NO! reversed for the Diluc and Venti thing we discussed. owo
Why he was feeling irritated was all to do with that dumb bard and him just seeming to vanish into mid air - which was stupid as this meant that he had time to think without Venti’s constant chattering, which was why he’d started off by heading towards one of the nearby hideouts of the Abyss Order that he’d been tracking for a few days now, whenever he wasn’t having to deal with Venti or some other person...though he guessed it really had just been the bard for the last few days. So where was he now and why was he carring so much? Maybe because he knew just how easily the other seemed to be able to find trouble. Maybe a part of him was just always going to feel that constant pang of worry whenever the Archon wasn’t within sight.
Which was foolish when you thought about it. It wasn’t as though Venti couldn’t take care for himself - just at times he seemed to bite off more than he could chew. As though he forgot about the whole no longer having his Gnoisis thing, or maybe he just enjoyed making Diluc worry like this? Whatever. He’d deal with this annoying feeling later. For now, he slipped on inside the ruins where he’d tracked the newest activity of the Abyss order, keeping to the shadows as he gradually worked his way inside, a frown forming as he came across various signs of a struggle, some mages already out cold, droplets of blood leading further inside, arrows dug deeply into various crates of supplies that had been left deserted. Had someone else come here before him? Who? Who’d be foolish enough? Were they alone?
Flicking his wrist to one side, his claymore soon formed as he paused before an open doorway, being careful as he took a step to the side to peer inside. At first, it seemed as though the place was against deserted. A few mages littered with arrows lay to one side of the room while another smaller group seemed to be dancing around something? No. Someone. And as soon as he saw the flash of green he knew just who that someone happened to be. The darn stupid bard! He must have seen the maps in Diluc’s office and decided to come here on his own. Why? He didn’t know - actually by this point all sense had left, his sword was ablaze, and he was already running towards the gleeful mages before he even realised what he was doing.
The glee filled sounds that were previously being made by the dancing mages now turned into high-pitched screams as flames engulfed their barriers, knocking them, Diluc releasing his phoenix, knocking the mages off to one side as he quickly knelt down beside the heavily bleeding form of the Archon, one hand gently pressing against the side of his neck, checking for a pulse quickly, claymore shifting quickly to his other hand as ice erupted around them, Diluc using both his body and flames to protect Venti before the ice exploded and he once more charged at the mages foolish enough to still be staying around, a few soon falling in a heap of flames, Diluc quickly chasing down the last few, flames burning quickly through any defences that they tried to throw in his way - just for his weapon to strike true and cut them promptly down.
He was rather tired when the last mage finally fell, claymore vanishing as he tried to catch back his breath, a mix of anger and worry still warring over control of his heart as he turned and quickly fled back to the room where Venti laid, heart stopping for one painful moment when it seemed as though the other male had simply vanished. “Venti?”, he whispered softly, panic rising as he ran towards the pool of blood, “Venti!”, he felt as though he was about to collapse at any moment, allowing his body to fall to his knees as he gently lifted the blood soaked little wisp, holding him close to his chest as he tried to regain control of the emotions currently flowing through him, “...you’re...you’re such a pain in the ass... what did you go and do all this for...”, he knew why but he couldn’t bring himself to admit it.
This was his fault. He’d been pushing himself too hard and Venti had tried to help. He’d almost lost someone else he loved due to his own darn stubbornness. “I didn’t nurse you back to health just to watch you go and die”, he snapped as he carefully made his way back out from the ruins and back towards the winery, only to turn and head towards windrise. The tree would help, right? That’s where he’d gone before when injured...wasn’t that what Jean had said anyway?
“Just...hang on alright? I’ll never forgive your drunken ass if you just go and die on us now”. Us. Right. Keep it general. Try and ignore the way his own heart was racing, or how he had now taken off at a sprint towards the tree that he could see in the distance.