18
This time round, villagers shot suspicious looks when Sapphire and Jun made it back to Valley. As they encouraged each other to keep going, eyes followed their every move, and of course, Sapphire's thoughts dove in the wrong direction. They know. She thought breathlessly. They know everything...
"Keep- huh- going- hoooo- Sapphire!" Jun heaved tiredly, as he started dragging himself up the steps. "Almost... there!"
"I'm right behind you," she mumbled, eyes darting up towards the now seemingly desolate temple. Ever since she heard of the news, Sapphire had the feeling that the mood was going to be at a low, but constantly alerted level. Now, with the ominous thoughts plaguing her mind, it seemed to cast a sombre cape over the Palace. The closer they got, the more cloudier the atmosphere became. Quarter way up, Jun just hit the deck in utter exhaustion. Sapphire raced ahead of him, before hearing that thump, and turned around. "What're you doing?" She said. "Get up."
"I... HEW, can't."
"Why not?"
"I just ran- looking for you," he flopped over onto his back, pointing at her with a slight strain, "and I had to run back! My hearts'... about... to burst!"
With a sigh, she tried to hoist him up over her shoulders, which caused her guitar to painfully dig into her back. "OK, you're gonna have to hold onto my guitar, right?"
"Right..." He held it firmly, and she managed to throw this lion, who weighed heavier then her, over her shoulders, and continued her journey up the steps. Having to stop every now and again to lap in the oxygen to carry on, she cussed him out of it.
"Who knew, for a skinny guy you would be so heavy!" Her voice strained so much on the last word, she was sure the veins in her neck would be pump, and fairly visible.
"Wow... that hurt." He said, too weak to add a pinch of sarcasm. "I'm the perfect weight for my height, and age, thanks."
They didn't say anymore to each other, so Sapphire's eyes kept aligned with the ground, not looking up in case the sight of how many more steps she had to haul him up depressed her... "Oof!" Until she bumped into someone that is. Before she and Jun could fall back, whoever she bumped into grabbed them and pulled them forward, taking Jun off her shoulders in the process.
"What are you doing carrying him up the steps?" A voice asked. It was him. Both Sapphire and Jun looked straight up, now eye to eye with Tai Lung. "He's much too heavy."
"Hey!" Jun gasped offensively. "I'm the perfect weight-"
"But a little thing like her could crumble under your weight if she allowed it." Tai Lung butted in, causing the lion to swallow his opinion uneasily, before giving a surprised, but questioning 'oh', when Tai Lung slung him over his shoulder. "Save you feet and tongue damsel," he looked at Sapphire next, not completely meeting her eyes at first. "Are you alright?" He asked. Sapphire mumbled 'yes', about to fold her arms until Tai Lung passed the guitar into her paws gently. Staring down at the instrument, which constantly reminded her of the memories of the day she helped stop a raid, and her performance with Po.
"Thanks." She whispered.
Tai Lung nodded, before frowning as his head tilted slightly to the side. "You shouldn't have run off like that." He added. "We were worried about you."
Looks like Lok, Yuki, and Yumi told the Masters where she went, or what she intended to do. Instead of addressing this to Jun, who was close to snoozing on the snow cat's shoulders, or even thinking about apologizing for any trouble she caused, she stuck her nose proudly in the air. "You have no rightful place in any position to tell me off," she barked, before continuing her journey up the steps, hugging the guitar in the same place it was kept against her when he gave it to her. "Besides, you should focus on trying to stay out of the public eye before they realize you're alive." Tai Lung watched her for a few moments, before exhaling through the nose.
"She's one tough cookie." Jun commented out of nowhere, propping his head with his elbow in mid air. "Always has something to say in her defense."
"And you are?" Tai Lung asked rather thickly.
"I- I'm Jun," he stammered a little. "I'm her adopted brother... we grew up in the Orphanage together." They exchanged quick nods.
"Who does she get that from?"
"Get what?"
"Ya know... sarcasm, toughness?"
Tai Lung chuckled at him. "She gets that from both me and her mother," he replied, and began to ascend up the steps after her.
