After thirty minutes of walking, I decided to take a break. I find a large tree and place my back against it as I slowly slide to the ground. I haven't seen a soul, animal or human. I look up to still see the sun high in the sky.
At least this gives me a chance to dry off before the temperatures start dropping. I lean my head back against the large tree and wish for the thousandth time that Zhen or Bai Lei would magically show up and save the day. "I'm not above being a damsel in distress..." I mumble as I try to stay awake.
When I feel myself dosing, I quickly shake myself and slowly stand up. I start walking again and try my best to keep in one direction. After walking another hour or so, I come across a small clearing with several mushrooms.
My smile grows when I see that they're edible. I walk over and look around before kneeling down and plucking them. I'm not a huge fan of mushrooms but I was hungry. I also didn't know if I'd come across any other food.
As I quickly shove them in my mouth, I keep an eye on my surroundings but when I hear the bushes behind me move, I pause with both cheeks puffed out. I quickly turn around and look at the bush with fear.
What would be worse? Human or animal? I freeze and wait but nothing happens. I quickly chew the mushrooms in my mouth and swallow but because they weren't completely chewed, they go down hard making my eyes water.
I look around before plucking the rest of the mushrooms but as I pluck the last one, the bush moves again making me freeze. I stare at the bush with fear and slowly back up. Suddenly, a small white thing comes jumping out, making me jump.
A small white squirrel looks at me with large black shiny eyes. I blink several times and slowly deflate. "You almost gave me a heart attack little guy..." I say relaxing a bit. I look around once more but when I look back at the white squirrel, his little eyes were locked onto the mushrooms in my hand.
I look down at the mushrooms before grabbing one and kneeling back down. I hold the mushroom out and say "Are you hungry? Do you want some?" The little squirrel's nose twitches up in down as his little whiskers stick out.
I feel my smile growing as I look at the thing. It sure was cute! The white squirrel slowly comes closer and quickly grabs the mushroom. It quickly eats it and looks to me with large eyes. I giggle and hand it another mushroom.
As the little squirrel inhales the second one I can't help but be impressed. "You must be starving..." I say as I take the remaining mushrooms and place them in front of it. It's little eyes grow large with happiness as it starts stuffing his cheeks with the mushrooms.
I giggle again before I slowly stand up and decide to keep walking. I look up to the sun and see that it's beginning to disappear. I need to look for somewhere to stay for the night... I look back to the little squirrel and say "It was nice meeting you cutie."
I turn away and start walking again as the little squirrel watches me leave. The little squirrel looks down at the last two mushrooms before shoving them into his mouth and quickly following the woman. If he stays with this pretty lady, maybe he'll have an unending supply of yummies!
Suddenly, I feel something pulling my dress from behind but when I look, I see the little white squirrel quickly climbing up my dress. I giggle at the little guy and help him up but he quickly crawls out of my hand and places himself on my shoulder.
I smirk at the little guy in amusement and say "Are you wanting to stay with me?" The little squirrel surprises me when he looks to me and nods his little head. He can understand me?? "Heh... do you have a name?" The little squirrel tilts his little head at me and looks at me in confusion.
Name? What's that? My smile grows as I read the little guy's facial expressions and say "Well if you're gonna stay with me, you'll need a name. Hmm... you're round and fluffy like a bun so I'm gonna call you Bun. How does that sound?"
He looks at me for a moment before letting out a tiny chirp and nodding his tiny head. So cute! I reach up and lightly touch his head as I say "Let's go, Bun." I guess I just got a little buddy. It makes wandering around the woods a little better.
After walking a few more hours and grabbing a few more things to eat, I stop next to a tall thick tree. I look up with a frown before looking around in worry. I know I'll be safer in the tree but with my arm still hurt, it would be difficult.
Bun squeaks and jumps to the tree before quickly climbing up. I sigh and decide to suck it up. I lift my arm and suck in at the pain. I grit my teeth and slowly climb up the tree as I do my best to ignore the pain.
Once up high enough, I lean against the tree and pant in pain. Bun watches me with large eyes before jumping over to me and curling up on my lap. This was the second time I've seen him jump... he kind of reminds me of a Sugar Glider or a flying squirrel.
I reach down and pet the little guy with my good arm as I say "I need to find a way out of these woods as soon as possible. Then we can both eat a lot of yummy food." Bun's little eyes light up as he squeaks in excitement.
I chuckle at the little guy and lean my head back. After just spending a few hours with the little guy, I can already see how much he likes food. Good thing he's so cute... I smile as I feel himself making a little nest in my lap with my dress. Once he was comfortable, he snuggles in and falls asleep.
He already made a vow in his little heart to show this human fox lady the way out. That way he'll have lots of yummies!