As Crane had flown back, the sight he witnessed made him sick. Countless buildings ransacked, murdered townspeople in the streets, citizens crying in despair for justice. Their citizens, the very people the Five had taken an oath to protect with their lives. Crane had contacted the Anvil of Heaven, who agreed to rush to the aid of the Jade Palace. They would arrive in 2 days, 2 days too long. The Emperor will send more troops soon, then how will they defend the Valley of Peace? As Crane focused back onto the sad scene, he landed at the Jade Palace. His worst fears had come true. His home destroyed, the blood and tears of the innocent ran through the streets of the Valley of Peace.
As the sun set, Tigress was still slumped over, tears slowly dripped onto the earth. Po had gone salvaging in the wreckage for anything he could find, despite the heat from the burned carcass of the palace scorching his paws. Viper and Mantis attempted to comfort Tigress, although they were failing miserably. Monkey and Mei Ling were attempting to direct the citizens back to order, though many ignored the masters with dirty glares. Shifu had organized messenger birds that werenʼt slaughtered to different provinces with cities still run by Kung Fu masters to alert them of the coming dangers. When Crane had landed, he glanced at Tigress. She was beyond devastated, face expressionless, silent tears spilling over her eyes as her gaze never left the scorched palace. She clamped her eyes shut; hot air from the scorched wreckage rippled her fur, and roared in anguish. It was loud and violent, yet at the same time it held pain and sorrow. She slammed her fist into the earth, and took
off for her refuge of ironwood trees. The other had gotten up, trying to stop her, but was halted by Shifuʼs raised hand.
"Let her be," Shifu said, eyes cast down to the ground "Let her grieve the only way she can."
Po had seen the scene from scavenging in the wreckage and turned with determined eyes and kept searching with newfound determination. With his new found enthusiasm, he had almost missed a very valuable object. But regardless, he found it among the burned rubble. With a grin, he took the fragile object in his hands and pocketed it. He began searching for other pieces of memories.
Mei Ling had been joined by Crane down near the village in a reclusive area. She sat with her knees tucked into her, her arms rested on her knees and hiding half her face, her tail swinging depressingly.
"The villagers seem to resent us," she muttered with a sad expression "They expected us to protect them…and we failed."
Crane slowly padded up to her side, and put a wing around her, attempting to shield all her misfortunes from her. She responded by embracing the avian, much to his surprise. His eyes widened, and then softened as he returned her hug with one of his own. She had buried her face into his neck, and by the wetness he felt, she had been crying.
"I couldnʼt protect Lee Da…and now I couldnʼt protect the Jade Palace." Crane released her and put a wing on her shoulder, and looked into her eyes.
"Itʼs not your fault," Crane said soothingly "No one knew this would happen to any of us."
"Look at me!" Mei Ling said with a small laugh while wiping a tear from her eye, "Crying…this isnʼt what a Kung Fu master does! I messed up being a woman, now I messed up being a warrior?"
"Hey! You didnʼt fail at either of those!" Crane told her indignantly, then with an amused expression added "Remember how many catcalls you got, or how many guys would fight each other just to talk to you?"
Mei Ling started to giggle, and upon seeing this, Crane decided to go further.
"Iʼm serious! And when you first came here, you shouldʼve seen how many jaws dropped! And not just because of your Kung Fu!"
Crane sighed, and then looked out at the setting sun, in all its blazing golden glory.
"I remembered just thinking: "Wow!". Before you came to Lee Da, I only wished for one thing. But you changed that. I wished I could be a top student. I wished I could be as graceful and talented as you!" Crane closed his eyes, words tumbling from his beak uncontrollably, becoming an avalanche of truths and confessions.
"Even after I became a student, I was still wishing! Wishing that I could become the best that Lee Da had to offer, wishing that I was as close to you as some of your other friends were! Wishing that you were with me and not Tōu, wishing it was my wings around you, caring for you, instead of his!"
Craneʼs eyes shot open, realizing what he had just said. His feelings for her had gotten the better of his judgment and tongue. Cursing himself, all he could do was wait for the inevitable response he knew he would get.
