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“How do you like it here?”
The truth was, he didn’t. At least, not as much as Bennett wanted him to.
Mondstadt wasn’t a terrible place — it was far from it — but everything just felt too… unfamiliar. From the unfamiliar faces walking down the streets, to the unfamiliar buildings that looked nothing like any tree or cliff in the wilderness, to the unfamiliar feel of the pavement beneath his feet.
He was severely out of place sitting on this bench in the middle of the city, and he was aware of it.
Not wanting to disappoint his closest friend, Razor simply shrugged. “It’s nice.” After all, Bennett was here with him, and that should be enough.
Bennett himself, in the meantime, was beginning to wonder whether bringing the wolf-boy with him to Mondstadt was a good idea. A couple days before, when he had planned it all out, he’d reasoned that being safe within the city walls would prevent his misfortune curse from causing some type of catastrophe when he told Razor all that he had to tell.
Which, unfortunately for him, was a lot. But he dared not think about all that now.
Instead, he thought of Razor’s short response. It was nothing out of the ordinary for his quiet demeanor, but he also seemed more tense than usual. He was nervously fidgeting with the necklace he usually wore (made up of three large fangs, one of which he was playing with in his hands.)
“Well, we don’t have to be here all day, if you really don’t want to! Besides, I’m always — well, almost always up for being out and about.”
Razor nodded, his expression softening as he looked at Bennett with curious eyes.
“What about I see if the Adventurer’s Guild has any commissions we can take?” Bennett suggested. As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized his initial plans would have to be switched around a bit.
Razor smiled. “Yes!”
The pair got up off the bench and walked over to the guild’s reception desk in silence, and Bennett thought about those plans of his. It was supposed to go like this: Spend the day in Mondstadt with Razor, show him some of the best places in the city like the Anemo Archon statue near the cathedral and the small, cozy streets on the sides of the city…
And, most importantly, finally get those feelings off his chest. It’d been months since he’d gotten stuck in that cell with Razor during the Windblume festival, months since he’d started wondering if he might have had a crush on him, and most importantly, months of procrastinating a confession of some sort. Was this his way of procrastinating yet another day? No, he decided. It isn’t. He’d make this work, unless, of course, one little commission was enough fuel for his bad luck curse to thwart this plan too.
He walked up to the reception desk with Razor trailing behind him.
“Ad astra abyssosque,” the receptionist Katheryne said in her usual bright (but not overbearing) tone. “How may I help you?”
Bennett explained that he was volunteering to take a commission. He said it didn’t need to be anything “too difficult,” on account of his “terrible luck,” but he also said that he intended to be outside for a good portion of the day.
Katheryne nodded and looked through the files stored in her desk drawers. “I can find something like that for you… Is your friend accompanying you?”
“He is.” he replied as Razor cast him a glance.
‘Friend’. Right.
“I see.” She directed her attention to Razor. “Rather nice to meet you, then.”
After a moment, Katheryne had all her files back in place like she’d never touched them. “There have been reports of a small cluster of hilichurls by Thousand Winds Temple. Not exactly the shortest journey, so you may want to get going.”
. . .
Getting ready for the trip took all of a few minutes — loaning out some weapons from the Adventurer’s Guild headquarters, Bennett going through his satchel to make sure he had any necessary first-aid supplies, et cetera. It was around mid-morning, so time was on their side.
A few tens of meters away from the city was enough for the pair to feel like they were deep in the Mondstatian woods once again. Razor felt the spring in his step come back, along with the feeling of peace that came with the warm, gentle breeze that ruffled his hair. Shame they were out here on a duty and that he had a heavy claymore to carry around; if that wasn’t the case, he might have been able to feel even more at ease.
Bennett, who walked a bit more carefully than his companion, sped up his pace and looked over at the wolf-boy. “You like it more out here than you do in Mondstadt, don’t you?”
“A lot more.”
“Why is that?”
