✧*̥˚ {𝔊𝔢𝔫𝔰𝔥𝔦𝔫 ℑ𝔪𝔭𝔞𝔠𝔱 𝔒𝔫𝔢𝔰𝔥𝔬𝔱𝔰 & ℌ𝔢𝔞𝔡𝔠𝔞𝔫𝔬𝔫𝔰} *̥˚✧

⟡ 𝕯𝖆𝖎𝖓𝖘𝕷𝖚𝖒𝖎 ♡

The man hacked away the overgrown brush that blocked the path in front of him with little effort, his blade singing with each swing of his arm. The woman behind him whistled idly as she followed, her own blade hanging at her side. In the sun, the golden accents and the gem embedded in its hilt would glow an ethereal colour—as she would with it.

But there was no sun here. Only dreadful darkness.

The woman—Lumine—had insisted on helping him. But he had refused. They only needed one person to clear a path, he reasoned. And she would need her strength. Why? she had asked.

He had replied, Because there are creatures in this forest that only you can beat. I am placing my life into your hands. I need you at your best. He had offered a rare smile when she frowned. I trust you.

Only then did she allow him to work alone. In fact, that was what he was used to. It may have been a year since the two had met, but it was still a largely new experience for him. Sure—he worked with others to protect Khaenri'ah but on expeditions and adventures like this...

He snatched a quick glance at the woman behind him. Entertaining, for sure. Thankfully, she wasn't as hard to work with as he had originally thought she might be. The pair had encountered each other before they started working together—but it wasn't until they had found each other in a desperate situation that they found themselves back to back. Since then, it had become commonplace for one to accompany the other on dangerous endeavours.

"Dainsleif." His name was a melody on her tongue, as were all other words. "What exactly did you say you were looking for?"

"The Cor Aeterni. Heart of the Everlasting."

"What is it meant to do?"

"So many questions, young traveller."

He could feel Lumine forcing a tense smile at his back. "You know I'm older than you." She hummed thoughtfully. "This... Cor Aeterni wouldn't happen to be you trying your hand at immortality, would it?"

A branch snapped, courtesy of his blade, the sound echoing in the dark woods as he halted, Lumine stopping behind him. "Immortality..." he mused. "I wonder if it is really as wonderful as everyone says."

"If not immortality, then what is the reason for your search?"

"Merely research, my blonde friend."

He felt a hand grip his shoulder, firmly turning him with a strength only she had. The pair's wits had been matched, but sometimes he found himself bested by the golden woman in front of him. "Research..." she said slowly. "What kind of research?"

"Are humans not allowed to be curious anymore?" he replied with a half-smile.

"Are you insinuating that I'm not human?" Her tone was cold and dangerously low. Strange, he thought, since she was usually calm and friendly and full of joy. What he saw in front of him—the sharpness in her golden eyes, the tenseness of that expertly trained body—was not something she usually showed until battle. Did she... mean to fight him? Over this? How uneasy did the surroundings make her that she was so quick to choose violence?

He gently shook her hand off his shoulder and it dropped back to her side. "You are not from this world." That much was clear. "Perhaps humans behave differently where you come from?"

Her lips twitched upwards into a smirk. "I don't remember you ever being this reckless." Challenging a woman like Lumine was something many were too afraid to even think about. Or perhaps she meant endeavouring to find a long-lost relic.

He turned and continued to hack away at the countless thick vines and branches blocking their path. "Then your memory serves you incorrectly."

She only hummed in response, before continuing her song as she trailed behind him. He often found himself wondering just what went on in her mind—and this was one of those times. When she didn't want to pay attention, her mind was... elsewhere. Completely. Gone from Teyvat. Perhaps in one of those worlds she had previously explored. The experience of traversing universes like that intrigued him, but he had no desire to cross into those other worlds beyond mere fascination.