"Don't let an injury be the deterring factor of who you are and who you are known to be. Instead, try to use it as a learning experience so you'll be better off when you come back."
~Mota

— - 0 - —

Kaeya stands up and walks to the entrance way, his eyes widened. "It's an Abyss mage!"

The hydro Abyss mage floats with its transparent, shield bubble encasing it. It makes its way through the hilichurl tribe. The hilichurls themselves don't dare look into its eyes- er, mask? When the mage is close to them they step back away and are more hunched over instead of their normal standing stature. They stand but act more like bowing.

It clicks. The Abyss mage is looking for someone. For them.

Kaeya walks back to Ella who is laying down. "An abyss mage is here. It's hydro."

Ella's eyes winder. "We have to get away."

"I can take it."

"But your arm, your shoulders. You can't fight with a sword with that," Ella says, standing up to try to match Kaeya's height.

"I can do it."

"No you can't! You're just a..." Ella yells, but it fades to silence.

"What? What am I?" Kaeya yells, stomping his foot.

Ella trembling whispers out, "It's behind you..."

Kaeya swiftly turns around just in time to hear the abyss mage make strange noises.

Ella grabs the knight's hand and the two run out of the hut. They are blocked by hilichurls who are armed with clubs.

Kaeya draws out his sword and points it at the ebony.

"No!" Ella yells. She grabs the shower hand and pushes it down. The tip following and hitting the ground. "Don't hurt the hilichurls. I think they are under the influence of the abyss."

"How do you know?"

"I don't know. It's just a hunch."

The abyss makes more strange noises. The hilichurls take a step forward, their shuled down and sword out.

"Attack the abyss." Ella pushes Kaeya toward the mage and she runs away.

"What are you-" Kaeya says But is interrupted by hilichurls. "I'm not going to hurt you."

He dodges the hilichurls attack and continues to run forward to his main enemy. The hydro abyss mage.

Kaeya attacks with a swing of his sword. Pain shoots on his shoulder like electrification. He drops his sword.

The mage makes a noise that sounds like laughter. It shoots Kaeya with water. He falls or slips on the grass.

"I can't do this..."

Kaeya notices a strange hilichurl. It doesn't look like the others. They are straight and battle ready but this one is shaking like it was insane.

It stopped and seemed to go back to sanity.

The hilichurl runs towards Kaeya. Kaeya tries to get away fearing for his life. He was already injured and couldn't fight.

The hilichurl grabs Kaeya sword and points it to the mage. The mage is quite literally taken aback as it floats backward. It gets its confidence back and shoots the hilichurls back. The hilichurl grabs Kaeya with his sword when the two of them hear a scream.

"Help!"

The hilichurl rains toward the little girl who has cuts on her arms. She looks more like he has been running through a thorn bush than away from many armed hilichurls.

The hilichurl grabs Ella Musk in his other arm and runs to the top of the hill where Mr. Musk was watching, shocked by fear.

He takes Ella from the hilichurls arms, hugging her tightly. They rush to the cart. Ella, Kaeya, and Mr. Musk are all in.

"Wait!" Ella says, tugging on her father's shirt. "He's hurt."

"Ella you're hurt we need to go."

"But he is too." Ella takes a few seconds to look back at the hilichurl. "Please Daddy."

"Fine," he says curtly. Ella reaches out for the hilichurl to take her hand, she grabs his. Ella and Kaeya help him get into the cart. With the hilichurl now in the cart they race off toward Dawn Winery.

***

The cart comes to an abrupt stop in front of the Winery.

mr. Musk jumps from the cart and piglets yo his daughter and the two races off tinto the building leaving Kaeya and the hilichurl behind.

The hilichurl from the cart also jumps off it but instead of swinging out of the cart using his hand the creature just simply awaits down and leaps from the cart into the grass.

"Mani," the hilichurl says. It holds its hand out for the young bluenette.

Kaeya reaches out his hand which then hilichurl takes. The hilichurl grads his body and holds him walking to the double, front doors of Dwn Winery. He just stands there unsure what to do next.

"Please heal my daughter!" Kaeya hears when he opens the door.

"Sir, I'm supposed to heal Kaeya, not your daughter," Barbara says.

"Please, she's my first born!" Mr. Musk continues to beg.

"Sir-."

"Please" Jacob Musk begs. Kaeya could hear the sound of devastation in his voice.

It reminded him of when his father left him on the steps of Dawn Winery. He didn't want his father to leave and begged him not to leave but all he said was that Kaeya was their last hope.

He didn't understand what his father meant and even years later he still didn't know.

"Okay, okay, I'll do it," Barbara says, finally caving in. "Let her stand on her own."

