One Tail at a Time

The Past - 2

Theres soft voices making it into my consciousness, but they're faint, so I don't hear what they're saying, but I do feel groggy.  I must have had far more to drink than I realize, because I feel weightless, yet heavy at the same time which is what a strong wine will do to me if I have too much.  Though the moment I try to open my eyes, then the light blinds my vision so I clamp them shut tightly.  I think Im groaning, I cant tell, because my throat is vibrating yet I can barely discern sound.

"Xiaobai......" a voice is whispering into my head and making it hurt.

"Zhe Yan do something......" another voice says tearfully, I can hear the fear in their tone, but I feel nothing.  Nothing at all.

"Zhen Zhen, help me carry her into the hut....." another voice says just as panicked as the other voices that are now voicing their concerns, but I really dont understand why, not when Im fine where I am.  

Its warm here, its quiet and safe and nothing is bothering me so long as they stop talking and just leave me alone.  Only my head spins violently as my body is forcefully picked up.  I have never known such pain, its tremendous and terrifying, that for a moment, I think I'm going to die.

"Take her to Kunlun Mountain, the energy is higher there." that soft voice again rises in tone, only Im too hurt to recognize it.

Other voices begin to speak over the top of each other, and its confusing me, because I want to know what they're saying, but I also want to be left alone.  And suddenly something warm begins to fill my belly.  It spreads deep within me, surging its way through my veins and into my heart.  I can actually hear it sizzling in my ears, bouncing off my bones and curling around every atom I possess.  Its such a strange feeling, but it feels safe, warm..... tender as different arms hold me.  Arms I know so well and with it comes a heartbeat.... familiar, kind and gentle, yet still, I try hard to recognize its owner, but everything is going dark again.

___

The voices are no longer there, but I can hear footsteps come and go and with them is a dull aching pain in my stomach and head, yet I see nothing at all, not even the flicker of a candle behind my lids.  I recognize the scent of this place though, I am on Kunlun Mountain and I can smell Shifus fragrance.  It is not heady or even obvious, but its there, like a thin wisp of aromatic spice that lingers well after he has gone.

But he's not gone, because I can also hear his heartbeat which confuses me, because I have never heard a non foxes heartbeat when they are not near.  Well, actually I can, if I strain hard enough to listen, but Im not straining, so that means that whatever happened to me,  has increased my hearing which I find amazing, even in this world of limbo that still feels weightless and timeless.

"Shifu.  Her medicine......" Shanhus soft voice comes to me now which I immediately recognize.  He has one of those voices that is very distinct.  Its deep and resonant yet theres a slight twang to it, like the prolonged vibration of a zither string that rises and falls gently and makes te heart cry.

"Medicine?" I whisper through a scratchy and dry throat that feels as if its on fire.  But surprisingly, it also feels like my fox voice and it is then that I realize why my hearing is so accute, because I am in fox form.

"Xiaobai....?" Shanhus voice again gasps close to my face before a soft pat to my downy hair sends a shockwave of pain through my head and making me cry out.

"Careful!  Her head was injured, she cannot tolerate any physical contact!" Shifus harsh voice berates him sharply as I cry which only makes the pain worse and Shifus heartbeat to accelerate.  He's worried about me, I can feel it, which only makes me feel worse, my poor Shifu.