How not to be Blind


Crane flew around the perimeter, trying to find anything or anyone that could be an anchor. The fog was dense. His slow, cautious flying couldn't find her. His wings swept low near the fluffy clouds that covered the ground below. Each movement from the cloud forced him to fly up to avoid any perceived danger. If there was any danger. All the clouds looked the same. He couldn't see anything below. Was he near or far from the ground?

He got his answer when something vibrantly orange jumped out of the fog and pinned him down on his back. "ACK! Tigress!"

"Sorry," Tigress said, helping the bird up. "You're still having problems?"

"Urgh yes. And the constant slamming into the ground isn't helping," Crane grumbled. The two were training on the border of the Valley of Peace. Tigress had found a nice pool far to the east where the dense fog made it perfect for aerial training. She suggested that Crane and her practice there. "Why am I doing this again?"

"So you can figure out how to find something you can't see," Tigress replied.

"And doing this helps me how?"

"It forces you to use all your senses."

"Are you sure you're not... you know... just having fun with tackling me." Tigress slowly rose her eyebrow. "I know you wouldn't do that purposely. I mean in a mean way, but I uh... I should stop talking now."

Tigress stared until a break in the foggy clouds shone the waning sun and the darkening golden clouds above. "It's getting late. We should head back." Crane nodded. The two walked back through a forested road before stumbling upon a small tavern centered on the crossroads.

"Let's stop here for a moment."

"At a tavern? Why?"

"Did you tell Master Shifu where we would be?" Crane asked.

"Yes, but I did mention that we could be late."

"I just want somewhere to rest for a moment. Besides, I'm hungry and the best cook is back at the Jade Palace probably sleeping."

Grrrooooooooowwwwlll!

Tigress's stomach growled in agreement. Crane grinned sheepishly. "Soooo that's a yes?"

"Hmm," Tigress grunted and looked away. "Fine." The two warriors walked into the wooden tavern. It was quiet and mostly empty. The two chairs at a table available for them were being dusted by a small duck woman.

"Oh! Guests! Oh my! And Kung fu masters? Oh dear," She started. "I'm Ah Ming. It's an honor to meet you, Master Crane and Master Tigress. Would you like a room?"

"We just want some food to take on our trip," Tigress said.

"Actually," Crane spoke up, "Why don't we just eat here? There's no rush." He could tell by the tiger's silence that she wasn't happy about the suggestion, even though she nodded.

"Yes yes! I'll get right now," She said with the sweetest voice. "Pao!" She shouted, shaking Crane's feathers. "Get up! We have guests!"

"I'm gettin', I'm gettin'." grumbled a voice from behind. As the duck woman briskly walked to the kitchen, Tigress and Crane sat down. The bird looked all around, coughing at random times to clear his throat.

Tigress sighed and leaned forward on the table, slightly annoyed, "Crane. What's going on?"

"Huh? Wh-what do you mean?"

"You're more nervous than usual."

"That doesn't mean anything."

"Crane," She said sharply. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing. I'm just... nothing," Crane sighed, relaxing his shoulders a bit. "The way the duck shouts at her husband reminds me of you and Po."

Tigress rose her eyebrow. "How?"

"Whenever Po does something that you know is going to end badly, you shout at him."

"I do not." Crane's face fell. "He... How else am I going to keep the Jade Palace intact."

"I'm pretty sure Master Shifu already has that covered," Crane chuckled.

"Hmm." Tigress looked away for a bit before glancing back at Crane. He was looser now. He didn't seem as tense as he was before. "Is there some other reason why you wanted to eat here?"

"Uhhh... kinda. I mean, besides training and eating, we don't really talk much."

"We talk all the time during patrols and Mr. Ping's shop," Tigress said.

"I said WE don't talk much. You and me. The only reason I wanted to do the whole aerial training was because I wanted to talk with you a bit."

"About?"

"Anything!" Crane exclaimed. Tigress jerked her head back a bit. "Before Po, it was tough enough to get a nod from you. Now that you're a little more social-"

"I've always been social, Crane. Nothing has changed," Tigress said, crossing her arms. Their food came to them steaming. The smell entered their noses and they frowned.

"Eh, it's not Po's food, but... it'll do," Crane said and started eating. "Mm, tangy."

"You were saying," Tigress said.

"I don't know. Maybe I just wish I could learn from you a bit more."

Tigress tilted her head. "About what?" She asked in a gentler voice.

"Nothing much. It's just... that whole aerial training made me realize how blind I am."

"It is hard to find your way through the fog."

"I mean blind in a different way," Crane clarified. "It's just... I wish I was like you and could read people like an open book."

Tigress stopped eating and leaned her elbow on the table. "What makes you think I can do that?"

