Sorry for the overdue delay in posting this. Work is getting super crazy what peak season starting. Working on UPS is a nightmare this time of year.

Chapter 4

Student barracks…Crane's room

The palace healer left Crane's room after tightly wrapping up one of his wings. Luckily the blow Po dealt him had not cracked any ribs, but still left him more or less rattled.

"I tell you Po is out to get me," Crane said running his beak along the side of the wrapping.

"No he isn't," Monkey said, "and will you stop doing that."

"But it itches," Crane snapped, "and you guys never have the same kind of problem I have. I mean have you seen the way he looks at me, with those narrow eyes."

"He's just getting use to living here," Viper said moving next her friend, "just give him some time."

"That's easy for you to say," Crane said, "have you seen the way he prepares our meals, how much time and effort he takes, not to mention all the extra spices he adds to make them so they taste wonderful, but when I take a bight out of it…" he paused as he shook his head as though to remove something awful, "…it taste just plain."

"You're just imaging things," Mantis said, "I mean he still gets a little winged out whenever the two of us spar, so I'm sure he'll come around."

"I don't know if I can last that long," Crane muttered eyeing his still itching wing, "it's just a good thing Shifu has never sent the two of us out on a mission yet. If he's this brutal during training, I don't think I'd be willing to turn my back on him in the thick of battle."

Little did they know that Po was out in the hallway and heard everything Crane and the others said and he could not rightly blame the avian. Ever since coming to the Jade Palace he had treated Crane harshly, and only because of his misgivings toward his kind. Taking a deep breath Po knocked on the door and said in a calm voice, "Excuse me, but may I come in."

He heard a sudden gasp and loud crash from the other side of the door followed by hearing Viper crying out with, "Easy there Crane, maybe he's just here to offer up some soup."

"Yeah right or more likely he's here to finish the job!"

Po released a heavy sigh at the level panic in Crane's voice. Realizing that he had no other choice in the matter without showing disrespect to Master Shifu, the giant panda stood up straight and took flung the door aside causing Crane to jump back up against the wall, screaming madly. "Stay away from me!" he snapped.

The others in the room released unpleasant groans planting their palm—or in Viper's case her tail—up to their face.

"Sorry for just baring in like that Crane," Po said noticing a small crack in the door frame from after thrusting the door open, "I'll be sure to fix it, once we get back."

Crane had calm down a little, though still held the panda with a nerves look. "Back…from… where?"

"We'll have to five that out from Shifu," Po said then cast a finger over his shoulder, "now let's go, the sooner we get this over with the better off we'll both be."

The panda turned down the hallway leaving Crane to wonder what he meant by that.

"That panda is so going to kill me."

Elsewhere down in the village market street…

Tai Lung slowly made his way toward the harbor to meet his wife and daughter, and already he was beginning to wish he had stayed up in the mountains. With each step he could feel the hateful and terrified glances from the villagers. They quickly whispered among themselves their eyes narrow, some of them glared at the snow leopard with angry expression.

Tigress followed him as moral support, though even with her, Tai Lung felt very uneasy with all the eyes on him.

"Just what you doing here?"

Tai Lung glanced over his shoulder just into to see a small tomato smacking him across the side of his face.

"You have no right to be here," someone shouted, "get your tail out of here."

The juices stung his eyes and snarled deeply, yet he refused to strike knowing that in doing so would undermine everything Shifu's faith in him. Wiping the remains of the vegetable from his face, Tai Lung turned back toward the harbor.

"What's the matter Tai Lung?" Another villager snapped. "Has all that time in exile made you a spineless coward?" He throw a head of lettuce where it hit Tai Lung across the shoulder

Tai Lung stopped again, his hands held in tight fist. He wanted so much to turn and attack, but he had to remain calm. Taking a deep breath, the snow leopard released his clinched fist and continued on his way.

"Well how the so-called mighty have fallen," a third villager mocked, this one tossing a stone up and down, "you're a disgrace to this village and the Jade Palace. Why don't you crawl back under what rotten rock you came out from?" He then flung the small rock at the back of Tai Lung's head.

It would have smacked him, if not for Tigress raising a hand to snatch mere inches from her brother.

A collective gasp rung out of the crowd. Tigress merely stood there, eyeing each of them with blazing eyes. "How dare you?" she asked to no one person. "HOW DARE YOU!" she repeated, her fist tightening around the stone until it crumbled. "Have you all forgotten Oogway's teaching?"

"But…" a sheep said, "but don't you even know who this creep is? He's Tai Lung, the one who…"

"I know who actually who is!" Tigress snapped. "And he's not that person is any more. Tai Lung has changed since he tried to steal the Dragon Scroll, and we have the Dragon Warrior to thank for his return, and I will not allow you to tarnish his chance to redeem himself. Now all of you go about your business, and if I see so much as one more thing being thrown at my brother, no matter what it is, you will all answers to me."

Another gasp ranged out, and everyone suddenly bolted, turning their attention away from the two felines.

"Thank you…" Tai Lung said releasing a deep sigh, "…sister."

Tigress's eyes snapped open. There's that word again. She had never thought of herself as someone's sister, heck she never thought she belong to be a part of any family, but each time she heard that word, she a great sense of warmth and joy inside her heart, and once again she found herself thanking her beloved panda.

"You're welcome," she replied with a small smile, "brother."

Well that's it for right now, once again sorry for the delay in updating.