The sun hung high over the valley of peace, it was a nice and pleasant day like most days in the valley where there was nothing much to worry about other thanks to the furious five and now the dragon warrior. It had been a few months since master Oogway had selected the dragon warrior and the subsequent escape of Tai Lung. The former member of the furious five's escape and subsequent rampage and defeat by the hands of the dragon warrior had spread far throughout China and beyond, reaching far and wide throughout Asia and then some, gaining the notice of all who practiced kung fu. The tale itself gaining the Jade Palace and those who dwelled in it even more notoriety than it had previously throughout the lands. Notoriety that, drew attention both good and bad. While some would seek out the dragon warrior and the jade palace as a means of conquest and proving themselves unbeatable, others...others would seek it out to see the famed palace, it's warriors, and to further their own skills as is the way and nature of true kung fu...
On this particular day a lone figure traveled along the path to the Valley of Peace, pulling a covered cart large enough for supplies and clothing, the figure, a white tiger with deep blue eyes, seemed to have no issue pulling the large cart as he made his way past the entrance to the valley, seemingly in a slight wonder as he took in the surroundings while he traveled, as though it was the first time seeing the sights before him. Despite the slight awe the tiger seemed to have in seeing the natural beauty of the land he did not take time to stop too long to take it in, keeping on the move as he seemed focused on reaching his destination. The tiger wore a black gi with white waves on the upper and lower right side with a gold trim going along the upper part of the gi and a red trim along the bottom of it, while gold broken up in the center by red adorned the cuffs. A red sash kept the gi together with a gold buckle that had a white tiger paw in the center and his pants, a dark mustard, was broken up at it's cuffs by the inverse of the sleeve cuffs.
The only other thing of note about the tiger being his dark mustard foot wraps and physique. Well, that, and the bit of blue accent on his black nose. He wasn't broad per-say, but it was clear he had a fair bit of muscle to him, it was clear he wasn't one to shirk physical labor or exercise, his complexion alone denoted a man who took things rather seriously to an extent. Although whether he was a practitioner of kung fu or not, or even a fighter despite his attire, was something that was left to be known. Something that the watchful eyes of a group of crocodiles were weighing their options about as they spied on the tiger from afar.
"Well, well, looks like we might have ourselves a nice target for easy pickings. A solitary tiger hauling a nice hefty cart with no escort? He must be either new, foolish, or stupid." The head crocodile said with a smirk. "And no signs of the dragon warrior or the five anywhere near here, it must be our lucky day!"
"But what if it's a trick, or at the very least, the dragon warrior or one or all the furious five show up while we try to rob him?" Asked one of the subordinates, a crocodile wearing orange pants and a brown spiked belt.
The more broad lead crocodile's expression went flat as he turned to look at the other crocodile with narrowed eyes. "And this is why we're not as successful Gahri, it's attitudes like that that get you nowhere. It's one guy, no weapons, and no one around. We, meanwhile, outnumber him AND have weapons." He remarked as he drew his axe and rested it in his other hand. "Can you not be a buzzkill for like...one attempt?"
"...Sorry boss." Gahri said as he stood idly by the other crocodiles.
"Good." The lead crocodile said as he briefly adjusted his helmet. "Now then…" He added as he turned back towards the direction of the tiger, a surge of confidence filling him once more. "Croc bandits, let's get us an easy score!"
"Yeah!" The other crocodiles cheered as they drew their own weapons, a variety of spears and axes.
The tiger continued on his journey, staying on a path that seemed like he was heading straight to the town that sat in the middle of the valley. As he walked, the crocodile bandits appeared before him, encircling him completely as their leader stood in front of him with a smirk, axe in hand. "Sorry to interrupt you on your journey, but I'm afraid you're going to have to pay a tax before continuing." The lead crocodile remarked threateningly.
The tiger blinked as he looked at the crocodile, his face remaining somewhat neutral as he turned his head to take stock of the other crocodiles surrounding him. "I am...sorry, can you please repeat that? My Chinese is not that good." The tiger said in a noticeable Russian accent.
