Everyone turned to immediately look at the choking master, Po leaping ten feet out of his chair in an effort to do the Heimlich maneuver. However, Tigress quickly held out a paw to stop him as she gripped the table and tried to get air.

"How are you supposed to live if I can't unchoke you?" Po asked, trying to make another effort to help.

Tigress shoved him back into the wall and continued to gasp for air for another few seconds. She soon stopped and took a few gasps of air, her body shaking in the process.

"Tigress, are you okay?" Shifu asked, a worried expression plastered across his face.

"I'm...fine," Tigress promised in between gasps. "Tea...went into...my lungs."

Po winced. "That doesn't sound fun," he noted, getting up. "Still, I could have helped."

"A Heimlich Maneuver...isn't going to help...when there's nothing stuck in my throat."

"Oh. Good point."

Tigress took a final deep breath and turned to face a rather concerned Master Shifu and Mei-Ling. "I apologize for that," she told them. "I didn't mean to choke as you were talking."

"There's no reason to apologize, Tigress," Shifu told her. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"It just went down the wrong pipe," Tigress assured him, taking a bite of her noodles with a light shrug. "I'm fine."

"If you insist."

When the master finally caught her breath, she turned back to Shifu with a small smile. "Sorry again for the interruption," she told him. "Congratulations."

"Yeah, it's about time!" Po seconded. "Can I plan your wedding?! I've had everything sorted out for almost two years!"

"I am not wearing pink," Tigress warned him.

"Aw come on, Po!" Crane protested. "I wanted to plan their wedding! I did a great job with yours!"

Tigress scowled at him and returned to eating her dinner.

"Mei-Ling and I actually have a few things in mind," Shifu told the two masters. "Though we would rather Crane be the main planner."

"Yes!" Crane exclaimed. "So, when's the wedding?"

"Well, we're not rushing anything," Mei-Ling assured him. "We were thinking at the beginning of next summer since that was when we first met."

"Next summer?!" the masters exclaimed in surprise.

"But it's the middle of fall!" Viper pointed out. "You'll have to wait practically an entire year!"

"It's okay," Shifu told her, reaching to eat more of his noodles. "We don't mind waiting."

Mei-Ling laughed. "Just as long as Jungie doesn't ruin anything," she added. "I think we'll be perfectly fine."

"Yeah, Jungie does have a habit of ruining awesome events, doesn't he?" Monkey noticed, eating more of his food as well.

"If Jungie ruins anything, he won't be happy with the results," Shifu commented with a frown. "And that goes for anyone in this room."

"Good," Po remarked. He went back to eating his food and the rest of the masters followed suit.

"So, where is she going to be sleeping then?" Viper asked. "Should we make room in the barracks?"

"Mei-Ling shall be staying in the same room as the last time she was here," Shifu told them.

"How come she won't stay in the barracks?" Mantis asked. "I mean, I get why she didn't the last time, but..."

"Mei-Ling isn't a student," Shifu explained. "So I don't see why she should stay in the barracks with the rest of you."

"Unless you all want me waking you up at the crack of dawn versus the gong," Mei-Ling suggested with a smirk. 

"Uh, no thanks!" Po said quickly. "The Sacred Hall of Warriors sounds lovely."

"I concur."

The masters finished up their dinner, Tigress remaining quiet throughout the rest of the meal except whenever she was asked an occasional question as to what kind of dress she wanted to wear or how her say was. When dinner was over, Po began to clean up everyone's dishes and began to wash them in the kitchen sink.

"Mei-Ling and I will take a quick walk," Shifu announced as he and Mei-Ling got up from the table. "And if anyone decides to disturb us,...well, you know what the consequences will be."

"Yes, master," Monkey and Mantis answered simultaneously.

The two watched Shifu and Mei-Ling disappear before darting out themselves. Viper, Crane, and Tigress watched them for a second before Tigress finally said, "I should go  and keep an eye on them."

"I'll help," Crane offered, walking out of the kitchen after the master.

