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An owl softly hoots as it glides above the destroyed ship, wind ruffling its feathers, the sound of flapping wings attracting the attention of Wu Chang - the hunter of today's match, going against the four survivors; the Mercenary, the Mechanic, the Gardener, and, of course, the Seer.
Purple eyes expectantly watch the owl as it locks eyes with him, before immediately flying to its owner.
"Eli." The brunet hears a deep sigh which he recognizes as Naib, and while waiting for Brooke to return, he turns around, tilting his head in a questioning manner, his cheeks the lightest shade of pink.
"Can you please focus on decoding and not on your crush?" The man sounds exasperated and when Eli feels a weight on his shoulder, his vision flickers before it focuses on the mercenary.
"I was simply checking on the others." The Seer shrugs, hoping his blindfold was enough to cover his blush.
He heard the other scoff at the obvious lie, and, for his own good, decided to ignore it in favour of decoding the cipher machine.
"Can you at least tell me if he's far enough for us to do this one cipher?" Eli stops his fingers from furiously typing to make the wheels in his head turn, nodding.
"He was at the wreck a while ago. I saw him from the corner when I was checking on Tracy. Not because I was checking him ou- checking up on him-" he yelps when he feels Brooke nip at his ear.
Okay, maybe his owl has a point, he really has to shut up.
As usual, Eli gets lost in thought while his fingers fly over the keyboard, the bright purple eyes carved into his memory. Maybe it is a bit obvious to randomly send his owls to check up on his teammates and then stay above the hunter for way too long, especially since he doesn't do it with anyone else. Which his hunter buddies already probably told him. Oh god, he must know by now.
Eli would like the earth to swallow him whole.
Does that mean he's going to stop sending Brooke to Wu Chang? No way.
The sound of the cipher machine being done snaps him out of his thoughts, just in time to see Naib's deadpan expression.
"How exactly do you keep surviving in matches?"
Before the Seer can even open his mouth, he feels his heartbeat fasten and he feels his face get warmer, the fear that should be present replaced by weird excitement that sends shivers down his spine.
"Oh my god, are you for real-" Is the last thing he hears before his wrist is being grabbed in a way that hurts and he's being dragged away. His feet somehow don't tangle nor trip on anything and he feels like he might get out unscathed.
Brooke ruffles her feathers, a wing smacking him in the head as he lets Naib lead him through the lakeside village.
"C'mon, c'mon! They should be almost done now, we only need one more cipher," the mercenary mutters under his breath and Eli notices they're heading towards one of the gates. He also notices that his heart has quieted down a bit, meaning they escaped.
"Naib-"
The other's grip tightens and the brunet thinks that perhaps this is his punishment for always thinking about something else during matches.
"Wait, Naib, we shook him off!"
Finally, his friend lets him go and he stumbles forward, catching himself on another cipher machine.
"I think he went after-"
[The hunter is near me!]
Naib lets out an irritated sigh, before he shoves a finger into Eli's chest. "Decode this. I'm gonna go try to lead him to the other side, if it doesn't work, it's good to have a machine at least halfway done." The Seer barely nods before the other is running off.
"Today is somehow a mix of a rather relaxing match and one, where if you blink for too long, you'll lose your head, huh." Brooke makes a noise on his shoulder and so the brunet gets to work.
"I don't really think this is gonna be fast enough," Eli mumbles, palms sweating in his warm, heavy gloves. "There's no progress on it. At least Tracy and Emma had some before Wu Chang went to get them."
Brooke hoots.
Eli agrees with whatever she's saying.
He's halfway done when a cold feeling washes over him and then he sees the black and red flashes next to him. Just as he's about to back away, turn around and run as fast as he can, an umbrella blocks his way.
"Well, well, well." The voice is amused and Eli slowly turns around to meet his eyes - except he has to crane his neck to see the glowing amethysts.
