Slithering into your Heart

Disclaimer:

I don't own the rights to anything related to the movie Kung Fu Panda

The rights to that movie belong to…other people…

I do (for what it's worth) own Charles Ivano R.

Chapter 3: Water

Tigress could not sleep.

She wandered the Jade Palace in hopes that she could tire herself out enough so that finding sleep in the comfort of her bed would be easier.

Her encounter with Viper only made her search for sleep all the more difficult.

"What is she talking about? My training is perfectly fine!"

Tigress disliked her authority being thrown into question by anyone other than Master Shifu. In her eyes, no member of the Furious Five had the right to do so. After all, she is the eldest in training and age, which is why she is the leader and not Monkey, or Mantis, or Crane, or Viper.

She shook her head and growled as an image of her fellow warrior formed in her mind. "Who does she think she is?" Tigress lashed out at a hanging pot that she perceived as being in her way. The defenseless object swung back and forth, threatening to fall and clatter to the ground. Realizing what she had done, Tigress hurriedly reached out to the pot and held it still. Carefully, she tugged at it, finding that it was still hooked, and slowly let go of the pot.

"That was close," she mumbled, regaining her previously lost composure.

She closed her eyes, placed a paw on her forehead, and let out a small sigh. "I can't believe it. What's going on with me? Ever since the fight at Lunar Lake…" Her eyes shot open as an odd sound soared through the air. It sounded like a wail. No, it sounded closer to a howl.

A familiar howl.

-Lunar Lake [First Fight]-

Tigress stood alone, surrounded by 11 wolves. Their leader -a female wolf wearing dark blue slacks, a golden sash around her waist, and a dark blue vest with golden designs- had managed to lead Tigress into an ambush, despite her belief that the bandits in Star Gazer Village were the only ones around.

She panted heavily, her chest heaving in and out as the wolves before her started to rise again. They shook their heads, still reeling from her previous assault, and groggily found their ways back onto their feet. "You should give up," Tigress growled, trying to sill her panting in an attempt to sound more intimidating. One of the wolves scoffed at this, prompting her to glare at her.

"You honestly think you can keep this up much longer," the wolf asked, her jagged smile glistening in the moonlight. The wolf spun around, her hands extended as she laughed, "11 to 1?"

"I've dealt with beings that could crush mountains with a single glance," Tigress growled, finding herself using something Po once said. She mentally smacked her forehead as she realized how silly that sounded, but continued with her boast, "Do you cubs honestly believe you have what it takes to beat me?"

The wolf scoffed again, picking up a fallen sword. She looked the object over, admiring her reflection in its blade, before pointing it menacingly at Tigress. "Look at yourself, Tigress. Bruised and battered, while I'm still standing as though nothing happened."

Tigress dropped to a knee, a yelp escaping as she completed the involuntary action. She stared at the dirt, shaking her head as she tried to think of a way to even the playing field.

"Where are those guys?"

If the rest of the Jade Warriors were with her, this battle would have been over minutes ago.

"I'll even it up for you, Tigress. I'll fight you by myself, one to one, young beauty to dried-up hag."

Tigress growled at her 'hag' comment. Who did this cocky brat think she was?

"I'm hardly in my thirties," Tigress indignantly mumbled.

The wolf threw her weapon away and casually approached Tigress, obviously unafraid of her since the Kung Fu Master was badly injured and weakened. Tigress weakly growled -forcing herself back to her feet- and readied herself. Flashing a jagged grin, the wolf dashed towards Tigress and swiped at her, barely avoiding drawing blood as Tigress rolled to the side.

She yelped, clenching her teeth as her shoulder roughly made contact with the ground, but quickly stifled it and rose to her feet again. The wolf charged again, but stumbled forward as Tigress moved to meet her, ducked, and swept her feet from under her with a forward shoulder dive.

"You still have some fight in you? I guess that's good. I wouldn't want the fight to become too boring."

The wolf rose from the earth, dusting herself off before turning to Tigress. She stared at the Master for a few seconds, tapping the ground with her foot as she wondered what her next course of action would be. Tigress dropped to a knee, panting quietly as she attempted to regain some strength.

She looked around, spotting the wolves that followed the wolf she was currently fighting. They watched, patiently and eagerly, knowing that she would lose even if she somehow managed to defeat the wolf.

They would make sure of that.

"Who's your leader," Tigress asked, trying to buy some time.

The wolf ceased her tapping, choosing to scoff at Tigress's question. "Our leader? Why do you want to know that? I'm going to kill you, so the information would be useless to you."

