Chapter Text
Foxxian doesn’t remember his family. He only knew the forest. His forest. The tall trees that keep him shaded and safe from the rain, the birds he played hide and seek with and the wild flowers he liked to sleep amongst. He never wanted to live anywhere else but then the hunters came. They drove him from his home and Foxxian had to find a new place to lay his weary barely six year old head.
He found the forests of Cloud Recesses exactly when he needed them the most. His paws ached from days of walking and his mouth was dry from extreme thirst. When he spotted the beautiful dense foliage, he tumbled happily into the long grass, drank deeply from the sparkling pond and chirped back at the birds flying in the trees above him. He sighed happily as he lay down on his back and looked up at the clear blue sky. Yes, Foxxian thought he would be very happy in his new forest.
The only problem that Foxxian would soon encounter was, the forest did not belong to Foxxian. It belonged to the Lan dragons. The youngest of whom was affectionately known as Dragonji. Dragonji was just seven years old when he first decided he was old enough to start patrolling the Lan grounds. Determined to show his Uncle he was a grown up, capable dragon, Dragonji held his head up high, jutted out his chin and swished his tail menacingly as he walked into the forest deeper than he had ever ventured before. He sniffed the air, pine, fresh grass, wild flowers and something new. Something…alive. Dragonji instantly lowered himself to the ground and began to crawl along the forest floor on his stomach. By the pond he saw something orange…something orange and waving…his eyes widened in shock…was it a fire? What looked like nine bursts of flame danced before his eyes then disappeared and suddenly a head appeared out of the grass and looked around.
A fox! A nine tailed fox was on Lan land! But it was forbidden to enter Lan territory without permission! Dragonji growled angrily and pounced. He landed on the fox and they tumbled together in a ball of white and red. When they stopped rolling, Dragonji found himself underneath the fox who stood on his chest with all four paws. The newcomer blinked down at him as silver eyes met gold. Then the fox opened his mouth wide, chirped happily and licked Dragonji’s snout!
How rude!
Dragonji threw the little fox to the side and stood on all fours paws once more. He dug his tiny claws into the ground and made a rumble in his chest, flipping his tail back and forth behind him. The fox bounced to his feet and chirped again, then ran off into the trees. A moment later a head popped out from behind one of the large trunks then the fox chirped again and disappeared.
Did the fox think this was a game? Dragonji scowled. This was a bad fox. He would catch this naughty animal and take him to Uncle for punishment. Dragonji took up the chase. He followed the fox all around the forest but could not catch him. Just as Dragonji was about to explode, the fox tripped over a branch and let out a soft whine. Dragonji suddenly forgot about his mission and ran to see what had happened. The fox looked up at him with sorrow filled eyes. Its left paw was curled up on itself. Dragonji looked down, then reached out and licked the injured paw. Dragonji didn’t know how it worked but he knew that when he licked his own wounds they would get better very quickly. Uncle had said it was one of his special gifts.
The fox moved its paw experimentally, then chirped happily and jumped up. The fox ran around Dragonji brushing his tails against his light blue scales and then licked his snout again. This time…Dragonji allowed it. This time…Dragonji’s tiny head nubs that would one day become his horns glowed red at the brief contact from the other animal.
From that day on, Dragonji and Foxxian played together in the forest every day. Dragonji brought food for Foxxian and Foxxian rewarded him with snout licks and head rubs. Foxxian became very interested in Dragonji’s forehead ribbon. He nudged it with his head and Dragonji let out a low growl as a warning not to touch. Foxxian still tried to touch the head ribbon whenever he thought he would get away with it. Eventually, Dragonji stopped fighting and let Foxxian touch the ribbon as much as he wanted.
Years passed and Dragonji’s horns grew in. Foxxian liked how they felt when Dragonji used them to scratch behind his ears. Dragonji likes how it felt when Foxxian’s now much longer tails tickled his nose and cheeks.
One day, when Foxxian was eleven years old and Dragonji was twelve, a red ribbon blew into the forest and Foxxian clasped it between his teeth. He put it down on the ground and inspected it. The ribbon was in a loop, both its ends tied into a secure knot. It gave Foxxian an idea…
The next time Dragonji visited the forest, Foxxian proudly showed off his new red forehead ribbon. When Dragonji tried to sniff it, Foxxian moved away and imitated Dragonji’s own warning growl. Dragonji sensed the game at once and pounced after him. They tried to catch each other’s forehead ribbons until the sun hung low in the sky.
Dragonji reluctantly realised he needed to leave or he would miss curfew. He turned to go but Foxxian chirped at him so he turned back. Foxxian suddenly transformed into his human form before Dragonji’s astonished eyes. His fox ears and tails were still on display and he wore black robes. Dragonji could only think of one word. Beautiful. Foxxian looked shyly at Dragonji then took off his forehead ribbon. He held it out to Dragonji. Dragonji transformed into his human form wearing his white robes. His horns and tail were still on display. He took Foxxian’s ribbon carefully and in turn bowed to offer his own forehead ribbon to Foxxian. Foxxian carefully took it from his head with his nimble fingers. They did not speak to one another. They did not need to. They tied each other's ribbons to their own heads and held hands for a brief moment. Before he left, Dragonji leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Foxxian’s cheek then sprinted away with bright red ears and a racing heart. Foxxian blinked, touched his cheek and smiled in his wake.
The next day, Foxxian was abruptly plucked out of the long grass by a man who claimed to know his mother and father. He said he wanted to look after Foxxian but in order to do this he needed to take Foxxian away from the forest. Away from Dragonji. Foxxian didn’t want this. He fought as hard as he could. Scratching the man’s arms and screaming himself hoarse, but he was held tightly against the man’s chest and eventually he wore himself out and passed out from sheer exhaustion.
When Dragonji came to meet Foxxian later that day, he was alarmed to find him missing. Dragonji searched everywhere for him even missing curfew in his desperation to find his beloved friend. His brother came to find him and coerced him into coming home. Dragonji knew he would receive a punishment for his disobedience, but he didn’t care. His brother noticed his forehead ribbon was missing and feared their Uncle would punish the little dragon severely for the additional serious infraction. So he placed his own ribbon upon his dear brother's head and bore the punishment for him.
Dragonji had to kneel in the snow without supper for missing curfew. His brother had to take ten lashes to the back for the crime of losing his forehead ribbon. Dragonji cried when he was notified of his brother's ordeal. He collected his tears and used them to aid his brother’s healing. Lan Xichen was soon well again and assured his little brother he bore him no ill will.
Dragonji returned to the woods everyday for many days but Foxxian never returned. Eventually he stopped visiting the forest altogether. He kept Foxxian’s ribbon in a wooden keepsake box and never gave up hope that he might find his friend again one day.
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