Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A young ginger man sat at his desk, feet kicked up on his desk. His eyes skimmed a report from one of his agents, taking in the information on his men trying to get into the chasm. In his other hand he held a bottle of fire water, taking a sip of it occasionally. 

A knock rasped at the door of his office. Another sip of the burning liquid and he lowered his feet from atop the Cuihua surface. "One minute." He called out as he reached for his red and black eyepatch. Steady hands reached back to secure it around his head, fitting it over his left eye. "Come in."

"Master Tartaglia." A woman greeted as she opened the door, bowing it respect. "The traveler has arrived in Liyue harbor." The brunette’s hand never strayed from the door, her arm around a stack of paper. Terrific. He supposed that meant it was his time to shine. 

“Alright. Thank you Ekaterina.” She bowed to him again, closing the door as she exited the room. Tartaglia ran a hand through his hair. One more swig of alcohol and he’d depart. Maybe two. He set his bottle down after, straightening up his papers and pushing himself up to his feet. He supposed he’d have to get this over with eventually. 

He walked around his desk, toward the door. He opened the door, but not before grabbing his jacket off the coat rack. The door closed behind him as he pulled his second arm through the sleeve, reaching back to lock the door. Tartaglia was a private person, admittedly. He showed the side of him he wanted people to see when he needed to, otherwise he didn't care what they saw him as. That said, no one was allowed to see his eye, aside from Her Majesty and a few other harbingers. And his office… No one was allowed in it unless he allowed them to. 

One thing Tartaglia disliked about Liyue was the heat. It was nothing extreme of course, but for a Snezhnayan native, it was oppressive. Despite how unprofessional it looked, Tartaglia undid his lower clasps, allowing air to circulate a little easier. With that taken care of, he continued down the steps toward the street level. 

A girl with a floating white companion. What an interesting description, not too descriptive, yet it told him enough. Find the floating companion and he found the traveler. The Rite of Descension would be starting soon, maybe she was in town for that. That at last gave him an idea of where to go. If he had to guess she'd take the main road through Liyue Harbor which meant…

Tartaglia approached the steps leading down toward the docks, spotting his target far easier than he expected. A girl that could really only be described as a pixie floated up the steps, and beside her, the one he presumed to be the traveler. She looked small, smaller than Signora had told him, her hair as pink and as soft looking as some flower, Tartaglia wasn't well versed in his flowers. But the thing that stood out to him was how bright her golden eyes were. It was like he was looking into two miniature suns, and he felt a faint flicker of warmth in his cold chest before it died down. 

Thankfully, Tartaglia recovered fast enough to hurry to the shadows, watching the girl pass him. Curiously he watched the girl in the white dress go up to a few strangers. He wasn't sure what it was she was asking,  but didn't she know talking to strangers was dangerous? It didn't matter how densely packed the harbor was, it would be too easy for someone to capture her like that. 

Tartaglia watched the bright eyed girl call back a thank you before running toward Yujing Terrance. It seemed she was headed to the Rite of Descension. If she didn't hurry, she'd be late. Though if he wanted to keep tailing her, he'd better go too. As fatui, he wouldn't dare get too close to the ritual or he could face Rex Lapis' wrath. But he could keep a close eye on her and snatch the gnosis at the same time. 

Tartaglia pushed out of the shadows, effortlessly joining the crowd. His height allowed him to keep his view on the fleeing girl at least. When Tartaglia finally got into Feiyun Slope, the traveler was running up the steps in an almost comedical fashion, nearly tripping once or twice. Clumsy. 

Tartaglia separated from the crowd as it slowed down, in favor of hurrying for the strawberry haired girl. Blending in had been the best option, but losing her in the crowd was not. Besides, it seemed she didn't even realize she was being followed. 

Honestly, this girl seemed completely unaware of her surroundings! When he finally got up to Yujing Terrance, the girl nearly ran into three men and crashed into a woman. Was she really the girl who had stopped Dvalin? Maybe after the rite he'd simply have to bump into her. He just had to get her attention in a way that wouldn’t look suspicious.

Tartaglia found a roof in Yuehai Pavilion to watch the pink haired girl as she wandered toward the large censers. If he were honest, he was interested in seeing Rex Lapis descend; but he wouldn’t be able to finish his job out in the open like this. The Millelith surrounded the area, and even if he miraculously made it out alive, that would paint a huge target on both him and the rest of the fatui. 

Tartaglia looked on as a white haired woman began to channel geo. If he recalled his reports correctly, that was Ningguang. His gaze turned up as clouds began to gather. “Looks like it’s time to begin.” He muttered out to himself. He just hoped either Rex Lapis didn’t know who he was, or maybe he wouldn’t notice him. Worst case, the city would make for an interesting battlefield.

The clouds began to swirl together, as if in preparation. Far too quickly the clouds began to darken and he knew something had to be wrong . His eye briefly flickered to his pink haired target, but her eyes were up and mouth parted in awe. His eye turned back up, just in time to see a large dragon- Rex Lapis- fall from the sky and crash before the crowds. 

Well. This certainly made things more interesting. 

Tartaglia leaned forward, sitting up fully. He could go in now and steal the gnosis, though with the amount of millelith swarming the body, perhaps this wasn’t the best opportunity. He’d have to get to the body later, most civilians wouldn’t know what a gnosis was, he’d just have to wait for the guards to ease up.

What Tartaglia wasn’t expecting was the pink haired traveler slowly sneaking out. It appeared she wasn’t as much of a saint as he thought. Or maybe she was smart enough to understand the danger she was in. Smart girl. While she did her best to sneak around the millelith, Tartaglia got to his feet. If something happened to her, even more of his plans would be ruined. It would be best to keep an eye on her.

Tartaglia crossed the roof as she snuck past the millelith. If there was one thing he was grateful for, it was the millelith not looking up. If any of them had a brain, they’d be looking up toward the roofs, however, he remained safe. When the millelith beneath the roof turned, Tartaglia leapt down past him, landing on a different roof and running. 

He looked up in time to see the pinkette step on tile, a loud crinkle beneath her heel. Her attention turned before she ran down the steps of Yujing Terrace, millelith hot on her trail. She skidded on the stone, ready to run further, but more millelith cut her off. The girl was trapped, pulling her sword out, but Tartaglia could see she was hesitant on using it by the loose grip she had on it.

If they locked up the body and her, what would his plan be? With the body already swarmed, he'd need to plan how to get close to it… No, he'd just have to stick with the original plan. And that girl would play the role of protecting the city. Afterall, his end goal would be to get the gnosis, not destroy the city. 

But he needed her safe if she were to play the star. Masterful hands summoned his bow. "Hey Girlie, hold still." He called out before firing off two arrows for the millelith closing in on her. Both hands moved to press on the roof, leaping as he pushed on them. The harbinger leapt up onto the landing, gathering hydro into his hands. With hydro blades, it was child's play dispatching the rest of the millelith. Hell, he didn't even break a sweat! 

He looked up as more millelith ran from the plaza above. The urge to have a little more made him want to take them on, but he knew they’d be no challenge for him. Besides, if he were to get the gnosis, maybe it was best if they didn’t get to know his face. “Come with me.” Tartaglia ran, glancing back only to make sure the traveler and the pixie were behind him.

The harbinger exhaled as they moved around the stairs beneath Wanwen Bookhouse. He reached out to grab the pink haired girl as she hurried by, pulling her back to him and covering her mouth. She squirmed in his arm and muffled as Paimon darted back to them. 

“Stop them!” Tartaglia held the girl closer as he watched the millelith run past them. Once the coast was clear, he released the pink haired girl, taking a step back.

“Sorry.” Paimon groaned out as both girls panted out.

“Phew... Paimon's exhausted…” Tartaglia looked over at the pixie, crossing his arms.

“Ju-just what muscles does… magical float-floating use… exactly?” That was exactly his thoughts. From his perspective, all she’d done was float after them while they ran.

“So insensitive! You have no idea just how tiring floating arou- Wait!” Paimon turned toward Tartaglia, eyes narrowed. “Just who are you exactly?”

“I’m Tartaglia.” He answered curtly, dusting off one of his sleeves. “And you must be Lumine and Paimon, correct?”

“Yeah that’s us. Are we that famous already?” Tartaglia looked over Lumine, letting out a small, fake chuckle.

“While I’m sure that’s true, no.” Paimon and Lumine exchanged confused glances before turning back to him. “From my understanding, you’ve made an acquaintance with my colleague, Signora?”

“Signora… and Tartaglia… Colleagues- wait!” Paimon looked at him, shock on her face, but Lumine just watched her, as if waiting for her words. “You’re fatui! One of the harbingers!”

