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Lumine and Paimon entered Mondstadt City through the front gate, taking in the sight and smiling. Nearby citizens chattered excitedly and waved towards the pair shyly, hushed exclamations of ‘Honorary Knight’ reaching their ears. They stopped by the Adventurer’s Guild to check in with Katheryne see if any new commissions had come up locally since their previous visit. Once that was done, they continued up through the city towards the Knights of Favonius Headquarters.
They had been in Fontaine before travelling to Mondstadt. The details of the commission were already fading from Lumine’s mind – it hadn’t been particularly eventful or adventurer-esque, but it had paid well. Near the end of the commission they had received a letter from Varka, the Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius, requesting their presence and support with some recent Abyssal trouble at their borders. Knights called out to them in greeting as they neared the headquarters and they returned the attention with fond waves. There was a familiar happiness to being back in the City of Freedom again.
The two knights on guard at the front of headquarters informed them that there would be a weekly meeting starting at noon and the Grand Master had asked for them to attend if they arrived today in time for it.
“Thanks for the info,” Paimon said to them, then turned to Lumine, “Traveller, what do you want to do for the next hour?”
“Hmm, how about we see if anyone is around the training grounds?” Lumine suggested, gesturing towards the back of the building. Paimon nodded eagerly in agreement, so they made their way around the corner to the practice area. It wasn’t particularly large which meant that it had limited usefulness for Vision users or anything large-scale. For practice duels or similar smaller-scale training though, it was perfect. As they approached, they saw that it just so happened that Noelle and Razor were already there using it for that very purpose.
They looked well matched with their eager postures and claymores clashing. Lumine and Paimon were already well within sight before Lumine noticed that Lohen was hovering at the edge of the practice grounds, as if surveying the ongoing duel. However, rather than watching the bout, his keen eyes were instead trained on her. He smirked as she met his eyes and she hesitated for a brief moment, contemplating turning around and going somewhere else entirely. Something about him made her doubt herself at every turn, like she didn’t know herself under his keen gaze.
Unfortunately for Lumine, Paimon was already waving eagerly in Lohen’s direction. She suppressed a sigh of resignation before following her friend over to stand near him. She gave him a small nod of acknowledgement but otherwise tried to focus on Noelle and Razor’s duel. She tried, desperately, to not let herself dwell on Lohen, who was standing only a few feet away and was definitely staring at her.
Lumine had never actually caught him observing her. At least, not outside of normal eye contact during conversation and meetings. But... that feeling that she got when she was near him, she also felt it when he wasn’t anywhere to be seen at all. It was the feeling of knowing you were being watched.
The heat of the sun overhead felt hotter and more suffocating than it should have been. Somehow, she found herself thinking that she should have known that he would find a way to be in the same place as her when she returned to Mondstadt. He always seemed to find her, even in a crowd. Those thoughtful, piercing eyes lingered on her in a way that made her feel exposed. As if he could read her every thought in the way she moved.
It made her insides curl in a way she didn’t understand and didn’t think she wanted to either. His smile – the way it never really reached his eyes – was so knowing and cocky that she could trick herself into thinking he knew a secret about her that she didn’t want anyone to discover. He made her feel like she was in the palm of his hand. She hated that feeling.
“What do you say Traveller? Fancy a duel to pass the time?” Lohen’s breath tickled Lumine’s neck, startling her and her breath caught in her throat. He exhaled in amusement at the reaction and leaned back slightly from her ear. She absentmindedly touched her hand to her neck where his breath had fanned across it.
She turned to face him and realised he was standing far too close. She hadn’t noticed him move to approach at all, but he was right behind her. She couldn’t read his expression, but she didn’t need to, to know that he had relished her physical response to his sudden intrusion. She deliberately took a step back from him, hoping she looked as nonchalant and disinterested as possible.
“That is a wonderful suggestion but unfortunately the grounds are currently occupied,” she said, feigning a disappointed sigh. He smiled in amusement and his eyes slowly and deliberately looked towards the duelling area behind her. She turned to follow his gaze and saw Noelle and Razor were shaking hands, signalling the end of their duel.
