Night fell upon Gongmen City, all the animals living within getting into their home to sleep. All but one. Tigress did not move a single inch away from the spot Lord Shen left her after her punishment. Of course, remaining immobile without moving a single muscle was no problem for the master of Tiger Style. After all, back at the Jade Palace, she used to meditate for hours in the same position without moving at all. But back then, her arms were not chained above her head. And her body was covered.
For the rest of the day, many citizens walked past Tigress, staring at her naked figure in pity and disgust, but none of them did anything to help her. She could not blame them though; they feared getting punished by Shen for helping his prisoner. The only comfort she could get right now was that the dark made it hard to see her body and everyone was asleep anyway. She still had to get used to the cold night breeze brushing against her furry skin though. Lucky for her, it was summer time.
Yet, even meditation could not help her find peace. Horrible thoughts filled her mind, preventing her from resting the slightest. What Shen told her earlier truly teased her poor spirit; did he truly managed to capture Viper? If so, what horrible things did he do to her sister? She tried not to think too much about it: it would only make her angry while she needed to stay calm and... she couldn't go after this damn peacock anyway.
What would Shen do with her after getting tired of leaving her naked in the outside for all to see? She did not dare imagining all the atrocities a bird with a twisted mind like his could think of. But the worse thought of them all... will she ever get to see her family again? She trained all of her life knowing that she could die at any moment and did not fear death at all... but the idea of just getting killed and leave all the ones she loved alone against Shen and his army of bastards left her with an horrible taste in her throat. Maybe this was the Universe's way of punishing her for allowing its chosen one to be killed...
CLANG!
Tigress barely felt something flying above her head before falling down on her knees. What happened to the bonds holding her back? Upon looking at her paws, she saw the chains connected to her cuffs had been broken in half. This caused her to almost turn her head to where she had been chained before... and see some sort of metal blade planted into the Shen statue where the peacock chained her. "What? But who did..."
Something soft came onto her shoulder, causing her to jump. She would have probably turned around and kicked the intruder, was she not so tired from being left in an uncomfortable position with no food or drink in hours. The person who touched her shoulder was an avian - Tigress could tell from the blue-feathered wings touching her shoulder - but she couldn't see him, or her, very well because of the hood covering his/her face.
"Come with me, quick!" Tigress recognized this voice as a feminine one, meaning this figure was a female bird.
"But... who are you?"
"Now is not the time for explanations. I will tell you everything once we're out of harm's way. Now come on!" The mysterious bird turned around and started running.
Tigress didn't like to trust strangers... but this girl released her from her bonds and saved her from getting tortured any further by Shen. This meant she could trust her. So she started running on all fours and quickly caught up with her. The master of Tiger Style wanted nothing more than to rush with all the energy she had left and leave Gongmen City. However, with Shen's soldiers everywhere, leaving wouldn't be so simple. And besides, she wanted to know more about this bird who saved her before choosing her next course of action.
The two girls avoided a few patrols across the streets and soon made it to an alley far from the city's main excitation. The hooded bird made sure that nobody followed them before sighing. "Phew! Looks like we will be at peace for now." She then turned toward Tigress and removed her hood to finally show herself.
A beautiful peahen whose light blue feathers look like the surface of a river shining under the moonlight. Her beak and feet are coal black with her neck being long, fluffy, and elegant, just like Fan He's. Her body is covered by a beautiful dark blue robe with gold trims and patterns of sea waves traced in Chinese poetry. To her back is tied a guan dao similar to Lord Shen's, except the blade on the end was black with white patterns of the ocean.
Upon giving a good look to this peahen, Tigress realized something. She knew her! "M-Master Raging River?!"
"Indeed," Master Raging River said with a smile. Her dark blue eyes shone under the moonlight and looked beautiful. "I'm really happy to meet another Kung Fu Master in this city."
Upon snapping out of her surprise, Tigress slammed a fist in her palm and bowed. "I heard a lot about you. It is an honor to meet you in person, Master Raging River."
"Now, now, formalities can wait for later, Master Tigress," the peahen said with waving her wing a bit.
"But what are you doing here? I heard that Shen and his army took down almost all the masters across China, starting with the ones around Gongmen," Tigress said. "Where have you been this whole time?"
Raging River sighed with a sad expression on her beautiful face. "When the Peacock Army started its conquest of our country, I did everything I could to protect my Dojo and my students. But the wolves and gorillas just kept coming wave after wave. Eventually, we just couldn't continue like this anymore. I sent my students to hide somewhere safe while I remained near Gongmen to help those who needed my help. I started losing any hope that Gongmen could be saved... but then, I heard villagers talking about a master held prisoner by Lord Shen and left naked at his statue in the city. This is why I came after you."
"Thank you for helping me, Master," Tigress said with a smile.
"Anytime, Master Tigress. But now, let's go back to my hideout so that we can start our plan."
"What plan?"
