Creatures of darkness chapter 5
Pov Tigress
They had just gotten a room in the hotel at the village.
They were getting ready to hit the hay when Mr. Ping asked them for a moment of silence.
"What is it Mr. Ping?" asked Tigress.
"Do you hear that?" they listened.
The wind whistled through the open window.
"Huh, must've been my imagination." He said.
He went back to what he was doing then stopped.
"Everyone pretend to be asleep." He said in an urgent whisper.
Everyone did as he asked without question.
A moment later a masked tiger looked in the window suspended by a rope, upside down.
He soundlessly entered the room and looked around.
The five were careful to "sleep" with their faces at the wall so as to hide their identities.
Tigress heard the masked man's breath, in and out….in…then out.
Then Mr. Ping put a katana to his throat, from the shadows.
"Your name if you please." Said the cook.
The tiger hesitated, his breathing elevated.
"I have many names." He said before knocking away the sword with a hidden blade on his wrist.
He activated the other one and got into a fighting stance.
"Now what is your name?" he asked Mr. Ping.
"I also have many names." Said Mr. Ping, preparing for an attack.
Suddenly the cloaked figure was kicked through the wall by none other than Tigress.
Without even looking at his attacker the cloaked man jumped through the window, dropped three stories and rolled to break his fall before beginning to run down the alley between the hotel and the next building.
"Get him!" shouted Mr. Ping jumping after the fugitive.
They ran across the village then on the rooftops.
The fugitive was a parkour elite as they could clearly see.
"Who the hell is this guy?" yelled Shifu.
"I don't know." Said Mr. Ping.
They stopped on a roof not knowing which way the tiger went.
He was gone.
"Woah, that guy is fast." Said Tigress.
She put her hand on her stomach as it started cramping.
As she put her hands on her hips to stabilize herself she realized something.
The dart was gone.
"Oh no." She said, mentally kicking herself.
She must've dropped it while running.
She began to retrace her steps back to the hotel.
Viper saw her walking away.
"Where are you going?" asked the snake.
"I dropped something." She said.
"What?" asked Viper.
"Don't worry. I'll find it." She said.
She began to jog back and went into an alley she had gone into a while back when she saw him.
It was the black cloaked tiger.
At his feet was the dart that Tigress was searching for.
He reached down and picked it up.
He pushed his hood back, revealing jade green eyes and a very familiar face though Tigress couldn't place it.
He brought the dart close to his nose as Tigress hid behind a bag of waste outside a restaurant.
His next word nearly made Tigress faint.
"Tigress?"
The tiger looked up and down the alley before looking back at the dart.
He began to change, just as Mr. Ping had done.
She audibly gasped.
Po was standing in front of her.
He looked over at the sound of her gasp and saw her staring at him.
"Tigress!" he was about to say more but he was interrupted by Tigress slamming into him gripping him very tightly.
"Po! You're alive!" she looked at his face. "Don't ever do that to me again!"
"Tigress, I'm sorry I didn't mean." but he was interrupted by a cough.
He froze.
They broke apart and looked to see everyone else staring at them.
Mr. Ping went straight to them and wrapped them both in a bone crushing hug.
"Po I missed you." Said his father, crying.
"I missed you too Dad." Said Po.
They broke up and Po and Tigress stood apart blushing.
Shifu walked up to the panda.
"We will talk later." He said before walking toward the hotel.
"Hey Dad. Sorry about trying to kill you." He said with a smile on his face.
"Well it wouldn't be the first time." They both laughed.
They walked to the hotel.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you. Crane is with me." Said Po.
Viper quickly slithered up to him.
"You mean he's alive? He's ok?" she asked frantically.
"Well, he's alive. He's a little shaken up though and I have to warn you. He's not the Crane you once knew. He's different." Said Po, hesitantly.
"What do you mean?" asked Viper.
"I mean….well… he's kind of….a shadow lord." Said the panda.
