Within her grasp

Chapter 2: The higher they fly...

Of the many exhibits in the Hall of Warriors, Tigress had taken the most interest in the Sword of Heroes - a weapon with a blade that was so sharp that special precautions had to be taken before one could even take a closer look at it. Right now, Tigress felt as if she had been impaled on said sword - multiple times. She gave the crane next to her a wide-eyed look. Just minutes before, she had first boasted about her Kung Fu and then ranted at the bird for trying to correct her stance. But now...

"You... are the Master from the Floating Temple?" Master Shifu asked and gave the young crane a look.

"I received my title just this year, Master Shifu. Master Bai-He sent me here to train because he wanted me to make the most of my potential."

I can't believe it! Tigress thought and frowned deeply. He's just my age, for crying out loud! I trained under the greatest Kung Fu Masters in all of China, and I'm only close to Master rank!

"Well, I'm glad they sent you here directly! It's unusual, but it means that we can properly welcome you before we depart."

The crane shrugged lightly. "Most of our messengers died during the avalanche, so we use them mostly for short-range exchanges at the moment. Keeps things flexible."

So if not even I am fully ready, this can only mean one of three things, Tigress thought, paying little attention to the discussion between her Master and the bird. One: This Crane style is pathetic. While she had no doubt that both of her Masters knew the Crane style, she had only seen sketches of it while browsing through the thousand scrolls in the Hall of Warriors. And what she had seen hadn't exactly looked awe-inspiring. Two: This... Crane is actually pretty good. She discarded this one almost immediately. In her book, winged balls of feathers on stilts weren't the stuff Kung Fu Masters were made of. She was pretty sure there was a rule about this somewhere. Or three: He's not actually a Kung Fu Master. She gasped.

"Yes, yes, you are right, of course." Master Shifu sighed quietly, oblivious to the insight Tigress had just reached. "I can't even begin to imagine how horrible this all must have been for you. I'm sorry about your loss." Crane bowed slightly.

That's it... that has got to be it! Tigress thought to herself, her tail twitching as everything clicked into place. He's a liar! Nothing more than a silly liar who wants to sneak into the temple! She was about to alert Master Shifu right then and there, but something held her back. What if I'm wrong? She froze. If I'm wrong about this, I'm going to look like the biggest idiot in China. After all, I just met him a few minutes ago... and he spotted my stance mistake. Tigress bit her lower lip. Maybe I just can't accept that he's a Master because that would mean that I made a total ass out of myself before Master Shifu had arrived.

"Is something wrong, Tigress?"

Think fast. Don't say anything stupid now. "I was just wondering," she started, her eyes moving back and forth between her Master and the crane, "if... Master Crane could give us a demonstration of his skills?" Yeah, that's not bad! she instantly praised herself.

Master Shifu cocked his head and gave her a light frown. "It's a bit... unusual to ask a guest who just arrived after a journey of hundreds of-"

"Actually," Crane interrupted him softly, "I arrived last night and slept in an inn." His eyes met hers, and Tigress suddenly had the horrible feeling that he knew exactly what she had in mind. "If you wish, I can do whatever you had in mind."

"Hmmmm..." Shifu scratched his chin and suddenly grinned mischievously. "Well, if you put it like this... a short demonstration in the courtyard? Tigress will be your sparring partner."

"What?" Tigress asked and blinked wildly. "Sparring? I was thinking more along the lines of, you know-"

"It will be an excellent way to get to know each other!" Master Shifu countered even as he started to lead them out of the training hall. "After all, I intend to have him supervise your training while we are gone!"

Come again? Tigress was glad that her Master couldn't see her gesturing frantically behind his back. "Master, don't you think this is a bit sudden?"

"Well, it certainly beats writing a dozen scrolls with static training plans. And who knows, maybe he can train you better than I can." Shifu was already busily gesturing at some of the Jade Palace's servants to make them clear the courtyard.

