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Chapter Text

Dear Katheryne,

I've reviewed the file you sent me. I agree with your assessment that Bennett would be a good fit. As per my previous letter, the team in question are all youths of a similar age, and all Vision holders: in my opinion they would get along well with Bennett.

The team has been informed that Bennett prefers not to eat spicy foods, and they have assured me that they do not "mess around with spice any more". I have every confidence that they will respect his dietary requirements.

I've made arrangements for them to meet him on the Dihua side of Stone Gate at the turn of the moon. Advise him to pack for one to two weeks' travel. There is ample food on-site but it is not near any major villages.

On a separate note, I've put a commission out for your hypostasis basalt. Market rates as usual. I'm ninety percent confident it will be acquired by the end of winter.

Regards,
Katheryne
Adventurers Guild, Liyue Branch

P.S. How dare you, you minx. My concern for Lan is strictly professional. You don't see me asking you if that alchemist has noticed you yet. (Besides, I'd sooner go for a stroll than try to court her. Lan wouldn't know an overture if it hit her with a greatsword.)

P.P.S. The thing with Bennett being "cursed with bad luck" was a joke, yes? It's hard to gauge your tone in writing.

Bennett was woken up by his face hitting the floor. He had... gotten his arms and legs tangled in the bedsheets while he slept? And then fallen off? He sighed and wriggled himself free.

A quick check in the bathroom mirror revealed no new scrapes or cuts. He grabbed an ice pack, then made his way to the communal kitchen. It was just after dawn so most of his dads were either already out or still asleep; only Lorgar was there, frying himself an egg.

"Morning, Lorgar!" said Bennett.

"Oh hey, Bennett!" he replied. "Want any?"

"Oh, that'd be great! You sure you don't mind?"

"Not at all."

Bennett's cooking didn't always turn out burnt or soggy or overseasoned, but it often did: pepper mills and oil bottles and water pitchers had the rather inconsiderate habit of falling over into whatever he was working on. He was fine eating the resulting mess but he wasn't going to say no to something nicer.

...only that wasn't true. He often said no, because his bad luck sometimes spread to people helping him—not all the time, not even often, but often enough. Bennett really didn't want more people resenting him for his bad luck. A friendly face today could turn bitter very easily.

Bad luck, Bennett didn't mind. Hurting other people's feelings, losing friends?: that sucked.

Lorgar handed him a plate of fried eggs and sausages. "There you go. You're heading off today, aren't you?"

"That's right!" said Bennett, tucking in. "Cyrus says... mmm that's good thank you!... Cyrus says the cart to take me to Liyue will be here around half past eight."

The breakfast was delicious. (Eggshell bits had gotten into everything, doubtless an accident on Lorgar's part, but Bennett wasn't about to mention that.)

"Excited for your big trip?" said Lorgar. "You've been to Liyue before, haven't you?"

"Once or twice!" Mostly with his old team. "But this time I'm meeting some new people! They're..." He chewed, swallowed some eggshell, took another bite. "...a team registered up in Liyue Harbour. It's usually five of them but two of them are busy and they wanted me for the job."

"Branch Master Cyrus mentioned that. Weird scary Domain... Experienced adventurers only."

"Yeah." It was crazy to think that Katheryne and Cyrus had immediately thought of him, little ol' 'Bad Luck' Bennett, as the right guy for the job. "It's... a tough one alright. But I think I'll be okay!"

Bennett double-checked his rucksack's contents against his packing list, double-checked the rucksack for any fraying threads or holes that might cause him a headache later, and, satisfied, strode out of the Mondstadt Adventurers Guild headquarters.

It was a lovely cold morning, and the brisk breeze was rather invigorating. He hummed a little as he walked.

He really did think the Domain would go fine. He might get trapped in a cave-in or something again, but his adventures always worked out.

No, Bennett was more worried about making a bad impression on the Liyue branch. If his luck caused a lot of trouble for the team, then that would reflect super poorly on Cyrus and Mondstadt-Katheryne... and the last thing Bennett wanted was to be even more of a drag on them when they were so nice to him already.

As he made his way through the town square and down the promenade to the city gates, he found his best friends waiting for him by Katheryne's desk.

Razor and Fischl's faces lit up as they spotted him.

