I'll take that as a yes, then. (Illuga had realized this 'theory' of his a little while ago. Voicing it, however, was more daunting than expected. Pulse quickening, he glanced left and right to ensure they were alone.) Sir Flins... Um, do you like having my attention?

Ahhh... Your ability to deflect is as impressive as ever, Sir Flins. (Illuga shakes his head with an exasperated smile.) Actually, I have a theory about it. Are you curious?

Maybe I wasn't clear enough... (Gestures for Flins to come closer with his finger.) Lean down for a moment.

I'm yours for the taking, Sir Flins.

So you admit I have a good eye, then, for the finer details? Sir Flins, please tell me again how you're able to come and go in Piramida without anyone spotting you!

Everyone, lo and behold: The strongest warrior of the Lightkeepers, responsible for neutralizing not one, but 𝘵𝘸𝘰 world-ending threats...

Well, glad to be chosen for such a momentous occasion, then. 'Select audiences' - yeah, right...

Not even Aino would make that joke.

// i love the headcanon that illuga is expressive we've seen him have quite a few emotional outbursts. not childish ones, but realistic. he doesn't hold himself back from saying what's on his mind in many cases (though he does pick up on flins' scheming fae tendencies, but that's another convo)

𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴... — 𝑹𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅𝒐𝒕𝒕𝒊𝒓

/ good afternoon my little munchies

⠀⠀ ⸺ 𝖨 𝖺𝗆 𝗩𝗔𝗥𝗞𝗔, 𝖦𝗋𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖬𝖺𝗌𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝗈𝖿 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖪𝗇𝗂𝗀𝗁𝗍𝗌 𝗈𝖿 𝖥𝖺𝗏𝗈𝗇𝗂𝗎𝗌, 𝖬𝗈𝗇𝖽𝗌𝗍𝖺𝖽𝗍'𝗌 𝗞𝗡𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 𝗢𝗙 𝗕𝗢𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗦: 𝖨 𝗌𝗐𝖾𝖺𝗋 𝖻𝗒 𝗆𝗒 sᴡᴏʀᴅ, 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝗌𝗁𝖺𝗅𝗅 𝗇𝗈𝗍 𝖿𝖺𝗅𝗅 𝗐𝗁𝗂𝗅𝖾 ɪ sᴛᴀɴᴅ. ✧ ⠀⠀⠀⠀﹙ #genshinrp #hoyorp ﹚

// replies later me back to work

...?! The cold that began to seep into his bones ignited at once. A blazing, untamable fire he couldn't control, set alight by the sultry voice whispering into his ear as the fuel, and a kiss to his neck the match. Illuga's head spun. Just what did Lohen want, toying with him like this? +

"The Lightkeepers have regular dealings with the Knights of Favonius. It's not outside the realm of possibility that we might see each other again." ... They were both high-ranking within their respective organizations. It was better to prioritize professional relations, wasn't it? +

"Um..." Now Illuga was confused. Should he stay, or go? These mixed signals might drive him mad. He didn't turn back around, still averting his gaze - but again, he was stuck in limbo, not making any further move to leave. "Vice Captain, I don't live here. Did you forget?"

Illuga blinked, searching Lohen for answers to the myriad of unspoken questions swimming through his mind. Oh. His heart sunk as he realized he wasn't being given the *option* to leave. He was being told to. Nicely. Ah... "I... Right, I have to prepare to get back to my patrols." +

// stolen. pick a number

Other business? 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 was what caused Illuga to look back at Lohen. No, he didn't try to stand when he was released. He only sent a confused glance over his shoulder. "What are you talking about? I already said I would stay." Illuga found, to his horror, that he 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 the loss of contact.

"Then..." The word comes out sticky like syrup - difficult to let out. Illuga swallowed the imaginary lump in his throat, but it wouldn't budge. "I should... get up." Lohen didn't seem to want to let him. The knight pushed closer against his back, nuzzling into him, and Illuga was suddenly +

A cool puff of air hit the shell of his ear, sending a pleasant chill up his back. Immediately, Illuga slapped a hand over his ear, a blush crawling up his neck. "?!" He whipped his head around to face Lohen. "What - what was that for?!" Ugh, and what he'd said after??? +

// DROMI LET ME REPLY TO YOU I LOVE GLASS ANIMALS WHY DO I HAVE TO QRT

If you're trying to pull a fast one on me, I'm sorry to disappoint you. (A certain golden nightingale fluttered down from its perch in the trees above, landing on Illuga's shoulder with a happy 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘱! At the same time, the Lightkeeper raised his head - crimson-lined indigo irises honing in +

// i want to write i'm clawing at my cage

ᅠ ᅠ ᅠᅠᅠ𝑾HAT ᅠDO ᅠYOU ᅠ𝑻HINKᅠ? ᅠNEED ᅠTO ᅠTHINKᅠ 𝚃𝚆𝙸𝙲𝙴ᅠ BEFOREᅠ THEᅠ 𝑩ULLETᅠ GOES ᅠTHROUGH ᅠYOUR ᅠ𝑯EADᅠ? ᅠ ᅠ

(No magical contracts just yet. Illuga's mission to have Flins admit that he's one of the Snowland Fae continues. ... Unless, he's wrong. What if he's like... a vampire, or something? Wait, weren't vampires also fae? So confusing! Either way - he's readily tested one rule. +

