Journey to Old Mondstadt (Part 1)
Cool cloth pressed against my forehead, damp and refreshing. I could hear voices in the background, talking and saying things I couldn't understand. For now, it was all muffled and distant. I groaned softly, hearing a shushing sound beside me as a hand rested itself against my cheek. "Rest, dear Honorary Knight," the voice told me, clearer than the others. "It's not your time, yet. You're home, and you're safe. Now sleep, you're in safe hands." I... recognized that voice, but my brain couldn't put a name to it. I listened, though, as the voice began to sing. It was... a lullaby. Her voice, whoever's it was, was soft and gentle. I felt myself drifting off to sleep again, and I let unconsciousness take me.
I will see the lightning's glow!
I will find something that only I can do!
I want to heal people with my song.
My paradise; I'll create my perfect paradise and finally see my friends again!
I will be the shield that defends Mondstadt.
I want to fuck a god!
Dreams. Voices echoed in my head. I stood before the Statue of the Seven; the first and only one I'd interacted with since waking up. The sky was dark, and a fiery red glowed from the southwest. "It's happening again," a young man's voice spoke through the darkness. "Our home, it's being burned to ashes again! We have to do something!"
"Brother, we can't," a girl spoke this time. "The gods of this world are powerful; too powerful! We have to go! We have to leave to a different world!"
"But... Dain... Halfan... they're all-"
"I'm sure they were able to get to safety," the girl told the boy. I looked around, but couldn't see anything outside of what I was already seeing. "We have to focus on ourselves, though. We can't stay here, dear brother." There was a lull in the conversation, but then a third voice spoke.
"If you wish to leave, Teyvat, I might be able to help you," the voice spoke. It was.. male, with a deepness to it that exuded power. "But you both need to follow my instructions to the letter. No matter what, destiny can't catch you. If it does, then I'll fall with you."
"Thank you, Stelucis," the girl responded. "I promise, once we're free, I'll come back for you."
"I'll be waiting, my Midnight Moon. Now come, we don't have time to waste."
The scenery disappeared, and I once again found myself staring at the darkness behind my eyelids. The cool feeling of a wet cloth was gone from my forehead. The voices were there again, but changed. Clearer, as well. "How much longer do you think it'll be until he wakes?" one asked. Jean? "We don't have much time until we need to confront Dvalin before the Abyss Order has control of him. Waiting for him to wake might not be an option."
"If my ability to purge elemental energy were stronger, then I'd have had him up, sooner," another voice spoke. Venti. "He's lucky to be alive, Acting Grand Master. Tapping into a Ley Line like that probably would have stolen away anyone less stubborn! I'm surprised he even has a body left, after that. Miss Sucrose, could you and Jean fetch me some more washcloths? About six or seven should do."
"Of course," even Sucrose was here? But what...? Where was here? I heard footsteps leave, and a door close. There was silence for a moment as Venti laid another cool cloth on my head. I guess he'd just removed the last one...
"So, feel like telling me why a god has come down to grace us with his presence?" Venti spoke, sounding... well, not at all happy. "I know you're awake, Hoshi, if that even is your real name."
"Everything... hurts," I groaned out, feeling my body feel like it caught on fire with those very words. With a sigh, Venti slapped a hand down on my sternum and did... something to help me breathe easier. "What happened? The knights, did they make it out?" I asked as soon as it felt like I could speak without killing myself. I opened my eyes, groaning at the brightness of the lights. "Why the fuck is it so bright?"
"Bright? The curtains are drawn, though," Venti said, and I saw the green blob that must have been him turn away for a second. "Hm, maybe you're not a god... No god would ever willingly put themselves through something so agonizing. It seems like your body is slowly healing itself, though, so you'll be right as the whistling wind soon enough, dear Honorary Knight!" I let out another long groan of pain. I tried to sit up, but my muscles still were aching, and I couldn't bring myself to move at all. "Ah, ah, none of that, mister! You completely burned out your body somehow with whatever you did in that ruin. Oh, and most of the knights you took with you made it back just fine. Er... well, one didn't make it."
"Miles," I coughed out. "His name was Miles. He was going to teach me how to play Genius Invocation. He made a bet with Porthos." My vision was slowly becoming clearer, letting me catch the frown on Venti's face. "What happened to him...?"
"We recovered his body, if that's what you're asking," Venti told me. "The knights following you ran back to Springvale and recruited the help of the local hunters that were able to get you and Miles to safety. Just what happened in there?" He rested his hand in mine. Despite him being another guy, it was comforting in its own way. I stared up at the ceiling. "Yours and his were the only bodies we found. Who did you face in there? None of the knights have spoken a word about it, saying they wanted to know if you woke up or not, first."
"It was La Signora," I told him. "A Harbinger. There's a Harbinger here, and she wanted to lure you out. That's why they stole the lyre." Venti let out a frustrated hum at that. "I tried to get everyone out, but I think Miles couldn't move out of the way of her attack quickly enough. Big guy never stood a chance. It was... I never realized just how big the gap was. I'd heard from Sucrose, but..."
