Fox Fire-Chapter 2: Arrival in Cheng Du
Note from OC: Do I have to repeat myself? This is a disclaimer; ReinaBlaka only owns me. Warriors Orochi goes to KOEI.
I never knew much about the abode of the humans. On the inside, at least.
Through my years of wandering, there were a few times when I came to see a human settlement. Only simple ones, though. Like a village or camp. Often I would glimpse them at night, when I usually made my journeying. They always appeared to me as places I wouldn't want to go. Places of danger and angry people armed with pitchforks and knives. Places with torches, fire and everything a fox—demonic or normal—would fear.
So I was very, very surprised at the splendor and grandness of the place known as Cheng Du. As soon as it came into sight, I scrambled in my position behind Zhang Fei to get a better view. I immediately saw the stone city walls. Tall, imposing and impenetrable; reminding me of how Koshi Castle's walls would have looked like in its long-gone glory days. Soldiers holding spears and shields stood guard on the top, looking down at the group of riders carrying me. Some of them were posted next to a large, billowing green flag with a strange, black symbol on it. Try as I might, I couldn't identify what it was.
The gates were huge. Big, red, and wooden, with large, iron studs. They swung open as the group approached, a deep, creaking sound issuing from its hinges as if it was welcoming my arrival. Then, for a brief moment, we were enveloped in shadow. The shadow of the arching, stone gateway.
As soon as we were out into the interior of Cheng Du, I looked back. The gates were slowly closing, accompanied with the same, deep creaking sound. Eventually, they slammed shut.
So that was the feeling of entering a place.
I turned forward again, and my eyes went wide. I almost began to shudder with mixed fear and excitement!
There were humans everywhere!
Crowds and crowds of them there were! Walking around, talking with each other! There was every kind of them you could imagine. There were young women in extravagant clothes, strolling in large groups and chattering amongst themselves. There were mothers, holding their children by the hand, even carrying babies on their backs. An old couple shuffled along, and groups of young men kept gossiping about the girls. Some people were leading horses; some were not. A few of them gave me a quick look, some of them laughing and pointing at Zhang Fei, who was looking very disgruntled. A kid shouted, "Look! Our Lord's here!" and all eyes passed to Liu Bei, who was still riding at the front. Everyone backed away to give him a path, and I saw many of the ladies squealing and gasping with admiration as he passed. Either he was the most handsome guy in the place, or he was held in high regard by most people. I didn't know which.
Either way, he only gave them a quick smile as he rode pass them.
As we continued on our way, I began to notice changes in the humans around me. Less and less of them were being casual inhabitants, and more and more of them were beginning to take on a warrior's aura. A line of soldiers marching in perfect order, an armored, mustached officer followed by an attendant, even a group of lightly armored maidens with swords. And then I began to see the people that would shape my life in the future.
The warriors of Shu.
The first warrior I saw gave me chills. Although she was a girl, she was carrying a pitchfork! Something that an angry farmer could pin me with! I kept my eyes on her as she passed, but she never noticed me. Instead, she saw Zhang Fei, and bowed politely to him.
"Welcome back, Father," she said.
So that girl was Zhang Fei's daughter! My, I wasn't getting a good impression of the Zhang family.
The next warrior didn't look so nice. He wore ragged, spiked armor, a mask and a nasty weapon with blades at both ends of a long shaft. His hair was in dreadlocks. Again I stared at him as he passed, but he didn't see me. I let out a breath of relief.
The third warrior aroused my interest. He was tall, ridiculously tall, dressed in green and held a long-handled, crescent-shaped blade. Hey! What was that black thing hanging from his face? I couldn't resist myself, and reached out a hand to pull it.
"OW!"
He clutched his chin, obviously in pain. It aroused the attention of Zhang Fei, who gave me a heavy slap on the shoulder.
"Keep your hands to yourself, girl." He said gruffly.
He then turned to the green warrior. "Are you alright, brother?"
"Ow…" He looked up, showing his stout face and fierce eyes. "What is that thing you've got there, brother? I mean, what is it? Nobody's dared to pull my beard before!"
Beard?
"It's nothing, brother." Zhang Fei raised his head to the sky and rode pass, leaving his second brother to mind his own business.
The warrior that followed also had something interesting to offer. He wore something on his head—something that looked like a golden dragon's head with horns and a lot of white hair. I was about to touch it, but remembering Zhang Fei's brother and the heavy slap, I didn't move a muscle.
And then there was the fifth.
The fifth warrior, a girl with short, brown hair, tight red outfit and two metal, bladed wheels in her hands.
She was the first one to wear red so far; all the others had worn green. But her eyes were green, bright green as she looked at me. She was also the first person to see me so far.
But her gaze was brief as she passed me. I looked on at her until she disappeared into the distance.
Somehow, I had felt warm when she looked at me…
"We're here!" It was Liu Bei. He had stopped us outside what seemed to be his private home. He got off his horse, giving the reins to an attendant who began to lead it to the stables, then approached the gateway. The remainder of our group also got off, the soldiers all leading their respective steeds away, with only Zhao Yun and Zhang Fei remaining.
Just before he stepped over the threshold of his doorway, Liu Bei turned around to look at me. I looked back at him, unsure about what he was to do.
"Zhao Yun, would you please lead Da Li to your house? She is in desperate need of care and I have some affairs to attend to."
