Shades and Scales: Reforged Bond
It was a calm night; the moon was full; the palace halls were quiet.
Nüwa and Xiaotian were fast asleep in their nest; not a care in the world.
Soon however a potent, sickeningly sweet smell began to waft into the room, causing Nüwa to stir, then wake with a start.
Rubbing the sleep from her eyes she glanced at the clock Wukong gifted her; it read ten past midnight.
Nüwa’s eye twitched with annoyance.
She gently tucked Xiaotian in with his favorite blanket and slowly got up.
She began to examine every inch of her room; looking under the bed; behind the furniture; in the closet, looking for anything that could be causing the smell.
When she found nothing, she began to pick up Xiaotian’s scattered toys and brought each one to her nose; suspecting that Xiaotian might’ve gotten fruit juice on something. Still no results.
Soon the smell began to worsen, causing Xiaotian to wake up with a whimper.
Nüwa quickly made her way to the bed to comfort him.
“Ssshhh, ssshhh, ssshh, it’s alright sweetheart” Nüwa gently whispered.
‘Whatever that scent is I need to grab Wukong and get to the bottom of it; otherwise we’ll never get back to sleep’ she thought as she slowly climbed out of bed, with Xiaotian tucked closely to her chest.
As she opened her door she noticed the smell had intensified.
She then spotted the four generals sitting in front of Wukong’s door.
It didn’t take her long to realize the smell was coming directly from his room.
“Ma, what’s going on?” She asked in a concerned whisper.
“Chirp chirp chitter click coo” (King going through bad season) Ma answered somberly.
‘Bad season?………….She must means he’s in rut and is experiencing mating withdrawal. Poor Wukong; I know he and Mihou were inseparable, but to think he’d still be experiencing withdrawal close to five hundred years after his mate’s death’ Nüwa thought to herself sadly.
“You four can leave; I will handle this” she said firmly.
“Chirp-“ (But-) began Liu, but Nüwa cut him off.
“I’ll be fine; I know how to handle a situation like this. Additionally Xiaotian’s presence will help ease the effects of his rut. So I will care for Wukong, and in the meantime you four need to make sure the troop is cared for while the King is out of commission.”
“Chirp, chitter” (Understood, matriarch) the four said in unison before heading off.
‘Matriarch!?’ thought Nüwa with a start ‘I know I’m their prince’s mother, but since when did I become the matriarch!?’
She decided to ignore her inquiry for now, Wukong’s care was more important.
Nüwa pressed her ear to the door; she could faintly hear Wukong whimpering in pain.
She gently opened the door and almost instantly recoiled at the concentrated smell. Regardless she made her way into the room.
She spotted Wukong in his nest, he was tightly balled up in the blankets with only his head sticking out; his face was bright red and his cheeks were tear stained.
She slowly made her way to the bed; as she got closer she could hear Wukong muttering in a strained voice.
“Chirp. Chitter. Cooooooo.” (Scared. Hurt. Want mate.)
He repeated those same words over and over. He was clearly deep in delirium. Nüwa had to be careful, otherwise Wukong might attack her.
Of course Wukong couldn’t actually hurt her, but she certainly wasn’t going to risk their son becoming afraid of his Baba.
Once she reached the bed she gently placed Xiaotian close to Wukong’s nest; not daring to get any closer than that.
Xiaotian slowly toddled towards his Baba, gently cooing to get his attention.
Wukong stirred and opened his eyes, they were glassy and unfocused, but the moment they landed on Xiaotian they cleared up slightly.
He uncurled his body from his blanket cocoon, picked up Xiaotian, and pulled him into the nest, cuddling him close.
“Cooo” (Baby), he said in a strained, tired voice.
Nüwa took a deep breath, giving Wukong a moment before calling out to him.
He looked up at her; his mind still deep in delirium, but his eyes shined with recognition.
Nüwa smiled, “That’s right, friend”.
She slowly reached out and ever so gently petted his head.
Wukong purred softly; until a wave of pain hit his body, causing him to curl into a ball clutching his abdomen.
Xiaotian pressed his head against his Baba’s nose, causing Wukong to breathe in his son’s scent, allowing the pain to ease.
Nüwa felt her determination surge; her mind already planning out everything needed for the next week. But first she needed to leave and grab some bedding so she can fashion herself a place to sleep.
Just as she got up, she felt a hand grab her arm and pull her back.
In a flash she found herself in the middle of Wukong’s nest, being snuggled closely in his arms, with Xiaotian’s little body acting as the only barrier between them.
Nüwa felt her face burn hot and her mind race. ‘Alright calm down Nüwa, you two have shared a nest before, you’ve even bathed together on multiple occasions; so him snuggling close to you, in his nest, while in the midst of a rut based delirium shouldn’t be that different……… So why does my heart feel like it’s about to burst.’
