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Hat Guy hid lots of secrets – that’s something Durin had always believed.
Of course, Hat Guy knew almost everything about him, his past, his present. Hat Guy had witnessed each and every step he made from Simulanka till now, but Durin knew as little as nothing about his best friend.
Is it because I’m still too weak?
So weak that he is unable to help Hat Guy carry the burdens of his past; So weak that he was always put into a safe corner when danger is near, always protected like he’s a fledgling without wings.
So weak that he could only speak the worries in silence when Hat Guy was in danger, holding in pain from injuries.
Sitting beside his best friend, Durin dug his head inside the narrow space between his bent arm. He tilted his head, leaving only half a pupil in sight. He stared, stared sadly, helplessly at the motionless puppet.
Not long ago, Hat Guy had decided to lend Sandrone his core for a complicated calculation Durin couldn’t understand. Also as a man-made individual, he completely understood the risks Hat Guy was taking as he came up with this idea. It sounded weightless coming from his mouth.
How is this not dangerous?
After the traveler had told him what Hat Guy had decided to do, shock was the first that hit, then followed by countless worries and a feeling…of lost.
A silver-white branch from the Irminsul, the most important supporter of the calculation of the world’s fate.
Under numerous reasons and fate, it seemed like an unavoidable future that Hat Guy had to put his core at risk for the plan to work.
…Is this the ‘things which must be done even if danger is involved’ you said earlier?
“Hat Guy…”
Tail drooped behind his back, tippy point of it slightly hooked up towards the puppet’s direction. Through this movement, Durin made an incomplete circle around him.
It’s like he wanted to protect his best friend inside this little circle he made but never dared to touch him. Durin could only tilt his head, repeatedly gazing over the peace on the other’s face.
Scents of blood…unrecognizable by humans – a dragon’s nose allowed Durin to realize that Hat Guy was injured.
A solo rescue for the traveler – against a godlike figure, sounded impossible in anyone’s ears. But it was like nothing when Hat Guy talked about it.
Durin only had to wait outside. Wait, and wait.
He bit his lower lip after hearing his job. It was like when he first stepped into Teyvat, Hat Guy had always said, ‘Just follow me.’
Durin’s tail wagged in panic, he gazed across Hat Guy to Albedo, hoping for him to speak up. As a dragon who just became human a few months ago, his view on the world isn’t complete at all. When it comes to big decisions, he was always seen as the child that understood less than others. Durin doesn’t hate this feeling and rarely expressed his opinion on any decision – a good child would do this.
But, but…
After hearing Albedo’s acceptance to Hat Guy’s idea, Durin was shocked. He held Hat Guy’s sleeve without thinking.
The Doctor, Dottore’s area was just in front of them. Durin understood clearly that every second wasted would add to the chance of the traveler felling into danger. As Albedo confirmed the idea from Hat Guy after receiving positive response from most data, everyone believed that Hat Guy was the best person to complete this rescue.
But, but…
Brows lowered, frowned, lower lip covered by the upper – these expressions came together to create a sad, worried, with a touch of wronged Durin.
He leaned forward, grabbing his sleeve and went off balance. Originally being slightly taller than Hat Guy, the action he just did made Hat Guy have the perfect angle to look at him from an upper angle.
Durin’s expression was shown with no place to hide. He also saw Hat Guy’s face under the hat.
He saw.
He saw Hat Guy went slightly surprised, then smiled…? He didn’t try to pull back the sleeve in Durin’s hands but sarcastically tipped one brow. ‘How can I even lose to that Dottore?’ was written over his face.
Dragon’s horns bumping his hat made a clear sound. Durin pulled his hand back in small surprise then carefully opened his mouth to ask.
“Hat Guy, is this the chance of yours to put fate in its place?”
“This one? No. But it’s the chance to put Dottore into his depressed little corner.”
Though result of the plan wasn’t bad, Hat Guy did fulfill his promise to bring the traveler out safely.
But the result wasn’t perfect, either.
On the way back, Durin did smell blood coming from Hat Guy’s body.
His clothing covered the wounds, but the dust from his back rubbing against the floor was oddly clear on his white shirt. But Hat Guy never wanted to show his weakness in front of others, so he was silence along the way.