"The power of a Vision is enough to make mortals into gods," Venti said. I shook my head.
"She called whatever she used a Delusion," I corrected him. "She said that it was stronger than a Vision." That definitely put some concern on his face. "Venti, if she gets close to you, I don't know if even you'll stand a chance. With how weak you are right now..."
"Let's not worry about that for now," Venti waved it off, though. "For now, let's just get you up on your feet as soon as possible. You still owe me that dicking down, don't you, daddy?" I grimaced.
"One, don't ever call me that again," I demanded. He stuck his tongue out and winked at me with a giggle. "Second, I can't even think of walking right now, much less sex. Fuck, how long have I been out of it? In fact, where are we?" I looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings. It was a cozy place, but obviously not made for someone to sleep for a long time, given there were a lot of wine shelves around. I was laying on a mattress which, while clean, definitely must have been old.
"We're in a back room in the Angel's Share," Venti told me. "A storage room, to be precise. We decided to keep you here in order to keep from drawing attention from the public eye. As for how long you been here..." Venti thought for a moment. "Well, I'd have to say it's been about three days!"
"Three da- fuck!" I shouted, staring back at the ceiling. "I've cost us so much time! I got one of my men killed, and..." I snarled and screamed into the open air, clenching my fists, even though the very action sent agony through my body. I didn't care, though. As far as I was concerned, this wasn't a success. It might not have been a failure, but I surely didn't succeed. I was pissed. At the Fatui. At La Signora. At Venti. At Jean. At myself. I wasn't sure in that moment who I hated more. I let out another roar of anger and frustration, letting the feeling fill me as... Singing. I heard Venti singing beside me, and I felt my anger slowly dissipate. My eyes closed again, and as much as I desperately wanted to stay awake, I just couldn't overpower the lullaby. What a gentle voice.
When I next came to, it was night, and there was a single lantern lit in the corner of the room, on top of a barrel. The only other person in the room was a very sleepy Paimon, who was sitting up against a different barrel, eyes closed and head tilted, snoozing peacefully. I turned my head, the action not hurting so much as I'd thought it would. While sore and stiff, I was able to slowly sit up on the mattress and, after a minute, stand up. I made my way to the door, taking my time as I measured my steps to avoid falling over or making too much noise. Hand opening the door, I braced myself as light poured in from the main room of the Angel's Share. It was empty, probably long since passed closing time, but the lights were still on. I could hear voices from around the corner, and moved to investigate.
"We must leave tonight, or we'll surely be too late," it was Jean's voice who I could understand first, and I rounded the bend to see the bar of the tavern, with Jean standing on one side, Venti sitting at the counter, and the red haired man, Diluc, standing behind the counter with his arms crossed. Also present was-
"Amber," I gasped out, stumbling towards the girl in red. The four people present faced me, and it was just in time, too. I began to fall; my leg having locked itself in order to keep me from moving. Jean and Diluc both rushed forward, catching me before I hit the ground, but my eyes were on my second friend I'd made in Mondstadt. "Amber, you're back! You're safe!"
"Hey, be careful!" Paimon shouted as she dropped the cup she was holding, flying over to check on me. Wait, what? But wasn't Paimon...? I glanced back where I'd come from, but no light shone from the lantern in the storage room. "You've been asleep for three days! How are you even up right now? Venti, I thought you'd said it would take another few days!"
"I said it might take another few days," Venti clarified, raising his tankard to me. "Evidently, our friend here has a stronger will than even I expected. Cheers, to the Honorary Knight!"
"I'm safe?" Amber asked, finally able to register my words as she approached me; myself being held aloft by both Jean and Diluc. "Ho- Traveler, you almost died! How could you worry about my safety when your very spirit was nearly ripped from your body? Can you even consider how worried I was?" I gently balanced myself, giving both Jean and Diluc a nod of thanks as I leaned on the bar counter, holding myself up. "Venti told me that you tapped into a Ley Line and it nearly dragged your soul out of your body!"
"I did what?" I asked, finally, and turned to the bard in question. He finished taking a swig of his drink, wiping his mouth clean before answering.
"Well, when you did whatever it was you did to La Signora, you must have drawn power from a nearby Ley Line to do it," he explained. "You obviously didn't have enough control or power to do it on your own, so somehow, your body instinctively reached out to the verry essence of the world. Speaking of which, what did you do to her? When the knights and hunters got you, there was no sign of the Harbinger."
"I pulled a little trick I learned from... someone else," I told him, glancing between him and the other four. "I used Anemo to keep her from breathing." Jean and Amber gasped, as both Diluc and Venti's eyes widened in surprise. "Is that not normal? I was told that it was possible with a Vision."
"Ahahah... well not exactly," Venti stepped in, leveling a serious gaze on me for a moment before attention was turned to him. "It's certainly possible, don't get me wrong, but even Visions have limits before it starts calling on energy from the body. Without enough raw power or fine-tuned control over the Anemo element, it would be suicidal to try and do what you did. It's something only someone who has fully mastered their control over their Vision could possibly pull off without killing themselves. It seems you just lucked out, dear Honorary Knight." I nodded slowly, getting the message. I glanced at Jean.
