Chapter Text
Walking through the dense, forest-like clusters of trees in Wolvendom were two young men. One was a plucky, excitable adventurer with the worst bad luck one ever did see; the other, a young man who had been raised by wolves in these very lands. The two had been out adventuring, looking for treasure and hunting for food and resources for the both of them when their traveling had finally brought them halfway to their destination. A heavy dragging sound pulled the white-haired boy’s attention behind him.
“Razor?”
The unlucky adventurer called out to his companion, clearly noticing the sluggish way he was moving and the way his usually stoic expression seemed to droop. It was as if the wolf boy was melting as he walked, lugging his hefty claymore behind him after he’d just fended off a group of very nosy Hilichurls who may or may not have posed a threat to his, and the especially unlucky boy’s, wellbeing. However, even when he looked so worn down, he held the damned thing as if it weighed nothing... not like Master Diluc did, of course, but Razor was still young and plenty strong at that. ‘Surely,’ Bennett thought to himself, ‘when we’re finally as old as Master Diluc, Razor’s own strength could rival Diluc’s current strength!’
The star-crossed boy’s own, however? Not so much.
“Bennett... we adventured and catched...... caught... a lot. I am tired... I want to rest... and I am hungry. Let’s eat.” The grey-haired boy admitted very bluntly and honestly, holding back nothing as he followed the other boy up a dusty trail. He was far less likely to hesitate when it came to speaking his mind, even if he wasn’t much of a fan of talking, anyhow. Talking made him tired, and in his state, he looked about ready to fall asleep where he stood, or pass out, which was less than ideal.
“Oh, okay then! Let me set up the tent and then I can get a fire started for us. Why don’t you just sit back and relax while I handle it, okay?” Bennett offered, giving him a thumbs-up and smiling understandingly at the other boy. “And you can put that thing away, you know! I’m sure it’s plenty heavy.” He added, gesturing towards the claymore.
“No, I keep watch, you work. Monsters are out there. Hilichurls are very mean... very territorial. You call me when you finish with the tent. I will help make food.”
“You got it, Razor!”
Bennett gave the other boy a big smile, a reassuring thumbs-up before he started setting up the tent, not expecting it to take too long.
…
It was nearly an hour and a half later when Bennett finally got the tent up and stable enough so that it wouldn’t collapse on them while they slept, and, after another minute or two, he turned towards and quietly approached Razor, soon gently shaking the lupine-raised young man who could barely be considered awake.
Razor jumped up, crimson eyes widening as he bared his sharp canines, ready to battle before he was even fully aware of what was going on.
Bennett jumped back, a weak yelp escaping his lips as he tripped backwards, stumbling on a little rock. He didn’t fall, however, a fist gripping onto the straps of his shirt, the arm connected to it straining a bit to keep him from hitting the floor.
“Aw man! Thanks, Razor, you’re a lifesaver. That totally could’ve ended badly...”
“Don’t shake. You surprised me... would have hurt you.” He grumbled, letting go of the other boy’s shirt suddenly, leaving Bennett to crash onto his butt, somehow only just barely avoiding hitting his tailbone on another small rock.
“Sorry, I forgot...” Bennett sheepishly grinned, rubbing the back of his neck as he slowly stood up, looking like he wasn’t even phased by the fall. Strangely enough, a small rock from elsewhere pelted him in the back of his head, which he definitely felt. He wondered to himself where it came from, gently rubbing his head to soothe the pain and the imminent bump that would soon follow. There were a lot of rocks that happened to be nearby, which was understandable, considering that they were outdoors, and in the woods, no less, but that last rock... nevermind, it’s best not to think too hard about it.
That and Razor looked like he had something on his mind, so Bennett shot him a confused look instead. “Uh... is something wrong?”
“You shake me. Why.” He asked a bit forcefully, not even bothering to pose it like a question as it should’ve been—because Bennett really should not have shaken him so suddenly, regardless of the reason. He knew Bennett knew not to do that as he’d explained before, so why did he—
“Oh, well the tent’s up, so you can come sleep—” Before Bennett could even continue, Razor walked past him and was sniffing around the poorly set up camp. “Everything okay, Razor?”
“Don’t smell food... no food?”
“Oh, well you said that you wanted to help so I just assumed we could do it together later on since you look so tired, and if you wanted to nap inside the tent instead, I could cook—”
“Together... okay.” He nodded curtly, not even allowing himself to entertain the idea of Bennett cooking on his own, or leaving the unlucky boy waiting for him to wake up later. One of the meals he made him last time was... unpleasant, to say the least. It left him curled on the ground with immense gut pain, and honestly, he didn’t like the feeling at all and would not like to relive the horror that was the ‘Slime Surprise Egg’. “We will cook together.”
The other boy’s eyes sparkled brightly and he nodded his head enthusiastically.
“Great! I have this great recipe I made on my own! It’s actually pretty simple to make, too! All you need is... mint, radish, and... slime condensate! (...I think...) You wanna try it out?”
‘You think...?’ Razor wanted to ask, lips curling into a bit of a frown as he bit back that comment, instead deciding to suggest something that he knew how to make, and was actually good at making. “I want potatoes and meat... Let’s make hash browns.... and steak...” he then recalled the manners Lisa had been teaching him and tacked on a half-hearted, but honest “please” at the end.
“Oh, well sure! I have plenty potatoes! I find them all the time on my adventures, especially in chests that belong to Hilichurl camps... let’s go for it!”
It had taken Razor a while to get used to friendly customs, especially when it came to smiling with one’s teeth showing. However, he did manage to flash Bennett a terrifying little grin of his own, sharp teeth bared into a tense attempt at a smile.
