Chapter Text
What a nuisance.
Sergei had heard that his entire life.
From the day he was born, it was clear he would not be welcomed the same way a normal child would be. His parents were criminals that frequently stole from other Mondstadtians and even ran errands for the Fatui just to make ends meet. Due to Mondstadt’s dislike of the Fatui, Sergei was immediately associated with them and outcast by everyone around him. He slightly despised his parents for leaving him with this horrible burden but at the same time, he knew how desperation could drive people to the extremes.
Unfortunately, Sergei carried that legacy along with the long line of poverty and debt his parents had left behind when they died. The only way his life could get worse was if he lived in Inazuma, those people were often worse off than Sergei.
Sergei did not want to be the same as his parents, he wanted to prove to people he could be more than a low-life piece of shit. But, he found that sometimes you had to do some questionable things just to keep yourself alive. It was mainly, stealing. He had done it a lot in his youth as it was the easiest way to take care of himself, but he had done a good job of limiting those old habits, trying to live as a law-abiding citizen.
Unfortunately, it meant he went to bed most nights with an empty stomach, sleeping on a public bench, balcony, or under a tree if he got shooed away. He could barely scrape together enough money to feed himself and pay off his debt from the tedious commissions he had to take to earn even a morsel of money. He used to be able to hunt his food or go out into the forest to gather supplies, but now he was too exhausted by the end of the day to take another step.
Sergei was so tired, he felt sicker and more burnt out every day. The few times he had seen his reflection in the water, he could tell his face was more sunken in and garish. The rest of his body was thinner and constantly shaking to the point it was a struggle to do anything that required a still hand. However, he still had to get up and work just so he wouldn’t slip further into poverty, it was like a form of torture.
Sergei didn’t even have a good sword, instead having a worn-down blade that he found in a chest once. Since that traveller had come along, they had taken most of the easy-to-get supplies and emptied every chest. Sergei appreciated that they saved Mondstadt, but they were making life harder for him.
But out of all Sergei’s failures, the one thing he had always been good at was climbing. When he was a kid, he could climb the walls of Mondstadt and laugh lightheartedly at the kids below failing to follow him. Parents used to yell at him for “being a bad influence on their kids” but Sergei couldn’t care less from the rooftops. Now climbing was second nature to him, climbing trees, buildings, walls, mountains, anything.
So today, he was sleeping on the roof of Good Hunter, eating every scrap of food and alcohol that was left behind on the balcony. Sergei was a bit tipsy, his whole body feeling warmer and pleasantly dizzy. He had almost gone to try and sleep in the Nights of Favonius library, however he chose otherwise in case Lisa was feeling...homicidal towards anyone who crinkled her books.
Sergei had to change his sleeping schedule lately due to the extremely cold nights. He went to bed at 5 pm and then woke up at around midnight when the temperature had dropped severely. He had to move around or light a fire to help keep himself warm as he was too cold to fall asleep again (and he might get hypothermia if he tried to).
Sergei got a few dirty looks from passersby as it was still midday and people seemed to get annoyed by a young man sleeping on their rooftops. Not that Sergei could give a shit, he laid out on the roof like a cat and hummed at the pleasant feeling of his sore muscles stretching in the afternoon sun.
Today had been a perfect day, with clear skies and a lovely winter sun that baked the ground to a pleasant warmth instead of the chilly permafrost normally covering the ground. Due to the nice weather, Sergei had managed to complete a few commissions that paid better than normal. He had used that mora to buy a new backpack as his old one had a massive hole in the bottom. The new one was much sturdier, made of a material that was water-resistant and had a 30-day warranty.
Of course, he still had a long way to go before he had decent supplies and was not constantly on the brink of starvation. Sergei still needed new clothes as his current ones were completely threadbare and covered in a variety of stains (grass skids, mud, slime, his blood, and even some wine), they provided him zero warmth from the harsh temperatures. He couldn’t even imagine trying to take on some of the Dragonspine commissions, he’d be frozen like a popsicle in seconds.
But for now, Sergei let all those stressful thoughts of “what to do next” and simply let himself slip away. With the smell of sticky honey roast filling his nose and the ever-present sun's warmth on his skin, he fell into the most peaceful slumber he had experienced for a while.