Remaining silent, he pondered on the question of ‘why.’ It wasn’t easy to explain; the city just gave him an uneasy feeling overall. Was it the crowds of people? Maybe. The sounds of those busy streets, nothing like the quiet woodlands? Maybe. Was it the architecture, the human touch, that he wasn’t so used to seeing? Maybe. (He admitted, the buildings were impressive, but the feeling the atmosphere gave him, he just couldn’t bring himself to actively enjoy it. Maybe one day, he would.)
“Razor doesn’t know,” was what all that amounted to.
“Well,” Bennett said with a chuckle, “I guess it is nice just to be away from the chaos of the city every now and again.”
“Away from what?” The wolf-boy blanked out trying to comprehend what he meant. Words were a weakness of his, having been raised in the wild.
Perhaps that was it — why Mondstadt was such a difficult place for him to be. Talking to the people on the streets meant using the language of the people — a language he felt he’d picked up too late to be any good at. But the language of nature, his native tongue, was a much different story. It was pure intuition.
“The chaos,” Bennett repeated, slowing downs slightly. “When it’s all so loud and busy, so much is going on, maybe you start feeling like you can’t think straight.”
“Loud and busy… Mondstadt feels like that.”
“Maybe that’s why you like the wilderness more?”
“Maybe.”
Razor sighed as the trek continued. The funny thing about his relationship with words was that there were some people he’d met who he was comfortable speaking with. These were the people he knew could forgive him for stumbling over words and staying quiet most of the time and repeating parts of what they said in an attempt to understand.
Such people included Barbara, the deaconess from the Mondstadt cathedral who came to Wolvendom to collect herbs. Or Lisa, the librarian who had helped him to better understand the human world in the first place. And Fischl, the eccentric adventurer he’d met a few times on account of her being friends with Bennett.
And, most of all, Bennett himself: his best friend, perhaps his chosen Lupical. In wolf circles, one’s Lupical could consist of their family, as well as those who they held dearest, whose company they most enjoyed. Bennett was that person for him, the only one so far, but he never brought it up.
. . .
The sun was already at its peak by the time the temple came into view. Sure enough, a small group of hilichurls were hanging about in the ruins.
“Okay,” Bennett said as he and Razor watched from a distance. “Can’t be that bad, there’s only… Six of them.” He laughed nervously.
“Three per person! Yeah. Easy enough.”
Razor nodded and felt for the Vision crystal fastened onto the back of his jacket. With it came the ability to manipulate the elements — a useful skill in combat. He and Bennett had one, each with the power of electricity and fire respectively. Not the most helpful pair of elements in terms of synergy, but they’d made it work before.
Together, they walked carefully to where the hilichurls were. A group of six wouldn’t have fazed the average adventurer so much, but when one of the people on the team was as accident-prone as Bennett, it seemed as though even the smallest enemies shouldn’t be taken lightly.
The fight was fairly skewed in the boys’ favor, despite being outnumbered three-to-one.
As their swords clashed against the hilichurls’ clubs and shields, no other sound could be heard, save for the monsters snarling at them in anger as the first of them fell dead.
A bit later on, to get things over with more quickly, the pair began utilizing their Visions — Bennett managed to take advantage of this by burning the shields that some of the monsters held while Razor brought down some decent-sized sparks of lightning to stun his opponents.
Such a pattern continued on for another minute, feeling like a blur as Razor swung his greatsword again and again, feeling slightly disheartened when the attack was too slow and his target had already moved out of the way. Though he knew it might save him some time, he used his Vision sparingly because the powers it gave him occasionally made him a little nervous.
At some point, he looked at Bennett to see a wound on his arm from who-knows-what. It was just a small scratch, nothing serious.
Not yet, anyway.
It was when they’d gotten the last two hilichurls fairly weakened that something started whirring and creaking behind the pillars of the temple.
Neither of them paid any mind to it until they finished with Katheryne’s original commission, but by then they were probably too late. Razor lowered his sword, holding it steady in both hands as he turned around.
A Ruin Guard guard stood, clearly aggravated, at the side of the temple.
“We can’t run,” Bennett said under his breath, answering the question Razor had wanted to ask. The pair stood there, paralyzed with fear as the mechanical beast somehow jumped into the air — high enough to could go over both of them.
