Note: This light fanfic casually spoils Act 2 and 3 of the 2.3 event, "Shadows Amidst Snowstorms"
"So, who are you rooting for?" The silver-haired adventurer turned to his right and asked his fellow audience member, a fellow resident of his home region of Mondstadt.
"Both of them silly!" She cheerfully replied back at him before turning to face the object of what they were talking about.
In front of the two of them stood three more people that the boy knew quite well. Or at least, he felt like he did. On the left was a rather famous individual with his blonde hair wrapped up and contained within a long ponytail. Despite the fact that he was wearing a white scarf, Bennett knew it wasn't due to the cold climate of the mountain that they were currently occupying, even though that would make sense. Rather, it was just because…he always wore it.
This man was facing someone else, a taller woman with blue hair that perfectly complimented the snow and ice covering the ground. This "Spindrift Knight's" eyes and posture shone with the aura that spelled complete confidence, as she divided her attention equally between the two blondes before her. As for the third person standing in the middle of the previous two, it was the ever calm and mysterious Chief Alchemist, just listening and nodding along with what they were talking about.
Bennett looked to his left and saw a torch still burning bright throughout the cold. Of course, it wasn't really critical as both he and the girl beside him had Pyro Visions, so not only could they handle the cold better than most, but they also could relight the torch should it ever go out. Still, it was a relief that they wouldn't have to take their eyes off of the action that was about to occur.
"Albedo's coming this way!" Amber's voice perked up, bringing him back to the blonde walking towards them. In the background, there was Aether and Eula saying a few words to each other before walking the opposite way; Aether left, Eula right.
"I expect honesty and fairness from you both." He said as a greeting. That tone…it was neither insinuating anything nor condescending, he simply stated a fact. Amber's eyebrows lowered for half a second before vigorously nodding with an "Of course!", to which Bennett eagerly copied.
"Don't forget about Paimon!" From the direction of the torch, Aether's companion suddenly zoomed into view, clearly having just finished a talk with the boy in question. Unperturbed, Albedo looked directly at the strange floating creature before him.
"Ah, of course. Paimon, do you-"
"Yes, yes Paimon swears to be fair!" A grin appeared across her face while speaking. "Not like it matters! There's no way Eula can win!"
Bennett rolled his eyes while Amber began to object to the fairy's certainty. How did I end up in this situation again?
Oh yeah, right…
-0-
"Oh, I made this for you and Amber. Think of it as a winter souvenir."
"Are you sure Eula? This must be really important to you…"
"Come on now, just take it. There's no need to make such a fuss."
From across the table, Bennett saw Eula pull out some additional powered rime, just like what she gave to Joel. As Paimon was celebrating the fact that 'Now our snowman won't melt either!' the Spindrift Knight passed it to Amber. Aether should have been next, but something unexpected happened instead…
"Honorary Knight, how long have you been back in Mondstadt?"
The randomness of that question caught both said Honorary Knight and Paimon off-guard, causing them to just pause and look at each other for a moment. 'Maybe…four weeks or so?' was their eventual answer, and Amber agreed that it sounded about right. What was Eula getting at, wondered Bennett.
But he didn't have to wait for long. "Mm, that long and we only just got some free time to talk…If this is a regular occurrence, our earlier agreement can not be completed."
Now that drew everyone's attention to her, as if more even needed to exist. Bennett had no idea what on Teyvat they were talking about, as expected, but it was also evident to the unlucky adventurer that neither Paimon nor Amber knew what was going on either. How was it possible? Wasn't Paimon always with Aether at all times? Didn't Eula relay important things like this to the rest of the Knights, but especially with her friend?
Luckily for the whole cast and this situation in general, Aether knew what she was talking about, confusion being replaced with determination. "Ah…right. You want to do that now, I take it?"
If Eula was pleased by his response, she barely showed it. "Tomorrow. It would be preferable for us to relax after everything that has happened." Turning her body around to face Bennett, she finally addressed him. "We should aim for everyone that was on Dragonspine to judge us, no matter how…unlucky they are." The meaning was obvious; the Spindrift Knight wanted Bennett to come along for… some reason.
"I agree, and I actually wanted to speak with Albedo once more anyway, so this works out nicely." Aether affirmed. "It's settled then, we'll meet back here."
And now Eula let out a sound of approval to Bennett's ears. "Very well, Amber and I have some business to attend to now. See you tomorrow." With no further words, she walked off as a very confused Amber attempted to figure out just what anything meant.
