Chapter Text
~ 30 years before, in Lin'an ~
The little colt jumped at the croaky table. His frail wings desperately grasped at the edge of the furniture, trying to pull his body up. After a great pull by himself and landing stomach-first, the one-size-too-many helmet slipped sideways on his head. He raised himself with a little groan; the headwear swayed threateningly, but - he managed. Why were all tables so tall? Right, because people were tall. Or he was just that small. Whipping his body around and standing on his tip-toes, he peeked out of the window.
Outside, he saw the gate of their home, the one that lead to the street running along their compound. It was open wide at the moment, so the little colt could see the people passing along. His awed eyes got lost in the hordes of the many species in all these colorful and nice attires walking left and right, all hasty to reach their destination. He could spot some farmers, recognizable thanks to the pointy fork-tools they carried, the merchants with their big bags and fancy hats, and the builders because they were shirtless. He could even distinguish who were wives of others.
They trotted for some reason.
The colt found the edge of his beak turn down; at least they knew what they were. Even the wives, with the mean treatment most had to endure from their husbands – except his Ma, because Pa was the best and he would never hurt her – they knew where they belonged.
But him? No, no he did not. He always heard other kids boast about how they would take over their family and lead them to greatness, or how they will marry someone rich and handsome and make their parents proud. He wanted to make his parents proud too! But then there he was, having no idea how or what he would aim to become. He had just recently tried Kung Fu, and that was pretty neat and awesome (even if it hurt), but Ma would get really sick if he continued that, so that was out of the question.
But then, what will he do?
"Oh, Jiaaa~" his Ma's beautiful voice swam through the air, making him turn his head. Her shining face glimpsed into their dining room, finding him with her reddish eyes, "Ah! Finally found you darling. Hungry?"
"Uhm, no Mama," he said lowly, looking down, "Were you searching for me?"
"Well - yes, I was. But I found you, hadn't I?" Crane was old enough to notice her smile thin out, "Just… wanted to let you know that Pa will be out for a few days,"
The little colt looked up at her with panicked eyes. "Again? He just came back! He can't go! Please Ma, I-"
He quivered in place. Seeing this, his Ma hurried up to him with quick steps, her wings extending. Upon arriving, she slowly removed the metal helmet and carefully scooped him up within her wings, the little colt melting into the familiar chest. His watery eyes began to leak.
"I know, darling, I know..."
"He is always going away, why?"
She sighed as she cradled her sniffing son in an embrace. "I don't know… What I do know is, however, that he feels terrible about needing to leave again and will do everything in his power to come back as soon as possible."
Jia had his head laid down, listening to the calm heartbeat of his Ma.
"Whatever he is doing," she continued saying, now whispering into his ear, "I am sure it's for the good of us. You know how much he loves us, right?"
Jia's mind wandered to memories of times his father would go out his way and defend her Ma's honor in front of all kinds of people, be it privileged rich or bitter poor. Then at night, he would scoop up both her and Jia, and cry, telling them how scared he had been. Telling them, even if frightened to the bones, how he would go far to make sure both of them had the best lives possible. They would hug him until he began softly snoring between them, and Jia would never feel safer than in those moments.
So he nodded.
"And we love him too. So we'll support him, right? Show him that… whatever is keeping him away, he can always come back to us. Right?"
Crane felt himself smile; he nodded into her breast once more.
"That's my Little Jia," she giggled and broke the hug. A grin dragged her feminine face up, one that radiated with familiar warmth. She set him back down onto the table, and looked around, "What were you doing in this room if you are not hungry, huh? I can't imagine anything else to do here."
"O-oh, I was just… watching people outside," he said, glancing back at the gate. His Ma turned her head and did the same, lowering his neck to her son's level.
"And? Anything interesting? Did old man Xie parade around without pants again?"
"No," The little colt giggled, "I think lady Lu locked him away."
"She better be. Heaven knows, the amount of decency that man has... But does he care? Bah! Such staggering morals."
