the story so far: lumine is enrolled in her first year at celestia academy and makes all sorts of friends (certain individuals are more interested in her than others). she's not only gained friends, but lumine finds herself with new power. controlling anemo with no vision is quite the shock, though she's keeping it a secret for now. speaking of secrets, kaeya has one or two up his sleeve—revealing some of celestia's history and the potential for treasure.

After Kaeya's overview of the treasure situation, we began to make our game plan. Because classes were during the week, it was decided that our first search for the cave would be over the weekend. Kaeya opted for option number one—secret passageways—since he was familiar with the layout. He gave me a copy of the Academy's blueprints, and I had to study it before our next meeting.

The plan was simple. First, we will scope out the entirety of campus separately, each of us covering one end of the Academy. Then, we'll find each other and do a recon of any promising locations. Hopefully, we'll have found something relevant. If not, we would have to consider option number two—exploring the mountains.

I'd left Kaeya's room much later than I intended. The beginnings of dawn were creeping into the sky by the time I turned in for sleep, and fatigue was pulling at me all day. In Beginner's Gliding, I took it easy with the obstacle course and didn't go for any races with Amber. Now, in Physical Combat, I fought to stay alert while showing Childe proper swordplay form.

Instructor Xiao told everyone to stop sparring and focus on technique, and I suspect that may have been because of our rather aggressive practice from yesterday.

"Point your toe in the direction of your attack for balance." I swiped my wooden sword in the air and demonstrated the move. Both Childe and I were fully aware he needed no such instruction, but it was a formality at this point. "Make sure your knees don't lock. Okay, now practice your form with ten lunges."

I watched as Childe expertly handled his sword. His motions were quick and deadly—in a sort of beautiful way. It was hard not to be mesmerized.

Still, my mind wandered and went back to the treasure hunt. Kaeya had said that we may be dealing with the Abyss. As much as I didn't want to believe it, all signs were pointing to its possible involvement.

Everyone has heard about the Abyss Order—a dark organization that wreaks havoc upon Teyvat when the opportunity arises. Most mobs were the result of their interference, especially the hostile ones. No one knows where the monsters of the Abyss Order come from, but they normally spawn in remote locations. Hilichurls were the most common threat, though their low levels of intelligence made them fairly easy to handle in small numbers. Large groups led by Abyss Mages—that was when true danger began to form. Organized hordes on that scale were rare, though, just for the moment.

I have taken notice of increased activity over the years, through word-of-mouth and my own accidental encounters. Regular hilichurls were doable if I were to take them down one at a time, but I wouldn't dare face a mob on my own.

"Hey," Childe stabbed his weapon at me. "Keep your eyes on me."

I parried. "We're not supposed to be fighting."

"Then stop daydreaming," he scoffed. "What's got your mind so preoccupied anyway? You've been distracted nonstop all class. Normally, my partner isn't so mindless and dimwitted."

"Why are you being so hostile?"

"Aren't I always hostile? Maybe I should rephrase my question. Who are you thinking about?"

"No one."

"Really?" Childe narrowed his eyes. "Are you sure you're not drooling over Kaeya Alberich?"

"Kaeya? Why would you think that?"

He flipped the hilt of his sword with the beginning of a glare. "I talked with Signora, you know. Asked her why she was bothering you, and what that might have to do with me."

"What did she say?" And what did that have to do with Kaeya?

"It doesn't matter what she said—not anymore. What matters is that she was so kind as to inform me that she saw you sneaking into Kaeya's room last night. Apparently, you were with him until morning."

I let out a gasp. "She was spying on me?"

"Signora has a Cryo Vision." Childe rolled his eyes. "She lives in Cryo House and is very perceptive. It's true then? You and Alberich?"

"She wasn't lying." I shrugged, and heat crept up my neck at the implication. "But we weren't like that."

"Sure. That's why you're turning red as blood on a battlefield, right? Because you weren't like that?"

"I—Whether or not you believe me, why do you care who I choose to hang out with?"

Childe stepped close to me. "Because you're my partner. No one else's."

"In class. You can't just claim me as your partner in everything else."

"Why not?"

"We're friends, Childe," I sighed. "You and I, friends. Kaeya and I, friends."

"Didn't I warn you about him?"

"I vaguely remember that." I recalled my first day here when Childe made a cryptic comment about an eyepatch. "But I've spent enough time with him to know he's not a bad person. Don't you trust my judgment?"

"Oh, I'm sure you've spent plenty of time with him."

"And I spend plenty of time with you," I reminded him. "Every day."

"In class," Childe muttered.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "You're always trying to fight me. Inside and outside of class. Believe it or not, I have other things to worry about."

