"How is my lovely daughter doing at the Jade Palace?"
Viper glanced up at her mom, half preoccupied as her snout was still deep in the food bowl, ravaging the contents of her soup. "It's going well, although I wish Master Shifu would be lighter on the training. It can be a little tiring at times."
"Oh my!" Kaihua dropped her chopstick promptly, worried. "Is Master Shifu being harsh on you kids?"
Viper slurped the rest of her noodles, smacking decisively. "No, no not at all mom... well maybe a little. It's just that master Shifu has had some experience of being too passive and he doesn't want to make the same mistake again."
Tigress gave a cautious side-glance, and Viper looked back at her with the same awkward impression. For a moment, they locked eyes in comprehension of what was being brought up.
"And what about you little one?" Kaihua faced Tigress. "How are things with you?"
She tapped the two ends of her chopsticks together in an anxious rhythm. "I'm doing okay, I guess…" she said with a stutter. "Every day is the same. I get up to train, meditate, then study… then uhh-" She darted her eyes frantically between her dinner and the older serpentine, trying to come up with more things to say.
Kaihua noted her shy, awkward and quiet personality. She doesn't seem to speak much, does she? She'd only met the young panthera a handful of times before, never able to truly speak with her, but she felt a fondness towards the juvenile.
Noticing her friend's discomfort, Viper decided to step in.
"So, mom, what has been going on with you?" She asked, moving her bowl to the side.
Tigress thanked her friend in spirit, having been freed from the conversation; she quickly stuffed her mouth with the delicious food, as the other two continued their talking.
"Nothing really, to be quite frank with you. Let's see... I drink my tea, then go down to the village to meet my sisters. Talk about our husbands and children, you especially. Then latest the fashion. The usual every day. Quite a life." She slithered off her chair, moving around the table to be closer with the two teens. Seeing that they had finished their plates, she announced, "Now, hand over the dishes."
Tigress stood suddenly, the chair behind her nearly tipping over. "No please, let me." As she proceeded to grab her plate, Kaihua snatched away the platter at lightning speeds.
"Nonsense! You are my guests, my kids! And I will take care of you."
"Auh." Awestricken at the sudden event that just happened, Tigress just stood there.
Viper turned towards her mother, and they began to bicker.
"Mom!" Viper sighed. "Don't be so uptight. At least let me help. It's the least that I can do after not being home for a long time."
"Nonsense on top of more nonsense! You sit there and be the pretty thing you are," Kaihua argued.
The younger snake tried coasting away with her own dish, insistent. "I'd rather I help you."
"No." Chasing after her daughter, Kaihua attempted to pry the dish from Viper's grip, but the younger snake had an insurmountable strength that surprised her. My goodness she truly is my husband's daughter.
"C'mon mom!" Viper whined.
Tigress eyed them back and forth, bewildered by such interaction. Why are they arguing about cleaning up? They could both do it.
Once more, Kaihua tried blocking her daughter's path. "But- "
A gong rang. This only meant one thing: danger fell upon them. The once lively room had gone into complete silence.
"You're lucky duty calls!" Viper smiled, kissing her mom's cheek. Ditching the plate and leaving all matters at once, the snake was already out the door.
Tigress, awkwardly trapped by the reptilian mother's renewed focus on her, felt there was no other option than to bow stiffly. She avoided Kaihua's concerned gaze. "Thank you for dinner. It was much appreciated."
Kaihua chuckled at Tigress's reaction as she bolted out the door.
And with that, they were on their way.
Tigress and Viper hurried down the rocky ridge, energized by their calling. It only took mere moments before they've entered the village. But as swift as they were, the sun retreated much quicker. The blazing skies had quickly mellowed into an inky night, and as they made it towards the heart of the village where the fray was, their surroundings became indiscernible.
Having more powerful mobility than Viper, Tigress traversed the roofs of houses and buildings, avoiding the gridlock below—she was the first to make it to the hectic site.
