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Aether held Bennett’s hand as the other boy leaned against him, one arm wrapped around his stomach as he curled into himself slightly whimpering.
Aether reached out with his free hand laying it on his back as Bennett lurched forward gagging and retching his body trying to reject the toxic food he’d eaten.
Truthfully Aether hadn’t expected this to happen when he’d decided to leave Mondstadt to investigate this ruin earlier today.
~~~~
Aether scowled as he reviewed the lists of requests from Mondstadt Adventure Guild.
“There’s a lot of hillichurl camps popping up lately, ” he muttered to himself.
He looks up as he hears a slight commotion near the city’s front gate.
At first, he thinks it's Paimon coming back from having lunch with Amber, so he is a bit surprised to see a boy about his age talking to Katherine.
The boy looks familiar, in fact, Aether has seen him around Mondstadt from time to time, typically with a grin on his face and a new bandage or injury on his body. Although considering how busy Aether is he’s never really had the chance to stop and talk to the boy before.
Bennett, I remember Fischl mentioning him . Aether thinks as he approaches the pair to introduce himself.
“Hi, Katherine, ” Aether said, giving her a small wave.
The woman smiles slightly returning the wave. “Going out again?”
“Soon, I’ll probably stock up on supplies though before heading out again, ” he told her.
Feeling a pair of eyes on him he turns slightly to see Bennett staring at him in wide-eyed shock his mouth partially agape.
“Ah, it’s you! Didn’t think I’d be running into here,” Bennett said. Then he chuckled giving a wide yet sheepish grin. “I guess it’s my lucky day.” Without waiting for Aether to respond he continues,
“How are your adventures going lately? Did you come here to get a new commission from Katherine or to get paid? Oh! Where’re you going after this? Bet you’ve got a really exciting adventure lined up, huh.”
Aether grins there’s just something almost contagious about Bennett’s enthusiasm. “Nice to meet you, Bennett,” he said holding a hand out.
“So you’ve already heard about me?” He asked as he shook Aether’s hand.
“I’ve seen you around, Fischl’s talked about you as well. At least when I can understand what she’s saying,” Aether chuckled.
Bennett nodded. “Sorry if I was talking too much by the way. I was just so excited to run into someone I admire so much...And, uhhh...maybe I got a bit starstruck.”
Aether scowled, it was the first time he was hearing about this. “You...admire me?”
“Of course!” Bennett exclaimed, his eyes practically lighting up. “You’re the mysterious Traveler, the hero who quelled the Stormterror crisis, and the leader of your own adventure team to boot! If I’m being honest...I’m totally jealous of all your achievements.”
Aether can’t help but wonder what exactly Venti has been going around telling people. “Aether’s adventure team.” Surprisingly Aether did not in fact come up with the name, Paimon had.
“Yeah, word’s been spreading in adventurer circles for a while now. Your adventure team shows up all over the continent, it might look like you’re just handling a bunch of boring commissions, but then, as soon as something big goes down you’re always there,” Bennett said with barely contained excitement.
Aether blinks slowly for a moment quiet because he can’t exactly tell Bennett the truth. That he was indeed taking the commissions and somehow, well twice now, Archons seemed to drag him into their business. Giving a small laugh Aether shakes his head, “That’s just a coincidence.”
“Anyway, what I’m saying is, I envy you. It’s sort of like you’re the protagonist of this word or something,” Bennett told him. He gives a sheepish smile as he rubs the back of his neck with one hand, his eyes glance away. “Me, on the other hand, I’m...just some unlucky guy. My adventure team even...ah- never mind, I shouldn’t be getting all down in the dumps in front of some I admire. I should be open to seeing what I can learn!”
Bennett nods to himself seemingly gathering his courage, as Aether watches him with a smile. Aether can’t help but be reminded of an excited dog when he looks at Bennett.
“Speaking of that...I have a favor to ask,” Bennett told him, sounding slightly hesitant.
“Sure thing, what is it?”
“Ummm...when you go adventuring later, can I come and watch?” He said his words coming out in a slight rush, more than likely from nervousness.
While it is not exactly what Aether expected him to ask, at the same time he isn’t really shocked. “You...just want to stand there and watch?”
