Chapter Thirty-Four

Diluc coughed and shook his head slowly, trying to clear the fog from his mind. He lay on his stomach, one hand free to steady himself slightly. Something was pinning him to the ground, sand and grit pressed against the front of his light linen shirt. His vision slowly returned as Nahida's voice faded in his mind, just in time to see a pair of tall boots walking towards him. Instinctively he jerked away, but a flat voice stopped him.

"Calm down. It's me, Alhaitham." Diluc's eyes flicked up to meet Alhaitham's as the platinum-haired man knelt beside him. "I'll have you out of there soon."

Diluc watched him warily, taking stock of his well-being. "Were you caught in the cave-in?"

Alhaitham shook his head, carefully touching the root that lay draped across Diluc's lower back. "No. I was far enough away that I was only knocked down. I'm not sure what triggered the collapse, but it seems to have completely cut off the tunnel here."

Diluc took as deep a breath as he could. "The ceiling collapsed in the center of the cavern. Nahida and Kaeya are on the other side, but Kaeya's been badly injured." Worry chased fear through Diluc's expression. His fingers flexed, aching to fly to his brother's side. Alhaitham tested a few more places on the root before picking one and setting his shoulder against it. Throwing his weight against the obstruction, he managed to shift it up enough that Diluc could scramble free. He slipped, but pushed quickly to his feet, dusting the sand off his torso. Pain shot through his ribs, but he disregarded it, jumping forward to catch the other side of the root and help Alhaitham lower it to the ground. The Scribe swiped sand off the palms of his hands, distaste written on his face. Then he glanced up.

"Is Nahida safe?"

"As far as I can tell, yes." Diluc straightened, breathing a little hard after his exertion. "She spoke into my mind somehow, and she seemed to be unharmed. Kaeya protected her."

Alhaitham's eyes narrowed as he scanned his companion. "You're injured too," he stated with finality. "We should take the time to assess your wounds properly and apply the appropriate medical care."

"It's nothing," Diluc returned sharply. "You don't understand. Kaeya has a shield that activates only when his health drops to dangerous levels. It activated during the cave-in, and it's probably the only reason the two of them are still breathing. But we have to get to them immediately. If they're attacked while Kaeya is so weak…" His gloved hands clenched, his jaw locking with determination.

"Very well." Alhaitham's gaze softened slightly. "Now that you've fully explained the situation, I do understand the need for haste. Follow me. The runes I was translating happen to mention another passageway nearby that should link up with the one that Kaeya and Nahida are currently occupying."

Diluc nodded. "Lead the way." He waited until Alhaitham started moving before following. It was easier to hide the pain that way.

oOo

Alhaitham led his companion back down the tunnel, eyes flicking back and forth in search of the mentioned passage. He periodically tapped his modified Akasha Terminal, triggering a temporary visual distortion known as Elemental Sight. It helped him map out his surroundings a bit better.

Warning: Low HP detected.

The words flashed across the top of the visual interface provided by the Akasha Terminal, catching his attention. He looked back at Diluc. "How badly are you really injured?"

Stubbornly the tall redhead met his eyes, letting his arm fall from where it was wrapped tightly around his ribs. "Not as badly as Kaeya."

"Hm." Alhaitham kept walking, but opened his inventory and pulled out some food. "Here. Eat this while we walk." He tossed the package back, and Diluc only just caught it. Alhaitham noticed the way he flinched at the sharp movement, but chose to ignore it. He knows better than to push beyond his limits. A dead teammate can't help a wounded one.

"Oof! What in Teyvat? Who puts that sort of trap in a doorbell?!" An outraged voice echoed slightly down the tunnel. Alhaitham stopped short in disbelief.

Rounding the corner, he pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose and sighed loudly. "I should've guessed you were at the bottom of all this, Kaveh."

The slim blonde Kshahrewar scholar blinked at him from the side tunnel, his mouth falling open in horrified shock. "Alhaitham!? What are you doing here?!" His indignation rose and he added, "You said you were going to help out Miss Lumine! I asked you to come with me to investigate these ruins! Were you just lying to get out of it?!"