There was yelling and screaming. Victims dispersed from a building as group of bandits rushed out of it, showing themselves under the streetlights. Each member of the group had one of their hands occupied with keeping a load of stolen valuables over their shoulders, while their other hand gripped a bladed weapon. Despite being a small group, they made it up in brawn, being comprised of wolves and water buffalo who were donned in thick armor.
Despite there being an obvious pattern to the kind of species constituting the group, the person appearing to be the ring leader was an odd and interesting –and comparatively smaller—type of creature.
"A pangolin." Tigress noted to herself. She learned before that these types of animals were armoured with scales and also nocturnal. The unlit setting was certainly to his advantage.
The wind behind the feline became agitated, and she instinctively dropped to her fours. A blunt weapon swept above her, splitting the air. From this constrained position, she leapt rapidly with great vertical force, sending a fist up the attacker's jaw. Another bandit appeared suddenly to her side and attempted to knock her off balance with a joust of his weapon. She quickly twisted her body and evaded the strike while bringing her elbow outwards, hitting the side of his face.
Observing momentarily her situation, Tigress spotted Viper slithering towards a tandem of guards. Both the snake and the other party jumped at each other and were certainly about to clash midair. But while Viper prepped herself in a whip-like formation, the two buff offenders have left themselves open, certain they could easily overpower the smaller warrior. That arrogance led to their devastation; Viper's well-timed blow had sent them careening into the distant sidelines.
When the girls finished off their designated portion of the bandit group, they regrouped. The only person left standing was the pangolin, who stood at the waysides. Tigress and Viper looked at each other and nodded. Together, they at once lunged towards the pangolin. But before they could reach him, the ring leader took hold of a bystander. The small goat whimpered as the pangolin unsheathed a dagger and pointed it towards the child's neck.
Tigress dared to approach.
"Take another step and the kid gets it." The pangolin smiled maliciously.
As the pangolin was more preoccupied with Tigress, Viper silently moved behind the concessions and sneaked around cargo piles, now finding a point from which she could ambush the pangolin. This ploy was conveniently spotted by the tiger, who began to encircle the mammal to divert his attention even more.
As Viper was about to strike, an unfamiliar voice echoed out. She turned towards the voice, as did everybody else.
"No please let my son go!" a woman said frantically.
If Viper hadn't leapt out of her ambush spot and stopped the maniacal goat, the mother would have dived straight towards her already compromised son.
With the element of surprise completely gone, Tigress had no choice but to hastily scheme out damage control. She pounced, hoping the pangolin would remain distracted by the mother's antics. The tiger warrior casted her hand back and released a wild punch precisely at the captor's head, wanting the blow to be terminating. But he rolled away, having seen her come towards him all this time. The pangolin pulled the kid towards a much more compromising spot—underneath an awning, where the darkest of shadows was casted.
"You sneaky pathetic coward!" Tigress hissed.
It was clear that her enemy wasn't going to step out of there and was simply inviting her to come into a zone that was more advantageous for him. Although this was urgent, Tigress now understood the moment's delicacy. She stepped in cautiously, waiting for her senses to adapt to its surroundings.
Danger was in all corners. So, while the tiger dealt with the ring-leader, Viper turned towards the remaining bandits. She lunged to the nearest goon, coiling herself around him and manipulating his own limbs to strike himself. After having knocked the first one unconscious, she sprung towards her next target, wrapping herself around his legs, making him hop awkwardly, before slithering up and strangling his neck. She ended his consciousness rather quickly.
The snake casually rode the knocked-out wolf on his way down, concluding the fight with elegance. Finally, she had enough respite to take in the full frenzy all around her.
The plaza was surrounded by a crowd of curious bystanders, a portion of which parted in the presence of a rushing, yet obnoxiously late, police force. Six jackals diffused throughout the open crime scene, evidently eager to catch some of the action.
Viper looked at the crowd before speaking, "The fights over guys, you can all safely go home now." She then looked at one of the guards. "Put the cuffs on the rest of the bandits and search the scene if there's anything amiss. Please and thank you!"
