The Wolf and the Chameleon

The Prologue

Meili hated her skin. Prickly and rough in some places, smooth and soft in others. Well, as soft as color-changing scales could be anyway. Her mother doted in the background while Meili was perched in front of her mirror:

"Meili! You will surely get sick if you stare in that mirror any longer." Mother tutted, gathering her purse. The teenager rolled her eyes and leaned in, inspecting a rough patch of scales near her bottom lip. Mother grabbed her ruby brooch and fastened it to her collar. "Now come along, we must be going."

Mother draped Meili in a nice shawl- as nice as their family could afford- and beckoned her daughter to the door, where Father was waiting. Today, Meili and her family will be traveling to Shang Hai to visit family for several days. Meili herself was excited: she could finally see her cousins!

Before Meili could even leave the house, her mother stopped her. "Where is your bracelet, young lady?" Mother held Meili's bare wrist out.

With another exasperated eye roll, the teenage chameleon dashed back to her room, grabbed her ruby bracelet, and ran back to her parents, waving the bracelet triumphantly.

"We must keep our rubies on us at all times," Father lectured. "You know how thieves run in Juniper." He hissed under his breath. "We must never leave them unattended in the house." His claws ran over his deep red ring.

Thieves and criminals indeed. Meili was forbidden to leave the house after sundown and was instructed never to show money in public, never look lost or nervous, never make prolonged eye contact, and never go into shady parts of the market. {All these rules,} Meili quietly thought as they walked through town.

But after 10 minutes of walking, Meili learned why those rules were in place. As the trio rounded a corner- just a stone's throw away from the docks that had the boat that would take them to Shang Hai- a large, marbled cat turned to block their way. The cat wore a hood and had glowing golden eyes.

Meili and her parents stopped in their tracks, with Mother shielding Meili behind her, one hand holding her daughter while the other covered her ruby brooch. Meili gasped, instinctively hiding her ruby bracelet underneath her shawl.

"Come on now, folks. Won't ya help me out of a tough spot?" He held his greasy claws out expectantly. He blocked the way with his wide frame, and his muzzle was crinkled in a nasty smile.

Father, using his hand which didn't have his ruby ring on, handed the cat a mix of gold and silver coins, to Meili's confusion and horror. The cat, satisfied, chuckled and snuck away.

Her parents, quiet, quickly hustled to the docks where the boat was waiting. When the boarded, Meili finally spoke: "We could've taken him. We outnumbered that crook 3 to 1."

Father, looking tired, answered in a hushed voice, "Meili, look at us. We are chameleons. We never would've stood a chance. If we were trained in Kung Fu, perhaps. But it just isn't meant to be."

Mother gently side-hugged Meili, "It'll be ok. We still have each other, and our rubies."

But Meili shook her head, "Then let me train in Kung Fu. I can learn to protect us so we don't have to face crooks like that anymore."

The next few weeks Meili wore her parents down enough to enroll her in Gongmen City's training hall, just recently established after the exile of Lord Shen and the creation of the Master's Council in his place.

Meili was bursting with excitement as her parents prepped to send her off. She could finally learn to protect her parents! Wearing her nice shawl and ruby bracelet, and equipped with a pack of traveling gear, Meili set off one bright autumn morning. Her parents stood on the doorstep, waving farewell as it would be several weeks until they saw her again.