A/N: I do not own any other the characters besides Marie, so I don't own Shifu, much to my dismay. Oh, and I'm also doing the best I can to keep the characters in character, so far I think I've done a decent job. However if you notice I start slipping in later chapters, PLEASE call it to my attention. Thanks! Oh, and note that in the future these chapters may be redone if I look back a few months from now and deem that they suck.
Chapter Three
Marie didn't know how she managed to do it, but she suddenly found herself underneath the branches of the Sacred Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom. It sat on top of a hill like in the movie that overlooked the valley below, the villagers looking much like ants below her, barely able to make out their movements.
She sat against the tree for several long moments, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath. The run seemed to go on forever for her when it probably was only a few minutes, but her body wasn't used to running for long periods of time. She was a sprinter, not a runner, not quite the right built to be an athlete.
She moans in dismay as her head starts to pound with a vengeance, the stress, coupled with the run, causing her already aching head to hurt more. She sits down at the base of the tree to clutch her head, allowing her forehead to rest against her knees as she breathed. Her body was aching more then it did before and was exhausted, even though she was out for god only knows how long earlier.
She closed her eyes for what she only thought was a moment to allow her eyes the much needed rest. When she opened them however she found that it was no longer early afternoon, but close to sunset suddenly. She jerks her head back and cringes when her stiffened neck cracks, her muscles stiff and her shoulders sore. Those signs clearly told her that she had in that odd position for maybe hours, cursing herself out loud for foolishly letting her guard down.
Marie visibly cringes when her belly cramps and rumbles loudly, wrapping her arms around her middle to stifle the growling. Great, she's hungry. What is she supposed to do for food-?! She yelps in surprise when something clocked her on her already aching head and falls on the ground in front of her.
A peach laid there on in front of her. She rolls her eyes and smiled a bit at the next thought that came to her mind. –Somewhere, I bet Master Oogway's laughing at me.- She picks up the peach and lightly touches and examined it, twirling it around in her hands to find anything wrong with the peach.
She is unable to stop a grimace when she finds a very obvious wormhole that causes her to drop it. Not to be discouraged she slowly gets up and starts to search the ground around the peach tree, checking out the pieces of fruit along the ground. All of them were bad, much to her dismay before she turned her attention to the branches above her head. There were no fruit on the lower branches, picked clean of any of its fruit. However on the higher branches she saw hundreds of peaches and some of them looked ripe.
Before Marie's hand even touches the tree she pulls away, a bit in concerned about offending any spirits that may be around this tree, like Master Oogway and such. She pressed her hands together and prayed out loud.
"I pray to the spirits that I hope I do not offend them for climbing this sacred tree. I promise to only take the fruit I need to survive on and not greedily consume its bounty, and to be thankful for the tree sharing its fruit. Thank you." She bowed her head and was silent for a few moments before looking up and starting her climb up the tree.
***With Master Shifu***
Even with years of practice Shifu couldn't keep the look of frustration from coming across his face. Hours of search and his students hadn't come up with anything, and Shifu's search also yielded no results. Where could have the human has gone no one knew, it was like it just vanished into thin air.
All of them were discussing ideas on where it might have gone, if it was actually real. Po was really frustrated that he hadn't found this… human, whatever it was, and voiced his thoughts.
"We've looked everywhere and there is no sign of it!" Po scratched the back of his head as his thoughts turned to what the other students were thinking: maybe Zeng was mistaken?
"Then we have not looked everywhere, because we have yet to find it!" Shifu growled softly, irritably pacing in front of his students, his ears flat on his head and his jaw clenched tightly. He believed Zeng, he had been in service of Master Oogway and himself for years and have never failed or mislead them.
Po sighed softly and turned to look at the others, many of them looking down at the ground in guilt, all of them feeling extremely bad that they all had disappointed Master Shifu when their search came up empty. That was not all that was empty Po realized, hearing the growling stomachs of his friends.
He noticed it was close to sunset, and that was usually when he would start to make dinner for all of them before they went to bed at night. Po nervously cleared his throat to gain Shifu's attention.
"Look, uh… It sounds like everyone is hungry, and it's getting close to dinner time. I was thinking maybe I could make a quick dinner before we resume our search for the human? It could do us all some good."
