Poʼs eyes shot open in the soft dawn as he awoke with a gasp. He had been sleeping peacefully a moment ago, when suddenly he awoke. Surrounded by the light of dawn, his pants filled the room, the cool air hitting his previously blanket covered fur. Startled and confused, Po got up slowly, his pants residing. Something had woken him up, but what was it? Something had pulled him out of his sleep, something had happened.
Weird, thought Po Why am I up so early?…I need something to eat.
Po hesitantly put one foot down after another, and gingerly tiptoed his way to the door. Although he had slimmed down tremendously, he was still a panda. And pandas have a reputation for tremendous girth and weight. Po chuckled softly when he had remembered the hole he created his first night at the Jade Palace. As he crept into the kitchen a familiar figure had already beaten him to the kitchen.
"Morning, Dragon Warrior" Tigress said with an amused look on her face.
"GʼMorning, Tigress" Po replied with a false grin, taking a seat in his chair.
Ever since the events that had took place at Gongmen City, Poʼs feelings blossomed for his fellow Master. Her smile had an ability to render Po helpless, and whenever she had gotten close, his heart began to flutter uncontrollably. Her piercing scarlet eyes could intimidate any man, and yet they would find themselves unable to look away, mesmerized. Tigress's beauty and gracefulness have always had an effect on her male counter parts and other men they have met on their journeys as the Dragon Warrior and the Furious Five. But they have always seen Master Tigress, the fearless leader of the Furious Five. Beneath that hardcore exterior, there was always a softer, gentler feline that only revealed herself to the other members of the Jade Palace.
"You come around like a bad habit." Tigress allowed herself a small smile, handing Po a cup of tea. "What's on your mind?"
As usual, Tigress had been able to see straight through Poʼs lies.
Is it her kung fu tiger-ey senses, thought Po Or am I just the worst liar ever?
"It's your face", Tigress deadpanned before taking a seat next to Po.
Poʼs eyes grew wide before subconsciously bringing his hands up to his face. Tigress chuckled softly at his actions and took a sip of her tea.
"I don't read minds, Po. I, however, can read your face quite easily."
Po took a small sip, savoring the taste of the tea, wondering the taste of Tigress if her lips crashed into his…..
Whoa! Thought Po Not now, not now, not now…
Tigress raised an eyebrow as she stared perplexed by Poʼs ever-changing facial expression before he settled down once again.
"You were saying?"
"Oh! Right, right…It's just that…I don't know, really." Po shrugged before continuing "Something woke me up, and I can't really explain it."
Tigress responded with a sip of her tea.
"Why're you up? I mean, I know you get up really early, but even this is too hardcore for you." Po lightly teased the tiger, poking her arm gently.
"Nightmares."
"Huh?" Po hadn't really expected her to actually reply.
"I couldn't sleep because of the...nightmares." Tigress whispered with her head down, eyes concentrated on her herbal brew.
None of the others had learned of Tigress's night terrors, even Shifu had no clue. Po had only known when he found Tigress in her room in the dead of night clutching her pillow, tears streaming down her face as she let out silent screams into her bed. Po had begun comforting her, and when the night terrors struck again, Po had always seemed to be there ready to comfort her. Even if Po had no clue what they were about. It was times like these that made Tigress wonder about her feeling towards the Dragon Warrior, whether they were feelings of love towards a brother or…something else.
It had been Po after all, whose understanding, gentle personality overlooked her cold exterior and saw the beautiful warm woman for whom she was. Po was the one who had set her free, who helped her make things straight between her mast-no, her father, Shifu, and the one who had made the Furious Five a loving family instead of a well-oiled extreme fighting machine. And for that she was more indebted to Po than he would ever know; her gratitude so great she would gladly die for him. Whether it was feelings of gratitude or another emotion, however, she couldn't decide. Her feelings for him are jumbled, and for once in her life, she was helpless against it. Tigress couldn't make sense of it. Deep in her thoughts, she couldn't sense Po leaning towards her until he had wrapped his thick black arms around her. Her eyes widened at his touch, and although confused about her feelings for Po, she allowed herself her guilty pleasure. She leaned towards his embrace, and rested her head against his.
Po had buried his face into the crook of her neck as her scent invaded his senses.
Tiger lilies and jasmine, thought Po giddily before returning to his senses.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there this time", Po murmured through her fur.