She found herself glancing at her son's face. Noticing how those yellow eyes tracked people outside, the eyes that looked so alike to her beloved Qiang's, she had an idea. She looked back ahead and nodded to herself.
"Say, honey, wanna do something interesting with me?"
Jia turned to her, surprised, cocking his tiny head to the side.
"O-okay?"
"Great! Come on," she said, stepping away from the windows. Jia looked back once, before hopping off the table, and even if a little uncertain on his feet at first, he followed his Ma's steps.
Soon they stepped through the doorway of their bedroom. Calling it a 'bedroom' would be a joke as there really were no beds in here; as cranes, they couldn't lay down to sleep like many others. They had one corner set up with a lantern and some blankets that they would drape around their bodies as they slept. Being a family of modest income, they couldn't afford to build an additional room to their house, so Jia had to sleep with his parents. But that was okay - he wouldn't have it any other way.
His father was always the knowledgeable kind, he had a personal library decking one wall. Most of those held boring scrolls about history, but his Pa presented them in a much more exciting way. Night after night, right before bedtime, his father would choose a scroll and tell a story version of its contents. He always managed to turn stale history into amazing tales, featuring valiant people of the past, and what's best; they were his own ancestors! Fan Lei was definitely his favorite character, a sentiment he very much shared with his Pa. Jia wanted to be like Fan Lei. He was just so confident and strong, and people looked up to him and admired him!
His mother, on the other hand, was a woman of art. A second wall was littered with her mom's paintings; most of those depicted pretty flowers soaring on top of some water. Jia's favorite was the one with a pink flower that had these really tiny petals. What really sealed the deal for him was how his mom showed the flower dragging a pink shadow on the water surface. In the shadow was the reflection of the sun, making it the best masterpiece in the little colt's eyes.
Suddenly, something obscured his view. After a second of seeing nothing but beige, the thing moved back, showing his mother's excited face.
"Are you ready?"
He blinked up at her.
"For…?"
His Ma giggled, putting down the blank hanging scroll in front of him. It was like the ones she usually painted on. But why was she putting it in front of him?
"I was thinking. While your father is away, we could actually do something - so he would know we waited for him."
"Doesn't he know that already?" Jia asked, frightened at the concept that his Pa may think they don't want him back.
Thankfully, Ma was steadfast with an answer and a reassuring smile. "He does, but people are weird. The mind just can't rest in peace with just believing."
Awed, he watched as she put down several items on the ground; there were several brushes, some really long while some barely qualified as a stub. Then there were bowls, filled with black and pink goo – When did she even make all this?
"We are going to paint him a picture. Together."
Jia felt his jaw drop. He watched a short brush roll over to him with a stuttering shock, not knowing how to really react.
"B-but I can't paint!" he yelped, the whole sentence coming out like a cough, "Ma, please… I don't want to make something ugly for Dad. What if he-"
Then he stopped, because she wasn't paying attention – instead, she already made the first stroke on the paper. His eyes immediately zeroed on the smooth curve that appeared, the darling brush caressing the paper so gently and so lovingly, Jia almost felt jealous. It was like the surface flexed under it, trying to even itself out to welcome the holy touch. He watched as his beautiful mother repeated the pink curve again and again, starting from the same point but extending in a circular pattern, until a flower took shape. His Ma giggled at his look.
"Close your mouth darling, I thought you said you weren't hungry?"
His beak closed with a click.
"Now, it's not that hard. You take the brush, dip it into the ink, and go crazy with it."
Crane gulped. He looked down at the stubby brush at his feet and hesitantly grabbed it with his small talons. He glanced up to see how Ma was holding hers; three talons kept the top of the handle, the fourth one balancing it from the underside. He mirrored it and found that it was actually quite comfortable; it completed his hold.
He dipped into the black ink and was mesmerized how the top of the brush came back with the same darkness dripping from its end. He suddenly felt his heartbeat quickening as the brush approached the scroll.
And then came the moment of contact.
