Chapter Text
I’m going to die.
I should’ve known that’s how this would end. Sweet Buddha, I'm so stupid.
I should’ve stayed on the mountain and waited. That's what I’ve always done, but noooo. I just had to try and find the sun and -as expected- I got burned.
My head hurts.. My clothes are stained with my own blood. I wonder if I got any on him. Would he be angry about it? Angry that his lowly shadow stained his new garbs? Is that all I was to him?
My heartbeat’s slowing down. I’ll be a rotting corpse by sundown. At least I’ll die in a nice forest.
I’m going to die..
Right after he snatched his staff out of my skull, my fight or flight must’ve kicked in and my magic activated and portaled me away. The last thing I saw was his rage filled glare and that damned golden circlet. I don’t know how far away from him I got but I couldn’t hear him or his new friends nearby.
That’s probably for the best. God knows if he came across me again on his precious journey he’d finish the job and take my other eye. Lucky for me I’ll already be dead by the time comes.
I’m going to die…
I hope the monkeys will be ok. I told them I’d be back. I don’t want them to be alone for Buddha knows how long. Maybe they’ll be ok. The lieutenants will take care of the young ones and the harvests. They’ll make sure everyone is ok. Maybe if I stretched my hearing far enough I could hear the peaceful sounds of the mountain -my first and last home- in my last moments.
I strained my ears and tried to stretch my hearing as far as I could. I managed to hear a few quiet chirps and coos from the babies until it was overwhelmed by footsteps nearby. They didn’t sound far. Someone’s coming. Maybe it’ll be someone nice. Maybe they'll be kind and bury me.
The footsteps got a bit closer and I managed to look up a bit to see who it was. Oh. It’s a deer. That makes more sense. It was a nice looking dear. My vision was already extremely blurry and I couldn’t really comprehend what was going on around me. I didn’t really notice that it got close to me until its snout was right in my face.
I always liked deers. They were usually calm and they were pretty. Some of them had interesting antler shapes. I couldn’t see this one because my vision was practically nonexistent. I think it laid next to me and put its head on my thigh.
I’m dying…
I used the last of my remaining strength to put my hand on its head. A small smile appeared on my face. At least I’ll die with my favorite animal next to me. A few moments passed and my eyes closed and my breathing stopped. My heart slowly came to a pause and then stopped completely.
I don’t want to die.
………
It was pretty early when a group of birds came to me about a group of men foraging through the forest.
I was growing white lilies around a group of statues near what I assume was a village. It was a group of children. They were sleeping in a pile, huddling close to each other for warmth. How sad. I hope they enjoy white lilies. I’m not the biggest fan of them myself but it seemed appropriate. White lilies represent purity, innocence, and new beginnings. I’m not sure how I know that but I’m glad I do. Flower language seemed to be something that was engraved in my head when I woke up in the forest that day. Though it does come in handy so I’m not complaining.
I was just finished with growing the last one when a white crow came, cawing at me. They said a group was nearing close to the edge of the forest. Four men and a horse. I wasn’t that worried. People venture close to the forest’s edge quite often and when they do they’re usually quick to leave. I’m sure this group won’t be different.
But a part of me felt the need to check. Just in case. Only to make sure they weren’t a threat to the animals of course. There have been many over the years that hurt the animals. I take care of them quickly but I don’t like having to. Why can’t people simply be nice to them? They’re such poor, innocent creatures and they’re adorable. None of them ever mean any harm and when they do attack it’s for defense or out of fear. If you're scaring the animals you clearly have bad intentions.
I didn’t have to venture far, it seemed. By the time the group was in earshot they were already in the forest. Then again, my earshot is quite far. I can hear everything within the forest’s domain. And the forest has taken over grown past many villages and towns.
I heard their voices long before I saw them. One was complaining about how they were going to get through the forest. To which another voice, calm but wary, said that it shouldn’t take long. And he was right. It shouldn’t take long. It only takes me a day or two to reach the other end on foot. And if they have a horse, surely they’ll reach the other side by sun down. Then another voice, enthusiastic and very cocky, proclaimed that they’d make it through the forest because he was the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.
