The glow of the small mushrooms illuminated against white fur, casting its soft blue hues down his flank. Small paws gently prod and poke, taking in the texture, the size, the smell. Something so beautiful, so perfect, was entirely impossible to find, yet Xie Lian’s poor luck deemed himself worthy of such a view.
He found himself in complete awe.
“You’re so lovely.” He murmured to himself, gently digging away at the scattered sticks around them. Tonight, the fallen god wandered the forest as a lovely white stoat, contrasting the deep browns and greens that surrounded his smaller form. He never has a destination in mind, what need was there for that? Despite his failure as a deity, the emperor had shown mercy to the pathetic, allowing the god to indulge in his shifting nature. Like stretching your limbs after being trapped for a century.
A stoat, for him, always felt familiar. Their size aside, the small creature was dastardly quick witted and a fairly successful hunter, taking down prey three times their size.
Many gods detest their shifting nature; why be anything more than a powerful human? A stoat cannot weld a weapon, a fox cannot defeat a demon, a song bird could not control a country. To them, animals were lesser beings. A phoenix was more suited for a god, not some sort of woodland rat.
The small stoat shook such thoughts from his head; he was there, simply admiring the mortal realm around him. He had no true obligations to the heavens and it’s court. The glowing mushrooms spanned across the dense forest floor, trailing through fallen trees, climbing stones, and pausing their conquest at a little creak where the frogs croak. He could hear the late night chatters of the squirrels above him, lazing on their branch. He now concerned himself with the wellbeing of the life around them, from the smallest critter to skyward trees cascading shade to the forest floor.
Animal life seems so simple. So sought after.
The creatures gossip, surprisingly. Xie Lian had a lovely conversation with a crane just the other morning, the sun warm against his feathers as his equally long legs step carefully through the water. The crane was a mother, praising the fast development of her children. She spoke as human, so endearing that the man couldn’t help but sing his own praises. Deer have far more to say! Does keep their heads down as they graze, murmuring to each other about the lackluster selection of bucks during the spring, or the way the fawns would race away from new mother’s into the fields, causing the poor darlings to panic from ears to hooves.
They rarely speak of their fears or some form of impending doom. They truly live in the moment, take in their scenery and enjoy their lives. They trot and wiggle through life. The god learned much from forest creatures.
There was one downside to Xie Lian’s shifting, however. The stoat was far too fascinated with this new species of mushrooms that his godlike senses dulled. His tail flicked in the foliage, continuing his exploration, and oblivious to the danger just a few li away.
Paws larger than his own stalk quietly in the underbrush, sharp eyes focused solely on the small animal before it. One step after the other, hidden in the cover of falling night. There were no birds to alert of danger, no conveniently placed twig to snap, every movement had a purpose to hunt and feast. Even the creature’s empty stomach did not rumble, it’s fluffy tail perfectly hovering over the loose leaves.
Closer, ever so close, just a leap away…
It leaned against it’s back hunches, claws digging in the soft dirt, and leaped.
Xie Lian’s round ears perked as the sound of something large tussled in the bushes behind him. Perhaps the old boar came back to savage for fallen berries? The stoat stood on his hind legs, paws tucked against his chest as he waited. He could ear the soft wheezing of a dying animal, it’s breath stolen from it within it’s next heartbeat.
Another stray cat hunting the birds? So far into the woods.. how unfortunate.
The bushes sway with new movement, and Xie Lian’s eyes widen. This was no boar, nor had it been a cat carrying it’s fresh kill. The blossoming moonlight announced the quite large fox from it’s hiding spot, the smell of fresh blood evident on it’s fur, though left no trace on it’s body. It did not crouch and approach, as a hungry fox would hunt, it’s movements almost seem.. hesitant.
A fox, however, was a fox, and Xie Lian would hate to live another death half eaten in a strange animal’s den. He feels pity for the hungry creature, but he simply wasn’t on the menu tonight!