The lead crocodile blinked as he looked at the tiger, a bemused smile forming on his face. "Well now, we don't get many foreigners here." He remarked. "Of course, that means that the tax you need to pay is a bit more."
"Wait, we're taking taxes?" Gahri asked.
The lead crocodile placed his hand on his face and slowly ran it off of it. "Shut up Gahri…" the lead croc muttered.
Gahro blinked. "But you said we were going to-"
"I know what I said Ghari! I was trying to be witty and you just…you just..." The lead croc sighed. "I just...I can't with you right now."
Ghari continued to look at his leader. "So we are-"
"YES! We are going to rob him!" The lead croc shouted. "I was just trying to have a moment of clever word subterfuge and you just HAD to ruin it!"
"Sorry…" Ghari said in defeat as he lowered his head.
"Ah, so you were trying to rob me as I thought." The tiger said as he let go of his cart and placed his arms behind his back. "I had heard crocodile bandits were in the area, but I did not think that they would be so…"
"So what, fearsome and strong looking?" The lead crocodile asked as he looked at the tiger.
"How do you say...the dim of whit." The tiger remarked. "If you wish to rob me, then you are welcome to try, I just hope you're as good at fighting as you are arguing with each other." He added.
"That's it, get him boys!" The lead crocodile ordered.
The group of crocodile bandits charged towards the tiger, brandishing their weapons as he remained with his arms behind his back, a single eyebrow arching. As one of the crocodiles came at him with an axe, swinging it to cut him vertically, the tiger leapt up in the air to dodge, swiftly delivering a swift knee to the gut seconds after landing back on his left foot and causing the crocodile to crumple over onto the ground. Another came to try and run him through with a spear, only for the tiger to lean all the way back to avoid the blow and then to come back forward with enough momentum to headbutt the crocodile and send him flying onto his back a foot or two unconscious. Two more crocodiles came at the tiger with spears, only for the tiger to turn sideways and then as he turned back grab the spears and lift both crocodiles up and slamming them together before tossing them into some of their friends.
"What are you guys doing, stop being dumb and get him!" The lead crocodile said, face contorted in frustration.
"Considering you're their boss, it might help if you lead by example." The tiger remarked.
"He's got a point…" Ghari remarked.
"Shut up Ghari!" The lead crocodile remarked. "But fine, I'll help you guys out because that's the kind of guy I am." He added as he readied his axe.
"Well, come on then." The tiger remarked as he placed his hands to rest once more behind him.
"Come on guys!" The lead crocodile said as he and a few of the remaining ten crocodiles charged the tiger.
The tiger merely smirked ever so slightly as he leapt up and back, landing on top of his cart before leaping up into a back flip behind the crocodiles that were behind his cart and swiftly delivering a kick to the back of the head of each, sending them colliding hard into the cart before falling back onto the ground out cold. The other crocodiles and their leader turned their full attention to the tiger as he made space, getting back into a neutral stance as he placed one hand behind his back, the other reached out with palm facing upward, motioning for them to come on. The crocodiles sneered as they charged the tiger, taking swipes at him with their weapons only for the tiger to dodge each attack with minimal effort.
"Get him!" The lead crocodile yelled.
Once more the crocodiles charged the tiger, weapons ready as they all went to strike him at once with their weapons. The tiger merely watched and as they drew near leapt in the air, allowing their weapons to clash and interlock as he landed on the flat part of the interlocked weapons. He didn't waste much time, looking at them for a moment as they tried to dislocate their weapons from the others before delivering a series of kicks to the side of the head of three of the crocodiles, knocking them out as he once more leapt out of the way. Before the crocodiles could react though, the tiger with impressive speed closed the distance between three more, delivering a series of precise blows to one before sending his elbow back into the chest of another, following it up with a simultaneous strike to the chest and forehead with his fingers and then giving the third an open palm strike to the forehead, all three collapsing as he finished.
"There's only two of you left, I give you an offer to...how is it said...hmm...ah, yes, retreat." The tiger remarked.
