The Lion and the Peacock

Alpha

When Alpha regained consciousness, he was lying on his stomach. He squinted open his eyes. Dust coated the inside of his nose and mouth. Darkness filled his vision and pain radiated from every inch of his body. Something pressed against his back, like a giant rock or wall. His ears rang. He tried to gasp for breath but it hurt. Everything hurt.

There were rocks and metal and wood in his mouth and fur and stuck in his pads. Alpha wanted to cry but his eyes were so dusty and dry. Was he dead? Surely being dead was not this painful.

The burly wolf recalled the final moments before the blast. Somebody had burst into the factory; claiming he knew the whereabouts of Leo Lung. Alpha did not see who it was, but he still had dispatched a militia of wolves to follow them to find Leo Lung. He himself would have gone, but he was too busy running around like an errand boy for Shen.

Then, several minutes later, the building simply..exploded. He did not know what caused it. Was it one of his own wolves that had simply made a terrible mistake? Was it Leo Lung or one of those Kung Fu masters? Alpha stifled a growl.

He had lost a lot to Kung Fu. After the Kung Fu Masters took over Gongmen Tower when Lord and Lady Peacock died, many of the palace workers were dismissed. Many advisers and workers were without work and some without homes. Alpha was lucky enough to have his brothers and sisters be employed under Shen, but Shen didn't exactly show his gratitude for the workers.

That peacock had him run all over the city and Alpha got next to nothing for it. Sure, Shen had employed Alpha's friends and family, but he treated them like disposable pawns. Alpha wanted to growl, but even the thought of using his voice hurt.

But when Alpha shifted underneath the rocks, he spotted a long, broken tail feather. The lighting was incredibly dark, and the feather- which would usually be stark white with red on the tip- looked grey and black. Was Shen dead?

The thought made Alpha feel multiple, conflicting emotions. His employer of twenty years, the one who gave him, his family, his friends a career in weapon-building, dead. Thousands of wolves put out of work. Surely they could work on a farm somewhere? Could they find another wannabe world-dominator and work under them, or was this a once in a lifetime job?

Alpha shook his head. He braced his arms beneath him. Was that a stone underneath him? A cannon? Or worse yet, one of his companions? Alpha grimaced at the thought. He could not feel any fur. That was a good sign. The wolf pushed his body upwards. A large stone shifted above him. Yes, he was strong enough. Alpha panted, but then winced his eyes closed. Even shallow, light breathing felt like sand being scraped against his throat.

{Come on.} Alpha willed himself. He braced himself again and pushed his back upwards. The stone fell backwards. Was that a light? Hope flooded the wolf. There was a light! He was saved!

Alpha tried whining, but it was incredibly quiet. Would anybody hear him? Alpha breathed as deep as he could and let out a quiet howl. The howl tapered off into a raspy cough. His ears strained. Maybe he could hear someone talking?

But Alpha heard nothing. He tried an even quieter, shorter howl. His hopes died with the whine. Nothing happened. Nobody heard him.

As the wolf lay there, he thought about his pack. Over a hundred wolves were in the factory. Sadness bubbled up inside him. Would he die here, like his packmates? Alpha thought about his family.

His father was a military adviser for Lord and Lady Peacock. His father had passed on all he knew to Alpha whenever the wolf pup wasn't either playing with Shen, who was only a little peachick, in the courtyard or he wasn't talking with Lord Peacock about military alliances. Alpha's family line, mostly the father or eldest son, held a place in the palace as the militaristic advisers. Alpha was destined to fight by Shen's side. In a perfect world, Shen's son and Alpha's son would have worked together, and so on.