"Yo, Po, can you pass me the blue?"
Po's furry paw gently cupped the paint dish in front of him and moved it to the free spot next to Aden. It wobbled slightly as he set it down, but no paint spilt from its edges.
"Appreciate it, man," Aden thanked Po, giving him a bright smile.
"No problem," Po returned his smile. "Your mask looks awesome, by the way!"
Aden looked over his vibrantly colored mask that he was currently adding various blue streaks to. His mask resembled a Lion's face that had been tie dyed, the mismatched colors and patterns spiraling out from the nose. Aden wasn't a visual artist by any means, but he greatly enjoyed the messiness of painting.
"Thanks, dude. How's everyone else's coming along?"
"Just adding the finishing touches!" Viper announced, her voice muffled by the paintbrush hanging from the corner of her mouth.
Aden's eyes roamed around, getting a peek at the array of styles from each student warrior. Interestingly enough, everyone had chosen a mask that resembled a fellow teammate, but they colored them to mimic their own natural color scheme. Tigress had a panda mask with lines of orange and black running down its cheeks, while Mantis had a tiny monkey mask with different shades of green swirling all over the the wooden face.
The mask Aden found the most unique was Crane's, though. He had a snake mask with a section of the bottom cut out so it could rest atop his beak, and instead of using his own black and white color scheme, he chose to paint it vibrantly like Aden. However, instead of a simple spiral of colors, Crane detailed his mask to an immense degree. Beautiful flowers of all colors rested upon the cheeks, a starry night sky on the forehead, and the sacred peach tree grew from its nose.
"Holy cow, Crane," Aden gawked at the warrior's mask to his left. "I had no idea you were an artist."
Crane, however, didn't respond. Aden glanced up to see Crane's face in a trance like state, his eyes fixated ahead of him.
Aden gave him a small nudge. "Hellooo... Earth to Crane?"
"Wha- huh?" Crane's startled voice sounded as he was broke from his stupor.
"Crane's an amazing artist," Viper joined in from across the table. "You should see some of his calligraphy!"
"Oh, um, yeah," Crane added, slowly coming back to his senses. "I'm alright, I guess."
"Don't be so modest!" Viper countered. "I love your work."
Crane's cheeks gained a slight rosy appearance. "Thanks. I can show you some of my projects sometime if you want, Aden?"
"Absolutely, dude," Aden smiled.
The team chatted casually while they finished decorating their masks. Once everyone was done, Aden offered to stay behind and clean up while the others got ready for the festival. They all tried to help at first, but Aden was having none of it. It was the least he could do for coming up with such a brilliant idea for him to see the valley.
Aden had been washing the paint dishes for only a few minutes when he heard another presence enter the room, and he had a pretty good idea as to who it was.
"I thought I told you to go get ready for the festival," Aden spoke without turning around. "I don't need any help."
"I'm already prepared," Tigress replied. "Besides, there isn't much you can do to stop me."
"Oh yeah?" Aden turned around to face her. "Try me."
Tigress said nothing and simply approached him in a calm yet methodical manner. Aden's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates as she neared him. She stopped when her face was less than a foot away from his, and a smug grin creeped it's way onto her face.
"Are you still not going to let me help?"
"No?..." Aden squeaked.
The next thing Aden knew, his head was pinned against the counter with his arm held behind him like a chicken wing.
"Ok… You win..." Aden spoke while his face was still smooshed against the counter's surface. "The pain is very persuasive."
Tigress gave a half-suppressed laugh and let go. She gave him a warm smile as she picked up a dirty paint dish and dunked it into the bucket of soapy water.
"You're starting to sound like Po." Tigress said, scrubbing the dish clean.
"Hmmm?" Aden gave her a curious glance.
"The way you speak. It's very similar to Po, only... stranger."
"I thought you were going to stop being mean to me," Aden winked at her.
"Just making observations," she chuckled lightly.
"I guess I'm just getting more comfortable with everyone, so my speech is starting to revert back to its natural state. It's funny you say that, though. Even on my home world, my friends would give me shit all the time for using words like 'radical'."
"Radical?"
"It means like 'cool' or 'awesome'."
"I see. Well, it's very radical of you to teach me about your home world," Tigress gave a tiny smile that held an adorable mix of pride and goofiness.
Aden gave a short yet hearty laugh. "We'll work on that. Now, let's hurry up, so we can start making our way down to the village."
Tigress nodded and finished drying the remaining dishes, while Aden wiped the few stray paint splotches that landed on the table. They put everything away and walked back to the student barracks where Tigress disappeared into her room. Aden slid the door open to his own room, picked up the oversized, black cloak resting on his bed, and draped it over his body. Po had brought it to him last night and suggested he wear it to the festival, as his somewhat foreign shape and hairless body might alert somebody that he isn't from their world.
