A Hundred and One Encounters
10. Mythical
That was strange. She tried again.
"What's happening in the forest?" she cooed softly, lifting the finger the robin was perched on to her eyes.
The small bird tilted its head, blinking its blue eyes in a curiously excited expression before flapping its wings and took off into the air.
"Mou…" Kaoru sighed as she watched her friend fly away. It was the third time that day that one of her feathery friends refused to answer her question. It was a strange happening, birds love her; they share an unbreakable bond - yet they seem to be awfully distracted today.
A beak nibbled lightly on her ear and the lady smiled, turning her head to the side to grin at the woodpecker on her shoulder. "At least you're still here with me…" she petted the black and white bird.
The woodpecker nipped her ear again and Kaoru winced when it didn't let go. "Ow! Not you too?" she hissed as she gently freed her ear from the bird's sharp beak only to have it peck at it again.
"Ow ow ow ow." she hissed, flailing her arms as she tried to shoo the woodpecker. "What?" she growled, narrowing her eyes at the bird flapping in mid-air.
The bird warbled something at her.
"You want me to go and investigate?" Kaoru asked a little miffed, crossing her arms across her chest.
The small bird zipped up and down in the air and warbled again.
The lady huffed lightly but stood up, brushing her hands across her woodland clothes. "What do you guys want me to see so badly?"
There it was again. If birds could show expressions Kaoru would say the woodpecker looked smug - all the birds do these days. She sighed, brushing her braid behind her back she bunched her legs and leaped onto a tree branch, her woodpecker friend zipping ahead of her.
"I hope it's worth it." she grumbled under her breath as she leaped from tree to tree, effortlessly keeping up with her small friend. Silently as she followed the woodpecker's lead, wondering where it was leading her until they broke out of the cover of trees and onto a grassy pasture.
The woodpecker had disappeared.
Hesitating only for a second, the woman leaped off her perch and landed on the soft grass, sapphire eyes scanning the plains. The plains were rather empty and peaceful other than the surprisingly large group of birds surrounding what seemed like a fallen animal.
The birds sensing her arrival began to flap and chirp with agitation, some even flew over to tug on her braid to lead her towards the figure. "I'm coming, I'm coming." she mumbled as she jogged towards the group.
The birds parted before her and revealed what they'd been so interested in. Sapphire eyes widened in shock and horror and a curse slipped out without warning as the lady leaped back with a growl.
"A human!" she hissed as the birds began to flutter and panic at her reaction. The birds tried to nudge her forwards again and she resisted, shaking her head furiously.
"He's a human!" Kaoru protested. It was a dangerous situation; humans weren't allowed to see her! Her bird friends should know this too - the lady paused with uncertainty before the birds nudged her again. The birds would never willingly expose her to danger and it wasn't in their nature to take interest in any simple human…
She moved slowly towards the unconscious figure again. Cautiously peering at the man she took in the tanned skin, handsome face and shocking red hair weaved into a long braid. She took a deeper reading on the male and sucked in a small breath of surprise.
"He's not mortal." And he's bleeding.
Her expression turned grim as she made up her mind. Slipping strong arms under the broken figure, she lifted the male with ease and began a swift jog back to her hideout with a flock of birds following close by.
x x x
It was strange. He had expected the pain when he woke. He had expected the dizziness of blood loss.
What he didn't expect was the soft bed he was lying on or the million pairs of eyes blinking down at him.
It was a strange sight to wake up to.
"You're awake."
His eyes slid to the side to find the source of the voice walking towards him: A lady with high cheekbones and striking blue eyes, raven hair tussled into a messy braid that swung behind her as she walked.
He knew instantly that she was a powerful creature despite the fact she hid her aura flawlessly. There were creatures out there so powerful, even he couldn't begin to wrap his mind around it and this one practically leaked power.
He watched with trained eyes as the sunlight seemed drawn to her figure and set her aglow within the small cabin. Despite being surrounded by hundreds of beautiful paintings and floral decorations everything seemed pale in comparison to her. Even the birds around her seem subdued in her presence, sitting patiently on her shoulders or flying beside her.
"Here." she knelt and helped him into an upright position, handing him a bowl of soup.
Slowly he took the bowl and took a cautious sip and was nearly sent back to the dark depths of unconsciousness by the horrid taste scarring his tongue. He managed to swallow and keep it down, though it was a close call.
"T-thank you." he coughed, blinking away tears. The birds perched around the small cabin seem to sing with amusement, flapping their wings as they hopped closer.
"Drink it all." His eyes widened to saucers and the birds around him chirped and warbled loudly. The cacophony sounded eerily like laughter.
"You lost a lot of blood and you need food in your system."
Kenshin could only nod meekly and stared into the grey liquid. He couldn't possibly say no after the generous hospitality she showed him. He just feared that the soup might make his condition worse.
The lady sat down on the floor, crossing her legs under her as she watched him with bright sapphire eyes.
"What are you?"
