Chapter Text
Wilbur was a long way from Sumeru.
He'd taken a detour to check out the Chasm now that it wasn't under lockdown anymore to satiate his curiosity, and afterward he'd gotten right back on the road to Mondstadt, passing through Liyue and following the safe paths towards the City of Freedom. He'd only spent one night taking a rest at an inn before heading out again, making his way through Galesong Hills and into Dadaupa Gorge.
Finally he arrived at the Sword Cemetery, the remnants of an ancient battleground far older than Wilbur or anyone he knew. Or, well, maybe almost anyone he knew.
He set up camp on the edge of the shallow lake, beneath a sunsettia tree. He then prepared all his research equipment- parchment, writing utensils, charts, binoculars... Everything he would need to accomplish his goal.
The three Hilichurl camps in this area were home to some of the oldest tribes in history. The colloquial names were The Meaty Tribe, The Sleeper Tribe, and The Eclipse Tribe. Wilbur was convinced there was more to Hilichurls than meets the eye, and his life was dedicated to proving it. First he had to figure out what exactly he was proving, though... And the libraries in Sumeru were wonderful but there was nothing leading Wilbur towards the discoveries he craved. So he decided the best course of action would be to watch them in the wild and learn for himself.
So that was what led him to sit here, crouching behind a bunch of bushes on a hill not too far from the camp. He would peer over the leaves, observing the Hilichurls go about their business, ducking down behind any time he thought one might notice him.
"You're ugly," a voice from behind him suddenly jolted Wilbur from his thoughts, making him jump and yelp slightly. He spun around, finding a young boy- a teenager- standing there with a giant claymore nearly the size of his torso perched on his shoulders.
"Wh- I- uh-" Wilbur stuttered, gathering some of his equipment with one hand and touching the hilt of his sword with the other.
"What are you doing here? Don't you know the lawachurls could crush a tiny guy like you?" The boy was pretty tall, but he didn't have much visible muscle that Wilbur could see.
"Uh.. I was just... Passing through the area." Wilbur answered. He'd been nervous at first but now he saw the state the boy was in- his blonde hair was dirty and frazzled, even with a couple of leaves stuck in it, and his clothes were tattered with hastily mended patches here and there.
"I'm sorry but... Who exactly are you?" Wilbur asked, pushing his round glasses up his nose.
"I'm Tommy!" The boy proclaimed, "Tommy the Ferocious, they call me!" He struck a pose that looked anything but ferocious, frankly.
"Right... Well," Wilbur began to stand up, and Tommy suddenly jerked, jumping back like a frightened animal. The scholar slowed his movements a bit, brows furrowing,"I... Should probably get going. Sorry to disturb you."
He picked up all his gear, Tommy giving him an exaggerated nod, puffing out his chest. Wilbur quickly took his leave, not looking back and heading straight to his campsite where he made sure to write a detailed account of the encounter in his journal.
He struck a fire as it began to get dark, cooking some fox meat over the blaze, letting his mind drift back to the encounter from earlier. Soon, though, he heard a branch nearby snap. He jumped, scrambling from his tent to look around.
“Who’s there?” He shouted, drawing his sword, “show yourself.”
Fire light glinted off the thin blade, geo energy pulsing from the x-shaped hilt.
“I thought you said you were just passing through,” a familiar voice quipped, the teenager from earlier coming into range of the torch light.
“It’s you… Tommy, right?”
“The Ferocious!” The blonde added.
“Right, well… if you must know, the truth is I am staying here for a bit.” Wilbur adjusted his posture, standing straighter.
“Why?” Tommy asked flatly.
Wilbur wasn’t one to talk about his business with strangers… But he also wasn’t one to refuse the chance to explain his passion to someone.
“I am here to study Hillichurls, actually,” he answered, “the oldest tribes recorded in history reside here.”
At this, Tommy stepped closer, lifting his claymore off his back. Here in the light, Wilbur could see the blade itself was a blood red, while the rest was made of a silvery metal, with a black hilt. Just a tad menacing, though it looked a bit funny in the hands of this young boy.
“The hilichurls here don’t hurt anyone,” Tommy’s voice was suddenly very serious, “so you can pack your tent up and leave, they don’t need to be cleared out. This is their home.”
“No! No, no, no, you misunderstand- I would never hurt them. I’m here to do the opposite, actually.” Wilbur quickly sheathed his sword as he spoke. Tommy lowered his blade slightly.
“You’re… here to heal them?” He questioned skeptically.
“I- no, I’m here to study them. To understand them.”
Tommy’s demeanor shifted, his head tilting.
“Why… would you want to do that?” He asked, slightly quieter. Wilbur couldn’t help but smile slightly. He moved closer to the fire, sitting down on a log that rested a few feet away. He gestured to the log across from him. Tommy narrowed his eyes. He held his claymore up once more, inching forward. Finally he cautiously sat down, perching on the log, still holding his massive sword.
“I am a scholar,” Wilbur began, “I love learning and understanding things about this world. In particular, I love history. I believe that the more we learn about the history of the world, the more we will understand about ourselves, and the more we can grow and become a better civilization. We can learn from our past and avoid making the same mistakes our ancestors did. That is what history is all about, Tommy.
