It had been three days already. Time wasn't really on the pair's side here. Especially because a certain panda couldn't keep up for most of the trip and kept taking breaks. It did frustrate the feline a bit but she knew she couldn't blame him. No matter how much personal training she could give him, there wasn't much to help with his lack of cardio. There were times where the tiger master even considered hanging a dumpling on a string and having her ursine partner pursuit it but went against her thoughts considering she knew it was cruel.
Didn't stop her from considering it though. Especially in this moment, where in the middle of the bamboo forest she had to deal with Lotus taking yet another break. She looked up at the sky and groaned. It was already close to sunset. "Lotus, come on, we're almost there!"
The panda heaved as he laid his whole form against a rock. "You... said that... ages ago, already!" He panted with every word.
Tigress, not the slightest amused, placed her paws on her hips and narrowed her eyes at Lotus. "You know, for someone who waited eighteen years to travel the outside world, you're sure one to complain."
"I-I didn't know that... travelling meant... whew.." He finally caved and slid down the rock to plop down on the dirt. "Walking."
"Did you expect everyone to have retractable wings they could summon at will?" Tigress smirked. Lotus shot her a deadpan expression in reply. "Apologies. I was trying to be funny."
"Emphasis on 'trying', I see." The panda at last smirked back, settling the feline's smirk into an endearing smile. She knelt down and gave Lotus her paw. "Come on. I know this bamboo forest very well. It means we're just outside the valley."
The bear smiled back, albeit a little relieved to hear such news. He reached out for her, but as soon as Tigress lifted him off the ground, they both instantly felt something wrong.
A rustle went by, causing Tigress to whip her head out in the air. Her pupils shrank into slits, her ears twitched, and she pulled her muzzle back in a small snarl. She instinctively went into a defense pose and her partner, now a little worried, followed suit.
"What was that?" He asked, his words filled with concern.
Tigress sighed bitterly. "I knew this trip wasn't going to go by smoothly." She muttered, quickly searching through her surroundings.
Suddenly, Lotus' questions were answered when six amateur vervet-monkey bandits slung down from the trees. They all surrounded the pair, chuckling and showing off their weapons menacingly.
"Well lookey what we got here..." The tallest vervet commented, licking his lips as he swung his two swords around. The shortest vervet, and clearly the most mentally unstable one, piped up in maniacal laughter. "The 'great, hardcore Master Tigress'!..." He mocked.
Another one of the bandits, a more lean vervet that was the closest to Lotus, finished the other's sentence by sticking his dagger up to the panda's chin. "And what seems to be her boy-toy..."
"Boy-toy!?" Tigress growled. She will not tolerate any disrespect shot at her pan—AHEM—Lotus.
The panda in question, on the other hand, was... surprisingly ecstatic. "oh my gosh is this my first bandit raid?"
"What do you say, boys? How do you think the others back home would feel if we settled a score from on of the most 'prestigious' kung fu masters and her fumbling sidekick?"
Lotus, somehow unbothered with the shots taken at him, squealed and bounced his stubby feet in excitement. "Oh my goodness it is my first bandit raid! EEEE! It's like I'm on one of the Furious Five's adventures!"
"Lotus, focus!" Tigress called out to him, snapping him out of his fanboy moment. "How about instead of squealing, we put all those months training to use?" She smirked in his direction, earning the panda's dedication. He gave his own smug look and briefly bowed his head. "Yes, Master Tigress."
He turned back to the vervet with the dagger against his chin and simply moved the dagger away. "So... about that score you wanted to settle...?" He asked confidently, making the monkey snarl and announce his brothers to attack.
But it was over before it even started. One thing this certain ape forgot to acknowledge is that he and his brothers may be all talk, but if there was one thing the two warriors definitely held over them... it was height.
Though some of his brothers chose to be smart and attack by launching themselves in the air, he decided to try and lunge straight for the gut... only to realise he wasn't going anywhere thanks to the panda effortlessly holding his head at a respectable enough distance. He chuckled defeatedly as Lotus grinned in amusement and threw him against the bamboo trees. He clashed his back to Tigress, who already fought off two bandits that tried attacking her.
"Hey!"
"Hi." Tigress darted her head to the left. "Duck." On cue, Lotus ducked his head as Tigress threw a kick to an incoming bandit. Lotus lifted his head and quickly gestured to her. "Thanks! On your right." On her own cue, Tigress arched her back outwards whilst one of the few lasting apes tried to throw a punch, only to feel the impact of the panda's swinging arm instead, whacking him to the ground away from them. Tigress nodded in gratitude. "Thanks."
Their acknowledgement to one another was short-lived, as they both spotted the tallest vervet running towards them, swords raised as he screeched towards them. The two young fighters exchanged a look and smirked, as they noticed something interesting about the ape's two lower limbs.
