Hello everyone and sorry for the delay. I don't really have an excuse for this. I actually wrote a chapter that won't happen for a while I wanted to study the psychology of the character and not botch it especially since it's going to be pretty interesting. The previous chapter has been quite popular and I appreciate your feedback. And as always, if you have any complaints about the wording, grammar or spelling, let me know, I'll be happy to listen.

Back to Julian's point of view for this chapter and for the next one.

My usual thanks to Echoes.

And good reading

Time was passing so slowly, it was as if someone had stopped time altogether. I let out a deep sigh of frustration, I didn't even have my watch to check the time. I was like a caged animal ready to go completely mad at the slightest annoyance. Why was this damn tigress treating me so brutally? No matter how much I told her the truth, she just didn't believe me. It wasn't just fear, I could also see anger, pure hatred towards me. I understood that I had crossed the line with my altercation with the cockroach... no, the mantis. But I apologized for my bad behavior. So why continue to hold a grudge? I breathed even harder, besides the fact that my brain wouldn't let go of my little interview with her, sleeping with my hands tied was a real challenge. Turning again and again on my rigid and uncomfortable wooden board that served as a bed. I tried in vain to find a comfortable position and after a brief moment of unsuccessful testing and trying, I resigned myself to wanting more sleep. Straightening my torso, I sat down on the edge of the bed, placing both my fists bound between my legs. All these negative feelings had completely broken my spirit. I looked straight ahead at the canvas of the tent, I needed some fresh air. A thought came to my mind, did I have the right to do this? I was after all a prisoner, I didn't think I had permission to walk around without a guard by my side. I breathed out in frustration, I didn't even know where they had gone, none of them had come back to the tent after the storm had stopped.

I had gotten out of bed, decided to get some fresh air. I moved the tent canvas to the left with my two hands, giving me a view of the rest of the camp. It was still dark, the night was not over, how much longer did I have before morning came? I didn't know and I didn't care. I noticed that the monkey and the mantis were resting near the campfire, which was still slightly smoking. Where was the tigress? I turned my gaze to the left. I looked at the second tent in front of me and concluded that she was probably inside. This was a good thing, at least the first face I would see this morning would not be hers. I raised my arms above my head as far as I could. At the same time, I arched my back backwards, stretching as far as I could. My cartilage started to crack suddenly, probably from sleeping on that damn board for days on end. I couldn't believe that he was able to sleep on such beds. Was it me who had acquired expensive tastes? Or was it them who were archaic?

Once I was back in position, my gaze went to the big crack in which we had managed to escape certain death. I calmly walked towards the edge of the cliff, being careful not to wake my guards. Being now close to the edge, I looked curiously at the bottom of the precipice, but I noticed that a thick fog was still present, preventing me from seeing how far down the abyss went. A fine, cool breeze caressed my face and hair. Looking up at the horizon, I discovered that the morning sun was rising. Its intense orange notes split the low clouds, altering its colors into different shades of orange. At that moment, I remembered the sunset on my first day here on... this planet? I suddenly realized something, was it still earth? I mean, my earth? Had I been projected into a distant future or past? Or was it another world, in another galaxy? Another dimension? A slight sarcastic smile formed on my face, a dimension... A theory that has never been proven and was even considered fantastical. Yet some colleagues I knew had spent years developing various theories and calculations to support this reality. We laughed in their faces, and some of them were even disbarred from science for illegal experiments. If I had known, they were right.

The sun continued its slow rise, now giving more yellow notes. A new day was beginning, maybe everything would be okay today and hopefully the tigress had calmed down a bit. I remembered what she had told me about not eating any form of meat, it was unbelievable and preposterous how she could seriously make me believe that she didn't eat meat. It wasn't natural, not consistent. She who had told me that I should not lie was blatantly lying to me. I suddenly heard a slight rustling behind me, but before I could turn around, a voice I knew all too well addressed me aggressively.

"What are you doing here?" My body flinched, less so than the other times. Perhaps I was getting more and more used to her presence. I slowly turned around, showing that I wasn't trying anything stupid. I noticed immediately, the tigress in her usual outfit, a kind of yellow-orange bathrobe. I did not look her in the eye, fearing to see a look filled with fury and anger, dissuaded me.

