Chapter Thirteen
Po carried the weight of two.
Yes, he had been gullible enough to somehow end up carrying Fenghuang's things as well.
"I... Am going to be... So much more fit when we get back," he commented, as he struggled to keep up with the Phoenix's swift gait.
"Indeed you shall," came the reply, as Fenghuang stopped for a second, looking back towards the panda.
As always, the first few hours of walking were sporadic and uneven, but after a while, they both had begun to pace themselves, settling into a delightfully dreary rhythm, under the moon.
It was mostly a downhill walk, as they descended the far side of the mountains that encompassed the Valley of peace. For that, Po was thankful. The wind was cold, and the night was colder.
"I should have come in summer," Fenghuang remarked to herself wryly, "It would have been easier... Po, we shall have to stop off somewhere, get some warm clothing..."
"Don't worry, I have some already," Po reassured, trudging alongside, "Dad made sure I had everything..."
"Actually, I was saying that we should get some warm clothing for ME," the Phoenix laughed lightly, "It is cold in Nepal, it would be wise."
"Right... I knew that," Po grinned sheepishly.
Suddenly, the panda nearly stumbled, tripping over stubble in the way. There was no marked trail this high in the mountains, they would both be glad to get to lower and warmer areas.
Hours passed, into the night.
"Dawn is near," Fenghuang mused softly, "We should sleep some now, lest we come prey to it later."
"Good idea," Po agreed, puffing, "But where?"
Bed, for the short few remaining hours if the night, was for Po, leaning against the roots of a gnarly old tree. Fenghuang perched herself loftily in it's higher branches, and the two slept.
Morning came all too quickly, and Po awoke with a cramp in his back.
"Nasty root..." he groaned, rubbing his back, "Ouch... you would think, after all that Kung Fu fighting, that I would be resistant to cramps..."
He looked up. Fenghuang was still asleep, as far as he could tell, up in the tree. He's just let her sleep for now, and... make breakfast!
Fortunately, Mr. Ping would not let Po leave home without his cooking supplies, so he was ready.
"A log... kindling... some twigs..." he carefully arranged the fuel for the fire, then proceeded to... eh... how do you light a fire? He had always seen his dad make sure that the stove fire never went out, because it was hard to light...
"Oh great!" he exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air, "I don't know how to start a fire. That's real helpful..."
He sat back down against the tree. Well, he could get some cold breakfast at least...
"Let's see..." he mumbled, going through his bag, "Rice. And more rice. And bread."
He grabbed the loaf of bread, something rare to China, and took a bite. Not bad... Do Phoenixes eat bread? He looked up. She was still asleep... Hmm, should he wake her up, or what? Po always had been nervous in waking girls...
"Um, Hey!" he called experimentally, not loud enough to hear, "You wanna, wake up, or what?"
As he got no response, he shrugged, and sat back down, waiting for her to wake up.
It was almost noon when she finally awoke, leaping from the tree frantically, as soon as her eyes were open.
"It's noon! Why didn't you wake me!? Come on, we have to make up for lost time!" she exclaimed, as she ran around, stuffing things back into the bag, "Come on!"
Po was about to say something, but she was already making her way down the mountainside.
"Hey! Wait up!" he called, grabbing the pack, and racing after her.
"Why the rush?" he asked, coming alongside her, with some difficulty.
"We have wasted much time," Fenghuang explained, slowing herself down, "It was not in idle that we left during the dead of night, Po. Why did you not wake me?"
"Because... I thought you would want to sleep," Po replied, "And I was trying to start a fire-"
The Phoenix stopped, dead in her tracks. "Did you make one?"
"No... I couldn't get it to start," the panda admitted shamefully.
Fenghuang seemed to relax. "Thank goodness, panda. For that, we are fortunate."
"Ok..." Po replied, trudging up to her, "So... you want some bread?" he offered her the loaf he was holding.
"There is no time to eat now, Po," she replied in turn. Then she looked sideways at the loaf. Po shrugged, and was about to take a bite-
"Actually, Po, hand me that," she said abruptly.
Po shrugged again, and handed her the loaf.
"No use passing out on the way, is it?" she remarked to herself, taking a bite. It was good, and it gave energy.
The mountain was finally beginning to even out, suggesting that they were reaching the bottom. Also, the flora, which had mostly consisted of shrubs and brush up to this point, had begun to change. Bushes and trees were growing taller and more common, and the rocks much less jagged and harsh.
For this, Po was extraordinarily grateful. His type was not meant to scramble up sheer cliffs, and he had no wings with which to fly.
