~~a/n;... *walks in nervously after not updating for a good 8 months* h-hey everyone... :'D
...loOK OKAY I KNOW I HAVEN'T UPDATED ANYTHING IN A MINUTE- AND IT'S BEEN, LIKE, HOW LONG SINCE I ACTUALLY ADDED A NEW CHAPTER- BUT I PROMISE YOU ALL, I WILL NEVER DO THAT AGAIN-
I will admit, I started to slowly lose interest in the story for a moment, as I have found... other things more important to focus on.. *blushes* ...b-BUT I SWEAR, I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU GUYS HANGING LIKE THAT UmU this book is my baby, I can't just drop it on 6 chapters before anything interesting actually happens, now can I? LOL- um- anyways, I hope you take this chapter as a token of my apology, and that you enjoy the chapter! (honestly I'm surprised you would as I am a little rust PFF-) HAVE A GREAT DAY/NIGHT, REMEMBER TO LIVE, LAUGH, LOVE, AND UNTIL NEXT TIME (WHICH I PROMISE ISN'T THAT FAR AHEAD) YARART, OUT! ;D~~
It was a beautiful day in the lowlands of the panda village. Sun shining, birds gossiping in the woods, every panda was outside playing with kites, going to school, tending to their crops, playing kickball, et cetera.
But Lily? Her idea of fun is a bit different... especially when her master is in town.
The young female panda sat on a boulder in a lotus position, next to the great Master Oogway, who seemed to have obtained balance on his wooden staff. Lily was Oogway's apprentice, so seeing them together like this while the old tortoise was in town was a regular sight. She was the last of her kind to have the ability to summon chi, so she trains as much as she can to keep her power strong, so she could help and protect others, just like her master.
BONK
Even if she has to deal with... pests. Lily sighed in irritation as the tiny ball hit her head. Oogway chuckled under his breath, "Seems like our time is up then..." He slowly opens one eye to look at Lily. "Aw, man..." She got off her rock and dusted her green kimono. Oogway chuckled a bit louder, and slowly climbed down his staff.
The two turned to a group of boys, trying to hide in the bushes behind the masters, snickering amongst themselves in amusement. Lily groaned and took the ball from the ground, stomping towards them. Oogway used his wooden staff to hold the young panda back, "Ignore them, young Lily, they are just minor stepping stones in your path, do not let them trip you or hold you back. And surely don't do anything irrational." He smiled wisely, making Lily pout. She knew her master was right, then again, when wasn't he?
She straightened her posture and bowed respectfully, "Of course, Master Oogway. But if it is alright with you, I would like to at least return their little..." She examined the ball in her hands, "Toy..."
Oogway smirked and shook his head; he knew exactly what she was doing. 'Well, this should be interesting..' He thought as he lowered his staff to let her pass.
Lily walked up to the bushes, this time very calmly. When she was in front of it she could see the boys she suspected, whispering and giggling amongst each other. When they finally caught a glance at her, they screamed and fell back in shock and slight fear. They looked up sheepishly at her, while she just stood there, glaring daggers at them with her jade orbs and her arms crossed against her chest. She yanked all the panda boys by their collars and flipped them over her head and face-first into the floor. They all groaned in pain and Lily walked up to one of the boys in the middle, who was obviously the leader.
She glared down at him, "Li Shan." She growled.
The boy smirked back, "Lilian Chuang."
Lily bounced the ball in her hands, "I should've known you and your little posse would be behind this. Does your entertainment simply get aroused by pestering me!?"
Li raised his hands in defence, "Hey, calm down Lily-pad, not everything is about you! Me and the gang were just playing and it 'accidentally' hit you in the head while you were doing your weird sitting class." His face wasn't sincere, so Lily instantly knew he was lying.
"First off, it's not a 'weird sitting class', it's meditation! And second..." She bounced the ball on Li's head, making him jolt. "YIPE!" He rubbed his head in minor pain. Lily smirked, "There are no accidents. hmph!" She walked off to her master who couldn't help keeping himself from laughing.
"Was that irrational, Master?" She asked innocently, causing Oogway to harmlessly shake his head.
"Normally I would be against such behavior, but I give points for your morals." He winked, making Lily laugh. She pounded her fists together and bowed, "Forgive my disruption, shall we continue training?"
Oogway nodded, "Certainly." He looked back at the panda boys getting up and noticed Li lingering his eyes on Lily while being dragged away. Oogway shook his head, 'The things boys do for attention...'
At the break of dawn, Lotus was on the couch, snoring like no tomorrow. That is until he felt someone flip him out of his slumber—quite literally.
"AGH! Oof!" He exclaimed as he was down with his back against the cold wooden floors.
He looked up at Tigress standing over him with a smirk on her face, "Good, you're awake."
Lotus struggled to prop his stubby arms on the ground to lift him up, "Good morning to you, too." He muttered.
Tigress rolled her eyes and took his arm to help him up, "Hey, I said we start at dawn, you're the one who wanted to do this, remember? It's not my fault you pandas are inadequate when it comes to rising up early. Now, get up." She grunted as it did take a bit of strength to help the tiresome panda off the ground.
