Work Text:
Windtrace,
A game loved by many Mondstadtians. Or at least, it used to be. Only fizzling out among the newer youth. But Diona remembers. She remembers having fun playing it with her daddy. Even if he is a filthy drunkard now. She'll definitely destroy the Mondstadt wine industry soon! Then daddy won't keep getting himself into stupid situations!
And when she hears that someone in Mondstadt is running a region-wide game of Windtrace, she couldn't help but get curious. After her shift at the Cat's Tail, what a surprise it was to hear from her boss that the Traveler, Miss Lumine, was looking for her.
Recently, Miss Lumine has been inviting her along for her travels a lot more. Miss Lumine is so nice, and she takes her to such amazing places! Further than she could have ever hoped to travel on her own, even to reaches as far as Liyue Harbour. And she helps her gather such fine ingredients to play with to make the most disgusting cocktail of all time.
Getting to experiment if there's a difference in taste between geo and anemo crystalflies, testing with extracts from glaze lilies and silk flowers, using petals from Qingxin flowers from the highest peaks of Huaguang Stone Forest… Miss Lumine even got her a scale from Rex Lapis himself! She... hasn't figured out how to use it yet, but she'll figure it out since she's thankful for Miss Lumine's help. Of course, she's a little skeptical as to whether it's real, or even how Miss Lumine got it in the first place. But she isn't one to pass up on testing out a new ingredient!
The motif for Windtrace is felines, and she loves the masks designed to look like cats. Her favourite is the calico one that looked a lot like her ears. But she isn't just some cat! The design matches the features she got from her Kätzlein bloodline. Much closer to her mother, she heard. Just a little tap on the mask and a little help from anemo magic, poof! You'd transform into a disguise of your choice.
They say that the masks are relics that were enchanted with anemo long ago by Barbatos himself. That's what her daddy told her, anyway! The players would separate into two teams, Rebels and hunters, much like when the rebels fought back against the aristocracy in the past. The rebels would have to hide away from the hunters and the hunters in turn would have to look for and capture the rebels.
True to Miss Margaret's words, she found Miss Lumine waiting for her at the Mondstadt central square underneath the huge statue of Barbatos. And when Miss Lumine spots her, she gives her a hug and a little pat on the head. No, she didn't purr! No one heard anything! Miss Lumine giggles at her, and Diona can only hide her blush of embarrassment in response. Hmph, seriously!
Miss Lumine says that she wanted to invite "her favourite cat from the Cat's Tail" to play Windtrace with her along with a few other friends. "Hmph! Is that all?" Diona pouts and looks away, despite the pride that fills her knowing Miss Lumine likes her better than Nelson and Roger and the other cats. And she doesn't miss the sad little flicker in Miss Lumine's eyes when she says it. She can't help but feel a little guilty, because Miss Lumine's only ever been nice to her. Cooking her meals whenever she asks, and getting her all sorts of exotic ingredients, even comforting her on stormy days…
So she looks back with her blush still present and says, "I-I was interested in it anyway, and I don't have anyone else I know to play with. So fine, I'll play with you!" And secretly, bursting joy fills her heart at the radiant smile Miss Lumine had when she agreed. It definitely fitted her face a lot better than the sadness right before it.
She follows Lumine over to the area they’ve chosen to play. It kind of gives her the creeps, this place that she calls Wuwang Hill. It looks haunted, and the surroundings are dark and gloomy. In the air, little blue flames appear and dissipate at will. She leans herself closer to Miss Lumine, squeezing her hand just a little harder. Sh-She’s not scared! Just a little jumpy! But if Miss Lumine notices, she doesn’t mention a thing. She rubs Diona’s back just a little, in that comforting way that always calms her down. Before she even realized it, she no longer felt frightened, leaning further into Miss Lumine’s gentle touch.
Apparently, the "friends" that Miss Lumine mentioned are just Miss Amber and that stupid ginger she always sees travelling with her who she heard from those drunkards is actually a very dangerous man. But how could it be when he treats her and Miss Lumine so nicely and catches these huge tasty fish for her?
