Shen's eyes flashed open. Holding back a yawn, he unfolded his strong legs and jumped off the bed, quietly heading for the wall mirror. He stood in front of it, checking to make sure his family was still fast asleep, then slowly examined the scale planted on his neck. Its glow had faded but a sore bruise had replaced it and the pain was what had woken him up in the first place. He rubbed the spot, noticing something on his wing. A red feather amongst his white was uncovered, as the peacock pulled his robe sleeve upwards. He frowned. Red?Since when do I have... The sudden realization of red being Yenn's color occurred to him. He still had a debt to pay; Shen hadn't killed for a long time and Yenn's stomach was probably complaining. His eyes wandered on the soft feathers of his wife and son, sleeping together in harmony. Denying her mother's warm embrace, his daughter had perched on the opposite corner of the bed. The soft light illuminated their, granting them a purple glow. The young peahen, however, only seemed paler. Turning back to his infected wing, Shen took a deep breath and gathered his courage and determination. With an accurate move he plucked the red feather, returning his wing to a snowy-white color.

Shen's schedule would begin early in the morning, before the rest of his palace had awaken. The peacock Lord would head to his private lab and there work on his latest invention; the portable cannon, as he would call it. This cannon was a smaller and lighter version of his traditional ones and had been designed to enable soldiers to carry it around, instead of firing at only one place. The weapon had lots of potential, but Shen had only begun crafting his first and estimated it would take him a lot of time to finish, with all his responsibilities on hold.

A few hours before the sun was fully shining up on the sky, Shen would head to the throne room where he dealt with his empire's problems. Gongmen itself was generally a peaceful city and the only matters that occurred were trivialities -Shen would burden his wife with those. The Lord would occupy himself with matters of greater importance; financial, political, governmental. It required a lot of focus and temper for one mistake could cost him a lot. Fortunately for Shen, Wolf Boss was always standing by his side, loyal to his master as any, letting him on the latest news of his empire and running whatever errand his master asked -regardless the importance. Lang enjoyed the benefits of such a high place and the respect he received from his fellow wolves; he was, after all, the leader of the pack.

Holding a carefully folded paper in his paw, the one eyed wolf emerged inside the room, followed by the young Jin Bao. The peachick was only four days old, but surprisingly he could already walk and even run on his own. The most worrying thing about him, however, were the blue feathers starting to show beneath his childish brown and yellow ones. Shen knew from his own childhood, as well as the rare peacocks he had met during it, that plumage didn't develop before one year. Jin Bao was four days old but already resembled a juvenile male, many times his age. However, when the peacock Lord had seen him, just this morning, he seemed a lot younger. It was as if a whole year had passed within only a few hours. Shen blinked worriedly; he'd have to get back on this subject later. His son passed all present at the throne room -three guards and Wolf Boss- and then took his place next to his father's throne.

"Good morning, son." Shen said in a manner that betrayed his slight worry but maintained his constant indifference as well, "I see you decided to join me?" He expected to see his son nod -too young to speak, but was taken aback when the peachick opened his beak.

"I find my mother's company rather boring."

Was it possible? For a four-day-old peacock to speak like that? Even if his growth had sped up and he could prematurely speak, such choice of words required age and experience. I find...rather boring...Shen blinked in surprise. Jin Bao, on the other hand, seemed to consider all of this normal and eyed his father expectantly.

Next time think better before you deny my gifts, Shen...

He clearly heard the Dragon's inside his head. This wasn't possible; without a fresh supply of blood Yenn was too weak to have his son bewitched. Wolf Boss cleared his throat to get his attention, and Shen thought it wise not to show any sign of worry. Most of the other servants were slaves, but even the wolves had no idea of peafowl growth and so none of them wondered how Jin Bao had grown up like that within a night. They assumed it was only natural.

