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The last thing any parent wants is for their child to go missing. That was the misfortune of Teyvat’s wine tycoonist Crepus Ragnvindr. The young master had taken in a quiet, timid boy not too long ago. Kaeya Alberich was brilliant at hiding and fleeing the premises when something startled him. This of course, worried Crepus due to his fatherly instincts. The poor boy he took in from pouring rain and thunder made Crepus want to protect him and give him all the love he deserved. After all, his own blood son was around Kaeya’s age. He hoped that Kaeya would adjust more easily with Diluc around. As long as Kaeya was slowly opening up, Crepus predicted that things will turn out alright in the end. Alright was an absolute understatement.
Crepus was working on the latest taxes and imports on wine supplies at the Dawn Winery. It was a peaceful night as he sat by the warm fireplace on his arm chair. He had put his sons to bed an hour ago, the two having played in the vineyard all day. Diluc, being the older of his two, was quite well-known for wearing the Dawn Winery staff and Crepus out easily. He worried that his son’s energy would burn out Kaeya too much, but Kaeya appeared to be just fine with it. In fact, Crepus had seen Kaeya smile for the first time since his arrival to the Dawn Winery. Perhaps Diluc was what Kaeya needed to lighten up the life that Kaeya never got to have yet. The same could be said about Diluc since he didn’t have his mother in the picture. The pleasant memory comes to a halt when Diluc comes barreling downstairs in hysterics, sobbing loudly for his father.
“Kaeya isn’t in bed! I can’t find him anywhere Father!” Diluc wailed, his tiny hands grabbing onto his father’s pant leg. Crepus shushed Diluc, getting up and kneeling to his son’s level.
“Now, now son, don’t cry. He’s probably hiding somewhere in the winery,” Crepus reassured him, petting Diluc’s head.
“But I looked everywhere ! He wasn’t hiding under the bed with the monsters or in the closet!” Diluc sobbed, inconsolable.
“Why don’t we look for him together?” Crepus gently tells him, taking Diluc’s hand. It wasn’t unusual for Kaeya to hide in tricky places. Diluc was always a worrier for his new little brother, so it didn’t faze Crepus much when Diluc would ask for his father’s help.
The duo begin searching in Kaeya’s usual hiding spots besides being under the bed or in the closet since Diluc confirmed he was in neither hiding spots. They checked the bathtub first, but no sign of Kaeya. Next, they check Crepus’s bedroom. Kaeya sometimes fled to Crepus during a thunderstorm, but he’d hide under the bed for the night, only for Crepus to find him the next morning, asleep on the floor. No sign of Kaeya there. Crepus frowned, deciding to check his office. No sign of Kaeya hiding behind the bookshelf or under his desk. Under the couches, kitchen table, cabinets, etc. He wasn’t there either.
“I-is he in the scary cellar?” Diluc sniffled, clinging onto Crepus’s leg tightly.
“I’ll go look down there with you, will you be brave for me, Strawberry?” Crepus gently smiles. Diluc nodded, but his tight grip on Crepus remained.
Crepus grabs a lantern and lights it, opening the door to the cellar. The two descend down the dark, narrow staircase. Kaeya must’ve snuck inside without Crepus or any of the staff noticing. He was good at that. The dim glow of the lantern illuminates piles of boxes, Crepus calling out to Kaeya. No answer. Crepus was getting slightly frustrated as the more answers he got was silence. Perhaps Kaeya snuck outside to the vineyard to hide. That place tended to have great hiding spots. He and Diluc make their way back upstairs, choosing to check outside. The two look outside, circling the outdoor patio, the carts and barrels, and the vineyard. No sign of the bluenette at all. As time passed, the more worried the Ragnvindrs grew.
“H-He’s gone! He’s not anywhere inside!” Diluc sobbed, his panic beginning to grow worse. Crepus’s calm was beginning to slip too. He calls out to Kaeya, circling the vineyard over and over again, but he gets no response in return. Crepus’s heart began to sink his chest, his panic beginning to sync with Diluc’s. He tried to hide the tremors in his body, not wanting to worry Diluc even more.
Kaeya was only five . Something could’ve happened to a young child, a child who barely even understood the local dialect. He could be hurt, or kidnapped, or worse. Crepus’s fatherly adrenaline was kicking in. He scoops Diluc up and frantically runs inside, placing Diluc on the couch.