Kenshin looked up from the bowl, relieved for the excuse to stall consuming the liquid.
"Qilin." he murmured and was satisfied to find blue eyes widening slightly in surprise.
"A Chinese Unicorn." Kenshin winced at the nickname for their kind but nodded anyways.
"What are you doing so far from civilization?" there was curiosity in her voice as she tilted her head to the side inquisitively. His kind rarely traveled far from humans being creatures of justice and protector of benevolent leaders.
"Escaping." his gaze hardened as his knuckles turned white from the strain of holding the bowl too tightly.
The lady seemed to sense his building distress and gently unwound his fingers from her bowl. "Don't break it." She warned softly but the chimera sensed kindness in her tone.
"What are you?" he asked softly, hoping to change the subject off himself.
She narrowed her eyes at the topic change but accepted his decision to keep quiet. "You don't know?"
"I have my guesses." he grinned.
"Indulge me." She returned with a challenge sparking in her eyes, the corners of her lips tilting in a smirk.
Kenshin lifted his eyes to the birds surrounding them, then to the red feathers scattered everywhere on the ground.
"A Fenghuang?"
The lady snorted and rolled her eyes.
"What did I expect?"
The Qilin chuckled. "Wrong?"
"You would think the other creatures would see the difference between those peacocks and me." the lady huffed as she uncrossed her legs and stood up.
"It's Zhuque!"
His eyes widened in shock. "The Vermillion Bird?"
She nodded.
"Isn't that the same as a Phoenix?"
"No!" the lady growled and a strong wave of heat washed over him, nearly knocking the weakened male backwards as the annoyed female struggled to reign in her fiery temper.
Kenshin chuckled nervously, hands out in a placating gesture. That was dangerous, he should've known better than to speak without thinking with one of the four mythical creatures of constellations. Guess the fact he was in the presence of a powerful being didn't hit him yet.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to insult you." The creature of justice mumbled meekly as he stood to move towards her. The wound in his side flared in pain and the Qilin winced, falling back onto the bed with a pained gasp. Instantly, birds began flocking around him, squawking and flapping their wings in panic.
Hearing a hiss, the lady returned from the window and waved the birds aside. "Stupid creature, stop moving so much! The stitches won't hold if you move so suddenly!" she scolded him, picking him up like he weighed nothing - he suddenly regretted that he made her mad - and deposited him sideways on the bed.
She then proceeded to tuck him in - a bit too tightly - and turned away with a huff. His hand shot out and grabbed her wrist before she could leave and the lady turned to face him.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings." He admitted softly, thumb rubbing circles along her pulse point to ease the tension there. "We don't really know much about the Four Symbols."
The fire in her eyes seemed to soften slightly – replaced by a deep sadness that pulled at his heartstrings - as she pulled her wrist from his grasp and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Fine." she grumbled. "You'll be forgiven if you finish that whole bowl of soup."
Kenshin's face blanched in shock and horror.
"And the rest of it in the pot."
Felt the need to write because stress. OTL
I've been thinking of writing a fantasy drabble involving Chinese Mythical creatures because hey, we see a lot of Kenshin-Kaoru as Japanese/Western mythical creatures, AU romance and whatnots, why not share some from my own culture as well?
These are all Chinese mythical creatures! :'D and I'm just getting started! xDD soexpectsomemorestorieswithchinesemythsandlegends
Originally I planned to make Kenshin a Phoenix. But then the Qilin suited him more.
Qilin is a mythical hooved chimera. They have the head of a dragon, a multicolored back, hooves and body of a deer with a tail of an ox. They also have a single horn growing out of their foreheads - earning their nickname. The Chinese Unicorn. They are creatures of justice and punish the wicked. They walk on grass and not trample the blades and also walk on water. Since they are peaceful creatures they are herbivores. Rumors say they appear in areas ruled by a benevolent leader. They can spit fire and use their horns to gore if a pure person is threatened by a sinner.
Now for Kaoru, I had to think hard and long and in the end I made her the Vermillion Bird of the South.
The Vermilion bird is one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations. It represents the fire-element, the season summer and the direction south. It is known as Suzaku in Japanese, Jujak in Korean and Chu Tước in Vietnamese. It is often mistaken for the Fenghuang due to similarities in appearance, but the two are different creatures. The Fenghuang (similar to the phoenix in western mythologies) is a legendary ruler of birds who is associated with the Chinese Empress in the same way the dragon is associated with the Emperor, while the Vermilion Bird is a mythological spirit creature of the Chinese constellations. The Vermilion bird is an elegant and noble bird in both appearance and behavior, it is very selective in what it eats and where it perches, with its feathers in many different hues of vermilion.
That's your dose of Chinese mythical creatures for the day! :'D
I sense a sequel of this drabble xDD but who knows. -shrugs-
Love to hear any and all opinions on this drabble :'D Any other Chinese Mythological creatures you guys know about? or want to read about? xDD
~IOD