“Sorry!” The stoat chirped, shaking his little head. “You can’t eat me, I really do apologize!”
The fox paused, paw hovering over a dried leaf. There was a flicker of amusement in its eyes. “Oh? Is that so? Why is that?”
The voice caught Xie Lian off guard, deep and velvety, more akin to a powerful wealthy man than a forest fox. It caught his interest, taking a moment to examine his opponent. He was indeed larger than an average fox, the black of his paws and ears were darker than the night surrounding them, harboring a deep shade of red in his fur. The fur itself was thick and fluffy, looking almost like a mangled mess. The stoat, however, had a feeling the coat itself was free of twists and tangles, keeping the fox well groomed.
“I wouldn’t taste good.” The stoat puffed his little chest, before deflating. “I would be very unsatisfactory! The fox should really look elsewhere!”
The fox continued his slow walk forward, keeping an air of disinterest. “Shouldn’t I decide if gege is worthy of my meal? I’m sure he would taste simply divine.”
The fox was.. teasing the stoat! It left the stoat slack jawed for only a moment, slowly lowering himself on all fours. No forest creature had ever teased its meal, taken the time to speak instead of simply ripping out their throats and feasting on their hard work. How peculiar; who was this fox?
“I’ve been tasted once before,” Xie Lian continued, missing the way the fox stilled at the words, ears perked forward, “and they agree I am the texture of tar, my fur is unsavory, and my meat is simply too tough. No no, mister fox, a rabbit may be more to your liking.”
He knew plenty of rabbits in this area and would not give away their location, but the natural laws of nature will do their bidding and the fox must eat something.
“And if I only want gege, what would he do?” The fox breathed, only a few feet from the stoat. There was no feral hunger in his eyes, no killing intent behind his breathing. A simple question left for the stoat to answer. He could fend off this fox in this body, could risk harming him and leaving him to lick his wounds on an empty stomach. He could once again redirect him to an easier meal, something worth the time and effort to hunt. He could also let the fox continue to toy with him, allow him to get closer and.. eat him. His voice was alluring, comforting in a sense the failed god hadn’t had in such a long time.
He does neither of these options. Instead of being devoured or giving up another life, the stoat simply ceased to exist. In it’s place was a man, one that loomed over this now small fox, hair as white as cotton pooling over smooth, sun-kissed skin. Two round black-tipped ears sat upon his head, a familiar looking tail still swishing around. He had crushed the delicate mushrooms beneath his bottom.
It would be humiliating to shift in front of another person in such a state, sitting nude in the forest, looking like half a monster, but what shame was there in front of a fox? Creatures did not wear clothes, did not care whether the human in front of them wore thick layers of robes or simply nothing at all. They did not understand, they did not care.
Xie Lian shifted onto his knees, uncaring of the small pebbles that tore into his knees. “You cannot eat me, mister fox, because I am human.” The fox would not understand human speech, but it was worth a shot.
It’s an expected reaction when shifting in front of animals; they startle at the dull light and run the moment their animal friend was no longer there. New things were scary, after all. This fox, however, took a few stumbling steps backwards, large black eyes widen as it stares openly at Xie Lian’s face. It had fluffed in fright, digging it’s small paws into the dirt, before turning and fleeing the scene.
Yes, that was to be expected.
“Poor thing,” the god shook his head, letting his fingers work through his long, white hair, “at least it’ll find food elsewhere.” The effects of shifting lasts an entire day, he needs to make it to his new shrine before it gets any later.
Where there was once a human, a stoat stood again, shaking his little body and flexed his paws. Shifting felt magical, like scratching an itch impossible to react, or feeling the against your face after hard labor.
“I’m sorry, very sorry.” The stoat turned it’s attention to the crushed mushrooms, gently pushing the pieces closer to the surviving fungi. “Grow beautiful once more, nothing else will bother you.” He still had bits and pieces against his rump fur, turning his long body in on itself to groom whatever left. Magical glowing mushrooms are probably safe to consume..
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