✧*̥˚ {𝔊𝔢𝔫𝔰𝔥𝔦𝔫 ℑ𝔪𝔭𝔞𝔠𝔱 𝔒𝔫𝔢𝔰𝔥𝔬𝔱𝔰 & ℌ𝔢𝔞𝔡𝔠𝔞𝔫𝔬𝔫𝔰} *̥˚✧

𝕽𝖆𝖟𝖔𝖗 ⸙

The wolfhooks were always better this time of season. Maybe that was why I couldn't find any—because someone had collected them already. I gazed at the few I could find clutched in my hand, shrugging as I popped one into my mouth. No point in trying to preserve them. They wouldn't last me long anyway.

I sighed. "Sorry, Mother... It seems you won't be making your Wolfhook Pie anytime soon." Pity—it was so tasty, too.

I was about to turn out of Wolvendom when a stick cracked behind me. I knew there were wolves—and worse—in the area, but I did my best to ignore the sound, walking as casually as I could down the path. Perhaps—perhaps whatever was there didn't notice me—

I yelped as I was pulled to the side, my cry muffled as a hand covered my mouth. I was lowered to a crouch behind a bush and I turned to the figure next to me. He lifted a finger to his lips and I nodded. He then turned his attention away from me, listening... listening carefully to what now walked down the path I had just been whisked off.

The Hilichurl chuckled, mumbling to itself unintelligible words that seemed to be humourous—at least to its fellow Hilichurls that chuckled with it. I dared not even loose a breath as they passed, knowing that if the boy beside me hadn't pulled me away when he did, I would've been under attack.

Soon enough, we seemed to be in the clear, but the boy kept listening intently to our surroundings. Finally, he took his hand away from my face. "Ok..." He turned to me. "You... safe now."

I cocked my head, my eyes narrowing in mild suspicion. His language seemed... strained. Broken. Could he not speak? "Who are you?"

"I... Razor."

"Where are you from, Razor?"

"Here."

"You live... in Wolvendom?" Razor nodded. I blinked in surprise. Intriguing. "By—with no other people?" He nodded again. Interesting.

Razor seemed to mirror my stance, cocking his head exactly as I had. I giggled, bringing a smile to his face. "Your name?" he asked.

"Oh! I'm Y/n," I allowed myself to say. He didn't seem to pose any threat. On the contrary—he had saved me. "Nice to meet you, Razor." I stood, gazing at our surroundings before deeming them safe. Besides, if there was any danger nearby, I was sure Razor would've picked up on it instantly. I smiled at the boy. "I should go home now."

"Home?"

"You know... to my family?"

Razor nodded. "Lupical."

I gave him an awkward smile. "Lupical? What's—what's that?"

"Lupical... is Razor's family."

"I thought you said you didn't live with anyone else."

"I... don't."

I eyed him, my gaze fluttering from one part of his face to the other. Though it may have been rude, I began to wonder what sort of family Razor had for him to be so, uh... uneducated. "Well, can I meet them?" I asked.

Razor hummed thoughtfully, a low growl coming from the back of his throat. "Lupical... not trust... humans. Sorry."

I nodded. "That's ok. I probably don't have time anyway." His terminology was... strange, as if his speech patterns weren't awkward enough. He probably wasn't used to speech, so seeing him try his best to communicate was... rather endearing. Though if it put him under strain, perhaps it was best not to coax too much conversation out of him. 

And a thought crossed my mind... if Razor didn't use speech and referred to people as humans... did that mean his Lupical weren't human?

Fascinating.