Title: The Life and Times of Lord Shen
Summary: The story of the albino peacock of Gongmen City, from cradle to corruption. Chapter 11. the first-born son: In which a young Shen further questions his legacy.
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.
A/N: Sorry for the long hiatus, hope you enjoy the new chapter!
I need to eventually replace 'Emperor' with 'King' in past chapters; Gongmen rulers' other titles still baffle me. Emperor seems too much like just the one title for the actual Emperor of KFP's fantasy ancient China. They surely have one, and the new KFP short where the Wu Sisters mention the Imperial army seems like the first indication that there is one. And the KFP wiki sometimes calls Shen's dad the peacock king.
After a lot of thought, the summary's been revised. At first, this was meant to be more like how chirpingfish's "Albinism" is turning out to be, my older Fullmetal Alchemist fic "Mr. Fuzzy Jacket" and Shiruba Neko's Fullmetal Alchemist fic "Behind Red Eyes"-a real collection of stories about the main character, Shen in this case. A collection in that it would be rather nonlinear, and Shen's past was sorta like only one of the topics addressed. But as this went on, I felt like all the parts were connecting chronologically/linearly even just a little bit, and now this will, well, officially continue to go in more of an order with all of the stories interconnecting a lot more as my interpretation of Shen's past is explored and his development from innocence to corruption is tracked and hopefully explained a bit more.
the first-born son
Shen's questions were almost immediate.
"Father wasn't supposed to rule Gongmen? It was gonna be Lu—uncle Lu?"
The Soothsayer paused over reorganizing new purchases from Xu's medicine shop.
She gave a heavy sigh, and immediately Shen felt guilty again, like when making father bring Lu up in the first place.
"I'm sorry that I never told you about him," she said, turning back to him as she set her new supplies aside.
Immediately Shen shook his head. "No Nana, it's—not exactly new—I mean, I barely see my aunts anyway, they might as well be de—"
Shen's eyes widened in horror at where his mouth was running off too. He self-consciously fiddled with his white wings (his stupid white wings reeking of death in every way, and he was so preoccupied with death on top of that, the most idiotic action he could take).
"—I mean, that's, that's not what I mean, it's just—"
"Calm down, dear," the Soothsayer said, smiling softly. It grew sadder as she said, "It's understandable to feel that your uncle and aunts aren't much of an influence, given the circumstances."
Shen stopped fiddling with his wings, folding them in his sleeves.
"Um, what was he like?" The boy felt more comfortable asking what a dead relative was like than a living one.
The Soothsayer said she would make tea and dumplings, then began to answer while cooking.
"Lu was kind. Enjoyed making his younger brother laugh." She didn't speak again until pouring the tea. "Your father loved him very much."
Shen rolled a dumpling around in his wings. "Were you ever his—um, their nanny too?"
The Soothsayer shook her head, sipping at her own drink. "I have never been one to anyone but you, dear."
"Oh." Shen looked like he wanted to ask something more, but he just shoved the dumpling in his mouth, ate a few more and drank, and did not press the topic of the past any further.
None too gracefully, the boy shifted the conversation to about what An and he had been up to while ditching. The Soothsayer mildly scolded him for that, knowing his father had already dealt with it and did not need an overdose on punishment. Still, she gave him some extra chores and he grumbled over that, though the set of his shoulders was more relaxed.
The old goat made no comment about the prince backing off from his earlier curiosity.
###
"Your Uncle Lu?"
"Yes, sir," Shen replied while balancing on the staff, without a glance to Master Thundering Rhino. That would've required turning his neck, and he wasn't supposed to move at all for another three minutes.
"Did your father tell you about him?"
"A little, sir, when he said that he d-ditched too," the boy stuttered on his minor crime. He felt the talon gripping the staff threaten to twitch anxiously. "But Lu got in more trouble when he ditched because he was gonna be king...before."
Thundering Rhino chuckled at that. "Yes, I remember that." More softly, he asked, "Did your father say anything else about Lu?"
"Not really, I...I don't think he really meant to in the first place, he never mentioned him before. I don't really think he likes talking about uncle."
The old warrior sighed. "No, he does not."
"Nana said he really loved uncle." And not for the first time, Shen felt jealous of his father, who had a sibling along with being born blue and normal and healthy.
"And she already, um, apologized, you know, for me...not...knowing." The boy trailed off, the whole matter still baffled him, but the Kung Fu master's sigh had almost sounded guilty. "Did Father order everyone not to talk about Lu—Uncle Lu?"
"Not necessarily, but he might as well have," Thundering Rhino said, his voice heavy.
"...How did he die? Did someone kill him?"