The little colt's upper body felt the cold running up his spine. His ragged breaths slowed down, and he began moving the brush. He didn't even notice he was laughing. The smile stretched his face to its limits, trying to breakthrough and show just what a grand euphoria took place inside Jia. With a newfound vigor, he began painting.
Yan watched the events take place with a knowing, proud smile. And as the candles flickered in the background, she could only think: her son was a natural.
Meditating was good according to Tigress.
It chased away the demons. She needed that, 'cause never before had these demons reared their jeering faces at her so forcefully. It also helped her re-cultivate, something she desperately needed. The room they gave Tigress was grand, cozy, and with the thick walls, silent. Yet just the knowledge that people expected her to be there made searching for a new place a great idea.
Thus the reason she was currently balancing at the top of the Palace's roof.
Steadying on one leg under her, she kept the other held up to her waistline, and leaned slightly towards the other direction, creating perfect balance. She had been like this since the events that evening. Just her and her thoughts. Now with one half of the sky showing a starry dark blue, while on the other the sun barely peeped over the horizon, only minutes away from disappearing completely, she started thinking of going back to her room. Surely no one would bother her there at night?
Then she heard it; the flutter of wings. A pair of taloned feet landed on the polished bricks of the roof with a click. She wondered why Crane would search her up-
"I admit, with your skill, you could probably win every Hide 'N' Seek out there."
Oh. It was just Bao Luo.
The clacks of him approaching reached her ears, and she waited for the inevitable snark or jab that was sure to come. She could already foresee it; 'little kitten' got publicly humiliated because she dared to apologize and show respect (as per customs should be), making everything Bao had thrown at her true. She didn't realize that she was no longer meditating, more like silently expecting these words.
Words that never came.
"Why are you here?" she blurted out after the silence stretched itself, yet didn't bother opening her closed eyes.
"Well, it's funny actually - and I'm serious - I came here to make a… compromise with you."
Surely he must be joking.
"And I know it sounds unreal, 'cause we both had perfectly established that hating each other is something we just do. But hear me out; I'm not doing this to make it up to you, or because I took some kind of superficial pity in you after today, and definitely not because of some kind of greater good that I feel compelled to follow. I'm doing this for Jia."
That got her attention.
"What's Crane has to do with anything?" she asked sharply, finally prying one eye open to look at him; same tunic he wore that signified his status as the Emperor's Right-Hand man.
"Well, how about a little time travel darling?" his infuriating smile came back to his beak, and his feathered appendages opened wide, like a showman ready to captivate its audience, "Once, in our lifetime, lived a tiger and a crane. Darkness and light shied away into greyness from their hate to each other. The tiger thought the crane was nothing but a jokester, who was too full of himself and did not care about acting properly. The crane thought the tiger was nothing but a stuck-up kitten, abusing the gift kind old people gave her. Things escalated into a heated debate, and it looked like their relation was doomed for good."
Tigress snorted at that and closed her eyes once again. As far as her knowledge went, that's where it all ended.
"Little did either know, their mutual friend, another, more magnificent crane saw all this, and cornered the first crane. He begged him with beautiful, big, beady eyes to make up with the tiger, or at least not cause any more tension. The first crane, otherwise uncaring of who's feathers he rustled, relented seeing this, and agreed to the latter."
"Yet you are here. What changed?" Tigress asked under her breath.
"Nothing much…" Bao shrugged, but stopped halfway and held up a wing, "Except, that the first crane fancied the magnificent one really much, and after calming down, he had time to think. But really, Jia has more than enough on his plate, he doesn't need to worry about us being at each other's throat. I think we can both agree on that."
"…So what now?"
"Obviously, we cannot just magically like each other," Bao laughed like what he had proposed was the most ridiculous thing ever heard. Tigress found herself agreeing, "That would be a fool's talk. But instead of hating… how about we just agree on passive disliking, but otherwise tolerating the other's presence? Eh? For Jia's sake?"
Tigress didn't even know when had she turned her head fully to him. Her eyes went to the outstretched wing between them, allegedly waiting for her to grasp it as a finalization of their 'compromise'. Bao watched as the tiger's upheld leg was let down, her body evening out on the ground, and now he had her full attention.