"We have reports from the newest inserts to your empire, sir." Lang begun, then unfolded the paper as carefully as he had wrapped it in the first place. Shen nodded for him to proceed. "Indonesian coal mine owners complain you have not send them enough workers. Valuable amounts of production are lost due to the lack of miners and the wages are too high to be paid off when the production is so little." He stopped, taking a breath and looking up at his master. Shen was struggling to keep his mind focused on mines. Next to him, Jin Bao was criticizing the wolf's dusty clothes with his big sapphire eyes. "Also, the Hong Kong embassy reports the city renovations have been carried out with success and the city is ready to host population. They suggested you started importing animals via ship, since the land tracks cross the old city of Xingfu, and immigrants would have to cross your Factories there."

Shen massaged his forehead with a wing. His mind would constantly return to the vibrant blue feathers starting to show on his son. One whole year within a few hours...Does Fei know about this?Maybe it's her breed...

"...so that's all I have to report. Now if you have the time, Lady Fei asked that you see to one of her cases."

Shen snapped back to reality. He only heard that last sentence and so was able to respond.

"Bring it on," he said and turned to his son, a look of arrogance in his eyes. "Now, Jin Bao, I will show you how to deal with villagers who are so insolent as to worry the Lord with their triffle problems." The young peacock nodded expectantly.

"I would love to see that, Lord Shen."

Surprising as it might sound, Shen did not find his son addressing him with full tittle improper. Actually he was hoping Jin wouldn't develop a love bond with him; he felt uncomfortable with the idea of loving his children. Of course, Shen understood his responsibilities and wanted to see his son succeed and inherit the throne.

"Bring them in," the Lord commanded and Wolf Boss gestured at the two guards to hold the door open, as three sheep walked inside. One was white like snow, the other had a filthy white color -more like beige, and the third was black as night. The perfectly white one and the piss black stood in line but as far away from each other as possible and the beige one stood in the middle, separating them. "I'm all ears," Shen wearily said. The beige one stepped forward first.

"As you probably know, my Lord, in this city exist three sheep clans. The White clan, the Peacemakers -whom I lead, and the Black clan. For years now the white and black clans have an ongoing vendetta that includes violent fights and malicious trickery. The Peacemakers consist of sheep from both clans that wanted these quarrels to stop. Many citizens also complain that their property has been damaged during the fuss and the fighting disturbs them. As leader of the Peacemakers, I took the liberty of visiting your palace along with my two fellow clan leaders, hoping your wisdom could resolve our differences."

They were testing him. It was beyond doubt that Gongmen's citizens were testing his judgment and wanted to see if the malevolent prince they knew had evolved to a benevolent Lord, as they hoped. Shen had felt insulted at first, he had thought Fei was trying to revenge him for burdening her with the chore of dealing with these cases. But he could see now how important this was.

"And the leaders are willing to compromise?"

"No." came the spontaneous response from the white sheep. "This wacko has dragged us here for nothing. Those mutated creeps are stealing our food and molesting our females!" he growled. The black leader narrowed his eyes.

"You started it when your children started kicking ours in the shins because they're black! What does it matter if you're black or white, when the species is the same!" The black leader barked back. Shen noticed he was much more muscular and seemed tougher than the white one. His wool was messy and created a huge thatch on the top of his head.

"Please can we calm down..." the Peacemaker leader rolled his eyes.

"Indeed." Shen took the situation in wings. "Lang, can you show the two gentlemen out? I would like a word with the black leader alone?"

"Is it cause I'm black?" the leader complained as his fellow sheep were shown to the exit.

"Not exactly," Shen raised himself from his throne. "Tell me, how many are you in number?"

"Fifty seven."

"How many males?"

"Twenty five."

"Children?"

"Fifteen."

"Very well," Shen nodded. "My proposal is this; My coal mines in Indonesia need workers. Strong and tough workers. Your breed can manage. I will send you there with my fastest ships and you shall have a good wage and land. What is more, you will never see a white sheep again."

