With the grape juice finished, I was happy to sit between Diluc and Thoma as I recharged my energy—simply existing in the warm atmosphere. A towel now sat on my lap after Thoma had given me one to dry off the damp ends of my hair that finally defrosted. Luckily, there was no need for any of the bandages. Thoma had lit an oil lamp just as the final rays of sun disappeared in the twilight, and both he and Diluc took up a book to read. I was so cozy that sleep was beginning to pull at me, but I restrained my eyelids from drooping and my head from nodding. I wanted to stay awake and be like this for a bit longer.

"Lumi!" I heard Childe yell from where I sat in the outpost hut. "Take a look at this."

My head picked up at his call—I was nodding off after all—with instant intrigue. I had expected Childe or Kaeya to stop by the outpost hut at least once by now, but they hadn't. Before, I would have been worried that a fight would break out between them after spending so much time together. I subtly peeked at Thoma and Diluc with a small smile. In many ways, things were different.

I supposed it was finally time to see what they were up to.

Moving the towel from my lap, I stretched a bit before readying myself to stand. At the same time, Diluc snapped his book shut with a heavy sigh. A frown of annoyance pinched his face, and I could guess he wasn't happy about the interruption.

"What do you think it could be?" I asked.

Diluc stood and readjusted his gloves. "Probably something mindless."

While that was a possibility, I didn't let the wonder stick around for long. Diluc and I exited the outpost hut, and I noticed the light from within dim as Thoma put out the lamp. Outside, the moonlight shone bright enough to illuminate the hilichurl camp, and I saw Childe waving us over with Kaeya standing by the two watchtowers.

I jogged over and scanned the area. There was nothing out of the ordinary.

"Are you feeling better?" Childe asked.

"Yeah, we drank grape juice in the hut. There's not much left, but you can still have some of the Sunsettia juice or water. Thoma has it all."

Kaeya snorted. "I can't believe people actually drink grape juice. If you had a little more patience, you would find that it ferments into the most exquisite wine."

"We can't all have an unhealthy relationship with alcohol," Diluc said as he approached. "Now then, what is it that you have to show us?"

Childe pointedly ignored him and turned to me instead. "An idea hit me when I was watching you and Alberich out there. Remember when you swirled together those Cryo particles and used his own element against him? I was thinking I could try doing the same, but with my melee stance."

"The hydro weaponry?" My eyebrows rose. "I saw you using them in the Signora confrontation, but I don't remember much."

"I don't mind showing off a second time," Childe winked. "I've been working with Kaeya here on a freeze situation. We figured out the right timing to freeze a sharp edge of Cryo onto my Hydro blades, making them even more deadly than their regular state. We were going to test it out on one of these watchtowers."

"He's using me as a tool," Kaeya sighed. "Lumine, won't you put an end to the wrongful use of my energy?"

I clapped my hands in excitement. "Are you going to knock both of them down? Who wants to bet it takes you more than one hit?"

"I do," Diluc said.

Childe's jaw fell open. "Hey, where's the confidence?"

"Less talking, more showing," I grinned. "A charged attack doesn't count, by the way."

Childe wordlessly rolled his eyes before adjusting his stance, snapping his hands out to the side with closed fists that suddenly held two blades made of Hydro. I was impressed, but I couldn't let him see that just yet—not when Childe hadn't even done anything. It amazed me how he was able to create Hydro blades with no base weapon, not even replicating the bow he normally used.

With a heavy sigh, Kaeya walked over and leaned down to pick up the purple sword resting at the base of a watchtower. After examining both sides of the blade, he held it in front of Childe.

"Are you ready?" Kaeya asked.

Childe nodded. "Don't mess this up."

Kaya barked out a laugh. "You stole my line. Lumine, don't take your eyes off of me—not that you have trouble with that."

Childe advanced forward before Kaeya could get in another comment. I kept my eyes trained on the space between Childe and the watchtower. Kaeya stood in the middle, and just as Childe swung, Kaeya lunged forward with his elemental skill. The Cryo shot out at Childe—at his weapons—just before they made contact with the watchtower. In that split second, I saw the deep blue of Hydro crystalize at the edge into pure Cryo that twinkled in the moonlight.

Crack.

The base of the tower splintered on impact, and tiny fractures continued to spiderweb across the entire structure. Pieces slowly fell off before the watchtower collapsed in one go. I stepped back, waving my hand in the air and trying not to cough on the plume of debris that hung in the air.

"One strike!" Childe whooped and turned to me. "How about that, girlie? Against all odds."

"Diluc was the only odd," I reminded him. "Besides, no actual bets were placed. I knew you would get it."

