WOOT! New chapter! Yes, oh how I love new chapters. Ok, so yeah. I'm adding in another character this chapter, one that I had in my newest chapter for, 'Beginning's and Endings'. He belongs to SiberianTiger45 and he just ROCKS! Be sure to check out SiberianTiger45's stories and yeah. Enjoy the chapter!
Chapter twenty eight: The More the Merrier
The hours slowly passed into night time and in that time, everyone in the Jade Palace had heard what had happened to poor Rose. They were all worried about her, but trusted Shawna's judgment.
After a while, Tigress left to go help with look out, around the palace, while Shadow and Bran'ika stayed and watched over Rose.
Shadow sat down in a chair, while Bran'ika would pace the floor slightly, sitting down every once in a while. Before to long, Shadow had fallen asleep in her chair. Leon walked in and smiled at his wife.
"Are you okay staying here with Rose, while I put Shad'ika to bed?" Leon asked.
Bran'ika nodded. "Yeah. I can watch over her, just fine!"
Leon nodded and gently scooped Shadow up into his arms and carried her out. Bran'ika turned to face Rose and sighed. He knew this would be a long night.
The hours still slowly passed by and Bran'ika eventually retreated to the chair and fell sound asleep.
The night soon passed into morning, and the sun slowly started to peak through the window. Bran'ika was still sound asleep, while Rose started to stir lightly.
She moaned lightly and slowly opened her bright blue eyes. She blinked them a few times, before she turned her head to the side and stared out the window, at the raising sun.
She stared at it for a moment longer, then turned to see Bran'ika, still sleeping in the chair. She smiled and chuckled softly.
She watched him for a few more minutes, before he slowly started to wake up. He sat up and stretched out, then he looked over at Rose. He gasped and hurried over to her, when he saw her staring at him.
"Hey Rose! How are you feeling?" he asked.
Rose closed her eyes for a moment, then slowly opened them again. "Oh, better then when we were in the woods." she replied quietly.
Bran'ika chuckled and smiled at her. "Well that's good. You wait here, I'm going to go get Shadow!" he said.
Rose nodded softly and Bran'ika turned and ran out. He ran down the hall and soon made it to Leon and Shadow's room.
As a courtesy to their new family members, signs had been hung from the doors, to mark who's room was who's. Bran'ika stopped in front of the door and knocked lightly on it, so as to not wake anyone else.
Bran'ika waited for a moment, trying not to tap his foot against the wooden floor. He could hear quiet muttering and a scuffle of feet. Then a few moment's later, Shadow appeared at the door.
Her fur was sticking out everywhere and it was slightly damp. Her eyes were bright, as they always were, but they had a hint of worry to them. She was wearing a light purple robe and she was very confused, as to why someone was knocking on the door this early, since Shifu had given them all the day off, so they could sleep in a bit, get some well earned rest and also to get to know their new family members better. But Shadow smiled, when she saw Bran'ika standing there.
"Hon, who is it?" Leon asked, from inside the room.
Shadow turned back and said, "It's just Bran'ika!", then she turned back to the White Tiger and asked, "is there something I can help you with?"
Bran'ika smiled at her. "I just wanted to tell you that Rose is awake!" Bran'ika explained.
Shadow's face lit up at that. "Oh that's wonderful! I'll be right there. I just, uh, need to finish getting dressed." Shadow said, awkwardly.
Bran'ika held back a laugh and nodded. Then Shadow disappeared inside the room and Bran'ika took off down the hall, back to Rose' room. When he got there, he caught Rose trying to get out of bed.
"And where do you think you're going?" Bran'ika asked, tauntingly.
Rose looked up and blushed a little. "I just wanted to get up and stretch a little." she muttered quietly.
Bran'ika rolled his eyes and let out a laugh. "Back into bed!" he scolded.
Rose rolled her eyes and grumbled. Then she slowly pulled her legs up and laid back in bed. Bran'ika smiled, then the door opened and Shadow walked in.
She wore a simple purple vest and black pants, and her fur was still slightly tussled, but it looked like she had smoothed it slightly.
"Hey, sorry about that!" Shadow said, as she ran a paw between her ears, to smooth her fur further.
Bran'ika chuckled and Rose smiled at her. Shadow walked over to her and sat down on her bed. She stared at Rose for a moment, ears perked up.
"You know, you gave us quite a scare!" Shadow finally said.
Rose sighed and nodded. "I know. I'm sorry! I didn't know that would happen." Rose said.
Shadow smiled kindly and nodded. "I figured that." Shadow gently teased.
Rose smiled and nodded. Shadow let out a quiet chuckle. She really was just like her.
"Alright, for a little while, you need to get some rest, same for you Bran'ika! Then later, we'll see if you're in good enough shape to get out of bed." Shadow said.
Rose sighed and nodded. "Ok. I guess I can do that." she said.
Shadow smiled. "Good! Alright Rose, I want you to try to go back to sleep. Bran'ika, I want you to head for your own room and also try to get some sleep." Shadow told them.
The two White Tigers nodded, and Shadow smiled at them.
"Alright, I guess I'll head to bed now. See you later, Rose!" Bran'ika said.
Rose smiled. "Later Bran!" she said.
He smiled, then turned and walked out the door. Rose settled down and got comfortable. Shadow walked over and helped to tuck her in.
"Get a good rest and maybe you can get up later." Shadow said.
Rose nodded. "Alright, Shadow." she said.
Shadow smiled and nodded once. "Sleep well, Rose!" she said.
