Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Sleeping, dreaming. Did you know how wonderful it is to slip in-between? Bliss, peace. No pain, no worry; weightless and free. The world fades away.

Life passed by in the blink of the eye, a blip in time—a small portion in the grand schemes of things. She, a mere speck in a little blue planet amidst a vast galaxy. Unknown and terrifying, beautiful and sparkling—what is left for her there? Family gone, future stolen—she is lone, a girl broken. Can't she leave? Fate release? No more suffering.

A light envelopes her. It's warm and bright. She can't see, but is cloaked by the seams. Beeping machines cease, darkness increases. Going towards the light, holding on.

On the other side, she sees various colors; hears new sounds, infinite as the sand. Listens to a kitten's cry, feels fur and the wind brushing by; smells the scent of bamboo and wool—

"It's a girl!"

…Heaven is a far cry from what's been depicted. No golden gate—no chariot of flames or angels await, nor clouds of white. 

She watches a slew of kittens—a litter, two with spots decorating their fur. One more akin to stripes, but this she later denies. 

A mother lulls with purrs. Paws retracting claws, cradles those two, cares for them too and all. A melody in the background plays.

Ah, she blinks. 

A new life, she thinks.

To go through this cage again, no thanks. But it's out of her hands—er, paws. She yawns. Tiredness enters into the sucking child, nodding off to a box's unwinding tune.

Where is she? Who is she? It is a mystery. For now, must continue to sleep; to dream of the possibilities. Because what she is, is easily answered: 

She's always been treated like an animal.

✩₊˚.⋆☾𓃦☽⋆⁺₊✧

Chapter Text

Back then, chirping birds would wake and roosters at dawn croak. Crickets would tune and fireflies attune at dusk. 

The melody plays.

Now, she basks in nature’s dark dance and shining snowflakes. But as they head towards dry ground, heat licks and cold melts. A name her sibling takes, born on the same day—a brother. 

The last sibling she had drowned in the lake. To this one, what fate awaits? 

Oh, she spoke too soon—or rather, too late. On a wooden door, he's left on the floor. On a grassy hill, crawling over a million stairs, under the moon's glow. A night still, no soul crowding, before a jade palace he's left to wait.

She ponders his sleeping face. In her mind, his shape and mane tarry. What does destiny have in store? She wonders as she's carried. From her mother will she also be torn?

As the distance widens, she can only watch her brother abandoned. But their fates match, typical of fraternal twins. A snow leopard's spots cannot be switched, so too is she placed at a doorstep. Left to listen to her mother's soothings and retreating footsteps. 

She doesn't cry. Why? 

Because there was no connection, no election. What's the difference between this life and before? 

None, she concludes. This is but a repeated prelude. 

The box ceases its tune.

Hearing fresh voices, she's brought into arms anew, conducted for a role to brew. Bearing songs with the morning stars.

Taken in asap, she's cradled. Stable on tables and mats, with tails and pats. The snows of age have gathered upon caretakers' hoary heads. Life and death have become a universal heritage. Caretakers teach the animals to sit, ensuring they are not pale, only fit.

Many like her are to grow and learn in a jungle-like world.

✩₊˚.⋆☾𓃦☽⋆⁺₊✧

Chapter Text

A single word… laundry. 

So much in the pantry, her slit eyes bemused. 

Clothes used from the goat were washed. Dry sheets on the baby lynx’s face crashed. Laughter and giggles from the sparrow splashed. 

A little tot, a bitter pill not sought. A babe, to stay forever not. But a kit, she finds herself as ever today.

Foregoing, ongoing—whiskers don't battle or scuffle, skitter, or struggle. To bite nonexistent; to be kind is sufficient. A cat not white as snow but gray as silver stones, a predator immaculate notes. 

It's interesting the variety of life. No humankind—simply wildlife. Flora and fauna are exquisite, mingling with no strife requisite. A mix of mountain cat and snow leopard lying with lambs, eating slowly with them straws. Tofu delicious— somehow nutritious.

