Chapter 31 The Damaged Birth Tree Part 1

As Felix laid there with his head pressed against her chest he thought "It's hard to breathe." The girl smiled as she said, "You should know that you don't need to breathe, even if you aren't able to breathe you won't die." Felix glanced slightly up so that he could see her face as he said "Didn't you say you'd stop reading my mind if I laid down with you?" The girl glanced down at him still smiling as she said "It's a force of habit, so I'll probably continue to read it even if I try not to." Felix sighed as he said, "Well can you at least stop answering my thoughts." The girl pulled him closer as she began to suffocate him in her chest as she said "I suppose that's doable." Felix tried to push himself away from her barely making any distance from her as he said "Please let me have some breathing room." The girl pulled him back towards her as she said "Just trust me and stop trying to breathe." As Felix struggled he eventually stopped moving. The girl stared at him still smiling as she said "See, I told you that you'd be fine." As the girl stared at him she pushed him slightly away from herself so she could see his face as she asked "Are you going to answer me?"

As she saw that he was unconscious she said "Perhaps it was three tails and above that don't require to breathe." The girl sighed as she said, "I planned to use this chest to engulf him and feel more of his spirit energy… but if I continue to use them to engulf him he may die." The girl thought for a moment as she smiled and said "Perhaps I can still use this body to feel as much spirit energy as I can." As Felix opened his eyes he stared at the roof for a moment as he thought "What happened?" As Felix put a hand on his head and slowly sat up as he asked "Why does my body feel heavy?" As Felix sat up he glanced down at his chest and seen the girl with her chest pressed up against him as she said "Good morning… your energy is still just as great even while you were asleep." Felix stared at her for a moment as he said "Oh… right… that softness that nearly killed me was your chest." The girl smiled as she said "You said upset? Most men would happily die by being suffocated in a woman's chest." As Felix stood up the girl shrunk back into her child-like appearance and clung to his back as she cockily said "Don't just ignore me, I'm your superior you know!" Felix glanced over his own shoulder at her as he said "Yeah I know… but it's kinda hard to believe when you're clinging to my back looking like a kid."

The girl glanced away angrily as she said "I'll ignore the fact that you referred to me as a kid just this once since I already nearly killed you while you were sleeping." As someone knocked on the door Felix began to walk towards it as he asked "Now that I think about it… why do you use a child's appearance despite being so old?" As Felix was about to open the door the girl glared at him and said "So now you're calling a lady old? How disrespectful." Felix held the doorknob but didn't open it yet as the girl smiled and said "Well I suppose telling my… what do they call it… husband? Yes, husband… I suppose I can tell my husband why I use this form." The girl pulled herself up to peek over his shoulder as she said "I use this form because it is the most forgivable in the human realm, I'm more likely to be forgiven if I do something wrong and look like a child." As Felix opened the door he sighed and said "That is actually really believable." Once the door was open Felix seen Lilac and Silkie standing there holding a few plates with food on them as Silkie smiled and said "I decided that we should try eating breakfast together today." Felix peeked out the door and glanced around as he asked "Did Daka and Vex not wanna come?"

Silkie thought for a moment as she said "Well… they decided that it was a good idea to stay up all night and play games… so they're sleeping right now." The girl stared at Silkie as she said "Requiring sleep must be terrible… I'm glad that I'm a yokai that won't need sleep." Felix glanced at her as he asked "You mean… you don't sleep?" The girl smiled as she said "Nope, but I am going to continue to lay beside you as you sleep… since you still require it for the time being." As Felix turned around and walked back over to the bed Silkie and Lilac followed him in. As Felix sat down Lilac continued to stare at him. Felix sat there nervously as he asked "I-is something wrong?" Lilac got closer to him as she asked "Don't you think she's clinging to you too much." The girl stared at Lilac as she smiled and cheekily asked "Are you jealous?" Lilac glanced away while blushing as she said "N-no." Felix stared at her bright red face as he said "I doubt hanging onto my back is very comfortable, but if you'd like you can once she let's go." As Lilac's face got even redder the girl held on tighter as she said "Not happening… I wanna feel more of your energy."

Lilac glared at him with her bright red face and quickly pulled out a knife as she said "J-just shut up!" However as Lilac went to stab him she tripped and the knife slipped from her hand and scratched the tree in the corner of the room. As the tree was cut the girl let go of Felix and he immediately fell forward onto the floor without moving or saying anything. Lilac quickly took a step away from him as she asked "W-what happened?" The girl stared at him for a moment and then glanced at the scratch in the tree as she said "What happened isn't very good." The girl got off of the bed and walked over to the tree as she said "The damage you've inflicted could've been fatal… but I'm honestly not too sure." The girl crouched down near the tree and ran her finger down the scratch on it as she said "Since I shrunk his birth tree it's actually a lot deeper than it looks." Silkie stared at Felix as she asked "So then… what happened to him?" The girl walked over to Felix as she said "Pick him up and get him onto the bed, I won't be able to fix the damage done to him but we should be able to relieve some of it." As Silkie picked him up and set him on the bed she nervously asked "Does that mean… he could die?"

The girl glanced at his birth tree as she said "Damage to a fox spirit's birth tree is very dangerous… It's actually worse for a fox spirit to lose its birth tree than to have its tail removed." Silkie stared at her as she said "B-but… if the tail is removed they die? What could be worse than that?" The girl pointed to Felix's tail as she said "Even if it's removed and he dies… he may still come back to life… however… without a birth tree… he'll die for good… and destroying the birth tree also kills the fox spirit it's linked to." The girl glanced at Lilac who was standing there looking worried as she said "This is a very serious matter… if he dies I'll be holding you responsible." The girl turned back to Felix and climbed onto the bed and then leaned over him as she said "His breathing has already become faint… he's in terrible condition… his odds of survival are lower than most fox spirits whenever their birth trees are damaged." Lilac stood there trembling in fear as she said "I-I… I didn't… I didn't mean to… t-the knife… it slipped." Silkie walked over to Lilac as she said "We know you didn't mean to, so stop standing there and let's find out if there is anything we can do to help him in his current situation." The girl glanced at them as she said "Unfortunately I don't think there is much we can do to help him."

The girl stared at Felix as she said "He's in such a bad condition that all we might be able to do is stay by his side and hope he opens his eyes." The girl glanced back up at Lilac and Silkie who was looking worried as she said "Go wake the ghost and the futakuchi-onna, I'm sure they'd want to be here and would hate themselves if they weren't here if he takes his last breath." Silkie glanced at Lilac as she said "Stay here, I'll go get Vex and Daka while she tries to figure something out." The girl stared at Felix as she thought "Your wife trusted me to take care of you… if you die what will I tell her?" The girl glanced at the birth tree as she said "If a fox spirit dies from losing his birth tree he doesn't even become a ghost… he'll simply cease to exist." The girl stared at Lilac for a moment and then asked "Are you ready to say your goodbyes if his condition worsens?" Lilac flinched as she nervously said "B-but… I'm not ready to say goodbye."