"Bennett!" said Razor, dashing forward and wrapping him in a hug that smelled of soggy wolf pelt and mud (a smell Bennett knew he was going to miss). "Razor and Fish wanted... goodbye times."

"Mangle not mine title, lupine emissary," sniffed Fischl. She tossed her head, her bangs flicking back; seemingly dissatisfied, she repeated the motion several more times until her hair landed gracefully behind her shoulder. "Bennett Foundling, orphaned hero and vassal of my court, thou hereby embark upon a voyage of unfathomable import..."

"Hush, Fish," said Razor, "you said we take turns, with goodbyes."

"Forsooth, indeed, whatever." Fischl crossed her arms. "Well? Make haste, Razor."

Razor buried his face in the crook of Bennett's neck. "Bennett will make new friends in Liyue?" he murmured.

"You guys will still be my best friends, don't worry," said Bennett, smiling. He ruffled Razor's hair. "But I hope I make friends with them."

"Bennett... very easy to be friends with," Razor assured him. "But be careful in Liyue. Many monsters. Rock lizards, other things."

"I'll be fine, don't worry!"

"Bennett... important for me," said Razor, squeezing even tighter. "Please. Be safe."

"Thanks, Razor," said Bennett. "It's really cool that you care about your friends like that."

Razor met his eyes with an earnest gaze. "No. Not just friends. You... you are.... more important than one hundred friends."

"Aww, thanks."

"Be safe," Razor repeated, gently rubbing his cheek against Bennett's.

Fischl elbowed Razor out of the way to get her own hug in.

"Verily, 'tis of insurmountable importance that thy form in this mortal plane remain preserved, the travails and perils of your forthcoming quest notwithstanding," said Fischl. "As befits thy station amongst my most loyal of subjects, I charge thou with the duty of safeguarding thy treasured form whilst thou wander beyond the aegis of the darkest court."

("My lady wishes that you will return safe and sound," said Oz, who was perched on her shoulder.)

"Thanks, Fischl; thanks, Oz," said Bennett. He patted Fischl's back gently, and extracted himself from the hug.

"Truly, your Prinzessin will mind the falling of the sands attentively until thy ruddy countenance and rugged form is returned safely to mine gaze."

("She says not to be gone too long.")

"Heh, quit worrying, you two! I'll be with an experienced team, and Katheryne said this should only take a fortnight, so... even with my luck, it should be a month, two tops."

Over by the city gates, Branch Master Cyrus yelled to get their attention: the wagon was here. 

Before Bennett could get moving, Fischl stepped slightly forward, looking unusually pensive. "Lest thou forget," she said, "would that you were prince-consort within my court, no earthly obligations would leave our paths so unentwined."

Bennett looked to Oz, who said nothing.

Fischl repeated, "I said, if only thou wouldst seek a more foundational role within my dark retinue, one more suited to the carnality latent in... latent in thy nubile— thy nubility... then thou might..."

Oz muttered something about needing to scout, bid Bennett farewell, and flew off.

Fischl gaped despairingly in her familiar's direction.

"Umm ok," said Bennett, "I don't understand, but I hope you all stay well and I'll see you soon!"

Bennett gathered Razor and Fischl in one last big hug, squeezing so hard it was like their faces turned red. He waved to them as he turned away, and was still waving as he passed through the city gates.

The trip went fairly well by Bennett's standards.

At some point, after the wagon chartered by the Adventurers' Guild broke down, after he set off on foot with a cheery wave to the distraught driver, after being attacked by birds on the way past Dawn Winery, after being rescued from the birds by some sharp-clawed cats, but before he was kidnapped by Treasure Hoarders, Bennett unwrapped the lunch Fischl and Razor had packed for him. There were some sliced apples, and a container full of cold cut meats and paw-shaped hash browns. They smelled divine, and it turned out they tasted delicious, too.

Much to his surprise, not a single thing went wrong while he ate. The sun was shining. The sky was blue. The rock he was sitting on was warm, with a lovely view of the river.

"Thank you, Anemo Archon, and thanks, Razor and Fischl," Bennett said, with a quick bow of his head. "That was really, really nice."

"This lad's going to fetch us a hefty ransom from his clan up in the Harbour."

