I need to speak with mother today about a concubine. 

He'd told himself that everyday since the banquet, and a week had already passed. Sighing, Xun nuzzled his nose into the blankets he was curled up in, then stretched out his little arms. 

Things had thankfully been pretty quiet since then, at least, but there was one thing that he'd been waiting on that hadn't happened. 

I want answers...

The questions he'd left on his desk hadn't been replied to yet, even though he'd returned to feeding Huli energy. 

"So impatient, my little fox." 

Xun's eyes jerked open wide!

He quickly got up and jumped out of bed... only to fall to the floor with a loud thunk! That was the second time he'd done that...

Ignoring the frustration he felt about having his body stolen again, Xun hurried over to where Huli was now sitting at his desk, the man's posture perfectly straight, his smile goading. 

Instead of waiting for a signal that he could come up, Xun simply jumped into his lap, then turned and put his little paws up on the table in front of them to stare down at the questions he'd written a week ago. 

Oh. 

He'd only written answers to the first two so far. 

I came here because you smelled delicious. 

Xun felt his face immediately burn with embarrassment as he slowly pinned his ears back and glared over his shoulder. 

"What? I was in big trouble and needed a strong energy source. I followed my nose to you," Huli said nonchalantly as he leaned back a little in the chair, then tilted his head so that some of his beautiful silvery-white hair swayed in front of one eye. 

You need to tie your hair back. 

In fact, it was annoying him a surprising amount because he now wanted to swat at it. 

This is not okay. I will not start thinking like a fox!

Puffing up his cheeks in a frustrated pout, Xun reached up with his little paw and pushed the man's hair out of his face and behind his ear. 

Alright, better. 

He could feel Huli's eyes boring into his fur but decided against having a staring contest right then. Instead, he turned back around in his lap and then put his front paws back up on the desk to lift himself closer to the paper he wanted to continue reading. 

So then, the next question was what were his intentions...

Now that he had the answer to the first question, the second one was pretty obvious. So as he began reading that answer, he wasn't all that surprised... until the last part of it, that is. 

I am here to recover from my injuries by using your spiritual energy. I planned to leave once I was able to maintain my human form again, however, I think I might want to stay. Your body is the first one I've been able to control so easily. 

What... what does that mean? 

Xun felt his stomach twist as he looked back over his shoulder. 

"It's simple, really," Huli said as he picked him up and settled him on his back in his lap, then scratched at his belly. 

For some odd reason, Xun disliked the attention but he could barely put up a fight. It felt good. 

"You see, the sensations you're feeling right now are partially from the fox that was a part of me. I left him behind when I stole your body, as opposed to changing into my own human version," Huli said as he reached up with his free hand and began scratching under Xun's chin. 

"He loves belly rubs and chin scratches, but being a demon, those things are few and far between for him," Huli said with a grin. 

"Last time we weren't switched long enough for him to understand that I was gone, but now I'm sure you can feel him finally realizing that he can gain back some control." 

He could definitely feel it. The fox might have been tiny, but it was sure as hell strong. Even as Xun tried to fight against it and get back on his feet, it refused to be overpowered while it was getting the attention it desperately wanted. 

"You see, love, he's a demon. Not just a little forest fox. He never wanted to cede control to me. I had to cultivate with him for nearly two hundred years before I could overpower his will and separate us into two different entities..." 

Xun felt his heart stutter in his chest. 

"Don't worry, babe, I'll let you have your body back once in a while. Besides, I can't keep it yet. Though I am getting used to it much faster than I thought I would. It's only taken me a week to build up enough energy to try again." 

You might be able to fool Ling in simple conversations, but you won't be able to pretend to be me so easily!

He couldn't understand why he wanted to take his body, anyways. He clearly had his own, even though it was currently just being projected onto his. Or, really, his was being projected onto Huli's so that his cover wasn't blown. He was getting really confused about that. 

"I can tell what you're thinking, little one, and you would normally be correct... if I was trying to pretend to be you without taking your body," Huli said as he picked him up and slipped him into the left side of his robe. 

The fox immediately curled up with an ear pressed against his warm chest. Xun was given zero control of the action. 

"You see, when I take a body, I can sometimes hear scattered memories and former thoughts, but with you..." Huli's voice grew darker as he spoke, his excitement clearly rising. "I can hear it all. See it all! Every word, every memory, every thought that you've had! It's all lined up and written down, just as if I were reading a book." 

What? 

Xun channeled his inner qi and allowed it to surge through his tiny borrowed body, pushing back the fox's mind and allowing him to wiggle out of his robe. 

Huli's chuckle followed him as he completed the action, leaving him back in the man's lap, but he refused to stay long enough to be grabbed again and quickly hopped up onto the desk. 

To his surprise, Huli didn't bother trying to grab him and simply watched as he turned around to face him. 

The man slowly clapped his hands, a smirk on his handsome face. 

"Look at you, already able to push him aside." 

It wasn't easy! The darn fox was fighting him tooth and nail, making his body ache as he made it fight against itself. 

Xun raised his hackles and squeaked out a pathetic-sounding growl!

"How scary..." Huli mused as he leaned closer, a crooked smirk on his face. 

He wasn't trying to be scary! And he knew that he definitely didn't look it, anyways. He was just frustrated and the new animal side of him was also throwing a fit, making his emotions hard to control. 

"Did you not want me to answer any of your other questions, little one?" 

He did! 

Xun immediately hopped off of the desk and turned around to face it, but when Xun just chuckled again but didn't move to grab the brush again, Xun glared at him over his fuzzy shoulder. 

"Patience, Xun-er," Huli said as he slowly reached around him for the brush, then looked over the questions again. 

