Why hasn't he changed yet?

A week passed by in the blink of an eye, but his Huli was still only a fox.

Granted, he was doing phenomenally well, but even after their long nights of sharing energy, his human form didn't seem any closer to taking a solid shape.

He did, however, begin showing some quite interesting qualities.

For one, he began to start saying no in a frustrating way. Whenever he didn't want to go somewhere or do something, he'd make it impossible to pick him up. It was just like what he'd done after defecating on his youngest brother's archery platform the previous week.

Xun wasn't exactly sure what it was, but as far as he could tell, Huli could manipulate his own weight. He thought that it only worked in terms of making him heavier the first few times he saw Huli use it to pout about something he didn't want to do, but then Xun realized one night as he was watching Huli's fractured human form through his lashes, that it actually went both ways.

Not only could the little fox increase his weight exponentially, but he could also become essentially weightless. That was how their current situation came to be.

Xun noticed that after feeding, sometimes Huli would unintentionally fall asleep in his spiritual human form and lie weightlessly on his chest for a short time before his fox took back over.

Now, as he sat leaning against his pillows with that beautiful ethereal form in his arms, he couldn't help but feel completely relaxed.

Without his fur, Xun had expected Huli's ethereal form to feel cold, but to his surprise, each time the translucent body made of spiritual energy settled overtop him, it always radiated a comfortable warmth.

Noticing the faint human outline in his arms beginning to fluctuate, Xun settled back into his normal flat sleeping position and put his hands to either side of his body on the sheets.

Soon his little fox had returned, its ethereal form having dissipated into thin air, leaving behind its fluffier half.

Xun waited patiently for the fox to wake up, then tap him on the chest. It was his sign that he was hungry and wanted breakfast early.

My little glutton.

Xun slowly sat up, holding Huli against his chest so that the fox wouldn't tumble backwards.

"Here, little one," he said as he created a ball of condensed energy and offered it to him.

Huli happily accepted as he reached up with his paws and gently but firmly grabbed Xun's hand to bring it closer to his mouth.

"Hey Huli?" Xun questioned as the little fox chomped on his breakfast.

Huli looked up, his mouth clearly full. The spiritual energy he was trying to consume was even glowing through his nose a bit.

Cute little thing.

"Do you have a human form, little one?"

Of course, he already knew the answer to his own question, but he was curious if Huli was willing to confirm it.

When the little fox immediately chirped his agreement, Xun raised a brow.

"Oh? May I see it?" he questioned, already knowing the answer to that, also. If Huli could have changed, he likely would have done it by now.

When the little fox simply shook its head, Xun smiled. He knew that Huli was trying to get back to his human form, so he wouldn't push him about it. Besides, a demon that actually had another form was normally not something one should trifle with.

Those were the kinds of demons you read about in lore, not the ones you took home and pampered as fluffy little pets.

He might have a completely different personality when he finally changes back to his human form.

Xun thought about it, then felt his eyebrow twitch.

There was no way a demon who could obtain human form would voluntarily act like Huli did.

He'll definitely be different.

And he would need to be ready.

A few chirps snapped him out of his thoughts and earned Huli another ball of energy. As much as he knew that Huli did have a human form, he just couldn't see such a little, stubborn brat as something so powerful.

"Are you going to be big and strong one day?" he asked him in a teasing tone as he lifted up both of his front paws playfully.

Huli looked between his paws a few times before returning his attention to Xun and chirping loudly.

Smiling, Xun got himself up and settled Huli on the floor. Before getting dressed he made sure to get Huli's little hairpin in place, remembering that the little punk had raised hell the one time he'd forgotten to put it back on him in the morning.

He even handed Huli a little ball to play with as he got himself ready for his day, though the fox seemed to prefer watching him most of the time over swatting around the ball.

Noticing those soft brown eyes on him as he removed his sleeping shirt, Xun looked down and met that gaze.

"What are you staring at?" he questioned as he tossed his shirt aside, leaving his bare chest visible.

He had a decent amount of muscle but unlike most military men, his body was more streamline, his muscles smooth and unobtrusive.

Huli immediately chirped his answer, making Xun roll his eyes.

I have a fox demon checking me out... maybe I should talk to mother about getting a concubine after all, because this is ridiculous.

He really wasn't interested in sharing his space with anyone, but maybe he needed to stop being so stubborn.

One person couldn't hurt...

The thought made him a little queasy and he quickly pushed it to the back of his mind as he tugged his pants off and finished getting changed... with Huli watching the entire time.

"Your highness, are y—"

Xun frowned as he finished tying his belt, confused as to why Ling had suddenly stopped talking as he walked inside. Looking at him over his shoulder, he noticed that he was looking between them and down.

Xun followed his gaze until his eyes landed on a familiar, surprising sight.