Razor grabbed Bennett’s hand and pulled him out of the way, which would have sent the adventurer stumbling backward if he hadn’t caught himself in time. As he got back into a fighting stance, the Ruin Guard landed with a loud crash in front of him and his partner, sending clouds of dust into the air.
They both flinched, holding their breath to keep from inhaling the sand and dirt. Something ignited in the wolf-boy as he realized the situation.
We’re in danger. We’re in danger and I am going to help us get out of it.
He tried to use his Vision again, unleashing what looked like a wolf’s spirit made out of electric energy — complete with a purplish glow and small sparks emitting from its slightly hazy border.
Bennett looked in awe for but a second before lunging forward, sword in hand, to assist Razor and his… semi-tangible companion. Seconds felt like hours as their weapons chipped away at the hard material that their opponent was made of.
By the time the strange spirit had fizzled out, the Ruin Guard was a bit dilapidated, but still going somehow. In retaliation to the attacks it endured, it began to fight as well with its machine-driven fists. Razor was dangerously close to the Ruin Guard as it was, and felt his heart racing as he tried to dodge its powerful blow.
Once.
Twice.
A third time, barely scraping by as he ducked down.
He didn’t get a chance to recuperate.
The last thing he remembered before he landed on the ground was Bennett yelling his name as the Ruin Guard struck him hard enough to send him flying backwards.
. . .
No, no, no… Not again.
I’ve completely screwed up the rest of today.
Bennett watched as Razor sat up and tried to get the dust off himself before immediately recoiling. He held one of his arms in pain. He appeared to have scraped it when he fell.
The Ruin Guard was still standing near them, ready to attack again while Bennett found himself in a half-protective stance, unsure what to do next.
He had previously thought it would be too much trouble running away from the thing, but it was already decently worn out with nicks and scratches, and he figured if he and Razor ran and hid quickly enough, they might be able to avoid it.
“Are you okay?” Bennett finally asked when Razor stood up.
He nodded mutely and looked at the open land behind them.
“Alright. Let’s go.”
As he ran away from the temple with Razor behind him, he glanced over and let out a quiet “I’m sorry.”
Soon enough, by running off the path and into the grass, the pair found a small wooded area that gave them a decent amount of cover. A more intelligent enemy would have been able to see through their guise, but Ruin Guards were artificially made beings full of ancient mechanisms and wirings. They were built for strength, not for cleverness.
Razor leaned against a tree, still clutching his right arm.
“Are you okay?” Bennett asked as he searched for bandages in his satchel. “Tell me the truth.”
“It stings.” He showed the adventurer where he’d been injured.
The scrape wasn’t too serious, but from personal experience Bennett knew how much it stung to have those first couple layers of skin get removed like that. It covered a few inches of his forearm, but, to the adventurer’s relief, the bleeding was limited. Most of what he had to worry about had to do with the small particles of dust that could have gotten into the area of the abrasion.
He mentally listed off the steps to caring for wounds, given to him by the Adventurer’s Guild. “I’ll try to be gentle, okay?”
1: Apply pressure if the bleeding is significant. Such was not the case.
2: If the bleeding is not significant, or can be temporarily stopped, clean up the wound to the best of your ability. With the supplies he had, he tried to get any larger smudges of dirt off of the injury, all the while apologizing to Razor whenever he appeared to grimace in pain. “It’s okay,” he would say. “Not your fault,” he would say. If only the latter were true.
3: Dress the wound with a cloth or bandage. Bennett took the bandage out of his satchel and began dressing the wound the way he’d learned to.
He noticed some smaller scrapes on the wolf-boy’s other arm and asked to have a look at them. He repeated the same process with smaller bandages, still being careful not to make it any more painful than it had to be.
When he was finished, Razor looked up at him and gave the dressing a light press. “It feels better.”
Bennett smiled. “That’s good. We can see Barbara when we get back if you want.”
Deaconess Barbara wielded a Vision that assisted her with her healing abilities rather than her skill in combat. In that sense, the Mondstadt cathedral — which was a place of worship to most — also happened to be where people came to seek treatment for various injuries or ailments.
Knowing this, Razor nodded.