"Oh, Diona! It's so nice to see you!" Miss Amber greets her with as much energy as ever. She wouldn't admit it out loud, but she really likes Miss Amber. She tries her best to help her, even if it doesn't always work out. And whenever they hang out together, whether to hunt or camp with or without Miss Lumine, Diona always has to cook for both of them. “You’re banned from stove duty,” Diona would always tell her. Miss Amber’s only response would always be to smile and laugh sheepishly. Geez!
Miss Lumine is almost always seen with these two, but Diona never thinks too much about it because they treat her so nicely. Kind of like how daddy treats her when he isn't drunk out of his mind. They always hug her and pet her where she likes it, always accompany her and comfort her when she's scared.
She remembers a feeling like this from when she was smaller, barely.
"If it isn't little Diona! Lu invited you to join?" Childe teases, but he means nothing much of it.
"I'm not that little, just you wait!" Diona retorts, even though she knows that Mister Childe's just messing with her. And as far as she knows, despite never having had a proper sibling, Mister Childe would probably be the closest she has to one, she thinks. Childe only laughs at her in response, smiling warmly at her as if she reminds him of someone. How insufferable!
Only now she realizes that she's still holding onto Miss Lumine's hand. Or maybe, she didn't want to let go at all. Miss Lumine's hand is calloused and rough from training and fighting, but she finds comfort in it all the same. Between her giggles Lumine asks, "Is everyone ready? We can start when you are."
"We're ready here, Lumi!" Amber brightly exclaims, both her and Childe holding their cat masks high in the sky for her to see.
"Here, Diona. For you." Miss Lumine kneels down and holds a calico cat mask out towards her. And when she snatches it away just a little too quickly, Miss Lumine just looks on with a smile. "The design reminded me of you!" She swears the area looks so much brighter than when they first entered. Miss Lumine turns back to the other two, "We're ready now, too! So, who wants to be the hunter?"
Diona watches Mister Childe lift his arm up, raising his hand like a child asking for permission. Hah, it really fits him. " C'mon Luuuu~ ” He whines, “You haven't even let me be the hunter at all today!" He sounds almost like a puppy in the way he begs Miss Lumine for the chance to play the hunter.
Lumine rolls her eyes, "Fine, but that's only because you behaved and didn't pick any fights today." But Diona can see Miss Lumine's fond smile.
With their roles decided, they start the countdown. An alarm clock is set up smack dab in the middle of the playing field to go off once in three minutes and another time thirty seconds after, when the hunter gets a boost and when the round ends respectively. Snezhnayan technology, Mister Childe told them when he brought it out, powered by electro crystals.
The round begins with the preparation phase, with Mister Childe closing his eyes and counting to forty. "To keep it fair," He said, "If I can see where all of you went you wouldn't last a minute!" What a braggart! She'll show him!
As a Kätzlein descendant, just like cats, she's good at climbing. So that's what she decides to do. Moving over to the closest tree, she puts one arm up, then the other. Make as little noise as possible… Make sure her footing is stable… She reaches the top with ease, standing on the highest branch of a pine tree very close to Childe.
From her view up in the canopy, she spots both Miss Amber and Miss Lumine running around for a spot to hide. Watches as Miss Amber climbs up to the highest point within their play area and disguises herself as a crate. Miss Lumine however runs behind the large domain, disappearing completely from her line of sight.
She can still hear Mister Childe counting, 35 , 36 , 37 … Then when he finally gets to forty, “Ready or not, here I come!” His shout echoes throughout the pine forest. He runs around, right past her tree, following little trails of paws from the hunter's Windward Art, Mysterious Hunch. From her safe haven in the trees, she looks on as Childe attempts to capture every barrel and box in the area.
She knows, sees it in the way Mister Childe is dashing forward at such frightening speeds, that he's already spotted Miss Amber. He climbs with a pace Diona could never compare to. Curse his long limbs! And Miss Amber definitely notices because the moment he's close, she pulls out her glider. With the power of her mask, she activates the rebel Windward Art of Transparency.
That's the one Diona's using too, makes it easier to run and hide away again after being found. She hears Mister Childe let out an excited laugh, saying something about the thrill of the chase. But she's focusing on something else, now, despite knowing it's dangerous to take her eyes off the hunter. Is it just her, or are there more props in the playing field now?