The voices of the two girls faded into the background until eventually Bennett couldn't make them out. But before he could ask any questions, Aether did the exact same thing and abruptly left despite Paimon's protests. When Bennett tried to run him down, the blonde just smiled and said, "You heard her."
-0-
"Man…" he complained aloud. "Why did they have to be so sneaky?"
Amber giggled. "I think they had fun with hiding it from us."
A duel. That was what Aether had promised Eula just before he left for Inazuma, for completely unknown reasons to Bennett. The two had gathered him and Amber to watch the match, and Albedo to act as a referee of sorts. Despite the two competitors both being masters of the sword (as far as Bennett was concerned), they were using specially made weapons through the Chief Alchemist himself, perfectly simulating the weight while lowering risk of an accidentally dangerous slice thanks to the material. After everything that had happened at Dragonspine to the gang, safety came first and you could never be too careful. So after locating a fairly open space and camp in the northwestern portion of the mountain, the two Knights were given the all clear.
"Right. Eula, Aether, are you both ready?" Albedo calmly asked, receiving two quick nods in response. "Then…begin."
Bennett didn't even have time to wonder about who would make the first move, as Aether suddenly dashed forward to close the distance. Being a smaller body running on the snowy terrain, Bennett assumed that the Honorary Knight knew not to go in for a direct assault, and he was proven right…but not in the way he thought. Aether quickly raised his hand and summoned a construct that looked like a huge barrel. Before anybody could react, he jumped up on his creation, dashed off the side, and slammed his sword against Eula's weapon, which blocked her chest from the overhead swing. But with the assistance of gravity working with him, the force was so sharp that she was thrown backwards and had to dig in her heels to prevent losing balance.
"H-Hey! Isn't this supposed to be a fair fightl? Using only swords and all that?" Bennett objected to the ref.
"We had a preliminary discussion." Albedo responded. "As long as Aether doesn't use it as a direct attack, Eula agreed that it should be permitted."
"B-But…"
"It's alright Bennett." Amber spoke up. "She told me that she wants to be tested anyway."
"Speaking of that!" Paimon interjected. "Amber, you didn't reveal any of Aether's combat secrets did you?!"
She just laughed again. "Not telling~"
Paimon was going to argue further, Bennett knew, but attention was drawn back to the action. Eula was now engaging Aether in a vicious assault. The leader of an adventure team almost couldn't believe just how…effortless the Spindrift Knight made swinging around her claymore look. Although the swings were powerful, as proven by the snow being kicked up, they also contained an air of grace just like a dance… Unlike the attacker, Aether showed no interest in parrying the flurry of attacks and instead focused on dodging, probably due to the raw strength on display.
As a giant horizontal cleave missed Aether barely, Bennett knew what the correct counter would be. A strong, quick thrust would leave Eula on her back foot and open for a follow-up attack…and sure enough, Aether did exactly that. Except…the motion came slow…too slow…it allowed Eula to draw back the sword's hilt just enough to clank off the stab and redirect it harmlessly off to the side.
"That was wrong…" Bennett whispered, while still loud enough for Amber and Paimon to listen, interrupting their whistles of approval. "Aether should've drawn the force of that attack from his heel, not his toes…it would've come out faster."
"W-well maybe he just learned his moves differently than you!" Paimon naturally defended.
He shrugged and attempted to hide his doubt. "A-ah, of course, he comes from another world like Fischl. I forgot about that." Now Bennett would never assume he knew better than anyone, Aether especially…but he also knew his way around a sword. How to handle it, the right stance to take, etc. After all, it was one of the few things he had going for him, and the knowledge had saved him from his putrid luck on more than a few occasions.
The battle didn't wait for their audience to catch up however. Following the parry, Eula tried a quick diagonal slice, but Aether hit the snowy terrain with a roll to get out of harm's way. Shaking off the accumulated snow with a tiny spin, the Honorary Knight side-eyed his opponent before gripping his blade a doing his double-slash that Bennett had seen numerous times. Unfortunately, due to him being right-handed, Aether had to extend himself just to make contact, a light impact that was easily caught by Eula's greatsword.
By this point, Bennett had ditched the torch-lit area and moved further north in order to get a better view of the action. The two knights stood locked in a bind, with Aether attempting to fight both Eula and gravity by pushing up. Why was he being put in these positions…? He could only assume that sudden strikes using your limbs was prohibited, because Aether's twisted body left him wide open to a kick in the legs and subsequent defeat.
