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The five Knights of Favonius settled down for the night and started a fire. One sat down away from the others on an old fallen tree trunk, polishing his dagger. Three rested on boxes around the fire, grilling the fish caught for dinner and looking over the standardized test's grading system. The last stayed on the ground since there weren't enough boxes, helping grill the fish.
The brunette was too hungry and dug in first even when you told him to wait just a few more minutes so you could put down the seasoning. The blonde was hogging the test's grading rubric, and you waited patiently for him and the fish to be ready. The black haired started the conversation cautiously, "Hey, did you hear?" He waited a beat to catch everyone's attention, "The examiner for this 'expedition' selection is the new Vice Captain of the 5th Company!"
You grunted to show you were listening in response. Teamwork was the key to this test, after all. Your teammate could assume you were ignoring him, and you had no desire to get on a veteran's bad side.
The blonde asked, "But I thought he only recently joined the Knights? how did he get promoted so fast?"
"Did no one in the 5th Company put up an objection?" The brunette chirped in, "Those firearm guys are usually as hot-tempered as their weapons."
Everyone except the guy polishing his dagger had picked up a grilled fish you had seasoned by now. You wondered why dagger-man seemed so eager to be away from the other test-takers. Weren't you all supposed to act as a team to defeat the hilichurl camp nearby You mentally shrugged to yourself, maybe he just has a hard time communicating with others. You contemplated notifying him his fish was ready. It wasn't like he could know the fish was done since his back was faced towards you guys, so it was all up to you to tell him in the end. You were about to start when the veteren unknowingly interrupted, holding his fish-on-a-stick like a lecturing pointer, "It doesn't matter how he got the job. What's important is how we get him to pick us for the expedition."
You wanted to say, "isn't that kind of cheating?" but luckily your mouth was full of grilled fish so all that came out was a long grunt that landed you some weirded out looks and a snort from dagger-man. So he is listening, you thought as you downed your embarassment along with the fish.
The oldest man started again, "Have any of you spoken to him yet?"
You, blondie, and brunette all shook your heads.
The black haired veteran sighed, "Is there nothing we can work off of? Not even... rumors?"
And you were about to stop the veteran there at rumors; talking behind the back of whoever planned this test was obviously a bad idea. But the brunette and blondie simply joined in.
"I heard someone say no matter what the mission is, he always charges headlong into the fray. He's never scared of getting hurt. Maybe he even enjoys it!"
(Noticing blondie set down the grading rubric, you grabbed it and went over it to stay out of the conversation.)
"I heard the same thing... Last time he was sent to Dragonspine he ambushed a whole Fatui camp all by himself!" Everybody else including yourself made a surprised or shocked face (except dagger-man, who hadn't even asked if the fish was ready yet) and the knight talking continued, "I'd rather take on the Recon and Vanguard Companies combined than tangle with a guy like that."
That you cuoldn't agree with. There was a reason why Recon and Vanguard were who they were. One man against all of them? It would be over for you, at least. Not that you'd rather fight this 5th Company guy, though. You'd choose to never fight either instead. If that was a choice.
You opened your mouth to call out to dagger-man again but you were cut off one more time. "Hah... Sounds like he loves a good fight..." The blondie huffed.
Then finally, finally, dagger-man joined the conversation smoothly. "Oh? I heard he used to be an adventurer. They say he got bored with comissions, so he snuck his way into the Knights of Favonius..." Dagger-man came closer and poiured everyone some alcohol. "Maybe it's not the fighting he likes per se, more just... having fun?"
His hood and coat covered almost all his fface and the shadow cast along with the fire didn't help you figure out who this guy was. He difinitely had a good tongue, so it wasn't like he was shy or anything. You gazed down at the alcohol he served you. It had a bit more of a colorful sheen(?) than most drinks. Suspicious, you thought instinctively. This should just be Dandelion Wine.
The veteran wasn't sure. "'Having fun'? Doesn't sound much like a knight to me..."
Now the blonde and brunette were surrounding dagger-man, trying to figure out who he was. "...Come to think of it, which company are you from? I don't think I've seen you around." "You look young... a fresh new rookie, huh?"
