HOUSE?
Voices. And so many colors. The awakening was worse than he thought! Shen slowly opened his eyes and was surprised to see a peacock ... purple? And another green! Was she in heaven? "Hi I'm Wei!" Said the purple peacock "And he is Zhuang!" He said pointing to the other who glared at the newcomer. Shen couldn't help but look back. "Where am I? Who are you? "He asked, scared. "Come to think of it, we're just collector's pieces of a crazy human, but since it might seem depressing, I'm just saying: friends!" Replied Wei calmly. "What do you want from us, Derek?" Shen asked cautiously. "Our only plumage is what it uses to become rich, so I think the most appropriate answer is: want to get rich and don't care about the means it uses to achieve that goal!" Wei said, not at all upset. The white peacock looked down and felt its chest, locating, under the robe, a large bandage on its side. A damp rag fell from his head. Most likely they had used it to lower his body temperature, even though he felt the same, still feverish. "Are you hungry?" Zhuang asked, handing Shen a bowl full of rice. Wei could not hold back a laugh, not even Bao, the brown panda, had ever eaten so quickly in his life! "How old are you?" Shen asked curiously. "I am thirty, while he is older than five!" Zhuang replied, pointing to his friend. The white peacock looked around cautiously. "Your friend came out a while ago, talking to Hua, an owl," Wei said, answering unintentionally to one of the many questions that haunted Shen's mind.
"Perhaps you wanted to say: he is recovering from the blow that Hua gave her by rushing them on!" Zhuang pointed out, unable to suppress a laugh. He had witnessed the whole scene and it was nothing short of hilarious! "Feel Shen ..." Wei drew the attention of the newcomer "... I guess these are not kitchen knives !?" He said pointing to the throwing knives of the white peacock. "Or that that is not an exhibition spear that you stole from some museum!" He nodded, remaining the same surprised "Are these humans so stupid? How did they not notice the weapons I hid in their clothes during that hateful medical examination? "He asked himself. "Can you fight?" The tone that Zhaung used to ask such a question did not promise anything good. "Some problems? I can defend myself, that's all! "Shen stated, unable to hide his growing concern. Was he in danger? At the moment he wouldn't even have been able to raise a wing, so the situation was in favor of the other two. This meant only one thing: he had to act with his head and not be guided by instinct! For this he remained in bed, pretending not to be frightened in the least, with the hope that the two would drink it. Before anyone else could speak a hurricane, I enter the room and overturn a table full of dishes. That hurricane was two young peacocks and Shen swore that his beak was completely wide open as he stared in disbelief at the two newcomers. "Nice to meet you, I am Yong, while he is Hong!" Said one "We are the twins!" They said in chorus. Both had their tails open and so Shen could see them well. Yong looked like a normal peacock, except for a white spot in the center of the tail just behind the head. Even the blue neck had a large white patch, as if a painter had forgotten to finish his work! Hong was just an incomplete job! His neck had a small blue patch and the rest was white, but what struck him was the tail! It was half normal, if he could call it that, since he had nothing different from another peacock, but the other half was completely white!
"How old are you?" He asked curiously. "Twenty-three ... pleasure, I'm Shen!" He answered automatically. "Think a little! We fifteen! "Yong said happily. "We remain the youngest of the group!" His brother exulted. "Guys now Shen must rest! You will get to know him better tomorrow and in the coming days! Hurry up, there's a curfew! "Wei said, gently pushing the two young men. "Poulter!" Hong said. "Breakers!" "We love you too! Night! "Zhuang said before closing the door. "Tomorrow we will find you an accommodation! For now, rest! "Wei said before turning off the candle and leaving the room. Shen put his head on the broken pillow. So many things had happened in so little time that he felt dizzy! He was not alone! They too were albinos ... more or less! No, it wasn't what struck him ... they were different, yet they didn't seem as unhappy as he felt! Perhaps they saw it from another point of view, like Mei? Could he also learn to love himself? Could he live life with happiness? To be understood! Don't be judged! He fell asleep happy after so long. He couldn't wait to meet others like him and make new friends! After all, this prison looked more like what it had always wanted, a home, a real family!