He made his way to the front of the Jade Palace to find his comrades prepared for the festival, their resting on top of their heads.
Po noticed Aden approaching from the back and gestured for everybody to follow him. "Alright, Aden's here! Let's go party!"
The group ambled down the grandiose stairway and made idle conversation with each other, the sun gently setting behind the rolling hills in the distance tanning everybody in a magnificent, orange glow. Aden walked quietly from back of the pack simply appreciating the beautiful sight in front of him and the pleasant sounds of his friends chatting. To his left, Crane stepped at a pace that matched Aden's, his eyes fixated in front of him. For an artist, Aden assumed the gorgeous scenery was providing Crane with plenty of inspiration.
"I can't believe you guys get to appreciate this view everyday," Aden addressed Crane. "I haven't even seen the valley yet, and I'm already in love with it."
But just like earlier today, Crane didn't respond. Aden looked Crane over and noticed that his eyes were still locked ahead of him.
"Yo, Crane," Aden said, a little louder this time. "You alright, man? You've been kind of spacey today."
Crane sprung from his trance and looked at Aden. "Whu-? Oh, sorry about that."
"Something on your mind?"
"I guess you could say that… I don't really want to talk about it right now, though. Sorry, again."
"Hey, no worries man," Aden gave Crane a light pat on the back. "But, I'm here if you need me."
Crane returned a kind and appreciative smile before facing forward again.
As they neared the bottom, the village came into full view for Aden. What immediately caught him off guard were the variety of mammals he saw. Sure, he had grown used to his furry friends of the Jade Palace, but he wasn't at all prepared for an endless sea of bipedal bunnies, pigs, big cats, primates, antelope, bison and much more. It was all very overwhelming for Aden, which Po took notice of when he looked over his shoulder and saw him hurriedly put his mask over a flushed face.
Po moved to the back of the group and patted Aden's back. "Don't worry, we got your back, man," Po assured him. "Just try to relax and enjoy the festival."
Aden thanked Po quietly and exhaled slowly to calm himself, as the group approached the last step. The rest of the group pulled their masks down to cover their faces when they planted their feet at ground level. Aden's breathing was still labored as he walked through the village, but the comfort of hiding behind a mask and being with friends helped him maintain composure.
Aden had never been to China on his home world, but the architecture of the homes and businesses were very similar to what he had imagined. The valley's color pallette thrived on white, red, brown, and a soft yellow, which he felt complimented the buildings' designs. On top of all the permanent buildings, the streets were lined with tents, game stalls, and food carts, which Aden understood were just here for the festival. Chinese lanterns hovered above them, connecting every building to each other, and streamers of a multitude of different colors draped over the sides of every wall in sight.
"Funny," Aden said to no one in particular. "This is very similar to the festivals back home."
"Really?" Viper questioned.
"Yeah, absurdly similar. The obviously rigged game stalls, the brightly colored decorations, the crazy costumes, and most importantly, the delicious smell of fried food."
"Ooo, that sounds so good," Po butted in. "Let's go get some right now!"
The gang chuckled in unison, as the followed a nearly bouncing Po over to the nearest food stall that wafted the glorious smell of deep fried vegetables through the holes in their masks. Tigress, Viper, and Crane looked over the options but eventually decided to order from another food cart that had a variety of healthier options. Once each person had their food in hand, they began their trek down the main festival path, admiring all of the options for games. Po tried to play every game that had action figures of the furious five and himself as prizes, which a few of his fellow warriors joined him for. However, Aden and Tigress didn't stop to join him and continued down the road, Aden lifting his mask slightly to take small bites out of his deep fried eggplant as they walked. Before long, a familiar game stall caught his eye.
"Is that the milk bottle game?!" Aden questioned aloud.
"The what?" Tigress questioned.
"Follow me," he told her, grabbing her forearm and dragging her towards his nostalgic carnival game. "I'll show you."
They approached the stall and greeted the elderly pig running the game who had a comically stereotypical carnival voice.
"Step right up, mystery players!" The pig nasally announced. "You get 3 chances to knock over all 6 cans. You do that, you win any one of the fabulous prizes behind me! Only 1 coin to play and all the time in the world to play it. What do you say?"
"This is the game?" Tigress asked Aden.
"Yeah!" Aden replied, excitedly. "I mean, the metal cans were replaced with milk bottles, and we used baseballs to try and knock them down, but it's basically the same thing."
"It seems so… juvenile," she responded in a monotone voice.
