The Last War

3. I Found You!

"Dad!"
"Oh, Po. So quick?"
"Dad, come quickly!"
At the next second, Mr. Ping looked around the corner. He almost forgot his leg when he saw the peahen in Po's arms.
"Oh, who's that?"
"I found her outside", Po reported. "She needs heat!"

"What a luck," Mr. Ping said. "The small chilblains will heal up soon again."
The panda nodded thankfully at the gander. "Thanks for your help, dad."
Po sat next to his bed where the peahen was lying now. She was still unconscious, but breathed regularly.
Thoughtfully, Po watched her. "I wonder what she is doing here. In the deepest wintertime."
"Oh, look!" Mr. Ping cried.
The peahen moved her face muscles and began to blink.
Po came closer and waved with his paw. "Hi."
Slowly, she opened her eyes a little. "Where am I? I was... in snow..."
"Now you are in a warm bed."
She touched the blanket.
"How are you feeling?" Po asked.
"A little... woozy."
"This will pass off," Mr. Ping calmed her and handed a bowl. "I have a soup for you. This will warm you up."
Po helped her to sit up. At least she had collected enough force to hold the bowl. With a thankful nod, she took it. "Thanks."
She took several sips. The damp moved under her breaths.
Po tried a dialog. "What's your name?"
She hesitated a moment before she answered.
"Xia."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Po. And this is my father."
She looked blank. "Your father?"
"Well, we don't look similar but still..."
He watched her. Was she still confused about his father?
Silently, she sat in the bed, staring at the soup bowl like in a trance and moved her beak gently. "A father."
"Everything okay?"
She winced. "No, yes... eh... I don't know."
She put the bowl aside and rubbed her forehead with a deep sigh.
"Well, what's your aim?" Po asked carefully. "Why did you walk through the snow?"
She looked up and eyed him unsurely. But with a sign of desperation.
"I was on my way to find the Dragon Warrior. He should live in a Valley of Peace."
Po opened his eyes wide in surprise.
"You are in the Valley of Peace."
Now her eyes grew wide. "Am I?"
"Yes, and the Dragon Warrior, who you are looking for, is standing in front of you."
She looked at him in disbelief. "You? You are the Dragon Warrior?"
Po smiled. "Well, maybe it doesn't seem so, but it's me, official."
The panda winced, when he saw tears in her eyes.
"Thanks energy on earth, I found you!"
Po flinched. The peahen had jumped out and had grabbed his arm.
"Now everything will come good!"
She leaned her head on his fur that he blushed a little. "Eh, thanks, eh... do you need help?"
She loosened her grasp and looked at him with pleading eyes. "More from another one."
"Another one?"
"Yes, I searched for you so that you can tell me where I can find him."
"Who?"
"Lord Shen."
Po opened his eyes wide. "Why do you want to know?"
"Just show me. It's very important!"
Her grasp became tighter. Po didn't know what he should think about that and eyed her. She was young, maybe younger than him. But why did she want to see the lord? He moved his mouth skeptically. She was a peahen and he was a peacock. Maybe a devotee. Shen wasn't an unknown person.
"I don't know whether he wants to see someone," Po said.
"I have to see him! Right now!"
"Right now? You're not serious, are you? It's winter. The streets are covered in snow. You better wait until... maybe next week."
"No! I must talk to him immediately! It's a matter of life and death!"
"Life and death? Uhm, in this case is it an emergency?"
"Yes, it is!"
"Mmm, well..." Po thought about it. "If it is so urgent."
"But Po," Mr. Ping said. "Do you know where he is living now?"
"Of course, I know."
Mr. Ping was surprised. "Really, how?"
"He wrote me a letter many weeks ago."
With that, he walked up to a corner of his room where he stored everything; his toys, bowls and papers.
"Oh, here it is." He took out a scroll. "He wrote that he has built a town in the Mianyang Mountains."
"In the Mianyang Mountains?" Mr. Ping wasn't happy about that. "But Po, that's more than four days away from here. In wintertime, you will need five days, maybe."
"I hazard the consequences," Xia said. "I'm fast."
"Wait,"Po hold her back. "You want to go to there? Alone?"
"I walked alone the whole time."
"But maybe you will get problems in front of his house."
"Why, Po?" Mr. Ping asked.
"He wrote that nobody has the right to go inside without permission. The town is still in building modus and he doesn't allow strangers. And I can't allow her to go alone, maybe she could freeze to death."
Mr. Ping held his breath. "You can't allow... wait, wait! What are you talking about? You don't want to let her go alone? Po, you don't dare, do you?"
"But dad, she can't go without company."
"Company?" Xia looked at him with big eyes. "Does it mean, you want to come with me?"
"Of course, I will. As the Dragon Warrior I'm always ready to help."
"But Po, what will your teacher say?"
"What should he say?"
"You know he will not be amused about your plans."
"Shifu? Oh, don't worry, I will persuade him."