Alright people, it's go time! We are now officially starting off Panda season 2.0…or at least I hope the work is good enough to be considered an upgrade, 'cause otherwise I'll have wasted a BUNCH of hours of our precious lives heheh.

Before someone else points it out, yes, I remember saying I'd be posting the modified chapters in the original document to replace the old ones…but I decided not to do that in the end. A reader of mine, Titanking666, pointed out how some people might not be 100% ok with the original work being wiped off the map just like that; and you know what? He was right, it could've been kind of a jerk move. So, I created a new document instead.

Also, I want to apologize for the BIG delay on publishing this piece, but I had ZERO time to properly work on it during the semester (gotta love college teachers, huh?) and, in case there ARE new readers joining us, if you didn't notice the word count, this first chapter ended up being a prime example of my current writing style (meaning: it's stupidly long); which occurred because, while I kept the general idea of the original Ch. 1, I made it pretty much from scratch. Trust me, it's not like I PLAN on them turning out so long and time-consuming; I write 'til I feel satisfied (always have) and for a long while now, that seems to mean they have to be huge chapters.

Don't fret too much right off the bat, though, 'cause not all chapters will be made this way; for some I will keep the original writing, tweak it to fit the new rewrite parameters, and add a couple of things if I deem it necessary. Let´s hope that is enough for significant time-reductions.

ANYWAYS, you all know the drill (it's pretty standard for anyone whose spent enough time in the Fanfiction site); but just in case we've got any newbies reading this piece, I'll say how it goes anyways:

Read the chapter

Love it, hate it, or whichever feeling you may have towards it

Tell me about it in a review (No, it's NOT an obligation…but I'd really appreciate it)

Everyone, thank you for giving my little work a shot; special thanks to those who have been putting up with me from the beginning and still are here to accompany me on this renewed journey. I am no fool…and as such, I acknowledge I'd be NOTHING without you. Hope you enjoy the chapter.

Oh, but first, a small key to reading the new work (dialogues and thoughts invert format while in flashbacks/dreamscapes):

"Speech"

"Thoughts"

*Sounds*

Now, without further ado and for old time's sake: ON WITH THE STORY!

Disclaimer: I do NOT owe Kung Fu Panda or any of its amazing characters and locations. All that awesomeness belongs to DreamWorks and Dreamworks alone.

For the one you love (Panda season rewrite)

Nighttime at The Valley of Peace was a special occasion for all who got to experience it. No, not because it possessed a rowdy nightlife that everyone could enjoy, with bars, restaurants, games, and whichever kind of company one would find to be desirable; but because once the moon had taken its rightful place in the heavens, it was pretty much a stone-cold fact that any and all souls residing within, weary from either a hard day at work or taxing travels, could go to sleep in peace; knowing their rest would not be disturbed until the light of the next day.

That being said, a serene and content atmosphere had become sort of the norm throughout the land nowadays; ever since the evil peacock, Lord Shen, had been vanquished by some of China's finest protectors almost one and a half years prior. Of course, peace did not rule supreme; bandit raids, robberies, and assaults from both real and wannabe villains still happened from time to time, but nothing too troublesome that couldn't be dealt with in a few hours or less.

Yes sir, The Valley was living up to its namesake quite successfully indeed.

This night, things did not seem to be much different; everyone, bar the night guards currently in shift, was tucked in and sleeping peacefully inside the comfort of their homes just as they had been for the last several hours. Still, time remained before the winter's crisp morning came anew to announce the official start of another bright day. Time all those blissfully sleeping animals made the most of to enjoy their dreams.

One such animal, a striped feline by the name of Tigress, more usually known as Master Tigress of the Furious Five, appeared to be reveling in a particularly pleasant fantasy; if the expression of content on her beautiful features meant anything at all. It went to show how tranquil everything had become when even she, the unquestionable face of discipline and hardcoreness, could allow her regularly stoic visage to soften the way it was now; without any signs of tension on her brow and a small but noticeable smile curving her dark lips.

Then again, when it came to her as an individual, things had changed especially for the better since the feathered tyrant's defeat; perhaps not AS MUCH as she'd found herself desiring, but…it had been very nice how graciously things had been going. And if the universe would have it, it would stay that way. Whatever turnabouts occurred would be in her favor, lead her life in the right direction…until reality matched her yearning dreams.

Chapter 1: Beloved panda

The Valley of Peace – Jade Palace grounds – Student barracks – Tigress' bedroom – Dreamscape

Saying today had been hectic would be one of the biggest understatements in the dynasty; and coming from her of all people, that really should mean something. Honestly, the constant fight against evil and tiresome training sessions on a daily basis had nothing on the scrutinizing attention and bustling excitement of The Valley's citizens on the day's festivities.

Although she guessed she couldn't blame them; it wasn't every day two of the country's most renowned warriors came together in holy matrimony. Heck, she was happier than all of them combined!

She WAS the bride, after all.

"I almost can't believe it…I'm actually married now!"

The thought sent the proverbial butterflies in her stomach aflutter, like they did every time she reached a personal milestone; except this time around they did so with a thousand-fold more vigor and were accompanied by a very pleasant tingle up her spine. She assumed it was understandable, though, considering how astonishing it was for any female to be wed at thirty-one; let alone an intimidating and emotionally inexperienced tomboy like her. Not only that, but she'd managed to do it with an amazing male of her own choice, out of true love and devotion, with nigh inexistent romantic experience to her name.

"Putting it like that really highlights how much I lucked out with this" Her mind reflectively pointed out, prompting her to direct her fiery orbs' gaze to the ring resting on the paw that was being held by her spouse. It was a beautiful piece of jewelry, with a decently sized jade stone sculpted into a curled up dragon placed atop a simple golden band, that'd been made from scratch as a personal request from her male to fully represent their union. Likewise, the wedding ring now adorning his right paw sported an equally captivating amber stone, worked to depict the image of a crouching tiger, to show his own bond to her "All the more reason to not take it for granted" She thought with conviction while firmly butting her head against his jaw and tenderly nuzzling into the crook of his neck; letting her urge to chuff go unchecked for a change.

She didn't care what challenges awaited them in their new life as a married couple; nothing would ever tear them apart. She'd be damned if she allowed her hard-earned happiness to be taken away by anything other than death…of old age…and only if she was the first to go. That was NOT negotiable.

*Ahem!*

The sound of a throat being cleared snapped the feline out of the apparently deep daze she had entered without knowing, suddenly making her aware of the fact that she was no longer sitting next to her panda on the foot of the bridal bed, holding his paw with an empty bowl on her lap; but rather atop his thighs in a much more intimate cuddle while said dishware now rested on the floor in several little pieces. Not only that, but unless her eyes were deceiving her and the fur of Po's neck wasn't ruffled and slightly wet, it seemed she had begun kissing and nibbling here and there at some point.

All in front of both their parental figures and closest friends; who'd joined them in the nuptial chamber to spend some quality time after the wedding ceremony had concluded, as per tradition.

"Well, it seems we have overstayed our welcome; wouldn't you agree, Ping?" An elderly red panda, commonly known as Grandmaster Shifu of The Jade Palace, inquired of his newly inducted co-father-in-law with a sly grin. A truly disturbing image on the usually strict man's face.

"Oh wholeheartedly, my friend!" An equally aged goose, the groom's adoptive father, replied while returning the expression in kind "How rude of us! Taking up all of the lovebirds' time with pointless banter when they could be doing something much more productive, hm?" If the inflection in his tone wasn't enough of a clue, the way in which he wagged his eyebrows at them as he finished speaking certainly tipped the happy couple into what that 'something' was.

Needless to say, it caused the already embarrassed pair to flush quite a bit more; in fact, if it weren't for her highly concealing fur color, Tigress was sure the warmth she could feel all over her face would've turned her head into one giant cherry. Much like her husband's already was.

"Seriously, dad, WHY?!" Not for the first time that night, the warrior of black and white protested his father's lack of tact with a mortified whine that, while annoying in its pitch, his mate appreciated since it served to convey the feeling for both of them.

"What? It's no secret to anyone that I want grandchildren. And even though I apparently am the only one with the guts to express it openly, I know for a fact everyone here is eager to hear tiny pawsteps running around the house; it was built big for a reason, ya know?!" The noodle chef admitted unabashedly; contrary to the rest of the animals in the room who suddenly found random spots in the décor to take deep interest in. Even Master Shifu himself, much to the wrongfooted feline's surprise "So you two get to it, alright?! Chop chop! I'm not getting any younger!"

"Can somebody kill me right now?" Po groaned out, planting his forehead firmly against one of his palms.

"While your overprotective wife still is sitting on top of you? Sorry, man, but no one here has a death wish" Spoke up a certain praying mantis "Besides, you DO realize you're about to get laid, right? From one male to another: suck it up, do the deed, THEN you decide if you should die of embarrassment" By his tone, everyone could infer he was trying to make light of the situation with improperly placed humor. But considering all he got to show for his efforts were a slap to the back of the head, courtesy of the bamboo pit viper curled up next to him, and a deathly glare from the aforementioned missus…the comment wasn't welcome in the least.

On the bright side, it did serve to give the tiger master that final nudge she needed to snap out of her embarrassed stupor and promptly, though suavely, remove herself from her male's —quite comfortable— lap.

"I am SO squashing that bug later" She thought while growling her distaste at the tiny kung fu master.

"OK! I think we better take our leave before things escalate into something ugly. I'm pretty sure it'd be bad luck to plan a funeral right after having a wedding" Another comrade of hers, Master Crane, stated in haste.

The rest of the animals inside the bridal chamber seemed to silently agree with the feathered master's sensible assessment and were quick to get to their feet, or just straighten themselves out in Viper and Crane's case, before offering the two newlyweds one last round of heartfelt congratulations and heading for the door.

Now, while still feeling the residual effects of all the teasing he'd been subjected to during the last segment of his wedding day, the Dragon warrior knew it would be proper of him to show his guests out. So, giving his love a soft and mildly abashed grin, he lifted her left paw to his lips, placed a tender kiss on her hardened knuckles, and made to get up from their bed.

"Don't get up, Po. We can show ourselves out" Viper assured him with a kind smile, which soon turned a little mischievous as she added "No need to get Tigress all hot and bothered by making her wait too long for the night's fun to start, right?"

"Viper!" Needless to say, the striped feline was shocked to hear her usually prudent snake sister say such a thing, while her mate regained however little red had left his cheeks…although he indeed obeyed and stayed put.

The master of viper style giggled at their reaction to her parting jab and winked playfully before slithering out of the room in a mild dash, closely followed by a snickering Monkey and Mantis, and a half-way shell shocked Crane. Master Shifu, having a much more subdued reaction in the form of an amused, mild shake of the head accompanied by a minuscule smirk, turned his attention to the pair and bowed.

"I am very glad to have lived to see this day; may your union always be one of prosperity and great happiness" He said in absolute honesty, both of the bride and groom could tell; and while his words meant a lot in general…they certainly moved the former much more. After all, it was very special for her to hear she'd earned her adoptive father's approval "Now, as Ping so eloquently stated: get to it" AND, back to being flustered.

"FATHER!" The feline exclaimed in surprise. She was quite sure not even her fur could conceal her blush after that.

"What? Is it that shocking to hear I also want to see a few grandkids before my time comes?" The aged red panda asked them, quirking an eyebrow with amusement at their expressions "I've been preparing children training regimes from time to time ever since your relationship appeared stable enough"

"Of…course you did?" Po said, trying to sound as if he hadn't just been thrown for a ginormous loop and failing miserably. Not like his wife could say anything even if she wanted to since she was in the same boat.