Bennett looks away again as he gives a small almost humorless chuckle. “I...maybe don’t know. I’m a really unlucky person to have around. If you brought me along on an adventure, my bad luck would probably just screw everything up!” Bennett shakes his head. “I don’t want to get you into any trouble, so just let me watch from the sidelines. That’d be good enough for me.”
“Sure, let's go adventuring. I was planning on heading out soon anyway,” Aether told him.
Bennett’s eyes widened. “Wait, really? I didn’t mishear you did I? You mean...go on an adventure. With you? Just like we’d do if I was on your adventure team?”
When Aether simply nods Bennett grins practically jumping with joy. “Wow! I never thought I’d get an opportunity like this!” He exclaimed.
“Honestly, since Fischl told me about you I’ve been wanting to go adventuring with you,” Aether told him.
At his words Bennett blushes a bit, glancing away. “Aww, shucks...hearing you say that has got me all flustered. But I’m happy to hear that.” Looking back at Aether he continues. “By the way, since we’ve got this rare chance to work together, let me share some recent intel with you. According to Fischl, a mysterious and dangerous ruin has recently been discovered, based on how the guild ranks the difficulty of its commissions, its probably between a rank B and a rank A.”
Aether nodded it wasn’t his first time taking a commission with either of those rankings. In fact, some of the ones in Liyue were typically ranked higher than the ones in Mondstadt, especially ones involving hillichurls trying to build a fortress out in the ocean.
“Normally I wouldn’t feel comfortable taking this commission. After all, with my poor luck, it’s safer for me to take on commissions that are a few notches lower than my actual ability. But since you’ll be joining me it’ll be a piece of cake, right?”
“Would stealing the Holy Lyre de Himmel count as an S-rank commission?” Aether asked hoping that Bennett would take it as a joke. After all, he's pretty sure that Barbara still doesn’t know that the Lyre is technically broken. But he does know that Venti is gonna be the first person he blames when she does.
Bennett spluttered his eyes going wide. “There’s no way the Guild would issue an illegal commission like that!”
Aether smiled at his words, he already knew that, in fact, he was pretty sure it was the equivalent of stealing a historical landmark.
Bennett shakes his head, laughing. “By the way, this ruin might be a dangerous one, but that usually means there’ll be some great treasure hidden inside. I can’t wait! Oh, right, do you usually make some food before you set out on an adventure?”
“Yeah, especially if I’m adventuring in a new area or have a difficult commission,” As Aether speaks he glances over Bennett’s shoulder toward the bridge at the city’s entrance. He couldn’t help but wonder if more pigeons had gathered there.
Bennett gives a soft hum. “The cautious choice. No wonder you’re so good at this.” He shakes his head seemingly lost in thought. “Seems I really can learn a few things from you. In that case, as per your tradition, let’s get cooking. Oh, yeah-I actually invented a new dish recently! I can’t promise that it’ll be super tasty but I think it’d be perfect for an adventure. So how about I show you how to make it?”
“Sure, I’ll fetch the ingredients and you can cook it if that’s alright,” Aether offered. He knew quite a few spots to gather ingredients, especially if Good Hunter didn’t have what they needed.
“Cool! I really miss that old feeling of working with a partner. Let’s see, we’ll need...mint, radish, and slime condensate. One of each, please. You got that, right? I’ll wait for you by the cooking pot at Good Hunter. Come find me when you’re done collecting everything. ”
At the word slime condensate, Aether briefly scowled. While he had never tried it he’d met quite a few people, who seemed to think eating it was a good idea, Paimon didn’t count of course because he was sure that she would eat just about anything.
Aether watches Bennett practically dart off in the direction of Good Hunter, a wide grin on his face.
I should have some radishes and slime condensate leftover from yesterday. But I’m pretty sure Paimon ate the last of the mint I had. Aether thought as he exited the city gates.
Mint grew just about everywhere in Teyvat, from the snow peaks of dragon spine to the stony mountains of Liyue. So it wasn’t hard for Aether to find some quickly, he made sure to grab a few extra as well before meeting Bennett. While he doubted that they’d need it, having extra ingredients couldn’t hurt.
“You got them all? That’s fantastic! You’ve really outdone yourself,” Bennett said as Aether approached him. Aether handed the ingredients to Bennett who smiled at him. “Now that we’ve got our ingredients, allow me to handle the cooking.”
As Bennett cooks Aether watches him, his movements are careful and practice as if he’s done this before. And he has, but strangely enough, as Bennett finishes cooking Aether can’t help the slight sense of dread that seems to wash over him. Something just doesn’t feel right.
