Lend A Hand

Ras felt extremely awkward as Eula walked behind him, seemingly following at the exact pace he was moving at. He tried to speed up, then slow down, only to walk faster again, and every time she was right behind him, keeping the exact distance of two steps.

"Dude, I'm beginning to feel weird. I'll just run for it..." 

Ras felt his thoughts scream at him for being weird, but he couldn't take it any more. Being socially awkward wasn't helping him either, so he simply swallowed the shame and ran off.

"Hey, why the sudden rush?" asked Eula, keeping up with him. Gritting his teeth, he used some energy to increase his speed, going just a little faster than a bike could go when you went downhill. Eula began to slowly decrease in size behind him as he gained distance.

With the precious stone still in tow, he felt the uneven ground beneath his feet. His sharpened senses allowed him to move at high speed since his mind could keep up with the input it received, aligning his steps perfectly to avoid tripping.

He entered Mondstadt, dashing around the bewildered guards, stopping in front of the Adventurers' Guild, handing Katheryne the stone.

"Here you go," said Ras, trying to catch his breath as a few beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.

She looked at the stone with a pair of widely opened eyes, muttering something to herself.

"You managed to retrieve it in one piece? I'm sure this will fetch you a rather nice amount of mora. Please return the following days to receive your payment."

She handed him a ticket with something written on it, which he placed in his pocket, hoping not to lose it.

"Thank you. Then I'll see you later."

His breath had finally returned to him as he looked again at the usual route he took, back to the imposing building made out of stone. Something he found ironic was that the outside didn't do it justice: a cold layer that made sure to keep hidden a certain warmth that's akin to that of a family.

"Heh, I sure like it here. Too bad we'll have to go to Liyue," muttered Ras, walking with slow steps, the corners of his mouth curving up slightly.

"Just so you know, running off like that is rather rude."

He jumped, nearly tripping, as he turned back, looking at Eula. Her cheeks were slightly reddened from running after him, her gaze making his spine cool down.

"Well, in my defense..."

Ras stood there for a moment, pondering his words carefully.

"Yeah... I have nothing other than feeling extremely awkward. Truly, it sucks to be me, you know?" chuckled Ras, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

Eula sighed, breathing slowly as she nodded.

"I see. I do apologize if anything I did made you feel nervous."

Her words were earnest, something that Ras appreciated.

"It's fine, don't worry, but maybe next time try to act a little friendlier. Having you walk right behind me no matter which pace I walk at is pretty scary."

She nodded, staring at her feet for a moment before walking towards the headquarters, motioning for Ras to follow.

"I'll make sure to stop doing that, so how about we resume our walk? We still have a few steps before we reach our destination."

They walked together, and all the way, Ras was silent, unable to find any topic to talk about. His mind kept going blank, then having too many ideas at once, only to throw them all in the gutter.

"I hate myself so much at times..." 

They stepped in, and Ras didn't even bother to look around, going straight for the stairs, walking upstairs with large steps. Below, Eula watched him go before entering Jean's office.

Ras opened the door, hoping to at least see the empty bed that stood in Mark's part of the room, but to no avail. Mark was still like a dead man, his eyes closed, breath a mere amber of life that was barely noticeable. The wounds on his body were no more, yet he didn't wake up.

They weren't sure about internal damage to his organs, most importantly his brain. The fit he had worried them, yet everyone tried to bury that memory and keep it hidden. The things he said were nothing like any language he had known, even back in their world. Mark was either speaking gibberish or something spoke through him.

"Mark, Mark, Mark... to think you'd go ahead and try to die before me."

Ras chuckled, standing on a stool beside his bed.

"Motherfucker, you always knew I was the suicidal one, so why die now when we were both having fun? Just come back, you fricking morron, or else I might go after you."

He sighed, forcing himself to go through with this charade of his. Mark was a good friend of his, someone who tried to be there for him whenever. Seeing him in such a state left a bitter taste that nothing could wash away.

A knock on the door startled him as he told the person to come in out of habit. With a bit of a squeak, the door opened, revealing Eula, her eyes looming across the room, noticing the claymore that rested in the corner.

She walked next to Ras, taking a stool, which she placed next to him.

"So this is Mark, the one who helped out back when Stormterror first attacked the city."

Ras nodded, a gentle smile popping on his lips as he remembered the event. Some time had passed since it had happened.

"Yes, the idiot who rushed in and used Anemo to take to the skies like he was some sort of bird."

Eula stood there, silent, glancing over between Ras and Mark.

"I'm sure he'll wake up. There's no way someone like him would succumb to a few wounds."

"Thank you for the kind words, but we both know he's merely human, nothing more than flesh, blood, and bones. One well-placed strike, and he's out."

Eula smiled softly. "Yet I believe he'd cling to life the same way he clung to Stormterror's back."

Ras nearly laughed as he remembered the scene. He couldn't see it too well from below, yet Mark fluttered in the air like a flag at the wind's mercy.

"I'm sure he will. Until then, I'll go around and make sure we have some money saved up. Mark had plans to travel around; that's what I know for sure."

Eula nodded, a thoughtful look on her face.

"Where exactly do you come from?"

Ras shook his head.

"I'm afraid I can't talk about that. Perhaps sometime in the future we could chat about it, but now we're not prepared for it."

She felt dissatisfied, yet she nodded, taking the negative answer as it was.

"I suppose I can't force it out of you, but perhaps I could ask you to lend me a hand with something."

Ras stared at her, feeling a bit confused.

"Lend a hand with what, exactly?"

"The Fatui. I guess you're familiar with them at this point, and they're up to no good again. They're plotting something, and I happen to have a lead, but I need some help. I saw you take down that regisvine, so I know your abilities are polished to a certain extent."

He thought it over and over again, looking over at Mark as his mind came to a sudden halt, a decision already made.

"Fine by me. Just tell me what I should do and when."

She smiled, standing up as she walked over to the door, looking over her shoulder at him. Ras couldn't help but steal a glance at her curvy body, making sure to be quick with it.

"Find me in front of the building later tonight, at 10 p.m. sharp. Make sure to be there on time. It's rude to keep a lady waiting."

She walked off, leaving Ras alone with his thoughts once more.