Peony

**Peony** **(Prosperhill)** - is a female giant panda and the adoptive mother of Rain.

## History

### Early Life

Peony grew up in the Southern Forest. Peony was a close friend with Orchid Risingtree and she was known to be quite popular among her neighbors. Peony was not known to be a trouble maker and as such rarely got in any trouble even as a cub. Following the Great Flood, Peony reunites with Orchid Risingtree who had just given birth. Orchid explains that she was forced to give birth to her cubs alone as Root was knocked into the flooded river by a hostile group of monkeys. Since Peony was a close friend of hers, Orchid entrusted Peony with her daughter, telling Peony that both her daughters were in danger. However, Orchid didn't tell Peony about her son or why the triplets were in danger.
### *Creatures of the Flood*

Following Rain's fight with Blossom, Peony demands Rain that she apologize to the latter for disrespecting her. Unsurprisingly, Rain refuses to due so, as Blossom started the fight, and never respected Rain. Peony reminds her daughter that Blossom is not use to living in a group since she was born prior to the flood. Rain argues that Blossom had the former's lifetime to get use to their new lifestyle, while Peony reminds Rain that she had a lifetime to get use to Blossom, before leaving Rain and Pebble to do their chores. Although Peony did not admit it, Rain could tell that she won the argument. At the river, Rain thinks about how Peony told her what life was like prior to the flood.
Following the return of Sunset Deepwood, Peony rejoices and tells Rain that things will return to normal now that the Dragon-Speaker is back, before Pebble reminds the duo that the deaths of his mother and elder brother (Both of whom perished during the great flood) are irreversible. When the Prosperhill pandas tell Sunset about their personal experiences with the flood, Peony claims that she had a mate who perished in the flood. Afterwards, she climbed a tree to escape the flood where she supposedly bore Rain. When Rain learns that Pebble and Blossom found a younger cub named Maple, She leaves to meet the new arrival. There, Peony is among the few adult pandas looking after an unconscious Maple. Peony is disappointed that Rain left the scouting mission early. When Sunset delivers a fake prophecy to the Prosperhill pandas, Peony is seen listening to Sunset with Maple perched on top of her. Peony, along with everyone else, excluding Rain, is oblivious to Sunset's deception. After Rain survives Sunset's attempt on her life, she meets Leaf who acknowledges Rain as her long-lost sister and later reveals that Orchid is their mother, rather than Peony. However Rain is skeptical that Orchid is her mother, as it contradicted what Peony had told her about her background.
### *River of Secrets*

When climbing Dragon Mountain, Leaf thinks about how Peony took her sister in as her own daughter but never told Rain that she was adopted. Rain tells Plum, Leaf and Dasher how Sunset is fooling everyone back at the Prosperhill including Peony.
Back at the Prosperhill Pebble explains to Ghost that Rain had "drowned" when she supposedly tried to cross the river. After Rain parts ways with Leaf and co. she returns to the Prosperhill and reunites with her mother. There Rain reveals the true reason for her disappearance along with the following events. There Peony confesses that Rain is in fact adopted. But Peony tells Rain that she wasn't lying about everything. Peony reveals that Root was Rain's father and that he did in fact die in the flood. But acknowledges that it was Orchid not Peony who was expecting Roots cubs. Peony also states that a troop of monkeys also played a role in Root's demise forcing Orchid to give birth alone. Rain reveals that Orchid wasn't alone when she bore her and her littermates because even though Root had perished by then, Shadowhunter arrived and told Orchid about her and her siblings future roles as Dragon Speakers. Peony states that while she had no knowledge of Orchid's third cub nor her litter's role as Dragon Speakers she understands why Orchid kept these details a secret.
Together, the pair confront Sunset and try to sway the other Prosperhills to their side, but Sunset discredits the pair and sends Brawnshanks troop after the pair.
### *Journey to the Dragon Mountain*

A few days have past since Sunset had imprisoned Peony and Rain. Peony remains hopeful that Rain will find some way to help them escape. Ghost who’d been assigned as a prisoner guard, attempts to inform the pair that he secretly on their side despite his portrayal is Sunset’s lackey. Ghost attempts to offer Peony and Rain food but is interrupted by Sunset and the monkeys.
## Personality

Peony cares very deeply for Rain, despite the latter not being her biological daughter. However, Peony never told Rain that she was adopted. Occasionally, Peony is frustrated by Rain's hot-temperedness, and believes that she should try harder to get along with others, particularly Blossom. However, Peony realized that Rain had a point when she reminded her that Blossom was an imperious individual, though Peony did not admit this. Like the rest of the Prosperhills, minus Rain, Peony failed to notice anything wrong with Sunset Deepwood, even after witnessing behavior that should have raised some red flags within the Prosperhill. However, Peony accepts that Sunset is indeed a fraud after Rain returns alive and well, disproving Sunset's claim that Rain drowned.
After Rain tells Peony about her encounter with Leaf and Plum, Peony realizes that the time has come to tell Rain the truth about her heritage. So Peony reveals that Plum and Leaf are in fact Rain's relatives even though neither of them are related to her.
After she and Rain are imprisoned by Sunset, Peony does her best to remain optimistic, as she is confident that Rain will somehow figure out how to escape.