“That’s right. Don’t worry, I don’t plan to hurt you.” At least not yet. If things played out how he wanted them to, he would have no reason to hurt the girls. “In fact, I’m here to help you out.”

“We don’t need your help! We do not work with fatui!” Paimon huffed, crossing her arms and huffing at him. That was about the response he expected, though it was surprising to see Lumine offer a different response.

“Oh come on Paimon, he doesn’t seem all bad.” If he were honest, he expected her to be far more distrustful after what Signora had done.

“WHAT?! Lumine, did you forget the trouble we went through in Mondstadt?!” Paimon crossed her arms at the traveler, who simply huffed and put her hands on her hips.

“Paimon, he just saved us. Why would he do that if he wasn’t looking out for us? We’ve done nothing to him.” Was that how she saw it? He wouldn’t do anything as long as they didn’t do anything to him? What an interesting view of the world… She was certainly in for an awakening. 

“What do you MEAN why?! Because he’s FATUI!” Lumine huffed out again, turning her head to the harbinger.

“Anyway, thank you for saving us. But I have to ask why you did it." 

“Signora told me about your feats in Mondstadt, so you had my interest before the Rite of Descension. I know you weren’t behind what happened.” Tartaglia hummed out as Lumine blinked, eyes bright and cheerful.

“So you can vouch for me and tell them it wasn’t me?” A fake laugh left his lips. He had to appear friendly and approachable, his eyepatch certainly made him have to try harder.

“Unfortunately, given I'm a Fatui envoy from Snezhnaya, they would never believe my word. In fact it may make you appear more suspicious if I defend you.” The Qixing would likely be asking questions already. If he tangled this girl up with it, they would likely lump her together with his kind. No, she needed to stay neutral in their eyes if he were to use her.

“Oh… Paimon supposes that would make sense. Your kind isn’t very trustworthy.” 

“Paimon!” Lumine hissed before she sweetly turned to him. “Sorry about her-”

“Hey!” Paimon stomped her foot mid air, but Tartaglia kept his eye on the pink haired girl. 

“-you mentioned helping us, right? If you can’t clear our names, how can you help us? I know we already owe you for saving us but-” Tartaglia raised his hands, forcing a smile to his lips.

“Think nothing of it, traveler. We can discuss more of this at Northland Bank. You never know who might be listening.” Besides, it was in poor taste to discuss this kind of thing in the open. Millelith were going to be swarming any second, and if anyone caught wind of their plan, it could destroy everything he’d worked to build up.

“Sure, lead the way.” Lumine’s smile was bright and warm, reminding the harbinger of a warm fire left burning when he came home in the dead of night. It temporarily left him feeling at ease and comfortable, a feeling he often only felt when he was at home, surrounded by his loved ones.

“Follow me.” He turned away from the warmth, heading toward the bank. He was aware of the traveler and her companion arguing about him, but said nothing to interrupt them. From what he could tell, the pixie was heavily against helping the fatui at all, and that included himself. The pink haired traveler on the other hand, defended him, pointing out to her companion that not all Fatui had to be bad, perhaps the fatui in Mondstadt were different. She kept bringing back the fact that he'd saved though, refusing the possibility that perhaps he was using them or that she was a pawn in his schemes. It was kind of cute how she already insisted that he seemed like a good person; though he was a little more concerned with how much she was trusting him. Was she naturally a positive ray of sunshine? She'd be eaten alive by reality.

“Whoa… So this is Northland Bank?” Paimon gasped as she looked at the building before them.

“That’s right. Though the bank is here in Liyue, Snezhnaya is the one that runs it. Liyue may be the most enterprising nation, but Snezhnaya is quite well off as well.” The harbinger crossed his arms. Being friendly was quite exhausting.

“Yeah well, poorer nations don't seem the type to have diplomats that come around acting the way yours do towards the Knights of Favonius.” Tartaglia side eyed the pixie before inhaling. Play nice…  

“I assure you. What Signora did in Mondstadt is her own thing. I’m nowhere near like her.” If he were honest, it was quite insulting to be lumped into the same group as that witch. He’d rather fall back into the abyss than think about her more.

“Yeah Paimon, Tartaglia already feels far kinder than the other harbinger. I’m sure she just left a bad first impression.” Tartaglia looked at the pink haired girl, reaching into his pocket.

“Here, why don’t you take this.” He pulled out the yellowed paper with a sigil inscribed into it. Lumine took the paper from him, turning it over in her hands.

“What’s this?” She asked, bright, expectant eyes on him. He’d planned to tell her he didn’t quite understand, though he found himself spilling more with those eyes on him.

“A sigil to keep the "mighty and illuminated adepti" from bringing harm to you. I think I heard it called a ‘sigil of permission’. You’ll want that on you if you see the adepti.”

“Adepti?” Paimon questioned, looking over the traveler’s shoulder.

“Why would we want to see the adepti anyway?” Lumine asked, and for a second, Tartaglia wondered if sending her was the right course of action.

“Word has it that the Qixing have dispatched the Millelith to search for assassins from the onlookers. What they fail to realize is that no mere mortal could slay a god as impressive as Rex Lapis. And even if they could’ve, they would’ve had to do it in front of everyone.” Tartaglia inhaled. Surely this was a panicked response, the Qixing couldn’t really think a mortal was capable of this task. Even he wouldn’t have been able to do such a heinous act.

“Do you think the Qixing did it? Maybe they’re covering it up and interrogating everyone.” Paimon mused, earning a scoff from the traveler.

“Come on Paimon. What motive would they have? Rex Lapis was their god.” Paimon huffed at her.

“Maybe they wanted more control! You act like people aren’t selfish and greedy!” For once, the little pixie said what Tartaglia was thinking. This girl seemed to think everyone had a logical reason, and no ill intentions. It was almost a little sad to think about how much she trusted strangers.

“I wouldn’t have gone quite so far, but it could very well be a possibility.” He crossed his arms as he looked over the girls. “But while I may not be able to tell the millelith that you’re innocent, the adepti can. If you can get to them before the Qixing, they may be able to protect you from these allegations.” 

“Well, if that’s the case.” Paimon crossed her arms. “Fine, we’ll go. But only so we can clear our names! Come on, Lumine!” The pink haired girl smiled at her friend, turning to follow the pixie as she floated away without so much as a thanks or farewell. That was fine, Tartaglia didn’t need either.

Except, the traveler stopped before she followed Paimon. She turned to look at the harbinger, a bright smile on her lips. “Thank you again for all the help.” What really stunned him was the traveler coming closer to hug him sincerely. Regrettably, all he did was freeze up. No one besides his little siblings hugged him. “See you soon, okay? I owe you for all the help!” 

“Traveler!” Tartaglia watched wordlessly as she peeled herself from him, hurrying down the steps after her companion. What a bright, sweet girl. She was such a contrast to everything he was used to. He’d given up on the world, but it was refreshing to see someone who hadn’t.

“Vlad.” Tartaglia walked closer to the railing, watching the fleeing girls as they ran toward the outskirts of the harbor. 

"Y-yes, Master Tartaglia?" The standing guard took a step closer, bowing to his harbinger. 

"What do you think of that girl?" He allowed the guard a moment to look over at his target. 

"The traveler?" Tartaglia hummed out in approval. "The report said she was naïve, didn't it? If you ask me, I think she's too trusting. She seemed endeared to you already." So it wasn't just him, huh? 

"I thought so too.” Tartaglia hummed out. If he left her to her own devices, the world would break her. Her light shined brighter than the stars shone in the night sky, perhaps even brighter than the stars in the abyss. If Tartaglia had learned anything, everything in this world craved to steal the light, and often in those times, the light they sought after would become tainted. It was exactly how most children unfortunately grew up. One day their eyes would have to be opened to the harsh realities of the world. 

Lumine was a rare case. For some reason, she still remained pure. She must’ve had someone looking over her until now, just as he did for his siblings. But here she was, far away from anyone who might’ve been looking over her, aside from the little pixie but he doubted she was the one protecting her. If she remained this way, her light would be stolen and she’d be rudely awakened to the darkness that crept in every corner. 

An image of his Tonia, Anthon and Teucer flashed into his mind. Innocence untouched by everything wrong in the world. Why did this woman make him think of them? And what was this sense of duty bubbling in him? Why did he feel the need to shield her from this world? It really was in her best interest to be broken early on before…

“Vlad. Please tell Ekaterina that I’m stepping out for a bit.”

“H-huh? Where are you going, Master Tartaglia?” A beat passed before the man bowed before him. “S-Sorry lord harbinger. I shouldn’t have ask-” Tartaglia raised his hand to silence the man.

