Chapter 10
As the sun began to rise, while they stepped out of the thick trees once more, leaving behind the individual printings in the snow, and thinking silently about the events of the night before, Viper smoothly slithered to the edge of the flattened hill they were trailing up. Despite the cold, she was growing rather tired of sitting in her satchel all the time, and decided to let Crane, Po, and Monkey take a break from carting her around all the time. She felt the gentle breezes as her sight caught sight of something far below, off in the distance. "The Valley of Peace..." The others froze simultaneously, and strolled over by her sides. They're faces soon burrowed into distraught.
"It's completely frozen." Po said slowly, holding his slightly sore warm for some sort of comfort. He couldn't help but wonder how everyone was doing back at the Valley. Were they OK? Did they have enough supplies? Was Shen taking care of them? Was that weirdo rabbit Haichīfu keeping his cool? Is he and Shen getting along? Is his father OK?
"But it'll be fine. Tigress will thaw it." Viper said with a positive attitude. They all frowned at little as they stared at the Valley from the far view they could see it from. It was covered in snow, and possibly a lot of ice. From what they could see what a huge piece of land with lots of bumps, and then the large sparkling lump of a hill that led to the Jade Palace, that was also covered in snow. They soon saw the green glint of its marble roof tops when the sun peeked out if the ominous clouds briefly, only to disappear, which made Po a little bit homesick.
"Will she?" Mantis asked. They all looked at Viper this time. She frown and tightened her hat, and she added, sounding a little off and uncertain. "Yeah. Now come on. This way to the North Mountain?" She turned and pointed straight ahead.
"More like this way..." Crane pointed her tail up towards a perilously mighty mountain. Then, looking at it a little longer, he gulped as he scratched the back of his neck. "I think..."
A short time later, Po, Viper, Crane, Monkey, and Mantis made their way beneath frozen willows. The hanging branches glisten like Christmas Lanterns at the winter festival at home in the Valley. They wove in and out silently through the frozen stems of the trees, until Crane knocked a few together with his beak. They tinkled like chimes, making him smile to himself, as he hit them purposely, and it played again.
"I never knew winter could be so beautiful..." Viper whispered breathlessly. Po, Crane, Monkey, and Mantis were just nodding in agreement, when suddenly, a voice comes in from nowhere.
"Yeah...It really is beautiful, isn't it? But it's so white. Too white, right? You know, how about a little color? Yeah! Just a little bit of color will change it, not too much ya know? Like, must we bleach the joy out of it all? I'm thinking like maybe some crimson, or chartreuse..."
The Masters looked around them quickly as the voice continued, in hope to find the source of the rambling. Viper looked at Po, Crane, Monkey, and Mantis - could they actually be talking? The boys looked back at her, just as baffled as she was. In the meantime, a snow dragon, minus his ferocious horns and long thin whiskers, and nearly half the side as Monkey as he walked on his hind legs, wanders up behind them.
"How 'bout yellow?" He pauses, before shaking his head quickly. "-no, not yellow. Yellow and snow? Brrrr...that's definitely a no go. Maybe Red or Royal Blue, but no yellow, that's for sure." He stops between all the Masters, who slowly turn towards him. They looked down at him. How did he get there? He suddenly looks up at Po. "Am I right?"
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Po hollered.
"AHHHHH!" Screamed the snow dragon.
"AHHHHHH!" Screamed Viper, Crane, Monkey, and Mantis as Po's defense reflexes took over and he kicked the snow dragon's head, sending it flying off his body and into Crane's wings. Crane cried out as Monkey, Viper, and Mantis jumped back, as the Dragon's body waddled about, searching for his head.
"Hi!" The dragon said cheerfully to Crane with a big smile.
Crane could only stare as he held it arms length. "You're creepy..." He tossed the head to Monkey, and then passed it to Po, who passed it to Viper, who shoved it back to Crane in panic, and they quickly commenced a game of hot potato without realizing it.
"I don't want it!" Crane tossed it to Po.
"Back-atchya!" Po tossed it to Monkey. The body of the dragon waddled between them, trying to catch it's head, like he was Piggy In the Middle, or in his case, Dragon in the Middle.
"Please don't drop me!" The head pleaded as he landed back to Po a brief moment later. His eyes started rolling out of control.
"Don't!"
"Come on, it's just a head."
"And I don't want it."
"Guys, guys! I'm gonna get sick if you don't stop! We don't that color adding in the snow do we?" Viper caught the head for the third time, and panicked when the body ran at her, arms waving. It looked more like the body of a penguin waddling as fast as it could, and if they weren't tossing the head about, and watched this, they would've probably found it quite comical. "All right, I think we got off to a bad start-" The dragon began again- only to be interrupted.