He yawned and rubbed his eyes whilst walking towards the robe he left on one of the living room chairs, unaware of the feline travelling her eyes across his form. Even for a panda, his broad, robust body was certainly...enticing to look at...wait what—wHY WAS SHE THINKING THIS?
When Lotus picked his robe up he glanced back at Tigress, feeling her eyes on him, which is when she sneakily whipped her head away to cover her blush. She had no idea why she was thinking such vile thoughts; if yesterday was bad, then she can only pray to any god listening that she could finally get her thoughts straight today.
Lotus obliviously shrugged and put his arm through one of the sleeves in attempt to put it on, which is where Tigress turned back and begrudgingly cleared her throat, "I... don't think that's necessary." She gestured to his robe, making Lotus pause mid-way. He rapidly darted his eyes from his honourable green robe and back at the feline master, depicting any sign on her face that could falter her seriousness. There were none. He gulped as a hint of pink littered his cheeks, "W-what, you want me to be, like, shirtless or something?" He mumbled innocently.
Tigress simply rolled her eyes, "Don't make it sound weird, panda, it's protocol that you don't wear flimsy clothing whilst in battle," She stretched the collar on her vest to let the tightness of it prove her point before moving forward to the panda and helping him put it on before pulling on both sleeves, "The sleeves can be an easy distraction, especially when your throwing blows, and especially with how loose they are," She bent down and tugged on the edge of the robe, making Lotus look down with a bit of intrigue, "The edges are too flowy, easy to catch on any branch or to trip on, plus I can tell this is made out of delicate fabric and that you hold this garment close to your heart, wouldn't want to ruin it in the heat of battle do we?" She looked up at him with a straight face, admittedly intimidating him as he shook his head, "Exactly." She stood up proudly before walking behind her and seeing the yin-yang symbol decorate his backside.
She had to admit the amount of detail put into this open garment was quite well done, she couldn't help but admire the intricate detail herself. That is until she looked up to the back of the bear's head and saw—...whatever that pocket of fabric was—at least in her view..
She gently flicked it, alerting the panda's attention as she gave him a dead-pan expression, "What is this?"
Lotus obviously put in some effort to look back and figure out what she was talking about, before breaking into a wide smile, "Oh! Well uh, grandma panda made this for me and uh—she calls it a 'hood'! It's actually pretty cool—lookie lookie!" He rapidly exclaimed in excitement as he pulled the hood over his head. He even wiggled his ears through the tiny hole on the hoods head and gleefully pointed at himself, "Hehe, they even have little ear holes! rawr!" He playfully roared and giggled as if he was a five year old showing his mom a trick that 'seemingly' turned him into a big scary bear. Tigress could only pinch the bridge of her nose, using every will in her body to not smile in amusement as the panda did admittedly look... completely adorable.
She sighed and without looking up, gave Lotus an order. "Panda—could you please take a step away from me?"
The panda instantly stopped smiling and nervously turned around and took a step forward.
"A little further please?" She asked calmly. Lotus gulped and did as told, taking a few steps back before he felt a hand grab the back of his hoodie and reel him back, "W-WHOA!" He exclaimed as he stumbled and fell on his back towards the floor... again.
"Ugh," He rubbed his head and looked up at the feline staring at him, seemingly upside down from his view as she had her arms crossed and eyebrows perked, looking simply unamused.
He sighed and matched Tigress' stare with the exact same expression; he knew what she just pulled ( somewhat literally), and though he didn't want to admit it, she pretty much proved a point, "Yeah, got it; lose the robe."
"Thank you." Tigress smiled triumphantly as she helped the panda back on his feet once more. He took off the robe and slipped it on the chair yet again. He couldn't be that disappointed though, he did want to learn kung fu, and if getting rid of any distractions was a way to start training, then so be it!
He looked back at Tigress with a dedicated grin and took a bow right in front of her, catching her off guard. "Master Tigress... how shall we begin training?"
Tigress finally settled and even added a devious smirk. A martial artist who's been training for twenty years knows a thing or two about how brutal training could be. 'This should be interesting...' She thought, feeling a twinge of unfamiliar deja vu. She simply opened the front door and gestured Lotus to walk out, still wearing a teasing smirk as her tail swished. "After you, faithful student."
Lotus quipped back a shy smile, feeling a little small when it came to her stare. He simply shrugged however and did as she said, walking outside the little hut with her on his tail.
The walk to their destination was somewhat short, and before they both knew it they were in a bamboo forest in the far back of the village. Perfect for training. No distractions, no disturbance for the pandas, just the one tiger and panda standing in a clearing of the forest with a familiar mountain overlooking the clearing, and two netted bags of boulders—why was there 2 bags of boulders?
Lotus darted his eyes between Tigress and the bags as she simply walked towards them and stood in front of Lotus and crossed her arms. He couldn't help but arch in eye-brow curiously.