“Anyway,” Bennett continued, “I… I’m so sorry. I thought my bad luck would stay away for long enough for us to at least do a little commission together. I was wrong, though, and I got you hurt, and I wish I never —”
“Benny.”
The wolf-boy sometimes called him that. It was rather sweet, he admitted, since only the people he knew best ever referred to him with the nickname.
“Don’t be sorry.”
He felt tears in his eyes and decided not to speak. He looked down at himself, noticing the small cuts on his arm that he’d forgotten about. He tended to his own wounds, though with less care than he’d given his companion.
Razor watched him, but he didn’t look up, even when he’d finished. A few small tears streamed down his cheeks.
He tried to speak again. “Look, I” — he stopped to sniffle — “I don’t want to keep putting you in danger. I mean, this isn’t the first time either.” His voice softened as he tried not to start crying again. “Like what happened at Windblume.”
That was with a Ruin Guard too, he thought. What is it with me and those things?
“I remember,” Razor replied. “But I’m not going to leave you. Okay?”
Bennett smiled and looked back up at Razor. “You’re sure?”
“I’m sure.” The wolf-boy wrapped his friend in a tight embrace.
. . .
Barbara unwrapped some of the dressing to examine the wounds on Razor’s arm and sighed quietly to herself. “Goodness, what happened?”
“A Ruin Guard saw us,” Razor explained.
Bennett felt the need to tell the rest of the story. “We wanted to spend the day outside, so I asked Katheryne if she had any commissions, and she said there were some hilichurls at Thousand Winds, so I decided to go with Razor. And… You can see where that got us.”
“You said you had a couple scratches too, right?”
“Yeah, but they’re not much.”
The deaconess nodded as she worked the powers of her Vision.
Minutes later, she’d already finished taking care of the boys’ wounds. Of course, they did not simply disappear, but Barbara’s powers ensured that the injuries would heal quickly and without complication.
Razor and Bennett left the cathedral after thanking the deaconess. They’d arrived there in the late afternoon, and the sun was now starting to dip below the horizon.
“What should we do now?” Bennett asked.
The wolf-boy didn’t have the heart to tell him he wanted to go home. He knew that his best friend had brought him here to see the sights of the city — though they hadn’t done that yet. But he really wanted to see the wilderness again. Not to look upon it in fear, facing a Ruin Guard that could break a bone of his if it wanted to, not to feel the pain of the sand scraping his arm as he hit the ground.
He wanted to look upon the wilderness with that familiar feeling of serenity. He wanted to lay in a patch of soft grass and look up at the stars and fireflies and feel the evening breeze in his hair.
But he also found himself picturing the adventurer boy, laying there next to him.
Razor shrugged in reply to the question he’d been asked. His ideal way of spending the night would have to remain in his head.
Bennett sighed as the two of them kept walking. As they descended the stairs that led to the cathedral entrance, he looked over at the large statue that was at the heart of the city.
“I did want to show you that statue,” he realized.
Razor looked over at it. It depicted the Anemo Archon, who guarded the city and the surrounding lands of Mondstadt. Its palms were outstretched, and with the statue’s size, it seemed as if someone could sit in them.
“I wanted to show you a lot of things,” Bennett continued, “But it might be a bit late for that. We could go to the guild headquarters to relax for a bit.”
It didn’t seem like a bad idea.
“Maybe,” the wolf-boy mumbled.
“You look like you don’t want to.”
Again — relaxing at the headquarters would have been fine. It just wouldn’t feel like home .
“Razor, if you’re not having fun in Mondstadt, tell me. I wouldn’t have tried to bring you here for a day of fun if I knew this wasn’t… well, your way of spending a day of fun.”
He thought he should speak, but he only managed a soft “Uh…” before the words left him. Bennett wanted for the two of them to spend the day together. And he’d liked that idea! He’d liked it very much. A day with the adventurer was a good day, it really was, and Mondstadt was okay, but…
It was all too confusing.
“Truth is,” Bennett began, “I wanted to spend time in Mondstadt because my bad luck catches up to me in the woods. And then we went out anyway. So…”
“So…”
“We haven’t got much to lose.”
