Deep Violet

A Helping Hand

Burning, Tao felt like his whole body was on fire, his lungs didn't work, and everything he did would cause pain, was he dead? Was this what was destined for him? A painful pit of despair and suffering? “..C’mon kid, breath!-..” A voice? A deep one at that, his eye was parted open and he could see the sun, the sun burned him, it was too hot and he was still wet; the water on his fur dripping onto the deck of the boat he was brought aboard it felt like it was only weighing him down, he swore he was done for as his eyes closed again. “They aren't waking up! Should we call Mk?” “No, here just hold them up.” A simian with fur a similar color to Tao’s spoke up to a burly man with a ginger beard and mohawk. The simian had instructed them to hold the other up and make his back exposed. When the man did, the simian placed his palm on the back of the other, reared it back, and swung it to make contact with Tao’s back. The unconscious simian jolted back to life after spitting up some water and heaving, taking fast breaths and clawing at his chest, Tao looked around frantically. His pupils were slits and his claws dug into his skin as he met the eyes of The Six Eared Macaque and Sandy. He's heard of them before but never had he seen them both in the same place. What happened to him, and where was he? “Hey, kid, take some slower breaths. You'll pass out if you breathe too fast.” Tao whipped his head to Macaque's voice, he looked a bit different, parts of his fur were white and he had a visible scar over his right eye; which was a milky white, and his six ears were also visible; ‘Odd’ Tao thought but he didn’t dwell on it for long. Tao was able to slow his breath for a few minutes, before asking the two about what happened to him, and where he was. The Six Eared Macaque had explained that he heard something- more, someone. Fall into the sea and told Sandy that they should check it out, making sure that it wasn't something dangerous. However, they found Tao and fished him out of the sea, Sandy explained to the simian that he had almost drowned. It was like a switch was flicked on in Tao’s mind, he remembered what happened; he had been flung into the ocean by Sun Wukong. The simian moved in an attempt to sit up, a string of pained chirps leaving him, he faltered and fell back into Sandy’s large hands. “Woah there, take it easy, it looks like you've been through a lot,” Macaque spoke up, touching Tao’s arm to offer some comfort. “Let's get you to a bed and patched up, I’ll make you some nice tea too!” The sturdy Sandy hoisted Tao up with ease and brought him over to an elevator that was built into the boat. Tao didn't fuss as he was too weak to try so he just laid against Sandy’s chest and closed his eyes. He heard Sandy say something but he could barely register what he had said, he was only conscious long enough to feel the cushiony feeling of a bed under his back. “The poor thing.” Sandy frowned down at Tao, whom he was now drying off, before Macaque had joined his side, placing a first aid kit onto the bed. “There's only one person I know who can do damage like that” Macaque’s face wore a look, one of understanding, shame, and regret. Sandy was cutting Tao’s shirt off, so as not to cause more discomfort to the sleeping simian. He looked over Tao’s body, with dried blood and fresh bruises covering his waist area, and a few burns around his skin as well. Sandy didn't like seeing people hurt so this instance bothered him a great deal. Macaque knew who had hurt Tao so badly: Sun Wukong; Great Sage Equal to Heaven. But why? He had never known Wukong to be the type to hurt someone so innocent, unless. “Mr. Macaque, I'm gonna go and start a pot of tea so they can have it when they wake up. Can you watch them for a bit?” “Sure thing big blue, you go on ahead, I won't hurt ‘em.” Sandy closed the first aid kit and put it back in a closet, before leaving the room and going into a kitchen area to make tea. Macaque turned his attention back to Tao, his chest rising and falling steadily, eyes closed and movement close to none. The simian let out a soft sigh and sat at the foot of the bed, staring at Tao, wondering who he was and why Wukong had hurt him so badly. For now, the simian could only stare at Tao and wonder; why had the Great Sage hurt someone so similar to him?