"Uh... when did you have time to get those?" He sheepishly pointed towards the boulders.
Tigress merely shrugged her shoulders as if she just added 1 + 1, "you learn a lot about speed and time-endurance when it comes to training. Besides," She tapped one of them and shot back a small (and quite rare) playful grin, "One of the key elements of kung fu is the element of surprise."
Lotus could feel his eyes dilate in awe as he stomped in excitement and broke into a large grin, "WO-HO-HO! AWESOME! WHEN CAN I LEARN THAT?"
Tigress had to grin a little longer to just relish in Lotus' admittedly cute—UH—AMUSING—childish behavior before drooping her face back into a neutral expression, "You will after you've learned the basics. Today, we're going with strength."
Lotus tilted his head a little, "Strength? I mean... I guess I'm pretty strong, I do help out a lot with carrying rice bags and... stuff..." He twiddled with his fingers and stopped his ramble before he could get ahead of himself.
Tigress just cocked up an eyebrow before rolling her eyes and picking a bag of boulders up and throwing it on her back with ease, "We first have to test how strong you are and how much you're wiling to carry in the long run, this will help you with your strength and your stamina." She stated firmly, before mentally cringing to herself as she admittedly sounded like her own master, Shifu.
Lotus looked at the last bag and gulped, letting his minor adam's apple bounce. He did want to start training but this seemed a bit... overwhelming for something off the bat.
"Uh... isn't that a little... much... y'know, for like, beginners and stuff?"
"What do you mean? Master Shifu back at the Jade Palace made me carry a bag of boulders just like this when it was my first day of training. It was just a little smaller. This is for beginners." Tigress shrugged the boulders on her back to prove her point, which only served in intimidating the panda yet again.
"W-well, maybe it was for you, but I'm not like you! Sure I'm practically a kung fu geek but I, like, literally don't have any experience! M-maybe we can find something more suited for my level..?" He mumbled sheepishly as Tigress just gave him an exasperated expression whilst setting down the boulders.
"... your level?"
Lotus darted his eyes left and right, feeling like all his testosterone just left him as his voice just squeaked, "yes?"
The feline narrowed her eyes, "And what 'level' might that be?"
The monochromatic bear really had to think for a second, putting his paw up to his chin in deep thought, "I-I don't know maybe uh... zero? Yeah—level zero!" He snapped his fingers excitedly at the simply distraught tiger.
"Uh... panda, I don't know how to tell you this without being cruel but... there's literally no such thing as a level zero and such a level of that standard in the form of martial arts is completely and diabolically idiotic. Now grab a bag of rocks."
Lotus really felt all his confidence drain away as he let his ears falter before walking up to the netted bag. He sighed and braced himself for the extra weight as he finally lifted it off the ground. He was kinda shocked to be honest when he threw it on his back. Though it was pretty heavy and his back was hurting tremendously, he actually seemed... completely fine. It was actually a lot easier than he thought. "Huh..." When he got a little too confident in himself however, the weight from his own body and the boulders made him stumble about, "WHOA! UH—A LITTLE HELP, PLEASE?"
Tigress just shook her head and place her paws on Lotus' shoulders, letting them hang low as she made him arch his back and forced his legs apart by shuffling them away from each other before making him bend his knees as well, leaving him in a squatting position and having him shocked he realised he wasn't stumbling anymore.
He looked up at Tigress with his mouth agape as she explained what had just happened, "One of the most important things to remember in kung fu is that everything begins with your stance. Keep your body low and your legs apart, that one stance will help you cover more ground and keep you balanced, which you clearly need for this exercise."
Lotus just simply nodded as Tigress lifted the bag on back over her shoulder. "Now, you see the top of this hill." She gestured her head towards the steep layer of grass, having Lotus gulp again as he could suspect what this exercise was, "Yes?"
"Great," She gave him a small smirk before running up the hill, "See you up there, then!"
Lotus was left at the bottom of the heap, blubbering to himself in shock as he was trying to process what had just happened. When everything registered, he finally exclaimed "WAIT!" before dashing up the hill...
Little did he know he would only make it at the top by noon...
The poor panda lost all energy only a quarter way up the steep hill, before he ended up practically dragging himself and the boulders up to the top, where Tigress was impatiently sitting on top of her bag of boulders with her arms and legs crossed, looking at Lotus huff and puff as he finally met her at the top.
He set the boulders down and leaned himself against it, raising up a finger at his master in a way to silently give him a chance to breathe. He finally wheezed out the last of his pants and looked up at a disappointed cat, almost to scared to ask, "H-How... how did I do... M-Master Tigress?"
She just gave him another dead-pan expression as she finally muttered out, "It is literally noon."
Lotus whipped his head up and looked at the sky, squinting his eyes to look at the position of the sun. He found a random stick and placed it on the back of his paw, depicting the shadow. She was right; it was noon. Almost passed noon in fact. Around everyone in the village was now awake, he was certain.
The thought of that alone made him woozy and felt all of his energy ascend from him... as he finally fell on his back and rolled down the hill.
