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"You mean it wasn't you walking around Paimon?" The little fairy creature had made fun of him for asking, like he was a fool for even considering it. Come to think of it, could she even walk? He had never seen her do so. Though he had been able to make a good joke out of his failed question - ground nuts, get it? He thought it was quite masterful - that still did not calm his mind.
He was struggling to come up with an explanation for what he witnessed. That white.. thing - creature - that he had seen walking around near Stone gate. It had to have been something, right? He was quite sure it was real, even if neither of his travelling companions had noticed it. He was quite perceptive after all. And with Nari focussing on containing Colleis excitement around the time, it would make sense he was the only one.
Ah Collei.. She was like a bundle of joy that could not be held back once they got close. What would it be like to live so carefree, he wondered? Well.. perhaps that wasn't giving her enough credit. She certainly had no easy time growing up. He would know, having seen her at her worst. Maybe this was finally her deserved reward for all that hardship. He liked to think so.
He made a quick exit as soon as the morning came, leaving that campsite under the pretence of going to Stormterrors lair. That is what his plans had been the previous day. But now they have changed.
Whatever mystery walked around Stone Gate, in the forests of Wolvendom, he would get to the bottom of it.
In a hurried pace he made it back the way he came just yesterday. Not nearly as far, though twice as fast.
The usually so composed general Mahamatra found himself riled up by the mystery surrounding the forest.
He absolutely had to get to the bottom of it!
As he approached he heard the sounds of howling. Of wolves. He briefly considered whether it had just been a wolf that he spotted, but quickly dismissed the thought. The figure was definitely a humanoid, there was no way. It absolutely had to have been someone. And if it was a threat then it was his job as the general of the Matra to dispose of it. Even if his status held no meaning in this foreign country. Under the guise of Cyno the explorer, he would kill it!
His surroundings got darker and darker as the light was blocked out by the trees, long shadows stretching out as if the evening had already come. He was getting deeper into the woods, to the point of no return. He wasn't scared.
"Another problem"
"I'll put you on high heat!"
Cyno recognised the familiar dialogue of the Fatui. Two skirmishers, one pyro and one geo. The exact enemies he struggled with most.
The pyro skirmishers' distant shots provided an ever present distraction during combat, while his spear was ill suited to breaking the geoshield of the other skirmisher. Combat would become a drag rather quickly with these two.
Cyno cursed himself for falling into such an obvious trap. Just because he was in Mondstadt he thought the fatui would ease up on him, just a little? What a joke. He was the general of the matra for goodness sake! Even with his expertly crafted adventure stories it wasn't like they would not recognise him within the blink of an eye. And now he was being ambushed by the worst of the bunch. Worse, his Sacred Rite wasn't charged at all.
On the way to Mondstadt he had cleared out quite a few Hilichurl camps, and as he was pretty much at the gate he had showed off towards his two companions. He couldn't resist. Adventurers were supposed to be cool right?
If he had known back then what he did now he might have stopped himself. As he dodged and weaved through the gunners shots his exhaustion built. Meanwhile he was barely doing chipdamage to that geoshield the other Fatui was wielding. He was barely gaining any energy at all too. This was bad…
He glanced over his shoulder, trying to spot the way out of the forest. He couldn't see the pyro skirmisher anymore. It was probably hiding between the foliage, trying to ambush him. Shit.. this was bad. With his enemies positions unknown he couldn't make a move to escape. He steadied his breathing as his spear clanked off of the shield once again. Now! This was his time to make a- !
"Ughh- !!"
He smelled the flame first, as he realised what had just happened. Then a searing pain from his side that numbed all other senses rushed through his body. From the corner of his eye he spotted the red liquid flowing out of the gaping wound.
He screamed, his mind being overtaken solely by the sheer amount of pain he was in. But he needed to focus, desperately. Or he was done for. Trying to push back the pain he assessed the situation he was in.
Everything had just gotten a lot worse. Fighting was no longer an option. Even if he were to win, despite his condition he was very confident he could, he might just bleed to death after the fight was done having had no time to treat his wound. So he had no other option but to flee.
In his previous moments of blind pain he hadn't noticed the Geo skirmisher approaching him. He quickly rendered a defensive stance, just barely in time to hold off the calculated jabs at his body's sensitive points. One killing blow after another, the general would survive. Even when his vision started to blur he refused to give in.
"AWOOOUUGH!!"
A piercing cry rang out behind Cyno as a figure jumped over his head. A bright flashing of white and a dark purple immersed the boy. He had found his perpetrator!