. . .
Minutes later, they were just about to set off when they were stopped by a mildly concerned guard at the city gate. “Are you two going to be out long?”
Bennett stopped to think. “Well...”
He pondered the idea of staying outside with Razor well into the night. As long as they were careful and they went somewhere particularly safe, they'd be able to enjoy themselves, sitting in the grass and watching the fireflies dance around the trees and bushes, maybe even getting up to try climbing a tree or two for the fun of it. Still, he wished not to get ahead of himself.
“If you are, please. Take a lantern. It’s only going to get darker.”
One ten-minute detour to the guild headquarters later, the wolf-boy and the adventurer followed the path that led to Windrise — the closest scenic destination to the city.
The landscape was defined by a singular enormous tree, bordered at its base with windwheel asters and with a seemingly magical aura that attracted glowing turquoise crystalflies to its branches. Neither of the boys visited Windrise often, as they usually preferred to go to Wolvendom when they were outdoors. It just so happened that the journey would be a bit too far to be worth the hassle if they were setting off past nightfall.
By the time the pair had made it halfway to Windrise, the sky was nearly black, the moon only a sliver in the sky.
As Bennett walked down the path with the lantern in hand, he had become increasingly aware that he still hadn’t told Razor about his feelings. This awareness had been caused by the wolf-boy walking almost shoulder-to-shoulder with him in an attempt to see the parts of the ground that the light of the lantern could barely touch. He didn't say anything.
Razor, surprisingly, was the one to break the silence when they reached Windrise. “Hey, Benny?”
He called me that again. “Hm?”
“Thanks for coming out here with me.”
The adventurer smiled slightly as he looked at the great Windrise tree up ahead, which was illuminated with the light that came from the Anemo Archon statue near its base. “It’s no problem, really. Being outdoors can be a lot of fun, at least, when things aren’t going wrong every five seconds.”
Razor chuckled and followed Bennett, who sat down against the tree’s trunk and placed his lantern down in front of him. A small portion of the ground became a bit more visible — enough so that Bennett noticed a windwheel aster that was growing right next to where he’d sat.
He picked it out of the grass, being careful not to damage its leaves or petals, and handed it over to the wolf-boy. “I found this next to me. What do you think?”
Holding it delicately in his comparatively large hands, Razor took the flower and looked back over at his companion. “It’s pretty,” he remarked. “Would look nice on you.”
Understandably taken aback, Bennett felt the blood rush to his face. “Oh! You… think so?”
“I do,” Razor spoke as he tucked the flower behind Bennett’s ear with one hand, keeping the adventurer’s head steady by putting the other hand on his cheek. Such a gesture made Bennett wonder if maybe now was the moment.
Well, a few seconds from now, anyway.
Or maybe, a few seconds after that.
. . .
In the pale light of the lantern, the wolf-boy watched Bennett feel the spot where he’d just put the flower.
“Is this a Lupical thing?” He smiled and sat back against the tree, moving slightly closer to Razor.
Almost instinctively, he leaned on Bennett’s shoulder as he replied: “It is now.” After all, the adventurer was the closest person he had to a Lupical at the moment.
Just then, a droplet of water landed on Razor’s face, and he looked up. It hadn’t rained all day, so it couldn’t have come off one of the massive tree’s branches or leaves. But still, the breeze felt right, and nature itself had seemed to welcome him with open arms. He wouldn’t let himself or Bennett be turned away anytime soon.
Bennett looked up at the canopy above them as well, though, and Razor figured he’d felt the presence of the rain too because he frowned slightly and let out a quiet sigh.
“Every single time,” he muttered under his breath. “Even the weather has to be affected by my bad luck.” As he said this, it seemed as though, on cue, the little droplets suddenly turned into a drizzle, and the pattering of rain on the path became audible.
“It’s okay. Let’s find shelter.” He stood up and grabbed the lantern whilst brushing his hair out of his face. “Come with me.”
