Chapter 16: Unfavorable Connection

The fight lasted for some time. Po and Qiang were both getting weary. Every time Dai tried to stop the fight, she got flung across the room. After several meetings with the opposing walls and columns, she stopped trying and lay still on the floor. I'm not going to get anything but broken if I keep this up, she thought. Already, her body was ringing from the impacts and she felt dizzy. I gotta stay up. She remembered this feeling in her head. She had to stay awake.

Meanwhile, the fight went on. Qiang said, "You really ought to stop wasting my time, Panda. I have places to be."

"Then, why don't you go and leave us alone?!" asked Po.

"I would, really, I would, but there's a special reason I came that I cannot ignore." He turned to Dai. "My dear, please come home. We all miss you. Ling misses you."

"Ling sent you?" Dai asked.

Qiang nods. "Of course. He'd do anything for his little sister. I… I would do anything for you as well, Daiyu. I love you."

Dai and Po both gasped at this.

"Please, Daiyu, I don't like being the bad guy, but I need you to come with me. Please," said Qiang.

"Then, why did you have to be the bad guy, Qiang?" asked Dai.

"I have never failed a mission, Daiyu. Not one. I could not see myself failing now, not especially when the stakes are so high."

Dai stood up and took a deep breath. As her vision cleared up from the near tunnel effect, she said, "I haven't seen you this back and forth since…" It was then the realization hit her. She grinned wide.

"No. No. I know what you're thinking! I know what you're thinking and it's not true."

"Uh huh. Sure." Her eyes twinkled with mirth, her smile was an amused one.

"What are you guys talking about?" asked Po.

"Qiang's experiencing some complex emotions. He's in denial that I don't return his affections, he's angry about it and at the one who stole them, he's trying to pin his neediness on someone else, however true or untrue it is; need I go on?" Her eyebrows quirked at Qiang. "Don't worry, there will be other wolves. I am sorry that I cannot return your feelings, but my heart belongs to Po."

Qiang sputtered, his fists clenching and unclenching. "Fine," he conceded, his ears drooping and his arms crossing.

Dai smiled. "Now, shake and make up. Please?"

Qiang growled low. "Fine." He turned to Po and extended his paw. Po slowly and warily took it and shook it.

"Thank you, Qiang. It's nice to see my boys getting along. Now, let me go get some medicine for those wounds before they fester. Play nice while I'm gone," said Dai, her tone playful.

While she was gone, the two sat down on the floor. They were quiet for a minute. Then, Po broke the silence with: "So, you, uh-"

"Listen, Panda, the only reason I didn't finish what I started is because I respect Daiyu. Her heart may belong to you now, but the way I see it, this won't last. She'll be mine. It's just a matter of nature," said Qiang.

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Po, his tone defensive.

"You're a panda, she's a wolf. You're a loveable creature. She's going to experience prejudice for the rest of her life. No matter what she does. A wolf always finds their way back to the bottom, no matter how high they manage to climb." His ears drooped. By the way he was speaking, it sounded as though he were worried for Dai and thinking about himself and his past experiences.

"Dai is a good person. All good people get a chance."

"When it is given, sure. There may be other couples out there that are cross-breeds, but I know it as surely as the air I breathe: creatures always tend toward like creatures. The only things that stops that is limitation. The limitation of your surroundings."

"Or love."

"You pandas are always such saps."

"And you wolves always seem to talk negatively."

"Fair point."

Dai came back then with a box of medicine and bandages. She neatly tended to the two and soon had them bandaged up. They both thanked her and stood.

"Well, I guess I better go tell Ling you're all right. This visit was both disappointing and nice all in one," said Qiang.

"Next time you come to see me, announce yourself. I hate seeing those I care about get hurt needlessly," said Dai.

"Yeah, yeah," he waved it off. "Bye now."

"Goodbye, Qiang."

He left the hall, his right arm holding his left ribs as he went. After he left, Dai sighed. "I am sorry about that. Qiang always was overprotective of me."

"Don't people usually express overprotectiveness differently?" asked Po, highlighting his bandages to emphasize his point.

"Qiang likes to fight. That's how it's always been. He probably even knew you were the Dragon Warrior," Dai winked slyly.

"It'd probably be hard to find someone in China who didn't know I was the Dragon Warrior." Po chuckled. His eyes looked nostalgic then.

"You know, Po, I've heard many of your legends, but legends never do sound the same until they come from the people who experienced them. Won't you tell me your stories?"

Po's eyes lit up. "Oh, wow, where do I begin?" They walked off to the barracks and to Po's room. All the while, he told the adventures of the Dragon Warrior, in his own words. Dai listened, only interrupting for questions and comments of awe and sympathy. They stayed like this until the next morning. Neither of them were tired.

"SHE'S WHAT?!" shouted Lang, sliding the weapons from the table onto the floor.

Qiang had just given Lang his report. Ling stood against a wall nearby, his eyes showing a similar storm to what his father was unleashing. Qiang spoke, "Daiyu says she's in love with the panda, the 'Dragon Warrior.'"

Lang growled low and began pacing, his staff tapping the floor with every other step. "My daughter in love with a panda," he scoffed. "I thought I'd never see such a day." He slowed his pacing and sat down in his chair. He removed a locket, normally hidden from sight, from around his neck. He opened it to reveal a picture of a younger version of himself and his wife, Ying Yue.

Lang sighed. "If only you were here, you'd set our daughter right. Wouldn't you?" A few stray tears escaped his eyes, but he quickly pinched them away and put the locket back around his neck. He hid it in his shirt and spoke: "Qiang, thank you for your report. I want you to keep checking in on Daiyu. Be secretive in your observations unless your discretion tells you otherwise. I can't… I won't lose sight of Daiyu. She's the only hope we have left."

"Yes, sir," replied Qiang, bowing respectfully and leaving.

Sorry this took so long. I was kinda stuck for inspiration. I'm here now though! Please keep reading and reviewing, thanks :)