He was far from stupid; even if he weren't adept in the art of reading people, he could have easily seen through the tough and uncaring facade. But did he blame her for trying to hide things? No, no he did not. He was far from being a saint either. The examples for this are worrying and much. One had just occurred now; he may not have been entirely truthful when he said he wasn't doing this whole compromise out of pity. Seeing her get humiliated in front of China's most influential people – and for once, he was not exaggerating – it did not exactly rub him in a good direction. Especially seeing that moment of panic, shock, and then this unnatural stoicism on Jia's face, witnessing all that - now those threw this whole deal over the mast.
So yeah, 'pity' may have had a part in what was happening.
One question remained; was the tiger sensible enough to agree on a truce, or did she still stick to her darling traditions?
His answer came right when he felt her soft fur around his appendage. His blue eyes snapped up to her amber ones, and for the first time since their arrival, he saw why Jia liked her - what Jia had been always seeing.
"For Crane's sake."
Then she moved, jumping down, off the roof, dragging poor bird with her. While she landed on her feet gracefully, he did not have this luxury, and the bushes under the Palace's windows hurt more than he anticipated.
"Youch," he intoned, when he finally rustled out himself enough to peek out from the greens, "I reserve the right to feel offended and ask 'What the hell?'"
"I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt to you, Luo," Tigress said, standing a few paces away with her hands on her hips, "So if what you had said is true, then I believe we both own an apology to Crane. Unless you had already done that?"
Bao opened his beak – then slowly closed when he realized that he did, in fact, not.
"Whoopsieee."
After a bit of help from the tiger, he managed untangle himself from the bush, and the unlikely duo began making their way to their friend.
Tigress did not expect finding someone else before Crane's room.
"Po?" she asked, and the panda jumped at her voice.
"Oh, hi Tigress! Hi Bao! You guys made up?"
She ignored the waving bird behind her. "We have reached an arrangement that suited both of us."
"Really?" Po's eyes positively shone at that, "Great! Oh man, Crane will be thrilled! Once he opens up his door, that is…"
She sent a questioning look at the blank piece of wood in question. "He's not opening?"
"Nah. He hadn't come out all day after, y'know," a blink of awkwardness passed through his features, "I've been trying to get his attention for some time, but it's like he isn't even in here."
"He could be painting," Bao shrugged, "Phasing off from reality upon seeing a blank scroll is not beside him. One of his cutest traits, actually. Did that change in the years?"
"Not one bit…" Tigress murmured as she approached the door. She pushed in, but it didn't bulge. It was like something blocked it from the other side.
"See? Can't open it." Po said as Bao too joined the two of them.
"Huh. I remember him hiding away when things got rough, but… not blocking off visitors."
Po was about to answer, when a familiar noise reached their ears; doors getting obliterated. They snapped their heads to Tigress, who had her fist struck through the middle of the opening. She ripped it out from its frame and raised the now freely moving door to put it aside, then finally stepped into the dimly lit room. Considering that neither Viper, Mantis or Monkey appeared, questioning the sudden sharp noise, the rest of the trio simply shrugged and followed her inside.
Said inside was neatly done, as expected; Po's bed still had some wrinkles here and there, and there were some scars in the carpet where Crane had been sleeping. The avian Master's robe hung from the corner of the bed, still looking remarkably clean which was no surprise considering its rare use, but the room was spotless and tidy otherwise. The only out-of-place object was the big hanging scroll laying on the ground, a half-done picture decorating its face.
Tigress crouched in front of the palette and picked up something.
"He had just been here," she broke the silence. Turning to the boys, they could see one of Crane's brushes in her paw, red pigment still glistening freshly at the tip.
"Well, that certainly explains the open window," Po pointed out. Sure enough, the only window for this room was wide open, letting in the chilly air of the night.
"He looks like he was in a hurry too. But why…" Tigress wondered, ogling the dripping brush in her paw.
