The Unfamiliar


She smashed her fist right through the wooden dummy with incredible precision and ease. Her growl echoed in the Training Hall while the sound of splinters dusted the ground. Tigress pulled her hand back, looking at the small sticks lightly embedded fingers. She dusted her fingers off like they were nothing and spun around to the side of the Training Hall.

This wasn't working; she knew this.

And she knew that Shifu and the others would get suspicious when they saw the mess. She grunted under her sharp teeth. Sometimes she really got annoyed at her own anger. She just wished there was a better way of expressing it other than punching through these flimsy dummies.

She rubbed her hand from a weird dull ache. Strange, Zeng must have used harder wood. She usually didn't feel pain there.

The tiger shook her head and strayed over to the wall of the Training Hall, lightly punching it. "This isn't working," She muttered to herself. "Why am I doing this?"

The awful churning in her gut told her she knew why, but her brain constantly ignored it to the point that her throat always felt like it was three inches close from upchucking a ball of mucus or spit. Sometimes when she'd fight hard or be deep in meditation, she could feel her stomach "relax". The best way she could describe it is her stomach felt like it just dropped.

It was a new feeling, something she had to ask Po about one time. "Sounds like you're stressed out about something," He had said. "Of course, now I'm wondering what's causing you so much stress. Have you tried taking a break?"

She did, several. And no amount of training, meditation, or sleep was helping. She dragged her hands down her face and growled again. She gave up on the training and decided to go to sleep early. No point in making sleeplessness an added stressor. She made her way over to the barracks and passed the kitchen where she stopped.

A smooth lithe whistling caught her ear and she saw Po moving to an unheard tune while he cleaned the dishes. She smiled, a small little one. Her belly relaxed, which surprised and almost scared her.

Po always had a calming effect on her. Well, when he wasn't annoying her in some way shape or form. It was one of the reasons why she-

Her belly tightened up again and the awkward lump of whatever came back into her throat. She grumbled at her mutinous body, alerting the panda. "Oh! Tigress, I didn't see you there. Are you going to bed?"

"... yes," she answered shortly with an equally short bow. "Good night Po."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. That's it? I mean, I know you've been training for a while but you're usually more talkative than this," Po said. Tigress rose her eyebrow. That was a lie; they both knew it. "Okay, okay, I'm the more talkative one. But still, you usually stick around."

"I'm fine, Po."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes I'm just..." She rubbed the bridge of her muzzle to emphasize her lie. "I'm just a little tired."

"Why?"

"I've been training?" Tigress said a little annoyed. Wasn't it obvious?

"No, that's not it," Po replied. "That's not why you're tired."

"Are you saying I'm lying?" Tigress asked, crossing her arms.

Po chuckled nervously, stealing his eyes away from her piercing orbs. "No, no, no, nothing like that. It's just... you've never been tired like this before... And since you've been a little stressed out lately-"

"I'm dealing with some things, yes," Tigress curtly answered. "And I don't wish to talk about it. I'm sorry."

"That's okay," Po smiled. "Just don't forget that you have friends who'll help you at the drop of a hat, okay?" He rested his hand on her shoulder. Tigress simply looked at the hand and then at the panda. Po slowly retracted his hand. "Hehe, sorry."

She allowed a small smile on her face. "It's okay, Po. Good night."

"Good night," Po replied cheerfully. Tigress wished of all the world that she could respond to that cheerfulness equally, but the state she was in only allowed her to bow a little.

The tiger went to her bed and sat down. Her eyes bore into the floorboards, trying to etch together a plan or reason for this. Po was right. She was stressed, but by what? She was the Kung Fu Warrior known for her strength. She was willing to do anything if it meant the safety of her team, the village, anything.

Tigress hugged herself as her stare turned into a sad gaze at the solemn room she had. Save for a wardrobe and a mat, she didn't have anything else. No pictures or toys or relics like Po had. She was minimalist by nature, that's how she liked it. It was familiar to her from birth.

But this thing she was dealing with wasn't familiar. It was completely new. Something that she knew she wanted but didn't know she wanted. It would mean going against everything that she knew about herself to try something that was completely against her nature, or what she thought her nature was. Ever since Po arrived, he had thrown a bamboo stick into the orderly mechanism that made up the Jade Palace society they had. Now they had to ask themselves big questions like, "Why do we do the things we do?"

Philosophy aside, she didn't know what do to. Things only got worse when she shot up from the bed the next morning after a bad dream. Her fur was wet with sweat and for a moment her head still printed phantoms of what she saw onto the small dark corners of her room. She shook her head, several times over, before finally getting out of bed. Rubbing her eyes, she grabbed her things and walked over to the Training Hall where she was surprised to only see Po there. "Po? What are you doing here?"

"Huh? Oh! Tigress. Master Shifu and the others went on a bandit mission. They wanted someone to keep tabs on the Jade Palace."

Tigress nodded. "But why are you training?"