"Oh, Crane…." Mei Ling looked away, towards the village and away from Crane before adding, "Crane…youʼre my best friend."
"I know." Crane croaked, his ears almost hearing his heart crack in a million places as his throat constricted itself.
He couldnʼt help himself. In the sunset, her beautiful eyes sparkled in the golden light. Her tears seemed to add to her eyes, even in sorrow she couldnʼt help but look like a goddess. Her face, her fur, her body. Crane wanted it all, he wanted to hold her, to protect her from anything else that will ever hurt her, to show her the love that no other male had ever shown her. He wanted to wipe her tears, and tell her everything would be okay, because in his mind, it would. Being near her, her comforting presence, her soft fur, her graceful figure and golden heart, would make everything okay to Crane. He sighed, however. It would never be possible. He was Crane: slim, awkward, and unattractive in general. And she was Mei Ling: goddess, beautiful, powerful, and independent. He knew she was never even remotely attracted to him since they met.
The silence between the two was deafening.
"Mei Ling, I know you donʼt love me. I know you see me as a friend, someone you can trust." Crane croaked, his tears threatening to overcome his eyesʼ resistances "So Iʼll be that person. All I want is to see you happy. So…donʼt worry about me. Iʼll be your friend forever, someone you can rely on. Iʼll watch from the side, happy if youʼre happy. So…so donʼt feel guilty about me, because I donʼt mind. Iʼll be there for you. Always."
Crane turned, getting ready to take flight for solitude to wallow in his misery. But before he could get liftoff, he felt a pair of familiar arms wrap around him from behind. He shivered as Mei Ling had buried her face into his long neck. They stood for what seemed to be hours, Mei Ling wrapped around Crane, their bodies and hearts so close together. Crane could feel her rapid heartbeat, her body heat, and wondered if Mei Ling could feel his heartbeat as well. He could feel her tears against his neck, and sighed with pleasure when she pressed her lips against the base of his neck. She trailed kisses up his neck, and then softly kissed the avianʼs cheek. Crane turned to meet the felineʼs gaze, her smile, her tear-stained cheeks...
"I guess...you feel the same way?" Crane asked awkwardly, shuffling his feet, "Why me?"
"Why not you?" Mei Ling asked with a laugh "If only you could see your handsome face in a mirror."
"Well Iʼm a scrawny, awkward bird…..youʼre a beautiful feline….."
"I think youʼre a majestic, handsome avian, who would sacrifice anything for a loved one." Mei Ling had embraced Crane again, nuzzling her cheek against his beak.
The setting sun set a blazing golden and orange background and Crane couldnʼt help but think that this was the perfect day, despite the recent tragedies that took place.
"Regardless of the tragedies, the future doesnʼt scare me at all", Mei Ling whispered to Crane with a sweet smile on her face "I have you."
Crane laughed and held the embrace. Mei Ling purred softly into the avianʼs feathers. The two lovers were joined as one, not only in embrace, but in heart and soul as well.
Original A/N
"Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone - we find it with another." - Thomas Merton
Well, there goes another chapter. I just have to let you guys know, that: Guys, I donʼt really plan my chapters. I sit down, and then tell myself: Yourʼe gonna write. Do it NOW! But the strange thing is, is that I like writing. Haha, oh the irony: an american football player that enjoys writing and reading. Oh well, I donʼt give a shit. That OC that Crane mentioned to Mei Ling was just BS. I made him up to last for 3 seconds. Hope you guys enjoyed that moment with Crane and Mei Ling. I know it wasnʼt Tigress and Po, but I liked what my brain told me to write, so my fingers had to type it! Itʼs the start of spring break, so I should be on a major writing spree after wrestling/football/track spring break practices! By the way, I forgot to mention this after chapter 2: I put a lot of references to movies,games, and TV shows and such. Try to find them if you can!
If you enjoyed the chapter, let me know why you liked it! Donʼt hesitate to send a review! I love them!
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Till Next Time, Audience