"All right, so. You guys know how there are lanterns in all your rooms?" Bao suddenly spoke up, gathering the rest's curious gazes. They needed a moment to understand his point, and when that happened, they snapped their heads up to look at the walls, searching for any irregularities. The corners of every single room had four lanterns that hung from hooks, giving a balanced, vague lighting at night. Tigress and Po quickly noticed that this room was lacking; the hook at the corner next to the window was missing its lantern.
"Guess he needed something to see outside for... whatever reason." Po shrugged.
"Not that," Bao shook his head, but his eyes stayed distant, "You know how these lanterns have this black foil covering that suppresses most of the light? And without it, they otherwise emit a light so clear, you can see them from afar?"
Tigress frowned at Bao's words. She had no clue what he was getting onto. She also had no clue why he was inspecting her, like-
Wait.
He was not inspecting her. She stepped to the side, and his gaze stayed nailed to a point in the distance. He had been inspecting something behind her the whole time. She turned on her heels, and now she had a clear view of the outside through the window. She also had a clear view of that far away yellow circle, held in the air by a dark figure as both it and the circle shrank in the distance. In a flash, she appeared in front of the window to grasp the flat sill, leaning out for a better look.
"That's him."
"For sure?" Po asked behind her.
"Yes. I can make out the beads on his ankles."
Then suddenly, the tiger jumped out the window.
"Woah, Tigress - what are you doing!?"
She took hold of the sill with one paw, planting her feet on the vertical wall outside. There she hung, still keeping a steely eye on the figure, showing her back to both Po and Bao.
"Crane had seen something and followed it. We are making sure he has backup."
"Right, but what if it's nothing?" Po asked frantically, "He is from here. What if he just… went to see a place from his childhood? We may be intruding in his privacy."
Tigress turned her head to him. "Po, when had Crane ever stopped painting for anything?"
The panda looked like he wanted to argue, but that evaporated when he realized that actually, she had a point. Bao joined in then, his words slightly muffled by the lantern he held in his beak. "As I said, phasing off. Whatever happened, it even made good ol' Jia snap out,"
Tigress chose this moment to jump off from the wall. She landed on the smooth marble square surrounding the palace, her claws rapidly clicking as she ran through the clean surface. Her darkening figure jumped over the red fence, then she was off to find Crane.
Po watched her worriedly.
"Won't she need a lantern too?" he asked Bao, who was already halfway through stepping outside the window.
"Last time I-" he grunted there and stopped. Raising his leg and taking hold of the lantern with his talons, he resumed, "Last time I checked, she was a tiger."
"…So?"
"Tigers are predators. What is the one ability that most predators possess, but us, foolish herbivores and some omnivores don't?" the bird asked with an expectant eyebrow, looking quite awkward with the dangling lantern on his feet as he leant on the windowsill.
Po's face brightened. "Oh right. Nightvision – wish I had that."
Bao smiled in mocking pride, before biting on the lantern once again and squeezing his body out of the window. Once gravity was about to take hold of him, he began flapping his wings until he ruled the air with his presence, hovering in front Po.
"Come on big guy, let's see what darling Jia is up to."
Po hesitantly reached out and grasped the bird's two feet. Bao pulled, his flaps becoming erratic and more slap-like as he tried to accommodate the new weight.
"Oh god, I did not think this through..." he coughed, beginning to raise the panda through the window, but Po's full mass dragged them downwards. Bao desperately quickened his already invisible wings, trying to keep them above the ground. The bird managed to turn around, and, following both the jumping figure of Tigress and the distant shadow of Crane, began their shaky flight.
They flew over the downtown area, a foil of grey darkness covering the buildings. The void-like, echoing quietness of the night surrounded them, the one where your only companion were the wandering ghosts of history and the bumps of your heart pumping blood through your veins. Bao's wings were powerful this time, its mere movements scattering and silencing all these ghosts. The farther they flew from the Palace and the downtown of Lin'an, the scarcer the compounds became, individual houses taking their place.
"This city is huge…" Po murmured, watching the concealed ground move under him.
