Viper couldn't believe what she'd just read. She had to reread it just to make sure. There was no denying it. Her eyes wheezed with tears as she examined the scroll. It couldn't be true. Her sister. injured fatally. She was frozen. Their was a knock on the door and tigress began talking through the door.
"are you ok viper? Monkey said he saw you slither off really fast after you got your mail. Was their something bad in it?"
Viper didn't reply. Tigress stepped into viper's room. Viper didn't explain she simply passed tigress the scroll. Her eyes were so blurred with tears all she could see was a orange blur. Tigress read the scroll.
"oh viper" she murmed, hugging her friend. "I'm so sorry, let me tell master shifu unless you'd like too"
"no, don- why would you tell him?" viper asked her voice cracking.
"but your worried he could let you stay here and I can bring up food and you won't need to train"
"I want to train. It will take my mind of it"
"but…"
"please" viper murmed. Her voice had cracked and she was just looking at tigress with pleading, wet eyes.
The masters stood Tall and proud in front of shifu as he walked back and forth choosing who would train against each other.
"and master tigress with master monke- viper are you quite well?" shifu asked the reptile who was wiping her eyes with her tail.
"what, yes I'm…I'm fine"
"you don't look it" viper could feel everyone's eyes on her. She tried to not recoil back but it was no use her instinct was to get herself into a defensive position and that's what she was doing.
"i….i….i'm…fine….mast-….er…." she stammered. Her breathing was especially fast and she could barely choke her words out. "plea….se….jus…t….con..ti..con…ti..nue" her breathing was now so fast her chest was rising and falling rapidly. Her mind was clouding, her head was spinning. She didn't know what else to do, she slunk from the staring eyes as quickly as she could, straight to the peach tree.
She could finally relax. She sat, curled up watching the village and the valley. Her breathing had returned to normal. She could see again. She didn't even notice crane come up the mountain. When she did see him she nearly had a heart attack, she thought she had been alone. Her heart pace was speeding up. Slow down, slow down she urged her beating heart and her rapidly rising chest. Your not in danger it's just crane. Just crane who she had had a massive crush on since the day they'd first met and always seemed to mess up in front of.
"hi, uh hi crane" she uttered. Her head was spinning again.
"um, master shifu sent me to come and make sure your ok, are you?" crane was finding this situation just as awkward as she was because he had also had a massive crush on her since he had arrived.
"yes, yes …i…i.. I'm fine" control, control your breathing don't stammer. "thank you for checking on me" slow your bloody breathing down! She yelled at herself in her head.
"that's good" crane replied and sat down next to viper who recoiled slightly at how close they where together. He noticed this and immediately moved away from her. There was a rather awkward silence in which they both just shuffled around.
"ummmm" crane didn't know what to say, he had never had an awkward conversation with viper before.
"errrr" viper was just concentrating on slowing her breathing down.
"well I suppose I'll go and tell him your alright then, uhhh shall i?" crane stuttered.
"ummm yeah I suppose"
It was a freezing day. The rain battered at the three warriors but they battled on, through the freezing rain and the ramming wind. Po was suffering least from this unfortunate turn out, because of his thick fur and panda fat he barely felt a thing, whereas viper and crane struggled through. "where are we going to stay tonight?" yelled crane over the howling wind.
"I don't know, there's no shelter anywhere" po shouted back as he scanned the horizon. All he could see was wind and rain, thunder clapped overhead and lightning flashed illuminating everything with a harsh golden glow. Viper was struggling the most as a cold-blooded reptile, her body was not used to this kind of torment and it showed it. Her body was shaking all over and her face was extremely pale. As they climbed up an icy, steep cliff she collapsed unable to protect herself from the weather. Crane ran back to her.
"Po, viper won't be able to make it till we find shelter, we have to stop" he cried as loudly as the ferocious wind would let him. Po desperately searched for a cave but with no such miracle appearing they were forced to use some bits of fabric and sticks and make a very sodden and unstable tent.
Crane knew it wouldn't hold but any shelter was better than freezing. They stuffed their packs inside after which crane carefully carried viper inside. She had finally started breathing again but she was still shuddering.
