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Disclaimer: I own Silver Fox,
she is my creation. Disney owns the cast of Mulan.
There is no profit, just pure unadulterated
fun.
And I'm looking in the mirror all the time Wonderin' what she don't see in me Hey, I'm funny, I'm cool with the lines Ain't that the way love's supposed to be?
~from "Jessie's Girl" by Rick Springfield
~ * ~
The creature crept through the forest, brushing past bamboo trees as she ran. Her clear emerald eyes darted through the black night, seeing all yet revealing nothing. She had been waiting for another chance like this, at least another four centuries. All she needed was the proper victim, now to find one. She decided to go into the city, there was sure to be some weak unhappy twit that she could lead to their doom. But, first a snack.
She carefully hid in the bushes, until she saw a small mouse. The mouse scampered to the bushes, unaware it was going to be eaten. The creature made an acorn appear to the small animal. The mouse picked up the acorn and leaned against the silver body. The mouse dropped the food in terror, but didn't get very far. The creature took it by her paw, then played with it on her claws before she chowed down. Light snack over, she thought with delight Now, onto a more challenging game. She would go into the city to find her intended victim, but if she couldn't find one there she could always look somewhere else. She could always wait that was one thing she was good at. Wait for the victim, there would always be a victim.
Fa Mulan walked slowly through the Imperial City, lost in happy thoughts. It was just yesterday that Li Shang had asked her to marry him and she accepted. She felt deliriously joyful , as she skipped along the spring day like a small child. She knew that she and Shang made the conscious decision to wait a year before they had decided if they were serious, but now she felt that the year's wait had been worth it.
Later that night, she and Shang were going to go to her parent's house to make a formal announcement and for Shang to ask her father for his blessing. Of course it was a mere formality and he really didn't need to, since they already knew her parents liked him. But it was tradition.
"Pi- uh, I mean Mulan , hey Mulan, wait up!," a cheerful excited voice called. Mulan turned around to see Ling, one of their friends struggling to catch up to her.
"Why, Ling to what do I owe this honor?," Mulan teased. Ling caught up with her. His face was red from the exertion and he was breathing fast. Mulan patted him on the back. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah, I just saw you over by the Palace and thought I'd catch up with you.," Ling panted.
Mulan's mouth dropped open in shock. "Ling that's over ten miles away in the city! I hope it was important."
"Yeah, uh, I mean yes I just wanted to congratulate you on your upcoming nipp- uh, I mean nuptials." Ling stammered.
"Well, thank you, " Mulan answered slightly confused. "But, you already congratulated me this morning."
The skinny soldier nodded. "Oh yeah, so I did. You're right imagine that. And, Thanks for inviting me uh, us to come to your party."
"Don't thank me, thank Shang . It was his idea," Mulan replied. "You, Yao, and Chien Po are three of our best friends. We couldn't not invite you. Is that all?"
"Actually , I wanted to ask your advice since you're a woman and everything." Ling said sounding like a twelve year old. "You see, um there's this girl and-"
Mulan nodded, as Ling continued. "I mean she's like the one I think about and she may be The One and everything."
"So, she's your dream girl. "Mulan interpreted.
"Yeah , demure pale impressed with my muscles." Ling flexed as if to prove his point and Mulan playfully pushed him away. Ling then turned serious. "But, she doesn't exactly know I mean I haven't told her and I may not even be her type of guy."
Mulan put her hands on her friend's shoulder. "Ling, listen to me. You are a good man. You're warm, funny, loyal, and a good friend. Any woman would be a fool not to see that. You have to show her that. "
Ling smiled . "Thanks , Mulan."
"Anytime," she said, but then she playfully added. "If you introduce her to us, for a price I might not tell her how good you look in a yellow kimono."
Ling's mouth dropped open and he prepared his hands for a playful attack. "No, way that's blackmail. I challenge you."
I accept," Mulan smirked. The two of them blocked and attacked each other for a few minutes , laughing. Then, Mulan kicked Ling to the ground. The male soldier lay on the floor, then he grabbed Mulan by the ankles. She screamed as she fell to the ground. "That's cheating," she complained.
"Well, I'm a cheater.," Ling grinned.
Mulan then stood up. "I have to go. I'm meeting Shang later . Bye."