And, more importantly. His saviour.
He watched the white and purple glowing mass plunge down onto the skirmisher in front of him. A purple wolf formed of solid lightning hung above a figure in a brown cloak. He fell back from the force of the blast, clutching his bleeding side.
The figure wielded a claymore, attacking perfectly in sync with the elemental wolf. In just three strikes the shield was broken, and soon after the skirmisher fell dead to the ground. Glancing around anxiously he noticed the pyro gunner had been dealt with as well. The battle was over.
That didn't make his saviour stop though, they kept slashing at the worn out corpse, like it would get right back up again.
"Die, Die, DIE! Stay out.. of forest!"
Cyno could hear the sheer desperation in his voice. Anguish, guilt, anger, fear.. he could feel all of them radiating off of that man. They might need a moment. But Cyno didn't have that time to spare.
He let a grunt escape him as he pushed up his body against a nearby tree. What little fabric was around his frame had coloured a deep red, and blood still continued to trickle out. He pressed the cloth usually covering his pants firmly against his frame, using the ribbons from his headpiece to tie it in place. He thought it to be a pretty secure knot, but in truth he could barely make out the line where cloth and body bled together.
It was a very amateurish setup, but luck would have it he had no medical supplies with him today. After he dragged himself back to the city he would ask Tighnari to redo it.
Suddenly the hooded figure looked over at him. They seemed to have calmed down from the initial rage. That was a good thing, probably. He realised now that he was actually much smaller than Cyno had initially assumed, maybe younger too.
He stayed wary as the teen approached him. He couldn't quite make out any facial expression with his fading vision. But if there was any evil intent from their side then Cyno was done for anyways. He couldn't even push himself to his feet, there was no way he'd put up a decent fight in this state.
A silver blur in front of his face.
"You like Lupical, but.. different"
He had no idea how to respond. It seemed he didn't need to.
"You are hurt. I will care for human Lupical. Try to stay awake, or else, um… risk of death."
That was some solid advice right there. Shame he couldn't abide by it.
He felt his body stir as he drifted off into unconsciousness, praying to the Archons he'd be able to wake up again. Tighnari and Collei still needed him after all. He couldn't afford to die yet.
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He didn't know how much time had passed, but when Cyno woke up again he felt a lot better. He was laying on the ground, he could feel the grass prick gently at his mostly bare skin. The sun shone in his eyes irritatingly, but the awful pain gnawing at his side had been subdued into just a dull ache.
Relief washed over him when he realised that he is alive, and he likely won't perish anytime soon either. He'd made it, but.. how..?
He shot up at a sudden sharp pain in his chest, hitting something hard with his head and falling back to the ground just as fast.
"Ow- !" Cyno heard a pained cry ring out above him. Realising that what he just hit must've been a person, his instincts kick in. His eyes flew open and he rolled onto his side to grab his spear. Except it's not there, and his body is blocked from movement by two legs on either side of his frame. All he's managed to do is hurt himself by pulling on his wounds.
"Ah, don't- ! Please be still! Razor is not very good but, can help if you stay still. So. Don't move. Ok?"
The boy - Razor? - was the same one from before. He was sitting on Cynos chest, legs on either side of his body that pinned him in place. Razor's soft, silver hair surrounds his scarred body, reminding Cyno of his own. He noticed the little wet pad Razor is holding, likely doused in alcohol. He suddenly understood what caused him so much pain before.
He was confused why he wasn't done being treated yet, when the pain in his side had all but disappeared. He tried to have a look, but he couldn't seem to reach. So he had to speak up, his voice hoarse from his screams.
"Why doesn't it.. hurt? My side. Wasn't I shot?"
His body reflexively tensed upon recalling the memory. How useless. It wasn't like he'd never been hurt like that before. Though it had been the first time he got so close to death in a long time. Looked it straight in the eyes, and then defied it. But not on his own this time.
He got a proud smile from Razor, almost childishly so.
"Wolfhook berry!" He exclaimed. Cyno did not understand.
He recalled it from a whole list of herbs, plants and flowers Tighnari had told him about on the way to Mondstadt, but he couldn't remember anything else about it. Where it grew. What it looked like. What was it used for? Medically? He didn't think so.
But his question wouldn't have to go unanswered for long, as Razor was already going on about it.
"When I crush wolfhook seed, it act as um.. pain.. kill! To be less hurt. And has hem.. hemo…hmmm… wolfhook stops pain and bleeding."
