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“Greg, please, baby…”
“Rodya. Don’t you dare say those cursed four words in this van.”
“But, they’re all I can think about… we’ve been going around this mountain forever…”
“You’re older, you should know better! I swear, Sinclair is the only one is the only one who hasn’t said-“
“Are we thereeeee yet, Greg, hon~”
Gregor had to resist the urge to slam his head into the steering wheel as Rodya’s sweet as honey voice said the four words every car driver for a road trip dreads.
Are. We. There. Yet.
He had been keeping a mental count of the times each inhabitant of this car had said it, truthfully. Sinclair, none. Don Quixote, at least five times. Hong Lu was tied with him for that. Ryoshu, counting the times whenever she piped up and asked ‘AWTY’, had only three times under her belt.
Rodya, his beloved, engaged, loving girlfriend, had said it about ten times.
Instead of dignifying her with an answer, Gregor attempted to prod the other riders in the car for distractions.
“How are you guys hanging in there?” He asked, trying to act as casually as he could- complete with even idle tapping of the wheel.
Sinclair’s polite “I-I’m fine, Mr. Gregor,” and Don Quixote’s boisterous “I AM FINE AS WELL!!!!” confirmed the positive status of the two blondes in the back. Good, she wasn’t giving Sinclair too much of a headache. Better than having Ryoshu bully Sinclair in the back, or Hong Lu feed into Don Quixote’s antics…
Speaking of the two in the middle-
Hong Lu clapped his hands together, beaming.
“I, for one, am enjoying myself-“
“Too quiet. Someone start saying something interesting or I’ll BLOW.”
Sinclair’s frantic whispers of “please don’t do that” indicated that BLOW did not mean anything good to Gregor.
“Interesting, huh… well, back in camp,”
“I don’t mean any of your stories from the barracks. Or the CHICK’s stories of home- or the other one’s stories about power rangers.”
“You must respect them with proper names, I must insist!!”
Rodya smirked and turned back to face Ryoshu, pointing at herself.
“Would one of my awesome gambling exploits count as a good enough story~?”
Ryoshu scoffed.
“Not a chance.”
She threw a look over at Hong Lu, who was gazing out the window at the mountain side longingly. Upon realizing he was being addressed, he merely gave a serene smile to the awaiting audience.
“I’m flattered, really~ what kind of story should I come up with when I’m put on the spot…”
“One about heroes, I do beg of thee!”
“What a fun prompt! Let me think-“
“Don’t listen to him. Give us something real,” Ryoshu cut off before Hong Lu could even start, glaring at Don Quixote to shut her up before she could start again. From in front of them, Rodya twirled a lock of hair around her finger.
“Say, Hongy~ You said you had past experience with this mountain, right? You must have a fun story behind that, I’m sure! Call it a gambler’s instinct!”
“…can that even be applied here…?” Sinclair wondered out loud from behind all of them.
Hong Lu drummed his fingers on his lap, gaze somehow never breaking from the scenery outside the window.
“Hm… Gregor, how much longer are we going to be on the road before we meet up with Meursault, Ishmael, and Faust at the campsite?”
“Ah… maybe just a little over half an hour, give or take.”
“Alright! I believe that is adequate time for my story, then.”
“Ooh, so we are getting it after all!”
Hong Lu smiled, but it was not like his usual smiles- it carried nostalgia, rather than amusement or joy towards the current moment.
It was as if he was taking a glimpse into the past right there before them.
Gregor reached over and turned the radio off, silently signaling for Hong Lu to begin his tail.
Giving a nod in thanks, Hong Lu took the cue, and began narrating.
**
This mountain served as the backdrop for one of the few times where I was able to run free as a child. My parents had come here to meet with some family friends, and my siblings didn’t want anything to do with me if they could help it, so you can imagine just how much fun I had~
No maids to dress me, no siblings to call me away for dinner, and no parents to inspect my eyes before I went to bed every night…
Why, it felt like I was a pioneer, carving my own place in the world! But, I digress.
My story is not about those menial days~ nay, it is about the exceptional day that made all days afterwards pale in comparison.
One night, I had decided to go further in the forest than I had dared to go before. I couldn’t tell you why I had decided to do that on that night specifically- childhood impulsivity, maybe~
Little did I know, the forecast called for heavy, thundering rain that entire night.
However, even if I had known that, I feel I would’ve gone out no matter what.
What happened next was what made this trip unforgettable in the first place.
The feeling of the chill of the cool air and the moon’s light being the only thing to guide me, almost lost in the sea of green and brown,
Was a fox, looking at me from where it was perched on a rock.
