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"You… want me on your team?"
It's not often that Bennett goes adventuring with other people. He's used to adventurers leaving his team after just one expedition, used to the pang of disappointment that lingered in his heart that not one person was a permanent member.
For so long, Bennett was used to rocking things solo. No matter what his bad luck threw at him, whether it be an ambush of hilichurls or the ground collapsing beneath him or Mother Nature showing him no mercy, he held his head high and marched onward. Barely anyone gave him the time of day, knowing full well that they were bound to be threatened by his bad luck.
But when Aether reached out his hand with a genuine smile on his face, a look of determination that held no fear, Bennett knew that he was about to go on an adventure that he would remember for the rest of his life.
A child that the world had abandoned.
The adventurer that had taken Bennett in after fighting tooth and nail to stay alive had come upon this realization while gazing at the wailing baby. But even though this truth rang true, the adventurer saw Bennett as a treasure that outweighed all the ones he had found in the past.
That same adventurer had since passed away, and his legacy sang of his accomplishments and discoveries. Bennett never had the chance to meet him, but since growing up in the Adventurer’s Guild surrounded by his dads, he saw the adventurer that saved him as his role model. It’s why no matter the world had to throw at him, Bennett continued onward for the sake of the adventurer that saved him.
He had no time to cower in fear. If he allowed his bad luck to dictate his life, how would Bennett be able to live with himself? His misfortune was but an obstacle in his path. The spirit of an adventurer should not be dwindled down by such miniscule trivialities.
“Bennett, be careful climbing up that cliff!” Barbara shouted from below.
Bennett really didn’t understand why she was so concerned. The cliff was only several feet high, not enough to give him a concussion if he were to fall. Maybe a broken bone or two, but that didn’t concern him. What really caught his interest was that Aether mentioned how there was a hilichurl camp up top with several chests just waiting to be opened. This was his chance!
Said traveler was climbing alongside him with a toothy grin on his face.
“I’ll be okay, don’t worry!” Bennett reassured the deaconess. He was so close to the top, just a bit more and the treasure would be but a few feet away. He reached up to grab onto the ledge, but quickly realized that it was about to break off the moment his hand made contact with the loose rock.
Ah, crap.
Aether reacted too late, trying to grab Bennett’s hand but just barely grazing the other boy’s fingertips. Bennett prepared himself to meet the hard ground, closing his eyes shut tight as he awaited his fate. He knew that Barbara would be scolding him, and Aether would probably take him off the team for the time being while his wounds were being treated. As those thoughts began to plague Bennett’s mind, he began to worry that he was only going to be a hindrance to Aether’s party.
After a few seconds, he wondered why he never hit the ground. Bennett opened his eyes and saw that he was three feet away from meeting the ground, but a gust of wind had cushioned his fall. He turned his head to see that Master Jean had used Gale Blade to prevent him from falling, and once the gust of wind had disappeared, Razor came running in to catch him.
Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief as Bennett’s feet touched the ground.
“Friend… be careful,” Razor told him.
“Bennett, I told you to be careful!” Barbara chastised him. “You nearly gave me a heart attack!”
He let out a laugh, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. “Sorry for scaring everyone,” Bennett apologized to them. “And Master Jean, thank you for breaking my fall.”
She merely smiled and told him, “All that matters is that you’re safe, Bennett.”
“Bennett! Are you okay!?” Aether shouted from the top of the cliff, Paimon floating next to him.
Bennett turned to Aether and gave him a thumbs up, a wide smile on his face.
“Better than ever!” He shouted in response.
And he would continue onward, with his new companions by his side.
“You did good out there, Bennett,” Master Diluc told him once after they defeated an Electro Hypostasis. The young master was not one to speak unless it was absolutely necessary, preferring to have his claymore do the talking in battle.
The young adventurer blinked. “T-Thank you, Master Diluc,” Bennett said, not sure how to react to the sudden praise. He wasn’t sure how to talk to nobles. He always stayed away from them, fearing that his bad luck would incur their wrath. It was a miracle that Master Diluc had not experienced any instances of Bennett’s bad luck, but the adventurer wasn’t willing to take any chances. So he took a few steps back, flashing a nervous grin as the young master gave him a curious glance.
“Whatever are you doing?” Diluc asked him.
“No disrespect to you at all, Master Diluc,” Bennett said as he stood upright, “I just don’t want you to experience my bad luck is all.”
“Bad luck? Why’s that?”
