Eight – Guest
"What?" Shen felt his eye twitch in irritation as he looked at his father in barely suppressed disbelief and shock. "You can't be serious?"
"Shen," Goa sighed in exasperation as he sipped from his teacup. "You will be Lord of Gongmen City one day, you'll need to do this sort of thing then so you might as well start now,"
"I would hire a professional who actually wants the job," the white prince muttered sourly.
"Don't be such a child," His father said tightly, his eyes showing his impatience as he glanced at Shen over the rim of his cup. Jing then took that moment to speak up from where she sat beside her husband.
"Dear," the peahen gave her son a warm smile as she looked at him as he sat across the table from his parents. Shen had been invited to share his breakfast with his parents, seeing as it was rather early in the morning, none of them would be required for any official duties yet. "The Moon Festival is a wonderful time for the people,"
"The City earns a lot of money from outsiders coming to watch our firework displays," Goa put in with a mutter before Jing gave him a glare.
"Anyway," she said as she turned back to Shen. "This will be a good opportunity for you, give the people a chance to see what you can do,"
"I already do a lot for the people, if they cannot see that now, then I do not understand how this will change that." Shen crossed his wings as he scowled at the floor, feeling like a child again as he fought against a losing battle. His parents were rather ruthless when they wanted something.
"Well, this time you won't be alone,"
Shen's focus snapped back to his mother.
"What?" he asked sharply.
"It shall not be just you Shen," His father explained as he placed his cup down gently upon the tray. "We would like both you and Lianne to make the preparations and arrangements for the Moon Festival this year."
"You two have had all summer together," Jing added enthusiastically. "Now that autumn is here, it would be a perfect opportunity to showcase how far you two have come together,"
"You're trying to play match-maker," Shen deadpanned, he'd known that Lianne's sudden involvement sounded too good to be true.
"What becomes of the festival is nothing to do with us," his father said though Shen saw a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "But Lianne is in favour with the people, it would be good for them to see you with her, together I have no doubt that you can manage such an event."
"If you want, Lianne can handle all the more public arrangements whilst you can arrange the firework display – you always loved that!" Jing was almost bouncing in her seat, her pink and brown feathers puffing with excitement.
"Well, yes-but-but –" Shen stuttered as he tried to find an excuse. "This is a bit much on Lianne, isn't it? To expect so much of her?"
"After training with you I should expect such a thing to be a breeze,"
Shen swivelled around in his seat to gape opened beaked at the door to his parents' private dining room to see Lianne standing there is beautiful green and gold robe, a slight smile playing at the edges of her beak as she walked into the room to sit beside him and opposite Goa. Shen was suddenly aware of her proximity, his feathers felt like they had lightning dancing across their tips, and he had to constantly fight the urge to look over at her.
"Lianne!" Jing beamed. "So glad you could make it!"
"So sorry I'm late," Lianne apologised with a warm smile for the peahen.
"We were just telling Shen about the situation," Goa smiled at her warmly, which the swan gave back.
"And let me guess: he's less than agreeable," she chuckled. Shen snapped his head to look at her in shock.
"You knew?" he almost squawked.
"Of course," she replied as if it were obvious. "Lord Goa and Lady Jing talked to me about it last night over dinner. You were previously engaged in your workshop, so we thought not to disturb you,"
"Oh really," Shen muttered under his breath as he settled back in his seat. Last night he had been looked over the fan that he had made as a gift for Lianne. The perfectionist in him was still not satisfied with it, even though it had technically been finished for over three weeks. He had been trying to find the right message to inscribe on it, he wanted it absolutely perfect before he gave it to Lianne. "And you're okay with this?" he asked her almost irritably.
"Of course," she said again, but then he felt something brush against his wing and he looked over to see her wing placed gently over his as she smiled at him, and Shen felt all anger suddenly drain from him as he stared into her lovely blue eyes. "I have faith that we can do this. But only if you want to,"
Shen was slightly taken aback that she was giving him the choice. Even in front of his parents, she was telling him that she would refuse if he wanted. The temptation was there, but he suddenly couldn't find it in him to do so, he felt the need to prove himself all of a sudden. Damn the manipulation of females, he thought to himself.
