Bounty Hunter

Act I - The Timeless Prophecy

[Author's Notes]

Welcome back to another chapter of Bounty Hunter! I hope you're all enjoying the story so far, despite its absurdly slow pacing compared to most fics.

One dance and one prophecy later and you've now successfully made it to chapter 9!

As usual, if you enjoy this chapter and would like to show your support or offer any form of criticism, feel free to do so as any response is welcomed with open arms!

Without further ado, Naidvar proudly presents to you...

The Timeless Prophecy

11 PM – Jade Palace – Thousand Steps...

Po, Lynqi and the rest of the Furious Five groggily stumbled up each individual step leading to the Jade Palace. Some of them hated to admit that they had a slight amount too much to drink and were trying their best to remain sober, deep down, their deception wasn't going to fool everyone.

Monkey and Mantis had returned fruitless after their countless conquests to mingle with women inside of the crowd ended with a colossal defeat. Instead of wallowing in their sadness whilst sober, they chose to drown that sorrow within the valley's finest wine.

Crane and Viper remained closer than usual after their dance, with Viper gently resting whilst coiled around the torso of the avian. Their night had been extremely eventful as they cheerily chatted to the villagers inside of the valley as well as danced to their heart's content. Crane was admittedly tired but he wasn't going to let himself fall into the clutches of sleep until he made it to the comfort of his own room.

Finally, Tigress clung to Po's back as he climbed up the thousand steps whilst Lynqi marched alongside the panda. Tigress had worn herself out completely after the dance, after being offered another opportunity to be carried by the panda; she simply couldn't resist and jumped on his back without hesitation. However, her body wasn't going to allow this opportunity to go to rest and she buried herself within the silky robe that neatly wrapped itself around the panda before peacefully drifting into an early nights rest.

"She really does like her rest, doesn't she?" Lynqi nudged the panda, awakening him from his daydream as he appeared to be running on autopilot.

"Tigress is the most active member of the Furious Five... but she's also the most narcoleptic, at least from what I can tell you. The Furious Five probably hold onto this as one of their sacred secrets but Tigress almost falls asleep instantly after wrapping herself around my back, I'd hate to desecrate her hardcore legacy but you'd be a fool if you didn't think it was cute!" Po happily whispered in response to the feline.

"Pssh, I wonder if it has to do with who she's falling asleep on instead of her ability to sleep. It's a little tarnishing to my dignity to say this but you look very... huggable, Po."

"I've been told that more times than you think, I don't blame her... did you see us on the dance floor- WOAH-" Po had to adjust himself as well as how much noise he was making after having a close call with one of the steps. The lanterns that hung outside the entrance to the Jade Palace came into view as Po realised they would make it home a lot sooner than they thought.

"Yes, I saw you on the dance floor, you absolutely destroyed the competition!" Lynqi emoted by throwing one of her clenched paws into her other outstretched paw. "However, I've got a few names that you might want to keep an eye on, they seemed to be observing you. Before you say it, no, it wasn't in an awesome way. It was almost like they had just put you on their 'to kill' list, especially the looks they gave you!"