Rose nodded and yawned. Shadow chuckled quietly, then turned and left her room and headed back to her own. For the rest of the day, everyone did as they pleased.
Po and Tigress took Silver and Blaze, to do some training. Tony Hutch and the rest of the Five, worked on their forms. Jet and Wave joined their group, later on.
Bran'ika slept for a while, then also joined in. Master Shifu watched his students from afar, while Shadow and Leon simply spent some well deserved alone time with each other.
Rose slept for most of the day, but after a bit, was allowed up. She also became very close friends with everyone she came into contact with. Something about her, was different.
A few days had passed by, since Rose had unlocked her ice power, and Shadow thought she was in for some good training time.
Shadow took Rose and they went to the Training Hall together. They walked in and Shadow smiled.
"Alright, today we're just going to have some fun, with moving targets!" Shadow explained.
Rose cocked her head to the side and Shadow laughed. Then she grabbed Rose' paw and dragged her over to the Jade Tortoise.
Shadow stopped and let go of Rose' paw, then she leapt up onto the edge of the bowl, letting it dip under her weight. Rose cocked her head again, but stared in awe, as Shadow back flipped to the other side.
"Alright, I want you to try and hit me, using only your powers!" Shadow called down to Rose.
Rose' eyes went wide at that. "B-but what if I hurt you?" Rose asked, slightly scared.
Shadow laughed and said, "Don't worry, I can take it. Now come on, hit me with your best shot!"
Rose smirked at the challenge before her and raised her paws, so that they were level with her face. Then she closed her eyes, opening them a moment later, to show they were pure white.
Then she blasted a thick sheet of ice at Shadow. Shadow jumped back and it missed her. Then Rose attacked with a few small, yet hard, boulders. Shadow flipped forward, missing them as well.
Rose tried to hit her with a set of water jets, which only grazed Shadow's arm. Then Rose tried to knock Shadow off the bowl, using a hard blast of wind. She was successful and Shadow fell into the middle of the bowl.
After a minute, the White tigress popped her head out and tipped the bowl over, so she could crawl out of it. She walked over to Rose, who's eyes had returned to there normal color, and smiled wide at her.
"You've gotten much better at controlling your powers!" Shadow said.
Rose beamed and bowed to her Master. "Thank you, Shadow." Rose said, coming up from her bow, still smiling.
Shadow returned her smile. Then all of a sudden, she was forced against the wall and was pinned to it. Rose stared at Shadow in shock.
Shadow looked over to the left and saw that the shoulder of her vest had been caught and pinned tightly to the wall, by a black dagger.
She bared her fangs angrily and reached up and pulled on the dagger, trying to get herself un-pinned. Rose perked her ears up, when she heard laughing.
She looked up towards the rafters and saw someone creeping along. Then they jumped down and walked towards the two White Tigers. Rose got ready to attack whoever it was, when Shadow spoke up.
"Do you know how many times I've had to sew my clothes because of you?" Shadow asked, half annoyed, half pleased.
Rose looked back and saw her pull the black dagger, out of the wall and her vest, then she walked over and stood besides Rose. She spun the dagger around her fingers, then tossed it at the figure.
The figure reached up and snatched the dagger and sheathed it, then slowly stepped forward into the light, revealing a black Panther.
He smiled at Shadow and nodded in acknowledgement at Rose.
"Oh, what can I say, Shadow? You never told me to not do it! Besides, you were a moving target for your friend here, why not for me as well?" the Panther teased.
Shadow rolled her eyes and flashed a smirk at him. "Haha, very funny Chris!" she said.
Rose looked between the two felines, confused. The black Panther, Chris, walked up to the two White Tigers and grinned.
"Rose, I'd like you to meet a good friend of mine, Chris!" Shadow said, motioning to the black Panther.
Chris bowed his head to Rose and she returned the motion.
"So what are you doing here, Chris? I figured you'd be off fighting with the army already!" Shadow said.
Chris shrugged and replied, "Eh, I decided to come for a visit and figured I'd see if there was any trouble stirring up!"
Shadow laughed and rolled her eyes. 'That's our Chris!' she thought.
"Well, it's very nice to meet you, Chris!" Rose said.
Chris flashed a smile at her. Even though he had pinned Shadow to the wall and had slit her vest, Rose liked him.
"Say Chris, why don't we head in and let everyone know you're here!" Shadow suggested.
Chris nodded and the three felines headed inside. Once inside, Chris was tackled to the ground, by Silver and Blaze. He laughed and grabbed them both around their waists and hefted them up.
They laughed and squirmed in his grasp. Shadow and Rose watched them, with smiles on their faces. After Chris put the twin cubs down, they ran off to find Lance and Kira, so they could meet Chris.
While they were doing that, Chris talked with Rose and asked about questions about her. After Rose gave a quick explanation about herself, Shadow came back with a new vest on.
"I'll sew my other vest later!" she said, while glaring at Chris.
Chris simply smirked at her and Rose had to hold in her laughter. After that, Chris got dragged off by Silver and Blaze, because they wanted to introduce him to, Lance, Kira and all their new friends, while Shadow and Rose decided to take a hike out in the woods together.
But what they both did not realize was that their simple trip out to the woods, would not end as simply as it started...
Alrighty! How was THAT? Another new character, coming next chapter! Hope you all enjoyed it and yeah, until I get a new chapter up, don't forget to check out, SiberianTiger45 and his AMAZING stories and don't forget to review us both, please!