"I told you, I'm an orphan! I'm not from Liyue! Look at my clothes!... And give me my archons-darned sword back!"

In Bennett's defence, the Treasure Hoarders had caught him at a vulnerable moment. He had fallen into a ditch, and the gang of bandits had grabbed him before he had a chance to recover from his daze. The one carrying Bennett over his shoulder was big and stocky and had Bennett's Vision hanging from a belt hook, just too far away for Bennett to reach, not that he hadn't been trying to for half an hour now. (Having his wrists bound together wasn't helping matters either.)

"Nice try, kid," grinned the bandit who seemed to be the leader of the lot. "You think we don't know a rich kid when we see one?"

"You clearly don't," protested Bennett. "Just look inside my rucksack! It's got a copy of my Adventurers Guild papers, and camping gear, and not rich kid stuff..."

"He makes a good point, boss," said the guy carrying him.

"What, and get attacked by whatever he booby-trapped the bag with?" said the leader. "Bao'er's intel said we're dealing with a crafty one, here. Besides, he's stalling for time."

This was how Bennett entered Liyue: slung over a Treasure Hoarder's shoulder, as about a dozen said bandits made their way into Liyue, creeping along the river beneath the Stone Gate where the trees hid them from the undergrowth.

As they neared the end of the pass, the Treasure Hoarders came to an abrupt stop.

"We've got company," one of them warned.

Bennett craned his head. Sure enough, a little ways ahead of them, someone was standing on a boulder, dressed too colourfully to be a Treasure Hoarder.

As the group drew nearer, Bennett made out more details: a boy or young man about his own size, dressed in fancy-looking silks, with a sword by his hip and a book in one hand.

As they got within earshot, the boy looked up from his book, smiled, and called out:

"Well met, fellow travellers!"

"Screw off, son," called out one of the Treasure Hoarders, "if you know what's good for you."

The boy blinked owlishly. "Oh? I was only hoping to help..."

He turned a page, glancing between it and the approaching gang.

"You see," he said, waving his free arm dramatically as he spoke, "I noticed you'd all managed to miss the Millelith checkpoint at Stone Gate entirely... are you all perhaps lost tourists? May I be of assistance?"

("Wait," the one carrying Bennett said, "maybe that's the mark?"

"Bao'er said we're looking for a boy with messy hair and a sword," another said.

"Yeah well that guy with the blue getup has messy hair and a sword."

"Maybe," said the bandit leader. "Keep your mouths shut, get ready to grab him if there's trouble.")

Out loud, the bandit leader said, "Nah, we're fine. Just taking the scenic route. Wanna join us?"

"Hmm," said the boy on the boulder, glancing at them all. "If it pleases you, may I enquire about the young gentleman you're carrying with you? He seems... displeased with his current situation."

Me, Bennett realised, he's talking about me. "Um. Help! I'm being kidnapped? I think?"

"No he's not," said one of the Treasure Hoarders.

"Yes I am!"

"Well, that seems very inconsiderate." With a definitive snap, the boy shut his book. "I don't suppose you'd let him go?"

The Treasure Hoarders exchanged incredulous glances.

"What's it to you, kid?"

The boy laughed. "Kid? Tread carefully, stranger. You speak to a grandmaster of the Guhua arts."

Said one bandit: "Wait, Guhua arts? This is definitely Bao'er's mark."

Said another: "Then who the hell is the kid we grabbed?"

"I told you, my name's Bennett!"

The blue-haired youth's eyes lit up. "Ah, so you are Bennett! A pleasure to make your acquaintance." He bowed—or maybe curtseyed?—to Bennett. "My name is—"

"Xingqiu, second son of the Feiyun!" The 'leader' bandit laughed. "Just our luck, we found him after all."

"Uh, boss, he has a sword."

"So did this kid." (Bennett's weak protest of "I tripped, it wasn't a fair fight!" went ignored.)

Xingqiu—and oh; Bennett stifled a gasp of recognition at the name: this was one of the adventurers he was supposed to meet up with—now drew said sword with a flourish. He began to stride toward the group. "Indeed! As this unsavoury fellow says, my name is Xingqiu. And I am a great believer in fair play. To that end, if you would be so kind as to release the young gentleman, I'll give you all five minutes' head start before alerting the Millelith."

