Min had genuinely not realised that he could actually discern a look of exhaustion from a fox's face when it had all its fur stripped off. He’d thought only zookeepers or similar professionals could do that. Now, however, Min must honestly admit: the expression of exhaustion isn't particularly affected by facial structure.
Over the past days, Xi P’s fur has begun to grow back somewhat, especially the fur on his head, which is nearly fully restored. But now, that newly grown fur has fallen out again. This left his already somewhat frightening, bald fox face looking even more terrifying, resembling the standard appearance of some kind of bio-engineered villain.
Although Min noticed Xi P's shedding issue resurfacing days ago, he never thought it was actually caused by an allergy to foxes. What exactly is he allergic to — the scent or the fur? Under normal circumstances, it seems only likely that the fur is the culprit....
If Xi P could read Min's thoughts, he would definitely reply in his mind: "I'm allergic to everything behind a fox's neck."
However, Min's attention soon shifts away from the fur. Xi P is doing something new that successfully grabs his attention: Xi P suddenly turns his head, takes two deep breaths from the side, and sneezes!
Min stares blankly for nearly two seconds before his face instantly turns paper-white. Snapping out of it, he immediately pinches his nose and dashes to the bathroom to scrub his face vigorously with soap. Though not directly sprayed, Min remains on edge. After washing, he puts on gloves and his newly purchased chemical-proof hood before daring to return.
Seeing Min's reaction to his sneeze, Xi P can't help but find it a little amusing. That response was a bit over the top... Well, considering alien bacteria and such, he can kind of understand that.
***
A minute later, Min reappears. His face deep in thought. He is starting to believe Xi P isn't faking it. Right now, Xi P genuinely looks like he is in poor physical condition. Besides, even if he can fake allergies, it doesn't seem plausible that he would make himself look this sick over disliking a silver fox.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
'Let's assume that for now. To solve this, I need to figure out exactly which part of that silver fox triggers Xi P's allergies. Xi P must know the answer, right?'
After hearing Min's question, Xi P suppresses a laugh and "truthfully" replies: "I don't know. Maybe, whole body?"
'This is troublesome,' Min thinks, 'Generally speaking, it should only be the fur of the silver fox causing the reaction. But that explanation seems absurd — why isn't he allergic to his own fur?'
'Ah, what am I thinking? I need to take this seriously. After all, fox fur isn't the same as his own. Not to mention I recall hearing somewhere about a dog allergic to its own fur, ha. Assuming fur is the culprit, the simplest solution would be a mask, but...'
He glances up at Xi P. As everyone knows, foxes and other canids have muzzles that protrude quite significantly forward. Xi P's is proportionally a bit shorter, but trying to fit a mask designed for humans? Don't even think about it... Not to mention how to secure it.
'Maybe I can do something on the silver fox's side? But that seems even less feasible. There's no way to stop the fur from flying everywhere unless I coat the silver fox in glue...'
"Did you bring any gas masks with you when you came here?" Min suddenly asks.
If Xi P's facial muscles are more developed, his expression right now will be utterly strained, maybe even twitching. Two "aliens" in chemical-protective suits discussing biohazard protocols on an alien planet? Classic.
"I am wearing one." Xi P replies.
"I mean something lighter, not covering the entire head."
Xi P is somewhat speechless. Since he has been preparing for survival in a completely different atmospheric environment from the outset, he cannot possibly claim that he hasn't brought such gear. In fact, he remembers packing two different sizes of respirator. He can't use the 'not a nasal allergy' excuse either; that would be utterly ridiculous. Ear canal allergy? Absurd. An allergy to fox fur or scent on the skin? That would be absurd to the extreme. What kind of skin allergy is that?
"Yes, I have one." Xi P answers resignedly, while rapidly formulating a counterargument.
"You could wear it."
"That thing, makes me hard to, no, I can't opening my mouth to speak. Even if I can, too inconvenient."
This excuse has some truth to it — some mask designs do genuinely block mouth movement. He could show Min one of those later.
Just as Min is about to retort 'What design can't open the mouth?', he abruptly clamps his mouth shut. Given the shape of Xi P's face, it would indeed be more difficult to make masks that allow them to open their mouths...
Seeing Min fall into deep thought, Xi P can't help but feel secretly delighted. If things continue to develop this smoothly, he won't have to see that tuefue-faced, beast-bodied monster around anymore. And then he can return to wonderful daily life on this alien planet...