"Maybe we should take his offer Fung, he did just take out everyone we brought…" Ghari suggested.
"He just got lucky because we didn't think he was a fighter, but now we know." Fung said as he readied his axe. "I can't just lead you guys and have us have nothing to show for this." He said as he stepped towards the tiger. "Ready yourself, for I, Fung, leader of the crocodile bandits, will teach you to fear us."
The tiger arched a brow as he looked at Fung, placing his hands behind his back. "It seems thieves have some...honor here at least. Very well, try."
Fung went at the tiger, going for a cut horizontally across the waist only for the tiger to just move back out of the way in an almost slide like motion as he only lifted half of each foot off the ground. Fung merely blinked as he tried to take a swipe at the tiger again, only for the tiger to repeat the motion and get out of the swing's way by inches. "Slippery aren't ya, but I'll get ya!" Fung said confidently as he proceeded to go into a series of strikes as the tiger, only for the same thing to repeat with each strike Fung attempted, each missing by inches. The tiger only just looked at Fung, his face neutral with some hints of seriousness as he kept back stepping each strike the crocodile tried to land
"Finished?" The tiger asked as Fung eventually leaned over slightly to catch his breath.
"I just...I just need...a moment." Fung replied.
"I see...You did try your best." The tiger remarked.
Fung blinked. "Oh, well thanks, I have been trying to work out more and-wait, what do you mean tried my-"
Before Fung could finish the tiger leap up and delivered a power kick to the crocodile, his foot having been locked back fully as he readied the kick. Once it connected, Fung was sent flying at a rather incredible speed, zooming past Ghari who blinked as he saw his leader go flying past him. "I'll uh...I'll just be going now." Ghari remarked.
The tiger nodded. "Have a good rest of the day."
"Yeah, you too." Ghari said before turning to leave, heading in the direction Fun was sent flying, likely to help out Fung once he hit the ground.
"Odd animals here in China, not quite as fierce as where I am from." The tiger remarked in Russian. "Although I'm sure that these crocodiles are just the hapless type that are just making a living, no real harm."
With the admittedly barely long enough to be called a battle over, the tiger returned to his cart, taking hold of it once more and starting back on his way with the crocodile bandits still unconscious behind him. They were an odd sort, definitely didn't seem the type to have chosen the life of thievery because they absolutely wanted to or necessity. But then again, perhaps things were just that rough for that group in particular that they had to, if they chose it just because it seemed like a fun and easy career though...they definitely weren't all that cut out for it. Although, it did seem odd that for a place called the valley of peace, they still had bandits.
The tiger continued on his journey, making his way along the path as he hauled his cart behind him with relative ease. It had been a long journey for him, and while arduous at times, it never became anything that he couldn't handle well enough. From what he had heard and the directions he had been given, the tiger was positive that he didn't have too much further to go till he had reached his destination, one that he was very eager and excited to reach. The long journey would all be worth it though once he made it though, for his own hopes and dreams.
Hours passed and as the tiger got closer to his destination, being able to see the outskirts of the town in the distance, he noticed a particularly...large...panda heading towards him. It wasn't a particularly odd site, he had heard of pandas and how large they tended to be. But at the same time, he had also heard that they had all been wiped out years ago and were believed to be fully extinct. So to see one heading in his direction was quite the surprise for sure, but more so in slight awe that he managed to be able to see what was believed to be an extinct species.
"Hey there, haven't seen you before, you new here?" The panda asked as he got closer to the tiger with a big friendly smile.
"Oh...umm...yes. I am...how you say...travel ing to see the ja...hmm...jade….palace." The tiger replied, his Chinese heavily accented by his Russian voice as he did his best to say the words properly.
"Your voice is a bit odd...uh, no offense." The panda said as he quickly put up his hands apologetically. "Don't think I've heard any Chinese with that accent."
"That is because I am...how was it said?...Ah, yes, Russian." The tiger clarified as he looked at the panda, nonplussed by the panda's initial comment about his voice.
"Oh! I see...that's so cool!" The panda said with excitement. "I don't think I've ever seen anyone outside of China before."