"The plan to take Shen down," Raging River responded. "I could not get inside this palace on my own, but now that I have a fellow master to back me up, it is possible. Especially one like you who is said to be strong and sneaky. If that is the case, we should hopefully be able to reach Shen within this week. We just need a good plan."
Tigress smiled to the peahen. "I'd like nothing more than this, Master... but before we go... we need to find me some clothes." The feline blushed behind her orange fur. "I just... can't go around naked like this. Not only is it shameful for a girl to not wear clothes, but I can't fight with nothing to cover my body."
"Don't worry, I thought about it." Raging River pulled some purple clothes out of her robes and smiled.
"Are those... ribbons?" Tigress asked.
Raging River walked around the feline and started pulling the clothes on her. "Done!" she said once her work was finished. "How do you like it?"
Tigress blushed a lot. How could these be called clothes? Just a purple ribbon tied around her chest as a bra that pulled her breasts up while leaving her cleavage completely exposed and a loincloth that barely covered her rear end while having space to let her tail out. "Is this really the... best you could find?" the feline asked with adjusting her bra as much as she could.
"Sorry about this; I don't have a lot of clothes at my hideout and... I had no idea of your body size and length when I grabbed those ribbons," Raging River said with a blush as she rubbed the back of her head. "You don't mind?"
"... I'll deal with it for now. Let's go get ready to end Shen once and for all."
"Get this out of my sight!" Shen roared as two wolf guards carried the corpse of their fallen comrade out of the throne room. The second soldier killed by his Emperor in the same morning by a blade thrust into his chest.
Saying that the white peacock wasn't in a good mood would be an understanding. He woke up like every morning and went to his city's main square to taunt his beautiful feline prisoner, mocking her for being naked and unable to do anything about it. However, he only found a set of broken cuffs with a blade planted into his statue. This caused a rush of anger and rage the peacock did not experience in a very long time. After ordering his wolves to search for this cursed feline, he returned to the tower and took his breakfast. In less than one hour, he killed two of his men - the first because he spilled too much honey in his tea, and the second because he did not clean one of his vases to perfection.
Shen did not know who had the arrogance to defy his order and free one of his prisoners... but as soon as he would find the responsible one, he would make him suffer. He would lock him down into his dungeon and have his skin peeled off with a knife before pressing his naked flesh against burning iron. He would make him endure the worst torture of them all...
"Please, try to calm down a little bit, brother," Fan He demanded. She did not like to see her brother on the edge like this.
"Calming down?! How am I supposed to calm down after finding out someone openly disobeyed my order?!" His reaction caused his sister to back down a bit in fright. Shen sighed to ease his rage a bit. "Excuse my reaction, sister. I just can't wait to find this traitor... and make him suffer."
Just then, the doors to the throne room opened and Viper slithered inside. The reptile still looked as graceful as when she left the palace to go negotiate with the Fire Peacock Clan's royal family with her makeup and the exotic paintings on her stomach. She slithered before the Emperor and bowed her head. "Master..."
"Hello, my beautiful flower," Shen said as he stood up from his throne chair and walked to the snake to lift her chin with his wing. "How did the negotiations with the Fire Peacock Clan go?"
"Perfectly well, Master. Their princess has followed us all the way here and is ready to meet you."
"Perfect," Shen said with a sinister grin. "Make her enter." The gorillas standing at the door nodded and pulled the door open for their guest to enter.
Lady Mayuko, princess of the Fire Peacock Clan's royal family. Just like all peahens from either nobility or royalty, she carries a vast grace and beauty. Her feathers are a flamboyant red, just like every member of her family, with some black and white facial expressions decorating her face. Her tail feathers are a pitch black with blue markings shaped like flames in contrast to Shen's white and red markings. Her eyes, a shining orange, reflect a mix of pleasure and malice.
"Lady Mayuko, princess of the Fire Peacock Clan," Shen said with a grin. "I am honored that you blessed us with your presence."
"Oh, but I assure you all the honor is mine, my dear Emperor," Mayuko said with walking forward, her tail feathers swinging elegantly behind her, and bowed before Shen. "I am honored to meet you too, Lady Fan He," she added toward his sister.
"Thank you," Fan He said with a smile.
"So? Has your family considered an alliance with my army?"
"Oh, my father would be more than honored to be associated with our beloved Emperor," Lady Mayuko said, her eyes half-closed to reveal her black eyelids. "As a proof of our sincerity, we even brought you a gift."
She pulled on a golden chain the two peacocks failed to notice before and brought forward a male snowy owl whose wings were tied to the chains. His feathers were a snow-white with black spots and his dress consisted of nothing more than brown pants to expose his slender, curvy body. He trembled in fear.
"Good, good," Shen said with a look of malice behind his red eyes. "This is a wonderful gift indeed. I am glad you accepted to form an alliance with my army. In fact, I think you could be able to help me at this very moment. There is someone... or rather, multiple persons on the run that I'd like you to catch for me."
"Very well, Majesty. Just tell me who and where," Lady Mayuko replied with a grin that reflected the same amount of malice as the Emperor.