This fox had no luxurious coat, no. It did not have a vibrant one either.
Rather, the thing that stood out to me most were its eyes- how they seemed to pierce through me.
And, evidently, how it seemed to realize I was lost, and would soon be without shelter in the coming storm.
It hopped off the rock and began to trot away, but not before sending a look back towards my direction, beckoning me to follow it.
Hehe, what a thing out of fantasy, right? But, that is how it truly went.
Every twig it hopped over, I did as well. Every branch it ducked under, I did as well. Every bush it ran through, I did as well no matter how many cuts and scrapes I got.
In a way, I felt truly alive in that moment- those moments, I should say, hm? It felt that fox and I were linked, and it was there for me like no one else was.
We eventually ended up in a cave, right as the storm hit. I sat there as I heard the roar of the thunder, the fox curled up next to me.
I noticed it had injured its tail- perhaps a particularly thorny bush swiped it and in its pursuit to find us shelter, it ignored it?
What a selfless creature, I thought.
I took the ribbon out of my hair and tied it around the cut, stroking the fox’s head. It responded with a positive yip, as if thanking me.
At that moment, I couldn’t hold myself back.
I scooped the fox into my arms and hugged it close, the raindrops outside not unlike the tears that would run down my face at another day of being scorned for being alive from my brother.
I think the fox may have nuzzled me back in its own way of returning the hug, but I was quickly dozing off before I knew it.
When I awoke, the forest rangers my parents had sent out to find me discovered the cave, and the fox hid in the darkness while they were talking to me.
I didn’t tell them about my adventure- no, my parents would surely disapprove, and my siblings would further scold me. The forest rangers took my lies about getting lost at face value and turned, obviously expecting the scared, traumatized child to immediately bolt after their trail.
However, before I left, I turned in the direction of the fox that I knew was cowering in the cave and held my hand out.
The fox creeped out, inch by inch, and placed its paw in mind.
Smiling, I gently shook it, and promised to return someday.
The fox gently yipped.
I like to think that it had said ‘you better’.
**
The van was dead silent when Hong Lu finished his story, tone still cheery even at the sobering end.
Rodya could’ve sworn she could hear Sinclair sniffling in the back.
“Oh my~ was that too sad?”
“…maybe just a little for the kids, you know, Hongy~? I was thinking it would be a simple story like ‘I lost my shorts in the lake’, something like that~”
“T. J.” Ryoshu muttered.
Hong Lu laughed, clapping his hands together.
“Well, I thought it was fun! And look, it did pass the time~ I can see Meursault and Ishmael waving at us! Poor Faust, probably the last one to arrive…”
Gregor swiftly parked the van and shooed everyone out, opening the trunk to move all their belongings out.
“Ah, the sweet fresh air…! Such a commodity, I would’ve thought I would never experience such a thing again…!” Don Quixote bellowed, stretching her limbs after the long car ride.
“You could’ve just… opened the window, you know?” Sinclair said, coming up from behind him before Gregor could start yelling at the kids to come help their ‘old man’ with setting the tents up.
Don Quixote wagged her finger at that, shaking his head.
“I could not do such a thing, Sinclair! After all, my beloved Purple Tear hat could’ve blown off in the wind-“
“Like it is doing now,” Meursault monotonically commented, pointing at the hat that was formerly perched on Don Quixote’s head now in the air, drifting away into the forest.
The terror on her face was evident.
“MINE HELMET!!!” She yelled, running off into the woods.
“Allow me to aid you!” Hong Lu, of all people, cheerfully said, dashing off after her.
Sinclair tugged on Ryoshu’s sleeve, pointing at where the two of them disappeared into.
“Shouldn’t we go after them?!”
“Eh. LTB. They have phones.”
“That won’t help them survive an animal attack…!”
“Sinclair! Come here and help me set up the tents! I can grill quicker that way!”
“…Yes, Mr. Gregor… I hope they’re okay…”
**
So, it turns out, chasing after a track star was harder than Hong Lu anticipated~
“I believe it went this way!” Don Quixote called out, jumping over fallen branches and weaving between trees as if it was second nature for him. Which, considering he did hurdles on the track, it probably was.
Hong Lu can see a bit of himself in her as they pursue the runaway hat. Bounding over without a care in the world- ah, how the times fly~
He wonders if that fox truly is still here, waiting for him to return.
Well, there’s no time to think about that now as he hears Don Quixote let out a high pitched scream from further ahead of him.
He quickly rushes over, and the sight is truly one to behold.
