Chapter Text
Razor awoke bundled in something soft- warm. Lupical..? His mind supplied. No, that wasn’t right. The last time he slept tucked under the wolves’ thick tails was months ago. Then…
He groaned, stretching out his body to a series of unsightly cracks and pops. His vision was bright and spotty, had he passed out outside? That didn’t seem quite right either. Razor rubbed his eyes until his vision cleared, wincing at the sharp pain in his side.
Razor took in his surroundings. He was not outside, it appeared, but inside some sort of.. house? It wasn’t quite like the large stone buildings Razor had seen in Mondstadt, nor the smaller ones made of wood he had seen on his travels. From what he could see, it was one small room- only enough space for a bed and a desk- with a single door and two large windows carved into the wood walls that blended up and into the ceiling. Perhaps this is what the inside of one of those larger than life trees that lined the forest in Mondstadt would look like.
The scenery was confusing to Razor, yet the space felt more comfortable than jarring- unlike most buildings he had the displeasure of entering.
There was a single knock on the door. Razor startled.
The door swung open, revealing a young man dressed in clothing more colorful than Razor remembered seeing in Mondstadt. On top of that, he had long, fluffy ears- a fox? And a bushy tail to match. The man walked into the room easily, taking in Razor’s startled appearance.
“You’re awake.” The fox-man stated plainly. He took the chair from the desk and spun it around, sitting to face Razor’s bedside. “How are you feeling?”
Razor stared at him dumbly, but the man just sat there, obviously waiting for some sort of response.
“…Hurts… But, not too much hurt.” Razor eyed the man’s ears as he spoke. “Where am I?”
“Patient appears to have amnesia…” The man mumbled to himself, writing something in the journal he was holding. He looked back up and met Razor’s gaze. “Ah, yes. You are in Gandharva Village. I am Tighnari, a forest ranger.”
Razor blinked. He wasn’t quite sure what a forest ranger was , and it wasn't really his main priority to find out. Somehow, he got the feeling that Tighnari might talk his own tail off if given the chance.
“Why am I here?”
“I found you wounded, half-feral in a cave near the edge of the forest. That's a dangerous area you know- the reports of Withering Zones have only increased as of late, and my findings dictate that they are adept at controlling the fauna around them as well,” Tighnari took a breath. “That's not important right now. I’m more interested in how you ended up like that.”
Razor frowned, eyebrows furrowing as he tried to pin down words that could aptly describe his situation. He knew he was probably taking too long to answer- humans didn’t like waiting a long time for a response, this he had learned from his travels- but Tighnari simply sat, tail swishing rhythmically, not giving any inclination of annoyance. Finally, he decided on a sentence.
“Lived in forest… not like this one. Trees were shorter. Less rain. Mondstadt.” Tighnari nodded as he listened. “My Lupical…” Razor paused. He didn’t know if he could explain his feelings, or if he wanted to explain them for that matter. Tighnari was trustworthy, he’d already come to that conclusion, but bearing his heart on his sleeve? That was a different story.
“Had to leave. Traveled for many nights, many moons. Went into Chasm- too loud. Hearing wasn’t right… monster caught me.” He placed a hand on his side. “Now I am here.”
Razor looked up at Tighnari as he finished his story. The man was looking at him curiously, and Razor found his eyes drifting up to the large ears on his head. He wanted to ask about them, he really did. But was it rude to? Razor didn’t know much about manners, only what Lisa had taught him and what he had picked up along the road. They were complex, different from person to person- he didn’t want to upset the man who saved his life. Luckily, he didn’t have to.
“Ah, are you looking at my ears?”
“Sorry.”
“No, it's alright, I'm quite used to it. I used to live in a city, everyday all my classmates would be running around trying to take pictures of me, pet me, get a closer look at my tail… I wouldn’t have minded if they weren’t so loud about it.”
Razor nodded in agreement.
“Loud is bad. Too much noise- can’t hear footsteps, prey, monsters… Hurts my head.”
Tighnari gave a small smile.
“It seems that we have much in common.”
Tighnari’s tail swished a bit faster now- it reminded Razor of his Lupical when they were in high spirits.
“I don’t mean to overstep, however…” Razor looked back at Tighnari. “Am I right in assuming that you are… not human?”
Perhaps Tighnari was overstepping, but it didn’t bother Razor. He trusted him, and he couldn't sense any malicious intent from him like the city-dwellers who treated him like a sideshow. What he was, however…
“Razor’s lupical are wolves. Razor’s friends are human. Razor is Razor.”
Tighnari seemed to consider this, tail slowing slightly. To be honest, it was getting quite hard for Razor to pay attention to Tighnari’s words while his tail was right within reach.
“I think I understand. Looks like we really are similar!”
Warmth bloomed inside Razor’s chest, and he felt his cheeks warm. He wasn't quite sure what this feeling was- embarrassment? Happiness? Somehow neither of those were right, he would figure it out later. Right now, his eyes were still trained on the fluffy mass moving behind Tighnari. It wasn't his fault! When he was younger, he used to try and catch his Lupical’s tails, diving up and under them as the pack watched. Some of those instincts were bound to stay. Razor didn’t notice when Tighnari’s gaze followed his own, but he did notice when the fox man shifted himself closer to the bed, letting his tail fall over top of it.
“Here, you can touch it if you want- I don’t mind. Just be gentle.”
The feeling Razor felt now was definitely embarrassment. Nevertheless, he carefully reached forward.
Oh.
It was like his Lupical’s fur, but somehow better. Since living with the wolves, Razor had yet to find a softer material than their thick gray coats. This however…
He ran his hand through the silky strands, all perfectly smooth and indescribably dense. Tighnari must brush it every day for it to be like this. He heard Tighnari chuckle softly, breaking Razor’s trance.
“Sorry, sorry. You just reminded me so much of Collei there, when I first let her pet my tail, that is.”
Razor felt Tighnari’s tail twitch under his hand, trying to wag but not quite able to escape the weight of Razor’s palm. Tighnari looked out the window appraisingly.
“The sun is reaching its peak, I need to go check in with the other rangers.” Tighnari stood up, putting his borrowed chair back in its rightful place. Razor felt his heart drop a little.
“You should get more rest. That wound was pretty nasty when I first found you, I don’t want it getting any worse. If you need anything, ask someone around here for me.”
Razor nodded silently, gaze downcast. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his head, and he had to stop himself from butting up into it.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be back later tonight. You can meet Collei then. She’s a forest ranger as well- another kid I took in a while ago. I think you’ll like her.” The hand in Razor’s hair gave a final pat, and then Tighnari was gone.
Another ?
Razor felt like that was important, but Tighnari was right, he was tired. His injury coupled with the mental energy expended trying to have a conversation meant that Razor was quickly lulled to sleep in the warm beams of sun streaming through the window.
He slept better then than he had since he had left his Lupical.