Note: As of 03 January 2020, this story has been rewritten from start to finish! The story itself is incomplete, but everything has been updated to match my current writing style.

That being said, also know that this is canon divergent in the sense that instead of magical, unending wormholes on Lilith's part, her power is limited, and so the Fates cast is more similar to the Awakening situation in which the war is a campaign and they have to travel from place to place to get by. Also, I mostly went by JPN localization, although I tried to mix the ENG personality and mannerisms within the characters, as well.

Appeasement

n. the act of bringing something to its state of satisfaction or peace

There were few things that pleased Nishiki as much as his appearance. He was egoistic in that regard of self-care and grooming, and he loved showing himself off whenever he could. Yet he was allowed to be so arrogant, especially if no one else was. Similarly to how a butterfly soars in the air without thought, but is still forgiven because of its beautiful appearance—or how a flower remains stagnant and ephemeral, but treated so highly because of its beauty—Nishiki was forgiven for his prideful sins.

Unlike flowers or butterflies, however, Nishiki had movement and purpose. His heart, despite its vanity, was large and kind. None of which could be said about those springtime beings, the ones that felt nothing at all but the splendor of the earth around them. Although they tasted bad—sometimes poisonous, sometimes upsetting—which contradicted what their beautiful appearances implied.

Nishiki was nothing like them, because his danger wasn't just a hidden quality. It was an apparent thing about him, as clear and noticeable as the clouds in the summer sky. He was a grand example of something that could be beautiful and deadly, and there was nothing he loved more about himself than that.

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Flannel was pleased by many things. He was the easily amused type, and not one to be so picky with things, save for the fact that his tastes differed greatly from any other person around him. A bird's corpse, a broken glass bottle, and discarded orange peels were more likely to be treasures to him, instead of jewelry, money, or things of actual human value. Objects like those disinterested Flannel greatly, and almost appalled him.

He was like a child when it came to finding garbage or objects of the macabre. He oohed and aahed at them the same way someone would admire fireworks, even if they were far less radiant. The leftover steak from last night's dinner and a hollow shell of a black beetle should not have been things that interested anyone, but Flannel regarded them as trophies of some sort, and kept them in his room in the same way that someone would keep a medal.

Flowers and butterflies also proved to be decent trophies, although each time Flannel wanted to eat a moth, Nishiki was there to discourage him from doing so. It wasn't because Flannel was a pushover, but because Nishiki's face scrunched up everytime he acted out this way—like he was remembering a gross nightmare, instead—and that alone would convince the wolf to go against it.

Yet nothing brought him more satisfaction than liking the things that others detested, even if the butterflies were so, so pretty.

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"I can't believe you let humans pet you like that," Flannel muttered. "Like you're some sort of meat, but, like, not the kind of meat that people eat. Petting meat, y'know?"

"I don't think humans pet meat," Nishiki insisted. "But I know what you mean. I think it's nice, actually! They also help to straighten out my hair, and it feels really good, so it's like a win-win!"

"Ha," Flannel snorted. "Ha, ha. I almost pity you, Nishiki. I hate it when I'm treated like their pet."

"Really?" Nishiki's eyes, sepia colored and long-lashed, shone mischievously. "Is that why your tail wags when people scratch your ears? Didn't Sakura and Elise pet your fur the other day? You looked pretty happy then."

"N-No, I didn't! And also, my tail does not wag on purpose. I-It's a reflex!"

Nishiki smiled, craning his brows in a questioning sort of way. "Oh? So if I decided to do this, for example..."

Before Flannel could protest, he felt Nishiki's hand gently run itself through his hair. His fingers were warm, soft, and impeccably clean as each stroke was like a fresh breeze of air weaving itself through Flannel's unruly fur. The motions weren't new in their entirety, but were strikingly familiar—like the fox had done this countless times before.

The wolf was almost inclined to bend underneath his palm, and make a noise full of content, before he remembered the point that Nishiki was trying to make. His tail wagged at an embarrassingly fast pace, reminding him that maybe he wasn't as good at hiding his feelings as he thought he was. Feeling the warmth pool in his face, Flannel slapped away Nishiki's gentle hand before he got carried away with himself.

"Stop that," he admonished. "It's weird."

"You didn't seem to think so, not with the way that you were about to purr! Or whatever noise wolves make," Nishiki teased. "It's nice, right? That's why I love it when people pet my fur. You can pet mine, if you like."

For a moment, Flannel's crimson red eyes flickered with the thought of it: the thought of appeasing Nishiki with such useless but harmless petting. If he did that, then maybe he would see why everyone raged over the youko's fur, and he could feel for himself how soft it was. It would be so easy, too. All he had to do was reach over, curl his fingers into the silken strands of hair, and—

Flannel restrained himself before he could actually do anything. Then his face contorted into some disgusted expression, although it wasn't as bad as he made it seem. "No way," he protested. "I'm not gonna treat you like a pup."

"Suit yourself," Nishiki said. He looked content as he wrapped his tail around himself, pressing the fine fur up to his face, none of which hid the happiness in his smile. "I'm fine either way."

Flannel laughed dryly. "Of course you are. Well, if you'll excuse me, I've got some not-getting-petted to do."

"Have fun!"

Normally, he would reply with something witty or grating, but Flannel felt unenthused at the thought of being cruel to Nishiki. He was such a nice guy, after all, that it would be rather mean-spirited to make fun of him when he clearly had no intention of being rude to Flannel. So instead, he waved him farewell, and smiled happily at his new prospects.

"I will."