"Tolerable Peace"

Rating: PG

Pairing: Slight Po/Shen slash.

Summary: Shen survives being crushed alive with a little help from an old goat. Whether he likes it or not, it is time he fulfill his destiny...


-Cryptic Destiny-

The first thoughts to flurry across his hazy mind were nothing more then a jumbled mess of mental syllables. The second thought was that this had to be the worst year of the peacock ever...

With mild difficulty Shen struggled to fully regain consciousness. He felt sluggish, heavy, and was in a considerable amount of pain. Which could only mean one thing.

'I'm... still alive.' Shen heaved a mental sigh.

Cracking an eye open, he stared at the decaying ceiling above him. It was dark out and the only source of light was the gentle amber glow of a fire. He had no idea where he was, but it felt sickeningly familiar.

Shen cautiously lifted his head and charted his surroundings.

He let out a gasp. "The village! That... panda!" Shen stuttered a cough as a wave of malice hit him.

He was in that stupid panda village, where that stupid panda was born, and whom he stupidly couldn't seem to kill, which in turn, made him look even stupider than that stupid panda-

"Oh, do please stop sulking, Shen. You look ridiculous with that sour expression on your face".

Shen groaned as a shadow loomed over him, " Y-you?" he coughed.

The Soothsayer grinned down at him as he drew a slightly bewildered face. Despite all the turmoil and dismay the peacock had caused, she was still glad to see him alive.

"In case your wondering, my child. The path you have chosen has reached a dead end." she chided, as she gently rapped her cane against his head.

"Then you should have let me die!" he hissed.

She laughed, "Such anger! If you had died now you'd have never been able to rest in peace." her gaze turned serious, "You cannot do that to your poor parents."

"My... parents?" Shen was in shock. He was less than thrilled at the prospect of being alive anyways, but to find out that he was spared only for the sake of not pestering his parents in the afterlife caused him deep frustration.

"You rather have me shamed in front of all China then face my dead parents?" he laughed.

"Despite of what you may think, Shen. Your destiny had not yet been fulfilled" she stated calmly as she turned to tend the fire.

That had stopped Shen's chuckling in its tracks.

What had she meant that his destiny had not yet been...?

The Soothsayer replied as she sat a kettle on the fire, "Your true destiny has nothing to do with ruling China. I find it sad that you cannot see it for yourself."

Shen swallowed, "What am I suppose to see, you old goat" he whispered threateningly.

Smiling, the Soothsayer brought a bowl to him. "This," she stated, "is the finest soup in all of China. Made so because of the special ingredient I've added to it."

Staring, he fished out a thread from his bowl. "Is that... IS THAT MY SILK ROBE IN THIS BOWL?"

"Ah, so you do see it."

"ARE YOU MAD?"

"No, but apparently you are."

Shen pinned her with his stare, red pupils fixed on her smirking face. He broke the gaze, taking some deep breaths. He knew this game and he could play it too.

"Did you eat all my clothes?"

"Of course not, dear. I saved some for you."

Okay, so maybe he was bad at this game. He looked at the bowl grasped between his feathers. His feathers ruffled in agitation and his face turned pink. If anything, Shen had always prided himself with his albinism because it marked him as an individual, silly as it sounded he felt special because he knew he was special. But it did hold one flaw and that was the fact that his silvery white feathers reflected his blush tenfold. He could never hide his temper.

The Soothsayer startled him out of his thoughts. "By morning I will leave." she said heavily.

"What am I to do?"

"Simple. Find your destiny."

Shen huffed. "Come now, if I'm to play this game you must give me more to work with then that."

"Find the panda. He will know."

Having by that time picked all the loose threads out of his soup and had just started to take cautious sips of it Shen spat out a beak full at the Soothsayer. "The... panda!" he gasped.

Wiping the soup from her face with her sleeve, she scowled. "Do NOT speak with your beak full, Lord Shen."

He continued to stare at her, "Are you telling me that... the stupid panda knows this elusive destiny that I'm suppose to fulfill?" he asked dumbfounded.

"Not yet, but he will..." she replied.

Shooting up, Shen hissed hotly. "That is the most cryptic, idiotic thing I have ever heard from yo-" as Shen realized a tad too late that despite the fact that he was alive he was far from healed. His wounded burned as he doubled over, vision blurring. The last thing he heard was a faint voice.

"Shen, I truly do wish you happiness on your quest for inner peace."

He blacked out.


NOTE: Oh ho ho. This is my first fic ever so I have NO IDEA what I'm doing!

... Enjoy!