"Run! The little devil is coming!", a child screamed as he ran down the main village path, doing his utmost to avoid the devil he mentioned.
Immediately, most of the idle children, even bigger ones, ran off to their houses, as if they'd heard of the boogeyman coming.
Around these parts, to the children at least, Shi Bai was more terrifying than any children's cautionary tale.
If you don't behave, Shi Bai will come beat you up when you are sleeping!
Minutes later, the wild Shi Bai came cursing, yelling on the roads. He was still vexed, and like a mad bull, destroyed everything he could get his hands on, and ran outside of the village.
15 minutes of nonstop running.
Shi Bai walked through the jungle marshes, the thick vines, and the incredibly dense vegetation. Some of it was sharp, and had thorns, but did not tear through Shi Bai's tough skin. He always was strong from birth, people had to admit, even as much as they detested him. Through the glades, he jumped across small creeks.
Shi Bai finally arrived at the one place he could call his home, his peace. It was a tiny place on the outskirts of the village, near a waterfall, where he could doze off listening to the sounds of the water hitting the stones. There were no apples to be counted when you slept.
Shi Bai also had his wolves instinct. If there were any threats to his life, he could awake in time and run like a little imp.
That was how Shi Bai preferred spending his time. If it weren't for the fact that the night was way deadlier and food was hard to find, he would've liked to abandon his home and stay here forever....
These thoughts ran through Shi Bai's head as he laid his head to rest on a stone, weary from all his worldly travels.
...
...
...
So, you've made it here, you little failure.
Your life is beyond you now, and you've tasted your first little sense of sapience. Do you know who you are, Shi Bai?
You may rest for now. But you have tougher battles ahead of you. Let your ego bloom.
Wake up!
...
Shi Bai suddenly awoke with a gasp.
He grabbed his head, frustrated, and annoyed. It was that same series of nonsense words, that he seemed to understand but at the same time, forgot completely about after he woke up.
Would the world not grant him any reprieve even in sleep? I want silence!
Shi Bai rubbed his eyes and yawned.
The sun was now bright orange, and lit up the sky around him, painting the clouds with its own unique shade. Shi Bai knew from experience that this was a sign of the sun setting and the night starting to creep up.
He watched the waterfall once more, hitting the rocks, taking it in once more. The water was slow, and moved along with no worries.
Maybe Shi Bai wanted to be like the water, drifting eternally without purpose. Shi Bai humourously chuckled when he thought of his body turning flat and rippling like the waves. That thought brought him great joy.
He heard the birds sing up in the trees. He had forgotten once more, how it felt to sing to your mother in a sweet melody about the world, and how she would reply back with her own song. And how terribly foul his mood was in the starting days of being a wolf due to that.
Adaptation was tough, for sure. Shi Bai could do it, though. His only trouble now was adapting to being this strange creature with two arms and two legs that stood upright. That wasn't quite how he imagined the ideal beast would walk, but they were the ones who dominated his last life.
Shi Bai opened his throat in memory, trying to talk to the birds in the nests up above.
But all that came out was a beastly growl from a creature that couldn't get used to his own voice, scaring the birds so much they flew away to another place.
Frustration, once more. Please, any other emotion?
Shi Bai sulked for a few minutes, staring at the water, and then got up. The beast is hungry. The beast will go back and count apples to get his dinner.