Genshin Impact Infection AU

Chapter Two, Part Five

The wind flew against Amber's hair as she raced through Wolvendom, jumping in between the gnarled trees and over cracked boulders. She had her goggles on, her windglider ready when need be. Although it was a beautifully warm day, her entire body was covered, besides her face. With the disease running around, she didn't want to take chances. Seeing as she was a clumsy girl, often falling and obtaining bruises and scratches, it would be easy to contract the disease that way. She couldn't become the best outrider if that were to happen. Therefore, unlike most citizens of Mondstadt, she covered up and kept herself clean, especially after making her rounds in the wild.

Jean advised against continuing her outrider activities, but Amber insisted discontinuing it could risk Mondstadt's safety. Without anyone patrolling the outside, animals and possibly hillichurls could be spreading the disease, creating an army without the city knowing. It also continues to serve its purpose of keeping monsters and scammers away, as well as helping lost travelers. Jean, as well as many Knights, are paranoid of newcomers, so a policy has been placed where only sellers and traders can enter. The news must've spread fast, because less people are on the roads throughout Mondstadt. All of the hillichurls are acting fine, keeping their distance as they should. She also hasn't run into a single sick animal. It made Amber's job all the more easier, but also more boring.

Today, she was doing a special commission. While visiting Jean a few days ago, she ran into Klee and watched over the child for a short while since Jean was so busy. As she played, Klee asked if she could check up on Razor while out patrolling. She said she missed her friend very much, but due to the lockdown, couldn't see him. Amber promised to check up on Razor when she had time in her schedule. Seeing how there weren't any issues at hand, and it was a nice day, Amber took the time to travel to Wolvendom and search for the wolf boy. With the sun shining brightly in the middle of the sky, she knew she had plenty of time.

Circling around the abandoned well, she scanned every inch in front of her, listening closely. Birds chirped overhead, the rushing wind overcame any silence, and in the distance, wolves howled. But she didn't want to get close to the howling. Razor knew who she was, and she knew he wasn't the type to be aggressive toward people, but she couldn't say the same about the pack he ran with. She knew better than to take the risk and hope he was there. Instead, she'll linger around and hope she comes across him by chance. Her bow and arrows are one move away from being drawn, in case of an emergency.

She moved deeper into the forest, the howling increasing. While she wanted to avoid running into the pack, she couldn't seem to avoid it, as the wolves appeared to her right, left, and up ahead. With this many wolves, Razor was definitely among them. She just didn't know which group.

Once the howling got so intense it blocked out the wind, she climbed up and hid into a tree. Behind her was the side of a mountain, in front of her a hidden dirt trail that looked like it was used by deer more than humans. A couple small lamp grass heads and wolfberry patches scattered the area below her, but mostly tall grass and bushes donned the forest floor. Here she waited for some time, watching, listening, waiting for Razor to run by. It was fine. She wasn't in a hurry.

After some time, her moment finally came. A couple large gray wolves sprinted by, sniffing the ground as they went. One teetered off and began investigating the area Amber walked, its nose digging deep into the ground. Behind the animals was Razor, struggling to keep up on all fours. When he was directly in front of her, she shouted his name. Both he and the wolf turned their heads toward her, and slowly, she began her descent down the tree.

The wolf growled, tail raised, its unblinking yellow eyes staring her down. Razor, his forehead shining with sweat, looked at her in confusion. Amber took off her goggles and walked up to him, keeping the wolf in mind. While it was obvious the wolf didn't trust her, it made no moves to attack. Still, she knew better than to give it headpats.