“Well…” He was rather embarrassed at this point, explaining this to the richest man of Mondstadt of all people. He’s sure that Master Diluc has heard of him. The surprise on Bennett’s face when Aether put them on the same team nearly had him swallow a fly. Fischl made sure to close his mouth so that a fly wouldn’t make it’s way down his throat.
( “Fear not, misfortuned adventurer, for the Prinzessin will ensure that these vexing creatures will not disturb you. You should be honored.” … Or something along those lines.)
It was clear that Master Diluc was awaiting an answer. Bennett sighed in defeat. “I’m just afraid that my bad luck will hurt you. You are the wealthiest person in Mondstadt. The nobles seem to already fear me… so I don’t want you to look down at me, either.”
He wasn’t afraid of Master Diluc, far from that. Bennett actually admired him. But with the way the master was looking at him, Bennett feared that he said something wrong.
“If I was constantly afraid of your bad luck, we wouldn’t be able to get anywhere in our battles,” Diluc told him with a serious look in his eyes. “We’re all well aware of your bad luck, Bennett, but that doesn’t stop us from being on the same team as you. You are a valuable member to the party, just like anyone else.”
Hearing such words from him nearly caused Bennett to pass out on the spot. “You… You really think so?”
He watched as Diluc’s fiery gaze looked away, and Bennett followed his line of sight. Diluc looked at Aether and Fischl, who were examining the contents that were dropped by the Ley Line Blossom left behind by the Electro Hypostasis. Fischl gasped in surprise as she held up two lightning prisms, and Aether shouted in triumph. She needed those, after all.
“I believe so, and so does Aether,” Diluc reassured him. Bennett wasn’t sure if he was seeing things correctly. Was there… a smile on his face? If only it were daytime, and he was facing him. “And even the Pyro Archon believes in you.”
Bennett looked down at his Vision. The story behind how he got it was anything but grand. He had passed out from blood loss and was in terrible condition when he woke up to be comforted by the warmth of flames. Experiencing misfortune his entire life, he had never found himself worthy to be granted a power from the Archons themselves. But Diluc was right. His Pyro Vision was proof that the Archons believed in him, that his passion to keep going despite the circumstances was enough to be recognized.
“You’re right,” Bennett said with a determined smile on his face. “The Pyro Archon does believe in me. If they didn’t, I wouldn’t have this Vision with me right now!”
His body stilled as Master Diluc gently ruffled his hair. When the other Pyro wielder turned to face him, Bennett knew for a fact that he wasn’t seeing things, for the ever stoic man had a rare smile on his face. Was it appropriate for Master Diluc to do that to him, a commoner? But even as that question threatened to leave his mouth, Bennett couldn’t help but feel a surge of pride.
“Just know that we’re always going to have your back, bad luck or not,” Diluc said. His smile disappeared as Aether and Fischl began to approach them. “Take my words to heart. We all believe in you.”
We all believe in you.
Those words rang in Bennett’s mind even after they all retired for the night. He wondered if Master Diluc realized the impact those words had on him. Bennett wasn’t often that good at reading people, but even he knew that they were not said out of pity. They were said with the intent to give him more confidence. As a Pyro user, were there moments that Master Diluc had doubted himself as well? Was this his way of passing some unknown knowledge to him?
He gently slapped his cheeks, letting out a yell full of passion “Of course it is!” He told himself. “Why else would Master Diluc tell me all of that? He has more experience than me after all… Maybe this will help me unlock some… hidden potential! That’s it!”
If there were others that believed in him, Bennett knew he should try and believe in himself more.
They had set up camp for the night.
Bennett had never been to Liyue before, only reading of it very briefly when he was bored or couldn’t get out on an expedition. He was expanding his horizons as an adventurer, traveling to new nations beyond those of Mondstadt.
Along with traveling to Liyue, Aether had added more companions to their party. One of them was a young boy named Xingqiu, who happened to be currently tending to Bennett’s wounds. He hissed in pain as Hydro power began to mend the gash on his arm, and Xingqiu merely apologized.
“No need to worry,” Bennett tried to smile through the pain. “Thank you for this, Xingqiu.”
“Normally I wouldn’t believe that bad luck follows a person around, but it seems that I was wrong the moment we met,” Xingqiu said with a slight smile on his face. “It’s a good thing my rain swords were able to provide some healing before we set up camp.”
“Those rain swords of yours sure come in handy,” Bennett nodded.
They both looked up when they heard footsteps approaching them. Chongyun, another young boy that joined their party, held out some popsicles to them. Bennett took one while Xingqiu muttered under his breath for the young exorcist to hold onto his until he was finished. Chongyun took a seat next to Bennett and the two boys began to enjoy their popsicles.
