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He was awoken with a light shake of his body, the mattress slightly dipped next to him. He opened his eyes groggily, letting out a slight groan as he was abruptly taken away from his dream. As his vision cleared, he could make out the silhouette of Jean, who looked down at him from where she placed herself at the edge of his bed. She smiled, using her hands to sign something. Had he been more awake, his mind might’ve registered it a little more quickly than the pace he was currently going at.
“We’re going somewhere new today,” Jean said.
He moved his arms, pushing himself up against the head of the bed while he tried to think of a response. The signals with their hands–sign language, he was told–was something new they attempted to learn. A way to communicate without him having to write. Seamus was the one who taught him.
Jean tried to learn as well. She simply wished to talk with him more, and often helped translate what other people were saying to him.
He appreciated the effort. He could finally understand what was going on around him, and it brought him joy. He hasn’t been here very long, and yet they were all trying so hard to care for him as if he was always their son.
“Where?” He tilted his head questioningly, motioning back.
“Mother is taking us to visit a family friend,” Jean paused, thinking about how to sign her full response, “They aren’t too far away.”
‘A family friend?’ Alhaitham thought to himself silently.
In the time he spent in his new family’s manor recovering from his injuries and fever, he didn’t have the chance to meet many other people. Would they accept him like Jean and her family did? A small pit formed at the bottom of his stomach, the anxiety welled up inside of him.
Jean seemed to notice his pensive stare at the floor and tapped his shoulder before signing something else. “His two sons are very kind. I’ll introduce you to them, you might get along.”
He slumped his shoulders in resignation, grabbing onto the blanket that covered him and tossing it away from him. Jean got up from the edge of his bed, giving Alhaitham space to roll off of the mattress and stand up onto the carpeted floor.
“I’ll meet you in the foyer when I’m ready,” He gestured, blinking slowly as he tried ridding himself of the drowsiness that still lingered.
Jean nodded and walked off, closing his bedroom door behind her gently. Despite his new sister being slightly younger than him, he couldn’t help but feel like she was far more responsible than he’d ever be. She seemed to take care of him so well, it was almost worrying.
He dug through his dresser and pulled out a fresh change of clothes. He held the fabric tightly, feeling how smooth it was with the tips of his fingers. He never had clothes like this in Sumeru, the ones he wore before being rather hastily made and of cheaper quality. Yet despite it all, his parents still tried their best to show how much they loved him.
He bit his lip. He missed Jean’s company. At times like these, she always seemed to know how to pull him out of his head.
He changed into the new pair of clothes–a simple pale green ruffled shirt with light gray pants–and slipped his boots on. He exited his room, closing the door and making his way downstairs to the foyer. Looking down from the mezzanine, he could see that Jean’s mother was already prepared to leave, with Jean seated next to her on their couch. He alerted them of his presence as he tried to walk down the stairs silently, both of them turning to face him.
“Ready to go?” Jean asked him, to which Alhaitham nodded in response.
The three of them walked outside the manor and towards a carriage, sitting themselves down inside comfortably. Jean was next to him, a hand placed over his own reassuringly. It was her way of grounding him, keeping him calm and free from anxiety. Her mother sat across from them, reading a local newspaper that was freshly printed. The date was written on the front page in bold letters, October 12th.
He slumped in his seat a little, keeping his head held down while the horse carriage carried them to their destination. He felt Jean’s other hand rest on the top of his head, slowly running its way down to the nape of his neck. He furrowed his eyebrows but didn’t try telling her anything, allowing Jean to continue comforting him.
The more emotional side of him wanted to hug her and not let go, to cry into her shoulder and continue mourning the loss of his old life that died with his parents. But he knew better. The past was not to be dwelled on. Nothing he did now would change what has already been written into stone. All he could hope to seek out were answers.
Why his parents had to die. Why he was the only one left alive.
“You’re getting lost in your thoughts again.” Jean tapped his shoulder, signing the words to him slowly. She had successfully managed to snap him out of his headspace.
“I’m sorry.” He apologized, his frown deepening.
“There’s nothing to be sorry about.” Jean shook her head, continuing, “Father said you’ve been through a lot. It takes time to heal.”
If he found it hard to resist breaking into tears before, it was most certainly harder now. He bit onto his lip hard to resist the tears, nearly drawing blood. He nodded stiffly, instead turning to look away and out the small window of the carriage. He watched the trees move in a blur, witnessing them slowly thin out into an open clearing.
The manor with the red-tiled roof, the one he passed by two months ago upon first coming into Mondstadt, came into view. So that’s where Jean wanted to take him.
He felt so small compared to the size of the Dawn Winery.
He was seated on a couch inside the manor, placed in front of a fire while Jean’s mother conversed with an older man who sported striking red hair tied back in a small ponytail. Though he had a skill for reading lips, Mondstadt citizens did not speak in the language he was accustomed to. Jean tried her best to translate for him, but he found it hard to follow. Based on the little bits he could understand, it seemed like they were mainly talking about him.
