So... I'm back. Again, I honestly didn't expect to update this soon. Oh well. I'm sure you don't mind...

Anyway, I have to say that I'm unsure about the quality of this one. I wrote it quite late in the evening. In fact, it is almost 12:30 right now. Regardless, it was quite fun to write, so I hope it isn't terrible. You never really know, though...

On an unrelated note, I hope to start a long, multi-chapter story soon. I have a coupe concepts I've been meaning to explore recently, and have decided to finally follow one. So if you see a new story posted by me soon, you should check it out...

Also, please let me know if these updates are making it onto the site or not; for some reason I am having trouble confirming this.

Anyway, on to the story...

Po was slowly walking to the bath house, lethargically dragging the dead weight that was his limbs. It was mid afternoon at the Jade Palace, and the Valley of Peace was into the dog days of summer. For most of the year, the residents of the valley enjoyed a moderately temperate climate, but as is the wont of such regions, at least once a year they experience a heat wave. This year was no exception.

The panda soon arrived at his destination, prepared to enjoy an hour of cool solitude. Shifu, in light of the torrid weather, had let his students out of training early. Po's eyes adjusted to the relative twilight of the bathhouse. It wasn't necessarily dark inside; the unrelenting gaze of a merciless sun made any room dark by comparison. Further, the ubiquitous mass of steam that hung in the facility diurnally hampered vision even on a good day. The heavy wooden walls of the room didn't help, either. In reality, the bathhouse was nothing more than a frame built around a preexisting pool of water, fed by an underground spring. Entering the facility, he trudged to the far end of the room, took off his pants, and lowered himself into the water.

Po could sense the stress of the day dissipating away from him, seemingly diffusing into the water. Of course, the water was warm, and as such wouldn't exactly be the best place to cool off. Po, however, was far beyond the point of caring. He sank deeper into the water, until he was barely visible. Half-heartedly reflecting upon the day's events, he began to drift into the soft embrace of sleep...

Suddenly, he heard a light splash on the other end of the bathhouse. Rousing from his reverie, Po noticed that light was no longer shining directly into the bathhouse. The groggy panda was perplexed for a few moments; when had the sun moved? I guess I fell asleep... mused the Dragon Warrior, beginning to rise slightly in the water. Suddenly, the slim outline of a tiger moved into his field of view.

Po almost inhaled a mouthful of water. Discreetly, although quickly, he slipped back under the water, leaving just his nose and a wide set of eyes exposed. The panda was wide awake now; he still had much to live for. He stared in muted fear as Tigress lowered herself into the water, sighing slightly. Po sat absolutely still, a monochrome statue stranded in what had become the eighth of the seven deadly seas. The panda dared not move, lest he awaken the wrath of what would be a very upset tiger, so he watched... and waited...

Soon he heard Tigress's breathing slow to a gentle, relaxed rhythm, a sure sign the feline master was asleep. Po, with the utmost care, began to rise from the pool, eyes never leaving those of the sleeping tiger. So far, he was still alive, and intended to keep it that way. Eventually, he was standing erect in the water, and began to step out onto the floor.

Seeing his apparent success, he began to move at an increased pace. As it turned out, this wasn't the best of actions; the floor, unbeknownst to him, was rather slippery. The second he put his weight on the now terrestrial foot, it slipped. Flailing wildly in a panicked effort to avoid falling, Po managed to avoid plummeting into the water. His fur being wet, however, he couldn't avoid spraying droplets of water everywhere. A few tense moments passed as Po began to formulate a way to write a short will using his paw an an old board. As time went by, however, it seemed that the female tiger was still asleep. Po sighed in relief.

Suddenly, Tigress's eyes shot wide open. Her mouth hung agape as the two glowing embers fixated themselves on the large panda.

"Po?" For a moment, both warriors stared at each other in shock, neither able to speak. Snapping out it, Po realized he was now truly in mortal danger. He did the only logical thing.

He ran.