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Mk couldn't sleep. He lay stomach down on his bed, a pillow shoved around his head as he suppressed the pain groan that he let out.
This problem had been going on for a while, but it only really got bad tonight. MK at first thought he had just gotten something out of his ears, or that his hearing was just a bit better now that he was staying in his monkey form more often. But as they days went on, the sensitivity and hearing in his ears began to grow, he still couldn't really figure out what was happening.
But what he did know was that this pain was unbearable. As much as he tried to ignore it, the constant ache and pickup of his ears always dragged him back to it.
"Ughn.." MK groaned in pain again. He figured that if he couldn't sleep, he would at least seek someone out who might know what to do. He sat up, getting changed, then opening the window in his room and quietly climbing out. He summoned his staff, and went to flower fruit mountain.
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Macaque trained, striking his staff over and over again, going over moves and attacks.
Just as he sat down to take a small break, his ears twitched as he picked up on someone approaching.
"Ugh, come on.." He let out an annoyed sigh as he sat up, looking in the direction of the noise. There and behold, Monkey Kings successor appeared, looking pretty tired..and in pain?
"..Hey, kiddo. Miss me that much already?" Macaque spoke up, his sarcastic and witty tone filling the echoes of the open area.
Mk landed on the ground in front of Macaque, holding his ears as soon as he could. The echoes of the open space didn't help his case, his knees wavering in steadiness as he looked up to Macaque, who now held a more grim look. Once the echoing died down, MK spoke up.
"My ears..they really hurt. I-I don't know if it's just something that cleared out, or an infection, or a monkey thing- but I can't even think. Everything feels amplified by like, 100. I figured you might be able to help.." MK groaned again, a headache beginning to form as his ears throbbed once more.
Macaque stood still, his expression hardening. Not into something of annoyance, but more of understanding. He was thinking of what it could be, but he didn't want to assume anything yet.
"Kid..come on." He walked into his place, MK following suit.
Macaque sat MK down at the kitchen table, and moved to the kitchen, Quietly rummaging through his freezer and drawers.
When he returned, he held a pair of some sort of headphones, and 2 small ice packs.
"These," Macaque started, taking the headphones into his left hand, and flaunting them towards MK. "Are noise cancelling headphones. They won't block out everything, but they do the trick." He handed MK the headphones, then grabbed the icepacks, placing them infront of MK. "Those are small icepacks. Put one on each ear. It should help with the swelling and pain." Macaque watched as MK took turns placing the packs on each ear, sighing with relief as they soothed his pain.
"Hey.. Macaque? Thank you, by the way. For helping me."
" Y' Welcome. Hey, MK? Did this just start last night, or has this been happening? I know you said at first you thought It was an infection, or something- but how long ago was that, exactly..?" Macaque looked at the monkey boy, watching as MK's expression darkened softly.
"Well, uh..I guess a couple of days? Maybe a week, at most. I haven't told anyone, cause I didn't want them to worry."
"Then why come to me."
"Well, I thought you could help. I would have gone to Monkey King, but he's been busy, and I haven't been able to track him down properly. I just wanted to know what's wrong. Is it my monkey side of me? What if it's something I can't control, and it just takes over me- like I did before?" Mk began to slowly spiral, bringing himself down with worry.
Macaque had enough of watching this pity-party. "Alright kid, look at me. This probably does have something to do with your monkey form, but that doesn't mean you can't control it. You can't let that fear control you, or it'll swallow you whole. I can help you control this new..ability. If you want."
"But what even is this new ability?"
"..If it's like how mine is, probably a development in terms of hearing. Your hearing grows stronger. Probably not gonna be as strong as mine, but it'll be heightened. At first it's painful, trying to get used to all the sounds you've never heard at once. But once you get the hang of it, it will be a lot better. Like I said- I can help you."
Macaque watched as the kid seemed to think for a moment, before sighing and putting his head on the table softly. He let out a soft yawn of exhaustion.
"..Okay, kid. Here's the deal. You're gonna spend the rest of the night here, and head back in the morning. We can talk more then. Alright?"
Mk raised his head to look up at Macaque. Then he spoke. "Alright." And so, MK took the headphones, and went onto the couch, laying down. He put the headphones on, and relaxed immensely as the sounds that have been annoying him dulled. MK finally relaxed as he fell asleep on the couch.
Macaque had just gotten back from grabbing a blanket when he saw MK already asleep. "Geez, Kid. What are we gonna do with you.." Macaque pulled the blanket over MK softly, then got up off of the couch. He retreated behind the couch, and into his room.
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"Was that the kid?" Wukong exclaimed as Macaque entered the room.
"Yeah. He's developing a new ability. Hearing like mine. He's staying in his form longer, y'know."
"I'll talk to him. Not that staying in his form is bad- but I just wanna make sure he's transforming safely, and y'know, getting the hang of things-" Wukongs rant was cut short as a soft kiss was planted onto his lips by Macaque.
"We'll talk to him."
"Yeah."