Chapter Text
“how are you feeling?”
Mark swallows the warm soup he has been contemplating for some minutes now and replies: “heavy.” that’s the closest he can get to describing how he feels his body. he is not tired per se, yet, at least. he is not sleepy either, but his limbs do feel like jello. it’s been a while since Mark’s felt this way.
Donghyuck hums. Mark hears him walk around the sofa he is currently sitting on—hears, not sees, because his body feels too rigid to even turn his head. the fox lands in front of him holding a jar with some content Mark is unaware of. “i can help you with that,” he offers.
Mark frowns at the same time he leaves his already empty wooden bowl on the little table made out of a big trunk cut in a way that makes it able to stand by itself. “with what?” he sighs. “i am not doing anything.”
“with how you’re feeling, prince,” he opens the jar to show him a very bright honey-like texture, the colour is the same as the one tea Donghyuck offered him some days ago. “Ten’s right. you may not feel very well tomorrow.”
Mark scoffs. “you think me weak,” he shakes his head as his fingers make their way to his temples. “you’ve made that pretty clear already.”
“on the contrary, Mark,” a furry paw lands on top of the hand that is not currently holding his own face. after several days, it doesn’t startle Mark any longer, it only makes him curious. not very conscious of his own actions, Mark turns his hand around in order to feel the padded toes of the red-furred paw. it is heavy, of course, it is big. the fur is surprisingly soft, although frizzy like the rest of his body as Mark remembers. “i know you’re strong, your body was able to put up with Ten, and that is impressive. and every strong body needs recovery. i only want to help you make it smoother.”
Donghyuck is sleek, he is a fox, after all. so his body language doesn’t give away any clue of him being uncomfortable or weirded out by Mark’s sudden interest in his paw. but his human part is still somewhat present, and therefore there is just slight uncertainty underneath his usual confident voice. Mark ignores Donghyuck in favour of asking: “does it hurt?”
red ears flick backwards at that. “what?”
“shifting.”
just for the sake of knowing more against his enemies, Mark reminds himself.
“no,” Donghyuck replies. “it is… uncomfortable, but no. painful isn’t a word i would use.”
there is silence. Mark doesn’t reply.
“so… would you let me help you?”
Mark isn’t sure how it could make him feel better seeing as he doesn’t feel bad or anything like that to begin with. he nods anyway.
Donghyuck perks up right away. he straightens his posture and retreats his paw, leaving Mark’s hand in solitude once again. it takes just one second, what it takes Mark to blink, and the paw is no longer a paw but a tan hand, which is eagerly taking a small portion of the… salve? between his fingers, warming it up and bringing it closer to Mark’s naked calves.
“what is that?”
“this is the best remedy against the pain and soreness,” his hands came into contact with his legs, Donghyuck’s touch burning against his skin. Mark basically hisses. the sound makes the kumiho stop. “too hot?” he asks.
Mark shakes his head. “it is, but it is mostly surprising. how are you so hot?”
he clearly doesn’t stop to think about his phrasing until Donghyuck’s almost dilated pupils look up at him cheekily, sly smile appearing on his boyish face. “you think i’m hot, Markie?”
“no!” he exclaims, closing his eyes as one of Donghyuck’s fingers bury in the muscle of his leg. “auch. is this supposed to make me feel better?” momentarily leaving the topic aside to then go back. “no, you know i meant hot, as in… literally hot!”
his companion laughed amusedly while pulling his ears down. “so you think i’m ugly?”
Mark is too busy basking in the sensations in his leg to think about his answer. “no! that’s not what i’m saying either.”
his other leg starts to receive the same treatment. the sensations are exactly the same. initially hot, to then turn into a painful massage and finally the most relaxed he has felt in all his life. the ointment leaves a pleasant warm and tingly sensation behind.
“what are you saying, then?”
“ugh,” Mark complains. this fox is never going to let him live. he opens his eyes tiredly, finding Donghyuck’s at a lower level due to his sitting position on the floor. only a couple of candles are lighting up the living room, and thus, pretty silhouettes are dancing across Donghyuck’s skin. the flames do not illuminate enough to keep his slit pupils from expanding, this means his nocturnal vision is on, effectively seeing everything, sometimes Mark thought he could see the future itself. this, in turn, means he cannot lie, he would be discovered too quickly. “you’re pretty,” is what he ends up saying.
the comment earns him a tight-lipped smile that shows a couple of dimples that are barely there. they make him look cute, innocent even. Mark is almost overcome by cuteness aggression when Donghyuck tilts his head to the side like a curious kitten.