“It’s alright. Tell her I’m going up to Jueyun Karst.” Vlad nodded and bowed to him again.

“Yes sir.” Vlad started for the door, but Tartaglia continued.

“If she asks, tell her it’s harbinger business.” He had no intention of interfering with the traveler, nor did he plan to help her; but he had to at least try to protect such a bright, innocent girl. Besides, he hated being stuck in the office. At least if he went out there was a chance of a good fight.

Chapter Text

When Tartaglia found the traveler again, she was playing some sort of travel game with her floating pixie. Evidently, the girls did not understand that this was time sensitive. He’d very clearly said to get there before the Qixing, yet they were too busy messing around. He supposed he was impressed by her playful spirit and how little all this bothered her, but if they didn’t pick up the pace, the adepti would side with the Qixing and his plan to drive a wedge between them would be ruined!

…Still he’d sent her out here on her own, it wasn’t like he could go tell her to hurry up or she’d know he followed her. Hell, she didn’t even seem to be aware that he was following her. Most other adventurers would’ve had some sort of premonition and at least glanced back by now, but they were too engrossed in their games to even feel like they were being followed. Unless they had and just hadn’t looked for him, though he suspected they wouldn’t have been so subtle about it.

Watching Lumine trek from Liyue harbor to Jueyun Karst was an adventure all on its own. It should have taken the pink haired girl a day give or take, but in reality, she took twice as long. Her and Paimon talked and played games frequently, Lumine stepped away to take in the gorgeous views, and she talked to everyone she passed, offering help when anyone had even the slightest issue as if she wasn’t wanted by the millelith.

At least he’d been fortunate enough to watch her fight. Tartaglia watched her fend off a small band of hilichurls all on her own. He was quite impressed watching her dart and weave between attacks, delivering a few devastating blows on her own. He found himself wondering where she’d learned those moves when he watched her set up camp for herself and Paimon.

That had been yet another red flag. As he wondered to himself how she did it, Lumine laid down to sleep beside Paimon. As harmless as it sounded, Tartaglia was bewildered. No one was watching their camp (except for him, but they definitely had no idea he was even there), what if someone stumbled upon them?

Thankfully for the girls, Tartaglia kept watch over them from a cliff above while he aired out his covered eye. As the girls ate dinner and chatted, no issues arose, so he ate into his emergency rations he carried for a back up. They were bland and tasteless, but making a fire might attract their attention (which he doubted by how little they looked around) or it might distract him from danger. 

Things changed an hour or so after they went to sleep when a few treasure hoarders began for the camp. Lucky for the girls, he was watching out for them. Tartaglia dropped from above in front of the treasure hoarders. "Listen here, pretty boy. This is our turf you got-" When Tartaglia looked up, the treasure hoarders stopped in their tracks, eyes filling with terror instantly. 

"What was that?" The duo began to sweat buckets as the harbinger took a couple steps closer. "I'm sure you said something." Normally, he wouldn't have interfered. Afterall, Lumine seemed capable of defending herself; but he didn’t want them harming the innocent traveler while she slept. The hydro vision affixed to his hip pulsed blue as hydro accumulated in his hands, closing them around a pair of blades.

“H-His eye-!” Judging by their reactions, Tartaglia guessed they wouldn’t be much of a challenge. It was quite a shame, he would’ve loved to indulge in a good fight. But this would be more akin to murder than a fight.

“Oh, did I forget my eyepatch?” A blue gleam shined as he darted forward and it was over before it began. Could this even be considered a fight in any sense? The cowards were far too scared to even move, all they did was stare at his eye as if he were a monster. He supposed they were right, on some level he was a monster. Still, he had a job to do and bodies to dispose of. He didn’t have the time nor the willingness to contemplate whether he was more of a monster or a person.

Tartaglia shook the blood off his blades, letting them deform immediately after. He grabbed the arm of the smaller treasure hoarder, hoisting him onto his shoulder before picking the larger one up under his arm. He didn’t actually care about properly disposing of the bodies, he just had to remove them before the traveler saw them.

If the harbinger were to guess, if Lumine saw them, she’d probably take even more time to bury them- or even worse, return to Liyue Harbor to inform Wangshang Funeral Parlor. If she did either, then his plan would be ruined. Disposing of these bodies would hopefully be enough to keep her focused on finding the adepti.

After diverting away from the path for a while, Tartaglia found a place to dump the bodies, returning back toward the camp the girls made. With the threat cleared, the harbinger returned to the cliff over the camp, settling in to keep watch over the far too innocently sleeping females. 

The sun had been in the sky for quite a while before Lumine and Paimon woke up and left their camp. For someone used to waking up before the sun, it felt like they were just wasting good travel time. He didn’t understand these two! Still, it had given him enough time to slyly brew a pot of coffee far above them. He wasn’t a coffee lover by any stretch, in fact he found he didn’t quite like the stuff, but it was very useful when he needed to be awake for prolonged periods like now.

By the time Lumine made it to Jueyun Karst, it felt like a lifetime had passed. But they had apparently made it before the millelith, so he supposed he could calm down. If messing around meant she was happy and they were still the first to arrive, he’d overlook the agitation from the past day. Still, she could have realized at any point she was being watched, any normal traveler would’ve felt it. 

Unfortunately, once the traveler and Paimon found the first adeptus, Tartaglia realized he wasn’t nearly close enough to hear what was being said between the traveler and the adeptus. Moving closer might risk the large adeptus noticing him, and that would only hinder his efforts. He’d settle for a safer distance, even if it meant he couldn’t hear them. Traveler already seemed to trust him, so what would she pull on him?

As she talked to the adeptus, he couldn’t help but notice the sound of footfall approaching. Millelith came into view as he turned. If she had only gotten here sooner… No matter, he was interested in seeing how she handled this. From what he had seen, she was strong, and she’d fought Dvalin! She could definitely handle a few soldiers! If she couldn’t he’d have to find a new pawn for his story; if she couldn’t fend off some soldiers she would be of no interest to him.

Watching her fight off the millelith was a little bittersweet. He was fascinated by her movements, the way she handled her blade and held off the soldiers while not seriously harming any; but he couldn’t help but be jealous. He’d been itching for a tough fight, something he clearly was not finding in Liyue any time soon. That wasn’t to say this fight looked hard, but it reminded him of the burning desire within.

Tartaglia watched from a distance as the Millelith ran away from the pink haired Traveler, Paimon and the adeptus. It was a long silence for the harbinger as they talked far from his hearing. Next adeptus, he’d have to make sure he was closer. 

“PREPOSTEROUS!!!” Tartaglia let out a yawn as he wondered what the girls were telling the large stag-like adepti. Lumine and Paimon talked to him for a couple more minutes, before they turned to head out.

Tartaglia followed the girls to Mt. Aocang, keeping an eye on them from the very top of the mountain. He watched Lumine run all over the mountain, until she settled down to cook. He couldn’t believe she was wasting more time, but the smell of her cooking did make his stomach rumble. 

When the pink haired girl set the dishes on the table in the center, Tartaglia fell to the ground as it began to shake. He silently cursed as the girls looked toward the incline he now lied upon. Had they seen him? What was that rumbling? Surely his stomach hadn't affected the mountain!

"Come on, Paimon!" Lumine shouted as she hurried to the base of the mountain. 

"W-wait, Lumine!" Tartaglia risked a glance over the cliff as they hurried to the base of the mountain, just now noticing the entrance to a domain. Must be the adeptus' home. Tartaglia toyed with the idea of following her inside as she opened the stone door. This was why he was here. Then again, how could he manage that? The adeptus would probably notice him entering its domain, but if it didn't… 

That idea was shut down when the stone doors slammed closed. If Tartaglia wanted to get in now, he'd have to push open the door, which would be loud enough to alert both the adepti and the traveler. The adeptus wouldn't attack her anyway, that's what the Sigil of Permission he gave her was for. 

The harbinger held his stomach as it growled out again. He was strong enough to fight back the desire to help himself to her cooking. Besides, he'd eaten an emergency ration last night and before that… Well he wasn't sure he remembered when exactly he ate last. His last real meal had been done over work, entertaining an associate from the local funeral home. 

He spared another glance down to the domain below him. Maybe he could get away with stealing a bit of the food the traveler had made. He could imagine Lumine not checking the table to see if the food was still present. And if she somehow caught him (which he swore on his life that she wouldn't) he could make up an excuse. He could throw some lies together. 

Tartaglia leapt down from the top of the cliff, walking toward the delicious smelling food sitting on the table. His stomach rumbled again as he got closer, looking over the dishes left for the adeptus. He’d better only eat one. Any more and she might notice them eaten when she left. His choices were between a type of vegetable soup, a meat and mushroom based dish and a meat pastry.

