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lukerycyja · 1 year

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How to take care of your funny looking dog tutorial

Paring: zhongli x reader (platonic)

Summary: you find this funny looking dog during a hunt in the mountains and decide that you won't kill him for meat but instead take care of it.

Warnings: description of wounds, hunting, some blood, reader isn't vegetarian, female reader

@zhongrin tis one for u

The mountainside was uncharacteristically cold this year. The winds blew and snow fell few times and it was only the beginning of the autumn. You could tell, that this winter will be a challenge to survive.

Your hands hurt as your fingertips let go of the arrow. However, the pain was worth the wait.

Preparations for winter for somebody living in solitude in the mountains is never easy. There was a lot of unpleasant surprises and challenges to overcome just to survive. And since this winter wouldn't be merciful, you had to do double amount of work.

This catch would be the last of today. Since dragons already left for the winder, escaping from the cold, there was plenty of prey roaming around, getting as much food as possible. Only during early spring and autumn the vast terrain controlled by the dragons was suddenly deprived of most predators, causing a lot of animals to venture along the mountainside.

As you approach what you though was a big brown salamander that somehow could run fast on land, you stopped abruptly. It was not a salamander like one you could see in the ponds in the caves.

This lizard had small horns and dirty, glued together fur. It also had small, yellow and standing scales along its back. And of course tuft of dirty, torn of once probably yellow fur at the end of its tail. Was it some mix of one of those illuminated beasts you heard once? It looked too scrawny and small for a dragon, with longer body. Besides, they already left. Your arrow pierced its tail and lizard got stuck while running away, with arrow getting it stuck between some fallen branches.

Little guy struggled a little more but it quickly run out of energy, now breathing heavily and looking at you with wide eyes. It's trembling and quiet whines made it look more pathetic.

You could tell, that while looking chubby and soft, it was definitely underweight. It scales dull and greyish in colour almost completely with no shine. It looked so pathetic that you couldn't bring yourself to finish it. Besides, there was little to no meat on it anyways.

"Hey there bud" you said in calm, quiet voice, slowly moving towards it "I'm not going to hurt you... at least not anymore"

You tried to not look into its eyes and crouching to make yourself look smaller and less intimidating. You didn't know if it worked, but you knew that jumping onto the poor thing would only make it worse.

It only could wiggle and whine as you finally got to it.

You knew that once you freed it, it would probably run away and die.

"I know you are scared, but I can't let you run little buddy. I will have to take you and make sure you heal, okay?" You felt stupid talking to an animal, but oh well.

It's not like there was anyone in the mountains anyways. Besides, that little lizard looked more and more cute. Maybe after you healed it you could keep it as pet if it accepted you?

"Okay. Let's make a contract. I will take you home and heal you and you will get some delicious meal and a warm bed. You just don't run now, right?"

Your baby talk somehow worked. But most likely lizard just couldn't move because of exhaustion. Oh well, at least for some time you will have a company, or so you hoped.

Picking it up, it only squeaked and quietly whined, weakly wiggling against your hold. It stopped quickly and instead shook as you rolled it in your scarf. Making sure that your little buddy was safe and sound, and that the arrow wasn't able to move, you adjusted your bag with previous prey on your shoulder and started walking home.

You decided to baby talk to your companion to try and comfort it a little, or at least so it can get used to your voice. You did that with your chickens, baby goats and cats and they all seemed to like it. Hopefully lizards liked this as well, although you suspected it more soothed you than it. You still decided to take it as positive.

Yellows turned into oranges and browns, as leaves of sandbearer trees lost lively golden colour and started to die and fall. Some cuihua trees still had ripe sunsetias on their branches that crimson foxes and squirrels tried to collect. You already got more than enough of those, only waiting now for the walnuts. You were sure that you could get them in the next week or so.

And you still had to get down to the village to get that donkey that you purchased, before any snow or rain fell, as mudslides weren't to be messed with. You returned home once after rain and you could dig mud out of your hair and ears for weeks.

Shuddering at the unpleasant memory, you carefully stepped over the line bridge above the stream that in the spring turned into roaring river. You will have to remember to remake it it the spring, as you could tell that it won't make it through winter.

Your little buddy reacted to sudden swaying on the bridge, and whined, trying to bury itself further into your scarf. You could only coo at it and hold it tighter as petting it now was rather easy way to loose a finger or two.

After stepping on the solid ground again you made sure, that it's as okay as it can be, and started walking again, this time faster, as it was getting colder and darker by the second, and you did not want to be caught by the night winds. During autumn their bites were the most painful and unpredictable.

Seeing swaying light of a lone lantern that you set up today warmed your cold body. You couldn't wait to finally cook dinner and light up the fire. And warm bath was a need, considering how dirty you got during hunting and gathering.

