So here Yuya stood at the sidelines watching his lord give Filo head pats. The puppet found this whole thing ridiculous. Honestly. Choosing a lord for this land through a race is so childish. That was no way to decide on an overseer. But one thing Yuya learned about this princess was, she wasn't rational or had any capacity to rule justly. Only going on her own whims and agendas. It reminded him a bit of how the Harbingers operated. They could get away with literally anything If the Tsaritsa didn't see an issue with it.
And even then, the things Dottore got away with spoke volumes of how little the Cryo Archon really cared. Yuya snapped back to reality as Raphtalia settled next to him. "I do hope they play fair for once." She said, trouble was bound to start when the Spear Hero approached their lord.
"Doesn't that blond fool ever learn?" Yuya questioned as the Spear taunted Filo. Filo did not like it one bit. Especially after she got insulted. Yuya laughed really hard when Filo kicked the Spear Hero right in the crotch, sending the hero flying into some hay.
Naofumi and Filo snickered rather amused as well at Filo's excellent kick. Raphtalia was more fixated on her lord. She never saw him laugh quite like that before.
"Sir Motoyasu! Someone get a healer!" The princess barked out before turning furiously at the Shield's party, her blood boiled, hearing them laugh at Motoyasu's pain. That short brat being the loudest of them all. "That's cheating!" She accused Naofumi.
"It's not my fault he got too close." Naofumi laughed, he settled down a bit giving Filo more attention. Likely to encourage her to do it again. Yuya for one approved of this behavior. The puppet composed himself as the preparation for the race was made.
After the Spear recovered from his pain, the race would soon start. The two Heroes now on their mounts ready to go at it on the race track.
The race started with Filo taking the lead. She was kicking up quite the storm leaving the Spear and knight in the dust. Taking the lead, though, Yuya felt elemental energy suddenly sparking to life. It felt similar to Geo. True enough a hole appeared on the course. Yuya narrowed his eyes. He changed his vision, the world around him dimmed as colors glowed before him. The people all appeared white. There is someone glowing green…? That wasn't the shade of Dendro… Or the right color for Geo. So the magic here had different colors. What a pain.
"That knight cheated."Yuya said as Filo tripped to avoid the hole. Raphtalia gasped at how hard that fall looked.
"Oh no Filo!" Raphtalia was more worried about their fledgling than the cheating. The Spear Hero took the lead as if he didn't even notice the cheating. Yuya was impressed at how unobservant the blond was.
Filo and their lord recovered. Yuya decided to track those masked people. Using his elemental sight he tried picking them out from the environment. Sure enough he spotted the white 'Physical' element. He strutted off as the others intensely watched the race.
He made his way over to the tree line. "You know they're cheating." Yuya spoke without looking up. The cloaked person seemed surprised Yuya even spotted them.
"I dare ask how you figure that?" They asked the strange being the Shield Hero showed up with one day. The masked person was curious.
"Simply put… I have a skill that allows me to see mana in use. That hole also appeared out of nowhere. Surely you won't let this go unpunished?"The puppet answered casually."It would be such a pain if my lord has to deal with more hurdles than needed." A silent threat played on the young man's lips.
"We shall interfere once the race has concluded." They said, Yuya sighed at that.
"Who even are you?" The puppet asked. These masked people had real Authority with how the bitch of a princess reacted.
"You may call us Shadows. That's all you need to know, Companion of the Shield Hero."They said stiffly. Yuya thinks he understood. So these Shadows were royal retainers much like the Fatui higher ups. Clearly not as strong as the Harbingers, but competent enough to handle important tasks."I dare say you are quite observant."
Yuya rolled his eyes. He caught another flash. Those cheating soldiers cast a spell on his lord. Yuya scoffed as Filo suddenly got a lot slower. The dragon knight passed them shortly after. "Why let this farce play out? Their being so painfully obvious..!" Yuya hissed pointing at the guard that just cheated.