Normally, he would’ve gravitated to the meat and mushroom, yet as he ran a gloved finger over the chopsticks at the table, he found them rather dusty. Besides, he had no idea how long they’d been sitting here (and he didn’t really know how to use them, though he preferred to not think about that). Instead, he picked up the meaty pastry, using the sleeve around it to keep his gloves clean. 

The aroma of the pastry was heavenly. Though perhaps that had simply been due to the lack of quality food as of late. The actual taste was far more than he could’ve dreamt of. His mother was the best cook he knew, nothing beat her home cooking. Or he thought until now. But this taste… It really tasted like it was made by a divine goddess, cooked to perfection and cut with unbeatable precision. He could taste the love in every last morsel. The dish was gone faster than he expected and left him wishing for more.

The thought of consuming the other meaty dish crossed the man's mind but he instead fled the scene, retreating back up to his cliff. He'd have to dirty his gloves eating with his hands (since the chopsticks didn’t seem all that sanitary). He’d also told himself one meal, not two. Besides, who knew how long the traveler would be in the domain?

Evidently, they took their sweet time, though why would he expect anything different? They hadn’t been great at focusing before, why would they now? Tartaglia peered over the cliff as Lumine walked out of the domain, stretching.

“Two adepti down! Two more to go!” Paimon boasted as she followed after the pink haired girl. “Where should we go now?”

“Hm… Well this Conqueror of Demons sounds strong. Let’s go there next. Where was that?”

“Paimon remembers! It was Wangshu inn. We passed it on the way to Liyue Harbor!” 

“Really? Then let’s head out now. I bet Tartaglia is wondering why we’re taking so long!” He would, if he wasn’t following them. As the traveler and the pixie hurried down the mountain, Tartaglia kept behind them, always above them on the cliffside. 

Thankfully, for once, the girls focused. Paimon kept getting distracted, but at least Lumine insisted they get to the inn by night. Tartaglia did his part too, shooting a group of bandits down before they could even intersect the traveler. This was why he was practicing with his bow. It was mostly to get stronger with it, to be able to wield all possible weapons; but he couldn’t deny how useful a bow could really be. He could fight with his daggers, and a polearm with zero challenge, but a bow could hit the range he didn’t have otherwise. And in this case, a gun would’ve been too loud, Lumine would’ve heard him.

It was dark by the time they reached Wangshu inn, but the traveler continued toward the tall, brilliantly lit building in the Bishui Plains. Paimon had long grown tired, making the pink haired girl carry her while Tartaglia continued to trail behind. He tried not to yawn as he carried on, feeling the impact of sleep deprivation. If Lumine got a room tonight, then he would at least have time to properly rest. He wouldn’t have to worry over her another full night.

To his relief, the first thing the traveler did upon entering the inn was book a room. When she wandered off to find her room, he waited nearly ten minutes before he booked his own room under ‘Ajax’. He placed a special room service order for the strongest alcohol they had and whatever the chef wanted to make him. As long as it had some meat in it, he wasn’t picky. 

When he got to his room, the first thing he did was air out his left eye. It felt good to let it breathe while he waited for his food. Laying down also seemed like a good idea, until he realized there was a high possibility he’d pass out before his food came. Instead he practiced his transitions from bow to daggers and back again. His transitions now were fine, but fine wasn’t good enough.

There was a knock at the door within ten minutes. Tartaglia slipped his eyepatch back on and opened it, greeted to the sight of an imported Sneznayan firewater and a large plate of Jueyun Chili Chicken. When he was alone again, he tossed his eyepatch onto the end table and dug into his food and drink. The chicken tasted like a severe downgrade from Lumine’s cooking, but the warm food was still welcomed. The familiar burn of firewater was heavenly, coupled with the Jeuyun Chilis in his meal, it left him feeling satisfied. 

Tartaglia fell asleep shortly after his meal, sleeping well into the night just as he was sure Lumine and Paimon did. He rose with the sun, feeling much more rested than he'd felt the previous morning (though that was expected since he actually slept this night). To avoid running into the Traveler, he checked out rather early, unsure if the girls were even awake yet. 

A few hours after the sun had risen, Tartaglia found himself sitting on the roof of the inn, watching his targets walk out onto the balcony. "He's not here? Do you think we missed him?" Paimon voiced out as Lumine walked toward the railing. 

"Whoa… In the light, the view is gorgeous…" Tartaglia watched Lumine lean on the railing as she took in the view. A smile pulled onto his lips. She'd just been on a mountain yet this view was still impressive? She was so easily entertained. It was a little cute. Realizing what he was thinking, the harbinger crossed his arms, ripping his gaze from them. Naïve, and innocent. Not cute. He was just here to protect her innocence. 

"Aaaah!" Tartaglia looked at them again at Paimon's cry, preparing to leap in when he spotted a boy beside the pink haired girl. 

"A Sigil of Permission?" Ah, this boy must be the adeptus they were here for. He eased up, leaning back out of sight. "Though this only prevents me from hurting you myself. Doesn't stop you from getting hurt in other ways." No, that's what he was here for. 

"I'm… Confused. Are you threatening to push me off the balcony?" An outrageous thought. Wouldn't that still be him hurting her? Besides, he trusted himself to catch her if need be.

"Mortal souls are not as robust as those of adepti, nor can your blood carry this level of adeptal energy. Leave. Now." 

"Wait!" Paimon called out as the boy disappeared. 

Lumine sighed out. "Come on, Paimon. Let's ask the innkeeper for help." Tartaglia watched the girls walk back inside. He wondered how they'd coax the adeptus back out, how they'd be able to get him to work with-

Tartaglia stiffened when he realized someone was right behind him. In a motion as fluid as the hydro he wielded, he summoned a dagger to his hands, slashing it at the person behind him. Unfortunately, a hand grabbed his wrist in a tight grip, rooting his hand in place. It was hard to see who it was when he'd turned to look over his left shoulder, his eyepatch blocking out any peripheral vision. He'd turned much wider than he would've liked before he realized the adeptus stood behind him, holding his wrist. 

“Who are you? Why are you spying on me?” Tartaglia pulled at his bound wrist. Strong… Even in such a small body. He wasn’t one to judge others based on looks, but he also wasn’t someone who so easily admitted he was bested in strength. His pride was taking quite a beating from this.

“I’m not here for you.” He replied, narrowing his eye. “I’m here for her.” Well, he supposed he sort of was here for him since he’d sent the traveler to the adepti, but this boy wasn’t his main focus.

“Hm.” The adeptus looked down at him as if he were trying to inspect him. “That girl is full of an unusually bright light.” Of course he could tell too. He was an adeptus, specifically the Conqueror of Demons, it should’ve been no surprise that he could sense Lumine’s radiating inner light. The adeptus released his wrist. “The dark abyss in you must be fascinated by it.” Tartaglia grit his teeth at the mention of the abyss. It was true he held a beast within, that he had been truly tainted and darkened by the world, abyss and all; but he didn’t like letting others know about it, even if they were adepti.

“The abyss has nothing to do with this. I’m simply here to protect her light.” He turned his head away from him defensively. He didn’t like this. He didn’t like his motives being questioned, nor did he like being made out like the bad guy when he was doing nothing wrong. Except for stalking.

“Then why are there fatui following you?” What? He didn’t order anyone to follow him.

“I came alone.” He spat out far too quickly. The Conqueror of Demons lowered his hand to the balcony below, pointing out an agent that walked out, looking around. “Huh?” He missed when the adeptus disappeared, more focused on his agent. “Javert?” The man turned around, catching sight of his boss.

“Lord Harbinger!” The agent called out, leaping up onto the roof and kneeling before him. “Master Tartaglia, you’re needed back in Liyue Harbor right away.”

“Already? I’m on a mission. Ekaterina can handle whatever it is.” Tartaglia dismissed, crossing his arms.

“It’s the Qixing. Now that the blame has been shifted off the Traveler, they’re back on the fatui, sir. They’re demanding an interrogation with you right away.” He tightened his arms, huffing out. He didn’t want to grant them their audience with him, but he supposed it would be careless to blow them off while he ran after a girl. Getting the gnosis was still his top priority, and incriminating the fatui would only make it harder for him later on. Besides, he doubted Her Majesty would be happy if he did so.

“Fine. Then you’re take over this mission.” He pushed himself to his feet, towering over his agent. “Protect the Traveler and make sure she gets back in one piece.” Tartaglia jumped down from the roof.

“S-sir?” He looked back at the confused man, shooting a glare at him. His subordinate instantly stiffened, and saluted the harbinger. “I-I mean o-of course! Yes Lord Harbinger!” 

