Chapter Text
Inside the stony halls of the Headquarters, the footsteps of a certain young captain echoed, the steel caps of his long boots clinking against the prestige floor.
A small piece of paper, a note to be exact, was clutched in his gloved hand, the yellowish paper wrinkling against his grip.
The young captain's destination?
Well... right here in front of him.
With a strong knock against the massive wooden doors of the grand master's office, he didn't wait for permission to enter, but instead, just walzed right in.
"You wanted to speak with me, Grand Master?"
A certain blond head looked up from the piece of paper he was working on, his gaze immedeatly falling onto the young captain.
"Good timing, Lohen."
The grand master, shackled behind his desk by seemingly neverending stacks of grueling paperwork, graced the young captain in front of him with a stern look on his face. A look so rare for one of the main pillars of Mondstadt, that Lohen could count the amount of times he had seen it on one hand.
Forehead scrunched up, mouth in a frown, the corners of his eyes wrinkled... The first time Grand Master Varka made a face like that was when the Dawn Winery had a massive shortage on grapes due to a long period of drought and thus couldn't produce their signature dandelion wine, which was a favourite of his... and the last time Lohen ever saw Varka making a face like that, before the instance happening right now, of course, was during the long expedition in Nod-Krai.
It was during an attack of the Wild Hunt, many of the knights had been injured and rendered unable to fight, which only resulted in Lohen's blood pumping through his veins even faster, his excitement reaching levels... which many liked to call insanity...
So without even thinking twice, he charged forward, leaving his fellow knights behind — not even remotely caring about the injuries he had prior, nor the ones he got in the midst of his high — slashing through the countless enemies.
Though... he had gotten carried away, and had it not been for Varka protecting him from the monster created by the Wild Hunt that somehow escaped his attention, he could have sustained far worse injuries than he already had in that moment.
Or far... far... worse...
The young captain could remember it like it was yesterday... which, to be fair, was not that far off, since it had been around two months since that incident happened and the expedition ended.
Two months since they all had returned to Mondstadt...
"Lohen?"
The sound of his name snapped the young captain out of his reminiscence of — only to him, though — more exciting days.
"Sorry about that, Grand Master, seems like I was just... thinking about some other stuff a tad too much."
He gave the man in front of him his almost signature, charming smile, while shifting from one foot to the other, a clear sign of his growing restlessness. After all, it had been far too long since he'd had a good fight...
The grand master cleared his throat, and stood up from his positon behind his desk, grabbing a few documents that were buried underneath some letters the Grand Master had written, and handed them to the young captain in front of him.
"What are these for?" he asked while reaching into a small satchel that was attached to the back of his hips, taking out a particular piece of candy, quickly popping it into his mouth and chewing, until it became very stretchy.
"Reports of Ruin Guard sightings near Millhaven. A merchant who frequently traveled between Mondstadt and Dornman Port noticed them in the distance, some of our knights stationed in Dornman Port quickly marked out all the spots said merchant described them to be at."
Now, that... that quickly caught Lohen's interest. His hand almost instinctively started twitching at the mere thought of roughing up more "punching bags".
Already back in his seat behind his desk, the lingering doom called paperwork already crawling up his back, Grand Master Varka let out a big sigh.
"With the ongoing preparations for the coming Windblume Festival, many of our division are pretty busy... so I want you to handle this..."
The young captain gave Varka a slight bow after folding the documents and stashing them away safely in his satchel, of course not even caring about hiding the big, albeit slighty disturbing, smile he had on his delicate lips.
"Don't worry, Varka, I'll make quick work of these punching bag— I mean Ruin Guards. But... this is surely not the only reason why you wanted to see me, right? You would never look so grim just because of something as minor as that, hmm?"
The grand master leaned back in his seat, arms crossed over his broad chest, eyes closed, yet his uncertainty very much perceivable.
"Well... we also just got some reports in... of civillians claiming to have been attacked by crazed creatures... They all had wounds, which we were able to treat, nothing major in that regard..."
Varka opened his eyes and grabbed the documents that arrived at his desk just that morning, placing them down on his desk for the young captain to see.
"The concerning part is that the descriptions we've gotten until now don't match any animal or monster we know so far... Fortunately, it doesn't seem to be Abyss or the Wild Hunt related... Still..."
The grand master let out another sigh —the young captain had already stopped counting how many times Varka had let these out today — and grabbed his quill, preparing to continue filling his personal mortal enemy called paperwork.
"Anyways... I already filled Jean in regarding the current situation and she wants to handle everything regarding this case... So you only need to focus on the Ruin Guards. And... Lohen... I know I probably don't need to say it... but be careful, okay?"
