Before Sunrise

Act II - Chapter VI - Alluring Adventure Pt. 1

Stillness.

This was all Po experienced; he remained frozen, sunrise beaming through his window as he recalled the events of the previous night within his mind. Although he had slept well, he still remained disturbed by the indescribable events that took place inside of his dreams. Unsure of what to think, with mere minutes left until he was destined to depart for his day, he clutched onto his blanket wearily as he rolled out of his makeshift mattress and onto the floor.

"It was just a dream... That... That can't be the case. That face, those eyes, those crying eyes... Why do I remember them? Why did I see myself in her reflection but instead of being my age, I was younger. The smoke and fire, too. It stretched to the skies and I heard cries of help, yet I was stuck within her arms. Who is she? What is she? Why did she look like me? I only saw her eyes and her smile, her head, too. It was lit up by the flames but I couldn't tell if she was a panda or if she was someone else," Po peered into the cracked reflective surface that he calls a mirror as he hastily slipped on a new set of clothes, still stunned by the dream he had experienced. "That chilling wind and that strong voice, too. I've heard it before. I swear, that wolf I saw, his logo on his armband was familiar but why can't I remember that far back?" Po's whispered pondering would soon come to a halt as an excited Tigress, bearing her cloak and all, walked in on Po staring at himself in the mirror with his own cloak slung around his shoulder.

"Heya, Po! Are you ready for our big adventure? We've got a lot of big places to go and a lot of supplies to grab for your father! ...Po?" Tigress' chipper optimism was soon drowned out by the sight of the melancholic panda, a panda who would soon become her brother in one way or another, gazing into the mirror. His eyes were crestfallen and it seemed as if part of his innocence had eroded. "Are you okay?" It took Tigress' paw sitting on his shoulder to snap him out of his trance as he spun back around, slipping on his cloak elegantly before turning back to Tigress.

"Oh! Tigress! Hello! Didn't see you there! Yeah... I'm uh, doing well! Sorry, just got caught up in a bit of thought. It's going to be a long day today and I was just... Planning out the route, yes!" Thankfully, Po's cloak hid most of his facial expressions for Tigress would've seen through his slightly quivering lip alone that he was lying through his teeth. "Are you ready for our adventure?"

"Born ready!" She joyously replied. "I do hope you're okay, though. You looked sad, that's the first time I've ever seen you without a smile on your face. Even when you've been picked on, you've usually remained optimistic about everything. Did something appear in your mind? Perhaps a bad nightmare? I know we've had to confront a fair share of those before, haven't we?" Tigress lamented on the time she alongside Po would share stories about their childhood nightmares as well as part of their respective stories to get to know one another better.

"It was a nightmare, but it was different than before. I don't know if it was caused by yesterday and the sight of that wolf or perhaps the adventure that we're going on today but it made me uncomfortable. It felt like a different sort of nightmare, as if I was seeing back in time," Tigress swung back her hoodie alongside Po before wrapping her paws around his shoulders for some comfort. "I know this look, you're going to ask me to tell you all about it. We haven't got long until we go out, remember?"

"We've got five minutes to talk about your troubles, right? What about this wolf irked you? I noticed you were talking about him quite a lot to the point where you gathered some scrolls. Of course, I was on board but I noticed it was a little odd. We've had bandits visit Mr. Ping & Son's since I arrived here and you seemed unbothered because we've always made some of the best noodles... What changed about this wolf?" Tigress peered over to pick up the slightly worn out scroll that seemed to be resting next to Po's pillow, as if he took a final read before going to sleep the previous night. "Is there something inside of this scroll that... Bothers you, Po?" The striped feline watched as Po struggled to hold back his thoughts before a singular tear passed out of his eye, all the while he attempted to remain strong in front of Tigress.