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Klee never ventured out where she wasn’t supposed to for no reason, she had a goal in mind.
Since a week ago, the young adventurer couldn’t help but notice the lack of solitary confinement time she’s been given. Normally, Klee would’ve been ecstatic over such an oversight from Master Jean’s side, but when she noticed how sad she looked whenever she snuck out, it felt like something was definitely wrong.
Especially when Klee heard about Master Jean getting sick and stuck bedridden for a few days.
Just for today, Klee thought, she’ll find something for Master Jean to make up for all of the missed solitary confinement that she wasn’t given.
Maybe dandelions would be great for her! Klee always loved how soft and fluffy they were, just feeling the ticklish winds of anemo between her fingers. But, after collecting a few outside the city gates, the young knight knew there could be more to do!
She’s heard of cecilias, flowers that only grow on the steepest cliffs of Mondstadt, only able to flourish in the harshest winds. Now that’s something for Klee to do for the day!
Well, except for the fact that the Survival Rules wouldn’t let her. There have only been a few places that have been strictly off limits, as stated in the Favonius Survival Rulebook. It was one of the lesser rules that Kaeya explained when he first handed the notebook to Klee, but still a rule nonetheless.
Those places being, Cape Oath, Stormterror’s Lair and Dragonspine, as well as any overly tall cliffs. Kaeya said that these places were too far and too dangerous for the knights, in the case Klee was ever needed to be found or rescued.
Of course, the Spark Knight wouldn’t ever have to be rescued. She had adventuring in her blood after all, from her mother Alice. There would be no obstacle in the entirety of Teyvat that could stop the strongest fighter in Mondstadt! Except, maybe crabs.
So, of course breaking this little rule would’ve been fine! It wasn’t emphasized when Kaeya first recited the survival rules. It was just a guideline, not a set in stone rule.
Right?
That’s what Klee told herself as she hopped along the path of Starsnatch Cliff. She made sure to avoid the hilichurls wandering in the plains and the slimes that seemed to appear out of thin air.
Hopefully these flowers would cheer up Master Jean at least a little bit!
By this point, the incline of the cliff began to become steeper and divided. Klee was having a little trouble keeping up with the increasing heights of the rocks. It’s a bit of a struggle to climb over for such a small girl like Klee. It was one rock after another, until she had to reach all the way up a whole entire edge that was nearly twice her height!
No matter, not a single obstacle would hold back the Spark Knight! The girl began to reach for a little ledge and began to climb. One foot onto one rock, a hand on the top of the edge, she pulled herself over the steep edge.
This would’ve been much easier if she just blew it all up, but after reading the Teyvat Travel Guide numerous times, she knew better than to blow up the cliffs of Mondstadt.
The fleeing sunlight continued on her merry way, that is until she heard a voice call out behind her.
“Halt! For what business does a young juvenile such as yourself have in these hallowed lands of times long gone?” The voice commanded behind her.
Klee slowly turned to make eye contact with a blonde girl with a dress of black and violet that had little tails that looked like a bird’s wings, not to mention the little bow around her neck and the eyepatch that covered her left eye, just like Kaeya. A raven accompanied by her side.
“Oh hi! I’m Klee! I’m just looking for some flowers. What’s your name?”
“My name? I am Fischl von Luftschloss Narfidort, Prinzessin der Verurteilung of the Immernachtreich, and this is Ozvaldo von Hrafnavines, my most loyal aide.” She posed dramatically, her hand covering her eyepatch, which seemed redundant to Klee.
“Princesses dervir- virtle tongue? Imme knack right? And Harf vines? What are they?”
The supposed princess cringed upon her horrid pronunciations.
“They are… titles and the names from my homeworld. Of course, the punishment for mispronouncing these names is to have one's tongue torn from one's mouth, but alas, as you are still in the bounties of your youth, I shall excuse this blunder just once. You may refer to him as Oz,”
She sighed.
“And you may also simply call me Fischl. No use for the formalities if you are to butcher them like so.”
“Oz? Fischl? Those are such cute names! ”
“C-Cute?” A slight flush of pink appeared on the girl’s cheeks.
“Oh no, did Klee do something wrong again?”
“N-No, of course not, young one.” The prinzessin turned to her avian companion with a desperate look. “Oz!”
“Ah, mein Fräulein simply did not think that our names would be considered cute.”
“Why not?” Klee tilted her head.
“Well, I-I,” Fischl hesitated. “The names of my homeworld strike terror and dread into the sinners that hear it. It is not an average occurrence that such a title would be regarded as simply ‘cute’ as you have most eloquently put it, Klee.”
Klee’s eyes went a bit blank at that. Fischl noticed.
