《Your POV》

Scaramouche sat down as you placed two plates on the table. Though you'd never seen anything like it, the food smelt so delicious, you felt like your mouth was watering. You hadn't eaten since you left the inn.

Scaramouche began to eat his food. It was rare seeing him without his hat, yet he took it off. Probably because you were in a smaller space so you needed to conserve room.

You gazed at his face. You had to admit, he was quite handsome. And despite looking so young, the way he carried himself was so mature. He was short compared to other people, yet slightly taller than you. He had somewhat good manners and a way with talking to people. At this point, you were very fond of him. Yet, he was simply just a temporary travel partner. You felt no need to force a friendship on him.

Scaramouche glanced at you, noticing you staring, "Haha, you're not going to fall in love with me are you?~" He made some sort of a winky face, probably to make you more uncomfortable.

"W-What? Of course not," you reply, honestly startled by his teasing. This was yet another side to him. At this point, you wouldn't be surprised if he had multiple personalities. Sure, you thought he was attractive and overall a good person, but you wouldn't go as far as to say "love". After all, you just met him. You didn't believe in love as first sight, you thought it was ridiculous.

"I'm just kidding~" Scaramouche said with an innocent smile, "Just trying to lighten the mood. Anyway, we should start heading out soon. The next location isn't that far from here. I'd say we could get there by tonight."

You finish up your last bite, "Mm, yeah that sounds like a plan. I'll go prepare some last minute stuff before we leave." You get up and leave Scaramouche sitting there.

A woman at a stall was selling what seemed to be food. The baskets were full of bright red apples, along with some other "travel foods". She noticed you and smiled, "Ah care to buy some food for the road?"

You gently smiled, "Yes, thank you!"

"You know," the woman started as she filled up a bag with food, "I don't mean to pry, but who's that man with you?"

You glance back over to Scaramouche, who was standing and putting his hat back on, checking his reflection in a nearby window, "That's my travel partner. Why..?"

The woman gives you a weird look, "I don't know what it is.. but I'd stay away from him if I were you."

You immediately start laughing. She must have been joking. Surely she was just messing with you, "I don't think I understand."

"I might just be an old woman, but my senses are telling me somethings not right with him. He's not who he says he is." She tells you.

You just looked at her, then back to Scaramouche. There was no way. She had to be lying. What would even make her say that to begin with? You don't just "feel" something like that. Maybe it was his clothing? Personally, you thought it was beautifully unique. There seemed to be nothing wrong with it. You just didn't understand why she'd say such things.

You simply paid for your food and left without saying anything else. At that moment, you thought the woman was absurd. But then you started to think.. you did just meet him, it's not like you'd known him for a long time, you don't actually know who he is, even if you thought you did.

You made your way back to Scaramouche who was looking out at the scenery. There were pretty orange and yellow flowers throughout the whole landscape. He noticed you and smiled, "Ready to go?"

"The lady over there said something really strange to me," You say, ignoring his question.

He looked at you with concern, "What did she say..?"

You thought about it for a second. Should you tell him? The possibility of the woman being right would make it awkward. If he had nothing to hide then he'd easily brush it off. There's no way he could be hiding something, right?

"It's fine," you said, "Don't worry about it. I'm sure she was joking anyway." You begin walking towards the exit of the town.

Scaramouche stared at you as you began walking away, then he soon followed, a bit confused.

♢♢♢

You and Scaramouche eventually made it to the next location, which happened to be south of the village you were just in.

Just as they arrived, they saw another group examining it already. Scaramouche caught on and immediately grabbed you from behind, hiding you both behind a rock. He had his hands over your mouth, "Shh. Someone's there."

You had to say, the position was quite embarrassing but it was understandable considering the situation.

Scaramouche glanced over to the people. There was a short blonde boy with a floating creature standing next to the meteorite.

You quickly grab his hands off of your mouth, "Hey, thats Aether!" You whispered.

Scaramouche was surprised, "You know him??"

You turned to look at him, "He's also in the guild. But he's a much higher rank that I am, after all he is the honorary knight of Mondstadt."

Scaramouche looked over at the boy. He seemed to be thinking about something really deeply. It was a little concerning, actually.

The duo started walking towards their direction, causing Scaramouche to once again cover your mouth and pull you closer to him. You glared at him, knowing very well that you knew how to be quiet. You didn't need somebody forcing you to. Plus, you didn't see what the big idea was. If he really wanted to stay hidden, maybe his hat wasn't a good choice. That made you laugh a bit.

"Shh."

You stopped and rolled your eyes. Once Aether left, Scaramouche let go of you, "Why'd we have to hide? I know Aether, I could've explained to him-" you told him.

"I have my reasons." Scaramouche cut you off.

His attitude totally changed, it scared you a bit. Was it work related? If so, why would he need to hide from the traveller? This man was just full of mysteries that you couldn't solve.