Just then Diluc came around the bend in the tunnel, his greatsword held loosely in his gloved hands. His dark crimson eyes flashed as he scanned Kaveh. "Who are you?"

Kaveh threw his hands up, exasperated. "Oh great, when did you start hiring intimidating bodyguards, Alhaitham?! I'm Kaveh, a scholar at the Akademiya." He crossed his arms and shot a look at Alhaitham. "He can vouch for me."

Alhaitham eyed him for a moment, then nodded reluctantly. "It's true. He's… an acquaintance of mine."

The blazing sword slipped easily from Diluc's hands and reappeared at his back at he straightened. "Very well." Subtly his hand rose to press against his side, a flash of pain crossing his face.

Surprisingly Kaveh caught the expression and took a hasty step forward. "You're hurt!"

Diluc waved his hand dismissively. "It's nothing." His keen eyes darted over the door behind Kaveh. "Is this the tunnel you mentioned, Alhaitham?"

The Scribe scanned the entrance carefully. "It appears to be so." He met his colleague's eyes. "Did you trigger that cave-in?"

Kaveh scoffed. "Yes, but I had no idea that pressing the doorbell would cause such a mess!"

"You pressed the doorbell. Of an ancient door found in an underground ruin in the desert," Alhaitham deadpanned.

The blonde flushed. "What? It was there, and it seemed like the polite thing to do!"

"Polite? You feel the need to be polite to a door?" Alhaitham asked flatly.

Kaveh glared at him.

Diluc cleared his throat. "Excuse me. Two of our companions were cut off from us by that cave-in, and I know that at least one of them is badly injured. We don't have time for bickering."

"Oh! Of course! Well, lucky for you, it seems there was only the one trap placed on this door. It's unlocked now, we can probably go through." Kaveh whirled around and tapped at the door, activating the mechanism that dragged the heavy stone slab up and out of their way. "I'll come with you. I learned a little bit of healing skills during my coursework at the Akademiya, so I might be able to help your friends."

Alhaitham sighed again. "Luck has nothing to do with it. However, between the cave-in that you triggered and the fact that we're now stuck traveling with you, I have to admit that you're doing your level best to prove me wrong."

Indignantly Kaveh wrinkled his nose at the Scribe and planted his hands on his hips. As he opened his mouth to reply, Diluc stormed past him and into the dark tunnel. "Come on. We need to find Kaeya and Nahida."

The Kshahrewar architect's mouth dropped open again. "Nahida?! As in… our archon Nahida?!"

Alhaitham brushed past him. "Yes, your cave-in nearly flattened the leader of our nation. Well done, Kaveh."

He was rewarded by Kaveh's sputtering as the tall blonde quickly caught up with him. "I- Is she the injured one? Did I hurt her?! I… I hurt a child!"

Sighing, Alhaitham relented and put a hand on Kaveh's arm. "Relax, she's not even scratched from what I've heard. Diluc's brother protected her."

Kaveh looked only marginally reassured. "But still! My foolishness has seriously hurt someone! I… I'm so sorry!"

"Calm down." Alhaitham tugged him to a halt. "We'll find them, get Kaeya patched up, and it will be fine."

His erstwhile friend met his eyes with pain in his own golden-red depths. "But…"

Alhaitham infused his voice with confidence and a bit of sarcasm. "Stop feeling sorry for yourself. All you need to do is help us reach them and heal Diluc's brother. Standing around apologizing is doing no one any good." Sometimes the only way to snap him out of his emotional daze is to just state the facts as harshly as I can.

True to form, Kaveh jolted back. "You're right! I should be helping instead of acting like a child!" He ran forward to catch up with Diluc, his soft moccasin-like shoes barely making a whisper of sound against the smooth paving. "Take the next left! From what I can tell of the structural makeup of these tunnels, that one should lead us there faster!"

Alhaitham smiled slightly at Kaveh's renewed energy. Works every time.