mei changsu the fox spirit
Dec. 21st, 2018 06:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
likefireinanaviary[re-post from tumblr]
Lin Shu dies at Meiling. That same year, when the seventh prince comes back from the East Sea, he brings home with him a new pet. Some say it’s a snake, others say it’s a fox spirit, but whatever it is, it never seems to leave the prince’s side.
Within a few weeks of his arrival in Jinling, rumors begin to spread about the strange creature that has attached itself to His Highness Prince Jing’s side. It’s fiercely protective, the rumors said, and would hiss loudly at anyone who gets too close, except Princess Nihuang, who is the only one aside from the prince allowed to pet it. It tried to take a bite out of the finger of the director of Xuan Jing Bureau once, the rumors said, and only director Xia Dong’s quick intervention had prevented an incident.
The prince calls his new friend Meichangsu, and would sometimes carry on a conversation with it as if it’s capable of comprehending. When asked, his only response is to smile quietly and say that the fox spirit named himself.
The emperor has never set eyes on this fox spirit. He has heard his ministers speak of it, of course, but as he has never seen it he assumes it is just a favored pet and that Jingyan leaves him in his own manor when he comes to court. He is wrong. What he doesn’t see is Meichangsu curling himself around Jingyan’s naval like a particularly furry belt. Meichangsu has never shown himself in the emperor’s presence, and he never will, not until it’s time.
What no one sees is the way Meichangsu gently headbutts Jingyan, greedy for the head scratches that he likes best, that his favorite spot to nap is curled around Jingyan’s collarbone, that he likes to give Jingyan tiny furry kisses, and that at night, he sleeps in a loose golden coil on the pillow next to Jingyan’s cheek.
When, in the following year, a well full of corpses was discovered and a contraband firework factory exploded in quick succession, the rumors start again. The fox spirit brings good luck to the formerly ill-favored prince, the people whispers. That it is an omen, a sign that Prince Jing is favored by the gods. Prince Jing says nothing at all.
-
and,
-
There is a fox that comes to Jingyan in his dreams, sometimes. It has nine tails and its eyes are sad as they look back at him, and no matter how much he tries Jingyan never catches up to it.
Sometimes he half wakes to the phantom memory of long fingers caressing his own, when he’s still mired in the wispy fog of sleep. He will not remember this in the morning.
Xiao Jingyan is beloved by the gods. It is a whisper in the hearts of the people, a devout wish not yet spoken aloud. There are those who do not yet fear it’s power, but they soon will.
Lin Shu dies at Meiling. That same year, when the seventh prince comes back from the East Sea, he brings home with him a new pet. Some say it’s a snake, others say it’s a fox spirit, but whatever it is, it never seems to leave the prince’s side.
Within a few weeks of his arrival in Jinling, rumors begin to spread about the strange creature that has attached itself to His Highness Prince Jing’s side. It’s fiercely protective, the rumors said, and would hiss loudly at anyone who gets too close, except Princess Nihuang, who is the only one aside from the prince allowed to pet it. It tried to take a bite out of the finger of the director of Xuan Jing Bureau once, the rumors said, and only director Xia Dong’s quick intervention had prevented an incident.
The prince calls his new friend Meichangsu, and would sometimes carry on a conversation with it as if it’s capable of comprehending. When asked, his only response is to smile quietly and say that the fox spirit named himself.
The emperor has never set eyes on this fox spirit. He has heard his ministers speak of it, of course, but as he has never seen it he assumes it is just a favored pet and that Jingyan leaves him in his own manor when he comes to court. He is wrong. What he doesn’t see is Meichangsu curling himself around Jingyan’s naval like a particularly furry belt. Meichangsu has never shown himself in the emperor’s presence, and he never will, not until it’s time.
What no one sees is the way Meichangsu gently headbutts Jingyan, greedy for the head scratches that he likes best, that his favorite spot to nap is curled around Jingyan’s collarbone, that he likes to give Jingyan tiny furry kisses, and that at night, he sleeps in a loose golden coil on the pillow next to Jingyan’s cheek.
When, in the following year, a well full of corpses was discovered and a contraband firework factory exploded in quick succession, the rumors start again. The fox spirit brings good luck to the formerly ill-favored prince, the people whispers. That it is an omen, a sign that Prince Jing is favored by the gods. Prince Jing says nothing at all.
-
and,
-
There is a fox that comes to Jingyan in his dreams, sometimes. It has nine tails and its eyes are sad as they look back at him, and no matter how much he tries Jingyan never catches up to it.
Sometimes he half wakes to the phantom memory of long fingers caressing his own, when he’s still mired in the wispy fog of sleep. He will not remember this in the morning.
Xiao Jingyan is beloved by the gods. It is a whisper in the hearts of the people, a devout wish not yet spoken aloud. There are those who do not yet fear it’s power, but they soon will.
