The sounds he hears don't make much sense, and he struggles to flip his ears like searching satellites and squint into the few smudges he can see. Did that dumbass listen to him after all? Hmph. Good.
Except then there's a scrambling nearby that make his ears flatten to his skull and his eyes go wide. Something was getting in. Was this why Li Lianhua had left with only a casual remark about agreeing with him? He only has one arm he's able to comfortably extend, and it's the one supporting him to keep weight off his broken ribs. In such a small space, he won't be able to maneuver well, even if he did manage to find another hole to scramble out of.
Cat's hackles raise until the sound of the familiar strained breathing makes it past the drumming of his heart, and Li Lianhua's own scolding falls on deaf ears as it's countered with, "You nearly scared the life out of me!" He doesn't know whether to be more relieved or cross with this man. "Can't you see I barely hung onto it as it is?"
All the grooming he'd managed couldn't exactly do away with every bit of mud caked to him when he'd tried to limit the range of movement this feline body usually allowed. Most of the blood that had smeared from his nose, lip, and various cuts had come off in flakes over time and swipes of his paw, but there were still rusty red-brown stains and pieces of fur glued into spikes in places as evidence. Resting his head down with a huff to save himself some strain, Cat goes back to squinting. What is he, exactly? Too big to be a cat, but too flexible to be a dog, especially with his health to consider. Is that a bushy tail?
...Of course. The coloration threw him off a little, but the answer should have been a given, when it comes to someone coming to his side in his time of need. "You're a fox?"
Alright alright, so maybe a little warning wouldn't have gone amiss. Li Lianhua can kind of see where he went wrong, maybe, so the scolding at least serves to quell his own irritation. But really, Cat is far too resilient to lose his life to a little spook. Isn't that vicious complaining proof enough of that?
Somehow it hadn't occurred to Li Lianhua to wonder what the boy might think of this shape, until he hears something undefinable coloring his voice in that question. The fox's lips pull back in a small smile, ears twitching as if to shake off those flakes of dust.
"I'm me," he corrects Cat, breathing a huff of teasing amusement. "Ah but someone must have thought this would be very funny, eh? Don't spread it around. I'm telling you, I'd never hear the end of it from Fang Xiaobao." That brat would just feel far too clever and vindicated about it.
But he went to all this trouble for a reason, no matter how tempting it might feel to lay down where he is. Down here, the smell of old blood and stale fear still hangs in the air. His eyes are reluctant to adjust to the twilight, but better suited for it than his human eyes still, and he can make out Cat's shape curled up in pained tension a little ways off. With a determined huff he pushes to his feet, head hung low both because of the limited space to stand and to battle the dizziness immediately washing over him. Though unsteady, he pads forward a few paces until he's standing by Cat's side, squinting at the state of him.
"Aiyo," he sighs, still with some levity, though unaware that a fox's dropping ears are more expressive than he has any control over. "What roughed you up like this, eh?"
It's... not good, even without a proper examination. Drops of dried blood around the nose suggest internal injuries, matted fur speaks of dehydration. And what can he possibly do about it? All at once, exhaustion overtakes him yet again and he sinks to the ground, shifting to his side in some hopeless attempt to make his aching bones even a little comfortable, just for a moment.
Li Lianhua blathers, and Cat's attention wavers, as much as he'd like to absorb what's being said to him, even if the tone suggests that it's not something worth attention. A lot of things he said sounded that way. Cat's eyelids droop a little while his mind both drifts and recoils from the examination he's under. What does it matter what got him, when it's thirst that will get him now?
"Some wolf..." he rasps as he reluctantly forces his parched throat and rattled brain into submission. Of course it was important, because like hell he's going quietly into the night. No, he's going to bitch about it the whole way through, even if most of his grousing is done mentally. Cat watches the fox with a discontented look, almost like he's more annoyed than anything, over all this. "Bigger than the others. Could've made me a snack real easy, all those teeth in there."
He doesn't know why it let him get away, except for the fact that he told it to. A monster like that listening is more unbelievable than either himself or the man next to him crawling back out from under this porch anytime soon.
Yet it happened.
...A feline growl in his throat, Cat drags himself forward a little, though he neither makes it to that barest trickle of water taunting him or to Li Lianhua in his effort.
Internally Li Lianhua winces at the mention of those wolves. He'd had the displeasure of running into two of those huge mutts a few days ago, and he would not have fared any better than Cat did if he had been alone. But Cat's annoyance is understandable too; it really doesn't matter in the end what did this to him, only how he's going to survive it. Mostly he's just trying to keep Cat conscious and talking.
Which seems to be having some mild success, as Cat now tries to move, to go somewhere. It's painful and slow, but it's better than rotting into the soil beneath them. The fox's ears swivel, trying to figure out what the boy is hoping to accomplish. An obvious goal is the sound of water leaking from a pipe. Smart boy.
When Cat falls woefully short of reaching the one thing down here that could assure his survival, Li Lianhua huffs a rather condescending laugh, giving up on trying to watch Cat and laying his head down instead, almost like he's disappointed.
