Ghost City population: 0?
Let's put our thoughts in the wind, and maybe they'll wander back in the future.

He walked ahead with his head held high, he noted with some disappointment Tigress was looking behind them and he could tell who exactly her eyes had found.

It was Gan with a band of guards, no doubt looking out for him but-

In the gleam of sunlight, the old snow leopard's back was almost reflected in her eye, walking another way and sending mere lackeys their way.
'Whose caught your eye…I wonder…?' Zhenjin thought as he briskly turned around, flaring his dark blue cape to the right as they neared the steppe, far enough from the place they had patrolled days ago but not far enough from the shadows of Khanbaliq's walls.

He grits his teeth. 'Is it the other new addition maybe?'
He noted with a grimace how much he didn't know about her and yet Yuelen was already well acquainted with not one but three foreigners already.

The sound of trickling water filled his ears, only the sound of a swirling canteen filled with water and the scent of milk tea reminded him he wasn't alone. "Am I not noteworthy enough to follow?" The prince whispered.

'It's so noisy and somehow…someway…it still feels quiet…'

"Prince Zhenjin?"

Splash!

Zhenjin turned to see, he'd left the other behind. Tigress kneeled on one of the many slanted rocks surrounding the rivers on the steppe, the water running through the digits of her paw right back into the riverbed.

'So noisy…'

"Yes?" It was immediate the way he changed his expression, from a thin line that threatened to turn into something far more irate into something more befitting of who he would be. "You know most patrols don't have sightseeing breaks…"

Who he had to be.

Tigress merely shook her head. "I'm aware but I was curious if we were just following this river." A river rock clattered from her hold as the last droplets of water fell from her paw. "My team had been in the desert for so long, it's been some time since I'd seen a river since that town..."

With practiced ease he knew she earned, she walked and hopped between different rocks to get to him as she awaited his answer.
He drank in the moment longer than he should have.

Zhenjin inclined his head in agreement and moved on without another word expecting her to follow. "You'd be correct, we're headed toward the red waterfall. It's not too far but people tend to congregate around that spot."

Unlike Gan.

The foreign tiger did not disappoint, from one wet stone did she make the leap to his side back onto dry land. "You believe those ferals might be attracted to a spot with groups of people?"

"Precisely." The prince brought his paws to his back, interlocking them as they walked with the smallest difference of space between them. "I had an inkling you'd understand my reasoning."

"Ah…" She made a small noise and somehow it stood out beside the river. "No one else wanted to check this path with you?"
"Just carelessness." He gruffly replied with a twist of his right wrist that went nowhere but back to his side.

"I understand," Tigress answered after a moment of silence, her eyes still glued to the river. He couldn't help but look along with her while keeping his ears and nose at the ready. He'd been caught off guard once and it cost Gan his shoulder. "People don't want to look upon peaceful places such as this as a means to hurt them…It's a safe space…"

The water shimmered in the light of the sun.

"Why do you patrol?" Zhenjin asked without much thought or charisma in his voice, as the bright shine of water reflected in his own iris.

"To protect the innocent," Tigress answered without hesitance as if it was second nature to her. "Crime is quite high in my country as it is here." She kicked a small rock into the river. "And the nobles…they don't look out for the people below heaven."

Splash!

"So, you masters do it instead?" Zhenjin finished her thought process before it could truly end. "How noble." He smiled bitterly.

'Too bright…It's all too bright and noisy-'

"And you?"
Zhenjin straightened his back and stood tall to her question. "To prepare myself for the future you could say," To escape, his own voice whispered. "Is it unusual for someone like me to patrol?"

Tigress nodded as if it was self-explanatory. "Yes. While I know you are never truly alone," She threw her head back softly, probably already noting and keeping track of the guards following them. "It's strange to see someone of your status with such an initiative to be aware of your surroundings, much less the people below you…I suppose in your own way…you too are quite noble."

'It's so noisy and bright! I want to escape!'

"Oh…" Again, another small noise that could be so easily washed away with the rest as her ears perked up, eyes closing. "I think I can hear it…"

Zhenjin started to slow down behind Tigress as she walked ahead, taking in the boisterous sound of-

She kneeled looking down into the expanse that caused a rift in the seemingly never-ending flat of land before them.
"The waterfall."

They didn't say anything, they just walked around the large circle, checking for footprints and marks, and to no avail, they found nothing around the area to conclude anything beyond a few drunk soldiers and an occasional sleepy one came up here.

They sat on the wooden benches situated near the top of the slope, the guard leaning on a tree not too far from them, seemingly giving up on being covert in this lush area.

"You know…"
He wasn't looking at her but he could hear the way she moved to listen and regard him.

"I was meaning to ask you, if you chose to take up patrols or if you were ordered to…That doesn't seem like something you'd decided to do one morning." Zhenjin gestured her way to speak.

"Technically, I was ordered by my Master…but I believe I'm using my time wisely." His paws gripped each other experimentally as he turned to look at the tiger next to him, so much different from himself. Lighter coat, and above all else smaller.

