🧵AO3 and Threadfics~ https://t.co/12P0kzCUzL

this fish.... #nanchan

TBC.

For a while longer, Hong’er kept on quietly staring at Xie Lian. He looked like he was seriously considering a few things so Xie Lian simply held his gaze patiently. “You said I can go if I want to.” He started. “En.” “Can I stay here with rabbit-gege instead?”

trying to yet again hold back the urge to coo at him- seriously, this little tiger was so unbelievably adorable!- while Hong’er stared back wide-eyed. Xie Lian crouched down once more. “Nice to meet you, Hong’er.”

his tail nearly brushed the ground. Hong’er didn't yet have full control of his human form, but it was nevertheless impressive for a spirit this young to be able to turn. Now that they could properly see each other, Xie Lian looked at Hong’er,

Xie Lian turned around, already a smile on his face. When their gazes met beneath the light of a few spiritual lamps, he could finally see that the child had mismatched eyes, one red, one black. From the mop of dark hair on his head, sprung two little tiger ears, and behind him,

He was working on the medicine he’d promised, grinding up some leaves, when he heard quiet footsteps approach him. “My mother called me Hong’er.” The tiger said quietly, all traces of prior fight gone from his voice.

“Alright then, I won’t take you anywhere you don’t want to go, and if you want to leave now, you can do that too. Just allow me to prepare some bandages and herbal paste for you before you go.” He said, getting up to allow the little tiger some space.

“No!” The tiger’s vehement protest took both of them by surprise. He curled in on himself even further, hiding everything but his eyes from Xie Lian. It took a moment for Xie Lian to gather his scattered thoughts, but once he did, he slowly lay down the robes on the ground.

As he spoke, Xie Lian reached out his hand, conjuring up a set of soft robes. The tiger looked at them for a moment before his eyes jumped back to Xie Lian’s, his gaze just as wary as it had been before. “And after that, I can take you back to your pare-”

It saddened him however, that this young cub’s mind would immediately jump to such dark thoughts. He must’ve had a harsh life to end up like this. “Right now, I was thinking of giving you some clothes.”

“What are you going to do to me?” Finally, the tiger spoke, all defensive and suspicious. Xie Lian could understand the caution- though rare, it wasn’t unheard of that some would bolster up their cultivation through rather cruel methods involving the young of other spirits.

“Hello there.” He paused. No answer. “Yesterday I found you passed out near the entrance of my home. I took you in to treat your wounds.” Still no answer. “Ah, maybe I should’ve introduced myself first. My name is Xie Lian. What about yours?”

He hadn’t run away, but he also obviously didn’t trust Xie Lian so he was trying very hard to make himself intimidating. Xie Lian crouched down in the entrance to the pantry, his form shadowed by the light coming from the rest of the burrow.

Xie Lian had to fight the urge to coo at the little tiger or pinch his milky white puffed up cheeks. To anyone else, the impressive death glare on the tiger’s face might’ve been frightening, but Xie Lian found himself both amused and endeared.

Xie Lian found a boy no older than ten, curled up in the corner and swaddled in Xie Lian’s tablecloth. His face was the only thing poking out of the bundle. But oh, what an adorable face!

The next morning, Xie Lian opened his eyes to an empty bed. But though the tiger was no longer next to him, Xie Lian could still feel his presence in his burrow. Finding him hidden in the pantry, behind a stack of leafy greens was rather easy. Except, instead of a little tiger-

By the time Xie Lian was ready to sleep himself, the cub had yet to move. He lay down on the edge of the bed, keeping a small distance. He hoped the little one wouldn’t be too frightened when he awoke…

The tiger’s harsh panting had calmed down to regular breaths. No longer assailed by pain, he’d fallen into a deep slumber. Xie Lian left the cub curled up on his hay bed as he saw to some other tasks around the house.

most of the red was actually the tiger’s own unique coloring and not blood. “What a unique spirit.” Xie Lian thought, once he’d finished tending to the little one’s wounds.