Chuckling quietly at the younger masters' discombobulation, the grandmaster calmly turned around and walked out to leave them be; action that was imitated by the panda's adoptive father almost immediately after, though said avian didn't miss the chance to embarrass his son one final time as he threw him an elated thumbs up right as he slid the door closed behind him.

And that was it. Only the two of them remained inside the room now. Alone inside their MARITAL room to be precise…on the night of their wedding day.

"When did it get so hot in here?" Came the thought as she did her best to resist a sudden urge to fidget nervously where she sat, feeling overly aware of the warmth coming from the male next to her.

"So…do you feel kinda awkward too or is it just me?" Po said, sounding pretty uncomfortable even though he probably was doing an enormous effort not to. Still, knowing she wasn't the only one with an abrupt episode of self-consciousness did put the female somewhat at ease.

"*Ahem* No, it's definitely not just you" She admitted, giving him a sideways, half-apprehensive smile.

"*Sigh* Figures" The bear grumbled with a mild grimace, but was quick to replace it with an, almost, apologetic smile as he fully directed his gaze towards her and took her paw into his own once again "Sorry for my dad and his weird comments"

Hearing the unwarranted apology, his feline lover rolled her eyes with some exasperation at his tendency to take blame onto himself. It also did a good job on re-installing a little more normalcy between them.

"Not your fault, Po. Your father's…extravagance…is nothing new to me; he was a character before our courting began, I never saw a reason for that to change once our status became more intimate" She stated in a soft tone, throwing a —supposedly— nonchalant smirk his way and squeezing his paw with care "Now, Viper and my father's attitude by the end? THAT certainly threw me off guard"

"Heheh, I hear you…Kitten" Po replied, attempting to break the remaining awkwardness by crooking his smile into a slightly challenging one as he uttered the accursed pet name. Any other day she'd have slapped the back of his head, punched him on the arm, or perhaps beat him black & blue —had they been in the middle of training—…but today she'd let it pass. Just because it was their wedding night. As it was, she narrowed her eyes dangerously and allowed a half-threatening growl to rumble deep in her throat in response to the taunt. Apparently, though, her predatory demonstration stirred something other than wariness within him; if the distinctive glint that entered his jade eyes meant anything "So what now, Mrs. Ping?"

An excited shiver coursed along her spine at hearing him use his family name, now legally hers, to address her; especially with the mildly roughened tone he applied while doing so. It must have been because of all the gushy emotions she'd experienced and been surrounded by throughout the day, but she could swear his want, his passion, for her went up so abruptly in that moment she could almost taste it.

And, being an outrageously honest woman, she had to say it was very much…enticing.

"Hmm, lack of tact aside, I believe our fathers and sister did raise a good point" The striped feline said, putting effort into sounding reflective and not stoked like she actually felt right now "I mean, everything else on the list is over and done with: we fulfilled the etiquettes we deemed applicable to us, I bore being carried around in front of a freakin parade like some weakling damsel, first by you and then the palace servants with that stupid box, bowed to heaven and earth, and performed the tea ceremony" As she recounted the series of events that'd taken place earlier, the female removed the phoenix coronet from atop her head and carefully set it aside; although she didn't pay too much attention where it ended up at "Then we got in here, drank the wine, I ate the dumplings, and our family bantered with us for a little while"

"Bantering my fluffy tail; they teased like savages! And where is that 'us' coming from? I was the target, like, nine out of ten times!" The panda commented, bumping his shoulder against hers playfully.

"Hush. Don't mess with the moment" Tigress replied somewhat admonishingly, although she did return the light shove "As I was saying, we've done all the ceremonial steps accordingly…except one" And, molding her expression into one of roguish intent, the striped feline crawled onto her beloved's lap and straddled his waist as best she could while in her wedding apparel; resting her tough paws on his silk-covered chest "So, Dragon warrior, the question isn't 'what to do now' but…are you ready for what's next?" The question was posed using a second growl of challenge, which, judging by the mild reaction she felt beneath her lower body, worked exactly like she wanted.

It also carried the bonus that the sound served well to cover however much nervousness still resided within her at what was to come.

"Oh, you should know better than anyone…" His enchanting jade orbs gradually filled up with that fierce confidence she knew he usually saved for the harshest of battles, and she had to exert a great deal of focus to keep her own boldness from wavering at the electrifying feeling of his paws taking a hold of her hips "…I'm always ready for the action" Then, just like it'd arisen, the fire in his eyes dimmed slightly as the look on his features gained a sheepish tint "Uhh, there's this tiny issue, though, I…am a tad unsure on how to begin heheh"

"*Huff* Of course" No matter how much he had grown over the years, her panda would forever be an innocent soul. Oftentimes, the quality made her love for him flare and pleasantly soften her tempered heart; inspired her protectiveness over him and invited her to bask in the warmth of his light. However, there were other occasions, like this one, where she'd come to remember how big a nuisance it could really be "Oh well" She thought, doing her best to not allow any annoyance to rise within and utterly kill the lingering mood, while swallowing her persistent jitters almost painfully and rolling her eyes at her male in exasperated amusement. It was time to step up "Hmph, well how a about a kiss for starters? You can handle that much, I'm sure" She stated, in a tone that clearly indicated both good-natured taunting and a lick of impatience, which caused the monochromatic bear to chuckle a little nervously once more.

"Yeah…yeah, I definitely can do that" Quickly re-gathering his valor, the warrior of black & white reaffirmed his hold on her body and pulled her flush against his own, shortening the gap between their faces even further.

They spent a couple of seconds like that, just gazing into each other's eyes and the nervous eagerness hidden in their recesses and feeling how their breaths clashed and mixed.

"This is it…one final stamp…and our union will be complete" It didn't matter if she was nervous about the upcoming act, the idea of fully consummating their relationship brought her great bliss; more than enough to warm her whole being and send her heartrate soaring like a lit firework in wait for the fuse to run out and explode in an array of beautiful colors.

Then his white lips finally came to join hers; in a fleeting kiss so soft, light, and tentative it almost bordered on hesitant…but that, somehow, still was perfect for that steadily climbing happiness to burst and rock her very soul. So, emboldened by the tantalizing morsel of affectionate contact, the feline bride slid her paws up until they went over his shoulders and lazily wrapped her strong arms around his neck in order to pull him in for second kiss; firmer but just as brief as the first.

This process repeated itself a couple more times; each one spurring the couple on to hold their better half closer and tighter, to allow their paws to explore more of the other's body, and make the next kiss harder and more demanding than the last.

Much to the tiger's embarrassment, a whimper of excitement escaped her lips when the panda's paws slipped beneath the stuffy mantle-like sleeves of her green wedding dress and lovingly caressed the fur of her upper arms and shoulders; it was a fortunate thing that the sound quickly got smothered by their heated make out. While she'd learnt to not be too guarded around him, she still would prefer to keep to herself just how easily he, and only he, could barge through the unwavering self-control she'd meticulously crafted over her carnal desires for the past thirteen years.

"You're *huff* that eager *huff*, huh Kitten?" Po asked in tease, hot and deep pants coming in between his words, as he broke away from her needy black lips but continued to run his palms and digits along her concealed body; now not only treating her to gentle petting, but adding firmer rubs and a few scratches with his dullish claws.

Apparently, the damn noise had managed to reach his ears before being silenced, after all.

"Damn it" She cursed internally. Still, that didn't mean she'd just take the mock-taunt sitting down, so she leveled him with the best glare she could muster in her current state of arousal and opened her maw to respond authoritatively "B-Be quiet, panda!" Except her traitorous brain seemed to have other plans. More blood —as if the intimate mood and amorous interactions didn't provide enough— rushed to her cheeks at the husky chuckle that exited the male's mouth because of her pitiful retort, but the tender look inside his eyes while they centered on her own deterred her from feeling upset about it.

"Hey, no biggie. If anything it's the awesomest honor I could ever hope to receive…well, AFTER you agreeing to marry me that is" Said the ursine with all of his wholesome sincerity, embarrassing the feline further but also causing her heart to flutter more aggressively if that was possible. She planned on admonishing him —halfheartedly— for trying to sweet talk her into passing up his teasing, just for the sake of keeping up the game for a bit and knowing she risked her voice betraying her again; yet she was stopped cold by him pushing the ceremonial garment off, revealing her bare arms and a golden vest with green flower embroidery very similar to the one she wore every day, then nuzzling into the side of her neck "I love you, Tigress"

Hearing him say those fabled words did quite a number on…pretty much all of her being; an exceedingly pleasant and wonderful number that left her feeling giddy and sort of fuzzy each and every time. But the effect they had on her right now, while in the heated atmosphere surrounding them? It should be illegal!

Of course, the meaningless complaint barely even processed inside her mind, as she instinctually opted to savor the male's affection by responding to it with a deep chuff of content as she tilted her head sideways to give him a wider area to attend.

"I do too…hah…more than anything…mmm…my Dragon warrior" Was her verbal reply; gaspier than she intended, thanks to the ministrations of her beloved's mouth on her sensitized skin —was having someone kiss and nibble on her neck supposed to feel so heavenly?!— but she wanted to think it didn't take away from how much she meant her words "Now, what do you say…hm…we quit flirting…ah…and get around to…*huff*…show it for real?"

Her proposal was met with a particularly pointed bite followed by a forceful suckle, which drew a sharp gasp out of her lips and almost guaranteed she'd have a rich mark to show for it tomorrow. Which was an…oddly appealing thought.

"I say…" Po's voice carried a husky tone as he spoke against her skin, dragging the answer out by giving a gentle lick to the spot he had tended to, before refocusing his intense, lustful gaze on her wanting fiery orbs "...get ready to feel the thunder, Kitten"

It was so like him to open up a sacred event like their marriage's consummation with a cheesy one liner he'd created to 'sound cooler' in battle; she could almost say a part of her actually saw it coming. What caught her off guard was how effective it actually was on her body.

Releasing what could only be described as some strange mixture of a craving chuff and a warning growl, the tiger offered her husband a fanged smirk before drawing him into a new, more forceful kiss; not like the warrior of black & white stayed far behind, adjusting his lips to whatever position matched hers best, nipping at the bottom, and wrestling with her assertive tongue in kind.

Amidst all of that passion, the sneaky movement of his fingers getting to work on untucking her vest almost slipped past her awareness, but she managed to catch onto his intentions right as the fabric got free from the confines of the high-waisted skirt her outfit sported. Not wanting to lag behind her mate, she also readied her paws to loosen his red ceremonial garb…yet, just when her fingertips brushed the golden sash around his waist, she was taken aback as the panda got a firm grip on her rear, drawing a surprised gasp out of her, and bodily threw'n'flipped them both so she was fully lying on the bed while his bulkier form rested on top of her.

"Heheh, sorry to startle you, Kitten…" He said, not sounding sorry at all, while placing his paws down beside either side of her head so she wouldn't be able to look away from his hungry gaze and wolfish grin as he leaned forward to have his face loom over hers "…but I've decided I want to be on top first, just now"

The shock took a bit of time on wearing off her system; it wasn't until his statement was done and her brain processed the words spoken that her thoughts began flowing once more.

