Date Night

"I've never seen a tiger work this hard with her tail literally tucked between her legs," I commented. Krystal glared at me. There Tigress was rushing about from table to table with a heavy shade of red over her face, trying to avoid Po. Po, for the life of him, couldn't figure out what was wrong with her. Of course, we knew, but we weren't going to tell him that. But luckily, Po's happy, childish, and loving nature soon eased her mind and she was able to work more efficiently. That was until we heard a loud boom coming from the other end of the village. "We'll check it out," I said as Krystal and I ran towards the towering billow of smoke. It wasn't long until I realized that this was Mr. Kia's shop where Crane was supposed to work. We saw that the smoke was coming from the back. There we could see Crane on a rock with his face full of soot and a pig laughing.

"That be too mush you put in there'," He laughed, "Next time you'd blow us an' the world' wit you." He had a thick accent. I still don't know what accent it sounded like.

"What was that," I asked.

"Aye, wee bit too mush black powder," Mr. Kia explained.

"GAH! I don't think blacksmithing is my thing," Crane said.

"Oh, posh! There be nothing to it. Just a small mistake is all," Mr. Kia said, patting him on the back, "Noe, let's get that face of yours clean." So they went to wash their faces.

"Are you sure that this job placement will work for them," Krystal asked me.

"Why do you doubt it so much," I questioned.

"Because you're putting these people in places that usually will give them anxiety," She explained. I rolled my eyes.

"It worked in A Month. Why not now?"

"Because we're not in that story!"

"Well, it can't hurt, can it," I replied. Then there was a crash from the side of the village where Mr. Ping's shop was. "I stand corrected." We ran over to the shop where we could see, Tigress on the floor with a tray on her torso, with Po at her feet. No customers were there to see them, and several plates were broken and smashed. "What happened," I wondered.

"Po slipped," Tigress replied simply. Krystal and I helped both of them up.

"Hehe, sorry about that Tigress," Po apologized.

"It's okay," Tigress said.

"While you two are apologizing to each other, you might as well sweep up," Mr. Ping said, presenting both with a broom. The two groaned and grimaced.

"We'll be gone. Bye," I announced before they could say anything. Once we were up the mountain, we went to the barracks, where we saw Zeng and Ai just staring into Viper's room and just shaking their head. Once we looked inside, we were just speechless. Viper and Mei-Ling who came back had put Lu into the plushy-est, poofy-est, most eye-catching outfit with heavy white makeup and a big mark of lipstick on.

"Well," Viper smiled.

"She looks amazing, right," Mei-Ling said. I was about to say something, but Krystal stopped me.

"Lion, please be careful about what you're going to say. Make sure it's sensitive," She instructed me.

"You worry too much," I said as I approached Lu. "Lu, I'll give you a mirror. Then you tell me, from what you know about Crane if you seem okay." So I water bent a frozen mirror. She jumped back at what she saw.

"I look... hideous," Lu remarked.

"Well, I wouldn't go that far," I said.

"Are you saying we're bad make-up artists," Viper asked with a venomous stare.

"No, I just presented the woman a mirror," I said in a defensive manner. "Besides, would you honestly think CRANE would date someone who looked like that?" The two considered it. Then they looked at Lu. They proceeded to push me out and fix Lu's look. It took shorter than I expected, but there was a lot of ruckus and noise. Then the door opened up again. All of the makeup was off of Lu's face and she was in a simple red vest with a black flower pattern. I nodded, Zan smiled, Ai was excited as well as Krystal. "Now we're talking. And why are we so formal today?" Lu glared at Zan, who whistled inconspicuously.

"Zan arranged Crane to take me on a date," Lu grumbled.

"AAHHH," Krystal and I said at the same time.

"That would explain the explosion," I said.

"What explosion," Everyone asked. I told them.

"Oh my gosh! Is Crane okay," Lu asked.

"Yeah, but he may smell like smoke on your date," I laughed. " He was probably trying to make something for you. Where are they going to be dating?"

"At Mr. Ping's shop. Po's going to be the waiter," Zan explained.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"It isn't, but I'm just being hopeful," Zan smiled.