"Get him!" said the leader bandit.

Grinning and drawing their weapons, half the group started forward—

—at which point a red bear-looking thing dropped from the trees, and bit the man carrying Bennett on the ankle.

The next few seconds were a little hard to keep track of. The man yelped in pain and dropped Bennett, who landed awkwardly on his side, and then as Bennett swung his feet around into a seated position, a wave of frost swept past him, and the bandits were yelling about being flanked, and the bear-thing was... fire-breathing?, and then he was hit with the smell of truffles and saffron and a girl was kneeling beside him, gripping his bound wrists with one hand and twirling something long and pointy with the other, and then his hands were free and the fancily-dressed boy was delicately placing Bennett's sword and Vision back in his hands before backflipping off a Treasure Hoarder's chest, and then that same Treasure Hoarder was whacked in the head by a claymore in the hands of another boy, this one in white, and then...

Oh, ok, a brawl. Bennett grinned. He knew brawls.

As he helped beat the Treasure Hoarders into the dirt, Bennett kept an eye on his new allies, trying to put names to faces.

The fancily-dressed boy who had been on the boulder, doing all the elegant twirls and somersaults, was Xingqiu. According to Katheryne's notes he was an accomplished martial artist and an avid scholar. He had a Hydro Vision, which he used to conjure extra swords out of thin air and fling them into opponents.

The boy in white with the claymore, warding off blows with glowing blue runes and infusing Cryo into his strikes, must be Chongyun. According to Katheryne he was part of a clan of shamans who 'fought evil', which was pretty cool as far as Bennett was concerned. His face showed the utmost seriousness as he swung and parried his way through the mob.

And the girl skewering bandits like mushrooms on a stick must be Xiangling. Katheryne hadn't had much information on her—Xiangling worked with the guild infrequently, she'd said, and all Liyue-Katheryne had said was that Xiangling was a proficient herbalist and cook. There'd been no mention of the bear-thing following her around, breathing fire onto opponents and headbutting them in the groin when they got too close, but the bear-thing and Xiangling coordinated so seamlessly that Bennett figured they had a Fischl-Oz thing going on.

When the dust cleared, there were a dozen Treasure Hoarders unconscious on the ground, one of them still on fire. (Xingqiu promptly put that out.)

Bennett checked his arms and legs for cuts, but all he had was a minor scrape on his forearm. A pretty good result for such a big scrap, he reckoned.

He looked around, not totally sure what to do next.

"Um, hi!" he said, looking between the three Liyuean adventurers. "Thanks for the rescue..."

Xiangling, the Liyuean girl, skipped up to him and held out something dark and sweet-smelling in his face.

"Honey rice bun?" she said.

Chapter Text

The honey rice buns were amazing. Bennett was on his third.

"Truss up the baddies with a length of twine ♫; ready for the oven like some poultry or swiiine ♩..." Xiangling sang as she expertly hog-tied the unconscious Treasure Hoarders. "Don't cook them for real, though, 'cuz folks think that's gross ♬; even if they'd work so well with butter and toast ♫♩ ..."

Xingqiu rejoined the group. "Millelith are on their way..." he said. "That song again, Xiangling, really? A-Tao's not even here to fawn over it this time."

"Why is Hu Tao obsessed with watching her sing that song?" muttered Chongyun.

"I'll tell you when you're older," Xingqiu assured him. He turned to Bennett. "Well, then! I'd say the situation's sorted. Time for belated introductions, then?"

"Oh yeah!" said Xiangling. She was the closest to Bennett so she skipped up to him. "You must be Bennett, our new teammate from Mondstadt? My name is Xiangling, nice to meet you!" She offered a handshake, which Bennett accepted. "I'm a chef from Liyue--"

"A superlative one, at that," interrupted Xingqiu. "Once again, I'm Xingqiu, master of the Guhua arts.."

"...and layabout rich kid," sighed the boy in white. He bowed to Bennett. "I am Chongyun. Exorcist. Please excuse Xingqiu, he thinks he's a wuxia protagonist."

Bennett bowed his head in return, in what he really hoped was a polite way. "It's really nice to meet you all! I'm looking forward to-- Wait, exorcist? Like ghosts?"