"Lotus!" Tigress' eyes widened as she plopped down the rock and gave chase, silently a little worried about him as she met him back at the bottom of the heap. "Lotus!?"
There he was, on his back, blankly looking up towards the sky as he finally muttered, "I was that bad, huh?"
Tigress knelt down next to him, "Let's just say... I am now convinced there is a level zero." She winced as Lotus shut his eyes.
"Okay... what's next?"
Tigress looked down on him in shock, like he had just grew a second head. He literally just rolled down a hill after hours of lifting a bag of boulders to the top, and he still wants to do this? Either this guy was determined or plain insane, perhaps both even, she couldn't tell which...
"What?"
"You heard me," Lotus sat up, "What do we have to do now?"
"I..." Tigress was flabbergasted. She really wasn't expecting Lotus to still be willing to do this. In all honesty, when she was forced herself to do such a heavy task on her first day of training at the age of five-years-old, she instantly felt like giving up then and there, but with some encouragement from Master Oogway and with the ambition of making Master Shifu proud, she sucked it up. The fact that Lotus instantly picked himself back up with no encouragement or any other kind of ambition other than himself wanting to make a difference like his mother did pulled the feline into a loop.
But it was that dedication that she finally broke into a fond smile. She lifted herself up and gave the panda her hand, which he happily took as she raised him up on his feet yet again.
"Right," She finally stated, placing her hands behind her back, "You've managed to prove your strength and your dedication, your stamina and time endurance, however..." the tiger flinched whilst trying to put it as simply and gently as possible, "Well... it stinks."
Lotus felt his face droop as he playfully rolled his eyes, only to be met with Tigress' paw on his shoulder. "We'll work on it..." She beamed her own playful expression, admittedly amusing the panda before his own lips traced a more dedicated grin. "Alright! Let's get started!"
"I do warn you, panda," The feline recollected her composure and hardcore exterior, "If you found this particular exercise difficult to perform, then you're most likely gonna dread our other training lessons. Are you still certain that you want to continue this?"
"Pffft, please!" Lotus scoffed as he waved his paw dismissively, "How hard could it possibly be?"
Lotus would soon end up eating those ignorant words a full month later as, luck would have it, training was indeed very hard.
"I just don't understand," Tigress muttered whilst she clung to her head whilst sitting across from the poor bruised and slightly slimmed panda at the main dinner table in the centre of the village. He had many bandages across his body, including some wrapping around his sore head, a few scratches here and there, a bruise right under his eye, resembling a black eye as his lids were sunken in and baggy from a month of restless nights, not to mention the hopeless frown on his face as he sadly chewed on his raw tofu, as opposed to the diet Tigress also had to place him under. Sadly, even that wasn't doing any wonders to his health and/or progress either.
After a full month of merciless training, sparring, invasion of privacy, the ursine and the feline were simply stuck in a slump. "We've tried everything, this is the way of kung fu, you've proved your dedication and enthusiasm to these lessons on countless occasions despite what you've endured, what are we doing wrong?" Tigress impatiently tapped her claws on the table.
Lotus swallowed a bit of his tofu, innocently trying so hard not to gag on it's distasteful texture, before finally speaking, "Master Tigress? Were you the only one in the Jade Palace who was actually given these kinds of lessons? I mean, considering the rest of the Furious Five appeared at the Jade Palace in their later years—"
"But, that's the thing! I even thought for a moment that it was maybe a personal thing and I was genuinely weighing you with my routine, but this is the kind of training that not only the five, but plenty of other well known masters would receive in their youth! Like I mentioned, this is the way of kung fu!" She pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed in frustration, whilst feeling a twinge bit of disappointment as she was reminded of the fact she only had the chance to message anyone at the Jade Palace just once this month thanks to Oogway managing to guide Zheng, the head messenger, to the panda village to exchange letters.
Lotus tapped his chopsticks to his chin whilst the feline was surrounded by her own thoughts. Despite the fact he's been beaten black and blue and was just barely clinging onto the brink of hope, he still had some determination left in him to try and learn some actual kung fu and at the very least cheer up his master and idol a little bit to make up for his own downfalls.
His ears perked up and he shrugged towards the feline, "Maybe because it's not just a... physical thing?"
Tigress' ear twitched as she gave him a peculiar look, "Excuse me?"
Lotus scratched the little scar on his neck and darted his eyes around, sheepishly continuing his point, "W-well what I mean is... um... y'know, kung fu isn't really a physical thing you just learn to adapt, right? Sure it's part of it but it's a small part, isn't it? This whole time you've been trying to teach me this stuff on a physical level but isn't it supposed to be sorta, like, a balance? Between Physicality, mentality, and spirituality?" He suggested before receding back into a whimper and a small mumble under the heat of Tigress' gaze.
The tiger folded her shoulders on the bench and genuinely considered that thought. Slowly but surely, she was finally hit with a sudden epiphany from Lotus' query as her eyes slightly widened in realisation as she was reminded by the true meaning of kung fu.
