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A dull, insistent throbbing in his head awoke Chongyun from his slumber, his tired eyes slowly blinking the sleep away. Even though his curtains were drawn, the room felt too bright for him. His throat felt parched and in desperate need of a drink, but he was too tired to even grab the glass of water he knew sat on his bedside table. Shifting in his bed, Chongyun’s brow furrowed in pain and tiredness as he squeezed his eyes shut, turning his face back into the soft pillow beneath him. He had no idea how long he had slept, but it felt like he could sleep for at least another four hours.
Sleeping sounded nice. He could feel the gentle pull of drowsiness tugging at the edges of his consciousness, lulling him back under. Yes, he could sleep some more. Sleeping would make this headache go away. Sleeping… well it might not banish the dry throat, but he won’t feel it if he’a not awake. Yes, there were not a lot of downsides to getting a bit more rest. He let out a soft sigh, settling back down in his cozy sheets.
Just as he was about to drift back to sleep, the curtains were suddenly and loudly pulled back, flooding his room with a torrent of bright morning light. Chongyun let out a pained cry and squeezed his eyes shut, covering his eyes with his arm.
“Agh!! What—?”
A playful giggle answered him further within the room, a sound that was simultaneously pleasant and utterly grating upon his ears.
“Good morning, Yun Yun!”
Chongyun lowered his arm just enough to glare at the figure who’d so rudely awoken him. Short blue hair already neatly combed and styled, gold eyes glinting with amusement, outfit neatly arranged and ready to face the day… That was Xingqiu alright, standing by the window with the curtains in his grasp like a child caught with a hand in the cookie jar, and looking just as unrepentant. But while the sight of the young man would be a joy to see any other day, right then it was an annoyance that grated on his every nerve. Rather than reply, Chongyun let out a loud groan, pulling his covers up over his head.
“Come on, Xingqiu, let me sleep...” A growl touched his words as he spoke, which might have been rude, but he hoped it was enough to show just how annoyed he was. But rather than be chased off, Xingqiu only seemed to find his annoyance more delightful than frightening.
“Goodness me, such a grumpy pup in the morning!” Xingqiu tutted, shaking his head like he were a disappointed parent. “Is that how you greet all your friends when they go out of their way to see you? Most would at least say good morning.”
He really wasn’t going to let up, was he? Chongyun let out another growl. “Xingqiu, it’s too early for this..!”
“Early?” Xingqiu’s amused voice asked from the other side of the covers. “You slept most of the morning away. It’s almost noon.”
“...What?” Chongyun asked, slowly peeking his head out from the covers. His brows knitted in confusion. “What time is it?” He turned to look at the clock on his bedside table, squinting at the digital display. Oh… Was… was it really so late??
Xingqiu chuckled, shaking his head. “Well, I don’t blame you for sleeping in.” he said, walking away from the window and around to the side of Chongyun’s bed. Chongyun let out a grunt as Xingqiu hopped onto the side of his bed, making his side of the bed jolt upward as Xingqiu’s side dipped suddenly. “Full moons are hard on even the most seasoned of werewolves, aren’t they? I can only imagine what you go through once a month.”
Chongyun turned to Xingqiu, frowning at him. “If you know that, then why don’t you be a little nicer and let me sleep?”
“Well, I could...” Xingqiu mused, reaching into his pocket to dig out his phone, “But, where’s the fun in that? And admit it, you’d much rather get a wake-up call from your favourite hunter than from some soulless buzzer alarm, wouldn’t you?”
Chongyun merely grumbled, pressing his face back into his pillow.
The Feiyun Commerce Guild was a well-known pinnacle of finance in Liyue, but a lesser-known aspect of the organization was its involvement in dealing with the supernatural. A portion of the wealth that the Guild had amassed through various trade deals and business ventures would be used to pay for hunters, buy supplies, and fund hunts for creatures that would threaten Liyue. It was a practice that spanned many generations, earning it a respectable position in the world of the supernatural. While most people in this current age knew of the Guild as a business and financial institute, those who still believed in the ancient customs and folklore knew of the services of the Feiyun monster hunters. But despite its dedication to keeping the people of Liyue safe, the Guild did not hunt monsters indiscriminately. As more violent monsters and evil spirits began to make themselves known, some creatures actively sought out the organization’s assistance, or offered their services in exchange for protection. The Guild began to evaluate the threat levels of the monsters they encountered, and it was discovered that allegiances with friendly creatures, even temporarily, could greatly benefit their hunts.