("Don't get him started," groaned Xingqiu, but it was too late.

"Evil spirits take many forms..." began Chongyun.)

The conversation soon turned to practicalities. The domain, while not too far from here, was a bit of an uphill hike to get to. The Liyueans had been planning to set up camp for the night not far from here, still close to fresh water, and tackle the climb to the Domain in the morning. Bennett agreed whole-heartedly: he was feeling pretty tired after that scuffle.

Once they were at the proposed campsite, Bennett helped Xingqiu pitch tents while Chongyun went looking for firewood.

Xiangling emerged from the trees with a squirrel in each hand.

"Oh, Bennett! Game meat is okay, right?" she asked Bennett.

He flashed her a thumbs up. "Totally!"

"Great!" said Xiangling. "Katheryne said you don't like spicy food, so chillies are out..."

"Yeah," said Bennett. He stared at his feet. "Sorry, I know a lot of Liyuean food uses that..."

"Oh, don't be silly! Working within constraints is all part of the creative process! Besides, Chongyun can't handle spicy, either."

"Wait, for real?"

"Yes, 'for real'." Chongyun had rejoined the group with wood in hand. "I have sanjiao excess yang syndrome. Which, um, means that I can't safely eat spicy food."

"The poor thing," Xiangling cooed, patting the exorcist on the head.

Chongyun looked at her suspiciously. "What, what's this about the 'creative process'? Xiangling, what are you planning...?"

"Um. Nothing?" She wilted a little under Chongyun's gaze. "Fiiiiine, actually nothing. Regular, unimaginative food, that's what we're having tonight, you scaredy-cats. Anyway..." Xiangling turned back to face Bennett. "Oh! Can you eat black pepper?"

The evening breeze was cool and the fire was crackling.

"Game meat with berry-pepper sauce and roasted nuts," announced Xiangling. "Dip the skewer in the sauce like this, then roll it in the nuts like this. Chongyun, this sauce is for you; it's mint and berries. You might need to cool the meat down first."

The four of them then sat around the campfire, eating.

"How did the Treasure Hoarders snatch you, Bennett?" said Chongyun. "You seem quite capable of fending them off."

"Chongyun!" said Xingqiu, whacking him gently on the leg. "You can't just ask someone how they got kidnapped. That's a really personal question."

"Oh, it's fine," said Bennett. "I tripped over a rock and fell into a ditch. Then they appeared out of nowhere and grabbed me while I was still getting up."

"That..." Xiangling blinked. "Oh my gosh, that is really bad luck."

"Yes," said Chongyun, wide-eyed. "I'm... I'm truly sorry to hear that."

"Don't worry! I'm used to it," said Bennett. "My luck has never been the best."

"Do you get kidnapped all the time?" gasped Xiangling.

"Oh, not usually. Sometimes I trip, sometimes I run into bad weather, sometimes I get attacked by hilichurls..." Bennett realised he was counting off on his fingers, and stopped. "...Anyway, I don't want to bore you with the details."

Xingqiu whistled. "Goodness. When our Katheryne told us about your luck, we weren't sure if she was joking."

"Yeah, well." Bennett fumbled for a change of subject: "So it's usually not just you three, right? Mondstadt-Katheryne said I'm filling in a last minute gap."

Xiangling nodded. "A couple of our friends normally take these commissions with us, but Xinyan booked herself a warm-up act for an opera troupe of all things, for the next month. And Hu Tao, well..."

"...her duties call," said Chongyun.

"...winter is busy season," said Xingqiu simultaneously.

Bennett blinked. "Come again?"

"Hu Tao is a funeral director," Chongyun explained. "For millenia, her lineage has overseen funeral rites, burials, and cremations across Liyue. They're even passable exorcists." He sighed. "It's a pity that A-Tao specifically is such a... how do I put this..."

"She's a conniving, pranking, lying little demon," supplied Xiangling, face scrunched up in disgust. "If she wasn't so Morax-darned useful on occasion, I swear, I'd throttle her..."

"If I were you... well, don't tell her you said that," muttered Xingqiu. More loudly, he said: "Oh, and Xinyan is a musician. A pioneer, at that. Very spunky and lively, always makes a huge impression."