It's not night time yet... he thought as he cautiously stepped closer, then knelt in front of Huli's ethereal form. It seemed like he was trying to finally shift, but as the seconds turned to minutes, Xun realized that it just wasn't going to happen yet.

The shimmering outline of Huli's human form fluctuated and pulsed, but nothing more ever came of his efforts.

"Here, sweet one," Xun said reassuringly as he reached forward and gently took Huli's form into his arms.

It was lighter than air, surprising him as he got back to his feet and hugged him to his chest.

He's so warm...

Xun realized that even though Huli was still struggling to change, what he needed to help him was right at his fingertips.

"Ling, can you bring us breakfast? A double portion of what we already get?" Xun asked, earning an immediate nod from Ling before his servant darted off to take care of his request.

While he was gone, Xun got himself situated back against his pillows in bed, then got Huli as comfortable as he could against his chest.

"Huli? Here, little one," he said quietly as he created a concentrated ball of energy and offered it to where he figured Huli's lips would be on the head of the glowing figure.

As he pressed it into the soft light, it slowly disappeared, consumed by the entity in his arms.

"More, Huli?" he questioned, then waited, curious to see if he would get a reaction.

The translucent head settled against his shoulder moved slightly, though it clearly lacked the strength to lift itself.

"It's alright, I got you," he told him as he lifted another ball of energy up to his mouth.

Ling returned right as Huli was finishing eating his third energy ball.

"Here you are, your highness," he said as he hurried over and set up all of the dishes on a little table he moved next to the bed.

Xun thanked him and quickly picked up the chopsticks on the tray and began eating. In between feeding Huli energy, he filled his own mouth with food. He considered feeding Huli's new form the real food, too, but quickly decided against it.

If the guy couldn't even hold up his own head, he likely couldn't chew.

"Don't push yourself, alright? You'll change when you're ready to," he told him after nearly an hour of feeding him.

After eating the majority of their double meal, Xun felt more than a little stuffed. He was focusing internally as much as he was externally, allowing himself to process the food faster than normal and convert what he could into energy. That allowed him to feed Huli much more energy than he normally would.

When Ling returned a little later Xun spoke, "I think we're going to rest for a little while. Can you keep people out unless it's urgent?"

As in, his mother and his father were the only ones allowed in.

"Yes sir," Ling said as he quickly gathered the dirty dishes.

"Also, please see to it that the twins I won from my brothers are checked by a doctor. You can then offer them a year's salary each if they'd like to return home. If they choose to stay here, please make sure that they are able to be housed together. They can take care of our pavilion gardens since Jun is getting up in years. I'm sure he'd appreciate the help."

Ling looked absolutely thrilled, especially since he'd been the one to ask if they could hire a few more people to help Jun out.

"Yes sir! I'll go see about that right now!"

Once his servant left Xun looked back at the young man sleeping in his arms and reached up to brush the back of his fingers against his ethereal cheek.

He wanted to try and feed him more energy, more directly, but he didn't know how to do what Huli had. He could let him take as much as he wanted, but he couldn't bring his own energy out of his mouth like Huli had been able to.

Maybe if I...?

Without thinking more about it, Xun leaned down and pressed his slightly-parted lips over the place where he thought Huli's would be.

It honestly felt as if he were kissing a soft blanket of warm air.

What are you doing?

Rolling his eyes at himself, Xun leaned away... only for his eyes to widen as Huli's ethereal form inched closer until the gap he'd just made between them was closed again.

He soon felt the familiar pull of energy he was used to and settled in to allow Huli to feed from him as he wished.

Except, as time went on, instead of maintaining his consciousness and slipping into a quiet meditative state, Xun soon drifted off to sleep without even realizing it.

The next thing he knew he was blinking open tired eyes, his body feeling achy and sore all over.

What...?

Groaning quietly, he stretched and winced.

Did I give him too much energy this time?

Xun began sitting up, only to feel suddenly off-balance right before falling over onto his side.

What the?

Getting his hands beneath himself, he pushed himself up, but it took a lot more effort than it should have. His entire body felt exhausted and weak.

Hearing footsteps behind him, Xun forced himself to lift his heavy head and look over.

Who is that?

Ling would never let someone inside intentionally.

Another assassin?

That didn't seem right, though. The man was just calmly walking around, observing the items he had out on his desk and dressers.

A thief, maybe?

That didn't seem right, either. If he wanted to steal something, he could have just taken it. His notes were really the only things of much importance, though, and most of them weren't even finished.

Glad I always present my finished ones to father quickly.

It prevented anyone from possibly stealing completed information.

Well, either way, now that he was awake, he'd just take care of the man himself. Except, when he finally moved over to slip out of bed, he literally fell out of it and thunked to the floor!

What the heck?

Standing up quickly, Xun looked around, then finally realized what was wrong.

I'm way shorter than I should be.

Looking down, he furrowed his brow at the tiny white paws holding his tiny white body up.