Chongyun’s pack was in one such allegiance. Werewolves were natural-born hunters, and while they were considered a very serious threat to human settlements, his pack had long since abstained from hunting humans to instead focus on greater dangers. There were other packs that were peaceful like his, but they were smaller and hardly interacted with civilization, choosing to hide themselves in the wilds instead of risking confrontations with humans. Rather than go into hiding like the other peaceful werewolves, his ancestors had taken a risk and reached out to the Feiyun Commerce Guild’s hunters, and offered their services to the Guild. They informed the hunters of how they and their allies hunted animals instead of humans, and how they protected their territory from monsters and evil spirits just as fiercely as any hunter would. They also mentioned how werewolves had unique senses that helped them sniff out and hunt other creatures that threatened their pack’s safety. Since they both fought against dangers that threatened their people, it made sense to combine forces and assist one another. It had been tumultuous at first, from the stories that Chongyun had heard as a pup, but it soon became evident how powerful it was to have a natural hunter of monsters as an ally, rather than as another threat. His pack was accepted into the Guild’s ranks, and became a vital asset of their successes.
Though, despite the advantages this agreement created, there were times that Chongyun questioned his partnership with his appointed hunter. Times such as this, when Xingqiu’s mischievous side rose up and it seemed like it was his personal mission to poke and prod at Chongyun’s patience to see if he would snap back at him, figuratively or literally.
“Leave me be, Xingqiu, my head’s killing me…” he grumbled into his pillow.
“Is that so? Have you had anything to drink yet?” Xingqiu asked, not waiting for Chongyun’s answer as he reached for the nearby glass of water and offered it to him. “I hear that oversleeping can give you a headache. I wonder if that would compound with a moonlight transformation?”
“I’m not sure.” Chongyun propped himself up onto one elbow and accepted the water with a small word of thanks, taking a few gulps. It did wonders to help alleviate his dry throat, but his head was still a little sore. “It feels like I have a hangover…” He said the words without truly thinking them through, and he only noticed when he saw the way Xingqiu’s expression lit up with amusement.
“Is that so? And how would you know what that feels like? Goodness, I wouldn’t have pegged you as the type to get drunk enough to experience a hangover, Chongyun! What would your pack Elder think, I wonder..?”
“T-That’s not true!” Chongyun stammered, feeling his face heat up as he shoved the cup of water back af Xingqiu. “It’s just that, from what I hear, and with this headache..!” He trailed off when Xingqiu began to laugh, and he let out another grumble. “Xingqiu, please..!”
“Alright, alright.” Xingqiu said as he placed the glass back on the bedside table. “I’ll yield, but only because you aren’t feeling your best. I’m not so cold-hearted as to mock a friend who’s miserable.”
“Thank you.” Chongyun grumbled, moving his arm under his head as he went to lie back down. Xingqiu could be a lot, but at least he knew when to back off. “Now that you’ve badgered me awake, was there something you actually needed me for?”
“Mm, not really. I just wanted to see how my dear friend was doing after his big night.” Xingqiu said, which earned him a frustrated sigh from Chongyun. The blue-haired hunter didn’t seem to mind, instead turning back to his phone and flicking through the screen with his thumb. From what Chongyun could see, he had opened up some app full of text; no doubt one of his many novels in electronic form. “I do have to send in an incident report for our latest hunt, but that is something I can do later.”
“The one involving the nekomata at the Wanmin Restaurant?” Chongyun asked.
“Yep, that’s the one.” Xingqiu confirmed with a nod. “It’s just to report on the extraction operation we did last night, in case you were wondering.”
Chongyun let out a little hum. Yes… he remembered now. That was their most recent assignment, and he remembered them being close to locating it. Since it hadn’t caused any significant harm to anyone, their orders had been to locate it and convince it to leave, or at least contain it for relocation to someplace outside of the city. But their extraction date was on the night of the full moon, and unfortunately he couldn’t remember much past sundown.
“Everything went smoothly… right?”