Bennett thought about that. "Oh, like Barbara? She's pretty lively."

"Oh, you know 'Let's Go' Barbara?" said Xingqiu. "Xinyan is a huge fan, she saw one of her concerts once."

"Does Xinyan like spicy food?" said Bennett.

"Yes...?"

"I bet they'd get along great, then! I wonder... maybe I could introduce them? I'd have to see if Barbara was okay with it"--(the last thing he wanted was to be even more of a burden on his Mondstadt friends)--"but... I think she'd love to meet other musicians."

"Xinyan would really enjoy that," Chongyun mused.

"Agreed," said Xingqiu. "I--"

"Guoba, no!" said Xiangling sharply.

Bennett looked down to see the bear-thing trying to swipe some squirrel meat from the bottom of his skewer. At Xiangling's words, 'Guoba' froze, looked between her and Bennett, then retreated back to her side with an apologetic mumble.

"So this is... Guoba?" said Bennett.

"Yeah, his name is Guoba," said Xiangling, emphasising the pronoun. "He's my best friend--oh, don't give me that look, you're my next-best friends--and he is an amazing kitchen assistant and food connoisseur."

"She named him after snack food," muttered Chongyun.

"I heard that. And yeah, because he's all golden-brown, like deep-fried guoba! And I love him like I love food!"

"♫~," agreed Guoba.

"Well, nice to meet you, Guoba," said Bennett. He extended his hand, and Guoba waddled over to shake it. "I'm sorry I didn't say hi before! I didn't realise you, uh, talked."

"♪♩!"

"He doesn't mind," said Xiangling. "If anything, we both think you're quite the gentleman for the proper handshake."

One: their dynamic was more like Fischl and Oz in reverse? Kinda? Two: gentleman?

"Oh, um, thank you!" Bennett stammered. "You're all also being incredible hosts, thank you so much for the dinner, it was super duper delicious."

Xiangling beamed, as did Xingqiu; Chongyun smiled wanly.

"Between you and me, Xiangling is well on her way to becoming the best cook in Liyue," Xingqiu informed Bennett in a stage whisper. "Her intuition for cooking is godly."

"Awww!" said the chef in question.

"If only she'd stop putting tree bark and slime condensate into half her dishes," Xingqiu continued.

"Hmph! All your book learning and you have no respect for empirical research."

"Slime condensate?" said Bennett, his eyes wide as he turned to Xiangling. "You eat that on purpose?"

"Tomorrow's cutting edge gastronomy requires..." Xiangling paused. "Bennett. Are you saying you've eaten slime condensate by accident?"

Bennett fidgeted. "Uh, so, the bad luck, right?"

"Oh no," murmured Xingqiu.

"...There's a few times I've tripped while fighting slimes and... I sorta landed face first in..."

"Your luck is horrible," gaped Chongyun.

"Archons above," Xingqiu concurred.

"Wait a minute," said Bennett, realising something. "The honey rice buns from earlier today were kind of... tangy... Was that electro slime condensate?"

Xiangling squeaked delightedly. "You noticed! Somebody noticed! Oh my gosh!" (Guoba high-fived her.)

"They had what?" said Xingqiu, paling. "I... I need to sit down."

"You're already sitting down," Chongyun pointed out.

"I had like a dozen of them," Xingqiu hissed back.

"That's really awesome," Bennett told Xiangling. "You took something that's terrible to eat and you... made it into a cool ingredient? That's... Yeah, that's really really awesome."

"Awww!" she said. "Did you hear that, you guys? Bennett here is a serious gourmet. He gets it!"

Bennett beamed.

It was nice, the conversation, the food, the way they were making an effort to chat with him. Bennett had known he was going to feel a bit out of place, being loaned out to an existing adventure team... and especially so, now that he realised what a tightly knit group of friends they were. Three close friends from the same place in Liyue, and one token Mondstadtian. But despite having felt like the odd one out all evening, he was still having a good time. It felt like one of the better days with his old team.

The Liyueans were being very welcoming, and Bennett figured that, even though he was always going to be the outsider here, he'd be quite happy sharing campfires with the trio for the nights to come.

He couldn't wait to go adventuring with them in the morning.

"Xingqiu."

"Mmph?"

"Xingqiu, wake up."