Po watched them leave before returning to the task of cleaning the dishes. Viper slithered over to him and grabbed a dish towel.

"Need any help?" she asked politely.

"I could use it," Po admitted.

He placed a dish on the counter and Viper reached up to grab it and dry it off. They did this for about a minute and a half before Viper finally asked, "So, how long were you and Tigress sparring for? You looked like you got quite the workout."

"Just for the afternoon," Po told her, placing another dish on the counter. "We practiced with old spikey for a while and then we did some other training stuff after that."

Viper giggled. "I will never understand why you want to name all of the training equipment," she admitted, wrapping the bowl up in the dish towel. "But it'll never get old."

Po simply smiled and continued to wash the dishes. "So, I'm assuming Monkey and Mantis aren't bothering you anymore?" he guessed.

"Thankfully," Viper confirmed with a playful shake of her head. "It was getting rather annoying having them always spy on us."

"How long do you think they'll keep spying on Shifu and Mei-Ling?"

"Not long I would assume. Especially if Shifu keeps hitting them on the head like he did just now. I'm not too worried about him though."

"Yeah, that's true. Shifu's pretty good at punishing them for being too nosy."

Viper smiled and put the bowl away. She glanced over at Po, her mouth opening slightly as if to say something. However, she quickly closed it and went back to helping Po dry the dishes off.

Later that evening, Tigress quietly walked up the steps to the Sacred Hall of Warriors. She still had the matter of Dai to discuss with Master Shifu and she hoped that the conversation wouldn't go south in any way. She had never requested anything from her master in her entire life, so hopefully nothing would go too wrong.

The master reached the top of the stairs and quietly opened the doors, seeing Shifu and Mei-Ling quietly talking by the moon pool. She quickly closed the door, not wanting to disturb them, and turned around to begin walking back down the stairs.

"Who's there?" came Shifu's voice.

Tigress froze for a moment but then quickly went back down the stairs. She could ask Shifu tomorrow when he wasn't...busy. However, she soon heard the doors open and Shifu call out, "Tigress?"

Tigress froze again, just about to reach the bottom step.

"Tigress, did you want to talk to me about something?"

Tigress swallowed and turned to look at her master who was beginning to walk down the stairs in her direction.

"Um, I..I did," she admitted. "But...you looked busy so I thought I'd try tomorrow."

"Nonsense. I always have time to talk. Did you want to discuss it somewhere privately, or-?"

"No, here's fine. It'll be quick."

"If you insist."

Tigress took a small breath before diving into her story. "As you probably knew, I went to Bao Gu earlier today," she began.

"Yes, I remember you telling me that. Go on."

"And...while I was there, I met a kid who...kind of reminded me of myself at that age."

Shifu raised an eyebrow in surprise, but let Tigress finish her tale.

"Long story short, he wanted me to come back tomorrow to see him, and..."

"And you wanted to ask me if you could do so," Shifu finished.

Tigress nodded. Shifu furrowed his brow, thinking on the matter for a moment. Finally, he looked back at Tigress and said, "I have no problem with you ducking out to see him."

"You don't?" Tigress asked in surprise. "I thought you were going to start bringing up various problems that would go along with it."

"Normally yes," Shifu admitted. "But I know from past experience that, if not addressed immediately, a child of that temperament can quickly dive into a state of depression and can suffer from lack of self-esteem. As was the case with you by the time I arrived."

"I remember it too well," Tigress remarked.

"You make take the afternoon off tomorrow to visit him, and if necessary, you can discuss with Mrs. Ire a good time of the week to stop by again. I don't want you to miss every single training session."

Tigress smiled. "Thank you, master," she said.

"You're welcome," Shifu promised her. He eyed the master and added, "Was there anything else you wanted to discuss?"

"No, that was it," Tigress promised. She walked down the last step and called out, "Good night."

"Good night, Tigress."

Hey everyone! So, I apologize for the lack of updates for the past...forever. But my schedule has changed and I won't be able to update any of my stories as frequently as I would like. So, expect a very long wait. I apologize in advance.