Hello, this is my first and maybe my last TiPo story. I just wanted to make a little experiment with an OC. Well, I'm not a specialist about Po and Tigress stuff, for this reason, don't be angry with me, if somebody thinks that it makes no sense. Like you read in the summary, the story is primarily concerned with Po, but I also wanted to write about another theme. Well, there are a lot of prejudices in the world against groups. In Kung Fu Panda world, it's not impossible that there are prejudices against animal species. For example, all snakes are evil, or all monkeys are stupid… Or if a certain bird species did something evil… Well, you will read what I mean.

First, I thought to write this idea for a bigger story, but now it became just a little story like an episode in the KFP series. I was just disappointed that never my favorite animal appeared once again. Maybe they thought, one of these birds in one movie was more than enough, but you will read what I mean. :-)

Have a good reading time.

1. The search begins

Cautiously, Po peeked around the corner. The others were still sleeping. The panda tiptoed past his friends' rooms on the wooden floorboards. Shifu was the only one who knew about his early stealth, but he didn't want the other five to know. Nobody should see that he was leaving the grounds of the Jade Palace, as that someone might want to come along.

Relieved, he had the last hall behind him and left the house in which the rooms for the kung fu students were accommodated. Then he hurried down the stairs and left the area of the Jade Palace. The sun was still partially hidden behind the mountains and it would not be long before the gong sound for waking up would come. Po felt a bit strange not to inform his friends like that, but he really wanted to be alone today without anyone knowing where he was.

After he had finally crossed the last step - luckily, it was easier going down than up - he strolled past the houses of the village. He really wanted to be in the village before the shops opened. Then, he would have enough time to find what he was looking for today.

"Oh, Po!"

Startled, the panda paused in the middle of walking.

"Po!" Mr. Ping called down the street. "What are you doing here so early? I didn't expect you today."

Embarrassed, Po turned to his foster father. "Uh, I don't know either... I might just want to stretch my feet."

"But don't stretch your feet too far," Mr. Ping said. "After all, tomorrow is the Dragon Warrior Festival, and then you mustn't be absent."

Po smiled mischievously. "Don't worry, I'll definitely be there. Because... otherwise it wouldn't be a real Dragon Warrior Day anymore."

"I really hope so, Po", the gander warned. "Because you will stand in the restaurant and greet our guests... You promised."

Po sighed. "All right Dad."

"And you will definitely bring someone with you, won't you?"

Po had to sigh again. "Don't worry, my friends will definitely come."

"And a... girlfriend?" Mr. Ping asked.

Po rolled his eyes. "Dad! Not again."

"But why not, son? On such a special day, you have to take someone out. For a special meal."

Po nodded dejectedly. "Sure, Dad. I'll think about it, but now I have to go."

"Where are you going?"

"Not so important. Don't worry, I'll be back in time."

With these words, he ran quickly down the street.

"Should I reserve a table for two of you?" Mr. Ping called after him, but the panda was already out of earshot.

Panting, the panda ran through the streets. In a few minutes, Mr. Wu's junk shop opened. Po was hardly around the corner when he stopped as if struck by lightning.

"What?"

There was a sign at the entrance to the shop. Po had to close and open his eyes several times to make sure he wasn't dreaming. Or more, he didn't had a bad dream.

"We moved?" The panda read in disbelief his jaw dropping.

"Morning, Po," a pig greeted the Dragon Warrior. "Ready for tomorrow already?"

Po shook his head. "Uh... yes... no... Where is Mr. Wu?"

"Oh, didn't you notice?" the pig asked in surprise. "Well, you haven't been down here in a while. Too many missions, right? Anyway, Mr. Wu packed his cart and moved to the southern province."

"And who absorbs shop now?" Po wanted to know.

The pig shrugged. "No idea. So far, no one has offered to be a successor. Although we regret it very much that he moved away. He always had nice souvenirs on offer."

Po's shoulders sagged. "Yes, he had."

The pig looked at him thoughtfully. "So if you really want something like a toy or something, then you have to go to the neighboring village."

Po sighed dejectedly. "Yes, I will probably have to do that…"

A few moments later, the panda trotted down the country road through the woods and meadows. He had actually hoped not to have to make a detour, but in this case, there was probably nothing else he could do. When it came to finding a present for Tigress, he would even travel around the globe... if he had all the time in the world.

It wasn't the first Dragon Warrior Festival in the Valley of Peace, but Po still felt guilty about Tigress. So much had she been looking forward to being the Dragon Warrior, but instead he became the one. When the subject "The choice of the dragon warrior" came up among the friends, Po sometimes wondered what was going on in the tigress' head. Was she still mad at him? Or was she proud of him after all? Maybe she was proud of him, but she was still a little disappointed. Somehow Po wanted to cheer her up. He just didn't know how. In any case, he wanted to give her something special on his day to somehow dampen bad feelings from back then. If there were bad feelings. Or not?

"That's not what I was looking for either," Po muttered to himself as he looked at all the pots, vases and bowls that were in the only shop in the neighboring village.

Tigress wasn't the kind of person who collected vases. On the contrary, she would probably use them for training.

The dealer, an old goat, looked at him with a bored expression. "Well, if you are looking for more things with more jewels, then you have to go to the other village. They have several shops there."

Sighing, the panda went to the next country road.

"This is going to be harder than I thought," he muttered to himself.

This chapter was translated from German into English by me and was corrected by Starless echoes.