The young captain turned his back to the blond male, barely able to hide the almost manic smile forming on his face, while the grand master already pressed the tip of his quill onto the paper, carefully signing various reports, requests and everything else the Knights of Favonius had to take care of.
Without needing to face Varka anymore, — after all, his next "playthings" were already in sight — the young captain left his office.
"It'll be my pleasure, Grand Master."
Lohen couldn't help but let out a soft laugh as the last Ruin Guard stumbled broken onto the ground, the heavy impact echoing in the nearby long forgotten remains of old homes. His polearm, dirtied and dulled from not only his mission, but also general lack of care, now lay still in his gloved hands. A few remains of cryo still clung onto its blade.
'Well... not as much fun as I hoped... but the last one at least put up much more of a fight than the rest.'
Lohen could feel a slight sting of pain as he wiped over the cut on his cheek, caused by the now broken "punching bag" in front of him. His eyes, though, wandered back to his gloved thumb, which was now, of course, stained with his blood.
A satisfied look spread across the young captain's soft — albeit a bit dry from lack of water — lips.
The red liquid staining his glove looked... in perhaps a twisted sense, incredibly beautiful to him. Whenever he sustained cuts, bruises and, hell, even broken bones... it made Lohen's heart swell with a feeling of delight, rivaling every other potential pleasure the young captain had ever experienced before.
Every sting of pain in his body, every drop of blood that left his body, every bit of it, made him feel... alive. It was, in essence, his definite proof that he exists... That he is, much like his comrades, a breathing and living being.
Unlike monsters who only felt nothingness.
It was proof he is not one of them.
The young captain took a few steps towards the broken Ruin Guard and kneeled down in front of it, he searched for any salvageable parts — or rather trinkets — he could collect from his playthings, much for his own entertainment, of course.
'Oho... a still intact core, without any scratches or cracks, lucky me!'
It was only then, after finishing his salvage, that he noticed that the sky had already started to darken and dusk was just about to set in.
'I'm currently in the northern region of Brightcrown Canyon... And I'm supposed to head to Dornman Port in a few days anyway to train new cadets... Might as well head there now. I can always sent a messenger to Varka in the morning, anyways. To Dornman Port it is!'
Quickly stashing the core away in his satchel, Lohen started walking along the rough path, eventually making his way through Millhaven and then Dornman Port.
However, much to the young captain's disdain, that walk turned out to be quite uneventful; no Hillichurl Camps, no Abyssal Monster, and not even a small surprise attack by the Fatui!
Though... this was in itself a good thing, just not for the Vice Captain of the fifth Company...
When Lohen reached Dornman Port, the sky had already turned dark, the twinkling stars shining bright above, though the lights of the houses and various other establishments shone brighter in comparison.
It didn't take the young captain long to reach the knights' base stationed in the Port. As it was already late, though, the only other knights he encountered were those that were on patrolling duty for nighttime.
Many of whom gave him a quick salute as Lohen passed them by, not even questioning the current state of the Vice Captain.
Hair and clothes disheveled, dirt and blood on his clothes, various cuts and bruises on his body, these were a very much common sight when it came to Lohen, so unless he looked like he was on the verge of death, his fellow knights swore to not ask him about any of his... "trophies", as he liked to call them.
That the Vice Captain of the fifth Company had... questionable... preferences was not that unknown among the knights, after all...
The few knights — often freshly joined members — that did indeed question him about his "adventures" had earned the unfortunate experience of listening to an at least one hour long speech about each bruise, cut, scar and how much the young captain adored each and every one of them.
His feet immediately carried him along the stone path etched through the city, a path he had walked many, many times.
He quickly passed the training grounds — right next to them lay his destination, after all — in favour of entering one of the few Knights of Favonius bases stationed all over Mondstadt. This one was used mostly by the Ranged Company, a base which Lohen often sought out himself.
Looking over newly acquired recruits of their company, training the currently employed cadets, attending several strategic and logistic meetings, as well as taking in reports from civillians and knights alike...
As the Vice Captain, he truly had many responsibilities.
Of course, if he weren't in such a high position, he would have a lot less on his plate... but that also meant he wouldn't "officially" be allowed to fight on the front lines like he does now...
So it's a price that Lohen is willing to pay.
The young captain walked over to the large wooden table standing in the middle of the building, his steps light and almost unnoticeable, which, ultimately, was not necessary, as he was the only person there at this hour, however, it was a habit he developed over the years he spent not only adventuring, but also during his knightly activities.
After all... the moment you are noticed can be the deciding factor in any hunt.
