Ailurophile

Author note: It been a while since my last update. But I've had a lot to do, and things happened which made it difficult for me to carry on writing, but now I'm back! And I'll give you more chapters soon enough.

Magnolialioness Monica Shoujokrm26BellathewhitetigressStar88303 ABC123 Mind Assassin lily annPHYSCHOCHIC3 Shadowess 88 Thank you for your reviews.

Warning contains - Violence, Death.


Enemy at the Gates

Tai Lung appraised the heavy gates, which were evidently held intact by what was left of the palace guards. He could count under thirty able to stand, and many more too injured to be of use. Together, those with the strength left forced themselves against it while the opposite side was being throttled. The air was fraught with panic. Raja moved next him, severity wrote on his face; he eyed the gates grimly. These men were clearly losing heart. It struck Tai lung that Raja must have known who these malevolent visitors were. The snake addressed him first. "There is way around, a hidden passage that will allow us to flank them. We will be able to ambush them from there."

Tai Lung nodded; although he would have preferred to deal with this attack directly it would undoubtedly cause more damage and cost more men, which was unnecessary. Raja's plan was likely one that would minimise the amount of bloodshed on his own side. The snow leopard almost scoffed at his own perspective in consonance with what Raja would think. There was a time when he would never have bothered with such tactics, they were viewed as unnecessary, but at that time he had been on his own, and his only concern had been solely personal interests.

Another resounding boom echoed around them. The guards fixed to the gate staggered back a few inches but quickly forced their weight against it before the next strike. It was brutally obvious that the Raja's men wouldn't prevail over numbers greater than their own. At the look of them, they would likely all die if they were to fight now.

He turned to the snake. "Let's not waste any more time."

Raja agreed and turned to one of the injured guards, he was a charcoal furred wolf, bandaging his own wounds. "You must hold for but a little longer. Should the gates fall you must not allow a single man to pass," Raja implored, his anxiousness was far too obvious. Tai Lung hadn't really paid much attention to his mood until now and he just realised that the serpent was afraid. He couldn't blame him, but that it was visible to the eye surprised the snow leopard. He had never known Raja to show panic, or be unable to hide it.

The guard looked up groggily and frowned. "We all know what we're protecting, sir. None shall pass," he said resolutely. Others heard and murmured their agreement, carrying the same resolution.

"It should be more than enough!" He said with communicable vigour, that seemed to impart amongst the men.

He took Tai Lung to the far end of the keep and eyed one section of the wall, no more conspicuous than the rest, and the hardy feline watched with interest as he brushed his tail over the surface. He appeared to look for something particular. The snake paused, finding what he sought, then pushed into the wall. He moved back slightly, and the wall began the move on its own. Dust seeped out as the wall split into two halves, leaving an opening. Tai Lung hummed quietly, perhaps in admiration. Raja took the lead without a word, Tai Lung following.

"Imaginative, though a little sooty," the snow leopard remarked.

"It has its uses."

The door closed itself behind them. Raja led him through a catacomb with the barest hint of light, but it did nothing to stop them, sight adjusting easily, and Raja seemed to know the correct path to where he wished to go. The Tuanku had never mentioned this place before, though he himself had never been curious enough to ask. It was a labyrinth filled with old vases and pots, likely for storage at a time when this place had been built. Eventually, they found themselves reaching the end of their path; there was a tattered wood door that looked like it could give out at any moment, further affirming the age of this place and that it had not been tended to for many years. Raja tried opening it but it wouldn't budge, apparently not without breaking. So he resorted to doing just that, bursting through the old timber.

They were immediately hit by the beat of the sun and proceeded out on to an opened ledge. The walk area stretched all the way across the wall until it reached the corner of the structure. It was surprisingly unnoticeable from anywhere but where they were standing on it.

There had been no mention even once as to who was attacking. He did have a vague theory, but he doubted Raja would speak on this right now. "You failed to inform me of the details of this invasion, friend. Who are we dealing with?"

"Does it even matter?" Raja muttered.

"It might," he quipped. Raja did not answer.

His was evasive, and Tai Lung was mildly irritated by being brushed off, though he didn't ask again.

Once they had reached the edge he turned to the snow leopard. "This is where we climb."

Tai Lung looked up at the wall. It was fairly coarse, not hard to grip. Tai Lung extended his arm to the snake, to which Raja climbed up on and wrapped around his torso, and then he jumped high and dug his claws into the wall.