"No, that's fine. We'll make the arrangements for the festival," he said slowly.
"Brilliant!" Goa exclaimed enthusiastically, clapping his wings together. "Oh! And also, I would like the pair of you to make arrangements for a guest that will be arriving in a few days' time. He's coming to make an appearance in the festival,"
"Who?" Shen asked with a raised brow.
"Master Thundering Rhino,"
They all waited upon the steps in the Tower Courtyard facing the gate where their guest was expected to enter. Lianne felt a little odd as she realised the familiarity of the situation, only now she was experiencing it from the other side of the board. Just as before, Lord Goa and Lady Jing stood side by side, looking regal and beautiful as ever as they stood tall and proud in long robes of green and bluee. Shen was stood on his father's left in a white and silver robe, and Lianne was beside him in a soft yellow robe. Ah-Ma was at the bottom of the stairs on her rug just like before, and she looked up to give Lianne an encouraging wink. Zhan stood behind Shen and Lianne and she felt oddly comforted to have him there as he looked out onto all of his wolf guards that lined the courtyard in disciplined formation. Lianne felt her nerves grow slowly as she awaited their guest, her heart fluttering as she wrung her feathers absentmindedly. She only stopped when she felt Shen silently reach out a wing and place it over hers, stilling her panicked movements as he leaned over to her slightly, though still not taking his eyes off of the gate.
"Relax," he whispered to her in a voice so that only she could hear him. "There's nothing for you to worry about,"
It was then that the gates opened and their guest finally entered.
Master Thundering Rhino did nothing if not live up to his name. Lianne couldn't help but gulp as she saw that he was positively huge, towering over everyone in the courtyard as he walked with such a gait that it literally made the ground thunder with his approach, he had a huge hammer that was as tall as he was and he walked with it as if it were a staff in his grasp. As he approached the royal family, Lianne couldn't help but feel intimidated yet awed at the same time, yet when she looked into his eyes, she saw nothing but a fatherly kindness that immediately set her at ease. From his appearance she could tell why he was famed as a great Kung Fu Master, but just by his eyes she had a hard time picturing him doing anything lethal.
The Master bowed before the royals on the steps, and as one, all the peacocks and Lianne bowed back to him in respect. When they all rose, Thundering Rhino had a warm smile upon his leathery face, and Goa was smiling as he descended the stairs, Jing quickly following him. Shen looked over to Lianne before offering his wing to her, and unlike the very first time they had been in this courtyard, Lianne did not hesitate as she took his offered wing and they both descended the stairs together.
"Master Thundering Rhino!" Goa said with a huge grin as he opened his wings as if he would hug the Master. "You honour my house with your presence,"
Lianne saw Shen roll his eyes at that, and she subtly gave his wing a squeeze as if he were a child she were telling to behave.
"The honour is mine, Your Majesty," Master Thundering Rhino spoke in such a warm, intellectual and calm voice, that picture of deadly Kung Fu Master was becoming harder and harder to obtain in Lianne's mind.
"May I present my wife, Lady Jing," Goa introduced. Jing smiled and bowed to Thundering Rhino.
"Master, welcome to our home," she said warmly.
"I must thank you for your hospitality, My Lady,"
"Nonsense, it is always a pleasure to house a warrior of honour such as yourself,"
Shen almost scoffed aloud before Lianne bumped his wing with hers and sent him a disapproving scowl.
"And this is my son, Lord Shen," Goa flourished a wing to Shen and Lianne, and Shen's crest on top of his head straightened with pride as he looked upon Thundering Rhino with an almost undetectable smug superiority.
"My Lord," Thundering Rhino bowed to the peacock Prince, and Shen smirked whilst the Rhino's back was bent. Lianne watched as Shen almost didn't bow or say anything to offer his own respect. So in a desperate attempt to cleanse his manners, she purposefully plucked a downy feather from his wing where her hand lay.