"Yeah. Lin'an is an imposing lady. Shame she has a hideous sickness…"
"Huh? Did you say something?"
"Just thinking out loud."
In the distance, Crane's figure and the glowy orb dipped. Tigress's figure jumped on top of a particular high building, then dived, disappearing behind the same set of compounds the avian Master just did. Po wondered just what was his friend after, so far from the Palace and them.
Soon they arrived, but there was a problem - neither could spot their friends. The place they disappeared into was a modest compound, sporting the color palette of the sun; yellow and white, as opposed to the pulsing rainbow look of the ones in the downtown. It was obvious that this compound did not belong to anyone rich, as the piece of land sported barely two houses on it. One house was wider, had an attic, and faced the entrance of the whole compound. They guessed this was the one where the people lived or had lived. The other building paled compared to the other one, it barely qualified as a sizeable shack. It was well-attended to though, both buildings standing on their foundations like they were newly built. A high fence ran around the edges of the land, a shy gate, facing the entrance of the main house, was the only way to enter.
Bao and Po inspected the place while hovering above a tree that grew from the garden of a neighboring house. Suddenly, something grasped Po's two feet and pulled. Both he and Bao yelped as somebody dragged them down into the crown of the tree, falling into the leaves as they disappeared from plain view. Once he found a way to balance on the branches, Po looked up at their captor, who turned out to be none other than Tigress; but she paid him no mind, she was busy scrutinizing the place in front of them.
"Crane is in that building." she said, nodding to the smaller house. He could only give her the benefit of the doubt, as the two windows of the shack in question were dark. Following her gaze, he got into the role really quickly - from the way his face turned serious.
"Are we sneaking?"
"Not exactly your strength, so we'll stay here and wait."
"Ah, yes. Staking out before the suspect's probable hiding place. A classic."
"Erm, excuse me?"
This was Bao's voice, and it came from downwards. The Masters glanced at him and almost did a double take; poor bird dangled upside down. His leg was stuck in a Y-shaped branch and its leaves, making him sway in the air. The now blown out lantern still hung from his beak, but now it hung into his face. Spitting it out, he revealed that bored and impatient look, telling them he was anything but amused at the current situation.
"First of all, what's up with you dragging me into random plants today? And second, both of you look great upside down, not arguing about that, but I prefer looking into eyes over stomach. Unless you are Jia, because, heh, then you are great from all- Youch!"
His steadfast words were cut short when Tigress took hold of the branch and shook it, resulting in the inevitable fall of the avian. Luckily, the branches and leaves under his back held strong, so the bird, albeit with difficulties, stabilized his place in the tree's crown.
"Thank you," the avian grinned up at his hero.
Po's paw slowly came up to Tigress' shoulder and tapped it. "Uh, guys? Things are kinda moving."
Faces turning stoic, they looked through the green leaves just to see lights moving around in the shack. Then the door of the shack opened, and they waited with bated breath for their friend to come out. A dark figure stepped outside, and even the ones without nightvision knew that something was amiss.
The figure wore a robe – Crane didn't; he left it in his room.
"Who is that?" Po asked, to which Tigress leaned closer.
"The one Crane's after."
While the panda and the tiger were guessing - or trying to - the identity of the stranger, Bao's mind was preoccupied with something else; that gate… looked oddly familiar. The inward opening door above the dirt ground tickled a distant part of his memory. He saw himself within blurry lines, almost a teenager, knocking on these same doors. He had a pouch hanging from his chest, with nothing but gunpowder in it. He wanted to make fireworks for some… reason… The gate opened and Yan Fan, Jia's mom looked outside with pleasant surprise written on her face, before letting him in…
Oh.
Uh-oh.
"Well, bend me sideways, break my legs and call me a pot of herbs, I did not expect to come back here!"
Po blinked at him, struggling to not only reply but to even form a response. He ended up just mouthing the words 'pot of herbs'. Tigress, on the other hand, was unfazed.
"You know this place?"
"Do I ever? I've seen all this dirt more times than my own reflection! A home away from home, really."