"You honor me, Master Shifu." Crane bowed deeply, even though the red panda couldn't see it. "But there is no way that I could improve on your training methods."

"The thing is," Master Shifu replied, "that she has been neglecting her training. Her aerial combat skills leave a lot to be desired, and her overall style is... lacking something. I can't quite put my finger on it, but maybe you can."

Tigress snickered quietly when Crane was giving his quite finger-less wing a look. "Well, if you say so, I will simply thank you for the expression of faith."

Then he walked towards the center of the courtyard, and Tigress realized that she would have to follow him. He doesn't seem worried at all, she thought even as she was removing her bandage. Her hand still hurt a little bit, but it would be little more than a minor distraction. So he's either underestimating me, or I'm in for a royal smackdown. "Master Shifu?" she asked quietly, trying not to sound worried. "What are the... errr... rules for this sparring match?"

"Oh, of course!" The red panda nodded and waved slightly to get the crane's attention. "I would appreciate it," he spoke loud enough for both of them to hear him, "if neither of you needed medical attention after this match!"

Wonderful. Years of training, and only now does he develop a sense of humor. Tigress rolled her eyes and joined her opponent in the courtyard. Okay, calm down, Tigress, she told herself as she cracked her knuckles. You can win this. Crane style seems to be mostly some flashy wing movements to... do something. She suddenly wished that she had paid closer attention to what had been written on the scrolls. But seriously, what chance does he have if I hit him hard and fast? Anything goes down if you hit it hard enough! I just have to end this one quickly... Crane seemed to be completely oblivious to her calculating looks and simply bowed to give her the Kung Fu salute. She returned it and then moved into position. Wait for it... wait for it...

"Begin," Master Shifu simply ordered from the stairs leading to the courtyard, and Tigress instantly lunged forwards and snapped her right fist into a powerful punch aimed at his chest. Her strength was among her greatest assets, and that punch had been designed to break anything less stable than a house wall.

Crane's reply was almost as swift as her attack had been, and the punch connected only with his left wing. If the action had moved more slowly, she would have smirked. He couldn't even dodge my first attack! I'm sure Master Shifu will forgive me for breaking a wing once he realizes how pathetic this "Master" really is. Her mental smirk faded when she realized that her fist was still moving with surprisingly little resistance. That wasn't a block - it's a deflecting move!

But instead of pondering more about his style, Tigress decided to stick to her original plan and immediately dropped to the ground to deliver a floor sweep kick, which the crane evaded by leaping into the air. Predictable! She quickly shifted her weight onto her outstretched leg and brought up the other one to strike at her airborne opponent.

Only that her opponent was more airborne than she had anticipated.

Tigress groaned when she saw the crane flapping his giant wings once to hover just out of her reach. Lesson one: Birds can FLY.

Crane landed just outside her strike radius and gave her a smile. "Just as I had thought!"

"What're you talking about?" Tigress hissed, never letting her guard down as she began to circle around him.

"Your stance was perfect, so your mistake back then really had been a simple slip, nothing more."

"WHAT?" Tigress sacrificed her fighting stance to gesture wildly. "We're FIGHTING here, and you're taking the time to evaluate the position of my FEET?"

"I'm taking the time to evaluate the skills and flaws of my opponent, yes," Crane replied calmly.

"Oh, really? Well, do indulge me." She crossed her arms in front of her chest and shifted her weight onto her right foot. It was what she called a Compromise Stance - a stance that looked non-threatening and limited her movements, but from which she could still evade and counter attacks with relative ease. Just the sort of thing to surprise naughty birds with! But Crane didn't take the bait. Tigress briefly wondered if he was clever or simply honorable, but then settled on a much easier - and disturbing - explanation: He probably doesn't need to attack me while my guard is down.

"I can say that your strength is only surpassed by your speed. Your attacks are swift and powerful, making it obvious that you were trained by a very capable Master." He bowed slightly. "Just what I expected."