Lohen took out the documents Grand Master Varka gave him earlier that day, the ones regarding the sightings of the Ruin Guards, and laid them flat across the table. Taking a nearby quill and some ink, he quickly scribbled an "Already did it!" onto the bottom of the page, not forgetting his signature cheeky drawing of himself.
'Maybe I can get Ursula to write that full report for me... in exchange for some extra pay...' he thought out to himself with a smile on his face.
Though, essentially getting rid of the document carefully placing the document to inform his fellow comrades of the fulfilled mission was not the only reason he came here.
The young captain set himself in motion once more, quickly leaving the base. His actual target, after all, lay behind said base, a building which Lohen often used himself, though it did not have an official name — or maybe it did, but the young captain really didn't care enough to remember. Said building functioned as barracks for the knights temporarily staying in Dornman Port, as well as an emergency hospital.
Since Mondstadt and Dornman Port were seperated by a fairly big distance, even with good weather, it took at least a day to travel between both cities — if you were to simply walk that is, if you ran really fast, you could indeed make it sooner.
Knights who came from longer patrols, expeditions, missions and the such, knights who were tired or injured or simply lived in the City of Mondstadt, could use this building to rest and heal up, even staying for a few days if necessary.
As the Ranged Company mainly operated in Dornman Port, the Vice Captain was given his own personal resting room in said inn, which Lohen really enjoyed.
At least one of the few perks of being a captain...
The slighty rusted hinges of the door creaked as Lohen opened it, and the floor boards softly groaned underneath his feet.
Well... nobody said that these rooms were in peak condition...
But... they fulfilled their job and the young captain was not necessarily picky, so he took what he could get.
Closing the wooden door behind him, the male went over to the dresser standing next to his bed. Contained in the drawers of the dresser were not only some spare clothing, but a first aid kit as well.
While the cut on his cheek was not deep or anything, the young captain decided it would still be better to properly dress it, infections could be quite annoying, after all.
Lohen took off his dirtied gloves and ran his finger over the cut, it was still bleeding a bit, but it was faint, his body already started the healing process.
'A simple bandaid should be enough for that...'
After disinfecting the wound with a small cotton ball, the young captain placed a bandaid right over the cut, the coverage almost stretching his entire cheek.
'Looks like I need to refill that kit soon, I'm running low on bandages and disinfectants... hah...'
He left the kit laying open on top of the dresser, no use putting it away properly if it needed to be refilled, he thought.
The young captain sat down on the slighty worn out beddings, the ashy wooden frame creaking under his weight.
Was there so much dust in the air the entire time...?
Well, not like he really cared in the end.
He slowly stripped himself of his knightly attire, after all, it was too heavy to properly rest — much less get comfortable — in it. First, the boots came off his slender legs, because of the steel caps that adorned the tip and the sole being made of the same material, they were indeed a lot heavier than one would assume.
Next, he took off the blue fabric decorating his shoulders, as well as the coat that graced his slim yet fit body, various pieces of armor as well as harnesses and belts following soon.
After stripping everything away that made him a knight, he felt... lighter.
Even different, perhaps.
Was it just a costume to him, another role?
When he lays off his armor, does he do the same with his humanity?
Does he turn back into the adventurer he once was?
Does he return to nothingness?
No use in thinking about that.
After changing his current attire for something more comfortable and suited for sleeping, he lay down in the worn out beddings. The light blue covers were honestly still a little bit too thin for spring, the material was rough too, a bit scratchy, perhaps?
Well, it was not the best... but it did the job.
Good enough for Lohen.
As he lay there, underneath the thin beddings, the silky moonlight — filtered through the simple white curtains decorating the window — illuminated the soft contours of his face, while he thought about how he could train the new cadets the very next day.
They were but hatchlings in the eyes of the vice captain — he who danced with the devil, after all — but even they need to be prepared for the worst.
Maybe he could try out the improved version of his special training on a few of them...
"Don't be shy, shoot already!"
Really... the young captain had way too much fun torturing training the poor, unfortunate souls who happened to be his subordinates, as well as brothers and sisters in arms.
The knights standing behind the wooden tables, acting as seperation for the shooting range, were shaking, the metal pieces of their muskets clinking against each other.
Vice Captain of the fifth company, Lohen, thought it was an amazing idea to try out a new... sort of motivation for the cadets, it was supposed to make the shooting training with the muskets more fun.
To him, at least.
In his gloved hand lay a bright red, ripe apple... and its purpose?
Acting as a shooting target, of course!
What else would you use an apple for?
The calm smile decorating the young captain's lips didn't help in calming the knights' nerves at all, in fact, it only increased the pressure coursing through their entire bodies.
