Chapter Text
Kaeya let out a yawn, his boots clicking on the stone floors of the Knights of Favonius Headquarters. The fading daylight peaking through the windows told him it was just about time for him to call it quits for the day. He wondered if he could convince Diluc to serve him a bottle of that vintage he knew he kept for special customers like that wine guild of his and traveling emissaries. He managed to snag a bottle of it once, and the divine taste was just what he needed after his unbearably boring long day.
He wandered toward the Acting Grand Master’s office, hand already raised before he noticed the door was open.
“Just don’t let Klee around this batch.” A soft chuckle filled the quiet room. “Sucrose told me what happened last time.”
To his surprise, Jean let out a genuine laugh. “Yes, I’ll be sure to keep these behind a locked door this time. Thank you for delivering them on such short notice.”
“No problem. Just doing my job.” He could hear the smile in the warm voice. “I’ll get out of your hair. I think you’ve got another visitor.”
Kaeya’s brows lifted in surprise, but he schooled his face into an easy smile and stepped around the doorframe. “No need to stop on my account. I merely wanted to ask if our Acting Grand Master fancied a drink.”
He saw the wince on Jean’s face before she could hide it. “I apologize, Kaeya, but I’ll have to decline again tonight. I have a mountain of paperwork that needs to be done. However, Lisa might be available.”
“That’s quite alright.” Kaeya’s gaze went to the newcomer in front of him. The young woman stared back at him with an amused tilt to her mouth, but her vibrant red eyes watched him warily. The pointed ears sitting tall on her head twitched slightly. His pale eye flicked over her slim form, a head shorter than Jean. Although she shifted to match his relaxed posture, the fluffy dark tail tapering to rich red gave a quick swish. He took a step forward, noticing her shoulders pull back almost imperceptibly as she tensed, the cocked smile never leaving her face. “I don’t believe I’ve seen you around Mondstadt before.”
“She’s a recent addition.” Jean crossed her arms, blue eyes narrowing at him. “Albedo recommended her as an assistant for Sucrose while he and Timaeus are in Dragonspine.”
“So the great alchemist’s assistant has her own assistant? How fascinating.” Kaeya folded his own arms in front of his chest, an eyebrow quirked up at the look on Jean’s face.
A snort made both of them look at the one standing between them. Her eyes widened, and she coughed lightly in an attempt to cover for the noise. Holding out her hand to Kaeya with a sheepish grin, she said, “Where are my manners? I’m Nova.”
“Kaeya,” he said, taking her hand in his own. She had a firm handshake, and he could feel calluses on her hand, scars faded from time decorating the back of it. His eye went to another scar over her left eye. He wondered what type of life she lived before coming to Mondstadt. Releasing her hand, he said, “I’ll tell you what, since Jean is busy and standing me up yet again,” The Acting Grand Master let out an indignant noise, “how about I take you to Angel’s Share instead and buy you a drink?”
“Ah.” Nova rubbed her hand on the back of her neck, her ears sagging down slightly. The fluffy tail behind her gave another swish. “I’m afraid I don't really drink. Plus, I don’t really want to impose on your evening.”
“Nonsense.” Kaeya propped a hand on his hip. “I insist. After all, it’s not often we get such interesting newcomers to our city. It’s my duty as a Knight of Favonius to ensure you feel welcome. The Angel’s Share has a wonderful non-alcoholic apple cider. My treat.”
Nova pulled a small gold pocket watch from the burgundy waistcoat she wore over her cream long-sleeved shirt. Her sharp teeth nibbled on her lip as her brow furrowed. After a long moment of thought, she nodded, tucking the watch back in the small pocket and smoothing the delicate gold chain back into place. “Deal. But I can’t stay out too late. If I don’t get back to check on Sucrose, she’ll be up until all hours of the morning without having eaten or drunk anything.”
Kaeya let out a soft chuckle. He waved at Jean and slung an arm over Nova’s shoulder. He noticed she tensed up, her hands balling into fists, but her face kept the faint smile. Guiding her out of the office, he called back, “Have fun, Jean.”
The Acting Grand Master muttered something about playing nice, making Nova snort out a laugh again. Kaeya released her once they were on the street and led them in the direction of the Angel’s Share. He watched the newcomer in his peripheral, noticing her sizable ears twitch toward any noise on the street. He smirked at her, commenting, “Quite the hearing you have there.”