"we'll have to make a fire" crane decided pulling some sticks into a heap.
"no" cried po. "the tent could catch fire" just as he said this the tent gave a feeble wobble. Crane looked like he wanted to argue back but he didn't have the strength so they both just collapsed into sleep.
Viper woke hours later by the howling wind, the rain making tapping sounds on the tent. She was freezing and tried her best to warm up but she couldn't without a fire and so just tried to sleep again but the cold prevented this. Crane had been awake, his eyes closed he had been listening making sure viper's breathing didn't stop and when he heard movement he opened his eyes to see po sleeping soundly on his back and viper shivering on the floor. He opened his wings, his bird feathers giving him insulation against the cold and he croaked: "viper, do you want to sleep here" he gestured under his wing where she would be insulated from the weather . he immediately started panicking, soon after he said it. "actually you don't have too, you probably don't want to it's just if your cold" he looked terrified of her response.
"actually I would like that, if your still offering I mean" viper answered as tentatively as he was, as sleeping there would make her uncomfortably close to crane's body. Crane nodded so she slid over and curled up under the safe protection of his soft wings. For a minute both were unconfutable at being this close but then they relaxed enjoying each-others warmth.
By the morning the storm had blown over and the sun was casting a warm golden radiance over the hill the tent was sitting on. Po woke and stretched, opening eyes to see viper cuddled under crane's wing, both of them fast asleep. "wake up, sleepy slowpokes it's morning and frankly the Sonner we get out of this tent the better because that sun is making it very hot in here." Po instructed them as he pulled on his shorts. "time's a wasting"
"huh? Whas goin on?" asked a sleepy crane, his eyes barely open. Viper was still asleep so he nudged her with his beak gently. She turned over, and cuddled closer to crane's feathers. Crane nudged her again as he got up and with his warm body suddenly pulled away from her, viper finally opened her eyes.
"oh it's morning good" She breathed, sliding over to the edge of the tent, "we better be going." Crane and viper didn't speak about what happened last night, during the day. Po and crane walked behind with viper at the front. They left the hill they had built their tent on and walked west for several hours too a small village situated between two enormous mountains.
The village was crowded and the fragrant bursting smell of food cooking in the stalls made them all want to stop and eat. So they did. Settling at a table, po collected the food from the stall while crane and viper sat quietly at the table, not talking just glancing occasionally at each other. As they waited for po to return viper noticed that there were snakes in this village. She smiled at them.
"hey there are snakes here!" crane suddenly cried. "I thought they were all driven into hiding, feared"
"not here obviously" viper said softly while crane blushed feeling stupid. Po finally returned holding three steaming bowls of noodle soup. The three were silent, grateful for the stop and the warm soup. When they had all finished po opened his pack and pulled out a map of china.
"ok now, we need to find Tong Fo he must be somewhere he can't have gotten over the border already, he only left yesterday.
"what was it again he stole?" crane asked.
"the vase of properties" viper reported as she drank her soup. "it means that it can turn everything into the opposite of itself, so say everyone you love, you would suddenly hate and day into night, warm into cold anything, just the opposite of it."
"oh" said crane.
"now he probably took shelter in the forest of demons over there" po pointed to the east of one of the massive mountains surrounding the village. "and it will take about 6 days on foot to get there so we may as well find a place to stay the night."
"great, the forest of demons, doesn't sound terrifying at all" crane winced.
"oh it's ok crane" soothed viper and crane stuck his head under his wing, pretending to clean it but really hiding his face from her who he thought must probably think he's a coward.
They found some lodgings and paid the owner. There were two bedrooms, one with two separate beds and one room with only one. Po immediaty walked into the room with two beds in and fell onto one bed smiling, glad that this night would be a lot better than the last in the rocky tent in the wind. Crane and viper both stood in the hallway.
"you take the single room crane, it's got a good view of the mountains" viper expressed and began to go into the room with po in.
"no, you take the single room it's much warmer in there, you won't get cold." Crane argued. After many excuses viper finally allowed herself to sleep in the single room as she was a girl and it would be weird if she slept in the same room as po.