Ling watched the female soldier go, until she was swallowed up by the crowd. He felt angry with himself. He clenched and unclenched his fists. "No, Mulan, she isn't my dream girl at all," he said to the air that he pretended was her. " She's opinionated, stubborn, intelligent. She looks great in male armor and has a fiancee who just became general and would probably kill me. I love you, Mulan." Frustrated, he kicked a rock in front of him. But, the rock stabbed his toe. He winced and cursed in pain.
Ling sat in the tent in silence watching the stars come out in the twilight evening. He was so lost in thought, he didn't hear his friends enter. "You didn't need to play so many pranks on the rookies., " Chien Po corrected Yao sternly.
"Yeah, but it was fun, wasn't it Ling?," the small gravelly voiced soldier asked turning to his friend for support.
"Yeah whatever, " Ling said flatly. "Look guys, if you don't mind. I'd like to be alone for awhile."
"What's wrong, Buddy Boy?," Yao joked, pushing his friend to the side. "A girl finally looked at ya?"
"Nothing's wrong. Will you get off my case?," Ling snapped.
Yao twirled around in anger and shock at his normally easygoing friend's behavior. His face turned red and he clenched his fist ready to punch him out. "Get off your case? Why, I'll-!"
Chien Po hushed Yao, then pushed him away. After a few seconds of chanting, Chien Po calmed Yao down enough to explain. "We have seen him act this way before." Ever since the three of them were children, Yao and Chien Po only knew Ling to act that way once, and those were extenuating circumstances. The huge serene soldier ticked the behaviors off his fingers. "He's moody, despondent, sticks to himself-"
Yao finished for him."-Got his head in the clouds, watch.," Yao threw a piece of paper in Ling's head. True to his word, the skinny soldier didn't react. Yao nodded. "You're right, that can only mean one thing, our buddy boy's in love."
"And he can't have her.," Chien Po agreed. The two friends smiled maliciously , then they ran to their friends side and surrounded him. Yao got in his face and pushed his front, while Chien Po sat behind him and pushed his back.
"Come on, Ling, who is the poor unfortunate girl?," Yao asked faking a swoon.
"Yes tell us, we are your friends," Chien Po said.
"I can't , I can't, "Ling gasped, trying to get air in between his friends. Then, Yao and Chien Po grinned and tickled Ling. He laughed hysterically begging them to stop. "Okay, okay, give. Give! It's Mulan."
Yao and Chien Po stopped and slowly got off their friend. There was a silence in the air, before Yao continued. "You mean , Mulan as in hero of China, Mulan? Used to be a man, Mulan? As in engaged to be married to Shang Mulan ? That Mulan?"
:No, my cousin Mulan," Ling said sarcastically. "Yes, that Mulan."
Chien Po put his fingers together, and pretended to be caught up in drumming them before he spoke. "Have you, have you told her, yet?"
Ling shook his head and both Yao and Chien Po sighed with relief. "Good no damage was done." Chein Po said.
"I'm going to , though tonight at Mulan's party," Ling finished. They whirled around in shock, their mouths hung open. Yao was the first to recover. "Well, we'll miss you," he said sarcastically, then he nearly exploded in anger. "Have you thought about this , I mean really thought about this? If you tell her and General Pretty Boy finds out, he will kill you. He will kill you dead!"
"Not to mention that Mulan obviously does not return those feelings and you may interfere in the happiness of two people who really do love each other.," Chien Po added.
"You don't think I don't know that?", Ling asked , rising from his cot in frustration, " You don't think I haven't dreamt of the ways that Shang could kill me, and boy were they creative. That if he doesn't , Mulan might? And not to mention, I'm wasting my breath because she and Shang are together and they love each other, so I can just back off, right?"
His friends nodded. "At last you're making sense," Yao said.
Ling shook his head. "I can't back off. I can't forget about her. Ever since we saw her as a woman, I've been in love with her, so deliriously in love with her that I am so jealous that Shang has her and not me! I can't look at another woman without comparing her to Mulan and believe me, I tried. I've kept it in so long, that I have to tell her how I feel.," Ling then sank back on the cot, exhausted from baring his soul.
Chien Po, sat down with him and gently put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "The love that goes unrequited is one of the hardest burdens to bear my friend."
Mushu entered the realm of the t Ancestors. He walked triumphantly up to the Great Ancestor and grinned. He bowed low in deep reverance. "Yes sir, what's the buzz? Tell me what's happening."
"Mushu , an entity has been sighted. This entity could bring danger to the Fa family and possibly cause trouble for Mulan's wedding to Li Shang." The Great Ancestor said gravely.