"Well, this a surprise!" Truthfully, even if she knew better than anyone how unpredictable the Dragon warrior could be, she found herself unable to fathom where this sudden bout of confidence came from…but she couldn't deny it sent a spark of thrill coursing through her. So, flashing him a sly smirk, the powerful female briefly closed the small gap between them and delivered a quick lick to his soft lips to show her approval "Mm, ok then; but don't think I won't flip you if you can't handle it. So don't let me down…Dragon warrior" She growled in a low, suggestive tone; although that promptly changed into a pleased hum, as her male's chest rumbled with a deep growl of his own and his sturdy fingers set to work on unfastening her vest.

"Oh, no worries, I'll make sure not to disappoint" A tender kiss to her now exposed collarbone made his small promise even more significant, ripping a quiet mewl out of her black lips. More similar noises soon followed as the last latch came undone and her upper garment was removed from her body; sensually slow and accompanied by a series of strategically aimed kisses and teasing touches upon every inch of fur that was uncovered. A few moments later, the last of the clothing's hold on her vanished; leaving just her chest wrappings to cover her torso "Now that's what I call nice view" Po said huskily, straightening himself out as he tossed the vest aside and started to rub her sides and toned abdomen in lovingly long strokes.

"Hmph, I'm already yours, panda…*huff*…don't waste time buttering me up" Chided the missus, even if she knew her murred voice gave away how little it actually meant and her accelerated heartbeat and warm face how much she enjoyed his appreciation…his admiration "Just…mmm…keep going…ah"

"Whatever my bodacious wife wants" He started scooting back as soon as his answer was delivered, only stopping for a moment to lay a single feathery kiss upon her bellybutton and each of her hard-earned abs, and allowed his paws to trail down her eager body until they came to hold the waistband of her skirt. She shivered a little in excitement at the smile he threw her way as he set off to carefully tug the ornate fabric off her. Too bad it didn't last more. For whatever reason, it seemed that for every inch of garment he removed, his expression shifted into one of disbelief little by little; 'till he was actually standing by the foot of their bed, holding the entire skirt in a big clump of silk between his paws, and looking at her with fond exasperation in his visage "Seriously, Tigress? I get that the usual baggy blouse felt like dead weight to you, but did you really have to wear those too?"

Not quite understanding what her husband meant by that, the feline propped herself up on her elbows to see what could possibly…oh…right.

"I honestly forgot I put them on" She thought while observing the three quarter, black training pants cladding her legs; although they at least left her tastefully muscled calves in display for him to behold. Still, while the fact that their presence slipped her mind was slightly inopportune, the panda's reaction was a bit strong in her opinion; so, she centered her eyes on him and quirked an eyebrow as she replied to his question "With our luck? Yes, I had to; unless you'd rather I fought in my underwear had our wedding been interrupted by some random villain looking for trouble and I'd needed to ditch the skirt"

Her response caused the bear to chuckle warmly while he discarded the skirt, kneeled by her hind paws, and took hold of the dainty shoes adorning them.

"Of course not, but we made sure all our serious enemies would be locked up tight for today. There was no reason for you to bother with it" At the same time he spoke, the male slowly slipped the footwear off; being careful not to damage them "Besides, the others would've taken care of that. You were barely allowed to walk during the whole ceremony; I doubt kicking bad guys' heads in would've been any more of an acceptable way to use your awesome hind-paws at the moment" Probably wanting to drive his point across, his fingers settled upon said extremities and commenced to caringly rub them.

"Mm…what I did with them then would have been MY business, panda; and you can bet if anyone had been stupid enough to barge into MY wedding day, I sure as the underworld would have sent them packing with more than a few broken bones…hng!" Small sounds of pleasure left her maw as she tilted her head backwards and closed her eyes contently at the service her feet were getting. As the bear previously mentioned they'd barely been used today, but given how roughly she usually treated them, it was nice to have them be spoiled for once; after all, she'd only ever used the iron-wood trees on them to the point of learning —thoroughly— how to withstand pain, but always making sure they'd never grow numb like her hands. That would've wrecked her balance and the stability of her form for sure.

"Besides, what woman in their right mind would want to miss out on feeling the wonders of a good foot massage from time to time?" She thought in bliss. Without warning, a strangely enjoyable tingle surged from her right, central paw-pad to the rest of her body as something slick and soft was measuredly dragged across it from the bottom to the top. The sensation caused her eyes to snap open in surprise and a louder groan of pleasure abandoned her parted lips. Once the peak of the rush passed, her attention went back to the male kneeling in front of her; looking at him with a flustered expression of intrigue, while he observed her with astonishment "Did you just…lick my paw?"

"Um…yeah, I…well, you seemed to be enjoying the rub a lot and I heard somewhere in passing that it could…*coff*, yeah" Po nervously responded, breaking his alluring confidence's momentum. Fortunately, he did his best to recover quickly and shot her a devious look "You're not complaining, are ya? Judging by that sexy sound you just made, it did the trick nicely" Even if she'd thought of denying it, the more subdued moan that escaped her next when he lifted her left foot and gently slid his tongue along the side of its pad would've disproven the claim "Yup. Works like a charm, alright"

"Hng…I passed up the comment on my paws before…hah…because lots of things are 'awesome' in your book, panda…mmm…but if you keep giving them this much attention, I'll start to think you're…ah…trying to tell me something" She replied in between grunts and pants as he kept up with the impromptu paw-worship; giving him an accusatory smirk all the while.

"While it's true I consider a bunch of stuff to be amazing…I told you, nothing's more awesome to me than you…my dear Kitten" The male stated amidst his tender licks, kisses, and nibbles "And by that…I mean all of you: mind…heart…spirit…and every single bit of your gorgeous body too" For each part of her he mentioned, a marked kiss would land somewhere on one of her padded soles; working in tandem with his charming words, she might as well have melted into goo under his unexpected, yet pleasant, ministrations. A particularly strident set of moans resounded out of her when his lips laid a quick series of kisses upon each of her toes "Down to the last of your hardcore piggies" He wrapped the statement up by briefly taking the big toe of her right foot into his mouth and lovingly sucking on it, before releasing it with a quiet pop and kissing the tip, beneath the claw.

"*Sigh* Oogway, your usual goofiness honestly makes me forget just how much you like to sweet-talk" The feline said exasperatedly, her breathing a little on the heavy side and her face colored a sexy shade of red, but regarding him with such a level of fondness not even a blind person would miss it. The look lasted a couple more seconds before it was replaced with hunger and fierceness "But as I said before…you already got me to marry you. So, pleasant as all this has been, how about you get back on the bed and really show me what the Dragon warrior can do?" She growled out.

Smirking and responding to the sound in kind, the male placed a final kiss on the side of her left hind paw and pushed himself forward with clear intentions of climbing on top of her once more; only to be stopped in his tracks by the same foot being planted firmly against his broad chest.

"While I know most of the attention has been on me…I also recon I'm the only one who has lost any clothes" She said slyly, tracing the rim of his red robe with her big toe's claw "And I won't allow this to go further…unless you change that, my love"

The bear furrowed his brow slightly to give a more serious quality to his predatory grin and released another growl before complying to her wishes; standing up to his full 6'2 height and taking a couple steps back so she could appraise him completely.

The odd growling chuff came back loud and clear as the impassioned tiger observed her mate remove the sash from around his waist, giving her a teasing glimpse of the body beneath it when the fabric slackened, then grab hold of each side to peel it off with sensually slow speed. The volume of the sound became more intense with every passing second; until it peaked at the same time the garment hit the ground, leaving him topless —his lower half still being covered by a pair of green colored silk pants— and revealing a visibly sturdier torso than the one she'd first come to associate the ursine with.

"Ah, yes. MUCH better" Tigress thought lasciviously as she subconsciously licked her lips while her amber orbs greedily raked over his beefy arms, decently robust pectorals, and impeccably firmer belly; all products of him willingly increasing his training after the fall of Lord Shen —may his wretched soul and those of his supporters burn in the underworld where they belong.

"I take it you like what you see?" Po asked her in a cocky voice; clearly enjoying the reaction he managed to obtain. She honestly couldn't fault him, although she kind of wanted to, considering he waltzed around life shirtless ninety-nine percent of the time and yet he could get her hormones to fire up by hiding his physique for a few hours and then showing it off to her later.

Still…

"Two can play that game" Tigress thought while letting a flow of unrestricted chuffs rumble from deep within her throat as a devious plan quickly took shape within her excited mind. However, before she could even start moving to put things in motion…

*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

The two amorous masters instantly froze up at the sound of firm knocking on their chambers' door; the mood they'd set up to consummate their marriage dropping like a stone because of the ridiculously inopportune interruption. Both sets of eyes kept staring at each other incredulously for a couple more moments, seeing how the fires of passion rapidly receded from their depths, before the panda released a weary sigh and swiftly turned around to go see who had come knocking at their door.

Obviously, the feline bride felt how her insides quickly began to boil with rage and indignation at the audacity of whoever had dared to intrude on their wedding night. To disrupt a newly wedded couple while they were in the middle of consummating not only was appalling, a show of utter disrespect for tradition, but to do such a thing to HER of all people? It was an outrage she would NOT stand for.

"I don't care if it's the emperor himself out there or how important a matter they believe they have…this will not go unpunished" Tigress thought darkly as she fully sat up while glaring a hole into the still closed entrance. Usually she tended to be quick in dismissing ideas and emotions of such nature since they made her feel disappointed and uncomfortable with herself…but tonight they felt very justified.

Right as she planned on grabbing onto the blanket to cover her topless form so they could receive the interloper, and before her mate could manage to clear the halfway point towards it, the room's sliding door slightly opened; allowing their head to peer inside and look at the pair with a sly smirk on their amused visage.

The master of tiger style felt her eyes grow wide in recognition as she found herself get rooted to her spot out of shock once more; although the rage within her being kept accumulating without pause. She'd never forget that infuriating, delicate, and misleading spotted face nor the intelligent and devious violet orbs that came along with it. If she thought her ire was peaking dangerously fast before, then…

"Oops, sorry, did I interrupt something?"

"Why that little…!" The sound of the transgressor's appealing, high-pitched voice snapped the striped feline out of her stupor as it caused her anger to finally boil over. However, before she could pounce out of bed and onto her target to unleash the full brunt of her righteous fury —the concern about her indecent state of dress completely forgotten— the panda standing in front responded to the query; in a disapproving but otherwise casual tone that most certainly did not fit the current situation.

"Song, we talked about this: tonight was gonna be Tigress and me alone. You'd get your turn some other day this week AFTER I had the chance of discussing this whole thing with her. She IS my wife, you know?" Po said, frowning irritatedly.

The tiger didn't know what befuddled her more, the mildly admonishing voice her mate used on the spotted wench or the fact he seemed to be somewhat in the loop of her intrusion. Unfortunately, the issue and her headache did nothing but grow when the other female pouted in response.

"Aw, but how could you expect us to just stay aside when we could hear you two going at it from the other room? If you wanted privacy, you should've built the place with materials that muffled sounds better, sweetie" She stated in a sultry tone that did nothing to dampen the brazen impishness of her gaze and curved lips.

Tigress' fur bristled at the audacity of that woman to talk to HER panda with such intimate familiarity, but the puzzlement brought by her words served to refrain her ideas for a violent retribution.

"Why is she talking in plural?"