“but you are a menace,” Mark completes. “your cute face is just a façade.”
Donghyuck lets go of Mark’s leg and with his extended arm he reaches for his shoulder instead. standing up, he curves his back to be closer to Mark’s ear. “is that really what you think?” he uses what’s left of the ointment in his hands to stroke Mark’s naked shoulders in a calming fashion. “not what you have been told to think. but what you —Mark— think?”
Mark turns his head a little to the opposite side, as far from Donghyuck’s face as possible, which is not much because he is caged between his agile hands.
“what difference does it make?” is what he responds. “does it… make…?” he pauses. “...a difference?”
“hmm,” he hears, no longer next to his ear, but on top of his head. Donghyuck has straightened once again. “are all the things you have heard about us true?” Mark is looking at the fox-boy thin, thin fingers dance across his shoulders as he speaks. “do tell, Mark. you have been here for days. you have been with me every waking moment, there is no way i am hiding things from you. don’t you think?”
“i don’t know.” Mark grits his teeth. “this place is magical, how am i supposed to know what is real and what is not?”
Donghyuck’s perfectly carved out face appears suddenly in front of his own, so fast that it makes his heart beat faster. “are you scared of me?”
Mark frowns. “no…”
“because you see me, yes?” he motions elegantly towards himself, no longer caressing Mark’s skin, leaving him cold. “you were afraid of us because you had never seen us. unknown means dangerous, right, prince? well, now you’ve seen us. you live with me,” he stops moving and stays still right in front of Mark. slowly coming closer, Donghyuck stops just before his nose can touch Mark’s, his head keeping that slight inclination angle that distinguishes him as beast. “do i make you afraid?”
having him this close and still be alive gives Mark confidence to answer “no”. Donghyuck here is very much real, as opposed to all the stories told to him back in the castle. here, Mark can perfectly see the pores of his skin contrasting against the dim light of the candles. he can see the small button nose twitching cutely, as well as the slightly creepy slit pupils threatening with swallowing all of Mark’s deepest and darkest secrets. he can appreciate the way the soft fluffy red hair adorned Donghyuck’s forehead and connected with the sensitive ears on top of his head, those ears with never-ending nerves and muscles to be able to catch the faintest sound in the blink of an eye. Mark can feel Donghyuck’s faint breath caressing his own skin at the closeness. Donghyuck is real, he is not just a legend anymore, a scary story to put Mark to bed when he was causing a ruckus. most importantly, Donghyuck here is breathing the same air as him and has not made a single move to try to kill him.
“i think…” Donghyuck starts purring. “you’re crazy. i think you are pretty and crazy. not dangerous, unless you want to be. i also think you’re cute. but i don’t know what you want from me, so i don’t trust you.”
Donghyuck pouts and retreats. he doesn’t look sad at Mark’s admission, it is more like he is playing with him. “don't worry,” he extends his hand for Mark to take, so he does just that. Donghyuck pulls him to his feet. standing up, Mark realises he frequently forgets he is actually taller than the kumiho, he has to angle his eyes a little bit downwards to be able to look him in the eye. “we still have plenty of time. come. let’s go to bed.”
it takes only about ten steps to reach the small hall that leads to both rooms, but Mark feels it eternal now that his muscles have relaxed and cannot seem to control his movements very well.
“what is there in that salve you put on me?” because whatever it was, it is what must have suddenly caused this sensation in him.
Donghyuck gekkers. “it’s good, isn’t it? do you feel any lighter?” Mark nods clumsily.
“i feel drugged. have you drugged me?”
“no,” the boy laughs, the sound airy and light. “it is a strong ointment, normally meant for our kind. i guess it is stronger on humans, although i did use way less than i would normally have used on anyone else.”
they reach Mark’s room — cell, his brain supplies, as they speak. with little effort Donghyuck leads him to the bed and helps him sit down so that Mark can lie down on his own, still wearing the same clothes he wore all day. that is strange, aside from all the other obviously different things between the forest and the castle, this one habit made him uncomfortable. back home, everybody would own clothing meant for outside settings, and night clothing for going to bed, it was more convenient, comfier and cleaner. here, the beasts got changed on a regular basis, but didn’t stop to think about how dirty what they had been wearing throughout the day actually was in order to change it to cleaner, more suitable garments for bed.