⊱··𖤓─·𖥸·─𖤓··⊰ 𝑀𝒶𝓇𝒾𝑜𝓃𝑒𝓉𝓉𝑒 - 7𝓉𝒽 𝐹𝒶𝓉𝓊𝒾 𝐻𝒶𝓇𝒷𝒾𝓃𝑔𝑒𝓇 - 𝒮𝒶𝓃𝒹𝓇𝑜𝓃𝑒 "𝐼 𝓈𝒽𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹𝓃'𝓉 𝓃𝑒𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝓇𝑒𝓅𝑒𝒶𝓉 𝓂𝓎𝓈𝑒𝓁𝒻." "𝒜𝒹 𝒶𝓈𝓉𝓇𝒶 𝒶𝒷𝓎𝓈𝓈𝑜𝓈𝓆𝓊𝑒! 𝒲𝑒𝓁𝒸𝑜𝓂𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝒩𝑜𝒹-𝒦𝓇𝒶𝒾, 𝒹𝑜𝓂𝒾𝓃𝒾𝑜𝓃 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝐹𝒶𝓉𝓊𝒾."

(Illuga said please. Now, he'll say thank you.) ... Me too. I won't set down my oath lantern until the Wild Hunt is eradicated from every corner of this land... (Illuga sighs. Though the conversation has turned heavier, these topics are normal for a Lightkeeper to have. He's unphased... +

Then, what do you hope for? I want to hear it. Please?

What else do you 'speculate' that fate has in store for us, I wonder?

If you say it's fate that we met, Sir Flins, then it must be the truth.

// btw i am very sorry if my replies are spotty for like. the next week or two, i know i have pending replies on both flins and illuga but it's crunch time for some music work i have 😖 slowly trying to get to things but i'm reserving my brain power/creative juice for these lyrics uuuhgjfdhjbh

"Payment? Oh, no!" Illuga waved his hands in front of him, eyes wide. "That's not necessary, promise! And I wouldn't say I'm the best chef in the Lightkeepers, or anything like that... it's just, normally, we're all used to eating whatever rations we have on hand." Lohen's little bow... +

(Illuga, for all intents and purposes, appeared knocked out. A lone Ratnik, sleeping undisturbed, out in the open where danger could strike at any time... did his exhaustion overcome him after all? If he sensed Lohen's presence, Illuga gave no indication, still as stone.)

(For a few beats, Illuga was still, resting his weary eyes after a long binge of paperwork, which came after an even longer patrol. ... Suddenly, he raised his head.) Sir Flins? What are you doing here? (He mumbled through bleary eyes, a strong marker that he'd been fast asleep. His head hurt.)

/ for my own reference !

// proper replies hopefully... sometime soon. still have a lot of work to do, going to sleep now~ have a good one everyone!

(Was it fearlessness, or was sleep deprivation rearing its ugly head, threatening to drag him into the dark depths regardless of where he physically sat? Just... just a minute. Illuga only needed to rest his head on the desk and close his eyes for a minute...)

(Rubbing at his eyes. Time to sleep. The words written on the pages before him no longer make sense, nor is his handwriting legible.)

// i want to write but i need to work. it is farewell once more. until we meet again...

'Many moons', you say... (Illuga quirked a brow in amusement, turning back to look at Flins over his shoulder so he could catch the expression.) Maybe if you went through your supplies faster, I would be inclined to bring them by more often. (Another jab at Flins' seeming lack of need for +

(Somehow, he doubted the mention of soup would come up again other than when he himself was eating. Either way... Illuga couldn't help but smile. He had Flins' undivided attention for the evening, and a tasty dinner waiting for him. What more could he possibly ask for? He led the charge back +

Somehow, Illuga found his way to Final Night Cemetery. No shipment in tow for an excuse, either. How was he meant to explain himself? 𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶... yeah, right! "Ah, hello, Sir Flins. I was planning my next patrol route through Paha Isle." Good one, Illuga!

Over in Piramida, Illuga is outside his home by the walls overlooking the water. The breeze blowing through his hair is refreshing after hours of hunching over his desk. Final Night Cemetery's lighthouse shines as brightly as ever. Illuga finds it calming to watch. "Is he home, I wonder..."

Busy, busy...

⠀ ⠀⠀❛ These violent delights have violent ends; and in their triumph die, like fire and powder, which as they kiss consume ❜ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀── Romeo & Juliet ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀penned by: ismere

Illuga didn't have much experience when it came to love. His feelings of admiration for a certain senior colleague were often confused for that of a crush, but otherwise, he spent the majority of his time committed to his duties as a Lightkeeper. Where was romance found on the battlefield? +

A pleasant chill shook his frame as it ran up his spine. Lohen's breath on his neck stopped Illuga in his tracks. "..." Dangerous... if he stayed, if he acknowledged whatever this was becoming - there was no going back. Tentatively, he settled back on the bed. Hesitating. Still positioned as if +

... Illuga noticed. For whatever reason, this realization only caused the blush on his cheeks to deepen in color. Just what was Lohen playing at if he was capable of eating without help??? "You're not even sick! And you can hold a spoon just fine, can't you?"