Storm Clouds

°•| The Furious Five |•°

The doors opened, revealing Po nursing his wounded finger. Shifu stepped out of the way, and Po's face went into shock as he caught sight of the Five performing death-defying kung fu moves in the training hall.

Crane deflected arrows being fired at him after landing on Jade Tortious of Wisdom before squaring up with Tigress, who landed on the opposing side of the bowl-like structure after bypassing the Seven Talon Rings.

Mantis made his way through the Gauntlet of Wooden Warriors with ease to reveal Viper, who narrowly weaved her way through the Field of Fiery Death.

Back at the beginning of the course, Monkey skillfully swung and jumped through the rings as Tigress joined him. While balancing on the undulating floor, she smashes one the Seven Swinging Clubs of Instant Oblivion, sending a hunk of wood that would have smashed him in the face had it not been for a lithe brown paw snatching it before it could make contact.                                                

With a gasp, Po followed the appendage back to its owner to be met with Jia, who gave him a small, friendly smile.

“Hello again.” She greeted to which Po blushed, his eyes wide in amazement before he blinked, confusion inking into his gaze as he registered the soft laughter of a child.

Glancing down, he was shocked to find a small cub holding Jia's hand from his place beside her, his pattern remarkably similar to her own, but instead of brown fur, there was gray. Having realized where his attention had drifted to, Jia gently tugged Lei forward so Po could get a better look at him.

“Po, this is my son Lei. Lei, this is Po,” Jia introduced. Lei grinned while stepping forward, releasing his mother's hand to stick out his paw in greeting.

“It's nice to meet you, Dragon Warrior!” He greeted Po, who looked momentarily taken aback but reached out to shake Lei’s hand in return only for Shifu to step between them with a scowl.

“Enough of this. Lei, you can talk to the Panda later,” Shifu stated, his tone softening slightly as he addressed his grandson but still holding firm before he turned to address Po. “Let's begin.”
         
He gestured to the gauntlet. Po's eyes went wide while Lei, who looked momentarily saddened, perked up once more.        
                   
“Wait wait wait...What? Now?” Po asked, shocked as flames once again burst forth from the Field of Fiery Death.
                           
“Yes...now. Unless you think the great Oogway was wrong, and you are not the Dragon Warrior.” Shifu replied.
        
“Oh, okay. Well– I don't know if I can do all of those moves.” Po stammered while gesturing to the gauntlet. Shifu chuckled knowingly as he walked away with Po half-heartedly following him.
        
“Well, if we don't try, we'll never know, will we?” Jia spoke up reassuringly as she walked beside Po, one eye locked on Lei as she kept a firm grasp on his paw in the event he attempted to run off.
        
“Uh, yeah. It's just, maybe we can find something more suited to my level.” Po replied while glancing at her.
        
“And what level is that?” Shifu asked while rounding a corner.
        
“Well, ya know...I'm not a master, but uh, let's just start at zero, level zero.”
        
“There is no such thing as level zero.” Shifu stated with a chuckle as he stopped to stare up at Po.
        
“Hey! Maybe I can start with that.” Po suggested as he made his way towards a rather friendly-looking dummy.
        
“That? We use that for training children like Lei. And for propping the door open when it's hot. But if you insist…” Shifu replied while making his way over.        
         
Relieved, Po turns to the dummy as the Five gather around him.       
                                                         
“Whoa. The Furious Five. You're so much bigger than your action figure– except for you, Mantis. You're about the same.” Po gasped in awe.
        
Mantis gave him a bemused look, his antenna twitching slightly.
          
“Go ahead, Panda. Show us what you can do.” Shifu stated, breaking the uncomfortably silence.
        
“Um, are they gonna watch? Or should I just wait until they get back to work or something…” Po asked hesitantly.