"And the flaws?" she asked, and her eyes moved instinctively to Master Shifu, who was looking slightly annoyed. Then again, that's the way he always looks when I'm training.

"Hmmmm... it's hard to put into words... but for now, let me just note that your emotions seem to be guiding your actions... and that may become your downfall. A Kung Fu Master needs to be able to ignore personal feelings during a fight."

Tigress briefly thought about what Master Shifu had told her about his fight with Tai Lung. The former student had attacked him while trying to get the Dragon Scroll, and Master Shifu had lost the brief fight simply because his emotions made him hesitate. "Duly noted," she finally whispered and assumed her fighting stance again. "Shall we?"

"With pleasure, my student," Crane replied smirked when he saw her twitch.

Calm down, Tigress, he's just trying to annoy you! she told herself and gritted her teeth. And it's working! Her eyes focused on her target. No time for meditation. Just strike him down hard and fast! Don't let him take off again! The world became a blur as she dashed at the bird, letting herself drop to the ground just in time to dodge any potential strikes at her upper body. Her hands once again touched the ground as she launched her foot into the air. If he jumps, grab his leg with your feet and pull! The bird, however, simply used his wing to deflect the force of her attack, and so Tigress moved on to Plan B, which consisted of close-range fighting - which had been her overall goal, anyway. I keep him close enough, and my Tiger style should be more useful than his wing-waving.

After getting to her feet again, Tigress launched a quick combination of punches, all of which were deflected by his wings. Just when she had finished and pulled back her arms, she realized that the bird hadn't stopped moving yet. Following the natural movement of his wings after the last deflecting move, Crane pirouetted and suddenly extended both wings. The image reminded Tigress a bit of a spinning top, but so far, no top had tried to- LEGS! LEGS! HE'S GOING FOR YOUR LEGS! She jumped backwards just in time to avoid a blow that would have swept her off her feet.

This time, there was no banter. Even as she landed, Tigress saw Crane moving in after her. During the following seconds, Tigress began to realize that the strength of the Crane style was the natural grace with which blows could be deflected or delivered - and more often than not, one led directly to the other without any apparent stance change. Okay, I take it all back, she thought after once again jumping backwards to avoid another wing attack. He really is a Kung Fu Master. But come on, there has to be some way I can sneak a blow in! She glanced at her Master again and frowned. If anything, Master Shifu was looking even more annoyed than usual.

"If you're getting tired, we can stop here," Crane offered, and Tigress wasn't sure if the offer was meant to tease her or not. "It has been a quite impressive match, but you should call it quits before we give your Master something to scold you for."

She slipped into her fighting stance again. "Don't worry, he'll find something anyway. And I fight to win, so I won't call it quits - unless you wish to give up?"

"Hmmmmmm..." Crane stroked his beak with a wing, pretending to consider this. "...no, I don't think so. Mostly because I'm curious about your lack of air moves."

Her eyes became narrow slits when she realized what he was aiming at. "I'm not a bird. I stick to the ground." Why did Master Shifu have to tell him? Maybe he wouldn't have noticed the lack of jumping otherwise!

"But what do you do when the fight leaves the ground?" Crane gave her a light frown.

Oh, don't give me that teacher attitude already! You're sounding like Master Shifu, just with less skill. "With me, the fight won't leave the ground. Period."

"Hm." Crane shook his head slightly before spreading his wings again. "Prove it."

Instead of replying verbally, Tigress started another attack, this time aiming a combination at his legs in the vague hope that at least one of her kicks would get past his defenses. Those legs don't look too stable. Just a light hit would have severe consequences for him!

"If you stay down there any longer, we could attach a few rags to your vest so you can clean the courtyard while we're fighting!" Crane taunted her even as he hopped over her tenth kick.

