ANNOUNCEMENTS
Autumn followed followed by winter. The roles had been reversed. If it was Rose who spent a lot of time with the animals before, now it was Sam who was in that situation. Her friend at the moment seemed more focused on finishing her day-to-day homework as soon as possible even though Sam could have sworn he did it just to keep busy! He had also made new friends. Beatrice and Caleb were the new entries and now Rose spent all the time outside the house in their company. The former had always been her friend, but she had never spent so much time together. She usually felt more on the phone as she stayed with the animals as much as possible. While the second had recently become her boyfriend.
He could deceive others, but not himself: Sam suffered a lot because of how abruptly their relationship had ended! Since she found out that her father had given him permission to work with animals, they hadn't spoken to each other. The boy, although he was unable to communicate with them in any way, had taken Rose's place as a peacemaker. The name had given itself to himself, but at least Derek could be sure that, thanks to the boy's weekly reports, the precarious situation of a few months earlier would never recur! The beauty was that he believed it! Last summer and with the resumption of lessons, Sam had trusted a boy named Teo. He was a year behind him, but in addition to being a genius in computer science, he had proved to be a sincere and good friend! He was clearly Rose's replacement, but the boy tried not to think about it too much! Thanks to his new friend Sam, after a month and a half of research, he had a complete picture of the general system that concerned alarms and video cameras. "My father is a computer engineer, since I was a child he has made me work with the computer and I must say that I am grateful to him. If it weren't for him, now I wouldn't be the man in the chair! "Teo said enthusiastically. Sam looked at him. The reflection of the computer in his glasses was funny to see but he tried to remain serious anyway "What are you talking about?" He asked making a face in order not to smile. "I get all the information while you act guided by me! You know ... espionage, missions to tamper with systems ... things like that! When do we get into action? "The boy asked euphorically. "I don't know yet, but for now let's keep a low profile!" Sam replied as he got ready to go out "I mean?" Teo asked confused "Try not to be too euphoric, otherwise they will ask for explanations, I don't know about you, but I'm not good at lying! "Sam answered rolling his eyes. He was a genius, but he was always smaller than he was! "All right! Wait up! Will you take me inside someday? "The young man asked hopefully.
"Today?" Sam asked only to laugh when he saw Teo's surprised and frightened expression. "Yes!" He answered hesitantly. "Let's go then!" Said the older one putting on his jacket. "Now?" Teo asked in amazement "Do you prefer tonight? Hurry up! "Sam said before heading to the reserve entrance. Being the peacemaker had its advantages: it had a new room all to itself in the palace. State-of-the-art technology and also the driver since sometimes his presence was required in faraway places and he was still without a license! Of course, there were also the downsides, such as living very close to Rose and always having a curfew to respect, but other than that, things were going great!
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Lunchtime had just passed. Shen had sat on a very tall tree branch. He could clearly see the walls in the distance, full of sentinels always on the alert that no birds were flying too high. The peacock avoided being alone, but sometimes he really needed it. He did not want because often, in moments like this, he thought about his past life. Her parents, Zahn, guess it. His dear nanny was out of town on that unfortunate day. Who knows if, as usual, he had seen what would happen ?! Sometimes he wondered if he used his divination skills even for less important things like ... The guess! Sure! Maybe ... maybe that's why his parents hadn't looked for him! Because, thanks to her, they knew that he would soon return home! It was said, since almost two years had passed since his kidnapping ... Or it was all his fantasy and his parents didn't care about him! Here, this was the negative side of being alone, the positive one was in the simple fact that he could reflect on what had happened in the last period. Sam had gained the trust of almost everyone, saving them from a wealthy businessman who wished to have them as ornaments and had proved very clever while studying the security flaws well and reporting them to them immediately afterwards. He had made peace with Gan and now the snakes were sneaking into the palace together with the mustelids to take pieces of iron, hammers, and similar objects for the purpose of forging swords. Fortunately, with the cold of winter, the new forge recently built for that purpose was not visible.