Tigress was on all fours, sprinting near full-speed through the halls of the palace, directed by Nisa who had secured herself around the striped feline's waist. She had gotten too fast for the snake to follow so she let her climb on her body so that she'd be able to move as fast as possible without leaving her behind. She would have left her in her room in relative safety, but the girl insisted on going along with her; from how easily she took down her bodyguards she didn't have much faith in them holding off any greater number than their own. No need to risk the girl getting hurt when she was already with her and could protect the snake personally.

"So what are we going to do when we reach the battle?" Nisa questioned.

"What I will do is make this place safe from the invaders. First things first, you are going to stay out of harm's way. At this moment the safest place around here is by me, so until I find a larger group better equipped with holding their own you can't leave my side."

Nisa pouted. "I can help!"

Tigress did not look at her as she spoke, she stayed at her pace. "Your father wouldn't be happy with you putting yourself in danger I think," she said, hiding her scepticism.

Nisa huffed to herself, then suddenly looked mad... as if she had more to say. "It's like being a prisoner, ya know! He never lets me do anything, or go outside, or have fun; this is the most interest day I've ever had in my life!"

Tigress furrowed her brow, slightly disturbed by the girl's positive view of the situation. "Maybe so, but I can't do anything about that. Your father probably wants to protect you. There are things in this world that aren't nice, in fact, they're at your door right now." She couldn't pretend to know anything about Nisa's situation, but she stood by her words. Being a Kung Fu warrior afforded her experience in witnessing almost every kind of evil to see out there. Still, she did think that the confinement Nisa said she was in was right.

The snake seemed to take in what Tigress said, but didn't seem any less irritated for it. "I bet your father lets you do what you want," she muttered.

She could have laughed. Shifu certainly didn't let her do what she wanted. Absolutely not. "I was brought up strictly. I followed the rules." She did as she was told because she was his student. Not only did she strive to do everything possible to make her master proud, but she was also bound by duty. It would have made him even more austere than he already was if she had been rebellious... and she hated it when he upset with her.

"But still, at least you get to travel, which is more than I can say for myself."

Tigress did laugh this time, though not because it was funny. "I'm sure travelling is fun, especially when it isn't against your will." She shouldn't have let it slip, but her mounting frustrations made it hard to stay silent. She was captive to the most fearsome warrior china had ever known and he was carting her around as one would a prisoner, hardly the setting to take the joy out of an itinerant life. Then again, she knew equally that her situation could be hugely worse... but she did not ponder what could have been.

Nisa had gone quiet.

She winced regretting her outburst even more. "I... boarded the wrong ship. I'm supposed to be home right now," she said lamely, hoping that it would deflect suspicion.

The slender serpent didn't reply to that straight away. "Oh. Well... that blows."

She thought it best not to add any elaboration, or it would have looked more insincere. Travelling... Seeing sights? What a childish sentiment, a child's goal. Her only goal was to escape, get away at any cost- Realisation struck. She skidded to a stop before the next turn. Now that she thought about it, this was the perfect opportunity to do just that. Tai Lung was distracted, and she was a strong swimmer if the need cropped up. While he'd be fighting she could be long gone. She didn't know what she'd do after that point but at least she'd be free to devise a way to get back home. It would be far too late for him to catch her when he realised.

"What's up? Are you okay?"

Tigress snapped to attention and peered over her shoulder. Nisa eyed her with concern, oblivious to her thoughts. Guilt welled up in her and made her look away. Here she was planning to cut and run, selfishly, while people who had graciously taken her under their roof were under attack... If she were alone she would have slapped herself.

Turning the corner, the front gates were now in sight, and it looked to be in a bad way.

Tigress looked over all the injured guardsmen and among the group, she spotted the eagle that permitted them entry to this place. His right-wing had been bound, possibly from being broken and she could see he wore a few spots of blood. She wagered he'd probably have some answers about the situation. She approached the bird. "You! What's happened here?"

His head snapped towards her, and look irritated, but his expression softened somewhat when he also noticed Nisa wrapped around her.. "We're trying to hold this gate. The Tuanku and Tai Lung are currently on the other side by now. I assume that these attackers will be dealt with in time, now that your master aids us." Then he turned his attention to Nisa before she could rebute that Tai Lung was definitely not her master. "You should not be here Young lady, your father would have a fit if he knew you were unprotected."

She was about to answer but Tigress did it for her. "She's not unprotected."