That night po lay awake in bed chatting to crane about the various things Tong Fo could do with the vase of properties. After a long discussion po finally asked crane: "so, why was viper sleeping under your wing last night?" teasing. He could see crane was getting unconfutable, his body had stiffened and he was sweating profusely.
"she was cold and I offered to let her sleep under my wing so she was insulated against the cold"
"sure"
"she was"
Meanwhile, in the next door room, viper was asleep.
In viper's dream
She was back on that freezing hill, it was night again and it was pitch black, she couldn't see po or crane and she was feeling colder then ever. All of a sudden a pack of black, snarling wolves appeared behind her. They had red eyes and blood dripping from their faces. She tried to escape but she couldn't move, she tried to scream but she couldn't make a noise. She was so scared, she would surely die here, in the freezing snow , on a hill in the middle of know where mauled by wolves. She tried to do kung fu but her body was stiff and felt like it was planted in the ground.
The wolves were so close she could smell their rank, breath. Suddenly, out of nowhere crane appeared, he swung in front of the wolves kicking and fighting. All she could do was watch as the wolves began to attack crane. She tried to shout again but she couldn't get any sound out, no matter how hard she tried she was completely powerless. The biggest, bloodiest of the wolves pounced on crane as if in slow motion He reeled back, standing in front of her, protecting her from the vicious beasts but he had lost too much blood. Viper cried out but nothing happened, the wolves left.
She was left in a clearing in a snowy wood with a dead crane on the ground. She leant over his body trying everything to revive him, but he was lost, she started crying, weeping over his lifeless form. She wanted to tell him how much she cared for him but now she never could.
Viper jerked awake. Breathing hard she could feel the sting of tears in her eyes. She used her tail to wipe them away hoping that she hadn't cried out in the night and woken the others. When she left her room and saw crane standing in the hallway while po staggered in and out of their room carrying provisions, she felt her heart was so weird, so wonderful to see him their alive and okthat she felt tears cling themselves too her eyelashes as she slid over to him.
"are you ok viper, only we heard you shouting something last night"
Dammit, they'd heard
"oh I'm fine" she replied wiping the tears away with her tail. "I hope I didn't wake you, it was just a silly nightmare"
"no you didn't we were awake, what was your dream about?" crane asked as he packed dumplings into bags.
"ummm" viper mumbled. "errrrr"
"oh no if it's personal, then don't worr- I'm sorry that was so insensitive of me to ask, you don't have to reply " crane fumbled his whole face turning red. Po appeared from the room and took his pack.
"wow crane you look boiling we could almost use you as a fire" po joked, wheezing at his own humour.
"now don't say things like that" viper protested glowering at po. Crane was turning redder by the minute after hearing viper protect him.
"geez it was only a joke viper" po muttered looking disgruntled. "lighten up"
On the walk out of the village and up to demon wood, po forgot all about his spit up with viper and was humming as he walked, cheerfully pointing out birds and flowers as they went. But viper hadn't her mind was raging. Why had she got so mad at po? It was only a harmless joke, she couldn't work it out.
They entered demon wood at around lunchtime and everyone was grateful for a sit down and some food after the long trek up the mountain. As they ate po opened the map out again and began telling them about the mountain they were on. It was called darkness mountain and had the highest death rate by wolves then any other mountain in china.
Wolves!
Viper's dream had wolves in them but that could've been anywhere. it was probably just a coincidence. Viper didn't even notice she'd said wolves out loud. The others looked at her but she was too absorbed in her thoughts to notice.
As they continued up the mountain searching for Tong Fo it started to get dark. The sky was turning inky black and the weather icy cold. Deciding they should set up their tent now before it got too cold the three masters started building the tent. Once the wind had started up again they rushed inside.
That night viper jerked awake again after a nightmare, it had been the same one except instead of wolves attacking her and crane it was po. This scared her even more than the wolves because po was such a kind soul that he would never harm anyone least of all his friends. She sat up, rocking back and forth, tears dripping from her eyes. She desperately wanted to slide back under crane's wing again. Not for the warmth but to relive the feeling of safety she felt when she had been lying there the other night. However she knew it was rude to simply go over there and cuddle him and it was wrong to be sleeping so close to her comrade.