"V-... Vice... Captain...." the title left his mouth through jittering teeth, colour drained from the young knight's face as his light eyes connected with the darker ones of his captain.
"What's the matter, cadet? Scared you'll hit me? If you won't shoot, then I guess you'll have to undergo my special training!" The sinister smile gracing Lohen's lips only made the poor knight's heart drop into his stomach, in his mind, he already started writing his will...
"You need to learn to properly shoot, you know?" he exclaimed while staring the young knights down.
If one wouldn't be careful, one could perhaps drown in the dark eyes of the vice captain.
Deep and dark like the endless, cruel abyss, yet calmer than the deadly silence of the deepest sea itself.
Perhaps... even there was a treasure to be found?
"After all... you need a solid mind and a steadfast hand to protect."
The battlefield is not so kind as to let you hesitate, after all...
Though these thoughts didn't leave the young captain's mind, he already put enough pressure on the new cadets as is.
He only hoped they learned that lesson soon enough without any casualties.
So, in the end... the young captain could sadly not try out his new improved special training... News of the old one must have already made their rounds as eventually the cadets dared to fire, after all... Well, only after the extra pressure, of course.
Though they did not hit their vice captain, nor the apple for that matter, but they fired, so... he wasn't going to "punish" them yet.
Well... there will always be a next time...
Lohen's attention, though, quickly switched to the faint footsteps he could hear approaching from the entrance of Dornman Port.
Someone was running towards the shooting range.
Based on the clinking of metal he could pick up between the chatter of the townsfolk, squealing of playing children, and the footsteps themselves, he deduced that it must be a fellow knight. From the weight of each step, the frequency telling the urge behind every time the sole of the boot connected with the ground, it must have been a male knight, around twenty-three to twenty-six years old, and he was in a hurry.
The young captain did take pride in his hearing, after all.
Now, of course it was not as good as the hearing of folks with animalistic features, like that one hunter from Springvale — Druff was his name? — or even the assistant of Chief Alchemist Albedo, Sucrose.
But it was far better than that of the average knight or, generally speaking, human in that regard.
After all... what would a proper hunt be without the trained senses of the hunter?
Hearing every rustle of your enemy, watching their movements, feeling the vibrations on the ground when they ran.
Sensing where they would hide. Predicting what their next move would be, and even smelling them...
Every single one of these can decide the outcome, whether it will be victory or death.
And while Lohen did indeed love pain, he did not feel like dying... yet, so having sharp senses was a necessity...
So, naturally, the vice captain trained his senses ever since he was just a young lad, it all starting when he joined the Adventurers' Guild.
A memory now long in the past.
"Vice Captain Lohen!!!"
And there he was.
The owner of the distressed voice came to a halt in front of the young captain, his chest heaving with exhaustion. It was indeed as Lohen's ears picked it up, the young man in front of him, clad in the standardized armor of the Knights of Favonius, a letter tightly clutched in his gloved hand.
'One of Varka's messengers... Must have ran all the way here from Mondstadt.'
"Speak, what is it you need of me?"
The young captain's voice must have came out harsher then he intended it to, judging from the way the knight flinched at his tone, sweat rolling down his cheek.
Was it just from exhaution, or...?
Well, no need to ponder that.
"Vice Captain Lohen... Letter from Grand Master Varka!" he held out his shaking hand, the letter slightly crumpled from the tight grip it had to succumb to.
Lohen took the envelope into his own gloved hand, dismissing the young knight with a quick wave. He quickly tore the seal of the Grand Master open, freeing the paper inside the envelope, and in the process slightly ripping the letter itself.
Lohen was not a particularly patient person, after all...
In the Grand Master's letter, he informed the young captain of yet another instance of these crazed creatures, yet having to be identified, attacking civillians, with one person fatally wounded. They were fortunately treated by the church just in time to escape the cruel claws of death.
Though this information was not the main reason for this letter...
'When we have more information regarding these crazed creatures, anything about them, I want you to handle them, Lohen. For now, please remain in Dornman Port and see if you can find out anything about these enemies, anything that can help us in this case, even rumors are fine. With the Windblume festival not far away, we have to get rid of this problem as soon as possible.'
'P.S. I could tell you put some weird medicine in my flask again, Lohen. You really ought to stop doing that just because you are bored, it really clashed with the taste of the dandelion wine.'
'P.P.S. If all of this is over and you are free, we should visit the Angels Share together, it has been a while since we met up just as colleagues, my treat.'
The contents of the letter made the young captain's lips form into a... well, for outsiders, at least... quite disturbing smile.
