Strength In Unity

Chapter 13: Join Me

"Boys do you know what this event is?" many in the group nodded and grinned as well."

"Kir-"

"Alright already Tigress, this is something we in our pack used to play all the time before we and you even met. Nothing bad about it I assure you, well perhaps a tad." He said shining a small toothy smile at her innocently before continuing.

"The way this works is you may request Honesty or Survival. Honesty we are given the chance to come clean with something no matter the reach. You choose survival, you are against two others and must fight while you've chosen an indulgence."

"An indulgence?" The feline's eyes were now locked on the table.

"Yes, there is several drinks on the table, or if you prefer there is this plant that can be smoked." He said holding up a small vile of herbs. Tigress felt her face scrunch into a frown.

"Wait just a second, you expect me to participate in merely nothing more than a drinking game? God's I'm leaving!" As she stood, several small whines were heard around the room. Kirscher spoke up.

"First of all this is not just a session of getting drunk but to recollect on pasts of each other, ways of us answering our own questions through discussion, the drinks and herbs are merely an ease into conversation, please Master Tigress don't insult this, it's our way of honoring our fallen." he said in a slightly hurt tone, adding to it with looking down at the floor clearly saddened. This had proved to be enough of a move to stop the tiger where she stood, looking around the room Tigress then rolled her eyes and sighed.

"It's that important that I be here?" Several heads nodded,

"It was our thought that seeing as you're the leader of the furious five, that you should be the one to join us in our tradition, take it as a symbol of our allegiance to you and the valley. " Kirscher said with a small smile. Huffing a sigh the feline came back from the door and sat beside Kirscher and Tyan as the rest of the wolf pack settled in next to one another. Taking one of the bottles from the cart, Kirscher opened it and took a sizable drink and looked across the circle before uttering, "Survival."

Several groans were heard and two wolves hesitantly stood and took their stances outside of the circle where there was more room. Kirscher chuckled and then took his position before them, launching into both wolves quickly, one swung to his left while the other kicked low at the same time. The wolf boss leaped up to avoid the kick but timed it wrong, earning a blow to the knee. He had however turned last minute which allowed for the incoming punch to land in his shoulder armor. After quickly pinning both wolves to the floor, he looked up at Tigress and grinned.

"And it's just that easy." Helping his brothers to their feet, he lead them back into the circle. Tyan was next to choose, the wolf looked down at the cart before reaching over and preparing a hookah with the herbs from the cart. Once it had been lit, the wolf took a deep breath in and looked around the room as he held his breath. Releasing it into the air, he blew several smoke rings before answering,

"...Honesty."

A wolf directly across from him looked at him for a moment before asking a question. "Tyan, what do you wish to ask?"

Looking directly across to Tigress, the young wolf cleared his throat,

"Do you trust us, I mean being in your village, around those close to you?" It was a rather blunt and hard hitting question he'd posed to the feline master, only because he was curious to what she would say, if anyone was going to give the truth it would be her. Tigress looked at all the faces turned to her, a few unreadable but many wore the same expression.

Worry.

"To be completely clear at first I didn't think it was a safe idea but it was what Po wanted. The first few weeks I felt nervous having you working with the villagers but I think that's fair. Knowing who you all are now, I think you deserve to be as trusted as we are." She watched as a few wolves smile warmly, reaching over to the cart, she pondered for a while before choosing the smallest bottle of alcohol there was and sipping on it slowly. She'd only drank rice wine before through several Master gatherings held at the palace which had given her a small tolerance but she knew she had to pace herself. Looking around the room as the stone spun, she noticed Kirscher wearing a somewhat cocky smile as if thinking something to himself. Landing on her next, she groaned and took another large sip of the liquor and then answered.

"Honesty."

Playing for several more rounds through the evening, the pack soon grew focused on getting some sleep, many leaving the circle with a bow. Tigress came next to the wolf boss who was currently taking a final drink for the evening.

"Hey you never really told me what you really wanted to talk to me about." The wolf stared at her with a puzzled face for a moment.

"Po?"

Kirscher came to the realization, "Ah sorry about that, meant only to start this off quick so I could get a bit of courage up is all." He said now feeling loosened up enough to get this over with. Tigress, while knowing she had only minutes to get to her room before the last light was put out, waited patiently still for the wolf.

Taking a gulp, he looked into Tigress's eyes,

"What I wanted to ask you regarding the panda is- and don't get mad because I'm only curious-

"Kirscher-"

"Do you love Po?" The wolf flinched with how car crashing into preschool suddenly it felt as it left his mouth.

The tiger stood before him, eyes wide, expression aside from stunned was unrecognizable. Kirscher coughed and tugged on the neckline of his armor slightly. With whatever remaining courage built on the alcohol now fleeing his system, the wolf sheepishly looked to the floor with lowered ears as he had when saying that regrettably foolish thought to the peacock of the new year.

Tigress kept her eyes locked on the wolf, her mind processing and reprocessing the very question he'd so loosely flung out to her.

"I..."