As if already reading each others minds, they both knew exactly how to attack. Lotus first ducked and swept the monkey's lower limbs, immediately throwing him off balance and causing him to fall forward. Before he would hit the floor, however, he was held by his purple vest by none other than Master Tigress.
"Lotus, tell me, what was the first lesson you learned in training?" She smirked towards her student as he innocently folded his hands behind his back. "Everything begins with your stance."
The feline swung the bandit up and launched herself in the air, striking him with a high-kick that sent him flying. Lotus looked on and admired his idol in her glory as she landed gracefully beside him.
"Retreat!" The lean vervet called out, sending them running within the blink of an eye.
The panda scratched the back of his head. "Shouldn't we... go after them?"
Tigress shook her head. "They're clearly heading back to their hideout. If they cause more harm to others then that's when we pursuit them. Until then, they're low-tiers mugglers that don't have much of a threat to their name." She looked up into the sky. It was now getting dark. She sighed. "And we officially lost a day... we'll cover a bit more ground and camp out when dusk hits."
Lotus smiled and followed after the already moving tiger. "Sounds like a plan!"
"And they were all like, 'BLEGH! UGH! NOOO! THE MIGHTY MASTER TIGRESS AND LOTUS ARE SIMPLY TOO MIGHTY FOR US! RETREEEAT!' Hahaha!" The panda exclaimed whilst dramatically retelling their first fight together to Tigress as they bundled up close to the fire. He made exaggerated expressions in the shadow against the rock they both laid their backs against. Tigress simply laid her head in her paw and looked at his exaggerations fondly.
Lotus finally sat back after his fit of laughter and locked his fingers behind his head. He happily looked up into the dark, starry night. "Not bad for my first battle, eh teach?" He grinned cheekily at his partner as she playfully rolled her eyes to gaze into the fire. "I mean, those guys were almost too easy to beat!"
"Don't get too cocky. Trust me, there are a lot of obstacles more challenging than a common group of thieves. The Furious Five and I learned that the hard way..." Tigress commented solemnly. Her last statement, however, perked the bear's curiosity. "What do you mean?" He asked, bringing a bottle of water towards him and drinking it.
The feline shrugged. "Well... along with many of our accomplishments on missions, came our many... downfalls. And pride was our biggest enemy in that regard. I remember this one time..." She cracked a smile at the memory. "It was Mantis, Monkey and I on a diplomatic mission. We were all still adolescents at the time... we were still learning the scopes of fighting together as a team. And whilst on the mission, a couple of crocodile bandits tried to mug us of our package that we were meant to deliver to a royal family in a distant valley. All three of us scared them off easily... Mantis and Monkey were so proud of themselves." Tigress shook her head amusingly. "Too proud, in fact. They kept boasting about it throughout the whole journey. I would be lying if I said I wasn't basking in my own pride as well... but when we got there, it seemed the royal family was held hostage by a bunch of bigger gorilla bandits. They all really humbled us. Knocked the three of us out one by one and took the package."
"Whoa." Lotus whispered in bemusement, then he passed the patch of water towards his partner. "Did you guys get in trouble?"
"As if I made myself go back to the Jade Palace after that fail. The last thing I wanted was to be scolded by Master Shifu thanks to being blinded by my own pride. I went after them and didn't stop until I caught up to them and fought with all my might to get the package back. I almost had the life beaten out of me that day." She says, a little too casually, causing Lotus to widen his eyes. "Thankfully, Monkey and Mantis came to my aid in the last second, and we ran with the package, barely making it to the royal family's home alive. Point is, worst comes to worst; your pride could cost you your life. Be proud but don't let it blind you." And with that, she saluted the patch of water and started drinking it herself.
The panda slowly nodded his head. "Huh, cheers to that."
The two lay against the grass by their slowly dying fire—well, it was more-so just Lotus laying on the grass whilst looking up at the stars—Tigress was sitting up and looking out into the distance.
"You know you can't stay up all night, right? You've been doing this every night since we started this trip! You need to sleep too." He commented. The tiger didn't bother to look back at him. "I'm looking out for us. We were almost mugged today. I'm not going to risk that same fate occurring whilst I'm in slumber. Besides, I'm a light sleeper, I don't get much sleep on the regular anyway."
"How come?"
Tigress shrugged. "Too many noises. Too many possible dangers. I'm very aware of my surroundings. It can be a blessing and a curse."
"Then doesn't it not make a difference if you choose to watch out or go to sleep? You're still hyper-aware either way." Lotus pointed out.
"I'm doing both. Whenever being put on look-out on missions, I usually sleep whilst sitting up."
"YOU CAN SLEEP WHILE SITTING UP!?" The panda turned his head towards the hardcore master in awe, which finally earned a glance back from her. "Don't be too impressed; there were times where you would sleep through meditation."
