HA HA HA HA! The Dragon wept a tear off his enormous cheek. THIS INTRUDER AMUSES ME GREATLY!
The other head rolled his eyes, blowing some hot steam out of his nostrils -each one the size of Po's head.
Ryuu focus. The blue head taunted his brother, whose rocky scales would heave as he laughed his heart out.
THIS IS RIDICULOUS. The Dragon finally breathed out as he stopped. WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, BARGING IN HERE, A PLACE SACRED AND HEAVENLY RESERVED ONLY FOR THE EMPEROR OF ALL EMPERORS AND MAKE FUN OF ITS ANCIENT MEANING?
"But I wasn't!" Po complained and realized the dragon was only annoyed even more by his manner, "I mean...this wasn't my intention."
ENOUGH. I SHALL DO AWAY WITH YOU NOW.
Realizing the dragon was about to kill him, Po threw a pleading look at the second head, calmly glaring over at his brother. Fear took over his body and the panda felt a bitter taste in his frozen mouth. His throat went dry as the dragon lifted a huge paw, full of magical scales and clothes made of iron, above his head and was ready to pierce through the air and slice him in half when...
Don't.
Po had had his eyes closed tight, but opened them when he heard the distant and graceful voice. Light illuminated every aspect of the cave as the great Fenghuang walked the icy path behind him. With every Yin's step the cold would disappear, the stalactites would melt as well as the ice. Yang placed his enormous foot back on the ground, and the panda could sense his body moving inside the cave. The divine avian, many times smaller than her partner but with a matching grace and beauty, stood next to Po, her light mixing with his darkness. The Kung Fu warrior could clearly make out the circular yin and yang shape forming at the point where light and darkness mixed. It was beautiful. And for the first time in his life he felt like he was at the right place, the right moment. Something ancient woke up inside him, the majesty of those divine beasts triggered an instinct he didn't even know existed; it was courage. It was strength. Using this sudden power as fuel, Po stood on his feet and heaved next to the Fenghuang.
Except for your head you've clearly lost your mind as well. Po gasped when he heard her abrupt manner. The Dragon kept staring at his mate pathetically. This is the last Dragon Warrior alive. Our only hope to bring your brother down.
I tried to tell him. The blue head defended himself. His earthly colored brother rolled his eyes and breathed out.
IF YOU'RE COUNTING ON THIS PILE OF MEAT AND STENCH TO SAVE YOU, YOU ARE THE ONE WHO'S LOST HER MIND.
Yin turned her gaze to Po's belly. The panda shifted uncomfortably because, even though her eyes had no iris, he could feel her penetrating gaze on him. Nevertheless, she showed no emotion or disapproval.
Can you propose an alternative?
There was a moment of silence, particularly deafening. Po had experienced this kind of silence before, when the Soothsayer had first let them on the ancient story of how the world was made. He had not fully believed her then. Now his mind had changed.
NO, the dragon stubbornly shook his head after a while. BUT LONGWEI CAN, he gestured to his sibling head. The blue one jerked away and shook left and right harshly.
Hey leave me out of this!
This isn't just about us, Longwei and Ryuu. This is about the universe and the world. Yenn has no limits this time. He is determined as ever. You either fight, or lose your place beside me. I cannot deal with your dragon fights anymore!
PFF, the head whose name was Ryuu breathed. FINE THEN WE'LL FIGHT. WE'VE DEALT WITH THE BRAT BEFORE AND WE CAN DO IT AGAIN, RIGHT LONG?
The other head was not that confident and produced a husky "well..." But before he could continue, Yin's voice was heard once again.
It's not that simple this time. Yenn has a caterer.
Both heads gasped and shook in fear. Ryuu produced a low growl while Longwei's eyes became the size of Po's belly. The panda, on the other side, had no idea what a caterer was and so shrugged and asked:
"What's a caterer?"
Ryuu rolled his eyes but Longwei gave him a push not to say anything nasty, as Yin had her piercing glare fixed on them.
A caterer is someone mortal that feeds him with blood of other mortals. Many demons, like Yenn, need mortal blood to survive in this world.
"So if you stop feeding him, he dies?"
He transfers to the world of spirits. This world.
Po lifted a brow and looked around. So this is why it all looked so out-of-this-world. Because it is!
"So...how do we stop him?"
WE? Ryuu raised a messy brow. YOU ARE NOT STOPPING ANYONE.
He is the last panda, Ryuu. Show some respect. I brought him here to be chosen as your incarnation.
WHAT? This time it was both heads that gasped in shock. Po, who was already feeling humbled next to such fine creatures, took the liberty of addressing Yin face to face.
"What exactly is an.."
An incarnation is a mortal who carries divine power inside him, the blue head harshly explained before turning to the Fenghuang, Yin have you any idea how dangerous this is? Not only could we lose a significant amount of power, but this panda could lose his mortality!