"Is that so?" Aden smirked under his mask. "How about you win me a prize then?"
Aden reached into his cloak pocket and pulled out a single, golden coin. He dropped it onto the stall counter, picked up one of the red rubber balls, and handed it to Tigress.
Tigress hesitated for a second before grabbing the ball from his hand. "If winning you a prize will help mend the damage I've done and better our relationship as teammates, then I'll do it."
She may have said that line with conviction, but Aden knew better. Tigress really wanted to play, and he saw it in the way she focused all her energy on the metal cans in front of her. Her arm reeled back for a moment before she let the ball fly well over the top can in the stack.
"Not so easy, huh?" Aden teased.
Tigress let out a low growl and picked up another ball. She hesitated for just a moment longer than last time before launching the ball so far to the right of the stack that it nearly hit the pig standing off to the side.
Aden was about to make another snarky comment, when he saw Tigress's first clench and foot stomp the ground aggressively. He didn't need to see her face to know she was growing incredibly frustrated, and as much fun as it was to see her throw awful shots, he didn't like to see her suffer over something so menial.
"Hey," he addressed her calmly, gently holding her wrist before she could throw her final shot. "The games are rigged, remember? Each ball is weighted differently, so it's really difficult to aim. Just take a deep breath and don't worry about missing."
Tigress remained still for a few moments before an audible exhale was heard through her mask. She gripped the third and final ball, wound her arm up, and tossed it right down the middle. The red rubber ball collided with the center can and toppled the structure entirely, the tink of metal hitting the ground reverberating through the air.
"Congratulations!" The pig exclaimed. "You're a winner! Go ahead and pick a prize!"
Tigress faced Aden and gestured with her arm for him to pick something, and although he couldn't see her face, he knew she was beaming under that mask. Aden browsed the plush toys for a moment before settling on the perfect one.
"I'll take that Tigress doll, please."
The pig handed Aden the stuffed toy, which he then waved around in front of Tigress's face.
"Oh wow," Aden spoke again, bringing the doll close to his ear. "This Tigress is way nicer than the real thing."
A faint chuckle came from Tigress as they both began walking towards a large, white tent where music was currently playing. Upon entering, they found their comrades chatting with their masks resting upon the table they were sitting at. As they approached the group, Po caught sight of them and pointed, which resulted in the remainder of the group turning their heads in their direction.
"Hey guys!" Po announced. "Ooo, you got a Tigress too? I got everybody!"
Po opened a bag of stuffed animals to showcase his winnings, which Aden chuckled at.
"Very impressive, Po," he responded. "Actually, Tigress won this for me."
Everyone gave a slightly bemused expression upon hearing that, while Tigress remained silent.
"Tigress played a festival game?" Monkey questioned. "That's a first…"
"Well, it definitely required a bit of convincing," Aden laughed, giving Tigress a friendly bump. "Woah, woah, woah. Wait a minute… Is that beer?"
Aden spotted the amber liquid sloshing in glasses in front of Po, Mantis, and Monkey, and he couldn't help but comment on it. He wasn't sure if he'd see another beer ever again after coming to this world, however, it does make sense that it exists considering beer is a pretty ancient drink.
"Abso- *hic* -lutely is," Mantis slurred.
"Mantis!" Viper scolded. "I told you to take it easy. Do you keep forgetting that you barely weigh anything?"
"Oh, shhhh! I'm per- *hic* -fectly capable of holding my liquor!"
"I am definitely going to need a pint of that," Aden interjected. "Where can I get some?"
"There's a bar over there," Po answered, pointing behind him. "They have a few solid options."
"Awesome. Tigress, can I grab you a glass?"
"A true warrior has no need for alcohol," she replied, receiving an eye-roll from almost everyone at the table including Aden.
"This isn't about being a true warrior," Aden countered. "It's about having some fun."
"No," Tigress flatly said, removing her mask and setting it on the table. "Thank you, Aden."
"Boo… I didn't know you were against fun!" Aden mocked, giving her a thumbs down, as he ambled over to the bar.
He looked over the beer selection before choosing a lighter beer that the bartender had suggested. He licked his lips in anticipation of tasting the drink he had missed so dearly.
Turning back towards the group he noticed Po, Mantis, Monkey, and Viper had moved to the dance floor, while Crane stayed back at the table and Tigress was nowhere to be found. He watched the group wobble back and forth to the music with Viper being the only one that seemed to maintain rhythm. He let out a short chuckle, as he ventured back to the table
"It's a good thing Po doesn't have to fight crime with his dance moves," Aden laughed, as he took a seat next to Crane. "We'd all be in big trouble if that was the case."
And for a third time today, Crane didn't respond.
