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The following is a fan-based
FICTION
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Chapter 8: Rocky Preparation
P.S. I now have a discord server! Discord .gg/ceBMM2Zz6c
It was midday, and yet Noelle couldn't help but be willing to ignore the current tasks she tended to busy herself with.
Her constant drive to be ready for the test to become a Knight of Favonius always took a degree of precedence when put beside other chores: Noelle was just like that, always trying to make herself worthy of the position she had in mind to acquire as soon as possible but... she always felt falling short from being truly ready.
Today, however, was different. First because the Traveler had given her an interesting idea on what she truly needed to do to train up, and then because Mr. Kratos was there too. She didn't doubt that Ms. Lumine and Ms. Paimon were reliable people, but she felt that Mr. Kratos had a greater understanding of what she referred to.
He didn't speak much, and he had looked particularly annoyed for some reason as he was clearly trying to enjoy a lovely break until it was afternoon time. Still, Noelle's apologies fell short to show how much sorry she felt for interrupting that break.
Despite all of that, Mr. Kratos came along as both Ms. Lumine and Ms. Paimon coached her on what she had to do.
First it was a matter of strength but... she obliterated the various stones and gems with ease through her mighty sword's strikes. She also obliterated some silly Mitachurls that had tried to disturb them while she was still training with some iron and crystals. The chore was not as unusual as other times she had focused on power-building, but the Geo-user hardly had any problem do this manual chore for a while.
Next up was the matter of speed. Noelle had to admit that carrying around a claymore in combat may be detrimental in running while it was busying her hands, but as she rushed around while disarmed and successfully completed the track. She even dodged some arrows hurled at her from Hilichurls, proving herself as agile and nimble as she was supposed to be but-
"Not enough."
This was the time where Mr. Kratos spoke. Up to that point it had been the Traveler to give her advice and, as much as she trusted Ms. Lumine's judgment, there was something in Mr. Kratos' confident rebuttal that left her wondering.
"Hm, really?"
He nodded at Noelle's inquiry, but he didn't explain what she did wrong. Instead, he returned to the two main tasks and made those 'actually difficult'.
The first one, once again 'strength', focused on a large rock that was five times her height and four times her width. Mr. Kratos told her that the task was to destroy the rock in fifteen minutes. He sat down, patiently studying her while the Traveler and Paimon questioned the validity to this test.
Meanwhile Noelle was smiling giddily. Even though the test was nigh-impossible within her logical thoughts, she still tried her best. She started to hit the rock as hardly as she could, using her Vision's power to bolster her own might. She hit and hit, even as she felt her hands swell a bit under her armored gloves, even as her hold lost its calm ease with her hands trembling as she held her Claymore.
She shredded a third of the rock in that limited amount of time, and as she looked at Kratos, expecting a mark for her effort, she was greeted by silence as he stood up and gestured them to follow him. Noelle was confused, but she didn't press the matter.
She soon found herself standing at a rather interesting obstacle course, one where there were a lot of hilichurls and mitachurl. It was one of the biggest camps ever, but Mr. Kratos gave her an equally insane task: she had to clear it in less than ten minutes on her own.
Noelle, ignoring the Traveler's protest, moved to do just that. As expected, she failed to make it to the plannet time mark, and she got hit and bruised a few times while trying to speeding up the process. She moved fast, she hit fast, but she wasn't fast enough to make it in time.
Tired but smiling, the Knight-Maid approached Kratos, the man towering over her and giving her a thoughtful look.
"H-How did it go?"
...
"I-I failed, but- but I can train-"
"No."
The rejection froze her in the spot, her green eyes widening in confusion.
"No...? Why not?"
"You are wrong."
Her eyes narrowed. "Wrong? Wrong about training or..."
"Or?"
Noelle felt suddenly flustered. The few calculated words had slightly unveiled what Mr. Kratos saw as her main flaw... something that Acting Headmaster Jean had also told her about.
"Or I am overtraining."
"Indeed."
"Wait!" Paimon interjected, appearing quite confused. "So these two tests were to prove to Noelle that-"
"She was training too much," Lumine guessed, warranting a nod from Kratos. "She is already ready for the test."
Noelle bowed her head. "I just... I just don't feel ready."
"That's less about this test," Kratos rebuked. "You want to train because you are afraid of slipping off the moment you are through the test. You see it as a reason to train and, once passed, you will be without reason."
Her head bowed lower at that correct assessment. "Yes."
"Which is stupid. The point of being ready will always stick to you. The true flaw of yours is hesitation, you gave it your choice: do you want to be a knight or not?"