"Ow!" Shen hissed in surprise as he glared at Lianne. She glared back and gestured to Thundering Rhino who was getting back up from his bow, who seemed to have not hear Shen's little exclaim. Shen muttered something under his breath, before lowering his head slightly as a sign of respect… or as much as he would allow as he sent a withering glance at Lianne.
"And this is our guest," Goa said as he gestured to Lianne. "May I present the Lady Lianne, daughter of Lord Chang,"
"My Lady," Thundering Rhino bowed to her. "You are as lovely as you are famed to be. I recently was in the province of your father; your people are well, though they miss you,"
"Thank you, master," Lianne said, her heart twisting painfully at the mention of her home, but she smiled none the less. A was a bittersweet pain now, a fond memory that she hoped to return to. "I apologise, for I do not know the proper etiquette when greeting a Master in Kung Fu, especially one such as yourself."
"Your manners are well appreciated my lady, but I find it hard to believe that you have never experienced the presence of a warrior of Kung Fu before,"
"No, my father tried to teach me Kung Fu when I was younger, though I never excelled at it," Lianne explained. "In fact I do not know much about Kung Fu,"
"Well, then my visit here is destined, it is good to bring knowledge to all who need it," Thundering Rhino chuckled.
"You must be hungry Master Rhino," Lord Goa said as he smiled. "Perhaps you would like to follow us inside for some food,"
"That would wonderful, thank you," Thundering Rhino smiled to the older peacock, before offering his free arm to Lianne. "May I?"
"Why of course," Llianne smiled as she took his arm and led him into the Tower, completely unaware of Shen walking dejectedly behind them, glaring fires into Thundering Rhino's back, his wings folded in his sleeves as he twirled a feather around a dagger comfortingly. Zhan followed behind his master, a little uneasy as he sensed Shen's growing temper.
"Kung Fu is not to make a weapon out of the warrior," Thundering Rhino was telling Lianne later in the evening over dinner. "It is a way for a warrior to learn balance. Kung Fu is used by us masters to protect the people of China. We follow the laws but are only governed by our own."
"Who leads your order then?" Lianne asked, fascinated.
"That would be Master Oogaway, the turtle who invented Kung Fu; he resides at the Jade Palace, in the Valley of Peace, where he trains China's greatest Kung Fu Warriors. It is our job to protect all of china, wherever there is evil, we will come to vanquish it." Rhino explained. "I am surprised that you yourself do not know this, I would have thought that as a member of the nobility, you father would have taught you all there is to know,"
"Oh, well…" Lianne tried to block out her emotions as she would normally do, distance herself so that she wouldn't feel the embarrassment and shame, but somehow Master Thundering Rhino's calm warmth brought out the emotions she buried as if he were the moon commanding the sea. "As I said earlier, my father tried to teach me, but I was not the best student. I am a pacifist."
"Oh I see," Thundering Rhino said with yet another small smile, Lianne had expected him to drop the subject, take it as explanation enough and think her weak like Shen had, but instead, he merely smiled encouragingly. "Kung Fu is not all for the offensive, it can be used to protect and deflect,"
"As Lianne has discovered," Lord Goa said proudly.
"Oh?" Rhino asked.
"Yes, Shen has taught me some self-defence with the use of the war fan," Lianne explained.
"Really, that is impressive," Rhino looked over to the white peacock, who hadn't really been eating his food, but had perked up a little when the conversation had suddenly switched over to him.
"Lianne needed to defend herself," he explained. "We trained together for several weeks, until I was satisfied that she could hold her own against an attack without breaking her own moral code."
"Most impressive indeed," Rhino said. "Much like Lady Windsong herself."
"Better," Shen muttered smugly as he looked over at Lianne, who almost shyly avoided his gaze.
"I would not have been able to have come as far as I have without Shen," she said with surprising emotion and honesty in her voice. Shen actually blinked in shock as he felt rather strange at her praise.