"Be that as it may, though, we did violate our agreement by coming here. So…" Letting her statement hang there for a moment, the intruder pushed the rest of the door open to reveal the rest of her curvaceous body —clad in a black number that barely passed as garment given how little it actually covered— and stepped aside so an assortment of seven other outrageously attractive females —among them a coquettish sun bear, a pair of eager black bear twins, a certain trio of devilish clouded leopardesses, and an apologetic looking Viper of all animals!— could move into the room; all of them wearing outfits of the same nature as the first trespasser and being quick to eye her mate with lustful hunger "…how about we make it up to you, hm?"

"Alright, I've seen enough" The bride declared within her mind, finally reacting properly as she hastily pulled the elegant sheets of her marital bed over her body and allowed her festering wrath to show itself through a smoldering glare "What is the meaning of this?! Get out of my house, you trollops!" She snarled, bringing her fangs to bear on the lot of them in warning; taking special care on exuding the most animosity when her blazing eyes passed upon the four criminals and her traitorous snake sister.

But, far from being intimidated, most of the other women simply giggled at her hostility. Viper at least had the decency to not meet her stare; although it obviously did nothing to soften the blow of this betrayal.

"Come on, don't be like that, Tigress. We're all friends here" Said the oldest of the infamous leopard sisters; a cheshire smirk coming into play on her lips while she and the rest kept advancing further into the room "In fact, after tonight we're going to be so much more than that"

"Sisters in pandahood, to be precise!" The other two thirds of the trio added in perfect synchrony while eyeing the bare-chested bear with ravenous desire, prompting him to subconsciously blush in embarrassment and the wronged tigress to snarl even more savagely if that was possible at their bold claim.

"The second any of you so much as grazes a single hair of his fur, I will…"

"Woah, woah, woah there!" Po hurriedly exclaimed in mild panic as he whirled around and took a couple cautionary steps in her direction while raising his hands placatingly; much to his wife's shock and the other females' delight "There's no need for things to get violent, Tigress! Just let me explain!" He practically begged her.

Against her better judgement, and feeling dread begin to churn in the pit of her stomach, the bride grabbed the sheets in a white-knuckled grip before she sent the visibly nervous male a pointed stare that clearly demanded he hurried to do so.

"Um, right. Well, ahm…you see I kinda…sorta…agreed to, heheh…let them be my…*gulp* concubines" He hesitantly answered. Apparently, he hadn't expected her to agree to his plea so easily and got seriously caught wrong-footed; not like he had any room to talk whatsoever in this fiasco.

An eerie stillness that would've suffocated the toughest of warriors fell upon the room as soon as the panda's answer was out in the open. Or at least it did for Tigress, who abruptly found herself lacking air and being incapable of taking any more in; as if some invisible enemy had snuck up on her and delivered a devastating sucker punch to her gut.

"What?" She asked in a hoarse croak, even if she knew for a fact she had not misheard him; the sharp way in which he flinched once her strained voice reached his ears was more than enough proof of that.

The ghastly turn of events absolutely floored her. One would think after being a kung fu master for twelve years, it'd take a lot more to shake her so bad…but when it came to matters of her ever-guarded heart, things tended to have an impossibly greater chance of inflicting a significant impact on her as a whole; both for better or worse.

She could practically feel herself crumbling from the inside out for each second that passed; as her mind went numb, her chest started to ache, and tears began to prick in her eyes. So shattering was the effect on her that she did not even react when she witnessed how all the other females encroached on the notably apologetic Dragon warrior, stopping him from so much as taking a step in her direction to try to comfort her, and promptly began to intimately dote on him to take his mind off the damage he'd just dealt to her very soul.

"Aw, don't look so glum, Tigress. A bride shouldn't make that face on their wedding day" She heard the original spotted interloper snark right next to her and absently felt her drape an arm over her shoulders. She did not even realize when she had walked so much further into the room or taken a seat on the spot her husband should've occupied later that night. Some part of her, deep inside, wanted to hurl the cheeky felon across the room; but her brain simply couldn't escape the asphyxiatingly tight grip of her heartache. Trapped within herself, she was incapable of giving a reaction when the other feline moved her maw closer to her ear and whispered "Besides, why are you even THAT hurt? You didn't honestly think you of all people were good enough for him to settle with being yours alone, did ya?"

The devilish grin on her lips could be heard clear as day in her feminine voice and it caused her stomach to twist into painful knots. What was worse, she knew perfectly well that the only reason her words caused her such grave distress…

…was because she couldn't refute them.

*¡Thud!*

End of dreamscape

Fiery amber eyes snapped open in haste, revealing mesmerizing ruby gems, as their owner lurched forward with enough vigor to throw themselves out of bed. Fortunately, the visibly shaken feline reacted in time to prevent such an outcome, stopping her momentum so she would simply hunch over instead. Her labored breathing filled the otherwise peacefully silent night air while her edgy gaze trailed around her quite spartan room within the barracks of the Jade Palace; accompanied by her twitchy ears that constantly turned in various directions as if searching for a hidden threat.

Once a minute or so passed without anything of note occurring, the tiger master's hackles slowly settled back down and she centered her mind on regaining control over the irregular rhythm of her breaths.

"It wasn't real…just a stupid nightmare" Tigress thought with relief; releasing a soft sigh as her pulmonary functions became steady again. Basking in the sense of tranquility that always came after a bad dream's adrenaline rush went down, she absentmindedly checked her cheeks for any wet spots; finding a second reason to be relieved when she took her paw back and her night vision allowed her to note it was dry "Okay, absence of tears: check. Evidence of…positive stimulation?" A grimace crossed her features at the mere notion, a very prominent blush as well, but considering how her dream had begun...she better made sure. So, resigned, she steeled herself and took a deep inhale "Hmph, well there is kind of a scent to the air, and to me for sure, but it's not as bad as I…"

"Hey, be careful up there! Do you want us to be caught?!"

"Sorry!"

Instinctively, the striped female's ears perked up in alert at the whispered voices she heard near her location…more specifically, directly across the hall. Her once weary eyes hardened at the same time they narrowed in apprehension as her exceptionally keen hearing detected their high but pleasant pitch.

Not giving it much thought whatsoever, the master of hardcore got out of bed in one smooth motion and walked towards her door with long, firm, but perfectly silent strides; not even paying attention to the cold of the wooden floor on her bare hind paws.

The paper gate barring her exit from the room was promptly pulled open, though carefully as to not make a sound or risk ripping them off, and her steps took her to stand in front of the closed entrance to the bedroom located opposite of her own. Being this close, it was easy for her highly trained sense of smell to perceive the bothersome fragrance of perfume…as well as the presence of two foreign scents.

"Seems I was not imagining things" Not like she'd doubted her senses or intuition that much from the get-go; the past year and a half had almost turned her into an expert on this bizarre part-time job. Nonetheless, it was very irritating, so she guessed some part of her still yearned to be wrong. Oh well, no point in wasting time complaining; besides, saying she wouldn't have travelled to the room in a couple minutes after the startling awakening she got would be an outrageous lie "Then again, their presence probably had something to do with the unpleasant twist I received" The idea only made her madder. She even had to fight down a snarl.

Right when her paws came to rest upon the wooden frame, the unfamiliar voices reached her ears once more; much clearer than they had the first time, even if they were still whispering.

"*Huff* Oi, lend me a paw over here will ya?! *Huff* I can't climb in as easily as you!"

"Ugh, do I really have to? The prize is right there! I was just about to…get started" The suggestiveness in the voice's tone was more than evident to the tiger master, whose hackles bristled in response.

"Nuh-uh! Don't even think about it! We agreed to start things off at the same time! As a team! That's the key to succeeding!" The other one reprimanded "There's no way he can deny both of us when he wakes up! Now come help me!"

"Fiinee!" Was the whiny whispered reply, before the sound of careful steps shuffling around the room was heard.

If she didn't have enough reasons to barge into the targeted sleeping quarters like the proud and territorial predator she was before, Tigress certainly had them now. And nothing would've pleased her more than to slam the doors open, stomp inside, and double palm strike the intruders out the window they obviously used to sneak in…

…but that would be unbecoming of a kung fu master. So, instead, she forced her flaring temper to recede into the confines of her being, condensing into an even more dangerous ball of contained wrath, and ''calmly'' opened the doors to allow herself entrance.

Inside, her exceptional night vision was greeted to the sight she already expected and most assuredly not condoned: a highly decorated bedroom, in kung fu master standards, with a few posters stuck to the wooden frames of the walls, a shelving holding some scrolls and a relatively wide array of action figures to the right, a large chest she knew contained various articles of clothing next to it, and a sizable futon at the back with a large figure peacefully resting on top of it while covered by a thin blanket. All those things were normal; the problem resided on the wide-open window…through which a slender, curvy, and scantly clothed black leopardess was attempting to pull inside what she guessed to be a female sun bear; huffing and puffing from the effort.

"Pitiful" The striped feline darklythought in disdain as she watched the display of lacking strength in silence for a short moment. Quickly growing bored and even further aggravated, she stalked into the perturbed chambers with threatening grace; until she came to stand right behind the dark-furred offender. Neither of the two, apparently too absorbed in their present endeavor to do it, noticed her menacing presence whatsoever "Truly…hopelessly…pitiful"

Fighting down the snarl her stored rage wanted to push out her throat, the master of tiger style crossed her arms and leaned forward, so her maw located itself right beside her fellow feline's ear. She noted the immediate stiffening of the interloper as her existence finally registered due to their newfound proximity…but it wasn't like it mattered anymore. Allowing an ominous smirk to curve her black lips, Tigress resorted to her bottled emotions to manipulate her voice into the most venomous hiss she'd ever directed at someone who wasn't a villain.

"Did you two bimbos know trespassing is a crime?" Satisfaction blossomed in her core at the look of terror that settled on the cat's admittedly pretty visage when she slightly turned her head to peer at her imposing form over her shoulder; and it doubled when she took note of the same expression quickly overcoming her ursine accomplice's features "No? Well it is…and do you know what I do to criminals?" She asked, lifting her lips high enough for her sharp fangs to glisten in the moonlight.

Seemingly snapped out of their fear induced stupor by the sight of her deathly looking dentition, the sun bear squeaked in alarm and released her hold on the dark furred feline before turning around and bolting in some random direction; revealing, much to the tiger's contempt, that her body, attractive in its own right, was near nudity as well. Her companion took that as her own cue to flee…but was stopped by a set of firm paws, which grabbed onto the back of her neck and also covered her maw to muffle the startled scream that tried to escape her.

Tigress looked in the direction the other female had run off to and grimaced when she saw how far she'd actually managed to get in the last few seconds. Of course, she still could easily catch up to her, heck, she most likely could throw the light-weight panther in her grasp hard enough to knock her over; but she'd rather not succumb to her anger that deeply. The two trollops certainly weren't worth it.

"I'm going to say this once: if I ever see you or your friend anywhere near these sacred grounds or, most importantly, him again…I will show you why any and all felons rightfully fear me. Understood?" She growled out in a low tone; sending such a harsh tremor through the frightened intruder, the risk of her pissing her provocative and probably expensive underpants was likely quite high. Fortunately, she apparently had enough self-control to at least prevent that much and was quick to timidly nod her head "Good. Now scram…and if you come across any other female with bright ideas like this, do them a favor and share the message. Yours is the only warning I will give" Having said her piece, Tigress let go of her prey and watched as she hastily jumped out the window and dashed away into the night.

The striped feline continued observing the barrack's darkened surroundings for a couple more moments, just to be sure neither of the two had been stupid enough to stay and wait for her to leave, before taking a deep breath through her nose then releasing it, along with as much of her pent up ire as possible, in the form of a heavy sigh.