"I just wanted to get some air" An unintentionally too sheepish and weak look was audible in my voice.

"Is that all? " To my surprise, her voice wasn't aggressive, rather she was surprised.

"Uh... well yes, why?" She ignored me completely and preferred to move on to another subject

"You will proceed to a complete wash, Monkey will lead you to a proper place. Now go back to camp!" I noticed her shadow leaving the ground, I deduced that she was now gone. I looked up and saw that she was now in the camp making various preparations. I turned to look at the sunrise one last time. The day star was rising higher and higher in the sky, so that it was difficult for me to see it. I looked away and returned to camp, ready to go who knows where to take my bath. The monkey noticed my approach and walked toward me.

"Hi Juulyane!" He greeted me warmly and also bowed, surely as a sign of respect. I knew this Asian custom of bowing to greet people, so I bowed too.

"Hello," I said as I straightened up, "I understand you have to take me to the bath? His eyes went to mine for a moment, before I saw a smile form on his face.

"Yes, and you need it!" He answered me by snapping his hand in front of his nose. Ordinarily, I would have taken such a remark very hard, but I had to admit that he was totally right.

"It wouldn't be a luxury. Your tigress might accuse me of trying to poison you." I answered him with a mischievous look, he laughed heartily at my joke. At least he had a sense of humor.

"Come on, I'll walk with you." He grabbed a small bag and went ahead of me, I followed him without question. As we left the camp, I couldn't help but look at the tiger out of the corner of my eye. Who was talking with the bird, I was sure she was watching me too. As we walked away from the camp, I soon lost sight of her. A thought occurred to me, and she was following me to see if I was trying something stupid? That would mean she would surely see me... I quickly suppressed the thought. I was sure that even she would respect my privacy. We went deeper and deeper into the forest, where was he leading me? I didn't know, and I hoped it wasn't too far yet, my shoes were completely worn out and ruined. Walking a long distance in these shoes would be like running a marathon in wooden shoes. The forest had suddenly opened up and was now a small pond, the air was slightly warm, I even noticed steam coming out of the water. Hot water? So there is geothermal activity here, having hot water was going to be a great luxury, and I was going to enjoy it. The monkey stepped in front of me and pointed to the small steaming pool with his right hand.

"Here's to you taking your time, but not too much. You wouldn't want to worry Tigress?" The fact that there was the possibility that the tiger would show up out of the blue, made my body tense slightly. He noticed my discomfort.

"It was a joke, even Tigress respects the privacy of others." He reassured me. I looked up at him and bowed my head in thanks. I moved closer to the water's edge, its steam burning my face with soft and pleasant warmth. I turned back to the monkey.

"Can you untie me and leave me alone for a while?" I just wanted some privacy, I didn't want to try to run away, not yet at least? He quickly refused, with a quick, sharp shake of his head.

"I can't, what if you run away?" I knew they were afraid of this, so I had to find a way to assure them of my good faith.

"I understand" I presented my bound hands prominently, "I could never wash with this. How do you expect me to get my shirt off?" He placed one of his hands under his chin.

"Shirt? Anyway! Anyway, what if you've been trying to gain our trust since the beginning, only to betray us?" This question was logical and insightful, there was no way I could prove my good faith to him. I was unsettled, believing that it would have been easy for me to convince him, I was completely wrong.

"I... you are right, I can't prove your point. The only thing I can tell you is that I will be reasonable." He scratched his chin, his gaze blank. I hoped my good faith would pay off. He stopped and turned his attention to me.

"I'm willing to untie you temporarily and give you a few moments to undress. After that, I will come back and check on you." This seemed acceptable to me because the steam from the water will hide part of my body, and he won't see me fully exposed.

"That is fine for me, I will let you know once I am in the water." He approached me, his fingers came to the knot, he tried as hard as he could to untie my tie. He grunted more and more in frustration, finally he managed to pull the cord off my wrists. I noticed a deep, visible mark around my hands. He handed me the bag he was carrying, I took it in my hands now free to go wherever she wanted.

"What is this?" I questioned.