Several hours later, however, the mountain still showed no further signs of ending, save that the trees and now bamboo began to grow in true forests, towering above the two traveler's heads. Walking slowed, because of the ever-thickening floral growth, which further impeded the decent.
"Will... this mountain... never end?" Po groaned, leaning over a short ditch, full of spiny bristles.
"Come on Po... Jump!" Fenghuang instructed, from the other side, "Take a leap of faith!"
"Uh... I'm not sure about this!" Po called back, with unnecessary volume for the short distance, "I don't think I can do this..."
"Oh, ye of little faith..." the Phoenix murmured, clasping a wing over her face.
"I have plenty of faith!" Po retorted, leaning forwards a little, "It's legs that I don't have much of!"
"Perhaps, if you throw the pack across first, Po, it would not be so difficult?" Fenghuang proposed, "Indeed, there are few who could leap across, at least while carrying that..."
"Ah... Good idea!" the panda replied, "Here, catch!"
With that, he tossed the large pack across the ditch, which Fenghuang narrowly avoided.
"Po!" she exclaimed, leaping backwards,
"You could have crushed me!"
Po winced, covering his eyes with his hand. "Ok... Here I come!"
He took a few steps back, and rushed forward, his legs pumping rapidly. The edge of the ditch came fast, and he leaped, sending his body high into the air...
Fenghuang watched him jump up, then land with a thump into the thorns.
"Po?" she called, stepping forward with concern, "Are you aright?"
"Thorns... All around me. There's THORNS all around me! Augh!" Po shouted back, "How am I going to get out of here?!"
"Er..." Fenghuang began, then stopped. Thorns. Part of the curse... And not something that the Sacred Phoenix had taken time to study.
"Don't move, panda," she instructed, "I'm considering."
"Well, I'M sinking!" the panda yelped, giving out several small yelps of pain.
"How is it, panda, that you can leap to great heights when practicing your Kung Fu, but not in the everyday?"
"I...don't know..." Po groaned, "But I really wish I did right now..."
Fenghuang sighed, and sat down lightly, taking her head in her wings. "Do you think you can extricate yourself?"
Po didn't answer, instead wriggling a little in test. It hurt. The thorns were like little daggers, piercing him through and through.
"Ow..." he answered finally, "No, I don't think I can..."
Fenghuang sighed again, this time heavier.
"Very well..." came her soft vocals, "Really though, this is most unfortunate...and unexpected..."
Then, she did something that seemed very odd to Po at the time. She laughed. Her laughter was an enchanting sound... but was rather unwelcome to Po, particularly considering his predicament.
"What's so funny?" Po groaned, almost sourly. He tried again to free himself. No luck.
"Oh, it's nothing," Fenghuang dismissed, a smile returning to her face, "I'm sorry, Po. It's just that I spent the last few years pondering this journey... I imagined the difficulties we would face... And here we are, trapped- by a bush. The last thing I would have expected..."
Po stopped. "When you put it that way" - he struggled a little more, and began to pull himself out - "It does sound kinda funny, doesn't it?"
He threw out his paw. "Give me a hand here!"
Fenghuang grabbed his paw with both wings, and pulled as hard as was ladylike to pull. It worked.
With a scratching, rough sound, Po finally came loose from the bush's nefarious grasp, and flopped down next to the Phoenix. It wasn't long before he was up again, though, and in a second, he was already making his way further down the mountain.
"Freedom!" Fenghuang heard him exclaim, "Now, mountain, you're going down! Or I'm going down you, maybe... Nevermind!"
The Phoenix started off after him, then stopped and turned around.
"Po!" she called, looking at the heavy pack left behind, "You forgot the pack!"
But Po either did not hear, or simply ignored her.
"You forgot the-" she began again, but stopped herself with a half-groan, "Ah... I shall have to carry it, then."
With a heave, she lifted the pack to her shoulders, and began to descend after the panda. Her wings, unaccustomed to carrying weight of any sort, were already beginning to get sore. That would never do, there was still far to go...
"Whoooaaaa!" Po's voice sounded out in front of her, and she hurried forwards to see what had happened-
And very nearly rushed straight down a steep cliff, heading down the mountainside. She was concerned, when she saw Po bouncing down the cliff-face... But he should be fine. It wasn't that large of a cliff...
And at the bottom... The road! They had reached the foot of the mountain!
Only the weight she was carrying stopped her from letting a caw escape her beak. Truth be told, she didn't like scrambling over bushes and stones either.
Po, down below, finally stopped his mad rolling, and came to rest in a convenient pile of dirt. He lay sprawled, unmoving, and breathing heavily, his face down.