"I'm confident that your Lord will win. We shall make sure he isn't slighted." The Shadow insisted. Yuya growled. Useless human. He turned to the direction of the guard who dared to hinder the race.
"I'm not letting them interfere any longer." His book appeared next to him, startling the Shadow. They felt a strong intent to maim coming from the puppet.
"Stop! You'll get your lord into trouble." The Shadow had jumped down grabbing the puppet by the arm. The sparks that had formed around his fingers disappeared as he was interrupted.
"Release my arm or I'll rip yours off." Yuya spoke. He glared down at the Shadow. The Shadow felt like they were staring down a monster for a moment before they let go. "Hoh? A well trained human. That's new." The puppet sounded mocking and condescending.
The shadow was surprised at how… utterly infuriating it was to talk to the one named Yuya, how he looked down on them like that. This switch in behavior was concerning. Dangerous. Yuya was in all sense of the word Dangerous. What monster has the Shield found? Was he aware that he was making a beast that could lead to trouble stronger?
"My my… That look on your face… Is priceless. Ara… I must say, you're more observant than most… you know I'm a threat to you all, but relax, If I wanted to cause trouble, you'd all be dead by now." Yuya said with a sweet smile. "I've missed that feeling of fear wafting from humans in my presence…" He laughed to himself.
"Do keep your promise or I'll do something to make that fear a reality." Yuya had no qualms in spilling blood or causing panic. He enjoyed the rush he got from the Shadow's reactions. He made his way back over to the cheering crowd. The race was almost over. Yuya saw that poor beast Spear Hero was riding was trying its best after all. They were neck and neck.
Filo managed to cross first by her beak. She 'gweehed' happily as she skidded to a halt. Suddenly proofing into a larger bird that looked more like a chicken now. Naofumi looked surprised at this sudden change, Motoyasu cursed as he dismounted from the dragon, clearly still sore from the crotch kick. The dragon looked upset that it lost. Myne accused the Shield of cheating. Yuya growled, that insolent brat!
True to their word. The Shadows interfered with the princess. Announcing that the Spear Hero's side cheated as none of the Shield Hero's party members had the right affinities to cast such magics. Naofumi frowned upon hearing this.
It was concerning to the Hero that the masked people knew so much about them. Yuya narrowed his eyes, settling next to Naofumi, arms crossed over his chest. The princess was forced to leave though they were taking their sweet time preparing to depart, the princess fumed as she barked orders for her guards to hurry it up. Yuya felt smug at seeing her frustration. He taunted her silently from his spot.
Motoyasu glared at them. "Just so you know. I let you win. Don't think it will happen again, especially with that tub of-!" Spear was cut off from talking.
"Hey now how's your crotch doing?" Naofumi asked, rightfully smug. Yuya snickered under his breath as the Spear started to limp away with his tail tucked between his legs so to speak. Severed them right!
Raphtalia looked slightly mortified at the crude comment Naofumi made. Her tail bristled."Master Naofumi, you can't say such things!" She felt like he didn't need to stoop to potshots like that! She did not appreciate Yuya encouraging this behavior one bit either!
Yuya then noticed they didn't make a single effort to grab the dragon. It blinked as the hero didn't take its reins again, it stood there with visible confusion forming on its scaley face. "Leave the dumb thing. It's clearly not suited to keep up with a hero like Sir Motoyasu!" Malty huffed out, she was livid it lost the race.
"So you're just going to abandon your beast because you lost?" Yuya spoke out. It left a bad taste in his mouth as he walked up to the dragon with a sudden wave of something hitting him. Yuya felt that strange feeling coiling in his chest, a pang of pain he experienced whenever he thought of when he was discarded and declared useless.
"Ah.. What?" The Spear turned to see the short menace walking up to the dragon knight.
"You really are a coward. This poor thing tried its best and this is how you reward it?" The puppet raised his hands up to the blue dragon's face. To everyone's shock the lizard placed its head into the pretty boy's palms making some noises that seemed positive. "Hmm? What a well mannered beast… I think I shall claim you as my own seeing as they have no more use for you." Filo made a sound of pure offense at Yuya's words.