“C’mon, Razor!”
Bennett grabbed the arm of the other boy and hurriedly guided him over to the two campfires he had set up during the time he tried to set up the tent. Apparently, setting things on fire came much easier to him than setting up a tent perfectly the first time, but luckily, he didn’t burn down the tent this time, so that was a win! (Sadly, the things catching on fire also included himself at times.)
Razor stumbled after him, but soon enough, they were both crouched around the fire, a small pan slowly warming up over it as Bennett and Razor were pounding pinecones against a flat rock that had a cloth over it, effectively mashing up some potatoes with said pinecones — the very same that Razor would later clean with water and reduce to crumbs himself to use for the coating of the hashbrowns. Neither of them managed it too well, or could make it as fluffy as they liked, but hey, it was okay as long as it still tasted good at the end! Can’t be too picky when it comes to a nice hot meal, after all!
“Aaand... done!”
Bennett had finished his potato mashing after Razor, who had messier and bigger chunks in them, but that was okay, too! He then lifted the napkin up and handed it over to let Razor work his magic, only helping out to add some salt and pepper to season it with and by cooking the steak for them, as well as boiling some broccoli that Razor had given him — both of which he handled over the other campfire.
‘How did he get that broccoli?’ Bennett wondered, but again, it was best not to think too hard about that, either.
“You have jam left over?” Razor grumbled, voice snapping Bennett out of his train of thought as the wolfish boy pointed to Bennett’s bag when the hashbrowns were eventually done, and very clearly (and cutely) puppy-paw shaped. “Too tired to make my own.”
“Oh, yeah, I have some I made earlier just in case.”
“Just in case?”
“Yeah! You never know when we might run into a Hilichurl with a sweet tooth! We could use it as bait and then escape if there’s too many to fight. Genius, right?”
Razor nodded despite the thought that something would go wrong no matter how prepared Bennett tried to be. Maybe they would ignore the jam, or maybe the jar would break and somehow jam would get on Bennett, or maybe they would all want jam, and so when one gets their hands on it, the rest would turn on Bennett to see if he has more, or— or maybe it isn’t worth the brainpower to worry about right now because Razor felt himself getting more and more sleepy with each passing moment.
“We... can eat now, yes?”
“Oh, go for it! I’m sure a warm meal would be nice before bed, and it’s starting to get dark, too, so... yeah!”
Razor had barely restrained himself, and the moment Bennett gave him the okay, he grabbed one of the hashbrowns and immediately started digging in, holding it bare-handedly as he tore right through it, clearly ignoring the fact that it was hot, given how freshly made it was.
Bennett chuckled, taking his time serving and eating his own food and relishing the warm meal as the wind blew, shaking the leaves of the trees above.
…
After their meal of hashbrowns and steak, the two boys quickly put out the campfires and crawled into their tent as the wind got chillier and the sky grew black with the coming of night. In addition to that, however, it had started to drizzle, making Bennett want to get to bed as soon as possible to avoid the inevitable downpour of rain from drenching their tent.
Zipping the tent shut, he turned to spot Razor, having already snuggled and settled into his sleeping bag.
‘His’ sleeping bag being Bennett’s own, in reality.
Bennett didn’t even bother being upset, finding it especially hard to even consider waking him since Razor looked so peaceful and content, even if all that was visible was a head of messy, ashen grey hair spilling out of the mouth of the sleeping bag.
Instead, Bennett merely laid down and closed his eyes, shivering as he curled in on himself, arms pulled into his chest. He hoped to sleep, knowing that if he were to remain awake, his bad luck with the weather would affect Razor since he was sharing the tent with him. However... he couldn’t get himself to sleep, shivering gently as the wind nipped at their tent and the rain had picked up some, pattering harder against the fabric. It would only hold up so well before the rain started leaking through, he was sure of it... and yet, he just couldn't get himself to sleep, no matter what he did... maybe he could just knock himself out and make it quick. He was bound to have a dubious meal somewhere in his bag…
Before he could sit up or act on it, a sudden shifting as the sleeping bag opened up had surprised him, but not as much as said sleeping bag covering him did. He then felt a messy, albeit soft head of hair snuggle up against him as scarred arms wrapped around him and held him close.
“You look cold... my lupical sleep with me like this to keep warm. Is it okay?” Razor asked quietly, chin resting on Bennett's shoulder as he held him firmly.
Bennett was touched by the gesture and couldn't help but smile warmly, a light flush on his cheeks. It was a nice feeling, not only having someone close by to hold him as he slept, like his dads had done for him as a wee adventurer, but also to be camping with someone in general. He wasn't alone anymore.
Maybe he could ask Razor to become a permanent member of his adventure team. The other boy didn't seem to mind him despite his bad luck, and that was promising enough to prove that he wouldn't leave him behind like others had done in the past.
“Yeah. It's fine.” Bennett relaxed a bit and shifted to cover them both with the fully unzipped sleeping bag.
“Okay... good. Fine.” Razor seemed comfortable himself, arms wrapping more snuggly around Bennett.
Was he smiling?
Bennett could swear he could feel the joy emanating off of him without even looking. Maybe now was the perfect time to ask him about joining the adventure team...
“Say, Razor...? How would you feel about—”
A loud snore cut him off, causing the near white-haired boy to blink a few times before chuckling.
The rain even seemed to let up a bit, returning to a drizzle as Bennett closed his eyes, feeling content.
‘(Tomorrow for sure.)’ He told himself, that being his final thought before he finally succumbed to his own sleepiness.