“It’s done!” Bennett announced. “I forgot the exact order you’re supposed to add the ingredients in, but...it should be alright. I’ll pack it up and leave it with you until we get to the ruins.”
Aether scowled as he stared at the food, he thinks it’s radish veggie soup but instead of the usual vibrant red broth, there’s an ominous-looking purple-colored sludge that surrounds the vegetables in the stew. It looked almost like jelly but that was probably the slime condensate.
Looking back at Bennett Aether spoke, “Are you sure this is okay to eat?” While it wouldn’t be the first time Aether has tried strange foods from a different world, this soup looks almost...poisonous. He can’t help but wonder if Paimon would eat it.
Bennett nodded. “I think so?” He gave a soft hum tilting his head to the side as he looked at the food. “Should be...pretty much...basically the same as when I first came up with it. So...yup! Well, now that the food is ready, let’s head for those mysterious ruins,” he reassured Aether.
As they set out for the ruins Aether still can’t shake the feeling of dread weighing him down.
~~~
The ruin in question was near the thousand winds temple. It was an area Aether had frequently visited whenever he needed to defeat the cryo regisvine for materials.
“The temple of the wolf?” Aether muttered as they stopped in front of the large, intricate stone door.
“You’ve been here, too?” Bennett asked with wide eyes.
Aether nodded, a small smile on his face. “Yeah, but I didn’t go too far in. There’s probably a lot more of it to explore.”
When they entered the ruin, the first thing Aether saw was a large empty room with three enormous, tightly sealed doors sitting across from the entrance. In the middle of the room was a familiar stone mechanism, shaped like a cube on a tiny pedestal.
Bennett gives a soft hum as he looks around. “It feels pretty ordinary here honestly, I was expecting some kind of sense of impending doom.” He smiled at Aether. “Could it be that, because you’re here with me, I’m feeling more at ease? Ahh, it looks like the door in the front is closed and the only open one is behind us.”
Following Bennett’s gaze, it is only then that Aether realizes that the room has changed since he’d last been here. Before this room had, had only two doors, the one in the front and the one across the room.
Bennett approached the mechanism in the middle of the room a scowl on his face. “This mechanism must be for opening the next door, right?”
Aether nodded. “I think so. It’s our only option after all.”
“Right. Well, we’re on the same page at least,” Bennett chuckled. “I’ll try to operate it.”
Aether watches as Bennett touches the mechanism and when he does all the doors across the room open, while the doors behind them close.
That might not be good. Aether thought as he eyed the now open doors wearily.
But Bennett merely chuckles again, nodding. “Just as I expected.”
“But now the door behind us is closed,” Aether pointed out.
Bennett looked up following Aether’s gaze with wide eyes. “So it is.” He scowled, closing his eyes for a moment seemingly lost in thought. “A true adventurer can’t just barge on forward. It’s also important to make sure there’s a way back. That’s what my dads say at least. Let me try the mechanism one more time.”
When Bennett touches the mechanism this time a soft clicking noise echoed out and the soft blue glow that it’s giving off dims slightly.
Bennett gives a soft hum, his eyes going a bit wide. “Uhhh...I think it might be jammed.”
Aether shrugged. “It’s not what I expected, but it’s not unexpected. At least there are no ruin hunters yet.”
“This isn’t good though...looks like we can’t get back the way we came,” He said, giving a small sheepish smile. “But don’t let that get you down! This kinda thing happens all the time. We just have to believe that there’s always a way out.”
“Right, I’ll-” Before Aether can finish speaking another unfamiliar voice echoed out.
“W-what the...what’s going on?”
Bennett jumped slightly as he immediately looked over at Aether. “Hey, did you hear that? Sounds like it came from the door up ahead, someone might be in danger. We should check it out.”
Aether follows Bennett through the centermost door, entering another large empty room with four mechanisms. This time though someone else is in the room with them.
Aether recognizes that familiar green uniform immediately.
“Oh, over there, it’s another adventurer by the looks of it,” Bennett said as they walked further into the room.
As he and Aether approach the other man Aether can help but notice the fear that flashes across the man’s face.
But Bennett simply smiles, that cheerful grin nearly contagious. “Hello, fellow adventurer! We, like you, are here to-”
“Bennett!” The man practically shrieked cringing away.