"The true meaning of kung fu..." She repeated, her tail swishing as she finally picked a lock of knowledge. "Of course! The true meaning of kung fu; excellence of self! That's also how the pandas found their chi! By being satisfied with the excellence of themselves, physically, mentally, and spiritually!" She exclaimed in glee as Lotus felt a bit of pride within himself. At least he managed to help out with her revelation. It was definitely worth it if it got Tigress to smile, even if it was short-lived as Tigress came down from her sudden burst of energy and slumped her chin into her paw.
"But... how am I supposed to find what makes you, you?" She inquired to herself, as if the panda in question wasn't sitting in front of her to answer that question, but to be fair he wasn't really paying attention to that question as he was too busy drooling over the big bowl of dumplings being carried by one of the female pandas. Despite him trying to keep his diet to stay somewhat fit, his taste buds soon became against him as they knew he hadn't had a good meal in a while and he was desperate. He clamped his mouth shut as he tried to resist every force in his body to consume every single one.
"Tell me, panda, what has you motivated? What brings you genuine joy? What makes you, Lotus, hmm?" Tigress finally asked, only to look at the panda's dazed expression. She cocked up an eyebrow in confusion and pursed her lips, "Uh... panda? Are you okay?" She asked, genuinely concerned, finally pulling Lotus' attention away from the glorious food he so long desired.
"Yuh-what? Huh? Oh! Y-yeah, yeah, I'm fine, hehe.." He mumbled nervously, only to be interrupted by the litter of kids running under the table between both their legs as they chased each other joyously.
"Hahah! I'm gonna get you, Jojo!" Bao exclaimed as the two boys scurried under the lady panda's feet, making her lose her balance along with her accidentally throwing the dumplings up in the air.
"W-WHOA!"
"Uh oh."
"NOOOOOO!" Lotus comically screeched as Tigress witnessed a blurry black and white flash hop over the table with ease, quickly adjusted the woman by politely standing her up right before quickly snatching the large bowl and making sure every single one of those dumplings landed in it.
Everyone watched him as he kicked, stretched, and ran over each treat with agility and grace that not even he knew he possessed to make sure they were all in the bowl, unscathed and untouched. He sighed in relief when he managed to catch the final dumpling whilst mimicking a perfect split, something Tigress took years of mastering.
"Whoa." The two little boys exclaimed as they watched in awe.
The feline sat there frozen with her mouth slightly gaped as the panda held the bowl close to him. His eyes dilated and he was ready to devour it before he saw Tigress' face and quickly composed himself, immediately jumping up to his feet as he sheepishly gave the bowl back to the just-as-shocked woman whilst she slowly and unsurely backed away from him.
"Uh... heheh... oopsie..?" He humbly shrugged with a queasy grin plastered on his lips.
Tigress slightly shook her head awake and placed her paw against her chin in thought... until she finally gave a sneaky grin as she walked over to the woman with the dumplings, quickly retrieved a dumpling herself, and then walked back to the jaded-eyed panda. She out-stretched her hand towards him with the treat inside of it, "I think you more than deserve this, my faithful student." She said calmly, catching Lotus off guard as he hesitatingly grabbed the dumpling. When it was in his hands however, he couldn't help but break the resistance that has kept him from eating anything edible and quickly devoured the whole bun. He felt the color drift back to his face as his eyes watered in joy with every chew he made.
The hardcore warrior couldn't help but chuckle in amusement as she fondly patted his head, now very much certain of what she had planned for him.
That night was the very night Lotus finally caught up with some well-needed sleep, and the best part was it was one of those rare occurrences where he didn't need to worry about a nightmare! He was finally softly sounded asleep...
That is, until his sensitive nose picked up a scent. He honestly couldn't tell if it was because he was hungry, or because he wasn't used to such a smell as it's genuinely been a while, but either way, the mono-chromatic bear automatically shot up from the couch, fully wide awake, and looked to the already opened entrance of the hut, looking down towards the ground to see... a cookie?
Lotus' nose twitched as he tilted his head, "Huh?" He questioned as the couch creaked under his weight before he lifted himself up and walked towards the sugary treat to see a note right next to it too. He raised up the note and read out the contents inside.
'Don't worry about breaking your diet, you are free to eat this as you wish, but only if you comply with my little game...'
~ Master Tigress
Lotus grinned and shrugged whilst he picked up the oatmeal cookie, "Heheh, well, if you insist... nom!" He munched down on the cookie and ate it whole, gulping it all down as he satisfyingly patted his belly.
But the scent didn't stop there, just as he got to his feet, he saw another cookie that trailed just out the balcony. He didn't think much of it though as he was more focused on the fact that there were more cookies to snack on. So he raced out of the hut, closed the door behind him, and grabbed the cookie to feast on. He licked his fingers and almost turned to go back inside the hut... when his nose caught another scent again.
"Hmm?" He finally turned back, and his eyes instantly bulged out as he saw a full path of cookies lying ahead of him. He instantly got on his knees and looked up towards the sky, "Sweet mother of tofu cake I must have died in my sleep and went to heaven~" He exclaimed, filled with euphoria.