"Eh, Friend Cat, you managed to give a hungry beast the slip but you're going to join the dust in some shabby hole? I guess wolves these days aren't what they used to anymore. I'd offer to send your last words to your family, but, hah, you know me. I'm not particularly reliable, I'm afraid."
He sighs, which turns into a weak cough he doesn't even bother raising his head for. As if breathing in more dust would kill him, at this point. But what might is the cold soil he's sprawled out on, slowly seeping through his fur into his bones. After just a few minutes of not moving, he starts to shiver, barely a bristling of his fur at first, but eventually there are small tremors occasionally shaking his small limbs.
His breaths are labored and quick, not only fighting his exhaustion and slow-growing illness, but against the crushed arena holding his lungs. He doesn't bother with snapping at Li Lianhua to shut up or to point out, grimly, that it's too late for that. His eyelids, including the extra set of cat ones, dip between being closed and partway open like a buoy on the water. He's so tired. Why does he have to be mocked now, of all times? Even if this is pathetic.
One ear's hearing being a little blocked doesn't help him become aware of Li Lianhua's new troubles, but it doesn't take too long for Cat to realize that he's started zoning out and is at risk of dozing off. That wouldn't be ideal. Right. He needs...to move. For both their sakes. It's gotten easier again to breathe, so he makes himself get up. His legs shake as badly as Li Lianhua's shivers from the effort. It takes excruciatingly long for him to reach a point he can collapse close enough to tuck his face into the dusty, dirty white fur.
Despite knowing how important it is that Cat stays awake, it's not easy for Li Lianhua to take his own advice. While waiting for Cat to react to his taunting, his useless eyes drift shut and the cold curls like iron chains around his body, the unforgiving ground like a dungeon cot beneath him, the distant rhythmic clash of his young jailers sparring like dripping water...
Something shoved into his side has his eyes snap open with a flinch, and it's disorienting to find himself not quite blind yet. More disorienting still to realize where he is, where he's been this whole time since however long ago he crawled down here for... Oh. It's Cat, too small even in this shape, even next to a sickly fox, hiding his face against his ribs like a scared young boy. A tired young boy scared of pain and death and Li Lianhua could cry with grief, could draw a sword and leap in front of whatever injustice is responsible for this, but in the end all his rattling aching body can really do is to shift a little closer, bushy white tail curling around and over that smaller body.
Li Lianhua releases a stiffly careful sigh, the shivers making it sound more like a foxish laugh. Might as well, because what else is there when things hurt too much? "Last words are funny things, aren't they?" A wisp of a thought, rising up again from the fog in his mind. "Considered so precious, yet nobody wants to hear them. Least of all the ones they're meant for the most."
The noise that escapes him isn't quite a whine, isn't quite a grumble. It's a broken, stifled meow cut up from his trembling and the effort of holding himself together. It lingers, stretched out in a sigh against Li Lianhua's body as if he's worried that being buried will keep it from being heard -- as if he wants it to be heard. As if Li Lianhua can't feel his every breath or twitch of his face, probably. There'll be no peace for them... That seems to be Li Lianhua's plan anyway, though, rambling about nonsense the way he is.
"Shut up..." he manages after his wordless complaint is aired. "I don't want yours, either... An' like hell I'm saying any." Any other ones, he amends to himself. No one needs to know about that. "I just need some water. After...I rest here. A little bit... Just for a -- a little bit, please."
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Date: 2024-07-17 04:09 pm (UTC)Except then there's a scrambling nearby that make his ears flatten to his skull and his eyes go wide. Something was getting in. Was this why Li Lianhua had left with only a casual remark about agreeing with him? He only has one arm he's able to comfortably extend, and it's the one supporting him to keep weight off his broken ribs. In such a small space, he won't be able to maneuver well, even if he did manage to find another hole to scramble out of.
Cat's hackles raise until the sound of the familiar strained breathing makes it past the drumming of his heart, and Li Lianhua's own scolding falls on deaf ears as it's countered with, "You nearly scared the life out of me!" He doesn't know whether to be more relieved or cross with this man. "Can't you see I barely hung onto it as it is?"
All the grooming he'd managed couldn't exactly do away with every bit of mud caked to him when he'd tried to limit the range of movement this feline body usually allowed. Most of the blood that had smeared from his nose, lip, and various cuts had come off in flakes over time and swipes of his paw, but there were still rusty red-brown stains and pieces of fur glued into spikes in places as evidence. Resting his head down with a huff to save himself some strain, Cat goes back to squinting. What is he, exactly? Too big to be a cat, but too flexible to be a dog, especially with his health to consider. Is that a bushy tail?
...Of course. The coloration threw him off a little, but the answer should have been a given, when it comes to someone coming to his side in his time of need. "You're a fox?"
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Date: 2024-07-22 04:13 pm (UTC)Somehow it hadn't occurred to Li Lianhua to wonder what the boy might think of this shape, until he hears something undefinable coloring his voice in that question. The fox's lips pull back in a small smile, ears twitching as if to shake off those flakes of dust.
