Lotus

Chapter 10. Attachments

"Lotus?" The older panda knocked and then entered his teenage son's bedroom, curiously walking in on said son slouched over his work desk, mysteriously carving away whilst close to a candlelight despite it only being the afternoon.

Woodsheds, paint, and crafting supplies from Li Shan's abandoned workshop littered around Lotus as he simply waved a, "Hey, dad." to his father and quickly endorsed himself back to his work.

Li rolled his eyes and walked to his son's side, "I need you to do a little village errand for me."

"Aww, come on, dad! Can't you see I'm in the middle of something?" The moody teen waved his craft to his father to emphasise his point, only making Li chuckle. "Yes, yes, I know, making your little 'dolls'—"

"ACTION FIGURES." Lotus narrowed his jade eyes and turned to, showing Li his whole face and upper torso, making Li jerk back.

"Yeesh— I am NOT gonna get used to that..." Li Shan muttered, referring to the long patch of fur on Lotus' head that hung a bit over his face. Li would have been fine with extra-grown furs if it weren't for the black stripes his son embedded on his head. Yes, it was clear his son was going through a... certain phase in his edgy teen years...

"Did you REALLY have to put black ink into your hair? And what is with that vest?" To add insult to injury in Li's eyes, Lotus also went out of his way to wear a bright red vest with green vines inserted in the stitches.

Lotus rolled his eyes as well in annoyance. "It's called a QIPAO, dad. And Grandma Panda made it for me! She made it so I could look just like Master Tigress!" He finally showed the older panda what he was dabbling with, which was the early process of a pale of wood being shaped into a tiger. The young panda brought the figure back to himself and muttered to himself a little. "Well, it's not EXACTLY like Master Tigress but it's pretty darn close and is still super cool—"

"Lotus, I don't really have the time or, frankly, willingness to bear with... all of this, right now, so can you please just help your old man out?" Li coldly replied, making his son solemnly sigh before turning towards him with that same coldness. "Fine." He said bitterly. "What do you need help with?"

"Ms. Chun just needs you to go over to the orphanage and help out with the kids."

"Oh, sweet! Why didn't you say so?" Lotus instantly brightened up and grabbed his usual bag filled with scrolls and books that he eagerly wanted to show the kids and was quick to dart out the door, making Li Shan quirk up an eyebrow as he slowly walked out with his cub. "You know, you don't share that much enthusiasm when I task you with anything else other than the orphanage.."

"What can I say? I love hanging out with the kids!" Lotus briefly turned back to his father before opening the door to their hut and started out, barely letting Li follow behind.

"Wouldn't you rather hang out with someone that's... I don't know... closer to your age? Like Mei Mei!"

"Haha! no." Lotus firmly replied. "Mei Mei just doesn't... get me. None of the kids my age do. Besides..." The young panda took out his scroll to read and gave his father one last glance.

"The kids don't judge me."

And before he could protest or argue, little Lotus darted out of Li Shan's sight, making him sigh, moderately disgruntled.

Meanwhile, Lotus was already passing through the village smoothly, burying his head deep in his scroll containing the legends of Master Eagle and zipping passed all the onlooking and gossiping villagers. They all whispered amongst each other whilst taking double-takes on the young boy. They were most likely questioning his choices on his appearance at best, or straight up making fun of it at worst. Lotus didn't mind. He liked how he looked; he looked like his idol. His inspiration! That was all he could ever want.