The black leader thought about it for a while. He wasn't particularly smart, but a true patriot. He loved Gongmen as much as his herd. But he would choose what was best for his clan, rather than himself.

"Deal." The peacock Lord nodded satisfied. Behind him Jin Bao was watching carefully, sucking the knowledge like a sponge. He was so quiet and focused it worried his father when he made no comment.

"I'm glad we could agree. General make sure you prepare the clan's departure and send the white leader in as well."

Wolf Boss nodded and did as told. Next minute the white leader was patiently waiting as Shen prepared his proposal.

"I will send you to the city of Hong Kong. Land will be distributed to your clan as well as tools to cultivate it. The city has been renovated and no black sheep shall ever set foot in it."

Without a second thought, the white leader agreed. Having settled with the sheep, Shen rested on his throne, eager to see Fei's face when the news of his success would reach her. Then he noticed Jin Bao and a shadow of worry re-appeared on his face. The peacock was awfully quiet, considering his father's moves. Right then, Lang stepped back inside the room.

"I settled the preparations sir. And I have just been informed that some candidates have appeared to serve as mercenaries in your army."

Shen sighed, his mind too busy with his son again.

"Would you be so kind as to sort them out for me?"

Shen's command came in such a polite manner, that Lang simply couldn't deny it. His loyalty to the peacock was great. The wolf general had been hoping to spend some time with his beloved Kim today -the two of them had been distant since Lang arrived. The reason was not only Lang's heavy schedule; after so much time with Shen, Lang was having second thoughts about his relationship with Kim. The peafowl were royal species and many families had control over vast provinces of China. That had led them to be racist and most of them would not approve of outer-species relationships, neither their offspring; the so-called hybrids. Though Shen had had his fun with avian slaves, that had never been peahens in particular and had many times encouraged Lang to do the same, he did not approve of him and Kim and it hurt the wolf deeply not to have his master's approval.

"Yes, sir."

Po woke up in the cold, covered in snow. The storm had hushed by now; only distant thunders could be heard and the wind blowing through the mountain tops. He raised himself on elbows and took in his surroundings; this was no longer the mountain peak. The panda immediately wondered how come the cold hadn't killed him yet. His fingers felt frozen while his whole body was numb and sore. His mind was still blur from the events on the mountain peak. The image of a dark cloud suddenly flashed inside his mind. The glowing scales of Yang appeared in front of him. Two heads...two big heads. They were speaking words he could not understand. The cold became unbearable. If he couldn't move; he would die. His arms were paralyzed. A shadow was standing above him. All of sudden he heard a familiar voice; a female one.

"Wake up!" The sound was distant but Po had a feeling she was standing really close. Everything was blur and snow landed on his paralyzed body, torturing the nerves that had not froze yet. He felt something warm wrap around his torso. Everything went black.

Fei signed the form in front of her and was relieved to notice it was the last one. She was finally done with the whole pile – a particularly big one- and could take a break before proceeding to inspect the festival preparations. The door opened and Kim walked inside, followed by something quick and white. Fei turned around; she had expected to see the fox holding her daughter in arms. Instead the young peahen was walking around nervously, examining every room of the corner and regularly jumping up, flapping her small wings as she did. There was a dark and worried look on Kim's face and Fei realized the reason after taking a close look at her daughter. The peahen was fully white with a pink and blue ring around the top of her neck, just below her jaw. Her beak was beige like her mother's, her eyes huge and bright red as her fathers. Her small crest was also white, with a cyan half moon on every feather top. The peachick ignored the chambermaid and Lady's glare and continued to explore the room, touching and poking several items she found interesting.

"She was like that this morning, after you fed her. As if the food magically aged her or something," Kim was familiar with peachicks as she had been a nurse for a long time. "This isn't normal." Fei stepped forward, following her daughter around.

"Do you like that?" The young one would talk in a misty voice. Not to her mother, but to herself.

