Dead Shot Duck

The Last Battle

Rocky crags turned into hilly plains through the night. They stopped briefly before moving on again. Always moving to the southwest in heavy silence. "We'll stop here," Zeng would say, and they rested without another word. She was tired, though Tigress couldn't figure out how Zeng could know that. But each and every protest to sleep was met with a resounding, "Being at your best requires rest. A master should know this." 

A lesson and an accurately needed attack on her pride. Growling, Tigress slept, a little upset that she did feel much better the next day. Through dense bamboo forests and flooded plains, the two traveled uphill as morning turned into noon. They walked in complete silence.

That was until Zeng sighed as they got to the crest of another grassy hill. "Stop, this isn't helping."

"What?"

"This silence. Something's on your mind. What is it?"

"It... it doesn't matter." 

Zeng stared straight into her amber eyes. She could remember the days when just the thought of doing this would send the duck into a nervous panic. Now it seemed the secret archer didn't fear anything. 

"Having something on your mind," Zeng said, "is dangerous in the heat of battle. It takes you away from the present moment." 

"What do you do when something is bother you?" Tigress asked, hoping for a change of topics. 

Zeng smirked, "I write it down on a piece of paper-"

"Can't someone read it?"

"And then burn it."

"Why?"

"It helps. It's... a physical thing, I guess. Writing things down relieves the brain of the burden of holding them in, and burning them helps me let go of the thought. And keep it secret. Now, what is bothering you?"

The tiger said nothing, but the duck wouldn't move. Tigress looked away from Zeng's probing eyes over to the sea of trees and hills. "I... I... I don't know who you are. I know who you used to be. Who you were. Now...  Now it's like I'm with a complete stranger." 

The wind steadily flowed over the hilltop. Zeng stood like a statue in his blackened outfit. His stare never wavered from Tigress's face. He neither smiled nor frowned. Just a blank straight line across his bill. Finally, he took a large sigh, as large as the gust of wind blowing at them. "I won't pretend to say that I know what you're going through. I'm just surprised you cared-"

"I always care," Tigress grumbled with a hard stare. "Just because I don't express it-"

"And that's the problem," Zeng interrupted. Tigress held her lips together. "Tigress, the more you grew, the more responsible and mature you got. You didn't need my stories anymore. You weren't that small child in the barracks crying whenever Shifu was too hard on you. You were changing, and I respected that. Much better than Shifu ever did," Zeng griped, clenching his feathers.

"I... didn't know you thought so... strongly about Master Shifu," Tigress noted. The duck gave a wide almost evil grin. 

"It's a good thing you haven't seen any of the pieces of paper I've burned then." Though he laughed, Zeng sighed heavily, "Tigress, I'm sorry. I honestly did not think I mattered that much to you. I figured you cared, just... not this much." He hung his head a bit. "But that still doesn't make up for hiding the truth from you. But between you and Shifu crying, I-"

"Wait what?" Tigress's head snapped up. "Shifu... cried. When?"

Zeng tilted his head, but a slow 'ah' of realization hit him. "That's right. Shifu was always good at hiding his emotions. Maybe that's why you have such a hard time showing yours. Especially to one specific pan-"