"Say no more, sir . I will find this entity and turn it to Entity Hash. Nothing could harm my baby. I would do anything to protect Mulan, anything."
"The entity is Silver Fox," the ancestor said. The red dragon's scales turned pink with fear. His teeth chattered and he bit his nails to the quick. "Anything but that sir. I can't face that manipulative trickster."
"Silver Fox is more than a trickster, Mushu.," the ancestor said. "She is a spirit of disorder and chaos. She lives for bringing dishonor. Men have been driven to madness, even suicide. You don't want Mulan to
suffer because of her, do you?"
Mushu bowed his head in despair. The Great Ancestor knew what buttons to push to get Mushu moving. He didn't need to remind him about Silver Fox's reputation. He was quite familiar with that, having had a front row seat to her manipulating. "But sir, Silver Fox doesn't let herself be seen except to those she chooses too. How will I know where she is? She could go through anybody."
"You'll know, now go Mushu," Mushu then trailed out of the building with Cri-Kee in tow. "There are times when I wish I had just rung the gong." Mushu muttered as he left.
Silver Fox walked around the Imperial City, incognito as always. To the average person , she looked like a normal concubine. Pale porcelin skin, innocent green eyes, long flowing black hair tied up in the right hairstyle, an immaculate pink kimono that showed just enough to get men interested, but hid enough to appear demure. She opened her pink umbrella and appeared, demure, silent, innocent. A perfect trap. Her eyes focused as she found her target. The handsome stalwart soldier and the beautiful intelligent woman draped around his arm. Li Shang and Fa Mulan, her newest targets for dishonor and destruction. They looked so happy together, so in love. How sickening, Silver Fox thought. Soon another family would be brought to their destruction. Silver Fox loved her job, it was so much fun and it was easy to. Manipulating humans to their own defeat didn't need much work. Humans were so susceptible to their feelings and emotions. All it takes is a push in the right direction. Now, who would be her perfect push?
She glanced at Shang and Mulan. No, it would be too difficult. Shang was too strong-willed and Mulan too intelligent. It could be done, but it would take too much work. She could always give them doubts about their union, questions about their fidelity or loyalty to their country. Maybe, later.
A thought occurred to the spirit to attack the couple from within, through one of their friends maybe. She looked at the three men following them, laughing and joking. She caught the small one, Yao, making some kind of comment and getting a hit on the head from Shang in return. What about him? He was emotional enough, and certainly angry enough. Maybe, then she turned to the other two. The big one that was eating a chicken leg in front of his friends. No, Chien Po was too serene, plus he had Buddha guarding him. The last thing Silver Fox needed was a run in with Buddha over one of his subjects. She looked at the thin one and saw her target. She saw the way he smiled and laughed with his friends , his face an expression of pure amusement , but she was able to read inside of his emotions and thoughts: he was clearly in love with Mulan. No doubt about it, Kim Ling would be the proper tool for their destruction. All she had to do was manipulate him to join her side and he would cause their destruction. Silver Fox grinned evilly as she contemplated her plan.
Ling watched Mulan and Shang , wistfully but trying to cover it up with humor. Inside he seethed each time, Mulan and Shang hugged each other. Outside, he laughed at each one of the jokes.
"Hey Pretty Boy, how about kissing her?," Yao shouted, his voice a little besotted with alcohol.
"Hey, Yao, how about dropping and giving me twenty the next time you call me that?," Shang said, but his voice held amusement.
"What's the matter, too chicken?," Yao teased. "Maybe, you need someone to show you how it's done."
"I'll do it," Ling called, with more seriousness than he intended. He prepared to walk up to Mulan, but Yao and Chien Po held him back. Yao gave him a dirty look as they pushed him back.
Shang blushed, "I don't think that now is the time-"
"well, if you won't , I will., "Mulan teased as she pulled closer to her fiancee and kissed him. The two lingered in their embrace. Yao, Chien Po, and Ling pretended to swoon and sigh at their friend's expense, though Ling with less conviction. In his mind, he nearly exploded with jealousy.
~ She's beautiful isn't she? ~, Ling heard a female voice whisper to him, and a breeze tickle his ear.
"Who said that?," Ling looked around in suspicion. "Who said what?," Yao said, looking at his friend, quizzically . Ling darted his eyes around the city. Maybe it's a trick of the imagination, he thought and prepared to return to normal "Nothing, forget it."
