Frozen Heart
He gasped in pain as he was shaken awake by a particularly large thunderclap overhead. It was dark and he was struggling just to open his eyes, the alley was dim and the windows of the buildings surrounding him were all dark.
He groaned, dizzy as he struggled to sit up and look around. It was raining and he was laying on a large pile of trash bags. Even with the storm raging around him the stench of rotting food and something that smelled like baby diapers was overwhelming.
He winced as he tried to move. His whole body was sore and shaking with the downpour in the cold night air. He had no idea where he was or why he knew that something was wrong. He wasn't safe. He couldn't stay here…
But where was he? And why did he feel like he needed to run or hide? What had happened? He touched his side and flinched. That hurt but more alarming, he was bleeding. Why was he bleeding? It felt like half of his ribs had been smashed…
His head was ringing and every heartbeat hammered in his ears as he staggered to his feet. He peered around the corner and into a clean back alley.
His whole body hurt and he was barely conscious, but the desperate feeling that he needed to escape was growing.
That desire was compounded by a loud siren that drowned out the thunder. He tried to cover his ears but ended up losing his balance and toppling onto the grimy cement. At least he was out of the trash pile. The noise was sharp and shrill but even worse was the bright, flashing lights that accompanied it. The rumbling sound of an engine finally began to fade as the large, shiny metal cart slowly rolled past him through the rain.
He sighed as he slumped to the ground with his back against a wall in the pouring rain. More thunder rumbled among the clouds. The buildings around him were unfamiliar. Impossibly large glass walls and steel doors were everywhere and the unfamiliar buildings were so tall that they disappeared far into the night sky.
Pain throbbed in his leg and in his side. And now that the adrenaline rush was wearing off, the side effects of blood loss were starting to get to him.
His head hurt the most though, honestly. But it wasn't bleeding, so he only let himself rest for a moment.
Left with no other choice, he staggered back to his feet. This place definitely wasn't safe and a trio of large gray rats hiding beneath a huge metal bin watched him struggling to rise with greedy yellow eyes.
This alley was less cluttered and choked with filth than where he'd started his escape, but that only meant he was more out in the open so he focused on making himself smaller.
It worked! But as he grew feathers he sighed. Although he was naturally a bird as an illuminated beast, he sensed that both of his wings were too sore to allow him to fly.
He knew he was an adeptus- but how he had come to this strange world, he didn't know.
Well, hiding as a finch definitely wasn't going to work. The hungry rats would catch him easily. So, he sighed and took a form that they would be less likely to attack.
As a cat he had black fur with a teal sheen to his coat and he was quite a bit larger than his bird form. It felt weird, honestly, but he was too tired to shift again though. He wanted to hide rather than fight while he was injured.
Shit. He looked up. Someone was coming! Rapid footsteps and two men gasping for breath came around the corner. By their scent he could tell they were human.
But he knew he couldn't take any chances. He crouched down, hiding behind the rats' dumpster. At the far end of the alley, the two men milled around for a moment. But without warning they ran toward the next alley, disappearing into the rain.
For now, he was safe because he would be harder to see in the dark, since he only weighed about ten pounds even though he was soaking wet.
He kept on the move stubbornly, slinking through the shadows. He slowed, feeling faint as another car rolled by at the far end of the street. Its flashing lights and siren made him dizzy momentarily and the spotlight was blindingly bright even in the pouring rain. But thankfully the car didn't stop.
He left the alleys, he was exhausted, barely able to move anymore. He could smell another car coming, but this one didn't have a blaring siren.
But to his horror, the vehicle stopped not far from him and he swore under his breath when he realized that the man who got out was walking up to the building where he had stopped to lean his tired body against the cool glass of the massive front window.
Luckily, the human stepping onto the sidewalk didn't seem to notice him at first. He tried to make himself as small as possible, curling his tail around himself.
The man was tall, elegant and handsome. His suit and cologne were obviously expensive and he was carrying an umbrella and a briefcase.
At the other end of the street yet another pair of men with strange lanterns seemed to be searching the doorways of the buildings. But at this point he was too tired to move any further.
The man with the briefcase paused at the large glass door of the apartment building and dropped something out of his pocket.
It was small and made of a material he'd never seen before. He realized the man saw him as he leaned down to retrieve it. When he did, he caught the man's scent- who are you? And why do I recognize your scent if I don't know who you are?
"Well hello there, little one," The tall human said. "Where did you come from?"
He meowed reluctantly in return. Honestly, he wasn't sure if he wanted the man to try and rescue him or not. But he sighed, he definitely didn't want to be alone if he fell unconscious again.
