The tale of the fox and the dragon egg

Chapter 8 - Old wounds will bleed

Wei Ying awoke to a touch to the robe against his skin, being pushed out of the way. His eyes snapped open within one movement, red light glowing within the darkness. Even with the bandages covering his skin, his left hand shot upwards and twisted the hand within its strong grip.

A snarl covered his face, teeth already sharp and ready to tear flesh from bones. Claws covered his fingertips and drilled into the warm flesh underneath, just as a growl shook through the whole cave.

"How can you dare it?"

__________________________

The smell of sandalwood.

He awoke to a soft warmth, caressing him.

With the smell engulfing him. Surrounding him. It was warm.

He awoke to a soft blue light, engulfing his growing sight. It pushed under his eyelids and made him stir.

Heavy pounding could be heard outside, caused by the big raindrops still covering the earth.

Wei Ying didn't know how long he'd been sleeping. But it seemed long enough for Lan Wangji and A-Yuan to acquire something like a mutual understanding.

They were sitting together, A-Yuan within the bowl of Lan Wangjis hands. Both had their eyes closed, focusing on their task. His little radish was actually pulsing with the blue light and the fox shut his eyes again as he made the mistake of looking at it too long.

Lan Wangji was just as ethereal as every time, glowing within the pure blue light. Wei Ying needed to remind himself that he wasn't dreaming.

It seemed that he stayed with them. And he didn't take A-Yuan and simply returned to Cloud Recess. He stayed, this esteemed cultivator, right within this dirty cave and right beside the injured fox.

Wei Ying turned towards his shoulder, eyeing it.

Under the first layer of clothing, a pure white fabric covering almost his whole body and smelling like the calm after a cleansing storm, there were white bandages poking from the collar. His left hand rose, covered within more bandages but not as heavily as the one around his shoulder, and he parted the robe a bit more.

On some places the bandages felt like they were too tight, but he wouldn't complain. It seemed that they were changed regularly and recently. Only a little sheen of red could be seen, tainting the pure white and the heavy robe he was securely wrapped in held him warm.

His seven tails ached behind him, so he moved them around his own body. A movement that alerted Lan Wangji, whose golden eyes opened instantly and turned towards Wei Ying. A-Yuan seemed like he questioned this behavior, but was back on all four legs once he saw his mother awake.

He chirped loud and happy, almost falling off the two hands holding him and sprinted towards his mother. The fox laughed at this picture, a tiny red noodle flinging itself onto him and he caught him within his left hand, even as the tiny wounds stung under the bandage.

"Careful, little radish, or do you want to kill me next?", he laughed, scratching the tiny being who purred and almost jumped all over his body. The child was full of energy and but a hair away from scratching his mother, who winced as tiny claws were pushing the body up his chest so A-Yuan could curl around his neck.

Lan Wangji regarded them with a soft look, almost glowing within the cave all by himself. Only lightning brought a moment of color into the den, but the fox had no problems to see the shape and smell the lingering scent of sandalwood.

Sandalwood, he learned. He never cared for it. Now, it was a calming presence within his lungs.

After A-Yuan was calming down against the warm skin of Wei Ying, the fox regarded the Lan sitting about a foot away. Their eyes met. Wei Ying smiled.