"It's fine. They weren't that bad this time." Her eyes were half-closed, barely able to keep herself from purring.
Reluctantly, Tigress had gently pushed Po away from her. Po almost looked hurt, but stared into her eyes. He couldn't take it; he had to tell her how he felt, right now.
"Look, Tigress I need to te-"
Po had been abruptly interrupted by the sound of a shriek, and a loud bang. He and Tigress shared a look, hardcore enveloping their once emotion filled eyes. They sprinted towards the entrance, quickly joined by the other members.
"What's the meaning of this?" Crane grumbled as he had been callously awoken by the noises.
"We'll find out..." Viper replied sleepily, wrapped around a half-asleep Monkey accompanied by the grumbling insect, Mantis.
The sight they saw quickly jarred them back to reality. Zheng, the head servant and messenger, was struggling to help up a battered, bruised, bloody feline. She was a Chinese Mountain Cat, blood and wounds aside, a very attractive one. She looked up from where she had collapsed, her eyes settled on Crane. Even through the recent hardships she had faced, her lips still lifted to a smile. She then unceremoniously collapsed yet again, this time immediately assisted by Crane.
"Come on! Get up! Get up..." Crane latched his talons on to her clothes before flying her into their barracks "Mei Ling!"
3 days ago...
As the roaring flames devoured the buildings, Sǐhǎi rose from the carnage. She took a deep breath, and sighed contentedly. She looked around slowly, soaking in her horrific deeds, until her eyes stopped at the half-dead rhino out in front of her. He was lying on his back, a gaping hole in his chest and the blood practically streamed out his chest. The rhino looked at her with utter rage and hatred. Sǐhǎi was amused, and slowly sauntered over to him before crouching by his body.
"Hey." She poked him in the belly, earning a growl from her victim.
"What…do you want…leopard?" the rhino spat out in contempt.
"I wanted to see is you're still kicking." She rested her elbows on her knees and brought both of her hands up to her cheeks, looking mildly bored.
"You knew I was alive when you looked at me, wench!" The rhino spat at her.
Sǐhǎi easily dodged the glob of saliva and poked the rhino's belly again.
"So…where'd that pretty mountain cat run off to? I saw her sprinting towards the east, but I was busy…" she licked her lips and stared at him seductively before continuing, "Having fun."
The rhino would've raised his fist before smashing it against her skull, but his body couldn't move. In fact, now that he had thought about it, the hole in his chest had been a cut moments ago. He groaned as his gaze fell upon his chest that confirmed his inevitable death.
"I used a rare poison on my blade" Sǐhǎi whispered, bringing her paw up to stroke the rhino's face "That's how I was able to…disable your students so easily."
"Ha", the rhino sneered "You can't say KILL, huh, why? Does it make you look like a murderer? Because that's what you are!"
Sǐhǎi stood up and gazed at the night sky, here eyes settled on the dark moon.
"The moon looks beautiful tonight, wouldn't you agree?" Sǐhǎi murmured.
"What the hell are you talk-"
Sǐhǎi brought her blade down mercilessly upon the rhino's face and continued her violent stabbing long after the rhino's legs and arms have stopped twitching.
"I don't like those types of words." she growled before looking up at the moon again.
She left the blade in the corpse before she stood up and viewed the Lee Da academy dying in a sea of fire. There were sparks of embers flying up into the air, as the blood of the students stained the ground and walls everywhere. She enjoyed the fight; it had been a long time before she was allowed into China after being exiled into Mongolia. In exchange for her blade, His Majesty has graciously erased all previous crimes in her name.
The Lee Da academy wasn't so tough she thought.
Sǐhǎi looked at her masterpiece one last time before looking to the moon again, her gaze on the giant white orb in the sky. The Imperial soldiers that had accompanied her started to collect the bodies together before setting them aflame. She didn't care for the soldiers. They were merely pawns on the grand scale of things.
"I want…to make this world burn." she whispered, the light from the flames illuminating her face while her body cast an eerie shadow on the earth.
(Original Author's note)
"The best weapon against an enemy is another enemy." - Friedrich Nietzsche...Hope you guys liked the OC Sǐhǎi.
Big Thank You to the people that reviewed! Should I make the chapters longer? Let me know!
Till Next Time, Audience