"Ew, ew, the body!" Viper squealed, and she violently slammed the head back on the body, sending the dragon straight down flat on the ground, embedding his body shape into the deep blanket. He laid very still for a few moments, which gave Crane, Monkey, Mantis, and Viper enough time to hide behind Po for protection. Once he got up, he turned around, to reveal his head was upside down on his body. He wobbled about dizzily, and when he stopped, he smiled happily to the them and the open space around them. However, his expression turned to confusion very quickly. Scratching the 'top' of his hear with his little stick like claws, he spoke again. "Wait, what am I looking at right now? Why are you guys-" he noticed Viper. "And girl, hanging off the earth like bats?"
Viper began to feel bad, because it was her fault his head turned out like that, so she slithered towards him, and said sympathetically. "Wait one second." She slowly reached out to him and picked up his head slowly, and placed it right, using snow from the ground to massage into his neck to secure his head a bit more. The little dragon began to laugh. "That tickles!" And soon his attitude changed to pure delight, seeing the world right side up. "Oooh! Thank you!" He holds his head with glee. "Now I'm perfect."
Crane looked over his innocent face slowly, and when he looked up at the chime like willow branches, he got an idea. Viper looked over as well, also grasping an idea quickly.
"Well, almost." They said together. Po watched Viper pick up two, sharp, short horn like stones, and gestured the snow dragon to turn towards from her. Monkey and Mantis watched Crane use his beak to cut down a willow branch. He was just breaking it in half, when Viper accidentally slammed one stone all the way through the center of his head, making the pointy bit stick out of the top of his head like the wick in a candle
"Woo! Head rush!" Said the Dragon, holding his head.
"Opps!" Viper covered her mouth. "Too hard. I'm sorry! I-I, I was just... Are you okay?" The Dragon felt the tiny piece of stone sticking out on the top of his head. His whole face lit up. "Are you kidding me? I am wonderful! I've always wanted a real head horn!" He poked at the point, his eyes all big and bright. "So cute. It's like a little baby unicorn's horn!"
Giggling, Viper reaches for the point. "Let me try that again." She pulled it out slowly, and fixed the whole in his head with snow. "Every dragon needs..." She stuck it inside the left side of his head, and then the other stone on the right. "Two head horns."
"And whiskers," Crane added. He passed the willow branch, now properly shortened to Viper, and instructed her through the process of weaving it through one side of his snout, and out the other side. The other three observed like critics, just so they wouldn't feel left out of this, and smiled when the two were done.
"What? Hey! Whoa." He felt the new horns, and gasped at the sight of his new willow whiskers, that reached down to his knees. "Oh, I now love it even more! What gave you the idea for these whiskers? And the new head horns! Hah..." He cleared his throat, and held out his talons. "All right, let's start this thing over. Hi everyone. My name is Jījí, and I'm a dragon!"
"Jījí huh?" Po smiled when Jījí turned to face them all individually. "Nice to meet you." Jījí continued to smile, until it looked at little strained, and the crinkle around his eyes started to look a little tight.
"...And you all are?" He asked slowly, waving his talons in a circular motion. At first none of the Masters recognized what he meant, but then Viper realized what he meant.
"I'm Viper, and this is Po," the panda waved. "Crane," the avian flapped his wings. "Monkey," the primate smiled. "And Mantis." Jījí narrowed his eyes, until he went 'oh' and waved at Mantis.
They studied Jījí properly; he was crystal white like the atmosphere around them, and his eyes were a brilliant blue. The newly added whiskers were clear and see through, but when the sun reflected of them, they glistened brightly, but no longer chimed. The stone horns stuck out on the top of his head, and his tail was swishing about happily. He had no wings. Jījí noticed them looking and chuckled. "Not all dragons have wings."
"So your a lizard then?"
"NO! I AM NOT A LIZARD!" Jījí folded his arms angrily. "Maybe if I went to my creator in the North Mountain to give me wings you won't call me that!"
They froze, and slowly looked at one another.
"Creator in the North Mountain?" They all asked.
"Yeah..." he pointed towards the mountain that hung above them in the far distance. "Over there."
Viper followed where he was pointing, and eyed the mountain for a few seconds. "Jījí..."
"Yeah Miss Viper?"
"Just call me Viper... And... Does your creator happen to be a feline?"
"Yeah a tiger... why?" Viper's face lit up immediately.
"You look excited!"Jījí clapped happily. Curious, Monkey walked behind Jījí, took hold of his tail slowly, only to panic a little when it came apart. But when he didn't flinch, or even notice it missing, and watched it flick in time with his arms. It seems to be moving in sync with them, despite being detached.
"And her name happens to be Tigress?" Po joined in the interrogation, and the two asked Jījí together, in their little pattern; Viper, and then Po.
"Yeah why?" Mantis and Crane had a peer at the tail too, just as dumbfounded.