"So, what have I missed?" I asked her. She let out a sigh, shaking her head before responding.
"Knight Miles' funeral was held yesterday," she said, and I frowned, looking at the floor. "Paimon volunteered to go in your place, and while Miles' family and his girlfriend understood the reason behind your absence, it was still missed. Honorary Knight, it wasn't your fault."
"It was my fault," I told her, glaring back at the woman. "If I'd had us investigate the place the day before, that Harbinger might not have been there. I was the one who said we should carry on, even when we knew La Signora was in Mondstadt. Hell, we should have turned around as soon as we realized the Fatui were sitting pretty in the ruins of an ancient civilization instead of a rinky dink cave. But I told them to keep going. If I had come back for backup-"
"Then perhaps it would have been one of us who died," Diluc spoke up, staring down at me with an unimpressed glare. "Perhaps it would have been myself. Or Jean. Or Kaeya. Or even Amber," he continued. I looked away from him. "You can bring about as many 'what if' scenarios as you like, but it doesn't change that what happened, happened. Now, are you going to sit here and waste away, or are you going to make sure that Knight Miles didn't die in vain?" I nodded slowly after a few seconds of thought.
"What are we doing?" I asked.
"No!"
"You're not doing anything!"
Both Jean and Amber shouted at me at the same time, sharing a brief look before turning on the other confirmed man in the room. "Diluc, what are you saying?" Jean scolded him. "The Honorary Knight is not well enough to confront Dvalin as he is! How could we ask him to do such a thing?"
"Wait, hold up, it's been... what, three or four days and you haven't already faced Dvalin? What the hell have you all been waiting for?" I asked, feeling my anger returning. "If you have the oportunity to end Dvalin's threat for good, then why haven't you!?" The group became somber at that, hardly looking at me. Only Diluc and Venti managed to meet my gaze.
"Unfortunately, things became a lot more complicated," Venti said, reaching into his bag and pulling out... a broken lyre. The broken lyre.
"Wha- no. No, you... what happened to it?" I asked, feeling my blood run cold. The Holy Lyre der Himmel was broken. But how!? I looked back up at Venti, who didn't seem concerned in the slightest.
"The thing is, we did try to confront Dvalin," he told me. "Unfortunately, we learned that the Abyss Order has been actively whispering conspiracies against Mondstadt and myself into his ear. We only found this out after an Abyss Mage interfered with our meeting, and turned him against us. This was the result. I'm sorry, Honorary Knight." He looked genuinely sorry, but... well, I guess knowing they actually did try something helped calm my temper a bit. "Luckily, Master Diluc and I were able to track down that Abyss Mage and I was able to get the key to Dvalin's lair in Old Mondstadt."
"Old Mondstadt?" I asked, confused. "What's Old Mondstadt?"
"It's also known as Stormterror's Lair," Diluc spoke up, "and it's located in the ruins of the old capital city of Mondstadt from over a millennium ago. For the longest time, the city has been protected by a barrier of winds, a remnant from the city's previous ruler and the old Anemo god, but with this key, Venti thinks he can get us past the winds." I looked to Venti, and he nodded.
"It's but a simple matter, now that I know the tune," he said, looking entirely pleased with himself. "All I need now is to know that everyone is ready." I hummed in acknowledgement.
"Then let's go," I said, slowly standing back up without the help of the bar counter. "We're burning moonlight."
"No," Jean stood in front of me, arms crossed in front of her and glaring down at me. "You're staying here. You're in no condition to travel, much less fight one of the Four Winds." I glanced at Diluc, hoping he could throw me a lifeline. The man didn't disappoint.
"The journey to Old Mondstadt will take around a week, at most," he said. "It's actually not too far away from the winery. By that time, assuming he heals at a consistent rate, the Honorary Knight should be near one-hundred percent. Right?" He looked to me.
"Right," I agreed instantly, turning my attention back to Jean. "Listen, you can be upset with me all you want, after, but you're not keeping me out of this fight. I've been involved this long and this far, and I even lost someone under my command as a result. I'm in this until the end, one way or another." Jean stared at me, as if doing so would make me back down. I stared right back at her. I wasn't going to leave this unfinished. After almost a minute of staring and Amber practically begging me to reconsider, Jean finally backed down and looked away.
"I'm going to regret this," she stated, shaking her head as Amber rounded on her. "Fine, you can join us, but if you're not fully up and about and combat ready by the time we reach Dawn Winery, you're not going any further towards Old Mondstadt. I may not be able to order you as you're only an Honorary Knight, but I fully intend to use my position as Acting Grand Master to have your bodyguard pin you down and tie you up while the three of us confront Dvalin."
"Bodyguard?" I asked, confused. That was when Amber stepped up.
