The following day, Tigress hastily puts on her small travelling pack at the top of the Jade Palace stairs, with the scroll Oogway handed to her still in her grasp. Viper, (being the mom in the group that she is) was currently pestering Tigress into making sure she had everything she needed, much to Tigress' annoyance.
"...And a blanket?" Viper continued to interrogate.
"Yes." Tigress rolled her eyes.
"Extra clothes?"
"Yes."
"A scroll and pen to write to us?"
"Yes."
"Those romance scrolls I gave you in case you need advice when you meet a nice boy?" The reptile smirked.
"Viper..." Tigress grumbled sternly with a hint of red in her cheeks that was barely noticeable.
"You 2, that is quite enough." Shifu rubbed the temples on his head in irritation. He sighed and took a step forward, as his foster daughter held her breath, waiting for his response. It was an uncomfortable silence between them. Shifu cleared his throat awkwardly, "Ahem, yes, uh... Safe travels, Master Tigress." He bowed. Tigress sighed a bit in disappointment and bowed back.
"Good luck on your trip, Tigress!" Monkey said, much more enthusiastic to lighten the tension.
"Don't have too much fun without us!" Mantis added from his usual spot on the Monkey's shoulder.
"We really are going to miss you." Crane piped up with a warm smile on his beak. Tigress gave the smallest smile of her own. It didn't really matter how much Shifu was going to neglect her, as long as she has her comrades, she'll be okay.
Oogway came forward and caressed the feline's cheek with his claw, "Good luck my child. You've made us very proud." Someone could have sworn they saw Tigress wear the biggest smile on her face before composing herself.
"Thank you master." She slightly bowed before whispering to the tortoise, "But I still don't understand why you chose me. I don't know a thing about chi."
Oogway smiled, "Don't just teach them. Protect them. Trust me, my child, in due time you will understand," He winked briefly, making Tigress shake her head with an amused grin. No matter how much she respects Oogway, he will forever confuse her. She bowed to everyone, and before anyone could ask questions on what the 2 were whispering about, she descended down the steps, at the start of her new journey.
4 days in time, Li Shan was walking along the fields next to the docks. Since he built his house at the top of the mountains, there were many hills and lakes of grass to fill one's delight. There was a particular reason why he chose to stay in this specific area, despite it being secluded.
Li Shan and his wife used to love going on adventures, and one day they just came across the mountains and camped there for a few days. He remembered his late wife planting a lotus seed in the earth, and he remembers that was the very day he proposed to his love. He smiled warmly at the memories, he still has flashbacks of that day as if it were just yesterday.
Shortly after 2 years, the seed grew into a glorious lotus tree, coincidentally on the very same day his son was due! His wife wanted to call him Lotus because if it weren't for that tree, the 2 wouldn't have made the decision of uniting as one. But ever since... Shen... It grew to a memoir for his wife, and soon a place of solitude for his son. Yes, that lotus tree was very important to the Shan family.
The elder panda caught his son reading a scroll next to his mother's tombstone, as the gentle leaves departed from the tree and flew gracefully around the jaded eyed panda. "...And Chang'e snatched the elixir of immortality, placing the curse upon herself as becoming the goddess of the moon! Never to see Hou Yi again!" Lotus said dramatically.
Li Shan chuckled, "You know, for a depressing ending, you seem very excited," He added with a wholehearted laugh.
Lotus turned to face Li and blushed bashfully, laughing nervously in embarrassment, "H-hey dad.." He gave a small wave as Li Shan came towards his son, "What are you doing?" He asked curiously.
"I'm reading mom a story!" He pointed to the tombstone against the trunk. lavender scented candles were lit up, and there was a incense stick hovering over a small pot right next to a portrait of a female panda. She had the most kind smile that was bright enough to light up a room, a cute birthmark right on her chin, and some of her fur wrapped into a tight bun on top of her head. She was very beautiful. A bouquet of white lotus' lay right in front of the portrait. Li smiled. "Chang'e the moon goddess. It was her favorite story."
Lotus nodded, "Hey mom! Come say hi to dad!" He exclaimed cheekily, pushing his father towards the shrine. Li chuckled at Lotus' childish antics and kneeled down in front of the picture. "Hi, honey. Ya miss me?"
No reply came. He sighed, still trying to keep up a smile, "I've missed you.."
