Sweetness and Monkeys! Enjoy!
Lin Chung raced through the woods, following his commander. He paid close attention to his surroundings. A wall of greenery was in front of him, but when Blayze passed through it, Lin Chung did, too. He promptly slid to a stop, not because Blayze was still, but because of the immense beauty in front of him. There was a beautiful orchard with many different types of trees. They were currently standing in front of a cherry tree.
"The cherries are ripe already? It is a good year," Blayze said happily. He jumped into the branches and picked a few, dropping them down to Lin Chung before snagging a couple for himself. They walked through the orchard happily, and when they had reached the farmer's house, Lin Chung was eating a passion fruit while Blayze was munching on a pear. The farmer's children froze when they saw the Human, looking unsure. Then the smallest, a little pink female, padded up to them on all fours.
"Human!" she said in Monkey, looking at Blayze.
"Yes, little one, he is a Human. He can speak a little Monkey, too!"
"Yes," Lin Chung said slowly. "Hello, child."
The farmer and his wife came out. They danced around Blayze happily.
"I hope you don't mind, but we picked a few things," the Monkey King said, gesturing at the nearly gone fruits.
"Our orchard is your orchard, my king," the yellow female said, snuggling against her husband.
"We must be going," Blayze said. "Hardwin will be eager to meet my Human."
"Oh! Please stay, my King!" begged a purple child.
"Yes, yes!" said the pink one. "Game! Game, King! Please?"
"Oh…Very well. One game. Then we must go," Blayze laughed.
An hour and a half and four games later, Blayze forced himself and Lin Chung away from the happy family. They laughed and chatted in Human as they made their way to the palace. News of their arrival spread faster than they walked and Hardwin bounded down the steps into his best friend's arms.
"Dear one! You are home yet again!" he cried in Human. "And you brought one of your warriors! Lin Chung if I'm not mistaken."
"It is good to make the acquaintance of such a treasured friend of my commander."
Hardwin's jaw dropped. "No fair! No fair! No fair!"
"Oh, shut up, Hardwin. I'm still working on him," Blayze said.
"I…do not understand," Lin Chung said, looking between the red and blue Monkeys.
"He is angry that I allow you to call me Commander when I am out of costume."
"Oh. But he is my commander."
"Well, he's loyal, I'll give you that much," Hardwin laughed, patting Blayze on the back. "Come while our people prepare a feast!"
"Feast?" Blayze and Lin Chung asked at the same time.
"Yes! A feast for our king and his Human!"
"Oh, but, I, er…" Lin Chung was cut off by a laughing Blayze.
"He can smell it on us, Human of mine."
Lin Chung frowned and sniffed his arm. He could indeed smell Blayze on him. He blushed as the blue Monkey looked at him strangely.
"Humans don't tend to sniff themselves," he said to his friend.
"This is no ordinary Human!" the Monkey King said proudly. "I would like to introduce you to Báo-haizi!"
"Báo-haizi!" Hardwin gasped. "But he looks Human!"
Lin Chung could feel so many eyes on him that it was scary, but he relaxed his body and let it flow into his other form. There were gasps and Hardwin laughed.
"His ears and teeth are pointed, too," Blayze said with a grin, pressing against Lin Chung's legs. "And he is my Human! So you can keep your blue-eyed angel."
"Oh, but Solange is not here, is she? So I demand some scratches, too!"
"Never!"
They began to wrestle around, but a single sentence stopped them mid romp.
"Solange? I know what her name means, but she is no angel," Lin Chung said blandly.
"You know Solange, Lin Chung? Why did you never tell me before?" Blayze asked.
"While you said that Hardwin had a Human, and that she was female, you never said her name."
"Where is she?!" Hardwin asked desperately.
"Last I saw, she was near the southernmost Panther village."
Hardwin immediately called forward some of the swiftest Monkeys and sent them looking for his beloved Human. Then the feast began. That night, Lin Chung was bathing in the room off to the side of Blayze's bedroom. The red Monkey was lazing about on the bed, happily staring at the door that connected the two room and wondering if he dared to go in there. He finally hopped down and peeked into the room. Lin Chung was facing away from him. Blayze walked over and sat down, dangling his feet into the wonderfully hot water. His Human seemed oblivious to his presence, too busy scrubbing himself. He seemed to be having trouble with his back.
"If I may, Human of mine," Blayze said, taking the rag.
Lin Chung jumped and spun around, but he lost his footing and fell under the water. He popped back up quickly, spitting out water. His green eyes were heavily dilated as they stared at the Monkey.
"Don't do that!" he gasped.
Blayze felt guilty and looked down. "My apologies. I didn't mean to startle you."
They stayed very still for a few seconds then Lin Chung relaxed. "No, my friend. I am sorry. I should not have snapped like that. I am just not used to somebody being able to surprise me so easily."
Blayze glanced up, smiling slightly, and held up the rag. "May I?"
"Certainly."