"If it isn't my favorite Seer," Xie Bi'an chuckles, using the tip of his umbrella to lift Eli's chin even more. He's pretty sure his neck is going to be in pain for a few days after this encounter.
"Did your little companion not warn you of me coming? Or were you busy for once? Not able to watch every move of your teammates - or someone else, that is?"
Oh dear lord, he knows, replays in the brunet's head over and over as he weakly gestures to the cipher machine and himself.
"Oh, decoding, were you? That's never stopped you before though, has it?" The man bends, just enough to stare at Seer's blindfold and straight through it, quietly mocking the younger. He suddenly seems way too close for Eli's well-being.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Eli's voice breaks and there's no doubt about the lie, yet it seems to amuse the hunter even more.
"Of course, dear Seer. Your owl friend simply must like the view, then." The guard winks and Eli suddenly feels like his blindfold has been laying on the sun for hours, or he just caught a fever and that would explain why his whole body gained another layer of warmth.
"I do," the Seer whispers, and too late he notices his mistake, after seeing the pure glee in those purple eyes.
"I meant she does! She really does enjoy the vi-" His words die in his throat as the umbrella under his chin is suddenly replaced by long, slim fingers, sharp nails gently digging into his skin.
"Do you, Eli?"
Then the sirens ring out and Xie Bi'an is gone, taking all his glory with him, yet the cold touch of his hand remains in Eli's mind even as he stumbles into the gate after some time.
✥ ✥ ✥
After explaining to his friends that no, he did not in fact die during that match, he was just a little late because he couldn't shake Wu Chang off - which technically isn't a lie, not like he tried to shoo the other off though. The Seer finds himself in his room, sprawled on his bed while Brooke flies out the window as soon as she gets the chance.
Eli lies there for a second, before he grumbles and drags his hands across his face, taking his blindfold off in the process.
"What was that?"
His mind is a mess. And it's still full of pictures of the same person. And now words, because the man spoke to him.
This is simply too much for his poor heart.
He falls asleep without even realizing it, the way the hunter said his name replaying in his head as Brooke comes back and somehow covers him with a blanket.
✥ ✥ ✥
His heart is beating way too fast in his chest and he isn't sure if it's because he is once again being chased, the cipher machine he was working on barely done before he got hit by a tentacle, or if it's because he's been told by Hastur that the White Guard wishes him good luck.
If someone were to witness it, it would've probably been funny, to see him and Hastur chatting while he decoded before the god simply nodded and smacked him with a tentacle.
Definitely not funny for him, though.
Brooke lets out a startled sound and Eli barely has any time to look up before he gets downed. There goes their tie, considering Freddy and Fiona have already been sent back.
He sighs when he feels the rope tighten around him as he's put on a chair. "You aren't a fool, Seer. Put your brain to use." Is all he hears from Hastur before the god leaves to fetch Norton and Eli isn't really sure if he should be offended or even understand what the god was talking about.
Brooke nips at his ear again and all he can do is sit there until he gets sent back to the manor.
It doesn't get better when he does get sent back. Norton - who's somehow already there - pats him on the back with a knowing look and Naib still seems very done with him and okay, why does everyone seem to know something he doesn't.
"I'm sure it's gonna go greatly!" Emma smiles brightly at him, quickly hugging him while Kevin puts a hand on his shoulder with a very meaningful look.
What.
Confused, the Seer turns around to watch the two leave the main hall before locking eyes with Aesop. Hoping for some kind of explanation, he nods to the other, only for the Embalmer to send him a quick thumbs-up and leave as well.
"Huh," Eli voices his confusion, before a loud hoot interrupts his thoughts and he's reminded that Brooke hasn't had her food yet, so he makes his way into his room.
"Here you go." Opening the window, Eli smiles and strokes her feathers before she's gone. He watches as she flies away, wings softly flapping in the wind.
"Now that's taken care of." The brunet turns around, picking up a poorly put together sketchbook that's been in his room since he's gotten to the manor for some reason, and an almost broken pencil.
