"Felix decided to look like me today," Viktor said.
The sun had risen over Port Brakken almost an hour ago, but Viktor had only just started making his usual rounds. Evie, like usual, had been up all night working on something, and Felix had slept curled up against Viktor's side—also like usual. Felix had always liked being in contact with other people, but had become even more touch-starved than before after being separated from Viktor.
Evie looked up from her makeshift work area in the inn room they were staying at. "Not Kaeya?"
Viktor nodded.
"I was wondering when he'd get tired of looking like him," Evie said. She pushed back her chair from the table and got to her feet. "The appeal of looking like a pirate near the water must have worn off."
Viktor nodded again. Felix, who was only vaguely aware of the conversation and was far more interested in watching the people on the street outside of the window, didn't even spare the two a glance. He did have the same form as Viktor now, but it was different. It was how he used to look, with blond hair and Albedo's clothes. They'd have to fix the outfit, but Viktor resigned himself to seemingly having a brother for the day.
"I have a surprise for you," Evie said.
Viktor raised an eyebrow. "It's another weapon, isn't it?"
Evie grinned. "You know me well—I thought you could use a new gun, since you're not able to use yours right now without...you know. I modeled it after the ones we've seen here."
She presented the gun to him. It was just as simple in design as his other one (currently tucked away in his pack) was, but he could already feel that it wasn't meant to channel the elemental energy from the vision he had hidden underneath his coat.
"Thanks," Viktor said. He slipped it into the empty holster at his side. It fit perfectly. "Finding a weapon for me to use was the last thing we needed before we could start doing bounties."
Evie nodded. "Which means we're all set to get some money—and hopefully work on finding a way home. Do you...do you think we convinced Felix to not use his cryo?"
Viktor hesitated. That was the hope, but it was an admittedly weak one. "As long as I don't get hurt in front of him, we should be alright."
"Okay," Evie said. "Good."
With that, the two grabbed their belongings—and Felix, who reluctantly changed his outfit after Viktor told him to—and headed out into the port town that Felix had been so interested in watching.
Something about how the morning sun reflected off the rocking waters in the early hours of the morning never got old. If James were a painter, he'd want to sit and study the colors - how the warmth of the sun's reds brushed over the deep blue waters. He'd want to sit in the simplicity of the sight, enjoying the peaceful quiet of a slow morning where nothing was needed but to be in the presence of a sunrise.
Leo had them pull into the docks a few hours before dawn, and the crew finally had a moment to rest before the sun poked its head over the horizon. Most of them went back to sleep, but James always found it difficult to go back to sleep once he was already up and about, and he did enjoy the small pocket of space he could find to himself.
Leaning on the railing, he'd watched the world wake up. Sailors and fishermen trickled to the docks, wiping decks clean and preparing ships to go out on the water. He only really had what felt like a few minutes before members of his own crew started crawling back to the deck after grabbing breakfast down below. Before he knew it, things were getting underway.
They had to restock on supplies, and the ship needed some mild repairs after being tossed about in a storm. Some of the crew had friends and family in town as well, so they would be staying for a few days - a week at most - before they were back out on the water.
James stood on the dock, glancing over his shoulder as Leo came up beside him, his eyes scanning the docks.
Leo normally had a thoughtful, pensive look in his downturned eyes, and today was no different. James could tell he was likely brewing on something that he'd share later, but Leo was always a slow cooker. It resulted in a lot of late-night conversations.
"There's an old friend I want to visit, and I'd like you to join me, Thomas," Leo said finally, after standing and observing for a minute. "I think you'd both get along."
James nodded slightly. He'd long since grown accustomed to the new name, but there were still moments where he'd get a little nervous. Only on land.
You always had to be careful when you were hiding in plain sight.
"What's your friend's name?" James asked, putting his hands in his pockets as he started to follow Leo, who started to lead them to town.
"Donovan," Leo said. "He used to be a part of the crew, but his mother fell ill a few years ago and he left to care for her. I try to check in on him whenever we're passing through. It's been a few months since I last saw him."
James hummed quietly, falling into silence as the two of them started walking past different booths by the docks - mostly fishermen opening their stands, still setting up their displays.
"I'm sure he appreciates that you still stop by," James commented after a moment passed.
Leo glanced over his shoulder, his mouth turning into a small smile.
"Wouldn't be a good friend if I didn't," Leo said.
