Our Ball of Tangled Yarn

Chapter 5: Meeting Sandy

Once the group reached the boat, Mk ran up to a door and knocked on it. Macaque pursed his lips while they waited, still feeling uneasy meeting a stranger so soon. He glanced at Bai he and noticed how she seemed to stand closer to the boy than to him. He found it odd, but didn't question it too much. Mk continued to knock on the door, and when Macaque started to think it was pointless the door opened.

Sandy wasn't exactly planning on seeing anybody today, after he made sure to clear the weekend off to take a break from his side job. He felt Mo jump on his shoulder and let the cat sit there as he opened the door. He smiled as he faced Mk and Bai he, glad to see familiar faces. "Hey there, you two!" He patted the girl's head, who giggled. "It's been a while, Bai he. Have you been eating well?"

"Mhm!" She nodded.

"Um, you don't mind if we hang out with you for a while Sandy?" Mk asked, and scratched the back of his head. "I had a day off today, and Mei isn't around today. And these two were planning on coming here too! So, is it fine?"

Sandy laughed and nodded. "Of course! I don't mind spending time with you guys! I don't have anything to do today either, so it works out."

As they spoke, Macaque stared at the water demon. He felt his breath shorten, and his feet felt stuck to the ground. His hands trembled despite how hard he gripped his cloak. He wanted to look away from him, scream, run, anything.

But his body wouldn't work.

Macaque knew why he felt like this. Even though it had been centuries, he recognized the face. He recognized how those eyes moved, how big that beard was, how strong he looked with those muscles.

"Wùjìng," He whispered. His grip tightened on the cloak, almost ripping the custom fabric. "It's Wùjìng."

Sandy noticed him standing behind the two humans and smiled. "Oh, hello there! Are you with them?"

The shadow monkey felt his body turn to stone as eyes turned to him. Despite the cool wind that blew across the docks, his fur seemed to dampen as sweat started appearing. He frantically looked at all their faces, their voices seeming to dim out the more he looked.

Pain bloomed across his chest, and it never felt so hard to breathe. He stumbled back a few steps, and instead started to grip onto the part of his cloak on his chest. He needed to leave, now. They found him, he found him.

A surge of heat seemed to run through his head, and Macaque never experienced such a dizzying moment. He held his head in agony, whimpering at the pain. No, he can't stay here. He needed to leave. They'll hurt him, they'll call him here-

Everything went black for the shadow monkey.

~~~~~

When he regained his consciousness, Macaque felt oddly at peace. Sweet lavender seemed to encase the room, it's soft scent relaxing his tense muscles.

Slowly, yet carefully, he sat up and realized he was laying on a bed. A blanket was placed over him, and Macaque wrapped it around himself to keep himself warm.

A quiet mewl to his left caught his attention, and he looked down to see a few cats laying nearby him. Most of them were huddled around a small kitten as it slept. He got closer to the group of felines and realized it was his own kitten. Macaque was tempted to pick Xīng up and keep her in his arms, but decided against it after seeing how calm and peaceful she looked. Though it did seem odd he could only see her from his left side.

Macaque stiffened as he went over that thought again.

He could only see her from his left side.

The shadow monkey felt his stomach drop when he heard voices nearby with incredible clarity. All of them were familiar ones too. He wasn't supposed to hear past what was in his room.