CHANGES

He woke up on a soft blanket. After he stretched his wings, Shen was tempted to reappear, but the memory of what had happened just before woke him completely in a matter of seconds. He was in a cell. Curiosity won over fear and leaned out of the bars. An enormous cavern stood out for many meters in height and depth, its walls were full of cells, proof that, if necessary, the humans could have locked them all up! From the first to the last, despite their exorbitant numbers. Voices made him return to the blanket and pretended to sleep. "What does the doctor say?" It was Derek. He would have recognized his voice among a thousand even though he had not seen him for several months. "Is fine! He and the other two cats have only been sedated, sir! "" I don't care about the other two! He is rarer! If he dies we would lose a huge source of income! "Derek looked out of place! So cute! He was worried about him! Oh no, for the money, right! "It is not life threatening sir. But what worries me is another question ... "the other individual continued to say. "Explain yourself!" After that last statement the voices drifted further and further away until they disappeared completely. Shen had just started cleaning his feathers that noises caught his attention again. He heard someone running and Rose appeared in front of the cell with keys in one hand. "Hi Shen! Are you okay? "He nodded. "Listen ... now I'll let you go! But don't try to escape! The punishment for both of them would be terrible! "The girl said opening the door. "Sorry, but wouldn't that be exactly what you just told me not to do?" Shen asked as soon as he left the cell. "What are you talking about?" Asked Rose in confusion. "You told me not to run away and since I just got out of the cage they put me in, I'd call it a getaway! No ?! "the peacock explained that he was not at all intent on going back inside, despite what he had just said. "All right ... you don't have to leave the castle! I got it!? Now follow me! "The girl said before starting to climb the stairs.

As he walked Shen could not help noticing the majesty of the building. It was ancient, it looked good, but it seemed to have lost nothing despite the time elapsed. The ornaments, even if ruined, looked splendid all the same. Rose pushed him sharply against a wall and saw that they had just avoided two guards. It didn't take long to get into the girl's rooms and Shen was surprised to see that a couch had already been prepared for him. "Have you already planned everything?" He asked as he sat down on comfortable cushions. "Guilty!" She said as she carefully hid a large box under the bed "Wait till I get a sponge and a towel," Rose said before disappearing into another room. "I'm hungryyyy!" A sudden scream made Shen jump and saw an albino barn owl perch on the headboard. As soon as he noticed he smiled "Nice to meet you, my name is Fa! I'm Rose's bodyguard! "He introduced himself. "I would say his pet more!" The peacock thought before saying goodbye to him too "My name is Shen, delighted to make your acquaintance" he said, bowing his head slightly in respect. Rose arrived at that moment and sat down next to the peacock. "Thank you!" Shen said handing a wing towards the sponge to get it. The girl hesitated and looked with wonder at the feathers of her rump, only to return to him with a pleading look. The white peacock remained impassive, making it clear that he would not have satisfied her. He still had his pride! And he wouldn't let anyone touch his beautiful feathers! Eventually the girl gave in and handed him the towel, with which Shen began to clean herself. She put a bucket full of hot water beside it and then ran out of the room. Once the cleaning was finished, the peacock turned to the owl. "When will I be able to return to the reserve?" He asked impatiently to join his friends "in no time! You know, it's only thanks to you if no one has been caught! You made sure the guards intervened quickly! "He said Fa enthusiastically. "I just did what I thought was right!" The peacock replied atop. "Yes, but those who are captured do not make a good end! So I guess the others will be grateful for what you did! "He said Makes a box open first and pull out some cookies. He handed her one, but he refused.

After the events of the afternoon he was not so hungry. He also could not understand this gratitude. He had been knocked out in a fraction of a second and the animals would really have been doomed if the guards hadn't intervened! Screams caught their attention and the barn owl went to take refuge on a window sill. "How dare you!" Again Derek "Father ... he was very scared! What should I do? "Rose tried in vain to defend herself" He is a savage! He could have killed you! "The father shouted again. "Killed by a peacock! It's not something you hear often ... in fact, never! "The girl replied again before the door was opened. Shen was in the opposite corner of the entrance, but immediately jumped to his feet when he noticed a large whip in the man's hand. "Damn bird! I must remind you of your position! "Derek shouted before snapping the whip. The peacock managed to dodge the first slash, but the second hit him on the side, making him moan and fall to the ground for how powerful he had been! He wasted no time and hissed threateningly at the human. He still had iron gloves on his paws and would not be intimidated ... Rose got in the middle "Father! It's just a bird! If you whip it you may seriously hurt him! And we can't let him die! "The girl said between tears. "The same will happen!" After the statement came the silence in the room. "W-how?" Asked a shocked Rose "This winter will be the coldest ever recorded! Their homes are too rudimentary to protect them! "Derek said heartily for that terrible impending loss. "The secret!" His daughter tried. "They are even colder in winter!" Her father disillusioned her. "There is a completely uninhabited castle wing!" His daughter reminded him. "I won't let them run free endangering other lives!" Derek protested. "Then adapt them to keep animals! It will be much better than losing them all after years of hard work! "The girl insisted. The father seemed to think about it for a few minutes before leaving without saying a word.