Like doing well in all of my classes. And keeping an eye out for Twin Mages' behavior. And trying to figure out how I can use Anemo on my own without getting caught. And finding my long-lost twin brother. And uncovering a secret treasure while possibly getting involved in Abyss Order business. Wow, I'd really built up quite the to-do list.

"You shouldn't have to worry about anything," Childe said. "What's bothering you? I'll handle it, and then we can focus on our matches. Need me to end a few enemies?"

"I can handle it. What I can't handle is you being like…this. Where's the easygoing Childe focused only on getting strong enough to raze the world?"

"I have other pursuits." He stared at me before switching up his whole demeanor with a grin. "Fine. I'll save the fighting talk for class."

"Good," I huffed with a nod. "I'm glad we cleared that up."

"And I'll see you for breakfast and dinner."

"What?"

"You used to sit at the Visionless table for meals. It was easier eating with you then," he sighed. "But now that you're always at the Pyro table…they're annoying."

I punched his arm. "Hey, those are my friends you're insulting."

"I suppose I can withstand their chatter, though. Then we can hang out more."

"You're not planning something, are you?"

He raised his brows. "Is it a crime, wanting to spend extra time with you? Or could it be that you wish to spend your time with someone else ?"

"Okay, okay. Let's get back to swordplay before Instructor Xiao yells at us."

"Whoa, Bennett," Xiangling gasped. "Where did you get those bruises?"

"I had some trouble with my windglider today." He laughed sheepishly.

"You have a black eye." Amber stared, horrified. "What kind of windglider trouble could cause that?"

"It was all a blur," he confessed. "One thing led to another, with my luck, and I glided straight into a floating boulder. Then I fell onto a foggy-groggy before a bird flew into my eye."

"Why haven't you gone to the infirmary?" I asked, also horrified. "I can take you if you can't find it."

"Oh, I know where the infirmary is. Barbara heals me on a daily basis. She's always lecturing me on basic safety," he laughed. "I couldn't wait to get to dinner, though. The Sweet Madames they're serving today are my favorite!"

We all chimed in to tell Bennett that he should prioritize his wounds over food, but he insisted that he heals better on a full stomach. The Sweet Madames really are delicious, though. I went to grab a second plate and returned to find that Childe had filled the empty seat next to mine.

He munched on a chicken bone. "Hey, girlie. Fancy seeing you here."

"That's Thoma's seat," I pointed out. "He should be here any minute."

"He's not here right now, is he?"

"Well no, but with so many Pyro at this school, there won't be any other seats open at the table."

"I thought we were having dinner together? If Thoma wants a seat at the table, then he should get here in time."

I couldn't argue with that, nor could I shoo Childe away after he expressed such a strong desire to spend quality time together. Placing my tray on the table, I noticed my friends had gone silent. Oh boy. How was I going to get Childe to be less threatening?

"So," he drawled. "How have your classes been?"

"Yeah, Amber." I pulled her into the conversation for the sake of inclusivity. It was time for him to play nice with everyone else. "How are classes?"

A piece of chicken fell off her fork. "Me? Oh, um, they've been good. I was finally able to guess all the names of the plants correctly in—"

"That's nice." Childe turned back to me. "I want to know about Lumi's classes."

"Childe, let her finish."

Amber waved her hands. "That's okay! Nothing much to say."

"No," I shook my head. "If he wants to sit here, then he will be fully engaged with everyone else. Isn't that right, Childe?"

"Fine."

He gave in to the pressure of simply fitting in, and we were able to go around the group discussing their classes and worries about upcoming exams. I made sure to get everyone to say their piece before the conversation circled to me, and I could tell Childe was close to losing it. Though, he was polite and even coughed up a few follow-up questions to prove he was paying attention. I was proud.

Thoma walked up with a tray of food.

"Sorry, I'm late. A staff member needed help carrying boxes and I—oh. Are there no seats left?"

"Ah, what a shame," Childe said. "Looks like you'll have to find somewhere else to get lost—I mean, sit down."

His amended words were due to my swift kick under the table.

"Sorry, Thoma."

"That's alright!" he reassured me. "I'll just eat with Miss Kamisato, then. Enjoy your meal."

Childe snickered as Thoma left, and I kicked him again. "You're supposed to be civil, remember?"

"Old habits die hard."

"Kill them faster."

"And what about your classes?" He changed the subject. "May I finally hear about how you've been doing, after all this time?"

I gave him one last withering look before moving on. Today in Vision Studies, we were fighting with slimes again, but I purposefully steered clear from the action. It's not that I didn't want to splash water on slimes, I just couldn't risk flaring up my Anemo in the event of another emergency. I took more notes than preferable, but it was necessary at this point. The rest of my classes have been stellar.