“They’re just as handy as your Fantastic Voyage move,” Chongyun gently bumped his shoulder against Bennett’s. “I usually like to stay away from heat but yours is very comforting. It doesn’t cause me to do anything crazy.”
“Oh, but if it did, that would be interesting,” Xingqiu snickered as he wrapped some adhesive bandage around the wound. When he was finished, he reached over for his popsicle. “Dessert before dinner? I thought Xiangling would be done by now.”
“She’s on one of her kicks right now,” Chongyun pointed to the campfire. “This could take a bit.”
The three boys looked to see the young chef sitting by the campfire, a myriad of ingredients laid out before her. There was a look of contemplation on her face, reaching out to one ingredient only to pull away with a shake of her head. Guoba was by her side, resting. “No, no, no! That’s not it, either!”
Poor girl looked like she could tear her hair out.
“Hopefully not too long, I’m starving!” Bennett took a bite into his popsicle. He always wondered where Chongyun managed to get these. Last time they were in Liyue Harbor, he couldn’t find any. Maybe Chongyun was the one making them?
As they enjoyed their popsicles in silence, Bennett looked up at the sky. It was perfectly clear, the moon shining above them and a blanket of stars that held endless possibilities. It’s rare when there’s moments of calm and Bennett could just relax. Perhaps it was because he was surrounded by his companions that he was able to enjoy these moments.
He looked around. Aether was looking at a map, planning where they would go next in the morning. Noelle and Barbara were setting up tents, and Diluc and Kaeya just came back from collecting more firewood. Klee and Qiqi were running around the camp, full of energy as little kids were prone to. It felt surreal to think that just a few months ago, Bennett was exploring Mondstadt all by himself.
But now? Now he had companions that relied on him, and he knew that he could rely on them. Now, there were people that he wished to protect. He was an adventurer at heart, Bennett knew that much. His dads at the Adventurer’s Guild will always be his family. As Bennett looked around the camp, he knew that the companions he was traveling with were more than just companions.
They also came to be his family.
“Hey, Bennett,” Xingqiu gently nudged his shoulder, pulling him out of his thoughts, “I was thinking we could do something next time we’re fighting some slimes or treasure hoarders.”
“Oh, like a battle plan?” Bennett asked in excitement. “I’m all ears! What is it?”
“So first off we have you, me, Chongyun, and Razor on the same team. Then--”
“Me?” Chongyun didn’t seem too enthusiastic.
“Just hear me out!” Xingqiu exclaimed.
“No, don’t. Bennett, he’s up to something.”
“I am not! Is it about last time? Chongyun, I apologized for that--”
Bennett looked between the two Liyuean boys, a smile creeping onto his face at their banter. He let out a loud laugh even as they continued. Dinner was lively that night.
As Bennett went to sleep that night, he thanked the Archons for blessing him with such great friends.
“Benny’s adventure team, assemble!”
For quite some time, Bennett’s answer to that statement would only be a gust of wind and the occasional pebble that would come out of nowhere to hit him on the head. He had grown used to the pang of anger, disappointment, and anguish that he felt when no one was there to join him on an expedition.
He held his head up high, always reassuring himself that there was still an adventure to experience despite having no one there by his side. Bennett was used to taking blows from enemies, remaining on the defensive, and tending to his own wounds. He had to learn all of that because he could only rely on himself.
That was all in the past now.
“Where should we go, Bennett?”
The young boy opened his eyes to see Aether and Paimon standing in front of him with smiles on their faces. He lowered his fist, standing upright to talk to the traveler and his floating companion properly.
“Anywhere is good! After all, adventure is waiting for us no matter where we go.”
The traveler who hailed from another world was a strange one. He was fully aware of Bennett’s bad luck yet brought him on his travels. He never had a problem if they did happen to have an occurrence of Bennett’s bad luck, reassuring the young boy with a smile that they will figure it out together. Bennett owed so much to him.
Aether held out his hand to him, just like he did when he first asked Bennett to join him on his journey. “Then Benny’s adventure team is ready to move out whenever you are.”
To think that he would hear such words made Bennett almost burst with joy. He took Aether’s hand in his, and they both nodded at each other with smiles on their faces. Running through the plains of Mondstadt and Liyue, gliding through the skies, swimming in lakes and oceans, all with the promise of an adventure with his friends at his side. When Bennett is reassured of this thought, he can’t help but think,
Maybe I’m not so unlucky after all.