A/N: *blows dust off* AYE IT'S BEEN A WHILE. To everyone who is still reading this: thank you so much! I didn't realize you're all waiting for a new chapter and all that. I had this chapter lying around unfinished for more than a year now. I guess I got really busy with school, delved into other fandoms and whatnot... I have no idea what to say oh my god... but anyway, the plot gained progress since the last time I opened it hahaha. I finalized the plot so expect that I'll update this more. Hopefully. Anyway, from where we left off, Shen is being plagued by nightmares and Jiang being an absolute bitch to him is essential to the plot. Perhaps we can see a turn-around soon? Let's find out! I hope you enjoy this long chapter!~

Edge

The walk to the fireworks factory was a surprisingly long one, Shen thought. He looked around their trail—no one, as he would have expected—just him, Wolf Boss and Cheng. He hadn't exactly slept well for a couple of days now. His nightmares were growing worse each night he slept, but he couldn't remember any of it in the morning. He thought of consulting the Soothsayer, but what would the foolish old goat do to help? She will only scold him, that's for sure. His eyes traversed the path they took; weary and protective. He had gone up and down this path countless of times—a path only he and his wolf army knew of—and yet he was restless. The jolly wolf pup trotted way ahead of them, running up to the hill to the factory as he had grown accustomed of. The pup's enthusiasm lifted his spirits up a bit, only to be crushed down by some insolent thought that kept him from breaking even a slight, creepy-looking smile.

"There's nothing to fear" Wolf Boss broke the silence, as if hearing his thoughts, "the area is secured, no one can touch you from hereon"

"I know that. As if anyone would be foolish enough to do so, anyway" he huffed his chest proudly, as if taking the wolf's reassurance as an offense.

Wolf Boss rolled his eye at the white fowl's cockiness. He should be used to this by then. His time spent with Jiang did help him lengthen his patience. Then again, he pondered for a moment. He had been Shen's companion since the bird was still a young teen. Contrary to the company he kept, he was a reserved, obedient and quiet young man, often locking himself in the factory and exploring the fireworks his father invented. He had always been really smart and handy with things. He knew how stuff worked and he could break a whole device apart and put it back together—and even much improved than it was before he dismantled it. He did, however, change as the years passed and yet he had grown fond of the leucistic peafowl, whom he assumed had returned the same sentiments. A slight pain panged at the base of his neck. His paw roamed around the bald spot that contained a scar.

Perhaps not.

His low grumble distracted Shen's deep thinking, which the latter did not really appreciate. He frowned a bit at the awkward air; it hadn't been like this in the past. He and Wolf Boss used to talk a lot about tactics and plenty of common interest. Now they were just silent, as if they never knew each other personally. He chose to shrug the thought off, feeling rather uneasy of where his mind was bound to take him. He continued threading the sun-warmed path. The factory shouldn't be far off.

"Dad! Lord Shen! Hurry up!" They heard Cheng exclaim from beyond them.

"In a minute, son!" Wolf Boss replied.

"Is your son really that ecstatic every single day?" Shen questioned his comrade as his eyes narrowed at the path, a hint of irritation on his voice.

"I hope you don't have a problem with that" Wolf Boss replied equaling his level of irritation.

"As long as he keeps away from me most of the time, then I won't have a problem with that" Shen sighed, his patience almost disappearing. He hated arguing with the canine. He didn't mean to, anyway, but the grey wolf really did seem to dislike him.

"I trust my son. I did tell him to stay away from you"

"Well that's good" Shen walked ahead of him as he muttered.

Upon reaching the factory, Shen was heaving for breath. Wolf Boss politely—and surprisingly, calmly—offered him a hand which the fowl stubbornly rejected; only to have him almost tripping down at the doorway of the building.

"Are you sure you're fit to do this today? You don't look like someone who had a good night's sleep"

"I'm fine!" Shen snapped back, trying his best to keep up, "now open the door"

Wolf Boss ignored his yelp anyway and opened the door, to see wolves of his kind working on new cannons as usual. "They're almost done" he said, a hint of admiration in his voice.

"Good, now to have these canons sit at where your masters want them. I'm not in charge of where to put those things"

"Perhaps you should discuss this with them"

Shen thought for a moment. This was not what he was expecting to do months ago, yet he find himself in a situation where he either obeys or dies. He frowned at the thought. "I don't have to, I did what they want! Now they have to do what I want which is to leave me alone"

"As long as you're alive, I doubt they will"

The thought hardened at Shen's throat. He had grown impatient of the pace of things, and his reoccurring nightmares aren't exactly helping. He took a blade underneath his robes and angrily threw it on an adjacent wall before proceeding to inspect the development.