And also taking care of your little friend. He needed your attention first.

Walking by your chickens and goats that were returning to their safe abode, you finally made it to your house. Core structure was made with geo constructs by a geo vision wielder that you paid a rather hefty sum of gold and minerals. He didn't take mountain people currency, so you had to give him most of your precious finds from the trips. But it was worth it. Rock was able to withstand the strongest of elements and you didn't have to worry about it crumbling for your entire lifetime.

Warm air and smell of various spices hit your nostrils as you finally closed the door behind you and ventured into the kitchen. Setting down the scarf cocoon you apologized to it, as you heard it's whimper at being moved even more. You quickly set fire under the fireplace and set the bag of gathered food and herbs on the counter, caking off your outside clothes at the same time. Once ready, you pulled out your handy healing bag and started to remove layers of fabric from the small lizard.

As you slowly set it on the table and uncurled it to the full length, you realized that it definitely wasn't a normal lizard but at the same time it was longer and thinner than normal dragon hatchlings. It had horns sure, but it looked as if someone stretched it too much. Regaldles of what it was, you wanted to help it as much as you could.

You pulled out clay bowl and got some water from the bucket standing by the brick stove. You thanked your past self for getting water from the river in the morning so it wasn't freezing and got to work washing your little buddy. He didn't even flinch, and you noticed that he probably passed out from the exhaustion and pain. Poor thing.

As you scrubbed it's scales and fur, you noticed a lot more minor injuries and missing scales. What worried you were the teeth marks very similar to those of a dragon hatchling. Was your little friend bullied and that's why it was so weak?

After cleaning it and its wounds, and getting your own arrow back, you rolled him (yes, you checked it's gender and basing on the look of the scales of his lower stomach and your limited knowledge, it looked like it was male (you can check the gender of a snake by looking how its tail looks, thinker and smaller are females, but i decided to just give dragons something similar but different because why not) in some clean cloth and put him by the fireplace to warm him up.

You then decided to make a meal for yourself and something light for him to munch on so he could get his strength back. Also, you need to stop trying to call him just "him". He needs a name if you will keep him around for a few weeks. But what would even fit him?

You prepared an herb stew for yourself and some light chicken broth for your new temporary pet. You saw that after a while little cocoon started to wiggle around and you guessed that he was hungry for sure, seeing how thin he was.

Putting a small bowl near his snout you heard rustling and quiet whine. He blinked slowly and looked at you with golden eyes, pupils blown wide. It sniffed the bowl and after a short while is wiggled closer to it. You already moved backwards, to not scare it more. You smiled, seeing as it stick out it's forked tounge and dipped it in the broth. There was silence for a few seconds and then it started to slowly drink from the bowl.

You muffled your chuckle as it ate as if someone would take the meal away from him. You could name him after some food, that would be funny. But you wanted his name to be unique. Oh well you will have to try and find something in the old stone tablets that you found not so long ago in the cave.

Leaving the kitchen after making sure he was okay, you left to close the chickens and goats, as well as to finally prepare your catches for long process to make them survive the winter and not poison you.

After you finally washed your bloody hands and returned to the kitchen to get prepared buckets of water that you needed for a bath, you noticed that lizard was curled up tightly, only slightly visible from the pile of cloth and sleeping soundly. You smiled and proceeded to leave it for the night, hoping that it won't destroy your kitchen during the night.

Laying down you could only wonder on how would life change during his short stay with you.

* 1. Name him after his look in some ancient language, because it's funny *

Waking up was not easy, especially when it was only getting colder and colder outside. Knowing you have to get out and feed your animals and open the gates for them already made you feel cold. And let's not even mention getting water and breakfast ready and the dreaded journey to the Hua village. It would take you all day, and dragging that donkey back wouldn't be easy, but he would protect your animals from any stray dog or mountain dog. So it was worth it. If only that could make you move...

Stretching, you got up and reached into the bowl of water on the nightstand to wash your face. Cold water woke you up forther and you got yourself ready for the day.

As you walked into the kitchen you saw that the bundle where your little buddy was sleeping was empty. Thinking that he escaped you sighed at the site of empty pot that had the chicken broth in yesterday. It was empty and oily paw prints made you understand who made the mess. Following the trail, you turned away from the door, as it lead further into your home, into your study room.

As you entered, you were met with... interesting sight.

Lizard still in the bandages and some dust and fat around its mouth was looking at you with big eyes. It seemed as you caught it eating your collection of cor lapis.

Literal rock cor lapis.

There was a minute of silence and stillnes as you looked at eachother. You stunned and he scared.

Then he spat out some of the crushed cor lapis from his mouth.