Shifu paused, his ears pushed back irritably as he considered Po's words. Searching on an empty stomach would not good for his students. Finally Shifu nodded in agreement which caused their expressions to lighten up, all but Tigress who looked like she wanted to continue the search.
"That's an excellent idea. Searching on an empty stomach wouldn't be good, you'll get sloppy overtime. And yes, Tigress, you need to stay here and eat as well." Shifu interrupted Tigress as she opened her mouth, turning his back and heading towards the doors leading out of the training hall. "While you eat I will go mediate by the Sacred Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom, a solution might present itself there."
As he started to leave the room he heard the shuffling footsteps of his students leaving the room behind him and heading towards the kitchen. Shifu soon found him outside, but he didn't rush for the tree, taking his time to walk up there and think about their current situation.
Why of all times would a human appear now? Master Oogway said they disappeared a long time ago for reasons unknown. Why would a human appear now? Was it simply an accident that it had suddenly appeared?
There are no accidents. A voice echoed in the back of his mind that caused him to stop. It was Master Oogway's voice, so fresh in his memory that he could clearly hear it, even though the turtle has passed on. He smiled, although a bit gloomily, as he resumed his walk. So maybe it was fate that intervened and brought the human there.
As he reached the peach tree he stopped at the sight that greats him, his eyes widening in surprise while his ears twitched. Before him was the human they had been searching for, examining the fruit that littered the ground around the tree for a peach that may be edible. Shifu quickly ducked into some bushes along the stone path up to the peach tree to watch the human.
This human was only slightly like the ones in the paintings Oogway had showed him, the paintings had shown dark haired humans with narrow eyes. This human had light, brownish hair and oval shaped eyes. After examining the human he came to realize that it's was a she, having similar curves to the females in the paintings.
As his eyes trailed up he noticed the bandage neatly tied around her head, and, confirming Zeng's suspicions, she was indeed injured, though the blood was dried on the bandage. He was unsure how to present himself to the girl, not wanting to startle her and cause her to flee. Sure, he could obviously catch up to her, but frightening her out of her wits was not high on his priority list. He noticed her considering on climbing the tree to reach the good fruit, but before she even touched the tree she did something that surprised him.
"I pray to the spirits that I hope I do not offend them for climbing this sacred tree. I promise to only take the fruit I need to survive on and not greedily consume its bounty, and to be thankful for the tree sharing its fruit. Thank you." Her accent was odd, but it flowed very nicely and it seemed to fit her. How she knew the tree was sacred he had no idea, but he stayed hidden and watched her carefully climb the tree, watching her disappear behind the many pink flowers.
Shifu then carefully crept out of his hiding place and made for the tree, looking up to see where she was. She didn't notice him, completely oblivious to his presence and had her back turned to him as she carefully examined the fruit, sitting down on one of the stronger branches to make herself comfortable.
He quietly climbed up into the tree, hoping to talk to her and ease her fears. He sat behind her on another branch at her head level, literally close enough that if he wished to he could reach out and touch the back of her head.
He curiously watched her for several moments as she continued to examine the fruits. Many of them were not yet ripe, so she left those alone in order to only choose the ones she planned to eat. The way she moved was quiet, as if she was afraid to break the gentle silence all around them.
Finally he decided to no longer stay silent, and got her attention with a single word. "Hello." The girl gasped loudly in surprise from hearing his greeting, whirling around to face him, literally nose to nose to each other.
***Both PoV***
Marie carefully scaled the tree and disappeared among the many pink flowers that covered the branches, testing each branch carefully before putting her weight on any of them. This tree had to be really old, and she wasn't sure how durable the branches were as she climbed up higher off of the ground.
She found a sturdy branch to sit comfortable on as she started to examine and touch the fruit on the branch just a little ways in front of her. She was looking for holes, bruises, and ripeness. Not many of the peaches and holes or bruises, but many of them were not ripe yet.
She moved quietly and slowly, for some reason unknown to her. She felt a stillness in the air. It was gentle, but she didn't want to disturb the peaceful atmosphere around this tree. It had to be sacred she thought to herself, it was like the tree was giving off an aura of calmness. Then, something, a voice behind her, broke the silence and caused her heart to leap into her throat.
