Camping Trip

Ras was quick on his feet, reaching Mondstadt in a quarter of the time it would have taken them by foot, yet it did come at a price. As he slowly put Eula down, he felt his legs finally cave in to the pain as he fell to the ground like a rock.

"Heh, I guess I outdid myself a little back there," chuckled Ras, meeting Eula's worried gaze.

"You should rest for a while. I'll go talk with Jean. Can you at least stand?" asked Eula as she helped him to his feet, yet the pain he felt was enough to force his body into a limping state.

"I guess I'll just rest here, on the ground. Don't worry, the pain will leave me after some time."

Eula sighed, this time deciding to be the one doing the carrying. She picked Ras up, and he couldn't help but blush a bit as he laughed.

"Woah, take it easy; it's my first time being in this situation."

Eula had a flustered look on her face as she carried Ras, who tried—and failed—to stray away from her chest, yet he somehow leaned in, pressing himself against it.

"Ok, maybe she won't throw me in the lake...maybe," thought Ras, forcing himself to move slightly forward.

Eula spoke, a slight blush on her face.

"I will have my vengeance..." 

Ras shot her a glance, his eyes widening slightly.

"You picked me up, ok? I didn't ask for the princess treatment."

She growled slightly.

"It's your fault for having a weak body."

"Fair enough," said Ras, thinking that all the muscle he had was nowhere near enough. He'd have to train a lot more.

Eula made sure to bring him upstairs to his room, leaving him on his bed before heading downstairs.

"I'll make sure to update you on the situation."

She walked off, leaving Ras alone.

"Mark, we could really use a hand. You're the expert at the game; come on, wake up, and tell us how to fold those fuckers."

But his words remain hanging, unanswered, like a whisper someone failed to hear.

"Come on, man, stop keeping us waiting. I swear, if you're training in your mind or something and come back like some badass, I'm putting you to sleep again."

Ras cheered himself a little, feeling the soreness in his legs spread through his muscles, eating away at them. He sighed, shuffling himself in place, hoping to make himself comfortable. In a few moments, he closed his eyes, feeling his mind doze off to sleep.

He awoke to a knock on the door, looking around hazily through the dark room. Eula stepped in, a confident stride as she got closer to him.

"Did you sleep? Good, since we have some work to do. We are to make sure the ruin hunters don't approach any human settlement. Some knights will be joining us, but we're short on fighting power."

She gritted her teeth, flexing her fist.

"Those Fatui bastards... they're as petty as children."

Ras found himself nodding along, his mind somewhat blurry, clearing away the fog that sleep had brought upon it.

"Well, it doesn't matter." said Ras, his voice tired, a bit raspy from having woken up not long ago. "We'll make sure to take them down."

Eula found herself smiling at his confident voice.

"You sure are enthusiastic about this," chuckled Eula before glancing at his legs.

"How are your legs? Any better?" 

He nodded, pressing his hand along as far as he could.

"Yes, they're better. They still sting a little, but otherwise, it's fine."

She nodded before getting up, arranging her clothes a little.

"Well, then, if you're up for the task, then get up. We have quite some work to take care of."

Soon, they were both outside, joined by Jean, Amber, Kaeya, and, surprisingly, Diluc.

"I suppose we all know why we're here." said Jean, her voice stern as she switched from her usual self to being the Acting Grand Master. Her words felt heavy in a way that Ras couldn't explain.

"Yes, we do know. Something about an emergency, but we're not fully in on what happened." said Amber, yawning. She looked like she had dressed in a hurry, her hair a jumbled mess. Kaeya had the same tired look on his face, which came out despite his best efforts at hiding it.

"As always, you as the Knights of Favonius failed, and now I have to help you clean up the mess." said Diluc, visibly disappointed.

Ras spoke up, tired of all this bullshit.

"Diluc, shut up for once. They're shorthanded, yet they try to make it work. For once, stop being a fucking child and just lend a hand, will you?"

Diluc scoffed at the comment, and everyone stared at Ras like he was insane. Kaeya found himself laughing.

"Well, I suppose our Honorary Knight finally grew a pair."

Diluc glared at Kaeya before speaking once more.

"They're the ones supposed to protect the people. No excuses are allowed when you're tasked with such a thing."

Ras rolled his eyes in an arch, letting out a tired breath.

"You're lucky Mark isn't her. I'm sure he'd know exactly what to tell you to make his point come across the right way."

Diluc sighed, calming himself, recalling the single time Mark had talked some sense into him. Perhaps it was time he took those words of his more seriously.

"Fine. Let's focus on the task at hand. Eula, go ahead, please."

She took a deep breath of air before talking.

"I was out on a mission with Ras, hoping to find some evidence that the Fatui were scheming something, which we did find, yet that evidence is now out to get us. They somehow managed to use ruin hunters, which they set free in Stormterror's Lair."

They seemed shocked, especially Kaeya and Amber, who seemed to have heard about this just now.

"You mean that they managed to infiltrate Mondstadt with those war machines in tow? I find that hard to believe, yet we haven't been able to operate around that area. They found a blind spot, which they made sure to use thoroughly," said Kaeya, seemingly deep in thought.

"Either way, it is our duty to stop them, as Knights of Favonius."

"And Diluc," joked Ras, chuckling to himself.

"You know, I'm starting to like you more and more," said Kaeya, enjoying Diluc's slightly annoyed expression. He was pretty good at hiding the feeling he didn't want others to see.

"Quiet, Ras," said Jean, the corners of her mouth curving slightly.

"But I must admit, you're not wrong."

Diluc closed his eyes, arms crossed, as he seemed to grit his teeth a little.

"Ok, enough with my stupid humor. Jean, what's the plan?" asked Ras, switching to his 'work' mode.

"We head together to Stormterror's Lair, then we split up depending on the situation. We'll camp there, taking turns when it comes to standing guard."

Two soldiers brought some bags with equipment needed for camping.

"This is what we'll take with us for now."

They all nodded, each one heaving one of the large backpacks on their backs. To Ras' surprise, they were lighter than expected, yet he still had to take care not to fall on his back.

"Yippe, trip with the gang. Let's go!" cheered Ras, walking happily to the gates. Slightly confused, they followed, picking up the pace, hoping to still be able to keep the situation under control.