"She has also been talking to herself all day. When I asked her whom she's talking to she said her friend the snake. Then after a while it was her friend the goose. Then her friend the dog..." Kim's eyes went wet with sorrow. Fei remained calm.

"Children have vivid imaginations. I had plenty of imaginary friends when I was...well when I was her age..."

The vixen wiped a tear with the back of her paw. "My Lady I believe you know how much I cherish her. If something happened to her..." Kim covered her mouth with both paws and let hot tears drip down her cheeks. Fei neared her and wrapped a wing around her waist.

"She's fine, Kim. Probably premature growth or something. I can assure you she'll be fine."

The vixen stared at her mistress with wet eyes.

"Mistress Fei?"

"Yes."

"What will you name her?"

The peahen looked away thoughtfully. "Well princesses usually inherit their grandmother's name. My mother's name was Nashia."

Kim nodded apprehensively.

"My lady, could I ask a favor?"

"Go ahead," Fei smiled reassuringly.

"I used to have a sister. She died long before I left my village, of a disease. It's one of the reasons I became a nurse and moved to Gongmen. If it wasn't for her, as you can understand, I would have never met my Lang...and you. What I will never forget about her was her name; Asia. It means resurrection. All my life I've never met another person with that name. So, I would like to suggest you.."

"Alright." Fei agreed and Kim was taken aback. She had not expected the lady to agree like that.

"Really?" She said, eyes full of tears and heart beating fast.

"Kim you saved my life. I would gladly name my child FenDe if you asked me!" They both giggled and watched the young peahen, whose name was Asia, rummage the council room.

Po felt something warm on his head. His fur was soaked. Weak light evaded his eyes; every breath of his hurt. His body was still numb but not cold. In fact, he felt warm and somewhat cosy. He soon realized he was inside and next to a fire. Voices could be heard; low and whispering. A big paw caressed his cheek. Orange, its color was orange. Po felt his eyelids slide open. His sight was still blur but he could make out indefinite shapes. A face. Feline characteristics formed her image. She smiled warmly. He wanted to lift his own paw but couldn't. Her own was hastily drawn back as someone entered the room. He was short, but Po could see him because he was probably standing on stairs. Big ears. Walking stick in hand. Whiskers. He recognized the silhouette but was unable to identify him. Suddenly something was standing on his nose. It was pink and slimy. A squeaky voice pierced through his head. His eyes desperately searched for the orange feline. Everything went black.

Wolf Boss stepped out in the courtyard, where the candidates were standing in line. No formal announcement had been made; Lang wanted to check the responsibility in all of them. His eye noticed a couple dashing to their spots at the back of the line. A lynx and a wolf. A bad-looking wolf, Lang thought.

"Alright puppies." He begun, insolently pacing in front of them with his arms crossed behind his back. "Let's see what you're made of." He pointed ahead of him, where wolves had set up a construction to test the newbies; a series of trials. First an agility trial with obstacles and a course -best time won- then a skill trial where the candidate would have his eyes covered with a blanket and have to spot several items using his nose and touch and finally a battle trial, where the candidate would have to defeat a gorilla -who was three times their size. Noticing their agony, Wolf Boss decided to mock them further.

"Whoever is afraid of Tony here," he pointed at the gorilla, "can go now."

Two wild cats at the back of the row turned away and left.

"Cowards," teased Hatsy, who had taken his place in line next to the wolf, Nako.

"The rest of you form a line and follow me."

After a couple of hours only a small group of candidates had been selected. The rest were shown through the exit with frowns stuck on their faces. Wolf Boss divided the group in three smaller packs and directed each one to a certain chore. Nako and Hatsy had proven their skills and managed to be part of the third pack, which was ordered to work in the firework factory. Nako was heaving proudly; his skills had shown in the skill trial and that nasty gorilla he had easily dealt with. Hatsy on the other hand was proud of his extraordinary time in the agility trial. The two of them stood amongst the others with a look of arrogance on their faces.