A wide eyed, tall man with tousled brown hair has Don Quixote’s tacky Purple Tear hat upon his locks, accompanied by a shorter, black haired man who’s still affixing it onto his head, unperturbed by the disturbance.
Now, finding two other people in the woods is already weird enough.
What’s even weirder is the fox ears and fox tails the both of them possess.
Oh, and also the raincoats despite there being no rain, but the fox features most of all.
Hong Lu opens his mouth to say something, perhaps some diplomacy, but the words escape him as the black haired man turns to face him and Don Quixote.
Once again, he is greeted by those piercing eyes. Those he hadn’t felt since all those years ago.
He has to hold Don Quixote back by the scruff to prevent her from lunging at the man wearing her hat.
“That… that dastardly man!! He is in possession of my hat!! Stolen goods, I must rightfully reclaim!!”
The accused man is quick to fire back, growling in response.
“Stolen?! It was just left here, it was a free game, and Yi Sang just wanted to see how it looked! You humans are too bloody confident in yourselves, I oughta-“
“Heathcliff.”
Like a neutered puppy, the man snaps to attention.
“Yeah?”
“Please… allow me to catch up with that man over there for a while.”
“… and stay with that pipsqueak?”
“Just for a moment.”
The man, apparently ‘Heathcliff’ lets out a grievous groan, but backs off and takes the hat off his head. He waves it in front of Don Quixote’s face.
“This way, ya punk.”
She breaks out of Hong Lu’s grasp and pounces for the hat, being successfully led away by ‘Heathcliff’ in increments, leaving Hong Lu and ‘Yi Sang’ alone in the forest.
The fox earred man regards him warily, as if trying to withdraw within himself.
Being so on edge, Hong Lu has to ease his nerves! Something to keep the atmosphere calm, give him reason to relax-
“…Is it really you?”
Oops, that slipped out.
Yi Sang blinks at him, processing the question. With a tense breath, he nods, and rolls up the sleeve of his raincoat.
Tied around his wrist, is the blue ribbon- ratty and aged, yes, but undeniable proof that he was the other party in the cave on that stormy night.
Hong Lu fights back the lump in his throat. Yi Sang draws closer, the grass crunching underneath his boots.
When he speaks, his voice sounds steady, but unsure.
“I spent the rest of our time after parting ways to create this form. I ran into… many an obstacle. Some of them my own skills. Some of them outside forces. But I… come to greet you now. As… Yi Sang.”
Hong Lu tilts his head at him.
“You… You felt the need to go that far? But I was fine with you as a fox… you were the biggest comfort I had ever had, just like that.”
Yi Sang shakes his head and takes a deep breath in.
“I, however, was not content with that.”
“Why?”
Wordlessly, Yi Sang reached out and took one of Hong Lu’s hands.
“Because, I knew in that moment, I could’ve comforted you if I had merely done something like this.”
He laced their fingers together, giving Hong Lu’s hand a tight squeeze.
It had an immediate reaction, making Hong Lu fight the tears threatening to run down his cheeks.
“I had to perfect it. Was the reunion… ideal?”
Hong Lu nodded, not trusting his voice to not break if he were to respond vocally.
Yi Sang cracks a smile, his other, clawed hand coming to tuck Hong Lu’s bangs out of his face.
“I am so very glad to see you again.”
“…me too.”
**
(With enough begging and pleading, Hong Lu managed to drag Yi Sang back to the campsite; along with Heathcliff- with Don Quixote surprisingly pleading in his favor- and the two’s elder, a fox named Outis.
The three of them were swiftly put to work setting up the tents, and very quickly received tent assignments- of course Hong Lu was the first to volunteer to take Yi Sang in.
No ulterior motives at all.
After all was said and organized, Meursault set up the campfire, with Ryoshu watching with intrigue as Outis cut firewood like it was nothing. Ishmael was arguing with Heathcliff about having him eat chocolate, citing his fox features as an ‘obvious reason why he shouldn’t’, with Don Quixote very quickly calling dibs on a log to sit for the three of them.
Hong Lu sat down next to Yi Sang, who was currently being observed by Faust thoroughly. Yi Sang regarded him with curiosity as Hong Lu snuggled up on his arm, purring happily.
The fire crackled pleasantly as Don Quixote began to excitedly retell a ghost tale, fully animated and all.
Hong Lu tried not to jolt up as he felt Yi Sang lean down to whisper in his ear.
‘Welcome back.’
His heart thrummed happily in his rib cage at that, and he snuggled closer to Yi Sang, his tail wrapping around him without a second thought.)