It was the first time Noelle was given this sort of lecturing. It was harsh, but it bluntly struck the main aspect of her issue: her idea of suddenly being unprepared to face the chore of being a Knight. She was strong and reliable, but what if she was to slip out of the habit and-
"Enough thinking, that's not going to help," Kratos interrupted her pondering, giving her a stern look. "Tomorrow you shall ask for when the exam will be, you will take it, and then you will try."
"B-but-"
"Trying is the first half of doing. If you don't try, then you have failed the test."
There seemed to be no room for protests and while she felt upsetted by this novelty, Noelle felt also cornered in a honest spot where she had to accept that she will never be 'too perfect' for the test or for the role itself.
"Okay."
"Will you do it?"
"Y-Yes-"
"Will you?" Kratos asked again and she looked up at him with determined green eyes.
"Yes."
"Good."
And that was it. Kratos left, leaving Noelle with Paimon and Lumine as they checked on her. However, while they reasonably thought she was a bit disappointed by the intense conversations... the truth was that Mr. Kratos had indeed found the flaw and...
She will work to fix it. And make him proud of her!
Lumine finished wrapping up the last bit of papers in regard to guides and material for their planned journey.
Tomorrow they would leave for Liyue properly, no more delays as they were finally ready to make the voyage to the harbor. They had money, resources, and allegedly 'a blessing from Barbatos' from what Kratos told her.
Heck, she didn't even know that the bald man had found the Anemo Archon, but she knew through this discovery that the Archon had been mostly missing from the affairs of Mondstadt and had resurfaced only recently. So, the fact he had no clue on her brother beyond his brief resurface in annoying Kratos really didn't help.
So, Liyue was next. The Geo Archon was considered to be one of the oldest but also one of the strongest Archons in Teyvat, and since he had also kept a close watch of the Harbor, it was fair to assume that he may have some clues on where her brother was.
Still, as they were finishing the clean up to be ready to leave the next day, the blonde couldn't hold herself from bringing up what happened earlier today.
"You really helped Noelle back there," Lumine remarked, causing Kratos to roll his eyes at her as he sat by his chair. Paimon was napping in her makeshift bed, and Lumine was looking through her bag. "And don't make it sound like a chore. You did something good."
"I did. I am not questioning that," Kratos argued, showing no hesitation. "I just don't see a point to linger on the matter. I gave her a push, the rest is up to her."
"She will make it."
But Kratos didn't add his thoughts on that.
Rather, the man kept his gaze over Leviathan, the weapon having been tested in length and providing them both with confirmation that it had acquired Anemo powers. An unusual development for sure as hardly any 'non-Archon' weapon could acquire, even more when it was two elements.
As she was thinking of this, Kratos spoke up and brought her back to reality.
"Something troubles you."
These three words, as surprising as they may sound, were not far from the truth. Something was indeed troubling her and... it was the subject of their trip.
"I... I have a feeling that we will not find answers on what happened to my brother in Liyue."
"...And?"
"And I doubt we will find much in Inazuma, or Sumeru or-"
"Enough," Kratos interrupted, sounding annoyed and yet focused. "Cease with the hesitation, speak the truth."
"...I don't think... I don't think Aether left any trace of his passing during his journey," Lumine admitted, feeling the burden she had on her back slightly lighter, but nonetheless present as it wasn't solved just yet. "I feel like this journey is not worth it."
...
"It is 'worth it'."
"But-"
"The more we travel, the more we know. The greater are our chances of finding answers to our questions."
She was tempted to rebuke that, but Lumine remembered the lesson Kratos imparted to Noelle: trying was the first real test, and doing it was the matter of truth. What was the point of letting her own doubts stop her from trying and, at the very least, know she did all she could before calling it quits.
"I suppose-"
"You don't suppose, girl."
She snorted. "You truly have a thing to call me that. 'Girl'. Why?"
"Hm?" Kratos inquired.
"You keep calling Paimon 'Brat', and me 'Girl', but you don't do the same with others. Why?"
"It's unimportant."
Kratos' sharp response had her staring at him with some surprise. It was a rare occurrence for the man to just drop the topic like that and... she wasn't willing to let go just yet.
"Really? Then why not tell me why?"
"It's unimportant."
She rolled her eyes. "Will you eventually tell us?"
Kratos didn't answer that, thus concluding the conversation and leaving Lumine both curious and frustrated. After all, what could be driving him to be so 'affectionate' towards them?
For now, she had no answers to it and, who knows, maybe Liyue was going to bring her all of that at once. Or maybe not.
AN
Blep!
