A/N: Sorry for the delay again. Lots of stress recently. I am still writing though! Slowly but surely working on this.

After that night, the Winter Festival fast approached, and as expected, snow began falling on the Valley of Peace in the rapid onset of the winter months. Hunter was kneeling down on Peach Tree Hill in silent meditation as the freezing winter winds whipped over him as he felt at peace. However, he showed no reaction to what must have been a blistering cold temperature. Only very slight amounts of steam came from his mouth, showing that he was barely breathing in his meditations.

"You must be freezing."

It was the voice of Master Shifu coming to see him as he sometimes did now.

Hunter slowly opened his eyes, glancing to the side. "I'm used to it." Came the simple and unphased response. "The cold winds no longer affect me. I became the master over my own body long ago. It is only my mind that still gives me trouble." Hunter admitted to Shifu, who was wrapped up warmly in a thick robe to protect himself from the elements. "What is on your mind, Master Shifu?"

Chuckling at the question, Shifu sat down beside him, closer to the warm fire that was roaring beside them, which Hunter was likely not feeling the effects of due to his distance from it. "It is more what's on your mind that I am here to discuss, Hunter. However, instead of allowing you to tell any story, I would like to ask you about something specific, if that is agreeable with you. I would like to know exactly how you came to know Tigress back in the orphanage? How did you meet and become friends with her?" He asked. Shifu wondered that if he got to the root of how they became friends, perhaps he could get to the root of Hunter's problems.

His eyes slightly widening, Hunter huffed in shock at being asked that. "Hmm. I've not thought that far back for... for a very long time." He said, hanging his head slightly, knowing he was going to need to dig up more painful memories to be able to answer the question. "Despite that, I remember it vividly, as if it only happened yesterday..."

...

Bao Gu Orphanage - many, many years ago

A young boy of around 6 or 7 give or take, who could only be The Hunter, peered around a corner in the dark. He was thinner than the majority of other kids in China, and even in the Orphanage itself, but he was also taller and somewhat fitter in general. He wore a red tunic and dark pants with red highlights, although it was clearly fashioned from very cheaply made material. Hunter had a cut below his eye, and a few faded bruises around his face, and one or two poking out from below his tunic around his neck, betraying that there were more scars and bruises to see. He also looked older than he actually was.

It was clearly nighttime in China right now, and he was seemingly using that to his advantage as he snuck around, using his thin profile and smaller size as well. It was pouring with rain outside while thunder was booming and lightning was briefly brightening up the night sky. He carefully ran his eyes over the hallway he was looking down, the left side facing into the centre of the orphanage itself, the right side being a straight wall with a few doors and turns within. No one was around. Good. He quickly ran to a pillar, taking cover behind it. Looking around again, no one had seen him. Moving to a nearby door, he slowly and carefully opened it up... there. Spotting it on a wall, he slowly approached to grab it. But then...

Footsteps!

Hunter quickly and with some ease slipped into a wardrobe in the room itself, slowing his breathing down to a crawl. He'd seemingly had experience doing this before. First, a booming voice sounded out as the door was closed behind whoever had entered. "At this point, he's a waste of our Yuan!" the voice complained, clearly annoyed.

A smaller and yet firm female voice then spoke up. "I refuse to believe that. We're supposed to care for these children! Not throw them out and cast them into the world with nothing whenever it becomes inconvenient for yo- us." she quickly corrected herself, betraying that she maybe didn't entirely agree with the other voice's views much, if at all.

The male's voice snorted at that as he rumbled around for something. "So, then I guess we're stuck with him. At least until he's 18." he grumbled and heavy footsteps left the room, having got what they came for. A defeated sigh came from the female before she followed him out.

He may have been a child, but Hunter was no fool. He knew they were talking about him. Every other orphan was pretty much guaranteed to be adopted into a family at some point during their stay, but not him. He'd learned that the first ten or so times he'd been passed over with little to no consideration. Who would adopt someone that looks like him anyway? Interspecies adoptions were rare enough as it was, let alone interspecies adoptions of a species you knew nothing about and looked like he did.

Finally leaving the wardrobe he had hidden in once he had deemed it safe enough outside, Hunter looked up at his objective mounted on the wall. It was his sword, Cobra's Strike. He'd arrived at the Orphanage with it, and as far as he knew he was born with it. His only tie to whatever past he might have had... But the owner of the Orphanage had 'appropriated' the blade, so to speak. He claimed it was simply confiscated for safety reasons, but with the way he was displaying it, Hunter knew otherwise. He likely planned to keep it.

Well, not on Hunter's watch. Grabbing the blade and tightening the sling that allowed him to carry it on his back, he turned to leave the room. The sheath on his back almost touched the ground, but luckily Hunter was taller than most his age which is why he looked older, so it was just about able to be carried and one of his hands also gripped it and kept it lifted to stop it from tripping him. Circling around the top level of the Orphanage, Hunter finally reached what he was looking for.