Lately, Varka has been giving him many missions and requests regarding fighting, and now, he basically gave Lohen free rein... was it his lucky day?
Or perhaps, it was a sort of compensation for not being able to take part in the "Take down one of the five Sinners of Khaenri'ah — namely Rerir — Operation".
Ahh... he would have loved to go against such a powerful foe, indeed...
Regardless, right now, Lohen had a new objective, given to him by the Grand Master himself.
And he intended to use that privilege to its fullest.
Whilst the young captain was busy reading the contents of the letter, the other knights seemed to have taken it upon themselves to decide whether or not they continued with their training.
Some did indeed just that; muskets in their hands, they continued practicing their ranged skills at the training dummies. Some helped with carrying various crates full of weaponry, supplies and other various shipments from the logistics.
And some... well, they just took a simple break, which is in itself nothing weird, however, two particular knights caught Lohen's attention. They were leaning against the stone wall of the weapon repository near the base, muskets propped against the wall, near their feet.
The young captain knew these two knights well, as they belonged to his company, his underlings if one may say so. Not really special by any means these knights, fairly average people, but with an earnest wish to protect Mondstadt. However... they had the ugly tendency to... gossip when they were on break, whether it be about any sort of rumours they heard, about the people in the cities or even about things that happened in the ranks of the knights themselves.
Though the young captain himself didn't share the same sentiment, he could use that to his adventage...
After all, Varka said even rumours are fine...
The young captain quickly strode over to the two gossiping knights, his steps deliberately firm, so his brothers in arms could take notice of him. As their gazes connected with that of their captain, the knights pushed themselves off the wall, back straightening, quickly raising their hands in a salute.
"Vice Captain Lohen, how we may assist you?" asked the light haired knight with an earnestness to his voice, while his friend, who had darker, almost black hair watched the scene in front of him in silence. A quiet promise of not slacking off was quickly added by the light haired knight, a slight hint of nervousness broke through his voice.
Well, this cadet had not been in the fifth company for long now, so it made sense to be nervous in front of your captain, especially if their... reputation, was... complicated. Though his darker haired friend didn't share the same sentiment, he had been longer with the knights than the other.
"Relax, cadet, I'm not here because of you... Well, kinda. I've been wondering if you could help with something."
While the young captain certainly took... pleasure in seeing the fear in the knights' eyes — it was oh so fun to see them squirm with anxienty, after all — he wanted to get information out of them, if they were too scared to answer, then it would be wasted effort.
And most of all, they were his brothers and sisters in arms first and foremost.
His family.
He shouldn't tease them too much...
"I wanted to ask if you heard anything about the recent cases of civillians being attacked by "crazed creatures?". I thought, maybe you know something about it, since you like to gos-- I mean, talk with the other folks around here a lot." he asked with a slight smile gracing his lips.
Unbeknownst to the knights, Lohen's left hand, hidden underneath the blue cloth on his shoulder, twitched with restlessness.
He oh so desperately wanted to storm ahead and fight whatever creatures seemed to plague the townsfolk like this.
He wanted to cut them, rip them apart, kick and tear at their skin or whatever they would have... watch them bleed.
But the young captain not only itched to mutilate the creatures, oh no, he itched to have the same done to him.
The feeling of his own skin tearing apart, warmth seeping out of him as the blood drizzled across his scarred flesh, increasing heartbeat in his ears, adrenaline pumping through his body....
This... exactly this feeling.
It's the feeling of being alive...
The young captain almost drooled at the thought, though he quickly got ahold of himself... not that he particularly cared about how others perceived him. This was Mondstadt, after all, the City of Freedom, and what could be more freeing than embracing who you are, drawing the velvety curtains back and letting the world see its main actor — as the spotlight illuminates them — in their full glory.
"Well, I only heard some stories from some townsfolk, though nothing of that has any definite proof..." the light haired knight shifted from one foot to the other, clearly debating whether or not he should actually share this information with the vice captain.
"That's fine, anything that has do to with it could be valuable."
The light haired knight pondered for a moment before telling the young captain everything he heard so far, most of it, sadly, was just baseless rumours.
Some claimed that the injured people faked it and/or self inflicted these injuries just to get attention.
Nope. These injuries were very real, well, according to the reports at least, not that the young captain saw them personally. However, if Varka himself got involved in the case, then it was absolutely safe to say that it was a serious problem and very much real.
Some claimed it were Abyssal Monsters, Rifthounds or just Hilichurls and their folk — though most of that could already be disproven right away.
In the report Varka gave him regarding the attacks, it was stated that the area had already been scouted out by knights after getting the testimonies in, no Hilichurl Camps in sight.