Nova let out a chuckle and rolled her eyes. “It’s a blessing and curse. I’m still getting used to all the normal sounds of this place.”
“How long have you been in Mondstadt?”
“A couple weeks?” She sidestepped a few children running past, their shrill voices arguing about what was for dinner. “It took Sucrose nearly a week to let me help her with anything. She was a little flabbergasted when I showed up out of the blue with a letter from Albedo. I don’t think she spoke more than ten words to me our first night together.”
“That must have been somewhat insulting.” Kaeya glanced down at her, gauging her reaction. Nova just shrugged.
“She doesn’t seem all that comfortable with people. I don’t mind a quiet work environment.” She smiled, glancing up at him. “I’m just glad that she finally started letting me handle the deliveries. She seems a lot more relaxed now that she doesn’t have to worry about talking to many of the customers. She’s really a sweet person, even if she can’t express it through words. I’m glad to be working with her.”
Kaeya hummed and pushed open the door of the bar. Diluc looked up from the drink he was building in a silver shaker and scowled. His brother gave him a smirk, stepping toward the bar. Leaning his tall frame against the counter, he propped his chin on his gloved hand. “Say, Diluc, this is quite a momentous occasion. How about that special vintage?”
Diluc didn’t answer. He picked up the shaker, hands bare from their usually dark gloves, and gave it a few solid shakes before slowly pouring it into a tall glass supported by a short stem. He pushed it over to the young woman waiting at the end of the bar. She murmured her thanks, a blush on her cheeks.
He watched her go for a moment and turned to Kaeya. When his brother stared back, he grabbed a bottle from underneath the counter. It was the standard Dawn Winery blend, certainly not bad by Kaeya’s standards, but far from what he requested. Diluc grabbed a wine glass and poured what Kaeya knew was a rather generous amount, knowing that the more he gave him the less the two would have to interact. Kaeya grabbed the glass by the stem and raised it to Diluc in cheers. “Also, a glass of apple cider for our new friend.”
Diluc’s ruby eyes went to the woman behind his brother. His gaze was immediately drawn to the faintly glowing pyro vision resting on a plain burgundy ribbon under her pointed shirt collar. She smiled, pressing a hand to her chest as she bowed her head in greeting. “Hello. I’m Nova. I don’t think we’ve met yet.”
“We have not.” Diluc curtly nodded his head and prepared a glass of apple cider, complete with a mint sprig and a few apple slices to garnish. He pushed it across the counter to her and crossed his arms. She took it with a smile and followed his brother to an empty table further into the bar. He heard Kaeya say as they left, “Don’t mind him. My dear brother is always like that.”
Sighing through his nose, Diluc pushed up the black sleeves he had rolled to his elbows and turned to the next customer sitting at the bar. He noticed the newcomer glance back at him as the two sat, but he turned his attention to his work. Diluc could only give a silent prayer to the anemo archon that his brother wouldn’t say something stupid enough to make her throw the drink in Kaeya’s face. It would be a pain to clean up after, as it always was.
Kaeya settled back in his chair, crossing a leg over his other as he got comfortable. He watched Nova adopt the same posture, sipping on her apple cider with a satisfied hum. He commented, “Lovely, isn’t it?”
“It is.” Nova took another sip, closing her eyes a moment as she savored the tart flavor. She set the glass down in front of her and leaned forward, chin propped up on her hand. “So, what did you want to ask?”
“Whatever do you mean?” Kaeya took a slow sip of his wine.
“Please.” Nova rolled her eyes and gave a grin, the sharp teeth giving her face a dangerous glint. “Don’t act like you’re the only one who notices things around here. I’m new. You like information. So ask. I reserve the right to avoid topics that are a little too unsavory for common company.”
Kaeya hummed, leaning forward to rest on his elbow as he smirked. “Oh? Does our little fox have some dark secrets?”
Nova chuckled. “Come on. This is the city of freedom. We all have our scars.”
She swirled the apple slices in her glass. “So, what first, Cavalry Captain ?”
“So you did know who I was.”
“You’re not exactly subtle.” Nova tilted her head slightly, a smirk on her face. “Sucrose told me about a few of the Knights, and a few conversations with the guards told me that you would most likely be the first to look into me once you knew about me.”
“Well, aren’t you quite the curious one?” Kaeya took another sip from his glass, the pleasant smile dropping from his face as he set it down. “What brought you to Mondstadt?”
“Getting right to the point, eh?” Nova sipped her cider. “I came here to hopefully settle down. Build a life for myself. All that stuff.”