“I need you to stay here with Adelinde, I need to go to the city to report Kaeya missing,” Crepus attempts to calmly tell his young son. The shakiness in his voice.
“B-But-!” Diluc shouted, clutching his father’s shirt sleeve.
“Kaeya will be okay…you need to stay here while I go look for him,” Crepus pats his son’s head, kissing his forehead. Diluc nods in compliance, as Crepus stands, grabbing his coat and heading towards the Knights of Favonius Headquarters. Grand Master Varka would probably give him some leads.
~~~~
Kaeya was relieved that the ride on the merchant ship didn’t get him sick, otherwise he’d be caught by the merchant’s steering it. Kaeya grins, satisfied he managed to sneak away without being caught. Besides, he had to find the underground passage his biological father told him about. It laid beneath the roots of Sumeru, where its god of wisdom reigned over knowledge and power. What were the chances of Kaeya being taken in by a wine merchant with connections across the Seven? Kaeya’s father made it clear that none of the gods could be trusted, even if the gods had given him a fate in which he’d end up with a wine tycoonist. He couldn’t trust Crepus no matter how loving or caring he was towards Kaeya. It certainly made the young bluenette feel guilty for having to deceive the man he called his adoptive father. But Kaeya had to put his mission first and that was finding as much information as he could about this land so he could find answers for Khaenri’ah’s sake.
Kaeya waits for the strange men to exit the cargo ship. He carefully peers over a pile of boxes, cautious enough to remain out of view. There were more strange people, adjourned in fancy fashion and clothing unlike those of Mondstadt. Their language and dialect was quite strange yet interesting in this new region too. Why must people take so much time to discuss boring trade deals and exchanges? Kaeya just wanted to get off that ship as soon as possible.
“Papa said it was here in Sumeru…” Kaeya said to himself. Though Port Ormos already looked overwhelmingly big. The poor child had no idea how big Sumeru was itself. It was as equally dangerous as Mondstadt with strange creatures and fungi on the rampage. Kaeya cautiously steps out from behind the boxes, his cloak’s hood covering his face from view. He glances between the ship exit and the merchants’ backs turned towards him. Any small squeak or creak of a wooden plank will give his position away. Kaeya took baby steps to the wooden plank and waddled carefully down the inclined slope. He then books it onto the docks and into the city, looking for possible escape routes if he were to be sighted.
Much to the child’s dismay, the trading port was much larger than he anticipated. Kaeya’s stomach dropped, seeing how crowded the streets were, along with the “thousands” of people and merchants going on an evening stroll. He feels the sweat roll down his face as his heart keeps out of chest.
“Where to go?! Did Papa say here?!” Kaeya’s mind scrambled for directions. He begins running around the crowd, pushing past people and zooming through the streets.
His searching becomes frantic, as people’s faces begin to look blurry and like distorted monsters. The monsters that he saw from down there . Kaeya feels like his chest was congesting, like he was suffocating in dark goo or in murky water. He feels the hot tears roll down his face, overwhelmed by such a huge place with too many unfamiliar people. Without a second thought, Kaeya begins running in random directions, whimpering softly and ignoring the concerned calls from the older adults. He retreats behind a vendor’s stand, taking refuge in a tiny space where no one, not even the eyes of Celestia would spot him.
“I-I shouldn’t have left! I can’t go home! Papa’s gone and now I’m no longer safe!” Kaeya curls up behind a stack of barrels, hugging his knees to his chest and pouring out quiet sobs. If he had just stayed home with Master Crepus and Diluc, he wouldn’t have ended up in an unfamiliar land with unfamiliar people. Yes, Kaeya didn’t quite trust Crepus yet, but that man had cared for him the moment he arrived. He filled in the missing gap his own birth father couldn’t give him.
The real question was if Crepus had noticed he was missing. Would he be looking for the boy? In Kaeya’s mind, no man from Teyvat wouldn’t want an outcast Khaenri’ahn without a nation like him. Not even someone with as good as a heart like Crepus would want him. Not if Crepus finds out the real reason he ran all the way to Sumeru. Kaeya didn’t think Crepus would go all the way here looking for a fatherless boy like him.