Albedo also understood Hat Guy’s feelings and corporately didn’t bring anything up.
Leaving only Durin worried about Hat Guy’s injury.
Fortunately, the journey wasn’t short. Durin simply made his way to the back of the group.
Albedo turned to look after realizing Durin had gone missing, only to smile seeing Durin stayed near Hat Guy. He moved on without a word.
The meeting of eyes with Albedo made Hat Guy turn to observe Durin, who didn’t sense his stare at all. He wanted to sign, but held in. He knew clearly that he couldn’t hide any injuries from this baby dragon. If he said it out loud, he might be seen as weak.
But as Durin gently held his hand, quietly asking how the injury is, if it hurts or not, if he needed help patching it up, he couldn’t bring himself to reject him.
Thankfully, his sleeve is long enough to cover small actions. So Hat Guy allowed Durin’s willfulness and avoided answering.
Time was precious; they had to focus on the next step of the plan. There were no time minding injuries as small as nothing.
But how are injuries nothing?
Sitting beside Hat Guy, Durin’s eyelids were low, pupils watery like he’s about to cry.
He wasn’t anywhere near when the core was taken out. He was greeted with a motionless Hat Guy as he came back.
Even though the risks were huge, he didn’t face that progress after all. So instead of being scared, he was rushed with emotions of helplessness and panic; rushed with how he couldn’t help his friend carry anything because he was too weak.
But everything was different now.
The plan worked. With the traveller and Columbina’s help, Dottore had fell. Certainly a win for us, but a cruel one.
The lost Nod Krai citizens haven’t been counted yet. Basic survival facilities haven’t been repaired. Others affected by the experiment still couldn’t be returned to normal. Also, ally’s fall…
To be honest, Durin wasn’t familiar with that Fatui Harbinger at all. They haven’t even spoken directly to each other once. But days of fighting already made her a strong partner in Durin’s heart, or, in Varka’s words, ally.
The abyssal power sealed inside of his body forced him to stay behind in town. After everything and cleaning up the monsters on the ground, they saw Columbina kneeling on the ground, hugging that Harbinger called Sandrone, silent.
The two were more than usual friends, obviously. Miss Sandrone’s panic when Columbina disappeared was seen in everyone’s eyes.
Right now, the kneeling Moon Goddess was there, silence did the work; It told stories of regret, sadness and guilt. Like heavy rain on a sunny day, all emotions hit Durin.
Unconsciously, he held tightly at where his heart sat.
…Is this, death?
Or, the feeling of losing someone?
He didn’t choose to interrupt them as his instincts told him it’s not the right time but also didn’t leave. Hat Guy’s core is an irreplaceable part of the fight. It’s put into Pulonia as the plan suggested. He must make sure Hat Guy is safe.
Already witnessing death right in front of him, Durin began to worry. He observed the environment for Pulonia.
Broken buildings and cracked rocks were the evidence of this unimaginable fight – mixed with elemental powers and Kunvahki. Without support, it had fall onto the ground and became a lifeless plate of dust.
Until his pupils spotted Pulonia with a broken outer cover.
That moment, Durin almost heard his heart stopped pounding.
He wasn’t quite sure of what happened in the next few minutes. After seeing the broken Pulonia, he held Albedo’s wrist as tightly as possible. After that… then…
Albedo calmed him a little, then quickly checked the core inside of Pulonia. It was taken back to town immediately after confirmed unharmed.
The person that took Hat Guy’s core out was gone. Now Albedo became the only person capable of putting it back. He wasn’t involved in the previous process, so risks couldn’t be avoided.
But the longer the core was away from its body, the more dangerous it was to Hat Guy – there was no time to call others for help.
After all, Albedo had to take this job.
Images of Hat Guy’s closed eyes, motionless, Miss Sandrone’s limp body, Columbina’s final hug with her, the movement of staring down like the moonlight casted invisible weight on her body - the agony of losing a loved one felt breathless, holding Durin back and dragging him into a bottomless swirl-
As he focused back to reality, Albedo had already prepared everything.
The room originally used for Sandrone’s experiments and research was taken. Hat Guy was laid on the resting couch in the centre of the room; that silver-white core placed beside him, blue light shining.