"Well, I have heard the valley stays pretty...hmm...seclu….secluded for the most part." The tiger remarked.
"Well, we do have a lot of ties to the rest of China, but I guess we don't really do much when it comes to the rest of the world." The panda mused.
"Da, that is….under...standable." The tiger nodded. "If you...have no need to...ex-pand re-la-tions to those outside your country then you just don't get around to it until needed."
"Yeah, I suppose so." The panda agreed before lighting up. "By the way, what's da?"
"Da is Russian for yes." The tiger explained.
"Oh, cool!" The panda smiled. "Wait, you said you were heading to the jade palace?" He asked
"Da, I have traveled much distance to see it." The tiger replied.
"Well I can take you there!" The panda offered with a smile.
"That would be much….a-pre-ci-a-ted." The tiger said with a bow.
"Oh, but I was supposed to go out and look for crocodile bandits…" The panda remembered. "I hope you didn't run into them and have any trouble."
"I am sorry, can you repeat that? My Chinese isn't A...hmm….more than good." The tiger remarked.
"Oh, right, hmm…." The panda said before thinking a moment. "Did you run into any croc-o-diles? Scaly lizards? Usually use axes and spears? Their leader's name is Fung?"
"Oh!" The tiger said before putting a finger up, going to rummage quickly through his cart and looking through a book. "You are asking me if I ran into crocodiles yes?"
"Yes!" The Panda nodded. "Did you?"
"I did." The tiger nodded. "But they were not much of a...threat." He continued as he took a moment to think of how to pronounce threat. "They seemed...skilled...but were not, I...handled them quite easily in fact. Are they the biggest threat the valley has?"
"Eeeeh, one of a few." The panda admitted.
"A few?" The tiger asked.
"We tend to have to deal with people on an almost weekly basis." The panda admitted.
"And yet this is called the valley of peace?" The tiger asked somewhat genuinely but with a bit of disbelief.
"I mean, other than the odd threat, it is pretty peaceful." The panda assured.
"I...see…" The tiger said as he blinked in slight shocked disbelief. Oh well, sometimes the name of a place is more of what it wants to symbolize or be than what it actually is. That, and the fact that this was the home of not just the renowned jade palace, but the furious five and dragon warrior made it kind of understandable that with such things it would tend to attract those that would want to challenge or conquer.
"Yeah, but like I said, we tend to be pretty peaceful for the most part." The panda said with a proud smile. "But hey! You must know kung fu if you took care of them!"
"I do." The tiger nodded. "It is...why I have….traveled from Russia, to seek out the jade palace and the masters inside to see if I can further my skills." He explained.
The panda lit up as he looked at the tiger. "Oh cool! So you're wanting to join the palace as a student!"
"Da." The tiger nodded.
"Then I gotta take you there right now! Master Shifu and the five are bound to love you!" The panda exclaimed excitedly.
"Many thanks." The tiger smiled.
"No problem!" The panda smiled. "I'm Po by the way, you are?"
"Aleksandr, Aleksandr Nikolev." The tiger introduced himself.
"Nice to meet you Alek! I can call you Alek right? Aleksandr's kind of a long name…" Po asked.
"I don't see why not." Aleksandr shrugged.
"Cool. Oh, by the way, you hungry?" Po asked. "You must have traveled incredibly far to get here."
"In...what?" Alek asked.
"Oh, sorry….in-cred-ibly...su-per far." Po replied.
Alek quickly looked at his book. "Oh, incredibly, yes, it was quite the journey. And I am rather hungry as I have not eaten since...mor...morning."
"Great! I'll take you to my dad's place first, he makes the best noodles!" Po said happily.
"Really?" Aleksandr inquired.
"Yeah, you'll love them!" Po insisted.
"Alright then, lead the way." Aleksandr said as he grabbed his cart.
