Chapter 21: Panda Style

The next morning, Dai woke up to Po using his chi healing on her again. She stretched and said, "I could get used to wake ups like that." She shook her matted fur back to its usual poofy state. "How early is it?"

"It's time for the villagers to have breakfast. The masters intend to leave right after that," said Po.

Dai pounced to the floor and stood upright. "Well, let's get going then."

As they walked toward the village center where the table was, Po's hand brushed Dai's. She grabbed it and they both had blushing smiles. "Are you doing all right?" he asked.

"I'm with you, so I'm happy," she replied.

Po didn't want to bring up Dai's pack leaving, but he knew it was on her mind. "I'm sorry things turned out the way they did last night."

"I'm not." Po was shocked to hear her say that. "I've given it some thought, Po, and it's given me some perspective. Anyone in his pack that doesn't abide by the wolf way gets cast out. He's not willing to grow, bend, or change. If a wolf tries to adopt some bunny children whose mother died, she gets kicked out. If a wolf befriends another animal, they get kicked out. If a wolf falls in love with someone who's not a wolf, she gets kicked out. It's his way. Nothing will change or fix that. I'm sad it happened to me, but sadder that it'll keep happening in the future."

Po brought her close and kissed her forehead. "If that's true, then the best thing I can do is prove to him I'm as worthy as any other wolf," he said.

"If you did that, Po, you'd be the most awesome guy I've ever met."

"Wait, I wasn't already?"

"I don't know. I mean, Qiang's a pretty good fighter."

"Hey, I won that fight."

"I know, Po. I'm just teasing. You're already awesome to me." She kissed his cheek affectionately. "I might even say the most awesome."

Po decided then he would do everything he could to turn the might into a definite. He wasn't jealous! He just wanted to be special for her. Losing a family left a hole in your heart, Po knew. So, he would do everything he could to let her know she still had a family with him. The thought of being an actual family with Dai… Po wasn't sure he was ready for that. He enjoyed how it was now.

When they got to the table, Dai talked low to Po. "I've never seen panda children before coming here. They're cuter than bunnies!"

"You're exaggerating," said Po.

"They have the sweetest eyes and I love their little chubby cheeks. They're so cute!"

The children didn't warm up to Dai at first. Even some of the other villagers were still wary of her. Despite that, most of the villagers knew that Dai was not like other wolves. Breakfast was, overall, pleasant. Po and Dai decided to stay one more day since they didn't get much time to be in the village and enjoy it.

Po's cousins thought it would be fun to show Dai their hammock flinging technique. They also showed her how pandas "roll." Dai thought the hammock flinging looked kinda fun, but she certainly wasn't round enough to roll like they could. She was fast enough running on all-fours to beat them to the bottom of the hill though.

The day came all too quickly to an end. Dai stretched and laid down. In the morning, they'd be going back to the Valley of Peace. Dai lay in bed thinking about what had happened the past few days. Her father would probably leave her alone now. She always had the pack to go back to, even if she was halfway across China. The pack had been home and such a huge part of her life; she'd by lying if she said she didn't feel empty now.

"Hey, Dai, you okay?" asked Po. She was faced away from him and hadn't said anything for a while. "Did I wake you up?"

"No, Po, I was just thinking," replied Dai. "I'm okay."

"Anything I can do?"

Dai turned to faced him, her face looking sad. "I just miss home. I just need time."

Po sat up and scooted to the corner of his bed against the wall. "You want me to hold you until you fall asleep? It's what my dad used to do whenever I felt sad or had a nightmare."

"I mean, I didn't see your dad in here yesterday, so that must have been a while ago," Dai teased.

"Kinda. I don't know. I just wanted to help you feel better."

Dai sighed and leapt to the floor on all-fours. In the moonlight coming in from the open window, Dai's form looked sleek and dangerous. "You sure you want a wolf in bed with you?" she asked as she put her forepaws on his bed. "You might not wake up the same way you went to sleep." At this point, her whole form was on the bed.

"Why are you trying to scare me? I'm not afraid of you."

"Oh, but you should be, Po." She bared her teeth, unsheathed her claws, and put her paws on his chest. Her claws tangled into his fur and her teeth gleamed like knives. "You should be." She growled and bit down on his neck.

Po woke up with a start. He grabbed at his neck, expecting to see blood or, at least, spit. He breathed deeply. They were spending the last night at the panda village. In the morning, they'd be going home. The masters had gone already, leaving Po, Mr. Ping, and Dai to have one more day of leisure before making the trek. Everything after that was a dream. Why was Dai's behavior so…

It was then that Dai turned over in bed, her ears perked up and eyes half open. "What's going on, Po? Why is your heartbeat so fast?" Po didn't respond right away. Dai's eyes opened fully. "Po, what's wrong?" Dai sniffed the air, looking for danger. "Bad dream?" she asked when she noticed no one else nearby.

"I don't know if I'd call it a bad dream. It was more weird than anything else," Po replied.

"Right… wake me again if it's an emergency," she said as she circled in her bed and curled up to sleep.

Po watched her and wondered why he found what she did so… what? Po hadn't felt anything quite like this before. It wasn't a bad feeling, but definitely different. Maybe Dai would know. He only felt this way around her. Maybe she was feeling the same thing?

Oooh! Po likes Dai. I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far. Please keep reading and reviewing, thanks :)