And for the matter of fact, the wounds the victims suffered did not match with the claws of Rifthounds nor Hilichurls, Abyssal Energy could not be detected either.
And some claimed it could have just been Treasure Hoarders or even the Fatui, who attacked the civillians for whatever reason.
Actually possible... but also nope. Ever since the end of the expedition, Mondstadt has been flourishing with knights again, and the Grand Master above all, so the Treasure Hoarders didn't dare set foot into the region of freedom.
The Fatui... the few that were indeed seen in Mondstadt had been there for diplomatic reasons, so they didn't dare cause any trouble.
Though the Fatui were never ones to be trusted...
The young captain made a mental note of that possibility, which was not much, but it was a lead that could bloom in the future.
"That... was all I know, sorry, Vice Captain..." the light haired knight apologized a bit sheepishly, clearly embarassed at his lack of possible usefullness.
Just as Lohen parted his lips in order to give some reassuring words to the young knight—
"Excuse me, Vice Captain, but I might have something..."
The older, dark haired knight, who had been watching the interaction in silence the entire time, interrupted his vice captain.
Interesting.
The young captain gave the dark haired knight a look that told him to continue.
"Now... please take this with a grain of salt, but... I may have seen a kinda suspicious person lately..."
At these words, Lohen's hand started twitching even more, an itch crawling onto his skin he oh so desperately wanted to scratch.
'It had been too long since he had some fun.'
The young captain only stared unsettlingly into the eyes of the dark haired knight right in front him. While this particular knight had been in this company for longer — compared to his light haired friend, at least — and he already had gotten accustomed to the vice captain's antics...
He always felt a shudder crawl down his spine when his captain had... 'that' look in his eyes...
With an almost, to non-trained eyes, at least, unnoticeable gulp, he continued.
"I was on patrol in Millhaven recently for several days, and always around dawn, in the west, along the path that leads into the cliffsides forest..." His eyes shifted away from the ones of his captain, seemingly unable to withstand the pressure his gaze held.
"For several days, there was always a person, body cloaked, and while it is spring and not that hot... I still found it weird, because it was from head to toe... Anyways, they always entered the forest around the same time... I couldn't really see their face, though, I'm sorry."
The young knights almost jumped, seeing the...smile... that adorned their captain's face.
"That's no problem, thank you for the information, cadets. Have a good one." With a small wave of his hand, the young captain dismissed himself, leaving the knights behind, slightly confused — and probably traumatized.
The young captain raised his dark eyes towards the clear blue skies.
With the midday sun gone, the temperature started to lower as well, not that Lohen particularly minded. Being one of the people who held a cryo vision, he was naturally used to the cold.
When the small icicles and webs made of frost gnawed at his hands and arms, when he went on expeditions into the snowstorms of Dragonspine...
It didn't bother him the slightest.
Not that he was immune to the cold — he was but a human, after all — though he quickly got accustomed to it.
Nevertheless, the sun was just about to set and his target, the 'suspicious person', would soon find their way into the lushes of Millhaven.
The young captain would have to walk a bit faster than usual...
Millhaven was just as beautiful as the day he left for the grand expedition, perhaps its beauty had even grown more. Soft hues of pink, purple and yellow in form of the iconic windrest flowers blooming in the well-tended fields.
The slight breeze that accompanied this fine evening not only caused the flowers' petals to dance, but also the sway of the young captain's own mintgreen, silky strands. With the sun almost setting, most children had already started heading home, parents and workers on the fields soon following suit.
Lohen's footsteps were faint against the rough dirt path leading into the neighboring lush forest, his own blue cape dancing along with his steps.
By themselves, these woods were not that dangerous, if you didn't stray off into the depths of them, that is. While there were no known dangerous animals or Hilichurl Camps inside, there was always the possibility of anomalies, poisonous plants or even insects, if you were unfortunate enough to cross them.
For now, he made sure to hide the dagger gripped in his hand behind the blue cloth adorning his left shoulder.
While the young captain was sure that — whoever that suspicious person was, and however they were trained in the art of combat — he could defeat and in turn apprehend them easily, it never hurt to have a few tricks up your sleeve.
Especially when they would never expect it of a knight.
From the corner of his eye, Lohen could make out faint footsteps along the dirt path which were not his own, size and depth indicating the owner to be very possibly a woman. The earth itself was still a bit moist and if the dirt hadn't been dried by the glaring sun yet, then whoever left these had to be nearby.