"Outrider Amber, I think we've been acquainted," she said with a grin on her face. Whether it was a happy grin that spoke of how happy she was to see me, or an evil grin that betrayed how much she wanted to pin me down, I'm not certain. "As of yesterday, I've been assigned by Acting Grandmaster Jean to protect you on your journey around Teyvat until further notice. If I determine that you are about to commit an action that would prove overwhelmingly dangerous or really, really stupid, like overworking your Vision to the point of death, I have full authority to stop you by any means necessary." I cocked an eyebrow, glancing between the girl and Jean.
"Really?" I asked the Acting Grand Master. "You're going to use Amber against me?" Jean, the cheeky woman, had a smirk on her face.
"I've been told that in love and war, all is fair," she told me. "As such, as a knight under my command, I have the authority and means to utilize Amber however I see fit. Avoiding having you nearly kill yourself a second time seems like a worthy investment for my one and only Outrider." I coughed into my hand. "You don't count, Honorary Knight."
"Damn."
"As pleasant as this is, we really should be getting a move on, soon," Diluc spoke up. He moved from behind the counter, and I realized he must have been fiddling around with his glasses and stock for a bit to give us a little privacy for our conversation, but had clearly run out of patience. "As I stated before, Old Mondstadt is about a week's journey away, assuming the weather remains clear. I can assume that it will remain clear in order to hasten our progress," with those words, he glanced at Venti. Wait, did they know? "However, who knows if the Anemo god is capable of blessing our journey against one of the Four Winds."
"Wait, does everyone here know?" I asked, looking around to everyone's faces. Diluc nodded, while Jean made a cutting motion over her neck and pointed at Amber from behind her. Said girl seemed confused.
"Does everyone here know what?" Amber asked, confirming what Jean was wordlessly saying. I shook my head, waving my hand dismissively.
"Nothing, it's not really important, anyway," I said, seeing as Amber narrowed her eyes a bit in confusion and suspicion, but shook her head and brushed off my words easily enough. Sorry Amber, but I guess that's one secret you won't be learning any time soon. "Oh, uh, I might need to talk to you at some point, too," I told her. Her face lit up a bit with a blush and a smile.
"I need to talk to you, too," she said. Inwardly, I grimaced. Oh, this wasn't going to be a fun conversation for either of us, I could tell. I looked over at Paimon, who was back on the counter with a drink in hand. God, I sure hope that was non-alcoholic. Still, she sent me a stern glare and a nod. Guess I wasn't getting out of this one.
"We need to get moving if we want to make it in any amount of decent time," Diluc spoke, having already grabbed his pack and seemed ready to leave. "I tried calling in a carriage service, but was turned down when I told them where we were headed, so we'll need to make it to Old Mondstadt on foot. Not even the carriage service is foolish to step foot near that place. I suppose that makes us all fools."
"History is made by fools," the words came from my mouth before I could even think of them. I blinked in surprise, but went with it. Jean went around the counter and pulled out a pair of Inventory Bags; one of which she handed to me.
"I'm surprised that you knew that quote," she told me. Say what now? She must have seen the confusion on my face, which she then returned. "That was something that Vennessa, the first Grand Master, was quoted to have said to her sister before being forced to face Ursa the Drake in combat. You didn't know this?"
"Jean, we've already established that I can't remember anything. That includes any form of history," I told her. She had the decency to look sheepish, and briefly looked away from me as we all headed out to begin the march to where Dvalin was. I watched as Venti tried to sneak off with a bottle of something called dandelion wine before Diluc snatched it away and rested it back on the counter of the bar.
"You'll have to forgive me," Jean said back to me. "I haven't known you for very long, and you're so well-adjusted and informed that the fact must have slipped my mind." She was probably so overworked that it wouldn't have been a priority, as well. At least, I could hazard the guess. "That just leaves the question of how you know it." I shrugged, shaking my head.
"Haven't the foggiest," I told her. I found myself in a familiar position as we walked out onto the cool morning(?) streets of Mondstadt. Myself, with four companions all heading out on a mission. Maybe it seemed like days for the others, but for me... well, it wasn't all that long ago. I just hoped that this time it would end better.
"Don't worry, Hoshi," Paimon spoke up as she floated beside me. "This time won't end the same way. Everyone here is a Vision Bearer, and everyone here knows how to fight!" I saw as the other glanced towards us as Paimon spoke. Those pitying looks... I didn't like them. I grimaced as pain shot through my body, but I ignored it, opting to try and power through. "H-Hoshi, are you alright?"
"I'll be fine," I growled through clenched teeth, ignoring the agony firing through my muscles. "I just need to get used to it." I grunted and glanced down, wondering if, just for a moment... I channeled Anemo through my vision into my body. Instantly, I was filled with relief as my muscles no longer had to do the work, instead being moved by the air around me. I began to walk, only to be slapped out of my concentration by Venti.
"Do you want to end up bedridden for another half a week?" he asked, expression narrowed in on me. "Because that's how you do it. What part of 'control' are you not getting, Hoshi? You don't have the aptitude to keep up anything like that for long periods of time. If I had let you keep going by using the power of Anemo to walk, you would have collapsed before you even made it to the city gates." He rested his hands on his hips. "I vouched for you to come with us, but if you make me regret it, no place in Teyvat will keep you safe from me."