The wide-open window beckoned him onwards and out, the Valley stretched out before him. Where was he going? He didn't really know. Just... away. Away from all of this. From all of the pain. There was nothing at Bao Gu for him anymore. The owner, Hunter hated to admit, was right. At this point all he was doing was biding his time until he was too old to remain there, and then he'd be kicked out without a second thought or look. Well, he wasn't waiting for that day to come and suffering all the while. He was leaving now.

Sitting on the window ledge and preparing to climb down the walls to make his escape, Hunter was stopped in his tracks before he could make his move. Seeing two figures approach, he quickly jumped back inside the window, peeking over the top of the ledge to investigate what was happening below. He watched closely as the two hooded figures walked over to the entrance, carrying something in their arms. They placed it down and hugged one another tightly. As they turned to leave, Hunter caught a proper glimpse of them. They were Tigers! A rare sight. It wasn't often that a predator was seen around this part of China... or that they left their young at the doors...

As they quickly disappeared into the dim night while leaving their child behind, Hunter prepared to also disappear into the darkness. He may even follow them to the nearest bastion of civilization, as he didn't really know where else to go, and the weather assured he couldn't see very far to be able to find landmarks or buildings in the distance, at least until morning. And leaving then certainly wasn't an option.

Climbing down from the top level, he dropped to the ground with a soft 'thud'. As he made to walk away, he heard a cooing sound from the front doors of the building. He stopped for a second in his tracks, but shook his head and continued on... and then he heard a purring noise. Curious, Hunter turned back and walked over to the little one that the parents had left. Approaching the bundle they had abandoned, he saw the little cub's big amber eyes blink open and then they were looking up at him curiously. Tilting her head, she made sounds of curiosity at him. Something about her, her eyes and the way she looked at him had him strangely transfixed... He tilted his own head back at her, just as curious about her as she was about him it seemed. As he saw her brilliant eyes, something silly fluttered in his chest and he giggled a little, and she giggled back at him.

Hunter then made a decision, and slowly reached up to the doors and knocked on them, rapping his bruised and marked knuckles against the wood. At that, Hunter quickly turned and scrambled back up into the window he'd just jumped from... From his position, he peered down as the Caretaker, a female Sheep, opened the door to see who was there. She looked around for the parents or a note and found nothing... So she took the cub inside to care for her as she did with the others.

Hunter had no idea why the Tiger cub had captivated him in the way that she had... Maybe it was her amber eyes? The fact her situation was similar to his own? Whatever it was, it was enough to make him postpone his plan of running away for the time being. He put the sword back in the owner's 'office' and went back to his room to sleep. He'd been here for long enough that he had his own room instead of shared quarters, having called dibs on it a long time ago. It was also a 'no-go' zone for the other kids.

Over the next few months, Hunter observed the newcomer to the Orphanage. She definitely had somehow captivated him, but he didn't know how or even why she had. He did realise that he thought she was very pretty though, and looking at her made him feel funny. Meanwhile, she could swear she was being watched by someone... But she'd look to where she felt the eyes coming from and find no one there... She was very shy and withdrawn at first, watching the others playing together while she stayed in the shadows and observed them.

But then one day, she plucked up the courage to join them to play. As she approached, a trio of other kids, a pig who was the leader, a rabbit and a duck intercepted her while the ones playing stopped and stared at her in fear. "Where are you going?" asked one of them, a tough voice being put on.

Tigress, innocently unaware of their less than noble intentions towards her, replied honestly. "To play! You wanna play?" she asked the three of them excitedly, cocking her head and flexing her knuckles at the thought of it.

The three looked at each other with mixes of disgust and amusement at her suggestion. "Ew, why would we want to play with a Predator?" another of them said jeeringly.

Looking a bit dejected, Tigress looked at the ground. "Oh. Okay." she said, but when she tried to step around them, the three got in her way and the piglet shoved her to the ground to stop her.

When she hit the ground, she began to look worried about where this was going to go and attempted to crawl backwards as they encroached on her, but suddenly a voice rang out. "Duàn." Looking behind herself at the source, Tigress saw a young boy standing there. She didn't know what kind of animal he was. She'd seen him here and there around the Orphanage before, but they'd never spoken. She also recognised him somehow... He never played, not with the other kids anyway, and averted his eyes whenever she spotted him. "Leave her alone." He narrowed his eyes.

