Viper-
I woke before the others for some reason. Normally I'm last up because of the sun but I could feel the heat of the fire still on my scales. As I made my way over to the still sleeping form of Decha I saw that he was somewhat alert to my movements but seemed to find them unthreatening. Shaking my head I tried to wrap my head around how someone as wounded as he was still slept so lightly. Silently I checked on Giga she was doing much better.
I went ahead and started to pack up some of the camp as the others woke. Crane soon joined me followed by our students. It was normal routine for us. Tigress and her students woke next quickly packing up in a practiced fashion. They must move quickly which was typical of her. A slight smile touched my lips as I saw her concern as she looked at Giga and Decha. As much as she tried to hide it I could see she has grown fond of their company.
Po was next to wake quickly starting breakfast as always. Decha still lay where he was resting. I wasn't so sure he was actually asleep since his ears twitched at each new noise that was around him. He sat up about half way through Po's cooking and blinked a few times at the pan on the fire. No one said anything as Po cooked and still nothing was said as we ate. Decha seemed to eat as much as Po but it may have just been from lack of food.
Po-
Something about him is still making me nervous. For one how is he even up and moving when he shouldn't be alive, second how is he eating as much as I do. He's not that big. Trying to put these thoughts from my mind I hefted my pack as did the others and tried to hid my surprise as Decha did the same slinging the large set of wraps Tigress had brought from that cave and sheathing both weapons on a large belt around his waist.
As we walked I saw that despite his injuries he wasn't favoring anything at all. I wracked my brain to think of any of the many masters I had met like him before. I had met a few that were like Tigress in their level of determination but even they took the time to tend to their wounds and at least avoided receiving them. He however seemed unfazed by the multiple injuries he had sustained.
I tried to get a moment with Tigress but she was always right next to him or one of her students. Though it wasn't really as big an issue as I was making it I wanted to know what was going on with this guy but for some reason I felt asking him myself was a bad option.
Si-
As I walked slightly behind Giga I marveled at her and Master Decha both were hurt and wouldn't let it affect them. I noticed that Master Po had a worried expression so I decided to hang back and talk to him some. The large master set a steady pace for someone his size, so it was easy to walk and have a conversation, "It really is amazing how they keep going isn't it." He nodded at this, "Yes it is but something isn't right about him." "I was thinking about talking to him about teaching me how to train to move like he does. The power of his strikes and the speed of his movements was amazing yesterday." Po stared at me for a while, "That is your choice but I would advise speaking with Master Shifu first. He may be able to teach you the same thing. Anyway I have a feeling that the price you would pay to be like him may be more than you would wish to endure." I gave him a puzzled look before bowing and catching back up to Giga.
Tigress-
I could tell Po was uncomfortable with Decha and his ways. It had taken me a while to get used to it too but now I just keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't overdo it too much. He had admitted that he didn't know the limit of his ability to take abuse like this and I didn't want to find out. This time was pretty bad I had to admit some of those cuts went to the muscle, and two of the ones on his side had nicked the bone.
We walked till sundown when Po began to get tired. Decha looked at the others as if they were crazy for wanting to stop, "It's only sundown we don't need to set up camp till tomorrow after noon." I tried not smile at their expressions, especially Po's. Gently putting a hand on his arm, "They are from the same teachings as I was when you found me." I saw understanding dawn on him as he looked around and saw the river and walk towards the bank.
Watching him for a moment I looked back to the others, "We'll camp for the night he's just used to going for much longer between stops." Following him to where he had laid his wraps I set down my pack and gear before pulling small sack out and returning to the others. As I stepped into the fresh fire light I saw that Giga was actually sitting next to Si listening to some of his stories while Shi and Ray quietly sat by Viper and Crane by the fire in peaceful silence. Going to where Po had I begun to cook I pulled another pan from his pack and emptied the meat from the sack into it before setting it on the fire.
He raised an eyebrow at me as I did this. With a sheepish smile I said, "If I left the cooking to Decha all we would have is dried meat and fruit. It's just become a habit when I'm with him to fix a lot of meat at once so he can actually eat his fill without getting into his dried rations like he did this last time." He smiled at me, "He's worse than you used to be." I gave him a sour look before smiling and shaking my head at his jibe.