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The first time it happened, Lohen was cleaning his daggers on the Knights of Favonius training grounds. He'd just returned from patrol—clothes stained red with the blood of hilichurls who'd been unfortunate enough to cross paths with him. He'd take care of those later. First he needed to clean his daggers and coat them with a layer of healing potion, lest he forget. The hilichurls weren't challenging enough, even with the effects of the healing potion, and he didn't need the disappointment of yet another boring fight.
The full moon immersed the training grounds in its bright light, making the dagger in Lohen's hand gleam silver. Perhaps it was those flashes of light that had caught the deacon's attention.
Lohen hadn't seen him coming, but he'd heard the quiet footsteps approaching. He threw his dagger in that direction, making sure to miss the target on purpose, not wanting to harm a possibly defenseless citizen.
"Gah! Careful with that!" A voice called out. It belonged to none other than Dahlia, the benevolent deacon who always poked his nose in other people's business. Seems like Lohen was his victim for the night. "You wouldn't want to injure a member of the church, would you?"
"If you're gonna enter the training grounds, you should expect weapons aimed your way," Lohen shrugged. To him, it seemed like common sense.
Dahlia let out an annoyed huff before replying.
"Well forgive me for wanting to check if you were injured." He said and kicked away the dagger—which had fallen to the ground, missing his foot by a few centimeters, just as Lohen had planned. The dagger slid across stone, stopping right in front of the knight. Looks like he wasn't the only one with accuracy and precision. How interesting.
"Oh? So you were worried about me?" Lohen teased in that annoyingly smooth voice of his that somehow always managed to get on people's nerves. He'd learnt to use his naturally irritating personality to his advantage, taunting people until they agreed to spar with him. Unfortunately, just like with most other members of the church, tranquility seemed to be one of Dahlia's virtues.
"Of course I was. It's a deacon's duty to be preoccupied with the well-being of the people."
"Is it also a deacon's job to meddle in everyone's personal lives and gossip all day?"
"It's not gossip; it's, erm... a highly insightful analysis of human traits and behaviors, with the sole purpose of reaching a better understanding of other people's perspectives and potentially helping them in the future! There's no ill intent behind it whatsoever!"
Lohen knew it was a blatant lie, but he didn't push further.
"How kind of you, Mr. Deacon! Since you seem to love helping others so much, won't you do me a small favor and—"
"I am not sparring with you, Lohen." Dahlia cut him off, crossing his arms decisively.
"Come on, it will be fun!" Lohen said, leaning down to pick up his dagger again. He then twirled it in the air, admiring the way moonlight was reflected on the metal blade. "Don't you want to feel the thrill of battle? The burn of injuries and warmth of blood soaking through your clothes?" He had no power over the sharp smile that formed on his face. Just thinking about that sweet rush of adrenaline filled him with excitement.
There was a pause. Lohen assumed he'd unsettled Dahlia with his battle-crazed rambling, but when he glanced back at the deacon, he seemed almost... dazed. His eyes were glued to the knight's form, watching him as if in a trance. There was no fear or nervousness on his expression. He looked at Lohen the way one would look at a painting. The way Lohen looked at his weapons whenever they were covered in the blood of his enemies. With fascination. Yes, there was a glint of fascination in the deacon's eyes.
But why would Lohen be the subject of such fascination? Perhaps... Dahlia was actually watching something else?
Lohen looked behind him, only to be met by the completely ordinary sight of the empty training ground, now engulfed in the night's shadows. He looked to his left, then to his right, but there was nothing unusual that could have caught Dahlia's attention. He was definitely staring at him. But why? Lohen was fully aware he was sick in the head. People always looked at him with fear and talked about how deranged he was behind his back. That was usual. That was normal. What wasn't normal was Dahlia's gaze—so full of out-of-place admiration as he looked at Lohen.
No, this wasn't just abnormal; it was outright impossible. Dahlia was definitely not looking at Lohen. He had probably just zoned out and was thinking about something completely different. Yeah, that was definitely it.
"Uh, Dahlia? You there?" He asked, in an attempt to bring the deacon back to reality.