She tried to get back to sleep but the same image of po killing crane made her squirm, it made her cry even more. She heard movement and immediately looked up, crane's beak had been twitching. He was awake. Crane hadn't been awake all this time only just recently when he heard viper sniff. He fell down from his original standing position to sleep in and outstretched his wing indicating she was allowed to lie there.
Viper tried to act like she hadn't been awake but she did want to sleep next to crane's warm body again so she slunk over and curled up under his protective curtain of feathers.
"are you ok?" he whispered noticing her red eyes.
"yes I'm fine"
"are you sure?" he asked, genuinely worried.
"yeah, just another bad dream" she whispered back, nuzzling her head into crane's soft downy feathers. Crane didn't ask what it was about.
"it wasn't even cold last night" po protested, smirking as he and crane packed up the tent while viper studied the map.
"what do you mean?" asked crane pretending to suddenly know nothing about what they were taking about.
"I mean about you sheltering viper with your wing" po tried not to shout. Viper had arrived back from the stone she had been laying on to read the map.
"so we can keep going north up this mountain and we will reach the Mongolian border eventually which is surely where Tong Fo is hidden as he flees us and china." She announced. "should we go?"
"what oh yep" crane replied as he and po starred at each other harshly.
"is this some kind of staring game I'm not invited too guys, come on let's get a move on he could cross that border any minute"
"coming" yelled po and crane and they both bolted over to walk next too her.
"you seem cheerier today" po noticed.
"I had a better night's sleep" she answered as she plotted things on the map. Po smirked at crane after she said this who immediately decided he should fly above the two so he could look out for danger.
Once he was a safe few feet above and ahead of them po turned back to viper. "so" he began as viper continued to make notes on the map. "do you like crane?"
Viper spat out the soup she was drinking from a woven bag all over po. "what?, ye-no, we're just friends"
Po nodded sarcastically. "yep just friends who sleep right next to each other and have dreams about each other"
"I do not have dreams about crane!" viper lied.
"I know crane does because he was talking about you in his dream the other night. I didn't know you have dreams about crane" po smirked.
"i…..i don't…I just" viper tried to say. "ok I had one but.. it was…."
"was what?" po asked excitedly.
"oh stop that" she cried at his smirking face. As she said that crane flew down and landed next to them.
"perimeter's all clear" he announced.
That night as the three sat around a fire outside their tent, viper began scrutinizing her pack eventually she found what she was looking for. One long Beautiful red ribbon.
"why did you bring that?" laughed po as viper began dancing around with the ribbon.
"why did you bring your tigress action figure?" she smirked back making po blush. "I brought these because dancing helps me to relax, and I love it." She finished, twirling around with the ribbon just as crane came out of the tent. He watched as she twirled and spun, casting dramatic red and green light over everything and moving so fast she looked like a blur as she leapt and threw the ribbon over her. He truly was very much in love with her.
As they watched her dance viper began to talk. She talked about her dad and where she got her first ribbon from and everything. "you know I once tried to teach tigress how to ribbon dance." She announced.
"wow, was she good?" questioned po as he studied his action figure
"no, while not while I was there she couldn't move her body gracefully and kept falling over I let her keep my ribbon so she could practise and I remember seeing her dance in her room very well as I went past one day"
"you gave her your ribbon?" crane breathed. "the one your dad gave you?"
"that's the one"
"wow, you two must really feel like sisters if your that close"
"she is my sister" smiled viper as she spun through the air. "I can tell her anything and she listens and she can tell me anything and I listen it's what sisters do"
"I wish tigress told me everything" moaned po.
"you and tigress have a very close relationship, po, she loves you" viper soothed, smiling.
When they finally walked into the tent viper didn't even need to ask, crane immediately stuck out his wing and viper curled up underneath, leaning against his feathers. Po smiled at them huddled together, wishing more than anything he could cuddle tigress, he held his action figure close to his heart and fell asleep clutching it.
For the first time in a couple of days viper slept soundly through the whole night, protected by the feathery bird nuzzled next too her. She looked up at crane and thought: I love you! then blushed all over. Do I really? She wondered and then looked up at crane again who had his hat pulled down over his face and was snoring quietly. Yes, yes I do. And she slithered up crane's neck and planted a kiss on his dark cheek.