You bursted out laughing, the scene in front of you was just so ridiculous that you couldn't keep it in you. And he just looked at you and curled up on himself, becoming basically round and you just couldn't stop your giggles. He was so adorable!

Suddenly a name popped into your head. Morax. Which in the language of the north merchant that you met long ago meant round. In other languages it didn't meant anything, but you didn't care. It sounded like a name and was funny. So Morax it is.

After you calmed down and were able to stand up again, you grabbed the little troublemaker and felt his full tummy under your fingers. You had no idea that his stomach was so big to fit so much. That was definitely gonna be a good day.

* 2. Let it steal heat from your body and feed it your best minerals. Be careful, he can bite! *

Storm blew wind in the background as you worked on sewing your new blanket. Some time passed since you welcomed Morax in your home and it didn't look like he wanted to leave you anytime soon. You made him a bed out of an old crate and some soft blankets and furs you had laying around. He loved it and apparently loved you, because he wouldn't you alone. Like ever.

He followed you outside and since it got cold and there was snow falling sometimes, he would climb on you and hide under your scarf. Also, during these five weeks together że was getting slower and sleepier. You guessed that his dragon part, since he couldn't migrate, was preparing for hibernation.

Morax was a dragon, just not a full blooded dragon.there was something else mixed there, but you weren't sure what. It didn't bother you, but you could only guess how that will impact his behaviour. Hopefully he won't be too big otherwise you will have a problem. Being part dragon made sure that he would be big, yes, but you hoped that the other parts weren't too big.

You also regularly fed him cor lapis, as he was really fond of it for some reason. Although you had to be careful, because little beast was so eager that he often bit your fingers as well, trying to eat as fast as he could. You figured that this was a result of other dragons bullying him.

He also gained weight because of your care. His scales became shiny brown and he gained weight as well as grew. Now he was as heavy as half filled bucket of water. Which was a lot for such a small animal. He was now chubby and when he sat on the edge of your table, instead of making a loop with his body, he looked round. But you didn't mind at all. He looked cute and healthy now, and you knew that dragon hatchlings had a lot of chub.

As you were just finishing the last stitch, Morax decided that he had enough of playing around with a ball of unused thread that you made for him and went back to his bed. You yawned and decided to go to sleep. Blowing the candles and making sure fire wouldn't spread from the fireplace, you petted Morax one last time and went to bed.

After laying down and making sure that you were fully covered, you finally rested after the long day. Although you couldn't even fully close your eyes before you heard a quiet mewl. Morax sometimes made this sound, so you didn't mind. But the soft and quick footsteps were unexpected. He never left bed when he went to sleep. Not until sunrise.

When you felt the bed dipping and a small huffs near your right ear, you stilled. He never did that before. Yes, he trusted you to some degree, but despite being rather cuddly and letting you pet him, he was careful.

With great difficulty he finally climbed onto your bed and made his way under the covers. After achieving that, he snuggled into your chest and neck and after positioning himself, let out a quiet huff and started purring.

You melted at his actions and let yourself fall asleep, content and happy.

* 3. He can turn into a more human baby *

Warm sunrays tickled your face, as you walked out of your house on the middle of the spring. Some villagers were travelling and asked you for directions. And as a mountain hermit you lacked human contact, so you started a conversation that was becoming longer and longer. And your little (well, now not so little anymore) buddy was becoming more and more restless after you closed him in the house so the villagers wouldn't run away.

Morax was looking though the small window as you interacted with other two legged things like you. And he didn't like it at all.

And yet he understood that you wanted to be with your kind. He understood because that was what he wanted before his own kin banished him from the nest, his parents watching as his siblings chased him away, not sparing bites and scratches.

He remembered how hard it was to survive in the wild. And he remembered how you found him and took care of him. How your food was warm and tasted strangely delicious, how you gave him his tasty rock treats, how you starched behind his ears and how you let him sleep with you. You were his real parent, his family. And he wanted to be a part of yours.

He felt his small body getting hotter and his elemental energy draining. But he had to, he had to fit in more. He didn't want you to stop loving him. He wouldn't let it happen again.

His energy finally drained and he was very sleepy. He lost consciousness as he made a weak sound, crying out to you to come to him.

You heard a sound coming out from your home, and bid goodbye to the villagers. When you returned you could only stare in shock at the small child with Morax' features sleeping next to your sink. It had small horns, pointy ears, scales along its spine and chubby tail. You also noticed that its hands and feet had dark talons and it had weird, glowing tattoos.

"Morax?" You asked weakly.

It seemed like those above gave you a child.

#morax x reader #zhongli x reader #zhongli #dragon zhongli #rex lapis #rex lapis x reader #he smol #origin story?

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