"I would very much like to see what you have learned," Rhino encouraged.
"Yes, we have heard many things about your training Lianne," Jing put in excitedly. "Why don't you give us a demonstration?"
"Oh, but I don't think that –" she quickly tried to say but Shen cut her off.
"You are ready Lianne, but only if you wish to," he said to her softly, giving her the opportunity to refuse even when he wanted nothing more than to show off his pupil's abilities with self-satisfied pride. Lianne looked at him for a moment, something dancing in her eyes as she stared at him, before nodding silently and getting up from the table.
She stood a little away from the table, holding out a fan that she had simply had in her belt from the day out in the hot sun. She then went through a series of movements, simple ones that were not too acrobatic so that she wouldn't bump into anything, but still enough to show what she had leaned. She moved the fan in order to block attacks, before snapping it shut and then twisting out of reach and then snapping the fan open once again. A dance seemed to be made of her movements, as she twirled and rose and fell, it was not combat, but art. And Shen found himself mesmerised as he watched her, both with the pride of a teacher watching a student succeed, but also with a dark pleasure that raced through his veins, as if he were seeing something private and secret from this performance that he shouldn't, but had no power to resist. But soon, the dance was over, and Lianne finished perfectly with one wing extended and the fan held in her grip. The room then erupted into rounds of applause, waking Shen from his daydream as he looked to see the proud and astonished faces of his parents and their guest.
"Well done!" Rhino said with a smile, clapping his huge hands together to make a thunderous sound. "I thought that you could be a little stricter on your form, perhaps straighten your spine and engage your core a little more. And you always move a little too fast, as if you're expecting multiple attacks, it puts you off balance ever so slightly."
"She should be prepared for multiple attacks," Shen snapped almost defensively, immediately set off at the criticism. "Kidnappers place ambushes, not honourable one on one fights."
"You misunderstand me, Lord Shen," Rhino said soothingly. "I meant it not to hurt your student's feelings, more to say that I had not expected such thinking. It is most impressive."
"Thank you, Master," Lianne bowed to him, but as she straightened, she sent Shen a look of pure elation and pride that shone in her oceanic blue eyes.
Shen suddenly felt something warm spread through his body as he stared back at her, feeling completely over the moon at the look she gave him. She had passed the test, she had impressed even one of the greatest Kung Fu Masters with what HE had taught her. Shen almost couldn't contain the pride and delight that he felt inside of him as he watched her, her feathers sparkling a pearl white like the moon.
And suddenly, Shen knew exactly what he wanted to put on the fan.
"You do realise that after the Moon Festival, half the year you have to woo her will be over, right?" Zhan said in his usually growl of a voice as he walked beside Shen.
"Yes, I am very much aware of that fact, thank you," Shen replied in monotone as he studied the metal fan, now complete with its tiny inscription on the inside of one of the bones where one could only see it if they were looking for it. Despite the fact that Lianne probably wouldn't notice it, Shen felt that it was now complete with the inscription, perfect for her. He quickly closed it and stuffed it back in his sleeve and out of sight as he made his way towards one of the outbuildings in the tower grounds where he saw Lianne surrounded by over a dozen people, each holding bundles of colourful ribbons and streams and ropes for her to inspect. Shen raised his head and strutted towards the group with a regal air, even as the Wolf Boss leaned in to talk in his ear.
"You do realise that at that point she leaves and you lose, right?" At the wolf's words, Shen literally had to count to ten in his head and grind his beak in order to keep his temper in check.
"Yes, thank you for stating the obvious," he ground out between his clenched jaw.
"So what are you going to do?" Zhan asked.
"I will carry on as normal. If it will be then it will be."
"And if it doesn't… you know, 'be'?"
"Then she will go home, my life will continue as normal."
"And you'll be happy about that?"
"Of course not!" Shen hissed, his patience thinning by the moment.
"So what do you want to happen then?"