They all stared at him, dumbfounded.
"Well don't look at me. I didn't do it. It's kind of a long story." He said.
"Well you had better get started." Said Shifu.
"Master I think this is best left until I get Crane here. I'll just be a moment." He said.
He changed into a white tiger and walked inside.
"That's still freaky." Said Mantis.
"I like it." Said Tigress.
They heard talking from inside the building.
Tigress inched closer to the doors.
The rest went with her outside of the room where the noise emanating from.
They could almost make out everything the two said.
They heard a voice that was unmistakably Po's.
"Well you have to go meet them eventually." Said Po.
Another voice, presumably Crane's, answered.
"I can't be seen like this. Look at me." He said.
His voice had a weird rasping accent to it.
"Oh you look fine. I love what you've done with your scales. Hahahahaha!" said Po.
"Oh ha ha. Seriously what do I do? I can't let Viper see me like this. What am I gonna do?" he said.
Tigress grinned smugly at Viper who blushed and looked away.
"Dude, you'll be fine. Have a little faith in our friends." Said Po.
Tigress pressed closer to the door.
"I….I can't do this." The sound of scales sliding across an unfinished wood floor could be heard.
"Oh no you don't. You're going to concentrate and you're going to change back into the bird I know you are and you're going to walk right out of that door." Said Po.
"But I can't" said Crane.
"You can. I know you can." Said Po.
Silence for a moment.
"Good. See I told you that you could do it." Said Po. "Next time trust me."
They heard footsteps and quickly walked outside so as to not be discovered.
They turned back to the doorway and waited for them.
Then a voice from behind them said. "Hi Viper, hey guys."
They turned and Viper launched herself at the bird who fell over from the hit.
"Crane, you're ok. I was so worried." Said Viper.
In order to allow the pair to keep their dignity Mr. Ping embraced them as well.
"Good to have you back. Now tell us. How did you survive?" asked the tiger.
"Ummmm, we didn't" said Po.
"Yeah we kinda died." Said Crane.
"I told you it was a long story. Monkey before I forget. Always put a longer fuse than you need to. It's a safety measure." Said Po.
"Sorry Po." Said Monkey.
"Naw it's alright. By the way what did you use for fuses?" Asked Po curiously.
"You guys can keep talking. I'm going to bed and hoping to wake up when this is all a bad dream." Said Shifu.
He walked inside.
"I'm going to hit the hay too." Said Mantis.
"Wait up man." Said Monkey going after him.
There was a moment of silence between the two couples.
Tigress turned to Po who was currently a tiger.
"You and me are going to have a talk right now." Said Tigress.
"I..okay?" he was pulled by the feline into the hotel.
"Hey do you have an extra room?" she asked the pig at the counter.
"Yes, if you don't mind it only has one bed. Here is the key. Room 12." He said.
"Thanks." She said.
They got to the room and Tigress pushed Po against the wall.
She promptly smacked him hard across the face.
"Ow!" said Po.
"That was for not listening to me." She said.
She smacked him again.
"That's for putting me through an emotional hell." She said.
She smacked him for a third time.
"That's for lying to me." She said.
"What is this? I just…"
Po realized that she was crying.
"Tigress what's wrong? I've never seen you this upset." He said.
"Po, just promise me one thing." She said.
"Anything." He responded.
"Don't you ever, ever leave me again." She said. "Don't leave me. Don't die again."
"I won't." he pulled her close. "I will always be here. I promise."
They stood there for a long while enjoying each other's warmth.
"I never knew that you had an emotional side." Said the white tiger.
"I always have." She said. "Seems like I just needed a little encouragement."
"Po, can I ask you a favor?" she asked.
"Sure Tigress." He responded.
"Could you..ummm…sleep here tonight?" she asked.
"Well, I suppose. If it will make you feel better." He said.
Po pried her off of his chest and led her to the bed.
They went to sleep, Po on the floor at the foot of Tigress's sleeping form.