A balanced diet missing meat, but alas, as a herbivore, she's to abide by it to last. Seeking not to turn into a mindless beast and languish on a carnage feast. All speak the same language; all feel the same anguish.

Pushing, she spins her fellow kindred during sunlight and darkness, joy to keep in lush and green sprawling valleys.

She follows the deer in orchids, basks in light and dusk, and is able to sleep till noon for days. Caretakers are their mothers and fathers, hoping for the children to be adopted. Kids dream of pleasant homes. 

Oh, how wonderful it is for litters to bear such innocence; she can't bear to shatter their imagination. Unbeknownst to the shadows lying dormant, there can't be light without darkness. Sour to understand sweet, harshness to stumble and humble one meek. Happiness we all seek, but we must pay a price for peace.

From furry lips, fangs hurry to tell: be still.

Gazing at skies of blue and lands of green, no red is seen. Flowers of yellow and pink, no lies, only truths, they think. All kinds are free: goats and deer, sparrows and the baby lynx—growing and nurturing. No claws or teeth rupturing, no paws or horns puncturing—simple mingling, fellow comradeship. 

For all have been abandoned in this Bao Gu Orphanage. 

✩₊˚.⋆☾𓃦☽⋆⁺₊✧

Chapter Text

Tail swishing and dangling, she's learning to handle and control. Ears flicking, hearing the surroundings and all. Grass rustles and fall; leaves crunch. Bark munched upon with no obstacle, the breeze whistles.

Cracking back, muscles stretch. Crawling coat, black spots. 

Observing a sprawly slope, tacky glass is placed onto rich buildings with tall frames. No rust, the tawny bees finish and pass by for lunch. Patrons are nice and give, children don't fight—they simply live and eat. There's no need to fast or steal, only to share in vast.

No lumpy slouching, she climbs and crawls upon a tree's comfy branches, up to the nethermost parts—curling more like a cat. Is her excuse.

Isn't she one? Why not make use? She mused as sheep pound flour before it amounts. Food abounds as day passes by; night arrives with sparkling riches.

Lotus floating on pools of water, splashes to make later. Stars as large as the sea—why seek riches? Don't these jewels for me, and you shine? No need for a noble's gold to twine. Forsake the jades and diamonds. Beings have done many horrifications for these things. What's much more valuable than life? 

Caretakers to patrons, children giving. Under the table, coins clatter. Unable to grumble or mutter, dissatisfaction does sear through the hearts of the living. What a greedy bunch.

Ears slump. Are our lives even worth much?

Let them be just one with no strife, no sorrows to be had. But balance we must experience to understand. 

Gold clanks underneath wooden planks. 

Riches can't revive a brother lost, or be relied on in a fractured marriage. Neither heal a misleading miscarriage nor free a girl from her pretty cage.

Climbing down, she enters the window. Bed found, crawls into covers, safe and sound. A still night, a lullaby to bid goodnight.

O wee little ones, enjoy your epoch of childhood. Mine youth has not been as kind as it has for thee. Her paws reach out to hoofs and meet. Animals dear she greets. Not aloof, there's no use. This world's proof to not commit the same mistakes. 

Alas, just as an old hound cannot learn new tricks, a leopard cannot switch its spots. Her past always trails behind. Scars in the soul can't be washed away; there they tarry as stowaways. 

Years pass by, and the sunset she witnesses far away. Not a kit, not a misfit—yet she doesn't know what to expect as a tween. Her feet take her to the below entrance. Why did she listen to a lynx's dare? Because of a snare?

Nay. A knowledge suspect, a proof compliant. For a tiger has her in a trance with acceptance.

Ah, she croons. She's now aware of where she was sent, where her destiny must be spent: under the moon. Beware. 