The adventurer followed, running slower than his companion as he kept one hand near the flower that Razor had given him. Seconds in the rain had been enough for them both to get considerably wet, and twice those seconds made the wolf-boy’s long hair soaked through, heavy with water. The bandage on his arm from earlier today also picked up some of the moisture, and he began to feel the chill that usually came with the rain.
Razor found the cave he’d been looking for, right on the side of a miniature cliff, and let Bennett inside. He recalled having slept there a few times, and waiting out thunderstorms a few more times still, but never with someone else at his side. It was a bit cramped, and once he had learned the hard way that the shelter wasn’t even high enough for him to stand up.
Bennett sat down and got himself the whole way inside, still sopping wet and shivering, as he’d dressed for more pleasant weather. He hugged his knees against his chest in an attempt to keep warm.
Somehow, the flower in his hair was still mostly intact.
“Do you want this?” Razor asked as he took off his jacket (well, it was more of a hooded vest, but that didn't matter). “It’s not much, but all I have.”
He shook his head and looked over at the wolf-boy. “Please. Don’t worry about me. Aren't you cold too?”
Razor told him it was okay and took the jacket off anyway. He even tried to drape it across his friend’s shoulder, though it didn't work, leaving it to fall as a mass of fabric onto the grass.
Bennett smiled softly and put it on himself. “You really don’t have to. Anyway…”
“Hm?”
“I had something I wanted to tell you today.”
“Tell me… what?”
He cleared his throat. “Well, let’s put it this way. I like you. A lot. You know that, right?”
The wolf-boy nodded as he did, in fact, know this. Though, he always thought that he liked Bennett more than he’d liked him back. After all, the adventurer had other people he was just as close to — Fischl came to mind immediately.
“Right, but, the thing is, I like you, as, er, as more than a friend. More than a best friend.”
A pause.
Razor took a moment to understand what he meant. He’d seen pairs of people visit the wilderness before, not just ordinary pairs of people but those who never left each other’s side, who always tried to make each other happy, who didn’t always need to make conversation to fill the silence.
Wasn’t that what his relationship with Bennett had just naturally become over time?
“Oh,” was all he managed to say.
Bennett sighed. “I just thought it would be good to tell you rather than pretending I never felt that way. You know? I hope I didn’t make you feel uncomfortable or anything.” He looked away, but pulled the borrowed jacket even tighter around himself.
“What do you mean?”
“You don’t like me like that!” he smiled slightly despite the break in his voice. “But I still just… Wanted to be honest.” The smile faded as quickly as it had come.
“No, I mean, I mean I do. Feel the same.”
“You do?”
He nodded and looked at the adventurer boy, hoping that he’d meet his gaze. “I’m sorry. For not telling.”
“I waited for months,” Bennett admitted. “I get it. It’s a little — probably more than a little — nerve-wracking. But, really. Does this mean that —”
“You are my Lupical.”
. . .
The rain was still pouring outside when Razor found himself lying in the dry grass of their shelter, wrapped in Bennett’s arms, exhausted but content. They had discussed a little more by then, what their feelings had meant for them and what they’d do next.
And what was that, one might ask?
Not much.
Perhaps they were a little less afraid of certain things, though. One a little less afraid of blundering when he spoke, the other a little less afraid of being blamed for his continuous streak of misfortune. Both a little less afraid to enjoy each other’s company.
Razor closed his eyes and relaxed as he listened to the rain, as strangely comforting as it was. Tomorrow, maybe, the weather would be kinder, and at that point he and Bennett might be able to do as they wished, to dance in the sun and climb a tree or two and jump into the waters of the nearby Falcon Coast.
They might run in the fields hand-in-hand, and the first time they tried they might trip and fall, but they’d just laugh and get back up again. Later on, they could even go back to Mondstadt, Razor himself doing so with a newfound courage, and though he didn’t plan to speak any more than what was necessary, the place might begin to feel less frightening and unfamiliar.
And so he pictured it, so he dreamed before he’d even slept. But hey, even if it rained again, if it thundered and stormed and lightning struck the sky, it would still be okay. If — although impossible — the rain froze and became snow and hail, it would still be okay. Tomorrow, and the day after, the week after, and the entire foreseeable future would be a good one, because his Lupical would be with him through it all.