At the sound of his voice, Dahlia blinked a few times, shaking his head as the trance finally broke.
"Y-yeah? Sorry, I got distracted for a second."
Lohen let out a fond chuckle before replying.
"I guessed that much. Anyways—"
"It's just," Dahlia cut him off for a second time. "The blood on your clothes. It's the exact same shade as the red in your eyes."
Lohen remained silent because how the hell is someone supposed to reply to that?
"Have you considered adding more red to your wardrobe? It would look really pretty on you."
Lohen almost choked on air. No way he'd just heard the word 'pretty' be used in relation to himself. Who sees an insane, combat-obsessed maniac covered in blood and then thinks to call them pretty? Dahlia, apparently.
"I— Uhm—"
"Don't get me wrong," Dahlia cut him off for a third time, and for a moment, Lohen genuinely considered cutting off his tongue. "You look pretty in blue, too. I just think red would also suit you, that's all." He tried to clarify, only making Lohen even more confused.
Seriously, what was wrong with Dahlia? How could he take one look at Lohen, then out of all the adjectives in the dictionary, pick the word 'pretty' to describe him?
"It's just a friendly suggestion, though." Dahlia continued to speak, doing Lohen a favour because he was completely unable to form any words at the moment. "You don't have to listen to me, so uh, please don't start throwing daggers my way just for giving you fashion advice, alright?"
Lohen didn't respond and only stared at Dahlia with a blank expression on his face. The deacon looked at him awkwardly for a moment before taking a step back.
"Well, uhm, it was nice chatting with you, but I'm having a sleepover with Barbara and Rosaria tonight, and I should really get going."
"Yeah, okay." Lohen finally spoke again, trying to regain his composure. "Sorry I... I guess I also got distracted."
"Oh, don't worry about it. Well, see you around!" Dahlia said as he left Lohen all alone on the training grounds.
"See ya..." Lohen called out after him.
What the actual fuck was that whole interaction? Was Dahlia drunk or something? Yeah, he had to have been. Otherwise, why would he compliment Lohen like that? He was most definitely drunk and not in full control of his thoughts. That was the only plausible explanation.
˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥
Then it happened again. Mere days after the first incident, no less. Lohen could brush it off the first time as some strange twist of fate. But the second time?! That was unacceptable! Something was definitely wrong. It had to be!
Lohen stood by the foot of the bridge that led to Mondstadt's entrance. After a boring day of fighting scrap metal, destroying Hilichurl camps, and delivering letters like some sort of errand boy, all that was left to do was try to wash the blood off his clothes in the river—without much success.
This time he did not hear the person approaching him. Perhaps Dahlia had learnt from their last encounter and did not want any more knives thrown his way. When the deacon made his presence known, it was already too late for Lohen to react. A hydro glyph appeared under him, launching him into the air with unexpected force. He ended up plummeting in the river, his clothes becoming more of a mess than they already were.
"Surprise baptism!" He heard Dahlia's voice, partly muffled by the water flooding his ears.
Once the initial shock of being thrown in the river wore off, Lohen managed to regain his footing and stand up. He was met with a bemused expression from Dahlia and the melodious sound of his giggles. Most Monstadt citizens wouldn't dare lay a single finger on Lohen, afraid of what the consequences may be. And here Dahlia was, laughing without a care in the world after he'd thrown the deranged and unpredictible knight in the river. He was so cute, Lohen couldn't even bring himself to be mad.
"Did you decide to ambush me because you knew you couldn't beat me in a fair fight?" He asked in that usual teasing tone of his.
"Oh? But who said anything about fighting?" Dahlia feigned innocence. "I saw you cleaning up and merely decided to help. Like any good member of the church should." He added, solemnly.
"Is that so? How kind of you, then."
"It's my duty, after all," Dahlia said as he stepped closer. He gallantly extended his hand to help Lohen back up. How chivalrous of him.
Lohen took the hand, but instead of using it as leverage to stand up, he pulled, making Dahlia lose his balance and fall in the water with him. The deacon let out a surprised yelp as he fell on top of Lohen. For a few moments they both struggled under the water until finally managing to sit up again.