"Hey, lay off a bit!" Amber pushed Venti away before checking on me. "Where does it hurt? Is it your muscles? Your bones? Is it surface-level, like your skin?"
"Muscles," I grit out, the pain returning as soon as Venti had destroyed my concentration. "Feels like... like I exercised every muscle I've got for ten hours nonstop. They're sore, stiff, and burning. Just give me a second, maybe it'll pass." I heaved deep breaths as I leaned against a nearby wall with my hand. Sure enough, the pain faded to a dull throbbing after a few moments. I saw as Diluc glanced at Jean, and it seemed like they were having some kind of silent conversation. "I'm good," I told them. "Just needed a second. Let's keep going." Whatever conversation they shared ended with a nod from Diluc.
"No time to waste," he said, and I noticed that he decided to walk a bit closer to me instead of taking the lead, like he'd done minutes before. Amber was at my other side, with Venti and Jean only a few paces ahead of us. "Let me know if your pain starts to act up again. I had known that something like this could be bad for you, but I hadn't expected it to be this bad."
"It's because of how much he drew on the Ley Line," Venti said. "When you did your trick, your Vision was probably drawing on the Ley Line from the very start. If you'd been using it for a minute or more, then that's how long your soul was being ripped apart by it. Of course that's not going to be a quick and easy process to heal." We walked in silence after that, the severity of what I'd done just now starting to sink in. I couldn't help but wonder what would have happened to me if I'd been forced to use that technique for a few seconds longer.
The march was mostly quiet on my end. Honestly, I wasn't in much of a mood to talk, anyway. It's not like Diluc or Jean were great conversation partners, either. Diluc was as quiet as a stone-faced man could get, even if he did glance in my direction every couple of minutes to make sure I wasn't actively dying. Jean wasn't much better; life as an overworked second-in-command likely left her lacking proper conversational skills. After all, working nearly every moment of the day left little time for talk, made even worse by Varka being absent. Luckily, it wasn't all silent as Venti, Amber, and Paimon made enough conversation for the rest of us.
By the time it had reached noon, we were able to take a break at the outskirts of Springvale and Diluc brought out the map. While the other three set up a cooking fire and prepared food, Jean, Diluc and I planned our next course of action. "We're here," Diluc pointed at the road outside of Springvale. From here, the road led south-west until curving away towards the Dawn Winery. "That's where we'll be making a pitstop. The road borders on Wolvendom, so we'll need to be cautious around there. Most days, the wolves are fine leaving travelers alone as long as they do the same. With Dvalin kicking up a fuss, however, they might become desperate."
"The journey from here to the winery will take a few days," Jean said. "Then there'll be a few days more where we'll travel from the winery to Old Mondstadt. Do you think you'll be able to make that?" She looked at me when she asked that question. After a moment of thought, I nodded.
"As long as we take some breaks every few hours," I said, stretching my body a bit. "The pain is spiritual as well as physical, but if I laid around for too long like you wanted me to, my body would atrophy while my soul was healing. Neither option is good, but this way I can at least stave off the long-term detriments." Jean let out a long sigh before nodding, seeming to accept my point.
"After we have some food, we'll keep moving. We'll be camping for the next few nights, so I hope you won't mind sleeping on the ground," Diluc continued. I shook my head. "Good. Now then, let's rejoin the others. It seems like they're having a merry time." I looked over to see Paimon throw pepper into Amber's face as Venti laughed on the ground, covered in butter and apple slices. Amber obviously flew into a fit of sneezing as she threw a slab of raw venison at Paimon's face, knocking the laughing fairy out of the air onto the ground. I couldn't help but smile at the lighthearted scene, Amber laughing along with the other two while her sneezing slowed down.
"I like my Amber cooked medium rare, lightly seasoned," I told Paimon as the three of us approached the rest of our group. "Paimon, you used too much pepper. I guess I can take this Amber as-is, though." I helped Paimon off the ground, dusting off the meat while Jean and Diluc hoisted up Venti onto his feet.
"Venti started it!" Paimon shouted, pointing at said bard. The disguised Anemo god simply laughed even more, making no move to deny the accusation. "He kept throwing apple slices at Paimon!"
"Come on, Venti," I sighed. "Paimon's already nutritious enough. No need to add more."
"Wait, are you calling Paimon emergency food again!?" the fairy shouted, flying over and headbutting my shoulder. I couldn't help but join in on the laughter, gently pushing her away by the head, even as my arm throbbed with pain at her attack. It wasn't even hard, either, but I guess it was enough. I ignored it, though, not wanting to cause concern for those around me. I didn't want to be the reason the good mood disappeared.
"So, I hope you guys actually had time to cook," I told them, earning sheepish grins from all three of our goofier members. Suffice it to say, lunch was delayed for a bit.