His bond with the brothers had grown. Although it was sometimes overwhelming to have to endure and argue with them, he couldn't deny that he was happy! Many things had changed and Shen couldn't help but notice that Kang and Lu-Chu were behaving very much as if they were his parents. Not in the sense that they looked like them, but did the things that a parent usually does. They took him up when he combined one of his with fireworks, talked to him when they saw that he needed it, but above all, they loved him and showed it openly. There were no real protocols to follow, if Lu-Chu wanted to embrace him, give him an affectionate caress or simply say "I love you!" he just did it. And Kang gave him the proud look Shen had always looked for in his father. But in addition to the beautiful things, a difficulty had arisen. The peacock had never pulled back in front of a challenge but this surpassed them all in all their aspects! If he was not suddenly mad he could say with absolute certainty that ... he was ... no ... indeed ... let's say that ... .tried a strange attraction towards Lang Min ... Whenever he remained dazed staring at his beauty, the warmth of his smile, the brightness of his eyes ... he tried to recover as quickly as possible to repeat that they couldn't stand each other, every conversation always resulted in a quarrel and any excuse was good to distract him! Apart from the flaws, his dear friend / rival was tenacious, strong, sensitive, selfless and intelligent, all excellent qualities for a wife! But in the end Shen laughed at the idiot and the circle started spinning again as soon as he looked back at her. She was the only one, indeed, one of the few to be "normal". Its bright colors made you think of Shen, the Indian peacocks, surely his parents must have come from that land, at least one of two because it was a characteristic of the birds of that country to have such bright colors. But this created another problem. If he had listened to his heart it would have been broken! Sometimes he had tried to woo some nobleman by being rejected as unattractive because of his dull colors. It would have been easier to court one of the white peacocks of the reserve ... A noise preceded the swaying of the tree and Shen had to cling to the vertical branch with the wings, as well as tighten the grip with the claws, to avoid falling.
"Sorry!" It was Deshi, clumsy as usual. As soon as he got off the tree, Shen realized that the bear was nowhere to be seen. Apparently he was just passing through! A chill wind passed through the trees, completely investing it and making it tremble. Shen cursed winter with its low temperatures and decided to return to his beloved branch, but as he was about to climb he heard a voice calling him "Shen! It's me! I brought a friend! His name is Teo and ... "Sam was unable to finish the introductions which he tripped over a hole in the ground. Looking up at the peacock, he couldn't realize where he was putting his feet ... The bird remained on the low branch it had reached and watched the newcomer. He had to be younger than Sam as he was also shorter and strangely felt he shouldn't be intimidated by his presence. Apparently confidence in Sam was increasing. "Teo, he's Shen. He can understand you, we are the ones who can never understand an accident when they talk! "The boy said while shaking happily. "Come on, I'll let you know the others too!" Sam said dragging his friend by the arm. Once they disappeared into the vegetation Shen sighed. Derek still hadn't found out anything, he just had to trust Sam and let him get help from those he thought trusted. Even though a new human joining their plan was a serious danger to all of them!
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Xu had started walking. Sam had shown up with a new friend and since he wasn't crazy about strangers he had decided to cut the rope. Sociable was not an adjective that could be used to describe it. Because of the particular mantle his childhood had been hell. Growing up in an orphanage he had always found himself in conflict with the other children who targeted him since he was alone. Once an adult he had decided to start working and make new friends, but everyone he met had always treated him as the last wheel of the cart. Maybe Derek had done him a favor by catching him. Thanks to him he had found real friends, not only Lei, Ji, Kuen, Guo, Hao, Ning, Kun, Qiao and many others, but finally he had found a place to call home. Maybe that was why he hated humans as well as himself, them for locking him up and himself because he was comfortable in there. But when Shen had arrived, everything had suddenly changed. That peacock had rekindled a dormant flame of his soul. Living free with his friends would have been even better, the culmination of happiness, the realization of his desires! In addition, the peacock had shown himself to be reckless, courageous and selfless, even if that side of himself made him see little. It was clear that he too had known the evil present in the world, reserved for those who were born different ... even if, at times, it was not even used to be treated worse than dung ... Xu was about thirty years old, ten had passed since his capture. He felt he had waited long enough. Once free he only hoped to be able to stay with his family because that was what he wanted. He was pulled out of his thoughts by a Mei who loudly called the peacock in question. "Hi!" He greeted her. "Hi, did you happen to see Shen?" Asked the excited cat. "No, why?" Xu asked, amazed by all that happiness. "You're gone, you can't know ... Sam wants to go into action next week, in exactly two days! Derek has left and will not return before a week ... "" Wait! But the day before yesterday he took Kun, Deshi, Qi, Hao, Lei, Syaoran, Bo and Zhen with him to catch other animals! We can't leave them and any new arrivals! "The panther interrupted her, voicing her concerns. "That boy is a lot smarter than I thought!" Said the feline "Explain yourself!" Xun said tired of having missed the exposure of such a brilliant idea. "Without Derek, humans will be disorganized and therefore easier to beat.
