Chapter.2 Leaf lute

With the morning sun rising into the sky, its light warmed the lands of Liyue from the cold and chilling air that was currently plaguing this side of Tyvat; with winter drawing closer each day, it was bound to snow soon.

Getting ready to head south for the winter, the birds began to sing a song before bidding the land farewell, and joining them was the young Rurouni who carefully held a leaf to his lips, playing a soothing and gentle melody, wishing the birds safe travels.

Before Kazuha had heard the coming footsteps approaching him, he had already smelled that almost muddy smell of earth with the strong hint of wolf. Rested on one of the tree branches, he looked down to see Razor looking up at him...or rather his leaf, very curiously.

"You never did come to understand how this instrument worked" Kazuha smiled at the wolven boy before leaping down, carried by the wind as he descended, carefully landing on his feet.

Razor felt the wind hit his face, smelling that particular scent that Kazuha just radiated, invading his nostrils. He felt that strange hunger knotting in his stomach...just like that night in the cave, but this time he felt a strange tickly feeling in his heart...

"Would you like to try?" Pulling his attention away from his stomach, Razor looked at the offered leaf before looking back up at Kazuha and taking the leaf.

He took in a big breath and blew into the leaf. Kazuha chuckled at the confused wolven boy, gesturing to sit with him. Kazuha sat with Razor under the tree and took back the leaf.

"You have to blow more gently with your bottom lip being pressed a bit closer to the core of the leaf, and don't pucker your lips," Kazuha explained. Razor was just as confused, if not more so than before.

"I'll show you" Holding the leaf up to his lips, Kazuha froze for a moment as his cheeks heated into a soft red color. He felt what could have only been Razor's leftover spit from his previously poor attempt at leaf playing wet his lips. Razor watched him with studious eyes.

Kazuha pursed his lips for a moment, trying to ignore the wetness on his lips as he began to play. The wolven boy listened closely, closing his eyes as he let his ears tune into the melody…

Kazuha watched him for a moment before closing his own eyes.

After what must have only been a minute, Kazuha opened his eyes but when he looked over to see the feral wolf boy, he was surprised to see him fast asleep sitting up.

He smiled silently as he decided to leave the boy be, as an afternoon nap is always good for resting one's spirit.

Kazuha watched Razor sleep for a moment before closing his own eyes to meditate...but his eyes shot open when he felt the weight of the wolven boy fall against his shoulder. His head was warm and a bit heavy...Kazuha wasn't sure how to respond to this, he just froze as his cheeks lit up into a soft pink color, but after a moment, he was able to relax into the touch.

Razor's breathing was quite soothing to Kazuha's trained ears...It was hard not to think back to the moment in the cave a few nights back, it was hard not to remember the warm arms wrapped around his waist, or the feeling of his back pressed against Razor's chest, and it was especially hard to forget the feeling of Razor's tongue against his neck…. it was odd.

Ever since meeting the boy, they had always seemed quite understanding of one another, Aether going as far as to call the two of them like brothers...but they had rarely ever made physical contact with each other, that is until recently.

Kazuha was honestly worried about it because their recent contact with one another has been causing strange and conflicting feelings inside of him...He had only ever fallen in love once and had never felt that same heat well up within him ever since their death. He always regretted never saying anything, wondering if his feelings would have stopped them from that final battle...but this begs the question of whether or not Kazuha was just starved from physical contact. Tomo had been the only one to make contact with him, all of which were friendly gestures of course, such as the arms around the shoulder, patting his back, or a firm grip on the shoulder, but even so...each touch warmed Kazuha's heart and now that Tomo was gone, how could he be sure it was Razor that was igniting something and not just his touch?

Kazuha pondered this question for a while…

He had made minor contact with the rest of the team here and there before, be it male or female, and never once did he feel flustered with them...though none of them had ever held his waist or licked his neck, not even Tomo and Tomo was always trying to find ways to break Kazuha's usual composure, so perhaps...it was simply just a starved hormonal need.

Kazuha wasn't about to just go and court some woman or anything, but it would be a good idea to find a way to feed it before it creates any distance between him and Razor…

"Razor! Kazuha!?" Broken from his thoughts, Kazuha's ears could pick up the distant voices of Aether and Xingqiu calling for them, and typically Razor was quick to wake but he wasn't moving, he didn't even shift in position...he just continued to sleep peacefully.

Kazuha felt touched, honored even, that his presence gave the wolven boy security and safety.

Kazuha leaned back against the tree and closed his eyes. Aether and Xingqiu would find him soon enough, but before then...a nap sounded nice.