After two weeks of rest, Shen was finally well enough to move around on his own. He dressed himself in the robes that Buwei had given him a few days ago and examined himself with a mirror. He was displeased by what he saw.

"This robe does not match my feathers at all." Shen looked over at the remains of his old robe and shuddered at the thought of wearing it in public. "Although, it is a significant improvement over that."

Shen walked down the spiral staircase and into the living area. He was going to walk right out the front door when something in a side room caught his eye. He turned from the door and crept into the room. There were various paintings hanging from the wall, most of them of mountains and rocks. Other than the paintings, the room was rather unremarkable; it had one bed, a cabinet full of robes, and a small desk. After scanning the room, Shen turned his attention to what caught his eye in the first place-a small, yellow rock sitting on the desk. He immediately recognized it as sulfur. Shen grabbed the rock and weighed it in his wing.

"Oh, Sulfur," Shen mused, his beak curling into an unnaturally wide smile. "You are one of the only things in my life that has consistently brought me joy." He would have gotten lost in his memories if it hadn't been for a certain, high-pitched peahen.

"Shen! What are you doing in my room?" Xin was hopping up and down in the doorframe, clearly frustrated.

Shen laughed and set the rock down on the cabinet. "Calm yourself, little peahen. I was just looking around."

Xin folded her wings and frowned. "In my room?"

"Is there a sign on the door that says 'Peahen's Room'?" Shen smirked while Xin stood there, unable to give a satisfactory response. "I didn't think so."

Shen left Xin's room and sat down in the living area, carelessly tossing scrolls onto the floor after speed-reading them.

Silence hung over the room for a good five minutes before Xin spoke up. "Since you are well enough to walk by yourself, my Father thought I should show you around the village."

Shen looked at his robe in disgust and quickly made a decision.

"I will come with you. I must acquire a new robe, anyway." Shen rose from his seat and followed Xin to the front door.

"What's wrong with the one you're wearing? The green coloring is beautiful."

Shen looked down his beak at her "Someone such as myself should not be seen with such…average clothing," he sniffed.

Xin looked up at him and smiled. "At least you're not dead."

"Point not taken."

Shen was shocked at just how disorderly the village was; there were no roads, and houses and shops seemed to be built wherever their owners wanted them. "This certainly isn't Gongmen…" Shen muttered to himself.

Xin pointed away from the village towards two tall mountains. "That mountain on the left is Iron Mountain; the one on the right is Phoenix Mountain. We choose to call ourselves the People of Phoenix Mountain." Shen could not care less about the mountains, or the people that lived in their shadow. This was only a temporary stop on the path he was traveling on, although he didn't quite know where it would end.

"Now as I was saying earlier, my father forbid me from going to see Bei at all. What was the big deal? We weren't doing anything unacceptable. He's a wolf anyway, so…"

Xin continued to talk about how much her father had wronged her, and Shen hated every second of it. Thus far, Shen had shown an incredible amount of self-control, but at this point he just couldn't take it anymore.

"ENOUGH!"

He whirled around and fanned out his train, causing Xin to stumble backwards and onto the grass. Everyone stopped what they were doing to see this spectacle taking place in the center of their village. Shen bent down and whispered into Xin's ear.

"You know nothing about pain or suffering. You say your father doesn't 'understand' you? Well, at least your father loves you." Shen looked around him and saw a large segment of the village was watching him. "And all of you! I've been told this village has a food shortage. Maybe it would be best if you were tending to that rather than gawking at me!" The onlookers gradually dispersed, whispering to one another.

Xin was stunned by what just happened. When this had happened the first time, she had thought Shen was simply an irritable peacock. Now she wondered if it might be something else. Xin stood up, dusted herself off and walked over to the agitated peacock. Shen's eyes looked empty, as if he wasn't even there...

Shen was pacing back and forth in his father's throne room. His mother was arguing with Master Thundering Rhino about something. After several minutes, Master Rhino bowed his head and left the room. "Now what did you want to talk about, dear?" Shen's mother sat down and put her wing around him.

"You're going to be here later, won't you?" Shen asked in a nervous tone. His parents were always doing something and he felt they never spent any time with him.

Shen's mother gently stroked his juvenile crest to soothe him. "Shen, this is the most important day of the year. While I do have some stately things to do today, I promise you, I will be there." His mother lifted him off the floor and nuzzled his beak. "I love you," she whispered into his ear.

"Happy twelfth birthday, Prince Shen."

Shen was sitting at the end of a long, empty table. The only person who actually came to his birthday was his friend Bendan, a wolf he had met several years ago during a trip to one of the poorer sections of Gongmen. Shen's mother was supposed to be there an hour ago. Shen left his 'party' early and went to bed, feeling betrayed.

In the morning, however, his mood perked up again. Master Rhino had made a reversal on his original decision; He offered to teach the young prince Kung Fu...

"Shen?"

Shen snapped out of his vision to see Xin looking up at him with concern. "Are you feeling well?"

Shen shivered to wake his body out of the trance. "Well…uh…No. I am not feeling well at all. I…think I'll go back to your father's house."

Xin followed him as he walked back to the house. "I'll come with you," she said with a bright smile.

Shen turned to face Xin. His beak was making strange movements, and his eyes seemed to be darting all over the place. Finally, in the quietest voice, he spoke.

"Thank you."

I'm a little iffy on Shen's thank you. Don't be surprised if it randomly disappears.

Translations!

Bendan-Fool, idiot

Bei-rebellious

(To my understanding, at least.)