Aleksandr followed Po as he lead the way, if it was one thing he didn't exactly expect to encounter it was a panda. What had happened to the pandas was a horrific tragedy, a brutal act of cruelty that should have never even been thought to be conceivable. So to see that was still around with the potential of more was a delight, and something that Aleksandr found himself rather looking forward to given the fact that he had never seen or met a panda before. So far from what he had seen of Po, it seemed like pandas were generally amicable and easy going, though it was a bit odd that a single panda was entrusted to keep an eye out for bandits. But then again, if those were the level of threat they had to worry about, maybe it wasn't as big of an issue that required more than a single person to scout them out and report back for the furious five and dragon warrior to deal with them.
It wasn't long before Po lead him to the town, those that lived in it looking at him with curiosity and warm friendly smiles. Maybe it was called the valley of peace because the majority of those that lived there were a peaceful and friendly bunch. They certainly seemed welcoming as each one greeted him, to which he reciprocated in kind with a nod. It wasn't long before Po lead him to a small noodle shop, one that seemed to be about the only one in the town, but if the noodles were as good as Po said then maybe no one realy thought they could be done better. Although as he parked his cart by the entrance Aleksandr looked at the sign above the entrance, it took him a bit to read that it said Ping's Noodle shop, Ping and Po...must be a family thing of starting names with P.
"Come on, I can't wait for you to try my dad's noodles!" Po said excitedly.
"Alright." Aleksandr said as he followed behind Po.
"Dad, prepare your best noodles, we got a special visitor!" Po called out.
"Oh, a special visitor you say, is it a noble from another Provence or the emperor? If so, they still pay full price!" came a voice from the shop which soon was revealed to be owned by...a duck once he walked out to where Aleksandr could see him.
A...duck, last he checked...Aleksandr was sure that it was not possible for different animals to have kids with each other, or at the very least for a panda to be hatched from an egg, he was certain of that. And last he checked, there had been no evidence that hybrid animals existed or even could, so that could only mean one thing...Po was likely adopted. Or, at the very least, found by Ping as the last of his kind. There was a bittersweet feeling towards that, on the one hand he could admire the duck for taking care of and raising Po into who he was and caring for him like his own son. But on the other, it was sad that Po would very well mark the passing of his kind.
"It is...an honor to meet you...mis-ter….Ping." Aleksandr said with the upmost respect, giving him an a fitting bow to go with it.
"He sounds...odd….where is he from?" Ping asked as he looked at Po.
"He's come all the way from Russia!" Po explained. "He's come all the way here to hopefully join the jade palace to further his kung fu!"
"They practice kung fu all the way in Russia?" Ping asked.
"Yes...but not as….widely as it is here." Aleksandr replied. "While there are...many places still, there are not as numerous places like here. I myself have...arri...hai...have come from my family's own temple."
"I see, well in that case you must be very hungry, I'll prepare you our finest bowl, no extra charge." Ping said before heading off,
"Isn't my dad the greatest?" Po asked.
"Yes...he's certainly a...nice duck." Aleksandr replied, to which he meant it. But at the same time, given what the duck said earlier and the no extra charge remark, he got the feeling that while nice...the duck wasn't exactly one to be generous in terms of prices, at least in the regards of discounts and the like.
It wasn't long until the duck returned with a bowl of noodles after Aleksandr found himself a table to sit at, Po joining him at the table and having a bowl himself. Aleksandr thanked the duck and gave a quick prayer like thankfulness of the food before digging into the noodles. To his slight surprise, Po wasn't wrong about his claims about his father's noodles, they were indeed among some of the tastiest noodles he had had so far since entering China. As he and Po ate, the panda asked him about if he had heard about the five and what he thought of them, to which Aleksandr replied that he had and was looking forward to meeting them as their reputation was quite well known even where he had come from.
From the way Po talked about the five it was clear that he greatly revered them and was quite the fan, something that wasn't hard to see given how they kept animals like him and the town safe from any threat that might arise. It was especially amusing to Aleksandr when Po brought up his collectible posters and figures of the five, a bit of a bemusing surprise given that such memorabilia was not known of to him or seemed like something that kung fu practitioners would really go out of their way to have. But if it was something that the people of China did to show their reverence and gratefulness, then there was really no harm in such things in his opinion.