Pure.

"Our kind has far too much power to sit idly…" Her paws stayed within her lap above the sign of unity. "So, I choose to take those orders and bring peace to others, because they deserve it. Their quaint and painless days should go on uninterrupted."

The sound of the waterfall felt distant.

"Because that is what he trained me for."

Ghost City population: 3 - 1 = 2
Even though I've grown used to losing, I still get up again and again…

Zhenjin huffed as he took off his shirt.

"Seriously-" He threw the blue garment down onto the wooden bench as he swiftly turned to his right in regard to the very stockstill feline at his side. The guard following them was already undressed and inside the spring with a tired sigh. "Stop staring at me!"

His voice echoed in the main room of the bathhouse as a single droplet followed behind his outburst.

"Sorry." Was all she said as she stared at him for a moment longer before getting undressed.
Zhenjin huffed as he looked away from Tigress, before giving her one last glance. "I have a hard time believing that…"

There was a shift in her balance he hadn't seen from their earlier encounters much less, the fight she'd had with-
'How foolish.'

He closed the door that housed his clothes and went toward the washing area. He waved at the smaller tiger dismissively. "Get some water ready for me when you're done."
"Huh!?"

Another drop of water echoed in the bathhouse.

He was already sitting down on a stool, hearing the clatter of wooden tubs being filled with fresh water and being moved to his side as he lost himself in the scent of the incense surrounding them. Allowing his thoughts to wander. 'In a way, she's no different from a soldier, following an order and lying to herself that it is a choice…but…she's aware of such contradictions so…'

He leaned his cheek in his paw, the warm water at his side, settling from their rough handling.

"Wash my back for me." He said curtly, and again he could hear her pause, she was so close to the peace of her own seat.

She started on his back with a huff but relented to her better senses, to what was better for the time. For her team. "I'm starting to think I'm being demoted…"

"Ah, but that's a matter of perspective. Many would kill for your position right now, being so close to a prince's side before his rise." He leaned into the wash, noting how she was at least attempting to do a good job. "It's a time unlike any other, you know?" He smiled smugly.

"Mmmhmm…" Tigress made an affirmative noise with the usual lack of spirit he was growing used to as she lifted the pail of water and rinsed his back.
He chuffed under that warm stream of water on his back. "I'll wash your back aswell, I'm in quite the charitable mood today."

Zhenjin looked up to that same stillness that was rather unnerving for a cat her age, staring at him with mostly surprise in her eyes.
He tilted his head in question. "What?"

"I thought you were joking…" The pail finally left her hold onto the floor with a small clatter and splash. "But you were being for real."
They both blinked at each for a solid minute as the guard in the back drifted to the other side of the pool.

"Of course, I was being for real! Now go sit down before I change my mind!"

Tigress didn't have to be told twice, she didn't even stare at him long when he got a little loud as most would. He did have to pull her back from leaning forward about twice when he did wash her back. "How did you get such an injury?"

Her tail swished at his knees, giving away her surprise which was so rarely shown on her face. "It was during a mission, I'm guessing you aren't aware of what happened in Gongmen city?"
"No, enlighten me."

She breathed out slowly as he washed along the side of her back, going much slower than she had for him. "A murderous fiend wanted to take over China at a Capital he believed was destined to be his," Tigress explained evenly. "His name was Shen, he tried to murder my friend and Master…" The title seemed to slip through her mouth the same way that stone did earlier at the river. "A weapon that spit fire and metal caught me to the side when I protected him, so it's nothing to worry about."

He dumped the warm water over her back and it was all too telling how good it felt to the tiger's muscles.
'She's out of her mind…Nothing to worry about-Nothing to worry about-' He was quick to sit right beside her and continue to wash up while staring at her back for a little while. It was half payback for all the other times and the other in genuine curiosity at just who she was.

She wasn't just Tigress.

Nor a guard.

Or whomever her 'Masters' told her she was.

"I see why my father spared you now…" He spoke aloud as he got up after rinsing himself off one last time and heading to the pool of warm steaming water. "You're all so exceptional, you don't need a title to show much less express your importance."

Zhenjin was already sitting comfortably at the corner he preferred most since the water was warmer and far deeper for his liking and it took the tiger master a moment to find him in the mist.

She had to drift around this end with him.
Tigress leaned back with a sigh that could rival the guard who, he had an inkling, was sleeping over there. "Saying we don't need titles is a little presumptuous…But we are highly respected by the people, especially Po-"

Zhenjin turned his head where she was, covered in the mist and wrinkling her nose at the smell of incense getting closer than she had expected. "No, I meant you. Just you."
"Me..?" Her voice was quiet, the shock all too clear in it. So much so, she couldn't catch the yawn that escaped her jaws. "I'm not…I'm just…"

Zhenjin spoke with a determined purpose. "Someone who can say the lives of strangers are precious without a hint of doubt. That's who you are."
Her head was bobbing, the urge to lean lower and submerge her head was tempting, he could tell by the way she eyed the surface of the water. "Because they are just that…" She looked toward him with half-lidded tired eyes. "Precious."