"Clothes to wipe you down and soap." I nodded and placed the bag on the floor. Looking up, I noticed that he had left, leaving me alone. Finally, alone! Taking advantage of my freedom of movement, I unbuttoned my shirt and put it down near the water's edge. I then let fall what was left of my pants and my underwear on the ground. Now uncovered, I hoped inside that the monkey would keep his word. It would be even worse if he was watching me discreetly behind the bushes. I slowly ventured into the warm water, it was just the right temperature, not too hot and not too cold. My body lay gently on the rocky bottom, the pool was not too deep, which allowed me to get in a comfortable and efficient way to wash myself. I turned my gaze back, I still had to warn the monkey that everything was good.

"It's okay you can come back" A sound of footsteps cracked behind the foliage, the monkey came to face me, a look of both satisfaction and happiness. He was probably wondering if I was going to do him wrong. I admit that I had the opportunity, but I wouldn't have gone far. And I'm sure the tigress would have hunted me down with great pleasure. Extending my arm, I grabbed the bag he had given me. Looking inside, I found the soap he had told me about. It was earth colored and had a slight smell of... I brought the soap closer to my nose, inhaled a large amount of air, and a sweet floral and fruity smell wafted into my nostrils. I couldn't determine what exactly the smell was, but it smelled very good. I rubbed the soap against my skin to begin my wash. I was surprised that the soap did not create a lather, but just a light, slimy, opaque deposit on my skin. As I continued to wash, I turned around to find that the monkey was watching me intently.

"Do you want anything?" I asked with a hint of annoyance in my voice. He stepped back and placed both hands facing him.

"No, I..." He looked down at the ground for a moment, before raising his eyes to me, "I was just wondering why you didn't have hair like the pigs." At the time, his question confused me, but a slight smile grew on my face. I looked away from him, to continue my grooming.

"That's how it is! That's how my species is." I passed the soap over the rest of my body, continuing to wash myself in a methodical and organized manner.

"What is your species called?" The question had fallen, after all I should have expected it, talking about humans like that. Should I tell him more about humans? It's not like it's a life and death thing after all.

"We call ourselves human," I replied without stopping to clean myself.

"Where are you from?" It's questions, although sincere and justified, started to get closer and closer to my problem. I had to answer him, at least to drown the fish, as they say.

"From far away across the ocean" It was a risky bet, I didn't know the geography of this world. I couldn't go into detail without getting into trouble. Fortunately for me, he didn't go into any more detail, and I was now done washing, so I turned back to him. "Can you leave, so I can dry off?" I noticed a slight nod of my head.

"I doubt you'll run away naked, will you?" An amused smile was displayed happily on his face. I replied with even more humor.

"I'm at least sure your friend the tigress won't chase me." He chuckled at my joke

"That's clear!" I furrowed an eyebrow, it was my turn to laugh at his face.

"You think I'm ugly?" The bomb just dropped, the monkey's eyes broke down, he stammered incomprehensible words. Before managing to put a few words in a sentence.

"Uh... no! It's not..." He didn't know where to put himself, and I could see his discomfort growing by the minute. A small hint of shame spawned in me, I didn't want to make him so uncomfortable.

"I'm kidding, don't worry." His eyes lit up again and a small smile was on his face.

"Very well, I will leave you now." He left me again, now leaving me alone and once out of my sight. I got out of the water and took the towel that was in the bag and started to dry myself. Wiping myself thoroughly, I took the opportunity to observe the surroundings. The vegetation of the forest was rather dense and lush. The roots of the trees were coming out and intertwining on the ground. And as always a terrible and heavy silence. No birds singing, just the sound of the wind blowing through the foliage. I thought I would have a really hard time getting used to such silence. Letting my towel fall to the ground, I grabbed my clothes, quickly putting them back on. If the monkey came back while I was still getting dressed, it was going to be very embarrassing. Buttoning up his shirt I heard a rustle in the foliage, lifting my head to see who it was I asked aloud.

"Is that you?" No answer came, a slight uneasiness took hold of me. Was he playing a joke on me to get back at me from earlier?