"You know what a person's intentions are almost immediately. You knew Po was harmless when he first came, you know exactly who to trust, and you know exactly who to keep at a distance. I just wish I could do that and not make big mistakes."

"What big mistakes?"

Crane uneasily looked at his food. "Uhhh, you know what I think I'll just eat my food. Mmm, mmm, tangy."

"You said that already."

"Because it's... tangy?"

Tigress sighed softly, "Crane, what is it?"

"It's nothing. You'd probably think I was a weak idiot again."

Tigress's head perked up. "Again? Wait, I've never seen you as a weak idiot."

"Really?" Crane asked with a raised eyelid. "Even when we were at Gongmen prison when you hugged Po?"

Tigress lifted the corner of her lips a bit. "That's because I knew you were trying to get out of the line of danger. You were insecure at the moment, and I needed to make sure you knew that."

"You said I was being a wimp."

"You were."

"Oh! And Po gets a pass?"

"Po was having another identity crisis," Tigress explained. "You are used to the danger and already know who you are. You weren't having an emotional breakdown. You were trying to be cowardly, which isn't like you. So I made sure you knew that."

"Hmph," Crane grumbled. He hated that she was right.

"But I never once thought you were weak or an idiot," Tigress gave a small sigh. "Maybe I should say that more often."

"It would help," Crane smiled a bit.

"But I also know you have times when you don't give your best and I have to remind you to."

"Heh, I guess that's right," Crane nervously chuckled.

Tigress smiled a bit wider. "Now, why do you want to be me to understand others' intentions? What happened?"

Crane darted his eyes around the room. He looked for anything other than Tigress's probing eyes. Unfortunately, there was nothing, so the bird had to come clean. "I... might have...nearly gotten Po killed because I had a crush on a pretty pig lady."

"Ah," Tigress smirked. "I remember."

"You remember! Who-" Crane stopped himself and plopped himself back into the chair. "I've got to put a clamp around Po."

"Actually, Monkey."

"But the fact that Po told Monkey is the reason for the clamp," Crane squawked.

"It's okay, Crane."

"Really? You don't think it's a sign that I'm too gullible and I need to learn to trust no one?"

Tigress's eyes narrowed as she sagged her shoulders. "What makes you think I don't trust anyone?"

"I... I didn't mean that you do that with us."

"But?"

"It's just... I don't know," Crane sighed. "I know you are very cautious. I figured that... learning from you how to sniff out people's intentions would... not make me as naive." Crane sighed again, bowing his head a bit. The noise of the kitchen had simmered down, but the two warriors could faintly hear the couple in the back arguing and grunting.

With the occasional sound of pots and pans moving back and forth.

It wasn't enough noise to distract the bird from the sad tense conversation. "And because of me, Po nearly got killed. And I was so stupid that I-"

"Crane," Tigress called in a firm enough voice to snap the bird out of his downward spiral. "Stop. It's not your fault."

"It's not?"

"It is in some ways but it's not. It's normal to be deceived and tricked. It's hard to judge someone's intentions until their full intentions are known. You just have to be patient," Tigress said. "In a way, I'm just as blind as you."

"How?"

"If I had judged Po or anyone else that Po interacts with, I would've missed out on a lot," Tigress gazed into her food. "Po has taught me that we can't judge someone from the surface. Everyone deserves the benefit of the doubt because we don't know when we'll find ourselves in that spot. Sometimes, it's easy to find the enemy. Other times," She looked out the window where the fog started to wrap around the tavern like a sleepy coiling dragon protecting its horde. "It's like a fog and we don't have lanterns. There's more to people than just what's on the surface. No one knows that better than Po."

"Hmmm. Do you think that's why?" Crane asked.

"Why what?"

"Why Po was chosen? Because we're so blind."

Tigress sat quietly. She poured her eyes into the wooden table while the noise in the kitchen had stilled into a suspicious silence. "I don't know. But I do know we're still learning. You should too."

"I... I will," Crane smiled. "Thanks, Tigress."

Suddenly, the doors to the kitchen burst open, and the formerly grumpy female duck came out laughing and giggling with her husband. She suddenly remembered where she was and cleared her throat. "Umm... did you enjoy your meal?"

"Yes and... the atmosphere," Crane said politely. Tigress gave the duck a sag of money and the two warriors continued their way back to the Jade Palace. They walked through the thick, silent fog until it cleared up to the sight of their home in the night air with the sleepy village in full clear view. "Sooooo... we're going to ignore what the tavern owners were doing in the kitchen right?"

"Yes."

"Yeah, I think those are intentions I could pick up on very well," Crane awkwardly chuckled. Tigress just smiled.

The End