The eagle narrowed his eyes. "And you would be?"

She noticed that every guard had his eyes on her now, awaiting an answer... and she'd give them one.

Tai Lung stood beside Raja atop the roof, a place where they could peer down at the enemy. He could see many of them, but hardly the most he'd fought at one time. He estimated over two hundred were standing, other than that the rest were dead upon the grounds of the courtyard. They hadn't left the place in a good state- tiles were shattered, trees that were once tall had been broken, and the decorative columns strewed around had mostly been smashed.

These trespassers had gathered without formation in front of the gate... all stood in wait behind a huge elephant, notably from where Tai Lung stood what set this one apart was that his ears were larger and flared out compared to the elephants he'd seen before... So he was responsible for belting the door? How did Tai Lung know that? In his hands was a gargantuan mace, big enough only for a giant to wield. He could have been their leader, either was Tai Lung was willing to bet that if that one fell the rest would fly. Covered in large plate mail, even his trunk, the bull was quite the paragon of a great beast. Tusks were embedded with needles, something he'd have to be wary of.

The force behind him consisted of mainly wolves, ox and bears, even a few hyenas. He noticed every single one of them bore heraldry. The symbol was of a yellow Moon and Star positioned next to each other, backed with blue. This spiked his curiosity. "That symbol. Whose mark is that?"

Raja shifted and looked uneased. "That is the- symbol of Kuala Lumpur," he trailed off.

Tai Lung furrowed his brow in confusion "Why would they come here...?" Then he turned to Raja dubiously. It was his right to know what he was getting into, but at this time he could hardly back out. If this was an attack from another country then it could only mean his friend was in direr a situation than he originally thought, and if he got involved in this business then it would put him in a situation where he could make potential enemies; this was the very reason he had left China in the first place. He turned to Raja with an indignant look. "What are you hiding?" He growled quietly.

Raja sighed. "I promise I'll tell you everything- after we've rid this place of the encroachers."

Tai Lung sneered, but nonetheless, let it lie... for now. "Fine, but I expect answers!"

"You will have them," Raja promised.

Then Tai Lung turned his sights back on the invaders, embracing his frustration and channelling it into what he would now do. He dug his claws deep into the roof, contracting his whole body. Then, in a burst, he catapulted himself behind of the warriors... soundlessly. With a loud cough, to gain their attention he was met with only ignorance. They didn't notice him at all, grunting incitements and other incoherent noise at the quickly failing gate. Approaching the nearest soldier, he prodded the wolf's shoulder and as he turned Tai Lung's fist blotted his sight before he was launched into his compatriots. Piling, falling and reeling, they were jostled by the impact and set in disarray. When the rest turned, saw what had happened and noticed the only man standing was not one of their own, there was one response. "Who is that!?" one shouted, waiting for some kind of reaction but didn't get one. Growling, he ran to attack whoever this was. Some of the others surrounding him didn't see fit to stop him; they regretted that choice.

They cringed at the sound of bone cracking strikes, though brief it was. Without warning the snow leopard flung the brave soldier, now broken, at no particular person. Whoever he'd landed on laid eyes on the beaten heap of a wolf and let out a scream, urgently flailing to push off his body.

All spectating looked at one another at first in shock but then began to growl, ready to make whoever this was pay with his life. Without pomp or words of threat, they charge at Tai Lung at once, causing dust to quickly rise and create a haze that enveloped them. Nonetheless, they pounded through with their weapons high. Tai Lung didn't need the advantage, though it amused him at how half-witted they were against one man that they would provide him cover and make themselves as good as blind.

Frighteningly... one by one were ejected from the cloud, battered, exactly how the wolf had ended up. The rest of the usurpers halted; they all froze in fear, stricken by sights and sounds. The haze vanished... The elephant, still bashing at the gate noticed none of the battle until now. But then he finally seemed to realise something was wrong and turned his attention from the gate. What he saw was a lone combatant stood astride a muddle of his soldiers. He couldn't stop his mouth from falling. How in hell...? He was sure that they were all standing strong behind him a minute ago. He barred his teeth "You! You did this!?" he snarled at Tai Lung who had his eyes narrowed at the giant.

Tai Lung ignored the barked question and unsheathed his claws, assuming an aggressive posture. "If you're brave enough, step forward and join them," Tai Lung offered him and all the remaining soldiers.

