The Countdown

Expecting the inevitable

Tigress woke up the next morning to the sound of Po's gently snores. She quietly sat up and stretched her arms out, getting ready to embrace another day of training. She normally got up before the gong, so this wasn't an unusual habit for her. And today, that would prove to be most helpful. Seeing the sun slowly peeking through the window, the master figured it was almost time for the gong to go off which meant Po had to quickly leave her room. Tigress quietly walked over to Po who was curled up under her blanket, snuggling it against his chest. She could hear him murmur a little bit to herself, but she couldn't quiet hear what he was saying.

Not important right now, she told herself. He needs to wake up before Monkey and Mantis do.

The master kneeled down beside him and gently poked his arm. "Po," she said quietly, trying not to wake the others. "Po, get up."

The Dragon Warrior stirred, but didn't wake up. Tigress poked him again. "Po," she said a little louder. "Po, you need to get up. Otherwise Mantis and Monkey will be on our back all day."

Po yawned, tugging Tigress' blanket closer to his face, muttering something she couldn't hear.

"Po! Po, get u-ahhh!"

The Dragon Warrior rolled over, grabbing the arm Tigress was poking him with and dragging her down next to him. The master landed hard on her back, trying not to groan in pain. She went to stand up only for Po to reach over and scoop her into his chest with a tight squeeze. Tigress was taken aback for a moment, but then quickly worked to try and free herself. "Po," she said, trying to pry the panda's arms off of her. "Po, get up!"

Po yawned and hugged her even tighter. She heard him mutter about dumplings and dancing, but she didn't hear enough to know what he was dreaming about. The master then suddenly heard the front door of the barracks open, sending a chill down her spine.

The gong! It'll go off any minute!!!!!

"Po!" she said quickly, trying to pry herself free. "Monkey's stealing your cookies."

Po's eyes snapped open. "What?!" he exclaimed, sitting up in a kung fu stance.

Tigress felt herself fall onto the floor, gladly standing up and grabbing her baby blanket. Po glanced over at her, a small embarrassed blush creeping onto his face. "Um..." he stammered. "Sorry...."

"That's fine, Po," Tigress assured him quickly. "But you really need to head back to your room before the gong-"

A muffled and low ring ran throughout the valley, causing the two to freeze in panic.

"Now what?!" Po cried in a half whisper. "If Monkey and Mantis find out you let me bunk in your room, I'll never hear the end of it." He let out an exasperated sigh. "I should have woken Crane up or something."

Tigress grabbed him and pulled over to the trunk in her room. "Actually, he get really grouchy if you wake him up," she told him. "We had to wake him up once for a midnight ambush and he did nothing but grumble and complain."

Po winced. "Good thi-"

"Good morning master," came a muffled unison of voices.

Tigress quickly opened her chest where her stuff was neatly folded inside. "Get in," she whispered quickly.

"Get in?!" Po exclaimed in surprise. "I can't fit in there!!!"

Tigress didn't give him much time to protest as she picked Po up and tossed him into the bin. The Dragon Warrior was just barely able to fit, squeezing his body together to sink neatly into the tight bin. "We need to have another talk with them and my dad," he grumbled. "I hate that we can't just chill without them up our butts."