Chapter Text
“Well?”
“He’s not with them anymore.”
You leaned back on your chair with a scoff. You turned to the chandelier hanging next to you, admiring the dim glow its candles emitted. You could hear clients sharing drinks and exchanging laughs below.
“Blonde hair, stars for a cape..” you murmured, tapping your glass slowly. You shifted your gaze back to the man sitting across from you. “And you’re sure they’re not related?”
Your informer nodded. “Doesn’t seem like it. It also looked like they were looking for something, or maybe someone. The Traveler walked out of the domain with that flying thing next to them, but there was no sign of the Bough Keeper.”
The tapping against your cup stopped. No sign of him? A frown slowly emerged on your lips, and a tense silence fell over you two. The gears in your head began churning. Surely he’s still out there, right?
“Search for him,” you ordered, breaking the silence. You leaned forward, your informant doing the same. Quietly, you added, “There’s more to him than meets the eye. He may have more information about the Abyss that could benefit us.”
The informer leaned back and dipped his head towards you, taking your command as his cue to leave. He scraped back his chair against the mahogany floor and rose from his seat. Drink in hand, you watched him make his way to the spiral staircase behind him. Your gaze lingered on the wall behind the staircase, deep in thought.
With a forlorn sigh, you raised the glass to your lips and tilted your head back, indulging in the refreshing flavors of mint and berries bursting in your mouth. You gently placed the glass, now empty save for a few ice cubes, back on the table. The ice cubes clinked at the motion.
You tuned out the busy sounds of the tavern with your own thoughts, mulling over the little intel you received. The Traveler had a good reason to explore every corner in Teyvat, but the Bough Keeper? What’s his motive behind a search? And why did he leave them to continue their search alone? What if he saw something in the domain that the Traveler missed? What sort of selfish agenda was he hiding from them?
You glanced down at the ice cubes in your cup, taking note of the way they glistened in the candlelight.
Who is this Bough Keeper, and what is he after?
“A mora for your thoughts?” A voice inquired, reeling you back to reality.
You looked over your shoulder, preparing yourself to snap at the person for disrupting your train of thought, only to close your mouth when you caught sight of them. You could recognize that eyepatch and sly smirk anywhere.
“Cavalry Captain,” you greeted with a forced closed-lip smile. You watched as he flipped a coin with his thumb while walking over to your table. Was he watching your exchange with your informant?
“No need to be formal with me.” He tittered, sharp eye trained on you. He motioned towards the seat across from you with his head and you nodded briskly, inviting him to take a seat. After settling into the chair, he slid his coin across the table. The mora bumped into your glass with a satisfying clink. “Kaeya is just fine. Now, I couldn’t help but notice you and your buddy conversing earlier. You two aren’t conspiring anything evil now, are you?’
“With all due respect, Kaeya,” you countered. “Our conversation is none of your business. It doesn’t involve you and therefore should not concern you.”
Chuckling, Kaeya propped an elbow on the table and rested his chin on his gloved palm. “You’ve got some nerve, replying to me like that.” His gaze raked over your face, a charming smile complimenting his features. “I like that.”
You narrowed your eyes at him, and the grip on your empty glass tightened. Kaeya tapped his fingers against his cheek slowly, clearly amused.
“Careful,” He chortled, his exposed eye still trained on yours. “Wouldn’t want a customer injuring themselves with a broken mug.” Your grip visibly relaxed, and Kaeya hummed in approval. “How about a drink? On me, of course. I can ask Charles for something with a little more buzz in it, too.”
“I’ll stick to my Berry and Mint Burst, thanks,” You grumbled. You broke the intense staring contest to inspect the mora laying next to your glass. Another moment of silence passed before you spoke again. “I was just telling my comrade that I hit a bump in the road with my work.”
Silence ensued, and you took this as a chance to examine the knight sitting across from you. He was quite the attractive lad, no doubt about it. The soft glow from the chandelier accentuated his features and made his periwinkle eye glimmer. That stupid laid-back smile never left his face, either.
He looked threatening, debonair, striking, and he knew it.
“You know,” he started, observing you observing him. “There are better ways to tell someone you’re interested in them.”
Another heartbeat of silence.
“You’re not from around here,” You stated, deliberately ignoring his comment. Kaeya raised a brow, silently encouraging you to continue. “Mondstadt folks usually don’t dress with such...” You gestured towards his outfit with a hand. “...flamboyance.”
“Oh? So you think my style is dashing?” Kaeya teased. “I could teach you a thing or two about class.”
“Shouldn’t you be out doing, oh I don’t know, knightly duties?” You rebuked, earning another hearty laugh from him. You hated the way your cheeks tingled, so you silently prayed to the archons that Kaeya didn’t catch the faint flush on your face.
“But I am,” Kaeya shot back playfully, leaning in ever so slightly. “Talking to fine folks such as yourself is part of my duty as a Knight.”
You scoffed and turned your head to face the chandelier once more, though Kaeya didn’t miss the twitch of your lips that threatened to betray your bothered expression.