Lotus patted his father's shoulder and sat down next to him. After a moment of solituded silence, "Dad..." Lotus started, "What was mom like?"
That question hit Li like a ton of bricks. Of course! How could he be so selfish! Here he is, complaining on how much he misses his wife, when his only son didn't even get the time to know her to miss her as well! How can you grieve over the one you love... When you don't even know them? Li gave a sad smile, "Lotus, I told you, she was the total package-"
"No. Not that." Lotus looked at the picture of his mother. "I mean, do you know who she really is? Not just the woman you fell in love with?"
Li perked up his eyebrows in confusion. "What do you mean?"
His son sighed. "I mean... I don't even know her name! All you told me about mom was how she protected me, and how selfless and kind and beautiful and just simply perfect she was, but what about her flaws and faults? Her passions? What made mom... My mom..."
Li started to slowly panic on the inside, he can't tell his son! Not now! that would just give Lotus more of a boost to leave him! He can't live with that! He sighed shakily, trying his best to hide his nervousness, "W-why do you ask, son?"
Lotus took a deep breath. "I don't... I don't know dad. I don't know anything about mom, or myself! I guess I just don't feel like I.. Belong here. I feel like a piece of myself belongs somewhere else, like with mom and you. I guess I just thought..." He paused, "since she and I are very similar, if I got to know more about my mom, I'll get to know more about myself."
Li looked at his son with a mixture of regret and shock, he had no idea his own son was having war with himself. Maybe he should tell him... No, he couldn't. Lotus wasn't ready... Li wasn't ready! They both can't handle the truth. But Li Shan has to tell his son something, he has a right! Before Li could open his mouth however, another panda ran towards the 2.
The father and son both stood up and Lotus helped the panting panda to his feet before he could tumble to the ground. They both recognized the panda as one of Lotus' cousins, "Dim! Where's Sum? What's going on?" Lotus interrogated.
The tiny panda wheezed for air. Again, panda asthma and exercising. Not a great mix. Panda's don't usually run or walk, they roll, so whatever has got one of the most lazy panda's in the whole village in a sprint must be serious, "There's..." Dim panted, "Th-there's an intruder coming up the coast! They seem to be looking for us!" He exclaimed.
Yep, it was serious. "WHAT!?" The 2 leaders exclaimed. "A ferocious - and honestly a little attractive - tiger lady, coming up the mountain!"
This got Lotus interested. A tiger? Where has he heard that before? Before the realisation hit him, his father spoke, "What does she look like? Is anyone else with her?"
"Doesn't seem like it. She looks like she's completely alone. She is really pretty not gonna lie, though! Dreamy fiery eyes, enticing stripes -"
"He meant what was she wearing," Lotus grumbled in annoyance.
"Oh. Well, she seems to be wearing a red vest I think -" Lotus pulled his cousin by the shoulders close to his until their muzzles touched, "A RED VEST!? Did it have golden vines?"
"Uh yeah I think...?" Dim stuttered nervously.
Li separated the 2 cousins and looked to Dim, "Sound the alarm! And evacuate everyone! Come on, son!" Li ran towards the house, to look through his paw-made telescope. But Lotus had other ideas. He followed Dim to the village to help with the evacuation. He gently picks up an abandoned panda cub, "Who's baby is this?" He exclaimed amongst the frantic crowd.
Suddenly a middle aged woman appears to collect the child, "Hou Hai, there you are! Oh thank you Lotus!" And with that she left. Po's eyes lingered on the mother and her son for a moment before snapping back into action. As he leads everyone to their hiding spots, there was a huge air horn sounding in the distance. Lotus' eyes widened. Their mountain was filled with snow, so if loud sounds were casted upon the mountain... The ground beneath him started to rumble, further confirming his suspicions.
"Uh oh..." Was all he could mumble.
The 4 day trip wasn't much to write home about. Just walking and camping, with the occasional bandit group, nothing too special. What WAS a pain though, was trying to climb up the snowy mountain! 'How the heck did these pandas get up there? I thought they're not known for agility!' Well, they're better much known for patience - lots and lots of patience...
As Tigress somewhat struggles to get up the mountain without slipping on the snow and falling to her death, she notices that she's much more closer to the top. She sighs in relief and continues to climb, until she hears a large horn sound ignite and echo through the mountains. She thought the deafening sound was over until the mountain started rumbling uncontrollably. She looks up and realises that snow was building up and coming towards her in increasing speed.