The Great Sage…
Where have I heard that before? Was it one of the animals that spoke that name to me? It sounds oddly familiar. I know him don’t I? I must've heard someone speak the title at some point.
I kept walking to the location of the group of voices. They were in an open clearing. The trees were separated to where they were surrounding it in a circle. In the center was another celestial corpse a cherry blossom tree. I crept towards a tree leading to the clearing and leaned against it so I was able to get a good look at them. There were five of them now. A human, a pig demon, a water demon, what I believe was a dragon, and another monkey demon.
Odd. I’d never seen a monkey demon before. Sure I’d come across monkey troops looking for shelter, which I happily obliged them with, but never one that was truly sentient. I hope he and his companions don't mean any harm.
I hate having to send my terrors after people.
I stood there for a few moments. This group didn’t seem dangerous. At least not to me. I don’t believe the animals fear them either. I haven’t heard any distressed or fearful heartbeats near the area, so these people must not be threats to my forest.
I let out a small breath of relief and started to turn to leave. I stood straight once again and right as my hand was about to leave the tree’s rough surface, a voice, an angry voice, spoke out.
“It’s best you show yourself now, demon! And get your kidnapping attempt over with so we can get out of this unsightly forest faster!”
…
Unsightly… forest..? Demon?
Is… is he talking to me? That voice sounded angry. Run. I turned to face the clearing again and the entire group was staring at me. Run. All except the monkey demon flinched when I looked at them and the monkey was holding a red and gold staff, pointing it in my direction. Ah. So they thought I was a demon.
To be completely honest, that might be a possibility. I was never sure. For the longest while I’ve simply been assuming I was a monkey demon of some sort. I had the fur, the tail, and the mask, so it made sense. I was skeptical about the idea at first because of my six ears, but then I learned of magic and its capabilities and my doubts lessened. Demon didn’t seem like the proper term but I supposed it was fine until I figured out for sure what I am.
I was unsure of what to do. I didn’t wish to harm them. I merely wanted to make sure they weren’t a threat to my the animals. I swallowed and my shoulders tensed. They clearly believe me to be a threat. And despite their defensive stances, I could hear their heartbeats quickening and could see how tense they were.
What do I do?
If I showed myself they would believe I’m a true demon who wants to fight. And a fight would damage the area. But if I run they might make chase and that would disturb the animals. Maybe…
This is a group of mostly demons. It’s possible they won’t be frightened, but… Every person I’ve come across ran away in fear. I never understood why. I’m not scary. Though if they run… we won’t have to fight and I won’t need to chase them. That’s it! I simply scare them off like the rest!
I took a step forward and the group tensed and inched back. It was working. I had to duck under a branch so I could keep moving forward. The monkey growled at me. I flinched. My fur stood on end and my tail started curling in on itself.
I froze.
Why on Earth did I freeze? I wasn’t truly scared of this stranger, was I? But something just… I wasn’t sure. I felt like a child being caught with a broken vase. I debated whether or not I should continue. I was starting to get annoyed.
Why couldn’t they just run like everyone else?! I started to miss hearing quick, unsteady footsteps of terrified people fading away in the distance. I took a step back and slowly started to stand back to my full height. I knew I was tall. Most people looked like children compared to me. These people were no different. About the same height as everyone else. I never minded my size. It gave the animals more room to perch and sit on me. I loved the company on quiet morning strolls.
I side stepped around the branch and into the light. The group tensed more at the sight of me but made no move to run or scream in fear. The monkey seemed to only become more agitated.
“Oh. It’s just you. I thought I told you to stay away, Macaque.”
He spit the name out like venom. Like he despised whoever this Macaque was. I glanced to my left side, then turned my head to my right. There was no one else around and I hadn’t heard any other heartbeats nearby. So if there was no one else here…
Who on Earth is Macaque?
………