"They are getting bolder and more determined; they'd never tried to break directly into the barracks before" She thought irritatedly as she stepped back from the window in order to close it "Tch, as if this little odd jobs weren't annoying enough before" Nevertheless, she knew she had no right to complain too much; after all she was the one who decided to play bouncer round the clock. Although, at the same time, it wasn't like she had a choice in the matter; it was either taking up the post or allowing hussies like them to get frisky with HER…

"T'gress? Wut are you d'ing here?" The feline warrior flinched in surprise at the unexpected, slurred male voice that came from her left and hesitantly turned her head in its direction; finding a half-asleep giant panda pushing his torso upwards to peer at her through visibly groggy jade eyes "S' somthin' *yawn* wrong?"

Keeping a calm façade while cursing quite strongly inside her mind, the tiger master finished closing the window's paper doors before she even dared to turn her full attention to the black and white bear.

Thanks to the blessings of her feline night vision, a heavy blush rushed to her cheeks when she noticed how the covers had shifted with his movement and partly revealed the panda's stoutly built upper body. Another curse resounded within her psyche at her subconscious reaction, especially when the niggling urge to chuff at the pleasing sight made itself known. It's not like it was an unfamiliar feeling, she'd experienced plenty of it for the first couple of months since the fruits of him intensifying his training regime after the Gongmen city fiasco started to become noticeable, but she was supposed to have learnt to keep it perfectly suppressed, through countless hours of meditation, a while ago.

She supposed she had the appealing half of her dream to thank for her present weakness. Honestly, she still couldn't decide if she was more glad or vexed that she had stumbled upon that…research material…on intimacy between couples so many months ago —even if she most certainly hadn't indulged it that much— given the occasional grief it brought to her maiden mind.

"At least I'm not in heat" Tigress thought, trying to be optimistic; though thinking about the waves of primal desire she had to ward off during each of those damned weeks only made her cringing worse. The past year had been particularly trying…considering she'd found a male she deemed worth keeping her eye on. The thought stirred an equally familiar something inside the feline that caused the warmth invading her features to rapidly spread out; washing away whatever remnants of her scathing fury she'd been unable to expel from herself until her whole being felt calm and pleasantly fuzzy.

Throughout her life she'd never given a lot of thought to romance and relationships; her existence as a whole was devoted to kung fu and very little else, especially so once she reached full adulthood. What's more, in the rare occasion her mind brushed the subject, she honestly hadn't held out many hopes for meeting a male who would catch her interest in any way that mattered; she was hard to impress, consciously avoided being too drawn in by any and all aesthetics, her life-style and residence prevented her from getting to know many potential prospects, and she knew for a fact she didn't fit the mold for what most males in China considered worth courting, so the chances of HER of all people to even think of trusting her heart to any random male who so much as implied otherwise were laughable.

To some degree, she guessed all those factors should make how strongly she felt towards the boar* she had chosen to pursue, and the intensity level of her…protectiveness…over him, quite understandable. After all, this wonderful bear HAD managed to impress her countless times; he drew her in through his caring nature, unwavering loyalty, refreshing purity, and boyish charm; not only did he LIVE with her, but in fact did his damn best to get to know her, and probably was the one person in China who came close to keeping up with her; and even though she didn't know for sure what kind of women he was attracted to…if there was ONE person who could find it in their heart to honestly feel that way towards someone like her, she was certain it would be him.

Her best friend…her Dragon warrior…her Po.

"No, Po. Everything's fine" The smitten tiger answered, a soft smile curving her lips as she walked over to the dozy ursine and calmly took a knee next to him. Placing a paw on his soft-yet-buff chest, she had no trouble pushing him back onto the futon beneath him in his current state, even if she did so with outmost care. Grabbing the crumbled sheet next, her gentle voice proceeded to add as she pulled it back over him "Just go back to sleep. There's still some time before the gong rings"

"Y–*yawn*–oo sure? 'F y'had a nightmurr –*yawn*– 'n need a hg, y'can t'll me" He murmured in response, though it'd be obvious to anyone the sleep prowling around him was all ready to pounce at any moment.

"Yes, I know" Said the tiger, flushing slightly at the warm memories of restless nights spent together in consequence to Gongmen's events; conversing, shedding a few tears…some hugging…even cuddling once. True, they did so by accident, subconsciously wrapping themselves around the other after being lulled into sleep by exhaustion and the tranquility of their company, but she had relished the moment all the same "Still, it´s a good thing I woke up first and got to sneak away before the gong rang" She hadn't been overly comfortable with her feelings for him back then, so to have been caught in such a position would've caused nothing but problems "And I appreciate it, but it isn´t necessary. Everything's fine"

The panda's hazy, jade eyes observed her for a moment as if debating with himself how valid her words were; long and steady enough for them to clear the smallest bit. Her resolute but caring expression held no deceit, though —of course they didn´t, she had already taken care of the problem, so she wasn't lying— thus putting his doubts to rest. With a grunt to relay he conceded, Po's gaze went back to being fully muddled with exhaustion for a mere instant before his heavy eyelids came down to hide it.

"If y're sure" He mumbled out in response while visibly allowing his mind to be overcome by his desire to continue dreaming at an impressively fast pace. Yawning one last time, his soft-looking lips smacked once before he mumbled a quick "G'night, T'grss" then promptly fell asleep; if the way his breathing evened out was anything to go by, at least.

Fondly amused at his uncanny ability to fall asleep nigh instantaneously, the master of tiger style mildly shook her head at the monochromatic warrior and allowed a quiet chuckle to leave her lips, then leaned forward and proceeded to cup his cheek. Tenderly caressing his flesh and fur, yearning she could actually feel the contact, she spoke to the night air in a soft voice.

"Goodnight…my beloved panda"

Even if no one was currently awake to hear her, using such a term of endearment still caused her features to redden a little bit more. She certainly was pleased she could say them out lout at all, though, since it showed all that time she had spent growing into her affections and learning to better handle and express her emotions for the past one and a half years hadn't been a waste of time. She just wished the improvement wasn't so freakin gradual! That she could just feel comfortable enough in her own skin to confess to the male who owned her heart how she felt and stake her claim on him for all those other females to see, already!

Alas, such was not the case, as eight years of going through life as a hardcore, nigh-unfeeling kung fu warrior and the habits that came along with them weren´t easy to adapt, let alone trade, for the qualities and features her research into what a romantic partner should aspire to had revealed to be most suitable; it was a slow and tricky process that required much dedication on a daily basis, to the point even she, with all her discipline and ambition, got fed up with it sometimes.

"But it will be worth it in the end" Tigress thought earnestly as she drew her paw back, heart fluttering subtly when the sleeping bear's features twisted into a mild grimace that portrayed he seemed to resent the sudden absence of her touch, and stood up straight. True, the task of adjusting herself in hopes of ensuring her position as her chosen male's better half once she finally mustered the courage to come clean could be a great pain, but the benefits that would come from it would more than make up for it "Besides, it isn't like doing so is impossible; Po managed to mature after what happened in Gongmen…a very discreet maturity, maybe, but there is no denying its existence"

Thinking about the panda's own self-betterment over the past sixteen months while she made her way to his room's exit brought a pleased smile to the tiger's lips. In addition to his obvious increase in strength and kung fu prowess through intensified training, not to mention the appealing physique that came along with it, the experience of their last major mission had certainly left its mark within his psyche as well; admittedly, it had been a slightly saddening realization for her to make back then, but she couldn't argue with the positive results that came out of it.

For most other people the Dragon warrior's change would be minimal or nonexistent, but it had been glaringly obvious to her; since she probably was the one to pay the most attention to him, not accounting his goose father, of course. Whatever vestiges of the insufferable ego he'd manifested over his first year as a protector of The Valley of Peace remained had been subdued to the point of virtual eradication, his propensity to slacking off had seen a major decrease, proportional to his level of attentiveness, capability to act serious —in his own way— and willingness to take responsibility. Sure, he still could be quite a childish, goofy, loud, and somewhat clumsy dork that sometimes failed to think everything through…but she figured that's why he countered her own neutral-to-negative personality quirks so nicely.

Because Po Ping was everything she wasn't, for better or worse, and once she managed to free herself from the shallow mindset that couldn't focus on more than how such a fact rubbed her the wrong way, she realized his mere existence had brought the warmth she'd forgotten she craved to her frigid life. This panda, this male, had single handedly torn down her walls, recovered her happiness from the dark pit she'd thrown it into, and watched over it despite her temperamental nature without ever asking for anything other than her friendship in return. In all honesty, how could anyone expect her to not fall in love with such a man? One who complemented her, made her want to become the best version of herself, and caused her heart to feel truly complete for the first time in twenty-two years?

"I would have to be the stupidest woman in the universe" Thought the tigress; stopping by the room's open doors to admire her mate-to-be one last time. She gazed at his peacefully resting form in longing for a few moments, then sighed resignedly and fully abandoned the abode; closing the entrance behind her "Just you wait, my love; I'll be ready for you in no time" Or at least she hoped so; as previously stated, her progress wasn't going as fast as she would want, but she liked to believe the achievements she'd managed to attain were significant. After all, she now was much more comfortable with showing her softer side, given her beloved was present, and physical demonstrations of affection certainly bothered her less…though that was mostly restricted to Po and preferably while they were in private.

Just because she was in love, it didn't mean she had to make a spectacle out of it! If that were her intention, she would just dress up like an alley cat and ''prowl'' around her desired male all day in hopes his innocent mind would actually catch onto such aggressive advances without causing his brain to melt!

"Then again…" Once more, Tigress' cheeks warmed up as she suddenly became quite aware of her nightwear and subconsciously lowered her eyes to regard the wine colored, silk camisole that currently covered her unbandaged torso —which was just short enough to expose a little of the V-lines reasonably hidden by her fur and presented a minimal amount of cleavage— along with the mildly snug, forest green pants clothing her legs.

That was another goal of hers she had managed to accomplish since she fully accepted her feelings…well, kind of. The original idea had been to alter her everyday look into something that could garner Po's attention, get him to see her more as the woman she was, but she simply couldn't bring herself to do it; her usual attire was much too practical and comfortable to go through the hassle of looking for something new that was both attractive and proper enough for her tastes.

That being so, she settled for wearing more feminine clothing when she went to bed, instead of simply removing all bandages from her regular outfit at night, then changing into a fresh set in the morning; that way she'd have something to try to dazzle and entice her prospective male with, once they reached such a level of intimacy, and not feel awkward about it. Well, that and starting to wear more feminine, but not skanky, underwear; most assuredly nothing alike to the things all those floozies that preyed on her panda usually wore when they attempted to steal or straight out defile what was rightfully HERS!

"Damn it, I'm doing it again!" Tigress grumbled annoyedly within her mind at the possessive line of thought. Seriously, some days she still failed to wrap her head around the fact she actually was a jealous kind of female! Sure, she had felt envy of others before —Tai Lung and his hold over Shifu's love, Viper and her close relationship with her father, and Po being chosen as the Dragon warrior to name a few— but over a male? She never would've fathomed it. Being a tad overprotective of him, she could understand, but the borderline greedy impulses she sometimes got regarding his status to her were ridiculous. Still… "Not like I'm not well within my rights to keep MY Po away from any hussies who dare to try anything with him" And she wholly believed that; not because he was HERS per se, but because she was his best friend and any other woman who wanted to have the privilege of being his mate would need HER approval to do so.