When it came for Childe to talk about himself, he didn't hesitate. There was a lot of, "no one else can best me," and "my classes are too easy." But he shut that down quickly after I reminded him he found them easy because he got held back for behaving like an idiot.

"In a non-academic sense," he corrected.

I shrugged. "Tomatoes potatoes."

"Isn't it tomatoes tomahtoes?" Xiangling's lips puckered into a confused frown.

"It's whatever she says it is."

"Thanks for the support, but it's not that serious." I patted Childe's shoulder and tried to hide a yawn. "Okay guys, I think I might sleep early. It's been a doozy of a day."

Especially with my irregular sleeping patterns.

"I'll walk with you." Childe stood and picked up both of our trays, walking them to the return area.

"Sure." I said goodbye to my friends, all of which seemed to let out a simultaneous sigh of relief once Childe walked away, and I felt a bit bad for them. "Sorry about Childe being all…y'know. I think he's getting better, though."

"It's fine," Amber beamed. "It's kind of nice, actually. He doesn't seem so bad."

He jogged back with a smile. "Let's go."

"See? I wasn't so bad at dinner." Childe applauded himself as we reached the student dorm building.

"For the most part. This is goodnight, then."

"Let me take you to your room."

"You don't have to."

He opened the door for me. "I want to. I've never really walked down this floor before. Visionless House looks the same as all the others, I guess."

"And why would it look any different? It's a building, not a contest."

"Oh you know, each floor can be a bit—"

He abruptly halted in his tracks, and I didn't need to ask why. Kaeya leaned against my door, though he hadn't noticed our approach. He was studying a bundle of papers tucked neatly in his hand. Childe's smile dimmed, as did the light in his eyes that had sparked during dinner. He was so hung up on Kaeya before, and I could only imagine what kind of outlandish thoughts were going through his head right now.

"Childe," I started, but he was already making a beeline toward my door.

Kaeya pushed off the door as Childe approached. "What do we have here? Lumine, I wasn't expecting you to have company."

"What sort of business do you have with her at this hour?" Childe asked with an emotionless tone.

Kaeya looked at me. "I need to speak with Lumine in private."

"No."

Ignoring Childe, Kaeya said, "Lumine, may I have a word with you?"

I turned to face Childe, uncertain if I could get him to back down, but still willing to try. "Thanks for walking me back. You can leave now. Kaeya and I just need to go over a few things."

"I'll leave when he leaves."

Kaeya smirked. "I'm not leaving until you're out of the way."

"Say that again, pirate boy." Childe took a menacing step forward and I grabbed his arm, pulling him back.

"Pirate boy," Kaeya laughed. "Not the most creative taunt. Surely, you can do better."

Childe clenched his fists. "You want to see what I am capable of? Gladly."

"No fighting outside of class." I stepped in front of him. "Remember?"

"With you. No fighting with you, girlie. Alberich is fair game."

I shook my head. "He is not. You were nice to my friends earlier, so you can be nice to Kaeya. He's my friend, too."

"Just a friend?"

"Yes." I lightly squeezed his arm. "Trust me, okay?"

Childe remained silent, shooting daggers at Kaeya before looking back at my pleading expression. I wouldn't know what to do if they broke out in a fight, not that I expected Kaeya to actually fall for Childe's taunts. He was doing so well earlier, but I can't say I'm surprised that seeing Kaeya put him on edge.

After what felt like forever, Childe finally nodded slowly, and I let out a breath of relief. He reached down to grasp my hand at his arm and squeezed back before stepping away. The tender gesture stunned me, and some part of me wished for him to stay a bit longer.

"See you at breakfast." He let go of my hand.

"I'll try to wake her up before then." Kaeya smirked, and I whirled on him.

"Kaeya!"

He laughed. "Kidding."

I found no humor in the situation, nor did Childe. I swear he was about to assault Kaeya right then and there, but he held back. Surprisingly.

"If you try anything with her…" The threat hung in the air for a moment, loud and clear. With that, Childe stalked away down the hall.

Kaeya let out a chuckle and I glared at him, shutting him up.

"Why are you like this?"

He held up the papers he'd been holding. "I brought you the student roster."

"That's what that is?" I gasped—gripes forgotten—and moved to grab them. "Let me see."

"Ah, ah." He held it out of my reach, and I seriously considered delivering a blow to his kneecaps. "First, would you mind telling me exactly what kind of relationship you have with Childe? I didn't expect this."

I stood on my toes. "We're friends. Give me the roster."

"Just friends?"

I let out an exasperated sigh. "Not you, too."