"Crud..." She muttered.
"AN AVALANCHE!? Don't you think that's a little much!?" Lotus exclaimed to his cousin, Sum, who sounded the alarm. "It's protocol! Most of our kind died last time we let an intruder in, Li will not allow that again!" Sum shot back as he ran to his hiding spot along with the pandas.
Lotus was pacing around, he suddenly looked through the telescope at the alarm post, and saw that it was the Master Tigress. Despite how giddy he is that she is actually here, he realises that his own kind could possibly be the reason of a respected masters death! Moving without thinking, he dashes towards the only entrance in his village.
Tigress was paralyzed in shock! She had to make a move, and fast! But it would be difficult to choose since there's was nothing but her, her bag, and the tumbling snow.
She braced herself, as she flipped herself and clawed the mountain on all 4's, ready to charge through the snowy army.
As she's about to make to the top, the snow smashed into her, knocking her off the mountain side, letting her fall to her certain death.
That is what she thought at least.
Li couldn't go to his hiding spot just yet, he needed to know his son was safe. Soon, Dim came to Li, panting again in exhaustion from running. "Dim! Where's Lotus?"
The miniture panda looked at Li with a shocked expression, "I thought he was with you!"
Li's eyes grew wide in a twisted expression between fear and anger. "No, he went to the village with you!" Dim gulped, "I-I didn't see him!"
Li immediately went to his telescope to look through the village in search for his son, only to see him stumbling on the shaky ground as he runs to the entrance. Li gasped, "WHAT IS THAT BOY DOING!? He's going to get himself killed!" Without a second thought, Li left Dim at the house.
As Tigress was about to fall, not ready to accept her faith, a black furry hand grabs on to her numb paws. She looks up at a straining panda who was trying to keep his balance all while trying to save her as the mountain still rumbles, "Hang on!" He exclaimed through gritted teeth.
Tigress decided to help by kicking herself up so the 2 land gracelessly on the ground. Soon the rumbling stops and when the panda believes it was safe to stand, he helps the feline on her feet, all with an awed expression on his face.
"Note to self; never climb a snowy mountain again." The kung fu warrior mumbles as she dusts off the remaining snow, when she noticed the panda's staring, she grew a little self conscious, "What? Never seen a tiger before?"
Lotus pointed towards her, "Y-y-you're m-Master Tigress! The m-most hardcore master in a-all of China! Right...?"
Tigress gave him a deadpan expression as her ear twitched, "No, I'm the Empress." She sarcastically said as she put her hands on her hips. When Po showed he wasn't phased by that comment, she rolled her eyes, "Yes, I'm Master Tigress. Apologies for the sarcasm, but being a supposed victim of an avalanche after travelling for 4 days and having to climb the mountain where said avalanche took place bare-pawed can leave someone in quite a bad mood." She dryly said.
Lotus took in all her figure. Welp, his cousin was right about one thing. He felt like he was staring at a goddess. Her lean but muscular body mixed with her hour glass figure could make one believe she was actually an Empress. Not to mention her stripes were hypnotically beautiful. They could leave anyone in a trance from staring too long. And her eyes, oh gosh her eyes! So mysterious, so elegant, so enchanting. He could see himself drowning in their piercing stares. They had a spark in them that read determination and passion, and a whole story behind those ember pools that were just begging someone to see them and tell it to the world.
Lotus didn't realize he was staring intently for so long until Tigress growled under her breath and cleared her throat in annoyance, "Huh? Oh! Ehehe, sorry." He blushed bashfully and scratched the back of his head. Tigress crossed her arms and drummed her fingers against them impatiently as she cocked up an eyebrow. "Y-you're just, like, so cool! I honestly can't believe that you're standing right in front of me! You're literally the most bodaciously awesomest master in the history of, well, EVERYTHING! I'm so so honoured that you're here, and that I'm talking to you! Holy crap I'm talking to you... This is amazing!" The panda rambled on.
Well, Tigress was not expecting THAT response. But she didn't have time to dwell amongst fans, she had to look for the -
"LOTUS LILIAN CHUANG SHAN!" Someone shouted. Lotus winced at the use of his full name and reluctantly turned to the angered older panda. "H-hi... Dad..."
