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"Come on, come on..." Amber mumbled to herself as she scraped the two stubborn rocks in her hands together. She furrowed her eyebrows, repeating the action, but not a single spark was made.
The brown-haired girl groaned as she sat back, whole body slumping with defeat. How was it that she, a Pyro wielder, was not able to start a fire in the last 30 minutes? If she didn't start one soon, the steak she had gathered was going to go bad.
Of course she could have used her Vision, which would have made things so much easier, but Amber still had a bit of trouble with controlling the power of the flames. Whenever the idea of using her Vision passed her mind, she would recall how she almost burned a forest down before.
Amber brought a hand to head. If the Knights saw her right now... She wouldn't be able to take the embarrassment in front of Master Jean. And Kaeya... He would never let Amber hear the end of it!
It was so embarrassing. Not only was she a Pyro-wielding knight, but also an Outrider. As someone who's supposed to be well-trained and prepared for anything, starting a fire should have came easily to her. Indeed embarrassing.
Amber had her head buried in her hands, drowned in embarrassing thoughts, when the subtle sound of a twig snapping caught her attention. She instinctively straightened her back but kept her position as to not startle whatever made the sound.
She peeked through her hands, trying to see what was behind her. Although she couldn't see very well, she was able to hear the footsteps that crept behind the thick bushes and trees surrounding her.
They were human footsteps. Most definitely. Amber furrowed her eyebrows. They were getting closer. And closer. And closer.
She quickly made up her mind. As fast as lighting, Amber grabbed her bow lying next to her and shot a charged arrow at the group of bushes. She griminced a bit. Maybe that wasn't the best idea because now that side of the forest was ablaze.
Suddenly, a tall figure emerged from the flames and, before Amber could blink, extinguished them with one swift movement of his blades.
Out of the smoke and steam stepped a young, ginger-haired male. Amber would have said his eyes resembled a calm and clear lake, but they lacked the shimmering light that was reflected on a sunny day.
"You know, for a knight whose job is to protect, you don't do a very good job at protecting the forest," the male spoke with a cheeky smile.
Amber swore this guy looked familiar, but she couldn't quite pinpoint why. She shook her head and tightened the grip on her bow that was pointed right at the male. "And you can't go creeping up on people like that! Who do you think you are?"
The boy's eyes immediately lit up at the question, as if he had been waiting for it. "I'm Tartaglia, Number 11 of the Fatui Harbingers!"
Tartaglia stomach grumbled a bit, but not loud enough to be audible. He didn't usually go around telling random people that he was affiliated with some of the most shadiest people in Teyvat, and he knew he shouldn't be doing that, especially if he needed someone to trust him enough to share some food with him. But Tartaglia was honestly kind of bored at the moment.
Amber's whole body was alerted at the sound of "Fatui Harbinger" and it finally clicked. His attire! Of course! He was with the Fatui! And this particular male was Childe.
The Fatui were always up to no good, and Amber knew her guard should be up all the way. But she couldn't stop herself from lowering her bow and making a confused face.
"Wait... Number 11 of the Fatui Harbingers?" she echoed, lowering her bow.
"Yep!" Tartaglia piped.
"Number 11? As in... one-one?" Amber repeated, holding up one finger on each hand.
Tartaglia's smile fell a bit. Now he was the one to be confused. He had never had a reaction like this before. "Yes..."
"Oh..." Amber thought for a moment before putting a proud smile on. "Well, I'm Amber, Monstadt's Number 1 Outrider!"
Oh. Now Tartaglia understood what was happening. "Okay, I'll have you know that I'm one of most skilled Fatui."
"Then why are you Number 11?"
"Numbers don't necessarily mean everything in our system," the male tried to explain.
"But-"
"And even if they did matter," Tartaglia continued in a matter-of-factly voice, "Number 11 is much better than the Number 1."
"Um, how so?" Amber questioned.
Tartaglia hummed. "You demonstrated it just now. One plus one is eleven, so being Number 11 is like being Number 1 but doubled!"
Amber couldn't believe she was having this conversation. With a Fatui Harbinger too. Were they all like this?
"I'm pretty sure that's not how it works..." she spoke flatly.
"I'm pretty sure it is," Tartaglia argued, feeling like he was the most smartest person.
"Okay..." With a wave of her hand, Amber turned back to her fireplace and, once again, attempted to get a spark. At the sight of a small burning ember, Amber's eyes lit up as bright as the fire that would soon be burning.
"Aw, would you look at that! You finally made yourself a fire, little Outrider," Tartaglia cooed as he patted the shorter girl's head. "It would be a shame if it were to go out..."
Amber snapped her head around. "Don't you dare!" she exclaimed, pointing a finger accusingly at the Hydro wielder. She pursed her lips at the sight of the Fatui, who had brought a hand to his mischievous smile.
"I'm just kidding!" Tartaglia laughed.
After Amber turned around without another word, he then squated down so he was beside her. Amber was setting her steak-on-a-stick above the fire.
Tartaglia scooted just a bit closer with his squatted legs. "So... You wouldn't mind sharing some steak with me, would you, little Outrider? Can't have a poor Fatui Harbinger like me starving, right?" he asked sweetly, even adding his best puppy eyes.
Amber couldn't believe this. Not only was she talking to a Fatui Harbinger, but he had the audacity to ask her for food.
And she couldn't believe that she was actually going to give him a piece of her steak. But Childe was right. As an Outrider, and a Knight, she couldn't stand to let someone starve.
"Alright, Mr. Number-11-Fatui-Harbinger," Amber playfully mocked.
Tartaglia narrowed his eyes before lightly elbowing her with a chuckle. He knew that from this day forward, he was definitely never going to hear the end of that.