"And on top of that your loyalty knows no bounds," He smiled, wishing it was a smirk, something more adult and calculating but it wasn't. Neither of them were. "You'd make a worthy general if things had been different. One I would choose within a heartbeat."

They were silent, and he couldn't help but continue staring at her face. There was too much going on in her eyes to settle for one emotion but he knew above all else she was tired and slowly falling asleep. "No…" Tigress denied. "Just because I'm strong doesn't mean I'd be a good general, you need to be more critical of your choices…"

Even on the edge of slumber, she sounded older than she actually looked.

He chuckled softly to himself as he watched the guard stumble out of the pool, leaving them truly alone. "That's what's so scary about you, not your strength but the fact your actions clearly tell the world your love is real…while the rest of us lie with a smile…you break down into something genuine. So truthful it burns…like a star…"

Zhenjin didn't expect a response, he knew in a few minutes he'd have to wake her up but he allowed himself to relax knowing this moment could last just a bit longer.

Splash!

"Huh!?" Zhenjin watched with shock as her tail flew out of the water and fell right back in, scattering droplets and ripples in their small corner.
"Weirdo…" He commented.

Ghost City population: 4
I want you to see my words as beautiful but I'm no good at conveying the love within my heart

Tink!

The sound of heated metal being hammered out by a late working blacksmith ringed in her ears as she walked down that same path from the bathhouse back to their temporary housing, with the similar architecture of the buildings, she felt an eerie sense of calm and familiarity wash over her body after this strangely quiet day.

It felt wrong.

Tigress turned the last corner she needed to get back to her team.

"Xian…" A soft voice brushes past her ears akin to the breeze, it's sweet yet bitterly so. She takes a decisive step back behind the house's moongate wall, listening and watching two people under the moonlight.

It was Mei Ling, the one she'd protected inching closer to Crane. "Thank you for today, really. I needed that flight. So,"

'Flight?' Tigress questioned herself wondering what that meant, by all means, Crane's wing should still be healing or she'd have asked him to attempt an escape to deliver Shifu a message of not only their whereabouts but also their location and predicament. She leaned in further to watch the golden cat linger longer than she should have before Crane wrapped his wings around Mei Ling.

Shocking them both.

Whilst she stood as still as a statue, looking at Crane's soft expression under the glittering moonlight as the two hugged. "I'll see you tomorrow. I love you. Don't worry," The avian master pulled away from Mei Ling smiling.
"I'm sure everything will work out."

Tigress bit the bottom of her lip as she moved quietly but quickly away from the scene in front of that house, hopping over the gate into the gardens. 'What do you feel in moments such as this?'
Happiness?

"For what?" She whispered as her steps became slow and labored, she gripped the insignia of unity, of happiness. "I should be happy someone else, it's always someone else, always can make the people around me happy-"

Their friendship was something special, right? It was enough, right?

Tigress slumped to those cool floors near that table and hunched over it. "It's no use. Just be silent. It's easier…"

Creak…
She could hear Crane walking in slowly, most likely not wanting to leave Mei Ling's side.

"Xian." She called.

And the sound of talons came to a halt as the sound of water drowned them both.
Crane was silent for a good minute but she didn't move, it was easier that way. "Yeah? Did I wake you?"

"No…I was just wondering…"
The wind sent a chill through both of them.

Tigress finally turned her head to the right intaking the natural light of the moon and casting Crane's shadow in that corner of the room.
"Are you happy?"

Crane, Xian didn't answer immediately, he scratched at his chest and moved his head about left and right while opening and closing his beak. "Yes."

Xian walked away from that spot, leaving her in the darkness as she yearned for the light of affection she could never attain.

I can never be sure if this is the place I belong, I'm sorry

Was this sugarless treat enjoyable for you? I had a lot of fun doing this chapter because I got to expand on the steppe Drags set up in his story with a few real-life locations I love dabbling in personally! I wish I could link videos here but I will in the ao3 version cause hey that's what I'm used to but it's a sight to behold!

Now, let's move on to some fun facts and then I'll get ya to that juicy preview!:
- The Red Waterfall, is as you probably guessed a real-life place, seats and all. Def look it up on google maps!
- It's kind of neat writing a bath scene again, I did it for my ao3 fic and largely did similar here in terms of structure cause call me a stickler for details but they should be washing off before taking a dip, that's what happens when you watch too many bathhouse tourist videos I suppose.
- Xian, in case you needed to know, is the real name for Crane that Drags picked out, yeah not the usual Jia! Honestly, I had to point out that I love how he just has the names not a secret but just something none of them speak on for completely different reasons. it makes each of the five and the question feel more real which is why I had to bring in that drama between Tigress and Crane!

Alright preview time for Chapter 3 - "Something new":
"I told you they'd love you."
"Just a little magic trick."
"Sing that tune one more time…"
But I like knocking at a hopeless door