"How are you doing?" Evie asked, glancing over at Viktor. They were walking through the port town now. Walking being a slightly inactive word: Felix was currently clinging to Viktor, which meant they weren't really walking all that fast. Evie should have honestly expected it, but she had been too excited about Viktor getting her gift to give the potential hugging much thought.
"I'm doing fine," Viktor said, stumbling a little as Felix lagged behind him and stared at one of the booths they had just passed.
"That's a big fish," Felix said, blue eyes wide with childish curiosity.
"It is," Viktor agreed, tugging on Felix. "We need to keep walking."
"But fish," Felix said, looking back at Viktor with an absolutely adorable look on his face.
"We can look at fish later," Viktor reassured him. Felix didn't look convinced, but he turned away from the booth and started walking again.
"Our first stop should be the bounty board-" Evie started to say, but then she skid to a halt. There was someone also near the fish booths, walking around with another man. She hadn't really seen him before, but she also felt a nudge of recognition.
She thought and dug through her memory.
"Evie...?" Viktor hesitantly asked. "Are you okay?"
She thought for another moment. It was the face that looked so familiar—its dimensions and size. The hair was longer now and he had a decent amount of facial hair, but she was sure of it. It was Tiberius Hemming; he had a wanted poster that she had noticed on their first day in this town.
Which meant they just had their first bounty.
"Don't draw too much attention to him," Evie said, voice low but excited, "but I just found our first bounty. He has the red-brown ponytail and beard up ahead. His name is Tiberius Hemming. He's with someone else right now, so we need to be careful."
Viktor nodded and slipped free of Felix. Felix pouted at the separation, but fell into step beside Viktor as he and Evie both started tailing the man.
Walking through town any town always had James holding his breath, just a little. Despite the number of times that he'd altered his appearance and made efforts to look as different from his current circulating wanted posters as possible, any sense of confidence he had was a thin veneer. All it took was someone who saw past his beard and his long hair, or his outfit, and it was all over. Not just his safety, but the safety of those he was traveling with.
Which, in this moment, was Leo - who, while being out at sea for several months hadn't a chance to brush up on Nye's "most wanted" list. Frankly, those things weren't on his radar. And why should they be? Leo was a ship captain, not a bounty hunter, and it wasn't like he was hurting for money. James had been lucky that his criminal background hadn't even been a passing thought, at least, in conversation. He couldn't speak for Leo's thoughts.
That said, the few times they had stopped in town - a total of three, which he could count on one hand - nothing had happened. They'd been in and out of the ports so quickly that they hardly had a chance to touch the sand, never mind read some posters. But this trip was an exception. They'd be staying a minute longer, and already, James was nervous.
Or paranoid.
But still, he couldn't shake the feeling of prey being spotted by a predator. It was an instinct he'd grown very keen in out of necessity, and even though he'd often been wrong, he'd also always been right when someone really was watching with a hunter's gaze of recognition.
Already on alert, James casually scanned the crowd, disguising it as a curious gaze of some of the shops and buildings they passed by.
The worst thing he could do was let on that he was suspicious. That would make them close in faster.
If this bounty hunter was smart, they'd find James when he was alone or vulnerable. So he would be sure that never happened.
"It's just up here," Leo said, interrupting James's swirl of worry, all buried behind a neutral face. Leo pointed his calloused hand down an alleyway. "Shortcut."
James nodded, but his stomach tightened. Yeah. Shortcut.
“He’s still not alone,” Viktor noted. They had been tailing their target for some time now, but Viktor was starting to suspect that the two of them were heading somewhere together. If that was the case, it would be awhile before they could actually approach him. Either his companion was complicit and knew who he was, or he was oblivious and thought he was someone else. No matter what the case was, it would be difficult retrieving Tiberius—his companion would likely put up some kind of fight.
And the last thing Viktor and Evie wanted to risk was that.
“It’s a good thing none of us need to eat or sleep, then,” Evie said, giving him a tiny smile. “It would make trailing him more difficult.”
She thought for a moment.
“We could make a plan in the meantime,” Evie suggested.
Viktor nodded. That was better than going in blind.
“We’ll have to get him out of this town,” Evie mused, crossing her arms and putting her hand underneath her chin. “We need to go to an outpost if we want to get the reward. It shouldn’t be hard capturing him with the three of us, but…”
“He’s not alone,” Felix suddenly said, apparently paying more attention to the conversation than Viktor thought he was. It was a matter-of-fact, random observation, but the timing was perfect.
Viktor contemplated their options.