You wondered why they didn't crowd around you instead. You were young, too! Younger than them, at least.
Dagger-man laughed, and after that laugh you decided this guy didn't have good taste in alcohol. "Haha, don't you worry. You'll get to know me soon enough... How about a toast?" He proposed.
And like all Mondstadters, everyone stood up and obliged. "Why not, a drink to new friendships!" The black-haired, brunette, and blonde all drank immediately. Only you and dagger-man's drinks returned to chest-level.
Then, a kind of calmed chaos ensued. The three knights fell, "Ngh... Ugh!" and lost consciousness. "Who... When..." Since the beginning. "How did..." When he poured the alcohol. "The wine..." Yep. "Drugged..." Yep again. You heard yourself mentally answering the murmurs of the veteran figuring it all out now, when it was too late.
With a "heh", dagger-man took off his hood to reveal a minty-grey haired figure with piercing crimson eyes.
Who is this? I've never seen them before, you thought, grabbing a blade, rolling back into a fighting position. "Who are you!?"
Lohen grinned playfully, his spear appearing by his side. "Wouldn't you like to know?" Then, he lunged at you.
Although it was an obvious attack, you barely dodged. Dagger-man was quick-- life threateningly so. Thankfully, your Electro Vision made you faster. You grabbed him by his hair and infused Electro into his body. After a few seconds, he blacked out. "Sorry," You whispered, cringing at his now-frizzled hair. After patting him down (uncomfortably) for any other weapons on his person-- which he had a lot by the way-- you tied him up to a tree with some rope and stored his weapons away in a box. You let out a breath you hadn't known you were holding and thought about the situation. So, whoever dagger-man is, he's gotten rid of my teammates. There's no way they're waking up now, right? Just in case, you shook your team's shoulders. Nothing. Okay, great. The hilichurls are still alive I've got to deal with them first. Hopefully life has mercy and it'll be quick even if it's just me. You snapped a glance at the box filled with dagger-man's weapons. Aaaaand I'll just take this guy's gun too, to make it faster.
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When Lohen woke up, he was tied to a tree, without any of his weapos on him; not even his Vision. The sun was just starting to rise. "Damn it." He whispered under his breath. He hadn't expected one of the Knights to be a Vision-wielder, and he let his guard down.
"H-hey, he's awake!" The brunette shouted.
"Oh, really?" The veteran seemed to have calmed down.
"Blondie is getting Varka. They'll be here soon." The funny grunter-- also the knight who electrocuted him-- seemed to have the most control over the situation.
"His name isn't blondie, its-"
"Okay, so where's the guy?" A large voice boomed over.
The blonde showed Varka to Lohen. "Here he is, sir."
Varka's face went through about three fazes. Shocked, confused, then interestingly accepting. "So. How did this happen?"
The Vision-wielder replied seriously, "He tried to poison all of us, sir. Here are his weapons-- er, belongings. I found a black bottle among them; which could be the poison."
"No need to say 'sir', just call me Varka."
"Yes, Grand Master Varka."
Lohen snorted at your response.
"Ahem... well, I'll just tell you four knights the truth. This guy," Varka crouched down and cut the ropes off of Lohen. "He's Lohen; the 5th Company Vice Captain everybody's talking about."
"Oh. Oh, shoot- I am so sorry." You started apologizing to Varka and Lohen vehemently.
Varka cut you off. "No, he's the one who should be saying sorry. Come on, Lohen, You've got some explaining to do."
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After scolding Lohen on his test-holding skills, Varka asked the question that really mattered to him. "Well, did any of them seem useful in the idea of the expedition?"
Lohen chewed on his gum. "Mmm, I don't know. But that Electro wielder caught my attention. Although they didn't show many signs of super amazing teamwork, they got the job done. With practice, they could be a useful asset to the Knights of Favonius."
Varka thought for a moment. "Well, since you've expressed interest in them, they'll go on the expedition with you. Another friend would do you wonders. And who better..." The Grand Master grabbed a paper on the corner of his desk and scribbled something on it, "than your camping partner from now on."
"Uh huh, uh huh... Wait, what? I thought I got my own tent."
"Well, not anymore, now that someone passed your crazy test."