The elephant snapped at his soldier but they were still in shock. This was the prelude to his anger overtaking him. "Well!? WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!? GO GET HIM!" the elephant whaled. They obeyed with mad grit, and charged at the snow leopard who wore a veiled smile. The elephant commander turned his back on them and continued bashing the gate with ever more rapid blows.

Tai Lung allowed himself a smile as they all charged him. Did they not witness how he had just dismantled all those others? 'Oh, yes... none of them could see a damn thing', and it had been their own fault. A sable hue soared past, movements almost unseeable to the untrained eye. They all froze suddenly stuck in place then began to twitch before falling dead. "Took your time," he said in half-hearted annoyance.

Raja offered him a shrug. "You looked so happy being the centre of attention. I didn't want to ruin it for you," he explained sarcastically. Whatever retort Tai Lung had been ready to offer was cut off when both of them heard a loud crash. The elephant had broken through. Raja moved impressively fast, almost too quick to follow, stricken by desperation. Tai Lung followed after him. The elephant was now inside, and his remaining force poured into the palace behind him.

The pachyderm commander let out roaring trump with intent to mete out his rancorous brand of violence, but then he stopped and looked around. He noticed straightaway that there was nobody to block his path. "What?" He breathed to himself. Where could they have all gone? The gate had been held, he knew this. They couldn't have all vanished... Then he heard something. Out of a darker portion of the room, he saw a lone tiger come forward reveal herself, a tigress to be exact.

"You should leave before I'm forced to make you," she told him sternly.

The elephant stared at her in disbelief. Force him... to leave? His frustration grew, first that spotted cat and now her. They were troublesome and he had not been informed that warriors of their calibre would be protecting the palace. Now he did not know what the outcome of this battle would be... Was this oversight a mistake, or... a betrayal? Could someone have intended that he fail? He did not know... but it did fan his ire. This time his rage got the better of him; he snarled and began to charge at the striped feline furiously. Tigress merely awaited, motionless and unflinching as she let the elephant telegraph his attack. Without hesitation, he raised his Mace high, then brought it crashing down making the ground break leaving a small crater.

He started laughing. They were just one trick ponies. Skilled, but as killable as any other; he moved his hammer aside to see his handy work. He froze, not because of what he had done, but because she wasn't there. The ground he'd broken, but... nothing else. He was sure she hadn't moved, he even looked at the face the hammer to see if she had gotten stuck there, she had not.

He turned his head in all directions in an urgency to find her, then out nowhere his face was greeted by pain. The elephant's head flailed to the side. Tigress appeared in front of him, delivering an airborne strike that sent elephant back a few feet but he wasn't knocked down, not yet at least. Jumping up again she threw powerful roundhouse kick at his jaw then flipped over and hammered her foot down on the elephant's head making him stagger drunkenly. He fell to his knee. Seeing the chance, she moved forward to squat low in front of him, then burst, full-body, uppercutting his chin. The elephant appeared too debilitated from her strikes to counter her next attack and could no longer hold his weapon so she stopped. It was to be over with the next strike, as he was he could make no move against her. She would not exceed the needed force, she was not cruel; mindful of this, she still had to see if he was conscious, or how much so.

She walking towards him with caution and bent down to get a better look. He appeared to be out. Tigress relaxed her muscles and sighed. A quick glance ahead told her that no more of them were coming. She could hear the fight and see forms about the collapsed entrance, though she suspected that the noise wouldn't last for much longer... She was about to walk away but in a sudden move, the elephant's fist shot towards her. In the rush, she made the mistake of covering up instead of trying to dodge, and he grabbed her. She grunted in pain from his tightening grip. Ambling to his feet, the elephant brought her to face height. His expression was itched in pure rage. She was sure she could even see air escape his trunk as he huffed... "I will enjoy snapping you in two," the elephant hissed. Then his grip closed even further, and the breath was forced out of her. She was sure she had stopped him! She had measured the force of her attacks. It should have been enough...

Tigress gritted her teeth preventing herself from letting out any noise that indicated she was in pain. The elephant smiled sickly at her; he would make sure this would hurt her as much as possible. He continued to squeeze until a squeak came from his prey. She braced and didn't make other noise. She fastened her eyes on him and glared, he was obviously less than pleased by this defiance and put evermore force into his hands. With all her might she contracted her muscles against him and pushed back.

His hold didn't abate for even a moment, and laughed at her attempts, through his gloating it was unknown to him that a snow leopard now had his sights fixed on the elephant's back. "I'll not let them get away with this. Whoever's responsible for sending you, traitor or enemy, will suffer more than you will... Die with that knowledge you little bitch."