By now, the sun had already begun setting, the powerful yellow and red hues adorning the sky above, shadows cast by the trees and bushes nearby grew and grew even longer. The natural sounds of the lushes seemed to grow quiet as well, wind no longer caressing the bright green leaves, even the beautiful soft chirping of the birds quieted down, perhaps they returned to their homes as well.
And then... he heard the faint snap of a twig beneath feet.
The young captain's head immediately snapped towards the small clearing on the northeastern side of the path, where the incriminating sound came from.
His grip on his dagger tightened slightly as the unsettling smile on his lips grew.
'Finally, it's getting fun.'
Lohen instinctively made sure to set the tips of his toes down first, before rolling the rest of his sole on the ground to minimize all possible sounds his footsteps could create, as he made his way over to the clearing.
Navigating through the bushes and trees without making any sounds was honestly nothing new to the young captain.
Whether it be because he went on a monster hunt, tracking down Treasure Hoarders, or a stealth mission to infiltrate a Fatui Camp, Lohen had done this too many times to count, and yet....
It always filled him with joy.
As soon as the young captain got past all the bushes and trees, his dark eyes locked onto them.
His target. The suspicious person, in the flesh, just as the knight described them.
Kneeling on the ground, with their back turned towards the vice captain, busying their hands with... plucking plants and herbs that were unknown to him, growing on a small patch of grass.
They were indeed cloaked from head to toe, body completely hidden underneath the black fabric.
Though Lohen's trained eyes immedeatly spotted the silver shine of a sword hanging by their waist.
'Ohh... This is going to be so much fun!'
However, even though Lohen wanted nothing more than to clash weapons with the unknown person, he was still a knight first and foremost, so he had to follow a certain protocol, which sadly meant to not accuse or threaten people without evidence, and also to not raise a weapon without the intent of self defense and/or protection of others.
So he had to hold himself back... for now.
He made sure to hide his own body as much as he could between the lushes and trees, if he could have the element of surprise on his side, he would take it — no question.
Much to the young captain's disdain, though, he was not even granted the opportunity of thinking of a way on how to approach the suspicious individual in a 'normal way', as the person in question had turned their head over their shoulder.
He had already been noticed. Which did indeed surprise the young captain.
This was not an occurance that happened often.
'The stranger is good... really good.'
With a sigh escaping their lips, they stood up from the ground, only leaving a small dent in the patch of grass behind, a sort of annoyance clear in their voice as they spoke up, back still mostly turned towards him.
"I know you are there... What do you want from me?"
With a few graceful steps fowards, the vice captain left his hiding spot in favour of speaking to the intriguing person in front of him, a breathy laugh escaping his throat as he cocked his head slightly to the left, his intriguingly shaped earring shining in the evening sun.
"Your hearing is really good, I must say. I was giving my best here, being as quiet as a mouse, but you still noticed me."
With a quick glance of his eyes, he noticed the stranger's hand slowly inching towards the handle of their silver sword, something untrained eyes would surely have missed, his own hand hidden beneath his cape tightening its grip on the dagger's handle as well.
"I asked you a question."
Another chuckle escaped Lohen, it had been quite a while since someone talked to him in a... more rude manner like that.
"Allow me to introduce myself. Vice Captain of the Knights of Favonius' fifth Company, Lohen."
As he placed his free hand on his chest, giving the stranger a quick bow along with his name, he could hear them faintly clicking their tongue.
"Are you always dancing around other peoples' questions like that? I didn't ask for your name."
With a quick but deliberate motion, they finally turned around, their fiery gazes interlocking with each other. The harsh light of the setting sun illuminated the stranger's back, causing their shadow to grow, thus making it harder to clearly make out any of their other features.
The scratching sound of metal rubbing against leather reached the young captain's ears. Seems like, by now, the stranger no longer felt the need to hide their silver sword from him, its sharp edge glistening in the red sun as the tip pointed to his chest.
Lohen noticed that, with the stranger's steadily growing irritation, the heel of their foot seemingly unconsciously started thumping on the earth, too.
Just like a frustrated rabbit.
'How cute.'
"What. Do. You. Want."
A growl escaping the stranger's throat caused his gaze to break away from their foot and go back to their eyes.
"Don't you know it's rude, and, above all, dangerous to just point a weapon at someone? Let alone a captain of the Knights of Favonius?" he shot back at them with a sly grin.
"I'm not the one who hid in the bushes and watched me like a creep. Besides, I never saw you here before, for all I know, you could just claim to be a knight. I have more than enough reason to draw my weapon."
The young captain did not respond to the stranger's words any more, only letting them bathe in the grace of his eery silence.
His own curiosity weighed more in that moment than any reasonable action a normal person might have taken.
Good thing he wasn't normal.
