Lotus

Chapter 9. Stealth, Stems and Solace

~~A/N; hey! sorry for not really... writing anything... for a while- PFF- I've been more focused on other works (mainly art works) as well as my own family, platonic and romantic relationships (not sure if Naidvar/Dashishen is reading this but... hai, baby! :3), as well as, you guessed it, school! Y A Y! :') I think with summer break finally being here tho, I'll slowly find myself more time to get back into the rhythm of writing again! anyways, about the chapter, it's another filler and more so a prequel chapter to an event that was briefly mentioned in the last chapter by Tigress, and I wonder if you guys can guess what it was ;) nyeheheh- I'm so sneaky! UwU LOL- anyways, I'm gonna quit rambling now and let you all enjoy the chapter! have a great day/night, remember to live, laugh, love, and until next time, Yarart out! ;D~~

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The jaded-eyed panda stood in the assumed starting position with his legs widened and his arms closed and bent to his sides with his clenched fists under his chest with a determined smirk on his face. The feline master that had guided Lotus through their training sessions this past month stood in front of him with her own smirk plastering her face and with a swish behind her tail as she folded her paws behind her back. 

"Your training has paid off, Student Lotus. Your strength and stamina have improved greatly, your concentration on point, though not always focused, and you have been using your services to assist your village. I must say, I'm impressed with your progress."

Lotus' smile beamed as his eyes glimmered in pride.

"But if you think your training is finished here, you are sorely mistaken. Though you have faced trials and successes, you're still far from ready to be a full-fledged warrior. Are you ready for the next phase of your training?" She glanced at the panda, to which he merely slouched and scoffed.

"Bring it on, Master Tigress! I'm ready for whatever you wanna throw at me!" He pumped his fists together and bowed, to which Tigress only continued to smile deviously at him, finally revealing why she had her paws folded behind her. "Good. Because now we're focusing on... stealth."

Lotus looked down excitedly at Tigress' paws, but felt immediately felt underwhelmed by the sight. Slightly relieved, yes... but mostly underwhelmed.

"Uh... you know for sure how I am with food and I know my training kinda revolves it considering... ya know," He flopped his belly, "Panda instinct, but um..." He tilted his head and looked at the items in Tigress' palms weirdly, unknowingly continuing to amuse the feline.

"Mind explaining to me what bean buns of all things have anything to do with stealth?"

Tigress simply walked forward to the monochromatic bear with aforementioned pastries in hand, took one out, and without warning, simply smeared the whole pastry around her student's face, paste and all. 

"WHA—HEY~! SHEESH A HEADS-UP WOULD HAVE SUFFICED! BLEGH!" The poor panda continued to stammer and tried to swat Tigress' paw away, only making her laugh, something she has been doing a lot around her student.

"Hold still, will you! These are supposed to give you a distinct scent. Sometimes, on the battle field, we really too much on what the eye can see, that we find ourselves unprepared in situations where our eyes wouldn't be as helpful. That is what stealth is for. I know that other than your eyesight, Lotus, your sense of scent and taste are your best companions, and I ought to train with that, your scent more so... and... done!" As soon as she pulled her hand away from Lotus' now intoxicated fur, she decided to reciprocate that action towards herself by taking the other bean bun and smearing it over her fur, letting the paste sink into her essence the same way Lotus had.