“don’t you wear something different to sleep?” Mark asks, dragging the ending of the words in a tired telltale. “what you wear during the day is, you know, dirty.”
Donghyuck puts his hand on top of Mark’s forehead. “no, it is not dirty,” his hand moves towards Mark’s neck, just where his shoulder connects with it. “it is just nature, Mark. nothing that comes out of her is ever dirty. soil, water, leaves… they signify life. if you’re talking about sweat or something like that, that’s why we bathe every day.” it… makes sense, he thinks. “you’re burning up. you got a small fever,” right, the panther did a number on him. to excuse himself, Mark thinks, he hasn’t done anything like that in years, his basic training used to be the most exhausting back when he was approximately fourteen years old. after years of doing pretty much the same exercises every time, his body got used to it and he didn’t even wake up with a sore body anymore. but these jumps, or whatever they were, meant to help him get stronger especially in the legs, were harder than anything else he had done in the last years. after his short time here, Mark knows that the legs are the most vital limbs to use, as opposed to the upper body heavily trained by his soldiers. so, okay. this is just new to him. he is not weak. Donghyuck is turning around either to leave or to grab something, but as he is doing so his back faces Mark, the fluffy tail swishes to the side and Mark has always wanted to… pull. his ears or his tail, whatever really and the latter is right here, Mark just has to… “good thing i gave you the salve, this will speed up the process, tomorrow you’ll be good as-” …pull. “ah!” Donghyuck exclaims and his tail tweaks.
it is mostly fur, it feels weird, because underneath all those layers of hair, only a very thin and hard piece of flesh can be felt. it moves, quite aggressively, too. that extra limb or muscle is strong, but not enough to fight Mark’s prying grip on it.
“do you feel anything?” to join his question, Mark pulls gently. Donghyuck’s breath gets caught in his throat. hmm, so there is a way to shut the little creature up. Mark takes mental notes.
“of course i do, you asshole!” he snatches his own tail off Mark’s hand rather harshly and promptly curls it around himself protectively. by now the tale has doubled its size, fluffing up as a response to the aggression.
Mark hurries to respond as he lets his hand fall at his side. “i’m sorry,” not entirely, Donghyuck can tell as well. “i’ve always wanted to do that. i’m sorry.”
“well, you can’t go around pulling at people’s tails. you can get yourself seriously injured,” he laughs. “fever makes you act weird. it will go down on its own, i’ll bring you an extra blanket in case you feel too cold.”
Mark doesn’t let him turn around at all this time. his milky hand is wrapped around Donghyuck’s thin wrist, it earns him a strange glare. “stay here.”
the plea doesn’t convince his captor one bit. his eyes jump skeptically from his own lying frame to the space next to him on the bed, and then to their hands.
“you will regret it in the morning, Mark.”
Mark scoffs. “why? it’s not like we’ll do anything.”
“because you don’t trust me,” comes the dry reply.
“hmm,” right. “well, i trust you with this. you have done nothing but make me feel better when i’m injured. stay.”
tentatively, he pulls the covers to the side, to slide into bed and call Donghyuck to occupy the empty space next to him.
now, it looks like Donghyuck is the one having trust issues because he looks every bit the wary fox he actually is. alert, paying attention to his surroundings in case a hunter is setting up traps nearby. the hunter being Mark, in this case.
equally cautious, Donghyuck finally starts sliding into the spot next to Mark’s. his high body temperature immediately warms Mark up just enough to be able to stand the pain from the fever, but not too much to make it worse.
the bed is cold. it normally is. there isn’t enough furniture in the room to keep it a little more cosy, the blankets are made of cotton, which makes them cool too. and here there is only Mark, a human too fragile for a place like this. Donghyuck can smell it. the loneliness. Mark probably misses his home more than he lets on. carefully and slowly, Donghyuck approaches the body next to his own. “i’ll keep you company,” he says and lays his head on top of Mark’s chest.