Nanna was sitting in front of the TV, watching another rerun episode of Jeopardy when she finally came back from her little walk with the hú shén.

                As quietly as possible, she closed the front door and tried to sneak upstairs before Nanna notice her presence. Like a cat burglar, she quietly tiptoed behind Nanna’s armrest and headed toward the stairs.

                “How’s your little date?”

                She froze in place and silently cursed herself. Damn it, Nanna’s senses were keener than she initially thought. Maybe she should just sneak in from the back door next time to avoid direct confrontation with the old woman.

                “Nanna, it’s not a date.” she finally grumbled, “And stop playing matchmaker. We’re just business partners, nothing more.”

                A knowing smile appeared on the old woman’s lips, “Your mouth might say that but your heart begs to differ.”

                Silence filled the air. She couldn’t retort with a counter-statement because Nanna was right — she did have feelings for the fox. Feelings that she wished didn’t exist because they were driving her insane with need and hunger and want. The more she tried to fight those feelings, the more they engulfed her. The more she resisted, the bigger and stronger they became. Her feelings became her inner demons. She couldn’t kill them off.

                “Nanna, it’s late. I’m going to sleep. Good night.” she gave Nanna a kiss on the cheek, “And don’t go to bed too late either. You have to take care of your body.”

                “Okay, child. Goodnight. Sweet dreams.”

***

                Ironically, her dreams weren’t sweet at all. They were the opposite of sweet. In fact, they were downright terrifying. The images were a collage of different nightmares mashed together, like some sort of Frankenstein’s monster. One minute, she was hunting demons. The next, they were hunting her. She went from being a predator to being a prey in less than three seconds.

                Her weapons were gone. All she had were her bare hands.

                A whimper escaped when she tripped on a rock in the middle of a dark forest. The demon was closing in on her. The large, shapeless form rose on two legs until it was taller than the tree canopies. Its body purposely blocked out the moonlight from her view, making her a victim of the darkness. She clenched her fists, angry at herself for being so weak, angry at herself for being scared.

                When the demon lurched forward to capture her, the dream suddenly changed. She was now in another forest. Unlike the previous dream, the temperature was a lot warmer. Almost muggy. Pale beams of sunlight streamed through the trees, highlighting the greenness of the leaves and the rich mocha color of the earth.

                Being the aimless wanderer that she was, she continued to walk straight, not knowing where she was going or what she was doing. Sweat covered her neck as she traveled deeper and deeper into the never-ending forest. Her dry mouth begged for water but there was none for her to drink. The sun beat down on her, burning her skin. She dove under the shade for cover. Something cracked under her feet. It sounded like ceramic. Looking down, she realized she’d stepped on a miniature shrine. A demon shrine.

                What the hell! Who worship demons anyway?

                Almost instantaneously, a demon popped out and grabbed her by the arms and legs. She cried out as it choked her neck, halting her breathing. Raising a leg, she kicked the demon in the shin. It hollered in pain and loosened its grip on her. Taking advantage of the demon’s distress, she tunneled out of his grasp and ran away as fast as she could.

                She was fast. But it was faster.

               It pounced on her but she rolled away. Growling, the demon kept a closer tab of her movements and pounced on her again. This time, she wasn’t as lucky. The demon locked its arms around her body, pushing her to the ground. She tried kicking its face but her struggles only prompted the demon to do her more damage. Blood oozed from her kneecaps as the demon clawed her knees. It wanted to break her bones so she couldn’t run away.

Nonetheless, she fought it with all her strength. Her fists banged its head. Her teeth bit its skin. But it was no use; she was no match for a powerful demon. She was just a little girl.

               Wait, what?

               Instead of focusing on the demon, she focused on herself. Why was she so tiny? And why was her hair so much shorter than before? Where were her long locks? And her s? Did she suddenly go through anti-puberty and lose all her womanly curves? And what kind of clothing was she wearing? Was that a duck on her shirt? Why the hell would she have a cartoon duck on her shirt?

               Her attention reverted back to the demon when it suddenly let out an evil laugh. Her eyes widened as it raised its clawed hand. One swipe and she would be dead.

                She turned her head away and squeezed her eyes. She’d anticipated her death but it didn’t come. Something happened. Someone came to save her.

                 Her adult mind wanted her to open her eyes and see what was happening. But the child that was controlling her movements resisted her motives. Even so, it was clear that her savior was the fox.

                 “Are you okay?” asked the hú shén. His voice was more child-like than before, the tone closer to a young boy than a fully grown man. But it made sense since he did mention that they met when he was twelve.

                 “No.” she heard herself whimper. 

                 “Are you lost?” he asked, gently touching her raw knees.

                “Yes. I wanna go home.” she heard herself brawl, “I want mommy and daddy and Nanna.”

                “I’ll take you back to them, okay?” he scooped her up in his arms, “Don’t cry anymore, it’s over.”

                “Thank you for saving me. I was so scared.”

                “No problem. What’s your name, by the way?”

                She told him and he smiled.

                “That’s a beautiful name.”

                “What’s your name?”

                 “I can’t tell you.” the fox said.

                 "Why not? I told you my name.”

                “Because names have powers.”

                “But I wanna know! I wanna know! Please tell me!” Wow, had she always been a brat? Looking back, she wanted to facepalm herself for being such a bratty child when she was younger. It was quite embarrassing.

                “Okay but you must never say it aloud.”

                “I promise.”

                He cupped her ear and whispered the magical word. And that was when she woke up.

***

                “Yi Xing.” she breathed as she sat up from her bed. She clenched the sheets as her heart pounded like crazy within her chest. It was a good thing that she’d awoken. She didn’t think she could take more demons.

                Her eyes widened in terror when she realized someone was sitting on the edge of her bed. Even without proper lighting, she could still tell that it was a man. A man in a hooded cloak.

                “Yi-” A hand clamped down on .

                “Shhh, didn’t I tell you that names have power?”

                She grumbled and pushed his hand away, “Why the hell are you in my room? You’re such a creeper! Get out before I throw you out my window!”

                The fox chuckled, a smile curving up the corners of his beautifully-shaped mouth, “You called my name, silly. I have to come to see what was going on. Turns out, you weren’t in danger, you just had a flashback.” He leaned toward her until their faces were only a hairbreadth away, “I guess you remember everything now.”

Author's Note: I'm back guys! Sorry for the late update, I was doing random oneshots.

Anyway, who's ready for Growl? The teasers are just PERFECTION. YiXing in the middle of the circle is everything that I wanted!

Everyone looks so good. The dance is so good. Eururong is the catchiest thing ever. The sad part is that my wallet will to sue me when I buy Growl (sorry, wallet, I'll treat you better next time >_<)