Finding a lead


After exiting the gates of the Jade Palace and, much to Po's disappointment, trekking down the many stairs that awaited them, Tigress and Po found themselves in town. Soon enough they passed by Mr. Ping's noodle shop.

Of course, they would say their goodbyes before departing rather than leaving the poor goose father to speculate where they could have gone off to.

"Dad!" Po called out as he hobbled over to the goose who, in response to his son calling him, stretched out his wings and clambered onto his belly.

"Son," sighed Mr. Ping contently into Po's belly before hopping off.

"You must be hungry son, would you like some stinky tofu?" asked Mr Ping tentatively as he rushed off into the kitchen not caring if his son refused or not.

'Po will eat, he has a long journey ahead of him and I'm not letting him leave on an empty stomach,' thought Mr. Ping to himself as he waddled around the kitchen, preparing the tofu to hand off to Po. 'Ah I should probably prepare something for Tigress as well. hm, tofu it is for the both of them!'

Mr. Ping couldn't help but smile to himself as he came to terms with the fact that it was just Po and Tigress on this mission together.

'I wonder if I'll see any difference in their relationship when they return?" He fantasized while simultaneously cutting some portion sizes for their trip, a single tear rolling down his cheek as he reminisced at how far his son had come.

"Here you go son, and I packed some tofu for you too dear," said Ping as he held the pack of tofu up to the tiger. The goose sported a fatherly smile that Tigress couldn't help but smile back to.

"Thank you, Mr. Ping," she exclaimed in gratefulness as her tail swayed happily behind her.

"We best be off now," Po exclaimed as he started to walk out of the noodle shop with Tigress in tow behind him. "BYE DAD!" Po yelled from behind.

As the duo left, Po heard Tigress mutter something about 'getting there faster' as she got down on all fours and started running ahead of him. This led Po to have to run as fast as his panda legs could take him to keep up with the physically superior tiger.

"Where are we going? Tigress!" Po called out to the relentless tiger as he heard her panting ahead of him. She was clearly motivated by the possibility of finding out what had happened; to discover her origins.

"We're off to Bao Gu to find a lead so we can actually make a rough plan of where we want to go," she responded to him as she navigated through paths without taking any breaks.

Po knew better than to question her antics. The leader of the Furious Five was not one to take breaks and was known to love a good challenge when on a mission or training. Not only that, it just wasn't in her nature to go down without a fight. On a mission like this where she could find out the hidden truth of what happened to her parents, her species, as well as her home; there was no way she would slow down. Po would take it upon himself to make sure that she was taking care of herself, after all, she is his best friend and the one he looks up to the most.

Unbeknownst to her she was worth a lot more to him than she would ever realize, for the moment anyway. Maybe she knows, maybe she doesn't, but Po wouldn't push his luck at the moment. Tigress wasn't like anyone else, she was very observant and had high expectations of those around her. You certainly had to be on your guard around her and be careful as to how you choose to interact with her, a lesson Po had learned the hard way.

Lost in thought, Po hadn't heard what Tigress had said as she yelled his name for what felt like to her as the hundredth time.

"PO!" Tigress yelled, finally snapping and punching him in the arm, knocking Po off his paws as he thudded into a tree.

"Oof" Po breathed out as the air was knocked out of him.

"I advise you to keep wary of your surroundings," Grunted the tiger as she looked upon the building ahead of them, "I was trying to tell you that we're here."

Tigress sighed as she started for the entrance knocking on the large door that loomed over them. Tigress gritted her teeth as a montage of memories washed over her.

Flashback

It was another day in the dark, moody cell that the young tiger resided within. She could hear the happy cheers of the children outside. She wished she could be out there playing with them and not stuck within the bars of this room, which had kept her from the outside world. Her very existence confused her. She did not know her purpose or why she was to stay locked up in this room. The confusion angered her and she chose to take out her anger on her bed, the walls, and whatever else was present in there with her.

Her meals were slid through a flap in the door as if she was some beast that would tear them apart if they attempted to give her food regularly or worse, would feed upon them instead. It wasn't her fault that she was a tiger, her natural idea of fun consisted of chasing others around. Her monstrous strength was what contributed to her title of 'monster'. It hurt her and upset her deeply to hear murmurs of her being a monster whenever she tried to play with the others. It was that one night when she escaped that led to her being locked up in this room.

Locked up, until the day when Master Shifu came before her like a god, he opened the door to her cell with light shimmering around him. He understood her for the young cub she was, a tiger who just wanted to play. He helped her train her strength and mentored and cared for her as only a father could. He had been the first father figure in her life and helped her become what she was today.

Of course, this would be too good to be true as he slowly drifted apart from her and became cold and strict after the incident with Tai Lung. She understood it though, he didn't want her to become like Tai Lung, especially after he had nurtured the snow leopard so warmly. Still, it hurt that he would even assume that she would ever become like Tai Lung or even just the fact that he would treat her so harshly and not appreciate her. He seldom told her when she had done well. Tigress just wanted to be recognized and loved, but that love had become too much for Shifu to give.

Present day

The current situation hit her like a ton of bricks. She stood patiently and waited behind the intimidatingly large doors that she once so desperately sought to escape. Her tail quivered behind her in response to the anticipation. Po noticed this and laid his paw on her shoulder, much to her comfort, as she breathed out deeply. Even though they got off to a rocky start the two had become very comfortable around each other to the point that physical touch was the least foreign sensation between them.

Tigress appreciated that she had Po with her out of anyone else who resided within the Jade Palace. Partly because she wanted to make sure nothing ever happened to him after the events involving Shen, but also because she felt most herself around him, being able to push and shove him around due to his sheer size and strength. For the first time in a while, Tigress had contemplated her feelings and realized that she felt something for the clumsy panda. something that she had yet to explore.

She pushed that thought to one side. She would address this feeling and act upon it when the time was right. Now was not the time for something like this, especially on a mission such as this which meant so much to her. Nevertheless, Po would not escape this conversation and he would listen to what she had to say about their relationship. His suspiciously strange interactions with her had not gone unnoticed by the tiger, though it was not right to assume his intent, they would figure this out eventually.

Suddenly the doors opened…

END CHAPTER

Haha, how'd you enjoy that chapter huh? I'm sorry it took quite a while but lately it's been hard to find the time to write stuff and if so I'm not one who has a lot of energy, it sort of comes to me in short bursts so here's me writing on an odd day where I woke up energised and high on caffeine. I hoped you love it and I'll try and write the next chapter very soon, though don't expect too much of me please and thank you. Love y'all and do be sure to like and follow for more!

Sorry that it's quite short but hey more to come dw.

Skipping for joy (and cuz of caffeine),

-T.S