But who she is remains unrevealed, kept as a mystery. A flap of a butterfly's wings causes a hurricane in the far-off distance. But a tap on this spring makes no consequence; the terrain's in place. The stigma and prejudice run deep like a riverbend; they must flow.

But in a day, seasons slow and show. She watches the lilies and how they grow. Slow and onto light they hold as the rain pours. 

In the eye of the storm, the hybrid snow leopard roars. Following, catching up to an elusive monster who left tracks in the snow. Searching for short ears, which once upon a time were valued for their fur.

Glancing, she moves towards the caught long-tailed cat.

Let's go, her slitted eyes bore. 

The little kitten takes, for lies and secrets untold to grow.

Picking up, they go in tow on the morrow.

What does tomorrow have in store?

✩₊˚.⋆☾𓃦☽⋆⁺₊✧

Chapter Text

Silence reigns in the space of many hours, but she can't deny reality in any manner. An uproar on this slow road. Adoption is provisional, yet nigh eligible. 

Little monster, strength you can't deny. If only you had wings to fly, she fosters in sly. To intervene? Nay. This snow leopard shall not. That future she won't knot. 

A tiger's fate will sprout, even when thrown around and when lashing out. Critters skitter and mingle with each other but exclude the orange predator. Becomes the quarry of the orphanage, more out of fear than malice.

Patience, kitten. In this fauna, ye can't fit in, for a warrior you're to be smitten with. Adopted maybe, but not today. It's not time yet; here you'll stay.

Until the tiger to a red panda will belay and pave the way. A price must be exchanged; but she can give momentary pleasure and escape.

Bunnies arrive later that day. She corrals the children and with the monster plays. Many abound, the tiger is astounded by how they roam about. They are the fastest and first to be picked, a litter not meant to stick around for much longer.

What a nightmare, but the tiger's simply stronger. She mulls and remembers, yet is still a stranger. Lulls the bunnies, for they're rounder and softer, to sleep in full. In her eyes, they're all cuter, with a brighter future. 

What about hers? 

None, she purrs. Cut off and wasted, life she's already tasted. Who's she to incur a greater disaster? Why search for another?

On branches to avoid the birch, viewing all others and the forerunner, lets fate unwind. There's time, even if the bell chimes. Seasons pass by, and winter arrives.

Landing, returning to a timeline unknown. With younglings, but not nurturing a tiger known. For the monster has stripes to count, a destiny to be found. And she a story to recount.

Yet at night, the lynx, a kit now, steps in to confound as bunnies and deer disperse, for his friends are scarce. Theirs is a farce, but that feline pays no mind nor gives heed to her words.

"Why're you paying her attention?" He jeers and doesn't amend. 

She flees and doesn't attend, for her gaze was directed to another. It's not what he believes. Why can't he see? 

The tiger can bend wood but can't mend wounds. Why think otherwise? To lick them off is impossible. For him to understand, improbable. She wishes not to be an obstacle. Let fate sow and her future flow, whatever it shapes out to be. 

The lynx purses his lips and leans. Can't see what she's foreseen. Can't live through what she's been through. 

The deer brushes past her knees, eyes pretty. The petty lynx intervenes and in-between blankets lies down to sleep. The bunny imagines and stagnates. The sheep, once a lamb, procrastinates. The sparrow abandons trinkets; the goat takes off anklets. They all procure sticking together, foregoing adoption altogether.

Where's the benefit? 

Still children, they don't understand. O, how wistful? O, how pitiful? The crossroads of life are to separate. For now, lets them act as they see fit. 

Her heart, as black as her spots, slips. The scale of fate tips. 

Hadn't Dad her wings clipped? Mom her future tripped? Her crippled brother in a lake rippled and drowned in? Her happiness eclipsed, in darkness she had lived.

What is to live? She questions. Is this above her station? Normal temptation? 

Fangs glimmer.

How easy it would be to end a life. To just eat and feast, at the least.

But the urge she has beat. No small feat. 

Beds by the weight creak.

