Tragedy of the Shadow

Shadows of a Our Past

"Macaque?" he blurted out. The man twitched and confusion painted on his face alongside a nervous smile.

"Well, yes, the warrior in the story was based on this character." he said and cleared his throat "I'm surprised you know about him." he added as he pulled down his hood. The man beneath it had a strong jawline and a short, black, well-kept beard in a shape that gave off a slight villainous vibe. His hair was a bit long and tied into a low ponytail; straight but messy. His eyes were like pools of honey or melted gold and were looking at the monkey demon with something he could really name.

"Why?" asked Wukong, not really to the other's statement but more to the whole situation "How do you know so much? Who are you?" he furrowed his brows, and his tail lashed from side to side, giving in to all emotions buzzing inside of him. He didn't know what exactly he felt, there was just too much at once and some of those feelings seemed to be contradicting each other, but he sure was feeling a lot.

"W-well you seem to have a lot of questions, mister...?" the deep voice cracked slightly at first but then it went back to this more professional one Wukong was first greeted with.

Monkey King thought for a second about changing his identity and making up a fake name but his mind was empty of ideas so he went with the truth instead with a nervous sigh "Wukong. Sun Wukong."

"Oh, OH." this time Mòchóu was the one to blink in surprise, his honey-gold eyes widened for a moment "You're Sun Wukong? As THE Sun Wukong? Monkey King Sun Wukong?" he emphasized his words theatrically.

"Y-yeah." his tail twitched in a nervous tick and he looked away with a soft blush.

"Huuh." the man hummed as a slight smirk grew on his lips "Well, now I can see why you're so interested in this story." he teased with a playful grin but then he moved his hands up as if surrendering "But no worries, I won't judge. I'm a mere storyteller, I'm sure the Hero had his reasons as well." Wukong felt the dirty gold piercing his heart and soul.

"Yeah, I think... He-" he started slightly absent, voice and mind far away still trying to catch on to the situation with now reawoken guilt. Only when his mind finally understood he didn't actually answer and the hooded man was looking at him slightly confused he got back to the present "I mean- I. I did." he corrected himself, his voice hardening, a bit too harshly for what he intended. But the man only smiled and hummed, he raised his hand up and stroked his beard with his fingers, thinking.

"Know what? How about we go somewhere more comfortable and talk?" he offered with a smile; a fake one, and oh, Wukong would know a fake smile when he saw one. Seeing one in the mirror every day for the last couple of centuries "I can answer your questions and you'll answer a few of mine. Fairtrade." he stated simply "How does it sound?"

Wukong furrowed his brows slightly. He could tell what type of questions this man wanted to ask him. His tail lashed and he huffed thinking. Was his curiosity enough to withstand emotions he tried to lock in the past and would be surely reawaken by the questions this man had for him?

"Alright. Where are we going?" he asked, standing up. He needed to know the truth so he was not going to back down now when answers to all tormenting him for the past months questions were literally in his arms reach. His tail got up, getting out from under the hood to stand tall and he crossed his arms over his chest trying to look more serious.

"Well, I know a very good tea spot." Mòchóu hummed, his voice like a calm before the storm "Perhaps you heard of it? Old Green." the corner of his mouth twitched slightly more upwards. Monkey King felt the hair on his neck stand tall and his ears twitched. His tail straightened in a quick motion.