"Do you know where she is?"
Crane studied his tail. "Fascinating..."
"Yeah. Why?" Mantis and Monkey nodded in agreement.
"Do you think you could show us the way to the mountain?"
Monkey poked the tail repeatedly. "How does this work?" Jījí dismembered tail slapped Monkey, Crane, and Mantis across the face, one after the other. He got Crane on the beak, Monkey square in the jaw, and Mantis was swiped off Monkey's shoulder. "OUCH!"
Jījí turned and grabbed his tail back, and pointed it at them in annoyance. "Stop it, guys. Trying to focus here." He quickly put the tail back on, and then returned his gaze to Viper. "Yeah, why?"
Crane rubbed his beak and Monkey moved his jaw about painfully, as if to click it back into place. "I'll tell you why. We need Tigress back home with us, to bring back summer."
Jījí gasped in shock. "Summer?" He soon began to sink into wistfulness, and ended up falling back onto the ground "Oh, I don't know why but I've always loved the idea of summer... and sun... and all things hot."
Monkey smirked as he held his jaw. "Really? I'm guessing you don't have much experience with heat."
Jījí smiled. "Nope! But sometimes I like to close my eyes and imagine what it'd be like when summer does come." He closed his eyes "Ah..."
In Jījí's fantasy world, it's a perfect summer day, and Jījí walks through a grassy meadow with the sun shining behind him. He sways happily.*
Bee's they buzz,
kids'll blow dandelion fuzz
And I'll be doing whatever snow does in summer.
*Jījí lies in the sand on a beach.*
A drink in my hand, my snow up against the burning sand
Prob'ly getting gorgeously tanned in summer.
*Jījí lies in a boat .*
I'll finally see a summer breeze, blow away a winter storm.
*Jījí floats in the water.*
And find out what happens to solid water when it gets warm!
*All his pieces begin to separate.*
And I can't wait to see, what my buddies all think of me.
*He tumbles on a beach, and soon dances about sand people in various poses.*
Just imagine how much cooler I'll be in summer.
Dah dah, da doo, uh bah bah bah bah bah woo
*Jījí and a seagull break out into a tap-dance.*
The hot and the cold are both so intense,
* Jījí and another snowman drink hot chocolate together in a hot tub.*
Put 'em together it just makes sense!
Rrr Raht da daht dah dah dah dah dah doo
*Jījí tap dances with more seagulls, now with their own hats and sticks.*
Winter's a good time to stay in and cuddle,
*Jījí bounds down a grassy hill joyfully.*
But put me in summer and I'll be a -
*He stops at a puddle, looks down at it. Smiles. Hops over it.*
Happy snowman!
*Jījí runs to the top of a hill with a picnic blanket in hand, flapping in the breeze behind him.
When life gets rough, I like to hold on to my dream,
*He lets it hit the ground and lies on top of it.*
Of relaxing in the summer sun, just lettin' off steam.
*He closed his eyes, and some steam rises off him. He slowly reopens his eyes, no longer looking happy, and reached out for the sky with a look of hope.*
Oh the sky will be blue,
*He lies on his stomach with glee as Po, Viper, Crane, Monkey and Mantis sit with him, holding various foods.*
And you guys will be there too...
*Po was slowly eating a bowl of dumplings, while he, Crane and Viper looked at Jījí and then at each other, with Crane and Viper holding sandwiches, unsure what to do, and Mantis and Monkey devour a pie together.*
When I finally do what frozen things do in summer!
*The boys were rolling their eyes as Viper smiled sweetly.
"I'm gonna tell him." Monkey says. Viper glared a lightly whacked his shoulder.
"Don't you dare!" She hissed disapprovingly.
Jījí sings the final note.*
IN S-U-M-M-E-R!
*The fantasy world swings around him and its returns to reality.
He then straightens up and smiles.
"So, come on! Tigress is this way." He skipped up to Po, and gently pushed him on. "Let's go bring back summer!" Jījí also makes a grab Viper's tail and pulled her along towards the mountain as Po began to walked with a whistle. She began to laugh brightly and excitedly.
"We're coming!" She turned and motion the others to follow. "Come on you guys!" Mantis leaps off Monkey's shoulder, and hops along, happily following them. Crane and Monkey watched all of them go off, and slowly rotating their heads towards one another.
"Have they gone nuts?" Crane brought up his right wing and screwed it into the side of his head. "They're losing it! I swear!" Monkey nodded.
"I agree..." He listened to Jījí egg them to hurry up. "Somebody's gotta tell him." He muttered, and they forced themselves to continue their way and catch up with the others.
Jījí - Positive
Here's chapter ten guys! Well this story is going along smoothly! Hope you are enjoying it as much as it is to write it!
Please review and tell me know your thoughts!