"Is that you, Monkey?" An ever intense and unpleasant silence stretched every part of my body. My discomfort intensified, it was deeper and sharper than before. It was taking over my mind and my thoughts little by little. It was not really a discomfort, but a kind of nausea, an embarrassment that was not natural. More and more negative feelings made their way into my head. A deep voice suddenly reasoned in my mind.

"Kill it! Kill the monkey!" I had a headache, who had spoken? Was it me? Was I going completely crazy? The voice continued to whisper things into my mind.

"Free yourself! Kill the monkey!" I placed my hands on my head, that voice was hurting me and starting to get deeper and deeper into my head. I was begging to let me go, to give me my freedom. Suddenly, I felt his presence disappear, giving me back total control over my mind. A green and white shadow quickly made its way through the vegetation. Making me jump with fear, there was indeed someone watching me. I didn't have time to see more details, but I had the impression to see some kind of animal mask on his head. Another noise made me jump in the air, I turned to the origin to see with joy that it was the monkey that had returned. I pointed in the direction of the unknown thing.

"Did you see that?" I asked, worried by the situation. He raised an eyebrow and looked in the direction I was pointing.

"What exactly?" So he hadn't seen anything, so I brought one of my hands to my forehead.

"I think someone was watching me!" My voice was filled with both fear and anger, someone had been watching me while I was taking my bath. Why? Why was he watching me? Out of curiosity, or for something else? Was it him talking to me?

"Sorry, I didn't see anything." He looked at me for a moment and showed me his nose, what was he trying to tell me? That's when I realized what he was getting at. I brought one of my fingers to my nose. I felt a warm liquid slide over my finger. I then observed what it was, even though I knew what to expect. A red liquid was glistening and shining, my nose was bleeding. Was this because of what had happened to me?

"What happened to you?" There was no way I was going to tell them the truth, they would think I was a dangerous lunatic. They already considered me dangerous.

"I bumped myself, it's nothing. "I assured him. The monkey walked over to me and picked up the soap and towel and put them back in the bag. My gaze returned to the place where I had seen this... stalker was a very good word. He turned back to me, the famous cord in his hand. I closed my eyes, understanding what he was getting at, and held my arms together. I felt the rope twisting around my fists again and again, the bonds tightening against my skin. Once he had finished, he went in front of me and I deduced that he was going back to the camp. I followed him, paying attention to the surroundings, who knew that this unknown woman had returned to observe me. The way back to the camp was without any incident and without having seen this mysterious shadow. The tigress was the first to welcome us, I could see a kind of relief on her face. She put one of her hands on the shoulder of the monkey and spoke in a low voice so that I could not hear her. He turned to me and denied it with a shake of his head. What could she possibly have asked? I suddenly noticed several other wading birds repairing and straightening the damaged bridge. It was a surprising and fascinating show, they were fast and precise. The bridge was already half repaired, for a human it would have taken weeks to rebuild a bridge in such conditions, the birds were flying and hovering above the void pulling, tying and connecting the different parts of the bridge without ever colliding. I approached this enchanting aerial dance. I immediately saw all the possibilities that the gift of flight offered. Whether it be in construction, sending messages or even used in warlike conflicts. This last point displeased me enormously, in the wrong hands such a power could become extremely dangerous. But I assumed that they were already aware of all their potential, considering the incredible show I was watching. Turning my gaze to the left, I noticed that the tigress was also watching the show. I hadn't even seen her approach me. I refocused my gaze on the workers, I was slightly disgusted I didn't dare speak with her beside me. I drew all the courage I could muster and finally spoke up.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" I noticed her eyebrow arched upward, her amber left eye left the aerial ballet for a moment to turn to me.

"Very few people get to recognize such talent. They do a remarkable job, but many take it for granted" These words resonated with me, it was one of the faults of humanity. He took for granted certain things that he felt were his by right, like natural resources. How many "sub-trades" were considered in this way? Sweepers, garbage collectors and so on. They did a remarkable job that very few considered worthy. Science was not isolated, how many times was I insulted as a lab rat, by representatives of crooked cooperation or other ignorant people. His voice broke my train of thought.

"Monkey told me you saw something, what was it?" I understood what she was getting at. What did this creature really have in mind about me? I had to talk to her about it, it was far too important.