~ You want her don't you?, ~ the voice whispered again. ~ You want her to be yours. ~
Ling whispered frantically to the voice. "Yes I want her, but I can't have her. Now, leave me alone!"
His friends turned around to face him in concern. It was just then that Ling realized he had shouted the last part. "Are you all right?," Yao asked. "I mean, you're never all right, but are you yourself?"
"I'm fine.," Ling said. I'm suddenly hearing voices and I'm seriously questioning my sanity, but other than that I'm fine, Ling thought.
Chien Po took a closer look and examined his friend's suddenly pallid face and fevered look in his eyes. "You don't look well, maybe you should go home."
"I don't want to go home," Ling said, hinting to his friends. "I have to go to the party. "
"No, you have to go home," Yao said. Ling glared at his friends, not believing that they would turn against him.
Mulan walked up to Ling and put her hands on his face. Ling felt good at the woman touching him. "Yao and Chien Po are right, Ling. Maybe you should get some rest."
"And miss your party, not for the world., " Ling joked.
Shang then glared at him. "Go home soldier, that's an order. I won't have any man in my company to sick to fight." Ling looked from one concerned friend to the other, then realizing he was defeated, he went home.
Ling felt the slight breeze swaying on the bamboo trees as he entered the camp. He opened the tent flap when he called out to the wind. "Listen, voice in my head. I'm going to bed, so if you have a message for me, I'll try to get back to you later."
~ You know why Shang wanted you to leave don't you?, ~ the voice asked. Ling jumped and turned around. The voice came from a clearing between two bamboo trees. A small silver fox looked up at him resting on it's hind legs. It's jade eyes glittered up at him, as if he were a meal.
~ Shang sees you as a threat , he knows your feelings for Mulan , ~ . Ling heard the voice again. This time it was coming from no, it couldn't be, but the fox. "He doesn't know how I feel about Mulan. I never said anything. I never let on.," Ling said desperately.
A pink mist swirled around the fox and she transformed into a beautiful young woman. She looked at him through those jade eyes, that Ling felt could see right through him. "What, who are you?," Ling asked suddenly feeling afraid.
"Just a friend," the woman said. Her voice was low and icy. "One who can help you. Does it occur to you that maybe, Mulan shares the same feelings that you do?"
"If she does, she hasn't said anything," Ling said. I wish, he thought. He then prepared to go inside and ignore this crazy dream.
"I am very real," the woman said, then Ling heard a higher younger voice, one he knew all to well. "Ling, come to me. I'm waiting."
Ling turned around and saw Mulan in her green and violet kimono beckoning to him. Ling moved up to her. "Mulan, I-,"
"Shh," Mulan said trailing her finger around his mouth, then across his cheek around his neck. "I know. I always knew." Without another word, Ling pulled her closer and kissed her. Their lips pressed together for a long time. For the first time in a long time, Ling felt joy and happiness. Mulan pulled away from the soldier then doubled over in laughter. She transformed back into Silver Fox. "That is a taste of what you could have. You want more, don't you? Now, go to her." Without another word, Ling dashed off to Mulan's parent's house. Silver Fox grinned. She gave Ling a little taste of desire, of course Mulan would reject him Silver Fox knew that, but Ling would want to come back ,and then she would have Mulan and Shang through him.
Mulan and Shang stood outside her parent's home , holding onto each other. "Well, the hard part was over." Shang said, " I have faced Huns, Mongols, criminals, but I have never been more terrified than I was tonight."
Mulan giggled. "Oh come on, my father said yes. You know he likes you, so do my mother and my grandmother. "
"Yes, I know your grandmother likes me. All night, she kept asking me if I had a single younger brother. For her."
The engaged couple laughed at the old woman's pursuits. They sat together in silence. Mulan put the next question as delicately as she could. "Would your family have liked me?"
"Well, I hardly knew my mother. She died when I was very young, but she was kind , a good judge of character. I think she would have liked you. My father, only got to see you for maybe two seconds, and then it was as a male rookie, but I think he would have said something like, 'Unusual bride, son. Not a traditional wife to be sure, but I like her.'"
Mulan smiled a little at her fiancee's accurate impression of his father, but she knew in his heart that he was sad that he hadn't lived to see his son's wedding day. "Does it bother you, that I'm not traditional?" Mulan asked.