When we finally did get to sit down and eat, I was finally able to sit down with Amber a little distance off from the others. Venti kept them busy with tales of old, so the Outrider and I were afforded some privacy. I did notice Paimon shooting me looks every couple of minutes, but I opted to ignore her after the third time catching her gaze. In the meantime, Amber and I ate with awkward silence. "So," I spoke up, hoping to get the ball rolling. "How was your patrol? I assume decent, since you're not dead and all."
"Hm, it was alright," Amder replied, giggling a bit before responding. "I was able to visit my friend, Eula, and we took out a few hilichurl camps together!"
"Eula..." I thought for a moment. Where had I heard that name, before? "Wait, isn't that one of the captains of the knights?" Amber nodded happily, seemingly overjoyed that I'd remembered something important to her.
"That's her!" she cheered. "Eula of the Lawrence Clan, Captain of the Reconnaissance Company of the Knights of Favonius!" She had a great big smile on her face as she introduced her friend, or at least the idea of her friend, to me. "She's one of my best friends, too. Whenever I need some good life advice, she's who I talk to!"
"I'm assuming you talked to her about us, then?" I asked, and Amber nodded, fidgeting a bit on her fallen log seat and looking away for a moment. She had a blush on her cheeks and a smile on her face. "That's what you want to talk about, isn't it?"
"I thought long and hard about... what you wanted," Amber said, once more meeting my eyes with her own. "I know I can't ask for your attention solely on myself, and after talking it over with Eula, I've decided that..." She paused, and took a deep breath before letting it out. "I would be happy to date you. Um, if you still want me, that is? I-I mean, I don't want to assume, but that's what you wanted, right?" It seemed like it was taking all of her courage to talk about this, but... I knew what I had to tell her.
"Before you decide on that," I started, keeping my tone low so the others couldn't hear me, and so she would know that I was actually speaking seriously and not playing around, "there's something I need to tell you. I... er, made a deal with Venti without really thinking, and I want you to know just what of guy you're getting involved with." She tilted her head, her smile fading just a bit. "When all of this is said and done, and Dvalin is... dealt with, Venti and I have a deal to have sex afterwards."
"A-Ah, so soon? It's only been a few days, and- so- I, um, I don't know what to say, Hoshi," Amber stammered out a response. She took a few minutes to think before continuing, "It's... not even been a week, Hoshi. Was I... really that slow?"
"It's not your fault, Amber," I told her, shaking my head. "None of it is. I'm just... listen, I didn't do it because I was unsatisfied with you or anything like that. I just made a stupid deal and Paimon has already chewed me out for it. I made a promise to her, to myself, and I'm making one to you that I'll never make a deal like this again."
"Do- Do you have to really go through with this deal, then?" Amber asked, sounding unsure of herself when she spoke. "I mean, if it's not really a big deal, I- I mean, I know I can't really ask this of you, but can't you tell Venti that you don't want to go through with it?"
"Ah, that's kind of the problem," I told her, looking away from her as I said those words. Even without looking at her, I could tell that her head had whipped itself in my direction. "I do want to go through with it. It's for personal reasons, but I have to follow through with it. It'll only be the once, though, I promise. Even if you can't rely on my word, you can rely on Paimon to make sure of it." I looked back over to Amber, who stared at me in silence. I could see the thoughts racing behind her eyes, before she nodded. It was slight, and slow, but it was a nod nonetheless.
"Just the once," she said, repeating my promise back to me. "I can accept that. Ok, I can be ok with that." She let out a sigh and gently clapped herself on the cheeks, organizing her thoughts and feelings. "You said that this was a deal you made for when everything is done, right?" I nodded and responded as such. "Then when we get to Dawn Winery, I want you to share a bed with me." My eyes widened a bit, surprised at how forward she was being. "I-I don't mean we have to do anything! But, um, I just want to... have a sweet moment with you. I want to be the first, alright?" I couldn't help the smile on my lips as she said those words. "H-Hey, you're still in trouble, mister! You still made a deal for, um, for that even though you practically said you'd give me time to think things over! That's just a mean thing to do!"
"I know, and I'll make it up to you, Amber, I swear it," I told her. "Anyway, let's finish this... Apple Stew, you called it?" She nodded, happier than she'd been a few moments before. "It's delicious, by the way. thank you for cooking lunch."
"Ah, well, it was thanks to Paimon and... Venti... too," she noticeably stumbled over the bard's name. It seemed like acceptance or not, she wasn't too sure about the girly boy who had, along with me, taken the wind from the sails of her confession. "So, um, just to be sure," she spoke up again. "You and I, we're a c-couple, now, right?" I nodded, gently resting my right hand over hers since she'd finished eating her food. "Good. Great, even! I, um, please take it easy on me. I don't know how relationships are supposed to work."
"Hey, as far as I can remember, you're my first girlfriend," I told her, earning a light tittering from her as she moved her legs and wiggled a bit with excitement. "So you do the same for me, alright, Captain?"
"You know that Jean doesn't count you as an Outrider," she said back to me. I rolled my eyes.
