Hello intrepid readers. We meet again today for a new chapter. I received a message from Nova on Archive of Our Own asking me for some precision, and one in particular was relevant and concerned Julian's watch, I actually referred to it in chapter 2 when Julian goes for the first time to the village. (For those who didn't notice it)
My thanks to Hirobaki, Ghost500098 and Theengineerfan176 who follow this story. (We have reached the thirty !) I never thought I would reach such a level so fast, a big thank you to all of you and of course thank you Echeos for all the time he spent with me.
I couldn't feel my head properly anymore, it was as if it was completely emptied of thought and consciousness. My vision was blurred, I could barely remember the last events of... my fall! Slowly, my memories came back. I felt like I was finally coming out of this blinding fog, which was obscuring even the most basic senses of my mind. My eyesight was also beginning to clear. I could see light not from the sun, but from some kind of small oil lamp. However, the periphery of my eyes was still cloudy. More memories hit my brain. My foolish attempt to end it all, the dead fox, the destroyed village, my being chased by the soldiers and by the... My pupils narrowed sharply. The tiger! Where is the tiger? Why didn't he eat me? I tried to sit up on the bed on which my body was lying. Straightening my torso, I quickly lost all my senses and was forced to let my body collapse on it. But what is happening to me? Why am I like this? Suddenly, something jumped to my mind. I am not at the bottom of this precipice, someone pulled me out! But who? And especially why? Other questions came to my mind, what are they going to do with me? Do they want to keep me "fresh", to eat me later? I sighed deeply, it is useless to extrapolate like that. If they come to me, I will have to be as stoic as possible. I don't want to give them any leverage over me at all. I just can't trust animals! Who knows what's going on in their heads. Yet... I remembered my discussion with this turtle. For an animal I strangely trusted him, why! It's not like we've known each other for a long time. I have only met him twice! I thought intensely, why had I offered him my trust? I felt strangely comfortable in his presence. He was able to calm me down by observing me only for a few seconds, but who is he? My vision was improving from second to second. I could now observe the surroundings attentively. I was clearly in a tent, it was of cream color and obtained orange tints to the flickering of the flames of the oil lamp. A small airstream made the lamp hanging on the central beam surely made of wood dance slightly.
Turning my head to the left, I noticed many supplies on the floor. A small cloth bag was overturned, all the items were scattered and scattered on the floor. I could notice the presence of many small objects, metal pliers, small wooden plates, pieces of white cloth and some kind of herbs of different colors. I looked down at my torso and noticed with surprise that my jacket and shirt had been removed. There were bandages around my upper torso and some kind of plant leaves on my various wounds. So they treated me! But... why? This question ran through my mind, why did they heal me? If it was to eat me later! That makes no sense at all. My senses were fully recovered and I could smell food cooking. The smell entered my nostrils, I could not define exactly what it was. The hunger caught up with me again, my stomach violently compressed in my belly. Should I leave the tent? What if they were trying to do something to me? I shook my head. I don't think they would have taken care of me if they had warlike intentions.
I slowly raised my body, this time I managed to straighten up and sit on the bed successfully, a small stabbing pain made its way into my shoulders. My shoulders are much better. Anyway, in terms of pain, they had to treat the infection but did they remove the bullet? That would be very surprising, I'll have to ask them. I looked down at my legs, all my scars and wounds had also been treated. A basin of water was just to my right, it was almost hidden under the bed, which was more of a wooden board than a real bed. I pulled it out of the dirt and placed it on my lap. I held the basin with my left hand and plunged my right hand into it. I splashed my face several times with the cold water, cleaning and removing all the dirt. What the hell! What I wouldn't give for a hot shower! Satisfied with my cat wash, I wiped off the excess water with my hand and put the basin back on the floor. Looking down, I noticed a small green tail wagging slightly. I refocused my vision and saw with fright the presence of the snake that I had previously seen. She was watching me with great attention. Its azure blue eyes were watching my every move. I flinched at her presence, lifting my legs and laying them on the bed to make sure that no part of my body was exposed to a possible bite. Her body shuddered slightly at my reaction, but she continued to watch me carefully. I folded my knees over me, I saw no way to escape and there was still the possibility that the other four were outside, ready to intervene. A long silence filled the tent, I and she had not dared to break this heavy silence. I looked away, staring blankly ahead, I had to make a decision! A decision that I might eventually regret! But after all, what exactly am I risking? I scratched my throat a little, she tilted her head to the left. The deprivation of food but also of water had greatly altered my voice.