"Would I have asked you to marry me if it did?," Shang said leaning closer to his intended bride to kiss her. From the house, the couple could hear Yao threatening Little Brother with his knife for biting him. "I'd better go take care of the children.," Shang said. He kissed his fiancee , then went back inside.
Mulan stood in silence for a few moments, then she heard a voice call her name. "Mulan, psst, hey Mulan!" She turned around to see Ling standing in the shadows. "Ling? We told you to return to the camp. Are you all right?"
"Yes I'm fine, I wanted to talk to you!," he half-shouted. Mulan hushed him as he continued. "Will you walk with me?" They walked across the garden in complete silence.
"Ling, what is it?," Mulan asked, "You've been acting strange lately."
The soldier caught his breath. He stammered the words out."It's just I have a thought., a notion, really top of my head. Tell me what you think. Don't marry Shang."
Mulan whirled around to face him. "What?"
Ling stopped her from walking and pulled her closer. "Mulan, I'm serious. You should be with someone else, someone who loves you. Someone, like me for instance."
~Get on with it~, Silver Fox hissed in his mind. "I am," Ling shot back.
"Who are you talking to?," Mulan asked. "No one, " he continued. "Mulan, listen to me. I'm going to come right out and say it, I love you. I can't stop thinking about you."
"Ling, listen to me.," Mulan said evenly. "I care very deeply for you, You are one of my best friends and I will always love you. But, I'm not in love with you, not like that. I love Shang."
Ling leaned closer to her, so close that she could feel his breath on her face. He grabbed hold of her arm. "Mulan, listen to me, if you tell me you love me, I will just go away. But, remember this I love you for no matter who you are." Mulan drew back, in confusion. There was an almost frightening intensity in his voice. . If it were any other man, she would be a little afraid. But, not Ling, not girl-crazy smart-alecky Ling. At least she hoped it was the same Ling. "Ling, please don't pursue this. It's not right for you to even say it."
Her protests didn't go any farther. Ling pulled her closer and kissed her. At first, she resisted. She tried to pull away from him , but he pulled her back ripping off a small part of her kimono in the process. But, then her arms dropped in momentary weakness. She pulled away from him. There was a complete silence, until Mulan slapped Ling across the face. "I think you had better leave, now." She told him firmly. He took one last look at her, then slipped into the shadows. I guess I told him, Mulan thought sarcastically, as she went back inside.
When Mulan entered the room, her friends and family were seated in a circle talking and having a good time. Granny Fa, was the first to see the young woman enter. "Mulan, what's the matter? You're hurt."
The others looked up at her. Shang ran to her side. "I'm fine, Granny," Mulan lied. " I just fell down."
"Are you sure you're all right, dear?," her mother asked.
Still scared from her attack, Mulan shot back. "Yes, I'm fine, okay?" Her friends and family looked up in shock at the normally calm young woman's outburst. "Mulan!," her father corrected her sternly, giving her the "You are being disrespectful" stare. Mulan sighed, it wasn't any of their faults. "I'm sorry Papa. I'm sorry everyone. I just had a bit of a scare, that's all." She sat between her fiancee and her grandmother and began to make conversation. Through the corner of her eye, she saw Yao and Chien Po exchange a look of quick look of recognition. It was only, for a second, but she had a feeling they knew more than they were letting on.
Ling sat in the forest by Mulan's house mentally kicking and beating himself out. What right did he have to pursue Mulan? She wasn't his girlfriend. She was Shang's . Just forget about it, and apologize to Mulan for being such a jerk.
"Did something go wrong?," the familiar voice teased. Ling was not a bit surprised to see Silver Fox standing by his side.
Ling glared at her, his voice full of venom. "You know damn well how it went! Mulan shot me down. I was such a fool! It's over! I'm just going to get used to it, it's over."
"Really?", Silver Fox said. "It's over? A year of dreaming about her. Waiting at her appointments just so you can get a glimpse of her? Telling the right jokes, just so you can hear the music of her laughter? Driving yourself mad with thoughts about her? It's all over, just like that?"
Ling winced. "Just like that."
Surrounding the entity and the soldier they could hear voices. "We don't know that he did anything to her.," the warm voice of Chien Po remarked.
"Well, what else could bother Mulan so much? You know Ling as well as I do, a little fever ain't gonna stop him. And if he is out of his bed, I'm gonna make him wish he had a fever."
Silver Fox and Ling glanced at each other. "I have to go." Ling said. .