"Really?" Childe's grin widened before he cleared his throat. "I mean, of course. It's natural to expect greatness from me."

A slow clap brought our attention to Kaeya. His sword was now sheathed, and he assessed Childe dully. "You're forgetting that you didn't do it alone."

I clapped more enthusiastically, banishing the sarcastic tone Kaeya set. "A team effort! You worked so well together. Who would have thought the day would come where you guys got along?"

"It was out of convenience," Childe shrugged. "Besides, staying by your side also means tolerating Kaeya's antics. If I'm going to tolerate him, I might as well make use of him too, no?"

"You have quite the loyal follower," Kaeya drawled.

I felt my face redden and saw Diluc stifle a chuckle from my peripheral vision. "He's just—it's not that I—" This time, I allowed myself to cough on the lingering dust, not that there was much left. "Phew, you sure made quite the mess."

"Do you need water?" Thoma procured a bottle, breaking the seal just before handing it to me.

"Thanks," I mumbled before taking my time guzzling it down.

Though it felt like a dream to have both Thoma and Diluc come to an understanding with my feelings, I still wasn't sure how to approach Childe about it. In the beginning, I thought Childe was so attached to me because of his unnatural motivation to fight anyone and everyone worth fighting. After we had reconciled—when I learned Childe had fears just like a normal person—I couldn't deny that our relationship had changed. I trusted him more. I believed in him more. I wanted more of him. Knowing that I brought some sense of calm in Childe's life made me happy. Knowing that he's been able to properly build relationships with other people has made me happy. And yet, Childe has never opened up to being anything more—not in the same way Thoma or Diluc had.

What's even more rattling was considering that Kaeya's flirtations actually held meaning beyond trying to get me flustered. He was the first person I opened up to about my brother and the first person I went to when the Abyss Order haunted my dreams. Obviously, I knew when Kaeya was flirting, but I didn't really believe him then. Hinting his feelings and actually saying them were two different things, and I wondered why he has never been explicit about it. Why would Kaeya tell me that Childe was head over heels if he felt the same way? Why did Kaeya always excuse himself after making my heart pound, stop, and ache?

What was holding them back?

I stilled, lowering the bottle of water from my lips.

Why did it have to be them? It could be me. I could be the one to speak up first. To assure them that I do have feelings—real feelings. As crazy as it may be, I couldn't help but open my heart to the four of them.

"Hey, Lumine? We should probably start heading back now. There may not be a curfew anymore, but it would be good to have enough sleep for class tomorrow." Thoma's words broke me from my thoughts, and I'd come to realize just how late it was.

Kaeya and Childe also had their own bottles of water, looking slightly worn.

"Sorry," I rushed out, suddenly feeling guilty for keeping everyone here for so long. "It must have been super unproductive to just sit around here for—how long has it been? I should have realized you guys probably have other things to get done. Homework, studying, practice for—"

"Are you kidding me?" Childe grinned. "Girlie, if I could, I would come out here every day to see you go all out again."

Kaeya blinked. "That's because you don't do work regardless."

"Semantics," Childe waved him off. "Everything falls into place on its own eventually."

Kaeya eyed him. "Right. If we are leaving now, I have no trouble with leading the way. Keeping one eye covered has strengthened my other. Seeing in the darkest parts of the forest won't be an issue, and we wouldn't want you getting lost, Lumine. How about you hang onto me this time?"

Diluc grunted. "If she needs light, I'll set the entire forest ablaze if I have to."

"That would be overdoing it." Thoma chuckled and pointed back to the hut. "There's still some fuel left in the oil lamp that I brought. We could use that instead."

Childe went ahead. "I'll carry it. I'm the one who brought us here, after all. No offense, Alberich."

"None taken," Kaeya crossed his arms.

We followed Thoma back to the outpost hut and grabbed the schoolbags we'd dropped off. Once Thoma got the lamp relit, Childe took charge, leading us down the path we'd used to get here. Ducking my head under the disheveled bush, I took note of how the denser nature obscured more of the moon's light. The oil lamp's range didn't go very far, so we had to travel in a closer group than before. Half of my focus was on following Childe while the other half was on me not tripping over my own feet, someone else's feet, or scraggly tree roots.

Though night had fallen, the forest was far from silent. In addition to the loud swishes of branches being pushed aside and leaves being trampled, owls hooted from in the trees and a symphony of crickets kept the volume high.

At one point, the path we took narrowed considerably, forcing everyone into a single file line. Thoma and Diluc trailed behind me, and Kaeya's back was barely illuminated by the lamp Childe held at the very front of the line. I made sure not to brush up against any plants if I didn't have to—Professor Baizhu had said an abundance of poison ivy grew on the island. The balance of keeping an eye out for plants, the ground, and what was ahead of me wasn't easy.