With a strained grunt, Aether applied so much pressure to his blade that there was genuine concern the creation would snap from its' base. But it clearly was enough to provide a slim opening needed to escape his captor. Before she could react, he leapt backwards and summoned another Geo construct in between the two of them, first one having long since disappeared.
If there was any thought that the same thing was about to happen as earlier, Eula had other plans. Sensing an opportunity, she spun around, lunged forward, and completely chopped the obstacle in half. Bennett couldn't help himself; he whistled at her impressive move. Incredible…does Aether really have a chance?
However, when he went to look at the Honorary Knight's face from a distance…it looked happy. Excited even…and there was something in the air that told him Eula felt the exact same way.
Maybe he was still in disbelief though, as he corrected himself upon seeing Aether miss another quick attack.
-0-
"Stop." Demanded Albedo, leaving both Knights to pause and look at him. "This duel is over, we should be getting back to Mondstadt now." After a moment of silence, both Aether and Eula nodded at each other and returned back to a non-combative stance. It was clear that both of them were largely satisfied with how things played out, as they started chatting about their strikes they had just used…through some heavy breathing of course. They HAD gone at it for quite a while, using every attack in the book, and even some more then.
Not that Bennett or the others heard the two at all due to Albedo talking to them a moment later. "So, what were your impressions? Who do you think had a stronger performance Bennett?"
"Eh? M-Me?"
"Do you see any other Bennetts here?"
Groaning, he looked at his fellow "judges", Amber and Paimon, looking for some way to buy time, but there was none to be gained. Maybe Albedo assumes that Paimon will say Aether and Amber for Eula. Which would make me a tiebreaker…
He thought hard about what he had just witnessed. Both of them are incredible fighters, I certainly would have no chance if I tried to participate Aether can strike incredibly fast and since his elemental powers are a huge mystery, he's truly unpredictable…As for Eula, her raw strength is awesome yet she's very precise too, if you left your guard down for even a second, it feels like you would instantly lose. I could say either one, but…
Aether's movements at some points, they were wrong. I'm sure of it! Did he think nobody would notice or was it just a series of mistakes? The snowy terrain does make movement more difficult than normal, but… ugh, there's just something weird here-
"Bennett?" Albedo's voice reached his ears again.
"Oh right, sorry. Um, better fighter…I would have to say Eu-"
"And what are you all still sitting around here for?" Speak of the devil, the Spindrift Knight had moved over to the party of four, with Aether right behind her.
"Eula! We're just giving our thoughts on who was tougher between you two!" Paimon said back.
She scoffed. "How ridiculous. Our bout was not about determining who had the superior strength."
"Oh?" Albedo mused. "So then what was it about?"
Clearly she was expecting somebody to ask that question, for she shot back instantly. "That remains a secret between me and the Honorary Knight."
"Not even with me?" Amber poked.
"Correct." Eula reaffirmed- before flashing a grin that suggested to Bennett the last statement may not be a complete truth. "Now, let us leave this mountain before the night arrives."
No arguments from anyone came out, they were all sick of the cold.
-0-
"Finally, back home…." Bennett sighed. Even though their trip today had been much more normal than actually climbing Dragonspine for the Adventurer's Guild, he was still beat. Behind him, both Albedo and Eula bid the remaining group farewell, as the alchemist was off to find Sucrose and Timeaus. As for the blue-haired knight, she felt it was important to tell Jean about everything that had happened the last few days. After a quick thank you to Aether for agreeing to fight her in the first place, she took her leave.
Just the four of them remained: Aether, Paimon, Amber, and Bennett. Normally the last person would've excused himself too, but the earlier strange actions were still playing on his mind.
Of course, the trio was plenty aware of his presence as the blonde called out to him. "Bennett, thanks for coming. I know that it couldn't have been the most enjoyable trip, especially considering what just went down there."
"Aw, no problem~" The adventurer titled back his head and rubbed it, grinning all the way.
"I hope it wasn't too boring for you?"
"Not at all! You were amazing Aether!" By instinct, Bennett had accidentally complimented him, like he was always planning on doing just that before he had noticed all the weird moves he had made in the duel. But as his smile went away, he quickly corrected himself with a series of stammers to attract the Honorary Knight's (as well as Amber's and Paimon's) attention once more.
