The Lion and the Peacock

(Attempted) Assassination

As Leo slipped inside the factory, his senses were immediately bombarded by a wave of scents, sights, and sounds. The factory had a red aura about it. Glowing magma caused the entire atmosphere in the factory to burn red. It might be harder than I thought to slip into the shadows, Leo thought to himself. The tangy, acrid smell of burning metal caused Leo's whole muzzle to crinkle and he pressed himself against the wall. The sizzling hiss of steam- or what Leo thought was steam- hit his ears and he shook his head. How do these poor wolves work in these conditions? Leo wondered as he slowly made his way through the factory.

Many of the wolves were very engrossed in their work. Leo ducked behind a nearby column and watched as a small group of burly wolves hauled a large vat of still-burning metal to what seemed like an outline for the weapon. The wolves pushed the vat over; the melted metal flowed into the crevices of the outline. Leo slunk past them. Leo reasoned that spending even a few days- let alone several decades- in a factory like this would cause any animal's nose, no matter how skilled, to lose its edge. They shouldn't be able to smell him.

A sudden shout came from almost directly above Leo, "We need more weapons! More more more! Load a weapon onto every boat!" Leo's eyes narrowed as he recognized the peacock's voice. He several floors above Leo, but Shen had not detected the lion at all. The peacock's outburst caused several wolves to begin barking orders and commands to each other.

Leo spotted a staircase up ahead. He glanced around; most all of the wolves were busy either making weapons or just trying to guard the factory. Leo quickly leapt and hid behind another column- this one was right next to the staircase that could lead him to Shen. A sudden wave of smoke hit Leo in the face. The lion winced and covered his nose and mouth. The smoke must've come from the forgery of the weapon. Leo felt tears well up in his eyes as he tried not to cough or do anything to give away his location.

When he was ready to make a run for a staircase, the sound of doors crashing open echoed throughout the factory, "Leo Lung is here! Leo Lung is here!" Alarm spiked through the lion's body and he felt horror freeze his blood cold. His back stiffened and he pressed himself against the column to try and flatten himself. If the wolves attacked him now, the wounded, lone lion would stand no chance against the army of dogs; that was assuming Shen wouldn't cut Leo's head off at the first sign of the lion's presence. Leo dared to try and look around the post. But as he peaked around the column, he saw the familiar face of Milu, "The lion warrior is out here in the alleyway! He is injured and weak!" The deer bellowed to anyone who was listening.

Leo slumped against the column in relief as he watched at least fifty wolves, each one armed with a sword or a spear, abandon their work and follow Milu outside. Leo closed his eyes and prayed to whatever deity there was that Milu would be safe. Hopefully none of the wolves that Leo and Milu had fought earlier would recognize the wapiti. Leo heard the sudden shouting coming from above him, "Bring Leo Lung to me! I want him alive!" It was Shen, and he sounded angry. But the peacock also sounded... excited? Was it some sort of crazed madman type excited? The warrior shook his head. If there was any moment that he had to focus, it would be now.

While many of the wolves were either outside or working on the weapon, Leo Lung dashed for the staircase and quickly climbed them one at a time to remove the risk of tripping or making noise. As he reached the second staircase, he pressed himself against a nearby wooden post and looked around. There were no wolves on this floor. No Shen, either. Leo crept towards a wall where the shadows of the above floor made the corners almost black- whenever the red magma wasn't casting red light on it.

Leo closed his eyes and tried to focus on detecting Shen. The barking and growling of the wolves, the hiss of the steam, and the acrid stench of burning metal made it hard for Leo to try and pinpoint the location of the white peacock. All the lion needed was a click of a talon, a whoosh of the tail feathers, or even the insane murmuring and mumbling from the bird. Shen was more than generous with his crazed ramblings to himself.