Within her grasp

Chapter 4: Memorable breakfast

Tigress was up and running seconds after hearing the morning gong. After making her bed with a well-trained flick of the wrist, she swiftly opened her door and stepped into the corridor. "Good morning, Master Shifu." The words were out before she remembered that Master Shifu was far away by now. She cocked her head at the empty corridor and frowned. The door to Crane's room - he had insisted on getting a room on the students' floor instead of one of the better rooms reserved for Masters - was open, but a quick glance confirmed that the bird had already left. His small bag was sitting in a corner, right next to a pile of scrolls. "Awesome. I got two cramps on the stairs, and he didn't even open the bag he had made me fetch!"

"Really, I have to teach him the morning routine," she muttered as she made her way to the kitchen. "Either he behaves like a Master and waits for me in the corridor, or he acts like a student and comes out after the gong." The complete absence of the smell of food irritated her further. "Wow." She rolled her eyes when she saw the empty kitchen. "Oh, no, Master Crane! Please allow your humble student to prepare breakfast and to deliver it to wherever you are!"

She snarled quietly as she prepared some tea and a few meatballs. Not the breakfast of champions, but she was frustrated enough not to care. The bowl, two cups and the pot of tea were quickly placed on a tray, and Tigress tried - and failed - not to feel like a maid. "Hate the guy," she hissed as she walked across the courtyard. She didn't hear a sound, but something told her to start looking for her Master in the training hall.

Gotcha, she thought after opening the large door with one hand. Master Crane was standing on the brim of the Jade Tortoise of Wisdom with his beak held under one wing, and Tigress wasn't quite sure whether he was meditating or sleeping. She was about to cough politely to get his attention when she finally saw the slight additions the bird had made to the training hall. "Oh Hell," she muttered when she saw what must have been dozens of crossbows. Each one had been installed on one of the flexible mounts under the roof, each one was loaded, and each one was aiming straight at the Jade Tortoise.

"Ah, Tigress," Crane greeted her softly and raised his head. "Wonderful! You made breakfast!"

Tigress smiled nervously, trying not to make any sudden movements. She wasn't sure how he had rigged the firing mechanisms, but the numerous ropes and pulleys looked far too ominous for her. "Yes... I did," she finally managed to reply. Think fast, Tigress! What will Master Shifu think once he finds out that Crane managed to kill himself on his first day? She briefly gnawed on her lower lip. I mean, sure, I'm sort of the senior... er... Kung Fu person here, so it's kind of my responsibility to keep the casualties low, but... it would be his own fault, right? But I don't actually want him to get shot! Well, at least not now... and not without me pulling the trigger... Her aching legs made it hard to feel too much sympathy for him. Still, she figured that she should prevent this mess. "Yes... breakfast!" she finally cheered. "It's tasty! And... you should really come here and try it!"

"You know," Crane suddenly started and walked along the edge of the turtle shell, "I read Master Shifu's evaluation of you last night."

"Uh-huh?" Tigress asked, trying not to cringe. If only I knew what triggers the firing mechanism!

"Fascinating stuff, really. Not too charming, though. I mean... I know that Masters tend to play down their students' achievements, but wow, you can't be that bad!"

"Errrrr... thanks, I guess?"

"On the other side, there is my personal opinion of you, based on what I saw yesterday," he continued without really listening to her. "I thought you're pretty good, but..."

"Buuuuut?" Tigress asked, trying not grit her teeth. Maybe he is mad, she suddenly realized. Maybe I'm actually listening to some sort of deranged speech about his views on everything before he pulls the trigger! ...maybe I shouldn't egg him on, then.

"But now I'm not so sure anymore. Master Shifu's evaluation made me doubt my own judgment." He idly scratched the jade surface with his talons. "And I figured that, if I am supposed to train you properly, I should eliminate these doubts and decide whose view is right. Right?"

"Sure... sure... just... couldn't we eliminate those doubts over breakfast... here... away from those arrows...?"

"Oh, you noticed!" he cheered and hopped around on the turtle shell. "Good, then we can get started! Try not to drop the tray!"

