Loving a Prison

Chapter 15: The Doctor

Wukong pulled his skirt closer to his body, his smile becoming tenser. Liang Bai growled at the bird Celestial, her fur raised.

Peng had been weird since they had come out of the scroll. Like, they were a little clingy to him, throwing their arms around him and pulling him too close. It was things like that. It felt weird and gross. Their words felt like they had a double meaning, which he did his best to ignore. Like at that moment.

"Sorry, Peng, but I have to go... Yang has need of my attention." He gave his old brother a quick bow, twisting out of their hold.

The bird demon frowned a little, their brows furrowing. Still, they didn't refuse. They didn't want to be near that Doctor. She looked at them weirdly. Actually, all the demon monkeys of the mountain looked at them weirdly.

Wukong hurried down the hall without making it look like he was running away. He didn't want to give them the sick satisfaction of seeing his awkwardness. Sure, he could easily kill Peng, but that would go against what his Master had taught, and the kid would be so disappointed in him if he knew.

After turning a corner, a wave of dizziness washed over him, making him stumble into the wall. His breathing became labored briefly, his stomach clenching. He winced at the feeling, attempting to push the nausea down. He tried to remind himself that he was used to this. That he had faced this awful feeling for literal centuries. He just needed to breath and take things slow.

Liang Bai meowed weakly, pawing at his skirt. She looked hopelessly worried about him. Guess his dizzy and nausea spells were getting a bit out of hand... It's just that he was moving around a lot more than before...

"I'm okay, sweetie." He smiled warmly, running a hand over her head.

She briefly closed her eyes, bumping against his hand. Then the two continued onward to Yang Daiyu.

The young female monkey was a strange woman, cold and kind with thin smiles and pointed teeth. She worked almost mechanically, looking more fascinated in ones afflictment and the procedure to cure it than the actual patient themselves. Honestly, Wukong had no idea why he was called to her office. He never got sick, it was difficult to break his bones, and he naturally healed fast.

However, he didn't have to wonder for long as Macaque was there in a sleeveless shirt with Yang bandaging his arm. He didn't appear to be in pain, so it was strange to see him being bandaged.

"Moon?" Wukong tilted his head, blinking a little owlishly.

The dark-furred monkey grinned at him, leaning back a little.

"Hey, Sunstone~" His deep voice seemed to echo around the bronze monkey. "Just getting our blood drawn. I was wondering how different our blood was, especially compared to each other. That is okay, right?"

"Yeah! Yeah!" Wukong stumbled a bit as he hurried in. "Of course it's fine! But I'm Immortal, wouldn't that make my blood even more different than yours? And what of the others?"

The Shadow King chuckled deeply, pressing his head against his wonderful Sunstone.

"Already thought of that, and I had already found them too. I sent some delegates to talk with them. We should hear back from them in a month or so."

Wukong nodded, a soft purr sounding from him. The purring stopped for a moment as the taller simian picked him up and settled him on his lap, but just a moment. Yang tenderly grabbed his arm, tying a rubber band around his bicep before pulling out a needle. Though, the immortal simian was distracted by being groomed by his oldest friend.

Macaque smiled sweetly, running his claws through the silky locks of his beloved Sun. His Sun practically glowed in the firelight, though he noticed how thin his Sun look. His cheeks weren't as plump as they should've been, and his skin looked a little pale. He also noticed that Wukong was sleeping longer, then there were Shan Li Na and Liu Aang's experiences with him that were... off putting. He understood that his King had changed during the Journey, but the way they had described his lagged movements...

His amber eyes looked to the Head Doctor, her looking to him with a deep frown. There was a great reason she was the Head Doctor despite her oddities. And seeing such a look from her...

He would have to do something to correct this.

"Wukong, are you eating enough?"

The smaller simian hummed distractedly, completely relaxed in his partner's hold. He then pulled himself away, naturally swatting those wandering hands from his hair and fur.

"Yeah, I've been eating."

"What have you been eating?" Macaque did his best to keep his voice leveled, though his expression was extremely tight. He tried to continue his grooming.

Wukong swatted his hands away again as he began to talk about his daily meals. There was no meat and very little source of protein. All he had been eating was a few bugs and many, many different fruits.

Both Macaque and Doctor Yang looked at him in matching horror. Yang pulled away completely from the pair, rushing to her desk where there was plenty of writing materials. There, she began to furiously-but carefully- write on the paper. While she wrote whatever she needed to write, Macaque began to interogate Wukong.

"Why are you only eating peaches?"

"It's not only peaches!" The bronze furred monkey hissed, looking mildly annoyed.

"It's close enough. Is the meat not made to your standards? Do you want it cooked in a certain way?" Macaque tried to press his head to Wukong's.

The older simian pulled back, attempting to slide out of the other's lap now.

"No, no! None of that! I can't eat meat!"

Yang paused in her writing, looking at him intensely.

"Can't eat- Why? Does it hurt? Do you-" Macaque tried to pull Wukong closer, his grip beginning to hurt.

"None of that! I just can't!" Wukong kicked his little legs, twisting and squirming.

"Why can't you? You're far too thin." Yang chide.

"What does my weight have to do with anything? Especially with me not eating meat?" Finally, the shorter simian escaped Macaque's hold, stepping away from both of them.

Liang Bai mewed, looking between the three monkeys. She looked confused and her concern was so clear.

"Wukong..." Macaque stood up, his expression looked so strange. "You need protein... You can get that from certain vegetables or beans, but the best way to get it is from meat."

Wukong crossed his arms, looking annoyed.

"Well, my Master is perfectly fine and he doesn't eat meat!"

There was a twitch of the Shadow King's eyebrow.

"Yes, but he's human. And how many times had he been helpless or captured?"

Too many times and he was pathetically weak, even compared to other humans.

"Well, it shouldn't matter. I've only eaten copper and gold pellets for the five hundred years under the mountain! I'm still the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, your Waring Priestess!" His voice raised a little, him roughly moving his arms to show his exaggerated annoyance. Except the world decided to tilt and he would've crumbled to the stone floor if Macaque hadn't stabilized him.

"Sunstone," The pet name sounded helpless, but Wukong couldn't hear it well.

He took a deep breathe, blinking heavily as his vision swam briefly. He swallowed thickly, feeling like he should puke. He just forced it down.

"I'm fine." He grunted, pushing both Macaque and Yang away.

He stumbled to his feet, the stingy feeling hitting the back of his throat. He swallowed once more before leaving as fast as he could, dodging the worried hands drifting to him.

He was fine. He was always fine! He didn't need whatever protein was! He was immortal! Immortal! He's survived on nothing but metal pellets when he was imprisoned!

The world seemed seem to move unnaturally beneath his feet, making his balance even more unsteady. Somehow, he was able to make it to his room, where he fell into his fluffy bed. Tears unwillingly began to fall down his face. He didn't understand why, and he hated it.