For him to call the trek he was progressing through a long venture would be putting it mildly. His paws just starting to ache a little from the amount of walking he had endured, Po continued to press through the craggy terrain of the passageway that stretched onward.

The tramping he had done leading up to this spot in the valley was quite easy, considering that it was mostly on level ground with a few steps up or down in between. But once he reached the rocky scree that Tigress lead him to, he felt certain that nature intentionally designed the path to be challenging for someone like him.

After pausing for a very brief moment to recollect his breath, he commenced to climb up the sloping mass of small and loose stones. The portly panda started to put one paw in front of the other, maintaining his balance as much as possible as he ascended. However, he found himself slipping accidentally and sliding downward.

Tigress, who was hiking her way up the terrain just fine, paused in her tracks and peered over he shoulder at the sound of a frustrated panda. Turning her body around, she took a few steps down and stretching her paw out for him to grab onto.

Po kindly did so, and after that the two pressed forward. His eyes couldn't help but dart over at the little wooden box the tiger beside him had gripped in her other paw. He had wondered what was inside of it from the very moment that they started their trek. Tigress, however didn't let him open it to see its contents were. Instead, she told him to follow him and that he could see what she had for him when they reached their destination.

A short amount of time had gone by, and the feline lead the panda to her left to where she wanted to go. "Here we are," she said.

"Finally," Po said with a bit of exhaustion in his voice.

Finding a spot on the rocky ground, he plopped down and let out a sigh. Walking slowly up towards him was Tigress, who sat down in a cross-legged form, still clutching onto that small box she had been carrying this entire time.

Po's eyes were aglow as he gazed out at everything the two could see from this particular location. He recalled Tigress telling him before that the views would be worth all of the walking, and she, based on his observations, wasn't wrong in the slightest.

Seeing how the Valley of Peace was decorated during the winter was beautiful enough on its own, but it was something completely different when observed from this height. The stone and wood constructions, as well as some of the pagodas, that stood against the expansive lands were all decked with lit lanterns. The glow casted by each and every one of them was visible as ever against the snow-sprinkled landscape. The residents of the valley they protected on numerous occasions could be spotted walking to and fro, looking as tiny as ants from up where they were.

As Po asked once more if he could now see what she had brought for him, Tigress handed the box over to him. His green eyes now aglow, he opened the little lid off the top of it, revealing what looked like a black rock of some sort.

Unsure of what it was, he picked it up and got a closer look at it. The semi-precious stone upon the bracelet had a smooth, glossy feel to it as he touched it.

"Tourmaline," Tigress muttered, causing him to peak his slouched head back up.

"What's that?" Po inquired in reply.

Wearing a smile, the feline looked back at him with her fiery orange eyes. "The stone you're holding," she stated. "It's called black tourmaline."

The panda couldn't help but ask, "Where do you get this?"

"When I was walking through the market the other day, I came across this stand that had a bunch of different crystals and stones for sale. The goat running the shop told me this stone is supposed to represent protection, and that it can keep its holder from any danger that comes its way."

"You know, Tigress," Po said after a short pause, "I don't need a stone to let me know I'm protected. 'Cause I've got this."

He grabbed a hold of the tiger's paw and held it close to him, and she looked at him a little bit quizzically.

"My paw?" Tigress inquired.

"Exactly."

"What are you talking about, Po?"

"This paw right here has saved me on so many levels. Even when things seemed like they were at their bleakest, it refused let go or give up. This paw is my protection."

Po lifted her orange-furred paw, delicately placing a kiss upon it.

"Love you," he said. "Always..."

Unable to conjure up some sort of reply, Tigress simply rested her head upon his shoulders as she looked onto the horizon. A wide smile, consisting of the most contentment, quickly taking form on her muzzle as Po rested an arm around her shoulder.

Author's Note: Hey there, everyone! This was my first attempt at writing a story for the KFP fandom. Probably not the best but I hope you enjoyed it anyways. Wanted to write a little somethin' about Po and Tigress for quite some time now, and this was the result.

I actually used to have a collection of different colorful gemstones at one point, one of them being the one that played a part in this little story of mine. So I'd be lying if I said that some factual information regarding the particular gemstone in the story didn't come into play. The things that a writer will research as they're writing, am I right? XD

The tourmaline that Tigress gave Po in the story has always been associated with protection against negativity, and had been used for those exact things at other points in history.

Feedback, whether it be good or bad, is gladly appreciated.

Buh-bye! :)