Chapter Text
"Hahaha! Who would have thought that Varka of all people seriously had the gall to set me up with a supervisor… he must really be stressed if he's trying to put me on a leash.”
Ever since the two left camp, Lohen’s just been going on and on but Illuga is barely hearing it over how pissed he is. Even after maybe half an hour had passed, he was still silently fuming over the fact he had gotten dragged into this without him knowing or agreeing to it. Only every now and again would he let out some vague “hm,” or “uh huh” in response to Lohen’s ramblings.
Well, they've already been on the road for this long, so there's nothing he could do about it now.
"Hey, are you even listening to me?” Lohen’s question suddenly bursts Illuga’s mental clouding.
"Huh? Oh, yes..!" He nods.
"Yeah? Repeat everything I just said.”
"...Okay I lied, I wasn't listening.”
Lohen bursts out laughing, wrapping his arm around Illuga’s shoulder— causing the white haired boy to shudder a bit.
“You're so funny, little birdy.”
“I have a name, you know…”
“Would you prefer that? I thought it was a pretty cute nickname.”
“What? I- forget it, call me whatever you want.”
I swear, the second this mission is over with, that Grand Master is gonna have a piece of my mind! I’m never gonna—
"Soooo, why don't you take the chance now to explain this… ‘Wild Hunt’ business before I get 'carried away,' as Varka says?” Lohen smiles softly at Illuga.
“Oh… yes, sure thing.”
The two stop walking for a bit so Illuga can pull out a map, handing it over to Lohen.
“Essentially, the Wild Hunt is what we refer to this abyssal phenomenon in Nod Krai. Although we still aren't entirely sure where they came from, the areas marked here,” he points to several of the spots marked on his map. “are where largely concentrated areas of abyssal contamination are. Because of the concentration, it taints people or monsters, and kind of makes them act like zombies.”
Lohen nods along to everything Illuga is saying, but if he's being honest he isn't really looking at the map or thinking about his explanation, all he can think about is how much he's itching for battle. Well, that and how cute Illuga looks when he's serious. Maybe this partnership wouldn't be so bad after all, he thinks to himself.
“So, did you get all that?” Illuga asks, looking up at him.
“Absolutely captain. Just lead the way!”
Illuga gives him a nod before heading off, with Lohen trailing close behind.
Illuga tries to mind his own business, tries to stay quiet, but… it’s exactly that the silence is killing him. If he’s gonna be forced to work with this guy, might as well get to know him, right?
“So, ah… Lohen… how’s Nod Krai?”
“Hmm?” Lohen turns to look at Illuga, smiling at him. “Oh, it’s quite nice. Mondstadt is too quiet and peaceful. I feel like I can really let loose here.”
“Maybe you should become a Lightkeeper instead of a knight,” he laughs. “There’s no end to the problems I have to deal with here.”
“Oh? Do tell, captain.”
“Huh? Oh, w-well… of course, the Wild Hunt is just about everywhere nowadays. We have Lightkeepers stationed all around Nod Krai, it’s really tough to get a lot of help-- especially since the Lightkeepers are made up of volunteers… I guess you could say we’re pretty scarce.”
“Sounds like you’d actually love my help. Maybe I should be your Vice Captain instead, hmm?”
He doesn’t know why, but Illuga feels flustered by Lohen asking him that, even though he knows it’s just a joke.
“M-Maybe. I’m sure you’d be a great fit.” Illuga stops in his tracks, looking ahead. “In fact, why don’t you show off some of your skills now?”
Lohen redirects his attention to where Illuga is staring-- a pack of monsters surrounding some kind of mechanism, the air around them tainted with abyssal energy.
“Oh, bring it on!” Lohen smirks excitedly, not even waiting a second longer before running off into battle.
“Hey, wait! Lohen!” Illuga runs after him frantically. “We weren’t gonna come up with a plan first!?”
“Plan?” Lohen laughs, swinging his spear out and jumping into action. “This is the plan! Attack!”
Are you serious!?!
As much as Illuga wants to reprimand him right now, he follows right behind and readies his own weapon to back him up-- for as careless as this man might be, he can’t let him run headfirst into a fight without support.
“Hahahaha!” Lohen, for some reason, laughs manically as he beats the monsters in his path to the ground. “Is that all you’ve got!?!”
I’m starting to see why Varka wanted me to watch this guy…
Illuga keeps those thoughts to himself, quietly and carefully supporting Lohen, but it wasn’t enough-- they just kept getting up again. Illuga looked at the mechanism.
That’s it!
He rushes over, pulling out his lantern.
“Aedon, do you think you can stop this from spreading?” He quietly speaks to his lantern.