Lohen glanced back at her, smirking, before approaching the two to congratulate them on an excellent fight. Lumine managed to get her deadpan expression under control just before he turned around to beckon her to join him in the arena. She couldn’t think of a good excuse to turn him down in front of the others, so she sighed in resignation and entered the circle. She immediately walked towards the wooden practice weapons at the edge.
“No need for those, Honorary Knight. I’m at my best when I know it could hurt.” He grinned at her menacingly and summoned his polearm, waiting. She eyed him, but realising he was entirely serious, she summoned her sword and took up a default defensive stance. She wanted to beat him, just to wipe that knowing expression off his face, but she tried to suppress her petty emotions. Overconfidence would not help her. She needed to be careful in a duel like this, going against a polearm’s long reach and accurate jabs. He was dangerous after all.
Lumine readied herself. Lohen licked his lips. Then, he flung his polearm towards her like a huge arrow and dashed forward. She knocked the polearm aside just in time to parry the dagger he slashed towards her face. She gritted her teeth and shoved him backwards out of the dagger’s melee range. He flashed her a dangerous smile as he retreated further to make sure he was out of her sword’s range.
This was just like him – and she knew she should have expected it. Observant, coy and reserved in person. But in battle – lethal and underhanded. He got a thrill out of beating someone regardless of the method employed. In fact, it felt like he enjoyed himself the more underhanded it was.
Lumine dashed towards him, to get back into range with her sword, and swung for his head. He ducked under her swing, and she gritted her teeth in frustration. Rather than catching him by surprise, he looked happy that she was going in for the kill, metaphorically of course. Lohen swept his polearm towards her legs from long range, aiming for her knees. She leapt over his weapon and spun in his direction, aiming for his chest this time but he deflected it with a dagger, grinning widely. He swiped for her face with the dagger in his other hand, but she managed to tumble backwards away from it.
He resummoned his polearm and manoeuvred it into an upward strike so that she would have to block downwards. He dismissed the weapon again once she had pushed forward and she stumbled forward from the sudden give of air. He used the opportunity to dash behind her, daggers flashing in his hands. Lumine knew in a heartbeat he had already gotten too close for her to block with her sword, so she resorted to grabbing his wrists. This put them in a stalemate, arms struggling against each other, their faces inches apart.
“If you wanted to get close to me, you could have just asked,” he commented with a sly smile. Lumine grunted in annoyance in reply as he tried harder to force his wrists out of her grip, straining with effort. Then, he dropped the dagger in his right hand to the ground and opened his palm to summon his polearm to it. Lumine cursed, releasing her grip on him and jumped back across the arena, sword back in her hand.
The polearm would have appeared inside her skull if he had pulled that off. What was he thinking? They circled each other, wary, but while Lumine’s expression was determined, Lohen looked like he was simply enjoying himself. Lumine went on the offensive, making a quick dash inwards with her sword for his abdomen. However, instead of countering it, Lohen dropped his weapon and held empty hands out to the side as if surrendering.
Lumine hesitated and stopped dead, sword lowering at her side. That was all Lohen needed. He dashed past her and she realised the trick all too late as his left arm wrapped tightly around her upper body, trapping her arms and pressing her back against his chest. He held a dagger to her throat with his right hand, glinting in the sunlight. She stayed very still, stunned.
“Do you yield, Honorary Knight?” he asked, his voice low, mocking her. He tightened his grip on her upper body slightly, threateningly.
“Yes,” she said quietly, through gritted teeth. He released her and smiled deviously as she turned to face him, offering her his hand.
“Well fought,” Lohen said tauntingly as she shook his hand. She nodded curtly in response, frustrated and embarrassed. He released her hand but let his fingers trace the length of her hand as he withdrew. She suppressed a shiver at the sensual touch, feeling hot. She turned from him and walked towards Paimon who was waiting at the sidelines.
Lumine was relieved to see no one else standing there – it was humiliating enough to have to remember it herself. She should have known he would pull something like that. Had he insisted on real weapons from the start to make sure she would hesitate?
“What a dirty trick!” Paimon exclaimed, stamping her foot in annoyance, trying to comfort Lumine.
“Don’t worry, it doesn’t matter anyway… How about a snack before the meeting starts? I need to sit down.” Lumine glanced back at the duelling arena as they left and her gaze met Lohen’s. His eyes were intense, but he smiled and waved cheerily as she walked away.