"Weren't you an orphan?" Po asked, and Tigress hissed at him. The panda realized his mistake, "Right, that's kinda not a cool thing to say…"
Bao just snorted and waved it away.
"Yes, but the orphanage was only a home in name. Most my days and nights were spent within these walls, in the company of a certain jerk."
"Wait, so you mean this place is Cran - oh."
"Yup, welcome to the Lei compound," the bird raised his voice sarcastically. He sighed, both his shoulders and his voice dropping, "Whatever is going on, it's turning worryingly personal."
The dark figure had been just standing there, his concealed limbs moving in front of his face. It was way too dark for even Tigress to make out the action, or the features of the person. Soon though, the barely audible sound of moaning reached their ears, followed by a sniff and… weeping? The tiger looked down in thought for a moment, before opening her mouth;
"Say, Luo… What is that shack for exactly?"
Bao scrutinized the building. "Ah yes, the 'forbidden walls'. I remember Jia's parents explicitly telling us not to step there. Ever."
"But you did, didn't you?" Po asked curiously.
The avian scoffed. "Tell me one instance when commanding two teenagers not to do something ever sprouted results." he jabbed back with a wink, before turning back to the building, "After we were found out, we got the usual lecture and the such, but Qiang was nice enough to let us in a secret or two. Apparently, it's the Lei family's very own mausoleum."
Tigress looked at him, thoughts racing behind those amber pools of hers. The dark figure moved, and much to her surprise; it ascended into the sky.
"That's cool… What's a maosu-thingy?" Po asked.
"Ma-u-so-le-um. Place where the remnants of dead people go for safekeeping."
The panda blinked at him. "Why would anyone want to keep those? That's gross."
The bird's wings came together in a clap. "I think we just unraveled our phrase of the day! Say hello to 'sensitive semantics'!" he smirked, then shrugged in a carefree manner, "But for real, I never had anyone close to me die, so... I wouldn't know."
The atmosphere changed then. The casualty they conversed with melted down as their hands and wings simultaneously came up to their ears. A low ringing pierced through their thoughts suddenly, one that resonated deep inside their heads.
"What the…"
In a flash, the air became suffocatingly dense. Bao and Po, not expecting it, began coughing for precious breath - Tigress cleared her throat, the change bothering her less. Then the events continued when a powerful pulse bypassed them. It went through their bodies, making the fur and feather on their spines stand up in instinctual fright, before a short earthquake shook their tree. Po almost lost his balance, but his friends kept him upright. They all snapped their attention to the now discovered mausoleum, and their eyes widened; like if it were trying to run away from something, blinding light escaped through the once dark windows. Then, for the third time that day, a door was rendered useless.
Neither did it break into two nor was it forcefully snapped out of its hinges, no; the door of the mausoleum straight up blew outwards.
The three people in the tree could only watch with a mix of fear and wonder as a large, fiery lance flew out the building with incredible speed. The flames the lance emitted were so bright, it gave an almost day-like lighting to the entire street. They watched it sizzle and fly upwards swiftly, traversing through the air like a large, targeted firework.
Once it left their proximity, the three of them jumped out of the tree. Their eyes tracked the spectacle, and soon, they all bared shocked witness to the living flame impact with the robed, dark figure mid-air. The neighborhood shook from the shrill, almost otherworldly cry of something undeniably avian, though whether it came from the lance or from the figure, it was unknown. After the impact, the brightness grabbed the dark figure and dragged it to the ground.
Bao, Tigress and Po shared a look, before all three of them took off running or flying in haste. They dodged corners, hopped over walls, entire buildings, and soared over other high-reaching trees, until they reached the street three compounds away from where they came from. The middle of the dirt road was no more, a crater disrupting its continuousness. The center of the crater was still smoking, the dust was still settling. Amids the dust and smoke, they could make out something still burning with ever-living flames. Tigress took up a fighting stance upon noticing it approaching the edge of the crater. Po glanced at her and gulped; yet he was already standing ready like his fellow Master. They surrounded Bao from both sides, the bird's muscles ready to bolt.