The effect must have worn off for Miss Amber, because now she's out in the open, hurriedly disguising herself as a barrel. Mister Childe definitely noticed the extra props too, because he goes back to capturing them at random. The first one he reaches blows up in his face with a load of mud. Diona suppresses a laugh at the look on his face, full of shock and surprise. He was fooled so easily, and he was so confident when the round started, too!
But by now, Amber has nowhere to go. Nowhere to run without getting spotted by Childe, but at the same time, no way to stay still without getting caught. He approaches her spot, and when she gets captured, all they do is laugh in all that adrenaline.
Mister Childe gives Miss Amber a quick kiss on the cheek before she fades into the wind. Another effect of the mask, to ensure those caught can't help or hinder the active hunter.
Already, it's been about half the round. And unluckily for the rebels the ball of anemo energy, the Secret Favour, comes floating down from above. She wants to grab it, but it's so far away. Too far to get without Mister Childe catching her. Either way whether she gets it or he activates it, her own hiding spot will be compromised. But what a surprise when on his way up the hill to grab the ball of energy, Miss Lumine pops out of nowhere and steals it right in front of his eyes.
She stares him right in the eyes and smirks full of smug confidence, anemo energy gathering around her and activating the favour right in front of him. In a moment, she's already sprinting, dashing as fast as the wind takes her thanks to the favour. After a moment of shock, looking dumbly at where Lumine just stood a second ago like he needed to take a second to process what just happened, his brain catches up and he takes off after her.
She can't run forever but neither can he, and he chases her until they're both out of breath. A feat quite hard to achieve, Diona thinks, considering both their positions and physiques. In the end however, the favour fades, and Miss Lumine in all her strength, is unable to out-run Mister Childe's long legs. He grabs her right before capturing her and gives her a kiss on the cheek too, just like he did with Miss Amber. Ugh, what a sap!
She's the last one standing, watching from her high ground as Childe activates Mysterious Hunch once again, the little paw prints leading straight to her tree. The clock ticks down from 30.
He runs around, scanning every prop in sight
20 , 19 , 18 ,
He catches on, hears the unnatural rustling of the leaves and looks up, noticing a few spots of white and orange peeking out between the leaves.
She's almost done, about to win!
But also so, so close to being caught
13 , 12 , 11 ,
Mister Childe scales the tree with ease, almost at her location. Diona actives her transparency and glides off to the right, following her already-formulated escape plan. She grabs onto the closest tree next to the one she just abandoned, scurrying to the top, nearly out of breath from the climbing.
10 , 9 , 8 ,
Unfortunately when she turns back, with the anemo energy fading, she notices. Her tail is poking out. And obviously, Mister Childe's noticed too, because he's hot on her trail in an instant.
7 , 6, 5 ,
In her panic, despite not having quite fully regained her stamina, she jumps from the height of her tree. She hurriedly activates her glider
4 ,
She takes flight, feeling the wind against her ears.
3 ,
She turns to look behind her and sees Mister Childe activating his glider midair.
2 ,
She's almost out of stamina, and Mister Childe is so , so close to her.
1 ,
She makes a choice.
She deactivates her glider, feels gravity bring her down.
0
The alarm goes off, and the anemo energy in the playing field dissipates. But she’s still falling, and despite her Kätzlein blood, she still feels the fear course through her. She fails to notice that Miss Lumine is right beneath her, and she catches her before she hits the ground. Childe lands soon after, leaning in close to make sure she’s okay.
She's sweating, just a bit. Little body filled with adrenaline and energy like no other. Slowly but surely, the fright from her long fall fades. She feels a blush creep up her face, “Th-Thank you for catching me, Miss Lumine.” The three dote on her, just a little. Making sure she's really fine. Diona doesn't think she could be anymore embarrassed than right there, as Miss Lumine brought her a little closer, held her a little tighter, made her feel a little more secure.
Despite it all, the game was fun. She cannot deny that.
As they take a break at a camp nearby with Miss Lumine on cooking duty and the aroma of fish cooking filled the air, listening to Mister Childe tell tales that border on the fantastical. As she leans into Miss Amber’s warmth, she decides: She loves this group, maybe almost as much as her daddy.