Through Thick and Thin- Diluc x (female) Reader

Chapter 3: The First Assignment Goes Horribly Amiss

As I walked past the guards at the gate, I put my finger to my chin in deep thought. Where could I find a mist flower? I didn't want to stray too far from the city, but I wasn't sure if there were any close by.
Oh yeah! I thought to myself. I've seen some in the woods near Springvale! I recalled seeing an icy flower on the riverbed in the area between the Dawn Winery and Springvale before.
The trek would take a little bit of time, but would be much faster without all of my stuff in tow. And, if I was lucky, I could find an apple or two from the trees in the area.

I hummed as I made the journey, passing the time as I watched the scenery go by. Fairly soon, I reached the area where I had seen the flower.
I stopped by the river and scanned the area with my eyes. "Aha!" I said. "There's one!"
Running over to the flower, I sat down on the edge of the river and examined it. Just sitting near it cooled me down, and my breath came out as fog when I leaned down to it.
Basic knowledge told me that these flowers were the result of the ley lines, although I didn't know much about those. Whopper flowers and Regisvines were also the result of the ley line energy flow.
From what I knew, mist flowers and flaming flowers were like smaller, less frightening versions of their dangerous counterparts. They could be used for potions, pigments, and, of course, alchemy.
I pulled out the notebook and charcoal and began to sketch. As I eyed it closely, I noticed it was a bit bigger than other mist flowers I had seen. Although I hadn't really looked at one closely in a long time, I supposed.
Sketching its bulbous chunck of ice and the light petals around it, I noticed that the petals of the flower were a bit bigger than orher ones I had seen. Finding it peculiar, I noted it on the side of the page for Albedo and Sucrose to look over. Although, it could just be this one subject.
As I finished the final details, I reached into the bag to pull out the flints. When I was done, I did a quick stretch and set the notebook in the bag. I looked around quickly, noticing that it was almost noon. I had been out for a while, and was ready to head back.
I noted the growl in my stomach, and decided to gather the flower quickly so I could head home. Grabbing the flints, I held them above the flower and began to strike them together.
After a few tries, sparks fell on the ice and instantly melted it. Steam rose from where the ice was, and the petals unfurled to reveal the corolla.
I traded the flints for the jar sucrose had also packed, plucking the flower and setting it inside the jar neatly. Slipping the straps over my shoulders, I took a deep breath before beginning the journey home.