A golden bird comes flying out, a glow surrounding it crashes into the mechanism. The light catches Lohen’s attention, he glances over as he throws another monster onto the floor. Illuga holds his lantern closer to it, until the glowing begins to burst-- the dark abyssal shadow dissipating.
“Now’s our chance!” Illuga turns to Lohen, calling out to him.
His eyes narrow, he only smirks in response before going right back to swinging and stabbing everything around him.
Aedon returns to Illuga’s side, the two run after Lohen to help him finish off the remaining creatures in their way.
It took a little longer than Illuga had anticipated, but in no time the Wild Hunt was cleared out, leaving the two to catch their breaths amidst the bodies of the hunt.
“Hah… That was a pretty good warmup.” Lohen retorts.
“...Excuse me?” Illuga looks over at him. “Warmup? There’s no way that was just a warmup to you!”
“Well, yeah. You’ve got a lot more places marked on your map, don’t you?”
“I mean, yes but… it’s not really meant for us to tackle them all by ourselves. That’s why the Lightkeepers exist.”
“Pffft, I could take 20 more. At once!” Lohen grabs Illuga by the shoulders, shaking him.
“No, what! Maybe you can, but Varka asked me to keep you in check. So we’re taking a break until we get to the next outpost.”
This guy is so weird, is what Illuga is thinking to himself, but his heart seems to betray him when he feels his face getting warm when Lohen gets this close to him.
“Ugh, fine… I guess.” Lohen scoffs, releasing his grip on Illuga, turning around to stretch.
Illuga’s heart drops a little when Lohen looks away, but he quickly composes himself. He shouldn’t be thinking like this, especially with a stranger. Even if this stranger was flirting with him earlier. He was pretty sure it was just Lohen’s way of making fun of him, anyhow.
“Oh, by the way…” Lohen turned back to him with a smile. “I saw you had something glowing earlier.”
“Huh? Oh, Aedon?” Illuga lifts his lantern up slightly.
“That’s a lantern.”
“I know that!” He rolls his eyes. “Aedon is my messenger bird inside of my lantern.”
“I didn’t know birds could live inside lanterns. Is that animal abuse?”
“What? No!”
Lohen bursts out laughing , walking back to Illuga.
“Relax, I’m just messing with you! But hey, I guess… you are quite like a little bird, right? You even have one too.”
“Are you really gonna keep calling me that?”
“I don’t see why not. You don’t like it?”
“I don’t mind it, I suppose… it’s… cute I guess?”
“If you say so, little birdie.”
Illuga hates himself for how much hearing those words made him feel like he wanted to pull Lohen impossibly close to him.
“Something wrong?” Lohen asks.
Illuga snaps back to reality. “No, why do you ask?”
“Your face is all red.”
Wh-- “What!?!”
Illuga slaps a hand over his mouth, looking away from him. Yet, as Lohen laughs at his antics, he can only feel himself getting warmer.
“You’re such a cute little birdie, so easy to mess with.”
“Shut up! If I’m a bird, then… then you’re, uh… a fox?”
“Why? You want me to hunt you?”
“Okay, never mind! Let’s just get going!”
Illuga knows for sure now that his face is definitely red, so he doesn’t waste a second walking away back to the main trail, speed walking just enough so that Lohen can’t see his face. He has to mentally curse himself for how fast his heart is racing right now.
“What, giving up already?” Lohen giggles, following after him.
“You were pretty good back there, birdie. Maybe I should thank Varka for introducing me to someone so strong.”
He’s just messing with me again.
“Hey, you know, maybe we should spar together! You wouldn’t mind, right? C’moooon…”
For the sake of his peace of mind, Illuga decides to ignore Lohen’s comments, much to Lohen’s disappointment. After what felt like an eternity of pestering, Illuga decides to stop walking as they reach what seems to be the entrance to a forest up ahead. Or, that’s what he would say, but it’s too foggy to tell.
“...The fog is too dense. We’re going to have to be careful here.” He says.
“Sounds good to me, just lead the way!”
Illuga turns to him, trying his best to maintain a serious look.
“And I mean it, we have to be careful, if we lose each other here then it’s going to be difficult to regroup, plus, we don’t know what we’ll find.”
“Got it, just don’t take my eyes off you.”
“That’s not-- well, I mean..!”
Yet again, Illuga finds himself stuttering over his words from Lohen’s teasing. But this time, as much as he hates it, he can’t even argue back. He almost wanted to punch him. Almost.
“Just… just don’t go anywhere and stay close to m--”
Illuga finds himself cut off by himself this time, a quiet gasp escaping his mouth as Lohen’s hand intertwines with his. He’s so glad it’s foggy right now, or else Lohen would have definitely made another comment about how red his face was.