Perhaps it was the stress she had experienced with the Soothsayer that morning, or she was just very tired after a whole, eventful day. It wasn't like her. It wasn't like Master Jiang to just drag herself across the courtyard after training the children and attending to her usual rounds, and finally going for a bit of a session with her friends herself, as she had done religiously every day of the week. This day was different. All Jiang wanted to do now is slump into a bed somewhere and slack off for the rest of the day. She needed something to calm her down.

"Hey" Jiang snapped her head to the direction of the voice.

"Oh, good morning, Master Croc" she straightened up and bowed to her colleague.

"You don't look so good. Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I suppose. I'm extra tired today, is all"

"Nothing a good helping of almond cookies and milk tea couldn't fix, don't you think? Come on, I had snack prepared. Join me and Master Ox at the dining hall"

"Aren't we supposed to hold a meeting this afternoon, though?"

"It's still technically a meeting" Master Croc shrugged as-a-matter-of-factly, "only we'll be meeting over snacks"

Jiang smiled weakly to her comrade as she let him lead the way. She let out a sigh of relief as soon as she walked away from the training plaza. She's been working extra hard since she came back to Gongmen City, she thought. Perhaps she had been too stiff to even consider an unusual snack time as a more enjoyable way of discussing issues.

The dining hall was welcoming and the two masters saw that Master Ox had finally settled on the table, nibbling off an almond cookie with a steaming cup of jasmine tea beside his plate. They all stood and bowed with respect before heading to their respective places on the table.

"You look uh… tired" The bovine stopped chewing on his pastry and wiped the crumbs off his snout.

"I'm fine" Jiang said simply, "now, I think we should discuss about where to place the canons today"

"No, that's not the headline of this meeting" Master Ox cut her off, "I didn't know you had that little standoff with Shen a few days ago"

Jiang felt a lump on her throat form. Looking back, it was a pretty stupid move for a known calm and collected master. She sighed, lowering her head in defeat and prepared herself for the possible berating from her colleague, if berating is what it's even called for a grown woman like her. He was injured, she thought, no matter how much he pissed her off, taking advantage of his disability was out of the line; a total disobedience to her morals. No matter how she would explain it, one could never deny the fact that the wise master had, for once, done an act of utmost stupidity. Guilt started forming in the back of her mind, which she immediately denied acknowledgement.

"Do you want added security on that guy?" the offer was a surprise, and Master Ox looked serious about it.

"No, there is no need to do that. He just got on my nerves, that's all" the next was a dead silence on Jiang's end as she sipped from her cup of cold milk tea. She knew for one thing that the only reason she reigned victorious was because Shen was completely out of shape, and his actions within the palace walls—heavily armed with those not of his alliance—are extremely limited. She shook her head in disgust. If anything, Shen is more experienced and more volatile than her. If anyone was digging their grave at that moment, she knew very well that it was her.

"I don't suppose this is some kind of mating ritual" Master Croc jested, "for two of the same kind, I find that your courting ways are rather hostile" he chuckled, Master Ox joining him. They did not pay heed to the peahen across them staring daggers.

"Well anyway" Master Ox wiped a tear from his eye, "are you sure you don't need added security?"

"Master Ox, I am old enough and capable of handling that rooster myself, or would you like a demonstration to prove my point?" Jiang mocked, narrowing her gaze, yet drew a slight smirk at the challenge.

"Alright, I get it. I'm just concerned. Were you hurt?"

"I managed to get a few cuts and bruises but I'm fine. I'm sure he won't try and do something funny again"

Master Ox's face turned rather serious. "You can never tell, Jiang. Who knows what he's capable of? For all I know, I'm sure he didn't use his full force against you. I saw how he fought, and he's no ordinary opponent"

"And you used your chi-block to hold him down, didn't you?" Master Croc chimed in.

"I did. I told you, everything is taken care of. I am not underestimating his abilities, but he's not our priority right now. Gongmen City is under the threat of some lunatic pirate who's nothing short of a bullet from the mist"

"Speaking of him, it's a mystery Hei Bao hasn't shown up for a while. I sense dread, unless we're sure he's gotten rid of. The more the sands fall from the hourglass, the tenser this whole wait is getting" Master Croc replied, holding a cookie on his hand while he eyed Master Ox with concern, "Unless we are sure that he is in prison, dead or alive, then we can't worry about anything else but the welfare of the people of this city"

"We are yet to know of Hei Bao's objectives, or who he is for that matter. But in any case, we are prepared, that's for sure. Wolf has updated me about the canons' progress. The pack is doing a good job and soon, it will be ready for deployment" Before Master Ox could continue, the door of the dining hall burst open to reveal a disheveled Shen and an indifferent Wolf Boss standing on the doorway.

