Zaber

Into the Beast

The tiger looked down the village from her Jade Palace roof perch. The sun rose from the bottom V of the valley, and red, blue, and orange lit the sky. The up-current wind rustled her fur. Her arm stretched over her tucked-in knees, and her silent gaze went uninterrupted until the clumsy grunts, wails, and mumbled curses grew closer and closer. "Wha! Geez, why does she always choose the hard to get places?" Po mumbled under his breath. Tigress gave a ghost smile as the ursine warrior finally got onto the roof. "Hey."

"Hey," came the reply.

"The others are waiting. Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," She said with the heaviest sigh. Po nodded and tried to smile. Tigress stood up and walked over to him but stopped. "Po... I don't think I should-"

"Tigress, it's okay. I've gone through the same thing."

"It's different."

"Is it?" Po smiled with a raised eyebrow. She looked away. "Hey, Tigress, it's okay to be scared."

"I'm not scared."

"Oh! Thank goodness!" She rose her eyebrow. "Because when we see your mom, one of us is going to have to be brave to face her."

"You're scared of my mother?"

"Ter-RI-fied! Your mom is the only person I think Wong-Hu is afraid of," Po replied.

"Why?"

The panda shivered. "You just have to see her first."

"But I'm scared-"

"Ah-ha! I knew it!" Po grinned. The tiger rolled her eyes. "It's okay, Tigress. Honestly, I'm more worried about this than you. This is war," Po frowned, "And if Wong-Hu's behind it." He trailed off and gazed at the sunrise, just for a moment. "Anyway, let's get going."

"C-could I ask you something, Po?" Tigress asked.

"Of course."

"What is my mother like?"

"Wh-wha?" Then they heard a slow creaking. "Oh no."

CRACK!

"WAHHHHHHH!"

CRASH! Tigress looked down at the freshly made hole in the roof. "I'm okay! I landed on my spine! Hehe, oww!" The tiger shook her head.

"Are you sure we can not-"

"It's better if we not use the entire royal procession to announce our coming. Everything will be fine," Lee smiled at the duck. Windbag slowly nodded as he attended to the other servants. Mr. Ping gave Po a big pack at the entrance of his shop.

"Please remember-"

"I know, I know, Dad. Keep your sword clean," Po smiled. Mr. Ping smiled back and hugged his son. Tigress stood behind and watched the precious father-son moment. She graced a small smile and turned away, but a feathery touch brushed her hand. "Dad?"

"Mr. Ping?"

"Ah, ah, you need something too," The goose walked back to the kitchen and grabbed a small pack. Giving it to her, Mr. Ping said, "You've been away from your land for a while. There are some things that will help you with your culture." Tigress looked into the pack.

"Bandages, knives, how did you know I eat Soy cubes, Mr. Ping?" she asked.

"Haha, how do you think?" Mr. Ping winked. The tiger glanced at a whistling panda. "The knives are for protection. I know tigers well enough to know that your Kung fu might need some help."