"That was... awesome..." he said faintly, before collapsing down again.
Fenghuang closed her eyes, and took a deep breath... Before leaping from the cliff, the pack clutched in her talons, and swooping down to the 'resting' panda.
"Comfortable?" she asked blithely, landing lightly to the ground- although the pack landed much less so, thumping down rather heard. Fenghuang winced, swearing that she had heard something snap in there.
"Why yes, I was!" Po replied, with his usual enthusiasm, "Thank you for asking."
"Good. However, we must keep going..." the Phoenix informed, rustling her feathers, "It should be easier now... It appears that we have finally reached a road."
"We have?" the panda asked, scrambling to his feet, "Where? Oh yeah, we made it! We totally ROCKED that mountain! YEAH!"
"Now, we just follow the road!" Fenghuang exclaimed, sharing the panda's enthusiasm, "Come along then, or else we shall never arrive."
Po stood up, and brushed the dirt off his face with disgust, then made his way towards the road.
"Panda, aren't you forgetting something?" Fenghuang called out behind him.
"What?" he asked turning around, "What, what did I forget?"
Fenghuang made a nonplussed expression, and gestured to the pack. "The pack, panda. You are carrying the pack."
For the next three hours they walked slowly down the road, making conversation about anything that happened to come to mind. The walking was much easier than in the mountain, and the weather had turned warm for a change.
As they came around a bend in the road, a large heap of boulders met their view. They jutted out of the ground harshly, at odd angles, sharply in contrast with the green and flowing landscape around them.
The sight seemed out-of-place to Po... And his mind turned to what could live in those.. Then, by some random road trip, it turned to dragons.
Dragons. A subject of which he should become familiar, considering where they were going. The mysterious creature of myth and legend, the controller of water.
"Tell me about dragons, Yin," he asked presently, half turning to the Phoenix, "Are they really as awesome as the stories say they are? Can they really breathe fire, or, or, ooh, can they really make floods come out their mouths?!"
Fenghuang sighed, dropping her head. Either in memories, or sorrow, Po could not tell.
"Dragons are mystical creatures, Po," she said at last, "Their abilities vary greatly... But they are very rare."
"But you're a Phoenix, right?" Po questioned, with a hint of surprise, "In all the pictures, you are always with a dragon... Surely you know SOME things about dragons?"
"I am always with Long," Fenghuang corrected, "In all the pictures, I am depicted with Long, not just any dragon."
"Well, then..." Po countered, bobbing his head back and forth, "Tell me about Long! After all, we are waking HIM up..."
Fenghuang smiled to herself at the panda's persistence. "Very well panda, I shall tell you whatever you wish to know about Long. What do you wish to hear about?"
"Well... Tell me about..." Po thought, "Just anything... Like, will he be grumpy when you wake him up? I know lot's of people who are-"
"When YOU wake him up, Po," the Phoenix corrected again, "Remember, I failed. I actually do not know that, there is no sleep in heaven. It is possible that he will rip you to shreds on awakening."
She noticed Po suddenly pale. "But it is unlikely, to be honest," she added quickly, "Long was very reserved. Too reserved, if you..."
"Ok, and this is the GOOD guy?" Po asked with a wince, "The good guy might tear me apart... What would the BAD one do?"
"I never said that Long was 'good' did I?" Fenghuang replied mildly, stepping ahead of the panda, "I simply said that he was not evil. None of us are truly 'good', Po... Even I have my faults. Most of which I am discovering as we speak. But no-on is truly all evil either. Yaan... His heart has blackened beyond repair, but it was not always so... Even now, he has his uses in the hands of the Creator."
"Ok..." Po said, marking the knowledge down in his head, "So... About Yaan... What exactly are we going into here?"
"Do you really wish to know?" she asked, fixing her golden eyes on Po's own orbs. Po suddenly realized he did not.
They continued to walk for a few minutes, trudging along, just following the room.
"A geyser of flame... A pillar of fire..." Fenghuang said finally, not turning to the panda, "Yaan is power in form... He has no equal in the mortal world."
"So... He's powerful?" Po asked.
"He is. His power is fed by the fire tear, and he will not be defeated. Long was the only one even able to ever touch him..."
"It is an obvious choice, Fenghuang... I am by far more masculine than my brother."
"And what brings you to that conclusion?" the Phoenix's voice was playful, almost teasing.
Xundu, or now Zhu Yaan, as was his new title, raised his head, uncoiling from the massive tree he was resting under. His wings quivered almost imperceptibly, and smoke curled from his nostrils.