Her thoughts were cut off at the sound of Wukong’s purring.
Seeing his content expression, Nüwa smiled, slowly hugged him back and began releasing her own scent.
The scent of clay and mangoes began overriding the smell of fermented peaches.
For the entire week Nüwa hardly ever left Wukong’s side.
She took care of everyone of his needs; she groomed his fur, helped fix his nest when it got messy, would open the blinds for an hour at a time to allow the three of them to sunbathe, made sure he ate and drank water, sticking to a diet of berries and soft fruits cut into small bites, used her healing magic and scent to help ease the pain when it became too unbearable for even Xiaotian’s presence to help, and drew him a bath whenever his body became soaked in sweat.
She would also handle both her and Xiaotian’s needs at those same times; and left Xiaotian with Wukong whenever she needed to leave to prep or grab supplies.
For nearly the entire time Wukong remained deep in the delirium, but was aware enough to play with, groom, and cuddle Xiaotian.
It was on the seventh day that his mind cleared into full awareness.
Nüwa was gently grooming Xiaotian’s fur, when she heard Wukong groan and felt him shift.
His head emerged from the nest, and to her shocked his eyes were completely clear.
“Nüwa?” He addressed her in a strained voice.
“I’m right here Wukong, do you need something?”
He looked at her slightly confused, “Why are you here?”
“Because you were in rut and needed someone to look after you….. O-o-of course if you meant why I’m in your nest, well you essentially invited me in, by pulling me in every time you went to sleep.” She replied, her voice growing embarrassed.
“I did that!?” He asked, horror rising in his voice.
“Yes, but I didn’t mind at all, I’m always happy to help ease your pain in whatever way I can.”
Before Wukong could respond, he once again experienced a sharp pain in his abdomen.
Nüwa moved quickly, wrapping him in her arms, her hands pressing firmly to his abdomen, activated her magic, and ever so slowly released her scent.
“Thank you.” Wukong said weakly.
“Think nothing of it.” Nüwa said with a smile.
Xiaotian toddled into his parents’ laps and curled up to Wukong’s chest; looking up at him and cooing.
Nüwa looked down at their son and smiled, she began to speak without filtering her thoughts.
“You know, despite the circumstance, it’s an honor to get to witness the strength of you and Mihou’s love” Nüwa said gently.
Wukong stared at her, feeling his heart begin to ache.
“It’s truly a shame that you didn’t get to have children together; it’s embarrassing to admit but I imagine you two together as parents quite a bit, and every time I do I see the two of you smiling happily with a little girl; and funnily enough she’d always have a moon themed name, Mingyue, Jiaoyue-“
“Yuebei-Xing” Wukong said suddenly.
“That’s the name we- well- I wanted to give our first daughter”
“Oh, what a lovely name!!” She said enthusiastically “She would’ve been a very lucky little girl”.
Wukong began to cry, first small hiccups that quickly turned into body shaking sobs.
“Wukong!!!” Nüwa said in a panic, pulling his body into her lap, leaning his head against her chest “What’s wrong, did the pain spike again!!!”
Xiaotian reached up to Wukong and cooed sadly.
“You *hic* shouldn’t be *hic* here” Wukong sobbed, his voice wet with tears.
“Oh Wukong, I’ve already told you, I don’t mind caring for you” she said gently.
“*hic* No, you shouldn’t be here *hic* with me, *hic* neither of you should. *sob* I-I-I’m not safe *hic* to be around. You need to *sob* leave and get as far away from me as you can!!!!”
“Wukong, what in the three realms are you talking about?”
“*sniffle* I lied, when I told you about Mihou’s death months ago, I lied. There was no beast, I was the monster, I STRUCK MY MATE DOWN!!!!! *sob* *hic* And he’s not the only one I hurt, Lie became infected with the samadhi fire and died because of me, I killed and trapped my former sworn brothers, I buried my Dage under a mountain, and left his wife and cub to fend for themselves!!!! *hic* Everyone I ever cared for always get hurt because of me!!! I don’t want the same to happen to you *sob*”
Nüwa went quiet as Wukong continued to sob.
She then pulled him closer to her, laying her cheek against the crown of his head.
“Chirp, chitter click, coo, chirp chirp click, chirp click chitter, chirp chirp, chitter coo.” (It’s alright, no matter what happens, I’ll stay; you can hurt me in whatever way; you can be as cruel to me as you want; I won’t leave your side; that I promise.)
Wukong burst into tears, wrapping his arms around Nüwa and Xiaotian, nuzzling his cheek against her chest and burying his nose in Xiaotian’s hair.
Nüwa in response rubbed slow circles into his back.
While Xiaotian patted his little hand against his Baba’s cheek, trying to wipe away his tears; cooing softly at him.
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