"Easy there," The man said softly. There was an almost feral purr in his deep, calm voice that he was drawn to. But equally familiar were the man's beautiful molten gold eyes. He was sure he'd never seen such an attractive human before. His beautiful features were delicately sculpted and the man had the most perfect skin he had ever seen too.
It was embarrassing having to have to burden anyone. But he knew he was running out of time; this was probably his only shot at getting out of the cold and the rain alive…
"So, what are you doing here all alone, little one?"
He trusted this man but he had no idea why. His smooth, calm voice and easy movements helped him feel instantly calmer.
He meowed again, tiredly reaching out a small paw. The human smiled and stepped forward to pick him up.
The man tried to be careful, but his rescuer frowned when he realized the kitten was bleeding.
"Please, don't drop me," He prayed quietly in the back of his mind and tried not to squirm.
"I won't hurt you," The human said softly, very gently stroking the wet hair between his ears.
The man sighed, looking at the blood that was now smeared on the sleeve of his long coat. "Poor thing, you're hurt? Well, it's the middle of the night. I'll take you to a vet in the morning. For now you must be tired and hungry, right?"
He was glad to be held close to the man's chest as the two other humans got closer. His rescuer was warm and his strong heartbeat was calm and steady to his ears.
By now he was barely conscious as the man calmly opened the glass door of the building. The two humans with the lanterns didn't say anything as they trudged past, so it looked as if he had escaped the cold and rain as his rescuer entered the small but fancy glass room at the end of the hall.
He was surprised when the little room began moving, but his rescuer's presence was so soothing that he almost fell asleep in his arms.
He vaguely remembered running blindly, climbing onto rooftops and then dodging in and out of alleys. But why? Who was he to these people? And why was he thinking and behaving like a wanted criminal?
He had no idea he had wandered into such an affluent neighborhood. There were marble floors and elegant columns on every level. But his rescuer pushed the top button and then waited patiently for the glass elevator to stop.
When the room stopped moving, he noticed that there was only one door in the corridor, and his rescuer opened it with the small object that he had dropped outside.
The room they had entered was large and luxurious. This was the kind of room you would expect to see in a palace. There were marble floors with inlaid mosaics and columns. Fine woodworkings and lush rugs also decorated the space.
It took him a moment, but he noticed a strange scent here that didn't belong to his rescuer. Still he sighed, the other scent was pleasant and kind of enticing too, he just hadn't expected it to be familiar as well.
Whatever. He sighed, he wanted to go right to sleep but he was glad that his rescuer wrapped him in a thick, fluffy towel and looked him over carefully.
"What's happened to you?" The man asked. He wished he could answer, but he sighed.
He sighed. He understood the question just fine, but he knew that he couldn't stay here. Eventually he would have to leave and he didn't want to complicate things for his rescuer. He hoped that he could just rest here for a few days and then sneak out once things settled down outside.
His rescuer took some saline, antibiotic cream and a few bandages out of a bathroom cupboard and carefully inspected Xiao's wounds. He cleaned them as gently as he could and wrapped his belly with the gauze.
"There. That should hold nicely. So, my name is Zhongli, by the way," The man grinned. "I guess it's pretty silly to introduce myself to a cat. But I swear you really look like you understand everything I say."
"Meow?" He wasn't sure if he should be pleased by that or not. But he mewled, trying to stare at his rescuer blankly. He wanted to stretch out onto his side on the warm towel for a moment but that hurt so he quickly rolled over onto his stomach to protect his wounds again.
"Well, anyway, let's get you settled in, shall we?" Zhongli said, he placed him and his towel on the kitchen island's fancy black granite countertop and sighed. He got out a small bowl and filled it with bottled water.
He had decided he was tired of water for the moment so he stayed on the neatly folded towel.
But Zhongli didn't notice, he had already turned and rummaged through the refrigerator for a few minutes. When he returned, he was carrying a plate of fish and some steamed vegetables. It looked like the food had been cooked the night before.
The vegetables looked and smelled boring. But in his weakened state, the fish looked and smelled heavenly. His stomach growled loudly and Zhongli smiled seeing him already moving to investigate.
"I could microwave it," Zhongli offered and then smiled as he tore into the large slab of fish. "Well enjoy it cold then, little one."
Zhongli returned to the refrigerator and then put the second plate into a smaller box that beeps before he came back to the island with a plate of noodles with a fragrant chicken breast topped with alfredo sauce for himself. There were more yucky looking vegetables alongside the man's delicious smelling noodles and sauce too, but he was more than happy with the cold salmon.
This was so much better than anything he could have expected. He meant to just eat a little of it to be polite, but he was so hungry that he ate the whole large filet and then he licked the butter off of the plate too. That was highly undignified, but he wasn't sure where that thought had come from.