"Wait, what?" was all Tigress managed to ask before Master Crane threw a tiny stone at a small lever. Oh, crap.

The various ropes and pulleys started to move simultaneously, and Tigress's jaw dropped when she heard the first sound of a flying arrow. She only saw a blur of wood and metal racing towards Crane, who-

"Damn!" she wheezed when Crane deflected the arrow with one of his large wings. No wonder that I couldn't get through his defenses! His reflexes are almost as good as mine! Crane moved along the brim of the Jade Tortoise, deflecting a few more arrows on the way. Then, for just a moment, his eyes met hers, and she could see him smirk. Oh, I get it, you're feeling smug because-

INCOMING!

Tigress moved without thinking, completely trusting her reflexes as she dodged the arrow that had been aimed at her shoulder. Aimed? she asked herself, but then gritted her teeth. Of course! He had deflected it towards me on purpose! As if to confirm her assumption, more arrows were flying towards her. Knowing what was expected of her, she used the quick and abrupt moves of her Tiger style to move out of the way, all the time keeping the tray out of harm's way.

After what felt like hours, the hailstorm stopped. Tigress was panting quietly, standing on her left foot and balancing the tray on her outstretched right leg. Hate the guy... so freaking much...

"Wonderful, you didn't even spill the tea!" Crane commented as he landed next to her. Ignoring her trembling leg, he lifted the lid of the tea pot and smiled. "Ahhhh, that smells wonderful!" Then, finally, he picked up the tray, allowing her to stand upright again.

"You tried to kill me!" Tigress hissed angrily, shooting him a glare. And to think that I made him breakfast!

Crane blinked. "Kill you? I wouldn't think of it!"

"You shot ARROWS at me!" Tigress screamed and gestured frantically at the door, which now looked a bit like a porcupine.

"I only directed small groups at you," he told her as he placed the tray onto a small table. "If you had failed to dodge a group, I would have stopped. And none of the groups would have hit vital organs." He somehow picked up chopsticks with one of his feet and shoveled a meatball down his beak. "So really, at worst you would've had an arrow sticking in your shoulder by now."

"Gee, that makes me feel so much better!" Tigress poured some tea into both cups and then picked up her own set of chopsticks.

"You dodged them, though," Crane pointed out and smiled. "Just as I expected."

"So in other words-" A meatball disappeared into her mouth and was quickly swallowed. "-if you had been wrong, I would be bleeding to death right now?"

"More dramatic than I would have put it, but yes," the bird admitted and shrugged. "What can I say? I have faith in my evaluation skills, and I was convinced that Master Shifu's assessment was overly pessimistic."

Tigress frowned. "Master Shifu is one of the most respected Kung Fu Masters on the planet. With all due respect-" She stopped when he held up his wing.

"You think that a young Master who just arrived yesterday is in no position to say that Master Shifu was wrong."

"Pretty much, yeah." She shrugged. "No offense, really. But he monitored my training for years."

"Don't worry, I understand. And I guess you're right. Master Shifu can't have been this wrong all the time." He gave her a frown. "But I can tell you that his observations are completely at odds with your sparring performance or your ability to dodge arrows."

"So who is correct?" Tigress asked and raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe both views are correct." Crane tapped his beak, as if considering something. "Could you run through the obstacle course, please?" he finally asked, making her frown.

Now what? she asked herself even as she picked up two more meatballs and hastily shoved them into her mouth. If Master Shifu really gave me a bad rating while Crane gave me a good one, how can they both be right?

"No, no," he muttered when she was approaching the starting line and pointed at the far end of the obstacle course. "I want you to start back there."

"Um, you begin at this end," she pointed out, and cocked her head. "The course was built so that people could first-"

"I know. That's the point." He pointed at the finish line again. "Please."

"Sure, whatever," she muttered and walked around the obstacle course. When she was in position, she gave him a questioning look.

Crane simply pulled a lever and waited a few seconds for the obstacles to come to life. Once he was satisfied with the way things were running, he gave her a nod. "You may begin."