It isn't like it was her fault that none of the interested females that had shown their faces over the past year and a half were nowhere near good enough to ensure his happiness and safety; all of them filthy gold-diggers looking to take advantage of his revered status or horny airheads after his —again, admittedly— delectable, improved physique.

"You didn't honestly think you of all people were good enough for him to settle with being yours alone, did ya?"

Speaking of hussies, for whatever insufferable reason her brain seemed to consider now was a good time to remind her of the fact she'd had to hear the one she despised most fling her own insecurity against her after intruding upon her initially pleasant fantasy. That was one last thing she had, thoroughly, learnt about herself during her self-imposed quest to pursue her chosen: her mind, in all its structural integrity, could have the oddest sense of timing when it came to emotion related thoughts. Really, was it that way for everyone or was it just another side effect she had to endure for choosing to always reject her emotions for so many years?

"Tch, whatever" The master thought dispassionately while shrugging the matter off and silently trekking into her room with plans of donning a spare training outfit and have an extra early start today —because she woke up earlier than the rest in order to put in a couple more hours of training almost every day; it was the only way she could ensure her skills kept reaching the high bar she set for herself while being able to spend quality time with Po— then take a bath and return to her room in order to be ready for the gong. Of course, she did her best to keep her personal routine a secret; least her family attempted to deter her from doing so in concern for her health.

What the creator of tiger style did not know, was that her ''random'' dream actually meant more than she could ever imagine; one could almost say it was a sign, an omen, telling her she'd better get ready…

…Because things in her relatively simple pseudo-romance were about to get rocky very soon and very fast.

Gongmen municipality – Bamboo forest – A camp miles away from The Valley of Peace

And so, the hours had gone by and sunrise now was a measly half hour away, which, for most of the encampment's inhabitants, meant there still was a good bit of blessed sleep left for them to enjoy. Unfortunately, such wasn't the case for a certain spotted individual currently snuggled into her blanket and cuddling up to a big and fluffy body pillow within the site's largest yurt*, whose blissful sleep was just about to come to an end. Truly a shame, for if the smile of contentment adorning her gorgeous features and her constant, deep purring were anything to go by, it was a very pleasant dream she certainly would prefer not to abandon.

Duty called, though, and she'd be damned if she ever dared to slack off on her responsibilities for such petty a reason. Thus, being an early riser by nature plus two years and a half of adjusting her internal clock to do so, the figure's purrs gradually, yet rapidly, decreased in volume until they fell silent and her body stirred under the covers before, after a moment of realizing her own wakefulness, a sigh of resignation left her lips and she finally lifted her eyelids to reveal her mesmerizing violet orbs.

"Brave new day" The words resounded in her head without a smidge of optimism or energy, but she released her hold on the pillow and sat up in bed nevertheless, which revealed the decently toned, white belly and modest but perky breasts of her naked torso once the blanket crumpled to her lap; not bothered in the least by the winter morning's chilled temperature, being a snow leopardess and all. Letting a yawn escape her lips, the female shifted her position to momentarily sit on the side of the bed then finally pushed herself up.

Half dragging her bare feet to the vanity resting on the other side of her abode, she listlessly grabbed onto the ceramic jug sitting atop it and poured some of the water it was filled with into the adjacent matching bowl. Cupping her paws and dipping them in the liquid, she proceeded to splash her face a couple of times to wash it. Now feeling much more awake, though not any higher in spirits whatsoever, the spotted feline looked into the mirror and grimaced in distaste at the pitifully miserable sight that was reflected at her.

"For the love of…! Get a hold of yourself! You're the leader of the Ladies of the Shade, not some…wimpy, pathetic, lovesick teenager or noblewoman! This ain't you! Where's the proud, cunning, and coolheaded female that made a living off dancing, kicking asses, and robbing horny idiots with their pants down?! Where is she, huh?! Where's the real Song?!" The now identified snow leopardess seethed in her mind as she gave a low growl of frustration and snatched a small towel from a drawer to dry her visage. After doing so, she took a seat on the stool, dunked the rag inside the basin a bit more aggressively than necessary and, following a quick wring, began to scrub at different parts of her body "So what if you fell in love for the first time but couldn't stick around to see where it led? So what if you haven´t heard from him in twenty eight months and counting? So what if some...other woman…probably snatched him already by now?" She thought bitterly.

However, she was well aware her little diatribe would yield no results when it came to snapping her out of her funk; it hadn't worked back when she first came to fully grasp the depth of her feelings and the heartache was present but manageable, much less in the past couple of months since a stormy cloud of depression finally decided to fully settle over her pretty head. As a matter of fact, while admonishing in nature, all the harsh words she directed at herself did was remind her of the source of her tribulation.

Case in point, as she struggled to continue with her inner monologue, her wistful eyes subconsciously wandered to a specific section of the mirror; where an unfurled scroll resided, hanging from a nail by a simple string.

The beautiful, spotted feline felt a particularly sharp sting within her chest at the sight of the crossed-marked heart drawn onto the paper's surface, yet she couldn't bring herself to tear her gaze away. Abandoning her cleansing ritual for a moment, Song reached out towards the parchment and delicately ran the tip of her fingers down its length while a glimmer of longing filled her eyes.

"Oh, who am I kidding? That woman doesn't really exist anymore, does she? Hasn't since we met and her heart got a taste of what it meant to be warmed; and if the past two plus years have proved anything, that's not something one can just come back from" She thought as her soul withered a little more in its melancholy "Isn't that right…my love?"

Feeling her spirits rise a little bit as memories of a joyful and pudgy monochromatic face and sparklingly innocent jade eyes came to the forefront of her mind, the former thief mustered enough drive to finish washing the rest of her sensually svelte figure, then quickly brush her fur before following through her morning routine and donning a clean set of chest-wrappings, underwear, and her everyday outfit; which consisted of a red & brown vest with a pair of brown pants, secured to her waist by a brighter red sash and to her ankles by ashen bandages, brown gloves, and sandals.

Finally ready to face the day, image-wise at least, Song exited her yurt —taking a minute to tie up its flaps securely— in order to do her morning rounds of the camp before she had to sound the gong and awaken the rest of her girls; grabbing her signature, red umbrella on her way out.

Sadly, while her feet moved along the checkup route she had come to be familiar with through her two and a half years as leader of The Ladies of the Shade and her mouth relayed all the routine questions to the last shift of lookouts almost by themselves, her feelings of longing and dejection steadily reasserted their position in her heart. By the time she got to make the wake-up call once the sun's rays had begun to light the encampment, her mood had gone back to a pitifully visible all-time low.

With her duties accordingly taken care of, the violet-eyed snow leopardess trudged towards the center of the camp without paying much attention to the world around her. Before she knew it, her destination was in sight, as well as the enormous wooden table that resided on its grounds.

Absently knowing it would take a few more minutes for breakfast to be served, considering the troupe's cooks got up even earlier than she did to have everything ready first thing in the morning, Song walked to her usual spot around the piece of furniture, leaned her weapon against the bench, and heavily took her seat; then proceeded to cross her arms atop the surface and flopped her head on them while heaving a dejected sigh.

"You know, each day that passes you look more and more like a yuān gui* or something. It's really starting to worry me" A slightly admonishing voice coming from her right said, causing the brooding feline's droopy ears to perk up for a moment before they relaxed into a more normal position when she recognized its owner. Lethargically turning her head in its direction, she scowled petulantly at the sight of an attractive and notably tall snow leopardess, garbed in the group's standard ensemble —which was pretty much identical to her own except for the usage of a rose ebony, short-sleeved qipao and a seal brown sash around the waist— who was staring at her with her arms crossed and a clearly unmoved expression, though a hint of concern did shine through her gray eyes "So…should I? Because I suppose I could babysit you for a while if that's the case"

"Oh, why don't you bite me, Ming" The now irritated leader replied; though all her moody attitude managed to obtain was a quick eye-roll from the other feline and a mild slap to the back of the head "Ow! Hey, for someone who says to be concerned about my wellbeing, you certainly have a funny way of showing it!" She complained as she sat up straight and rubbed the affected area, her tone a bit whiny but also somewhat lighter; having at least been snapped out of her despondency by the second woman's interference. Although that should not be too surprising, considering said woman was, as a matter of fact, her best friend and second in command: Ming Ling.

"Well, if you can get bitchy on the fly like that, you can't be that bad off" The gray-eyed female countered, a small smirk curving her white muzzle, while she took a seat to the right of her fellow dancer/ex-thief "In all seriousness, though, are you alright? You DO look like you had a very bad night" She said, this time fully showing her unease through a softer tone of voice and an expression that matched it. In response to the query, Song's large ears dropped flat against her head once more and an anguished grimace crossed her features.

"Not really, more like…a very good night I didn't want to wake up from, I guess" She muttered morosely in response; prompting her friend to frown and nod her head in understanding. After all, this kind of situation was an occurrence that had become increasingly more frequent throughout her run as leader of the dancing troupe "But you don't have to worry about it, it's not like I had any more trouble pushing past it today than I did yesterday or last week" Her additional words, even though they carried more strength to them and a certain degree of conviction, didn't reassure the other female very much; given how easy it was to figure out that those emotions were forcibly put in place to portray a strong appearance while in front of the other members of the organization, who'd quickly begun to fill the eating area by now.

Seeing her best friend's demeanor did nothing but cause Ming Ling's brow to furrow further; in proportion to the gnawing worry she felt.

Being completely honest, her apprehensive state had first started to form in the very moment she found out about everything that had happened during The Ladies' fateful visit to The Valley of Peace two and half years prior. Some personal matters had kept her…quite indisposed and away from camp for a while back then, so returning to their old campsite only to discover it'd been emptied in an obvious haste had shaken her quite severely to begin with.

Still, what she felt then absolutely paled in comparison to how rattling it was to learn the rest of the tale, after she spent the better part of the following six months tracking her group down, and all the changes it brought upon her reality. The fact that her best friend, whom she loved as deeply as any blood related sister did their sibling, had actually turned her back on their former leader and practically usurped the position in order to set the troupe's ways straight, seemingly over a MALE of all things, had almost literally floored her.

She did not even believe it at first, outright refused to do so, especially after she pumped the twins for information and got a detailed description of the alleged boar that painted him in her mind's eye as little more than an overweight, boastful, and hopeless moron. That denial had been swiftly eradicated, though, when she soon came face to face with the clearly smitten form of her new leader.

Listening to Song's perspective of the events shortly thereafter had served her immensely to shed a more efficient light on things, not that she could claim to perfectly grasp the depth of everything and she took all the stuff she said with a grain of salt given her infatuated frame of mind, but…at the same time it'd acted as a sort of trigger to fully root the sense of unease within her psyche. Her sister's circumstances surrounding romance and the opposite sex were complicated and touchy at best, had been so for almost as long as they'd known each other, so she'd guessed it was only natural for her to feel unsettled. Besides, Song was anything but stupid and with how hard and fast she'd apparently fallen, even if she'd just recently understood the depth of her feelings by the time she arrived back at the camp, she had assumed it was nothing but a silly crush.

So, she brushed it off as unimportant and simply put her best efforts into helping her sister on the ambitious quest of reforming their unorthodox and not-quite-so-little family.

Of course, looking at the pitiful state of mind the shorter snow leopardess had reached little by little because of her achingly yearning heart, she repeatedly kicked herself for being so careless and not doing something about things sooner. She didn't even care how dubious the oh-so-catching Dragon warrior sounded as a prospective mate by this point; she just wanted her best friend to go back to her lovably snarky old self again.

