Learning How

Tigress stared at the sign decorated in red and gold. A dragon slithered around the border while a small picture of a panda kicking stood on the left side. She took a deep breath. She didn't have to go through with this, but it was time she did. As the villagers passed her by, two warriors turned the corner and found the feline. "Hey! Tigress, what are you doing?" Po called out.

"Huh? Nothing, I'm just... trying to do something."

"You're not trying to propose to your crush, are you?" Tai Lung groaned, crossing his arms. "I had enough of that with Monkey."

"Nothing like that. What are you two doing here?"

"We were just talking about Monkey's new love interest. Sounds like they're off to a great start," Po grinned widely.

"Yes, that's great." Tigress didn't see their shocked faces until she noticed the silence running on for too long. "What?"

"Uhhhh usually you go on about how relationships are a distraction. Then Tai Lung tells you you're being Shifu's pet. You snap back. I try and fail to get you two to calm down. There's a fight somewhere in this story, and then you guys go back to your... trauma budsship."

"I still hate that name," Tai Lung grumbled.

"What's up?" Po asked.

Tigress took a big breath and straightened up. "After our... return from the Steppes and our frantic eating at Mr. Ping's, I want to do something that I've always wanted to, but... never had the time or... courage."

There was a lot to unpack and decode with that statement and neither the panda nor the snow leopard had any idea where to start. "Well, if you're having trouble, why don't we go in with you? More the merrier?" Po grinned.

"I... appreciate it," Tigress smiled and they walked in.

Tai Lung quickly looked at Po, whispering, "Why didn't you just ask her?"

"Because she wasn't going to tell us," Po replied. That much was true.

Passing customers and tables, the three warriors sat on stools next to the kitchen where the old goose prepared a small dish for the next customer. "Ah! Po, Tigress, it's good to see you. Eh, what are you doing here?"

"What did I do?" Tai Lung balked.

"I still have an eye on you. You're lucky you're such a good paying customer or I wouldn't let you eat my food. You tried to kill my son AND you're always picking a fight with sweet Tigress over here."

"I only tried to kill him one time!"

"Dad, please behave," Po groaned. Though the goose wasn't nearly as vindictive as he was with Master Shifu anymore, he still took out some of his frustration on Tai Lung. Why? Well, Tai Lung did try to actively kill Po, but it looked like the goose just like giving the snow leopard a hard time. His grudge with Tai Lung wasn't nearly as intense as with Shifu. Mr. Ping huffed as he gave the panda and snow leopard their usual bowl of soup. He was about to pour a bowl for Tigress when the striped warrior stopped him.

"Mr. Ping... I... want to apologize for how I acted after our mission. The one where we ate very... impolitely."

The goose waved his wing. "Ah, you don't worry about that. Plus, you paid, so it's all good."

"Yes, but... during that fight and famine, I... realized I never got the chance to learn something. And...I saw how... impaired my skills were on the battlefield."

"Master Tigress, what are you talking about?" Mr. Ping asked while Po and Tai Lung slurped up their noodles.

The tiger straightened up and took a deep breath. "I... I want to learn how to cook as a repayment for my actions."

PPPPPPPPPPPPPFFFFTTT ACK ACK ACK ACK ACK! Tai Lung and Po gasped and coughed for air, slapping each other on the backs.

"Tigress," Po coughed, "Are you serious?"

"You want to go from a perfectionistic Kung Fu trainer to a crazed grudge-holding literal quack!"

WACK!

"OOWW!" Tai Lung held his aching head after the said quack whacked him with his wooden spoon.

"Stop it you two," Mr. Ping squawked. "I am not a bad teacher."

"You are intense, Ping," Li Shan said from the back. "Even I couldn't keep up with your... training."

"You kept eating the radishes!"

"They were in season!"

The white goose shook his head and turned back to the tiger. Tigress held a worried pensive face, bracing herself for the answer. She stood stiffly as if she were bringing bad news to someone. Or a certain red panda. Mr. Ping sighed with a smile. "You know you don't have to do this."

"I... I want to. It's just... Kung Fu doesn't allow much time for... cookery."

"Why now?"

"Ever since Tai Lung's addition, meeting Mama Yun, and Monkey's new relationship, I... figured it was time to do some of the things I wanted to do."

"Wait, you've wanted to be a cook?" Tai Lung asked.

Tigress rolled her eyes. "Not a cook. I want to be better at cooking."

The goose rose an eyebrow. "This isn't a competition between you and the snow leopard, is it?" Tigress shook her head. Mr. Ping gave a long sigh as he glanced at the entrance. "Well, I guess I can shoot two apples with one arrow. I'll teach you and Lei Lei."

"Lei Lei?" Tigress and Po said.

"Stripey baby!" said a voice behind them. Tigress turned around and saw the little girl from the panda village latch onto her leg. "I found you."

"Lei Lei. What are you doing here?"

"Her mom wants me to watch out for her while they work, and Lei Lei wants to learn how to cook. I think you two will work great together," Mr. Ping smiled. The troubled look on Tigress's face stared down at Lei Lei's beaming eyes.

Tai Lung chuckled, "What's the matter? Worried about being shown up by a kid? Hahaha."

WACK!

"OOOW! Po would you tell your father to stop hitting me!"

"I'm surprised you keep missing," Po sniggered.

