Stranger Danger

Eun-Ae 

It was funny how simple things had become since the last king had passed away. That man was a ruthless beast, and I tried to steer clear of the king and his men at all costs. But it seems as of late. My shape-shifting friends were disappearing one by one with rumors of becoming the new king's consort. I scoffed at the thought as the thudding of hooves stopped some distance from me.

Who dares enter my territory? I wondered as I shifted my ear in the direction of the low thumping sound.

"Who might it be? Another guard coming to tame me?" I whispered to myself, peeking an eye open in the direction of the noise.

My eye landed on a man with a loaded bow in hand. I froze, not knowing what his next move was. Releasing my tails, I watched as his eyes went wide.

The legend of the kumiho, none had ever seen us in real life and lived to tell the tale. Most of us hid in our burrows and only ventured out at night, but I did not like being out in the dark to all odds.

I slowly rose from my haunches and moved toward the other side of the blossom tree I had been sitting by in hopes he would just leave. But I kept an eye on him with every move I made. 

I honed my sight on his hand as the arrow slipped from between his fingers. I wasn't quick enough and was struck on my thigh by the arrow.

Yelping, I quickly circled, trying to pull the arrow from my thigh, only to fail. I chattered and whined as I froze prone on the ground. I gazed up to see the man. He was dressed in the red hanbok that the...no, is this the crown prince? Did he take his father's place after death?

I growled at the man whose soft brown eyes were filled with worry. He threw his bow to the ground and outstretched his hands in a non-threatening manner. I examined his body language and snapped at him as a warning to keep his distance.

"I am so sorry...I-I didn't mean to-," he stuttered as he slowly knelt before me.

I snapped again as he reached for the tip of the arrow, placing one hand on my backside. I let out a low growl as he shifted his gaze from my eyes to the arrow.

"Please do not bite me." He whispered to himself and yanked it out, causing me to yelp once more. 

"What was that for?" I whined and immediately licked the wound to the best of my ability.

"I didn't mean to hurt you, my hand slipped." He rubbed the back of his head as he shifted his gaze to the ground.

I clawed his hand and chatted once more, "Then you shouldn't have had it out if you weren't going to use it!" I screeched.

His eyes went wide, lips parted as if he were surprised. Wait, could he understand me? No one has been able to understand us in our animal form.

I pinned my ears back in fear and searched his face for any indication that he was sincere with his apology, and from what I could tell, he felt incredibly guilty. I scanned over his delicate features, no crow's feet or fine lines. His skin held a younger glow to it. I then studied over his hanbok once more. He indeed wasn't the crown prince, not in that outfit. 

I brought my nose closer to him to catch his scent. Sage filled my senses. My nostrils flared as I sniffed his hand and moved his arm out of the way to examine the gold belt around his waist. "Y-you, you are the king."

The man let out a soft chuckle as he reached for my head and scratched behind my ear. Oh, what a wonderful feeling, I thought as I let out a hiss of satisfaction. My tails were flowing freely behind me.

Snapping twigs and the yelling of guards snapped me out of this lulled state and pushed me into a panic, causing me to rise and dart off quickly. I glanced over my shoulder at the man before I took off toward my home at the base of the mountain.

My thigh ached and radiated with pain making it difficult to engage in a full sprint. The forest scenery passed me by slowly as my energy levels dropped. I stopped by a small pond beside the cave entrance to my home and shifted.

My ears perked to listen for intruders as I crouched down to inspect my slow bleeding wound. I moved my hair around to cover my nude body as I moved to sit down on the ground. "That crazy bastard." I whimpered as I pulled a stray twig from the gaping hole. "What kind of arrows were those? Why is this not healing?" I growled. "I'm going crazy!" I gripped the side of my head and pounded on my chest with a soft fist.

"Eun-Ae! What happened? We heard you had a run in with Dae-Hyun!" A doe approached me with haste and shifted. Her brown hair resembled her fur as her little antlers poked out from between her ears.

"It's nothing, Mo-ra, that bastard shot me with an arrow then tried to apologize!" I groaned, slowly pushing myself up from the ground.

Her eyes went wide as she knelt beside me to examine my leg. "So the king speaks… well he spoke to you." 

"You are not even concerned with the fact he shot me with an arrow!" I turned away from her and headed inside the cave.

"Eun-Ae, you going to have to burrow soon! He's going to find you like he did the others!" She shouted after me.

"In your wildest dreams!" I shouted back as I limped away. "Bastard."

I scanned my makeshift home searching for some herbs and a possible dressing, and to my luck, I found exactly what I was looking for besides the small fireplace.

I quickly crushed the herbs and soaked them in a small water bowl before applying the paste to my leg. I sucked in a sharp breath as the medicinal properties stung the exposed wound. Wrapping it in a long piece of cloth I used as a bandage, I looked around for my clothes.

"My day couldn't get any worse." I facepalmed as I realized I left my clothes back at the lake. I'd have to travel back the following day to retrieve them if they were still there. I grumbled and wrapped a tail around my breasts and hips.

"Eun-ae, where are you? I know you arein here." A large grey wolf appeared at the cave entrance. 

"I'm back here. What are you doing here, Jung?" I replied.

The wolf shifted. His pale blue eyes stared back at me as he affixed his hanbok around his waist, leaving his toned torso unclothed. "I heard you had a run in with the idiot. Are you alright?"

I nodded, feeling my cheeks heat up as he approached me. "Where are your clothes?" He asked.

My shoulders dropped as I pointed at the entrance, pouting my lip, "At the lake. I couldn't grab them in time."

His brow furrowed, "Why were you at the lake?" He growled.

"Ew, do notlook at me like that. I was just out for a run and decided to stop. There's nothing wrong with that!" I shouted at him.

"Are you fucking crazy? You were too close to the palace you idiot! No wonder you ran into him. He's going to kill you if you try anything like that again. I mean look!" He pointed at my terrible bandage job. "He fucking shot you with a damn arrow."

I narrowed my eyes at him and crossed my arms. "What are you going to do about it? You can't keep me hostage here. Besides we aren't even the same fucking species so go back to your pack and leave me the hell alone."

Jung scoffed at me and rolled his eyes as he placed his hands on his hips. "I'm only here because I care about you. You stupid foxes are always getting into trouble."

"What did you call me?" I stepped up to him with clenched fists. "You are always the one taking the risks and having fun but I can't? you arerunning around acting like I've murdered people. I haven't had a heart nor a liver in weeks and you already know I'm getting hungry." I sneered. "So either you can help me or stay out of my fucking way."

Jung quickly pushed me up against the wall, his hand on my throat as he leaned into my ear. "Little sly fox. You cannot go running back over there. you aregoing to get yourself killed. do notmake me hurt you." His voice had deepened.

He knew the effect he had on me with that damned tone. I wanted to rip his heart out and eat it for dinner but we both knew I needed his protection until I could safely relocate.

"You might want to rethink your tactics here, Jung." I reached up and grabbed his ear, twisting the cartilage. He immediately removed his hand from my throat and dropped to his knees, whining in pain.

He sucked in a sharp breath, "Okay okay, ah! Get off, get off!" He begged.

I walked him toward the cave entrance, releasing his ear and I kicked his backside. "You do not get to tell me what to do." I stuck my tongue at him and walked back toward the corner where my little bed sat.

I plopped onto the makeshift mattress and wrapped my tails around me as a blanket. "Hopefully I'll be okay in the morning." I muttered as I drifted off into a fitful sleep.