“I’ll expect a report within an hour after she arrives back in Liyue Harbor.” Tartaglia added as he walked into the inn again. He was careful to avoid Lumine on his way out, heading straight for Liyue Harbor. He supposed this was the last bit of fun he would get for a while. It was time to return to the bustling harbor and back to running around to enact his plans. 

At least it would be less boring once Lumine returned from her journey.

Chapter Text

Tartaglia groaned out as he sat at his desk. He leaned forward, rubbing his temples. Dealing with the Qixing was next to impossible! He hated the kind of problems he couldn’t fight head on, yet this had to be handled as delicately as possible. If he answered with his blades, Liyue and Snezhnaya would likely end up in war. One of the Tsaritsa’s trusted harbingers attacking the Qixing? That would be a disaster!

His attention would have to be split now. Before him sat a report written by the agent he’d assigned to Lumine. A very brief glance of the summary told him Lumine was headed toward the bank after stopping for a meal. He’d have to read the rest of the report later. First, he had to meet with the Traveler. After that, he’d have to have yet another meeting with that Keqing girl he’d met.

It was absurd how she continued to accuse the fatui of being involved. From what Tartaglia remembered, Rex Lapis had fallen from the sky, already dead. How could the fatui even reach him up there? The average fatui soldier could never harm him, much less in the sky, and even if he had wanted to kill him himself (which, while the challenge would be thrilling, there was little chance he’d survive it,) he wouldn’t have. That would simply open war between the two nations and make it even harder to retrieve the gnosis. 

Tartaglia got up and headed for his door. If he were honest, he had some concerns regarding Rex Lapis’s death. He wasn’t sure he understood all the details no matter how much he turned them over in his head. Rex Lapis had performed impressive feats in his youth, he’d brought gods to their knees and could end an entire civilization if he so desired. Yet the Qixing thought one of those attending the Rite of Descension had done the deed. Even if he were no longer in his prime, a mere human was no match for him.

He’d also been wondering during his last meeting about what Paimon had suggested. What if the Qixing had been responsible for his death somehow? What if they had planted some kind of evidence on the fatui? If he remembered correctly, the Qixing did have an adeptus in their ranks. But would they overthrow their archon for more power?

That didn’t seem realistic either. The only reasonable assumption would be another god killing Rex Lapis, or maybe an illness. Other than that, it was entirely possible that he had faked his death. Tartaglia scoffed at that notion. Why would he do that? And how could he leave such a large body if he wasn’t dead? The Exuvia seemed to be so real… Not that Tartaglia had seen it in person.

Still, even as he left his office, it only made sense to prepare in case that was what happened. He had to assume everything was possible and prepare a plan for every outcome. Perhaps those sigils of permissions could be used. Originally he’d planned to force the Qixing and adepti into war. Bring both parties together and sit back while they tore themselves apart. It would make stealing the gnosis much easier if the two parties were distracted.

But if it turned out that Rex Lapis was still alive, surely he'd still have the gnosis. Maybe Tartaglia would need a bigger threat. One that could draw the archon out of hiding. That would have to be plan B though. He didn't want to risk lives if he didn't have to. Something big like that would have to cause damage to the city and threaten the people, but what else would draw Rex Lapis out? 

Tartaglia rubbed his temples again, descending the steps of the bank.  Why had he insisted he was ready for this job? There were so many variables, so many possibilities and ends to follow. His head was pounding again. Perhaps he'd write a list of possibilities and make a plan for each possibility. He'd have to make a list of variables too.

The fresh Liyuean air felt nice on his face. He inhaled the seabreeze, catching spice and meat in the air. Along with the exotic smells of the harbor, Tartaglia could also hear the hustle and bustle of the city. Children playing with friends, merchants selling their wares, old friends catching up on each other’s lives. He could also distinctly hear the story teller across the road rave about Rex Lapis, as if the nation weren’t in mourning over their god.

Among the sounds, he could hear someone coming up the steps, along with idle chatter. “Paimon just doesn’t get how you thought he was cute! He was so edgy, and hello! He’s an ADEPTI!” Tartaglia felt his eyebrow twitch. Those girls really needed to learn how easy eavesdropping was when they talked so loudly. Still… The traveler was crushing on one of the adepti huh? Unless she was into some strange creatures, they must’ve meant the Conqueror of Demons.

“I said he was cute. Not that I wanted to date him. I think plenty of guys are cute. I thought Venti was cute too.” Did Tartaglia really want to eavesdrop on all the guys this girl thought was cute? Could he even count this as eavesdropping? He was waiting here for the traveler, and they just talked so loudly.

“What?! VENTI?!” He felt his heart darken, as if someone were drizzling ink over it. He couldn’t quite understand why he felt this way, but he never really understood his own feelings.

“Well, in a ‘cheeky little brother’ way.” 

“Next you're going to tell Paimon you think Diluc is cute!” They were going to be louder when they finally caught up with him, weren't they?

“No! Of course not!” There was a pause. “He's hot.” The darkness inside him felt like it was growing the more these two girls loudly discussed the Traveler's attractions. Most traveling companions would save that talk for the road when there weren't ears everywhere, catching their conversation. Liyue harbor was possibly the worst city to discuss this. Surely others were listening to them too.

“Paimon thought you said that Tartaglia guy was hot?” And certainly discussing the man in question while they were on their way to meet him… These girls were clueless! Not only were they coming to see him, but he was also fatui. On some level, they were technically enemies!

“Well yeah, he is. I like tall guys, and something about him makes me-”

“SH!” Tartaglia mentally cursed. Despite how stupid discussing him here was, he'd be lying if he said he wasn't interested in what the pink haired girl would say. “Careful! He might be listening!” Oh, now they were worried about who listened in on their conversation? He crossed his arms and closed his eye. Lumine might be strong, but he wouldn't say she was the sharpest tool in the shed. 

“Ah- Tartaglia!” Lumine called out to him, his eye opening as he looked at the pair of girls standing at the top of the stairs. “We’re back!” 

“Good afternoon, Traveler! How was your journey to Jueyun Karst?” 

“Great! The views from the top of the cliffs were amazing!” Lumine beamed as she reached for her hair. “We were ambushed while meeting with one of the adepti. Moon… Shaper? Cloud Slayer? Rock Carver?”

“Moon Carver! Cloud slayer? Really?” Paimon crossed her arms as Lumine idly played with her tresses. “Moon Carver seemed pretty upset to hear about Rex Lapis’ assassination during the ceremony, it only got worse when he realized the Qixing were blaming attendants of the festival.” If an adepti had the same thought about how suspicious that was, maybe it wasn't such a crazy idea after all. Tartaglia just couldn't figure out why they'd do that.

“After that, he sent us to some of the other adepti. One adepti had us prepare several dishes for her before she let us in.” He could still imagine that taste. Her cooking was unlike any other, and it left a lasting impression on him. It was amazing she could even make something like that. It was as if she purified his soul (at least while he ate).

“But when she let us in, we walked into a HUGE domain! Far bigger than the mountain itself!” Sounds like they'd seen some amazing domain while he was stuffing his face. “We met Cloud Retainer there. Boy, she was a real nut case!”

“Paimon!” The traveler crossed her arms at her. “She said she'd come to Liyue to destroy it.” Well that threw a wrench in his pl- “I… Think she’s putting that off though? Paimon brought contracts into question and then… Well, I got a little lost?” Paimon turned toward the traveler.

“Seriously?” Lumine let out a small, nervous chuckle, playing with her hair again. “Well-” The white haired girl sighed. “Actually, Paimon isn’t too sure what she said either. Paimon just made it up as she went.” Tartaglia swore these two shared one brain cell. 

“Oh, we met Xiao, the Conqueror of Demons!” That had been the adeptus that caught Tartaglia spying on the traveler. He could still feel his tight grip on his wrist, almost like the memory was taunting him. He’d have to work more on his strength when this mission was put to rest.

“And the Traveler thought he was cuuuuute!” Lumine gasped and pouted at her friend.

“Hey! He’s not looking for that kind of information!” She crossed her arms. “Anyway, he insisted he wouldn’t see us, so we had to get the chef to make him a special dish. We told him about Rex Lapis and he promised to see the rest of the adepti.”

“He seemed to be the most distraught about his death to Paimon!”

“Yeah, almost like he didn’t believe it was possible…” 

“I see. So you met three adepti then…” He would need to remember all this. They seemed united, but it sounded like Moon Carver would be the most direct in taking on the Qixing, whereas this Conqueror of Demons would be distracted over Rex Lapis’ passing. Cloud Retainer would be the wild card. She could either be appeased, destroy the city, or refuse to participate at all. 