"She can deny me the title as much as she wants, but you can consider me one as much as you want," I told her, making the red dressed girl smile. "It looks like everyone else is getting ready to continue on. Let's walk the next stretch together, is that alright with you?"
"Of course," she replied immediately. As we packed up our things from lunch, I looked over to Paimon and sent her a nod, mouthing the word 'Done' to her. Paimon nodded my way with approval and crossed arms, looking like a proud mother. I allowed Venti, Diluc, and Jean to walk ahead of us, and they seemed to get the hint that at least something had happened between Amber and I, and kindly gave us a bit of privacy as we continued our hike. Paimon floated between us and the group ahead, taking in her surroundings of the large, jagged cliffs that sprawled above our heads as we walked down the road.
"So, Amber," I began talking, figuring we could get to know one another as we walked. "Is it normal for people to get into relationships after a few days of knowing them?" Amber shook her head.
"Not really, actually," she said. "Most civilians actually might take a few years before deciding on starting one. Us from the Knights of Favonius and those from the Adventurer's Guild, though, tend to move faster. Ours is a job that can result in death any day, and many of the knights and adventurers will enter relationships knowing this, and ready for the news that the one they love has died out on the field." Amber spoke those words with a sombre tone. "In fact, my grandmother is certain that my grandfather is dead. He's been declared missing in action, but his disappearance has left people uncertain. I don't know if it would be better if he were dead, or not."
"Why's that?"
"On the one hand, if he were just missing, it means that he abandoned us. His family. His city," Amber's fists tightened at the thought. "All without telling us why. One of the reasons I remain an Outrider is because I hope that, one day, I might run across him out in the wilderness. Maybe lost, or hurt, or confused. Anything to prove that he's not some traitor to Mondstadt." Amber shook her head. "If he were dead, though, it would have its own problems. My grandfather was a strong man, and it wouldn't make sense for him to run away. He loved me and the rest of his family. Why wouldn't he want to pass on surrounded by us on his deathbed? It's not like he was unhealthy, either. He surely still had another decade or two in him." Amber let out a sigh, biting her bottom lip. "There's just a lot that doesn't make sense about him. Oh, but you were asking about relationships, right?"
"I'm pretty sure you answered my question, and more," I waved off her concern about the topic. We talked plenty more during our hike, and I learned quite a bit about the girl I was now dating. First off, we came to an understanding about our relationship. I wasn't to make any more booty calls after Venti. It just wasn't in the cards, and Amber did tell me that if it happened again, she couldn't stay in a relationship with me. I could agree to that.
Other women and forming relationships with them, though, she was willing to accept. Something about how as long as she could accept them, she would be alright with it. I took that to mean that she was going to screen anyone else who might get involved with me. Again, I could accept that. It wasn't like I was going out of my way to form romantic relationships, despite my tendency to flirt. That was just kind of instinct, on my part. Relationship boundaries hashed out, we began talking about lighter subjects.
As it turned out, Amber was something of a gardener, and she had a small apartment in the city that had a flower box outside that she took care of. Mainly simple things like sweet flowers and dandelions, but whenever she could get her hands on them, she liked taking care of windwheel asters as well. Her favorite plant, though, was something called lamp grass. She kept those potted in her house, and they acted as a sort of night light for her in her room.
Also surprising was that she had a fear of the dark! She'd heard scary stories as a kid about Ursa the Drake, since her parents told her that if she was a bad girl, the big bad Drake would climb in her window and whisk her away in the night. Of course, now she knew that Ursa was dead, and it was just a story her parents told her to keep her well behaved, but the fear of the dark was still prevalent in her mind, even as an adult.
"Wait, is that why you wanted to sleep in the same tent as me when we were going out to the Temple of the Falcon?" I asked, and I saw her face visibly light up with embarrassment at the words. She desperately shook her head, but I think I'd caught her. "That's honestly really adorable! Who knew that my girlfriend was such a cutie?"
"I-I'm not cute!" Amber protested. "And it was for warmth, nothing more! Don't get the wrong idea, Hoshi!"
"Oh, no, I think the idea I've got is exactly right," I pushed on. "I can also call my cute girlfriend cute as much as I want. Hey, Jean! Would you say it's good for a boyfriend to consider his girlfriend cute!?" I saw as Diluc let out a sigh while Venti laughed in amusement. Jean, for her part, seemed to freeze for a moment before glancing back at us in the evening light.
"I think it's a perfectly normal thing," she said, slowing down a bit as she joined our group, close enough so she could speak without shouting. "Congratulations, you two. I hope you both have many happy years ahead of you."
"H-Hoshi!" Amber whined, stretching out the last syllable of my name as she lunged at me, beating on my chest in an embarrassed fury. It didn't hurt all that much, though it did hurt. I did accidentally let out a grunt of pain, and she immediately backed off. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I forgot how injured you were!" Jean also looked concerned as Amber checked the spots she'd hit, as if she'd have left bruises or something.