The guard nodded and went on his way.
Amidst the commotion that was slowly beginning to settle, Tigress casually burst out of the shadows, dragging a battered pangolin. The patio that she had just exited out of was savagely destroyed, but her violent exertion led to her success in defeating the pangolin once and for all. Cradled in her arm was the kid. The mother had come of the crowd in an instant and threw herself on the feline. "Oh, good grief! My boy, is he okay?"
"Totally fine." She gave the child back to her quite hastily. "You shouldn't have interfered. It could've been much worse." She sounded annoyed.
"I'm sorry! It's just that I panicked, I didn't mean to add more chaos to the situation," the mother said hectically.
"It's fine. Just make sure, next time, let the people in charge handle it." Tigress said, getting more frustrated.
Before the conversation could continue, a guard interrupted. "The prisoners are ready to go."
"Alright, take this and let's go." Tigress gave the battered and unconscious pangolin to the guard. She looked towards Viper and signaled that it was time to go.
The walk to the prison was as awkward as it could get.
It was truly just out of personal obligation that Viper livened the mood.
Though the light sources that they were passing by were dull and flickering, Viper had still managed to notice the gradual build-up of annoyance being displayed in Tigress' face. Failing to think of any other sort of impromptu conversation, she decided that this observation might as well have been her talking point. "Hey sweetie. Is there something troubling you?"
Tigress quickly fixed her tight expression into something softer-unbeknownst to her, such adjustment only proved the snake's observations. "No." the tiger insisted firmly. "Not at all."
Viper giggled. "Are you sure about that?"
Tigress looked away, knowing she would have to eventually give an answer to the all-observant ophidian.
Letting out a deep breath, she started, "Well, it's just that... why would she intervene—the mother I mean. Doesn't seem like the best or smartest thing to do…"
"Well, she was not intervening in the way you think. She was just trying to protect her son." Viper said softly.
"Oh? In what way was that an attempt to save somebody? She just threw herself in there." Tigress tilted her head in annoyed confusion, looking at the reptile.
The snake paused for a moment thinking of what to say. Before she was completely left behind, Viper quickly gathered her thoughts and slithered forwards. "It was someone she cared for- Wouldn't you want someone to step in to attempt to save you?"
"Oh" The tiger said quietly as she faded into her thoughts. Wished someone thought of me like that.
"Tigress?"
She snapped back into reality "Huh? Oh yeah, I guess so. But that isn't likely. I'm usually the one doing the saving."
"Well, I didn't just mean in these kinds of fighting situations. In everything, these people are your rock. I know you were adopted," Viper stopped momentarily again, "but have you known your family at all?"
Tigress instinctively brought her hand up to the necklace that was hidden under her vest. "I..." she trailed off, awkwardly going quieter. "Well, I actually don't know them per say."
"I'm sorry! I—I didn't mea-" Viper frantically apologized.
Cutting her off, the tiger quickly dismissed it. "No, no it's okay, you didn't know. I mean- how would you know? You know?" She stammered, giving a small awkward smile.
As they walked onwards, an uncomfortable silence lingered between them, leaving the two teens to think about their next words.
They passed by a grand paifang, entering the small court of municipal buildings. The prison was just a stone's throw ahead, and now they had so little time to finish their private confession.
She probably thinks I'm mad or upset, I should say something. Anxiously thinking, Tigress blurted the next thing that came to mind, "I do have something from them though, a necklace." She brought her paw up again to retrieve it and turned to the snake to show it.
The necklace was a simple pendant, half of the yin and yang symbol. Yin was the half she was currently wearing, its counterpart being missing.
Viper leaned in to get a closer look. "It's really pretty." She smiled at her. I hope I didn't make her feel like she was forced to say something.
The serpent wondered if Tigress had the other half of the necklace; she tried to imply her curiosity a bit more broadly. "Is it okay if I can ask you more about it? I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable." Concern filled her voice.
"Well, you see, there's not much really to say." Tigress avoided the Viper's gaze and stared at the ground.
