The Ticking Contingent: The Countdown vo.2

Knots

"Oh! Sorry, dearie!" the old sheep apologized. "I was just finishing up my work. I thought you were still at dinner. You eat so early." 

"It's only 6," Po observed.

"Oh, I eat a lot later. I don't sleep very much these days, so a late dinner works better for me." 

"Ah." 

Mrs. Jun chuckled at his expressions, but then stared at him a bit and asked if something was the matter. 

"Ah, nothing really," Po promised her. "Just trying to train a new student. She's...kinda' having trouble fitting in...." 

"Oh, is she?" Mrs. Jun asked. She closed the door behind her and asked, "What do you mean by having trouble fitting in?" 

"She seemed like she wanted to learn kung fu, but she doesn't follow the rules," Po explained. "And she's really talented, but she looks down on anyone else who isn't her thieving clan." 

"Oh..." Mrs. Jun said with a concerned look. "Thieves. Yes, that would explain it." 

Po looked confused. "Explain what?" he asked. 

"The lack of respect, the extreme skill, the snobbery, the lack of regard for authority figures...." Mrs. Jun explained. She sighed. "I knew plenty of them back in the day unfortunately. Lost causes most of them were." 

Po frowned. "I don't like to think of people as a lost cause," he disagreed. "Plus it sounds like she's been through a lot." 

"Well I can imagine," Mrs. Jun told him. She looked out past him towards the horizon and sighed. "You're young and very optimistic," she admitted. "I partially envy that, Master Po. But I've lived in this world for a long time, and in my personal experience, you can't change someone who wants to be difficult. They make everything about them and no matter how patient you are and no matter how much you reason with them, there's nothing you can do. They want to do their own thing and have their own pity party." She glanced down at her bag and took out a pretty silver pin with a rusty colored stone in the center. "I had a friend who sounds very similar to your student," she told Po, handing him the pin. "Lovely girl. Belly full of fire, had a lot of gumption, laughed at the face of danger." She smiled fondly and chuckled. "We were inseparable, the pair of us. We played games, we played in the river, we pulled pranks on the boys..." She laughed. Then sighed. "But one day she decided she was bored and took to doing petty things. Pick pocketing, stealing candy from babies-"

Po gasped in shock. 

"Oh, I know. An awful thing. Not to mention that she treated people in a very condescending way, including me. I tried to be patient and help her see reason, but she kept making up excuses, and soon she started playing pranks on me.... I had to draw a line after a while." 

Mrs. Jun closed Po's paw over the pin. "People can change for the better," she promised Po. "There's plenty of people who can do it, even when it's hard. But some people just don't feel like it at the end of the day. I think your optimism and contagious attitude could possibly win her over. You seem to know a little about her, and that's a wonderful angle to go off of. But don't be too disappointed if she doesn't. Sometimes there's just not much you can do." 

She patted Po's paw and walked down the stairs. Po asked if she wanted her pin back, but Mrs. Jun told him that he could keep it as a reminder of their conversation. Po watched her reach the bottom and head over to the elevator before sighing and heading into his room. He closed the screen door and sat on his bed and took out the action figures from underneath it and began to reenact a new battle scenario. After a while though, his thoughts trailed back to Zhen and the conversation with Mrs. Jun, and Po soon found himself too engrossed in his thoughts to unwind. He eventually gave up and just put the action figures back in the box and took to looking at the pin that Mrs. Jun had given to him. He sat there for a while before he heard a gentle knock on the door. 

"Po, can I come in?" came Tigress' voice from the other side. 

Surprised, Po quickly put the action figures under the bed and told her that she could. Tigress opened the door to the room and walked over to him. 

"What's up?" Po asked curiously. 

Tigress spotted the hastily shoved action figures and asked, "Can't concentrate?" 

Po just sighed. "It's been a long day," he admitted. 

"I figured as much," the master admitted. She sat down on the other end of the bed, immediately noticing the pin. Seeing where her eyes were, Po said, "Oh, Mrs. Jun gave that to me. Kinda' as a reminder that people can go in either direction and it's not our fault where they choose to lean." 

"Sounds like solid advice to me," Tigress admitted. She fell silent for a moment and watched Po fiddle with the pin before sighing. "Po," she said slowly. "Can we talk about Zhen?" 

"Is it about her training with us?" Po guessed reluctantly. 

"Po, I understand you want to help her turn over a new leaf, but I don't think this is the best way to do it," the tiger master told him honestly. "She treats kung fu like a joke, she has no respect for anyone in the Jade Palace, and she takes extreme joy in making everyone here miserable. Especially you for some reason." 

"I took Zhen in as a student because she sounded interested in learning kung fu," Po reminded her. "And I wanted to show her that kung fu isn't just about punching things and looking awesome. Even I knew that before I started learning kung fu."

"Zhen isn't you, Po. You had a rough time when you first started and you're trying to show her the courtesy we didn't give you...." Tigress trailed off and looked off to the side in slight embarrassment, most likely going over the memory in her mind. Po just squeezed her shoulder and smiled at her to show that he held no ill feelings against her for that. The master just sighed and continued her thought. "But she's been here for almost two weeks and she's...awful. Not to mention the fact that she's been grating on my nerves since the moment she arrived and that takes a special kind of bad." 

Tigress leaned against the back wall in thought while Po thought over the comment. After a moment, he asked, "What other way is there to help her? The other thieves seem to be doing okay...." 

"I wish I could answer that," Tigress told him. "I just know that here in the Jade Palace is not the answer." 

Po sighed, though this was interrupted by a yawn. 

"Tired?" Tigress observed. 

"Yeah..... I think I just need some sleep. A good night's sleep might help me figure all of this out tomorrow." 

"Well, I'll leave you to it. I know it's been a long day. Just remember that if you need to let out any more frustrations, I have a place in the training hall with your name on it." 

Po laughed. "How about a raincheck for the end of the week?" he suggested. 

"After everyone goes off to bed, on top of the field of fiery death," Tigress tacked on. 

"Aw come on! You know I hate that one-actually, fine. That sounds good. I could use something difficult." 

"That's what I thought. Goodnight, Master Po." 

"Goodnight Tigress." 

Po watched her close the door and then let out a loud yawn. He then put Mrs. Jun's pin under the bed and rolled over into his bed and went to sleep.