Those aren't my hands or feet...

The sound of someone moving closer, as well as a shadow falling over him, had Xun automatically tucking his two tails and looking up.

"Good evening, little one," the man before him said as he gently scooped him up into his arms, then straightened.

Xun remained silent as he was carried over to his desk and set down in the chair. At his new vantage point, he sat down, curling his two tails around his front paws as he observed the man in silence. By now he'd figured out enough of what must have happened to understand that they'd somehow switched bodies.

That meant that the man now tying back his hair in front of him had to be Huli.

He was a little taller than he'd expected, though clearly not a match for his own height. His clothing, at least, fit well enough for the time being. He wasn't quite as muscled, either, but that might come with more nutrients. His hair was long and white, as expected, and as beautiful as Huli's newly-healed fur coat.

I suppose it's my fur coat for the moment...

He wasn't quite sure how they'd managed to switch bodies, but at the same time, it wasn't much of a surprise, either. He'd heard rumors about powerful demons being able to do such things, though he'd never seen it before with his own eyes.

My mistake for letting it happen.

As he considered his minimal options, he silently watched Huli finish tying his long hair up, then settle on the edge of his bed with a knowing smirk on his handsome face.

"I'm surprised I managed to change already, but I won't have much time yet," he said as he lifted one hand up in front of him, then turned it this way and that, as if expecting something to happen.

Xun tilted his fuzzy head, then flicked an ear, earning the man's gaze and a lopsided grin.

"You're the most relaxed human I've ever stolen a body fr—" The sound of the door opening drew both their attention and Huli quickly lowered his arm... but didn't bother trying to hide at all.

What is he planning?

Xun hoped that he wasn't intending to harm Ling... and he didn't exactly seem malicious at the moment.

When his servant calmly walked inside and bowed respectfully towards Huli, then greeted him with his normal, "good evening, your highness," Xun was more than a bit speechless... and not just because he was a fox and couldn't speak to begin with.

He can't see the real Huli?

He watched as Huli spoke to Ling calmly, mimicking his words and personality perfectly, then bit his tongue as the older man walked over and patted his head, even though it felt incredibly awkward to be pet by his own servant.

"Get some rest, master. It won't due if you get sick after having just recently returned to the palace. I'll bring your dinner by later tonight, as requested," Ling finally said before dismissing himself with a final bow.

Once he was gone and the door was shut, Huli crossed his legs and leaned forward with a mischievous grin, several strands of his snow-white hair falling before his caramel brown right eye with the motion.

"How did I do, master Xun?"

Xun scowled at him, earning a light bit of laughter from Huli before the man stood up and walked back over to him. Xun swatted at his hands the first time he tried to pick him up, but after Huli squatted down to his level and made a pathetic pouting face, Xun relented and allowed his little body to be scooped up.

"Such a good human."

He didn't want the praise... or the gentle petting that followed it, but even after trying another smack with his paw, Huli simply ignored it with another chuckle and continued petting his head and scratching behind his ears.

Huli ended up carrying him around the entire inner pavilion, looking over the rooms and generally seeming to get the full layout of the place. Xun didn't like it, but there was little he could do.

He even noticed that whenever Huli interacted with one of their few servants, he'd somehow get them to give him their name without asking directly for it, thus putting a name to each face that he might not have already met.

It was quite clear that he intended to swap bodies more than just this once.

Xun scowled more as he continued to be carried, but before he could mope for long, he was gently guided into the left side of the soft white robe he'd dressed himself in earlier... which Huli, of course, was now wearing.

"Maybe this will help you relax? I really like that spot because I can hear your heartbeat if I put my head against your chest," Huli said as they slowed to a stop and he seemed to sit down.

Xun was a bit preoccupied trying to get himself into a feasible position after having been shoved into the man's clothing, though, so he wasn't too sure yet.

When he finally got himself situated and peered out of the robe, he was surprised to see that they were sitting in his greeting parlor.

"It has been too long," Huli mused as he relaxed into one of Xun's favorite dark red upholstered chairs.

Lifting his feet up, he crossed them on the footrest, then leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

Xun thought that he might rest that way for some time, but after only a few moments, he felt the man's hand settle against his back, pressing gently upon the robe that he was curled up within.

"It's comfortable, isn't it?" Huli whispered as his thumb began to softly move along the fabric. He could just-barely feel the sensation against his fur.

I guess... it's fine.

"Since you were such a good boy, I'll give it back to you now," Huli said quietly, sounding as tired as Xun felt and making him look up at the man, confused.

Before he could question him with an ear flick, he noticed the man's body beginning to turn translucent. Spiritual energy soon started to leach out, enveloping both of them in a tangled web of warm light.

Another moment later and Xun was unconscious, dragged under by the overwhelming energy, unable to fight against its power for more than a few meager seconds.