"It's okay to say no Ti. You have the right to."
"Yeah, I don't really want to talk about it." Her voice became a whisper. She did know something, a note, but was unwilling to share that piece of information lest it be tainted by the cruelties of the world. It was all the knowledge she had of herself and so it was left to be unspoken, for now at least.
Awkwardness filled the air once more before the tiger spoke again. "Can I ask you something?"
"Why of course you can!" Viper said sweetly.
"What's it like? To have a mom I mean? It seems pleasant." she said anxiously, still looking at the ground.
The serpent looked at her, she could see genuine curiosity as well as sadness go across her usual neutral façade. She pitied the poor tiger. I wish there was something I could do to help, I guess answering her questions is all I can do.
"Well," she started, "Having- having a mom..." the snake trailed off, trying to put words together enough to make them cohesive. "Having a mom feels like a source of warmth and nourishment, a place where you can run to when you're feeling lost, a place that makes you feel safe. You can express yourself and be who you are without judgement, you can trust her and she will always be there if you need her."
Tigress mulled over her words, finally grasping the concept. A place of warmth and care, must be nice to have something like that. She could only imagine what that might've felt like, it brought her wishful thinking. Bringing herself back to the present, she responded.
"I see and that's why that mom intervened."
Viper nodded.
"That must feel nice, to be cared for like that. Is that what it's like with your mother?" Ti asked with genuine curiosity and a side of envy. She turned towards the ophidian.
Their eyes made contact, and Viper gave an understanding smile before responding. "Yeah, but we have our ups and downs. Which is normal in every family."
Ups and downs. Something about the phrase was lost on Tigress. Such a relationship sounded erratic, and this was beginning to plant a seed of doubt in her mind-again. How joyful were those ups? How painful were those downs? From one extreme thought to the next, she was rapidly defining this foreign idea of having a mother in a seesaw-like disorder. Just a second ago, it sounded like everything was beautiful...
Her hand went to the pendant, relieving her neck from the weight of it. The heirloom was as much of a blessing as it was a cruel reminder, leaving hundreds of impressions of what could have been. Her mother was either merciful or sick for allowing her to inherit this.
Deep down, she knew her mother cared for her. Why else would she leave a note stating to keep the necklaces safe? And yet, she still knew not to dream of false hopes.
The indecisiveness was killing her.
Viper, who had been carefully attuned to the tiger's slightest movements, quickly took note of the changes in her facial features. "Tigress?"
"Forgive me." She cleared her throat. "It must be a fortune, having a figure like that in your life. It's interesting… there were some instances in my life, growing up, where I knew-without even really knowing- that I needed one. But there are times, where I think maybe it's for the best. I shouldn't wish for something I know nothing about."
As the procession finally entered the prison's, the two warriors moved apart and filed down the tight hall leading to the cells. Viper instructed the tiger to stop, sequestering themselves one last time from the rest of the group. "It's nothing bad, Tigress. Most mothers were like the one you saw out there, giving it their all. When you dream, dream the best of it. There's a certain hope to that."
She then took off, leaving the mulling tiger to her thoughts one last time.
Maybe I can wish, yet I mustn't let it get to my head. She found a new tinge of hope for herself and the future.
Tigress didn't even notice the sudden departure of her friend. Realizing this, she ran to catch up. "Hey wait up!"
"I just wanted to say thank you, for your words. Thank you for helping me understand" Tigress grinned at her friend. "I really appreciate it!"
Viper smiled and nodded, content she was able to provide some closure to her turmoil.
The young pair continued their journey and finally reached the cells, throwing the bandits into their new homes.
A/N
Thanks for reading this story.
This is my first story and collab with Mastrrtt, thanks for your help.
And thanks to The Great Ying for beta reading.
The note in the story is one of my hcs that Ti's mom left her stating to keep the necklace as something to remind her by and shortly passed soon after, not that tigress knows. Also, in this story I have them to be around the ages between 15-17.
And now I have a second part to this story called Disconnected Grievances.