"I don't know!" Shen finally snapped as he turned his head to glare his fiery gaze upon the wolf. Zhan blinked, looking uncomfortable under his master's wrath, but still carried on bravely.
"Sir, in all my years serving you, you ALWAYS know what you want, there's never a moment when you don't know the answer." He spoke softly, almost confidingly. Shen narrowed his eyes at the wolf, confused for a moment as to what point the Boss Wolf was trying to make. "So what do you want?"
Shen turned away, trying to dismiss Zhan's nosiness as nothing more than that. But then, his eyes found Lianne at the exact same moment as she noticed him across the courtyard. She lifted a wing to wave him over a smile on her face as she beamed at him with enthusiasm. Shen couldn't help but feel all of his negative energy leave him as soon as he saw that smile upon her face, she was beautiful, utterly radiant in the afternoon sun. He felt his insides warm, his stomach doing strange flips as he watched her, and he suddenly felt annoyed as Zhan's words echoed back to him: what did he want?
But he quickly shook his head, trying to rid himself of such self-doubt, and moved purposefully forward towards Lianne. As he came closer, the other people who surrounded his swan saw him coming and immediately began to retreat, giving him enough room to approach her. As he came closer, Lianne's smile never faded as she kept her eyes on him. Shen couldn't help but puff out his chest, his crest on his head straightening proudly as he strutted towards, something instinctual coming over him as he smirked at her.
"Shen!" Lianne said happily by way of greeting. "There you are, I wanted your opinion on something,"
"Oh?" he asked, taking the opportunity to move just a step closer to her.
"Yes, I wanted to know if you had any ideas for what colours you were planning on putting in the fireworks display," She said.
"Why do you ask?"
"I'm trying to plan the banners and decorations, and when the fireworks go off, I want them all to glow in the same light. They mustn't clash," she explained.
"Well…. I hadn't given it much thought as of yet, although I have planned to have every colour imaginable at one point, I'll mostly be using gold, blue, purple –"
"What about red?" she asked suddenly.
"Red?" he asked, taken aback slightly.
"Yes. Those colours sound wonderful," she added quickly as he looked rather annoyed at the thought that she was critiquing him. "But what about some more colours that express energy, emotion? Oh! What about white as well?" she exclaimed excitedly. "It would go wonderfully with the yellows I have planned,"
"You want white?" he looked at her blandly, annoyed but resigned as well as he thought that his involvement in the festival would be over much more quickly then he thought if this pushy female was going to control everything.
"Well yes. You are organising this display aren't you?"
"Yes, but how on earth does that have anything to with it?" he asked a little irritably.
"Red and white: they are your colours." Her answer was simple, as if this was the most obvious thing in the world, though the tender look she had in her eyes said much more. It was enough to shock Shen into silence as he looked at her in slight confusion. At the look on his face, she continued: "Well, I thought that… seeing as you are this city's future, and you are organising this festival with me, you should show your mark. Make it known that this is your work, let the people remember this as something you did for them."
"I… I-I," Shen didn't know how to respond. How was it that a female such as this could continue to surprise him so many times and he be astonished each and every time by something new that she would throw at him. "I hadn't thought of that… thank you,"
Lianne smiled, something true and deep in her eyes as she looked at him, nodding to him in turn. She then turned away to tell the assorted people around her as she chose the colours that she wanted. Once she had picked her colours, the people bowed and thanked her graciously for her time before leaving. Lianne then looked over at Shen with another smile.
"Would you care to walk with me through the gardens?" she offered.
"If it pleases you," he said as he began to walk in step beside her, her silent stride contrasted by the constant chime of his metal talons upon the stone as they walked through the grounds together, the late summer season bringing all the colours imaginable out into the garden, a soft breeze providing cool refreshment from the heat of the sun that was not far off of setting. "You seem quite adept at this whole organising for a festival. It is as if you've done it before,"
"Oh no," Lianne scoffed. "Nothing ever quite like this; but I would always help my mother when my father held extravagant parties at the palace."
"Then you still have more experience then I," Shen commented.