"Hello."
Marie was unable to stop the gasp from escaping her throat as she quickly turned to face who had spoken to her. Her nose came in contact with a small, brown nose, touching tip to tip against each other. Her grey blue eyes are wide with fright as she stared into the most beautiful crystal blue eyes she has ever seen in her life.
Shifu was startled to be staring into this girl's grey-blue eyes, surprise and fright clearly showing bright as day in their depths. He hadn't meant to scare her that badly, he had only hoped to gain her attention and get some answers. Marie felt herself starting to blush as she stared, then her eyes suddenly caught something.
Big ears.
Big red, panda ears, on top of its head. She then felt the blood drain from her face when she came to a sudden realization: it was Shifu! She's unable to stop the yelp that escapes her as she moves to scramble away, but she forgot one, minor detail.
She was in a tree. Suddenly feeling nothing beneath her she started to fall, crying out in surprise and pain as her arms painfully smacked the branches as she grabbed at them and missed, plummeting towards the unforgiving ground. Her fall was suddenly stopped as something caught her around her ankle and pinned her to the tree, her back slamming into the trunk when her fall is suddenly halted, knocking the wind out of her. As she attempts to catch her breath, she swallows thickly and looks up, surprised to see Shifu had stopped her fall.
Shifu hadn't expected her to cry out, nor did he expect her to fall. He only has moments to act; jumping down to the lower branches as the girl fell, knowing that if she fell from this height and angle she could get hurt. Using the top of his staff (which is shaped into a 'u'), he suddenly lunged forward and catches the girls ankle and pins her against the tree. He briefly winces when he hears her back slam against the trunk, knowing that it must have knocked the breath out of her.
Shifu's eyes then meet the girls when she looked up at him, staring at each other before he speaks quietly to her. "Are you alright?"
Marie smiled nervously up at him, trying to get her breathing and nerves back under control. "I'm… I'm hanging in there." She then groans to herself, rolling her eyes in exasperation at the horrible pun she just made. Shifu is unable to stop the chuckle the wells up from his chest, laughing quietly that makes Marie stare at him with a wide eyed expression.
Shifu genuinely laughed, Marie thought. She had only heard a few of those during the movie, most of the laughter came from being around Po when he was training him at the Pool of Sacred Tears. Shifu's laughter then quieted as he gently lowered Marie to the ground.
Marie breathed a soft sigh of relief when she felt the ground beneath her back as Shifu lowered her down and released her ankle, sitting up as Shifu climbed back down the tree to stand beside her. He was taller then she had thought she realized, she bet if she were to stand up he'd be waist high, much to her surprise. She thought he'd at most reach the middle of her thigh.
Shifu started to carefully check for any injuries, scanning her until his eyes landed on her arm. He gently fingers a few small cuts made by the branches as well as a few bloody scrapes she obtained that would need to be cleaned. Otherwise she was not badly hurt.
Marie watched him as he examined her, wincing a little when he touches the scrapes and cuts. They stung a bit, but Shifu was gentle as he examined her, his fingers light across her skin. She was unsure about this entire situation, she had thought that maybe when Shifu got wind that she was there he might have hurt her, but…
Marie scolded herself in her mind for thinking such a thing. Shifu never used his Kung Fu to purposely hurt someone, only to defend himself and his students. Her mind had made her irrationally fear them when they could have very well helped her from the beginning.
Shifu then placed his hands gently against her head and eyed the bandage covering her wound. He wasn't sure how bad the wound was behind the bandage and was afraid to remove it. He wanted to have medical supplies nearby if it was bad so he could properly take care of her.
"How did you get that?" Shifu gestured towards the bandage before turning his gaze back to her. Marie froze at the question, completely caught off guard. –What should I tell him?!- She couldn't tell him the truth, especially about the car, would he even believe her? She swallowed a bit, nervously wringing her hands together in her lap.
"I got it when I took a spill down a steep hill when I was on my way home. I think I might have cracked my head against a tree, or a rock. I blacked out, and, uhm… I woke up here." Marie cringed a bit when Shifu merely stared at her.
