Sunshine on a Cloudy Day
There are times when the clouds are thick around the Jade Palace. Hardly, if at all, any mist or fog comes this high. Though the mountain pierces the clouds, the palace rests in a space devoid of any obscure fluffy billow.
Usually anyway.
Po opened his eyes feeling wet. "Oh no. Please tell me I didn't wet the bed. I haven't done that since-" His words stopped short when he saw the gray fog hovering near his bed. He had left the window open for the hot night, but the air had cooled and fluffy clouds gently tumbled in like a waterfall. "Wait, is this a dream?" He touched the cool clouds below him, watching them disappear like vapers in his hands. "Whoa this is cool."
"Po. Po. Are you up?"
"I'm up Master Shifu. Just... trying to find my stuff... ugh! I can't see a thing in this fog!"
"Ah... so it's in your room as well." The red panda opened the door. The fog rushed to meet its brothers in the barracks' hallway. Po saw the door open and the staff that his master used, but he could only see his master's cute ears poking from the fog.
"Pffttff," Po clapped his hand over his mouth.
"Is something wrong, Po?"
"No, no. Just uuhhh uhmmm," Po waved his hand. The fog blew away, revealing a slightly befuddled red panda. "Ah, there you are."
"Po, this is a serious situation."
"How is this serious?"
"Because of the fog, none of us can see where we're going on the mountain. We could fall over cliffs."
"So? I've fallen down the steps a dozen times."
"Yes, but there are some sides of the mountain that would be more dangerous for you to fall off of."
Po crossed his arms and narrowed his face. "Then why did you kick me down the steps when I was chosen?"
"Uhhhh, let's not bring up the past," Shifu quickly smiled. "For now, unless we're needed, I'm confining you, Tigress, and Monkey onto the mountain."
"Why don't we just-"
"Someone needs to be here with the Jade Palace, Po. And Mantis and Viper can easily fly on Crane."
"Who has wings," Po grumbled. "Lucky." The fog curled around Shifu again, covering him. "Alright, I'll stay here and try not to get hurt."
"Good, be very careful when you go outside. Carry a lantern or candle with you."
"You got it," Po smiled, covering his laugh as the furry ears moved through the fog.
The fog covered the grounds of the Jade Palace. As Po walked outside, he saw the clouds above blotting out the sun in a light gray while the thick sea-like waves of fog covered the floor. Halfway down the mountain, everything cleared up, but the fog combed the floors everywhere. Sometimes, Po would crawl over just to make sure he didn't take one false step. "Whoops! Shifu wasn't kidding," He muttered as he finally felt the stairs. "This fog is really something else. Hehe, but it's still cute how his little ears pop up."
Suddenly, he heard a shout, faint, short, and furious. "Tigress? Why is she training in this? Wait, how is she training in this fog?" Carefully descending and climbing up the stairs, Po finally found the entrance of the Training Hall. "Pah!" He shook as a cloud of fog entered his mouth. "Maeh, ugh. Okay." Opening the doors, the fog rushed in to meet up with the fog already inside. "Huh? This is weird." The fog had filled the sandpit where the training gear was, but the wooden sidelines were clear so there was this massive tub of gray fog sitting in the sand pit.
"HIYA!" The fog jumped and tumbled back down before whirling about again.
"Tigress?"
"Po?" The tiger stopped and jumped back, straightening her back up.
"PFFFTTTT!" Po covered his mouth. Because of the fog and the height of the sidelines, only the tiger's ears were visible. Po sniggered as the ears twitched each and every way.
"Po, what are you laughing at?" Tigress asked. The panda couldn't tell if she was crossing her arms.
"N-N-N-Nothing," Po struggled. Jumping out of the pit in one bound, Tigress landed right in front of the sniggering panda. Po stumbled onto his butt while the tiger glared at him. "Ahh hahhahah hi."
"Po, what were you laughing at?" She asked, now visibly crossing her arms.
"Ah, well, uh... hehe, It's probably better if I just show you." Getting back up to his feet, Po crawled down into the foggy mist, disappearing completely. Tigress's skilled eyes couldn't see him for a while. "Okay, if I walk this way, I should be- OWWW!"
A pair of black little ears popped out from the top of the fog.
"Who the heck left this nunchuck here!? OWWW!" The pair of ears hopped up and down like a bunny. Tigress pressed her lips together and covered her mouth; she didn't want to laugh. "Geez! This fog is so thick I can't OWWW! What the heck am I running into! Oh wait, that's the edge."
"Po, come out," Tigress smiled. "I see what you were laughing at."
Po stood on his tippytoes to barely peek his head above the clouds. His emerald eyes were just visible. "You laughed at my ears, didn't you?"
"I did. Which means you did as well," Tigress smirked.
"Not on purpose," Po said, carefully walking towards Tigress.