He noticed the clear struggle in the boy's sentences now more than before. Clearly he wasn't very gifted in the language department, but Cyno had been able to understand him well enough before. This just gave him the feeling Razor tried to copy someone else. Someone much better in expressing themself. He thought it was unnecessary. He quite liked the broken way Razor's sentences came out. Having lived in a city of knowledge for years, where any mistake was frowned upon, it was a true breath of fresh air.
"I see.. Thank you. You have saved my life Razor" he pushed his body up, noting that Razor came over to help him. But Cyno refused to accept anything more. He was already deeply indebted. "How can I ever pay you back?"
"Pay back Razor? No need! I am happy to help, because you are my Lupical"
"Ah, of course I have to pay you back somehow! But.. Lupical..? What is that..?"
Razor let out a pleased grunt at his question. He poked a finger against the ears of his headpiece. The akademiya might haunt him if they were to see that. "You smell like wolf, but you are human. So you, are lupical. My family."
Never had he been accepted this fast, or welcomed this warmly. A feeling so unknown to Cyno touched him, and he smiled.
"Family huh? Yes.. I would be honoured to be your lupical."
He was unsure as to why, but he felt a strong urge to protect Razor. He could tell they were truly someone special. He felt.. proud. To be a friend. To be family.
For that feeling he was rewarded with an overjoyed smile. "What is Lupicals name?"
Cyno chuckled, realising he hadn't introduced himself yet at all. "I am Cyno, I'm visiting from Sumeru for the Windblume festival. Ah right- ! I'm here with two friends, they have to be worried about where I am at!" The general never got into trouble. When he wasn't being dragged off to work every other minute he was usually perfectly on time. "I need to get back to tell them I'm okay!"
He cringed when realising that Nari would definitely scold him for this. Maybe it was a bit too careless, running off on his own in a foreign nation.
"I will bring you back to your pack. . . Stay still, don't fear. Lupical won't hurt."
Razor let out a perfect howl, answered by a dozen others. Could this child really communicate with wolves..? He wondered if they were also a part of the boy's vision.
Soon as he saw them approach he realised that was no magic. Those were real. Real wolves. And he had some trouble believing they were tamed. He clutched his spear tightly, ready to kill in case they attacked.
But to his surprise his hand was grabbed gently by a glove. "No" Razor's voice was stern, leading him to relax instantly. Somehow he trusted his entire life to this boy at the drop of a hat.
It was a strange, and unfamiliar feeling. To just simply let go.
He watched with curiosity as the wolves approached. They seemed to have no reservations about surrounding Razor, who happily petted and hugged every single one. Meanwhile only a few were curious enough to come close to Cyno, and only one dared to stand before him.
He raised his hand up ever so carefully, noting the movements of the wolf in front of him. As it shifted side to side he wondered if it might still attack. At the very least he didn't want to scare it into doing so. His hand froze in midair, waiting for the wolf to make the next move. After a moment's hesitation it pushed its head to Cyno's hand, leaving the General Mahamatra in awe. Tame wasn't the right word, but they listened to Razor. He thought it was very impressive.
"So these wolves.. They are your family? Aah, lupical, Right?" How'd such a thing end up happening? Who in their right left a teenager alone in the woods where a pack of wolves hunted?
His question earned him an enthusiastic nod. Right, expecting any elaboration was probably asking for too much.
Despite his reservations he chose to put them aside. He was hurt, and Razor had patched him up. Killing him would have been a lot easier than saving his life, so he did not believe his trust would be taken advantage of now. "Alright.. I will trust them then."
This seemed to be all Razor needed to know as he told the wolf to lay down, which it did, and helped Cyno onto its back. Considering the state his body was in now, he just accepted it, chalking it up as another debt he owed the wild teenager. Razor showed him how to hold onto the beast's fur, and he imitated the action. He could tell it wasn't pleased, but it would put up with him for now. A relief for Cyno. The ride back to Mondstadt would be just as painful either way, but at least this way it would be fast.
"Ready?" Razor asked him, still standing on his own two feet, and Cyno nodded in reply. "Take to Mondstadt then!" To Cyno's surprise Razor led the charge, just as fast as the wolf he was riding. He'd have to ask someone about him, his mind full of questions. But none seemed as important right now as the goal of getting back to Mondstadt. He was looking forward to telling this story to his own Lupical.
—
Cyno: "I've only had Razor for a couple hours, but if anything happened to him, I would kill everyone in this room and then myself"
Tighnari, gesturing wildly at Cyno's condition: "Well you certainly tried to!"