Shifu's eyes narrowed as he watched her. Either she was a nervous individual in general or she wasn't telling the whole truth. He decided for now he'd give her the benefit of the doubt as he turned and started to move towards the path leading away from the peach tree. "Come, I'll take a look at your wound at the Jade Palace."
Marie stared after him for a few moments before scrambling to her feet to follow Shifu, keeping a foot behind him at all times as they walked. She really wished she had a place to sit down and think about this whole situation, everything was so… surreal to her. She wasn't sure at this point if this was all real, or a dream her mind cooked up while she was unconscious.
Shifu turned to glance over his shoulder to check on the girl, noticing her gazing off to the side with a tortured look on her face. A soft frown crosses his lips when he see's this, turning his gaze back to the path they are taking. "…Your name?"
Marie is jerked out of her thoughts when she hears Shifu's question, looking at him as he turned to glance at her over his shoulder once again. "It's… Marie, sir." She watches in fascination when his ears twitched in response to her answer.
"Well then, Marie, you may address me as Master Shifu. Now, after I examine your wound I'll make sure you get something to eat." Shifu smiled slightly at her, trying to ease her uncertainties. The girl was scared that much he could tell and he certainly didn't want to make her uneasy. They would be able to talk more about her current predicament after she has been treated, got something to eat, and get some rest.
Marie smiled gratefully when he mentions food. She wasn't able to get a peach to eat when she was interrupted. She suddenly realized the were walking up the steps to a side entrance of the Jade Palace, surprised that she zoned out enough to not see how close they were getting.
Shifu stopped at the door and opened it, stepping off to the side and gesturing her to enter first. Marie smiled, muttering a soft 'thank you' as she entered the building. She moved off to the side as Shifu entered and closed the door behind them, starting to walk down the hall.
Marie quickly followed him, not wanting to be left behind and most likely get lost. She was able to get glimpses of paintings on the walls as they passed, most of the paintings of nature scenes.
"Zeng!" Shifu hollered, causing Marie to jump in surprise behind him, clutching at her heart as she stared at him. A voice coming from on of the doors further shouted back, but Marie was unable to pick up what they were saying. Zeng darted out of the room not even a moment later, turning to look over at Shifu.
"Yes, Master Shifu?" Zeng quickly walked towards them, but he paused when he saw Marie standing behind Shifu. "Ah, you found it! That's great! I have yet to find the scrolls you've asked for, though…" Zeng started to babble about the places he had searched in Oogway's library while Marie was staring at him.
-It?- Marie looked incredulously at Zeng before turning her gaze down to her chest. –I know I'm not the busty type of girl, but calling me an 'it?'-
"Zeng? Zeng!" Shifu barked in order to gain Zeng's attention, Zeng squawking in embarrassment when he realized he started to ramble. "It's fine, I'll search for the scrolls later. Right now I want you to do me a favor and tell my students to not worry about rushing dinner since I've found her. Tell Po to make sure to make a little extra food for our guest, we'll be joining them after I take a look at her wound."
Shifu gestured for Marie to follow him as they moved down another hallway, Zeng yelled 'Yes Master Shifu!' before turning down another hallway to go deliver the message. Marie continued to follow behind Shifu, her mind still reeling at what she had been called.
"It…?" Marie mumbled underneath her breath, staring at the ground as she frowned to herself. Shifu turned to look behind him, his ears picking up her voice even though she was being as quiet as she could.
"Take no offense to what Zeng said. He didn't know if you were male, or female. Humans have all but gone extinct hundreds of years ago, and the few people who know about humans believe your kind was nothing but a fairy tale." Shifu watched her eyes widen in surprise at the new found information before he turned his attention back in front of him.
Marie's mind was reeling at the new information she has just heard. Humans were once known in this world? She just couldn't believe it; she thought humans were never a part of this world. Why did they disappear if they did once exist? How could the humans just die out like that?! And why was she here? She looked up and watched Shifu's back as they continued to wind their way down other hallways, her mind in turmoil.
Should she tell him? That in her world, this world and its people was, in a sense, a fairy tale too? Would he believe her if she said she was from another world? No, it wouldn't be a good idea. Don't talk about it unless it's brought up by Shifu.