He doesn't know what happened to it, but it's had a crack in it for forever and he's surprised the thing still works.
Plopping down onto the bed, Eli leans on the wall, gently taking off his blindfold (not that it helped much). He lets his fingers drag the pencil across the paper.
He doesn’t draw much - it's hard to when you're mostly dependent on your owl when it comes to sight - but when he does, he tries to put in as much effort as he can with his vision.
Humming a soft tune, the brunet draws a crooked heart next to the drawing and is it really any surprise that what he attempted to draw is the White Guard.
"Didn't know you were an artist." A voice muses from the doorway and Eli's head snaps up so fast it collides with the wall behind him.
There's a bark of surprised laughter and a quiet "Oh dear" as he lets out a pained noise, already reaching to rub at his head, freezing in his movements when he feels fingers run through his hair on the back of his head.
"Apologies, my Seer, I didn't mean to surprise you."
"'S fine," Eli mumbles, putting down his sketchbook while he looks at the taller hunter - his vision flickers once more, giving him an opportunity to see Xie Bi'an in his glory before settling to the dull bluish gray with silhouettes he sees most of the time when he's not using Brooke.
"I must say that this is a nice portrait, though," the White Guard smiles, the hand that wasn't soothingly rubbing circles into the brown hair reaching towards the drawing.
"Oh- thank you." Eli feels warmth fill him before he realizes he hit his head and he's stupid - the two situations are completely connected because there's no way his brain would fall asleep like that if they weren't.
"I mean! Um- well, thank you but- it's- you, alright..." Stumbling over his words, he gives up on trying to explain himself, slumping against the wall again, his heart stuttering when he basically leans into Wu Chang's hand that is still playing with his hair.
Xie Bi'an chuckles, and for a second Eli feels like he's going to melt, the long nailed fingers gently scratching his temple.
"You certainly have beautiful eyes, my dear Seer." Eli can feel the blush and he's reminded his blindfold isn't covering his face anymore.
"Xie-"
Suddenly his vision flickers to life, a loud hoot cutting through the room before he feels a weight on his shoulder.
Blinking rapidly, he gets used to seeing through Brooke's eye again, managing to catch the hunter licking his lips and okay, he's down bad, Naib was right.
"I see your feathery companion has returned," Xie Bi'an says with a smile and Eli feels like there's a bit of a disappointment hidden under.
"Which means I should probably return to my side of the manor and let you get some sleep. It's been a long day, I'm sure." The hunter continues smiling at him while Eli stares at him, dumbfounded.
Quickly blowing him a kiss, Wu Chang disappears from his room as if he's never been there and Eli is left looking at a wall like it's grown a head.
It takes about ten more minutes for his brain to catch up and realize Xie Bi'an called him his Seer.
What the fuck.
✥ ✥ ✥
He told Naib what happened right before they went into another match and the guy laughed at him. He could even see Aesop's eyes squint in a smile.
He needs to get new friends.
And the universe must really like him, because the hunter they're going against is the same one that made it hard for him to get any proper sleep, his mind busy with replaying the same scene over and over.
Heaving a deep sigh, Eli sends Brooke off to find the others and check on them, while he goes to the nearest cipher, hidden behind a wall. He lets his fingers dance across the keyboard that he's grown so used to over the time he's been in the manor.
Losing himself in thought again while decoding wasn't the best choice, which he probably should've seen coming before he failed a calibration, alerting the hunter to his location.
He'd like to say the universe hates him, but really, this is his own fault.
He could still run really really fast to get to one of the other ciphers before-
"We meet again, Seer." Comes a voice directly from behind him.
Nevermind.
"White Guard," the brunet mumbles, resigned to his fate as he turns around and meets the other's gaze.
"You seem to be having a bad day,“ the hunter comments, tilting his head at the brunet. "I wouldn't say it's bad," sighing, Eli gestures with his hands as he hopes to rope Xie Bi'an into a conversation to give the others more time, "but it definitely could've been better.“
"Something bothering you?"