"Aren't you gonna eat?"

"What?" Blinking a couple of times as she was snapped back into the present, Ming Ling looked at the table in front of her on instinct, where she came to find a steaming bowl of noodle soup waiting for her "When did this get here?" She briefly wondered, then shifted her attention to her left where the muttered question had come from. There, yet another perfect example of the troubling mindset she'd just been thinking about greeted her gaze; that being Song sitting idly by her side, playing around with the flour strings in her own bowl while staring at them forlornly "Let me guess, she's thinking about her ''enjoyably disastrous'' pseudo-first date" She concluded, feeling a bit annoyed now as her frown became even more steep "I will when you do" She stated with firmness.

"I'm honestly not that hungry right now" Responded the violet-eyed leader, her tone doing nothing to hide the pain of her deteriorating, maiden heart "I think I might just wait 'til lunch time" She added, sighing in resignation as she stopped swirling the soup and released her hold over the chopsticks, before simply placing an elbow on top of the table to let her arm rest there as she leaned against her paw; waiting for all her other comrades to finish their meals, so she could deal out assignments for the day.

The band's second in command felt her eyes grow wide and her features slacken in befuddlement for a few seconds before they both hardened in some form of exasperated outrage. Ever since the whole emotional mess had begun, she'd stood for or even ignored various warning signs given by her friend; a reduced appetite from time to time being one of them. The thing was, she had never outright refused a meal before, only eaten smaller portions at most, so to hear her give such an answer…

"Alright, this has officially gone on for too long" She thought with a grim determination. Was reaching such a conclusion over a first-time incident an exaggeration? Maybe, but as she had established before, Song's association with romantic feelings was tricky and mostly uncharted territory; she'd be damned if this stupid depression started to seriously mess with her life while in her watch. Her mind made up, Ming finished her breakfast at a speed unbefitting of a proper lady —good thing her and her family's relation to the term barely went past a stage name— and soon startled everyone around the table as she suddenly got to her feet, grabbed her morose best friend by the arm, and swiftly dragged her away from the eating area.

"HEY! Whoa! What's the big idea, Ming!" Song exclaimed in surprise, having snapped out of her newest funk with the sudden movement and doing her best to stop stumbling while she was decisively pulled along several twists and turns around the camp against her will "Even if I wasn't gonna eat, I still had to stick around for the morning announcements!" She complained; unfruitfully since her second in command simply remained silent and continued to move towards their intended destination. Wherever that was supposed to be.

Turns out it didn't take that much longer for their little, impromptu tour to end; their encampment was quite large after all, had to be in order to accommodate the near one hundred members it usually held at a time, so it very well could've been quite longer. The adjournment of their traverse did little to placate her confusion, though, since it turned out Ming Ling's steps had led them back to the tent she'd emerged from not even an hour ago.

"Um…Ming, what're we…?"

"Get in there and start packing" The taller spotted feline interrupted her confused query, looking her firmly in the eye to denote the severity of her order as she pushed her towards the cloth-covered entrance a bit forcefully.

"Wha…pack? What for?" Was Song's intelligent reply, although she actually reacted well enough physically to pry her arm free from her friend's grasp and turn around to face her with an expression that perfectly conveyed her now vexed perplexity "I know I haven´t exactly been all there lately, but I'm pretty sure it's not my turn to leave the camp" The roster for how many and which Ladies got to head out of the encampment either to perform or gather supplies was almost a sacred document amongst the members of the troupe, since it practically prevented them from going insane due to isolation, and as such had to be respected under all circumstances by everyone who wanted to belong within their ranks. To fail to abide by it would mean nothing but chaos "Ming knows that, so why…?"

"You are taking a little vacation" Her best friend said with finality, rolling her gray eyes in irritation as she proceeded to untie the tent's flaps, then retook her hold on her arm and marched inside with her in tow "You are getting out of this camp and taking your tail to the Valley of Peace so this little pity-party and miserable heartache can reach a proper conclusion" She further explained, almost sending her into a catatonic state out of shock —amethyst eyes going ridiculously wide— which caused her to trip and fall face-first onto her bed when she got shoved in its direction after entering the abode.

"Wait a minute! Hold up!" Song very nearly shouted as she regained her senses ten seconds later, scrambling to her feet and moving towards her second in command; who had already procured a fairly large travel pack and begun to dig into the trunk where she kept her clothing "Just what in blazes are you talking about?! I can't up and leave just like that! And whoever made you leader to decide this kind of stuff for me out of the blue?!" She demanded, somewhat indignant.

"Let's call it best friend's prerogative" Ming Ling casually responded, easily evading an attempt from the violet-eyed female to snatch the changes of clothing she had gathered into her arms and then dumping them unceremoniously into the open bag "You have spent too long pining and moping around here, and I have spent too long just watching you do it" She continued, turning back towards the chest to carry on her mission; though her view of it was blocked by her sister's irate form "And since you are obviously too stubborn to either pursue anything or freakin move on, I decided to take matters into my own paws" The way she said that made it clear there was no persuading her otherwise "Now you can decide to help me pick what clothes you want to take in order to woo that panda you fell for or step aside and let me work on it by myself"

"Or I can go for option number three: not move from this spot until you start making sense!" Song replied sternly, crossing her arms in front of her chest in a show of defiance and making her stance visibly firm "Honestly, talk about random impulses, Ming! And about my love life no less! I'd expect this kind of stuff from the twins or one of our younger members, but never from you" As a matter of fact, Ming Ling had a permanent, well-renowned role amongst the troupe as the most levelheaded and reliable member one could go to whenever a problem seemed to grow out of proportion; she wouldn't be surprised if some of the other girls actually thought she was much better suited to lead the organization than her —which was the main reason she'd been given her position as second in command. Had she suddenly started acting so out of character over anything other than such a delicate, personal subject, she would've been concerned instantly.

"But that's the thing, isn't it, Song?! You don't actually HAVE a love life! You're too busy being scared or something stupid like that to go get it!" The gray-eyed feline replied, her scolding tone perhaps coming out a little too harsh, given how the other woman winced as if she'd been struck. Taking note of the reaction, she softened her voice slightly as she added "And I told you it's not random, I've simply had enough of seeing you suffer over a guy who hasn't even had a chance to screw up"

Silence reigned within the rustic abode for a minute or two after those words were spoken, as one of the snow leopardesses fully digested them and thought of what to say in return and the other waited patiently for said rebuttal. Finally, the first took a deep breath to calm down and released it in the form of an exasperated sigh.

"First of all, I am not scared or anything like that; I stick around because I decided to become the new leader of The Ladies of the Shade and change the whole paradigm of our way of life on top of that. I've got too many responsibilities on my plate to just walk away in some lovesick quest at my own leisure" Song said in complete seriousness; though, her sister's attuned ears managed to catch a very small amount of indecision in her words "Second, do you think I like feeling this way? Remembering the happiest moments of my life knowing they're nothing but memories? Thinking of what could have been countless times a day? Constantly wondering if the first male I've EVER loved at least remembers my existence when more than likely some other wench already got her claws all over him?!" By the time she finished the sentence, her breathing was labored, her voice sounded agitated, and her eyes looked borderline murderous out of jealousy.

"I honestly find that hard to believe; if his ''endearing'' mannerisms don't spook away 99% of the females he encounters, his obliviousness is bound to drive them up the wall and send them running in an hour or less" Ming Ling thought cynically, rolling her eyes as discretely as possible to not upset her friend further. Too bad said feline was just as attuned to her own ways of acting for that plan to be successful, as her brow furrowed quite aggressively in an instant.

"And that's the last thing, how come you're this supportive of me all of a sudden? Don't think I've been oblivious to the fact you've believed my choice of man was one of the stupidest things you'd ever heard from the very beginning. Why encourage me to pursue a relationship now?" Song asked, a bit of hurt flashing within her amethyst orbs before it quickly was smothered by her current indignation. In response to the claim, her second in command had the decency to wince a bit regretfully at being called out, but she was quick to push it aside in favor of answering.

"Because I'm too worried about you and how much you have allowed this whole situation to get to you by now to care about what kind of male ended up catching your eye for the first time. I'd much rather risk letting you give the relationship a try and see if anything comes out of it than allowing things to continue as they are" Ming stated resolutely "As for your responsibilities to the group, while it IS great you take your position seriously, I can just fill in for you for a couple of weeks. Easily" She said, shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly. It's not like it was a big deal or anything; she WAS second in command, so she knew everything there was to know about running their operations.

For a brief instance, Song's violet eyes widened as they flashed with immeasurable hope at the idea, seemingly pushing aside her every negative emotion on that moment, before she brutally squashed it to bits and swept it under the metaphorical rug; which showed through the loud sigh and mirthless chuckle she gave as her head mildly shook from side to side, her previous indignant and stern mood having been snuffed out into gloom just like that. Perhaps her best friend might be onto something, worrying for her mental health.

"Okay, I will admit that's a very tempting offer, but…I couldn't shove my burdens onto you for something like this. It would leave a real bad taste in my mouth" Professed the depressed leader in defeat "Besides, with how…well, dense, Po can be it would probably take more than a couple of weeks to make any progress. Not to mention, even if I were successful and bagged him, what would I do? He's the Dragon warrior, protector of the Valley of Peace and savior of China! He can't simply quit his job to travel around with me and I don't think I'd be able to leave him behind again for months on end once we became involved! I…"

*Smack!*

Whatever else the distressed snow leopardess planned on saying was swiftly cut off by a mild, though firm, slap across her pretty face; courtesy of her bestie who, having appeared annoyed before, now looked positively livid…and perhaps a little disappointed.

Needless to say, bewilderment washed over Song's features as she took a paw to touch her affected cheek while staring at Ming Ling in disbelief. It wasn't like the blow had hurt nor was it the first time she'd ever been struck by someone within the group —for various reasons— but having such a reaction come from Ming was extremely rare and ALWAYS warranted. To have pushed her friend into doing so…could she really be THATscrewed in the head?

"For crying out loud, sister, get a grip!" The gray-eyed feline exclaimed in a steely voice; one she usually saved for scolding the younger and/or more airheaded members in their ranks. Having it be used on HER, the LEADER of the organization, served greatly to stress how much the situation meant to the second in command; not only that, but the usage of the term 'sister' tended to be reserved for instances that were meant to be taken very seriously or those where Ming found herself extremely pissed at her, so there was also that "Honestly, you're worse off than I thought if you of all people can turn into a blabbering mess over this! Now the whole 'leadership comes first' thing really doesn't mean a thing; what good can you be as a leader while in this state?" She said, placing her paws on her hips and glaring quite harshly.

Hearing such a blunt assessment, Song gave a notorious flinch and her ears fell flat in despair. Still, she wasn't one to remain quiet, so she opened her maw to say something back.

"But, Ming…I…" Problem was, there wasn't much she could actually say for herself. After a minute more of coming up dry, and with everything pointing towards the impossibility of her victory in the argument, the former thief/seductress finally did the sensible thing and decided to submit to the whim of her sister-in-all-but-blood. Wilting and heaving a sigh of resignation, a look of uncertainty suddenly crossed her violet orbs before she, in a small voice, asked "Do you honestly think I still have a chance? Even after being away from him all this time?"