"How very rude of you to treat the Herald of Barbatos with such disrespect!" Dahlia whined as he picked up his hat and tried to squeeze the water out of it.
"You literally did the same to me!"
"Well, yeah, but your clothes were wet already, so it doesn't count."
"Excuses, excuses..." Lohen hummed. "Seems to me like you're just being a hypocrite."
"The audacity!" Dahlia cried dramatically, clutching his nonexistent pearls. "And after I tried to do a good deed and help you clean up, no less!"
"The only thing you've done is act like an absolute menace." Lohen said, fondly ruffling the deacon's hair. "Is this your way of asking for attention? If you wanted it, you could have just said so."
"It's nothing of that sort," Dahlia said, pushing Lohen away and trying—and failing—to fix his hair. "I was going to pick up some valberries for Barbara; she needs them for a new smoothie recipe. I just so happened to see you and decided to stop and chat."
That surprised Lohen. People usually tried to avoid him as much as possible, not wanting to deal with a somewhat insane and very unhinged knight. So why would Dahlia just decide to stop by and chat? Especially after their last conversation had started with a dagger flying his way. Had that not scared him enough?
"People don't usually seek me out, unless it's for work-related purposes. You are quite peculiar, Mr. Deacon."
"You're one to talk." Dahlia rolled his eyes, though he couldn't hide the smile plastered on his lips.
"Guess we're both hypocrites then." Dahlia opened his mouth to complain again, but Lohen cut him off. "Anyway, would you like me to accompany you? I wouldn't want the virtuous Herald of Barbatos to get injured in the wilderness. Allow me to keep you safe."
For some reason, Lohen couldn't help but be drawn to the deacon. He longed to understand Dahlia's intentions and whatever his reason was for willingly talking to Lohen.
"How unexpectedly considerate of you. Is this a pretext so you could go off and fight more monsters?"
"Mm... perhaps," Lohen lied. Though fighting some more monsters did seem like fun too.
"Of course..." Dahlia let out a sigh. "I suppose some company wouldn't hurt, though. Come along, then. I promised Barbara I would be back before sunset." He carefully stepped out of the water, his movements full of grace and confidence despite having just fallen into the river.
Lohen quickly followed, leaping onto the grass right behind Dahlia. The deacon let out a small chuckle as he watched. Seriously, what was wrong with him?
"What is it?" Lohen asked in genuine confusion.
"Oh, sorry. It's just... the way you hopped out of the water. You looked a lot like a bunny just now. It was kind of adorable."
It took all of Lohen's self-control not to trip and fall like an idiot. Dahlia had called him adorable. Him. Adorable. The battle-crazed vice captain of the fifth company. Adorabke. Compared to a fucking bunny, of all things. How does one see a dangerous knight with blood all over his clothes and think, 'Oh yeah, he looks like an adorable, fluffy little bunny'?! What the actual fuck was wrong with this man??
"Lohen?" Dahlia's words interrupted his thoughts. "Are you coming?"
"Oh, of course! Right behind you!"
˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥
That second encounter made Lohen and Dahlia become much closer. He still couldn't figure out what exactly the deacon was thinking, becoming friends with a deranged individual such as himself, but he had to admit, Dahlia was pretty fun to be around.
Just like that, hangouts between the two of them became a somewhat regular thing. That's why they were now at Cat's Tail, chatting over a drink.
Apparently Cat Tail was Dahlia's favorite tavern, but he didn't come here very often, as Venti was allergic to cats, and he didn't want his best friend sneezing whenever he was near. Still, he was willing to make an exception tonight.
The two of them were sitting at a table, gossiping about the citizens of Mondstadt. How a man with an insatiable appetite for drama and gossip could become the Herald of Barbatos was beyond him. But then again, it wasn't the only thing about Dahlia that baffled him.
"I mean, can you believe it?!" Dahlia shouted, earning annoyed glances from some of the other people in the tavern. He was clearly starting to get tipsy. He was already on his fifth cocktail, while Lohen was just starting his third.