“Hold on, we also met Mountain Shaper!” Paimon shouted, shaking her head. “Oh, that was a tall mountain to climb!”

“Climb? You floated up! I’m the one who climbed it!” Lumine glared at the pixie.

“Uh… anyway! We helped some brothers out, and they confused the Traveler for an adepti messenger!” Paimon let out a laugh. “As if she could be an adepti messenger!”

“Hey. What is that supposed to mean? I could be an adepti messenger!” She pouted at Paimon. “Thankfully,” She turned her gaze to the harbinger. “I think the sigil of permission you gave us kept Mountain Shaper from attacking us.”

“Yeah, and he didn’t seem to think any mortal could take out Rex Lapis. He also wanted to talk to the other adepti.” Tartaglia hadn’t thought that far yet. He’d really only thought about those attending the service, not those hosting it. Even if the Qixing wanted to kill Rex Lapis, could they even do it? From what he’d learned, they had a single adepti in their ranks; and she seemed far too kind and timid to overthrow the archon.

“I see… Moon Carver, Mountain Shaper, Cloud Retainer, Conqueror of Demons… Some of these names have never come up in the intel the Fatui gets hold of.” Tartaglia hummed out. “Ah, right.” He looked over at the girls. “Now that you’re back, I’ve gotten some information for you.” 

“Really? You’re the best!” Lumine grinned happily at him.

“Ahaha…” He cleared his throat. “I’m sure you haven’t heard yet. Since the Qixing have no leads on the killer, they are not allowing anyone to pay their respects to the Exuvia. They've even gone so far as to try and cut off information... But with the Rite of Descension and all, even the Qixing isn't able to keep the news from spreading.”

“Well, his death should be a huge deal, he’s the archon.” The pink haired girl put her hand on her hip. “If your Tsaritsa passed, I’m sure the fatui would be talking about it regardless of how much the harbingers tried to keep them silent.”

“The Tsaritsa isn’t nearly as easy to kill.” He snapped out, exhaling. “As I’m sure you’ve surmised, the mighty and illuminated adepti of today all signed contracts to protect Liyue back then.”

“Ohhh, that explains why they're all so focused on Liyue's well-being.”

“Well come on, Paimon. You didn’t get that from what the adepti were saying?” Lumine snickered out.

“Like you understood what they were saying!” At least these girls got along, but getting information from them or giving them any took forever. He wondered if they were even listening to him sometimes.

“Assuming that’s true, if the ruling Qixing became unable to perform their duty properly, or put the city in danger, the adepti have the right to take corrective action.” At least that’s what he assumed from the contracts. “It certainly is suspicious that they would hide Rex Lapis’ body.”

“Well that makes things harder for us, huh…” The pink haired girl looked at the harbinger. “Why would they even hide it…”

“Hold on, if Rex Lapis’ body is hidden from the public, then the Traveler’s journey to find the seven is over!” Well, they might be hard to talk to, but they weren’t the best at keeping secrets. That was useful for him.

“The seven? What business do you have with them?” Maybe he could use that as leverage. He could use her to do some of his dirty work. She’d already assembled the adepti together for him. “Perhaps the fatui can help you with the rest of your goal.”

“Well I’m visiting the archons because-” 

“WAIT!” Paimon slapped her hand over Lumine’s mouth. “We shouldn’t spill secrets to fatui!” Maybe it was for the best. Tartaglia would’ve felt bad making such an innocent girl do his work. He would’ve felt dirty doing that to her. A feeling he was unaccustomed to. Normally he had no morality issues with using others like this. He wasn’t one for manipulation, but when he had to stoop to that level he never felt like this.

“You’re lucky you have a good friend to watch out for you. Those are hard to come by.” Yet she should’ve probably caught it herself. She was so naive he didn’t understand how it was possible. Was Paimon the conscience between the two? She didn’t seem like the smartest person either. How had they gotten this far? Blindly trusting others often blew up in people’s faces, yet this girl was still so pure and innocent. It was as if she had a cleansing or purifying aura about her. He could almost believe her smile could bring peace to Teyvat.

“Well, regardless of the reason. I can help you with that goal.” Maybe if he helped them get close to the exuvia, he could follow them and see it after. It still felt dirty, but he had to put the Tsaritsa first. 

“Wait, really?!” Lumine threw her arms around him in a tight hug, making the harbinger stiffen. “You'd be more helpful than Paimon!” Paimon gasped out.

“Wh-WHAT!? Paimon helps you all the time! One person offers you help and suddenly they’re better than PAIMON?!” She stomped her foot as the other girl giggled and pulled back. 

“Come on, I’m just teasing you.” Tartaglia cleared his throat, stealing the attention back to him. 

“Anyhow, why don’t we meet up in a few days? I might have a friend who can help you out. Someone who can help you break through this stalemate.” He hummed out. This was getting interesting. “Truly fascinating. The harder they try to silence the situation, the greater the chaos that erupts… If you want to be around to see it all come crashing down, best you stay alive until we next meet, yes?” 

“Of course we will! Lumine is super strong! She’ll show you, just you wait!” Tartaglia would love to see that strength, especially firsthand. But it would have to wait.

“You’ll have to prove it to me then. Good luck, traveler. I’ll see you in a few days.” 

“Bye, Tartaglia!” Lumine smiled at him. “See you soon!” Tartaglia waved at the girls as they both turned to leave.

A part of him wished they would stay. Next he had yet another meeting with Keqing, and he was sure she’d make him once again declare the fatui had no part in Rex lapis’ death. He had gone through this so many times already. He’d already had to divulge countless fatui spy positions, turn in multiple reports from the field and relay how he couldn’t possibly be the source of this turmoil. 

Of course he’d left some intel out, and made up some lies, but he was sure to give them the same information every time to keep them from being suspicious. He would just have to do it again. He understood the fatui were the prime suspect once Lumine had been cleared, but it didn’t make this any less annoying. He’d much prefer fighting someone to prove the fatui’s innocence.

Tartaglia walked over the walkway, looking out over the railing at all the people walking underfoot. He would have to plan for the Qixing to cut into his time frequently with their incessant questions. On top of that, he’d have to think of all the possibilities and figure out plans for each one that could result in the gnosis. Then… He’d have to deploy everyone in positions based on the plans he made and…

He sighed out. This was already so complicated. His gaze caught on a pink haired girl, talking to her white hair companion with the floating crown. So innocent, so naive and so kind. She probably didn’t have to think these things through. She probably just went through life very easily without a care in the world. So gullible and so easy to corrupt…

“Vlad.”

“U-Uh, y-yes sir?” The fatui guard outside of the bank stepped forward.

“Head inside and tell Ekaterina to deploy an agent on the traveler.” Gullibility, naivety, innocence, kind… Someone had to watch over the girl, what if someone hurt her? “Just to make sure she doesn’t step on all our plans.”

“Y-Yes sir!” Vlad hurried into the bank, leaving Tartaglia alone with his swirling thoughts again.

Chapter Text

Tartaglia stared down at the chopsticks in his hand. What kind of harbinger couldn’t handle chopsticks? It might be offensive to the Liyuenese people if he couldn’t master these cursed things. His hands just didn’t want to move as they were supposed to.

At least it gave him time to reflect over everything that had transpired previously. He’d simply introduced Lumine and Zhongli to each other and let things unfold on their own.

“Discretion... shadows... Ah! Is Wangsheng some kind of business involving... "dealing" with people?” Paimon squealed out in fear.

“Indeed, it is as you have guessed.” Zhongli replied as passively as ever.

“Dealing with people? Oh, like messengers between the fatui and citizens?” Lumine was just adorable. The thought of them handling bodies had never even crossed her mind. She was just too pure, it was amazing her spirit hadn’t been broken yet.

But the important matter, Zhongli could bring Lumine close to the exuvia. The older gentleman understood the fatui had no desire to hold a memorial for Rex Lapis, even when Tartaglia had said he wanted to help. He supposed he didn’t look too convincing, especially since he had his own archon to serve. But the Traveler was a different subject. Zhongli believed she wanted to help; not that Tartaglia believed that to be untrue in the slightest. The girl radiated an aura that practically begged to help others.

Tartaglia sighed out. His plans were in motion now. Zhongli and Lumine would plan the memorial, and eventually gain access to Rex Lapis’ body. He would just have to monitor them closely, he’d really rather not have to steal the gnosis during the middle of the memorial. What kind of monster would stick his hand in a god’s chest during his own memorial? It certainly would paint the fatui in a far darker light too.

After what felt like the hundredth attempt, Tartaglia set the chopsticks down. He could master any weapon, perfect it and use it as if it were his weapon of choice; but chopsticks were the thing bringing him down. How ridiculous . He needed a drink. Which he had right beside his bowl. Some expensive wine he’d never heard of. Likely a Liyuean favorite.