"There it is" Ming Ling thought, feeling her riled-up emotions quickly ebb away in the face of her friend's admission of defeat; as well as that of the pitiful expression of doubt marring her usually confident visage. That Song's full reason to deny herself the possibility of so much as chasing after the male of her dreams —literally— had at least something to do with emotional insecurity had been obvious from the start, but that didn't make it any less bothersome for the other feline to witness "That panda better be worth it. I swear if he dares to hurt her, I'll hunt him down and neuter him if it's the last thing I do" She promptly vowed to herself, then answered the question with a subdued but encouraging smile "Song, I'm pretty sure you have A LOT more than a mere chance"

"Because the man I'm in love with is an immature moron who probably chases every single female that comes near him away?" Song ''asked'', giving a definitely unamused smirk as she practically voiced her earlier thoughts to a T. At the same time, she tiredly turned around and started to sift through the articles of clothing contained within her trunk.

"Well, I wouldn't put it so bluntly…" Ming began to reply, sounding a little indecisive as she pondered how truthful she should be, but promptly cut herself off when the other feline threw her a skeptical and bleakly unimpressed look over her shoulder "…Ok, ok, you got me. Don't get your panties in a twist and bite my head off" She admitted, a small feeling of nervousness tingling inside her outwardly-collected self. Few things in this life could genuinely shake her ever cool-headed personality, her unusual and dangerous lifestyle pretty much insuring that would be the case, and her best friend's royally ticked off persona certainly fit the bill; which she'd come to learn over the past two years could be easily —and a bit unpredictably— set off with matters that involved her desired male "Like that scroll he gave her" Just the thought of the last incident surrounding the parchment caused shivers to run down her spine.

Fortunately, Song was simply too drained to take her slurring thoughts seriously —not like she would have in other circumstances…probably— and let it go with only a little snort of derision as she continued to choose what outfits would be useful on her impromptu quest.

"Let's hope the rest of the available females he might have met over the years had such narrow mindsets, then" She said with simplicity, as well as some contempt, causing her friend's fetching features to sour a bit at the indirect barb thrown her way. The violet-eyed female must've sensed her emotion somehow, though, because she was quick to add "Look, I'm sorry for being crass, but I don't say it as some infatuated bimbo romanticizing her future husband; I recognize Po has his flaws, obnoxious and glaringly obvious ones at that, but unlike pretty much anyone else…I really got to know him. We didn't spend a lot of time together, true, but a perk to his…simplicity…was that pinning his character down pat was cub's play for me and…I really liked what I saw" The smitten snow leopardess felt a content smile curve her lips for the first time in the day as she softly spoke her mind "He was so pure, bright, and determined…like a light that could keep all the darkness in the world at bay without effort…that could keep me warm, safe, and happy unlike anything I'd ever known before"

Even though Ming Ling's features did indeed relax, the gleam of skepticism within her gray orbs remained strong as ever. It was a good point, but based on what she knew and the few half-solid rumors she had heard —it was very surprising how little was factually known and relayed about one of China's most celebrated heroes; other than his better renowned exploits— her opinion wouldn't change any time soon.

"Fair enough" The taller feline conceded nevertheless, then swiftly started to extract the articles of clothing she'd dropped into the travel pack beforehand so she could fold and stash them properly "I guess you will have to show me once you actually get around to introducing him to me, right?" She inquired, raising a playful eyebrow in her friend's direction.

"Mmh" Song responded absentmindedly as she fully focused her attention on what clothes to take along.

Without the tension of the matter weighting down on her mind, plus the impeccable help of her right-hand woman, the endeavor of packing her belongings and other necessary items —such as money— went superbly smooth; and while she still felt a tad unsure about the —honestly selfish— task she had been roped into undertaking, her priorly dour spirits began to lift little by little as the idea of seeing her beloved panda once again settled within her mind and soul with each personal possession that entered the pack. Finally ready fifteen full minutes later, with her cherished scroll being the last article to be carefully laid away, Song closed the bag and shouldered it before looking over at her best friend in seriousness.

"You're absolutely sure you can handle things around here for a while? I wasn't just rambling when I said this whole affair most likely won't be short" The commanding snow leopardess inquired tentatively "Especially if I were to run into…complications" She mentally added to herself.

The other feline gave a quiet snort and rolled her eyes in exasperation, though more of a fond type of it, as her initial response and promptly began to firmly push her friend towards the gate of her cloth den.

"Positive, don't worry about it" Ming Ling verbally replied with confidence "And before you bring it up again, we will cross the bridge regarding what will happen between you and the group when we get to it; don't let some stupid insecurities stress you out right now"

"Don't you mean if we get to it?" Song asked, half-serious-half-joking, feeling a bit better thanks to the gray-eyed female's words of reassurance, but still burdened by her self-doubt.

"P-lease. When I said you had more than I mere chance, I meant there is NO WAY you won't be able to claim your 'little yin & yang cub'; whether the relationship will last is another matter altogether" Ming stated as if she'd just answered a VERY stupid question, smirking good-naturedly at the evident blush that tinted the shorter dancer's cheeks after the pet-name she had selected for her chosen male was thrown to the wind so carelessly and chuckling a bit at the not-so-gentle shove she received for her teasing "You already know what I think of that panda, Song. If he doesn't jump at the chance to court you, at least once you get the issue through his thick skull, then he is an even bigger idiot than anyone ever thought possible"

While hearing her second in command's vote of confidence towards her capabilities to earn the affections of her panda bear, insensitive as it was, did bring her a much greater degree of comfort, the love-struck spotted feline had to swallow a subconscious growl at having said ursine be bad-mouthed for a second time while in her presence. Again, she wasn't blinded by her love and didn't disregard the faults within Po's character…but she also couldn't help being very protective of him, knowing his qualities easily outweighed those shortcomings if one weren't too much of an obstinate moron to not see it. In fact, if it weren't her best friend in the entire world who dared to speak of HER Dragon warrior in such a manner, they would've gotten severely punished.

As it was, she found letting the comment go without at least some sort of rebuttal much harder than the first time.

"Thanks, Ming. I needed that" Song said sincerely as they came to stand right in front the blanketed opening, letting out a small sigh as another thought crept into her mind "Should we rally the girls real quick to tell them what's going on or do I just leave and let you explain later?" She asked, scratching her cheek with a slightly sheepish smile on her lips. That expression turned into one of confusion when her friend's head turned in her direction with a look that all but screamed bewilderment "What?"

"You are SERIOUSLY messed up if you actually missed it" Ming Ling deadpanned while narrowing her enchanting gray eyes. Noting the confusion within Song's features didn't clear in the least, she shook her head disbelievingly and parted the cloth-barrier that was blocking their view of the surrounding encampment on the other side.

"Oh…" It was all the leader of The Ladies of the Shade could figure out to say, her violet orbs going incredibly wide, as she came to face what had to be, at minimum, thirty other members of the troupe crowding around the entrance to her abode; all of them looking at her with varying types of grins, though those that denoted playful and/or teasing attitudes were the most common "How much did you hear?" Song asked seriously once her shock wore off.

"Enough to tease you over for months to come after you return" A pretty standard-looking snow leopardess —average height, attractive face, fit body, and alluring blue eyes— that managed to stand out in the horde thanks to her personal variation to the uniform —that being a black-trimmed, white version of the regular qipao, a pair of black pants secured by a dim green sash and ashen bandages, along with seal brown sandals and no gloves— informed her now defensive leader. This particular female was named Zhi and, ironically, was the camp's main physician. Fully aware of the tempered animosity that was rapidly filling Song's features, as well as her kind of precarious emotional state, she was quick to toss a couple of objects in her direction; which served to distract her attention as she was forced to catch them "You can't leave camp without those, now can you? No reason to risk anything while on the road"

The slightly wrong-footed leader blinked a few times as her mind refocused after her automatic reaction, then looked down at the two items that now resided in her paws: her trusty umbrella, which she had left behind in the eating area after Ming Ling dragged her away, and a medium sized pouch that, by its weight and smell, contained a reasonable amount of food for the trip. Obviously, the kind gesture was sufficient for the former seductress to brush off her irritation at having been eavesdropped on by so many of her comrades —that, in all honesty, it didn't surprise her that much either since gossip WAS a favored activity within the camp also helped— and send an appreciative smile at all of them for their silent show of support.

"Thanks, girls"

"Feh, don't mention it" Another spotted feline, one of the much younger members in their ranks, said with a dismissive wave of the paw. Not a second later, her lips curved into a sly smirk "But you better keep in mind you'll have to spill every single detail about anything that happens between you and that cuddly stud of yours; I SO want to know just how much of a dragon he really is" She said while wagging her eyebrows suggestively.

"Not on your life" Song thought tartly as the rest of the gathered felines had mixed reactions to the comment; some looking like they more than agreed while others were either indifferent, aggravated, weirded out, or plain disgusted at the idea. Those also pissed her off; her chosen male's figure, while not conventionally appealing in feline standards, was NOT repulsive "Sure" She finally stated, a forced smile on her maw, causing the ones who appeared interested to cheer.

Soon enough, after a few more minutes of chatter, female advice that ranged from tasteful to outrageous, and words of encouragement from the members of her unexpected posse, the violet-eyed feline exchanged parting hugs with each of them —as well as some other girls she ran into on her way to the camp's gate who were hastily informed of the situation— and found herself standing outside her home beside her best friend.

"Well…I guess this is it" She said, an odd mixture of excitement and mind-ravaging nerves swirling inside her belly, as she took a couple steps forward and then turned around to stand in front of Ming Ling.

"Yup, seems like it" The gray-eyed, spotted feline agreed…before abruptly breaking character and all but lunging towards the shorter woman to envelop her in an earnest hug "You go get that bear, sister…and do tell him that if he does anything to upset you, even if that is eating your head on accident again, he will have a horde of pissed off felines going after his head in a heartbeat with me leading the charge"

Despite the fact she knew every word spoken was the undeniable truth —as in, not a joke…at all— Song gave a hearty laugh as she returned the embrace just as tightly; going as far as to purr quietly in affection and snuggle a bit against her body to boot while a few tears gathered in her eyes.

"Will do, sister" She replied wholeheartedly, stepping back from the other female's arms, and wiping the moisture from her vision using her forearm. Suddenly feeling full of energy, the leader of the band of former criminals gave a saucy smirk, much more resembling of her true self, and swiftly turned around to start marching towards The Valley of Peace…and her beloved panda. with confident steps; her best friend's gaze brightening at the sight "You better get ready, sweetie, because I'm coming to stake my claim. I will show you we belong together…as well as anyone who tries to stand in my way" Song thought with determination; feeling invigorated now that the shackles that kept her from pursuing her happiness had been removed. That panda was HERS…no one else's.

Of course, unbeknownst to the impassioned snow leopardess, things would be more complicated than she could have ever anticipated.

Aaannd that's that for the first chapter of Panda season's rewrite. I hope you enjoyed it and I'll be waiting for whatever reviews you wish to give me in order to know what you thought of it.

I will see you in the next instalment (let's hope it goes quicker; you're not the only ones peeved at my publishing speed).

Read you guys later!

CLARIFICATIONS:

*Boar: Term one may call a male bear (applicable to giant pandas, as well)

*Yurt: Portable, round tent that is covered in skins or pelt (though, I suppose in the KFP universe it's just thick cloth, 'cause if that ain't the case, then…well, The Ladies of the Shade would be much creepier than anyone ever thought) that is used as dwelling for several distinct nomadic groups; such as Mongols and those who live close to the land…a.k.a. Northern China.

*Yuān gui: Ghosts with grievance, belonging to Chinese folklore, that roam the world of the living as depressed and restless spirits.