VII.

The palace gardens were thick with flowers this time of year. Pagodas and statues of past emperors dotted the landscape, and a rocky creek meandered, burbling, through the scene.

Shen crouched under an azalea bush, his pale feathers shifting as he breathed. His big eyes, puffy and dark-rimmed with lack of sleep, stared out through the tangle of leaves and pink blossoms. He could hear the wolf approaching and his heart sped up. He saw two grey paws, bound in leather straps, pause just outside Shen's hiding place. The paws moved on and Shen released the breath he had been holding. He leaned forward, straining to see where the wolf had gone-

"Gotcha!" Shen squealed quite girlishly and burst from the bush.

Whooping with triumph, the pup tore after him. He caught up to the skinny peacock and, reaching out to tag him, tripped and sent them both rolling on the cobbled path. Their exhilaration dissolved into belly-aching laughter.

Panting, Shen finally said, "I thought I had a good spot this time!" He was really a little annoyed. The wolf pup always found him, and quickly. Shen was beginning to think that it was because of his unnatural coloring- pure white against, well, anything, stuck out like an ugly weed among flowers.

"It was your tail," said the wolf pup, grinning. Shen groaned. His tail was beginning to grow longer and longer plumes with each molting season and Shen sometimes forgot how big it was.

"It'll be as long as my father's one day." Or so he hoped. Shen wanted desperately to look more like his father.

The wolf nodded, thoughtfully. "He must be terrible at hide-and-seek."

"Come on." Shen got to his feet. "You have to hide, this time."

"Oh…" The pup grimaced, looking at the sun, which was low and red. "Actually, I think I have to go…"

"What? Why?"

"My mom's gonna be pretty sore with me as it is, Shen."

"Your mom? But I'm the prince," Shen whined. "Guards have to do what I-"

"Laoban!" The pup flinched and Shen turned to see Laoban's mother trudging irritably up the garden path. "I have been looking everywhere for you. You told me you would –oh, hello young prince- you would be back by noon! I hope you know you lost your dinner three hours ago."

"Aw, moooom…" Laoban howled.

"And don't whine like that, you're in the presence of royalty."

"Who, Shen? He doesn't care- ouch!" The mother wolf twisted Laoban's ear smartly and turned her attention to the prince.

"I beg your pardon, young prince, but you shouldn't be out all alone with nothing but my ragamuffin son for protection. Please allow me to escort you to the palace."

"Ah…" Shen hesitated. What choice did he have? "Yes, thank you."

And so the mother wolf padded back to the Palace of Gongmen with both children in tow.

…

Shen had clashed horns with Lang for the last time. The peacock burst from the brush and stormed violently through the campsite after a heated conversation with the haggard old wolf about Shen's decision to prolong their stay in the northern province.

"We are but a stone's throw from the temple, sir." The alpha male had explained urgently, in the moderate privacy of a clearing apart from camp. "We have pushed our luck far enough as it is."

"I decide where and when this pack of half-wits proceeds. You answer to me. The temple is not any real threat."

The old wolf's dark, greying fur was beginning to stand on end in aggravation. "They could alert the stewardship of your presence. They may have already done so." Shen scoffed, but Lang continued desperately. "They have seen you, sir. My primary concern is your safety, my lord."

"And my primary concern is grander than your petty fears. That is why I am lord and you servant." Shen turned away dismissively and expected the altercation to be over, but he heard the alpha wolf release a frustrated growl.

"Don't ask this of me. I will not make my pack into a stationary target!"

Shen whirled around, dagger poised at the wolf's belly, like a snake ready to strike. "Ask?" Shen said lowly. "I do not ask anything of you, wolf. Perhaps you have forgotten."

Lang swallowed shallowly. "You kill me, Shen," he said, "And their allegiance to you is forfeit." Shen nearly wavered, but stood his ground.

"Would you like me to find out?"

A tense pause. "…No." The alpha male backed away, his head bowed. Shen sheaved his weapon.

"Then stay put."

Now fuming, Shen barged into Laoban's makeshift hut with a murderous look on his slender face. Laoban's guest, a pretty brown-flecked she-wolf, jumped up and bowed, jittering a hurried apology for nothing in particular. Shen waved her away impatiently.

A flicker of annoyance crossed Laoban's face as the female nervously exited the hut. "Can I help you?"

Shen glowered. "I've just had another stimulating conversation with your commander."

Laoban inched away from his master. "And by stimulating, you mean…?"

"The dog is infuriating!"

"Oh… Oh, right."

"What did you think I-?"Shen looked up to see the wolf snickering delightedly. "Oh, shut up, you idiot. Lang seems to doubt my leadership. In fact, he actively undermines it."

Laoban nodded sympathetically. "Well, you know how he is. Bit set in his ways, I guess."

"I'm growing tired of his insolence."

"But I mean," the wolf continued, "he's been the boss since… forever, so…" Shen rolled his eyes at this. Laoban shrugged."Longer than I've been alive, anyway." The wolf trailed off, no doubt caught up in memories of the palace. Shen suddenly felt that he should cut to chase before things got sentimental.

"This is a new era," he said, eyeing his childhood friend carefully, "and it's time for a new dominant male."

Laoban looked at Shen, hoping perhaps that the peacock was joking. And of course he wasn't. The wolf swallowed dryly. "Sir… I don't, ah-"

"I don't, of course, pretend to be an expert on the ins and outs of pack hierarchy, but I believe that any male can challenge and potentially usurp the existing alpha?"

Laoban found himself nodding stiffly. Shen smiled deviously and said, "It will be you."

The wolf balked. "What?"

"You are already my second in command. This is the natural step," Shen said. "In fact, I'm rather surprised we haven't done this sooner."

