Can't Teach an Old Monkey New Tricks

I is for I'm Trying

"...And he felt a mel-melan...ch-ch"

"Melancholy,"

"Melancholy! Geez, it's like they just pick and choose what rules they follow!" Wukong huffed, glancing up at Macaque, who was hanging from a branch above Wukong's head.

"You get used to the inconsistencies," Macaque shrugged the best he could while hanging upside down. He dropped from the branch, settling down beside Wukong with an amused grin. "I never thought you would be a stickler for the rules~"

"W-well! When you put so much importance on learning something, you should at least make it easy!"

"Kids learn this stuff, Wukong," Macaque teased, chuckling as Wukong's fur poofed up, "But seriously, doing anything in the human world requires a lot of reading. How do you have a lawyer?"

"I have very smart subjects," Wukong said, squinting at the book.

"The...the monkeys?"

"Yeah, why do you think they grab the newspaper every morning?" Wukong glanced at Macaque, "They like reading the ads,"

"...Huh,"

The rushed steps of familiar people came closer to the pair, two excitedly talking and one cursing out the other two. Wukong just tried to focus on his book. He was almost finished with it, besides having to stop every time he came across a word he didn't get (Macaque insisted he leave a mark every time it happened to practice later, helpful bastard). The story was a fairly simple version of one of the stories from his journey west, a bit higher level than what he had been reading. Apparently, this was the kind of book they assigned to ten-year-olds. A five-thousand-year-old barely reading at the level of a ten-year-old. Humiliating.

"Hurry up, Red! I wanna show him the cards I made for the punctuation rules!" MK gleefully shouted, dragging the flustered Bull Prince along, Mei pushing him from behind.

"Yeah! Get moving!"

"We will get there whether we walk or run!" Redson huffed, finally shaking off his two assailants, "You aren't saving time by rushing me!"

"They seem excited," Macaque said, scratching his ears. His voice made the group pause, each of them slowly turning to the pair. MK frowned, crossing his arms.

"Macaque," He spat.

"Kid," macaque nodded, that same slick grin gracing his face, "How's it going?"

"Wukong," MK turned to him, and gestured at Macaque, "Is he bothering you?"

"Like, good bother or bad bother?" Wukong asked.

"And what would you do if I was?" Macaque asked, Wukong having to stifle a laugh.

"I'd fight you," MK said, putting his hands up to prove it. "And then I'd fight you again,"

"Tch, he's so loyal!" Macaque laughed, nudging Wukong, "How do you always get people to follow you like that?"

"I have my ways," Wukong hummed, "I mean, it's how I got you the first time around, right?"

MK glanced between the two, brows furrowed. Redson and Mei awkwardly watched from a distance. Mei leaned over to Redson and whispered something to him, something that made him tilt his head with an appraising look. Macaque's ears fluttered and his fur ruffled slightly, obviously having heard what she said. Wukong raised a brow at him. 

"If you're not helping, you can go," MK said, glaring at Macaque. He gasped in offense.

"I'm helping!" He insisted, wrapping an arm around Wukong's shoulders, "I'm helping him read!"