Before she could make it to the entrance of the Medical Wing, she had to stop and take a breath. Tai Lung was just putting Jun down, who had more energy than he did getting up those cursed steps. He thanked Tai Lung for helping him up, and soon both of them watched Sapphire. Jun smoothly asked what she was waiting for. "Nothing." She snapped, before closing her paw into a tight fist on her chest. "Just need to catch my breath..." To be frank with herself, she was trying to calm her tired, yet furious heart, which was thumping hard against her rib like a bird trapped in a cage. You just need to face them, she told herself as blunt as the end of a stick torn from a tree. They'll be too busy focusing on Tigress... as will I.
Mentally visioning a paw patting her on the back for good luck, she pushed her way through the doors, where several pairs of eyes immediately turned to face her. "Sapphire!" Yuki, Yumi, and Lok ran for her, while Mantis, Mr. Ping, Li and Crane stood there, holding their gaze on her firmly. Sapphire allowed herself be bombarded with the tight hugs from her friends, but her gaze never left the other four. Shifu and Woo were nowhere to be found. They nodded at her, and soon turned away awkwardly. "You're okay..."
"Why wouldn't I not be?" She said, before pulling herself away from them as they smiled at Jun. Clearing her throat, she walked the short distance to the door, and politely asked Crane and Mantis if she could go in.
No one answered her. "Just a minute... alright?" Crane said, looking at her from a side glance... or so she thought. At first she frowned, but then she realized that he was looking at Tai lung, who kept away from them, and had a somewhat relaxed expression on his face. Observing his crumbling stance, as he slowly moved back against the wall, his paws behind his back, the door opened, where Shang, Tigro, Lotus, and Chang squeezed out of the space created.
"Can Sapphire go in?" Mantis asked, leaping onto Shang's shoulder.
The tiger... reluctantly, nodded, and gestured her to go right ahead. "Be quiet though, she's resting."
The snow cat looked at her friends invitingly. "We were already talking to her." Yumi said softly. "It's best not to overwhelm her."
"Jun?" She asked, in a 'touch wood' kind of way.
"I'll see her later..." his eyes cried out 'I'm not ready to see her yet'.
"Right... right." Sapphire said, before looking up at Shang. "I won't take long."
The boys were already mute, always averting their gaze at the door when no one was addressing them specifically. They were drowning with worry, and while the twins moved towards Li and Mr. Ping for support, probably for a source of comfort, Chang found himself curled against the wall, hugging himself. Never in her life had Sapphire ever seen a trio of seven year old kids look so... down.
Sapphire voicelessly passed Lok her guitar, before stepping in, and closing the door. There was that overwhelming silence again, the rising heartbeat that thumped in her ears, and the agitated intakes of air, making her slowly count to three, until she turned around, her heart stopping almost immediately at the scene she was greeted by.
Tigress lay alone on a single bed in the desolate sick bay, arms limp by her side, crawling with acupressure pins up and down them. The little belly bump was just peaking under the blanket, but sat still, with no movements. Her breathing was slow, but audible. One shaky step after the next, Sapphire's padded footsteps guided her over to the side of the cot. Parking herself on the stool by the bed, she first kept her paws to herself, just staring at Tigress in awe. Time passed slowly in the silent room, Tigress hadn't moved, or made a single sound.
It broke her. "I never asked for this upon you." Sapphire said suddenly, a tear streaming down her cheek. She bent over slightly to wipe her eye. "I take back everything I said... I was mad... I was upset, but I would never wish this on you Tigress... I can't ever do that..." Silence greeted her again, and Sapphire was on the verge of screaming abuse, but this time, to herself, and would mean every word of it. Pulling herself up to go, she paused.
There was movement in her paws. They shifted, from loose and open, to a soft, clenched fist. A soft sigh escaped her cased lips, before her eyelids quivered, and fluttered open. "Ugh..." her groggy state clouded her vision, so Sapphire sat back down beside her, and took the moving paw into hers, noticing that the tiger's eyes were suddenly dark, grey, and heavy. Shaking her head once or twice, she rolled it in Sapphire's direction. She saw her... vaguely. Tigress squinted her eyes at her, before they widened slowly. "Sapphire?"
The girl chuckled, nearly choking on her words. "The one and only," she tried to sound bright. Tigress smiled weakly, before it disappeared. Who knew that within... what, a few hours maybe? She was suddenly so poorly.
"I'm sorry..."