Naofumi blinked, what has gotten into Yuya? "I'll put you to better use." Naofumi got the feeling that was more personal than he first thought. Motoyasu looked ready to protest but Myne lost her patients and demanded they leave already, leaving the puppet with the dragon.
"You can't be serious Yuya." Raphtalia spoke. Her tail swished from side to side. She looked at him as if he grew a second head or something.
"I am. They just abandoned it like worthless dross. I'm keeping it. Surely you can grant me this selfish wish, Lord Naofumi?"Yuya turned to the human, there was a strange undertone to Yuya's voice that Naofumi had never heard before, it was a sharp contrast to what the hero was used to hearing from Yuya.
Filo growled again at this, feathers puffed. The dragon hissed back. A single stare from Yuya got them both to settle." That's enough from you two."That tone did not leave room for argument, the previous tenderness vanished as fast as it appeared, Naofumi even flinched a bit. Yuya could get really scary at times. The Shield sighed seeing as Yuya wouldn't budge on the matter.
"Fine but you're responsible for it, you're also in charge of making sure Filo and the dragon get along, you're good at keeping them in line." Naofumi relented. Another party member wouldn't hurt them either. Yuya smirked to himself.
"Sure I'll make sure they behave."The puppet said, running his hand over the scales of the dragon. This was a very impulsive decision he made so he would commit to it. Yuya wasn't one to go back on his word without good reason.
The villagers soon gathered around to thank Naofumi for his victory and saving them from extortive taxes. They wanted to give Naofumi a reward. Lord Naofumi refused the money, but Filo pointed out an old cart. She wanted it, so they got it. The villagers fixed it up. Yuya opted to ride his new dragon instead of inside the cart. Claiming he didn't want to be cramped into a moving box the entire time.
The village's lord gave Naofumi a Trader's permit after they talked a bit about Naofumi taking on the mantle of a traveling merchant so their passage from town to town would be free. They set off as soon as the cart was ready to be used.
Filo was having a blast pulling the cart as Naofumi got used to steering it. He's never steered a bird drawn carriage before. Yuya was half impressed with how quickly the human figured things out, was this a hero thing?
Raphtalia got motion sickness a few hours after they started going to their next destination. Yuya snickered as he rode alongside the cart. His dragon happily trotted along. Naofumi stopped to let Raphtalia throw up at the side of the road.
They later set up camp when nighttime hit. Filo happily snuggled against her cart. She shot a small glare at Yuya and the dragon. Yuya rolled his eyes as he got to cooking. Naofumi set up the sleeping gear and made sure Raphtalia was okay. She seemed red in the face.
"Sorry for making you both do all the work…" Raphtalia said. She honestly hated getting sick. Naofumi dismissed her apologies as he checked her temperature.
"Do you have a fever?" He asked. She shook her head looking over to Filo.
"She seems so happy now that she can pull that cart." The racoon said with a small smile. Her eyes landed on Yuya, he was a strange guy for sure. She wondered what he was making for them this time. They took turns on who cooked as Yuya was oddly insistent on doing so.
He offered soup for everyone. Naofumi was pleasantly surprised by how it tasted. Ever since the duel Naofumi had been able to taste more again… It wasn't fully back but basic tastes registered with him now. "Did you get better at cooking?" Naofumi asked.
Yuya bristled as he fed Filo and the Dragon. He put two bowls down for them. Filo happily dug in. She got extra meat chunks as she was bigger. Yuya made sure to give the dragon a lot as well. Though it wasn't nearly as gluttonous as the Filolial.
"How insulting! I always make great food! You're just impossible to cook for!" The puppet huffed out rather cutely. Naofumi found it to be at least. Yuya really had such squishy looking cheeks. Shaking his head slightly amused he hummed, drinking the soup. They soon settled into a peaceful quiet around their temporary camp. The fire crackled softly in the night.
