Comparison
Po kicked the bandit through the wall, ducking another sword swing. Tigress stumbled back into Po's back and punched the next bandit. "We're in a bit of a pickle here, Tigress!"
"Keep fighting, Po!" Po nodded and ran towards the other bandits. He grabbed one, threw the bull over a table while kicking another to his left. The panda jumped back from another bandit and screamed.
"GRAAAH!"
"Po!" Tigress shouted. She jumped over the horde of bandits and stomped the ground. The bandits fell to the ground from the shock. Tigress spun her head to Po.
"I'm fine. Just a knick!" Po growled out. Just then, the doors to the small room burst open. "Great, more of them?!"
"No, wait!"
"Alright, bandits, stay where you are. The stronghold is surrounded," Shouted a rhino guard. Standing next to him was a line of guards, poised with their cross arrows. The bandits rose their arms in defeat. The fight was over.
As the bandits were led down the hill from their hideout, the Rhino Captian checked on Po as Tigress neatly bandaged his shoulder. "Ah! Tigress, that hurts!"
"Stay still and it won't," Tigress grunted.
"It's a good thing you two were around," The Captian smiled. "We wouldn't have taken this stronghold without you."
"Heh, it was really Tigress that helped. She's the one who figured out where the bandits were."
Tigress gave a small smile, "That's only because you mentioned that their feet looked like they had gray clay, which is what this place is made out of."
"Well, I'm glad that you two were here to help us," The Captian said. He bowed to them and left. Tigress finished wrapping the bandages around Po's shoulder.
"There, are you sure you can walk back to the palace?"
"Tigress, it's my arm, not my leg," Po said. Tigress stared. "I'll be fine."
"Hmm." The two of them started trailing through the bamboo path to the Valley of Peace. Po whirled and stretched his arm around, testing out the bandages. "Po, don't move around too much."
"Tigress, I'm fine. It already feels better," Po promised. The tiger stared intently but continued on their walk. "Well, another stronghold down. We're getting better at this."
"It was risky," Tigress said ominously, "To go without the others."
"Yeah, but we made it."
"Let's err on the side of caution next time," Tigress stated and promised more than suggested. Po rolled his eyes but nodded as they walked on.
"I wish I was more like you," Po mumbled under his breath.
"What?"
"Huh? I didn't um... I didn't say anything."
"You said you wish you were more like me."
"Well... yeah," Po nervously gulped.
"Why?"
"Well... I don't know. You're more put together than I am. You know who you are. I'm still trying to figure out stuff." Po scratched the back of his head. "I mean, at least you're not constantly stumbling over your own two feet... and you can see your feet."
Tigress stared at him, not showing any particular emotion. Her head tilted up a bit before saying, "Where did this come from?"
Po shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I'm just upset that all I really did to help with all of this is punch bad dudes and call out someone's messy shoes."
"Po, don't get discouraged."
"But it's true," The panda exclaimed. "I mean, what do I actually help you with? Giving you a small smile when I mess up badly?"
Tigress frowned. "I think you help me with a lot of things, Po. Things you're not aware of."
"Like what?"
"Well, in a lot of ways, I wish I was like you."
Po's head jerked back and his face screwed up. "What? Why?"
The tiger slowly ambled around him with her hands folded behind her. "I've always wanted to be more honest with my emotions like you. It takes a lot of courage to do what you do."
"Yeah, but that's not useful," Po remarked.
"If we're dealing with children, it is. And you're more welcoming and uplifting," The tiger sighed. "Meanwhile, I still get the cautious stares before anyone approaches me."
Po stood still. The villagers still hesitated with Tigress, but they were becoming less scared of her. With Po around, they felt a little more at ease, though Po never understood why. "They've gotten better," the bear replied.
Tigress smiled, "Yes, and that's because of you."
"I guess." The two walked on. "But," Po started up again after three minutes of silence, "That's not really important, is it?"
"Why wouldn't it be?"
"Because you look at a terrible situation and you immediately have a solution. I just play things by ear and make a bigger mess of things like... pretty much every time I'm fighting someone."
"That's not true."
"Is it? I messed up being chosen Dragon Warrior. I messed up the plan at the cannon factory with Shen. I messed up using the Wuxi Finger hold on Kai."
"But you adapted."
"So?"
"Po, adaptation isn't something that people can do easily," Tigress replied. "When you were chosen as Dragon Warrior, we all had a hard time accepting you were the actual warrior. You didn't even accept it. But you were the only one willing to be something you weren't even sure you were."
Po was speechless. Tigress gently rested her hand on Po's bandaged shoulder. "Po, we're different, yes. But comparing each other isn't what makes us friends. It's accepting the differences in each other and learning how to adapt."
Po gave a small grin. "Thanks, Tigress."
Comparison is only good when you have something similar. And you are as unique as you can be.
The End