Xun quickly got his front paws up on the desk again but made sure to keep his body hunched a bit as to not get in his way. 

"Hmm, I don't need to write my answers now, actually, since you're right here," Huli said as he set the brush down before even dipping the tip into the ink. 

Xun flicked an ear and settled back down in Huli's lap, facing the man. 

"I was in such bad shape when I got here because I had been attacked by a group of demons trying to take my territory not far from here."

Xun quickly went through the more dangerous forests in the kingdom and could only come up with one that wasn't teeming with demons. 

Hanleng forest. 

"You probably already figured it out. I was the master of Hanleng forest. I liked my peace and quiet, so I drove out the majority of demons that tried to settle there. After so many years, however, that earned me quite a few enemies..."

That made sense, but then, the last question?

"My time is just about up already," Huli said with a sigh, making Xun quickly tap his paw against the man's chest. 

He wanted his answers! All of them! 

"Such a pushy pup you are," Huli said as he poked Xun's little nose, earning a grumble and a nip in response. 

You're one to talk. 

"Alright, I'll answer your last question, though it's more the fox that was actually afraid of it, not me," Huli said as he stood up at the same time he lifted Xun into his arms, then headed for the bed to sit down on its edge. 

He's probably getting ready for our bodies to swap back...

"After we were attacked, I lost so much blood and energy that I was forced to stay in my fox form. With my territory temporarily gone, we had to leave the forest and ended up in Lingle town, searching for food."

That all made sense, and the town was definitely close enough to the palace for him to make it there without too much of a problem. 

"Well, the only thing we could manage to find to eat that wasn't guarded by watchful eyes was a cock."

A... 

"What?" Huli questioned, tilting his head slightly as he considered Xun's likely-distorted face. 

"Is that not what you humans call your male chickens?" 

Xun felt his eyebrow twitch. 

"Anyways," Huli continued. "That chicken was surprisingly strong and considering the injuries I'd already sustained, it managed to rough us up pretty badly before we were able to get away." 

You... the chicken they put on the table during the banquet. 

Xun couldn't help himself, he literally fell off Huli's lap and began squeaking as he curled into his tails, somehow managing to laugh even in fox form. 

"You! It's the fox that's afraid of them!" Huli growled as he tried to get Xun to stop squeak-laughing at him. 

It was impossible, though, and even as he felt his body lift free from the fox's, Xun couldn't manage to get himself under control! He honestly couldn't stop laughing until he finally forced his watery eyes to open and felt his stomach drop at who was now lying beneath him, having taken the spot where the fox should have been. 

"I-I thought we switched back..." Xun whispered awkwardly as he tried to keep his eyes on the northern side of Huli's very human and very naked body. 

All they seemed to have done was Huli lose his clothing!

"Did we not switch back?" Xun questioned, though he didn't seem interested in receiving an actual answer, because he quickly looked down and to the left and right, noticing that he did, in fact, have normal hands and arms. While he was letting out a huge sigh of relief that he was finally back in his own skin, Huli's fingers were already slipping into his hair. 

He immediately tried to draw back when he felt them, but the gentle fingers swiftly turned into harsh claws, grabbing and entangling themselves into the long hair at the back of his head before he could so much as blink! 

"H-Huli?" Xun winced as his hair was harshly yanked in the man's formidable grip. 

"This little experiment has worked surprisingly well, but Xun-er... I know that you're unlikely to feed me right away after I do switch back to my fox form, so I'm just going to take my meal beforehand." 

Xun clenched his teeth and yanked his head down and to the side, trying to free himself, but Huli's claws simply dug into his scalp, sending several waves of pain through his temple as they cut hair and skin. 

"Behave. I only want some nourishment. Was that not your intention from the beginning when you took me in and let me feed on you every night without interfering?" Huli said, making Xun's body freeze in its struggles as he stared down at the man with wide eyes. 

After a few moments Huli relaxed his hold a little, sparing Xun some pain, though he obviously refused to let him go. 

When Xun didn't answer his question verbally, Huli simply huffed out a breath as he gave him a knowing look and leaned up on his elbow. 

"Now then, Xun-er. Behave and let your demon feed," Huli whispered before forcing Xun's head down as he leaned up, effectively closing the distance and sealing their mouths together. 

Xun nearly swallowed his own tongue at the sudden kiss, having only expected Huli to summon energy from within an inch or two away, not to seal their mouths together! 

He immediately tried to pull away, but the moment he attempted to move Huli's fingers tightened in his hair, making Xun quickly stop resisting. 

As soon as he calmed himself, Huli relaxed his grip. 

He waited a few moments, then half-heartedly tried to tug his head away again, but it was met with another, though gentler, squeeze from Huli until he relaxed again. 

Feeling the fight drain from him along with his energy, Xun slowly lowered his body down until it rested atop Huli's. Thankfully, he still had the pants on that he'd slept in, at least.  

Huli's fingers completely relaxed in his hair a few seconds later, then gently began rubbing the bruises they had left. 

Resigned, Xun decided to just close his eyes and focus on managing his energy flow and calming his heartbeat, which meant quickly learning how to breathe strictly through his nose even when his heart was racing. 

He was honestly grateful that Huli didn't touch him anywhere else, though. He could have easily held him with his other hand, too, or even wrapped his arm mostly around his waist or back, but he chose to leave it at his side. 

The thought had him calming even more, but right as he was getting comfortable, he suddenly began to sink, making him quickly blink open his eyes just in time to see Huli's solid form evaporate into spiritual energy, leaving behind a little sleeping fox curled up on Xun's pillow.

"What...?"

Xun awkwardly sat up and absentmindedly rubbed at the back of his aching head, then licked his warm lips, more than a little confused.  

"He's... done already?"