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It was the morning sun that, entering through the window, stroked his plumage with a thread of heat and made him wake up. Shen sat up. He felt much better! The wound still hurt, but not so much that it took his breath away. A part of the mattress next to him was still warm, a sign that someone had slept next to him. He was surprised by the fact that he didn't get angry at all with the idea, on the contrary, he was curious to find out who he was! Curiosity won over him a second time and although with difficulty, he left the house. The garden was splendid and immense. A little further on there was a forest, only there were a few trees scattered here and there and a multitude of bushes and flower beds full of flowers. Many houses were scattered among the vegetation. As he looked around, Shen felt the strange sensation of being observed. A Gong Men always happened, that's why he had become so adept at understanding when someone was staring at him. He turned and saw a large harlequin peacock. He was older than he. Evidence was the long mustache that hung from the sides of the beak and the serious but serene expression on his face, unlike the bursting energy of Hong and Yong! "Hi Shen, I'm Kang, the oldest peacock in the reserve!" Said the bird. "Reserve?" Asked Shen curiously, forgetting manners. "Yes, humans call our prison that way. It is a vast wooded area that allows us to move around comfortably, but the margins are covered with traps and high walls to prevent us from escaping! "The peacock explained. He had to be harlequin like the twins, only he had only a small white spot on his chest and on the tail he was "normal". Shen's legs gave way and he would have fallen to the ground if Kang hadn't caught him. That unwanted embrace turned out to be more pleasant than expected. The elderly peacock had an affectionate and delicate touch, just like what a father should have! Kang made him sit on a hollow log "Calm down and rest! When you feel like getting back on your feet, I'll walk you to bed! "Kang said, kneeling on the ground, but holding the young man unconscious firmly. Shen put his head on the peacock's shoulder and felt a new sensation crossing his guts as he lay between his wings, but he couldn't explain what it was! Suddenly he came back to himself and turned away abruptly. "S-sorry! "I haven't fully recovered from the trip yet!" Since when did you stutter? Shen mentally asked himself.
"Here, you have to eat if you want to come back in strength," said the elderly peacock, sitting down next to him and handing the boy a sweet treat. Shen accepted it very willingly and this reminded him of when he and Zhan had breakfast together at the palace. Races to those who finished their rations first, food wars ... perhaps, the wolf would have been the only one to miss him! Until he came back, of course! Although he was fully aware that it would take time to convince everyone and formulate a plan with a good chance of success! Shen noticed that Kang had just finished his ration and then quickly ate the dessert. Until that moment he had taken for granted the right to eat well and to satiety, but now that tart looked like the best gift in the world! Shen ardently hoped that things in the reserve were different from what he had faced during the trip! Kang smiled, offering him a secure support with a wing and accompanied him to their home, to the bed, and as soon as the white peacock found himself under the warm blankets he instantly fell into a peaceful sleep. "Brother! It's nice to see that when there are newcomers you are extremely early risers! It is from the dawn that you are here! "Said Wei laughing" You who are expert: can he recover? "Zhuang asked as soon as he left his room. "Sure! We just need to disinfect the wound regularly and ... "" I didn't mean that! "The green peacock interrupted Kang with a scowl. "He is terrified of creating new ties, but I saw that he yearns to be loved! If Mei has told the truth, it will be difficult, but in the end he will stop despising himself and he will love himself for what he is and maybe he will be able to trust "Kang said seriously observing the sleeping white peacock. "Good because I don't want it to end up like the last time!" Zhuang said nervously. Kang sighed. The episode to which the green peacock referred had happened a short time before. A jackal had been captured that had nothing to do with anything. No one knew the reason for such action on Derek's part, but everyone had decided to welcome it, but it was. But the canid knew how to fight! He had wounded many animals before the reserve guards intervened by killing him. In there everyone was peaceful and that scared them a lot. Now a new warrior had arrived! With the only difference that he was different too! Kang hoped with all his heart that he could become a reference guide for him as he was for many of those present.