Then the fire exited the smoke.
The stances they just took up went aloof when they came face to face with Crane, his wings engulfed in hot flames. What truly shocked them was the person who had their own winged appendage around Crane's shoulders, helping him stand; it was none other the Qiang himself, the older bird sporting a burnt patch on his yellow robe.
"Come on, son… let's go home…" they heard the pained words of the Emperor himself.
Crane's eyes had been hazy from the impact, but they shone up upon hearing this, and he ripped himself out of his father's gentle embrace with new vigor. He stepped back from his gobsmacked father, his entire body beginning to shake in seething rage. They did not notice the three spectators so far.
"Y-you know what this is?" their angry friend snapped, proposing an earthenware out of thin air. The ceramics was big enough so that Crane needed to hold it with both his wings, and was coated in gold dust - though thanks to the burning appendages that held it, they began turning a toxic yellow.
Even Po knew what that was; their friend was holding an urn.
Qiang's frightened eyes watched the sight that his son was. His eyes kept watching the urn, but they occasionally drafted to those Phoenix-like wings and the glowing eyes. In the back of her mind, Tigress thought about how problematic it will be when Qiang started having questions about why his son was the way he was. The tense silence kept on stretching itself, only the crackling of the fire on the avian Master's wing and in the crater gave background noise. Qiang hesitated to open his beak, his talons grasping the soil under his feet and letting go.
"…I do. I'm truly sorry, son."
Crane's anger drained away from his face. A droplet of tear braved the dangerous journey from his left eye. Simultaneously, the flames on his appendages flickered away, leaving behind just enough cinder to see him.
"H-how… when?" the avian Master whimpered, his numb shoulder dropping.
Qiang didn't answer.
"Answer me, dad!" and only now did just the older bird gulp, his own sadness clouding his eyes.
"I… She…" his pain-strained voice groaned. The word 'she' was the last piece of the puzzle Tigress needed. She had to cover her mouth, not to accidentally break the moment with a startled noise.
"…It happened when the city was attacked," the crying Emperor continued, "She was with me, in the palace when the bandits breached. She… was caught up in the fights. Didn't make it."
While Crane absorbed the words, his look trailed down to the well-crafted piece of porcelain he held. He choked on a cry as fresh tears burst out of his eyes, rapidly drenching his facial feathers. He collapsed backwards, landing on his tail feathers, gripping the Urn close to his chest.
"Why d-didn't you tell m-me? You said she was f-fine, w-why… did you lie?" he could barely form words anymore. His throat was heavy from the knot of emotions, even breathing felt like drinking dense, hot honey. Tigress idly noted a string of water sneaking out of nearby lonely well, doing a mesmerizing, slow dance.
"I'm sorry, darling Jia. I wanted to tell you, I really did, but… I didn't want to cloud you with grief b-before, w-well, the tournament. Didn't want it to influence you at such a time of need…" Qiang said, not an ounce of trickery in his voice, only unfiltered regret.
The crater's fire flickered away in the background, leaving room for Crane's desperate sobs and hiccups to freely fill up the space. He was so lost in his grief, he didn't even jump when Bao sat down next to him and hugged him from the side. Instead, he melted right into his best friend's wings, his neck resting on the familiar shoulder as he kept the urn close to his heart. Tigress and Po stepped to the other side, the panda's arm patting his broken friend. Neither he nor the tiger looked excited to speak up.
Qiang stood alone between the crater and his Jia. His head dropped too, his own grief desperate to explode like his son's did, but he held strong; it was not his time to shed tears; he had already had his fill a time ago. If he had been looking up and paying attention, he may have noticed the hateful glare directed his way. With both fires no more, Bao's glower was the only thing burning with promises of pain and suffering behind them. And as he let his tunic be soaked in tears, clutching to his side the only person left who ever showed him genuine love, and to whom he ever felt love back, he thought;
Well, would you look at that? Daddy Qiang has skeletons in his closet… pity he made it from rotten wood, they have a tendency to burn .