"Yes, I noticed that you do not seem overly fond of this whole arrangement," she pointed out with a sideways glance at him.
"I make it a habit to interact with the people as little as possible. It works out better that way for both of us," his tone dropped a little as his good mood began to grow sour at the thought of all their stares and whispers behind his back. But he was suddenly brought out of his dark hole when he felt something touch him, and turned to see Lianne place a wing upon his shoulder.
"I'm sure that if they knew the Shen that I have come to know, that would both like him and respect him as I do," she said softly, her tone sincere, and Shen searched her eyes for any form of a lie, but he could find none, and that oddly… made him feel unbalanced. But then the moment was broken as Lianne pulled away and they walked on for a beat in silence before she opened her beak to speak again. "So do you not participate in the festivals at all?"
"Only what is required of me," Shen replied truthfully. "I make the public appearance with my parents but other than that I do not."
"He merely slinks away back to his lab to work on whatever project he's working on," The Boss Wolf added from where he was several paces behind them, but quickly shut up when Shen sent a glare over his shoulder.
"I love going through the streets at festival time, eating all the food, visiting the stalls, talking to the people. It raises morale and lifts the people's heart like you would never believe. But it's also… nice to just forget that you're noble and they're not, there are no boundaries. It's oddly feeing," Lianne smiled wistfully to herself as she looked up at the sky and sighed. "My mother and I used to race down the streets together, sparklers in our hands, pretending we were shooting stars."
"I'm glad you had such happy times," Shen murmured as he watched her, taking advantage to be able to look at her beauty unabashed as she looked away from him. But then she looked at him and their eyes met. Yet she seemed to not notice his sudden fluster at being caught, either that or she didn't say.
"Honestly though, when was the last time you had fun outside of the Tower?" she asked, raising her brow at him as if it were a challenge.
"Hmmm," Shen thought about it for a moment, before a memory suddenly resurfaced from the depths of his mind, once forgotten but now could remember perfectly. "I was only thirteen years old, and Ah-Ma had told Zhan and I some ghost story that I honestly can't remember. But once it was done, our minds were alive with imagination! We hadn't known each other long, and we were young and impulsive. I think it was a dare that started it…"
"I dared him to play 'ghost'," Zhan put in.
"Yes! That's it!" Shen exclaimed. "We snuck out of the Tower, past the guards and the walls, and found our way into the city. We stalked our way through the city, playing little pranks and playing about as we went. But then, we came across this group of men, drunkards outside of a bar, all of them harassing whoever was about at that time of night. Well, being the young fools that we were, we thought to stand up to them, but that didn't go quite according to plan…"
"I can imagine," Lianne said with a little chuckle, though her eyes were wide and enraptured upon him as she was held on his every word. His ego stroked by her gaze, he continued with renewed enthusiasm.
"We managed to lead them down this old alley, dark and filled with junk that clattered and rattled – something that was too good of an opportunity to pass up. We found an old and dirty white sheet, and thinking of Ah-Ma's story, I stood up on Zhan's shoulders and draped the sheet over us like a cloak and hood, only my eyes were shown. You can imagine the sight they saw when these drunkards came flying down the alley after two boys and found this 'ghoul' at the end with glowing red eyes that hissed out in a demonic voice: 'Thou dare'st to awaken the demon of the deep! Thou would risk the wrath of Hell upon thee for such insolence! Thy Soul shall be forfeited as payment for your sins! PUNISHMENT MUST BE DEALT!'"
Both Lianne and Shen could not contain their laughter, Shen at the memory, and Lianne at the animation in Shen as he put on a raspy voice and almost screamed at the top of his lungs as he retold her the story.
"I don't think I've ever seen an ox that weighed as much as one of those men did run so fast!" Shen chuckled, wiping at his eye. "They all screamed so loudly I thought that the royal guard would surely turn up at moment!"