Tartaglia swirled his glass a little, remembering the bright smile on the Traveler’s face as she told him to take care and not drink too much. He’d be lying if he said it wasn’t nice to have someone worry about him other than his family, if only for an instance. And unlike them, she hadn’t carried that same fear behind her eyes that his parents and siblings did; except for Teucer.

He downed the drink in one go. It didn’t have that same kick as firewater, but it was far from bad. He just preferred the stronger drinks native to Snezhnaya, they knew what went into the best drinks. They knew how to make it strong but tasty. But he didn’t bring enough firewater to drink all the time, so he had to get used to Liyue’s native drinks.

The harbinger reached for the bottle at the table, pouring himself another glass while the waiter brought the bill to the table. Hazarding a glance at the amount, he pulled out his mora, placing it on top of it. It was certainly his most expensive meal so far, and that didn’t include the others’ meals (which he had also been stuck paying). Even so, paying for it was an easy task; he made plenty of mora. 

This wasn’t his first meal with the funeral worker either, he’d met with him a few times now. Each time they’d gone somewhere extravagant to discuss matters, and exactly zero of those times the other man had paid for even his own meal. That was precisely why he’d given Zhongli so much extra funds, but he suspected he’d have to give him more later. At least he could afford it.

Tartaglia poured himself one final glass of wine, downing it a moment later. He pushed himself to his feet after, straightening his jacket out. If all he had to do for now was wait, he might as well get some training done. He’d work with his strength at his office, then maybe head out of the city to work with his bow.

The sun beat down on the ginger’s face as he left Liuli Pavilion. He still had all day to spend. If he were to guess, it’d take a few days before the girl and his associate finished work. Which meant it would take a few more days to get the gnosis. He could hang around here a little longer. He could follow up on certain matters, and hopefully things would go as planned.

Tartaglia stiffened a little when he realised his gaze had been on the pink haired traveler walking beside the tall gentleman, hands behind her back with the white pixie floating beside her. If only he knew what they were saying right now. That was, obviously, why he was watching them. He was just trying to do his job, nevermind that he had fatui keeping their eyes and ears on the girls.

There was a certain amount of relief that took over him when he got back to the bank. A big part of him had expected the Qixing to demand his presence again, but it seemed they were finally moving on from suspecting him and the fatui, or at least they realised they were getting nowhere and just wasting both his time and theirs.

“Ah, master Tartaglia.” His attention turned up to Ekaterina at her desk, packing her bag up. “The traveler found you, I presume?” 

“She did. Thank you for passing the message along to her. You’ll be tailing her, right?” Ekaterina made an exceptional secretary, but she did even better at blending into crowds and eavesdropping on others. She always provided good information and her reports were always so detailed, of course he’d wanted her to follow the traveler.

“Yes, sir.” 

“Make sure you stay out of sight.” Not that he had to tell her that, but it felt like the right thing to say. A short silence stretched between them as the woman packed up some extra paper and some pens. “Say, what do you think of her?”

“Sir?” Was it awkward to be asking her about the Traveler? He didn’t want to make it obvious that he was thinking of her, but he couldn’t stop thinking of her kind, gentle nature- unshaken by the cruel realities of life. Besides, it would be good to know about her in the future, right? She may very well end up his opponent at one point or another.

“The Traveler. What do you think of her?” Ekaterina smiled, crossing her arms in thought.

“Gullible and trusting. She seemed to genuinely believe you have her best interest in mind. When she was looking for you, she called you her friend. It seems only the fairy distrusts you, sir.” Tartaglia felt a slightly warm tingle in his chest at that statement. Her calling him her friend made him feel good. Someone so pure could see some remnants of good in him, she could see him as a friend. It made him feel good that she could see something in him.

“She’ll be a good pawn for the fatui.” And that statement, made the warm feeling spreading in him halt. He really was using her right now. She was how he intended to get close to Rex Lapis’ body. She would lead him right there, and then see him go to steal the gnosis. She would know she was used. If she tried to stop him too, he’d have to fight back. 

Normally the idea of fighting her would sound like heaven, he’d been dying to feel how she fought; but the idea that their fight would be brought on by betrayal made him almost not want to fight her. They would fight after he crushed her innocence and abused her trust. He would be the one to kill the light that he wanted to protect.

But that was life. He had a job to do, he couldn’t just give up for some girl, no matter how pure she was. The world was cruel and unforgiving, and if he had to be the one to open her eyes to harsh realities, then so be it. It didn’t matter how much he didn’t want to do it, nor how much he wanted to protect her from the cold, dark truth of this world. First and foremost, he served the Tsaritsa, and she wanted the gnosis. He would bring the gnosis to her regardless of the cost.

“Right. Carry on then. If anything happens to them, be sure to inform me.” Ekaterina nodded as she picked up her bag, walking around the desk. Tartaglia raised his hand to rub his forehead. He had to cut this girl off. Her sweetness was doing something to his head. “You,” He called out, pointing at a recruit who stiffened and bowed in front of him. She must be new. “Come up with me.”

“Y-yes sir!”

Tartaglia had insisted on working with his strength today, he’d spent the last few days picturing that adeptus pinning him so easily. Of course, Tartaglia knew as an adeptus, the Conqueror of Demons would be stronger than himself no matter what he, a mere mortal, tried. But it had brought back this odd feeling of helplessness and weakness he thought he’d left behind.

Except, here he was, pushing himself to the limit by lifting the heaviest weights he had brought, with a fatui recruit reading the latest reports sent to him; and all he could think about was the pink haired girl who (probably wrongfully) trusted him undoubtedly. The pink haired girl who was so full of light with the brightest smile he’d seen. But he could only imagine betraying her. He couldn't get rid of the thought of her bright and happy smile dropping to a frown, nor could he stop picturing her shining eyes, so full of hope and joy, turning downcast. He could already see by her face that she was heartbroken because he'd taken advantage of her trust and kindness. 

Tartaglia shut his eyes tight. Damnit, he was a harbinger! He wasn't supposed to feel like this! He wasn't supposed to feel guilt and remorse for his victims, or future victims. He had to distance himself from her. Her warmth drew him in, but if this kept going on, betraying her would be far more difficult and would completely destroy her. 

He had to change gears. He couldn't afford to think of the girl with the golden eyes anymore. Instead, as he set his weights down, he focused on what was still left to be done. After dismissing the recruit, Tartaglia grabbed a towel from the cupboard, wiping the sweat off his brow and bare chest. A change of venue was also necessary. Now that he'd focused on Lumine here, focusing on something else would be harder. Besides, he had to work with his weaponry, and the bank was not a good location for that. 

Dressing himself back, the eleventh fatui harbinger reflected what had been done already. Rex Lapis was dead, or believed to be by the public; he wasn't sure yet if he fully bought that someone had managed to strike down an archon so easily. The Qixing were acting rather shady, which Lumine had already told the adepti about. If things went according to plan, the adepti would arrive in Liyue at some point and the two factions would likely feud. 

Tartaglia left his office, heading down the steps of the bank. In addition to that, he'd sent  the ever gullible and naïve Traveler to work on a memorial service. She would unknowingly lead him to Rex Lapis' body. While the Qixing and the adepti feuded, he would use the opportunity to sneak in and steal the gnosis. 

It was a good plan, he thought as he left the bank and headed towards the street. Unless, of course, Rex Lapis really wasn't dead. He wasn't sure if he could accept that or not though. What could an archon gain from faking his own death? Nothing surrounding Rex Lapis' death made sense. Clearly a mortal could never accomplish that task, but why would he fake his death? Which was more believable? And why would the Qixing be fishy through all this? He was their god. 

Regardless, it was still best to create a backup plan in case the archon had staged his own death. He already had some men working on creating replica Sigils of Permissions. Not long ago he'd heard of a god beneath the surface of the water. If he were to collect the sigils together, he could potentially summon this ‘Osial’ he'd heard about. 

Not that he really wanted to do that. Summoning a god of that caliber would be catastrophic. After hearing of his rivalry with the geo archon, it wouldn't be surprising if the god destroyed the harbor out of hatred for Rex Lapis. Tartaglia suspected that it would draw out the real geo archon, allowing him to steal the gnosis.

But that was just a backup plan. Tartaglia really didn't want to have to do that. He hated risking innocent lives if he could prevent it. He also still heavily doubted the archon was still alive in hiding, though perhaps he could send scouts out to look for any sign of the geo archon. 