"What's up?" came the question. For a moment, Bennett contemplated if this was even worth asking about. It's not like he would be affected by whatever Aether responded with. But he also knew the adventuring blood within him wouldn't let him rest without getting a proper answer.
He tried to put on a face of seriousness, to…moderate success. "Well, it's just- it's not much, but- there were some points in the duel…where it feels like you…um, didn't take advantage? Or at least, according to the training I got from the Knights!"
"Not this again!" Paimon shrugged and held both arms outstretched. "Paimon already told you Bennett, it's probably because Aether learned how to fight from a completely different place."
And just like every time Bennett had heard Paimon give that explanation, he remained unconvinced. But this time Aether was listening too, there was something about his face that told the silver-haired boy it was time to push for an answer. So with the shake of his head, Bennett continued.
"But the moves he was using…those are pretty standard attacks. I made many of the same missteps when I was training, the instructors got so mad at me more times than I can remember…it just doesn't seem like something you would mess up Aether."
Gaining more confidence, a horrible thought suddenly struck Bennett. Wait…wasn't this familiar? Someone that has the appearance of another, yet lacks the ability for a perfect copy. It had just happened with Albedo, with only the mark on the Chief Alchemist's neck telling who was who. And given that Aether didn't have any similar marks that Bennett had seen, the difference might come down to sword skill this time…!
"You're another whopperflower, not Aether!" He boldly claimed.
"….WHAT?!" Unsurprisingly, Paimon shouted that in disbelief, but Bennett noticed that Aether did the same, albeit quieter and promptly drowned out by his companion. Even Amber's eyes widened when she heard his sudden declaration. But despite the reaction of the trio, none of them made any move to leave the area.
Um…would an imposter stick around after someone shouted at them…?
After checking the area surrounding them to make sure no one was coming thanks to Paimon's shriek, Aether confessed quickly. "Bennett, I'm the real deal! The truth is that I was holding back! That's it!"
"H-Huh? Holding…back?" Bennett looked at his hand that had drawn a sword, without him meaning to. It was then he realized how this must look to a bystander, weapon out against the Honorary Knight, his companion, and the Outrider of the Knights of Favonius. Instantly the truth came to him: He was wrong.
With no way to save the situation, he could do nothing but feebly attempt to play it off…before reminding himself that doing that would be pointless and apologizing profusely. Now truthfully, there was still a part of the adventurer's mind that remained unconvinced, but the fact that neither Amber nor Paimon expressed even a hint of belief in his claim told him to just admit defeat.
"Its not your fault." Aether repeated after the 20th round of apologies. "I never thought about it, but I can see how my actions were similar to what we saw with Albedo's fake."
Bennett separated his praying hands and looked up, relief drawn across his face at the Honorary Knight's understanding. Now that that little thing was behind them, he could ask the important follow-up. "So, what did you mean by 'holding back'? Why would you do that anyway?"
"Well…" Aether looked pensive. "I'll start with this. How much do you know about what's going on in Inazuma?"
"N-Not much, just bits and pieces when you left." he stammered out, to Aether's lack of surprise. After all, Bennett's home was in Mondstadt and not many people, even the citizens living on the island region knew the extent of what the Raiden Shogun did or the civil war that broke out.
"Then I'll say this: Overall, it wasn't a very safe trip. I had to fight all sorts of monsters, all sorts of people, creatures that would be brand new if they showed up here. And…" He closed his eyes and looked rather…sad? Bennett couldn't be certain. "There was even some danger that I never saw coming…"
Paimon understood what, or who it was that he was talking about of course. That foolish Inazuman soldier…
"A-Aether?"
The Honorary Knight looked up slowly. "Bennett. Eula is incredibly strong, on par with Jean and Diluc from what I've seen them all do. I will never argue against that and I'm certainly not going to downplay her…but she's still a person, like you or Razor or Albe- Fischl." Seeking to gloss right over that mistake, "And people can only get so strong without some help from…external means…" Now thinking of Delusions and the various transformations he'd encountered made him grimace before looking at his friend right in the eye. "And I've had to be stronger than all of that."
Aether was expecting him to react with more questions about just what he meant, or perhaps about what Inazuma was like in more detail. He was not expecting Bennett to hang his head and sigh, but that's exactly what happened.
"Bennett, you okay?" Amber called out after seeing this reaction as well.