“As smooth as silk flower petals floating on the river.” Xingqiu said poetically. “You performed admirably, as always. It’s a shame you don’t remember, though.”
Chongyun tilted his head back, closing his eyes. “I can’t help it. The full moon makes my spirit so restless… I just haven’t mastered a way to control myself when it happens.” When he had come of age and began his own training, it was discovered by the pack Elder that Chongyun had an unusually high level of yang energy within him. Being supernatural, werewolves naturally cultivated spirits that were higher in yang energy than humans, which served as a natural opposition to the yin energy cultivated within evil spirits and other malevolent monsters. As useful as this was for hunting monsters, it made it difficult for Chongyun to control his transformations, and made him unpredictable during the nights of the full moons. This made him a risk for being paired with other hunters, since it fell upon the human hunter to help calm their werewolf partner’s wild spirit and act as a grounding force for them. None of the other hunters had been able to control Chongyun, and for a while it seemed as though it would be too risky for The young werewolf to truly work alongside humans. But despite all odds, Chongyun did eventually find a human who could calm his yang spirit: Xingqiu.
Chongyun didn’t really remember that night well. He knew that his yang spirit had flared up particularly badly, and he remembered the vague pains of a transformation, but beyond that his memory was blank. He could only remember waking up the next morning in a field just on the outskirts of Liyue, with his head resting in the lap of a snoozing Xingqiu and feeling calmer than he’d felt in a long time. The two had been officially recognized as hunting partners since then, listed as having a stable enough bond for field work. When he asked Xingqiu how he had managed to calm him, Xingqiu had merely waved him off and said it was his charm that had tamed the beast. Asking the others had yielded just as few answers. The hunters explained it as Xingqiu being something of a prodigy among hunters, and that his training had honed his skills in such a way that enabled him to handle a wild werewolf. The pack Elder suggested something more spiritual, that their souls were two halves that together made a natural whole, which was why Chongyun could yield to Xingqiu. Chongyun didn’t know which explanation was the right one, but he was just glad he was able to finally provide his services to his pack and the Guild, and glad to have a new friend he could trust with his wild side.
“I know, my dear friend. I don’t fault you for how you are. We’ll figure out a way to calm that restless energy of yours, Chongyun, don’t you worry.” Xingqiu said, turning away from his phone to give Chongyun a reassuring smile. And despite being annoyed with him for teasing him and rudely waking him, Chongyun did feel placated by those words. If there was one thing he could count on Xingqiu for, it was that he knew that Xingqiu never viewed him as broken or faulty, or as a potential threat. He merely saw Chongyun’s condition as just that: a condition. Something he was born with, and something they could work around. Nothing more, nothing less. It was a reassuring take, and something he was very grateful for.
“And besides,” Xinqiu went on, looking back at his phone, “you can’t always rely upon me to tell you everything that you do under the full moon. Even if it’s quite hilarious at times.”
Chongyun opened his eyes, frowning at Xingqiu. “What do you mean?”
“Oh, you know…” Xingqiu began slowly, voice taking on a familiar, sing-song quality that only spoke of mischief. “Don’t get me wrong, you performed exceptionally well against our adversary. I just had no idea you could be so formidable against cats…”
A cold dread washed over Chongyun. He lifted his head off his pillow, eyes widening.
“What did I do..?”
Xingqiu looked up from his phone and glanced sideways at him, a playful smirk on his lips. “Would you like to see?”
Chongyun groaned again, pressing his face into his pillow again. “Please don’t tell me you recorded it...”
There was that playful laugh again. “My, Chongyun, I know you aren’t at your best right now, but asking me to lie to you? I don’t know if I have it in me.”
“Xingqiu...”
Xingqiu chuckled and shook his head, reaching over to give Chongyun a reassuring pat on his head. He didn’t want to admit that it helped, but those slender, gentle fingers in his hair were enough to chase some of the worries away as he focused on the comforting sensation. He tilted his head underneath Xingqiu’s hand, just enough for one frost-blue eye to peek up at the blue-haired hunter.
“Was it bad?”
Xingqiu withdrew his hand and tapped on his phone, pulling up his video app and tilting his screen so that Congyun could see. “I don’t believe so, but I’ll let you be the judge of that. Here, see for yourself.”