Despite not looking like he's ready to attack, the umbrella resting in his hands confirms that if Eli tries to run, he's going to be downed almost instantly. So he does what he does best - he makes a bad decision.
"A rather specific thing, yeah."
"Oh?" That seems to catch the hunter's attention, the latter raising his eyebrows as his eyes sparkle with curiosity. "And what may that be, my dear Seer?"
"Ah, you know, been busy thinking about someone, wouldn't let me get a proper amount of sleep." Deciding that it doesn't matter anymore if he escapes or not, he leans on the wall behind him.
Brooke still hasn't returned and he's not sure if it's because she's still flying around - which he doubts, since she is usually very fast at finding everyone - or if she simply stayed with someone else, leaving him in the hunter's grasp.
"And who may that special someone be? Who is it that caught the Great Eye of yours, Eli?" Even as he's talking, Xie Bi'an is moving closer, and had it been someone else, Eli would've probably been worried that he's about to lose the game.
Wu Chang stops just one step in front of him and had Eli been taller, he could probably feel the other's breath on his face. Just the thought of that sends shivers down his spine, and realizing how pathetic that is, he suddenly notices that he has no idea what he's doing.
There is a quick, harsh wave of anxiety that washes over him, and for the slightest second he wants to stop, to shut his mouth and run away and act as if nothing happened, but he already went this far, might as well go the whole way down.
"Take a guess," the Seer whispers - because apparently his voice has failed him now - and he wishes he could use his eyes again, seeing mushy silhouettes isn't all that great when you're trying to confess.
Then there's a hand resting on his hip and he's sure not even his blindfold can hide the redness of his face.
"I wonder." Xie Bi'an's voice is much closer now, almost grazing his ears and then he feels a hot breath on his face and yea, Xie Bi'an is that close now.
The loud, deafening thumping of his heart in his ears dies down the second a pair of lips meets his own, and he feels his back press against the wall, the harsh material digging into his back, but he can't bring himself to care. Gentle fingers lift his chin - because Xie Bi'an must be bending down painfully considering their height difference - and he feels a tongue swipe over his upper lip, a quiet groan slipping out, his own hands blindly reaching out to grasp at the other's nape to pull him closer. He feels a chuckle vibrate against his lips and he feels the intense stare the hunter is giving him.
Xie Bi'an nips at his lower lip, before resting their foreheads together. "Have I guessed correctly, my dear Eli?" The warmth makes him giddy. It's a boiling lava that threatens to burn him alive, filling his veins like streams of water.
Eli feels the sudden need to see, and in the momentary desperation he tears his blindfold off and wills his eyes to work.
His vision flickers from the scales of gray he's gotten used to and the White Guard appears in front of him, this time with lovely colors.
"Oh," Xie Bi'an exhales, the sound soft. His amethyst eyes go wide with wonder. Sharp nails graze his cheeks gently as Xie Bi'an angles his face to get a better look.
"Your eyes are glowing," the hunter notes with interest, before his own purple ones crinkle in a smile. "They're beautiful."
Eli would like to savor this moment for eternity, but he feels pain shoot through his skull and knows he isn't meant to. It doesn't stop him from engraving it into his memory forever.
Xie Bi'an makes a sound and there's a light brush of lips on his forehead.
"Don't strain your eyes to see me, Eli," he whispers, words meant for only him, "You have an eternity to memorize every detail on me, for I do not plan on leaving your side anytime soon."
And as the hunter moves his lips to the Seer's eyelids, gentle and careful and soft, Eli thinks that everything will be just fine. After his friends yell at him for wasting their precious time in this match, of course.
✥ ✥ ✥
Naib doesn't move when Emma happily strokes Brooke's feathers from where she's perched on his shoulder.
"I sure hope they're done already."
Emma lets out a laugh just as Brooke lightly smacks the mercenary with her wing. "I hope you know that they'll be even more insufferable now."