He felt a pair of eyes watching his back, spying on him whilst remaining unseen. He figured it was just a hunch, having decided against trying to look behind him. He was here because Jean wanted to introduce him to this family friend of theirs, that’s all.
The older red-haired man looked over to him with a gentle smile, saying something to Jean before she nudged his shoulder and translated for him.
“This is Master Crepus,” She spelled out the name for him before continuing, “He said we can go play with the boys while they talked.”
‘The boys?’ Alhaitham tilted his head, watching Jean stand up from her spot on the couch.
She held a hand out towards him and waited for him to take it. He reached out to her, pulling himself up from his seat on the couch. He gave one more silent look towards Master Crepus, a solemn expression on his face. Master Crepus still seemed to smile with a comforting aura around him despite that. What an unusual man.
Jean whisked him away from their small little business meeting, and out the door towards the vineyard. Though they were away from the prying eyes of maids and butlers alike, he still couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling of being watched.
That’s when Jean turned around. Her mouth moved, greeting someone, yet he didn’t catch what the words were supposed to be. He turned his head towards where Jean was looking, and came face to face with two small boys.
One shared the same brilliant red hair that Master Crepus had, with a bright grin and determined eyes. A pyro vision hung off of his belt, gleaming in the sunlight. A blue-haired boy hid behind him, one eye covered with an eyepatch. He kept his eyes trained on the boy hiding behind the taller one, a certain understanding in his expression.
They both shared the same fate, adopted into families within Mondstadt. He could only speculate what the young boy saw before coming here.
“The red-haired one is Diluc, and the blue-haired one is Kaeya.” Jean explained for him, which only warranted question upon question from Diluc.
He was talking too fast for Alhaitham to pick up on what he was trying to ask Jean, and Jean was responding too quickly for her to translate for him. He decided to look away for a moment, keeping his attention on a blue crystalfly. It was different from the bright green ones native to Sumeru, fluttering around slowly with just as much ease and carelessness.
Kaeya seemed to watch as well, distracted by the creature while Diluc and Jean did the talking for the two of them.
“He’s your new brother?” He didn’t hear Diluc say.
Jean nodded, “Father found him injured and sick one night and took him to stay at the cathedral until he got better. He… can’t hear, so he won’t understand what we’re saying unless I sign it for him.”
“So that’s what those hand signals were.” Diluc’s eyes widened in sudden understanding.
“Yes, Father taught them to us so we could talk to each other easier. I figured he and Kae might get along well so I asked him to come with me.” Jean tugged on the hem of her sleeve, averting her gaze to where Alhaitham was currently distracted.
“Oh, well, maybe he’d like to catch crystalflies with us! Kae wanted to go earlier, but I told him to wait until you arrived.” Diluc beamed, placing his hands on his waist.
“Sure!” Jean smiled back.
Jean poked him on the shoulder. He snapped his attention back towards her, an eyebrow raised. Diluc seemed to be talking to Kaeya behind her, their attention off of him and his new sister.
“They want to catch crystalflies with you. Do you want to play with them?” She tilted her head questioningly, awaiting a response.
He nodded, allowing Jean to walk back towards the two brothers to tell them the good news. The two of them seemed to light up at the idea of having a new friend to play with, immediately grouping up with him.
Jean explained the rules of their small little game to him slowly so he understood. The goal was to be the one who caught the most crystalflies. The person with the most cores won. He waited for the signal before he ran out into the grapevines, taking his time in investigating each nook and cranny as he searched. He found one that fluttered nearby. He slowed his pace, unsure of how exactly to catch one.
He realized then that they didn’t teach him. He was expected to figure it out on his own.
The crystalfly seemed to notice him, but instead of flying away, it flew closer. Closer, until it landed right on the tip of his nose. He froze, unsure of whether or not he was supposed to move. Would it be worth it to catch the creature if it seemed so relaxed around him? He didn’t want to accidentally hurt it.
His nose began to itch, and a quick sneeze escaped that startled both him and the crystalfly. It immediately tried to fly away, but Alhaitham was quicker. He jumped up and reached out to grab it before landing back onto the ground.
He opened his hand, the crystalfly core resting on his palm. The core looked lifeless and dull. He stared at it for a moment, conflicting emotions running through his mind. He peeled his gaze away from it, closing the palm of his hand. He reasoned that it might be better if he didn’t try to catch any more.
Alhaitham walked back to their designated meeting spot with the one core in hand, waiting for the other three to show up. He approached the large tree they agreed on and slid down to the ground, resting the back of his head against the rough bark. He waited. Waited until he could see them in the distance, approaching the spot with a haul of crystalfly cores.
They all seemed so cheerful and happy. He wished he could bring himself to relax around them like they did with him.
Diluc and Kaeya sat down across from him, while Jean placed herself right by his side. They all shared the amount of cores they grabbed, and determined that Kaeya was the winner of their game. Everyone was laughing and smiling amongst themselves, enjoying each other's company.
All he could do was watch as the corners of his lips slowly curved upwards.