"Well good evening to you" Jiang muttered in irritation. She knew should have been used to the peacock's lack of respect by now, but given the events for the past days, she could just feel the stress clouding her mind and preventing reason.

"My… companion advised that I join your meeting for tonight" The peacock gestured to Wolf Boss who bowed in agreement.

"For the update on the cannon, masters, is all" The wolf licked his lips before swallowing a lump, seeing how disturbed the council had been on the sudden intrusion "but… we could perhaps return later"

"No, stay" Master Ox said, "I was just about to have him called". The room fell silent, and there were only gazes exchanged, except for Jiang who kept her head down, and Shen looking about impatiently.

Hours passed and Jiang could no longer count how many times she rolled her eyes when Shen tried to propose a tactic. She found them either too risky, unconventional, and sometimes even impossible; to the point that she felt like she had to argue with every word he said, which was not she intended. She tried to collect her thoughts; her rationality, if there was any left, and tried to distinguish between the fact that Shen is actually proposing a stupid plot or if she was just growing tired and irritated of the whole board meeting that seem to be going nowhere, at least with her. She sighed deeper at the fact that the bull and the reptile seem to be forming some sort of trust with him already.

At that moment, Shen finally felt himself snap.

"Well then" he spat, "if you think you are a better army leader than I am, then say something instead of counter-attacking me!"

"Forgive me" Jiang said, and for the first time she meant it, "but what you say does not even make sense. Build a wall around the city to use as its fortress? We do not have that much time. Not to mention it could cost us a lot!"

"I hate to interrupt, but that other proposal which was to put hidden cannons in strategic parts of the city borders seems like a good idea" Master Croc said.

Jiang thought for a moment, then sighed, "Perhaps we could, but since our cannons are limited…"

"…They would have to be put along the key ports of the city where ships can freely come and go" Master Ox finished, nodding in agreement. Master Croc nodded as well, regarding Shen with a look that hinted of respect.

Finally I made sense, right? These fools… Shen thought bitterly.

"Well, I guess you actually were of use today, huh?" Jiang half-heartedly glared at her leucistic counterpart.

"You should probably retire yourself, Master Jiang" Shen mocked the other bird, "seeing as you seem to be the only one in the council who is not thinking straight"

Jiang raised an eyebrow.

"How sweet of you to be concerned" Master Croc half-mocked, half-joked and was regarded with a look by the peahen.

"Do not mistake it for concern" He glared at the reptile.

"Okay, okay, but if you two would just, you know, probably get along… it would make it easier for us to discuss matters next time" Master Croc looked at the male and female back and forth, his voice hinted of concern. Yet true enough, he was beginning to feel that the conflict between the two—one he and Master Ox could not understand—is getting in the way of ultimately saving them, and their city. The ox nodded in agreement, for he too felt the same about their situation.

Jiang tiredly narrowed her gaze in response, as if Master Croc spoke in a foreign tongue. Shen, on the other hand, shook his head; "this is not the concern at this moment. That wretched bandit is at large and the city is under a threat, and you two are suggesting we kiss and make up."

"Well… you two look together" Master Croc choked, "as umm, partners—partners in crime. I mean, yeah, you know, you get me"

"It's not a big deal, is it?" Master Ox said calmly, flashing a genuine look of concern to the white peafowl he once—and probably still is—considered an enemy.

Shen did not respond, but huffed his chest with pride and looked away.

"It is" Jiang responded shortly. Her two comrades shuddered at the coldness in her voice. "Now, if this meeting is over, I would like to excuse myself. I feel ill"

Master Ox's stare lingered at her for a moment. "Yes, you may" his tongue hung on to the last syllable. He wanted to hold her back and ask her a lot of things. Many, many things—but he was not sure what or where to start. He suddenly felt that he did not know his comrade of more than twenty years well enough. He felt as if there was a part of her he needed to know, that there was a space that needed closure. However, today would not be that time, but he is sure he will find out. He stole a glance towards his reptilian comrade, who, as it appears, felt the same. Master Croc looked at Shen. Maybe he knows something. But he could not find it in himself to speak.

Shen kept his glance away from the peahen as she made her way out of the room with her shoulders slumped. He looked down on the floor, contemplative. He was not sure what to make of the trust that the two council masters had shown him today. He should be happy; he should be grinning; but he found himself mindful of his situation, and he was sure this is only going to contribute to his worsening nightmares.