“Don’t worry captain, I’ll be close.”
Lohen’s voice is soft, the teasing tone practically piercing Illuga’s heart as he squeezes his hand.
“Huh? I- I…”
Furrowing his eyebrows, Illuga looks away shyly, yet doesn’t let go of his hand. “W-Whatever, let’s just get going…”
He leads Lohen into the fog, his heart pounding in his chest.
The forest is surprisingly bright-- the soft glow of kuuvahki helping to light the way through the fog. As Illuga guides the way with his lantern, Lohen gently squeezes his hand every now and again, perhaps just to see if he can watch Illuga squirm.
After a short walk, the two pause as they notice an eerie darkness leading into a cave.
“So, that’s our next target?” Lohen asks.
“Yeah, looks like it.”
“It’s about time,” Lohen smiles, grasping his polearm tightly. “I’m itching for a fight.”
“Hold on,” Illuga looks at him, grasping his hand sternly to keep him from running off this time. “We need a strategy this time. Don’t go running off.”
“Ugh, do we really need one?”
“Yes!”
Lohen rolls his eyes, yet makes no effort to run off and quietly waits for Illuga to speak.
“The source of the corrosion seems to come from those strange devices like we saw earlier, it’s going to be more difficult to find it in the fog, so you’ll be in charge of holding off the monsters while Aedon and I try to locate it. Once we do, we’ll destroy it and back you up. Understood?”
“Uh huh, understood Captain.” Lohen smirks, releasing his hand from Illuga’s.
He hates how sad he feels at the loss of warmth in his hand.
“Alright then, let’s go!”
The two waste no time running over, Illuga holding out his lantern to find his way not only through the dense fog, but the darkness of the cave as well. Even though Lohen is there to watch his back and fight off the other abominations there, he still has to pull his own weight-- smacking the tainted anomalies with his lantern as he makes his way into the darkness.
The fog is way too heavy here… it’s almost like having to see through a blur.
“Hah!”
Illuga perks up when he hears Lohen’s voice behind him, glancing over for a moment to see him gleefully slicing off the head of some creature-- if it weren’t for the fact that it was such a grotesque sight, Illuga would actually say he was charmed by it. He was strong. Fierce. What Illuga wanted to be. And yet, despite the fact that he knew Lohen was skilled, that he knew he wanted to fight, he couldn’t help but feel worry bubbling up in his heart.
He turned away, discarding the idea quickly to return to his search.
“Aedon, let’s go.”
Illuga followed Aedon through the darkness, lighting the way to the source of the abyssal filth. He held his lantern up high, staring down at the darkness below him. A void of nothingness, an empty abyss.
“I… I will light the way through the dark!”
He crashed his lantern down onto it, the kuuvahki bursting out on collision with the abyssal contamination. He turned back to see Lohen still in battle-- noticing the fog getting a bit lighter. He sighed a breath of relief before quickly running over to assist him.
“You got it?” Lohen yells over, still in the middle of throwing some tainted body to the floor.
“Yeah! Are you okay?”
“Better than I’ve ever been!”
Illuga wasted no time in coming to his aid, and the two swiftly finished off the rest of the Wild Hunt remaining.
“Not too bad, birdie. We make such a good team, don’t we?” Lohen chuckles, glancing at Illuga.
“...Yeah, sure. I guess we do.”
He can’t help but smile. Even though he thought Lohen was somewhat crazy, maybe a bit too thirsty for bloodlust, he still felt a bit moved by his will, his power. He was charming when he needed to be.
“Let’s get out of here, it’s still so murky. Plus, the sun’s starting to set. We’ll be in big trouble if we get stuck here in the dark… again.” said Illuga.
“Sure thing,” Lohen quickly reaches for his hand again, holding it tightly. “After you, Captain.”
“Ah…” A soft blush creeps onto Illuga’s face, which he tries to ignore.
He quickly pulls Lohen along, eager to escape the hazy forest before the sun went down-- desperate to quell the strange aching in his chest.
“Oh yeah, Lohen…” Illuga looks back at him for a split second. “Could I get my map back?”
“Hm? Oh right. I’ll give it back once we’re out of here.”
Illuga nods, turning back forward. He’s careful not to tread of the mandragora laying around, but it does make him think--
I’m kinda hungry… we’ve been at this all day now.
He shakes his head, dismissing the thought. Their top priority was getting back onto the road so they could actually see again.
Illuga sighed as they exited the clearing of the forest, the way forward becoming clearly visible once more. Then immediately took that relief back when he realized just how dark it had gotten.