When they had finished their meal Aleksandr searched through his money pouch, pulling out the amount for the meal and laying it out on the table as Ping came to get the bowls, thanking the duck once again for the meal and complimenting him on how good it was. It was a good thing that he had exchanged the currency that he had saved up for this trip and had built up as much as he did to do so, it would have been...not great having a currency places in China wasn't willing to take just because the value would not have been the same. Once the bill was settled Po just as eagerly started making his way to the entrance, motioning and requesting Aleksandr to follow so he could introduce him to the five.
Aleksandr chuckled slightly as he looked at Po, following along and once more taking hold of his cart before following Po from behind as the panda lead him throw the town and all the way to the bottom of Jade mountain, the very mountain where the Jade palace rested at the top. "Do you think you'll need any help with your cart, it's a bit big." Po offered.
"Many thanks, but no, I think I can...man-age it." Aleksandr politely declined. "I have...hauled it this far, and this would not be all that...di-...hmm…dif-ferent from what I did for training back home."
"Alright." Po smiled as he started to make his way up the mountain, Aleksandr following close behind as he pulled his cart behind him up the path.
The journey up the mountain was intensive due to how steep it was, but nothing that wasn't bearable, the only thing making it a bit more of a challenge being the cart Aleksandr was hauling. But, as he had said, it wasn't really anything that would be too much for him to bare. If anything, the tiger found it to be a rather good training exercise for himself, being taught that any opportunity to do something to keep your strength and skills in check should be taken as improvement never stops. By the time they had reached the top of the summit Aleksandr took a moment to stretch, having gotten a rather nice exercising of his muscle strength in from pulling the cart. As Po came up a few seconds later though, the tiger say him breathing a bit as he bent over to catch his breath.
"Are you...alright Po?" Aleksandr asked.
"Yeah...yeah...just...just give me a second….that trip always…always takes a fair bit out of me." Po assured.
Aleksandr arched an eyebrow as he looked at Po, finding it rather odd that a panda that seemed somewhat...out of shape was one selected to scout for bandits. But again, given what he had seen so far since he had entered the valley, there really didn't seem to be much to worry about in terms of major threats. After all, going off what he had witnessed so far, Tai Lung seemed to have been the only true major threat they ever faced and he was dealt with by the dragon warrior, someone that Aleksandr also looked forward to meeting.
"OK...OK, I think I'm good now." Po said after a moment. "I think the others are in the training hall, follow me." He said before eagerly heading off towards a building.
"Alright." Aleksandr replied as he followed behind Po to the building and placing his cart near the entrance to what he could surmise to be the famed training hall of the jade palace.
"Oh, I can't wait for you to meet everyone!" Po said eagerly before heading to the doors of the hall, Aleksandr following with an amused smile.
As the panda opened the doors Aleksandr could not help but look in awe as he saw the grand splendor of the hall in all it's glory as well as the furious five going about their training. There was who he assumed to be masters Mantis, Monkey, Viper, Crane, and-. Aleksandr's eyes went slightly wide as he felt...something as his eyes went to master Tigress. He had heard of the masters, of their description and feats. And while they seemed to live up to the claims, when his eyes fell on Tigress the things said seemed to be...understatements. Sure she was said to be the fiercest, most intimidating and likely most powerful of the five but nothing was said about her being...beautiful?
Aleksandr actually found himself a bit stunned as he looked at the other tiger. The way she moved, the strength and power but also...grace that would only be able to be viewed as such to other tigers made her look like she could almost be standing still? No, she was definitely moving, there was no technique or skill that would make someone appear that way, so why did it look that way to him? And further more...why did it feel suddenly a bit warmer?
Aleksandr's wondering train of thought lasted only seconds though as Po spoke up. "Hey guys, I got someone you got to meet!" He said, grabbing everyone's attention.
"Po, I thought I told you to go look out for bandits or any sign of trouble." A red panda with a thin, long, white mustache and tied up long beard said as he approached. "And what have I told you about bringing strangers?" He added, seemingly not that pleased, Aleksandr had a pretty good idea that the red panda was master Shifu.