Mr. Musk did as he was told and put Ella down. She didn't need her father to carry her but she didn't say anything. Be it from fear or respect of her father no one could tell.

She stands on her lonesome and Barbara uses her magic on the child, a circle of water encasing her red dress then popping into music bars and notes.

Kaeya and Mr. Musk could see the magic working as the cuts slowly heal, the skin growing over them. No scars or anything that might suggest that she had been hurt in the first place.

After the music notes fade into the air, Kaeya makes his way into the building instead of the doorway.

"Kaeya," Diluc says. His tone is annoyed and angry. Everyone freezes. "What happened?"

Kaeya walks meekly into the semicircle of all the people where Ella was.

"Well, Ella and I went to a hilichurl tribe to talk to them. She taught me a few words." Kaeya looks at Ella who is wearing a grin. Her eyes are hopeful. "But then a hilichurl brought us away, and an abyss mage showed up. We wouldn't have made it without him."

"Him?" The group questions.

"Yeah," Ella says, letting go of her father's waist and walking to Kaeya. "We brought him here because he was injured."

Ella runs over to the door and opens it for the hilichurl. The creature looks up when it opens.

Noelle and Diluc unsheathe their claymores while Barbara gets her hands ready.

"Wait!" Kaeya says, shaking his hands. "He's harmless. He saved me from the Abyss mage."

Everyone puts away their weapons. "What?"

The hilichurl walks closer to the group and a trail of crimson follows him. "He's hurt, can you heal him?" Ella asks, grabbing his hand. Kaeya turns his head from the hilichurl to Barbara. Ella does the same.

"Uhh..." Barbara says. Her checks tint red. "Shouldn't Kaeya first get healed? I only healed Ella since she was bleeding."

"He's bleeding," Ella states the obvious fact. Everyone in the room could see the blood making a pool on the floor. The maids would have much difficulty cleaning up the crimson liquid.

"Okay, fine you got me there," Barbara admits. "But I've never healed anything non-human. I don't even know if I can heal him. Also, shouldn't Kaeya go first? He's the reason I'm here in the first place. I would waste my magic on the hilichurl which means Kaeya has to wait even longer."

"I'm fine," Kaeya says. It was as obvious as the hilichurl's blood that Kaeya wasn't fine. His bandages have blood stains, the white nightgown is now soiled with dirt, his hair is unkempt and messed up. He looks like he is in pain and tired from his posture.

"Okay..." Barbara says, eyeing the bluenette. "If you say so."

Ella steps away from the hilichurl and Barbara steps toward him. He eyes the deaconess with weariness. Barbara does the same thing.

She slowly moves her hands so as to not scare the creature away. The hilichurl takes a step back as water circles around him. It pops into music notes which scares him.

He tries to run away from the music but it encircles him no matter where he goes. Diluc unsheathes his sword while everyone in the group watches as the hilichurl runs.

"No!" Ella yells. She grabs his hand but the hilichurl simply shakes it off. His back is getting healed but he doesn't understand.

"Nunu," Ella commands. The hilichurl stops running around the Winery and looks toward Ella.

"Mimi movo. Mimi sada. Mimi domu. Domu upa. Gusha dada," she says. "Nunu, nunu, nunu," The hilichurl walks to Ella and lays down on his side at her feet.

"Is it sleeping?" Noelle asks.

"You're correct," Mr. Musk says. "My daughter just performed what I believe to be a sleep ritual. Nice work, Ella." Jacob Musk makes a thumbs up with one of his hands.

Ella smiles from the admiration from her father. Ella reflects the hand gesture back at him.

"I'm glad that everything is over and under control," Noelle says, wiping some sweat on her forehead that had accumulated over the crazy evenings.

"Me too," Barbara adds. "I've done some crazy things throughout my life, but never have I ever healed a hilichurl."

"I think everyone deserves a good night's rest. I'll get the maids to prepare a room for you," Diluc says to Barbara, Mr. Musk, and Ella. Adelinde who has been patiently standing a little ways from the group leaves to go what her master instructs. "I will move the horses and cart behind the Winery."

"Can I come?" Kaeya asks, a smile dancing on his lips.

"Uh... sure. Why not?"

The two brothers go towards the double doors as the group behind them disappears, most of them going upstairs to get ready to fall asleep; it has been a long day for all of them. As they reach the door Diluc grabs the handle and motions for Kaeya to go ahead when he opens the door.

The door swings open and Kaeya is swooped away.

— - 0 - —

Hello Seedlings , I'M BACK! Did you miss me? I really hope you are enjoying 'It Must be Love.'

This chapter's question is: have you ever fought a fight? And did you win or lose it? Why?

I personally haven't fought anyone. Not physically at least. I'm a really quite person. I hide my emotions a lot, unless I am comfortable with all the people I am hanging out with.