He seemed to think something, and the smoke stemmed.
"You do not realize?" he asked, "Allow me to show you..."
He reached upwards, and with sickening ease, snapped a massive branch from the tree above him, and brought the branch down. He held it in front of Fenghuang's face. The branch was larger than she was.
"That, my dear," he said, with a voice dripping with false honey, "Is why I am superior to my brother."
He dropped the branch next to her with a crash, and glided past her with incredible grace, not sparing her a second glance...
The sun was lowering quickly when Fenghuang broke from her somber memories.
Po had sensed her discomfort, and had only walked along beside her in silence. She was quiet, her eyes focused on the ground in front of her. Po knew that, even though she was standing right beside him, her mind was miles away...
Finally, he decided to speak.
"Hey, Yin... It's like, getting late..." he ventured hesitatingly, "Where are going to... y'know... Sleep?"
She did not answer. Po did not ask again.
Abruptly, a sound of singing came down the road, breaking Fenghuang from those thoughts again.
"What is that?" she asked, standing perfectly still, clutching Po's arm. Her head-crest stood erect. She was afraid..
"I don't know," Po replied, peering around the corner, "But I don't think it's anything very dangerous."
Around the corner, the source of the singing became apparent, as a short, tubby badger came around the corner, an axe slung across his shoulder. Although he was walking directly towards the two travelers, he did not seem to notice them-
Until he bumped right into Fenghuang's leg, giving her a start.
The badger looked up, lifting his cap from over his eyes. "Hello ma'am," he said, "Excuse me, I didn't see your legs there."
Fenghuang must have looked comical, because the badger felt compelled to add something.
"What? The're skinny legs!"
"E-excuse me?" the Phoenix stammered, altogether confused.
"No offense meant though, ma'am," the badger continued, "I mean, they are pretty legs to bump into!"
Fenghuang just stared, them elbowed Po. "Dragon Warrior," she whispered pointedly, "We should be going now..."
"Oh, so you're the Dragon Warrior, are ye?" the badger turned rapidly, interest shining in his small eyes, "I have always wanted to meet you! I'm a fan of yours, you might say..."
"Really?" asked Po, in his epic voice, "Well then, consider yourself gifted, tiny badger! I am Po, the bodacious Dragon Warrior!"
The badger seemed awed, his eyes grew wide-
Then he nodded. "My name's Dunthrie. I'm a badger... And pretty good with an axe."
"Really?" Po asked again, "Well, I-"
"Po, we should continue on our journey," Fenghuang reminded, "We must excuse ourselves, Dunthrie..."
"No problem," the badger downed cheerily, "I'll just tag along behind."
Fenghuang set of at a furious pace, and Po was forced to run to keep up with her.
"What's the matter?" he asked hurriedly, jogging up to her, "Why the rush?"
"I do not wish this badger to follow us," she replied with a slight hiss, "He does not seem... wholesome."
Po did not argue with her on this point. After all, it was not HIS legs that the badger had crashed into...
The Phoenix's blazing pace had brought them into a small community, and small houses lit up the darkening sky on either side of the path.
Finally, Fenghuang slowed, as she cautiously began to creep around the buildings, as if she was edgy that something may leap out at her.
Suddenly, a head poked out of one of the doorways, causing the Phoenix to leap back in alarm.
"Hey there!" the head said warmly, "Looking for- hey! Dunthrie!"
The creature left the doorway, revealing a black dog. It walked up to the badger, and from the warm greeting, it was obvious that the two knew each other.
After a few minutes of heated dialogue, in a language that Po could not decipher, the badger walked over to the panda.
"My friend here says that he wants me and my friends to stay the night with him..."
"Eh, so?" Po asked curiously.
"You count as a friend!" Dunthrie clarified animatedly, "You are my hero!"
"Ok..." Po said slowly, then gestured to Fenghuang, "What about her?"
Dunthrie thought a while, then said something to the dog. He responded, then the badger turned back to the panda.
"He says that he guesses she can come too..."
Po sent Fenghuang a hopeful glance. He did not want to spend another cramped night outside... She shook her head.
"Oh come on!" he whispered to her with his eyes.
Fenghuang struggled with herself a while, then finally relented. "Fine..."
With that, the dog pushed them inside the building... And Fenghuang was horrified.
"You did not mention that this was a bar!" she hissed.
Author's Note: Poor Fenghuang! That is probably the last place she wanted to be! Anyway, I'm not sure if they actually had bars in ancient China, but they probably had something similar, so... Don't bother me about that...
Anyway, here's the next chapter! Thanks for all your reviews!