The Lion and the Leopard

A Special Birthday

Leo Lung, even at the peak of his training when he was younger, was never a morning cat. He always valued his sleep, taking every spare second to try to nap. Even five seconds of micro-sleep was greatly appreciated.

So when Shifu gave Tigress the day off of training for her 10th birthday, she simply had to go to Leo and hang out with him. Tigress had assumed he would be meditating in his room, not sleeping.

But when the idea to scare him awake popped into her head, Tigress could think of nothing better. She silently crept into the sleeping lion's room. Leo was asleep on his stomach, his flank rising and falling every so often. Tigress thought she saw his tail twitch once or twice. Was the Lion Master dreaming? A wild smirk creased the tiger cub's muzzle, and her claws scraped against the wooden floor as she fell on all fours.

She had never felt something like this. It was a predatory feeling. It felt like something she had not felt since her days at the orphanage, when she hunted the other children simply out of pleasure. But this was different, a more tame version of that wild rage. Her tail lashed in anticipation. The thought of scaring her brother awake made her giddy.

Tigress crept onto her older brother's bed. She was careful not to rip his cot with her claws. He might not be happy with that. She crept right up next to his head. The young cub got a brilliant idea to roar. She had not roared very much since she left the orphanage, but now the idea seemed genius.

She took the deepest breath she could and felt the roar build up in her throat. Tigress edged forward and roared at the top of her lungs.

Everything was a blur from there. One minute she was on the bed on all fours, the next second she was on the floor on her back, completely winded and terrified for her life.

The wind seemed to howl as loud as the wolves of the mountain. The golden and purple light of dusk coated the land like a blanket. Leo's golden eyes narrowed. His muscles quivered and his tail twitched. A tall, muscular figure cloaked in all black circled him slowly.

Leo had no clue who this creature or whatever was. But the lion had a hint of what his opponent was. Or, more like, who. Leo had not thought of his brother for a while, but the inkling of who this character could be nagged at his mind.

Leo uttered a prayer just as the figure lunged at him. The lion ducked and swerved out of the way. The black figure landed in front of him and turned slowly to face him. The light hit the figure just right, and Leo spied the gleam of sword-sharp claws in the light. Leo did not even dare of think what would happen if those claws came near him.

The lion was about to leap to attack when a roar ravaged his ears. Caught completely off guard, Leo's eyes flew open. {Attack!} Leo whipped around to face whoever had dared attack him in his sleep. Without even seeing who it was, he landed a nasty uppercut to their jaw, sending the smaller figure flying to the floor.

Adrenaline, anger, and surprise led him to leap out of bed and land above the smaller figure. Leo bared his fangs in a snarl, letting the gleam of dawn make his teeth look sharp. Whoever dared attack him would-

Oh. Oh no.

Leo realized, with horror, that the terrified creature below him was none other than Tigress. Guilt replaced his anger in a heartbeat, and he quickly crawled off of her. Tigress was shaking. Even though she was covering her face, her quiet sobs told him that she was crying. Leo panicked. {What have I done?! I am so stupid! I should have looked before I hit her!} Leo harshly scolded himself.

He prayed that Tigress would not run to Shifu. The red panda would never let him sleep in again for the rest of his life if he knew what just happened. Leo Lung gently lay a large paw on his crying sister.