Tigress gritted her teeth and launched one last attack with her left leg. Okay, after that one, I'll- what the? She blinked when, instead of dodging or deflecting, Crane hopped onto her ankle. Before she had any time to marvel at his seemingly light weight, she realized that he had dug his talons into her trousers. "Hey, what's the big idea?" she snapped and tried to pull her leg out of his grip. Ignoring her efforts, Crane flapped his giant wings, slowly gaining height. He's pulling me upwards! she suddenly realized and gasped. A small part of her admired the bird's surprising strength, but the rest of her was frantically trying to sink her claws into the stone ground of the courtyard.

Seconds later, she had left the ground.

It took Tigress a few moments to get used to the fact that she was indeed airborne, but she knew exactly what she had to do now. Kill him. I'm going to kill him. Once I get free, I'm going to nail those wings to the ground! Tigress looked up and along her body to better aim at his foot. Just one kick... She flexed her free leg and-

Crane let go.

Tigress yelped when her attempted kick only made her spin around in mid-air. Before she could even come up with a new plan, she felt his talons digging into her trouser leg again. The caught feline looked up yet again and snarled. The bird was smirking. Tigress closed her eyes and tried to find her inner center. Focus, Tigress! This isn't any different than hanging upside down from a tree branch. She took a deep breath and then quickly pulled her upper body upwards to grab Crane's foot.

"Ah, now we're talking!" he commented even as he shook her slightly, causing her to miss her mark. "Here, let me help you!" His leg snapped upwards, catapulting her to his level.

Without hesitating for a moment, Tigress lashed out with her fist, brushing his left wing. He won't be able to deflect as well when he needs to flap his wings all the time! she thought even as she lost height again.

Crane's foot once again grabbed her ankle before yanking her up once more. "I'm impressed," he told her even as he dodged another punch and caught her ankle again. "You really don't know the first rule about fighting in mid-air!"

The first rule? She frowned lightly. What was it again? And does he seriously expect me to remember it while hanging upside down in mid-air? "Oh yeah?" she snapped up at him and bared her teeth in an attempt to hide her minor insecurity. "I know that I'm going to get through to you with the next attack!"

"Really? This I gotta see! But that's going to be your last chance at remembering the first rule!" And with that, Tigress was flung up a third time. She instantly raised her fist - and lashed out with her right foot, catching him in the side. The kick didn't have much force behind it, but Tigress was pleased that she had broken through his guard at all. "Good-" Crane cheered, even though he was wincing slightly. But then his grin was back, and he gave her a knowing look.

What's he grinning about? Tigress asked herself even as she was losing height again. I hit him! And I know I can do it again! The next time he- She froze. Something was wrong.

Crane hadn't caught her again. "-bye!" the bird shouted even as Tigress suddenly remembered that tigers - unlike birds - were unable to fly in any other direction than down.

The feline hissed madly when she looked at the ground. She hadn't even realized to what insane height Crane had taken them during their short fight, but it had been high enough for her to finally recall the first rule of mid-air fighting: Stay in control! Make sure you don't fall or take care that your opponent falls with you! I should've held on to him! Should've grabbed him! The ground was coming closer at a frightening rate now, and she could already see Master Shifu's shocked and disappointed expression again. SNAP OUT OF IT, TIGRESS! she suddenly told herself. It'll be ugly either way, but try to land on your feet at least! Tigress twisted and turned in mid-air, but she knew she wouldn't make it in time. Gonna crash gonna break my legs my arm my-

Two sets of talons suddenly grabbed her left wrist, and Tigress wheezed when she was violently pulled out of her free fall.

Moments later, Crane let go again, and she skidded and rolled over the courtyard. When she finally came to halt, Tigress groaned quietly and shook her head. I'm alive... and I quite likely won't even need a bandage. ...the bird is still going to die.

"Look alive," Crane suddenly whispered, "we got company." The bird was standing next to her and gave her the standard salute. Not daring to look around, Tigress got up and returned it.

"What an interesting display!"

