a weak nod and laid the bag of coals against the back of his skull where it had hit the floor; "This... this isn't going to impede my training, is it?" he asked weakly; he was close to passing out, the pain was so intense.
"You'll need to take a day or two off, otherwise you should be fine," Viper responded as she looked at Crane, who nodded. She made her way out of the room and headed back to her own chambers, knowing Crane had control. Shadow sensed an immense energy heading towards Crane's room as he lingered on the edge of consciousness; it just had to be Tigress. He only hoped that Crane would not reprimand her. Crane looked at Shadow, then back towards the doorway where Tigress stood. "Aww, did I hurt the poor wolf?" Tigress said with a sneer as she entered the room. Crane tried to shush the tiger and flapped his wings to try to push her away. "Stop being a puppy and take it," she growled at Shadow, a mean smirk on her face; she knew that she had hurt the wolf, and she was proud of it.
Shadow tried to get up, a defiant but respectful smirk on his face; unfortunately, as soon as he was standing, he nearly collapsed, catching himself at the last second. "Believe me, Master Tigress, if Master Viper didn't advise against it, I would keep going; I'm more determined now than ever to prove myself," he muttered, attempting to stand again, but swaying where he stood. "Lie down," Crane spoke firmly, staring at Shadow; as nice as he was, he wouldn't stand to see the wolf hurt himself even further. Tigress just rolled her eyes, pushing past Crane; "I highly doubt it, mutt," she spat, glaring at Shadow with her piercing gaze. "You had better realize who you'll be practicing with soon; I advise that you keep your tongue in your mouth, or I'll just hurt you ten times as bad as before. Believe me, that punch was nothing," she laughed, her tail flickering behind her as she pivoted on her feet and exited Crane's room, happy with herself.
Shadow sighed and laid back down to recover; "I'm sorry that I disobeyed you, Master Crane; it's just that she seems so determined to make me fail, like she dislikes me far beyond any rivalry that confrontation between species creates," he muttered, swishing his tail across the floor. "Whatever you two feel against each other needs to be put aside. You can barely stand up without swaying, Shadow; you shouldn't even be thinking about what she thinks. You need your rest, and then you can prove her wrong when you two train," Crane laughed, patting Shadow's shoulder. Shadow simply gave a small nod; "For the record, Master Crane, I have nothing but respect for her," he said with a weak laugh before passing out from the immense pain that he was in.