Bennett jumped slightly, his eyes going wide. “Oh-Royce! It’s you!”
The man shakes his head almost frantically. “No, no, no, no. Please no!”
Aether watches the exchange with wide eyes, Bennett however always the optimist just grinned. “I’m so happy to see you again! How are you doing? I’ve been thinking about you and the other guild members a lot recently.”
The man, Royce, grimaced his face twisting with disgust. “This is the worst! Ugh, why’d I have to run into you,” he huffed.
Aether sees Bennett’s cheerful mood dissipate a bit and he looked at the man, leveling him with a glare.
“O-oh,” Bennett muttered, his voice unusually quiet suddenly.
Royce gives a small tsk shaking his head. “It took me forever to get this door open! Finally, I was about to advance further in, and all of a sudden it closes again.”
Bennett gives his usual sheepish smile but this time it looks a bit more forced. “Ah, I guess it’s because I activated the mechanism just now.”
Royce glared at him. “I knew it, I knew it! Of course, it was you, I knew it as soon as I saw you. As long as you’re around no adventure can ever be a smooth ride! Ugh, Archons this is turning into a very bad day.”
Finally having enough of this Aether speaks up. “Who do you think you are? He hasn’t done anything,” Aether snapped.
As if suddenly realizing he was there Royce turned his glare on Aether. “Who am I ? Who are you ? What were you thinking of teaming up with Bennett!”
“Hey! Don’t fight, don’t fight,” Bennett says trying to calm them both down a bit. “Aether, let me introduce Royce, a former member of Benny’s adventure team and...an old friend of mine.”
Royce’s eyes widened at Bennett’s words. “F-Friend? I didn’t even tell you I was leaving the team, and you still think of me as your friend?” Royce closed his eyes taking a deep breath before he sighed and shook his head. “Ugh, never mind, I’m a little on edge because of what just happened. I’m sorry.”
Bennett chuckled. “It’s fine, it was my fault after all,” he said as he rubbed the back of his neck with one hand.
Royce rolled his eyes. “Ya think?” He sighed, “I left because I couldn’t stand it a second longer. My adventures used to always go off without a hitch but after joining your adventure team, I was tripping and falling one day, getting struck by lightning the next- Oh, and the number of times ruins would cave in on us. At that point, I couldn’t dismiss it as just coincidences anymore. The last straw was when my leg got hit by a random explosion that came out of nowhere. I just couldn’t stand it both literally and figuratively.”
Shaking his head Royce sighed again. “Only when I left did I hear about the horror stories involving Benny’s adventure team.”
“Okay, but Bennett did volunteer to have bad luck,” Aether pointed out, still glaring at the man.
“You’re right...I really shouldn’t put the blame on him like that,” Royce muttered.
Bennett just smiled. “Alright, alright it’s all in the past now. Talking about what happened would just make you more upset right? Still...Royce, I still want to say sorry for all the trouble I caused you. “
Royce shook his head, with a slight smile. “No need to apologize, archon knows I’ve made my fair share of mistakes too.”
“Oh yeah! There’s...one more thing I need to tell you. The door we came through on the way in is also closed and I don’t think we can get it open again,” Bennet sheepishly admitted. “So...we’re probably trapped in here.”
For a moment it’s silent as Royce closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. “Bennett! Ugh, everything always goes wrong when I’m with you!”
Bennett scowled. “Well...there’s nothing I can really do, sorry.”
“What am I supposed to do now? I’ve used all of my supplies, this is it isn’t it? This is how I go and all because of Bennett,” the man practically whimpered.
“Well, if you want you can have the food we brought,” Bennett offered turning to Aether. “What do you think, we are partners after all.”
Aether looked at Bennett with wide eyes. “After the way, he’s treated you, you don’t owe him anything.”
“But it was because of my bad luck,” he said as his eyes going to the ground.
“You have to stop trying to accommodate others so much, Bennett,” Aether told him. He’s aware that with his history he probably sounds like Teyvat’s biggest hypocrite but that doesn’t matter at the moment.
Bennett nodded. “So what your saying is...as the unlucky one I should think of myself a bit more?”
“If you only think about caring for others who will take care of you?” Aether pointed out. It is at this moment that he has a slight realization that Paimon may have been right when she told him the same thing.
