Between Friends

Town

Tigress, after a long ride through China's greatest sights, was ready to move. The boon of extra leg space and elbow room was appreciated, but it only put a bandage on the problem. The fact of the matter was that sitting still for extended periods of time while only being able to listen to road trip songs was, simply put, not fun.

Evidently, this experience was not universal. Just as Tigress rolled her head to feel the satisfying pop of her neck, the other carriage, the one belonging to the advisor Ping Zhou, stopped. As soon as the doors were opened, both Ping Zhou and Master Shifu walked down, still in conversation, and laughing uproariously. Tigress stared at them as they passed, unable to stop the shiver running up her spine.

She turned back to the carriages to see the other students similarly stretching. Oogway, on the other hand, crawled out of his ride like something dead and beaten. "Tigress," he said wearily, "the next time you have the opportunity to travel between two people who hate the same way, refuse."

Tigress would not laugh. She would not. Because laughing would be disrespectful to her grand-master. And Tigress was not disrespectful. All the same she had to hide her mouth behind a paw to not break polite manners.

"I am," she began shakingly. She coughed into her fist twice and banged her chest before she felt she could continue safely. "I am sorry for your discomfort, Master Oogway."

Master Oogway looked her up and down before shooting a knowing, mischievous smile. "Are you really?" he asked.

Tigress looked away as a chuckle escaped her. "Maybe not as sorry as I should be."

Oogway laughed. "I fear that too much time spent in hate has made me weary. I'll be leaving you all to reacquaint myself with an old friend. I feel the need for more pleasant company."

Tigress raised one brow. "An old friend like Madame Ying?"

Oogway smiled and shook his head. "No, this one actually enjoys my company. He runs a tea shop in the inner quarter. If you have need of me, send for the Jasmine Dragon tea house. I'll probably be playing checkers there."

"Shouldn't you at least wait until we know where we're staying?"

Oogway ambled away, waving away her concerns. "If I know the emperor as well as I think, I know where he'll be housing us for our stay."

Ping Zhou's head swiveled to follow the old turtle. "Where is he going?" he asked with mild curiosity.

"To meet an old friend, apparently," Tigress answered.

Ping Zhou shook his head, then straightened himself. "Well he'd better know where he's going. I will not be held responsible if he gets lost."

"My master is not one to wander off without purpose," Shifu said. "He'll be back, I assure you."

Ping Zhou gave it a moment of thought before shrugging. "Well, as long as someone can retrieve him, it should be fine. Come along all, I will show you to your rooms. Only the finest accommodations in Nanjing will do for the emperor's guests!"

The advisor walked onward with effortless confidence, not even looking back at the mass of martial artists as they followed.

The goose led them across the streets, each with enough lanterns to make the night seem alive. Even despite the dark, people were still milling about. Tigress nearly tripped over a collection of kids, all chasing one who held a kite. Viper gave a friendly smile when a pig from one of the shops waved. Another pair of a dog and a cat were arguing loudly over the correct prices of cotton.

It was almost wholly unfamiliar to Tigress. Navigating crowds was nothing new, but normally that was only reserved for day time and holidays. That so many people could live in a single place, and still have business into the late night was baffling.