"Why did you help me?" She moved slightly towards me. I flinched, retreating further into the back of the bed. Fear slowly began to rise in me. Seeing my reaction, she stopped and moved back as well. Did she understand what I was feeling? But before I could continue my train of thought, she spoke to me, with a voice filled with kindness.
"Don't be afraid, I mean you no harm." Her words somehow reassured me, my body gently relaxed. My eyes turned to her. I nodded my head in understanding. "We have many questions to ask you," I understood their desire to know everything about me. After all, I am surely one of the strangest creatures they have ever seen. Even I was filled with questions and wondering about them. She continued her sentence, "but first would you like to eat something?" I hope it will be edible, after all they are animals and I am human. Their food is surely very different from mine. I answered with slight apprehension.
"Yes, please!" She stepped back and then left the tent, leaving me now alone. I let my legs fall to the ground, exhaling all the air from my lungs. What was I supposed to do? Tell them all the details at the risk of them taking me for a madman and locking me up? Lie? Tell only half-truths? Or deliberately leave out details to cover my tracks? I started to think intensely about a plan that I would follow. There was no way I was going to tell them the truth! It is too dangerous for me. I had only two options left, to lie or to omit important elements. Lying... This word was running in a loop in my head. I have never been very good at lying, but I have an undeniable advantage, they don't know anything about my race and therefore they won't see my tics as an obvious sign of lying. I put my right hand on my chin and continued my thought process. If they were to find out the truth, what exactly am I risking? It's not like I committed a crime after all. The canvas of the tent moved gently, a slight rubbing sound was heard. Looking up, I noticed the Snake returning with a bowl resting on his tail.
"Here, for you ! I hope you can eat some. We don't know your diet. "She slowly slid to the middle of the tent, before setting the bowl down not far from me and gently pushing it to me. I looked down to see that it was simple noodles with various aromatics and a pair of chopsticks stuck inside. A pleasant smell soon filled the whole small space. So this is what they eat? But how is that possible? Snakes don't chew, they swallow! The same goes for birds! If I remember correctly, he was with the snake. Maybe they think I'm some kind of monkey? After all, the physical similarities are very close. Regaining consciousness of the moment, I bent down and picked up the bowl in front of me. I brought it to my mouth, the steam still escaping from the dish made me move the bowl back slightly. It was very hot, I blew gently on it to cool it down a bit. The snake had not left my eyes and she continued to scrutinize my every move. Did she think I was going to attack her? After a brief moment to cool my meal, I finally brought it to my mouth. Taking a few sips, the broth warmed my body and the flavor was incredible. God knows I ate Chinese food during my studies, but nothing like this dish! I grabbed the chopsticks and began my meal. I planted and swallowed large amounts of food, making an ungainly and disgusting noise. Eating greedily, I raised my head to see that the snake continued to observe me with a disillusioned look? Or rather repulsed? What can I say, its facial expressions were strange, totally different from humans in any case. I put my chopsticks in the bowl and I pushed a little.
"Sorry!"
"Don't worry about it. I've seen worse." She then lowered her gaze to the ground. "I know it's a little weird to be asked like this. But what's your name?" My pupils suddenly narrowed, I raised my head and watched the snake for a moment. Should I tell them my real name? After all, it's not like they could verify that I was telling the truth! Isn't it? Telling my true identity may not be the biggest danger for me right now. I lowered my bowl to my chest.
"Julian... My name is Julian Cooper." Suddenly, the canvas of the tent opened up, revealing the creature I most feared to see again.
"Is everything okay, Viper?" A voice filled with both concern and aggression rang out. My fingers suddenly trembled and I dropped the bowl from my hands. It fell and dropped to the ground, spilling its contents onto the dusty floor. The bowl rolled to the tiger. Or should I say tigress. I backed up as far as I could on the bed, my back resting on the canvas of the tent. My breathing intensified suddenly, I could not control my breathing anymore. What the hell! What the hell is happening to me? Am I still having a panic attack? I concentrated my mind on positive things, hoping to calm down my second state. But I couldn't look away from the tigress who was standing in front of me. Her amber and red eyes penetrated my soul like daggers. I could also deduce that she must be as tense as I was. Was she afraid of me? Or was it just her rough nature? I remained cowering in my seat waiting for my fate like an animal in a slaughterhouse. Again, my mind went into a morbid delirium, showing me images of myself being cooked like a roast chicken. The snake slithered slowly towards the tigress' left leg and started to wrap its tail around her ankle. The tiger's gaze turned away from me. She now watched the snake, her emotions changed from aggressive to friendly and I could see a slight smile forming on her face. The snake finally spoke.