The Monkey King happily washed Lin Chung's back for him, humming as he did so. When it had thoroughly been washed, he stepped back.
"Human skin is so strange. It does not retain water like our fur."
Lin Chung turned around. "May I see the rag again?"
Blayze stretched his hand out to give the piece of soaked cloth to Lin Chung, but the Human didn't grab the cloth. The next thing Blayze knew, he surfaced, gasping for breath. Lin Chung laughed.
"Now, let me get your back."
"Honestly, you can get all of me. I haven't had a good scrubbing in a long while. Hardwin is an attention hog."
Once they were both clean, they splashed each other until the floor was soaked. Of course that's when Hardwin came in.
"My King!" he yelped. "Look at the mess you've made!"
"So I've made a mess! So what? And don't call me King! Everybody else can, but not you, Hardwin."
"He gets to call you 'Commander!'" Hardwin said, childishly stomping his foot.
"He's my Human. He can call me stupid if he wants," Blayze responded.
"I can stop if you like," Lin Chung said as he got out of the bath.
Both Monkeys watched curiously. Lin Chung caught them staring as he wrapped a towel around his waist.
"I thought you had seen Humans naked?" he asked, not in the least bit embarrassed.
"I have only seen one, and she is female," Hardwin said.
"While it is true that I have seen many, it is impolite to stare at something like that," Blayze replied matter-of-factly.
Lin Chung nodded. "Makes sense. But I'm too tired to stand here and let you stare at me. Maybe tomorrow morning."
They nodded and Hardwin laughed. "That is a promise I shall make sure you keep."
Several minutes later, the two Monkeys were cradled against Lin Chung, nuzzling his bare chest. Lin Chung scratched them, one with each hand, until all three of them fell asleep.
The next morning, Lin Chung awoke to find himself completely naked and being studied by two very curious Monkeys. He had gone to bed with only a towel on, which was a very easy thing to take off. He stayed relaxed and listened to the pleasant Monkey chatter until the urge of nature made him shift.
"Oh! Lin Chung!" Blayze gasped. "You are awake!"
"My apologies," Lin Chung said, standing swiftly.
The two Monkeys waited patiently for him to return. He did, settling down and scooping his red one into his lap to nuzzle him.
"My apologies," he said again.
"No need to be sorry, Lin Chung," Blayze said kindly. "Now, we weren't sure what you would prefer for breakfast, so we haven't asked for any yet."
Lin Chung hummed. "Peaches?"
"Certainly!" Hardwin exclaimed, padding over on all fours to the door. He opened it. "Gui!"
"Yes, sir?" said a yellow Monkey, coming up to the door.
"Please get us some peaches and grapes. Then go have break. I know you've been dozing out there all night."
"Thank you," the yellow Monkey yawned.
"Gui?" Lin Chung asked, snuggling close to Blayze.
"Yes. He is a very loyal friend of ours. He was the only servant to be my friend when my father ruled," Blayze said with a nod, pressing close to his Human.
Several minutes later, Gui knocked on the door. He entered and held out a bowl filled with the requested fruits. He stared at the Human curiously as Hardwin took the bowl.
"You are the king's Human?" he asked.
"Yes, Gui. I am Blayze's Human," Lin Chung replied, scratching down the red Monkey's spine.
"And I love him for it," Blayze said fondly.
Gui approached shyly. "May I…touch him? I've heard their skin feels funny."
Lin Chung held out an arm and Gui ran his hands gently over the skin. He tittered in delight then yawned again.
"Go sleep, friend of my heart," Blayze said softly.
"Here? Sure," he muttered, looking dead on his feet.
Hardwin nuzzled his face then walked him to his room. Lin Chung leaned back, enjoying the feel of fur against his skin.
"So…what exactly are you going to wear around here?" Blayze asked curiously.
"Ah, I thought of that," Lin Chung said. "I don't feel like getting stared at naked, I've been acting Human too long to not mind it anymore, so I made a loincloth."
"Ooh, let me see it!" Blayze exclaimed, jumping out of his lap.
Lin Chung obliged him. It looked rather natural on the partial Panther. He clapped.
"A fitting outfit when a Human is amongst animals," Hardwin said as he came back in the room.
The Human nodded in agreement then did a very cat-like stretch. "So, what are we going to do today?" he asked, picking Blayze up and purring in delight as the Monkey licked his cheek.
"I'd say we should go around and greet my subjects," Blayze said thoughtfully. "They miss me quite a bit. 'You're not your father,' as they say."
"So they didn't like your father?"
"No. I'm the first benevolent ruler the Monkeys have had in many, many generations. They are very grateful."
"Except me. I know what lies in that dastardly thing's heart! Evil, I say, pure evil!" Hardwin shouted dramatically.
Lin Chung snickered. "I like you, Hardwin. You are quite funny."
"Mighty Ray funny?" the blue Monkey asked suspiciously.
"No. Actual funny," the Human laughed. "Now let's eat. Then we can go greet subjects."
The two Monkeys happily obliged.