@jinxbe : [ panic ] for your muse to grab mine’s arm + [ sacrifice ] for your muse to get hurt protecting mine —— nonverbal( accepting )
a crossbow bolt flies past his ear, near enough that the sound vibrates ——— how wonderful that he avoids what could have been an EXCESSIVELY BLOODY MESS / or, at least, becoming entirely blind here on the surface where there is the oppressive light of the sun / and he twists, blade flashing through the air as he turns to cut down the bandit, metal clashing as they shove his blade aside through sheer force alone and / drives his own blade through his chest, frost blossoming from the point of entry long his skin. THIS had been something of a surprise, what had been meant to be a rather straightforward reconnaissance trip had turned into a rather bloody mess by nature of running into a camp of unfriendly ruffians. shame, really. kaeya much prefers the FRIENDLY ONES.
THEY AND BENNETT CAN DEAL WITH THIS EASILY ENOUGH / there are only so many bandits and the pair of them are much better trained in comparison ——— naturally, given that kaeya had been the one to primarily train bennett in the art of swordplay. it’s evident in the way that bennett holds his sword, in the way that he dives for his opponent, the rhythm with which he moves through his footwork / less so in the fine detail—work, in how bennett ATTACKS ( faster quicker frenetic energy overflowing. ) kaeya had only come along to help train him when bennett had already taught himself some things, after all.
( there had been the debacle involving kaeya’s teleportation and, perhaps they had insinuated that bennett could very well LEARN HOW TO TELEPORT through sheer force of will alone, because kaeya, himself, had learned much the same way that bennett had ——— lie ——— but, in the end, bennett’s disappointment over the fact that he couldn’t teleport led kaeya to reassuring him that this form hardly required teleportation, and it’s quite acceptable to omit that part from this form / there had been a master swordsman who practiced this form who found himself incapable of teleportation as well, in fact. et cetera. )
it shouldn’t take terribly long to dispatch this lot / kaeya sends a blast of cold at an incoming enemy and glances over at bennett / JUST TO MAKE SURE. bennett can take care of himself, there’s hardly any doubt about it, and it’s less that kaeya is checking to make sure he’s safe and far more than they must always have a full view of the battlefield ——— you can hardly be in control of it without categorical knowledge / and kaeya kicks against an enemy’s chest, sending them flying into one of their lovely friends.
SIX LEFT AND FOUR REMAINING, a singular crossbowman to the distance and three holding rusted swords, chipped and slightly too dull, two of those three with extra daggers on their persons which look like far more of a threat than the swords, if only they could manage to get close enough. if they were able to dispatch the ones with daggers then bennett should be more than capable of eliminating the final swordsman while kaeya dealt with the crossbowman. granted, the distance fighter should have been dealt with earlier, but he’s terribly slow with reloading and an awful shot / the thought almost makes kaeya want to LAUGH as he twists, movements always fluid / before feeling a hand close over their arm and a strong pull that kaeya throws their weight into instinctively. it’s BENNETT’S HAND, he can tell instinctively, gloved and small fingers, and as kaeya’s weight shifts and bennett pushes ahead of him he can see, what with the clear view they have over bennett’s head, that there had been yet another bandit, WHOLLY UNACCOUNTED FOR, lunging for them.
where had they miscalculated? had this one been apart from the rest, off checking the perimeter or else taking a piss? waiting in the wings? the last option is impossible ——— call it ARROGANCE if you wish / but kaeya had ensured that the immediate area had been no more than KAEYA AND BENNETT AND THEIR TEN LOVELY COMPANIONS / and eleventh hadn’t been in the cards, though it changes little other than surprising them, and thereby IRRITATING HIM.
bennett’s hand leaves their arm as he darts forward, blade at the ready, not even pausing as a blade drives cleanly through his shoulder, leaving a rather deep cut there that begins to bleed immediately / giving bennett an opening to slice once, twice, and then upward, driving the attacker back. kaeya gives his injury a slip of a thought, reassessing and calculating quickly and finding that his FORMER THOUGHT PROCESS STILL APPLIES and it’s quick enough to dispatch the remainder. less than a minute, in fact, between kaeya leaving bennett’s side and returning, leaning down to peer at the injury properly.
-❝ another battle scar to add to the collection, ❞ perhaps he shouldn’t joke about this sort of thing but it’s not as though THEY AND DILUC AND JEAN hadn’t been on the field with the knights since they were bennett’s age ( … ) so very young.
❝ oh, it’s nothing, ❞ bennett says, rubbing the back of his neck and smiling, bringing up the hurt shoulder in something of a shrug. kaeya catches a FLICKER OF A WINCE, poorly hidden, ❝ just a bit of a cut, that’s all. ❞
❝ now, bennett, ❞ kaeya tuts teasingly, pressing two of his fingers against bennett’s radial pulse just long enough to feel the reassuring thrum, ❝ what would barbara say if she were to hear you speaking like that? ❞
bennett laughs / looks abashed for a moment, foot kicking against the ground ( he’s so young so young far too young for all of the tragedy that life has chosen to place upon his shoulders, SO TERRIBLY YOUNG ——— it’s a pattern, isn’t it? is mondstadt a BEACON FOR DESPAIR? they’d hardly be surprised, if so ) as he glances at kaeya, watches them pull a clean scrap of cloth from their bag, and bennett shifts closer obligingly. ❝ well, when you put it that way… i wouldn’t want to disappoint her, ❞ such a kindhearted kid. there’s hardly any shortage of those, is there?
( diluc had laughed like this once / diluc had been bashful and kind and CHARMING once / wide eyed and luminous and burning burning burning ALIGHT FOR MORE ——— the pair of them aren’t the same, not by half, but they are so so very similar. similar enough that it makes their chest ACHE, memories settling in the cracks of his foundations, freezing on contact, prying them ever wider. )
❝ nor would i, ❞ kaeya agrees so very solemnly, ❝ arm up, if you would. only slightly, that’s more than enough ——— i’ll just need to apply pressure so we can get you back to barbara before you BLEED OUT. though perhaps we leave out how you got hurt… unless you want to see that furrow in her eyebrow, that is. ❞
bennett laughs again : SO VERY BRIGHT / it hurts to hear as the light hurts to see. they tighten the makeshift bandage accordingly, patting bennett’s back when he winces with the pressure. ❝ well i don’t want to worry her. ❞
❝ no more than we ALREADY ARE, naturally. ❞