Kai and I had decided to rest for the day. The sun had just began to set on the third day away from our villages. The trees hid us from danger as we built our tent from branches, twigs and grass.
I rolled out my sleeping mat and sat cross-legged on the mat. With my eyes shut, I inhaled and exhaled until my breaths were in complete rhythm. Not one thought, sound or smell seemed to distract me from my meditation. Not even Kai's snores. What felt like hours later, I opened my eyes, feeling relieved. The moon was a great white orb in the sky, smiling down on the panda and I. The moon's gaze seemed to try to put me into a deep sleep as I laid down on the soft mat. However, my thoughts distracted me and I could not let my questions go unanswered o thought about.
"Will Lei be the same?"
"She will look the same but she is 27 or 28, of course, so she will not be that little baby in your arms."
That seemed to bother me a lot.
"What if she doesn't remember me?"
"Of course she won't remember me!"
Memories came rushing back at me. This time it was my mother. So young. Beautiful. She held Lei in her arms. Dawn was tugging on my mom's black gown asking if she could go and play. I stood beside Dawn, laughing as my mother gave her a cold-hearted "no".
Dad towered above us all. His smile spread all across his face. He tickled Lei and laughed as she tried to eat his finger. Mother smiled but was silent. She set Lei into Father's arms and ran off.
Tears streamed down my cheeks for the second time that week.
"Why did you have to leave me, Father?"
The panda awoke shivering and with tears in his eyes. It shocked him for a moment as he tried to remember his dreams. He shook away his tears and rocked back and forth on his bed. The dream..., he thought, What was the dream?
Then, it all came back to him. The wolves. His father. Lord Shen. His...his mother...
He shook away his tears yet again and remembered the battle in Gongmen City. How he beat up the wolves with no sweat. How he killed Lord Shen. Then, a memory stopped Po in his train of thought.
Tigress.
She had pushed him away from the cannon. She saved his life and took the injury. The panda felt sorrow as he remembered. He had always felt guilty for it. The panda always wanted to repay his best friend. Either by saving her life or just making her happy.
Both seemed impossible at the moment.
Po yawn and stretched. It was probably very early in the morning. It was not dawn, of course, since the gong had not rang yet.
The barracks were quiet but all the panda could hear was the soft creaking of the floorboard. It seemed to come from the room across from him...
The door of the room across from him slide open and Tigress stepped out. She tip-toed along the hall but she did not enter the kitchen ; she had left the barracks.
Where might she be going?
His curiosity lead him through the hall and out the barracks. The wind was cool outside and the sun had not risen yet but its rays peered a little above the horizon. That gave him a few minutes before the gong.
The bear look around a bit and tried to see if Tigress was around. His eyes scanned the horizon until -
THERE!
Po spotted a red, orange and black heap sitting atop Peach Tree Hill. A voice pulled him toward the Hill and set him into a run all the way up.
When he was near the top, Po was panted and sweated. His heart beat quickened as he tried to rush to the top. He clasped onto the ground.
"Well...that was a workout..."
"Ahem..."
The panda froze for a second then slowly looked up. The tiger stood right in front of him, one hand on her hip.
"She looks so hot when she does that..."
"Wait...what?"
The panda mentally slapped himself as he stood up and dusted himself off.
"What are you doing here?" Tigress demanded. Her voice had an edge to it.
"I was just about to ask you the same question..."
Tigress rolled her eyes. Po could see a slight grin appear but it disappeared and was replaced by her usual serious face.
"I-"
As if on cue, the gong rang out. Their eyes widened and they rushed down the Hill. Po ignored his tiredness and ran like the wind. But that wasn't like him. He wouldn't run that fast just because training was about to start (he didn't like training anyways).
It was because it wasn't dawn yet. The gong had rung before dawn. It only meant one thing:
Something was wrong.
Excuse me for the short chapter. I could've wrote more...sorry...
And excuse me for me lateness...sorry for that, too...