"I know where you can go. Take my hand. There's something I have to show you." The entity held out her hand. Ling hesitated, but his curiosity got the better of him. He held her hand, firmly but gently as they disappeared.
When they landed, they floated in a strange room. It looked like an abandoned temple. The room was colored in black and red. It was barren, and devoid of any furnishings, so their voices echoed and every time, their voices echoed a mist swirled around them. Ling looked around the room, terrified. "Welcome to my home.," Silver Fox said appearing behind him dressed in a red leather pant suit. "Forgive me where are my manners? Would you like a fire?" She pointed at the far end and a small cheery fire arose from it. "How about a drink?" She snapped her fingers and a goblet with some bright thick red drink materialized.
"Why have you brought me here? What do you want to show me?," Ling demanded, trying to find a way out.
"Look over there and tell me you're sure that you don't want Mulan.," Silver Fox pointed to the swirling mist . Ling looked in and saw an image of himself as a child, small sewer rat skinny, starving. A kindly adult stopped to give him a rice patty, after the child begged him for food. Ling watched in further interest as he saw his child self put the rice in his mouth, but then an older tougher boy threw the thin child down and grabbed the rice from his hands. "You have always had to go hungry fight for what you couldn't have. Don't deny it. I can see the truth. "
Ling turned away from the image of his younger self, until Silver Fox told him to look again. The young soldier looked and saw himself slightly older, kissing a girl he had once been in love with. He then saw her father enter and scream at Ling his face red with fury. The old man alternated between yelling at Ling to stay away from his daughter and throwing him out in the pouring rain. The girl turned her head out to the window and smiled wistfully at him. Ling then saw himself a guest at the girl's wedding to a nobleman. Ling winced to hide his threatening tears from the painful memory, as Silver Fox continued speaking, "You have had to watch as the women that you loved would marry other men who were richer, better looking, or'better soldiers."
Ling turned to the entity, still uncertain. "So, you've shown me my life. I know all about my life, seeing as how it is my life. What I don't know is what you are planning on doing about it."
"Not I," Silver Fox said, "I plan on you doing it. See, I can help you get Mulan , but being an entity, I'm bound by certain rules. They aren't my rules, in fact I don't have any rules. And, I need a mortal's help, to act as my loophole per se. I need you to let me inside you , so I can complete my work. First, I want you put this under her pillow. " She made a small gray rock form and then she floated it to Ling's hand.
"What's this for?," Ling asked. He held the cold hard stone in his hand.
"It will just give her nightmares in the right direction," Silver Fox answered matter-of-factly.
"It's not going to hurt her or Shang, is it?," Ling asked.
"Why are you worried about what happens to Shang?," Silver Fox asked. "When you battled the Huns, you didn't lose sleep over how many you killed."
"I know, but the Huns were our enemy, they deserved it," Ling protested.
Silver Fox nodded. "Exactly, this is a war and Li Shang is your enemy. Don't worry about how much he has to suffer." She waved her hand and an image of Mulan appeared in front of Ling. She smiled at him, her eyes brimming with love. Ling looked at her face, then felt the stone in his hand, as he heard the entity's voice hissing. "Say yes, that is all you have to do. Mulan will be yours. You know you want to let me inside you. Say, yes."
Ling heard Silver Fox's voice, and looked at Mulan's face. "Mulan," he whispered. He closed his eyes and made his decision. "Yes," he whispered quietly. Suddenly, Ling doubled over in a sharp intense pain. He felt a weird sensation like he was being tortured and attacked. He writhed and screamed in agony. Every part of his body felt like it was being burned alive. Ling writhed on the floor, begging for either it to stop or himself to die. He let out a bloodcurdling scream, as he blacked out.
The first thing Ling heard was a loud booming, like an extremely noisy obnoxious drum. Ling opened his eyes, as the sun temporarily blinded him. The booming actually came from the chirping of a bird in the trees. Ling struggled to wake up and rise from the ground. He looked at his surroundings. He was still in the forest from last night. He felt the wind scream in his ear and he looked up and saw a bug on a rock fifty feet away. The worst part was he felt a hunger, more intense than any he had ever known. "What happened," he asked dazed.
~ You have me inside you , so you will see things the way I see them ~, Silver Fox said. Suddenly feeling very giddy, Ling began to laugh and he kept laughing hysterically. When he was finished, he headed for the camp with the stone in his hand.