Viktor made a quiet hmm noise underneath his breath. He couldn't make food, but the others were things that Evie, Viktor, and Felix could all supply on their own.
"If we want to save time and money," Evie said, "we could cut that list down. We just need a secluded section of a forest to make water. Felix's cryo is pure, and Viktor can melt it. We would just need containers. We also have some experience with alchemy-"
Viktor raised an eyebrow at that, a tiny smile dancing on his lips at Evie's humble way of admitting they knew how to use it. They had more than just "some" experience with alchemy. They weren't Mondstadt's Chief Alchemist, but they were close.
"-and could make some tools and clothing if we just had the right starting materials."
Felix straightened and stepped towards Tiberius. Viktor, sensing a conflict but still feeling a little of Felix's sense of frustration at Tiberius lashing out, grabbed Felix by the arm. He tugged Felix back to his side. Felix, in response, gave Viktor a look he said he very clearly wanted to go bombard Tiberius with ice, but thankfully stayed put.
"We don't need needles and thread," Evie said. "We just need cloth. Alchemy lets us put things together without needing to physically do it. You just need the right materials and the knowledge on how to access it."
James stared at Evie as his mind moved quickly to piece things together. He knew they were from a different world and had a very different kind of magic, but being able to make clothes and water and physical tools by using magic? That was beyond his current framework of understanding how the world worked.
Well, how his world worked.
If what they were saying was true, though, it would help them greatly.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, he closed his eyes for a moment and let out a deep sigh.
"...Okay," he said after a long pause. "What exactly do you need?"
After a thankfully uneventful stop in Bethany, the alchemists made their supplies and the group as a whole continued on their way. They walked for a little longer before making a camp for the night. It was strange, camping out in the wilderness instead of using a teleport waypoint to return home for the night, but Evie wasn't really against it. Camping underneath the night sky could be fun.
The fire crackled. It was just cool enough that it was necessary, even though the thought of the light flickering as a beacon in the night made him nervous. But the truth was, everything about this situation made him nervous.
James sat on the ground with his back against a tree, watching the flames dance as he held his hand over the bag at his side, now filled with supplies for travel - some of which had been made through some kind of magic he still didn’t understand, even when he saw it.
Things magically coming together and into existence… that was for dragons to do. No the average human. Not the average mage. It was too mucj for him to wrap his head around, but in the face of it, he couldn’t deny it was real. He was simply confounded, unable to comprehend it.
The forest was quiet, though he was sure someone else with better ears might’ve been able to hear the faint lapping of waves along not-too-distant shores. It still smelled like the ocean, even though it couldn’t be seen. The air tasted salty, and the cool breeze had the bite of the deep Vile Ocean in its teeth.
He wanted to be further from Bethany. Further from Port Brakken. Further from any society that could recognize him and turn him in. But he was stuck with three people who were cluesless about Nye and he was obligated to help them - even though he was quite literally probably the worst person on Nye to be their guide.
It wasn’t like he could change their circumstances now, but it almsot felt cruel and ironic that they’d found themselves dependent on the man who was Nye’s most wanted.
James glanced at the others. He was under the impression that out ofbthe four of them, he was the one who’d need the most sleep, and yet, he didn’t think he’d be getting any.
Still, he could pretend.
“It’d be wise of us to sleep in shifts,” he said, breaking the lull of silence that had passed since they’d gotten the fire going.
Viktor glanced over at Felix and Evie. Felix couldn't be trusted on a shift. He would be able to stay awake and notice things, but was more likely to chase after a threat than alert others to it. Evie could be trusted on a shift, but she also didn't really need to sleep to begin with. She could easily stay up the entire night so Viktor and Tiberius could get some sleep.
But that would mean admitting that she was even less living than Felix was.
Evie gave Viktor a tiny smile. It was probably meant to be comforting.
"I can stay up the entire night," she offered. "My electro—my magic—lets me stay up for longer."
It was a lie, and would have been easy for anyone from Teyvat to realize that, but Tiberius wouldn't know that. If they blamed Evie's ability to never sleep on them being from another world, Tiberius hopefully wouldn't question it.
James stared at Evie for a moment, trying to read her. She’d already proven to have inhuman strength, and other abilities outside of his current comprehension. Why shouldn’t she be able to stay up longer? He didn’t have enough knowledge to argue. But still, they’d all need their rest eventually.
“If you’re offering to take a longer shift,” James said. “I won’t argue with you.”
"I can take the entire shift," Evie offered. She gave Tiberius a smile. "I'm used to staying up by myself. I work a lot during the night. Viktor doesn't, and Felix always stays by Viktor when he's not asleep."
Part of her kept worrying that he would realize something was off about what she was saying, but she wasn't lying. She usually stayed up by herself. It gave her extra time to work on her latest creations.
James stared at Evie for a moment, his mind working slowly as he debated whether or not to pry for answers. He didn't believe that everything about their world was entirely out of his ability to comprehend, only that it was all incredibly foreign. He was past the point of believing they were lying about being in another world, but that didn't mean they weren't still giving him half-truths or placated responses. The only thing that he couldn't be sure of was why. It could've been something as simple as "he wouldn't understand." But if there was anything more malicious...
That could be the paranoia talking, but it was never a bad idea to be sure.
"So you're telling me you never need to sleep?" James asked.
"It's nice to," she said. "I do it sometimes. But it's not something I need to do, and it felt wrong not to not bring it up."
She rubbed the back of her neck. She didn't dare glance over at Viktor right now. Tiberius had to already be suspicious of what she was claiming. Looking at Viktor like he was an accomplice in a nonexistent crime wasn't going to help her case. She just had to act like this was normal for electro users.
"I know it sounds strange," she quickly added. "But it's true."
"It's a different kind of magic," Evie said, deciding in that moment that she'd rather have Tiberius outright confront her about her lie than wrongly assume he might have guessed the truth. "I have electro. Felix has cyro, and Viktor has pyro. Living things are made of electrical signals, so I'm just tricking my signals into think I've already slept."
She finally let herself glance over at her friends, but she looked at Felix instead of Viktor.
She turned back to Tiberius.
"Also," she said, dropping her voice down, "Felix can pull an all nighter, but would get distracted if you put him on a shift. Even though he looks like an adult, he's more like a child."
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