Into the Beast


The tiger looked down the village from her Jade Palace roof perch. The sun rose from the bottom V of the valley, and red, blue, and orange lit the sky. The up-current wind rustled her fur. Her arm stretched over her tucked-in knees, and her silent gaze went uninterrupted until the clumsy grunts, wails, and mumbled curses grew closer and closer. "Wha! Geez, why does she always choose the hard to get places?" Po mumbled under his breath. Tigress gave a ghost smile as the ursine warrior finally got onto the roof. "Hey."

"Hey," came the reply.

"The others are waiting. Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," She said with the heaviest sigh. Po nodded and tried to smile. Tigress stood up and walked over to him but stopped. "Po... I don't think I should-"

"Tigress, it's okay. I've gone through the same thing."

"It's different."

"Is it?" Po smiled with a raised eyebrow. She looked away. "Hey, Tigress, it's okay to be scared."

"I'm not scared."

"Oh! Thank goodness!" She rose her eyebrow. "Because when we see your mom, one of us is going to have to be brave to face her."

"You're scared of my mother?"

"Ter-RI-fied! Your mom is the only person I think Wong-Hu is afraid of," Po replied.

"Why?"

The panda shivered. "You just have to see her first."

"But I'm scared-"

"Ah-ha! I knew it!" Po grinned. The tiger rolled her eyes. "It's okay, Tigress. Honestly, I'm more worried about this than you. This is war," Po frowned, "And if Wong-Hu's behind it." He trailed off and gazed at the sunrise, just for a moment. "Anyway, let's get going."

"C-could I ask you something, Po?" Tigress asked.

"Of course."

"What is my mother like?"

"Wh-wha?" Then they heard a slow creaking. "Oh no."

CRACK!

"WAHHHHHHH!"

CRASH! Tigress looked down at the freshly made hole in the roof. "I'm okay! I landed on my spine! Hehe, oww!" The tiger shook her head.


"Are you sure we can not-"

"It's better if we not use the entire royal procession to announce our coming. Everything will be fine," Lee smiled at the duck. Windbag slowly nodded as he attended to the other servants. Mr. Ping gave Po a big pack at the entrance of his shop.

"Please remember-"

"I know, I know, Dad. Keep your sword clean," Po smiled. Mr. Ping smiled back and hugged his son. Tigress stood behind and watched the precious father-son moment. She graced a small smile and turned away, but a feathery touch brushed her hand. "Dad?"

"Mr. Ping?"

"Ah, ah, you need something too," The goose walked back to the kitchen and grabbed a small pack. Giving it to her, Mr. Ping said, "You've been away from your land for a while. There are some things that will help you with your culture." Tigress looked into the pack.

"Bandages, knives, how did you know I eat Soy cubes, Mr. Ping?" she asked.

"Haha, how do you think?" Mr. Ping winked. The tiger glanced at a whistling panda. "The knives are for protection. I know tigers well enough to know that your Kung fu might need some help."

"The Bandages?"

"That's actually for Po's sake. When he told me about visiting your mother... I knew who was going to get hurt."

"You've met my mother?" Tigress asked.

"Hehe, no, but I know tiger women."

"How?" Po and Tigress asked. The goose smiled, winked, and chuckled his way back to the kitchen. That's when Mei came up to them.

"We're ready to go."

"Let's go then," Po smiled. Tigress nodded as they left the small village. Cool breezy wind glided by their faces as rustling leaves from the bamboo shoots flew around the dirt path. They trudged over high hills covered with thick foliage; sunlight dazzled through the cover as they journeyed on. For the majority of the trip, Tigress was silent. She quietly listened to the laughs, jokes, and stories that the others told. Though she smiled, the weight on her lips couldn't be removed by a small joke, especially when she was out of the loop. Night came and the team sat with their backs to a steep rocky tree-covered mound. Pebbled gravel blanketed the floor and a small lake at their right bubbled with the soft sounds of crickets, darting fish, and skipping frogs. "Ah, I don't understand what's so relaxing about a lake," The panda sighed.

"It is peaceful here," Tigress agreed. They sat by the blazing fire, and Lee and Mei glanced at each other, exchanging awkward grins.