Is her future bleak? Or must she a foreknowledge leak? 

Ha, who can say? For past mistakes must she pay? That hurt cannot be slain or fade away. All she has is pain in plain. Not one she can bear to share.

The snow leopard, the oldest of the brood, looks at the youngest, whom she in her arms took. Playing by the book, for she must see. Satisfactory to the bone.

"Yet abide with me..." she pleads. Contradictory and alone.

✩₊˚.⋆☾𓃦☽⋆⁺₊✧

Chapter Text

Her kindred fellows she can select but not recall by name. It's beyond her capacity, really. The sheep, the lynx. The deer, the bunny. And the goat and the sparrow are elect. Each is her fellow; isn't that enough?

Wool to spin, a fool to win. One mute and slim, the other cute to the brim. One thinks it's cruel to sin, another blinks to fly. And she, the half-mountain cat, has no name to spell. Only fairy tales and tall tales to tell. What awaits? She ponders.

Alas, bit by bit, they all retreat by a call made. Adoption laid, not paid. No more stay. To bid farewell, they may. No matter the good years together, "goodbye," they say with care. Ripped apart to live their part. 

The sheep is to be an apprentice up in the city. As well as the goat, to be a painter and administer of ancient scrolls. Fitting. To a priestess, a shaman; man or woman—no one can distinguish nor answer. But they hold a peacock's feather.

The deer to be a courier of tofu and bamboo. Complying. Always refilling on a weekly basis. Hidden by symbols of black and white, as swirling as the yin and yang.

The bunny will lavish in nice environments. Enriching. No sitting still inside a palace. Royalty in grand with a chameleon. While the sparrow is to sing and dance all day and night. No fighting, only wandering in the streets, with glamour to enamor in a city of thieves. 

"Farewell, be well; take care of yourselves!" The goat and sheep believe. The deer leaves without a say; it's a thing. The bunny snivels and goes to inherit a legacy as the sparrow sniffles and sings. 

Isn't one missing? 

"Nay," the lynx springs. He and the snow leopard must go to a dojo. For this wildcat, he must be made heir. And she, as a student, must learn. Unbelieving. Taken under an ox's wing—why him bring? Why her as well? 

She turns, but paws hold her in place, unable to escape. The lynx purrs, almost as if stating: "can't leave; together we're to be."

Siblings? The half-snow leopard scoffs. She's already had two. In a life before, in a life anew. One foregone, one begone. One died, and one's alive. What makes him think he can replace? 

Know your place. Her body language morphs, and she snarls. He growls, invading her personal space.

"This you can't avoid. Accept your fate." Stance unshaken, he walks away, last word taken. 

Must this task she undertake? She grits her teeth, tail tucked between her legs. What does this move implicate? Unknown. Cannot be placated, but for the moment, with food satiated. For she's now a student with a few tricks, and he's the ox's new heir with a slew of picks. One to obey. 

The lynx sneers at the monster; the mixed-race peers at the orange predator. Who, when claimed, will be known as Tigress.

Goodbye feline; your destiny's bright with light. But theirs is to be draped in darkness all the while.

Nearing the stairs, the ox and the lynx stare, but only the former speaks: 

"Let's go." 

The heir climbs to rest upon her shoulders, but she simply carries him upon her back. He tightens his hold around her neck, tail curling around her waist as they are kept waiting.

For their fate awaits in this so-called, wordly renowned "Lee Da Kung Fu Academy," a monicker lacking originality. She snickers, yet the truth of the matter dawns on her.

They're to submerge in the shadow's depths, within darkness in contrast to a jade palace's light. And yet, despite it all, she tends to her needy young fellow, who's somewhat like a leech. Yet this cat, oppressive for a brat, is still a kit. A small master she'll care for and teach.

Little predator... One last look at the front-row seat, for who knows when things will go south, she mouths: 

Till we meet.

✩₊˚.⋆☾𓃦☽⋆⁺₊✧