"Wait a second!" Laoban jumped to his feet, stunned. "Wait. You want me-" He glanced about, then lowered his voice anxiously. "You want me to challenge the boss?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Shen sighed in annoyance. "I was under the impression that we had already established this. I need him out of the way. He is a hindrance. You're the only one I trust enough to-"

"But… he's the boss."

"Why are you being so obtuse about this?"

"Wha- me?! Why am… What about you?" The wolf spluttered. "Do you even understand what you're asking? He's… he's-"

"He's a fool past his prime."

"But I- I couldn't, sir. I can't."

Shen bristled. "I am your lord, your leader, your priority. You will do as I say."

"But what about him?"

"What about him? He's weak."

Laoban's face contorted with anger, his teeth bared. "What, so that's it? He's gotten old, so he's worthless? Who else are you gonna throw away?"

"Don't be a coward," Shen seethed. "I'm granting you an honor-"

"Well you can keep it!" Laoban shouted. "Go find someone else to honor!"

Shen's mind crackled with hot rage. His armored foot shot out, metal flashing, and raked across the wolf's face. Laoban stumbled to the ground, clutching his cheek. He stared up at the peacock with venom before darting out of the cramped hut, leaving Shen with blood on his talons.

…

"Laobaaaaan… Hey, Laoban!" Laoban grumbled under his breath, digging deeper into his bundle of blankets, and tried to force himself to sleep.

"… I know you're there," came the annoyed voice. "I'll wake your mother if you don't answer." The pup's eyes flew open and he leapt out of bed.

"Where are you?"

"Out here." The voice was coming from Laoban's bedroom window. Glancing around to assure himself that none of his brothers had woken, Laoban jumped up and latched his little claws onto the windowsill. Hanging there, he peeked awkwardly down at the small white peacock.

"You're not supposed to be out at night," said the pup, remembering his own mother's words. "You'll catch begonia."

Shen squinted. "I'll what?"

"You'll get sick," amended Laoban, a little proud he knew a word that Shen did not.

"I don't care." Shen ruffled his downy tail feathers fiercely. "I brought you something."

"Is it grilled salmon?"

"I- no. Why would you think that?"

The pup scowled meaningfully until Shen comprehended. "Oh… right." He shrugged. "You should have gone home when you said you would."

"I was going to!" cried the wolf. "But you said that you would have me beheaded if I didn't play with you!"

The peacock sniffed. "I don't remember that."

"Oh, whatever," Laoban grumbled. "What're you holding?"

"Oh, right!" Shen said excitedly. "Come out and I'll show you."

"But I'll get in even more trouble!"

"Thought you were a wolf, not a chicken," Shen quipped.

Laoban frowned. "… fine."

Once outside, Shen handed the bemused pup what appeared to be a thin metal rod. It was very light in Laoban's paw. "… What is it?"

"Drag the tip on the stone path," Shen directed.

Laoban did so. He gasped and nearly dropped the stick as its top portion was enveloped in thousands of tiny, snaking orange tendrils of light, accompanied by dazzling white sparks. Shen laughed at the wolf's expression.

"What is it?" Laoban asked, awed.

"Iron, magnesium, and potassium nitrate," Shen answered cheerfully. "My own recipe." He looked suddenly worried. "But don't tell anybody."

Laoban nodded slowly, his eyes still trained on the dancing sparks. "Nuh-uh… I won't."

Shen smiled broadly. His eyes shone brightly in the light of his home-made sparkler.

"I've decided," he said abruptly.

"Huh? Decided what?"

"That you're my second-in-command. My lieutenant."

The pup blinked. "I am?"

"Yep," Shen answered, grinning. "You are."

…

Days passed in which Lord Shen disappeared for long stretches of time. It was extremely unusual for the peacock to venture very far without the protection of a few wolves- particularly without Laoban, the one-eyed wolf. And yet each morning he would be gone, only returning late in the evening.

Laoban knew that Shen had resumed his pursuit of the bat. But he didn't know why. He didn't ask, either. He carried on under the assumption that this was just one of Shen's passing fancies, his brief obsessions, and that he would soon loose interest in her. Meanwhile Laoban felt, as he knew the rest of his pack must also feel, strangely torn. Something that held the bond between Shen and his wolves was fading, somehow. They were growing restless, turning away from their master, and Laoban didn't know how to stop the deterioration.

The atmosphere at camp was miserably tense. The old alpha wolf's resolve seemed to harden with each passing day. On the fifth day, the tension ignited like wildfire.

It began that morning, when the old alpha called Lang threw back his head and released one long howl. It reverberated throughout the campsite, ringing cleanly in the mountain air, calling his pack to his side.

Shen burst out of his hut, disoriented and angry. "What is the meaning of this?!" he cried. Lang only looked at him- straight into his eyes until Shen's own eyes widened in horror. "No." He said it quietly.

"You were once a prince in need of our protection, our fealty. You could have been great." The old wolf's eyes were in the past.

Shen searched the faces- he saw hardened expressions and grieving ones. He saw, in a moment of nauseous clarity, how handsome those lupine faces were, with almond shaped eyes and symmetrical patterns of dark and light fur. They were his allies, his shield, his only companions. He knew none of them would stay.

Then he found Laoban's face. The one-eyed wolf was pained, frantic. He seemed to be searching for a solution. He met Shen's eyes and saw the hope in them, but there stood his pack, his home, his family. His own loyalty was driving him mad.

Lang spoke again: "We followed you because of our devotion to you and your cause. But you are not the prince you used to be. We see now that the reign of the peacock has ended." The wolf bowed to Shen for the last time, and his pack followed suit. Shen could do nothing but stare at his oldest friend as the one-eyed wolf turned away, following his pack and his instincts.

"Farewell." Later, Shen couldn't remember who said it.