When crane opened his eyes in the morning, he noticed two things. One was that po was lying over his bed playing with his action figures, humming happily and the second one was that viper was curled up around his neck, asleep, her head was resting in the air. Po who had been up for a while, waved at crane as he made his monkey spin through the air and then stop on the ground.
Outside, a group of tourists were heading up the mountain. Their silhouettes bobbed along outside the tent as a babble of conversation followed including two pig's conversation which was unfortunately heard by the three warriors.
"you now what I saw the other day?" one of the pig's asked, rather nasally.
"what?" asked the other.
"I saw a reptile and a bird, together!"
"really? Ew, such interspecies disgusting behaviour. They should be ashamed"
"yes I know!"
All of the warriors felt unconfutable, po immediately started talking really loudly over the tourists but crane and viper heard every word. crane looked down at viper then sat up off the ground.
"I'm going to make breakfast" he proclaimed and left the tent. Outside, viper followed him too where he was sat stoking dumplings over the fire.
"crane..i.." she was struggling with words to think of.
"what viper? What? That the word wouldn't view us as unacceptable, as non-equals" crane squawked back. "we don't live in a story, viper, the world isn't always nice too us!"
"but….we… we can rise above it."
"no! all that will do will make us sound like crazy animals. We'll probably be pushed out of the jade palace, blacklisted from every kung fu temple in china. Frowned upon wherever we go"
"no…we won't" viper cried. She was shaking but she stood her ground.
"we will. How do you know we won't"
"because shifu would never push us out, he didn't push po and tigress out after all"
"yes but that's different. At least their both mammals. You're a snake, your cold-blooded and scaly with fangs and an awful reputation wherass I'm a bird. A crane who's too shy and who gets too trampled all over"
Viper was taken back and frankly cross at crane for saying what he did about snakes, but she continued to rise above it. "it dosen't matter what animals we are, it's that we love each other that counts"
"oh we love each other do we?" crane cried at her.
"well I love you even if you are rude about snakes and saying we can't be together" viper said confidently.
" well…i…I don't"
"don't what?" viper murmured afraid of the response.
"don't love you back. I don't even think I ever did" he cried harshly then opened his wings and flew into the cool blue sky. The breeze he picked up when he left so strong that it blasted viper's hair flowers off.
Viper was still sitting there. Outside the tent. Looking down on the ground, her face hidden by the shadow of the great fur tree next too her. Her hair flowers lying a few feet away from her. Po, who had heard this whole conversation stepped cautiously out of the tent and walked over to viper.
"are you ok?" he asked tentatively to the rejected reptile. He then picked up viper's hair flowers and placed them back on her head.
Po knew crane would be flying straight home so he and viper packed up their things and started to head back. Viper wasn't chatty she didn't say anything other then directions and meal orders. Although they hadn't forbidden it po knew it would be unwise to say crane's name so the talk that was exchanged as they climbed down the mountain was nothing but idle chit chat and trivial talk. Po was surprised by how much viper talked considering she had just been rejected from the bird she loved so much. She had become a kind of snake tigress. Saying nothing but what had too be said, never saying anything emotional. But at night when she thought po was asleep he could hear her crying quietly into her mat.
Now your probably wondering what happened to crane. He flew straight back to the valley of peace, his flying getting him there much quicker than he would on foot. He arrived back at the jade palace and went straight to the barracks hoping that no one noticed him slip into his room, unfortunately as he was nearly in his room a voice cried:
"crane, your back!" it was monkey. He hugged his bird friend. "but where are the others?"
"probably on their way" muttered crane dismissively and closed the door of his room.
Monkey was very confused. He leapt back to the training hall where the others were practicing and shouted:
"crane's back"
"just crane?" wondered tigress looking confused.
"yes he said the others will be on their way"
What? why has he abandoned them? Did they catch Tong Fo? Where is the vase of properties?" shifu murmed to the others looking cross. "did you ask him, monkey?"
"uhhhhh no" monkey replied looking terrified.
"I'll ask him." Tigress decided as she leapt over the punching bag and dashed over too the barracks.