Only then did he notice the absence of the young cat named Mei. She was also young, but she was much more sociable and open than the peacock. "Brother!" He called out to Kang. From a corridor Wei peeped out with his face shaped like a question mark "While I prepare lunch you could call my children who have been hanging around all morning!" He said resignedly. "I'm surprised we haven't called in the guards yet for some of their stunts, instead!" Wei said, coming out at a fast pace. "Let me guess ... I have to go and see where the newcomer ended up?" Zhuang said that he had just come down from the upper floor. "We will not be blood relatives, but we understand each other perfectly brother!" Kang said, laughing amused by the fact that his friend had no words to understand his desires.
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An imposing castle overlooked this vast expanse of vegetation, where the animals lived. It was very old, but no less resistant. Derek lived there since an idea, considered absurd by all, had crossed his mind: to have under his control unique animals, so that everyone could admire them! It was not bad, given that in these times the extravagant attracted people like bees with honey! He was now a powerful and respected gentleman. There was only one thing that did not go as planned: the heir! As a control freak he had spent years thinking how to instruct his son, how to feed the genius he would inherit from him, only to be miserably disappointed when his wife had given him a girl! She had been punished for this, but not by him, no. She had simply died in childbirth! A secondary problem had presented itself with the blood of his own blood since the daughter had an opposite character with respect to his: always kind and smiling, ready to help others! He had that sickly pity for a man like him! For a long time Derek had tried to make that heart warm and young, cold and devoid of pity, but without success. So for now he was concerned about expanding his collection by teaching his daughter how to handle the affairs of the kingdom. Yes, he was the adviser to the sovereign of those lands and even if he was already thinking about a plan to increase his power, he wanted Rose to show himself up to the family name! More than a name, it was the way everyone called him since he had begun to expose the rare pieces of the collection to the public: he was the collector! Yet his descendant had proved extremely valuable for his work. It was thanks to her that he had succeeded in instilling terror into the hearts of animals, it was thanks to her if he had managed to emerge victorious against the numerous dangers that threatened that world full of anthropomorphic animals! Rose could talk to them. He understood what they were saying, he didn't hear only verses and this proved him the first time he went with his father on a mission. Thanks to her it was enough to establish the price with her parents and pay to be able to get what she asked for, that is a very rare white lion cub in that case.
Derek could not tell if he had developed this ability simply because he had grown up alongside these animals or simply by divine grace. For a while he had asked, now he was only interested in helping him become richer and more powerful. Of course, this did not mean that he did not keep it as the most precious treasure! During the missions he made her disguise as a man and had them translated for him by making sure that the animals did not discover that, indeed, he did not understand an accident of what they were growling, croaking, chirping ... and more ! "My Lord!" His old right hand man remained perfectly efficient. "Yes, Mrs. Carmela?" He asked, with not much interest. "The white peacock that arrived last night is responding well to first care. In a few days we could expose it to the public ". "Tell me ma'am, how many peacocks do we have in the reserve?" Derek asked as he scanned the vegetation that extended before his own balcony. "Thirty-six ladies! And fifty other animals, for a total of eighty-six! "The secretary replied as she checked the numbers written on the register. "I promised I would get to the hundreds. I still miss nineteen unique animals! Too many! We need to speed up the times. I ask you a simple question: how many puppies have we sold in these years? "Derek asked. "A few hundred ladies!" Said Mrs. Carmela in confusion. "If we hadn't sold any animals we would have already reached that figure, then!" The man complained. "Lord! You know that travel expenses are huge! We had to do something to support them! "The lady protested, trying to remind her lord of the reasoning she had made years before. "I aim for high numbers. But to prevent others from having the same brilliant idea, I made sure that those puppies would never grow up and now I find myself in desperate need of them! Isn't it ironic? "He asked with a hint of Derek sarcasm.
"My Lord!" A servant announced himself as he came running "The King arrived along with Prince William. They wait for you in the throne room! "The poor man said panting. "What does the King want?" The secretary asked her boss in surprise. "I requested the meeting!" Said Derek "C-how? Why? Business is going well! "Asked Mrs. Carmela worriedly as she could do nothing but look worriedly at her boss. Would his thirst for power ever cease? He replied calmly "Even if I am at the head of the project I must request the approval of our sovereign ..." he replied as he walked towards the entrance of the balcony "... and I will have it, do not worry!" Derek said disappearing over the door.