"It's just…I never thought I was at your level Aether, of course not. But I'm really seeing just how big of a gap there is between us…I'm not close to Eula's strength either, and now you're telling me that you were holding back today. Makes you feel small, in a way."
"I-I'm sorry…that was never my intention." Seeking to cheer him up a bit, he added. "Well I'm not a machine, so there were definitely some points where I had to give it my all-"
But to his surprise, Bennett returned a look of seriousness at an unprepared Aether. "No, it's fine! Just because I'm weaker, or have bad luck, or have a curse on me, doesn't mean I'm useless! It's just like Albedo said, I can help Mondstadt by returning the kindness I've been given and assisting others!"
The way he near-instantaneously got his spirit back, Aether and Paimon couldn't help but snicker. "You are really one-of-a-kind, aren't ya?" the fairy chirped enthusiastically. But Bennett wasn't done with the surprises, as he suddenly took Aether's hand in both of his.
"Of course I'm not giving up on my dreams of being an amazing adventurer either! So keep exploring, keep getting stronger, and tell me about all your amazing journeys. That way I can be ready for anything when it's my turn!"
A moment passed before the boy realized just what he was doing, as he embarrassingly released his grip and looked away. Meanwhile Aether blinked…but then Paimon gave a tap on his arm, which he nodded at her gesture and extended.
"It's a promise, I look forward to hearing about your adventures too. Think of me as an "honorary" member of the Benny's Adventure Team!"
Bennett took his hand in earnest. "Thanks!"
-0-
After saying goodbye, the trio of Paimon, Amber, and Aether found themselves alone, just walking around Mondstadt with nothing else to do. After the extended trip in Dragonspine, none of them were in any hurry for the day to end.
"Man…to think that Bennett found me out too…" Aether laughed out loud. "He's smarter than he gives himself credit for, that's for sure. On the flip side…" The Honorary Knight looked at Paimon amusingly.
"H-Hey! What's that for?!"
"Of all people Paimon, how is it that you were the only one completely oblivious? You've seen my style since the beginning, if anybody could tell the differences in what I did, I really thought it would be you."
"Don't blame Paimon! Between the cold, Bennett whispering, Amber shouting, and Eula going all out, Paimon was distracted!"
Unconvinced, Aether mused aloud. "Uh….huh…."
"Mmm…why Paimon outta-"
"Alright that's enough you two." Amber said with just enough edge in her voice for the two of them to get the memo. After Aether apologized to the fairy for keeping her in the dark about all this, she added in with one of her own, saying: "I'm sorry too Paimon, I did suggest telling you, but he wanted as few people to know as possible."
"She's right." Aether confirmed. "I didn't even want to mention it to anyone at all, but I thought Amber might notice something and give Eula a feeling. Both of you were there for the Herald after all, you know that I can fight better than that."
Paimon crossed her arms for a minute longer before innocently smiling again. "Ok, ok, Paimon admits that it was important to look authentic! And hey, the fact that you needed to fake Paimon out like that PROVES just how close we are! But…" Aether knew what was coming, he rolled his eyes and smirked. "A Sticky Honey Roast is required to make up for the deceit! It's been too long since it was just the three of us~"
"If four weeks is too long, then I agree." Aether stood up. "But ok, I'll get to cooking now…three Sticky Honey Roasts coming right up." Whistling a tune he had learned in Inazuma, the Honorary Knight went to ask Sara about borrowing the stove at Good Hunter. Meanwhile the Outrider just peacefully closed her eyes and took in the night view.
"I can't believe it's been nearly a month…time flies."
"Yup, Paimon knows what you mean! We really missed Mondstadt! And of course…" She did a quick double take to make sure Aether wouldn't overhear before speaking low. "He missed you especially Amber."
The archer couldn't stop her face from beaming, even she went a bit pink. Paimon didn't understand why this would happen, and promptly spoke up. "H-Hey, should you really be getting embarrassed from that?! Geez, you know Paimon was there for everything right?!"
"O-oh, sorry Paimon! I'm fine, it was nothing…" she trailed off and forced her body to cool it. Hearing the amount of time it had been since Aether had returned from Inazuma got her remembering the day that they had reunited. Obviously Paimon was there for the beginning as well, but not necessarily for the whole time.
To think it began with Barbatos talking the morning off…
Man, this event was really great~ Finally, I got an excuse to write for Bennett too.