"Yes, Tigress everything is fine! He was just eating his meal." So Tigress is her name... She's named after her species? Strange custom, what happens if she meets another tiger? What does she call him, Mister Tiger? My thoughts were stopped short, when I realized that... well Tigress was watching me carefully, arms? Paws? Crossed over her chest.
"Is he in condition for an interrogation? "My chest sags slightly, an interrogation? I understand they have questions, but... am I a prisoner?
"No, not yet, Tigress. I know you want to do it as soon as possible. But he's still a little loose, probably from the leftover anesthetics. " Tigress huffed in frustration, she left her upright position before leaving the tent quickly. Why did the snake... well, Viper I think ? Had she been protecting me? She could have said yes. I'm sort of awake, I can think logically. Had she seen my discomfort with the tiger? I had to know the answer. I lowered my vision to the snake that had stayed put.
"Thank you..." She nodded and began to put away the things lying on the floor. I thought about what I should ask her. I wanted to know why they had saved me, why the tiger seemed so aggressive and why that snake had protected me? My mouth had become pasty, I just couldn't manage to start a conversation. I closed my eyes and concentrated all my willpower.
"Why did you tell your friend that I am in no condition for an interrogation?" She immediately stopped putting her things away and began to observe me. She slowly straightened up and turned to face me.
"Well... I saw your discomfort with Tigress, so I assumed it was best to wait a bit." I smiled at her in response. Relaxing my shoulders, I continued my little chat.
"Your friend said something about an interrogation, so I'm a prisoner?" She looked behind her almost immediately. Was she afraid that someone was listening in?
"Yes!" My mind froze at her words. What was being held against me? What had I done to be considered a prisoner? Then I suddenly realized what I had done. My Dictaphone! They already considered me a demon and I gave them on a silver platter a good reason to distrust me! I tried to find an answer, arguments strong enough for them to believe me.
"I..." but nothing came out, I was lost. What are they going to do with me? Are they going to burn me at the stake like witches in the Middle Ages? Or will they do something much worse to me? I swallowed my breath, "I am not who you think I am." Fear crept into my voice. The snake slithered gently towards me, I strangely didn't react to its movement, I was too focused on my thoughts and what would happen to me. She stopped a few inches from me, and wrapped its body around me. I fixed my eyes on hers.
"I understand your concern. We'll question you when you're ready, in the meantime we plan to take you back to the Jade Palace. Your things are under your bed. Get ready, Tigress will come for you. "
"No!" my voice coming out louder than I had intended, the snake tensed slightly "... I, uh... Sorry about that." I gave her a slight smile "Please, I'd like someone other than... uh Tigress is that her name?" She looked at me warily.
"Okay! I'll have Crane come and get you ready, Juulyaan." A small smile formed on my face. To hear a talking snake try to pronounce my name, but couldn't! It was something quite funny, I had to admit. In her words, she left the tent and finally left me alone. I was still curled up on my bed, I let my body relax a little. So I'm a prisoner... probably accused of witchcraft or some other such crime. What will they do with me? I had already asked and she only answered me with an "interrogation".
"An interrogation..." I mumbled. Why do I think it's not going to be a simple interrogation! I repositioned myself on the bed, putting myself in a sitting position. And the worst thing is that I have a strong feeling that I'm going to have this tiger as my guardian! I placed my hands over my face, a slight pain stung my left arm. Life can be abject sometimes. Not only is my world disappearing, the one I trusted most has betrayed me, I'm sure to be accused of witchcraft, and I have one of the few animals I don't like as my guardian! Taking my hands away from my face, I reached down and pulled a package from under the bed, probably containing my things. I unpacked my things, taking out my different clothes. My shirt came out first, I unfolded it and put it on rather easily, a slight pain in my upper back was present though. I buttoned it and took out my... blouse, what was left of it. I unfolded it to see that it was torn from side to side. No way I was going to put that rag back on, my pants were already partially destroyed. I decided to check my pockets, wanting to remove my things. Searching the first pocket, I noticed that it was totally empty. I checked in my second empty pocket too! They took my stuff? I had to admit that it was pretty logical, I am a prisoner. I realized that they had probably found the rest of my stuff: my pen, my wallet, my Dictaphone hoping it was broken and my candy bar. I let go of my suit, and it fell to the dusty floor.