Chongyun lifted his head so that he could get a better view of the video, already fretting over what he was about to see even before Xingqiu selected the video and let it play. There was the interior of the Wanmin Restaurant, though it was devoid of any customers in the video. That was probably for the best, because the scene depicted was one of utter chaos; tables overturned, shouting in the background, the clatter of chairs being knocked to the ground. It was a little hard to see with the way the camera shook, but he was soon able to see a large, lithe, feline-looking creature darting around the dining room and yowling in displeasure. It would seem like a regular cat under most circumstances, save for its larger size, were it not for two long tails that thrashed behind it in irritation. Ah, this must be the nekomata that they had been assigned to find and deal with, he remembers.
And chasing after it, much to Chongyun’s dismay, was a large, white-furred wolf, who’s snarls and barks echoed along with the sharp meows of the spiritual cat-beast.
Chongyun grimaced as he watched himself, in his werewolf form, chasing around the nekomata like a dog would chase a cat. It looked almost comical, like something one would see in a cartoon, especially with how he at one point took a sharp turn and sent a chair flying in his pursuit. Xingqiu’s muffled laughter could be heard in the background, clearly trying hard not to be heard amidst the chaos. Chongyun groaned and dragged a hand down his face, while Xingqiu laughed quietly beside him.
“This is embarrassing...” he muttered under his breath. He winced as he watched himself run headlong into a table in his chase, letting out a yelp of pain. Well, that explained the headache he had… “I can’t believe you filmed this.”
“You know that Master Zhongli would appreciate the coverage of our work for administrative purposes.” Xingqiu stated matter-of-factly. Chongyun shot Xingqiu an incredulous look. The very thought of their superior seeing his ridiculous behaviour was enough to make him let out a pained sound of dismay, causing Xingqiu to tut at him. “Oh, don’t worry about it. We had everyone who wasn’t on our team vacate the premises long before this, so it’s not like anyone was in any real danger.”
Well, that was good, but Chongyun still frowned and motioned to the footage. “But look at all this damage I caused.”
Xingqiu waved a hand dismissively. “Not to worry. I paid off the damages before we left. Xiangling explicitly told me to tell you that she was grateful for your help, and that there were no hard feelings to be had.”
That did make him feel a little better, but it didn’t disperse all the guilt. Chongyun sighed, rolling back over onto his back. “It’s still so embarrassing. Such a display of public buffoonery is unbecoming of a hunter.”
“Well, technically, you’re a werewolf.” Xingqiu mused, resting a finger against his cheek. Chongyun shot him a frown.
“Xingqiu...”
“I know, I know. I was only trying to make you feel better, my dear Chongyun.”
Chongyun huffed out a breath, but he didn’t feel any lingering resentment towards the hunter. He may be a teasing brat at times, but Chongyun knew he meant well and didn’t truly mean any harm. He slowly moved to sit up, turning to look at the phone once more. “Did I do anything else while I was transformed? Cause any other damages?”
“No, once the nekomata was apprehended, we were able to leave without any further damages or incidents to report.” Xingqiu reported dutifully, flicking through his phone away from the videos and to a more official-looking document. The incident report, if Chongyun had to guess. “The nekomata wasn’t too happy to be pulled out of that restaurant, but we managed to convince her that she would be much happier outside of the city, rather than within it. She’s agreed to leave, provided we can find her a suitable territory.”
“Well, I suppose that’s fair. We did chase her out of her home…” Chongyun mused.
“Oh, and we were delayed in vacating the premises when Xiangling gave you a congratulatory petting.” Xingqiu added.
“Petting..?”
“Oh, yes. She insisted on petting you, and you were quite gentle with her! And when she found that one spot behind your ear, well, you just flopped down right on her feet and refused to budge!”
Chongyun gaped at the hunter beside him, feelings mortified and deeply embarrassed. He stared for a few seconds as that thought processed, before sputtering and shaking his head in disbelief. “Xingqiu, that’s irresponsible! What if I had bitten her?? She could have been at risk if she wasn't careful!”
“Chongyun, do you honestly think I would allow such a thing? If there was even the hint of the possibility of danger coming to a civilian, I would have interfered appropriately.” He leaned in closer to give Chongyun’s hair a good tousle. “You are not as dangerous as you believe yourself to be, and I am not as careless as others might assume.”
