Erich fluffed and ruffled his feathers, shaking free the clinging damp from the long bath he’d indulged in. It had been a long time since he’d had the opportunity to bathe in Griffin’s form and it felt… good. Cleansing. His apartment didn’t have a bathroom large enough to accommodate his wings and his job kept him from the family manor, so the chance to wash both forms was… pleasing.

He ruefully eyed the water cast about the room and called up a touch of wind; Fox’s bathroom was large but certainly not designed to be drenched like this. A careful application of power let him push most of the water back where it belonged, and he made a mental note to be more careful next time.

A dry towel dealt with the last of the water, leaving the bathroom looking a lot less like… well, like a bird had decided to bathe there. Content with the cleaning he’d done, Erich ran a second towel over his hair and carefully dried the insides of his lion-ears to be safe. A last few swipes to dry his skin a bit more and—

Erich glowered at the sets of clothing he’d left folded by the sink. The golden set — Griffin’s set — was bound to his power so didn’t really need to be cleaned, he could just dissolve and recreate it, but… it didn’t feel the same.

(He’d… left his duffel with Fairy.)

(That was going to be a problem.)

He ruffled his wings and folded them tight against his back, wrapping the towel around his waist. He could at least return to the room he’d been given and… do what? Get dressed in his old clothes there?

An annoyed rumble built in his throat as he snatched up his dirty clothing and cracked the door open, making sure no one was in the hallway. Coast clear, he strode down the hall and snapped the door to his room closed behind him, tossing the dirty clothing aside and letting his wings spread out to fan the air.

(He’d gotten caught up in planning, wasn’t used to thinking of a soldier’s priorities while in Griffin’s form…!)

(Damn his distraction!)

Erich swallowed his annoyance and took a deep breath. Anger and self-recrimination did nothing for him or his situation. He’d just need to ask their help to get supplies, which meant he needed to put his clothes on—

His tail thumped against the door and his wings bristled at the thought, surprising a rough bark of laughter from his throat.

(Fastidious as any cat, his mother liked to say.)

(Sensible, his father always countered.)

He stalked towards the futon with a huff of frustration, tempted to just throw himself down and burrow under the covers to sleep until morning. He didn’t particularly feel like eating anyway—

There were clothes set beside the futon.

Erich tilted his head in curiosity and knelt to examine the stack. It looked to be a jinbei, dark green and close enough to his size that it wouldn’t be too awkward to wear. He lifted the top and blinked at the alterations made to the back, holes carefully cut and hemmed to allow him to wear it with his wings out.

That was… certainly more than he expected out of this partnership.

He hummed and set the top aside in order to pick up the piece below it, examining the pants thoughtfully. They’d also been modified for him, a hole cut and a bit of fabric added to allow his tail to fit without exposing him, which was… good. Because there wasn’t any underwear that he could see, and he wasn’t about to put his dirty pair back on so… commando it was.

It would be fine until he could get some actual clothing for himself.

Clothing, however, meant that he should get dressed and go eat something. Degurechaff had insisted he eat with her — and had made certain he got a portion more appropriate for a hero than a mage, despite being Erich at the time — but that had been… almost a day ago.

(Had it really been…?)

(And still he’d rather just sleep…)

Erich rose with a sigh and pulled the clothing on, pants first and then the top, tugging his wings through the holes and tying it closed as best he could. The whole thing was a bit too large for him, the top loose despite tying it as tight as he could and the pants hanging low on his hips, but it wasn’t indecent.

(Good enough.)

It was only when he slid the door open again that he realized he… didn’t actually know where he was supposed to go. Neither Fox nor Tsukabishi had shown him around and he hadn’t exactly asked—

A careful sniff at the air gave him a direction, and he followed the scent of food down the hallway and through a room and into another.

“Ah, Griffin-sa—” Fox’s words cut off with a cough, the man’s eyes widening as he stared up at Erich.

“Is there something wrong…?” Erich frowned as he approached the table and sank to sit on the cushion across from Fox, letting his wings splay out a bit as he did.

“J-just a bit surprised is all!” Fox said with forced cheer as the choking fit passed, then gulped down some tea and leaned forward to pour himself more. “A-ah… I just… hadn’t expected… uhm.” His gaze darted back to Erich, lingering on his chest for a moment before switching to his wings. “Isn’t it hard to bathe in that form?”

“Don’t you bathe as Fox?” Erich snapped, wings rustling with annoyance before he could tamp the reaction down. Still, he wasn’t fooled; Fox’s reaction seemed to have more to do with what he was wearing than with the fact he’d taken a bath as Griffin. Why the man had reacted like that, though…

“Aha… sorry. I didn’t mean to sound like that,” Fox responded with small grin, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. “I just… isn’t it difficult to deal with wings on your own?”

“Not when I’ve had them all my life,” Erich countered with an arched eyebrow, reaching out to pour himself some tea as well. He took a sip and suppressed a grimace; green tea was not his favorite, but he’d definitely drank worse in his lifetime. Like ersatz coffee.

(If he never had to taste that again he’d count it as a victory.)

Fox hummed, sweeping an assessing gaze across Erich as he took another sip of his tea. “Do you—”

Tsukabishi cleared his throat pointedly as he strode into the room carrying a tray, and the look he leveled at Fox was a mix of amusement and rebuke. “Dinner’s ready,” he said as he knelt to set the dishes out. “Please eat your fill.”

“Thank you.” Erich considered the dishes Tsukabishi had brought out while Fox helped himself, not bothering to memorize which ones Fox touched; he doubted the two would poison him, given that they’d already had several shots at taking him out while he was unconscious, so it didn’t matter which were potentially ‘safe’.

(Not when his stomach hurt whenever he ate.)

(There was a reason he didn’t eat as often or as much as he should…)

He settled on the noodle dish that Tsukabishi had made, serving himself a small portion and briefly fumbling with the chopsticks before he managed to remember how to hold the things. He didn’t often find himself needing to remember, given how many years it had been since his brief stint overseas to the Akitsushima Dominion. It was just easier to grab street food or eat at familiar cafes or at the dining hall.

Hopefully he could manage enough to keep his body running.

Hopefully…