Suddenly I heard voices outside, I got up from the bed and slowly moved towards the opening of the tent. A thin light was shining through the doorway, I placed my right eye in the opening. The outside opening gave me a nearly unobstructed view of the entire camp. Well, the campfire and the second tent to my left. Four individuals I had previously encountered were on my right and rather in the center of the camp. There was the monkey and the wader standing side by side. The tigress, she was gesticulating in all directions and seemed particularly upset. The snake who was watching the tiger carefully, but where is the... The canvas of the tent opened suddenly. My surprise was so great that I toppled backwards, my buttocks hit the ground and the tent shook violently. In my confusion, I accidentally knocked over the water basin that was behind me. The water spilled onto the ground and began to seep into the cracks in the earth. The green cockroach was standing right in front of me with his arms crossed over his chest.
"So, are we curious?" The others quickly arrived near the entrance to the tent. I swallowed slightly, my gaze flicked to each of them, ending on the tigress. I noticed that her body tensed at my gaze. I stood up slightly and sat down on my knees. A slight silence was perceptible, I was waiting for only one thing, a word, a sentence, anything that could reassure me. The tiger spoke, his voice echoing in my head.
"Get out!" I complied without protest, my body rose and I walked slowly out of the tent. I closed my eyes for a moment, I didn't know what was going to happen. Time had suddenly slowed down, unbearably slow! Seconds became minutes and everything became blurry. I was finally forced to open my eyes again, a tear made its way onto my skin, it slowly slid down before falling onto my shirt collar. My eyes landed on the first person in front of me, who was none other than the tiger. Her look had changed, there was something... was she surprised? Her eyes crinkled slightly, she suddenly looked away from the bird and the monkey.
"Monkey and Crane stay with him, don't take your eyes off him!" She turned her back to me and entered the tent, accompanied by the snake. I exhaled with satisfaction and happiness. So they won't hurt me! At least for the moment... The bird came towards me, my eyes went to him.
"Come on over to the campfire. You can warm up." His voice was as compassionate as the snake's, though I managed to detect a hint of fear. So they were all afraid. Perhaps they would need to be reassured that I was not a threat. I moved towards the fire and positioned myself on a tree stump that was lying right next to it. My eyes turned to the bird, I wanted to talk to it. But like earlier, I found myself in trouble and many questions crossed my mind. What to say to them without risking making them angry? Would they even talk to me? The snake is showing reason, but if the others are like the tiger... I immediately stopped my thoughts. Looking straight at the stilt walker, I began the conversation with a great embarrassment in my voice.
"Is your name Crane?" He nodded, perhaps wondering what I was getting at. I myself was sailing in troubled waters, rudderless and captainless. I then turned my sight to Monkey. "And you Monkey, right?" His body tensed at my words. He did not respond to me, either with words or gestures. His anxious reaction was for a positive response. Noticing that my gaze made him rather uncomfortable, I refocused my gaze and said with my lips.
"My name is Julian." My two guards looked at each other, but neither spoke up to answer me. A slight unease crept into my mind, so I began to look around to forget. It was a small clearing, the ground was largely devoid of grass and left the bare earth exposed to the air. The periphery of the clearing was dotted with trees and a few rare bamboo trees. Unlike the clearing I saw yesterday or... two days ago? How long had I been unconscious? One of the many other questions I needed answers to. Raising my vision, I could see a particularly cloudy sky. Clouds of various shades of white and gray were slowly traveling across the sky. Maybe it's going to rain? I hope not, I don't even have decent clothes to protect myself anymore.
"That's what I said, Jiilyane! No ?" My smile slowly grew. I don't know why, but I had a feeling we were going to spend the rest of the day there.
"No, no" I shook my head in denial. "I'll try to get you to pronounce it, it's JU-LIAN understood?" He slowly nodded his head.
"Jiilyane! Is that okay?" He exclaimed, I placed my left hand on my face, slight prickles ran down my back. At my reaction, the monkey's face darkened. "Wait! Wait! Juulyane? Juiliane? Julyne?" It was getting worse and worse, the more he tried to pronounce my name and more he distorted it. I raised my hand in the air, which had the effect of stopping him in his attempts.