"Yeah, I mean, that's such a stupid reason to break up," Lohen agreed.
"I give them a month 'til they get back together."
"That soon?"
"They've been in an on-again, off-again relationship since they were teens. Trust me, they never stay broken up for long."
Lohen was inclined to believe Dahlia. He seemed to know everything about everyone, including people he'd never even talked to. Surely he'd heard a bunch of rumors about Lohen, even before their first encounter. He should have been cautious or unsettled, and yet here he was, inviting the local maniac to drink together. Trying to understand the deacon's thought process was giving him a headache. He was too sober for this, dammit!
Lohen picked up his glass again, downing his drink in a few gulps. It tasted like wolfhooks and a different fruit he couldn't quite recognize. A solid 8 out of 10. Bit too sour, though.
"Lohen?" Dahlia called, bringing the knight's attention back to him. "There's some foam left over on your face." Before Lohen could respond, Dahlia was already reaching out to wipe him clean with a handkerchief.
His movements were gentle. He softly held Lohen in place by his chin until he was done cleaning him up. It felt... strange, being treated with such care. He'd survived battles with even the most dangerous monsters in Teyvat, and yet Dahlia was cleaning him with such tenderness, almost as if he were afraid that a handkerchief would harm him.
"Uhm, thanks..." He muttered, still somewhat unsure of how to react.
"It's nothing," Dahlia responded. As soon as the deacon pulled away, his expression changed, a playful smirk forming on his lips. "You're cute when you blush." He added casually, as if this simple sentence didn't make Lohen's brain short circuit.
That was it. Lohen couldn't take it anymore of this psychological torture!
"Okay, what the fuck is wrong with you?!" He shouted, slamming the glass on the table without sparing a single thought to the other people in the tavern, who were now staring at them in confusion.
"What do you mean...?"
"Don't play with me! Th-that thing you just said!"
A pause. Then Dahlia blinked. Then came the response. "Uh, you mean... that I called you cute?"
"Yes! That! What's wrong with you?!"
"Well I just—I thought you looked cute, so I said it, but if it bothers you, I can—"
"No, that's not it— I mean, it is, but how can you even think that?"
"Think that you're cute...?" Dahlia asked carefully.
"Exactly!" Lohen sat back down, crossing his arms assertively. "I am a maniac with no self-preservation instincts who runs towards danger and finds joy in killing. There's undeniably something wrong with me, s-so there must be something wrong with you too!"
Dahlia regarded him with a serious expression. He took a long sip of his drink before replying, almost as if for dramatic effect.
"Lohen, two things can be true at once, you know? You can be cute and also clinically insane." His calm demeanor made Lohen scoff.
"No way! Nobody has called me that before. Ever. You're the only one who thinks that, so you must be wrong."
Dahlia let out a fond sigh as he listened to him. "There's no winning with you, is there?"
"Nope!"
"Well then," he said, taking yet another sip of his drink. "Guess we're both insane."
"So you admit it," Lohen said smugly. It was as much a statement as it was a question.
"I do."
For some reason, Lohen was still unsure of how to feel. He finally got Dahlia to admit there was something wrong with him, and yet he didn't feel entirely satisfied. Part of him wanted Dahlia to take back every compliment he'd given him—to push Lohen away once he realized how crazy he was. And yet he hadn't. Dahlia had acknowledged that Lohen was, well, not the sanest individual, to say the least. And despite that, he still decided to stay with Lohen. To keep looking at him, not like a thing to be feared, but like a person to be cared for.
As strange as it was, part of Lohen enjoyed being treated this way. He enjoyed the compliments and gentle touches and the way Dahlia seemed to feel so comfortable around him.
"So," the deacon started after a few moments of silence. "Do I have permission to keep calling you cute?"
"You can, but there's a small chance I'll throw a dagger at you again if you do." His tone was teasing, but there was hidden anxiety behind it. He was waiting for confirmation—for Dahlia to promise to keep treating him so kindly despite how unstable he was.
"That's a risk I'm willing to take!"