"crane?" she called tentatively as she entered the hallway. She noticed a silhouette and knocked on his door.
"what?" he answered curtly.
"um can I talk too you?" his silhouette nodded. She opened the door and slipped inside. Crane was standing in a meditative pose, his eyes closed.
"what's wrong? Why did you split up with po and viper?" he tensed at the mention of her name which tigress noticed. "what happened?"
"me and viper had an unfortunate argument and I thought it wise too return home" crane replied sharply, his eyes still closed.
"what happened?" Crane looked sad and then he looked over to make sure the door was closed and then he began to tell her.
Outside monkey had his ear to the door. Mantis approached him.
"what are you doing?" he asked.
"shhh I'm trying to listen!" monkey scowled so mantis jumped onto monkey's head so he could be closer to the door.
Crane was muttering but tigress could still hear him." And then we hear these two pigs conversation and it was all about how displeased they were about different species being together and then me and viper got into a big argument and she told me she loves me and then….."
"and then what" asked tigress listening to every word.
"I told her I don't love her back" tigress was frozen. She frowned then stood up and left the room.
"stop eavesdropping" she growled at monkey and mantis.
The two looked at each other then hopped into crane's room and started questioning him.
The valley of peace finally came into view. The jade palace nestled quietly on top of the mountain, looking over the valley. Po and viper entered the village. All the villages laughed and smiled at them. Their beloved warriors who the trusted with their life. But the two warriors were sad. Sadder then any injury could make them and started up the jade palace steps.
At last they reached the top. Po panting, viper only lightly breathing as they approached the door. They knocked, their was noise inside and then master shifu opened it.
"so did you catch Tong Fo? or did you let your petty squabbles get in the way of achieving your goal" he said coarsely to them. Po and viper looked at each other then replied:
"we let our squabbles get in the way master"
"I know" shifu replied curtly and he let them in. inside the others apart from crane where all training. Tigress ran over and hugged po, kissing him on the cheek as she did so and then she hugged viper.
"Meet me in my room later" she whispered. Viper nodded. The others all ran over, glad too see their friends.
The day was relatively quiet. The others didn't talk about why po and viper separated from crane even mantis and monkey, they just continued training, talking normally. When viper finally finished training she went straight to tigresses room.
"oh you're here good" tigress hugged viper. "are you ok?" she asked.
"not particularly"
Tigress frowned worried for her sister. "i understand, what he said was wrong"
"it wasn't wrong if he meant it" said viper quietly, wiping tears off her face with her tail.
"he didn't mean it. He loves you viper"
"but he is too afraid of what others will say to act on it so he pretends he doesn't" viper replied.
"you should speak to him, tell him he shouldn't care what others think"
"he'd never listen and I don't want to be insulted some more" viper murmed.
"please talk to him"
viper was quiet, thinking. "I don't know" she replied. "thank you tigress, for your time" and she left her room.
Crane was sitting in the kitchen, eating noodles but not really tasting them. Monkey and mantis hopped in, taking dumplings from the bowl on the sideboard.
"so how's the sad little birdy" mantis teased. Crane didn't reply.
"sad because he abandoned viper after telling her he didn't love her even though he does" monkey smirked.
"how do you know?" asked crane quietly.
"we heard you talking to tigress. Tigress of all people!" mantis laughed. Just then the worst person who could have entered, entered. She was looking for some tea but stopped as soon as she saw who was in the kitchen. Viper recoiled back, getting into a defensive position.
"hey viper" called mantis and monkey enjoying the free entertainment as they ate their dumplings.
Viper was about to leave, but she realised that she would rise above this and not let petty relationship arguments stop her from being polite or doing what she wanted to do. She slid over to the cupboard and started getting tea things out.
"hi monkey, mantis. Hi crane how was the trip back" she asked her head still in the cupboard as she took a unusually long time to find some tea.
"um it was good" murmed crane surprised while monkey and mantis both looked shocked.
Viper didn't say anything else, she simply made her tea quietly and left.
"wow! That was…..mature" monkey expressed.
"yeah…it was" crane murmed.