Seriously, what's the point? Tigress asked herself as she jumped into the Field of Fiery Death. Backwards, forwards, what's the- She gasped and quickly jumped sideways before the tube right under her right foot erupted. Stupid, stupid! Tigress scolded herself as she let her quick moves and her reflexes guide her through the field of fire. There IS a difference! The Field isn't symmetric - my standard patterns won't work!

Panting slightly, she finally made her way into the Gauntlet of Wooden Warriors. Okay, at least those work as usual! It was a far cry from her record time, but she managed to get through the rows of training dummies quickly enough. Now, just a few moves on the Jade Tortoise and- A growl escaped her throat when she spotted Crane standing on the turtle shell again. He bowed slightly, as if inviting her. A sparring match? Now and here?

But instead of sparring, Crane simply opted for observing her moves as she tried to hit him. He kept a large enough distance to give her plenty of space to fire off some of her more impressive moves, and after less than half a minute, he waved her on. "No need for the rings up there," he remarked even as he took off again.

Good, she thought and smiled, that just leaves my favorite toy: The Seven Swinging Clubs of Instant Oblivion. She jumped onto the spinning serpent logs and assumed her fighting stance. Her smile quickly faded when she realized that, just like the Field of Fiery Death, this part of the obstacle course also looked a lot different, coming from the wrong side.

Tigress frantically dodged and weaved through the swinging clubs, trying to get to the other side without being- "AGH!" One of the clubs had flown past her just a bit too closely, and one of its spikes had scratched her right shoulder. Don't stumble, don't stumble, don't stumble! She gritted her teeth and tried to keep her balance on the spinning logs while dodging the remaining clubs. Just... one... little... JUMP! She hit the floor with a low thud and sank to one knee. SAFE!

"You okay?" Crane was standing next to her, looking extremely worried.

"BACK OFF!" she snapped and batted at his feet with her left arm.

He let out a startled squawk and hopped backwards. "I'm sorry!" he cried, flapping his wings nervously. "I honestly didn't expect you to get hit!"

She was ready to pounce. And she wanted it. Badly. Calm down, Tigress! she quickly told herself and took a deep breath. This isn't his fault. At least not directly. Even though it was his idiotic idea to start at the end. She groaned. "Just tell me how bad it is."

The bird carefully moved around her to take a look at her back. Then he let out a sigh of relief. "Just a scratch. Some blood, but it doesn't look serious." Without waiting for any instructions or requests, he went to the box with the medical supplies. "Just take off your vest and I'll bandage it," he muttered while rummaging through the box with his right foot.

Tigress reached for her vest's buttons, but then froze and blushed lightly under her fur. "Yeah, right," she said and gave him a look.

"Huh? Oh, come on! How're you planning to bandage your own-"

"I'll think of something!" Maybe he just got me into this mess to check me out! That's not too unlikely! I bet he was hoping for my vest to rip open and-... what the Hell am I thinking? Ugh. Maybe one of the clubs hit my head or something. "Just leave me alone while I take care of this. And when you come in again, I want to hear an explanation for your whole talk about you and Master Shifu being right at the same time and how me running the obstacle course backwards is connected to this!"

He gestured vaguely and finally sighed. "Okay, fine... I'll wait outside..."

Okay, why did I just make such a big fuss about my vest? Tigress wondered when Crane had closed the door behind him. She took off her vest and tried to figure out the best way to wrap a bandage around her shoulder. I mean... Master Shifu has seen me without my vest... and so have some of the servants here. And yet... this feels different, somehow. Maybe it's because of the adrenaline rush I had after he almost got me killed twice within just a few minutes. Maybe it's because he almost let me fall to death yesterday. Maybe it's because he's the closest thing to a fellow student I ever had. Or maybe... maybe...

"I hope you're not bleeding to death in there," Crane's voice from behind the door made her snap out of her daydream.

"In your dreams!" Tigress snapped back and smirked. Loss of blood! Yeah, that must be it. It's making me think weird things.