Sly hooded Bastard [1/3]

"Hup!"

Training deep inside Wolvendom, a young girl that looked no less than 15 years old is seen practicing her bow.

Rows of wood were tied to tree branches as arrows shot through them. Well... Mostly.

Six of the ten targets were all shot.

Amber saw this and sighed. "This won't do..."

"It's already been three months since I started training... but I still can't perfect this technique!" She groaned out of frustration.

Amber was a full-fledged knight assigned to the Outriders Position.

The outsiders were a group of elite knights formed by her grandfather. He personally taught the knights in his company and mastered the art of survival.

However, for unknown reasons, Amber's grandfather mysteriously vanished. He didn't even leave a note behind and just... Left.

Because of this, the members of the Outriders felt like their master has abandoned them and decided to disband.

...With a certain someone as an exception.

Amber believed that if she took on her grandpa's post, she would understand why he left Mondstadt.

However, even when she officially became an Outrider, she was no closer to unraveling the mystery behind his wordless departure.

Her grandpa had left nothing for her to find either, indicating that she would have to forge her own path.

Picking up her arrows, she piled them up in one location and pulled out new ones from her quiver.

Placing the arrow in her bow, she closed one eye and concentrated. "Hooo..."

After a brief moment of silence, she let go of the string.

Whoosh—*

The arrow traveled at a swift pace to its target, piercing it.

Amber then took out three more bows and all of them in her bow.

Her pyro vision then lit up and her arrows were coated with the Pyro Element.

In Amber's view, a hit mark appeared on her target, indicating where she would shoot.

Taking a deep breath, she let go of the string.

Woosh—!*

All three flaming arrows were sent flying, however, just as they were about to hit their target, they disintegrated to ashes.

Seeing this, Amber sighed. "It happened again... How is Mister Kaeya able to do this anyway? Coating your weapon with elemental infusion is—"

*Crunch*

Suddenly, a crunching noise was heard near Amber. Her eyes quickly widened as she looked around.

"Who's there?!" She shouted as she aimed her bow.

She thought that perhaps a wolf or monster had stealthily approached her while she was lost in her thoughts.

However, after looking around her with her bow, she wasn't able to find anything.

"You have great senses."

Out of nowhere, a voice was heard. Amber quickly traced the voice and looked up at the tall trees of Wolvendom.

Sitting cross-legged on a tree branch, a man wearing an attire consisting of a white robe was seen eating a fruit called sunsettia.

The sun's rays were penetrating the leaves of the trees and as such, his silhouette was overshadowed and became clear to Amber.

"Sunsettias are delicious, but lack nutritional value." The mysterious man made a throwaway comment. "Still, they taste pretty sweet so I have no complaints."

Amber looked at the strange man who was eating with confusion. She still held her bow up, though. "Who are you?"

"Sneaking up to someone and watch them..." Amber said with fierce eyes. "That's both creepy and suspicious."

'I know. I'm sus.' The man thought with an amused smile. Of course, he is none other than Albert. "Oh? You don't recognize me?"

"How would I know? Now, state who you are before I shoot you!" She aimed her bow at his chest.

'Hmm... Amber is pretty close with the higher-ups of the Ordo Favonius.' Albert thought. 'Especially Kaeya. God knows how much that guy holds as information.'

Diluc, as of now, is currently out of Mondstadt. Replacing him is his adopted brother, Kaeya. And it is shown in the game that Diluc holds a vast network of intelligence gathering.

It would be no surprise that Kaeya would build one too, perhaps even borrowing Diluc's.

'So that goes down to two conclusions.' Albert moved his eyes from the fruit in his hand to Amber. 'Either the Knights are keeping my identity a secret from the public or Kaeya and the other higher-ups doesn't want to tell Amber.'

Standing up, Albert finished eating his sunsettia. "Me? I'm no one. What interests me is you."

He pointed at Amber. The latter heard this and couldn't help but shudder. "Me? You... You can't possibly be..."

"A creepy stalker?" She backed away.

"..." Albert went silent. 'Seriously? Does the original Albert's curse still linger on me?'

Shaking these thoughts off, he couldn't help but silently nod at his own decision. 'Besides that, it seems like I was right. She has keen senses, a good trait to be a member.'

"Haha, surely you jest." Albert chuckled before standing up. Surprisingly, the tree branch was able to hold him and not snap.

Leisurely walking, he spoke. "For the most part, I'm just a complete stranger."

"Who knows who I am? I might even be a creep who takes little girls away." Albert looked at her with a smile under his hood.

Seeing this, Amber charged her bow with elemental infusion. "You—!"

Leisurely walking from one branch to another, he circled her. "But, in reality, I am just a man who seeks vengeance. A wretched person, if you will."

"Vengeance...?" Amber asked, still not lowering her bow.

Hearing this, Albert did a small nod. "Something that was taken from me... My family."

There was a moment of silence between the two that made the situation turn awkward.

[+5 FP]

"Well, enough of me, what I want to know is you." Albert changed the subject.

"What do you want from me? I am a fully-fledged Knight of the Ordo Favonius and will not hesitate to bring you to them if you do something wrong." She said to the suspicious person standing on top of the branches.

It was an expectable response. After all, how would you react to a highly suspicious hooded individual?

Albert nodded his head and pointed at his face. "Your senses. You have incredibly good senses and can pick up even the smallest sound."

Woosh!

Suddenly, without any warning, he sent two daggers flying toward Amber.

Amber saw this and quickly reacted. She quickly locked on to one of the daggers and shot it, while dodging the other.

After successfully dodging, she angrily looked at Albert. "You! That's a clear provocation!"

However, when she looked up, she did not find him anywhere. "Huh? Where—"

Suddenly, she felt a creeping feeling on her shoulder and quickly dodged. "Kyaa!"

Turning around, she saw the same hooded man behind her original position about to touch her.

"See?" Albert smirked. "You have great senses, and as such, I have an offer for you."

"Why would I ever accept anything from you?!" Amber said before taking out three arrows from her quiver. "No matter what, I'm taking you to the Ordo Favonius!"

"Then..." Albert said with a sinister smile. "What if I told you you'll gain something from it?"

"It doesn't matter." Amber shook her head. "I won't get easily swayed by promises."

"Oh, really? Well then, I guess..." He turned around and looked away. "You won't be needing the information we have regarding your grandfather."

When Amber heard this, her eyes slightly widened. "...Huh?"

"Y-You..." She said with a shaking voice. "H-How do you know about grandpa...?!"

"Oh, we know a lot." Albert said with his hands behind him. He then calmly approached her. "We know what his life was in Liyue before settling here in Mondstadt."

"Ah, but of course, we also hold a bit of information about where he could have possibly gone to." Albert added.

Hearing this, Amber's grip on her bow tightened. She wasn't able to say anything.

She loved her grandpa and she would do anything to find him.

However... Trusting a man whom she just met is...

Seeing her silence, Albert expected this reaction. "I won't rush you. If you want to learn more about this proposal, meet me here again in two days."

"Remember not to tell anyone, okay?" Albert said before walking off into the forest, leaving the emotionally-unstable Amber alone.

"The brotherhood never compromises itself, after all." Albert muttered with a sly smile before disappearing from Amber's view.

* * *

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