As You Are [Monkey King]

𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 2: Visit

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It was Sunday afternoon when they finally headed to the home island of the golden furred simian. The sight still manages to charm her no matter how many times she'd seen it before— and it's not even nearly a one hand number of times that she'd been here.

MK skillfully lands them beside the entrance, and that's when all the jitters come to life inside their nerves.

What if something is happening to Wukong without any of them knowing?

What if he's in pain from being in the Netherworld for too long?

What if he's physically unable to greet them at his doorstep or open the door to any of them because he's bedridden?

Xiu got uncomfortable chills running down her spine at the thought. Whatever it is, she needs to know so she could be by his side. 'Is it really just a touch of a hand?' she had her doubts before about this sophisticated security system he placed around his lair, but that quickly washes out as the circular pattern of a seal rang in their ears before the curtains open to the Shuilian Cave.

"Show off," she muttered, chuckling to herself as she finally steps in, holding the straps of her small backpack with a little jump on her feet.

However, before MK nor Mei can follow through, the gate closes in on them, making the boy bump onto the seal. The lock reacts to him as an intruder, pushing the two of them away with a powerful force.

Xiu turns around as the water curtain closes behind her, "MK? Mei?!" The woman took a few steps back towards the only entrance, but was disturbed by a loud quake coming from deeper into the cavern. The walls shook, small debris falling onto her hair. She looks back to the waterfall, then to the dark hallways towards her destination. If Wukong really is in trouble, then she surely mustn't dawdle any longer. "Sorry, guys," the woman glances back one last time before walking in towards the darkness.

The first time she's been here with her memories slowly coming back to her, the place wasn't as eerily gloomy as it is now. There would be constant chatters from little monkeys swinging by, and the sound of water running down the streams wasn't as foreboding of a feeling. Xiu rubbed her arms from the cold air around her, blinking multiple times to get used to her surroundings.

By the time she got to the bridge, she's stunned. The path connecting to the other side has been torn apart, pieces of it left right at her feet. It's basically telling everyone to back off... or~ daring her to go further by her own means and skills. The woman knelt down to grab the vines, which were already a mess on the structure to begin with. Whoever made the bridge wasn't as skilled in their craft, but it surprisingly held on for hundreds of years. Xiu wrecked the wood piles one by one to separate them from the rope, gathering all of it and tying loose ends for her to use.

"Alrighty-o," she took a deep breath and flings the rope to the post on the other end. The knot tightens around when she pulled. Xiu always had a lingering fear of free fall, much like when Wukong took her flying in the sky, but this is more like a swing than falling to her death. Her clammy hands gripped the vine tightly before taking a step back, and jumps off the small cliff. Her legs extended to receive the impact, but the post suddenly tilts forward after another ground quake, causing for her to panic and slip as she desperately reached for the crevices. A few jagged ends managed to scratch her arms, but she's fine. The woman took a few quick breaths while keeping her balance despite her legs shaking underneath, glancing down to the debris splashing to the water below. 'I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm good. I'm fine—' she silently encouraged herself.

Finally, Xiu is up on the flat surface, heaving from that frightening moment just minutes ago. It might not have been enough to kill her, but who knows?