Waking up to the green smell in the air, The stubby undead opened his eyes with a deep breath.
Yesterday climbing the trees had seemed like the most logical course of action, but there were definitely some facts ignored. Like for instance, the fact that he had slept on a branch and was still not sure if he should be going back down..
He felt danger lurking below, he could hear it in the bushes rustling. Fear lurking in his heart, he closed his eyes and took deep breaths to extricate himself from this environment. Relaxation entered his mind bit by bit and with it some memories came to, his name.. Tang Xu, he was- an undead nobility.. How he got here though was a mystery, last thing he remembered was being knocked out by an explosion when riding home in a carriage.. From, a play date with an undead girl from another family…
Finding some peace and distraction from the unknown, he went on his way down the branches with agile jumps and swings. He headed off in the path he had left behind though it had almost reverted back before he ran through it in a craze.
Pushing through the Elephant ear leaves and stepping over the coiling roots he felt the air growing heavier, the smell of green contaminated with miasma and rustling noises popping off from time to time had his mind alert. After 20 minutes of tension rising and sweat proliferating his pores from anxiety he pushed through a wall of leaves. In front he saw a monkey, the monkey, looked at him confused and then with ecstatic cheer he ran over to Xu. Xu having been in constant state of weariness tried to back off and fell over the root behind his feet. “Oohh aah aah!” The monkey who had been running towards him fell over too from laughing at Xu, “ooh ooh ooh ahh!”
Xu crawling onto his butt planning on leaving saw the monkey and felt relief over his confusion and stopped in his tracks looking at the monkey laying on his back and patting his stomach as if he was choking from the laughter.
After a good round of laughter the monkey looked up at Xu who was still hesitating on what to do. “ooh ahh!” They stared at each other for a few seconds, the monkey doing most of the ‘Talking’, then the monkey turned away and ran into the jungle, releasing a sigh of dumbfounded relief from Xu, but before he could breath it he could hear the monkey returning and now it had two bananas in its hands.
Reaching Xu the monkey reached out to give one of the bananas to Xu. Xu being a bit vary and dumbstruck he didn't reach for it right away, in spite the monkey wasn’t offended, staring dumbfounded at his new friend he dropped the banana and with large motions demonstrated to Xu how he opens his and mimicked taking bites from it. Picking up the banana again and reaching out towards Xu the monkey watched expectantly for his friend to take it.
Hesitantly Xu took the banana and peeled it while glancing at the monkey from the corner of his eye, what he saw was the monkey nodding self satisfied, having taught his friend how to eat his favorite food. Giggling inside he took an exaggerated bite like the monkey showed him, making the monkey fall over screeching from laughter. Feeling safe again, with the ominous unknown leaving the back of his mind he ate his banana with the monkey who then brought red fruits which they ate and then blue berries that they ate.. And then brown hairy shells that they cracked open and drank from. Everything was fine and full of laughter.
Somehow he had released his reservations towards this monkey and this environment for however long those 15 minutes were but now that he had eaten his fill and the monkey at his side was snoring in the grass, he started thinking again and found it quite weird how there weren’t any close rustles of trees, how the monkey just slept out in the open. This monkey wasn't big at all, and couldn’t utter the roars it could hear in the distance a day ago.. So this monkey probably had parents that just weren’t at home right now. ‘ROOOOAR!’ Both Xu and the Monkey jumped up from the roar, but unlike the scared witless Xu, the monkey screeched cheerfully and went over to convince his new friend to come meet his mom.
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Watching the undead run away from her child. The huge king kong known as Miss Bloodfur in this Jungle growled pleasingly to herself having such immense knowledge over the psychology of weaklings, simply yell in their direction and they scurry away every time.
“Ooh ahh..” Her son Bloodfist, still growing into the name was laying on her shoulder lamenting his new friends departure. “Oohh.. ahh ahh.” Whatever she said made Little Bloodfist relax and fall back asleep with a smile. Though the mother looked again as if she had just pulled off a move of unparalleled intelligence.
Tang xu was running away again, though the run only lasted for the few minutes he felt a chill on his back, then he petered off into a cautious tip toe open and alert.
He was quite full at the moment and didn't really feel like running around, but rather felt like looking for a place to stay. Not too far away from where he met the monkey he found a little cave entrance on a mountain he had only noticed that time he looked above the canopy on the first day. Though quite ominous the cave was lit well enough by red glowing lines on the cavern walls that he found it quite clean and didn't worry about parasites of the dark slipping into his nose and ears to eat his insides. Though he did stay super alert to squish anything that even remotely moved in his vicinity while in there.
First step was of course the hardest, but the inviting smell of dry brimstone chased away the wet air of the Jungle that weighed on him for the last two days. Inside he also did not see anything moving though the ground was hot, he still had shoes on so he could only imagine the floor would not let him rest his bare feet. Walking in for around 200 meters his shoes felt as if they were enduring some hot abuse, but they did not reach an uncomfortable temperature. Another 100 meters down this winding path he found a little warmly lit red cave, glaring compared to the red veins adorning the cavern prior. Mesmerized by the beauty of this red tint cascading outwards with depth that overshadows even the rivers of the blood moon.
Though vigilantly, he continues towards it and by the entrance is greeted by a sight of wild red fauna growing in such abundance and variety; vines, flowers bushes with berries and Burgundy trees topped with blazing leaves completing the red spectrum of color in its entirety. Looking deeper it only grows denser but notable by the cavern walls this space was no larger than some three to four hundred meters in from wall to wall.
Feeling excitement manifest in his stomach and a certain euphoric wonder he stepped inside and went to the closest bush, picking a single orange berry seeming the size of an eyeball he felt warmth from it spreading into his hands and an itchy smell of pepper but with the depth of sweetness, with an urge he opened his mouth and was about to put it in his mouth when he realized his blunder. ‘!!’ with a sudden cold wind brushing the sweat on his brows he stops in the act and pops the berry in his hand. “Oh for the love of god!!” Shaking the remnants and juice from his hands frantically a drop slips into his mouth, before he cant begin to freak out even farther the drop brings a wave of taste, undeniably a work of spiritual wonder; eclipsing mere physical senses. Stopping in place to enjoy that bliss of spiritual fulfillment, the memory of the sunset appears in his mind, manifesting before him redder than before now blazing with heat searing his soul clean, all nonsense disappeared just for that moment in the embrace of true majesty.