“Ah, here you go.” Lohen released Illuga’s hand so he could reach into his pocket, handing him the folded up map.
“Thanks.”
Unfolding the map and mentally crossing off the areas they had finished clearing, Illuga let out a groan.
“What’s wrong?” Lohen asked.
“...We’re quite a ways from Piramida. It’s going to be too dark to try and head back now.”
“Huh, I guess it is pretty dark now. Time sure does fly when you’re having fun, am I right?”
“Yeah… fun. Anyhow, it seems like our best option is going to be setting up camp here for the night.” Illuga lowers the map to look at Lohen. “Is that alright? I know it’s not really ideal, but…”
“No worries! It’s not my first rodeo, birdie. We have to camp out all the time on expeditions. Plus, this time I’ve got a strong and adorable Ratnik looking after me!” Lohen gives him a thumbs up with a smirk.
Illuga can’t help but chuckle. Maybe he was being too harsh, Lohen was actually quite sweet--
“...Illuga?” Lohen stared at him in confusion.
Illuga’s smile had faded almost instantly. When his eyes landed on Lohen’s hand he noticed just how much blood was dripping down his wrist.
“Lohen, you’re-- you’re bleeding!”
“Huh?” Lohen looked at his hand. “Oh, I guess I am.”
Lohen seemed unfazed, but Illuga was set into a frenzy, grabbing his hand and carefully looking for any signs of what caused it.
“I… I can’t believe I didn’t notice earlier, it must have been because of the fog…”
“Hey, what’s the big deal? It’s just a little wound, I’ve had worse.”
Illuga wasn’t hearing anything Lohen was saying, his only thought was taking care of his injury. He frantically reached into his bag, looking for any bandages or wrappings.
“Ah, here…” He pulled out a cloth and a wrap of bandages, throwing the bag onto the floor and quickly going back to holding up Lohen’s hand.
I can’t believe I was so careless! I should have noticed sooner, I…
Lohen stood uncharacteristically still, his face was calm and he could only blink with his lips slightly parted. He watched as Illuga carefully wiped the blood off with the cloth, his expression so panicked-- yet so serious. It was so charming… this whole time it was Lohen teasing Illuga, yet here he was. Taking care of him. His heart ached at the sight.
“H-How is it? Does it hurt?” Illuga looked up at him after he finished wrapping up his wrist in bandage.
“Mm, not at all.” Lohen smiled softly at him.
“That’s a relief…” He smiled back, yet his unease was more noticeable than ever.
Lohen looked away, for once he was at a loss for words. The two stood in silence, with Illuga still holding Lohen’s hand.
“...We should, um, find a place to set up a tent…” Illuga murmured.
“Yeah, that’s… I agree.”
He carefully let go of his hand, as if he was afraid to hurt him even more.
“Hey, don’t look so nervous, birdie. I’m fine.”
Lohen offered him a smile, crossing his arms. Illuga laughed nervously, acting like he couldn’t physically feel the tightness in his chest.
“I’m not nervous… just looking out for my partner.”
“Oh? You’re so sweet, are you like this to everyone you work with?”
“Of course,” Illuga turned, signalling for Lohen to follow him once more. “I have to be the light for everyone to follow through the dark. It’s important to take care of all my subordinates.”
“Oh?” Lohen chuckles. “You’re so kind. What a shame, I was just thinking I was getting special treatment from you.”
Illuga doesn’t know how to respond to that. He wants to laugh, but he can’t decide if that makes him feel more nervous or excited.
“That reminds me, actually…”
“Hm?”
“Back at the Favonius Camp, when I was looking for you I talked to a couple of people… about you, I mean. They all said you were… well…” Illuga hesitated, but decided there was nothing to lose by telling the truth in this case. “They kind of described you as a cold and strict person. But this whole trip, you’ve been pretty much the opposite… you’ve been teasing me the whole time, and I think you’re… you’re a nice person.”
Lohen silently walks beside Illuga as he thinks about what he said. He can’t exactly find the words, but he starts to laugh. A lot. So much that it makes Illuga feel nervous, actually.
“Uhm… What’s so funny…?”
“Pffft, sorry… it’s just… my pathetic crew really said that about me?” He laughs, swinging an arm around Illuga. “That’s absolutely like them. They just don’t like that I whip them into shape.”
Illuga blinks in confusion, trying to resist the urge to sneak his hand around Lohen’s waist.
“So, you’re saying that it’s true? You agree with them calling you cold and merciless?”
“Yeah, I guess you could say that.” Lohen nods, calming himself down from his laughing fit. “It’s quite funny to imagine that. I bet you felt so scared having to deal with me, didn’t you?”