Master Oogway! Tigress's eyes widened, and she gave Crane a quick look. The bird was looking as nervous as she felt. After what felt like an eternity, Crane ended the salute and bowed deeply at the Grand Master. Tigress quickly turned around and did the same. "Master Oogway, I didn't know you were here, too!"

"I couldn't help but notice the sounds of two skilled and determined fighters sparring in our courtyard." The huge tortoise idly waved his hand, and the two young fighters rose again. "Young Master Crane of the Floating Temple..." Master Oogway seemed to be lost in thought. "I assume you studied under Master Pahti?"

"He was one of the two Masters who trained me, yes!" Crane nodded quickly. "The other being Master Bai-He," he added as an afterthought.

"Yes... Pahti always had somewhat... unique lessons to teach his students. Like the one you just taught our Tigress."

Even Master Shifu - who was looking extremely annoyed and disappointed, but wouldn't lecture her while his own Master was doing the talking - seemed to be surprised by this one. "A lesson? He almost let her plummet to death!"

"If students don't respect fighting at great heights, let them fall," Crane intoned with what Tigress feared was practiced ease.

Master Shifu was about to rant about the obvious lunacy of this "lesson", but Master Oogway simply chuckled. "I'm glad he hasn't lost his touch. Very well, then! I believe there is still some time to give you a tour of the Jade Palace before we depart. Master Shifu and I can brief you about Tigress's training schedules along the way."

"Master Oogway!" the red panda finally protested and gestured vaguely at Crane. "Are you certain that this is... wise? After what I have seen, I'm not sure if this is the sort of 'training' is appropriate for her! She could have died during a sparring match!"

Tigress frowned lightly when she saw Crane looking down guiltily. Should I take sides here? I mean... yes, this stunt was crazy, but then again, it did highlight my lack of attention. Maybe I really could learn a thing or two from him... if I don't die first.

"Shifu," Master Oogway replied calmly before Tigress could make up her mind, "how do you feel about us leaving the Jade Palace?"

Master Shifu gave the tortoise a long stare, and one of his eyes twitched lightly. Seemingly random subject changes always annoyed him to no end. After taking a few deep breaths, he finally replied, "I am not perfectly at ease, but I am certain that nothing bad will happen."

"What about the bandits that sometimes camp in the Southern Pass? When we left for a trip the last time, they tried to sneak into the temple and rob it..."

"Yes, and Tigress took care of them," Master Shifu replied with just the slightest hint of pride in his voice.

Oh yeah, that was an awesome night! Tigress allowed herself a quick grin.

"So you are saying that she can protect the Jade Palace?"

"Indeed."

"Including the Hall of Warriors and the thousand scrolls stored there?"

"Of course!"

"She can protect the combined research and insight of several centuries?"

"Yes, she can!" Master Shifu was barely able to hide his irritation by now.

"If you trust her to protect this entire temple and to stand up against anything the world can throw at it," the tortoise slowly concluded and smiled down at her and Crane, "then I trust her to stand up against anything this young crane can throw at her." Master Shifu twitched again, and it took Tigress her last strength to avoid grinning. "Now come, we can discuss training suggestions and limits while we show our new resident around. Tigress, you can retreat to your room to meditate. We will alert you before we leave for our trip."

"Of course, Master Oogway!" Tigress bowed and gave the Kung Fu salute to the three Masters before leaving the courtyard.

Great. Just great. Tigress shook her head when she entered her room. I make an ass out of myself in front of a Kung Fu Master, I get scolded for a one-time mistake by Master Shifu, and then I almost plummet to death... which I could've avoided if I hadn't insisted on a demonstration! Argh! She glared at the bamboo mat in the center of her room. There is no way I'll manage to meditate after all that has happened today. But then again, the point of meditating is to leave all these worries behind, so I should at least try... She sat down on the mat and closed her eyes. Inner peace... inner peace...

Half a minute later, she had fallen asleep.