I noticed everyone seemed to have a proper origin story except Tai Lung so I decided to write this R/R please
Disclaimer: Nope Not mine :( but the story is :)

Lychee Nut
Deep in the mountains was a place everyone called the Cannibal zone but its inhabitants called nature.

A small rabbit hopped cautiously through the thick snow carrying a thin bushel of grass between his white paws. He was just a little ways from his burrow where his wife and five children eagerly awaited his arrival. The air was still and the only sound was the quiet rustling of leaves.
The rabbit quickened his pace, the faster he returned to his family the better, food had been scarce for weeks and the grass would quiet their stomachs at least for the night.
Soon the opening of his burrow was in view, a small hole surrounded by newly fallen snow, when he was a few steps from his home a blood curdling screech tore through the forest.
The rabbit froze, sniffing the air fearfully, that sound was like no other he had heard, seconds ticked by but the noise didn't return, letting out a sigh of relief the rabbit continued his short journey to his burrow and then the world turned white.

"Ming please" A snow leopard pleaded plugging his ears "You'll wake the dead"
A much smaller and likely younger Snow leopardess lie on a mat screaming bloody Mary "Come closer Fang I'll show you dead!"
"Mrs. Ming You must not move! " A Tigress Midwife warned.
Ming seemed to calm down for the time being but in reality she was plotting.

If there's more than one cub I'm getting rid of it of course, but how? Her thoughts were quickly interrupted by another contraction "I never wanted any cubs!" She whined attempting to roll onto her side only to be stopped by her midwife.
"Mrs. Ming, stay still".
Angrily the snow leopard went back to swiping at her husband cursing his existence.

Awhile later one very large cub had been birthed and the midwife was now tasked with the challenge of retrieving another cub who had seemed to be stuck for the last thirty minutes.
"Mrs Ming you need to push!" The Tigress said frantically, beginning to worry for the cubs well being.

"I am pushing." Ming groaned wondering how long a cub could possibly go without air, she'd give it another five minutes.
Fang, who had retreated to the other side of the room with the first cub after his wife's claw had gotten to close for comfort, waited excitedly for his other child he was hoping for another boy then he'd have two heirs, oh joy! But it was taking a rather long time and they hadn't even named the first cub, for now Fang was calling him hefty for his weight.

After Ming felt a sufficient amount of time had passed she complied with her Midwife's pleadings and the second cub was born, a girl (much to Fang's disappointment) who was about the size of a small potato, but a problem had presented itself she wasn't, moving Fang's heart dropped and Ming's soared and she silently rejoiced, there wasn't enough food to go around as it was no need for excess mouths, and watched as her husband rushed to the Tigress's side staring worriedly at the cub "Will she be okay? "

At that question Ming wondered not for the first time in her life why her parents had chosen him of all animals to be her mate.
The midwife sighed, shaking her head grimly "No Mr. Fang I'm afraid she died some point in the pregnancy. "

Fang dropped his head sadly.
After the midwife had left with the Second cub in tow
Ming began to feel disappointed she had thought she'd killed the cub not her body, Fang mistaking her somber state for something else entirely quickly placed the cub in her arms and patted her shoulder comfortingly "Its okay dear we still have one beautiful cub"

Ming looked the cub and turned up her nose "Ugh, he looks just like you"
"you really think so?" Fang asked, looking flattered and obviously not catching his wife's insult "I think he has your jaw tho"
His mate rolled her eyes, pushing the cub to the side.
"Oh Ming!" Fang cried suddenly "I almost forgot we need to name him "
Ming looked at him with contempt "Of course you did" sighing she looked over the cub once more, his fur stuck up in various directions covering his round body like protective spikes and he had an absurdly red nose, "we're naming him Lychee nut" she told her husband finally.

"Lychee nut?" Fang asked confusedly, he never heard of naming one's child after a fruit or any type of food item for that matter but his wife had a look on her face one that over the years he had learned to avoid and now that she could move freely...
"What a wonderful name!" He declared nervously
Ming grinned sardonically, stretching her arms above her head lazily, she always got her way.

In eight short weeks Lychee had grown a considerable amount and was nearly the size of his cousins who where three wet seasons old, but alas yet another problem had arised.
"I want food!" Ming bellowed into the halls scaring away several of the maids
"Dear" Fang started calmly "All the animals seem to have perished in the avalanche, there is no food"
Ming growled quietly then looked fleetingly at Lychee who lay in her arms batting his paws in his sleep "What about him?"

Fang nodded grimly "I know we'll have to get more food for his sake"
Ming blinked quickly, she didn't care about the cub eating she wanted to eat him, but she didn't dare tell Fang that "What about the Valley," she suggested dully "they have plenty of fat animals down there"
"True " her husband agreed "but you know they don't believe in eating meat"
Ming shrugged nonchalantly, who cared what they believed she was hungry and they had food, lots of it, and she opened her mouth to tell Fang just that but he rambled on.
"But we could go to buy other food items I hear they have wonderful noodles" Fang stated cheerfully "Ming go and get anything left in the pantry we'll be leaving soon"

"You know he shouldn't eat that yet"

Ming shrugged ignoring her husbands warning and pushing a mushy glob of chewed meat into her cub's mouth "it wont hurt him and we have to get rid of it at some point anyway" The snow leopardess was correct the village was coming into view, and it was unlikely they would take lightly to a small satchel of goat and crane meat.
When they found their way to the market Ming was in awe.
"Okay we're gonna get some dry food something that will last awhile" Fang began thoughtfully "Then we can go and get something sweet Ming okay- Ming?"

