Chapter 282 Half-Human, Half-Fox Spirit

"Set the rest here." Lady Vix'i moved into the next room. The train of injured floated behind him as they all slowly turned and weaved into the next room. Lee Seng slowly pulled a floating injured person off the line and set them on the bed. Their weight pushed onto the metal beds. The room mimicked a hospital room on Earth and their bed designs mimicked a hospital bed, too.

Lee Seng set the rest of the injured down and looked at Lady Vix'i when he was done.

"Good, you can tend to their wounds while Keng and Lily deal with the others in the other room." Lady Vix'i instructed.

"Keng and who?" Lee Seng raised an eyebrow.

"Lily." Lady Vix'i spoke. "She's… How do I say this? In simple terms half-human and half-Fox Spirit."

"A mixed blood?" Vedi raised an eyebrow. "A halfling?"

"You could use those terms, too, but yes. She's of both bloods.."

"So she has tails like us? How many tails is she?"

"Well," Lady VIx'i bit her lip. "That's the thing with half-bloods… They, uh, don't have… tails." The information sank in slowly. LEe Seng's delayed reaction only made Lady Vix'i seem a bit more uncomfortable talking about it.

"Ohh," Lee Seng finally started to nod and react. "So they look pretty much human?"

"Some have fox features, others look… human." Lady Vix'i nodded.

"Ah, alright." Lee Seng nodded. He turned to look at the injured. "I guess I'll start tending to the injured."

"I'll leave you to it then." Lady Vix'i quickly turned out and waved at the others before leaving. Lee Seng moved over to the person closest to him towards the end of the room and began to heal them.

"Is it true? A halfling is really here?" The Fox Spirit asked.

"I guess." Lee Seng nodded. He watched the Fox Spirit look at Vedi. Lee Seng turned to look at Vedi who wasn't giving any indication of the whole 'air' about a half-Fox Spirit, half-human. "Is there a problem with half-Fox Spirits, half-humans?" The Fox Spirit uncomfortably avoided Lee Seng's eyes. Lee Seng's curiosity only grew as the Fox Spirit didn't answer. He sighed and continued to heal.

"Most of the troupe is used to humans. They don't have a negative view of them." Vedi answered.

"But?" Lee Seng inserted.

"But," Vedi sighed. "We haven't really seen a half-Fox, half-human grow to be powerful like full-blooded humans merged with Fox Spirits. So usually when one shows up, it means something is going to happen. It's a…"

"Bad omen?" Lee Seng finished the sentence. He pulled away from the Fox Spirit and stood up. "All good?" The Fox Spirit moved their leg and nodded. Lee Seng moved onto the next one, starting the healing process, again.

"It's just… Whenever a halfling gets involved…" Vedi trailed off. "They tend to make a mess more than help."

"And how many have you come across that makes you think this way?" Lee Seng asked. He was getting irritated by the amount of hesitation in the room. Vedi sounded uncomfortable talking about it too.

"Enough." A female Fox spoke. She was sitting near the other end of the room. "They don't have the opportunity to be immortal like Fox Spirits. They have about, maybe a four-times the average human lifespan, but time means nothing to a Fox Spirit. Their abilities manifest differently and we don't know much about how the halflings work. Even when Fox Spirits decide to mate amongst other humanoid species, there's still an opportunity for a longer lifespan than them. Humans have the shortest lifespans amongst the humanoid races."

"Ahh," Lee Seng nodded. "So it's just a short lifespan." His quiet response scared Vedi and the others more. From what they've seen, Lee Seng was pretty vocal. Now that the Savior Fox was quiet, it made them even more uncomfortable. He healed half of the room before Keng stepped in with a small pink-haired girl. The whole room looked at Lily as she stepped in. She could feel the uneasy stares and slowly came to a stop.

"Only got a couple left to heal." Lee Seng spoke up. "You guys start from that end." He pointed out and Keng and Lily nodded. Lily moved over to the woman that had dumped 'lifespan' stuff onto Lee Seng. Lily politely bowed before moving closer to the Fox Spirit.