"No...no, it wasn't that." Shen really wanted to turn his neck and look up, but Thundering Rhino had been clear about the balance exercise. Perhaps he should've waited to ask, but he was too curious and then his master hadn't stopped him, so Shen had pressed on.
"I was away at the time, with Masters Croc and Storming Ox."
"What were you up to? Was it bandits? Invaders?"
"Dealing with the Wu Sisters and Xiao Mei again, if I recall correctly...but afterward, a messenger told us that Lu and his family had fallen ill and passed away."
Shen twitched, and inwardly chided himself; it wasn't like talk of illness was contagious. Though apparently he wasn't such an anomaly among his family in that department.
"Your father was sixteen when crowned ruler of Gongmen. He had—"
And Thundering Rhino paused, as if searching for the right words.
"—a horrible time of it, his temper a short fuse. When talk of your uncle stopped, things progressed better...Shen, you may come up now."
The prince quickly leapt down but fumbled in catching his staff. Trying to suppress his blush, Shen hurriedly climbed up the roof tier to Thundering Rhino's balcony.
The boy fiddled with his staff, then finally spoke again.
"Um, Master, I have a question, it's kinda still about Uncle..."
"Yes?"
"Um, well...in G-Gongmen, when there's more than one heir, and one dies and the other gets to be ruler, is the other one...is it just because of how everyone feels, or is there a rule to like...forget about the other heir? 'Cause he didn't become ruler, and doesn't mat—"
Shen snapped his beak shut, clutching the staff tight against his shoulder and looking down at his talons.
"'Matter?'" Thunder Rhino gently said the word for him.
Shen mumbled, "It's just—you know King Sui, right?" The rhino nodded. "I didn't know he wasn't always next in line, that he had older siblings, no one ever seems to talk about them either..."
"In that way, time can be cruel. The past can be lost as the future progresses." Shen quietly followed his master down the hall as the older man spoke. "It's not an explicit practice, but it's common for people to only remember the rulers who made history, and pay no more mind to those that did not live long enough to do so. Such things happen in spite of those who truly loved and cherished them...and yet, I think that's enough."
The boy frowned. He slowly asked, "To only be remembered by family, friends?"
Thundering Rhino nodded, watching the prince with an unreadable look in his eye.
"But," and Shen's brows furrowed, "but you said even that doesn't always last, right? That they're eventually forgotten?"
The rhino nodded again.
"Isn't that bad?" Shen asked in a small voice, looking up at the Kung Fu master.
The older warrior shook his head. "Everything ends," Thundering Rhino said gently. "Even a memory, eventually. There is nothing inherently wrong in that."
The prince's frown remained, as he puzzled it all over. Thundering Rhino watched him ponder, then chuckled. "I doubt you were expecting this much philosophy when asking that question, hmm?"
Shen mumbled, "Didn't expect Kung Fu to be full of it either."
"Seems to suit you, though, all that thoughtful analy—"
"Please don't do the pun with my name."
"It's not my fault your name makes it so easy," Thundering Rhino teased.
"'Deep thinker,'" the boy grumbled. "What were my parents thinking naming me 'Shen?'" Now the young peacock could somewhat understand why An would be irritated with his own name.
"You know how prescient the Soothsayer is—"
"Wait, what?"
Master Thundering Rhino stilled as the boy whirled on him, tail feathers flaring.
"Nana even advised them on naming me?" Shen sounded incredulous, and slightly anxious, as if concerned over what answer he'd receive.
"To my understanding, yes." There was something in Thundering Rhino's voice that made the boy stop pursuing that line of thinking. That, and Shen's own damnable thoughts were leading to a less than comfortable place about who really bothered to give him a name. (Nana surely just advised, surely his parents had named him, they must've.)
A/N: That new Kung Fu Panda short was awesome. But I think for this fic the exact content of that short will be chalked up to one of many versions of a legend about Masters Thundering Rhino, Storming Ox and the Wu Sisters. It was interesting to see them as peers, but I still like the strong implication in the sequel itself and other backstory materials that Thundering Rhino is the oldest, the mentor and the leader of the three. And I still like Master Croc's backstory as a bandit and Thundering Rhino successfully helping him secure another chance. Though I found Storming Ox's backstory vague enough where I can incorporate the short's street fighter angle. And I actually do like that street fighter angle and Daddy Issues with Thundering Rhino too-so for fic purposes/my fanon says Thundering Rhino did do that when he was young, but that predates meeting Storming Ox and Croc. And speaking of Croc, I like to think he still could've participated in street fighting too, maybe that's how he and Storming Ox met, even predating encounters with Thundering Rhino. Hopefully I could incorporate all that into this fic or for a separate one.
ETA: According to the Kung Fu Panda wiki, "The name 'Shen' translates into English as "divinity"…"flame"…and "deep thought" (source of the pun here).