His bile reached its peak when he felt his hands move... and not closer together. Grinding his teeth, his malignant reaction was cut short by an unseen advent. A silver blur flew straight at the elephant. With crushing force Tai Lung's foot speared right into the back of the elephant's head - in the form of a flying side kick - making him fly forward from the impact. His mouth was agape and his grip on tigress slackened completely. She fell free, heaving. Left with no chance to retaliate, the elephant was sent crashing into the wall by Tai Lung swiftly throwing both his fists into the elephant's back in a double strike; he slumped against limply.

Tai Lung spared Tigress a look. She seemed fine, if only a little out of breath but he could nothing else wrong with her. "Are you alright?" He asked.

She nodded mutely.

"I've finished with the last of them." Tai Lung heard Raja's voice sound from behind him; he nodded acknowledging him while continuing to assess Tigress.

Raja then noticed that no was here. "Where is everyone?"

"I sent them out of this chamber," Tigress informed him "They would have only gotten in my way; the gate breaking down seemed inevitable so I decided it was wise they were elsewhere."

Raja was stiff. "And Nisa?"

"Safe, with them," Tigress assured.

Raja sagged with relief and smiled gratefully. "My thanks."

"Well, now that we're clear on the safety of your guards, I think this place needs cleaning up!" Tai Lung butted in sarcastically.

Tigress rolled her eyes subtly, and Raja gave him a weary smile. "You are right, we should remove all these bodies; I'll inform the guard that they are now required."

They stood in silence for a few moments, then began to head down the hall. Tigress, who had been caught in her digestion of all that had happened in a matter of hours, including just being saved from her own appaling mishap, moved past the elephant's body and followed after- But then, in rampant tear- the should-have-been carcass fired towards her. Her eyes widened in astonishment. She was on the tip of reacting but she felt a gust of wind whoosh in front of her. Tai Lung was there and had his hands gripped firmly on the elephant's tusks. Scowling, he flexed his arms, and with a snarl that could be felt he wrenched the elephant's head, and broke his neck. Even the most audacious person would have cringed at the sound. It finally left the giant dead.

He dropped the elephant without a care. The body hit the ground with a thud, and he moved past Tigress without a word, she eyed him in numbness as he left. He seemed almost urgent as he made off, and she was too shocked to move. Raja eyed the body almost sympathetically. After all, the fellow did take a harsh beating. He'd noticed Tigress still standing by, and she didn't seem to know what to do with herself. "You should follow him, I doubt that he can handle tending to both injured hands without making a mess... and making them worse."

Tigress furrowed her brow obviously confused, then she looked at the elephant. His tusks, the spikes had blood on them. She realised Tai Lung must have injured himself when he'd grabbed it- then she stormed in the direction he had left from.

Raja watched her go and sighed. Then he turned his sights to all around him. He looked distastefully at the mess of bodies and broken stone; it would be a while before this place was restored.


A fire was prelit before he'd reached room, which helped with the pot of water he'd precariously placed above it to be heated. Clumsily he gripped a bandage between his palms and pulled at it with his mouth, stretching it out to attempt to wrap it around his right hand without soiling it in blood. Idly, he wondered how long it been since he'd last seen his own blood, though such an announcement would never be admitted out loud, it troubled him. He had quite a few gashes from the little stunt he had performed... and some of them were fairly painful.

What possessed him jump in front of her like that? What a dullard he was... There were several reactions that would have been better than the one he'd chosen. It was an amateurish mistake. The very second he saw what going to happen his impulse had been tactless, second nature thrown obtund. That he'd jumped to her aid was not what he was opposed to, but it was done so with brutish rage, which was something he'd taken measures to avoid. It was a mistake- yes, just a slip-up. Yet... he knew that he could not afford to make mistakes, not like that. To lose control was to lose himself. During his escape from prison he'd purged his pit, fighting one thousand guards without making any mistakes, it had been flawless; this was a standard he was committed to uphold, and so he should be ashamed of the mistake he'd made now. He grumbled... this damned bandage was starting to- irritate him!

Snarling he slammed his fists on a table where a collection of gauze and sanitising liquid laid. It gave out under the force making everything fall and clatter on to the ground, his hand shook for a moment in pain but he ignored it.

He bent down to pick the bandage, but someone else beat him to it. His head snapped up and her face was directly in front of his.