"Do I… have to get healed by her?" The Fox Spirit woman asked. The pressure shattered. Lee Seng sighed and stood up. Vedi's dark eyes moved onto Lee Seng.

"You get healed by her or you all don't get healed. Choose." Lee Seng's quiet voice spoke. There was a hesitance to Lily and the others. They were shocked by Lee Seng.

"D-d-don't worry so much, s-sir." Lily stammered. She stepped away from the woman and bowed at her and then to Lee Seng. "I-I-If they're n-n-not comfortable the-the-then."

"Then they'll have to get over it." Lee Seng barked at the room. It scared Lily and the others, making them jump. Lee Seng's angry eyes scanned the room. "Just because they don't get to live as long as others do, doesn't mean you treat them worse. Humans are fragile and weak, but it doesn't mean that you can cast us aside like that. If not having tails is what makes you a Fox spirit, then why should I bear my tails then?" Lee Seng pointed at Lily, who was starting to move into the corner of the room. She was shielding her face with her long sleeves.

"I don't know if you can tell, but this 'halfling' is pouring with a large amount of energy right now. She's filled with so much of it and is graciously healing you all. You should be thankful, not uncomfortable because of a short lifespan and 'weak' or 'fragile' state." Lee Seng glared at the room. Keng moved over to Lily.

"He's the one I was talking to you about. That's the other one." Keng whispered.

"Why's h-h-he so mad? T-this doesn't c-c-concern him…" Lily's voice quietly shook.

"Cause we're just as human as you are."

"We?" Lily hung onto that word. Keng had said 'we' instead of 'him.' It confused her. Lee Seng let out a loud sigh and looked at the woman.

"So what's it gonna be? You all wanna sit in this room naturally healing? Even if you sit here for a couple weeks, that's fine with me. As long as you understand your racist views inhibits people like us from actually showing our full strength." Lee Seng shouted. The room was quiet. There were people poking their heads out the door. Vedi gulped and took a step forward. Lee Seng's eyes moved onto him.

"We…" Vedi began. Lee Seng's aura poured out of him. It was definitely weaker than Vedi but something about it intimidated him. "I… I didn't mean anything like that, Lee Seng." Vedi slowly spoke. "It's just…" Lee Seng flicked his wrist and the next thing Vedi knew, a Dark Matter bladed tip was pointed at him.

'He's only a three tailed Fox Spirit yet he could move that fast?' Vedi gulped.

"Enough." Chimera's voice spoke out. Chimera stepped into the room, scattering the crowd at the hall. "Apologize."

"W-what, C-Commander?" The group of Foxes began to stutter. A heavy pressure pushed into the room. Vedi, Keng, Lee Seng, and Lily gulped.

"Apologize. You know what you said was wrong."

"But it's right!" The female Fox Spirit shouted.

SLING!

Part of her bed fell, collapsing and sliding her off of it. She groaned in pain as her wound began to re-open.

"I've lived millenia. I've seen the way Fox Spirits treat the human-Fox Spirit hybrids. They're people just like us. They may not reach the peaks we reach, but they are built on pushing through that adversity. They may or may not resemble us, but it does not mean you should slander them and call them all useless!" Chimera shouted. The group jumped in their spots. They all gulped. Chimera's face had a tinge of anger in it.

"You wanna know why the other room didn't say anything to Lily?" Chimera spoke after a long pause. Chimera pointed at Lily who was cowering behind Keng. "She was one of the few Fox Spirits who could easily overpower the Ent. She helped Keng more than Lady Vix'i or I. She protected our allies and made sure the Ents didn't overpower them. She protected and fought at the same time. So don't look so shocked. She's probably more powerful than you will ever be."

Silence fell into the room. Lily pushed past Keng, her eyes shaking. She quickly wiped her eyes and moved over to the fallen Fox Spirit woman. She crouched and started to hum. Her melodic humming seemed to pull the charged energy out of the room and a healing melody flew over the woman.

She watched as the somewhat opened wound on her leg began to close. Lily hummed away, her quiet hums growing into a loud hum. The wound healed and Lily moved a hand onto the woman's leg. She continued to hum as a pink light enveloped the spot of the woman's leg. The bone reconnected and strength came back into her.