Strolling on the dirt path, eager to get back home, I squinted my eyes at the sunlight that peeked through the leaves in the trees above me. I was walking through a relatively wooded part of the path, and didn't think much of it at first.
As I walked without worry, I suddenly heard a crack in the distance. I stopped, looking behind me nervously. There, I saw a man running to me, waving for me to stop.
Something told me to run. I hesitated, my feet locked in place as my heartbeat began to speed up. I kept my ears perked in his direction, and watched his every move.
"Hey! Lady! Wait up!" He yelled, finally reaching my location. Catching his breath, he looked me over carefully. "What're you doing out here all alone for?"
I took a step back carefully. "I'm just running some notes for the Knights of Favonious." I gave a big name, hoping that it would throw him off if he was there to rob me.
"You know," he began, looking around the woods. "It's not safe to be here all alone." He whistled, throwing me off. "Why don't me and my buddies keep you company?"
I looked around, noticing other men dressed similarly to him coming out of the trees. They all had bandanas over their noses, hiding their faces. Treasure Hoarders?
Taking another step back, I raised my hands nervously. "I don't want any trouble," I said. "I don't have any mora for you, I only have notes, nothing of value."
He took a step forward. "Why not just let me check?" He began to walk towards me at the same pace I was walking backwards. "It sounds like you're hiding something from me and my friends." His friendly tone disappeared, and he grabbed the bandana around his neck and pulled it over his face.
Looking around, I could see at least 6 of them, all closing in. I thought I would be safe considering our proximity to the city, but evidently these guys didn't seem to care.
I backed up into one of his 'friends' who quickly grabbed my backpack off my back. He pushed me to the middle of the circle, and I barely kept my face from hitting the ground with my hands.
On the ground I looked back to the man with my bag. "There's nothing in there, I promise you," I said nervously. "I just want to get back to Mondstadt!"
He scowled at me before opening the bag. I stood up and tried to lunge at him, trying to get it back.
"Woah!" I felt my arms being grabbed. "Why don't you relax?" The man who had approached me held me back from his friend, who dug through Albedos things looking for valuables.
"Stop it!" I said, eager to defend Albedos items. "Let me go! Those aren't yours!" I yelled.
He quickly slapped his hand over my face, stifling my yelling. "Keep it down, won't you?" He said.
"What's with this thing?" The man digging through my bag said. He held up the jar with the flower in it, a confused look on his face.
"Bingo," the man restraining me said. "Told you we'd find something good," I tried to wiggle out of his grasp, my heart racing. I really didn't want to have to go find another one of those things, I had to get back soon!
I struggled to tell them it was only a flower, but couldn't because of the hand over my mouth. "Quit it already, we just want whatever that is."
My mind raced, and I felt my ears twitch with anger. How dare they go through my things- No, Albedos things, and then take whatever they want?"
My ears perked. I heard a sound, footsteps. They were racing towards us, was help coming? I struggled more, my heart racing at the thought of help finally arriving.
"What are you, deaf?" He said. "Chill out!"
The other men looked behind me, noticing the sound of the footsteps. "Someone's coming," one of them said.
"Relax, it's just one guy." Another said, pointing his finger behind us. "There's six of us, we can take him. He really is fast, though."
"Hey," another spoke up. "Does anyone else see that vision he has?"
I felt the hand on my mouth relax slightly as the man restraining me turned to look. Taking the opportunity, I opened my mouth and bit down on his hand.
He yelled in agony and kicked me away. "Ow!" He yelped. "She bit me!"
Having been thrown forward, I turned to see what the men were pointing at while holding myself up with my hands. My eyes widened to see only a glimpse of red hair before he sprang into action.
He suddenly summoned a claymore, swinging it over his head swiftly with one arm. In its wake followed dancing flames, engulfing the air around him with heat.
The men yelled out in fear, the one that was holding my bag dropping it and the jar before fleeing into the woods. The red haired stranger swung the weapon to and fro, sending Treasure Hoarders flying and fleeing, until eventually they cleared the area.
I put a hand over my chest, steadying my breath as I felt my heart rate go back down to normal.
"Are you alright?" That voice... it was familiar. Had I heard it before?
I looked up to see the red haired bartender that I had seen at the tavern the night before. My eyes widened in recognition. He held hand out for me to grasp, his red eyes set on mine.
"I'm fine," I said quietly, grabbing his hand and pulling myself up. "Thank you..."
He let my hand go, and turned to grab my things for me. He wore red and black gloves, and a dark outfit that seemed somewhat fancy to me. His red hair was tied in a low ponytail in the back, and from his waist hung a pyro vision.
"You can't be too careful around these parts," he said, dusting off his shoulder. "These pests are everywhere. Why aren't you carrying a weapon?"
I nearly gulped from the nervousness of meeting yet another stranger, although I realized that if he had ill intent, he would have acted on it. "I don't know how to use any," I began. "And I thought I would be okay this close to Mondstadt, but so much for that, hehe..." I laughed quietly.
He held up the jar that contained the mist flower. "They were after this?" I nodded, and held out my hand as he went to hand it to me. He set the jar down in my palm, his gloved fingers gently brushing mine. "What for? They aren't that valuable. Mora wise, at least."
I shrugged, setting the jar down in the backpack that he handed to me. "Who knows, they must have not known that," I slipped the bag over my shoulders, and gazed up at him for a moment. "I saw you in the tavern yesterday, what's your name?" I asked.
"Diluc," he said, standing up straight as he crossed his arms. "I do a bit more than run the tavern, however."
As his name rang through my ears, the bells went off in my brain. This was Diluc Ragnvindr, owner of the Dawn Winery. I felt my stomach drop as I realized the man who had saved my skin was basically a celebrity.
Shuffling the bag strapped to my back, I turned and took a step down the path. "Thank you," I said. "I'm glad you helped me, Diluc."
He took a step forward, following me down the path. "I'm just glad I was in the area," he began. "I'm heading into town to open the tavern anyways, so I hope you don't mind if I accompany you."
I shook my head. "Not at all!" I sighed in relief that he was willing to walk with me to Mondstadt. Truth be told, I was worried those thieves would be back.
Not long after we started walking, I felt my stomach growl. I had been so eager to get started on alchemy work today that I had forgotten to eat breakfast.
I felt my cheeks glow red when I realized Diluc had probably heard my stomach growl. "Oh, haha..." I laughed nervously. "I forgot to eat this morning." I quickly explained.
"There's apples in the tree over there," he said, pointing to the fruit in question as we walked by.
"Great," I said. "I'll be back." He stopped and watched me and I quickly ran over to the tree and tried to reach for one.
I could only barely reach it with my fingers, and couldn't get a good enough grasp to actually pluck it. I cursed under my breath as I tried jumping for it.
I turned to Diluc as he gave a low chuckle under his breath. "Here," he said as we walked over. Reaching up, he easily grabbed the apple and plucked it from its branch. He brought it down and held it out for me, its red color strikingly similar to his eyes and hair.
"Thank you," I said shyly. He was very tall, and I hadn't realized it until I saw how easily he plucked the apple.
Afterwards, we continued down the path without so much as a word exchanged between us.