Shifu stopped at a closed door and pushed it open, once again holding the door open for Marie to enter first. She smiled shyly at him, thanking him as she moved past him to enter, looking around the room as Shifu closed the door behind him and moved towards a cabinet.
Marie knew immediately that this was a small hospital. There were a few tables for the patients to sit or lie on and several beds for the overnight stays. Shifu started to pull out bandages and ointments to clean out her wound, gesturing for her to sit as he pulled up a stool for him to sit on by one of the tables.
Marie quickly did what she was told and sat down on the table, Shifu setting the medical supplies as he reached for her bandages, carefully starting to undo them.
"You did rather well bandaging your wound." Shifu complimented her as he removed the last bit of the bandage and setting it off to the side. Marie froze, allowing Shifu to tilt her head to examine the wound. The wound was rather bad, a long, jagged cut that disappeared into her hair, dry blood matting her hair and staining her skin.
"I, uh…. Didn't bandage it, Master Shifu." Marie started, nervously wringing her hands in her lap as Shifu started to clean the skin around the wound as well as her hair that was caked with dried blood with a damp cloth. "I just woke up like this. I'm not even sure how I got here. This place is nothing like where I come from." She wasn't exactly lying about the last part; this world was nothing like where she lived in America.
Shifu frowned at what Marie said as he started to lightly dab ointment on her wound after he was done cleaning the dried blood off. So she didn't treat herself. Someone else had found her while she was unconscious and took care of her? Why not treat her and bring her to the Jade Palace? Or just let her lie there? If someone from the village had found her they wouldn't have known what she was, and most likely have been too frightened to go near her.
He started to wrap fresh bandages around her head as he thought to himself, his hands moving automatically, having bandaged many wounds to where it became almost second nature to him. If someone in the village did find her he would have thought they would have reported their findings to him and have him take care of it. And something else she said bothered him.
Someone must have brought her here from wherever she was, and just abandoned her in a new place that she had never been to before. Why would they do that? His thoughts were interrupted by a low, rumbling growl. Shifu looked up at the Marie's face as she blushed and wrapped her arms around her middle.
She smiled sheepishly at Shifu, incredibly embarrassed. "Uhm, sorry. Couldn't stop it."
Shifu chuckled softly as he got off the stool and headed for the door. "It's quite alright, Marie. Come, I'll take you to the kitchen so you can eat."
Marie immediately hopped off of the table and followed him out the door and down the series of hallways once again. –I'll have to be careful so that I don't get lost if I'm on my own.- Marie thought to herself as she watched Shifu as they walked. His ears were rather interesting to watch, twitching or moving slightly when his ears picked up any sounds.
His ears also moved to match his facial expressions she had noticed when they were in the hospital room. When he frowned his ears would lie back on his head and when he looked confused his ears tilted back a bit. It was rather cute, and she had to resist touching his ears several times when the urge came on.
She had always thought Shifu was the coolest; his Kung Fu skills were awesome, his attitude and voice was great, and his tail and ears were cute! Marie liked his ears the best though. She was telling Trisha the truth when she said it was his ears that caught her attention and made her like him in the first place.
Thinking of Trisha brought up a serious matter that she hadn't thought of. How would her family and friends react when someone finds her car in the ditch but not find her? Would they think someone ran her off the road and kidnapped her? Knowing her family they would be raising hell and hiring investigators to try to find her. But… they won't find her. Hopefully she somehow, someway, got back home, but…
For all she knew, she may never see home again.
"We're here." Shifu announced, causing Marie to tear away from her thoughts as she stopped and blinked at Shifu. She had zoned out again and got lost in her thoughts. She was surprised that she somehow managed to keep following Shifu. Marie heard the sound of talking and the clanking of a pot, like someone was stirring the contents.
Shifu pushed open the doors and stepped inside, Marie cautiously following behind him. "Good evening, students."
All at once everyone, The Five and Po turned to look at Shifu, but their eyes moved immediately on Marie not even moments later. Marie nervously shifted underneath their gaze, especially Tigress who had her eyes narrowed as she looked at Marie. Shifu cleared his throat to regain his student's attention.