Ming raced through the village, pushing through the hoards of animals, Lychee swinging precariously in his basket, the buzzing of their loud chatter rang wonderfully in her sensitive ears, their scents tingled her nose delightfully and her stomach rumbled loudly if only she could grab just one, a small goat no one would notice, but with Lychee weighing her down it would be near impossible to snatch one without being caught, so she continued running through the streets aimlessly until she met a rather hard ornate rock.
Lychee cried out in shock or maybe it pain but Ming didn't care know which.
The rock turned slowly around.
Wow She didn't know the valley had moving rocks, oh wait it wasn't a rock, it was a giant tortoise? Ming having lived in the mountains all her life had never seen just an animal and stared in shock even Lychee who had been formerly shrieking quieted.
"Oh dear, pardon me" said the Tortoise who Ming found quite creepy "Is your baby okay?"
The snow leopardess nodded not bothering to actually check on her cub.
The creepy tortoise also nodded slowly before speaking again " What brings you to the valley?"

How did the creepy tortoise now she didn't live here "umm I'm waiting for my husband? "
The tortoise nodded once again and turned to face a set of huge stairs that shockingly Ming hadn't noticed before "Well I must be getting back to the palace have a good day"
And painstakingly he started up the steps The snow leopardess wondered silently how long it would take him to get up the stairs and why he would even go down them in the first place, surprisingly the tortoise made good pace and within fifteen he was out of her sight.
Ming looked tiredly towards the market, Fang was probably getting nasty dried food from goats and pigs who should be on their dinner Table. Taking a seat on the bottom step she watched as the crowd of animals thinned under the darkening sky, Lychee whined, sadly gumming his blanket.
"I know Lychee I think we should eat then too" his mother consoled "Blame your father"
The cub snorted, in what Ming assumed was agreement maybe he wasn't so bad after all but if Fang didn't get some proper food something ugly was going to happen.

The sky was black by the time Fang rushed up to them panting loudly "Ming! I found you"

Ming sighed deeply regarding her husband's current condition with disdain (check)"did you get food or what?" she asked
The snow leopard shook his head "They wouldn't sell apparently there's a famine here too"
"But we saw crop" Ming reminded him frowning
"Maybe they where fake crops" Fang suggested smartly.
His wife cupped her face "Regardless, even if they were fake we don't have any food Fang"
The snow leopard nodded sadly "I know but what do we do?"
Ming grew silent looking back up the stairs and began to think,
eating Lychee wouldn't sit well with Fang or their family's neither would letting him die a slow death but perhaps conveniently losing him would slide by much easier now She just needed to convince Fang "You now" she started making sure she had his attention "there's a palace up there."
Her husband glanced at the stairs "Oh, what does it do?"
"It watches children," Ming told him cheerfully, waiting for him to catch on but Fang continued watching her expectantly "They can watch Lychee for a little while until we find food."
Finally the snow leopard seemed to understand "But, is that a good idea?"
Ming sighed frustratingly, her parents just had to stick her with him "Yes it is a good idea, they'll clothe him, feed him whatever and then we can come to get him later "
This seemed to soothe Fang considerably "Oh, I see."
"Now I'll just give him to the cree-caretaker" Ming said carefully, climbing up the stairs
"Should I go with you?" Fang wondered
"No!" The snow leopardess yelled "I mean it will be better if I go alone" she added quickly at her husband's startled expression before continuing up the stairs that seemed to never end, but really how hard could it be.

Okay she now excused her husbands former state, by the time she reached the top of the stairs she could barely breathe, what type of sadistic animal would make these things? Lychee who had to do know work whatsoever found her suffering amusing and giggled madly (well as madly as a baby could)"Hush...you..little imp" she managed, as she plopped the basket down in front of a large door and stumbled back towards the stair case briefly she thought of leaving a note with his name and age, but she didn't have a quill or paper and she sure wasn't going back down to get one and come back up, let the creepy tortoise figure it out by himself.
With one last look at the basket she started back down the steps that would serve nicely as a torture device.

Lychee lay patiently in his basket waiting for something to happen any moment now the caretaker his mother spoke of would arrive and feed him.
A tan moth landed on his nose crawled quickly around his face muttering to herself about hopeless litter before flying off, hmm what odd creatures lived in this strange land but alas any moment his caretaker would come, just a little bit longer.
Lychee chattered to himself happily(as he had no one else to talk to) about a host of things, his day, his parents, the hunger pains that where quickly growing in his belly, his late caretaker, his extremely comfy basket which was lined with rabbit fur (Of the highest quality of course)and how freakishly huge the door seemed, among other things.
After about a hour of this one sided conversation a small figure appeared in the door way and Lychee looked curiously at the red panda who stared back at him shock.
Lychee gurgled excitedly, now he had someone to talk to and he began to recount the events that lead to his arrival.
The red panda hurriedly carried him inside taking him down some halls, which Lychee noted where also freakishly high, and to a room where the wrinkly tortoise his mother ran into earlier sat seemingly asleep.
The red Panda said some things most of which Lychee didn't understand and the tortoise woke up and seemed pleased with the sight of him something The snow leopard cub took to mean he should start talking Again. During his story the Red panda and the Tortoise seemed to choose a name and an age for him, even tho the cub had made a point of interrupting his tale to tell them his own, then Lychee suddenly became two, for the life of him Lychee couldn't figure out how, and was called Tai Lung (Admittedly He liked that name a lot better than his first).

Hurrah you have reached the end of Lychee nut.. now I think we all know Tai Lung's name wasn't always well Tai lung so I decided Lychee nut would do well in this story.

In my fanon He actually looks more like his mother than his father (Ming was talking about his shape) and I just realized I accidently made it so all three of three names end with G hmmm interesting.

It's a crazy story I know, but please leave a review :) and should I do one for Tigress or no?