#piercingdarke

but he can be content with these moments, the increasingly rare occasions when the two of them can simply sit and enjoy each other's company, if it means giving the young wolf room to grow and learn in his own right. hairbrush set aside, diluc begins to weave his fingers through razor's hair, carefully separating it into strands that he starts to manipulate into a loose braid.

" ...you're a good kid, razor, " dawn admits rather suddenly, leaning forward to press his nose into razor's crown, nuzzling him gently like his lupical might show affection. his voice is a bit morose, but certainly not without its sincerity, " i'm very proud of you, and i always will be. don't ever forget that. "

despite his usual silence and avoidance of humanity, razor was, at his core, a very tactile person. grooming was how he communicated with his lupical, the family not like him. he could understand them to some degree, not with human words but actions and sounds, but it always came back to touch. licking, nipping, bathing, even the way the pack slept together all held meaning. touching humans was different, it was hard to know exactly what a certain touch might mean. but he knows this.

diluc has always seemed to understand this, understand him in a way most other humans didn't. he's learned over time spent with the man, that it came from their general disposition; a desire for comfort with oneself, but also an innate need for connection. he's always found it hard to express himself with words, thankfully diluc required none of him. teacher was wonderful, kind and smart and pushed him to explore new things. but diluc? diluc nurtured the parts of razor that he couldn't change, and never made him feel bad for it. it's why he comes back. like a dog returning to the place it knows is home, time apart vanishes when he returns. diluc doesn't pry what he's gotten in to, where he went - razor will tell him, he doesn't mind. but he knows diluc doesn't expect it. wolfkin knows to expect a warm meal, a warmer bed, and a unique bonding he hasn't found elsewhere. 

he could fall asleep like this, which is unlike a boy raised in the wilderness, always keeping one eye open. but diluc's hands are warm, the brush melodic almost. he feels safe. red eyes slot open when diluc speaks. 

with their resonance, thoma rarely feels the real chill of winter much when they are in the same room. some would consider him spoiled, having taken to the comfortable warmth like a coat he always carries with him; something he expects. retainer notices it more when he is without it, when diluc is away from him. 

but thankfully, he imagines dawn too has come to rely on it, for he is the first to embrace and cling when they reunite. he doesn't know where diluc has been this night, doesn't ask, nor does he ask what hour of the night it is when he eventually crawls into bed, molding chest to thoma's back with a content sound not unlike a purring cat.