Tigress curiously looked at the elder panda, and realized a full panda mob was closing in on the 2. The one who called Lotus came forward and smacked the back of his son's head. "OW! Dad! Listen I -"
"What were you thinking almost killing yourself like that, and bringing in this... Beast!" He pointed to the tiger master, who's ears drooped at the name. "We were trying to protect ourselves from this intruder! And you just invited her in? I gave you direct orders!"
Lotus looked at the tigress and saw her downcasted expression. He felt really bad. He felt like he understood how she feels. He noticed the mob closing in on the tiger cautiously, with the intention of destroying her before she destroys anything else. Lotus was having none of it. He simply ignored his father and stood infront of Tigress to protect her. The pandas stopped closing in and there was a moment of silence.
Then one of Lotus' cousins spoke, "Uh, cus? 'Ya mind moving out of the way so we can deal with her?"
Lotus glared down at his cousin. "No."
Gasps filled the area. Then slight murmers were heard.
"We knew he was odd!"
"No, he's dangerous!"
"He's gonna kill us all!"
Li glared at his son, "Lotus. We have to deal with this intruder! We can't let anyone in or out! We have a protocol!"
"And does this 'protocol' of yours involve killing anyone off in order to protect ourselves?!"
Another moment of silence. Tigress wanted to pry in and say she could take care of herself, but she figured that right now was not the best time, so she kept quiet.
"If that's what it takes to survive, yes! Do you remember what happened last time we -"
"So you just expect us to stoop down to their level and kill innocent people like he did, is that it?" Lotus shot back. Those 2 knew exactly what they were talking about. "Master Tigress is a kung fu master! Her job is to protect, not destroy! And I know she wouldn't hurt a fly unless they rightfully deserved it! She's a dedicated warrior who's job is to put her life on the line to save others! If she was here specifically, I know it's for a good reason! She's no beast, nor is she an intruder! I can tell she has a heart of gold. Just give her a chance to explain herself dad!"
Li tightened his jaw. Tigress could've sworn he looked like Shifu for a moment, all was silent again, until the son broke it with words that took a jab at Li Shan's heart.
"Do you think mom would've wanted this?"
Li's eyes grew wide as he stared at his son's glossy eyes while every panda gasped. A flash image of Li's late wife could be seen in Lotus' eyes. Li sighed and looked away, his eyebrows still furrowed. The pandas soon became worried and backed up slowly. Lotus and Li were both jolly fellows, it took a lot to make them angry, but when it came to Lotus' mom, ooh boy you're walking on thin ice with those 2. And no one wants to see those 2 angry. Of course Tigress was just simply confused of the whole ordeal, but knew that what the 2 were talking about was a sensitive topic, so she couldn't intervene.
Li just simply walked away towards his house, while calling his son, "You and that tiger lady. Our house. Now."
Lotus wasn't phased as he led Tigress while staying a good distance behind his father. Everyone cleared a path for the 3, And Tigress couldn't help but gulp a little. Yep, definitely reminded her of Shifu. 'This is going to be difficult..' She sighed in her head.
Little did she know how right she was.
~~I know, I know Li Shan and the pandas seem harsh, but need I remind you that Li literally lied to his son in the 3rd movie, therefore leaving the valley unprotected, the jade palace destroyed, and most of Po's friends turned into jaded possessed minions for a power crazed spirit warrior?
Li: I said I was sorry..
me: sORRY DON'T FIX THE JADE PALACE LI! 3:
Now I don't hate Li nor the pandas, but after facing massive trauma in the past, I imagine they would be very skeptical of new comers (yes, even to the point of killing them off. Most of their kind are literally dead. Sue me- actually no, sue Shen bruv), since the only times they do encounter another animal species, it always had to involve a attack! Hell, when Tigress came to the panda village in the actual movie, the first thing we hear the pandas say about her entrance is Mei Mei saying very suspiciously "Who's she?" I honestly don't know if that's because she OBVIOUSLY SEES THAT PO AND TIGRESS ARE TOTALLY DATING or something but she still sounded suspicious!
now that's not to say their actions are justified, because they're not, but I like to imagine the pandas as literal boomers and Po- or Lotus- (oh gosh this is going to get confusing) being the Gen Z of the village and being all "lemme edumacate y'all for a min-". idk, that's where I'm going with this ._.
hoped y'all liked that chapter! remember to live, laugh, love, have a great day/night, to R&R to help me improve, and until next time... Yarart... OUT! XP~~