The Last War

25. Small Talk and Silence

"Here it is!"
"Where?"
Po looked around, but all he could see was snow and snow. But Tu, who was still sitting on his head, pointed ahead. "Here. Somewhere."
"I only see snow."
The cicada jumped down and landed on a stone. "The tunnel was never used all these years. It's covered with snow. We have to search for it."
"Searching?"
Po let hang his shoulders. They stood in a stony area, but without an entrance of a tunnel. Finally, he sighed loudly. "Alright... in this case..."
He didn't finish his sentence when Sheng passed him and rummaged in the next snow hill.
"What are you waiting for?" the young peacock asked.
"Okay, okay." Po got to work in the next snow hill.
Meanwhile, Shen watched them and let wander his glance.
"Hey!" Po cried at him. "It would be nice if you participate in searching."
But Shen maintained his silence and walked along a snowed slope. With slow steps, he went through the knee-deep snow and watched the landscape exactly. Finally, he stopped and eyed the ground.
"Maybe I found it," Po muttered under a big snow hill, but in the next second, he had to correct. "Uh, no, just a mouse hole."
Sheng had straightened himself and whipped over his snow-covered robe. His skeptical eyes stuck on the white peacock in his red-white coat.
The younger one snorted and walked over to him. "Is mother all the same to you?!"
His voice sounded angry, but the lord didn't move a face muscle and stroke with his finger feathertips over a light snow wall. Suddenly, he jumped and whipped with cutting movements with wings and feet over it. The snow wall crumbled, collapsed and gave the way free to a with stones hidden, little hole in the rocks. Shortly after, the white peacock put his wings together again and stood there calm and silent.
Po, still with snow on his head, ran over to them and eyed it. "Wow, have you visited the pathfinder?"
"Life experience," Shen answered plain and simple.
The panda watched him, then he lifted his thumb. "Respect."
Now he realized the tensed atmosphere between the two peacocks and tried to relax the situation. "Well, well, well, well... alright, where do we have to go... this way..."
He pointed ahead into the dark, lathy rock crevice.
"On the wall hangs an old lantern, as well as I know," Tu added.
With effort, the panda wormed his way through the entrance where cold wet rock walls greeted him. "Oh, dear, it needs repair work."
He found the lantern and Tu lighted it.
"Alright," Po cried and peeked outside. "We can go."
He silenced when he saw Shen and Sheng still standing in front of the cave and looked daggers at each other.
Shyly, Po lifted his paw. "Uh, maybe you should take a time out."
Suddenly, Sheng turned to the left side and slithered into the cave. Po let him pass and looked at Shen. "Uh, do you come...?"
"Lead on," Shen said with calm but upset voice.
"Okay."
Po went back into the cave. Shortly he had lifted the lantern Sheng went first. Po sighed and followed him, and heard how Shen walked behind him. Tu took his place on Po's head again and together they followed the tunnel.
All the time, nobody said a word. Just their steps echoed through the cold, dark tunnel. Po couldn't stand that silence any longer.
"Hey, what about a little picture game? I'm seeing something what you aren't seeing and that's... green."
Nobody said something, until Tu spoke: "Him."
He pointed at Sheng.
"I'm more green-blue," Sheng complained.
"Okay," Po apologized. "And white," he added, but very quiet, but Sheng heard it.
The peacock stopped and turned around to him. A dangerous glint lay in his silver-blue eyes. Po swallowed, but then Sheng realized the glance of his father and turned away again.
Po tried a laugh. "Well, in this case, we should play..." His eyes met Shen and he interrupted his suggestion. "... we should keep silent, shouldn't we?"
Shen showed the same icily atmosphere like his son and Po decided to wait until the waves had calmed down. Po realized he had interrupted his walking too long and wanted to outrun Sheng, who had gone a few meters more. He ran forward, but he tripped over a little stone and fell against the younger peacock.
"Hey!" Sheng cried.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Shen... uh, Sheng... uh... we need another name for you urgently."
"What about my name?" Sheng asked angrily.
"Nothing," Po said. "Nothing, you have a nice name. I only thought something special, to avoid any possibility of confusion. I mean... What about Sheng... Shen Junior... Nope... no... ShenJo... SJ. I call you SJ."
"SJ?"
"Why not? That's short and sounds cool. Give me high five."
Sheng stood there like kidded and narrowed his eyes in an upset way.
Po forced a laugh. "You are really like your father."
Sheng raised his eyebrows. "How is that?"
Po waved his paws. "Oh, never mind. Is it still long?"
This question belonged to Tu, who vibrated his antennas. "Not at all. Not long and we will reach the end."
Po sighed with relief. "I hope the others are fine."

A long way away, many ox soldiers stood in the yard of the castle and looked up to a balcony looking high place, where Guo was standing and spoke a speech for them.
"Unfortunately, our King Wang is ill. He asked me to carry his introductions while this time."
It followed a little information about the current situation and that everything would run its course like always. After that, the soldier army disbanded and Guo turned back into the castle, where a figure stood the whole time in a dark corner.
"Nice speech, Guo," Xiang said sarcastically. "Blare out a raise in salary while you are at it."
"Hey, it's still my people, right?" Guo said in anger.
The colorful peacock shrugged his shoulders. "Well then. In this case, take your time to spend your time with them."
With that, he turned around.
"And what about you?"
"I have to take a little talk with my... wife."

"I think we are there."
Po held the lamp higher, but all what he saw were just several blind alleys.
"That's all very well, but where is the exit, or the entrance, as the case may be."
Tu jumped down and jumped from one blind end to another. "Every cell has his own exit. We just have to choose one of them to come in."
"Very useful," Po muttered and swung the lantern in all directions.
"Okay. I would say we taaaaaakeeee... that one."
"Why that one?" Sheng asked mistrustfully.
"Kung fu life experience," Po answered and walked to the left side. "Isn't it?"
Po looked back at Shen. But the white lord said nothing. Po shrugged his shoulders and put the lantern on a little stage.
"Alright," he muttered, raised his paws and touched over a flagstone over their heads. "This must be the door."
He pushed. But it didn't move. "Seems to be rusty."
The panda pushed and pushed, until... "Ha! I made it!"
Dust trickled down. With last forces, he pushed the stone plate aside and the way was free. Carefully, he touched the floor around the exit hole.
"I can smell it," Po muttered. "The smell of crime."
Nobody of his companions commented his knowledge and the panda dared a look over the edge. In the prison room it was dark. And cold.
So cold like a prison could be, Po thought and narrowed his eyes. "Alright. I will check the area."
With that, he pulled himself up and landed on the stone floor. First, he kept laying on the belly, then he crawled forward, always looking for a suspicious sound or person.
"The Dragon Warrior places his paws on enemy area," he muttered quietly to himself. "Area seems to be clean. Nothing slips my attention... AHHHHHH!"
A strange hand had grabbed his shoulder.