"Come on, you two," Mr. Ping said to Tigress and Lei Lei. "Lessons start now." While the tiger picked up little Lei Lei in her arms, Po and Tai Lung snuck out of the shop.

As they walked back to the Jade Palace mountain, the grumbling snow leopard rubbed his head, "Your father is crazy."

"You get used to it," Po said absentmindedly.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just... it's weird that Tigress is doing this. She says it's something she always wanted to do, but I don't really believe that."

"It's cooking," Tai Lung murmured, "What nefarious plans do you think she's baking up?"

The panda stared at him, blinking with furrowed eyebrows. "Did... you just make a cooking pun?"

"Don't rub it in," Tai Lung mumbled. "I've been around you for too long."

Meanwhile, Tigress and Lei Lei sat in front of a long line of knives, forks, ladles, and other kitchen tools. "These are the tools that you have to learn to be a chef. Once you learn your tools, then your training is partially complete."

"Uuuuh, Mr. Ping? Is this the way you taught Po?"

"How I taught Po isn't going to be the way I teach you and Lei Lei. It's stupid to try and teach people as if they're the same."

Tigress blinked but nodded. Lei Lei reached for something. A quick whack from Mr. Ping's spoon made her flinch. "Lei Lei, if you touch these things without knowing, they can hurt you, like this spoon. Wait for me to tell you. Understand?" He said with surprising kindness.

The little girl nodded and waited. Tigress was amazed at how effective the goose was at teaching two such differently-aged students. They began with noodle dough. When making noodles or pasta, flour has to be put into a well formation or a basin to hold the eggs that go in. As they mix, it forms a dough. Lei Lei fussed that her well wasn't working and the eggs kept running out from her. Tigress smiled, "Here let me help you."

"No, no," Mr. Ping stopped her, then spoke to the panda. "Lei Lei, don't get frustrated. Just have fun. Figure out what works."

The little panda gave another huff and struggled again. She finally got something to work when she made a... valley. Her well was much... longer but allowed her to take more care of mixing the dough. "Very... unique. I wouldn't have figured that out," Mr. Ping smiled. "Okay, now let's move on."

They cooked until the end of the day. Lei Lei's mother came and picked up the little panda, waving goodbye to Tigress who was about to leave, too. "Master Tigress, could I talk with you?"

"Yes, Master... I mean... Mr. Ping?" Tigress sat down on a stool near the kitchen, sitting across from the goose. The bird pulled up a cup while a small kettle boiled on the stove.

"How do you feel about your first lesson?"

The tiger's eyes widened. "I... I feel... okay."

"You don't seem sure."

"I've... never been asked that before by my teachers."

Mr. Ping frowned, "Eh, I would think the great teacher Shifu would do that."

Tigress's ears bowed, "No. He didn't."

"Well, I'm happy that you're learning from me. Of course, there's the matter of payment." Tigress's eyes broadened, but the goose laughed, "No, no. This is free of charge. Eh, but I'm curious. Why do you want to do this, huh?"

She was quiet for a while, staring at the wooden counter. She shut her eyes and sighed. She wanted to say it but just saying it made that fear all the more real to her. Before she could, the kettle started to whistle. Taking a damp towel, Mr. Ping made a platform for the kettle and placed it gently on the counter. "Now, I want you to pour the tea into the cup and don't stop until I say so, understand?"

Tigress nodded and gently poured the tea. The steaming water slowly rose to the brim, but the bird said nothing. Tigress pursed her lips as she kept looking at Mr. Ping for a sign to stop. The liquid quickly poured out onto the wood and a puddle formed. The hot water slowly approached Tigress. "Stop!"

She sighed and put the kettle down. Mr. Ping smiled, cleaned up the mess, and drank some of the tea. "Mr. Ping, why did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"The cup was full already. Why didn't you say stop sooner?"

"Because it didn't represent your mind yet," Mr. Ping smirked. Tigress tilted her head. "Like this tea cup, I can tell your head is full of ideas of cooking. That's part of the reason why I decided to teach you with Lei Lei. You saw how she figured out the dough on her own? She didn't JUST learn by watching and listening. She learned from experience what works for her that I would've never found out. There are many options in the mind of a beginner."

"I've... I've heard of this example for Kung Fu from Master Oogway."

Mr. Ping nodded and smiled, "It's useful for other stuff. Not just fighting." He sipped the tea to the bottom and placed it back down. "Also like the tea, there is only a certain amount a cup can hold. The stuff I'm teaching you is how to cook. It's not how to cook like me. I'm teaching you the craft. It is your job to find the art."

"Of... cooking?"

"Think of it like talking. You have to know the words to say what you think. Same here. I'm showing you the language of cooking, not how to talk like me," the bird explained. He crossed his wings and lowered his gaze on Tigress. "Isn't it the same with Kung Fu?"

"What do you mean?"

"Po said that Kung Fu means 'excellence of self' or something like that. Being the best you you can be," Mr. Ping smirked, "And you can't be you if you're trying to be someone else."

The tiger only blinked. Mr. Ping smiled and finished cleaning up the mess. "I think that's enough for today, Master Tigress. Why don't you go home? I'm sure the others are worried about you."

"Y-Yes. Thank you Mas... Mr. Ping. I... learned a lot."

The old goose smiled, "I'm sure you did."

Continued...