Just like that, Kaeya now had to survive on his own again. Just like before, but without a parental figure to guide him in survival. Kaeya feels his heart split in two at the thought, fearing that he failed his mission all because he went on a silly little search for the entrance to Khaenri’ah. The warmth and safeness he felt at the Ragnvindr manor had left him like an extinguished flame. If he had just decided to wait a little longer, to wait until he was a little older to head over to Sumeru so he could navigate the world of Teyvat a little better. Why did he have to be so stubborn? So reckless with his decisions? It wasn’t an excuse anymore that he was just a little kid. He’d seen things he was too young to see. He’s killed those that were once his own people just so he couldn’t be killed by them. He watched his mother die a slow and painful death. He watched his father leave him in a thunderstorm, reminding Kaeya that he was Khaenri’ah’s last hope. Now here Kaeya was, feeling like a failure and a burden.
The tough feelings begin to numb the bluenette, as he slowly crawls out of his hiding spot. All the time he spent crying made his stomach rumble. The air smelled like a different kind of scent that one wouldn’t find in Mondstadt. As if the food would have different types of spice and blend to it that Mondstadt wouldn’t offer. Kaeya follows the scent, allowing for the trail to guide him to a food stand. There, a kind, elderly lady greeted him with a soft grin.
“Aww you sweet boy. Are you lost?” she asks him gently. Kaeya’s shy nature makes him blush a little, too nervous to speak a single word. But his growling stomach already spoke words.
“You poor boy. Here. Have a pita-pocket. No need to pay me,” the lady smiles, handing Kaeya the meal. Kaeya feels his mouth water, as he kindly accepts the gesture from the woman.
“T-Thank…you…” Kaeya softly responds to her. She smiles as Kaeya chews his food. He was taught polite words in the local dialect despite knowing little of the Teyvatian languages. As he took in the flavours of the delicious delicacy, his eyes sparked in admiration. The spicy and delicious flavour of the pita pocket was something that Kaeya was certain he had never had before. Not in Mondstadt or Khaenri’ah at least. It wasn’t as great as Adelinde’s fruity mushroom skewers thought. The thought of those mushroom skewers made Kaeya begin to miss the winery a little. Perhaps it was the fact he refused to let his guard down. He’s responded with fear and distrust in the locals ever since he emerged in Teyvat. Did he simply underestimate the kindness of people as little as the food vendor? Was he not allowing for his walls to crumble to open up more and trust those that would care for him?
Kaeya looks at the starry night sky for a moment, allowing for thoughts to pour in. Just like the kind lady, Crepus had taken in Kaeya because he had no family to turn to, nowhere else to go. Crepus had kept him well fed, bathed and provided a roof over his head. He was there for Kaeya when he injured himself. He was there for Kaeya whenever Kaeya had a nightmare, either be his past or simply a raging thunderstorm. Then Crepus would hold Kaeya in his arms and sing him to sleep. Diluc, the boy closer to him, had done about the same. He’d defend Kaeya from people that picked on him for looking different. He’d play fantasy stories with Kaeya, just so he could see Kaeya smile. Kaeya had even overheard Diluc asking Crepus if they could adopt Kaeya so Kaeya could be the younger brother he always wanted. That was when Kaeya had realized that perhaps there were really good people in a land with gods that destroyed his homeland. Maybe he had a better place to call home when his old home could no longer provide anything for him. He needed to trust those who genuinely cared for him because he was a person. Not a tool to clean up his messy family’s past.
Kaeya frowns, realizing that tears were trailing down his face again. Crepus had been nothing more than a father to him ever since he took him in, and Kaeya had just probably given him a heart attack. His poor, poor, adoptive father must be worried sick. Diluc is probably already throwing a fit because Kaeya is gone. Diluc is quite overprotective of him. Kaeya had to get home to his father and Diluc. He had to come home.
He finishes eating his pita pockets and hurries back out to the docks. Maybe that merchant boat is still there. Maybe those men would know how to get him back. He makes a few turns, spotting the docks and the boat he took a little joyride on. He smiles, rushing towards the boat until a certain patch of red comes into his view. He skids to a halt as the red headed figure turns around.
“KAEYA RAGNVINDR.”
Kaeya flinches back at his name being yelled. Oops. Kaeya expected that Master Crepus would be upset with him. The redhead storms over to him, grabbing Kaeya by the ear.
“Ow! Hey! That hurts!” Kaeya squeals. Man did he not anticipate being grabbed by the ear. He feels Crepus forcefully yank him away from the docks and towards the merchants.
“I am so sorry if he caused any trouble,” Crepus apologizes profusely.
“It’s alright Master Ragnvindr. I didn’t even know he was on the ship!” the merchant chuckles, equally surprised.