“What kind of life?”
“I hope to use some of my skills to help the people here.”
“And what skills would those be?”
Nova sipped her drink, gaze drifting up to the rafters as she thought how to answer. “Outside of the obvious ones I use for alchemy? I’m fairly skilled in combat, and I’m competent enough to survive out in the wild when needed. I thought about joining the adventurer’s guild, but the pay honestly isn’t that great for the amount of work that goes into every commission. Plus I’m so sick of spending nights out in the rain. When Albedo offered me a job as Sucrose’s assistant, I thought it would be a good opportunity to apply my talents with my absolutely shining personality.”
She winked, leaning back in her chair. Kaeya smirked, swirling the deep red liquid in his glass. “Talents outside of just surviving, I assume?”
“I have knowledge of many alchemical processes, along with a few other scientific disciplines…” Nova snapped her fingers and pointed at him. “Have you ever heard of the Akademiya in Sumeru?” At the shake of Kaeya’s head, she shrugged. “I looked into them on my travels, but they were so asinine in their bureaucracy that I moved on. I love knowledge, but they were just…” Her face twisted into a grimace. “I moved on pretty quickly from that.”
“So how did you come to Mondstadt?”
“I ran into Albedo when I was in Dragonspine. He was just standing in the middle of a snowstorm painting a few Hilichurls.” Nova chuckled. “I asked if he had a camp nearby, since I was absolutely freezing to death, and he just mumbled something and pointed in a random direction. I eventually managed to find the cave he and Timaeus were using for their research. After I managed to unthaw, I noticed that there was an error in an equation he had in some of his notes. The idiot probably would have noticed it once he wasn’t subjecting himself to such extreme conditions, but he took it upon himself to ask me a dozen questions about it once I pointed it out. After a few more wild hypotheticals, including a few awful tasting potions, he thought I would be helpful to Sucrose back here in Mondstadt.”
Kaeya hummed, his finger running along the edge of his wine glass. “You must be a rather intelligent person.”
Nova shrugged. “I know a few things, but I wouldn’t say I’m a genius like Albedo or Sucrose.”
She smirked. “What about you, Captain? What’s your story?”
“Please, it’s just Kaeya.” He took a sip. His eye flicked up to the dark wavy hair she cut close to her chin, the ends tinged with the same red as her ears and tail. “Your choice of hair decoration is quite interesting.”
“Avoiding the question, I see.” Nova smirked. Her fingers went up to the raven skull near her left ear. “It’s fake, purely decoration. A friend commissioned it for me.”
“A little morbid, don’t you think?”
Nova held her hand to her chest, gasping. “How rude. This is one of my most prized possessions.”
Kaeya opened his mouth to apologize, but realized she was holding back a laugh. He relaxed his shoulders. “You’re quite the character, you know that?”
“I would hope so.” Nova winked. “Wouldn’t your evening be rather uninteresting otherwise?”
He only hummed in thought, watching her finish her drink. Nova fished out the remaining apple slices perched on top of the ice and stood. “Well, I should head back. It was lovely chatting with you, Mr. Cavalry Captain. I hope I’ve answered your questions to your satisfaction.”
“For now.” He gestured with his glass. “Until next time, little fox.”
Nova snorted and took a bite of the apples. She turned to leave, but paused. Looking back at him, she said in a soft voice, “I promise I’m not here to hurt anyone. I was completely honest when I said I hope Mondstadt can become my home.”
Kaeya smiled, giving a single nod. “Have a good evening.”
Nova’s tail gave a swish to accompany the small smile. She turned back to the entrance of the bar, munching on her sweet snack. Lifting a hand, she said, “It was nice to meet you, Diluc.”
The man gave her a curt nod, seeming to be focused entirely on his work. Nova pressed her hand against the door to push it open and paused. She looked at the blond man leaning against the wall next to the door, his fingers idly strumming on a small harp. A grin on her face, she pulled out a couple Mora and held it out to him. She quietly said, “I think my friend in blue over there would love to hear a song. Something lively and long .”
“Oh! Really?” Six-Fingered José plucked the Mora from her hand, an excited grin on his face. “Of course! Thank you, miss.”
“No, thank you .” Nova snickered, giving Kaeya a wave as she pushed her way out the door.
Diluc gave a quiet snort, eyes going from his brother’s annoyed scowl as the bard wandered over to the door. He muttered, shaking his head, “What a strange woman.”