The young warrior nodded. "Yes, my Lord." He approached me had held out his hands to me.
"Come on, my lady. I'm here. There's nothing to fear."
At first, I was a little hesitant, but then Zhao Yun's words gave me confidence and a stepped down, albeit carefully. He took my hand as I did so. My feet touched the ground and I looked up, back at Liu Bei, who was now looking at Zhang Fei with a stern look in his face.
"Zhang Fei," he said. "Come in with me."
Giving the reins of his horse to another attendant, Zhang Fei followed his brother into the house, with a hint of curiosity mixed in his still dissatisfied expression.
With his steed's reins in his other hand, Zhao Yun began to lead me to his house.
"Given your appearance, you appear to be Da Ji's sister." He said as we walked. "Are you really related to her?"
I turned my eyes to him, looking up at his clear, handsome countenance, not sure whether to answer or not. I've never been questioned about my sisterhood with Da Ji before.
"Come on, you don't have to be shy, my lady. I won't hurt you."
I gave a nod.
"Ah…so you are." Zhao Yun sighed. "No wonder you look so like her..."
My eyes wandered to the ground.
"…I do feel sorry for you." Zhao Yun continued. "I can tell that your past has been a dark one. Who told you to have a sister like that?"
He squeezed my hand. "But at least you're going to have a brighter future," he said. "I understand why my Lord made the decision to take you with us. He means to give you a second chance. And I'll do everything I can to take care of you for the time being."
That was the end of our little conversation.
We soon arrived at Zhao Yun's house. It resembled Liu Bei's abode a lot. You could even consider it as a clone. I warily looked at the two soldiers guarding the doorway as Zhao Yun gave his stallion's reins to his attendant and led me towards it.
The guards cast a questioning glance in my direction, but they didn't do or say anything. They just stood there, as still as statues, as Zhao Yun took me into a wide stone courtyard surrounded by wooden buildings. He led me straight forward into a second doorway, through several hallways until we came upon a small bedroom with a nice, cozy-looking bed.
Zhao Yun let go of my hand, and the first thing I did was to plunge my tired body onto the bed. I immediately began to enjoy its softness. For the previous five-hundred years, the rugged, hard rocks and grass of the land on which I wandered was my bed; this was the very first time I had experienced any comfort. I rolled this way and that; unaware that my savoring had made me look more like the animal I was supposed to be. And, of course, unaware that Zhao Yun was beginning to like me very much…
"Hey, my lady." He finally managed to say. "Are you…hungry?"
At the mention of the word "hungry", I immediately realized that I hadn't eaten well in the last few days. I jolted up from my rolling, looking at him expectantly, instinctively adopting the pose of a begging dog. (I am, after all, a fox, and foxes are related to dogs.)
He chuckled as my cuteness level went to the extreme. "Looks like you are." He began to turn to the doorway. "I'll fetch you something."
He left. After what seemed like forever, he reappeared, with a fat, juicy bun.
"Here-"
At that moment, my human side could hold my animal instincts back no more. I pounced on the bun—and Zhao Yun—and snatched it, instantly attacking it with all my might.
My, what a surprise! The white skin of the bun concealed a juicy chunk of meat. Just what a fox would die for! Never have I tasted such delicious food. I've only ever eaten leftover scraps and wild roots before this.
I didn't notice that I was sitting directly on Zhao Yun, who was struggling to get up.
"Aw, please…" He was pleading with me, but I was virtually deaf to his remarks. I was too busy with my food!
But then my ears pricked up when I heard something. Footsteps. Heavy boots thudding on the floor. I looked up, towards the doorway, just in time to see a man appear in it.
I recognized him at once. Liu Bei.
At first, he was surprised at the scene before him. But then the funny—and cute—part of it came to him, and he put his hands on his hips and chuckled heartily.
"So, Zhao Yun," He remarked. "You've been having a lot of fun with her, haven't you?"
Zhao Yun struggled to raise his head. "Oh, Lord Liu Bei—it's you! I-"
"And I see that our little lady has found a comfortable place to stay."
Zhao Yun sighed, knowing what his Lord meant. "Please, my Lord, you've got to quit it with the bad jokes!"
Liu Bei only chuckled further.
Zhao Yun was now exasperated. "You-you've got to help me!" He pleaded. "She's crushing me under her weight, you know…Argh…"
"I see, I see." Liu Bei approached me. Feeling myself flush with embarrassment, I quickly stuffed the rest of the bun into my mouth.
"No need for that, my lady. I understand your need. Would you please get off of our friend here? He isn't being so comfortable with you sitting on him."
I looked down. For a moment, the realization of my instinctive action bluffed me; but, knowing that Zhao Yun was indeed suffering from my weight, I slowly slid off of him and onto the ground.
Zhao Yun coughed as he got his breath back. He stood up, feeling relieved to be able to move again. "Thanks, my Lord," he said. "I never expected Lady Da Li to be like that. She's about as heavy as a mountain…"
"No. You exaggerate, Zhao Yun." Liu Bei turned to me, the smile still on his face. "Though considering her clear isolation from civilization, she'll need to learn a great deal about us…"
I kept staring at him, now uncertain about what he meant. There were so many complex words. "Isolation"? "Civilization"? What did these terms mean?
I was going to find out very soon…