“You are in big trouble young man!” Crepus scolds Kaeya, continuing to drag Kaeya by the ear again, though they weren’t heading to the merchant ship. There was a carriage waiting for the two at the entrance of Port Ormos.
Crepus releases Kaeya’s ear to turn around and kneel to Kaeya’s level. Kaeya feels his soul leave his body, paling when Crepus makes stern eye contact with him. He gulps nervously at the man’s displeased expression and flinches when Crepus puts his hands tightly on Kaeya’s shoulder.
“Kaeya. What in Barbatos were you thinking ?!” Crepus exclaims, squeezing Kaeya’s shoulders tightly. Kaeya fails to form any words to Crepus in his state of panic. He hated seeing his caretaker like this.
“Do you have any idea how worried I was?! D-Diluc was sobbing when you went missing. The knights spent so much sweat and tears searching-,” Crepus looked like he was on the verge of a breakdown when his eyes glistened with tears. That worried look was enough for Kaeya to let the waterfall of guilt pour down within him. That he had hurt such a kind-hearted man that sacrificed so much for him to make sure Kaeya was well-loved and cared for.
Kaeya feels his body shake out of control, allowing for the dam holding the water in his eyes to break. Crepus must hate him now for making him go all the way to Sumeru to look for him. What if Crepus was going to disown him now? He sobs loudly and latches onto Crepus’s middle, clinging onto him in desperation. Crepus softens a little at Kaeya’s sudden outburst and wraps his arms around the child, gently shushing him.
“I-I didn’t mean t-to s-scare you. I-I j-just overhead where t-these ships were going and my f-father said that h-home was a-around here. I-I just w-wanted to find it and go home. I-I wanna go home…I-I want my mother…” Kaeya sobs hysterically.
Crepus’s heart begins to ache as Kaeya explains why he traveled all the way to Sumeru. This poor boy had been missing his parents and his home, yet Crepus himself never bothered to be checking on how Kaeya was really feeling. Poor Kaeya was suffering in silence and Crepus wondered if Kaeya didn't trust him enough to talk to him. Did Crepus make him feel such things? Even if Crepus hardly knew anything about the boy’s origins, he felt as if he failed as an adoptive parent to him. He rubs comforting circles around Kaeya’s back and rocks back and forth a little. It was a little magic trick that always worked on Diluc and for sure, it worked on Kaeya as well. Kaeya’s sobs dwindle down and his hiccups are occasional. Crepus pulls Kaeya away again so the two are looking at each other. He wipes the tears that were falling from the boy’s face and brushes his bangs to the side.
“Oh Kaeya…I didn’t know you were missing home and your family… is there anything I can do to help you?” Crepus calmly asks him. Kaeya shakes his head in dismay.
“N-No….i-it’s no use…t-they’re gone. Gone forever…I-I feel so silly for t-thinking they’d come back f-for me…o-or that they w-would be there i-if I found home…” Kaeya hiccuped, his gaze towards Crepus blank and empty. It was enough for Crepus to understand that Kaeya was beginning to accept his reality. That his birth parents were no longer a part of this world. Kaeya didn’t deserve this cruelty of reality. Crepus wanted so badly to hold Kaeya in his arms and assure them that he can give him a new home and new family. To protect him from the sorrows and angers he holds against fate. To give Kaeya all his love and nurture he could give him.
“Kaeya…I’m not happy with what you did…it really scared me…but…you can trust me. I want to make you feel loved because you’re like a son to me. I would do anything to make you happy and cared for…” Crepus smiles at him.
Kaeya then realized that he was safe now. That he will never be abandoned or left behind ever again. This man was his real father for wanting to love and accept him for who he was. Kaeya begins to let go of all his sorrows and grievances. He didn’t need the mission on his mind right now. He needed Crepus. Kaeya jumps in Crepus’s arms, clinging to him lovingly and longingly. He had found a place to belong. A place to call home.
“Thank you….Papa…” Kaeya quietly responds, which makes Crepus’s heart leap from his chest. That was the first time since Kaeya’s arrival that he had ever referred to him as such. Crepus smiled widely and held Kaeya close to his heart. He scoops him up in his arms and then boards the carriage. Kaeya was quick to fall asleep, his expression peaceful and trusting in the wine master. It was enough to reassure Crepus that everything will be alright.
“I love you son…let’s go home now.”