"This young lady here is Marie. Marie, this is the Furious Five: Master Tigress, Master Mantis, Master Viper, Master Crane, and Master Monkey." He gestured to each of them as he introduced Marie to them before turning to Po, who was attending to dinner at the stove. "And this is Po, the Dragon Warrior."
"Hey Marie, how are you doing? I hope you're hungry; I'm making my special noodle soup tonight!" Po grinned as he greeted Marie, adding a few sliced vegetables to his soup and a few spices.
Marie was unable to stop the relived smile from coming across her face. Po was still Po, a big, loveable panda who was trying to make her feel comfortable. Funny thing was his voice was exactly like Jack Black's voice.
"I'm starving, actually!" Marie smiled enthusiastically at the thought of trying Po's famous soup, it smelled delicious.
She turned when she heard the scrapping of a chair, seeing Monkey pull another chair up to the table that by the wall earlier with his tail, smiling at Marie before gesturing to the chair that was now beside him. "Here, have a seat."
Marie smiled at Monkey as she approached the chair and carefully sat down. "Thank you very much." She had to keep herself from laughing out loud: his voice was exactly like Jackie Chan's voice. Every time Monkey talked she won't be able to get Jackie Chan's face out of her head.
Shifu took his place at the head of the table not even a foot away from Marie, rubbing the side of his face as he sank into his thoughts. He half-way listened when Monkey started to chat with Marie about perhaps taking her on a tour through the Jade Palace tomorrow after their training.
"Before she can do that, Monkey, she should see the palace tailors! I doubt she has any change of clothes, do you?" Viper questioned Marie from her position across from her, and Marie nervously shook her head no. "See? Before we start training tomorrow I could take her to the tailors. She should be done by the time we're done with our training, and then we can take her on a tour! How does that sound, Marie?"
Marie shifted nervously underneath Viper's gaze, wringing her hands tightly in her lap. "That sounds good… But, how am I going to pay the tailors? I don't-"
"Don't worry about it." Shifu interrupted, Marie's gaze turning to him almost instantly when she hears his voice. "They get paid weekly for their duties here in the palace. However I suppose for tonight you'll need something to sleep in… Tigress? After dinner would you be so kind as to lend her some nightclothes? You two look about the same size."
Marie flinches when Tigress turns and seems to glare at her, causing her to shrink into her chair a bit, desperately wishing that she could disappear.
"…Yes Master Shifu." Tigress answered coolly before turning away from Marie.
Marie breathed a soft sigh of relief, nearly jumping out of her skin when Monkey patted her on her shoulder, smiling comfortingly at her. She smiled at Monkey before turning her attention back at the table, nervously wringing her hands. She had figured Tigress probably wouldn't like her right off the bat, but she was hoping that if she was stuck here Tigress and she may grow to be friends one day.
"Order up! Hope you like it, Marie." Po's voice pulled her from her thoughts as she looked up, watching Po places bowls in front of everyone at the table. Po took his seat at the other end of the table and eagerly started in on his soup. Everyone else also started to eat as Marie picked up her spoon and watched all of them for a few moments.
Compliments were sent Po's way about how excellent the soup was from The Five, including Tigress who seemed to have opened up to Po since the defeat of Tai Lung. Finally Marie took a spoonful into her mouth, her tongue hit instantly with pleasant flavors that she has never tasted before as she swallowed. "Wow, this is great! I've never tasted soup this good before!"
Po couldn't help but grin as Marie complimented him, watching her eagerly take another spoonful into her mouth. "Well I'm glad you like it! You should sample some of my other cooking; I'm sure you'll enjoy it."
"I would love to!" Marie gushed, eating her soup eagerly. If Po's cooking was as good as his soup she'd definitely eat his food.
The next half hour flew by pretty fast to Marie. She had a pretty good time chatting with The Five (besides Tigress, who only spoke a word or two to Marie) and Po. Master Shifu kept pretty quiet much to her dismay; she had hoped to get to know him more. He did look rather tired, so she thought it would be best to leave him be. Dinner ended all too soon and it was time to go to bed.
All of them started to shuffle out of the kitchen, all of them starting to head to their rooms while Shifu, Tigress, and Marie stayed behind. Marie was once again extremely nervous as her gaze shifted between the two of them.