Rose approached Shen with a sad expression "Sorry! I couldn't protect you! "She said heartily" Instead you did it! He would have continued to whip me without your intervention! I thank you, but now I wish I could go back to my friends! " The girl smiled "Of course! He says tomorrow he'll show you a way to reach me without being seen by the guards, so I could get to know you better and whoever wants to follow you! "He said before beckoning him to follow her. Rose didn't say a word as he walked the peacock back to the reserve. He was looking for a solution, Shen could read it on his face, but he decided to worry before his friends. It would have been useless to worry about winter if they could not even protect themselves against a group of poachers! Once inside he was surprised when he saw everyone gathered in front of the gate. Xu and Kuen looked at him happily and were the first to approach. "Thanks Shen!" Said the puma with obvious gratitude that shone from his eyes. "For being knocked out right away and endangering you and Xu?" The peacock asked sarcastically. "In all these years we have feared humans, except little Rose. We believed them invincible! That's why every time they attacked us, what we did was run away without looking back! "Xu said. "You have proved otherwise! We can defend ourselves, especially if we remain united! "She said, stepping forward. Kang and Tai looked at him with disapproval, but gave no voice to their thoughts. "Teamwork is not safe unless we know each other well and trust each other! We have to work hard and make sure the poachers will think twice before attacking again! "Shen said opening the big tail to give more emphasis to his words. Everyone rejoiced ... almost all! Most of the peacocks remained impassive to his words. Who too incredulous or frightened by what this would have meant!

"Let's go celebrate!" Hua said waving his wings. Before being able to answer, Shen intercepted again the looks of the two older peacocks and said "I'll join you in a moment!" Before going to his fellows. While everyone was heading towards the main clearing, only the peacocks remained there. "What is it?" Shen asked nervously from the tense silence. "Why do you think we taught you how to camouflage yourself?" Zhuang asked with an angry frown "Why did I tell you the story of the jackal? To bring the same mess of that time? "The green peacock insisted. "I just wanted to protect you!" Shen replied in kind. "I know! But you did it the wrong way! "Tai said" Now you've got those animals that can rebel against humans! This will only bring trouble! "Kang admitted extremely nervous. "Okay, I'll convince them not to react against men, but something has to be done!" Shen insisted "What do you mean?" Sheng asked, much more interested than the elderly. "Do you really want to live the whole life confined here? Won't you regret not having really lived in the outside world? Do you want to spend your whole life thinking about how it could have been? "Shen asked, hoping to move those dormant souls. The young Xian, Xing, Lang Min, Ju, Jiang, Zhi, Chu, Fai, Dong the opal peacock, Juan the cameo peacock, the twin sisters Li, Ling, and Liu and all the others stirred in front of such questions. They were young, with a rebellious spirit, so it was normal for them to be more influenced than adults by that speech! "There's nothing for us out there!" Tai said visibly scared. "Just because you keep looking at the hedge does not mean that beyond it there is no world to discover!" Shen said that he was starting to get angry about such dullness. "What?" Churches confused Hong "It's a metaphor, idiot!" Yong said. "I got that! What do you believe! "His brother protested, turning all red. "I come from a big city where people peacefully live their lives completely ignoring the existence of humans!" Shen continued. "You mean we have to go live there? It wouldn't take us long to find Derek! "Kang said, still not convinced.

"... and from what I understand Derek doesn't want to be discovered! I understand that being a ghost he has a lot more freedom ... but once back home it will be difficult for him to take us if we stay in the big cities! "Shen said ignoring the bitter taste that was created in his mouth for that lack of respect and trust. "He will kill all those who see him! Do you want to be complicit in a massacre? "Kang asked with obvious anxiety. "Then we'll hide! In the mountains, where no wall or barrier can prevent us from moving freely! "Shen insisted. "We will still be prisoners! The fear of being found will confine us somewhere! "He pointed out that Lu-Chu was scared most of all. "Then running away we will give Derek such a lesson that he will no longer be looking for us! Or if he takes us back we might have at least tried to rebel and have lived, even if briefly, a life in full freedom! "Shen concluded. "The boy is right, Kang!" Tai said suddenly. The white peacock felt the anger snaking under his feathers when he was called a boy, but he decided to keep the offense for himself! "I know! We cannot prevent our children from living their lives. Only up until now I was convinced that we had no chance to escape! "Kang admitted. "If we work together, we can do it!" Sheng said, now fully convinced. The others nodded simultaneously. "Shen, you seem to be used to making plans like this! Am I wrong perhaps? "Tai asked suspiciously. "Not at all! More than once I led groups of mercenaries on dangerous missions! Only now our enemy is man! "He said trying to be convincing. The mercenaries were his wolves who were part of the royal guard of the palace, but in the last part there was some truth. They often went out to hunt bandits and Shen honed his fighting skills and tactics! Now they had to study humans well in order to succeed! And learn to work together! The animals in the reserve were not enemies to each other, but they had never worked in a group!