Tigress thought she'd get angry with him at first. She could have handled that elephant on her own, she told herself, but that wasn't the point. As galling as was for him to interfere... she knew she should be grateful, after all, he did help her, and she might have suffered something fatal for all she knew. It was a provoking thought... that Tai Lung came to her aid. She felt that she should help him in turn, regardless of where the two of them stood. Tigress did not flinch at the warning behind Tai Lung's eyes, instead she stared back placidly. Tai Lung's childish response was to growl, as he made to move it away from her. She frowned. "Let me help." She could see he obviously didn't want help, he was stubborn... like her, but she would try none the less.

She went to take his hand.

He glared in the hope that she would leave, but she did not, in fact, she met his glare with her own... equally strong. For some reason, Tai Lung found that he was the one relenting. He wasn't all in... or she was suddenly more potent; he found he didn't have the desire to carry on any longer and give her what she wanted. He levelled his gaze, and raised his hand slowly to chest height giving her permission.

Tigress sat down in front of him tucking her legs under her. She took it gently and eyed the wounds without expression, though wincing inside herself as she felt a sense of guilt she wished that she didn't. The blood had dried and his matted fur. He hadn't done a decent job patching it up at all.

"Is there any hot water here?" she asked. Tai Lung wordlessly glanced in the direction of the bowl of water that had been placed slanted over the fire. Choosing not to speak, Tigress got up and fetched the bowl. Sitting back down she took his hand again and began to press a soaked cloth softly on the wounds. She began wiping away the blood clearing the wounds. They weren't deep, but she knew it would sting a lot and looked at his face for any signs of pain but when she glanced up she noticed him watching with little concern.

She did well and fell into the role with an ease of experience one had when at times it called upon her to take care of the wounded. Tigress did, after all, have teammates who occasionally needed tending. He didn't show any signs that it actually hurt... but he was giving her a certain look again, the one that made her self-conscious, brought out that fluttering feeling through her whole body, made remember and feel... She stopped herself there. She would not name it, and she could only handle his incalescence for so long. She diverted her eyes back to his hand. "You're welcome to blink," she said tonelessly.

He smiled uncertainly. "Pardon?" Tigress frowned; so now he finds his voice... How shameless. She just didn't get him, even now after taking a blow, he acted aloof and without a qualm.

"You know what you're doing, just stop." she quipped. She was trying to get this done without with composure but it seemed that she would have some trouble, he ever the antagonist.

Tai Lung gave her a more or less innocent look, yet in his eyes, the ardour remained. "Why don't you tell me, because I'm not really sure what you mean," he said shaking his head.

She blushed persistently, not realising she had been until now and snapped at him. "Stop looking at me like I'm some sort of-of... catch!" She literally hissed.

There was a malign edge to his otherwise teasing smile. "Catch. Well, I did catch you. Hn. You're blushing, Tigress."

That comment only caused her red face to become brighter. "I don't."

"You do." His smile actually softened, but she too embarrassed to notice. "It's... lovely. I believe that is the apt term."

If that was the case then she could do nothing to control it. She pretended to ignore his comments and drove back into her task; she knew he wasn't finished just yet though.

"It a red shade, you would think that one would find it difficult to notice over your orange fur; but it stands out brilliantly."

He opened his mouth to say more before he could, however, she pressed the cloth with just a little less gentleness. His eye twitched but other than that the only sign that gave of that he felt anything was the frown he now gave her. He let up, but was now sulking. She smirked at her triumph, but then she faltered.

She finished with his first hand and had wrapped it. "Tai Lung."

He answered with an expectant look.

Tigress hesitated, thinking over whether she should say what she felt she should. She was aware that she was being reticent and nodded to his other hand. He gave it to her; she began the same treatment. She looked at him again and wondered why she was hesitating. Why not, if only to get it out of her system? Maybe it was nervousness holding her back. Why should she be? She had no reason and he... wasn't any different to anyone else. "Tai Lung?"

"What is it?" Clearly, he could tell that there was something bothering her.

She sighed, which caused him to raise a brow; but then she steeled herself and the words came out. "Thank you for saving me."

He stared at her, not expecting those words, more strangely his response was genuine. "You are welcome."


Hm... well when I wrote this, it was surprisingly easy the get what I wanted. The words practically poured out of me, after that, I magically placed my fingers on the keyboard; you can guess the rest.

Thank you for Reading and please take your time to Review, Bye now