Kitten ~ Kung Fu Panda Tigress x Female OC

Eight

A cold wind gushed into the cabin, prompting Xing on all fours from her spot on the floor. Seeing Tigress still sleeping, the wolf tip-toed over to the mattress, slowly leaning in to the slumbering feline.

A small smirk played on the canine's lips, edging closer to Tigress's ear. "Arise and shine~" she breathily whispered in a sing song voice.

"Ugh," Tigress groaned, her ear twitching from the disturbance as she rolled off the mattress.

"Good morning, little puppy," Tigress flicked the wolf's chin playfully. "Where did that come from?!" Xing raised an eyebrow jokingly.

"What? You started calling me 'kitten' so I might as well," Tigress started changing into her usual clothes, and threw some extra and a bandanna at the wolf's chest, who looked up at her question in her eyes.

"Come on, we're going to help the villagers get ready for the day."

Xing let a tired whine, drooping her arms and dropping the items on the floor. "But- but I'm tired! We just arrived yesterday, Ti! And I was hoping we could go for a little hike later. Y'know, just the two of us! And before we start preparing for 'the war'."

"Fine, sleep over if you're too tired anyways. Besides you should let your back rest and actually heal," Tigress reminded Xing with a pointed look.

"Ah, that's more like it," the wolf laid on the mattress, immediately relaxing. "I'll join you later," Xing grabbed a hanging farmer's hat and tipped it over her snout lazily.

Tigress rolled her eyes, "I'm sure Bohai would be more than willing to show me around," she muttered, but loud enough for Xing to hear, and left.

Xing slowly tipped the hat up, sticking her lower jaw out in disbelief and annoyance at the mention of the handsome tiger.

I'll just follow around to see how things are done 'round here. And to make sure there's no funny business, Xing thought.

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As Tigress went about helping the other feline villagers fetch water from streams, cook and steam all sorts of food, weave bamboo baskets, and complete other tasks, Xing hid behind sacks, rocks and other large objects to observe the village chores and it's comfortable little life.

Tigress felt the wolf's presence and rolled her eyes but ignored Xing to focus on her family. Turning around a couple times to spot Xing's burning yellow eyes in the shadows, Tigress kept helping and playing with the young cubs as some grabbed hold of her limbs, forcing her to carry of drag them over the ground- not that she minded.

Xing chuckled at the walking child magnet, and jumped over to sit on the isolated rock ledge not too far from her. Up here, she could almost see the whole village; the house roofs, small chains of cooking smoke, and several bamboo groves. The cool wind ruffled her fur softly, and she turned northeast to look into the horizon.

For a split second, Xing saw a small flicker of light. Slapping her face around a bit and squinting her eyes, she saw the light flash again. The wolf frowned, it didn't seem good - not good at all.

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A small, round and plumpy sun bear scurried about a dull, smoky camp, bumping into several black bears who growled in response to his clumsy ignorance. A massive Eurasian brown bear sat in the middle of a sooty campfire giving off half of the camp's amount of smoke alone, chatting with some of his finest warriors and commanders.

The bears let out beastly bouts of laughter and roared loudly at some oppressive joke when the small bear frantically tip-toed across the bigger bears' feet to stand right in front of the lead bear, who looked at him in angry confusion from interrupting his meeting.

"General Guozhi," the bear panted as his chest heaved in fright, "several scouts have reported sighting of one of the most feared students of legendary Master Shifu crossing into hidden territory that may be harboring a village of tigers."

"Is that so?" General Guozhi raised a brow, his deep voice booming. "And which of his students might that be?"

"They say it is Master Tigress, your greatness," the little bear hastily bowed in fear seeing Guozhi's eyebrows knit together and his jaw clenching in anger.

"D-do you think we should retreat?" the little bear stammered with a small voice, peeking from the corners of his eyes at his master.

"We have already suffered from the devastating icy winds of Siberia, He. And now that our army has grown stronger in this sanctuary, we have no need to worry about a bunch of puny little tigers," Guozhi began, his voice eerily calm.

"But if word gets to those at the Jade Palace, we'd be doomed because of that cursed Dragon Warrior, of whom this Tigress has connection to," the bear continued, sharpening his bronze axe over the fire - it's sparks fueling the flames as his followers looked eagerly at him and awaiting his final conclusion.

"And how can she connect to him through this isolated environment so soon? She has already unlocked the spiritual chi, which transcends through the spiritual realm and can reach the Dragon Warrior and his comrades. They've already defeated some of the greatest villains in all of China; Tai Lung, spirit warrior Kai, and Lord Shen. And do you know why?" Guozhi pointed the blade at little He's nose.

"Uh, no... Why?" He trembled.

"They sought to destroy the Dragon Warrior. But, if we manage to get him on our side for the smallest moment, we can... use him and his friends to our advantage!" Guozhi stood up in prideful rage, smiling at the thought of his plan.

"And d-do you really think that would work?" He stammered, knees knocking the second his question ended.

Guozhi snapped out of his trance to look down at the little ursine with a deadpanned look.

"Of course it will!" The general's claw lightly grazed along He's chubby chin. "The Dragon Warrior is a bear! Yes, I admit the name is misleading, but he wouldn't dare to not help his fellow kindred! Just do a little convincing to his simple little head and he'll be with us in no time. In that case..."

Guozhi smirked and stood tall, sucking in his gut and flexing the faint abs on his heavily furred body. Letting out a massive bellow to alert the camp, he called out to the others in a deep, dark and sinister tone, "Pack your bags lads and lassies!"

"We're going on a little visit."