She left every encounter she had with him more confused. Her body was betraying her at every turn by reacting to him the way that it did. Like it wanted to go on experiencing that confusion repeatedly. That annoyed her more. But… maybe it would give her the chance to figure out what more was behind that smile of his?
Lohen had known the Traveller was phenomenally strong. Far stronger than he was. And he loved it.
There was nothing more satisfying than knowing you were outmatched and going all out in a fight, taking a chance that you could manipulate the odds in your favour. She could snap his neck at a moment’s notice if she wanted to, but she was too aware of losing control. In Lohen's eyes, she was like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. For some reason he couldn’t pin down though, she seemed content playing the part of the sheep. That was what intrigued him the most. It drew him to her.
Was the wolf he imagined somewhere inside of her? He knew she had teeth – she had no patience for his tricks and she showed it. He loved the expressions she made when he did something particularly devious. Her reactions were just so satisfying. But how to pull her in? How to keep her attention? He had wondered time and time again. Until now. He knew he finally had it all figured out when she had glanced back at him following their duel. That keen look in her eye. He had shivered with excited anticipation. She was already paying attention.
The strategy meeting went on far longer than Lumine and Paimon had been expecting. It was also very boring. Apparently, it happened to be a quarterly meeting, so there was a ridiculous amount of information included and presented that would not normally belong at the weekly meetings. Lumine was convinced the only reason Varka had ‘asked for them to attend’ was that he had been hoping their presence would take some attention away from him. To her, it looked like the only thing that was keeping him awake was the cup of ‘water’ he was taking frequent sips from.
Lumine didn’t really blame him, she was alternating between supressing yawns and pinching herself to keep her eyes from glazing over. She wondered if anyone would notice if she slipped under the table and had a nap on the floor. The early morning and travel to Mondstadt had worn on her more than she had realised. As her attention waned, she had to stop her gaze wandering to Lohen at the other end of the table more times than she would have liked to admit.
They took a break for lunch and at that time Lumine found out that they were only halfway through the meeting. She began to wonder if even a knife in the ribs would keep her awake at this point as her and Paimon chewed their food in contented, exhausted silence. Paimon didn’t seem to be faring much better, but she didn’t dare voice it in front of the other knights at least. Lumine didn’t think they would have cared even if she had said anything as Jean looked to be the only person enjoying herself.
As the second half of the meeting started, Lumine found herself wishing they had been a week late arriving. Thankfully, it was more bearable than the noon session at least because they moved on to topics more relevant to her purpose there: recent expeditions, fortifications, maps. That line of discussion kept her alert long enough to get to the main point of the meeting: current combat requirements. Jean read out the list of teams’ assignments.
“…The 2nd Company will be split between Mondstadt City and Dornman Port. The 9th Company will be supporting you in the city and the 5th Company will be stationed in Dornman Port. The Traveller will also be supporting our Dornman Port location… These assignments will start this day next week so please ensure you prepare thoroughly over the next seven days to keep the transition as easy as possible. Please let us know if there are any questions before you leave.”
The doors opened and most of the attendees flooded out, desperate for respite and fresh air. Paimon was one of them, rushing for the bathroom. Lumine stretched her stiff neck, relieved, and pushed her chair back to stand up. She stepped out from the table, her eyes straying to Lohen who was chatting with the captain of the 2nd Company. He caught her looking and she quickly averted her gaze, turning to leave.
“Honorary Knight,” he called to her and she winced to herself at having been caught. She looked back to see him gesturing for her to come over and join them. She mentally shook herself, trying to get a grip, and walked over to them.
“Captain Note,” she said with a polite smile and nod to the 2nd Company’s captain.
“Captain Note and I were discussing some logistics and strategy plans for the new assignment in Dornman Port from next week,” Lohen said, “He is going to be very busy splitting his company between here and there, so I have offered to bring you up to speed on our plans.” Lumine groaned internally. Could she bear spending time with him outside of their usual chance encounters? There was no doubt in her mind that he had somehow planned for this to happen; to have her stationed at the same location.
“I see…” Lumine replied, “and these plans are already set out? Will there be any group meetings between the three of us?”