“Besides that, what business do you seek in the outskirts of the city of wind? You must have some guardian surely seeking their child, no doubt full of anguish and despair. I can only sympathize with such a dear subject of mine.” The Prinzessin der Verurteilung closed her eyes and clenched her hand to her chest, in another act of dramatic flair.
Klee blinked. And blinked one more time.
“Huh?”
“What mein Fräulein means to say is, what are you doing out here and where are your guardians?”
“Oh well, I was looking for some flowers to give to Master Jean! I heard about how sick she got and she’s been looking kind of sad lately, especially since Klee made a big explosion the other day. I was going to get some dandelions because they’re so fluffy, but I heard that cecilias are also really pretty flowers so I came up here to pick them.”
“That is quite the explanation,” Fischl brought her hand to her chin, the drama following her every move.
“And one can only presume that Mondstadt’s dear Löwenzahnritter and the holy Knights of the Order of Favonius is looking high and low for you, no doubt full of the anguish of losing a dear child. It would be an optimal choice to make haste and return to the city at once, thus their anguish be put at ease.”
“But I didn’t grab any cecilias yet!”
“Hm. Very well, I shall aid you in your quest for the coveted flora of the cliffs! It would do no good to leave a child such as yourself alone in this dangerous landscape.”
No amount of otherworldly nobility nor books could’ve prepared her for this task.
Babysitting a child.
Fischl’s first thought was to keep this child in check was to ask to hold her hand, to which she replied.
“No thanks! I’m okay!” The child beamed in her answer as she ran off ahead once more.
Not exactly the best answer for the princess, but when facing a child below the age of ten, she wasn’t exactly sure what really would be. She’s never had to deal with children before, despite still being young herself. There is a difference between a child and an adolescent however, and the Prinzessin der Verurteilung belonged to the latter, despite her constant denial of it.
It was still somewhat a relief though, who knows what she could’ve touched? Children do have the strangest substances of unknown origin on their palms rather often.
Then, while hiking up the cliffs, Klee had a question.
“Can I pet your bird?”
“You wish,” Fischl stared agape for a moment. “To pet Oz?”
She turned to her familiar, who shook his head ever so vigorously, eyes pleading. Well, she is a child after all, it would have been expected.
Under average circumstances, the Prinzessin would have rebuffed her immediately, but Klee is a child under the age of ten. Would she burst into tears if she rejected her? Fischl did not want to find out.
“Well, I suppose I may grant you permission to pet him,” The Adventurer's Guild Investigator raised a finger. “Just this once though. Oz is a being beyond your mere mortal comprehension, the true embodiment of the stars themselves and the very keeper of the souls that have moved on from this plane of existence. He is no mere bird nor pet.”
“Is that a no?” The child pouted a little, clearly ignoring what the princess just said.
Fischl put her palm to her face and sighed. “Yes, you may pet him.”
“Mein Fräulein, I must-”
“Yay! Thank you Fischl!” Klee grasped for the raven, pulling him into a hug. Oz couldn’t help but let out a squawk in surprise.
Fischl opened her mouth to say something, but relented. There is no saying no to the force of nature that is a child.
Eventually, cliffside was brought into view after dodging a few hilichurl encampments and climbing over the various unturned earth. It was a beautiful sight, Starsnatch cliff was known as a romantic rendezvous location for a reason, after all.
The ethereal clouds that hung above the land, moving ever so slightly from the gentle winds of Barbatos. The sun’s light began sinking beyond the mountains in the far distance. The once towering cliffs of Stormbearer mountains looked like mere pebbles at this height. Even the city of Mondstadt stood grand, and appeared to be simply impeccable.
Fischl couldn’t help but let out a gasp at the scenery. The sight was truly entrancing, a spell almost until a little tug on the Prinzessin's arm brought her back to the moment.
Looking down, Klee was seemingly also entranced by the sight while clutching Fischl’s hand with both of her own. Her eyes of crimson seemed to glint in the sunlight, a childlike wonder in them.
The noble princess smiled down at Klee, squeezing her little hands gently.
“I wonder how someone as young as yourself reached quite far into Starsnatch Cliff without any assistance. Quite a feat, I must say.”
“I wasn’t alone, I have my best friend with me!” Klee beamed back up at her.
“Oh, you too have a loyal aide? Pray tell, what is their name?”
“Her name is Dodoco! See?” The young Spark Knight brandished the plush bunny from the side of her pack and handed her treasured friend to the princess.
Fischl held the doll with a delicate touch, grazing a thumb over the ever so soft ear of the plush.
“Dodoco... a fine name indeed!” She posed in the dramatic once more, doll in hand.
“Now then, shall we pick the coveted blossoms that we have ventured forth and sought for?”