"Now third pack, you're all heading to the firework factory to work on some freshly crafted cannons." The wolves nodded like one and turned around to leave. "Not you two." The one-eyed general pointed at Nako and Hatsy, who had already turned around and were ready to follow the others. "You will take care of the Lord's daughter, Princess Asia."

No words could describe the look on Nako's face as the tiny white peahen crawled out from behind Wolf Boss' tail. Her wide red eyes were fixed on him and Nako felt shivers down his spine; her glare was really intense. The lynx next to him rolled his eyes, digging his face into the golden fur of his paws.

"And be careful with her," Wolf Boss mumbled as he passed them by, following after his pack. Nako thought he saw him smirk as he headed off.

"Kitty!" The peahen yelled and jumped on Hatsy, whose face went from golden brown to pale yellow. She then jumped off and after toying with his fluffy tail for a while, decided to walk on, making the two mercenaries follow her. Asia showed no interest in Nako, since his dark look was enough to turn any child away.

"I didn't walk all this way from Bengal to look after baby peacocks!" Hatsy complained as the two of them followed Asia who was already running around and flapping her small wings thinking she would eventually take off.

"That's a peahen. And quit the whining or I'll make sure you never whine again," Nako mumbled moodily and Hatsy thought wiser not to trust him. The wolf did not seem to understand what friendship is and how friends act, therefore Hatsy was just letting things take their turn and hoping his kindness would eventually win the wolf's tough heart. Asia suddenly froze on her spot and begun talking with her childish yet misty voice.

"You want me to go in there?" she spoke. Both the wolf and lynx raised a brow and gave her a puzzled glare. "But it's scary..." Nako's eyes wandered over the sight ahead of them; the firework factory. Mercenaries were still pacing back and forth hurrying inside or outside, carrying heavy sacks or pushing loaded carriages. The door swung open for a little while; a couple of wolves carried a pack of wood inside. Even from that distance Nako could smell the suffocating scent of smoke and heat; he despised them both. His left ear jerked backwards, picking up the noise of Hatsy's yelling. Shaking his head, he realized he had been daydreaming again. The lynx gave him a weak push in the arm.

"Nako!" The wolf turned around and both his eyes were fixed on the lynx. Being pushed was something he obviously didn't like. "I thought we'd lost you," Hatsy shrugged and grinned awkwardly. Nako rolled his eyes. He turned around and browsed for the peachick; Asia was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's the Princess?" he asked his colleague, but Hatsy was busy examining the sore wound on his arm.

"What?" the lynx turned his head upwards, facing his fellow mercenary. Nako slapped his paw against his forehead.

"Ugh let it go!" His powerful nose started to pick up the nearby scents. He had never smelled a peafowl before but could pretty much guess what they smelled like; hens. And he had smelled many of them back in his homeland, when he and his pack would feed of the population. Worried for his head more than his job, Nako rushed behind what seemed the closest scent to this of a peahen. Hatsy dashed behind his friend, much more quick and agile by nature, but not as compact; he could not maintain that speed for as long as a wolf could. Fortunately for their heads, Nako's nose was not mistaken and the two found themselves in the firework factory entrance. Princess Asia had jumped on a leveled platform, too high for Nako too reach but convenient for Hatsy to jump on. Baring all his weight on his powerful rear feet, the lynx boosted and landed on the platform, next to the peachick.

"That's my nanny," Asia kept talking to herself so naturally as to another person. "I'll go inside now," Hatsy leaned his head to the side, wondering whether the Princess was addressing him or her imaginary friends. "Bye kitty!" With that she jumped through a crack on the wall inside the factory, leaving Hatsy alone on the platform. The lynx looked down to meet with a frustrated Nako.

"If you don't bring her back your tail is my new scarf!" The wolf yelled. Hatsy gulped audibly and crept through the crack inside the factory himself. Nako hid behind a couple of barrels and waited for the door to open again.

Another loong chapter cause I love you people 3

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