Duàn, who seemed to be the leader of the group, scoffed at that. "Oh look, it's The Nowhere Man." he spoke in a derogatory voice to Hunter, who looked unamused at the group, holding back his annoyance and anger at the nickname. Tigress looked confused at the name they'd given to him. "Came from nowhere, going nowhere. Here to save his girlfriend." Duàn spoke in a jeering voice before looking back to Tigress. "Looks like the freaks stick toge-" Duàn cut off as Hunter very quickly moved over to him and punched him square in the snout.

Hunter scowled at the trio, all of which were quickly backing away now. "Be a meanie to her again, and I'll punch your stupid face again. Why don't you all just go be dumb somewhere else?" he said to them, and the three ran away much quicker than they'd arrived. Hunter turned around, his eyes softening as he held a hand out. "You okay?" he asked her. Tigress took his hand and let him pull her up. His skin felt... weird in her paw. But good weird.

Tigress was silent for a second before nodding meekly to him. "'M okay." she said.

"I'm Lièrén." he smiled at her.

"Your real name is Hunter?" Shifu asked, interrupting the story briefly.

"Yes." Hunter very quickly replied, hesitating afterwards. "... And no. Maybe one day I'll explain. For now, let's continue."

She found herself smiling back at him. "I'm Tigress." She looked back at the playground, seeing the group all gathered along with some others and Duàn likely embellishing the story of him getting punched in his favour to the others with the way he was pointing and acting upset.

Hunter also looked over and then shook his head at the situation. "Ignore them. They're stupid silly heads." he said to her before getting an idea. "I'll play with you!"

Her face beamed at that. "You will?!" she asked him.

Nodding to her, Hunter also began to smile wider, her happiness being very infectious. "As long as... you bremerfered..." he mumbled to her nervously, a blush on his face, joining his hands in front of him and looking away from shyness.

A look of confused amusement on her face, Tigress leaned closer. "What? I can't hear you!" she pointed out to him, laughing a little bit at the silliness of him being quiet.

Taking a deep breath, Hunter said the next part louder. "As long... as... you be my friend..." he said to her, becoming even more nervous and shy now after saying it. He was asking a very pretty girl to be friends with him, after all. The other girls in the Orphanage had never had this effect on him before either, so he was inexperienced in asking such world-shattering questions.

Smiling at him, she nodded. "Well yeah! We can't play if we're not friends!" she pointed out to Hunter. "But how can we play?" Tigress then asked, looking at the currently occupied playground.

Hunter took her paw in his hand again. "Come on! I'll show you!" he exclaimed excitedly, pulling Tigress along with him up the stairs. Once on the top floor, he showed her how a part of the building sloped inwards, they were a kind of inner roof due to the open nature of the centre of the Tulou style building. He passed Tigress a large metal plate and took one of his own. "Follow me!" he exclaimed and jumped, using the plate to slide down the roofs. "Whooo!" he exclaimed as he jumped from the roof below to an even lower one.

While she was hesitant at first, Tigress did follow along with him. She was scared to begin with, but once she took her paws from her eyes, she began to feel the rush. "Oh... wow! This is... haha!" she began to exclaim in excitement and enjoyment. "Ahhhh! Hahaha!" Tigress yelled out, definitely enjoying herself as she also fell down to the lower roof while using the plate. When the two of them reached the bottom, they were both smiling and laughing, getting up on slightly shaky legs.

Smirking at Tigress, Hunter nudged her. "You were a scaredy-cat!" he teased good-naturedly.

Growling playfully, Tigress nudged him back. "Was not!" she denied, getting to all fours and pouncing at Hunter. The two of them were a mass of limbs, tumbling to the ground while laughing. They play-wrestled, grappling with one another for dominance on the ground, but being careful not to truly hurt one another despite their roughhousing. Even when her claws came out accidentally, Hunter didn't care even if he got scratched. He was having fun with her and getting rougher made it more fun he thought.

However, their fun came to a quick end... "You're the new cub." came the deep voice from earlier that Hunter heard while hiding in the office. Both of them instantly stopped playing, and Hunter very quickly rushed to his feet, standing straight with his hands joined behind his back. Seeing Tigress confused, he gestured for her to do the same as he was. She did so, although her posture was not as good as Hunter's, and she looked at the owner of the voice, a large rhinoceros... The owner of the Orphanage itself. "And you're already causing trouble." His eyes then shifted to Hunter disdainfully, who lowered his head. "Not surprising, considering who you're befriending. You'll receive no food tonight for fighting." he said and turned to walk away as Tigress was shocked.

Looking between Tigress and the owner, Hunter spoke. "Wait." He exclaimed quickly, stopping the owner in his tracks as he turned back around. "It was me. I got into the fight." He stated firmly to the owner, looking him in the eyes. "They were being mean to her, so I hit Duàn. And I'd do it again." Hunter told him.

The owner looked between the two of them and then to Hunter with a very stern expression. "Three days without food for you, Hunter. You got lucky this time, cub." he stated the last part to Tigress and walked away from both of them.