“We maintain good communication between our companies, so we have prearranged plans for this type of thing. You will need to be briefed as an outsider though. I have a lot to sort in the city as well so if you could take some time to go through it with Vice-Captain Lohen, it will help everyone out,” Note clarified, smiling in blissful ignorance at what was really happening. Lumine swore she saw Lohen smirk out of the corner of her eye, but when she looked at him it was gone. He really was infuriating.
“Paimon and I will be more than happy to participate,” she said, smiling, “anything to help.” She caught the shift in Lohen’s expression as she mentioned Paimon and she had to hide her satisfaction. Emphasising her point, Paimon float back into the meeting room at that moment and waved at her. Lumine felt more at ease as Paimon joined their small group for a brief summary. Note then excused himself to speak with others, which left just the three of them.
“Where do you want to do this briefing then?” Paimon asked Lohen, sighing at the prospect of more work.
“The library,” he responded, glancing between them thoughtfully, and gestured for them to walk on ahead of him. Lumine felt the hairs on the back of her neck prickle as he walked behind her. His gloved hand grazed hers as he put it against the door she held open for him. The library was hushed as they entered.
“Could you find a free table for us to set up? I will be back with the materials shortly,” Lohen asked them, his voice soft. They nodded in agreement and walked over to Lisa, who was standing behind her desk.
“Hi there, cuties. It’s nice to see you,” she said with a soft smile, looking them over.
“Hi Lisa!” Paimon said excitedly. Lisa put a finger to her lips in warning and Paimon gasped then covered her mouth with wide eyes. “Sorry!” she whispered loudly to Lisa, grimacing.
“Lohen has asked us to get a table, do you have any suggestions?” Lumine said quietly. Lisa hummed softly in contemplation.
“If you can find one it’s yours… but it’s busy right now,” she replied shaking her head. Lumine and Paimon decided to split up, each of them taking one level of the library to check for free tables. Lumine went to check downstairs. Unfortunately, more of them were occupied following the meeting than Lumine had ever seen before and she had no luck finding a table that wasn’t in use. She made her way back up the stairs, hoping that Paimon had some luck there in her stead. She was greeted by Lohen instead, however.
“There are no tables free downstairs. Did Paimon have any luck up here?” she asked, glancing over the notebooks and large scrolls he held in his arms. He smiled crookedly.
“It would seem that Paimon got banned from the library,” he responded, shrugging innocently.
“What?!” Lumine whispered in annoyance. “How?”
“Lisa had no choice. Paimon made too much noise multiple times and the librarian is a strict woman. I think she took her for food as an apology though.”
“You mean she left?!” Lumine’s voice rose and Lohen put his index finger to his lips, mocking shushing her. She used all her willpower to resist swatting at him. She breathed deeply, calming herself. “What now then?”
“There is another room we can use, seeing as the library is packed,” he said, already turning to leave.
“I’ll go get Paimon then.”
“She’s already gone. You may as well follow me, and we can get this over with.”
“Why don’t we reschedule to another day? Then she can join us.”
“I’m afraid this is my last available day before the assignment begins so it has to be now. I’m sure she can join next time.” He didn’t sound very genuine when he said it. She felt apprehensive, like she was falling into a trap and didn't know it yet. But she was exhausted, and tired of arguing with him. She just wanted the day to be over. So, Lumine swallowed her frustration and followed him out of the library. He led her upstairs to the third floor and down the hallway to a closed door. He pushed it open with his elbow on the door handle and nodded for her to follow him inside. She stopped at the doorway, taking in the room.
“Lohen, this is your bedroom,” she stated flatly. He sighed, putting the materials down on a table and looked at her judgingly, hand on hip.
“It is a room we can use.”
“I don’t think it’s… appropriate,” she clarified, avoiding his stare.
“Don’t look so put out Honorary Knight, I don’t bite,” he said, smiling. The smile flashed his teeth at her, and she could have sworn his sharp incisors glinted, mocking her. She gritted her teeth, fighting down the urge to punch him. There was no point.
She knew, despite the urge to react, there was nothing to react to. Lohen had not done anything that justified a response at all in fact. He hadn’t done anything to explain why something about him made her feel like cornered prey. It made her uneasy. The worst part wasn’t the uneasiness of it though. The worst part was the way her body liked that feeling. She pushed the feeling down, suppressing it, letting her annoyance simmer instead.