"I'm me," he corrects Cat, breathing a huff of teasing amusement. "Ah but someone must have thought this would be very funny, eh? Don't spread it around. I'm telling you, I'd never hear the end of it from Fang Xiaobao." That brat would just feel far too clever and vindicated about it.
But he went to all this trouble for a reason, no matter how tempting it might feel to lay down where he is. Down here, the smell of old blood and stale fear still hangs in the air. His eyes are reluctant to adjust to the twilight, but better suited for it than his human eyes still, and he can make out Cat's shape curled up in pained tension a little ways off. With a determined huff he pushes to his feet, head hung low both because of the limited space to stand and to battle the dizziness immediately washing over him. Though unsteady, he pads forward a few paces until he's standing by Cat's side, squinting at the state of him.
"Aiyo," he sighs, still with some levity, though unaware that a fox's dropping ears are more expressive than he has any control over. "What roughed you up like this, eh?"
It's... not good, even without a proper examination. Drops of dried blood around the nose suggest internal injuries, matted fur speaks of dehydration. And what can he possibly do about it? All at once, exhaustion overtakes him yet again and he sinks to the ground, shifting to his side in some hopeless attempt to make his aching bones even a little comfortable, just for a moment.
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Date: 2024-08-28 09:00 pm (UTC)"Some wolf..." he rasps as he reluctantly forces his parched throat and rattled brain into submission. Of course it was important, because like hell he's going quietly into the night. No, he's going to bitch about it the whole way through, even if most of his grousing is done mentally. Cat watches the fox with a discontented look, almost like he's more annoyed than anything, over all this. "Bigger than the others. Could've made me a snack real easy, all those teeth in there."
He doesn't know why it let him get away, except for the fact that he told it to. A monster like that listening is more unbelievable than either himself or the man next to him crawling back out from under this porch anytime soon.
Yet it happened.
...A feline growl in his throat, Cat drags himself forward a little, though he neither makes it to that barest trickle of water taunting him or to Li Lianhua in his effort.
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Date: 2024-09-12 07:41 pm (UTC)Which seems to be having some mild success, as Cat now tries to move, to go somewhere. It's painful and slow, but it's better than rotting into the soil beneath them. The fox's ears swivel, trying to figure out what the boy is hoping to accomplish. An obvious goal is the sound of water leaking from a pipe. Smart boy.
When Cat falls woefully short of reaching the one thing down here that could assure his survival, Li Lianhua huffs a rather condescending laugh, giving up on trying to watch Cat and laying his head down instead, almost like he's disappointed.
"Eh, Friend Cat, you managed to give a hungry beast the slip but you're going to join the dust in some shabby hole? I guess wolves these days aren't what they used to anymore. I'd offer to send your last words to your family, but, hah, you know me. I'm not particularly reliable, I'm afraid."
He sighs, which turns into a weak cough he doesn't even bother raising his head for. As if breathing in more dust would kill him, at this point. But what might is the cold soil he's sprawled out on, slowly seeping through his fur into his bones. After just a few minutes of not moving, he starts to shiver, barely a bristling of his fur at first, but eventually there are small tremors occasionally shaking his small limbs.
no subject
Date: 2024-10-23 09:22 pm (UTC)One ear's hearing being a little blocked doesn't help him become aware of Li Lianhua's new troubles, but it doesn't take too long for Cat to realize that he's started zoning out and is at risk of dozing off. That wouldn't be ideal. Right. He needs...to move. For both their sakes. It's gotten easier again to breathe, so he makes himself get up. His legs shake as badly as Li Lianhua's shivers from the effort. It takes excruciatingly long for him to reach a point he can collapse close enough to tuck his face into the dusty, dirty white fur.
no subject
Date: 2024-10-24 09:52 pm (UTC)Something shoved into his side has his eyes snap open with a flinch, and it's disorienting to find himself not quite blind yet. More disorienting still to realize where he is, where he's been this whole time since however long ago he crawled down here for... Oh. It's Cat, too small even in this shape, even next to a sickly fox, hiding his face against his ribs like a scared young boy. A tired young boy scared of pain and death and Li Lianhua could cry with grief, could draw a sword and leap in front of whatever injustice is responsible for this, but in the end all his rattling aching body can really do is to shift a little closer, bushy white tail curling around and over that smaller body.
Li Lianhua releases a stiffly careful sigh, the shivers making it sound more like a foxish laugh. Might as well, because what else is there when things hurt too much? "Last words are funny things, aren't they?" A wisp of a thought, rising up again from the fog in his mind. "Considered so precious, yet nobody wants to hear them. Least of all the ones they're meant for the most."
no subject
Date: 2024-10-29 11:08 pm (UTC)"Shut up..." he manages after his wordless complaint is aired. "I don't want yours, either... An' like hell I'm saying any." Any other ones, he amends to himself. No one needs to know about that. "I just need some water. After...I rest here. A little bit... Just for a -- a little bit, please."