"Let's rest here for the day," Jean announced, looking to everyone else to see if they approved. Diluc, for his part, had already set his pack down on the side of the road. "We can continue at dawn, tomorrow. Now is the best time to set up camp, while we still have some sunlight to work with." I got the feeling she'd said that more for mine and Paimon's benefit, and I realized, slowly, that she was trying to teach me through her actions. I was going to be traveling across Teyvat, after all, and knowing when to stop and set up camp was an important lesson. "Hoshi," she continued, looking at me. I noticed that both Paimon and Amber pouted when she used my name. "Are you well enough to train? I've had a few thoughts, and you said that you used an Anemo technique that someone else told you about, correct?"
"Yeah, I did," I told her. "I can train some, as long as it's not too taxing. What did you have in mind?" Jean drew her sword, a type of thick rapier with a decorated guard in the shape of several feathers, and a thicker knuckle guard. The blade itself was around two feet long, with polished metal of some kind; though I wasn't sure what kind of metal, exactly.
"I want you to try and replicate my moves and techniques with your Vision," she said, quickly making her point. "I have a few moves that I've mastered over my time as Dandelion Knight, and which may prove useful in the coming conflict." She moved off to the side of the road, where camp was being set up by Diluc, Venti, and now Amber as she realized she should probably get to work instead of watching Jean and I practice. I glanced at her, humming in contemplation for a moment.
"Hey," I spoke up to Jean after we'd gotten ourselves ready with our weapons drawn. "Any chance we can take this slow? I know that Amber looks up to you, so I think a chance for her to see your techniques would be really something for her." I saw a smile cross Jean's face, and she nodded. She didn't waste any time, though, explaining to me how her first technique worked. It was a calm, relaxed explanation, which I figured was her way of taking her time.
"Using the power of Anemo, I want you to gather the element around you, letting it charge around you in preparation for your attack. The motion is simple; it's a thrusting attack that uses Anemo to pierce and push your enemies. The longer you allow it to gather, the more powerful your attack will be," Jean explained, showing me the motions of her technique without using her Vision. "Like this, did you see it? Now, before actually using your Vision, I want you to ensure you have the stance and follow-through correct. If improper, you could end up injuring yourself, even assuming you've healed to your full capabilities."
"So it's a technique that requires control, is it?" I asked. She tilted her head from one side to another, thinking.
"A bit of control, and power," she corrected. "The control is in your body's movements; a perfect stance will allow you to have an easier time directing the power of Anemo to do with it as you will. The power comes from your Vision, and drawing the Anemo element to yourself and releasing it. Does that make sense?" I nodded, trying to replicate the same movements Jean had made a few moments before. "Good, but not perfect. Keep your thrust steady, and try not to allow your arm to shake with the follow-up. Doing so will weaken the power of your technique, as your blade is the catalyst in which the Anemo element follows." She had me do these motions a few times, but ultimately, I couldn't perfect it before she called it quits and told me to get some rest and food in me before we headed to sleep. Thankfully, Amber had been able to watch for the latter half, and seemed quite happy to watch Jean training somebody; her boyfriend, especially. Once finished, Jean showed me the technique in full, and I could see how each part played into the overall attack. She was right, it was a real mix of power and control. I'd doubted Jean's abilities before, but this was proof of her mastery, and her place as Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius.
Before long, all of us had gathered around the campfire as the sun finally disappeared completely over the horizon. Venti sang and played his lyre, and the rest of us slowly headed to our sleeping bacgs after an hour or so. Jean and Diluc were the first to go to sleep, with Venti and Paimon following not long after. Surprisingly, my floating partner had opted to sleep beside the bard. She sent me a smile before hand, though, and I got the feeling that she wanted to give me some alone time with Amber.
So, there we sat, as the fire's once crackling flames died down into embers. Amber gently poked the coals with a stick, trying to keep it alive just a bit longer as we sat together in comfortable silence, my arm wrapped around her waist as I held her close to my side. With the others asleep, she seemed far more comfortable expressing affection in my direction, leaning in closer and resting her head on my shoulder. Neither of us spoke a word, happy to just enjoy one another's company for the time being. My body was still sore, but something about this lessened the aching of my muscles. Maybe it was bliss. Maybe it was something else. Yet, when I felt her turn her head and press her lips against my cheek, all I could think about was her, and despite how much pain I was in and how much of a bother everything had been since I woke up on that beach, I don't think I'd have changed a single thing.
(XXX)
So, I actually had plans to make the journey to Stormterror's Lair this entire chapter, and about the same length, but realized I could fit in a lot of character interactions in this time. After all, according to Diluc, it's about a week's travel on foot. Now, if you're anything like me, then your favorite chapters in a story are when characters can interact with each other, get to know each other, and generally spend time with one another. This chapter is the setup for that, and was more Amber-centric. I'm planning on next chapter focusing a bit more on Diluc or Jean, but we'll see how that goes. No plan survives the first encounter, and all. Anyways, please leave reviews and let me know what you liked or didn't like! I can't promise that I'll adjust my story to fit said reviews, but it gives me an idea of what people enjoy.