So later in the day, the two lovebirds met and went down the mountain, and I was imperative to spy on them. "No one is to bother them," Zan instructed everyone. "Tigress and Po will be working the kitchen. I do not want any more possible mess-ups, understand?" So I grumbled in the kitchen of my house, trying to figure out a way to spy on them. I needed to see how Tigress and Po would act in this situation. Krystal poured out my tea.

"Thank you," I said.

"You're worrying about these two too much. Can't you just peek into their minds to figure out what happened," Krystal asked.

"I could, but I would rather have their permission. This way I don't," I replied.

"Well, too bad you're not a ghost. Then you could become invisible," Krystal said putting the dishes away.

"That's it!" I exclaimed. "Krystal, you're a genius." I kissed her on the cheek and literally disappeared.

"Lion? Where are you," She asked, but she bumped into me.

"Right here," I said as I turned visible again. "Now I'm off." I teleported to the low roof of the shop where Lu and Crane were just coming in. I turned invisible and watched as the two sat down.

"And what would you like to eat this fine evening," Po attempted to say in a pious way. I shook my head. Po, don't do something stupid now, please, I thought to myself. Luckily, Tigress pulled him away from them and took the couple's order. I moved to a spot of the room where no one would bump into me. I listened to Tigress and Po's conversation. "What was that for? I was only taking their order," Po argued.

"Po, they don't need to feel embarrassed by someone else. They already have their nervous natures for that," Tigress jested, but Po was still upset.

"You think I would embarrass them? I'm not that much of a klutz," Po protested.

"You just slipped this morning," Tigress replied with a smile.

"Your point," Po said. Tigress shook her head as he realized his mistake. "So... what was it-"

"I thought I told you never to bring that up," Tigress quickly interrupted him.

"Well, I was just thinking," Po said.

"That's what usually gets you into trouble. Now give this appetizer to them and don't eat it!" Po grumbled underneath his breath as he gave the two cranes their food. "Why are you so interested in that anyways Po," Tigress asked.

"Well, I was just wondering if I could learn anything from you," He replied. I was confused, so was Tigress.

"What do you mean," She questioned. "I don't have much of a love life."

"Yeah well... I was just curious. You know me, heh," Po laughed nervously, and he became strangely quiet after that.

"Let me ask you this. Why are you asking Viper and Krystal about things of feminine qualities," Tigress asked. She could see that Po was confused. "Why are you talking to them about love life?"

"I don't know."

"Yes, you do." Po sighed.

"I... I was wondering how I could become more... attractive to girls. But I've given it up a while ago."

"Why?"

"Tigress, I'm a 30-year-old panda in a small village and the person I could only marry is a female Kung Fu master. There's no way I'm going to find someone." They were silent for a moment while Crane and Lu's food was getting ready.

"You're 30," Tigress asked.

"That's what you got out of that? Yeah, I'm thirty. So what," Po muttered.

"So what? You're the exact same age as me."

"Oh, so I was close," Po openly thought.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing."

"How old did you think I was?" Po nervously looked around for something. "Just tell me. I won't get mad," She promised though I could see Po was skeptical.

"Around 40."

"I'm NOT that old," She exclaimed though not enough to alarm the others.

"Well, I didn't know that," Po said defensively holding up his hands, "You don't really let people in much so we have to guess." This made Tigress grow quiet. "Tigress, I didn't mean to hurt you by saying you were thirty."

"It's not that. I guess... I know that you, of all people, want to help me the most, right," Tigress asked. Po nodded. "Well, there are some things that... just make it hard for me to trust people wholly."

"I know," Po replied. Tigress looked at him. "I don't expect you to tell me everything that is personal to you. But I can still help you without knowing those things." Tigress smiled.

"Thank you, Po," Tigress replied.

"Now if you're thinking of doing the same thing for me, forget it," he stated. Tigress looked at him confused.

"Why?"

"I can handle it. Plus, you know I haven't had a severe life as you guys have. It's not worth it," Po smiled back. I could see Tigress reluctantly let the matter go, but I still kept a record of it.

Oh, the birds! Well, they had a pretty interesting night. The food was excellent and nervous Crane even cracked some funny jokes. What Crane made at the blacksmith was actually a shiny small female crane figurine. Do not ask me how this lead to the explosion. All in all, they had a great time. I teleported back to the house where Krystal was wanting to hear everything. After that, I wrote everything in the book.

to be continued.