I know, I thought of all these before I chose my own.
INCARNATION WAR? ONLY YENN COULD COME UP WITH SOMETHING SO COWARDISH.
Nevertheless we don't have time on our side. Yenn set his game in the mortal world and time is existent there.
He was always the smartest of us, Longwei commented bitterly and Ryuu gave him a glare of disapproval.
You must do with the panda now. And I must be on my way. Farewell.
And simple as that she spread her enormous wings, colorful and warm light embracing Po as she did, and soared through the cave walls. The panda was left alone, with Dragon Yang as his only company.
Splendid.
When Fei was organizing the Naming Day Festival and sending invitations, she had not fully taken in mind the eccentric personalities she was dealing with. While some were really accurate, others did not do so well with timing. A characteristic example was the early arrival of Lord Yingjun.
The green peacock had been ruling Burma for the last ten years of his festive life; a life full of dancing, drinking and hangovers. At the age of five Yingjun had fist come to contact with the family business; alcoholic beverages. The Burmese enjoyed the wealth of being the only industry producing this kind of drinks and had a fortune that was estimated around a hundred times bigger than Shen's growing empire. Such fortune was only wasted in the wings of an alcoholic good-for-nothing womanizer, such as Yingjun. There was only one aspect of his character that granted him his high place; he was extremely cynic and clever. What is more his country was inhabited by primitive beings, whose only priorities were a plate of food and somewhere to spend the night. They weren't poor, because poor is someone that cannot afford a standard life quality. They were living in the wild, which meant they did not understand what standard life quality meant. Yingjun was a typical example of how an animal that can use its mind can rule above others, regardless of size or strength. Because compared to the gorillas and lions inhabiting his country, Yingjun was only a bird -and even for a peacock his early consumption of alcohol had spared him of height.
Fei had had her encounters with him in the past; her mother was also part of the Burmese peafowl clan. But, fortunately for the princess, Lady Nashia despised the primitive traditions of her country and therefore made sure her daughter never came in contact with them. This was the reason, in part, why Fei had escaped a horrible marriage when Yingjun's father asked for a betrothal with her own. She was lucky, again, to have a caring father. The Xingfu clan didn't have good relations with the Burmese ever since. But now Xingfu was gone. And Fei was now part of the Gongmen clan. The hatred for Yingjun and his family had remained in her heart, however, and it was the reason why -while standing on the courtyard and watching his cohort arrived- her heart beat faster. Shen was standing right next to her, too overprotective to leave an inch gap between them. He wanted to make sure his guest knew his boundaries, as well as the fact his wife was out of reach. During his years in exile, Shen had come in contact with many kinds of traditions and civilizations and knew how many of them submitted to their primitive urges and were polygamous. Though he was not racist -having been an outsider all his life- he did not approve of such customs when it came to his wife.
The carriage baring Yingjun and his cohort halted in front of the entrance, followed by a bigger one, in which the Lord's twenty wives had traveled. Fei struggled to remove the expression of upper disdain from her face and replace it with a fake but polite smile.
"In case I haven't told you already, I'm not much of a sociable person." Shen whispered, his ruby stare on the Lord who was stepping out of his carriage.
"He isn't either," Fei whispered back, trying to keep the venom off her voice. How she longed for that moment when Shen would crush him. How she wanted to see him lying dead on the ground, blood stains on his green feathers. What's wrong with me? It suddenly occurred to her that few months ago she could never think like that. Not even for a Burmese.
"Good evening, my lady," Yingjun's husky voice snapped her out of her thoughts. It sounded like a snake coughing or claws marring wood.
"I see you've had a busy night, my Lord?" Fei mocked. The green peacock chuckled and coughed out.
"I've seen busier," he smiled and leaned close to her, much to Shen's surprise. Such intimacy was not accustomed in Gongmen. He thought it insulting and, had it not been for a reassuring glance from Fei, he would have attacked the insolent Lord right away.
"Lord Shen," Yingjun turned to the white peacock when he was done hugging the princess. "I've heard so much about you. I must say you look finer than they say." The implication of insult was a way of honoring their fellow male for Burmese but only aggravated Shen more. A slight touch of Fei's wing kept him from doing something stupid.
"I could say it's a pleasure to meet you as well, my Lord Yingjun. Frankly speaking, I won't."
The peacock laughed and leaned on Shen as well. The white peacock had never been hugged by a male of his kind before and thought it strange. But he now saw there was acceptance and brotherhood in the gesture.
"Now if you could excuse me, I would like to retire to my quarters, since, as the lady commented, I've had a...well...tiring night."
Shen raised a brow. "Our servants will show you to your rooms, Lord. I trust you will enjoy your stay."
The green peafowl patted him softly on the shoulder. "I'm sure I will..."
And with that he was off, led by a small group of wolves inside the palace, his cohort following slowly. When the last slave of Yingjun was inside the palace with him, Fei breathed out and her facial expression switched to disgust.