Durin refused to leave. Albedo could tell his worries, therefore didn’t shoo him away.
The process of assembling and detaching his core wasn’t that complicated, but also not as easy as taking the batteries from a toy.
The puppet’s chest was opened; glowing core was put inside carefully. Alchemy power connected it with the flowing energy inside his body. It was just like a heart transportation – for blood to flow normally, each and every blood vessel needed to be connected to the correct ones without any errors.
Durin couldn’t offer any help with this process at all. He was only a beginner when it comes to alchemy.
But Hat Guy, now lying on the couch and covered with Albedo’s alchemy array, looked just like the scene when he was turned into a human.
The one thing different, though, is that he could clearly see how much space that wound had taken on the puppet’s shoulder – the wound that Hat Guy described as ‘nothing’ after rescuing the traveler.
But how is this ‘nothing’?
A deep scratch by an abyssal monster’s sharp claws on his arm - a continuous, sharp ache far from going away. Durin looked down, gazing lightly across Hat Guy’s wounds from scratching, stabs from weapons and dark bruises from impact. He gazed like all those injuries would ache if he gazed too harsh.
Wounds bleed; they hurt; they swell; they ache when new skin grows and recover. They limit your movements if they are pulled, bumped, or touched. Just a few injuries could result in these serious consequences.
What about taking out the core? How badly would it hurt, how serious would things be?
…How is this ‘nothing’?
Albedo left to do other things after completing the transfer. There are always complicated tasks left to those in power after a war. Durin was temporarily asked to protect the sleeping Hat Guy’s safety. So there were only two people in the room after everything.
Those injuries looked scary. It was almost impossible to treat them without Hat Guy’s own corporation. After applying medicine to clearly exposed wounds, he gave up on the larger and deeper ones.
At last Durin could only grab a small chair beside Hat Guy. The chair was much shorter than the edge of his bed, therefore Durin could easily rest his head on his arm against the edge. He could only wait for the other to awake.
Durin wasn’t sure how long it will take for Hat Guy to open his eyes.
He also wasn’t sure if the core had taken any scratches during the fight, if it would harm Hat Guy’s body in any way.
Durin didn’t think that deep, he just rested there, gently holding the colder hand of the puppet. He brought it close to his face, letting the warmth on his face spread to the hand.
A tail pointing downwards and a drooping head – was the first image that Hat Guy saw as he opened his eyes. It was sad little dragon resting beside his bed.
If the core has returned to his body and Durin can stay beside him, that means Dottore was stopped. Their plan worked.
After he made this conclusion, he smiled, teasingly used the hand closer to Durin’s face to pinch his cheeks.
As expected, Durin immediately looked up, tail excitedly hooked upwards too. He managed to call his name with a slight upper tone towards the end, “Hat Guy!".
Unexpectedly, Durin’s emotions rushed through after this call. Worried, frustrated, stressed, scared, panicked…
All these negative feelings from worrying about Hat Guy created a massive ocean wave only to flood all the way through his body after seeing Hat Guy waking. The flood then became shaking hands. His arms, carefully avoiding any injuries on his body, wrapped around Hat Guy. A cry he could never hold in anymore came.
Facing emotions as straightforward as these, Hat Guy froze. He held onto one of Durin’s arms in a instinct reaction. The posture of lying made him stuck between Durin’s hug and the couch – but he doesn’t hate this feeling.
Hat Guy knew how Durin sees him as his most important friend which he couldn’t deny. He also accepts the fact how Durin is especially important to himself. But when facing these emotions caused by his own actions, Hat Guy couldn’t decide how to respond.
Warm tears rolled down against Durin’s cheeks, every drop fell on Hat Guy’s chest with Durin’s hugging posture. Boiling feelings seemed to flow with these tears, wetting his clothes, into the puppet’s pale skin. Then finally watering the core that got put back a few minutes ago.
It’s like how the flood of warm feelings was drowning him too – Hat Guy felt harder to breath as he looked at Durin’s watery and blurry eyes.
Hesitating a little, then he decided to rest his hand on Durin’s back to turn a one-sided hug to a hug for both.
He caught Durin’s flowing feelings. Durin as well caught him.
“I’m back, Durin.”