"I want to know the name of the thug responsible for all of this," Tigress sighed, a tiny smirk forming on her lips, "I want a name to curse as I go to my grave."

The wolf laughed.

"I see you're not 100% a stick in the mud, but I don't even know the Boss's name. We call him Big Grey, cuz he's so big and grey."

The other wolves nodded, remarking how tall and powerful their boss looked.

"But, he never told us his name. 'Fact, he told us he has no name," the wolf mused, shrugging her shoulders before approaching Tigress. She paused two feet in front of her prey, turning her head to gaze at a village upon a nearby hill. Her eyes, shining a platinum white in the moonlight, narrowed as another jagged grin spread across her features.

"I wonder when the show will start."

Tigress -perplexed by this- reluctantly turned to look at Star Gazer Village. Po and the others were busy defending it from the rest of the invaders,-and were winning the last time she checked- but what if these crafty wolves had another trick up their sleeves?

She watched -anticipating the show- her heart thumping from weariness and anxiety. Unbeknownst to either anticipator, their previous spectators were disappearing, stolen -one by one- by the darkness.

If either of them listened carefully they would have heard stifled yelps, quieted squeals, and a soft spoken, "Here comes the Thunder!"

A minute or two passed since the wolf began staring at the village, and now she and Tigress were alone, save for the two voices mumbling in the bushes.

"On three, Po."

"Wait, is it go on three? Or is it, one, two, three, go?"

"Go on three."

"Gotcha, Crane," the Dragon Warrior whispered, winking at his fellow warrior, who let out a deprssed sigh.

"One, two, thr-!"

The wolf burst into laughter as an explosion rang through the air, the sky lighting up with a fiery orange red color. Tigress watched in horror as the village was engulfed by flames, a million thoughts racing through her mind. "Did they make it out in time?" "Did they know about it?" "What about the villagers? Are they okay?" "All those children!"

She fell to the ground, her body no longer capable of supporting itself, and closed her eyes. "Move! I have to…move…" Her body refused her demand, trembling as though afraid, yet defiant nonetheless. The wolf's laugh finally penetrated her thoughts, prompting Tigress to shoot her a glare that would have made the fur of a normal anthromorph peel off and run away in fear.

A loud howl echoed throughout the burning ruins, as though they were letting out a final call for help.

"You see that," the wolf laughed as she shortened the distance between her and Tigress, "That's our boss! I loved fighting you one on one, Tigress, but me and the boys have to head home. I'll leave you with a parting gift."

Tigress watched as the wolf pulled back her foot, that stupid grin still on her face, and braced herself for a world of pain.

"Dah! Crane, we gotta go!"

Tigress saw them leap from the bushes, rushing to stop the wolf after having been distracted by the explosion. But that was the last thing she saw, immediately falling unconscious when the wolf delivered a rib crushing kick to her chest, sending her flying into the lake.

-Hopeful Spring-

Tigress opened her eyes, feeling grass tickling her face, and lifted her head. She had wandered into the forest, specifically to where a pristine stream was located. Laughing, she got into a sitting position and looked about her. "How did I end up here?"

She sighed, placing a paw on her head.

"I must be slipping to have wandered off here."

A grunt escaped her as her stomach tightened, prompting her to clutch it. The pain she felt worsened, causing her to fall forward as her grip began to falter. Quickly, she threw out her free paw and caught herself before her face managed to hit the ground.

She dry heaved, her body trying to expel something that was not there, and closed her eyes. A desperate, hoarse cry escaped her as the pain worsened and dryness set into her mouth.

"Water"

Her eyes fluttered open and she weakly gazed at the stream before her.

"Go to the water and drink. Trust me, Tigress."

Tigress, desperate for anything that would cure her of this affliction, began to crawl towards the stream. "Hurry and drink from it, Tigress," the voice gently commanded, prompting Tigress to put more effort into her reaches, "I understand your pain, but you must drink from the water to end it."

She nodded and closed her eyes, as though that would grant her just a tiny bit more strength. Only a minute had passed, but it might as well have been an eternity for all the pain Tigress had endured upon reaching the stream.

She stared into the stream, smiling faintly at her distorted reflection, and drank the cool liquid.

-Author's Comments-

Charles: "This story has been dead for a long time."

Author: "I know, but I was busy with my Blade Master training in Japan, so I didn't have time to update it."

Charles: "…Hmph! When's the next chapter going to be up?"

Author: "6/18/2013"

Charles: [:(]

Author: "6/18/2011?"

Charles: [:)]