"NOT INTENTIONALLY!" Tigress had to grin at that statement. Oh, how Lotus could make her smile even in the darkest of times. "And, in my defense, I wasn't that familiar with the whole art of meditation."
"True," the tiger had to agree. "But you learned. You certainly learned a lot. You've proved that today." She sent the ursine a more sincere smile that encouraged him to sit up next to her. He chuckled in reply. "Well, I do have a pretty great master that taught me a lot."
As much as the compliment flattered her, Tigress knew better than to bask in it. Though she does appreciate all the praises he would give her, it still... unnerved her. It was something she simply wasn't used to...
Suddenly, a question caught her by surprise. "...Hey, looks like tomorrow, we'll actually be in the Valley of Peace! And to find out who's the Dragon Warrior, no less! Do you think it's going to be you?"
Tigress curved an eyebrow towards the panda in curiosity. "Why would you think that?"
"Well, I mean, Oogway seems to be planning a tournament specifically on the day you return! It's like it was meant to be you!" Lotus beamed. "Do you... want it to be you?"
It took the tiger a minute to answer. She hadn't really thought about it in that perspective. "It... it's what's expected of me. I have the highest expectation to be the Dragon Warrior. But all I know is that I'm coming back to simply prove myself along with the others if the title is right for me."
The ursine jerked his head a bit confusingly. "That... doesn't really answer my question."
Tigress narrowed her eyes at him. "How so?"
"You're just stating the obvious and what's expected of you. I asked if you wanted to be the Dragon Warrior."
She opened her mouth to protest, but stopped herself. Because deep down... she knew he was right in that regards. Finally, she sighed and gazed to the ground. "I... I don't know, actually. I don't think I ever did. I guess as a child... it was just some goal I've been thrown into. Something I wanted to accomplish to finally appease my master. I guess I always thought..." She pulled her legs close to her chest. "I thought if I became the Dragon Warrior, I'd finally get what I actually wanted... Shifu's approval. And maybe... his love."
Lotus felt his ears drop in sadness. He chose not to say anything, though. Just listen on.
"But now..." Tigress continued. "Now I don't even want that... I know Shifu would never love me. Not liked he loved..." She trailed off for a moment before clearing her throat. "Anyway, whether I become the Dragon Warrior or not, doesn't matter to me. Not anymore at least."
The poor panda didn't know how to respond. All he could do after a moment's silence is gently hold his friend's paw in comfort. "I'm... so sorry."
And yet, she still gave him a small smile in return, "Don't be. It's not your fault. Quite frankly being in the Panda Village with you actually gave me a lot of clarity. It really put in perspective what my priorities were and... what I truly want."
Lotus took a moment to process Tigress' words, and attempted to urge her on just a little more. "And... what do you truly want?"
Tigress looked at his paw on top of hers, and then bravely looked into his deep jade eyes. So much peace and beauty laid between them, she would be lying if she said she wasn't enraptured by them. One look at the panda felt like a glimpse into heaven. Her heart fluttered and her stomach turned. Her face became warm, and it was definitely not because of the campfire.
Finally, after what felt like a millennia, she broke contact and gently retracted her paw away from the ursine, tenderly rubbing her knuckles. "I'm not sure."
Lotus knew not to push further than that. He nodded respectfully, and went out of the feline's sight. She assumed he was going to finally rest back on the ground.
That is, until, she suddenly felt a large, furry platform against her back. She turned her head to see Lotus sitting against her, back to back, with his eyes closed. She almost had to do a double take.
"W-what are you doing?"
"As if I'm going to leave you alone on watch the entire night. We'll take turns on look out. You rest for fifteen minutes and I'll keep watch, and then I'll wake you up, and we'll switch."
"You really don't have to do that.." Tigress protested.
"I know." Lotus looked back into her eyes. "But I want to. It's the least I could do after you've looked out for me the second we met."
Tigress finally caved, a small smile crept on her face. She knew she couldn't argue with Lotus. His heart was too big and too stubborn to allow an argument. So she just shook her head endearingly, "You promise you'll wake me up in fifteen minutes?"
The bear crossed his chest. "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a rice ball in my eye!"
That innocent sentiment was enough to convince the hardcore tiger (not that she needed much convincing with him anyways) and turn her head back to lay it against Lotus' back. She drew in a big, well-needed breath, and closed her eyes.
As she prepared for her temporary slumber, she managed to let one sentence slip through for her partner...
"Thank you, Lotus."
~~a smol chapter for now! not the best I've done but my mental health hasn't been the best thanks to being in the worst place on earth for me LMFAO- dw tho! next chapter is gonna be exciting! I may post it in a matter of days or perhaps by next month's time but regardless, I know exactly what to do in the next chapter! until then, have a good day/night, remember to live, laugh and love, and until next time... Yarart out! ;D~~