“...I have an idea,” he finally said. He wasn’t sure how well he could steal something while he was out in the open, but it was the best plan he could come up with. “I could steal something from him. If I make it obvious, he’ll have to follow me. All I need is for him to be alone for a moment. He wouldn’t risk calling the authorities for help because they might recognize him, and wouldn’t be able to call his friend because it would be too sudden. There’s multiple alleyways I could lead him into.”
Evie perked up at the suggestion. “Felix and I could tail you—if you lead him into a dead end, we could block off the exit.”
Felix, hearing his name, looked between the two.
“I can’t stay with Viktor?” he asked, giving a look that made Viktor feel incredibly Viktor.
“It’ll only be for a few minutes,” Viktor reassured him.
Felix pouted, but he didn’t argue. He liked Evie enough to not be too bothered. The three went back to silently tailing Tiberius and occasionally pulling Felix away from booths and stalls. After another minute passed, Evie gave Viktor a look.
“...You came up with that idea because you almost did the same thing to Albedo, didn’t you?” Evie asked.
Viktor smiled. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Just as they turned out of the alleyway and into the adjacent street, someone bumped right into James - coming quickly out of his blind spot and stunning him for a split second. But in that second, he fully registered their hand gripping the pendant around his neck and ripping the necklace off, breaking the chain.
He reached after them in flustered retaliation, but the thief was running, and they rapidly evaded his grasp.
“Hey!” James shouted, before sending a brief look to Leo, who had paused a few steps ahead of him, turning around. Leo’s gaze drifted to the empty spot around James’s neck where the pendant once was.
It had been a gift from Leo. One of great personal importance to him. James had a terrible feeling about all of it, but he knew his window to retrieve the necklace was closing in the passing seconds, and the loss of the keepsake could potentially jeopardize his relationship with Leo.
Just when he’d started to build trust.
Of course this would happen. It was just his luck.
James whirled on his heels and sped down the alleyway, chasing after the thief, gaining on their tail. He weaved through the crowd - much to startled passerby’s dismay - and down the street, before having to skid to course-correct as the thief cut into another narrow alleyway.
Leaping over a few stacked crates leaning against the side of one of the buildings, James rolled to a stop, feeling the sinking in his gut.
Gods, he was an idiot. He really was that stupid.
He’s walked right into a trap. No - he ran into it.
As he stood to his feet facing the thief in front of him, he saw two figures over his shoulder, coming up from behind and closing the narrow exit.
The only way out would be to fight.
Well, he supposed he wouldn’t mind having to explain that to Leo at the cost of his current reputation if it meant he might get out of this, but at this rate, the damage was done. He’d been recognized, and even if he got away, word of his spotting would spread, and people would be looking for him, and he’d have to start all over again reinventing himself as someone else.
He narrowed his eyes, standing on guard.
Who was he kidding? He wasn’t going to make it out of this, was he? But he wasn’t going to go easily.
He pulled the knife at his side that had been resting in a sheath on his hip. It wasn’t a dagger built for combat. It was a hunting knife, but it was still a knofe nonetheless.
“Should’ve snatched the knife instead,” he threatened.
"It's a good thing I have a gun, then," Viktor said, pulling out the one that Evie had finished making for him that morning from the holster at his side. He admittedly wasn't sure how to fight without his pyro. He had gotten by for years without it, but he hadn't had a gun then. He had used a sword back then, and hadn't been all that good at using it.
Felix, who had taken a step forward with a cold, angry look to his blue eyes, fell back when he saw that Viktor wasn't in any danger.
Evie, meanwhile, readied her crossbow. She looked just as uncertain as he felt without the crackle of electricity dancing up and down the wood.
"You can either drop your knife," Viktor said, "or one of us can shoot you. It's your choice, but I would recommend dropping the knife."
He stood up straight, pretending to let his guard down as he spun his knife over his knuckles for a moment before reaching to sheath it. But at the last second, he lashed out and jabbed it towards the gut of the man in front of him.
For a moment, the air flashed cold. Viktor could see his own breath in the air, and could feel the chill creeping into his lungs. His eyes widened as he darted back. Felix was going to use his cryo. He was more scared of someone seeing Felix using it than he was of the knife. He couldn't handle losing Felix again-
Viktor was so afraid that he didn't realize Evie had approached their target from behind until she knocked him unconscious with a swing of her crossbow against his skull.
Felix fell back, the air warming without the threat of his cyro. When Viktor looked up at his face, he saw that Felix was giving a smug smile that looked both right and wrong on his own face. On Albedo's face, too.
