Title: The Life and Times of Lord Shen
Summary: The story of the albino peacock of Gongmen City, from cradle to corruption. Chapter 8. Q & A: Shen's education continues, from sparring to gemstones.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Kung Fu Panda or its sequel(s) and spin-offs, that's all DreamWorks' honor.
Spoilers: Both Kung Fu Panda movies.
EDIT A/N: Important: this chapter was revised a little, thanks to neat suggestions from Nevar Morts and mildirk.
Always, with this fic I want to mix on-screen canon with off-screen materials found online, i.e. "Although they still cared for him, Shen's parents were ashamed of his albino coloring and poor health, so they left him in the care of their advisor, the Soothsayer who raised him like her own. Traces of this can be seen as Shen is never outright cruel to the Soothsayer, such as how he releases her before the launch of his armada, meaning that he still respects her for showing him love" from character page for Kung Fu Panda. So I do want to make this mix of on-screen and off-screen materials as canon-compliant as possible.
I'm gonna try to individually reply to all your kind reviews with 's handy PM feature (except for users not signed in, since that feature's not available with them—those responses are at the bottom here).
Also, I have another Shen-centric KFP fic, "Change the Fate's Design," if anyone wants to check it out and leave a review. It should be in continuity with this fic (up to a point).
Q & A
The Soothsayer fought back the instinct to wince as the 10-year-old prince skidded on the floor of the courtyard again.
As a young girl she'd go with the other children to watch the warriors of her mountain village spar. When she started to serve the peacock clan, she would come to them and their allies with certain matters, even when they sparred in the courtyard; sometimes she would sit and wait them out after entreating them to stop did nothing, and finally ended up having tea while she waited and saving some for them; and ended up keenly observing them as she had before in her own village. Eventually the Soothsayer would simply go out and watch them train, sometimes with tea for them and herself, sometimes without. Kung Fu could be truly beautiful to her eyes even at this age; and even in a roundabout way it soothed and cleared her mind, like some indirect meditation, especially in such a place as the tower's courtyard, something of simple elegance and serenity to her. And the goat found that by watching them fight she'd have a better understanding of their current mood, for her own effectiveness at court. It also provided a certain amount of closeness to particular warriors she grew fond of, such as her lord and lady, though they sparred in the courtyard less and more in a private training hall; and Masters Storming Ox, Croc, Thundering Rhino—now young Shen recently, sometimes with An.
But right now it wasn't so much soothing, even though Shen had been sparring with Master Thundering Rhino since he turned seven, and it was not the first time the Soothsayer had watched him. The old goat had no tea, but the ever-present healer's kit in her satchel.
The old goat kept her face impassive as she watched Shen snap back up, tried not to let her eyes stray to the additional bruises and cuts on his legs and elbow, the cloth of his sleeve there ripped open. The white peacock raised his staff and struck at Thundering Rhino again.
The Kung Fu master easily side stepped, but made no move. Again and again he remained on the swift evasive as the prince struck faster and harder without hitting his target, determined to land a hit. He constantly leapt to gain some height. In mid-leap, the boy flared out his growing tail feathers in Thundering Rhino's face, then stroke down for the master's shoulder. It hit-but the rhino rolled with the force, grabbing the staff and Shen's wing tip upon it. His master moved too fast, Shen didn't have time to even comprehend what was about to happen, let alone try to counter it or break his fall. Thundering Rhino made the boy and the weapon continue further with their force, tossing him back down on the ground over his shoulder with the child's own momentum. As always, the master retained his control, as he did with any student—and with any student, he wished to train the prince in endurance.
This time Shen lost his grip on the staff as he hit the stone floor and tumbled before coming to a stop. The small form did not immediately rise, his back facing the Kung Fu master and the seer. The Soothsayer thought the prince may've lost consciousness like the last time he and Thundering Rhino had sparred. But he coughed, and the old goat was fairly certain that was a cough from consciousness, not unconsciousness, she thought she'd have some idea of the difference by now. That, and Thundering Rhino said, "Get up."
The white peacock struggled, coughed again, then slumped back down.
"Shen. Get up." The rhino thumped his cloud hammer's handle against the ground, his eyes searching and observant, all his senses on edge. He had to judge particularly well with this student's physical status, knowing exactly when to push and when to withdraw. He was certain he could push at this moment. "An enemy would not give you this much time."