The panda gave a corny grin and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I wanted to ask if everything was okay, but I know you don't like talking much about that stuff. Actually, I don't really know what you like talking about. I mean, I know you like your quiet time and stuff like that, but I-"

"Po?"

"Oh! Sorry, talking too much."

Tigress sighed, "Why are you training? It's not like you to train before me."

"Ummm. I just wanted to. It got boring without the others and I figured why not wait for you," Po smiled. Tigress returned the contagious smile. "Why don't we spar? My treat. It'll take your mind off of whatever's bothering you."

"I told you. Nothing is bothering me."

Po rolled his eyes. "Tigress, I know you don't like looking we- a certain way," He corrected himself after hearing her growl. "But we... I'm your friend. And I'm not gonna care what you have to say. I just want to help."

Tigress looked at the panda. Her heart thumped loudly in her skull, though her folded arms and level eyes conveyed no emotion. Her mind still burned with the dream of last night. Of a happy future slowly descending into darkness all because of another person swaddled and cuddled around someone.

"Po... I don't even know what is wrong."

There was a silence longer than Tigress felt comfortable with. She would be impressed with Po if she didn't feel so vulnerable. She was bare naked in front of the bear and resisted the urge to cover herself. That was the feeling anyway. She slowly shifted her eyes from the floor to the panda. Only a lovably concerned face met her eyes.

"Is that why you were having nightmares last night?"

Her eyes widened. "How did you know?"

"You were tossing and turning a lot before I went to bed and you were murmuring." He scratched the back of his head. "I went inside just to make sure you weren't in trouble."

Her heart thumped hard again. "I was... having a bad dream."

"I know I'm the last person you talk to but-"

"Wait, what?" The shock pulled her dreary mask away. "Why would you say that?"

"Well, I mean, I'm not Shifu. And I know I don't really have the... ummm... parts to know if it's a... lady problem," He said with a bright blush crossing his face. Tigress couldn't help but smile.

"Po, don't disqualify yourself. I'm not above talking to you."

"Oh." That was all Po could say before another silence passed them by. "Sooooo. What's on your mind?"

"...Things," Tigress replied. Po slapped his own face and dragged his hand down.

"This is gonna take longer than I thought," He sat down on the wooden planks of the Training Hall and offered her a seat next to her. Tigress stared at him and then sat down as well. "Now, you mentioned something about a bad dream? What was it about?"

"I... I can't say. I... I just know it caused me to," She hugged herself, shivering a bit.

"To what?"

"I... can't say," Tigress shut her eyes. "I... I just can't."

"It's okay, one step at a time," Po said patiently. "Ah is there anything you can tell me? I mean, what's been stressing you out lately?"

Tigress stared into nothingness for a while. "Feelings."

"Bad feelings?"

"Unknown feelings. I've... I've never felt this before and... I'm scared."

"What?!" Po exclaimed a little too loudly. Tigress flinched and hugged herself tighter. "Sorry, sorry, I'm just... there aren't many things that can scare you. Well, other than seeing us hurt."

"Yes," Tigress agreed.

"What exactly are you scared of?"

"I... I don't know. I'm just scared of these feelings and what they'll make me do."

"You're in control of your feelings, Tigress," Po reminded her. "You can't stop them from happening, but you do control your actions."

Tigress offered a small smile, but her head still ferried around the darkness only she could see.

Or at least, she thought she was the only one.

"And it's okay to have these feelings," Po continued, "Everyone has them."

"But others can act on them and know what they're feeling. I don't know what I'm feeling."

"Describe the feeling and what it makes you want to do."

Tigress sighed, "It makes me growl when someone is threatened, taken from me, or getting attached to that someone. It makes me want to just be with that person no matter what they're doing and it invades my thoughts almost every day. In my dream," She said in a quickened frustrated yet stuttering pace. "I was watching that someone in the arms of another woman and... I felt helpless to stop them. And I couldn't do anything about it. And now I'm here and I... I..." Her eyes widened as the words stumbled out.

She looked at Po. He had the same amazed look on his face.

But it didn't last for long. His eyes and ears dropped for a second like his hopes were up for no reason. Then his smile tried to hide the frown. "Tigress, I think I know the feeling you're experiencing. I think you're in love with someone."

"I... I am in love with-"

"I hope the guy is a great guy," Po smiled a bit weakly. "I'm sure he'll love you back."

Tigress narrowed her eyes, examining the panda's frame. "You're upset. Why?"

"Huh? Oh no, I'm just-"

"Are you okay, Po?"

"Hey, hey! You're supposed to be answering the questions here," Po remarked. Tigress crossed her arms, raising her eyebrow.

"You seem upset that I'm in love with someone."

"I'm not upset. I just... know how this stuff goes. That's all."

"What do you mean?"

Po sighed, "You'll be swept off your feet and carried off by this wonderful tiger and-"

"Why do you assume it's a tiger?"

Po blinked several times before sighing again. "Fine. This wonderful animal and have the most wonderful time in your life with them." He frowned and looked at the sandpit, chucking a small piece of debris into it. "While forgetting the rest of us common folk."