"Full belly of cookies; HERE I COME!" And with that, he raced down the bridge and followed the trail of cookies, making sure to pick up and munch on every single one of them.
Whatever kind of training exercise or 'game' this was that Tigress was planning, he was certainly enjoying every minute of it!
He followed the cookie pathway all the way back to the clearing where he and Tigress originally started training. He saw another cookie with another note place on the bags of boulders. He licked his lips in hunger and reached up to grab it, along with reading out the note too.
'Congratulations! You managed to comply with the rules of my exercise! All you have to do now is follow the trail to the top of the hill with the boulders on your back. I'll be waiting with your reward. Meet you at the top!'
~Master Tigress
It really wasn't everyday that Lotus got to see Tigress this playful, so without a second thought, he threw the boulders on his back and marched his way up the mountain, finding more cookies on the trail to snack on the way.
He managed to make it at the top in 15 minutes tops without barely breaking a sweat.
Tigress, as promised, was indeed waiting at the top, with her pacing back and forth as both her ear and tail twitched when she sensed Lotus was close. When she turned to overlook the mountain, she was pleased to see the very panda strutting his way towards her whilst freely munching on the treats she left behind. She crossed her arms in pride. Her theory was very much correct.
Lotus happily waved to the tiger, filled with energy, as he finally placed down the bag of boulders when he made it to the top. "'Morning, Master Tigress! How are we gonna begin training today? Man, I feel pumped!" He threw his fists in the air in excitement, as Tigress' smile turned into a sly smirk.
"We already did."
"We what now?"
"Lotus," She said seriously as she fought the urge to laugh at the ursine's almost clueless expression, "That whole trip you took with those treats? That was a test to prove a personal theory of mine."
Lotus gave her a almost suspicious look, "Uh... what theory?"
"I planted those treats around dawn, shortly before I assumed you were awoken by the smell. Whilst last time when we first started training, it took you from dawn to noon to get from the clearing to the top of this very hill. Here however, with the motivation of food, you managed to only do so in record time, you almost even beat my record! Not to mention by the looks of things, you haven't even broke a sweat."
It took the panda a moment to process all that his master just said. He looked out into the distance and saw he was overlooking the whole village from his place upon the hill. Then he smiled from ear to ear. And then he started to jump and dance around.
"WHOO HOOOOO! I DID IT! I ACTUALLY DID IT! YES YES YES! I'M ONE STEP CLOSER TO BEING A FRIGGEN KUNG FU MASTER! YAHOOOO! WHO'S THE PANDA!? I'M THE PANDA! YEAH!" He shrieked in a childlike manner, having Tigress look on in fondness as she refused to set the heavy truth on him that he was far from ready. He just looked so... happy. He was proud; as he should be. So she decided to keep quiet and let this moment last for a moment longer as she pulled up the extra bowl of cookies.
As expected, Lotus stopped and sniffed the scent. His eyes filled with sparkle as his mouth watered at the immaculate sight as he nimbly pointed to it, "I-is that... my reward?" He asked, trying desperately to keep his composure and control his excitement. Tigress simply nodded whilst hiding her mischievous grin.
"Oh, thank goodness!" Lotus breathed a sigh of relief and reached out towards it, "As delicious as that exercise was, I'm still starving!"
Tigress simply chuckled and tucked the bowl away from him, "Good, then you have your motivation."
Lotus' shoulders sagged, "H-hey! That's my reward! You said you would give it!"
"I said I would wait with your reward, not give it to you."
The panda opened his mouth to protest, only to clamp it back shut as he realised she was telling the truth.
"I realised that I can't train you the way other respected masters would train their students. Therefore the best way to train you is with this," She gestured to the cookies she held in her clutches, "You shall receive your reward after you have finished your training. Is that clear?" She quirked up an eyebrow in seriousness, making Lotus nervously nod.
She broke out into a smirk again, took a cookie from the pile, and took a bite before passing the panda and descending down the mountain, "Great! Now, let us begin."
Lotus sighed as he trailed behind her. One thought travelled through his head as they both made it to the bottom...
'This is gonna be a loooong training session...'
And though he wasn't complaining, he couldn't be anymore right.
Another week seemingly passed by in a flash, at least for the master and student. And it was evident that Lotus was sharing more progress in this time than he did the entire month of him training.
There were many different training mechanisms Tigress would create just to help the panda find his own fighting style. She would teach him defence as he was assigned with guarding a pot filled with freshly made noodles, which he would tremendously fail at doing as Tigress always found ways to sneak past him and get to the pot first. At one point she got too caught up in the moment that she accidentally landed on the pot and tipped it over, making the contents pour over Lotus as the broth ended up burning him right in the... ahem... 'tenders.'
"IT'S NOT MY FAULT YOU'RE LITERALLY AS SILENT AS A MOUSE!" He exclaimed once, wincing as Tigress cautiously placed an ice pack on his groin, giving him a sympathetic expression.