Aden looked over to see the same entranced look as before. He was about to give him a nudge when he decided to take another approach to the situation. He followed Crane's gaze until it landed on the group of dancing Jade Palace residents. Aden scratched the back of his head in confusion. He hadn't seen somebody this spaced out since his buddy was introduced to his now-wife. Suddenly, something clicked in his head. Maybe it wasn't 'something' that was on Crane's mind, it was 'someone.' He looked back at the group and watched as his slithery companion moved gracefully with the music.
"Viper?" Aden questioned aloud.
Crane's head swiveled to face Aden almost instantaneously. "What about her?"
Bingo.
"Oh boy," Aden chuckled. "I wouldn't have guessed you had a thing for snakes."
A deep blush flowered on Crane's cheeks. "W-what are you talking about?"
"You can't hide it from me, buddy."
"Ok, ok…" Crane looked over his shoulders to make sure nobody was listening in, his flustered demeanor growing by the second. "Just don't tell anybody."
"Of course, I wouldn't tell a soul. But, why would I need to when you're going to do it?"
"What do you mean?" Crane gave him a quizzical glance.
"I mean that you're going to tell her how you feel."
Crane's eyes grew wide. "Oh, no. No, no, no, no, and especially no. We're too good of friends. Telling her how I feel will only ruin what we already have."
"How do you know?"
"Because… Well…" Crane stuttered. "Ok, so I don't for certain, but why take the risk? Things are fine the way they are! What if things get awkward between us? That's the last thing I'd want! Besides, what would Master Shifu think? Is it even allowed between kung fu masters? Would it interfere with our ability to protect the valley? What if she wants kids? What am I supposed to do then? What if she's-"
"How long?" Aden interrupted Crane's rambling.
"How long what?"
"How long have you felt this way about her?"
Crane lowered his head and let out an exasperated sigh before speaking. "Years…"
"Look," Aden rested a hand on Crane's back. "I'm no dating expert. I mean, come on, look at me."
Aden gestured to himself in a goofy fashion in an attempt to bring Crane's spirits up, which seemed to work as a small chuckle escaped his beak.
"But…" Aden continued. "I do know a thing or two about taking risks. Yes, you could probably go through your whole life without ever telling her your true feelings, and you'd be fine. But I can guarantee you that just being 'fine' is not the way you want to live. Every risk has a consequence. But every risk you don't take also has a consequence. You got to balance those out, bud."
Crane sat quietly for a moment, his head still aimed at the floor.
Aden gave him a light nudge. "Now, I'm also not saying you should confess your undying love to her... But, I'm pretty sure she'd appreciate a dance."
Crane's beak slowly raised and pointed towards the dance floor, his eyes trapped once more. A smile gradually worked its way onto his face before his head turned towards Aden.
"Thanks," Crane answered simply.
Aden returned a thumbs up and watched as he got up from his chair and hurriedly moved to join his other friends with a newly found sense hope and courage.
Suddenly, the chair next to Aden jostled slightly, letting him know that somebody was about to sit down. He looked over to find a younger looking lioness wearing a beautiful purple and white dress.
"Well, hello there," the lioness said. "I absolutely adore your mask."
"Thanks," Aden cheerfully replied. "Would you be impressed if I told you I painted it myself?"
She giggled in return. "I just might be. I'm Liu, by the way."
"Aden."
"Now, that's an interesting name, but I guess any mammal that spends their time with the warriors of the Jade Palace has to be interesting by nature. Why don't you take that mask off like the rest of your friends, so I can get a better look at you." Her eyes quickly becoming half lidded.
A nervous feeling began to stir in Aden's stomach. "Sorry, but I'm so gosh darn interesting that I have to keep my identity a secret."
Liu giggled more at his response. "Oh, come now. Don't be so shy."
"No, I really can't take it off." Aden tersely replied, the playfulness in his tone gone.
"Please?" She flirtatiously begged. "Here, let me help you."
Liu's arms carefully reached out and grasped the sides of his mask. In a last ditch effort to prevent her from getting a good hold on it, Aden leaned back in his chair. Unfortunately, Aden's knee jerk reaction did not play in his favor, as the tension in the ribbon holding the mask to his face began to grow with every inch he leaned. A sudden snap was heard as Aden fell backwards onto the hard ground, his mask suspended in between the fingers of a certain lioness. A horrified look dawned on her face, as the mask slipped from her paws and thudded in the dirt.
Here's a longer chapter for you cuties. Don't forget to favorite, follow, and comment or else I might steal your first born child!
Also, have y'all ever played the game Ironsight? It's an F2P Call of Duty clone that's hella dank.
- Finn Mertens