Shen squeezed his eyes shut, then took a shuddering breath and tried again. Every muscle protested and his head ached, but Master Thundering Rhino believed he could do this; he didn't think he'd cave because of a couple of bruises and cuts and coughs, and he wouldn't, he'd meet his master's expectations...
The boy stood back up on shaky legs, gasping for breath. Then he made a run for his staff. He withdrew as Thundering Rhino blocked him, kicking the staff away slightly. Shen swallowed; evidently he'd still taken too long for his master. The boy bent down deeper into his crouch as he tried to strategize the best way to grab his staff.
Finally Shen thought, 'stuff it,' and just ran forward. He flashed his tail feathers, but it backfired this time as he didn't pull away in time and Thundering Rhino's kick pinned them to the ground, though not as harsh as he could have. Still, his master would not let him off easily for rushing ahead like that without much thought or even skilled instinct or intuition. Unable to move much with his train pinned, Shen did his best to block the handle of Thundering Rhino's cloud hammer, knowing he'd strike. The older warrior made sure to remove his hoof from the boy's train just before he struck, he did not want the feathers to tear or badly bend. Shen tried to take advantage of his free train, lowering his attempt at a block as he tried to doge—but his master struck too fast. His lowered guard crumpled easily, and the boy was knocked back down again, but he got back up quicker than last time. He would not be deterred again.
Panting, Shen rethought things. Then he ran forward with at least a semi-plan in mind. The boy was lucky his master struck out with his hammer. Shen jumped and immediately ran up it. Just as the rhino started to move, Shen reached his shoulder and flashed his tail feathers in his face and a little bit against his neck, slightly tickling. Shen jumped off his briefly distracted (and impressed) master, landed in a roll and grabbed his staff. Just in time to raise it and deflect a handle strike from Thundering Rhino's cloud hammer.
The Soothsayer watched the prince and the Kung Fu master continue sparring until the older warrior declared that was all for the day. The two bowed to each other, Shen more stiffly. Thundering Rhino flashed the boy a proud smirk, nodded to the Soothsayer, then left to check if Masters Storming Ox and Croc had returned yet from their latest mission. Shen's smile was a small, tired thing, but there nonetheless, even as the Soothsayer tended to his cuts and bruises and such with stinging ointment and bandages.
"So…did Ba and Ma say-?"
"Nothing yet about letting you have one of those old labs for your own use."
Shen frowned, and asked, "How come they're old, Nana?"
"What's wrong with age, dear?" The old goat teased, unwrapping apples from her satchel once Shen was taken care of. She had not brought tea, but snacks at least. She laid the apples out on a kerchief and began slicing them with her knife.
Shen rolled his eyes, exasperated. "Not what I meant, Nana. It's just-" he began to gesture, but winced as he put too much strain on his scrapes and bruises. "I mean, no one in the royal family's really used them, not for a long time. Isn't that weird? Our ancestor invented fireworks, and no one's really working in his labs anymore..."
"Per tradition, your parents learned how to craft fireworks, and that was at the factory; and that's where they, and those before them, always worked at when it came to working with fireworks themselves," said the Soothsayer as she chopped, and Shen's eyes irresistibly went to the knife edge and the apples' red skin. "But even that, they don't do much anymore, not since Lord Baojia took the throne. Your parents, like their predecessors since Emperor Sui's time, are very devoted to the daily management of the province."
"No kidding," Shen muttered. He quietly thanked the Soothsayer when she handed him an apple slice.
She put her knife away. "I'm afraid the royal family's experimented less and less, as ruling the province has taken full priority. That could explain the shift to the fireworks factory, and why the court's labs remain unused."
Shen swallowed his bit of apple, holding half a slice left. Thoughtful, he said, "But they've still improved fireworks designs over the years."
"That they have," agreed the Soothsayer as she ate her own apple slice, then a bite from the kerchief itself.