We could hide in the forest, as scheduled and also once Derek returns we free those he brings and we also understand what direction we must take to go home! "Mei explained in one breath. "The boy surprised me!" Admitted the feline "See! Come on now help me find Shen! "Mei said before running to say the peacock's name.
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Lei waved her tail nervously. Below them he could clearly see a large city. Fortunately, the white color of the two large airship balloons blended well with the clouds, but flying blindly through them had never thrilled her! Although there was nothing he could do to change direction since he was in a cage. The spoils had been taken. All adults once again. A melanic tiger named Shui who had shown a lot of strength and courage by moving them away from her family and acting as a bait herself once she realized she was the target. It is a pity that his brothers, including his parents and some inhabitants of the small village in which he lived, had reacted badly to his capture and ended up being killed by Derek's men. She had seen her flame die out at the sight of the people she loved lying on the ground lifeless and hoped, once in the reserve, to see her join them! Just to capture the first prey, humans did not use the power of the red ruby, for the other three, yes! By covering the cages with sheets they had prevented them from understanding where they were and once under the influence of the ruby they were no longer able to remember or reason with their own heads.
Fortunately, the cages were arranged in such a way that he could see the new occupants well. There was also a snowy owl named Piao. He was young and extremely frightened, probably his age was around that of the peacock twins. It was strange that he had been captured since he had nothing in particular, apart from the beautiful white plumage, but he was a snowy owl like many others ... He would have found a lot of company since there were already many owls in the reserve. In addition, as if they were not a few, another feline had been caught: an albino lynx named Niu. She was still fierce and expressed all her anger by blowing against any humans who dared get too close to her cage. "So your name is Nuwa!" Hao said to the bird. She nodded looking at Zhen with extreme curiosity "Have you ever seen an albino monitor?" He asked annoyed by this insistence. "No, and have you ever seen an albino harpy eagle?" She asked, not at all frightened by the bad mood of the reptile. "Never! But a normal albino eagle, yes! "Zhen replied with a satisfied look. "Really?" Nuwa asked curiously, as if the fact that she had just been caught and caged had suddenly become irrelevant. "Already. Once we get there I'll introduce you! "Zhen said before going to bed in the cage to rest. The implementation of the escape plan was imminent and the lizard wanted to be perfectly in force once he returned to the reserve, so as not to have problems if the others had decided to act while Derek was not at the base.
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Mei knocked hard on the door of Shen's house. She had been a fool not to think about it right away! That was the first place to check, but with a fuss like she had become the last! The smoke coming out of the fireplace indicated that the peacock was in the house, but after five minutes no response had come from inside. "Maybe he's in the lab!" Xu said looking through a window.
"He would have left someone on guard for the danger that some guard would make an extra patrol!" Mei replied before kicking the door and thus breaking the lock. He would pay for the damage simply by building a new one. The cat had spent a lot of time in her friend's house, as he had with her. He knew the layout of the rooms perfectly, so he immediately aimed for the bedroom. He knocked politely without waiting for an answer. Shen slept peacefully in bed. "What will he have done tonight to snore like this in the early afternoon?" Xu asked once he entered. Mei reflected on the pros and cons that would result from his next move ... ... for ten milliseconds, before shouting "Waaaake uuup!" With all the breath he had in his body, shaking the peacock energetically. The result he obtained was extremely disappointing given that a slight croak rose from Shen, but he did not wake up at all! Only later did Mei realize an alarming detail "It's hot!" He said touching his forehead after he sensed the heat under his paws as he shook it. "Is he sick?" Xu asked as he approached the peacock. "I think so!" Mei replied as she tucked the blankets over her friend as if to apologize for the treatment given him a few moments earlier. "I'm going to call Kang, maybe he knows what to do! In the meantime, stay with him! "Xu said, heading for the door to the room. "Wait up! What about the escape plan? "He asked disheartened Mei" With him in these conditions, I won't move from here! "The panther pointed out before going out. "Did you have to get sick right now?" The cat turned to the unconscious peacock angrily, aware that he could not answer. "I dare Lang Min to fall in love with you! Put the others before yourself, you are brave and loyal and infinite other things ... if you did not declare war every time you speak, you could be a splendid couple! "Mei said finally free to be able to say that truth that until that moment had been silent. Obviously it would have remained unheeded, but for the moment it was better this way! Love should not be rushed. Like a flower, it needed its time to bloom!