The Lion and the Leopard

Painful Lessons

The sun had barely crested the mountains, but Leo Lung was already awake. He pulled his sleepy eyes open and tossed his legs over the bed to sit upright. The lion arched his back and yawned greatly, his teeth gleaming in the first light of dawn.

The lion tossed on his favorite robe, the green robe with golden accents, and swished his mane. Leo pulled his door open, quietly, and gazed down the hallway. The Furious Five were still sleeping. He could hear the gentle snores coming from their rooms.

But what really caught Leo's eye was the pair of open doors that lay at the end of the hallway. His yellow eyes narrowed, and Leo gently walked to the end of the hallway and looked into the empty room. He could smell Po's scent in here. This must be his room.

But why is it vacated? Leo thought to himself, tilting his head in confusion. The bed was made and the room was surprisingly clean. It was almost as if the Panda wasn't in this room last night.

Leo gently closed the doors and looked towards the entrance of the Dorm Building. The lion ran a paw through his mane and sighed quietly. He quietly made his way towards the end of the hall and exited the building. Leo pushed open the doors and was greeted by none other than Master Shifu himself.

"Good morning, Leo." Shifu greeted warmly.

"Hello, Master Shifu." Leo purred, a smile creasing his muzzle.

"Always the early riser, hm?" Shifu chuckled, pushing past him. Leo laughed in response.

Shifu moved towards the end of the hallway, just as the sound of a gong resounded throughout the mountains. It was time to start the day. Each of the Furious Five members dashed out of their rooms, greeting Leo and Shifu. They stood stiffly at attention, ready to start another day of training. But Po's room remained empty. Leo sighed shakily, unsure of how the red panda would react to the panda not greeting him on the first day of training.

"Where is he?" Shifu asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"I already looked. He's not there." Leo said quietly as Shifu walked over to Po's room and threw the doors open. Shifu's eyes were wide. He scanned the empty room, the fur on his neck and tail standing upright in nervousness.

"What will we do now?" The lion asked softly, as the Five glanced curiously towards the vacant room.

"I-I.." Shifu said. He was silent for a moment before recomposing himself, "We need to continue training. We need to grow as powerful as possible." He said, paranoia creeping up on him as he thought of Tai Lung claiming revenge on the Valley. Without a Dragon Warrior to stop him, would he destroy everything? Shifu sighed and slowly made his way towards the entrance of the building, beckoning the Five and Leo to follow him.

As the seven animals approached the Training Hall, Viper moved to the front and addressed Shifu, "Are we simply going to continue training, even with the Dragon Warrior gone? Who will be the Dragon Warrior?" She asked softly.

But Leo answered, "We need to focus. If Po was not meant to be the Dragon Warrior, then we must hope that the true Dragon Warrior will be revealed." He said, moving to push open the doors of the Training Hall. {Hopefully the true Dragon Warrior will be revealed before Tai Lung returns.} He thought, pushing the doors open.

And they were greeted by Po. He had his back facing the Masters, and he was in a full split, trying to put his feet on two separate bars across from each other and let gravity do the work.

"Po? You're back!" Leo exclaimed, relief flooding his veins. The panda had not quit after all.

"Ah! G-Good morning, Master! I just thought I might...warm up a little." The panda exclaimed, shooting upright. He tried to look behind him but he could not.