Or he thought he was. Pretty soon, Tigress could see the pair of ears going in the opposite direction. "Huh? This can't be right."
"Po, I'm over here," Tigress smiled. Just then Monkey came in.
"What's the matter?"
"Nothing, Po's a... little lost," Tigress simpered.
"Oh ha ha, Tigress," Po grumbled from the fog. Monkey snickered at the panda's ears popping out like a meerkat.
"Po, we're over here."
"I know I know," Po grumbled back. The panda started walking towards them and finally found the sidelines. "Sheesh, that fog's really dense. How did you get through that?"
"It's good for non-visible training," Tigress said. "If I can't use my eyes, I have other ways of fighting my opponent."
"Whooooaaa that's so cool!
"But I think the 'coolness' will have to stop for a while," Monkey said. "Master Shifu told me that training is canceled for today. The fog is everywhere."
"Where is it coming from?" Po asked. "We're not near any lake."
"It's not impossible," Tigress explained, heading for the exit as the others followed. "Some of the hidden lakes and pools around the mountain can create something like this. Actually, the Jade Palace is in the perfect position for constant mist and fog."
"Then why isn't it?" Po asked.
"The wind from the east carries most of the humidity needed for the fog. That's why it's dry enough for no fog to appear but wet enough for the plants to survive."
Po tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. "How do you know all of that?"
"I've lived here for a long time, Po," Tigress smiled. "This isn't the first time this has happened. The last time it happened, Master Shifu was worried if I got hurt because he was... um... too vertically challenged to see past the fog."
Monkey laughed as he opened the doors. "That's a nice way of saying he's short."
"You called?"
"WHAHHH!" Monkey and Po jumped back as the fog tumbled in.
Of course, the fog tumbled in but all they could see was a stick and a pair of red panda ears. Po and Monkey latched their hands to their mouths while Tigress fanned away the fog to see her master. "Ah, thank you, Master Tigress. I hope you three aren't training."
"Monkey just gave us your instructions, Master Shifu," Tigress bowed. Of course, when she bowed, the fog rolled in again, swallowing up Shifu. Monkey and Po chuckled.
"Hehehe. I'm sorry Master Shifu, but you should really see how the fog makes you look."
"And how is that, panda?" Shifu said. The twitch of his ears made Po sure that he was a little bit miffed.
"Well it's just... we can only see your ears," Po nervously said. "So it just looks funny." Shifu jumped onto his master's staff, clear from the fog. His scowl sat tightly onto his face. "J-Ju-Just saying," Po nervously grinned.
The red panda couldn't stay mad for long. "Well, I think I understand. It was strange to see Master Viper's flower pins moving around without a head."
"Oh man, that had to be creepy," Po shivered. "Cuz then you start to wonder if you're in the water like those waterlilies."
Shifu smiled. "In either case, I believe today will be slow. Crane, Viper, and Mantis say that the fog is all the way down in the valley. Only Mr. Ping's shop seems to have any visibility."
"Of course," Po and Tigress groaned. Mr. Ping's business never stopped for anything.
Po clapped his hands together. "Well, if that's the case, why don't I get some lunch going on? That's if we can find our way back to the kitchen." The others laughed a bit as they slowly made their way to the barracks.
But Po stopped. A clearing between the layers of fog opened up before him. He stayed right at the courtyard gates, watching the giant blankets and curls of fog and mist tumble and roll like a slow-moving sea. The fog below formed an ocean while the thick gray clouds above blocked the sun. Po stuck out his hand. The cooling fog slightly stung him. "Po?" Tigress called. Her ears poked out from the fog again, but the panda didn't laugh as she made her way back to him. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"Po, something's wrong."
Po stood for a moment, looking out on the sea of fog. "You know, ever since I was a kid, people told me I had my head in the clouds too much."
"And?"
"I'm just wondering, is it really that bad?" Po asked. Tigress blinked her confusion. "I mean, is it bad to have your head in the clouds? To daydream about a better life?"
Tigress stared with him. The silence between them only broke when the slightest gust of wind rippled through the fog.
"I guess," She finally said, "It depends. If it takes you away from making those dreams a reality, you might be dreaming too much."
"It's a lot of work... and a lot of fireworks going off," Po muttered, thinking about his journey to becoming the Dragon Warrior.
Tigress smiled, "Well, would you rather think about being in the clouds or live among them?"
"Huh, I didn't think of it like that. Thanks, Tigress" Po said. Just then, a crack in the clouds above came through. A solid stream of sunlight poured in, burning the fog away. The wind picked up, moving the fog away from the mountain. The stairs, the village, and the valley all stood before them, clear as they usually were. "Awww, now it won't feel like I'm waking up on a bed of clouds."
Tigress shook her head. "I'd prefer having some of your cooking than a bed of clouds."
"Hehe, coming right up," Po smiled widely as they both walked to the barracks.
The End
