This story is about the birth and development of the best friendship between Donghua Dijun and his little fox.
In my re-imagined story, I am attempting to give our beloved leads a genuine chance at love with their own thoughts, behaviors, and desir...
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When Dong Hua awoke from his nap, he could see that his little fox was not with him. He was surrounded by the same serene beauty that made it feel like time itself had stopped for them, but he felt a fluster erupt in his chest not knowing where she was. Rationally, he knew the grounds of the manor were more than safe, but what if something had happened to her?
He then spied the bowl of walnuts. They had been carefully placed so that he would not accidentally knock them over when he woke up, but was close enough in view so he'd know they were there. His little fox was always thoughtful.
He withdrew into his mind's eye to locate her essence. Within a moment he smiled when he could feel her spritely energy. Its nebulous shimmering pink aura was approaching him. She was seeking him out. Relieved, he closed his eyes and reclined back into the tree. He would wait for her.
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Within minutes she arrived under the tree standing next to a seemingly sleeping Dong Hua. She knelt down and rested her bottom on the back of her heels and soles of her feet. She often sat in this somewhat kneeling position around Dong Hua because it made her feel taller and more proportionate to him.
She was not someone who liked to wake people up while they were sleeping, because she didn't want that to be done to her. However, she was eager for them to continue the rest of their day. She rested her little palms on her thighs trying to think of how she could wake him up.
A mischievous little grin started to form on her lips. She took the feathery end of her long braid and raised it up to his face. No, better yet she thought, she'd use one of her tails. From behind her, nine plush white-tipped red fox tails emerged.
She took the end of one of her tails and started to use it like a brush, brushing the tip over the side of his face. He gave no reaction. She brushed it slowly on the space between his nose and lips. His nose wriggled slightly. She let out a small giggle, and quickly covered her mouth to stifle it. She lightly brushed the end of her tail over his nose and could see his eyelashes flutter slightly. Still disappointed he wasn't waking up, she continued brushing down lower, over his lips, down his chin, until she stroked a long line down the side of his neck and over his throat.
Before she could blink, his hand was wrapped firmly around her wrist that was holding her tail, which she promptly dropped. She gasped at the abrupt change in power dynamics. Dong Hua slowly opened his eyes and gazed at her with seemingly empty eyes.
When she came over, his eyes were still closed, but he could sense her small form sit close to him. Moments passed until he started to feel something soft and bewhiskered graze his face. It felt like the end of a calligraphy paintbrush that had never been used before. He could smell the faint scent of peach blossoms on the hairs of the brush. It was slowly being grazed over the different parts of his face, leaving a slightly tingly sensation on his skin.
From out of nowhere the slightest sense of vague insistence started to build up in his breath. It wasn't until this brush was grazing down the side of his neck and finally down his throat, to the edge of his collarbone that his mind screamed back to him.
What is she doing to me!!?
It felt pleasurable and agonizing all at the same time. He felt a hot, burning, unbearable sense of urgency building up within his chest. He wanted to submit and yield but something charged forth, as if his sanity was coming back with a vengeance, bringing his sword, Cang He, back with it. It slashed through his trance and seized the culprit. He opened his eyes to see her big surprised eyes looking back at him, her mouth slightly open, her lips trembling.
He slowly let go of her wrist, feeling that his grip had been tighter than necessary. Seeing the rapid rise and fall of her chest, he could feel her heart was beating faster than what her little body could handle. He gently placed the tip of his finger onto the peach blossom pendant hanging around her neck. It released a calming sensation into her chest.
He searched her face again, resting at the sight of her beautiful red phoenix flower birthmark. He gazed back into her eyes where he could see a slight release of tension. It was then when he saw her nine tails undulating behind her, her nine beautiful fox tails. He hadn't seen them since she had changed into her fox form that night in the abandoned house.
Seeing that Dong Hua had noticed her fox tails, she quickly made them disappear into her aura. She blushed and scooted back further from him.
It pained him to see her react like this.
His voice was deep and calm but his pace was hesitant.
"Your fox form... is tolerable to me... no need to hide." He looked away from her as he said this. It was a half-truth. What he really wanted to say was that her fox form was eternally adorable and exquisite.
Her posture seemed to relax more. Within a few moments she moved in closer and sat next to him. She leaned back onto the tree and sat with her knees up in front of her. She still didn't say anything. He was glad she moved closer. Dong Hua wanted to desperately make this moment better for them but didn't know what to do. He rarely cared enough about another person to bother making anything better.
Putting forth effort into interpersonal interactions was not his strength. He watched as she reached over and brought a few strands of his long white hair into her hands and began playing with them. He didn't know if she did this absent-mindedly or intentionally. He would let her pull out all of his hair that very moment if it would make her feel better.
She started braiding some of the sections of his beautiful white hair she had collected in her fingers.
I can't do anything right with him.
She felt like she was always doing the wrong things that made him uncomfortable. She was always up in his personal space and she could never seem to remember that Dong Hua Dijun was someone who didn't really like other people.
But somehow, she held this small hope that maybe she was different from the rest. He had let her stick around and even assist him. He made sure she was warm and fed. Those were important needs that foxes had and he willingly provided those for her. But somehow they always came back to these weird moments where she felt the need to apologize to him. She would always apologize if she knew it'd make him feel better, but she never knew what he was feeling.
Then out of nowhere, a piece of roasted sweet potato appeared in front of her face. He held it in his slender fingers up, inches from her mouth. It was warm, her face could feel the slight heat radiating. She turned and look up at him.
"Peace offering?" His face looked completely indifferent but his voice was hopeful. "It's not too hot, I blew on it."
She opened her mouth and he gently deposited it, brushing his forefinger against her bottom lip in the process. As she chewed on it she noticed the piece of roasted sweet potato had the hint of kumquat sauce on it, and was the perfect size for her little mouth.
As he watched her accept his peace offering, he flashed on the memory of that first night of them sitting on the bed in the abandoned house. He had covertly thought to accept her as a sort of teacher, then. He resolved that he would learn from her. If he had been the unifier of worlds, for the Eight Realms and Four Seas, she was the unifier of them, for them. She had always made things better. If they were adrift, even in a storm, she had always brought their boat back to shore.