Bennett grinned. “You do have a point there. Sorry Royce we’ll be hanging on to our supplies for now. But if you want we can work together to find an exit.”
Royce rolled his eyes. “I didn’t want your stupid supplies anyway. And no to looking for the exit, knowing your luck, it’d be blocked anyway,” he huffed.
As if he hadn’t heard him Bennett continues to smile. “Take care then Royce.”
“You,” Royce sighed, crossing his arms. “You take care too Bennett.”
The pair returned to the four mechanisms on the floor and tried to activate each one. But with each one that was activated a thin white laser shot down from the ceiling.
Bennett sighed, a frown on his face. “I’ve checked every nook and cranny of this place.” Shaking his head Bennett crossed his arms. “Still no clue, is there really no way out of here besides that broken mechanism?”
Aether nodded. “I’m afraid so.”
“Well then, I guess our only hope is to just wait for help. The Adventurers' Guild might notice our disappearance and send someone. Then again that depends on how lucky we are...if the rescue team takes too long to find us then we might already be…” Bennett shuddered slightly as he trailed off. “Ugh...I hate feeling helpless. Sitting here waiting for the end to come.”
Aether scowled at him. “You really don’t have any expectations when it comes to luck do you?”
Bennett gave a soft hum. “Yeah...I am being pessimistic.” He shook his head. “No, come on, this isn’t like me,” he muttered to himself.
“Okay, let’s double-check our supplies. Our priority right now is figuring out how long we can hold out. Take out the dish I packed.”
When Aether shows him the dish in question Bennett frowned crossing his arms. “Huh...it’s probably too late for this but...it does look kinda strange don’t you think? Was there really something off about my cooking?”
Strange is putting it lightly, the food, if Aether could even call it that, smells bitter and it practically boils in its container like a cauldron.
Giving a small chuckle Aether looks at Bennett. “I hate to say I told you so but...yeah.”
Bennett’s eyes widened. “Ah! That isn’t good. This is all we have in terms of supplies.” He grimaced. “I should’ve thought this through more.”
Then Bennett’s eyes seem to light up as a realization flashed across his face. “Hey, wait a minute...maybe we can use this.”
Frowning Aether glances back at the food. “How?”
“Long story short, I once got injured when I was in a really dangerous place and got knocked unconscious, I really thought it was the end of me. But weirdly enough that’s not how things went, instead according to Guild master Cyrus, the moment I was unconscious it was like the bad luck just disappeared. It’s not the first time either, so my bad luck depends on whether I’m awake or not” Bennett explained.
“Wait, do...do you mean you want to sacrifice yourself,” Aether spluttered eyes wide.
“No, well it’s not really a sacrifice. I was just thinking, maybe if I eat this strange dish, it’ll knock me out right? And once I lose consciousness my bad luck will disappear and that means help will be here soon!” He explained but the explanation does not make Aether feel any better.
“Bennett, you’re sacrificing yourself for others again,” he pointed out with a soft sigh.
Bennett just shakes his head, that cheerful grin appearing on his face once more. “It’s okay. It’s better than dragging you and Royce down with me. You made a great point earlier when you said that I should take better care of myself, but right now, this is a life or death situation. I hope you can understand.”
Taking a deep breath Aether allows Bennett to take the container from his hand. He sees Bennett hesitate for a second before the boy steels himself and brings the container up to his mouth.
“Here it goes,” Bennett said before taking a large sip.
The effect is almost immediate, Bennett’s eyes going wide, the color practically draining from his face as the bowl falls to the floor. He clamps one hand over his mouth, his arm wrapped around his stomach as he takes a shuddering breath in through his nose.
Aether reaches out grabbing him by the shoulders following him as Bennett sinks to his knee. Bennett squeezes his eyes shut his expression twisting into one of absolute agony as he forces himself to swallow.
He leans against Aether’s side as he shakily takes his other hand off of his mouth and wraps the arm around his stomach. “Ugh...it’s like eating wet sand,” he whispered tears in his eyes.
He lurches forward dry heaving as his body desperately tries to rid itself of the toxic food. Unable to bring anything up Bennett eventually leans back, his eyes fluttering as Aether gently runs his hand through Bennett’s hair trying to soothe his pain even a little bit.
The moment Bennett’s eyes slip close and he goes limp in Aether’s arms is the same moment one of the previously closed doors opens the Adventurers' Guild’s search team comes in.