"I don't know, the only thing I can say is that he was wearing green and white clothes." I replied while shrugging my shoulders.

"You don't know?" A slight full of suspicion was perceptible. It was understandable, even though I didn't see the point of me deceiving them like that. Except maybe to disperse them, or lead some kind of distraction.

"Yes, I really don't know. I also thought I saw a helmet in the shape of an animal, I could not determine what it represented." I had, as with the monkey, deliberately ignored the episode of my discomfort. It was as if I felt the weight of countless negative emotions bearing down on me. I will have to study what has happened to me, so that it never happens again.

"An animal mask? Strange, I've never seen anything like that. I would ask Master Shifu about that." Master Shifu, they had already talked about that name, but I had not paid much attention to it.

"If he is your master, are you some kind of stooge?" His eyes suddenly embraced, a claw rising to my face.

"Don't disrespect him! This is not servitude, he teaches us the art of Kung Fu, both through physical training, and spiritual training." She proclaimed with great determination. This phrase, 'spiritual training' echoed in my mind. So he was more of a religious leader, were they in some kind of cult? I focused my attention on the claw that had risen in front of my nose. I was going to have to weigh my words carefully, otherwise I was pretty sure she wouldn't hesitate to come at me with her claw.

"I didn't mean any disrespect, I just misspoke. Please forgive me. So he's some kind of guru? Are you in a religion?" The claw withdrew from in front of me. I looked at her for a moment, her amber eyes fixed on mine.

"Yes, Shifu plays the role of teacher and guide. Some people consider Kung Fu as a kind of religion, as you say. Although for me, it is considered a way of life, a philosophy more exactly." I nodded my head in understanding, so it wasn't a cult, well not really, more like a kind of art of living. Yet she hadn't denied the word guru, which was rather contradictory to what I had said about bondage and religion. It was necessary to dig deeper.

"I don't understand exactly, I said Shifu was your guru. But yet you told me there was no concept of servitude?" She continued to look me straight in the eye, one of her eyebrows had risen.

"We must obey him out of respect for his title, but mostly because he has more knowledge and wisdom than us. But that does not compare to enslavement." She tried to explain to me. All this was very disturbing to me, where I came from having a guru meant being manipulated and in the worst case, indoctrinated in false promises.

"Sorry, this is all pretty new to me. Where I come from, a guru and more of a manipulator to curry favor and deceive people." She seemed at the moment surprised by my words, and a look with a hint of pity made its way through her eyes, her regulation attitude quickly took over.

"Then these people do not deserve to be called teachers, gurus or masters. But rather manipulative swindlers, teaching empty perfidious words." Her words were strong, but nonetheless frank and true. It was another culture, it was obviously different from mine, and I wasn't going to question everything. I was nevertheless more curious to meet Shifu, should I call him master too? I would ask them on the way, hoping that I wouldn't because it would make me very uncomfortable. I looked away from the camp, and saw with amazement that there was hardly anything left of the two tents.

"Are we leaving already?"

"Yes, we will leave as soon as the workers have finished their work. I think we will most likely be at the jade palace around noon." I was about to find out what this 'jade palace' as they called it really was. Was it really made of jade? Or was it a prestigious title that was given? I sat on the ground watching the work of the workers again. The tigress was still beside me with her arms, or paws, crossed against her chest. I felt her gaze on me, but I didn't pay attention to it, keeping my concentration on the work that was going on in front of me. One of the workers hovered gracefully in the air before suddenly swooping toward the fog. I leaned over worriedly to see where he had gone. I held my breath and after a brief moment of concern, the bird emerged from the mist with great speed. I noticed that it had grabbed some wood and rope debris with its feet. I resumed my normal breathing, relieved that nothing had happened to it. My vision suddenly clouded, had I just become concerned about one of these creatures? Not that I considered them unworthy of my concern, it just made me feel a little weird to be worried about a bird. It will take some getting used too soon, because I was afraid that the new home of humanity was this world. Oh, such a different world.

A new chapter finished and a mystery that continues to grow. Stay tuned and see you next week for new adventures, always further, always higher, always stronger. This was Noxymilien at the end of the transmission