“That’s--” Admitettly, yes. Illuga was scared at first. But Lohen wasn’t like that. “...Then, why… why are you so nice to me?”
“Maybe… I just have a soft spot for you.”
“...You should really be kinder to your subordinates.” He scoffs.
“Really?” Lohen laughs, pulling Illuga closer to him. “That’s all you have to say?”
“I’m just making a suggestion.”
“You’re so funny sometimes!”
The two continue their banter until they find a nice clearing by the seaside, the sun fully set and the moon’s reflection in the water beckoning them to stay.
“This place should be fine.” Illuga sets his lantern down. “I’ll set up a tent for us. Could you make a fire?”
“Sure thing.”
Within just a few minutes, the two set up a small yet cozy camp for themselves, with a bright burning fire and a tent just big enough to fit the both of them.
Illuga sees Lohen sitting down in front of the fire as he finishes nailing the tent to the ground, and decides to sit next to him.
“Here,” he hands him a container. “It’s not really much, but this is all we have for food as of right now.”
Lohen curiously opens the pack, grinning when he sees an assortment of fruit waiting for him.
“Don’t worry, little birdie. I’m stronger than I look, we’ll get more food tomorrow.”
Illuga smiles, watching as Lohen eats his “meal.”
I don’t think I’ve ever seen him this calm since we met this morning… he’s really strange. But, I guess I don’t mind it.
Lohen looks over at Illuga, who seems to be staring at him with a soft smile on his lips. As much as he’d like to tease him for that, there’s a more pressing question on his mind.
“Illuga?”
“Huh?”
“You’re not eating anything?”
“Oh, no. We don’t exactly have that much food… I could only carry so much. Don’t worry though! Like you said, I’m strong as well.”
Lohen frowns, causing Illuga to tilt his head in confusion.
“That’s not fair at all, you can’t just give me all your food then sit there watching me eat it!”
“Huh…? I don’t get what you-- mmph--!!”
He’s immediately cut off by Lohen shoving a midsommar berry into his mouth.
“Come on, we’ll share it!” Lohen smiles.
What!? I was just trying to be--
Illuga is forced to finish chewing and swallowing before he can actually talk again, glaring at Lohen.
“H-Hey! What was that for!? I was trying to be nice!”
“No way, you’ve been nice enough! Today you’re gonna be selfish, Captain! Come on, you need to eat too!”
“I’m serious, I don’t need to ea-- mfmfph!!”
Well, arguing at this point was seemingly useless, as Lohen was dead set on sharing the fruits with him.
“O-Okay, okay! I’ll eat it! Just stop shoving it in my mouth!”
Lohen smiles, patiently waiting for Illuga this time.
“That’s what I like to hear!”
Lohen holds up another berry, waiting for Illuga this time instead of forcing him to eat it.
“...What?” Illuga asks.
“Say ahh.”
“I’m not doing that!” His face turns red, his eyes narrowing at him.
“Come on! Say it!”
“I’m… I’m not…”
He wants to divert his gaze away, but the way Lohen is looking at him with that stupid smirk, and those pleading eyes…
“...Ahh…”
Lohen giggles, carefully placing the fruit into his mouth.
Illuga looks away in embarrassment, his heart racing from whatever the hell just happened.
“You’re so cute, Illuga.” Lohen laughs, eating a berry for himself.
“Shut up…”
Lohen continues to tease him as they finish up the remainder of the fruits, his smile never once leaving his face.
“Mm, that was pretty good!” He chuckles, resting his head in his hands. “I guess it’s time to call it a night?”
“Yeah…” Illuga rubs the back of his neck nervously, still flustered by Lohen’s teasing. “You should go ahead and get some rest. I’ll keep watch.”
“Whaaat?” Lohen pouts. “You’re not gonna come sleep with me?”
“W-- huh!? No!”
“I’m just teasing you, relax!”
Illuga groans as Lohen laughs at him, but…
Oh my archons, I really do wanna sleep next to him so bad.
He crosses his arms and looks away like his heart isn’t about to literally explode out of his chest.
“You sure you don’t want to sleep? I can keep watch instead.”
“No, it’s fine. I’m used to it, I am a Lightkeeper after all.”
“Well, if you insist…”
Lohen stands up, taking a stretch before extending his hand to Illuga. He raises an eyebrow in confusion, but places his hand in his nonetheless.
“Goodnight, Illuga.” Lohen leans down, pressing a soft kiss to Illuga’s hand.
Ah.
He smiles, turning away and heading to the tent, leaving Illuga to stare dumbfounded-- a soft blush on his face.
Is it weird to say that I love the way it sounds when he says my name?
“Goodnight… Lohen.”