Lohen wanted to see just how far this person would actually dare to go.
Were they truly going to attack him? He surely hoped so, the stranger seemed to be very promising entertainment.
Would they only act in self defense, or would they want to rip his flesh apart, bruise his skin, cut his body with that —oh so pretty sword of theirs? He surely hoped so, it had been a while since he'd had a good fight.
And most important of all...
Would they truly be fun?
He surely hoped so.
As the young captain let out another chuckle at the thoughts racing through his mind, the stranger jumped forward with a quick motion, swinging their silver sword down onto the vice captain.
But the silver sword never met flesh.
The clang of silver meeting steel echoed through the woods.
Of course, the young captain would not let himself get hurt that easily. Where would be the fun in that?
So just before their silver sword could actually cut him, Lohen raised his hidden dagger, blue cape flittering in the air as his arm swung out, perfectly blocking the incoming blade.
With a swift kick of his leg, he tried to throw the stranger off balance, though they seemed to have expected this course of action, as they jumped back just in time for his kick to miss.
None of them even bothered trying to communicate with each other anymore, it would have just been wasted breath, they both knew it, so instead, they let their blades talk.
Every time the sharp edges of their weapons kissed, every time the vibrations of metal echoed through the calm of the woods, it spoke louder than any possible words they could have come up with.
The young captain felt himself growing more joyous with every passing second. Small giggles escaped his slighty chapped lips with every small cut the stranger managed to inflict on him.
But the vice captain wasn't the only one to receive cuts, scratches and even small bruises.
Though Lohen made sure to not inflict any fatal wounds on the stranger, after all, he could not yet tell who this person was or whether they were truly dangerous or not.
In a spur of pure ecstasy, the young captain used the power of his cryo vision to summon his polearm into his gloved hand, which led the stranger to falter for just a few seconds.
Seems like they didn't know he was a vision user, and since he carried his vision on his back, they couldn't have seen it, and...
...as he did introduce himself as the Vice Captain of the fifth Company...
They truly did not know who he was.
After all, as vision users are exceptionally rare, especially if they adorn a high rank such as that of a captain in the knights, it was very much commonly know what visions they held.
Despite the fact that the stranger could certainly put up a fight, it immediately became clear to the young captain that they weren't a trained fighter, at least not trained like an assasin or a member of the Fatui.
Their moves where powerful enough to hurt, but the technique itself was sloppy.
Grip on the sword all wrong — they could easily hurt themselves like that if they weren't careful — the balance off, swings too unprecise...
The stranger didn't use the sword often, it seemed.
With a tight grip on his polearm, he stormed foward, catching the stranger off guard, slamming the blunt edge of his polearm into their side, sending them flying onto the earth, their silver blade slipping out of their grasp.
The young captain immediately kicked the blade away with his boot, the sharp edge sliding over the lush grass.
The stranger could no longer reach it, even if they wanted to.
They were indeed good... but Lohen was better.
Before the stranger could even think about getting up, the vice captain pierced the tip of his polearm into the ground right next to their face, scraping the skin of their cheek in the process, a small red droplet quickly growing until it blossomed.
The young captain took the liberty of taking a seat on the stranger's stomach, effectively pushing them even further into the earth, combined with the pain in their side and their lack of weapon, rendering them utterly helpless.
"Crazy... bastard..." they grit out, wincing. Obviously, even uttering these words took a great effort.
But that only made his smile grow wider.
With a strong grip of his left hand — which one wouldn't even expect from someone so thin and rather small looking — the young captain pinned the stranger's wrists down, his own skin almost grazing his polearm as well.
"I'll take that as a compliment. You were rather good, by the way." His own tongue slowly darted out, licking up a bit of blood that ran down his cheek.
The young captain leaned closer to the stranger's face, his own breath slightly ragged.
"It was a lot of fun. But now... I'll be taking that hood of yours off!" A mocking smile painted his lips as he reached out with his free hand towards the stranger's hood.
And even on the ground, they put up such a good fight!
Kicking with their feet against Lohen's back, trying so desperately to wriggle their wrists out of his grasp, trying in any shape or form to turn their head away in order to not let the vice captain reach the fabric.
He even had to use a bit more force in order to retain his grip on them, his hips pressing them further into the cold ground, a small gasp escaping their lips at the sensation.
But in the end, no matter how hard the stranger fought... Ultimately, it was to no avail.
The young captain pulled the dark fabric away from their head, finally fully exposing their head and face for him to see...
And what the young captain saw... right there, at the edge of dawn... in the full glory of reddish and orange hues, amongst the last traces of their beautiful and violent dance, was...
An adorable, grumpy bunny.