Lianne continued to laugh, and it was only then that Shen noticed the fact that he had never heard her laugh like this before. It was unlike anything he had heard before. Other noble ladies had practiced laughs made to sound sweet and feminine. Lianne's laugh however, didn't sound musical or beautiful, but at the same time it was not an awful sound either. It simply sounded like… merriment; it was simply wonderful as it only conveyed all the joy that she felt in that moment.
"I have never heard you laugh," Shen blurted out before he could stop himself.
"Oh!" Lianne gasped, trying to stifle her giggles though that only caused her to surrender to more bursts of laughter. "I'm sorry… M-my father hates it when I laugh, says it not articulate enough,"
"Nonsense!" Shen snapped with false outrage, which only led to more giggles from Lianne at his fake-serious expression. "I must remind myself to hire jesters for you if only to hear you laugh like this again,"
"Oh no! Please don't!" Lianne chuckled as she placed a hand on his shoulder, when all of a sudden, before he knew what he was doing, Shen put his free hand over hers and pulled himself closer to her as he gazed into her eyes.
"Only if you promise to not keep such joy inside yourself anymore. I want to know if something pleases you," he murmured softly, his breath washing over her face, and all laughter died in her throat as she was suddenly suspended in his eyes as their gazes locked. After a moment, Shen realised just how close they were and how inappropriate this would seem and so took a step back from her cautiously, clearing his throat as he tried to stop his stomach fluttering inside of him. "Speaking of which, I have something for you,"
"Really?" Lianne asked, taken aback by the sudden switch in conversation.
"Yes," Shen spoke softly as he slowly pulled the fan from his sleeve and presented it Lianne. She gasped as she saw the metal fan shine in the light of the sun, polished to perfection until she could see herself reflected perfectly upon it. Hesitantly, she reached out and picked it up, holding it in her hands as her feathers glided across the surface of the metal. She snapped it open, holding it in the different arm positions that Shen had taught her in their training sessions. Shen watched her, looking for her reaction, his eye approving of the way she handled it. She finally brought the fan to her once more, closing it as she looked from it to Shen.
"Shen, this is incredible," she whispered in awe.
"I had it made for you," he said.
"Oh Shen, I-I can't accept this! It-It's too much!" she said quickly, trying to give it back but he held his hands up to push it back towards her.
"It is a gift," he told her softly. "To symbolise the completion of your training with me,"
"Shen…" she whispered, once again looking from him, to the fan and then back again. "I… I… Thank you!" And then suddenly, she launched herself at him and wrapped her wings around his neck as she pulled him to her in a tight embrace.
Shen froze in place for a second, shocked at the sudden turn of events, unknowing of what to do. But then, he felt something erupt within him, his stomach doing flips inside of him, a warmth spreading through him as he slowly curled his wings around her and gathered her in his arms to pull her closer, returning her embrace. He held her there, a hint of possessiveness as he clutched her to him, and not caring as he simply allowed himself to be. A smile came to his beak, his crest rising as his instincts spoke to him again, but he beat them down. For now, he just wanted to enjoy the feel of a woman in his arms, of someone touching him of their own free will, someone not seeing him as sickly and unworthy.
For just a moment, he could even push the fantasy just a little into pretending that it was someone who loved him.
Author's Note: Hello everyone! I'm really really sorry that I disappeared for a moment there, I'm so sorry that this is SO late. But real life issues as well as my other stories got in my way, but I'm back on track now and I beg your forgiveness as I say that I'm now back onto a hopefully much more regular schedule. I do not want to leave you guys for as long as I did (I think it was over a month... oh god!) again. I also apologise for any mistakes as its kind of late here and I'm exhausted -_-
So, with that being said, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and Please please please review! Tell me what you thought of: Goa and Jing's plan to have Shen and Lianne prepare for the festival? Master Thundering Rhino? - he didn't have a lot of screen time to have much of a personality, so I hope I did what little there was of him justice. Boss Wolf and Shen's conversation? Do you have an idea at what Zhan was trying to do? Shen and Lianne's conversations? And Shen and Lianne's final moment?
Until next time!
