Matriarch

By corset-rebellion-follower

Disclaimer: I don't own Kung Fu Panda

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Chapter 10- Sissy

"JIANG! JIANG, SWEETHEART, WHERE ARE YOU?" Tigress whipped her head around, trying in vain to see through the snow to locate her tiger cub. "Jiang, please, it's dangerous out here, come out!"

She shivered. It was freezing cold, and she was starting to lose the feeling in her fingers. Maybe if I had brought my cloak. Not only would I be warm, but it would attract Jiang like a moth to a lantern.

She lost her footing on the ice underneath the snow. When she lifted her face out, the snow beneath it was red. She lifted her paw up to her nose. A shot of pain went through it when she touched it, and when she drew back her fingers were coated in blood. Great, just great. But Jiang… I have to find him. He could freeze to death out here, or get hurt!

She stood back up, being more careful not to slip and fall again. She stumbled through the lashes of wind and the wakes of snow. She could make out the outline of the Hall of Warriors, and headed toward it. Please, please be in there, Jiang. Safe and sound in the warm hall, please be in there. She flung open the doors.

"Jiang?"

There was no shivering, crying tiger cub waiting for her, peeking out from behind one of the massive pillars. The room wasn't completely empty, though. Her friends and Master Shifu were all sitting around a brazier. And they were all staring at her. "Tigress, what happened to you?" Viper asked, her voice echoing off the walls.

Tigress put a paw up to her nose again. She knew they were addressing the blood seeping out of the appendage, not her.

"Please... Jiang is gone. He ran outside, I don't know where he is, and I can't see a thing out there. We need to find him!" she begged.

"The little guy is out in the snow by himself? He'll freeze out there!" Po said worriedly.

"We should go look before he gets lost out in the storm," Mantis said. They immediately left the warmth of the hot coals and headed out into the stark, freezing storm to look for Jiang. Tigress was about to follow, but she turned back around.

Master Shifu was still sitting. "Master… aren't you coming?" she asked.

"The cub is your responsibility, and I trust that you'll be able to find him." Tigress stared at him.

"So you're not going to help us?" There was no answer. "Master… Master, please. Jiang is only a child, he needs help, he won't survive out there!"

"How can you take care of a child when you're still a child yourself?" he demanded.

"I am not a child, I am an adult!" she yelled back.

"No, Tigress, you think you are an adult!" Shifu yelled, standing up and walking towards her. "You think you're an adult because you are of age, but you are not! You don't know how the world works."

"Maybe that's because you kept me in isolation here since I was a child! I've only left the Valley a few times in my entire life, and I've only been down to the village a handful of times more! I know I found Jiang for a reason, Master, I know it! I lost my parents when I was a child, and I had nowhere to go until you found me! But then I was disappointed because I thought you loved me, I thought that you were proud of me, but you weren't! You never were! And now I have a child of my own, and I know exactly what not to do. I know never to act like you did to me! I have Jiang now, and I'm going to love him, and hold him close, and tuck him in every night and give him kisses and pats on the back. And I'll tell him how proud I am of him for coming so far from being abused!"

Shifu's mouth hung open.

"That's right, he was abused! That's why he's so scared! I don't know who, or where, or for how long, but someone was hitting him and not showing him any mercy! But I will and I'm not going to let anything happen to him, and that's why we need to find him so that he can be safe and grow up to be happy and healthy and lead a good life and find a nice girl and get married and have a family. So please, help me find him!"

She watched him. He didn't move, and didn't get up from his spot. She clenched her teeth and curled her fists up tightly.

"I… I hate you! I hate you so much!"

She burst out of the Hall of Warriors and into the snow. It was still blinding and the cold cut heavily against her. "Jiang! Jiang, please! Sweetheart, where are you? I love you, sweetie, please come back to me!" The only response was the wind.

"JIANG! JIANG, COME BACK TO ME! COME BACK RIGHT NOW!" She fell to her knees and sobbed. What's the use? It's probably too late. He was so fragile… and it's so cold… he'll never make it. But something boiled up inside of her, making her stand up again. She heard herself calling Jiang's name. She felt shoots of pain go up her legs with each step, and she realized that the bandages that Crane had wrapped around her feet had come loose and fallen off. But she ignored it and kept on going.

Jiang… my baby… please be safe. It doesn't matter if I'm not your mother, you're my baby, and I love you. Please, sweetheart, be okay. Don't be trapped out in the cold with nowhere to go.

"Tigress!"

She turned toward the direction that her name had come from. Suddenly, out of the walls of snow around her, Po appeared, shielding his eyes against the wind. "We found him! We found Jiang!" She felt tears drip out of her eyes. "You have to come! He won't come out and the storm isn't going to lighten up any time soon!" he yelled.

She nodded and followed him. They came to the bunkhouse, where Crane and Monkey were waiting. "Mantis and Viper went inside because…"

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT THEM, WHERE IS JIANG?" Tigress demanded. Both of them pointed underneath the porch.

Tigress knelt down next to the stairs. Jiang was huddled underneath them. "Jiang, thank goodness. Come here, darling," she beckoned, holding her arms out to him. He shook his head. "Jiang, please, it's too cold to be outside, you'll freeze. We need to go inside now." He shook his head again and went deeper under the structure. "Jiang, you need to come out of there, please sweetheart, I'm begging you," she cried.

"I want Mama!" he sobbed, wiping tears off of his cheeks.

"Jiang, I know you want your mother, but she's not here right now. Please, come out of there so that I can help you," she coaxed.

"No! I want Mama! Go away!"

Tigress sighed. "Alright, Jiang. I'll go away. Whenever you want to come out, I'll be inside." She stood up and walked up the stairs, opened and closed the door, but didn't go inside. She stood at the door, completely motionless and quiet. A few seconds later, she saw the tips of Jiang's ears near the bottom step.

She walked back down to the bottom of the stairs and kneeled in front of him. "Do you want to come inside now?" He nodded and held his arms out. She picked him up and went inside.

Before anyone could ask or say anything, she carried him off to her room and sat him down on the bed. She grabbed her cloak off the floor and wrapped it tightly around him. He snuggled into the fabric, sniffling and wiping his eyes.

She gently stroked his cheek. "Jiang, listen to me. I know I'm not your mother. I never will be. But sweetheart, I'm going to take care of you and love you. I don't want to take the place of your mother. She's your mother, and you'll always have her as your mother. And she's the luckiest woman on earth because she has you for a son. But for the time being, you have to trust me, sweetie. Can you do that? I promise that I'll keep you safe."

He sniffled and wiped his nose. "I miss her."

"I know, baby. I know. I miss my mama too."

"What happened to her?"

Tigress sighed. "I don't know. I don't know, baby." She felt more tears coming. No, you can't cry in front of Jiang. He needs you to be strong. But she felt the tears escape. Before she could wipe them away, a much smaller paw did it for you.

Jiang had his own tears coming out of his eyes. "I-I'm sorry about your m-mama."

Her face cracked into a wide grin. Why, she didn't know, but it did. "It's okay, sweetheart. Everything is going to be okay." She pulled him into her arms and hugged him tightly. He wrapped his arms around her neck and nuzzled her.

"I love you, sissy."

Tigress smiled. "I love you too, little brother."