"I know I know, and I was going on my way to when I ran into Aleksandr…" He trailed off as he looked to Aleksandr.
"Nikolev." Aleksandr reminded.
"Nikolev." Po continued. "He took care of the bandits already."
"Did he now?" Shifu asked with a mixture of curiosity and doubt.
"Yes!" Po replied. "He's come all the way from Russia to see about further his kung fu skills."
Shifu blinked. "He came all the way from Russia?" He asked before looking to Aleksandr.
"Da, master Shifu, I and my family have heard so much of the Jade palace and the masters at our temple, we thought it a great honor if I could...con-tin-ue furthering my skills here." Aleksandr said as he bowed respectfully.
Shifu rubbed his beard as he thought a moment. "We've never had any students that were from other countries."
"I say we give him a chance, could be interesting to have someone from elsewhere around." Master Mantis remarked. "Nice to meet you by the way, I'm Mantis."
"I know much of you and the rest of the five, it is an honor." Aleksandr replied with a respectful bow to the small master.
"Really, we're known that far outside of China?" Monkey inquired.
"Yes, you are very much seen as great examples of kung fu." Aleksandr answered as he looked at Monkey. "Again, it is an honor." He added with another bow.
"Huh, I wasn't expecting people to know of us beyond China, but I suppose if kung fu is practiced in other places it makes sense." Crane remarked. "Still, it's kinda humbling...nice to meet you by the way."
"Master Crane." Aleksandr bowed. "Likewise.
"I say we give him a shot, he did come all this way after all, what harm could there be in seeing if he has what it takes?" Viper said as she slithered up. "He seems nice and polite, and if Po vouches for him and he did take care of the bandits then he might be a good addition."
"Thank you master Viper." Aleksandr said as he bowed to her.
"I agree, we should at least let him run the training course, see how skilled he is and if his claims of handling the crocodile bandits are as they seem." Tigress chimed in as she walked up to the group, turning her attention to Aleksandr as she crossed her arms and shifted her weight slightly. "If he screws up bad enough, then we can always just kick him out, but if not...could be interesting to have another tiger around."
Aleksandr blinked a bit, feeling himself warm up again. And just like before, it was like she hadn't seemed to move despite the fact he knew she had. "I...uh...umm...Thank...you." He replied, unable to resist gulping slightly as his eyes dilated for the briefest of seconds. It was all he could really manage to do, as though he had been...paralyzed by her. Mantis and Monkey couldn't help but notice the seeming slight nervousness, but chocked it up to Tigress' fierce reputation and intimidating demeanor.
"I suppose you all have a point, there would not be any harm in letting him run through the training course to see if he is at a level to where he could further his training here." Shifu admitted after a bit more consideration before looking at Aleksandr. "Just a word of warning before you start, this is the most dangerous training course ever devised, it will not be easy and you could get hurt or worse. I would not blame you or hold it against you if you failed or chose to not do so after being told this."
Aleksandr snapped out of the state he was in as he heard Shifu, looking to the red panda. "I understand, but it is...a belief in my family's temple that true progress and betterment comes through only the toughest of challenges and trials. To turn away after having come so far would...dis...disre...put great shame on their temple and myself as someone who pursues kung fu." The tiger explained. "And if I fail, I fail knowing I tried and have something to continue str….stri...to pursue."
Shifu nodded with a slight smile. "Then you might just be able to do well enough, you may proceed when you are ready."
Aleksandr nodded before bowing. "Thank you for this great honor master Shifu." He said before turning his attention to the training course. It did look as fearsome and challenging as it was said to be, but nothing worth gaining was ever going to be easy, his family made sure that belief was firmly instilled in him and all their students. It wasn't just the desire to join the Jade palace though, after meeting the others...meeting Tigress, there was something in him now that wanted more than ever to do well enough to be considered worthy of staying, Aleksandr just hoped he was able to achieve that. After all, there was just something about the other tiger that made him want to stay, to get to know her more, and he was going to go his best to make sure he could do so.