Later they fell asleep. Filo decided to use their Lord as a pillow. Yuya was staring up at the sky. Using his dragon as a headrest himself. His eyes fixated on the stars above there the entire night. Thinking things over, this sky wasn't like the one back in Teyvat. It was still a jarring change from the night sky he was used to, even if he had been in this world for quite some time now.
These stars looked more random and spread out compared to the way the stars in Teyvat's sky clumped together. It was a mockery of the real thing.
Yuya wondered where he would have been if he didn't end up here… imprisoned? Back in the Doctor's 'care'?
He sighed, no use in dwelling on what ifs. During some point Yuya noticed Filo suddenly changed shape in her sleep. Yuya closed his eyes for a moment to try and sleep. He wasn't tired. It was just boring waiting for the sun to rise.
The next day came eventually. Lord Naofumi woke up to something he wasn't expecting. A blond haired little girl snuggling up to him… It dawned on the hero that the kid was naked, so of course he freaked out. Startling everyone awake.
Yuya's eyes snapped open as his catalyst appeared ready to fight whatever startled his lord. Only to relax when he realized what was going on.
Raphtalia looked confused as she woke. They didn't seem to realize the little girl was Filo. Yuya's dragon made a noise as it was startled as well, its head shot up looking around frantically. Yuya sat up, giving his dragon a few soothing pets. "Shh it's fine." He said keeping his voice calm.
He looked to his Lord and Filo who was confused at the reactions she got. She could speak perfectly the human language too it seemed. Once everyone calmed down things got sorted out. Naofumi had draped a cloak over Filo so she wouldn't run around bare. Filo later showed off her ability to transform between a big chunky bird and a little girl. She was proud of herself.
"Give me that cloak. She isn't walking around in a tasteless looking rag." Yuya said, grabbing the fabric from him. Raphtalia looked at Yuya questioningly.
"You can tailor clothes?" She asked. The puppet nodded as he brought out some supplies he usually used to repair his kimono with.
"It's not all different from doll making." He said as he made the cloak look a bit more presentable. It wasn't anything fancy. He just turned the brown fabric into a dress that fit Filo's human form. Yuya's dragon watched from its spot. He would have to name it soon.
"Oh wow big brother knows how to make things!" Filo gasped excitedly as she hovered over Yuya with a big smile. Yuya felt his face heat up at being addressed in such a manner.
"Don't call me that…!"Yuya hissed as he huffed, embarrassed by the title."Just Yuya is fine. None of that familial nonsense…"Yuya felt another annoying pang pull at his empty chest. That ever persistent void made everything he felt so much worse.
Yuya finished making the modifications and dressed Filo up properly, he was being very careful with her despite his hostile wording. Filo twirled happily showing off her temporary dress with an angelic smile.
"Thanks a lot Yuya!" She beamed before turning to taunt the dragon. Trying to make it jealous as she got a new item and it didn't. The dragon huffed in response smacking its tail to the ground in rising irritation, a small hiss-like growl escaped its throat.
"Alright…! Let's go get Filo some proper gear. I doubt that will last long."Naofumi decided as he felt the rising tension. He clapped his hands together as he ordered them to settle down.
So the party of five returned to Castle Town to see Erhard. Erhard blinked as Naofumi came in with yet another party member, a blond girl with wings. "Another one?" He shot Naofumi a questioning look.
"She isn't a slave." Naofumi insisted with a straight face. Filo looked around excitedly. "Do you have anything that can change shape with it's user? Filo can shapeshift."Naofumi explained his question before Erhard could ask why.
"Sorry I don't sell magical clothes, but there's a tailor shop that can make the clothes you need for you." The blacksmith said. He then gave the Shield's party directions to the shop in question.
The trip there wasn't too bad. Yuya stayed outside with his Dragon this time. Keeping the mount company as it got lonely for being made to wait outside for so long. Yuya had a feeling it was just jealous of Filo who was getting all the attention recently. He wasn't expecting this little trip to turn into a whole fetch quest.