Finally, the wolf cleared his throat, "So, Master Tigress. We couldn't help but notice you've been quiet lately. I know you're quiet most of the time, but-"

"How could you know that?" Tigress asked.

"Po told us," Lee and Mei replied. The panda shrank under his bowl of soup.

Tigress sighed, "I am fine, Em- I mean, Lee and Mei. I just... don't know how to handle this. I'm about to finally meet my parents, my real parents. It's... unsettling."

"I understand," Mei smiled. "When I first came to Japan, I couldn't bear anyone being around me. I was alone in a new land with a completely different culture. The only person that seemed to understand that was Po."

"We know what it's like to feel... unsettled," Lee smiled. Tigress faintly smiled back. It was quiet again before she asked,

"So, what is my mother like?" Lee and Mei instantly looked at Po. The panda's empty bowl practically hid his face. "Po?"

"You're the only person who's met her face to face. We've only met Tiger," Mei said. Po sighed and placed his bowl down. He leaned back against a boulder as he watched the fire's smoke ascend into the starry sky.

"Well, I guess I have to start from the beginning. Abba put me in charge of spying while Lee took charge of the strategies. The Jin-Min are in China, and most of the people there didn't expect a panda to be the emperor samurai. So, when I would sneak into the capital, I would use my cover as a chef. It was pretty easy, too. I managed to get a firm spy base around the outskirts of the capital. One day, I decided to venture a little further in, where the officials and higher authorities were," Po sighed and grumbled a little at the memory, "I was only trying to get into a small tavern. I didn't realize what I was getting into."


The panda had a pack strapped to his back, and a bundled sword was neatly wedged into the bag. The flat stony streets of the capital's higher ring were very spacious; barely any carts came by, but carriages and litters would easily travel through. White pristine two-story houses were spaced five feet away from each other. They all looked the same except for the lantern decorations outside each house; lantern decor was a high honor in the Jin-Min capital. "Where are we going, Po?" asked a lanky short tiger beside him. He was dressed in dull torn clothes, having a small stringed belt around his waist.

"Just stay close to me, Hun. We'll be okay," Po replied. On his right, they heard a small commotion. A small tavern with new wooden shutters at the windows looked a little out of place in this upper-class area. "Come on, I think I can make a base here."

"Are you sure? Something about this place doesn't seem... natural," Hun said, hearing the tavern's hickory wood creak as they walked up the first step.

"It's a tavern in the richest place of the capital. How rowdy can it be?" Po cockily said.

SMASH!

A flash of gray flew past their eyes and out of a newly broken shutter. A huge rhino, plated with armor, scampered away from the tavern. Hun glanced at Po. The panda muttered, "Just keep your head down, ears open, and eyes peeled." There was no heavy liquor smell when they entered. For the most part, it looked pleasant. Dark cedar floors and empty tables were scattered around. It was spacious yet neat. Nothing out of the ordinary.

"AND TELL YOUR FRIEND THE SAME!" Something like a big hunky mass of gray flew over Po and Hun's heads and out the door behind them. Only later did they realize it was another rhino scampering away for cover. Po looked at the other end of the tavern. There stood a cold steely-faced male tiger about two inches taller than Po. He wore a woven armor plate on his chest and shoulders and black pants held by an iron-studded belt. The white vest underneath the armor barely covered his muscular torso, and his beady eyes gave chills to anyone who looked into them. He had no weapon on him, which unnerved Po all the more.

He wasn't the one who shouted. "My dear," He turned with a pained grunt, "You have to stop getting angry so easily."

"If those two don't want to respect me then they shouldn't come here," said a feminine voice. Po looked at a smaller elegant-faced female tiger that glowered each and every way she looked. She was much slimmer than her male counterpart, but Po could definitely see tonality in her hidden muscles. She popped her stiff neck and dusted the maroon pants and vest she wore. A small set of throwing blades sat on her right hip while a brown strap across her chest carried a huge sword on her back. Po narrowed his eyes. The sword was weirdly placed; the hilt was much too high above her head. It would be difficult for her to pull it out, and, though Po didn't doubt she could, the sword was much too big for her to wield. "He deserved it," Continued the feline.