"No..." Sapphire cut in, with Tigress trying to focus on her. "I'm the one who should be-" It was like a spasm of sudden energy ran through the bed ridden tiger; because she shook her head, muttering 'no' as she abruptly sat up and hugged her tightly, the acupressure pins were starting to fall out while Sapphire immediately cried into her hold. "I hurt you... I made this happen didn't I, somehow?"
"Sh..." She felt Tigress' paw pet the fur on the back of her head down gently in each stroke. "Don't be silly..."
They stayed like this until Sapphire calmed down. "You'll get through this," she whimpered. "You and Bump will be okay..."
Tigress laughed a little, but it sounded like a lump suddenly grew in her throat. "We'll do the best we can." They peeled away from each other, and Tigress laid back down, letting Sapphire take it in again. Her breaths were long and heavy, and was subtly trying to stop herself from drifting off. "Po, Mantis, and Viper have left to get the antidote, but if it doesn't work..." she closed her eyes briefly, before her eyes downcast to her stomach, her arms moved barely across it. "The baby is what matters most, alright?"
No, Sapphire felt like screaming. It's not! It's both of you! Instead of telling her how she truly felt, she just nodded, before Shang entered the room, telling Sapphire to let her rest. He shook his head in slight frustration when he saw the pins on the floor, and quickly ushered her out before Tigress could give him an apologetic smile in the girl's presence, so he could put them all back in. Once she was back outside, Li placed a paw on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. "We hold nothing against you..." he said softly, earning a soft smile of gratitude from Sapphire once the others nodded in agreement.
"So, you came back?" Everyone turned to see Shifu and Woo standing there. Woo was the one to speak, but Shifu said nothing. "Thought you ran away girlie."
"I didn't. I'm not the main concern," she began, folding her arms tightly across her chest. Woo raised an eyebrow, while Shifu smiled at her. "Tigress is our top priority, and nothing will change that."
"We'll sort out a plan," Shifu stated, gesturing everyone to follow him to the Hall of Heroes. They all stopped just outside the door frame, when Shifu turned around to address them all, "on who goes to look after her at whatever time. She'll need round-the-clock care, someone by her side at all times, which will be taken in turns. Shang, as her primary doctor, will take first shift, and so on."
"I'll go next," Sapphire raised her left paw slightly, while the other stuck to her side, only to the same level as her shoulder. Shifu nodded in agreement, before calling Zeng, who appeared with a brush and paper.
"The layout will go as follows; Crane and Mantis will take their place in the morning after training, and there must always be someone ready to replace them if they are called for any given reason." Zeng began to write this all down. "Mantis, you will assist Shang in anyway possible when he needs help, Tai Lung..." Shifu strained saying his name, but the leopard stood up to attention all the same. Zeng gulped nervously, writing his name down just as quick. "As Tigress personally asked you to help, you will follow any order she gives."
Tai Lung bowed, "understood."
"What about us?" Tigro asked, motioning towards himself, his brother, and Chang. "We wanna help."
"We understand that." Lok knelt down to their level. "You can help by keeping quiet, and not discuss this with anyone outside of the palace, alright? You do whatever is asked of you, and be on your best behavior." The boys nodded, knowing that if anyone outside the Valley heard about Tigress, the news would spread around like wildfire, surely attracting bandits to attack the Valley at the Master's weakness.
"The rest of us will volunteer at any hour possible." Li instructed, and the rest of them nodded, while Tigro, Lotus, and Chang watched on. "With luck, Po, Monkey and Viper will make it back quickly, and everything can go back to normal..." he coughed mid sentence, before rolling his eyes towards Tai Lung, looking a little on edge. "At least, to the best it can."
In total silence, they all looked down the hall from the door frame once more, before walking out of the Hall altogether. Tai Lung and Sapphire unintentionally hung back behind the rest of the group, still looking down. Sapphire eyed anyone, anything, and anywhere else but him. "Look-" he began, but she held a paw up to stop him quicker than a snake could bite.
"I didn't come back for you." She said, in an oddly pained tone. "I'm here to make sure Tigress and her cub make it through this."
Tai Lung nodded, placing a gentle paw on her shoulder, which made her stiffen up. "Never saw it in any other way." He said, and they soon followed the Master's out of the Hall.
And there is chapter 18 people! Hope you're liking it so far!
Please review, chapter 19 is coming asap! Ciao!