"Wait, we'll change our method! Look at my lips and say it after me. "I placed my finger on my mouth and once I had his full attention. I began my... uh, tongue-twister "JOO"
Guess my name.
"JOO!" I nodded my head.
"Good ! Now LEE." Concentrating a bit, he managed to pronounce the second part correctly to my surprise.
"LEE!"
"Yes that's it! To finish UHN. " The little cockroach quickly arrived and observed the scene with great attention.
"UHN!"
"Now paste it all into one word. "A radiant smile appeared on my face, we'll get there eventually. I could see Monkey's face concentrate hard, he seemed determined to succeed in pronouncing my name. I couldn't blame him if he couldn't do it after all. After a brief moment of intense concentration, he shouted out happily.
"Jiilyane!" A laugh echoed in the air, I lowered my gaze to see that it was the cockroach laughing out loud. I turned to face him. He must have been the comedian in charge, why is there always one? Even at the institute, which was normally an extremely serious place, there were colleagues with a dubious sense of humor. At least there I could avoid them. But now... well, I think he's going to be a little annoying. What if I played a joke on him too? I knew the names of the others but not of him and being logical he also had the name of his species.
"Let me guess your name." He crossed... well, his arms between them.
"Try a little demon!" I squinted my eyes. I called him a cockroach, but I'm not even sure that's what he is. I raised my gaze to the sky, making it look like I was thinking intensely.
"Uh... wait, wait. I'll figure it out." A wide smile appeared on his face, I couldn't hold mine back either. "I've found it! It's Cockroach." He straightened up abruptly.
"Cockroach! Who called you a cockroach!" He started jumping around in anger, "You naked monkey! If you weren't our prisoner, I'd give you a beating!" Laughter could be heard to my left, Monkey and Crane were laughing loudly.
"What's going on, Mantis?" The laughter suddenly dried up and I immediately recognized the tiger's voice. It was both authoritative and aggressive. Why was she the only one to react this way? Probably she doesn't like my face anyway, I'm not here to make friends! But to find out if any of my people survived. The others turned to her. I didn't even pay attention to her arrival, I was too afraid to have another panic attack. I fixed my vision on the ground, completely ignoring the outside environment. After a brief moment of silence, I heard footsteps coming near me, a shadow passed in my field of vision.
"Stand up!" I complied, I was not going to make things worse by making my strong head already what is painful enough for me. I stood up, still looking down at the ground, my right leg began to shake. I was about to have another seizure. I expected to be brutalized, but nothing came. Surprising myself, I looked up to see that the tigress was watching me. She was standing straight in front of me, her arms crossed along her body. "We are going to leave! We will escort you to the Jade Palace, we will be there in a few hours!" Her voice was still rather aggressive. But it still sounded a little more... friendlier than before. I simply nodded in response. She quickly swept her foot across the ground and a large amount of dust flew into the air, eventually crashing into the campfire as the remaining flames quickly died out. A thin white smoke rose into the air. As I looked around, I saw that the camp was completely gone. The two tents were gone as if they had never existed. They had gathered around me, all carrying small luggage except for the snake and the cockroach who carried absolutely nothing.
"At least we won't have to carry it anymore!" Said the monkey with relief. Carry me? I turned to the monkey.
"What do you mean by transport?" The answer came not from the monkey but from the snake.
"Well, well. You were unconscious for two days, so we had to transport you." His revelation didn't surprise me that much. I was physically and mentally exhausted, but still, two days! This was the first time in my life that I had come so close to death, except... My vision darkens. I remember what I almost did in the clearing. My thoughts were suddenly broken, by the voice of the tigress.
"Is everything ready?" She then looked around, observed her surroundings for a moment. She grabbed a red bag that was positioned not far from her. "Then let's go!" She looked at me for a moment. "You stay in the middle of the five of us!" She began to walk forward. I followed the established march. They told me that they will take me to a palace? The jade palace, to be precise. Who will I meet there, a king? An emperor? A ruthless warlord? I didn't know and it will be up to me to be very careful, who really knows what will happen to me. I will know in a few hours...
And that's it! I must admit that I didn't plan to make such a long intro. So I decided to cut my chapter in two to make it a bit more digestible for you and for me.
If you have any questions or queries of any kind please don't hesitate to ask or even criticize me! (Say how bad I am, come on! DO IT!) If you don't want your comment to be public. Then send me a PM. See you next week for new adventures always further, always higher, always stronger. This is Noxymilien, end of transmission.