"But you didn't have to throw him out."

"So what? He was getting on my nerves."

"He offered you a drink."

"I can get my own drink, Qiang," remarked the female tiger. Po and Hun quickly and quietly darted to a table and waited for the waiter to serve them.

"What can I get for you?" the waiter, who was a gazelle, asked.

"We actually wanted to speak with the manager. We're looking for jobs as cooks," Po said. The gazelle's eyes widened, and she chuckled.

"Y-Y-You must be new around here."

"Yeah, we're just from upper China. Is there something wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm just making sure."

"If you don't mind me asking," Hun chimed in, "Whatever happened to the last cook?" A small hand came down on Hun's shoulder. Po gulped as both of them look up to a familiar feline face.

"He angered the manager," growled the female tiger. Then, almost as if speaking to an innocent child, she smiled at the waiter. "Sweetie, could you be so kind as to give our guests some drinks?" The waiter bowed and hurried away. She never came back with those drinks. The tiger took a chair nearby and sat on it backward, resting her arms on the back post. There was something unnerving about her little neat smirk that would show the smallest amount of teeth and suddenly show all her teeth when she grunted or growled. "So, you two want to be cooks here?"

"Y-Y-Yes," Po stuttered. "I didn't know you owned the place, Ms-"

"Mrs." She grunted out.

"Mrs. uhh..."

"Tigra, and this fine gentleman is my husband, Qiang." The big emotionless male cat walked to their table and nodded his head. Po tried his best to bow while sitting.

"Um...it's an honor to meet you two. I gotta say, I didn't think that you two would be... restaurant managers. You look like awesome warriors," Po said.

"Deception is part of the art, panda," Tigra replied. "If everyone knew about us, we wouldn't be top warriors."

"So... you are warriors?"

The female cat ignored the question, "Why don't we get to the point, boys? You two want to be cooks. What are your names and what can you make?"

"Oh, I'm Hun, and this is Lotus." Po would use that name for his spy missions. He didn't know it was his panda name. "He can make very good soups and bean buns. I mostly help around."

"Interesting, you said you're from upper China? Where?" Tigra asked.

"The Valley of Peace, actually," Po replied. Tigra's cunning smirk almost disappeared. She looked at her husband. The man's steely eyes glanced down at his wife. Po could have sworn Qiang gave the smallest nod he ever saw. "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing," She hastily dismissed, "I find it interesting that you two are so far from home. So, what makes you think you two are worthy of coming into my shop?"

"Ma'am?" Hun said.

Tigra's unnerving smirk returned, "You should already know that this place is a little... dangerous."

Po chuckled uneasily, "Hehe, anything that doesn't get claws or talons in our chests, I'm okay with." Hun and Qiang darted their eyes to Po and then to Tigra. The thick air didn't allow breathing room for anyone for a bit, but Tigra smiled wider.

"You two like flirting with danger, don't you?" She lightly chuckled.

"No, he likes flirting with danger," Hun grumbled, "I just make sure that I can haul his dead body back to his dad." Po playfully stuck out his tongue. "Gosh, you're so childish." It was as if they forgot their true mission. The tiger couple widened their eyes. They didn't expect this.

"I don't flirt with danger. Danger just seems to like me more than most people. I can't help it," Po said, pointing at Hun. "And it's not my fault that that girl wanted to hit on you."

"She was a bandit!"

"And you stole her heart, not the other way around."

"Oh of course," Hun crossed his arms. Qiang and Tigra looked at each other.

Then they laughed. They burst into a laughter that seemed very strange to the very wood they stood on. Po smiled warmly. Tigra's laugh was... melodious and comforting, completely unlike the first moments they met her. And she looked familiar. Po had seen enough tigers to tell them apart at a glance, but this one and her husband were very familiar in their mannerism. He just couldn't figure it out. Their laughter wound down, and Tigra wiped her eyes.

"I have to admit, you two are different from the other ones I've seen."

"Well, thank you," Po smiled. Then the female's smug smile returned.

"It's a shame though," She said, "that spies aren't allowed here." Po's face dropped as Qiang pulled the sword strapped to Tigra's back and swung it down on Hun.

Continued...