"Thank the gods he'll be sleeping the day."
Shen raised a brow, "You hadn't mentioned he'd be that insolent."
"He's not. The Burmese are," Fei rubbed the spot where their necks had touched. "Thank the gods you have some self-control."
The peacock had his fiery stare fixed on the entrance, through which the Lord had just walked. "I don't."
"Well, the others are not that weird so you have little to worry about. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to wash his scent of my neck." With that she headed inside the palace. Shen watched her pace. He was jealous. He was jealous of her vibrant blues and greens, her cyan crest, her ivory eyes. He wanted to own her exclusively. And Yingjun was a threat to his property; he had to keep an eye on him. The inner turmoil he had felt when the green peacock neared his wife could not be repeated; Fei belonged to him.
"Master." Lang crawled from behind him. The peacock looked over his shoulder at the one-eyed wolf. "I've spread word that you're gathering mercenaries, as you asked."
"Good. Make sure you sort out the candidates as they arrived." Shen turned around, glaring at the wolf general, "And by the way have you seen my son?"
The scar over his right eye gave him a sharp pain as he splashed cold water over his sore face. His cheek had been scarred as well. The smell of fire and smoke lingered on his muddy clothes and his fan of throwing knives had been lost somewhere in the way. The wolf struggled to stand back on his feet; he really needed some rest after all this running. His only worry was to make sure the dagger was in his place, tied around his right ankle. Touching the sheath with a paw finger, he secured the leather wrapping it. Then, with a deep breath, he begun to walk again, heading for the nearby village. Behind him laid only a dark past, shaded with doubt and remorse. Pains and sorrows did not matter anymore for Nako, that was his name, was determined to take fate in his own paws.
Walking inside the inn, first thing he saw on his way inside the village, Nako headed to the counter where a goat was wearily wiping some glasses dry. The inn was relatively low in customers, a small group of wolves feasting over some parts of meat and two bulls playing cards on a distant corner. Nako ignored them as he made his way to the counter, searching inside the pocket of his black pants as he did. There was little silver there, probably enough to buy him a plate of food and something to wet his throat with. The goat lifted his hazel eyes, scanning the new customer up and down.
"Wha' canI brin' ya?" said the goat, with an accent that was clearly not Chinese and Nako wondered if it came from any place of Asia at all. The wolf took the silver coins out of his pocket and threw them on the table.
"Water. And something to eat."
"We go' fish en' chip, we go' oily steak, we go' salad wit' chicken. Whatchya want?"
Nako, who had not entirely understood the menu contents picked one in random. It didn't matter to him as long as it was edible.
"He'll have the steak," a voice was heard from behind him. Its possesor sounded young and joyful. The animal sat next to the scrawny wolf and Nako scanned it with his tired eyes. It was a lynx. Much smaller next to him, with long whiskers and pointy ears -a black tip on each one of them. "I'm Hatsy," the lynx streched out a paw and smiled. Nako didn't share his enthusiasm. The goat retired to the kitchen behind him, to bring the steak. The lynx withdrew his paw, seeing Wolf was not willing to shake it. "I'm new around here. But you're probably new as well."
"What do you want?" Nako growled. His relationships with felines weren't very good, naturally.
"I'm just making friends," the lynx smiled again. From the pearly white teeth Nako could tell he was really young. "I'm on my way to Gongmen city, to serve Lord Shen as a mercenary. And you?"
Nako tried to ignore him but a certain word captured his attention. Mercenary. Well that's a job I could manage.
"Who's army again?"
"Lord Shen's of Gongmen city."
"Isn't he supposed to be exiled?" Nako asked, the place he came from being really isolated. The lynx shrugged.
"He probably came back, I don't know."
"Huh" the wolf nodded and felt his nostrils aroused when the freshly cooked steak arrived in front of him.
"So where are you off to?"
Nako felt saliva dripping over his lower jaw as he prepared to chop a bit. "Well," he said, handling the knife like an expert, "I'm going to apply for a mercenary in Lord Shen's army."
So what's up?
XD
I hope you guys are doing all right and enjoying the story. A little announcement here:
KimxLang poll is still on, though by now ALL votes were positive...Gee I had no idea the two of them were that popular.
OC submissions are still open. Here you have the first accepted, ScaledWolf's Nako the Wolf (main OC in the The Carnage After Betrayal make sure you check it out!) If you want to submit your own OC for the story contact me via PM, on DA (XtheNamelessX) or go to my profile for E-mail and FB accounts.
I love you all and thank you for your support... =D
10000 views so far! Thank youuuuu 3
EDIT:
I've corrected some mispellings and stuff after ScaledWolf pointed them out for me.
Thanx ^^
All my original chapters are written in Greek and I have to translate them after I write them so I will make mistakes sometimes. It's only human and I don't mind if you point them out -in fact I was hoping you would =D