"Marie, your room is next to Tigresses room. I have no idea how long you will be with us, so I felt it was best to put you into a more comfortable room during your stay. Tomorrow you'll be busy for several hours, so try to get as much rest as you can tonight. Goodnight Tigress, Marie." Shifu nodded to the two before turning and heading to where Marie could only assume his room was.
Marie turned to look at Tigress, cringing underneath Tigresses gaze. After Tigress watched her for a little longer she turned to walk away, gesturing for Marie to follow her. Marie did what she was told without question, following Tigress but keeping her distance.
Finally after a few minutes of walking they entered a hallway Marie was familiar with instantly. This is where The Five and Po sleep. There were candles light in the rooms, the light shining through the thin paper walls. As they passed the candles slowly started to go out, all of them winding down for the night.
Marie stopped immediately when Tigress got to her room and opened the door and stepped inside. Tigress turned to see if Marie had tried to follow her in, but Marie stood patiently outside her door. Tigress was satisfied that Marie knew her boundaries as she turned to her dresser and opened its drawers.
Marie watched from the doorway as Tigress looked through her drawers for something for her to wear for the night for a few seconds before starting to nervously look around the hallway. She didn't want to anger or piss Tigress off more then she was by staring into her room. Marie was a bit of a pacifist at heart, she never liked to tread on people's toes or watch them fight.
She always would try the peace route first before she ever resorted to violence. Marie grunted in surprise when something hit her face, managing to catch a wade of clothes before it hit the ground. She looked up at Tigress and smiled nervously at her. "T-Thank you, Master Tigress."
Tigress face seemed to lighten up. Only a tad, though. "You're welcome. Good night." Without another word Tigress closed the door, leaving Marie standing out in the hallway. Marie stood there for several moments before she approached the door leading to her room, pushing it open and stepping inside.
Someone had lit a candle for her so she wouldn't stumble in the dark. In the dim candle light she could see how cozy the room was. There was a nice, decent sized bed against the wall with light lavender sheets and what looked like to be a nice comfy pillow at the top of the bed. It was low to the floor, the bottom of the bed not even an inch or two from the floor. She figured it must be common for beds to be this way.
Marie turned to look towards where the candle was and was surprised to see it on a low desk. A lush looking pillow served as the seat to a pretty bamboo desk, it would be a nice place to write or read.
In the silence of the room her thoughts started to turn to her current predicament. She felt weary, she had one hell of a day and her mind wouldn't stop whirling around. Marie started to undress, folding her dirty clothes on top of the dresser in the room before pulling on what looked like a light kimono used for bed. It took her a few minutes to figure out how to tie it before she blew out the candle and collapsed in bed.
She groaned in relief as her weight sank into the soft mattress, pulling the sheets over her body as she snuggled her face into her pillow. Even though her body was mind and weary she couldn't fall asleep, staring blankly at the wall as her mind tiredly worked to figure out and adapt to her situation.
Marie was in an imaginary world that wasn't supposed to exist, where she met Shifu, The Five, and Po. Part of her thought she was crazy, a part of her told her she was perfectly sane. She didn't know how long she may be here, but… In a way, she was glad she was.
But it wasn't for the reasons she first thought of. She thought she was glad to be here because she could meet Shifu and the others, but… What was odd was that she felt more at home here then she ever did where she lived. Like the missing piece she had always felt at home was suddenly filled when she got here.
Marie finally stuffed her head under her pillow and groaned softly. She had to push these thoughts out of her head; she had to get some sleep. She focused on her breathing: in, out, in, out. In with the good and out with the bad. This technique she used time to time to help herself get to sleep started to work, her body started to slowly sink into a lulled state and the thoughts that troubled her started to dwindle away as her eyes slipped closed.
As she started to drift off she thought she saw a familiar white light forming in her room, but as quick as it came it was gone in a flash. Figuring it to be her eyes tricking her she thought nothing of it as she sank further into sleep.
Another A/N: Not sure how well this turned out. It's ok, but not great in my opinion. I hope as I continue to write I get better. The next update may or may not be slower, I need to think more about the plot and figure out where I go from here. So, I hope I don't disappoint too many people with this chapter. Until the next update, see!