Eventually, I bumped straight into a tree.

Thankful that were wasn't much light for anyone to have caught the blunder, I quickly recovered and searched for the light of Childe's lamp. My stomach dropped slightly when I didn't see it at first, but that's because the tree disoriented me. Sure enough, the lamp's light bobbed ahead.

Hoping there were no other obstructions in the path, I rushed ahead to avoid holding up the others behind me. It would be bad if we lost Childe's light—even worse if it was my fault. Strange, the closer I got to the light, the brighter it became despite the fact that part of the light should have been blocked out by Kaeya. He was in front of me. Right?

I squinted my eyes, searching for his silhouette before tentatively calling out, "Kaeya?"

No response.

My concern deepened, and I picked up the pace even further. The light became brighter and brighter, and for the first time, I noticed it didn't cast the warm yellow glow of fire like it had before. This light had a tinge of blue, and it hovered in the trees like it was free and not carried by a person. Childe was holding the light—the lamp up ahead. Right?

"Childe?" I called out, panic seeping in.

When not even Childe said anything back to me, I realized two things at once. On one hand, I was lost. So, so lost. On the other hand, I had found something. Sources of light didn't just appear in a forest, let alone move on their own. The only other encounter I'd had with something like this was when I saw a Seelie. Could that be what this is? Upon these realizations, I now had two different courses of action to take. I could either stop where I was now and try to retrace my steps back to the group with a low chance of success, or I could catch up to the Seelie—follow it and see where it leads me with a very high chance of success.

I pressed forward.

Choosing to follow the Seelie now meant that I absolutely could not afford to lose it. After a few light trips and branches to the face on my way, the Seelie's form became clearer and brighter. The Seelie was real. Now hovering in front of me, it paused as though regarding me. What looked like a shapeless blue orb from a distance was more defined up close. An ethereal lifeform.

The front part of its body was more solid than the wispy bits that floated off its back. Its head was slightly smaller than the main body, with two tiny spikes on top and a white ball in the very center. Was that its eye? The bottom half of the Seelie tapered off to a point, resembling an upside-down droplet of water. A subtle chiming ring echoed from the Seelie, and I couldn't tell if it was trying to speak to me or not.

"Hey there," I spoke softly.

Could Seelie talk? The chiming persisted.

"Um, I heard that Seelie are known for leading people to what they desire most. Could you do that for me?" I stepped closer, and the Seelie didn't move. "I know it might be a little unrealistic to lead me to Aether. He's my twin brother, you see, and—" I stopped myself. Was it really necessary to explain my situation to this Seelie? Did it even understand what I was saying? "Where were you headed to, anyway? Are you lost?"

The Seelie's chime grew slightly louder, and it began to float away.

"Is it alright if I follow you? I kind of lost my friends back there, and there's nowhere else for me to go."

Regardless of if the Seelie cared—I didn't think it did—I continued to follow. Luckily, it kept at a manageable pace, though I was sure a spirit like that would have no issue zipping through the forest. The light it emitted was brighter than the oil lamp, and I could easily avoid the tree branches and roots this time. Watching the Seelie move was such a wonder, I couldn't tell how much time had passed while we filtered through the forest. Its glow was hypnotizing. I could follow it forever.

Where was this one leading me? Would it really take me to my brother? Did it have a predetermined route to the treasure Kaeya spoke of? Was it taking me anywhere at all?

I slowed slightly, now worried that I was following a random spirit that was minding its own business. Did I really just separate myself further from the group on a hunch? They probably made it back to the town by now, which meant they were probably worried sick over my disappearance. Guilt churned in my stomach, but there wasn't much I could do about it now.

The Seelie passed through a bush, and I went after it. I would follow the Seelie until I got too tired to go on, and then I would find a decent spot to rest until the sun was out. In the morning, I could try guiding myself back to the town. Who knows? Maybe after the Seelie—hopefully—takes me to its destination, it'll also lead me back to the Academy.

The Seelie's head angled upward, and I watched in confusion as it floated up a tree. It paused by a branch.

"You want me to climb up there?"

Of course, it did. Why not climb a tree in the middle of the night? Grumbling to myself about how it made no sense for anything of value to be hidden in a tree of all places, I dutifully climbed the tree. Careful not to step on any of the weaker branches, I was reminded of how I would do exactly this when Aether and I were kids. What I was up to now was much different from our little hide-and-seek games.

Pulling myself up on the Seelie's branch, I watched in disbelief as it floated to another branch one tree over. Forget about second-guessing. I was fifth-guessing the decisions I've made up until this point. I balanced myself on the narrow branch and leaped over to the neighboring tree. Now that I'd caught up, the Seelie looked to the ground.