-----
Being someone who woke up in the dead of the night certainly had its perks. Sergei could walk around the city with nothing but the sounds of crackling fires and old drunkards at the taverns. It was rather soothing to walk around town with no worry of scrutiny.
However, something Sergei was much more excited about was hopefully going to witness a rumoured phenomenon for himself. Lately, rumours of a “Darknight Hero” had been going around, a person who protected the town in the safety of nighttime. Sergei hoped he could see them in action, although he didn’t get his hopes too high.
Sergei sat up from the rooftop, shivering slightly at the freezing temperatures. He ran his hands over his face with a soft groan, there was a small dribble of frozen snot leaking from his nose due to the cold.
Sergei stood up, briefly stretching the pain out of his back from the hard rooftop before he slid down the roof and landed smoothly on the ground. He was in the center of the town square where only a few of the shops were still open. The lights were leaking out from the windows of those shops and giving some brightness to the pitch-black streets.
Sergei tucked his cold fingers under his armpits, his fingers tingled from sensitivity due to the extreme cold.
Tonight, Sergei’s plan was to look for any scraps left behind on the streets and some Philanemo Mushrooms (if you boiled them, they weren’t the worst-tasting thing in the world). He also desperately needed something warmer to wear as he would not make it if the temperature dropped. But for now, he needed to go somewhere to warm up because the dark red tips of his fingers were frostnip.
Most buildings were closed at this time or would kick him out since the owners already knew he wouldn’t order anything. But the one place that never kicked him out was Angel’s Share. Due to that fact, he hardly went there as he didn’t want to use up the owner’s generosity.
Sergei walked through the town, managing to scrape one Philanemo Mushroom off one of the buildings near the tavern. The moment he entered Angel’s Share, he shuddered in relief, the warmth of the tavern seeping into his skin.
Diluc was still bartending; he normally left an hour before the tavern closed to be replaced by Charles. Sergei liked Diluc more than Charles, he seemed to be a tiny bit more compassionate despite his obvious hatred of the Fatui. On the rare days, he worked until closing time, he let Sergei stay in the warm tavern while he cleaned up. But some days, that knight Kaeya came in right after closing time and brought with him an atmosphere of tension and... anger. It suffocated the entire room and made Sergei feel a sense of unbridled discomfort he couldn’t shake. Sergei left early those days.
Diluc and Sergei hardly said a word to each other, but Sergei could tell Diluc at least pitied him enough not to be repulsed by Sergei’s presence.
Even better, that drunk bard was here tonight playing songs for a crowd, continuously giving the bard more drinks. His presence alone lifted the spirits of everyone around him, Sergei included. He couldn’t help but laugh or smile while he watched the bard’s performances from afar; the bard was simply too charming to resist.
Sergei walked to the back of the tavern not to be noticed by the other drunkards. Many knew who he was from sight alone, and he didn’t want to get into any fights tonight, his body was too exhausted for that.
Sergei sat strangely in his chair, his knees tucked up to his chest to gather warmth with a lazy smile on his face. Sergei watched the bard sing another song after he chugged an entire beer. Sergei felt tempted to get one himself.
Frozen fingers thawing in the cozy atmosphere, Sergei thanked the tavern for its constant, pleasantly warm atmosphere. Sergei may have fallen asleep in these conditions if he didn’t already know that he would be kicked out much sooner.
Sergei finally felt like he could breathe, the stress on his body slowly slipping away as he watched the bard down his 10th drink.
----
Sergei left right at midnight, Charles had asked him to leave right as the clock struck 12. He was always kind of angsty about getting everyone out right at closing time, not that Sergei could blame him, working late nights really took the life out of people.
It was rather fortunate timing because as soon as Sergei climbed to the top of Mondstadt’s walls, he got front-row seats to the Darknight Hero fighting an abyss mage.
He couldn’t make out what the Darknight Hero looked like other than dark clothes and a blur of red hair, but damn, they were skilled. It was almost like watching a free show, unable to pull his eyes away from the entrancing way the Darknight Hero swung their claymore. Then again, watching people in general was like a free show as long as you paid attention enough.
Sergei tucked his cold hands under his armpits and smiled to himself. At least something nice happened tonight.