"I would never forget about you, Po," Tigress firmly said. Po only side glanced at her.

"Tigress, please. I've seen this before. Time and time again. Someone I considered a... friend ends up getting into a relationship and I'm left by myself trying to find a way around it until the honeymoon phase is done," Po sighed. "It's okay. I'm used to it. It happens."

Tigress sat quietly. It made sense, she told herself. If Po wasn't the person getting hit on, then it was probably some friend of his that was, getting caught up in the honeymoon phase and leaving Po alone with his thoughts of loneliness.

But this was different.

"What if it happened to you?" Tigress asked.

"What do you mean?"

"What if you were in a relationship?"

"Hehehe, yeah, that'll be rich."

"What do you mean?"

"Tigress, who in the world would fall in love with me without looking at my shiny Dragon Warrior title. I... kinda lost interest in getting into a relationship after I defeated Tai-Lung."

"That soon?" Tigress asked, truly incredulous. Po nodded. "Why?"

"Because... I finally realized that I was the Dragon Warrior. I didn't believe I was until I defeated Tai-Lung. But being the Dragon Warrior meant I had to give up wanting to be in a relationship since... everyone would go for me just for the title."

They shared a long silence. Tigress saw the panda's heart drawing closer to the floor. Several times she wanted to reach out her hand and lightly rest it on his shoulder, but several times she backed down and didn't. She pursed her lips together. What was she supposed to do? Gritting her teeth, the frustration boiled up inside of her like a crockpot until she finally stood up.

"That's it. I'm doing this."

Po looked at her. "Doing what?"

"Po, get up."

"Tigress, what are you doing?"

"Just get up."

Po did so. "Look, I'm sorry for making the issue about me. I didn't mean to-"

"Po, shut up."

"Oh uhh okay."

Tigress took a long deep breath and prayed for all the nerves in her stomach and heart to calm down. Her heart wasn't listening and her stomach felt like it was doing jumping jacks. "Po," She said in a higher-pitched voice than she was used to, maybe because her throat dried up on her. "I... I've had... I... I love you."

She exhaled like she had been holding her breath. Po simply stood there with a dropped jaw, and for the first time in both of their lives, Tigress rambled on. "I know that you don't believe me and after what we just talked about, I understand why you wouldn't believe me but just listen to me. I do love you. I genuinely enjoy being around you. Even the times you annoy me makes me smile. I... I can't explain it. When you're around I find myself doing better than my best. You always believe in me when I don't believe in myself. I know that any fan could probably do what you've been doing. But no one has done it and treated me like a normal person like you. You've taught me that there's more to life than just trying to please someone, someone I look up to. And even though I was hard on you when you first came here, I've always seen you as... attractive."

"Tigress."

"No, I'm not just saying this because there aren't any tigers around. I know where the tigers are and I still love you."

"Tigress?"

"And I know that it doesn't make sense but I'm not lying to make you feel better or because I pity you. I've had this love for you since the time Shen hit you with a cannon. And we've only gotten closer since then and I-"

"TIGRESS?!"

"What?!"

Po blinked and then chuckled, walking up to her. "I believe you. I never thought you could ramble."

"I... I usually repress the urge to do so. Hm, better than some people," She smirked.

"Hehe, true," Po chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. Another silence passed. Tigress was pretty sure that her heart had all but stopped on her but somehow she was still standing, staring at a smiling panda who lovingly stared back at her.

"Po?"

"Yes?"

"Do you um... have any feelings for me?"

"Oh! Duh! Of course I do! I've had an insane crush on you since the beginning and ever since I've been here I've loved you. I just... always thought you wouldn't see me like that."

"But if you thought that, why did you try so hard to get as close to me as possible?" She asked. Tigress watched the panda dart his eyes around the Training Hall, trying to come up with an answer behind anxiously grinning teeth.

"Ummm I guess I thought... well I was kinda hoping things would... change?"

"Well," Tigress smiled, drawing closer to him. "I'd say things have changed."

"Hehe, awesome," Po grinned widely. Tigress's smile stretched a bit wider. But then it sank, just a little bit.

"It's just... I don't really know how to be affectionate. And I... don't know how to go from here."

"Oh, uhh well, we're definitely boyfriend/girlfriend because I'm not letting go of that," Po casually said. Tigress suppressed a small laugh. "But I mean, other than books and scrolls, I can teach you."

"You have books and scrolls about this?"

"What can I say? I'm a hopeless romantic when I want to be," Po replied. Tigress shook her head with a small laugh.

"Well," She said, lightly grabbing his hand. "Now, you're my hopeless romantic."

"Awwesoomme!" Po said giddily. Tigress just smiled.

It's amazing what you can do when you embrace the unfamiliar.

The End

A/N: I need everyone's opinion here. Is Kung Fu Panda Dragon Knight worth watching? I'm debating whether I want to risk it.