Evie and Viktor, meanwhile, stared down at the unconscious Tiberius Hemming.
"...That's probably going to give him a concussion, isn't it," Evie awkwardly said.
Spots of light danced under his eyelids as he slowly came to his senses. Panic pulsed through his veins before he could have a conscious thought, and he realized that he was being held. Someone’s arms were under his knees, and then behind his back, and they held him with his head resting against them. Part of his mind didn’t know how to reconcile the fact that he’d just been captured and his captor was holding him so carefully.
It told him one thing: his captors had at least some sense of human empathy. That, or they were just very careful to make sure they brought him in alive. Either way, he wasn’t interested in exploring the nuances of their moral compass except to use it to his advantage. Hopefully, he could convince then to let him go.
Because they’d also bound him. He was familiar with the feeling of ropes around his wrists and ankles, and the chafing of rope against his skin was obnoxious, but at least it wasn’t metal cuffs. He wasn’t sure which he preferred. Ideally, he preffered not to be bound at all.
Trying to stay still and not draw attention to himself being awake, James cracked his eyes open while intentionally keeping his body slack. From the angle of his head he could make out the blurry shapes of two figures walking in front of him in the corner of his vision, and what looked like thick forest trees passing by.
He tried to recall the people who’d lured him and trapped him. There were three. One took his necklace and ran into an alley, two more came behind, one of which knocked him out. It had all happened so fast he hadn’t gotten much of a real chance to look at them. He could remember their builds, but not their faces. And even when he tried, it was all blurry.
And gods, his head hurt.
He tried to calculate his odds. He’d been stupid in his last few decisions. It had been stupid to follow the thief who lured him, and stupid to pull a knife - but for all he knew, they’d have knocked him out anyway.
Of course, it was too late to know if he’d assumed wrong. But it was also too late to figure out a plan of escape that didn’t involve still having to fight off three people with weapons while he was bound.
His best option was probably to try the diplomatic route first. Or at least try to. He had to try.
He opened his eyes fully, looking up and regretting doing so, as he addicentally stared up right into the sun. His sight flashed white and he pinched his eyes shut with a stifled groan.
"Oh," Evie suddenly said, a little bit of surprise to her voice, "he's awake."
Viktor and Felix had already turned before then. They had both heard the groan. It hadn't sounded like Evie, so there was only one other person who could have made it. Viktor was studying Tiberius to see if there was anything outright wrong with him. Felix was just shooting him icy metaphorical daggers. If he tried using real ones like Viktor knew he was thinking of doing, they'd have to have a talk.
Evie gave the captured man an awkward, almost sheepish smile. "It's the concussion, isn't it?" she asked.
They tried to be careful when doing bounties in Mondstadt, but it was different doing them here. They didn't have the safety net of their currently hidden visions. Which meant this man was more injured than their targets usually were, and that not a single one of them knew to handle a concussion. It didn't help that not a single one of them had a normal human biology.
Viktor sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. This was going to be a long rest of the day.
James squinted as much of a pointed glare he could manage up at the woman carrying him. Their humor was cruel and he was not amused. Of course it was the concussion.
“What, the one you gave me?” he shot back. “Yeah, thanks for that.”
"It wasn't intentional," Evie awkwardly admitted. She wasn't sure why she was trying to explain herself so much, but she didn't want to seem like a cruel captor. She was just doing a job to make money. They weren't even from here. "...I'm sorry."
"Evie," Viktor said, "you don't have to apologize to the person we're bringing in for a bounty."
Felix just kept glaring daggers at Tiberius. Evie made a mental note to avoid leaving the two alone for any period of time.
“Yeah, don’t apologize to your bounty,” James echoed sarcastically. “I’m just a sack of money to you, not a person.”
He rolled his eyes, finding his vision was finally starting to refocus, and he looked at the two men in front of him. Aside from one having pale blond hair and the other having dark black hair, they looked like twins. Both had pale skin and bright eyes, and they were both lean. Phyiscally, they weren’t that imposing, which at least gave him some hope. But he held the reasonable belief that they were skilled with their weapons.
The woman holding him, though, clearly held more strength than the two other men combined. She’d carried him for some time, and knocked him out cold with one hit. When James looked up at her, he couldn’t help but notice there was nothing remarkable about her build. She was shorter than him, and thin and lean like the others. For the strength she seemed to have, it was disproportional.
She looked like an average woman with long brown hair in two braids and if James had to guess her age it was somewhere in her early 20’s, but she couldn’t have been older than 24.
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