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The following morning the panic took over when hundreds of armed men began to gather the animals. Kang and Tai had been trying for more than an hour to calm the spirits, succeeding only for a hair. They were on the razor blade and knew that the situation would not remain unchanged for much longer! "Have our revolutionary plans already been discovered?" Xian screamed in exasperation. "If you continue to scream like a rag-picker they will be screaming very soon!" Dishi scolded him. "What are you saying! They don't understand an accident of what we say! "Kuen protested that he found himself with a heavy iron collar around his neck. The humans had managed to chain most of the cats, while others tried to control the large Ning and Pei cattle that threatened a charge every five seconds. "Kuen is right! See! LONG LIVE THE REVOLUTION! LONG LIVE TH... "a rowdy Jun was silenced by Zhi "Shut up emeritus idiot! There is Rose! "He said pointing to the girl approaching. "Please, I ask everyone's attention!" The girl screamed raising both arms. "This winter will be extremely hard! Snowfalls will be abundant and extreme frost! For your safety we have decided to make you stay in a wing of the castle specially created for you. You'll be a little tight, I admit, but warm! Now the guards will escort you in! "Rose said pointing to the latter. "Four months confined between walls? Rather kill me now! "Xu protested. The girl looked at him slightly confused "Listen ..." she began to snap her fingers as if she had suddenly forgotten something "Xu!" Kang came to her rescue "Right! Xu! "She said enthusiastically" I'm sorry, you are so many and sometimes I have doubts about being wrong ... "" Get to the point! "The panther hissed. "When the cold won't be so hard you can go out and stretch as much as you want! But for birds and cattle it's best to stay warm most of the time! I do it for your well-being! I swear, as soon as you ask me out to be able to let off steam, I'll do it! "Rose said putting a right hand on her heart and raising the other. Venturing through the race? But what did humans think of ? Finally the panther gave way. He knew well that there were animals more sensitive to the cold than others and to avoid harming their health he decided not to appear too selfish and comply with such a request. Fortunately it was only a few months!

"Rose, isn't it that you would let us all take the essentials to transfer?" Shen asked, trying to be kind. "Everything's already there!" She replied. "Even the clothes?" The peacock insisted. The girl gasped "Oh! G-gia! I hadn't thought of those! All right! Let them go! "He ordered the guards who, after having obeyed, ran towards the entrance, afraid of no longer having control of the situation. "Thank you! In an hour we find ourselves here again ... "Shen began" Half an hour! "She corrected him. "All right! But no chains! "He decreed" What? "She asked in astonishment. "I trust them! They will obey without arguing since what you are doing is a favor. Besides, you would gain a lot of confidence by not making them feel like prisoners! "Shen explained. Rose seemed to think about "They're friends ..." He tried, but when he saw the peacock's resentful look he gave up "All right! But it will be your fault if something bad happens ... ". Before collecting things, all the animals gathered in the square. "They'll soon lock us up in the cages for the rest of our lives!" Guo groaned loudly, an albino panther. "Since when are you so argumentative?" Tai asked with a furious look. "Since when someone finally remembered that we are not just animals! We are not a bargaining chip or a commodity! And he decided to fight for us! "The panther said fervently. "I follow you with confidence Shen! If you can get us out, you will have my eternal loyalty as well as my services! "He said bowing to the peacock, who was not the only one to be surprised. "You must not! I want to run away together just to be able to live free and not tied to someone else! "He said with conviction as he already had a whole pack of wolves on his side! Even if some more allies wouldn't hurt ... but not them! No, he would have always seen them as his peers, not as subordinates! "Once I'm free, I'll decide what to do with my life! And if I want to swear allegiance to you, you can't stop me! "Guo insisted. Also others joined him and not only felines, also many other animals and ... peacocks! Some seemed indecisive or against since perhaps, they had different plans, but Shen didn't care. They were already numerous!

"We will do the one requested by Rose!" Everyone jumped at such a statement. "Shall we be good in the cage?" Shu protested. "If it is necessary for the success of the plan, yes!" to the two interviewed. "We will have a chance to study humans in depth during these months as we will live in close contact. So we could avoid hurting too many once we decide to run away! "Shen said looking at Tai and Kai and seeking their approval. He knew well that, having grown up in captivity, they and a few others had become attached to Rose and some of his friends. For this he was certain, that to have their support too he had to show a pity that would have been saved very willingly! "But ... they kept us in cages for a long time!" Syaoran said giving voice to the thought of many. "It's true! But there are two questions that led me to this decision: first, if we kill them we risk to alienate many more, second and very important ... we are not like them! We respect the lives of others, however despicable they may be! And then ... if they die they will not be able to see what they have been building for years crumbling under their feet! Without us they will be ruined! I like this idea much more than killing them! "Shen said, unable to suppress a grin of pure satisfaction. Everyone rejoiced and the white peacock let out a faint sigh of relief. If the plan had taken shape it had to secure the support of everyone so that it could lead to success!

And here is the latest update! See you in September. I wish you all happy holidays!

Laura-98M