Zhongli grinned. "Are you still hungry? Would you like to try some of this too?"
He would've liked to refuse, but apparently his stomach had other ideas. The man scooped a few bits of the chicken and sauce onto his plate and this offering disappeared into his stomach almost as quickly as the salmon had.
It was only after he had eaten all of that, that he realized how tired he was. His head still hurts. It was hard to keep his eyes open. He didn't want to burden anyone, but he felt safe with this kind, ridiculously handsome human.
His rescuer finished eating too and then quickly washed the two plates and his fork before carrying him and the towel into the living room.
Zhongli turned on the TV and stretched out on the leather sofa. He was happy to find himself and his makeshift blanket lying on the human's chest. He quickly fell asleep purring, listening to this kind human's strong, steady heartbeat.
He meant to just doze off for a moment. But the next thing he knew, he found himself lying in a completely different room. It was dark but comfortable, and the scent of Zhongli and the other human scent were both stronger here amid the pillows and blankets strewn across the bed.
His injuries were healing quickly now that he had eaten and been able to rest for a while. The wound on his leg was gone; it had been little more than a scratch. The wound on his side was still painful when he moved and his headache hadn't lessened much at all.
He had always healed quickly because he was an illuminated beast. The wound was maddeningly itchy under the bandage but he knew better than to touch it. It would take the rest of the night just resting for such a deep wound to close on its own, even with his natural healing abilities. Itching the wound now would mean a possible infection and likely a second night of recovery.
It amazed him that Zhongli had done such an excellent job of binding it in such a short time. He made it look easy because the wrappings weren't too tight or too loose.
Still he wasn't so comfortable now that he realized he'd been asleep for quite a while. He crept carefully off of the towel and looked around but he remained in his house cat form because he didn't want to startle the human. It surprised him that he had fallen asleep so completely but he was glad that Zhongli was asleep on the bed beside him.
This was clearly a kind man, and up close his opinion hadn't changed. Zhongli was incredibly handsome. He had beautiful golden eyes that he wanted to get lost in.
But he was glad the human was asleep because that gave him the chance to go to the bathroom and use the toilet.
He was glad that the human seemed to be a heavy sleeper because the toilet flushing and then the sink running didn't seem to have awakened him. He returned to his cat form while still behind the door in the bathroom and then jumped back into bed with his host.
Zhongli was absolutely gorgeous- and familiar, but where had they met? He sighed, after watching him sleep for a while longer. The human wasn't wearing a shirt and his chest, arms and shoulders were very toned and fit. He wondered what kind of job he would have if he had time to work out like this every day.
The curious part of him wanted to know if the human had the taut abs to go with the rest of him or not. But he was too tired to peek under the covers to check.
After all, he was only staying for a few days. It didn't make sense to start fantasizing about having sex with some human he didn't know. He blushed at that thought, damn it… was he going into heat soon or what?
Well, it didn't matter either way; he wasn't going to be here long. He was not from this place- he had to find a way back to his original world! Teyvat was in danger… He had to find his master. But for the moment he couldn't remember who that was…
His ears and tail twitched uneasily when Zhongli shifted in his sleep but he was glad that man didn't awaken.
He decided he liked his feline form. His silky fur was a soft and shiny black now that it was dry. He took a moment to preen and bathe himself as well as he could while he was still sore.
His heart literally felt like it tripped over itself when Zhongli first looked down at him in the rain. And even when asleep, this man seemed just as breathtaking.
He sighed.
Hopefully it was just Zhongli's cologne that he was drawn to. But he knew he probably wasn't that lucky. After all, his rescuer's scent truly was familiar but why? Where had he sensed it before? It wasn't too strong and was just the right balance of spicy musk and the soft scent of a forest after it rains?
Then he swore silently, no. Honestly, he wanted more of that wonderful scent- and Zhongli's hands and lips all over him. Great. As if he needed anything else to go wrong. He was definitely about to go into heat soon. Fuck… he shook his head trying to clear it and sighed again.
Well, at least there was no way that Zhongli would be interested in him though. After all, Zhongli had already shown him so much kindness today. He didn't want to intrude and obviously the human already had a lover judging from the scent of the sheets. He sighed, Zhongli smelled so good.
But he couldn't even remember his own name! He shouldn't take any chances with getting too attached to this man. He was injured and it was probably because he was being actively hunted. He had no idea why he had awakened in such an unfamiliar place- especially in the middle of a trash heap. But getting too close to him would only turn out to be a headache for this kind human later.
He sighed and settled back into the towel to go back to sleep. He only had to be here for another two days. He could pretend to be a helpless stray cat for that long, right?