###
After the snacks with Nana, Shen went to the barracks looking for An. He wanted to see the wolf teen before meeting with his government tutor. The white peacock checked the wolf guards' training halls. He almost bypassed one that looked empty, until he heard An's snicker mingling with a girl's laughter. Shen walked in, narrowing his eyes-there, he saw a tail wag from the shadows against a pillar. He approached An and the other wolf, about to call to him-but Shen's voice momentarily vanished as he saw An and the girl (what was her name again? ) being…really weird. They were nuzzling and all giggly, taking turns rubbing their heads on each other's cheek, mouthing each other's muzzles, their noses touching, and their paws were going everywhere, up tunics and down-
"An?" Shen finally asked, a bit alarmed and totally baffled. But Shen soon had to shove back the urge to laugh himself as An jumped away from the girl as if he'd been burned. The girl herself was frozen stiff and staring with wide eyes. An whirled around on Shen, his tail low.
"Oh, Sh-Prince Shen-er, what's up?"
The white peacock just shrugged. "I was just looking for you. What were you-?"
"I'll see you later, An," the girl said abruptly, unfreezing and leaving. But at the doorway she froze for a split second, then turned around and bowed to Shen, murmuring, "My Lord." Shen inclined his head, perplexed, but she was gone before he'd even finished the gesture.
The younger boy blinked, turning to the older wolf. "Um, what was that about-?"
An rubbed the back of his neck. "Oh, that?" He barked out a laugh that sounded very strained. "Just guy stuff. Nothin' for you to-"
Shen frowned, reminding his friend, "I'm a guy-"
"Older guy stuff."
"You're just three years older than me."
"Hey, thirteen's a big deal, I get to actually patrol-"
Shen scoffed, "You were doing that before-"
Both boys stopped as An's mother, Fang, entered. She looked fierce. Shen noticed An's ears flatten against his head and his tail lower back down, way back down. She swiftly strode over to her son, who did his best not to flinch back. Shen stayed; it was all just happening fast, and he didn't want to leave An, he'd just found him. But he still regarded the two wolves with apprehension, even as he tried to politely ignore their exchange.
Fang growled, still a bit taller than her son, though he was almost to her height, and her mate's. "Your scent was all over that girl-"
"Not all over-"
"This is not the first time-"
"Thought you're supposed to be stalking enemies to the city, not your own son!"
"You both make it too obvious."
"Look, Ma-"
"I swear, if she's with child-"
"Ma!" And the teen wolf's eyes flashed to Shen, looking totally unsure and wondering if he should leave. He hadn't been able to politely ignore anything at all.
Fang sighed. She was getting too used to the prince's presence, he was not one of the pack's cubs.
"We'll talk about this later," Fang said, ignoring the mutinous look still in An's eyes. She nodded to Shen. "My prince." Shen nodded back as she left.
Finally Shen looked up at An and asked, "Is that how wolves have cubs? They…cuddle?"
An stared at Shen. The prince had no idea why, but the older boy sounded absolutely terrified when he asked a flat, cracking, "What?"
Shen's brow furrowed. "Well, I know you guys don't have eggs."
"…What?"
An seemed particularly, weirdly slow at the moment. Then Shen wondered if An was just wondering where eggs came from. The prince continued, trying to duplicate the Soothsayer's patient voice, "Eggs come from peacocks dropping gemstones, that peahens then pick up. And that's when peahens have eggs, and babies hatch from them. But since wolves don't hatch from eggs, you guys have babies differently, right?"
"I-er, no?"
Shen tilted his head. "You guys use gemstones too?"
"…Yes."
The white peacock finally narrowed his eyes. He could tell when An was lying-An was a horrible at it. Not that he tried to lie much. And admittedly, Shen wasn't sure if he was much good at lying either. He wasn't motivated to try that often, and the boy was just a bit too afraid the Soothsayer would always see right through him.
"An-" The prince began, but stopped as An's ears twitched and turned around to the doorway.
Jie poked her head in, her ears twitching. "Ah, there you are, prince. Your tutor's looking for you."
Shen groaned. An blew a sigh of relief.
Jie grimaced, ignoring An and favoring her prince with a sympathetic look. "I know, the guy's a real jerk."
"He's boring and tedious and just-" Shen groaned again as he followed Jie, An trailing behind him. But once they met up with his government tutor, Shen really understood Jie. His tutor didn't say anything, but he looked down his sheep's snout at the surrounding wolves and the barracks, looking deeply offended. Shen wasn't quite sure what wasn't being said or if he was just looking at stuff too hard, but something about his tutor's silent manner in the wolves' barracks made his stomach clench, mad.