There were times where the two had to physically spar just so Lotus could find his way around the feline to reach for the bag of beanbuns... which always resulted with him getting his butt kicked, but he managed to improve with every attempt of going past Tigress.
"You're being predictable and acting irrationally. Think before you act. Strategy is your ally in terms of one-on-one sessions, whether you're defending or on offence." She advised, which Lotus obviously took to heart... even though he would still get thrown around like a sack of potatoes , but at least he was able to get to the beanbuns and claim it at one point!
There were some late nights he would spend dangling on a tree and do sit ups with a bowl of noodles and a few scrolls waiting for him upon the branch every time he raised his head, sometimes to even challenge himself, he would do so whilst making calligraphy art. When he would do this, Tigress would automatically know and being more merciful on him by letting him sleep later and spend the majority of that following training day doing meditations. Though it was difficult to keep his thoughts in line before, he soon realised that these calming meditation sessions were his ultimate favorite.
"I don't know, I just feel... the most connected in that position, I guess?" Lotus stated as he took a bite of his rice, making Tigress follow suit whilst she nodded, "I understand what you mean... you feel at peace, correct?" She knowingly asked as she could feel herself relating to the panda in that sense.
"Yeah... peace... that's the best way to describe it." He smiled back.
There were even times where he would take his training to the center of the village. Tigress felt that finding his chi would also help in a spiritual manner as he stayed in tune with his own kind. She would watch in approval whilst tending to Lei Lei as she saw Lotus thrive through the village by the day. Using his strong teeth and architect skills to help build machines such as carts and pipe lines with only his teeth and bamboo.
"I didn't know you liked to build?" She raised her eyebrows to him as Lotus shrugged, "I have a little knack for crafting. I even hand made some of my action figures of you guys!"
"Action figures?"
Lotus blushed in embarrassment from his slip-up, "I've said too much."
And it wasn't just Lotus who felt at ease with the time spent with Tigress. She had no idea how he did it, but it seemed that the more time spent with Tigress made her grow... soft. At first this scared her, angered her even, but it didn't take long until she realised how her gentleness with the pandas wasn't a weakness, and was in fact, a strength. She was told to shut emotions out in pursuit of strength, but with all the time she spent helping the villagers in every way she could, taking care of all the orphans and retelling some of her adventures to them (and to a certain grown-ass fanboy), whilst showing off more smiles and kind gestures, she couldn't help but feel her heart soar whilst being in the panda village... for the first time in possibly ever... she felt whole. Complete. Even to the point that all her worries back at the Jade Palace and the concerns about the Dragon Scroll almost meant... nothing to her. At least anymore.
Now, she had much more important things to focus on here with the pandas... like meeting up with Lotus again at the dinner table in his hut, with the two facing each other and looking at each other accusingly.
Tigress, wearing another one of her sneaky smirks, took out a full bowl of dumplings seemingly out of thin air and raised them towards the still sceptical panda, "Where did you get those from?" He gestured to the dumplings.
"Wouldn't you like to know." She smugly replied, to which Lotus huffed to. She calmly set them down on the table with a few other empty bowls scattered on them and took out two pairs of chopsticks. She handed him a pair, "After you, panda."
Lotus was genuinely surprised as his eye slightly twitched, "W-wait, wait, wait, that's it!? Just like that? No sit-ups, no—no—no ten mile hike or something!?"
Tigress held back a chuckle, "I have vowed to lend you your reward after I've trained you, and you have been trained.. You are free to eat." She humbly states, still handing out the chopsticks towards him.
The panda, still feeling suspicious of his master, slowly took the chopsticks from her grasp and hesitatingly picked up a dumpling.
"Enjoy." Tigress smiled a little too innocently.
Lotus smiled back, and was about to pop the whole thing inside his mouth... when he instantly felt a force swipe it away from his grasp. "Hey!" He exclaimed, looking to Tigress still sitting in her spot, oddly looking like she was chewing on something.
"Why the hesitation? I said you are free to eat. Go on, have at it!" The feline encouraged, still wearing that darn smug grin. Oh, how Lotus wished he could swipe that grin off her face.
Lotus went for another, this time not even able to raise it towards his mouth as the feline instantly kicked it up, did a flip and landed on the table whilst catching the dumpling and eating it herself. She laid back comfortably in her chair and twirled her chopsticks. Lotus couldn't help but glare.
"You are free to eat." Tigress repeated, this time slowly and more harshly.
"AM I!?"
"ARE YOU!?"
Tigress sat up right and twirled her chopsticks again. Lotus didn't dare try mimicking that, and instead, to look a bit intimidating, he clipped his chopsticks together and made a battle cry... it made him look like a complete goof instead, but hey, he tried. He slammed on the table and through the dumplings up in the air, with Tigress immediately taking action and feasting on almost every single one of them.
Lotus, seeing still one dumpling in the air, instantly jumped up as well and open his mouth wide to swallow the whole treat... only to feel that vast force again swipe it away from him as he groaned and landed face first into the table and on the ground. He looked up and saw Tigress holding the very dumpling in her chopsticks, feeling victorious, until he swung himself up and flicked it out of her grasp and into the table again.