I came here to study hilichurls because they are one of the most ancient species this world has, right next to humans for as long as we can remember, and yet we humans have advanced far quicker despite the intelligence that hilichurls show. I want to know why, why are these creatures stunted in their advancement? Where did they come from? Why do they wear those masks, and why are they so often hostile to humans? All these questions… It is my life goal to answer them.”
Flickering light reflected in Tommy’s eyes.
“Oh.” He muttered contemplatively.
“So, you see, I’m not here to harm anyone, I’m here to learn from them.” Wilbur ran a hand through his unruly brown locks- he should try and tame them one of these days.
Tommy stared at the ground for a minute before finally speaking, looking Wilbur in the eyes.
“Ye odomu?” ( “Are you a friend?” )
Wilbur’s face lit up.
“I-I- yes! Um- Mi odomu! Mi da odomu!” (“ I’m a friend! I’m a nice friend! ”) The scholar responded enthusiastically, “how do you know hilichurlian?”
Tommy stood up, “it’s late, but we’ll meet again, ugly man,” he began to walk away, “ye nunu!” (“ Go to sleep! ”)
As fast as he appeared the boy disappeared. Wilbur grinned, brimming with excitement.
“I don’t know if I can now.”
Wilbur fell asleep the second his head touched his pillow.
When he woke up, it was to the smell of something burning… He jolted up, scrambling out of his tent, wondering if he’d forgotten to put out his fire last night. But what he found, instead, was a blonde child crouching by the fire and attending to bore meat that was skewered on a spit. Tommy looked up at him.
“Mita!” (“ Meat! ”) He called. Wilbur stared for a moment.
“You’re cooking me breakfast?”
“Uh, yes, obviously. Biadam.” (“ Stupid .”) Tommy returned to tending to the meat. Wilbur approached, rubbing at his eyes.
“You do know that I understood that, right?”
“I know,” Tommy glared at the man, standing up to hoist the spit up from where it rested above the fire. He held it out towards Wilbur.
“Mosi.” (“ Eat. ”)
“Oh. Right. Um, valo.” (“ Um, thank you. ”) Wilbur responded, taking the spit. Tommy gave a sharp nod.
Wilbur sat and began to eat, and Tommy stood a few yards away, arms crossed in front of his chest. After a few minutes, Wilbur couldn’t stand it any longer.
“So, how do you know hilichurlian?” He asked. Tommy looked back over at him.
“Beru nye, ye mosi.” (“ Shut up and eat. ”)
“I’m sorry, but I’m far too curious!” Wilbur stood, approaching the boy, “you just showed up and began speaking hilichurlian to me- I have never met a human who is fluent in it before- and then you show up and cook me breakfast?”
Tommy scowled, heaving a frustrated sigh before aggressively grabbing Wilbur’s wrist, making the man drop the meat as he began leading him away from the camp.
“Wh- ow! Hey! Where are you taking me?!”
Wilbur didn’t get an answer, instead being drug along in the teen’s iron grip- near bruising- in silence.
It wasn’t too far of a walk, and soon Wilbur found himself in the bushes near a hilichurl camp- the Eclipse Tribe’s camp, to be exact, the sun and moon symbols painted around gave it away.
“What are we doing here?” He whispered. Tommy looked at him for a long moment before letting go of his wrist and walking into the camp.
“Wait- they can be hostile!” Wilbur whisper-yelled. Tommy ignored him, going past the wooden planks that made the wall of the camp. He paused and turned towards Wilbur.
“Dada odomu.” (“ Close friends. ”) Tommy spoke, “family.”
Wilbur’s eyes widened and he emerged from the bushes.
“These hilichurls… Are your family?”
Tommy gave a nod, and Wilbur felt his heart hammer in his chest.
“A human welcomed into a hilichurlian tribe… Astounding. That’s- that’s amazing! I- I have so many questions I-”
A giant ax buried itself into the ground mere inches away from Wilbur, the man yelping and stumbling away. He spun, drawing his sword and finding a lawachurl looming over him.
“Nye kundala! Nye kundala!” (“ Don’t kill! Don’t kill! ”) Tommy screamed, sprinting between Wilbur and the lawachurl, “Nye ika! Ya nye ika!” (“ Not an enemy! The human is not an enemy! ”)
The lawachurl paused as he raised his ax, soon lowering it as it noticed Tommy’s panic.
“Ya ika.” (“ Humans are enemies .”) A deep, gravely voice rumbled from behind the lawachurl’s mask, “ya kundala kucha ika.” (“ He is a weak enemy I must kill .”) Tommy shook his head.
“Da odomu. Ya da odomu.” (“ A nice friend. He is a nice friend .”)
Wilbur hurriedly sheathed his sword, holding up his hands.
“M-Mi da odomu.” (“ I-I am a nice friend. ”) Wilbur managed, clearing his throat. The lawachurl studied the two for a long moment before turning away, lumbering back into a hut. Wilbur let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding.
“They listen to you…”
“We’re family, like I said.” Tommy snipped. Wilbur whirled around, grabbing both of the boy’s hands and crouching to his level- which admittedly, he didn’t have to crouch much.
“Tommy. Will you help me with my research?” The man’s eyes were wide and pleading, excitement swirling in them. Tommy leaned as far away as he could, squinting at Wilbur.
“...Fine.”