Hunter knew that the owner would punish him more severely than he would Tigress, but he didn't care. He wouldn't let her go without food, especially for something he did. He looked at the ground and closed his eyes, sighing to himself. "Stupid head..." he insulted the owner quietly.

Shocked at the punishment, Tigress looked at Hunter. "But, you got three days, I would have only gotten tonight..." she pointed out to him, upset about this turn of events.

Laughing at what she said, Hunter shrugged nonchalantly in response. "Don't worry, TiTi(TieTie)! I'm not going to not eat." he told her mischievously.

Giggling at the nickname Hunter had given her, Tigress blushed slightly at it. "TiTi? You're really funny. But how will you get food?"

Smiling back at her, Hunter spoke. "I'll tell you a secret." He whispered as Tigress leaned in. "I know where he keeps the food." he giggled a bit. "I steal it when he doesn't give me it." Hunter told Tigress then and she gasped and giggled as well. "You have a pretty laugh." He added. Tigress blushed at that and shook her head with a 'nuh-uh' noise, and Hunter would respond with a 'yuh-huh'. It went back and forth a few times before the two were wrestling playfully on the ground once again and laughing with one another...

...

Finishing the story of how they met and became friends, Hunter sighed. "That was how it started. How we became so close." he said, looking at the ground as he remembered the feelings from back then. Remembering it had made his heart ache and yearn for what he had lost. His best and only friend in the world.

Shifu was silent for around a minute or so before speaking up. "Even back then, you thought about her before yourself." he pointed out to Hunter.

Nodding in response, he replied. "Indeed. I know now that it was the start of my feelings for her, the very beginning of love, to eventually blossom into something more. I wanted to constantly be around her. Before, I was more of a loner even if not by choice, and I grew to like and enjoy my own company. But Tigress... She completely and utterly mesmerised me. It was stupid to get so attached, to catch feelings for her. Even back then, I knew that. But I couldn't help it. Every moment spent with her, these feelings just intensified. I started dreaming of her, of running away together..." Getting carried away in his thoughts, Hunter stopped. "Was just a stupid fucking kid back then." he scoffed at himself.

"Your heart and soul immediately recognised a kindred spirit in Tigress, and encouraged you to get closer." Shifu said to him. "It is not stupid, or a weakness. It is a strength, if nurtured properly. Something which I saw would never happen, even if unintentionally." He said, obviously feeling guilty about ripping them away from each other.

Hunter remained silent, staring off into the white blanket before them, his expression hard to read. However, if Shifu had to guess, he would say that Hunter must be in pain. "Who knows what would have happened? Maybe it would never have worked out." he said, his voice unconvincing. He knew what he felt, and if Tigress felt the same way... No. No he couldn't dwell on such things. It was all best left in the past.

Also looking into the winter wonderland, Shifu sighed. "We will never know." he pointed out. "I will leave you to your devices, Hunter." Shifu spoke, standing and walking back down the Hill, seeing that Hunter would likely want some time to himself having relived more of his buried past that he had wanted to forget.

When Shifu finally had left, a tear rolled down Hunter's cheek at the memory as his hands slightly trembled. He knew that the 'Hunter' Tigress had once known was dead now. He wasn't the same person anymore, even if she did remember him. Of course, neither was she, but... Even so, she still had the same effect on him as she always had. He was just better at hiding that fact by this point. Now they were older he could truly appreciate the gravity of the multitude of feelings she had, and is currently, stirring in him. He could also fully appreciate just how beautiful she is.

Thinking about what could have been and the life that a tiny part of Hunter felt was stolen from him was tearing him up inside, but he couldn't help himself now the gates were opened. Thoughts flooded his mind of the life he- they could maybe have had together... Would the two of them be married by now? Have a litter or two of cubs? Could they even have cubs? It was a question that he would have been glad to try and answer... As regards to marriage, as soon as they were set up and far away from the Orphanage, he likely would have proposed to her there and then. She was, after all, his heart's desire. He was already hers. There wasn't, and would never be another. Even now. But what of jobs? Would they be farmers? Mercenaries? Perhaps even part of the Imperial Guard...?

Thinking about such things did no one any good, but... but the thoughts were pervasive. They tempted him with false and fleeting happiness. A brief smile flickered across his face, a genuine smile of true happiness never seen, as he pictured that life, the life of a dead man... One that was quickly torn away by the crushing reality he found himself in.

His posture slumped as he let out a deep sigh, even more tears on his face now, night was falling on China, so Hunter silently stood up and went inside his surprisingly warm tent, laying down and wrapping himself in his thick furs. "Should never have come back here..." he whispered to himself as he fell into a deep and fitful sleep.