"Come, my lord," his tutor said, and began trotting off.
Shen stood his ground, saying, "Thank Jie."
An and the wolf girl shot a look down at their prince.
The sheep turned around, confused and exasperated. "Who?"
"Jie," Shen gritted her name out. "She's the one who found me for you. You didn't even know her name?"
"I was in a rush, my lord," his tutor said coolly. "And I do not often come by the wolves' barracks to know each by name."
The prince supposed there was nothing inherently wrong in the wording, but there was still something obnoxious, impolite and superior about the tone. It made Shen glare.
Just as coolly, the adult sheep did thank Jie, and she stiffly nodded back. An and Jie said good-bye to Shen, as did he, along with his thanks,
and soon the younger boy followed his tutor back to the tower.
###
That government lesson was so tense and intolerable, Shen was even gladder to get out of it once he could. He went looking for his father or mother or both, a question burning in his mind. Shen thought that maybe he should try asking around more first, his parents would probably be too busy…but still the boy felt a very peculiar desire to hear what they had to say. Maybe it's because they were the only peafowl in all of Gongmen City. The white peacock found his father first, walking down the hall, probably heading for the throne room or a meeting or something. Shen sped up, thinking if he caught him right now, he could get an answer. Once at the older peacock's side, the boy wasted no time with his question.
"Father, where do babies come from?"
Lord Baojia immediately stopped walking, and so did Shen, stumbling a little as his father had stopped so suddenly. The Gongmen Emperor looked down at his son.
"…You're asking this now?"
Shen rolled his eyes.
"I asked Nana when I was five, and she told me that you-the peacock-drops a gemstone, and mother-the peahen-picks the jewel up, and then she has the egg and the baby-me, in this case."
It was the standard story peafowl told their very young children when they asked that inevitable question. But Lord Baojia was still unsettled. It was not he or Fen that told him, but the Soothsayer; Shen had asked her, not them; and they had never thought about it in all this time, had never approached the boy themselves about this topic. Gods, they should've told him at least two years ago.
"But when I told An, he gave me a funny look. I asked him if wolf cubs were different 'cause they don't have eggs, and he said no, but..." Shen's talons shuffled. "Well, where do babies come from? Is Nana right?"
Baojia turned away, eyeing the staircase.
"Your mother and I will tell you after dinner tonight."
Shen blinked. "You're not working late?"
"Not tonight," Baojia said, ready to postpone the meeting. To hell with the council and everything else at the moment, just for this one night.
The boy's eagerness did nothing to make the painful twinge in Baojia's chest abate.
###
"How was dinner, my Prince?" The Soothsayer asked as the young peacock stiffly returned to their quarters.
Shen mumbled something that might've been "okay," then asked in a curiously high and strained voice, "What about you? You and Master Thundering Rhino, Croc and Storming Ox went out to the city tonight for dinner, right? To celebrate Ox and Croc's safe return?"
"Yes, we tried a new place that opened-are you quite all right, dear?" The Soothsayer asked, putting down her mending of the prince's clothes that she had nibbled into. The boy had stiffly plopped into his bed and practically ripped open a scroll that his eyes now rapidly darted across.
When Shen noticed the old goat put her mending away, he groaned and buried his face in a cushion, throwing the scroll away. But his muffled voice was quite audible; "Baba and Mama told me where babies came from…they said that not everyone comes from eggs, but how it…happens, is roughly the same..."
The Soothsayer's chuckle just made him groan deeper, never mind the soothing way she patted his head and the crest feathers on it.
A/N: I forgot to mention it last time, but I think the peacock clan is fairly old, and it was an ancestor of Shen and his parents that invented fireworks. However, in bat-snake's story on Deviantart, it's written that his parents invented fireworks—and given the KFP2 prologue, I think that interpretation works just as well as mine. Bat-snake's storie(s) also have a similar origin behind the peafowl's fireworks with a demon's involvement in it, etc.
Most of the peafowl reproduction story was something I remember reading in a book on India, in its section on Indian Peafowl.
Comrade: Thank you for your loyalty and the praise. :D
Thanks again for reading, and please review/comment, I love the feedback!