Love of the Dragon Warrior

The Gawk Squad

When Po awoke the following morning, he was startled to hear a voice right next to him. A voice which turned out to belong to Tai Lin, the girl who hadn't shown up. 

"Po! Hey, hi! You're awake!" she was saying rapidly. "I am so so sorry! I didn't mean to stand you up, honest! I got nervous, so I decided to get some tea from the cabinet to calm down, but I wasn't sure which leaves to use, so I sort of just grabbed some nice smelling ones and I sat there for a few minutes drinking it and then I accidentally fell asleep at the table! I woke up this morning to your friends walking into the kitchen!" 

Po smiled and laughed a little. "Hey, that's okay," he assured her. "We can always try again later today if you want since you missed your hour."

"No no that's fine. I don't need an hour to figure out if I really like a guy or not, trust me. We can just talk on the way back to the kitchen and that'll be enough time for me. Besides, I know we were on a schedule yesterday and I don't want to extend it further than necessary." 

Po yawned. "Okay, if that's fine with you," he said getting up and taking the timer off the steps. "A quick walk to the kitchen it is. Do you want to start, or-"

"Sure. Have you had a serious girlfriend before?"

Po was a bit startled by the suddenness of the question, but he had also just woken up so he didn't think anything of it. "Um...serious?" he repeated. "Define serious?"

"You met a nice girl, you decided to start dating, and you had a strong relationship for at least a few months? It was a mutual attraction?"

"Oh. Um...no. I've had brief dates, but I'm not really the guy most girls want to go after for a date." 

"Oh. Sorry to hear that. Is it just you and your dad in the immediate family or do you have other relatives?"

Yeah, it's just me and dad. I have an uncle who was adopted and my cousin and his kids, but that's it. What about-"

"What's your favorite childhood memory?

Po frowned and yawned before trying to think. "Um...I think...." he considered as they rounded a a part of the grounds towards the kitchen. "The winter festivals with my dad. I always have fun with him around that time of year. It's always a family tradition to host the winter festival at the restaurant. Who's in yo-"

"What's your favorite color?"

"Favorite- Magenta. How about-" 

"How long do you think the appropriate period for dating someone is before asking them to marry you?"

Po blinked. "Um...I don't know...." he admitted. "I think it would depend on the girl and the circumstances. That's not something I can really predict. What...does your family have a-"

"How many people live in the Tsung Village?" Tai Lin interrupted. "Is it big?"

"Not as big as the Valley of Peace. There are only a few streets hidden away from potential intruders, and if anyone happens to find us, everyone gets evacuated to the masters' temple. There's a wading pool or so close by, but that's about it." 

Tai Lin frowned. "That's it?" she asked. "I would have thought a place protected by kung fu masters would have been bigger. I mean, everything here is very spaced out over the water. That gives everyone a nice advantage in the event of an emergency."

"The Tsung Village used to be bigger," Po admitted as they got closer to the kitchen. "But there was a really bad war that nearly destroyed the Tsung Village masters and the people they protected. The people living in the Tsung village now are either descendants of the original people or are new people who happened to show up. And only one of the original masters are left now....."