Chongyun wanted to protest, but he knew that Xingqiu had a point. He may tease and slack off and avoid meetings to hide away and read, but ultimately Xingqiu took his job as a hunter seriously. He wouldn’t intentionally place anyone in harm’s way if he could avoid it. And, truthfully, a small part of Chongyun was proud to hear that he wasn’t as dangerous as he knew werewolves could be. He put a lot of faith in Xingqiu on full moon nights, and if Xingqiu trusted him, then he should trust Xingqiu. That was the nature of their bond, after all.
“You’re incorrigible.” Was all he managed to say. Xingqiu smirked back at him.
“Perhaps… but I know you’ll be there to keep me in line, just as I’m there for you. Partners keep an eye on each other, don’t they?”
Chongyun found he couldn’t exactly argue with that.
Xingqiu ruffled his hair for a bit longer, and Chongyun endured it quietly, knowing that it wouldn’t last too long. But rather than being withdrawn completely, Xingqiu’s hand remained in his hair, gently combing through the strands. Slender fingers smoothed through the mussed up hair, giving it a gentle combing through that didn’t tangle or tug. The action was calming, and helped to banish the niggling sensation of his headache away. He found himself closing his eyes and leaning into the touch.
“You know, it’s not a bad idea to sleep in once in a while.” Xingqiu said gently, looking down at the tired werewolf beside him. “And it’s Guild policy to allow a day’s rest after the full moon, so why not take advantage of it?”
Chongyun opened his eyes and frowned at his partner. “Weren’t you the one trying to get me to wake up not too long ago?”
“Yes, I was, but that was to give you your official debriefing. And now that I have, our tasks are pretty much done for the day.” Xingqiu said simply, tapping his phone and opening up his book app once more.
“Except for the incident report you have to do.” Chongyun reminded him.
“Which I can do later today.” Xingqiu insisted.
Chongyun frowned, but with Xingqiu settled in the way he was, he knew there wasn’t much point to arguing. Xingqiu would remain where he was until he decided to move, or unless Chongyun pushed him out of bed, which he didn’t feel like doing. And if he were being honest, those fingers in his hair did feel rather nice, and a part of him was loath to push them away. So he let out a defeated sigh, settling in beside Xingqiu.
“I suppose I could rest for a little longer…”
“That’s the spirit!” Xingqiu praised, adjusting his hand so he could gently scratch at Chongyun’s scalp. “Look at you, being a good werewolf and listening to your friend. I’m proud of you.”
“You know, most werewolves would be insulted by being talked to like a house pet.” Chongyun said with a pout. He would frown deeper, but the scratching against his scalp felt too nice for him to frown completely. Not to mention his headache felt like a distant memory under Xingqiu’s ministrations.
“Then it’s a good thing you’re not like most werewolves, isn’t it?”
Chongyun let out another sigh, more exasperated this time. Xingqiu let out another giggle at that, but soon relented in his teasing. He stopped his scratching and smoothed out Chongyun’s hair.
“But speaking honestly, Chongyun, get some rest. I can wake you up when I finish this.”
Chongyun considered the offer, peeking at the words on Xingqiu’s phone. Assuming he didn’t start another novel, he would probably finish his current one within an hour or two, if not sooner. And he’d already slept most of the morning away anyway… Perhaps his schedule wouldn’t be thrown too far off if he rested. An extra hour or two of extra rest wouldn’t be too bad.
Already he could feel his soul settling, both at the prospect of more rest and at the feeling of his scalp gently being massaged. And, if he was being honest with himself, he really liked the idea of sleeping next to Xingqiu. It appeased something primal and instinctual within him, helping him to feel calm and safe. It was a feeling that he usually didn’t acutely feel with anyone outside of his pack-mates. And if he had anything to lay his trust in, it was his instincts. After all, if he was truly needed, he knew Xingqiu would rouse him. It was as Xingqiu had said: partners looked after one another.
So with that thought easing his tired mind, he got himself comfortable once more, feeling the tug of sleep creeping over him. And with the feel of soft fingers gently running through his hair, Chongyun allowed his eyes to drift closed.
A bit more rest couldn’t hurt.