"Shen, I would appreciate it if you would move your weapons off the table."

Buwei, Xin, and Shen were sitting down at the breakfast table. Shen had moved his weapons downstairs the previous night. In his weakened condition, it had taken him an hour to move all of the weapons. He had spent much of his energy yesterday, and he was unable to regain it due to lack of sleep. His crest was disorderly, and there were dark circles under his eyes.

"I am planning on taking them over to the local blacksmith," Shen said as he turned his beak upwards. "Assuming you have one." /Buwei looked out the window towards the village and nodded his head.

"Yes, we do have one. His name is Wai. He's a wolf who came here a few years ago. Although if you do meet him, don't expect him to repair your weaponry."

Shen turned to Buwei with his beak hanging open.

"And why would he refuse me? Is it a monetary issue? If so, I can give him an offer he just can't refuse…"

He tried to fan up his train, but it only vibrated and lifted a few inches off the ground. Shen stared at it for a good minute before speaking again.

"That is disgraceful." He turned to his left and saw Xin laughing. "What do you find so funny, little peahen?" Shen stood up and arranged his crest so it looked as neat as possible. When he left it alone, it fell over the right side of his face again.

Xin stopped laughing and took a deep breath.

"I've never seen a peacock who was unable to fan out his train. It just looks funny, especially with your head feathers falling over."

Shen's eyebrows became stiff, and his pupils shrunk. "I will teach you some proper manners!"

He walked towards Xin, but he seemed to get caught on something and fell. Xin started laughing uncontrollably and also fell to the floor. Shen looked back at his feet and let his head hit the floor when he saw the problem. The metal coverings on his feet had gotten caught on a small hole in the floor, causing him to fall.

Shen slowly lifted himself up and sat back in his chair. All of a sudden, Shen's train fanned out again and he slammed his wing on the table.

"This is unbelievable! Look at the floor! It's full of holes! It's a wonder that I didn't fall before! You should-" Shen opened his beak to continue but he stopped himself and began to inspect his metal talons.

Buwei looked over at Xin and shook his head. "Xin, go to your room."

Xin immediately stopped laughing and poked her head up over the edge of the table. "What?"

Buwei repeated his command in a more authoritarian tone. "You heard me. Go to your room."

Xin got up and pointed at Shen. "But he-"

"Now."

Xin raised her wing, but quickly brought into down again and left the room.

Buwei sighed."She has so much to learn…now Shen, what were you saying before?"

Shen stood up and looked himself over. "I'm pathetic! I have no power! Even little children laugh at me! Look at this!"

Buwei looked at him with confusion. "Shen, you just gestured to your entire body."

Shen turned and looked outside the window. "Shen, you're just very tired. You should go rest for a bit more and then go see Wai."

Shen nodded his head in agreement and began to trudge up the stairs.

Buwei ran up behind him and grabbed his wing. "Wait!" he said."I need to ask you something."

Shen pulled his wing back and kept it close to his chest. "First of all, don't ever touch me." He straightened his robe. "Now, what was your question?"

Buwei clasped his wings together.

"Would you please move your weapons off the table?"

Shen walked out the front door feeling refreshed. He had taken Buwei's suggestion and slept for a few more hours and was carrying his broken lance to Wai, the Blacksmith, to have it repaired. It was drizzling outside, although Buwei said it would rain harder later. Shen walked into the village and towards Wai's house. The villagers stared at him as he walked by. They had never seen a white peafowl before, and were wanting to good look at him. Several of them tried to approach Shen, but he pulled out his crooked lance in a threatening manner and they backed away. Shen smirked and entered Wai's house.

"Who's there?" a gruff voice asked from the back of the room. Most of the lanterns were not lit but the furnace was, providing some illumination. It was a utilitarian home, without many paintings or decorations. A wolf emerged from the darkness and lit some of the lanterns. "I said, who's there?"

Shen quickly looked around before pointing to himself. "Oh, you were talking to me? My apologies, for I am from elsewhere." He casually walked over to a desk near the furnace and swept some of the metal off of it. "Oh, I am so sorry. I forgot to mention, I am rather clumsy."

Wai sighed and pointed to the door. "What part of 'closed' don't you understand?"

Shen looked back at the Wai and his eyes widened. "Closed? Why would you be closed? In such beautiful weather?" It began to rain harder, and distant thunder could be heard. /Wai started putting swords onto racks hanging on the wall. "Well, I've been running out of metal recently." He paused for a second before continuing. "And my son has been missing so…"

Shen's beak twisted into a wide smile. "Is he now?"

Wai nodded slowly. "He went with some friends to the forest at the foot of Phoenix Mountain. They came back without him. They insisted he wandered off, but I know it's easy to find your way back, so I am worried something happened to him." He sat down in a chair and stared out the window.

Shen took out his lance and slammed it on the table with a loud clang! "I just might be able to find your son for you—"

"Oh, thank you!" Wai got out of his chair and reached out to shake Shen's wing. "If you find him, I will be forever in your debt!"

Shen pulled his wing away and raised his beak. "I do not want your eternal gratitude. I simply want this to be returned to working condition."

Wai inspected the bent lance for a moment and nodded his head. "I can fix it."

The peacock turned to leave before he heard a loud clattering noise behind him. He looked down and saw a sword lying at his feet.

"You may need it. I wish you the best of luck." Wai bowed to Shen and continued to clean up his workshop.

Shen picked up the sword and left the building. "First, I must return to Buwei to get a map, or some form of compass. Then, I will find this 'boy'—probably gnawing on some bone at the foot of a tree." He held his new sword up to the sky. "And with this fine-crafted blade, nothing shall stop me!" Suddenly, Shen fell to the ground and dropped his sword in the mud.

His metal talons had gotten caught on a tree root.

Wai-Outsider

I cannot believe how lucky I am to have made back-ups of this story. Without them, well...

Hope you enjoyed it.