“I think your Acting Grand Master will beg to differ,” you grumbled, eyes trained on the cracks on the railing next to you.
“Do you really think she would take your word over mine?”
Your head snapped back to face Kaeya, scrutinizing every physical feature of his.
The Cavalry Captain continued. “How would she react when a passerby enters her office, claiming that one of her best knights was slacking off?” He clucked his tongue in mock disappointment. “Not to boast, but if I were her, I would be a tad surprised at such allegations.”
“Were you always this vain?” You griped, (e/c) orbs filled with a vexation that Kaeya was very familiar with. “It would explain why you spend your days drinking alone.”
“Oh, so you keep tabs on me?” Kaeya asked before chuckling. “Just say the word and I’ll make some time on my schedule for you, my dear. While I’m quite flattered you’ve taken quite the interest in me, there’s no need to go the extra mile to-”
“I’m done here.”
You let out an irritated huff and were about to stand up, but an arm quickly reached out and grabbed your wrist, keeping you in place.
“Let me go.” You hissed, attempting to tear yourself away from his iron grip, but to no avail. Kaeya’s hand remained firm on your wrist, his cold touch sending shivers down your spine. You glared at him, but he only flashed you another one of his notorious smiles.
Damn that stupid, charming smile.
Sighing, you slumped back into your seat in defeat, though your scowl didn’t waver. Exasperated, you said, “I can see why your brother detests you so much.”
Kaeya’s grin widened, but the glint in his eye was not one of mirth. He released his hold on you and instead placed his hand over his other arm on the table, fingers tucked snugly under the crook of his elbow.
“We may have our… differences, but what business is it to you?” He retorted.
“For one, everyone can sense the tension between you two,” you mused. “I wonder… does the untimely death of your father play a role in that?”
The temperature around you both seemed to dip dramatically. The air felt awfully chilly to the bone, causing your breath to hitch. An unreadable expression took over Kaeya’s face, but there was no denying the growing animosity that overtook the playfulness in his periwinkle orb. Still, you pressed on.
“Was that the first time you experienced family loss? Or have you experienced it before, under different circumstances?” Your pointer finger began to trace the trim of your empty glass, your eyes trained on his. “If I were you, I wouldn’t have dropped another bomb shell over my brother— at least, not until he had his time to properly mourn over his death.”
Unsurprisingly, Kaeya cracked a cold smile. “I didn’t know you were experienced in the practice of interrogation.”
You shrugged mutely, rising from your seat. Thankfully, Kaeya made no move to keep you in place, so you took this as your chance to leave.
You felt pressure on your arm, again. Oh, how you wished you didn’t jinx it.
Except this time, Kaeya also stood up. He tugged at your arm with an unforeseen force that would’ve sent you flying straight into his arms in an embrace, had you not stuck out your elbow to avoid crashing into his chest. You felt your cheeks heat up, but not from embarrassment.
Okay, maybe you felt a little embarrassed. But you felt more annoyed than anything right now.
“For an ordinary traveler,” he began, leaning down to whisper in your ear. “You possess quite the intelligence.” His grip on your arm tightened, nearly crushing it, and it took everything in you not to yelp in pain. His breath fanning your neck didn’t help, either. You could feel your skin crawl with every chilly exhale.
“Sir-“
“I’ll ask again,” Kaeya interrupted, cold eyes staring straight ahead. “You and your comrade aren’t scheming anything evil now, are you?"
You clenched your teeth.
“I may just be a passerby,” You sneered, pushing your elbow against his chest. “But even I would be dubious of a knight who spends his time intimidating folks into giving him what he wants instead of protecting them from evil.”
Kaeya let out an emotionless chuckle as he pulled back to examine you closely. From the determination in your eyes, the quartermaster knew he shouldn't expect a straightforward response from you.
“How do I know you’re not a source of danger?”
“Danger is everywhere,” you replied with a small shrug. “No one is safe.”
Silence.
You chewed on the inside of your cheek, thinking about your next words carefully. “Right now, the Abyss is growing in strength and numbers, and it’s only a matter of time before they launch an attack against all of Teyvat.”
Now it was you who leaned in, lips dangerously close to Kaeya’s ear.
“When the time comes, where will your loyalties lie, Cavalry Captain?”
Time seemed to slow down for Kaeya. The blue-haired knight felt a sudden coldness wash over his body. In that fleeting moment, he felt stunned, confused. What..?
Though he was quick to return to his senses, you had already freed yourself from his death grip. He could only gawk at your retreating figure, berating himself for letting his guard down right then and there.
The tavern door swung shut behind you, causing you to stumble forward. You ignored the worried glances thrown in your direction and started making your way down the cobblestone steps to the nearest exit. Flipping Kaeya's mora with your thumb, you exchanged polite nods with the knights stationed at the passageway.
“Damn you Diluc for not telling me your brother likes to waste his time in Angel's Share.” You mumbled once you stepped outside of the city's walls. “A warning label on his ass would’ve been nice.”