"Don't you dare," I muttered.

Much to my annoyance, the Seelie effortlessly floated to the forest floor. The climbing was completely, utterly, absolutely unnecessary.

"Are you joking with me?" I sighed, climbing back to the ground.

The Seelie chimed forward.

"Chime once if yes, twice if no?"

The Seelie's chime didn't change.

I laughed despite myself. "You'd better not be leading me to some sort of death trap. I can think of a few people who won't be very happy with that. The first being myself, of course. Diluc would probably hold a personal vendetta against this forest, you know. Look out for any sudden fires after hiding my body. I'm not sure how Thoma would handle it, maybe he'd blame himself? This was one hundred percent on me, though. I should write a note for him. You wouldn't happen to have a pen and paper?"

Slowly, while following this Seelie, I was losing my mind.

"I'm not sure if Childe would hate the forest outright, he might—wait. If I died here, Childe's nightmares would come back. Listen to me, Seelie, we can't let that happen. Despite his rough past with the Abyss, Childe has become probably one of the most extraordinary people I know. Me disappearing would only hinder Childe and…and it'd probably make him really sad, too. I'd be upset if Childe suddenly disappeared."

The Seelie turned left.

"Kaeya, too. He needs someone to be there for him, Seelie. I've only recently realized this myself, but I think I can be that someone for Kaeya. I can't help but fall for his flirtations every single time, so what does that say about me? What is it about him that keeps me up at night, you ask? Sure, the mysterious air around him draws me in. I'm surprised the Academy hasn't penalized him for his improper wear of the school uniform—chest out all the time—but I'm glad they haven't. Plus, Kaeya's always been there for me in his own way. He's a real interesting one—confusing, even. I guess you and Kaeya have something in common then, Seelie."

Seelie turned right.

"This had better not turn out to be a wild goose chase," I sighed. "More like a wild Seelie chase. Is that what you like, Seelie? The chase? You're lucky I'm just trying to follow you and not actually capture you. I bet a Seelie like you would fetch a nice price somewhere."

Seelie looked up a tree, and I wilted.

"I was joking, of course. Please don't go up the—okay you went up the tree. Marvelous. Don't mind if I do."

Exhausted from talking to myself, I silently climbed up the tree and proceeded to zig zag in the treetops alongside the elusive Seelie. At this point, I was beginning to feel the tiredness that I planned to use as a marker for taking a break. I crouched on a branch, catching my breath.

"Time out, Seelie. Let's call it a night."

Despite the fact that I was no longer in pursuit of the spirit, Seelie floated down several trees over. It drifted to the forest floor and continued on without me. Slightly panicked, I jumped down from the branch and ran after it.

"Oh, no you don't. I haven't gone this far just to…Seelie, where did you go?"

I held my breath as I turned in a full circle, searching, searching, searching. There. Seelie had taken cover underneath a curtain of thick vines, but I'd never miss the glow that peeked from the plants. I marched over and swiped a hand to push back the vines.

"Found you, I win."

Seelie didn't say anything—shocking. Instead of drifting off to nowhere once again, it sunk down. Lower and lower, Seelie dropped until it bumped into an odd-looking stone. No, it wasn't a stone. Seelie sat nestled in a worn sculpture of some kind. The mass of Seelie's body disappeared, and only a white ball surrounded by a blue aura remained.

I stared at Seelie. Seelie didn't make a sound.

"That's it, then?" I threw my arms out. "You're done?"

Was this really the location Seelie wanted me to be? Checking under the vines and around the rocks, I didn't see any evidence that there would be treasure. There was just forest. Forest and Mint. Forest and vines. Forest and mountainside. Forest and me, apparently. Staring hard at Seelie one last time, disappointment deflated from me.

It wasn't Seelie I was upset with. Seelie did nothing wrong. I was the one who foolishly followed an innocent little spirit around the wilderness. Though, as unfortunate as this turned out to be, it could have been worse. It's not like I was hurt or starving.

I sighed, deciding to retire here for the night. Just as Seelie sat peacefully in its little court, I sought out my own place not too far away. A convenient pile of boulders was clustered together alongside one rockface of the mountain, and I settled into one of the more comfortable nooks in between them. Honestly, these rocks looked mildly out of place from the rest of the scenery, but there wasn't any sense in dwelling on it. I had to rest up now to prepare for an early reroute back to the town in the morning.

Hopefully, I could make it back to the Academy before my first class of the day. Though being tardy wasn't something I looked forward to, there was one thing I dreaded even more upon my return.

My guys would never let me hear the end of it.