For The next few days times in the jade palace were almost back to normal except everyone was a little bit more polite to each other. crane and viper didn't talk much at all except polite conversation. that was until one morning when master shifu (who hadn't been told precisely what happened on the trip) put them against each other to practise training. Everyone looked at each other.
"ummm actually master shifu could I possibly go with viper just so I can perfect my phoenix twist kick?" tigress cried trying to salvage the situation.
"oh yes you can but after I've seen these two" shifu replied.
Crane got into his starting position, as did viper on the other side of the stage.
"and begin" cried shifu
The two leapt over to each other, for a second they didn't move and then they did. Fighting hard. For a couple of minutes everything went fine until viper accidently struck crane too hard and he reeled back, blood spurting everywhere. The others all gasped. Viper was traumatised by what she'd done, she slid over as quickly as she could to inspect him.
"are you ok?" she asked tentatively.
The Avion put his wing onto his beak and saw blood oozing onto his wing. He looked at viper with terror and ran back to the barracks while viper cried after him:
"I'm so sorry crane! I didn't mean too" she raced after him as fast as she could.
"hey! Get back here!" cried master shifu. "that is not how warriors behave, could someone go get them please" the others all just looked at each other, unsure of what to do.
Viper was outside crane's door, knocking. "please let me in crane, I'm so sorry I didn't mean to hurt you" she cried as tears began oozing down her face. "it really wasn't on purpose"
"likely story" came crane's muffled voice as he wiped his face with cloth to get the blood off.
"no it's true, I'd never intentionally hurt anyone, no matter how angry I was. Especially not to someone I care about so much" she wept as tigress and po entered the barracks looking for them.
"where are they? Can you see them?" asked po as he searched the kitchen while helping himself to some stir fry which was cooking on the stove.
"nope, but I know where they will be" came tigresses muffled voice as she searched viper's room. At last she saw them. Well she saw viper. Crying against crane's door while the silhouette of crane showed him cleaning his wounds. The door opened.
"ohhhh good you found them" po cried but tigress silenced him as she noticed crane let viper into his room.
"thank you" murmed viper once crane had let her in. "are…are you ok?"
"yes, it's only a shallow wound"
"I'm so sorry"
"I know"
There was a silence between the two masters. Not an awkward one just a kind of enjoying each other's company didn't need to speak kind of one.
"I'm sorry too" murmed crane. "i….was scared… scared of what people could think of me, I didn't even realise what I said until I had reached the jade palace, I was being selfish."
"you were scared and when we're scared we tend to think about ourselves. I understand" viper soothed.
"but I wasn't thinking of you at all. I was only thinking about myself. You always think of others before yourself, that's what I've always admired about you" crane murmed.
Viper blushed back. She hadn't been flattered like that in a long time.
"and your attractive and kind and caring…your perfect…..and I love you and i'm so sorry I made you feel so awful" crane continued blushing all the while.
Viper had started crying again. Not because she was sad but because she was so in love. "I love you too" she said quietly. And she slid herself around crane's neck, and kissed his cheek.
"oh my gods soooo cute" screamed po from outside.
"po stop eavesdropping" tigress whispered back as they left the barracks, smiling that her little sister was happy again.
"so are they coming?" master shifu demanded once po and tigress had returned to the training hall.
"probably in a minute, they're just….busy" po replied as monkey and mantis smirked.
Viper and crane where still in crane's room chatting. They had been chatting for many hours, enjoying each other's company after feeling dislike for each other. It was late into the night and crane was painting viper while she ribbon danced.
"so…um are we gonna tell everyone..about us I mean?" crane asked as he watched her spin through the air.
"yes….at some point"
crane eventually dropped off, standing at his easel and viper did on the floor, her ribbon wrapped around her. She woke first, hearing the birds singing and the morning gong ring. She slid over to the Avion who had fallen asleep with a paintbrush in his beak, which had been dripping paint all night and slunk around his body, rubbing her head against his downy feathers. He opened his eyes and noticed viper as she slunk out from around his feet.
"good morning sleepy head, master shifu is not going to be happy with that" she motioned at the puddle of blue water the paint brushed had dripped into all night on the floor. Their was noise outside as everyone got up. Crane laughed. Viper smiled. She was so lucky to be in love with someone as amazing as crane.