Cloudless Authors

Chapter I

Tigress propped herself up on the rickety mattress and wince when her head throbbed in pain. "No, it's fine," she told him, leaning against the wall. "I'll head back later when my head feels better."

"Alright." 

The two sat in silence for a while. Tai Lung would occasionally glance over at Tigress, but then he would lean back against the wall. Tigress winced every few moments but she didn't say anything either. A few more glances followed along with longer minutes of silence. Finally: 

"So I take it things have been more quiet since my near-death experience?"

Tigress sighed irritably. "Well, I wouldn't say quiet, but there was definitely less stress."

"Ah."

Tigress sighed again. "I still don't understand how this is possible."

"I'm as baffled as you are. One second my body feels like it's ripping to shreds, and the next I'm at the base of the Mongolian Mountains almost bleeding to death. And then I survived that on top of it!"

Tigress glanced at him and then turned her head to see him better. The lantern that Tai Lung had wasn't very bright, but it lit up the room enough for her to notice the many vicious scars that ran along the snow leopard's body. They lined his arm, sloppily were lashed across his upper body, and there were even a few along his face and neck. 

"As I can see," was all she had to say about it. 

Silence fell back over the room. A few more glances. Silence. 

Seeing Tigress continue to wince, Tai Lung called over to her, "Are you sure you don't want any water?"

"Yes," Tigress answered, wincing again. 

"Do you want to lay back down?"

Tigress opened her mouth to speak, but then hesitated and sighed. "Actually that sounds fine. I could use a good rest." 

She slowly scooted away from the wall as Tai Lung got up and walked over to help. He put a paw on the master's back and eased her down on the mattress as she winced once again in pain. 

"Thank you, Tai Lung," the master mumbled. As Tai Lung walked back over to his spot on the wall, she added, "Why are you helping me?"

The snow leopard turned his head to look at her. "Why on earth not?" he asked as he sat back down. "When someone gets hurt or falls victim to an attack, the top priority is to get them to safety. That's both a protocol and just a polite thing to do."

"We're enemies," Tigress reminded him. "You tried to kill us, remember? You tried to kill Shifu and you destroyed the valley!"

"I know. And I was a moron to do it...."    Tai Lung sighed. "I know I did some nasty things in the past. I grew arrogant and proud, I turned my back on those I loved, I opted to abandon the only home I've ever known. And I've been regretting those things for a long time now."

Tai Lung shifted his body and placed the lantern against the wall. "I know you probably don't trust me; I don't blame you. But I want to try and mend some of the bridges I've burned. Helping you is just one of those ways. I want to build up your trust; I want to be the guy I was before. I don't hold any grudge or vendetta against you, my dear. I just want to, at the very least, come to a mutual understanding."

Tigress was silent for a moment as she thought the whole spiel over. "I...I can't say I trust you entirely," she admitted. "But I'm willing to give it a gamble for now."

Tai Lung smiled at her. "Thank you," he said. 

They were silent for another few moments. Silence....... Silence....... Silence............ Tigress suddenly chuckled. 

"What?" Tai Lung asked, raising an eyebrow curiously. 

"You sounded like Shifu for a second," Tigress told him with a smirk. "Whenever he's trying to teach us the legends behind mystical objects." 

Tai Lung grinned. "You mean in that superfluous and yet super-serious tone that leaves nothing for the imagination?" he asked. 

"Yeah, that one."

"Well, I suppose when you live at the Jade Palace for twenty-two years you pick up a thing or two."

Tigress laughed. "I'll never forget the first day I had a history lesson on kung fu," she said. "I couldn't focus on anything so I started daydreaming."

Tai Lung chuckled. "I  almost fell asleep," he responded. 

"Oh yeah? Did he wake you up by banging his staff loudly on the floor?"

"No. He scolded me for sleeping and then made me copy that day's lesson eight times!"

"That doesn't sound too bad."

"To a six year old it is."

Tigress smiled at him but simply settled back down in the makeshift bed Tai Lung had put her in. The silence had just barely begun to settle back over the room when Tai Lung  spoke back up with "How long have you been learning kung fu?"

"Since I was ten," Tigress answered. "Shifu took me out of the orphanage when no one else wanted me and pretty much raised me in the art."

"Wow," Tai Lung said, surprised. "That's a long time."

"When did he teach you kung fu?"

"I was five."

Now Tigress was surprised. "That's younger than me!" she exclaimed. 

"Well I had been hanging around for a while. Maybe he really wanted to get back into the swing of things...."

Tigress let out a curt chuckle. "Sounds like Shifu." 

"Yeah, I think he's about as addicted to meditating as you and I are to kung fu."

This time Tigress actually laughed. "Is it that easy to tell?" she asked him. 

"You do always seem to be on the alert, so I just assumed so."

Tigress winced but continued to smile. "Well good guess then," she said. 

Seeing the expression of pain, Tai Lung got up and walked over to the bed. He then kneeled down to Tigress' level and asked her, "How's your head?"

"It still hurts," the master admitted. "But not as bad as earlier."

Tai Lung smiled at her and gently squeezed her shoulder. "Well we can rest here for a few more minutes and then I'll help you get back, alright?"

"Sounds like a plan," Tigress agreed. 

The snow leopard paused for a millisecond and then suddenly leaned over and kissed the master on the forehead. "To help make it feel better," he explained. 

Too surprised to say or do anything, Tigress felt her cheeks turn red as Tai Lung got back up and walked back over to the other side of the room and sat down. Tai Lung smiled at her and tended to the lantern and Tigress simply readjusted herself on the mattress as she waited to go home. 

The End

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