With both feeling desperate, they both etched into the bowl and fought chopstick to chopstick in a attempt to dig out the dumpling for themselves. With Tigress' quick thinking, she flashed her sharp teeth at the panda and flipped all the three bowl on the table. Lotus glanced up at Tigress in fear, already dreading what she was about to do, as she twirled and shuffled the bowls around, trying and succeeding to distract the poor panda whilst he tried his best to follow his eyes to the bowl with the dumpling..
Going with his gut, he immediately selected a random bowl and flipped it, "WHOO!" He cheered to himself as he found the dumpling in the bowl on his first try, and the battle of the mighty chopsticks resumed.
Tigress, feeling like she could get away with a dirty play, whacked Lotus' paws with her intricate and accurate claws, making the minor damage too much for her student as he just knocked off the bowl and supported the dumpling by throwing it up. Yet on instinct, Tigress shot one of her chopsticks into the direction of the dumpling, injecting into it and pinning it to the roof of Lotus' home. She hopped off the panda's back and reached out for it, only for said panda to grab her by the tail. She yelped in surprise as her face hinted a bright red, before she was brought down on her belly with her back pinned by Lotus' foot. They both looked up at the dumpling, noticing that with each second passed, the treat would sink lower and lower down the chopstick. With Tigress thinking fast, she knocked the distracted bear off her back and pinned his arms over his head whilst she pounced on him, growling in his face.
"Don't. Touch. My tail." She snarled with her eyes turned into slits, thankful that her fur was able to suppress her apparent blush as she would hate to explain to this one panda why her tail was... um... sensitive to touch...
To Tigress' wish, he didn't ask, but instead immaturely stuck out his tongue at her with his own childish glare, "That's what you get when you stop a panda from eating! Hiyah!" He cried again, knocking Tigress off on her back as the two started to play fight—... or more so play wrestle, as the most the two were more focused on who could pin who for longer. Eventually, Lotus finally managed to knock Tigress away just in time as the dumpling finally fell. He opened his muzzle wide again, ready for the delicate goodness to finally land in his mouth...
Only for Tigress to clamp his muzzle shut to spite him, sending the dumpling up again as she sprout out and kicked it out the open window.
In a panic, Lotus dashed out the door and was able to kick the dumpling up again before it hit the ground, continuously balancing it on both his feet as he soon shot it over the bridge and across the field.
Fortunately, with Tigress' speed and agility, she was able to jump out the window and catch up to the dumpling all whilst on all fours, swishing her tail against the treat as she balanced it as well. She got back up on her hind legs and her tail tossed the dumpling into her paws, until Lotus cut in and flicked it up with his chopsticks that he was still able to keep by his side.
They both were seemingly playing catch as they constantly passed the dumpling around unintentionally, both trying to defend the piece of food whilst trying to focus on fighting each other. This went on until they reached the memorial of Lily's grave with the lotus tree standing proud, and it was in this presence of the comforting tree that Lotus felt his strength peaked. He whacked Tigress' arm that was temporarily holding the dumpling and shot it into the air, flipping over her head and bumping it against his belly.
Everything was in supposed slow motion as Tigress watched her student in awe as he landed up right and, on reflex, grasped the dumpling between his chopsticks. She couldn't help but break out into a proud smile as for the first time since knowing Lotus, she saw him thrive. He probably didn't notice it for a while, but he had truly blossomed as a student, and as a soon-to-be official warrior.
Lotus panted as he gawked at both the dumpling and his master, as he honestly couldn't believe what he managed to accomplish. He had defeated the Master Tigress. He won!
He looked to his teacher and silently questioned what her next move would be, surprised when she stood up straight and gestured to the dumpling, genuinely encouraging him to devour it as he desired.
She was surprised when she spotted Lotus toss the treat into her paw. She darted her eyes towards the panda as he proudly stated. "I'm not hungry." He pounded his fists together and bowed his head, still leaving Tigress in shock.
"Master."
Tigress' expression turned soft, with her awe-inspired smiling turning into a small, sweet grin. Instead of throwing it aside or even feasting on it herself, she used her claws to break the dumpling in half, and gave one half to the panda.
"We both know that's a lie. Go on, eat. You've truly earned it." She insisted gently, to which Lotus finally gave into and grabbed the half-dumpling to munch on. He hummed in delight and gave a thumbs up to Tigress, making her chuckle as she patted his head again and started munching on her own half.
"Mom—Lily!" Lotus called out to the memorial as he ran towards it, "You won't believe it, I actually learned kung fu! Like, real kung fu!" He exclaimed happily. Tigress obviously followed the panda to the lotus tree as they both sat down whilst he started rambling about his training and sparring sessions.
Tigress had all eyes on Lotus as he explained every little detail to his deceased mother, feeling her own pride blossom. As she suspected whilst spending her time in the village and with her faithful student... she felt at peace.