Hesitantly, Lumine entered his bedroom.
Her first impression was that it was a suspiciously normal bedroom for someone like Lohen. It was tidy and organised, with a desk next to the window in front of the door and the bed in the far corner. He was smiling smugly to himself, pleased she had given in. She just hoped he didn’t realise that the reason she had given in was because she wanted to. It was easier to get it all over with, as much as she hated paperwork and anything related to it. Maybe he would be more bearable if she let him believe he had convinced her himself.
Lumine fidgeted with her hands, standing awkwardly near the doorway until he gestured for her to sit in the chair at the desk. She did so reluctantly, eyeing him, then picked up one of the scrolls he had brought and examined it. It was a map of Mondstadt with areas of note marked. He walked past her and shut the door to the bedroom. The soft click of the lock echoed ominously through the room. She swallowed, tense.
She picked up another scroll, trying to ignore his approaching footsteps. She was staring blankly at the map, unable to recognise the area as Lohen placed his hand on the table next to hers, leaning over her shoulder to look at it as well. Her skin tingled, feeling how close he was, but she said nothing. She hoped silently that he would get bored and step away to look at something else. He did not. She cleared her throat, annoyed, and looked at him. She tried to supress the nervous energy that shot through her at how close his face was to hers.
“How is this map relevant to the assignment? I don’t recognise it at all,” she said, frowning at him. The mole under his right eye creased as he smiled amusedly. He lifted his hand from the table to take the map from her hands and rotated it until it clearly showed the area of Mondstadt around Dornman Port. She had been holding it upside down.
Her face flushed bright red in hot embarrassment, and he chuckled but said nothing more. He left her side to pin the map on the display board next to the desk and then did the same with the Mondstadt region map. The annoyance she used as a shield with him was melting away quickly under her humiliation.
“Ready to begin?” he asked, shuffling some of the papers on the table with nimble hands, scanning them briefly with his eyes. She stood up suddenly, pushing the chair back, making it screech against the floor.
“I think we should just reschedule. I am not at my best today,” she said, looking at the floor instead of at him. It was hard to be annoyed with someone when you felt like a fool. He sighed loudly.
“We have already gathered and set out the materials now… It would be a waste,” he remarked, eyes narrowing.
“I’ll put them back as an apology. I just can’t do this today…” she said forcefully, stacking the papers and books on the table back into a pile hurriedly. She could hear her heartbeat echoing in her ears. This was all so stupid.
“Why do you keep trying to run away?” he asked, sounding angry.
Lumine avoided him and began unpinning the map from the display board. Lohen stalked up behind her, slamming his right hand on the wall over her shoulder. She turned quickly to face him as he caged her against the wall with his arms, eyes dark and longing. She could see herself getting lost in those eyes. She gulped, her dwindling resolve disintegrating altogether.
“I don’t want to play games with you Lohen,” she said, looking down. He smiled ominously.
“And if I held you here with a dagger to your throat? Would you stay then?” he asked, leaning in closer to her. Lumine scoffed at him, eyes narrowing in anger as she looked back up at him. Her annoyance was bubbling back up to the surface at his ridiculous threat.
“You already know that if you ever tried something so stupid that I’d stab you first.” That made Lohen smirk in satisfaction.
“Don’t threaten me with a good time,” he whispered, amused. His dark eyes flickered down to her lips then back up to her frown. He sighed shakily, like he was tired of holding himself back from something. He tangled his left hand in her hair at the nape of her neck and pulled her head closer to his. He stared deep into her eyes, examining her. “You’re such a tease,” he said with a scoff.
Then, he kissed her.
Her anger dissipated like a candle doused in water. Lumine knew Lohen was unpredictable. He was strange, a savage fighter and by most people’s estimations, at least a little insane. Lumine knew this already – he wasn’t dependable or well-meaning. He was almost definitely dangerous.
Lohen made her every heartbeat pound so loud that it echoed in her ears, making it hard to think properly. Making it easy to make mistakes. That feeling usually made her whole body tense in frightened anticipation, unmoving. But nothing about today was usual. Apparently, it was a day for mistakes.
Lumine grabbed the front of his coat in her fists and kissed him back.