With this tight but warm hug, Hat Guy could hear Durin’s shaking voice, almost hoarse after crying for that long. Then he heard…
“…Welcome back, Hat Guy.”
The following things just got better as time went on. Everyone had been contributing to the aftermath of war in Nod Krai.
After hearing Sandrone’s news, Hat Guy looked down in silence for a while but didn’t give any say after then.
He never built a deep relationship with anyone when he still was a Harbinger. Now that he already has barely any connection to the Fatui, a friendship with Sandrone couldn’t be structured in such a short period of time. But he doesn’t hate her; Hat Guy does understand her quite a lot in many ways. It’s rather normal that he couldn’t manage any words upon hearing the news.
Instead, he was more concerned about Dottore’s fall which made him frown. Hat Guy gave a completely different idea to others.
Dottore was always extremely mischievous. From what he knows about Dottore, he most likely had a backup plan. Though the three moons could beat him now, it wouldn’t be that easy to fully destroy him. They shouldn’t relax fully yet.
To this idea, there were people for and against, but Hat Guy only shrugged those opinions off. He planned to go back to Sumeru after things are settled in Nod Krai.
He gave Durin a heads-up before heading back.
Compared to giving a heads-up, it was actually more like the little dragon’s own conclusion as he stuck near him all the time.
Even before Hat Guy started packing his bag, Durin already hesitantly made his way beside his seat. He nervously poked the meat in his bowl with chopsticks, anxiously asked, “Hat Guy, are you going back?”
Hearing his voice, Hat Guy raised an eyebrow but gave a confirming tone. “Yeah, things are now settled here. I came here to investigate Dottore and, I would say the goal is achieved so it’s time to head back. I was gonna tell you tomorrow, guess it’s not need now.”
“Would you stay for a few more days?” Durin didn’t want him departing so soon. The meat in his bowl was already a beehive from his chopsticks’ work. Albedo stopped his poking as he held his laugh.
“My requested leave from the academia isn’t that long. I also needa catch up with the classes I missed.”
He also needed to investigate Dottore’s trace and backup actions. Missing this opportunity of revenge wasn’t ideal, but he knew Dottore wouldn’t be this careless. It would be good if he actually did disappear. If not, another opportunity for revenge would appear. Although these were his guesses, warning others would only rise panic. He decided to keep it to himself.
“Is Mr Hat Guy departing tomorrow? We’ll take you to the port.” Albedo, after hearing the two, stepped in to interrupt the tension. “Durin would miss you after.”
Hat Guy paused for a moment, shook his head. “There's no need for that. I wasn’t going to tell you much in advance anyway. I was just going to stop by in case a little dragon would cry and lose his voice or something.”
He glanced over Durin who had his head down like a sad puppy, then continued “Aren’t you guys heading back to Mondstadt? Write if you want to contact me. It’s not like you can’t see me again.”
“Oh…” Durin blinked. Then wigged his tail happily after realizing Hat Guy’s words were to him. He nodded quickly. “Alright, I will write letters to you every day, Hat Guy, after I go back.”
“Every day… whatever, write if you want. I’ll read ‘em.”
“Yay!” Durin leaned forward as he saw Hat Guy’s brows relaxed. “Then can I go visit you at Sumeru?”
“Tsk…” Hat Guy’s gaze fell onto Albedo.
Though Albedo was smiling at their conversation, he didn’t want to be the centre of discussion. “Even though Durin is currently living in Mondstadt, but we won’t limit his freedom for exploring the world. He is allowed to go anywhere after finishing his schoolwork.”
Durin could tell how Albedo was on his side – he grabbed Hat Guy’s hand. He learnt a lot from Mondstadt, including Klee’s specially designed begging skills. Now that Durin was holding Hat Guy’s hand, body in a leaning position that allowed him to stare up at his eyes from a lower position, he spoke in a squishier voice. “Can I not? I won’t cause any trouble.”
“…Where the hell did you learn that.” It seemed like this begging ability had hit Hat Guy right in the face. He had always found it hard to reject Durin’s requests so he avoided his stare but agreed.
“Then come at any time. I’ll have to warn you though, I’m busy. I got barely any time to play around.”
“I know. Hat Guy’s nice.”
“…Shut it.”