Tartaglia looked up, spotting the pink haired girl talking to a merchant beside Zhongli. The wares the man had seemed to be ores. He wondered how likely it was that they'd run out of funds by the end of the day. He also spotted Ekaterina, dressed in casual clothes, talking with a few other women. Women he'd definitely seen in fatui gear. It was clearly her cover as she eavesdropped on her target. 

Deciding to leave it to his loyal underling, Tartaglia continued to head out of town. He had weapons to work with, and a mind to clear. 

Chapter Text

Tartaglia grunted as he tore his fourth training dummy apart. It was early dawn, the sun just barely peeking over the horizon. His jacket and shirt were tossed aside, his chest bare as he gripped his hydro blades tighter. With how early it was, he’d also set his eyepatch with his clothes, allowing his eye to breathe in the cool air.

Despite the sun only now rising, the harbinger had been awake for a couple hours, practicing with his hydro blades and destroying his own training dummies. He’d had a particularly awful night’s sleep. It had taken him so long to fall asleep, and even after he had, his sleep was particularly restless. The real kicker had been waking up due to yet another nightmare.

Nightmares didn’t often bother Tartaglia, he’d been dealing with them since he was fourteen. But this time, it wasn’t just a horrifying monster he’d seen in the abyss, nor that he was still trapped down there. No, this time, he dreamt of Lumine. He dreamt of the girl with the heart as gold as her eyes, calling him a monster with fear in her eyes.

It pulled at buried trauma he was constantly trying to leave behind, yet it seemed to follow him like a scar etched into his soul. It originated from the same day Pulcinella had discovered him. He’d gotten mixed up in a fight with some of the other fatui recruits (he was pretty sure it was over one of the others calling him a kid), and when Pulcinella came to see what the commotion was, a few experienced recruits had been killed and an abyssal creature was the center of it all.

Ajax hadn’t meant to do it, the outburst had beckoned the abyssal energy out. It had ripped its way out and shrouded him in all it could. He still remembered the look of horror on everyone’s faces as they looked on at him as if they were faced with an unspeakable, horrific monster. Something like that would never bother him now, but he’d been so young back then. Pulcinella had even looked at him in fear until he pulled himself together and commended him.

That experience alone had been enough to leave behind lasting trauma, a nightmare he’d experienced multiple times; but this one had cut even deeper. He’d dreamt of betraying her, using her to find the exuvia. He’d retrieved the gnosis just as she had recovered from the shock of his metaphorical back stab. They clashed back and forth multiple times before the rush of battle drew the abyssal energy back to the surface.

The way Lumine immediately disengaged and screamed in horror stopped him. She flinched and trembled as he reached for her. Seeing the purest woman he’d ever met give up on him had hurt. Her calling him a monster had pierced his heart and had rudely awoken him.

Tartaglia raised a hand up to his left eye. It shouldn’t have hurt so bad to hear. He knew he was a monster, his eye was permanent proof of that. Yet, the light in her made him want to hide his darkest aspects, to hide the abyss deeper inside himself. She was a light shining on his darkest depth. Her looking at him like that was torture. 

Perhaps the worst part of it all was that it would very likely come true one day. She would see him betray her, she would fight him back, she would probably see him transform. She was so sweet and innocent, he was sure it would scare her. He would relive that trauma.

When he couldn’t go back to sleep, the harbinger had come out to train himself again. If he couldn’t sleep, he should at least put the time to good use. He let his bow materialize in his hand, turning toward the target. He created a hydro arrow and pulled the string back, lining up his shot.

“Tartaglia?” Instantly the arrow flew, narrowly missing the target. What was she doing here?!

“Traveler-” He heard impending footsteps from behind as he glanced toward his pile of clothes. His eye was still exposed, if she saw it-! “What are you doing up so early?” Tartaglia released his bow into a flutter of light, raising his hand to cover his left eye. He just hoped it didn't seem too suspicious, he wasn't ready to show her what was behind the eyepatch. 

“Oh, Mr. Zhongli had us working late into the night.” She let out a yawn as she finally stood beside him. “He insisted getting Jade wouldn't take too long. We spent so much time running around.” She sighed out. “So I moved my daily training from last night to this morning. Is it… Okay if we share the space?” 

No. A thousand times no. His eyepatch was so far away, and he needed to distance himself from her after how close he was getting to her. Especially after last night's dream. He just had to tell her no and hopefully she'd leave him in peace. 

“Sure, I don't mind.” Fuck. 

“Thank you! I'll try not to disturb you.” Lumine grinned at him, brandishing her sword. “But… Did you hurt yourself?” 

“What? Why would you think I hurt myself?” 

“You're holding your eye- or… eye hole? I've never seen what's under there… B-but if you've hurt yourself, let me help you.” Tartaglia took a step back as she came closer. 

“No, I didn't hurt myself.” He turned his head to keep his eye away from her. “I just don't want you to see how bad it looks.” He pictured her recoiling in fear after seeing the abyss’ scar on him. “It doesn't hurt. Just some scarring. Go ahead and train, I'll just cover it back up.” Lumine frowned and it made him feel bad. She opened her mouth to say something, but she sighed instead. Did she want to see what was under his hand? She wouldn't if she knew what lies beneath it. 

“Okay, thank you Tartaglia.” Despite all that, she pushed a smile to her lips and turned to put herself in a battle stance. As soon as she faced away, Tartaglia darted for his eyepatch, turning his back to her and tying it back on. He'd never been so relieved to have it covered back up. 

“So, what have you been doing with Zhongli?” Tartaglia sat beside his clothes, watching her swing and slash her sword. 

“Oh, not a lot. We got some Noctilucous Jade for the memorial service.” She paused as she gathered anemo in her hand, sucking in the wind before forcing it back. He hadn't realized she was an anemo user, but he supposed he hadn't seen her vision either. “Mr. Zhongli made us go all the way to Mondstadt to test it.” She groaned out, swinging her blade again. 

“Mondstadt? Why Mondstadt?” Tartaglia was actually very aware of everything the traveler had done yesterday. After Lumine and Paimon had finished with the other man, Ekaterina had brought him a very detailed report. He knew all about their trip to Mondstadt, but she didn’t know he knew.

“There's a large pot there! We had to do some experiments on which Noctilucous Jade to buy. Mr. Zhongli said we needed the highest quality jade, so we had to boil some.” That lined up with what he'd read, in rougher terms. Not that he expected her of all people to lie to him. In his experience, she didn’t seem smart enough to lie to someone she should consider an enemy. 

“I see.” He remarked simply, baiting her to continue on. 

“We set it up at Yujing Terrace and Mr. Zhongli told us more about the preparations.” Lumine stomped her foot to the ground, large golden crystals shooting up from the ground. “He said today we'd be making perfumes.” She continued to swing as if nothing happened, but Tartaglia was awestruck.

Two elements?! He saw nothing that would give her an element, let alone a second one! She wore no vision or mechanism to substitute one, there was no delusion or anything that gave her away as a higher being. If she'd been an adeptus or god, there was no way she'd still be so innocent or so naïve. Her heart was far too pure for that. 

“Paimon and I think Mr. Zhongli is kind of odd though. He acts like such a gentleman, but he acts like he’s never used mora before! It almost seemed like he forgot mora was needed for something so expensive!” Tartaglia grit his teeth. There was a burning desire to ask her for a spar. Currently he was just watching her reveal all her fighting secrets to him, which while it helped him in the long run should they have to fight; it felt dirty and wrong for him to know her tactics when she knew none of his.

But he really didn’t trust himself. He was genuinely afraid if they crossed blades now, the abyss would bubble and rip to the surface. Using two elements alone meant she HAD to be strong, which also meant she’d be a challenge. He loved a challenge, but the abyss in him did too. What if Foul Legacy sprung forth while they sparred together? 

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen him pay for anything.” Tartaglia fidgeted as she shifted on her foot, taking a running start before she went after a nearby tree. He watched her strike and slash at a poor, unsuspecting tree. He closed his eyes, trying to shut out her fighting, almost like he was trying to shut her out. Closing his eyes would’ve helped, if not for her groans and grunts.

“AH! OW!” His eyes whipped open, seeing her blade fall to the ground and red blood oozing from her hand.

“Traveler-! What happened?!” Tartaglia pushed himself up, rushing toward her.

“M-my hand slipped and I cut myself!” Lumine held her bleeding right hand in her left, grimacing. “I’ll be fine, it’s not that bad.” Tartaglia reached over to grab her hand, pulling it away from the other hand ignoring the little whine she made. 

“You’re right, but we should still stop the bleeding.” Her palm had a gash, but it wasn’t quite as deep as he suspected, there was just a lot of blood. “Do you have any bandages?” He looked up as the Traveler shook her head. “Girlie… Come on.” He pulled her away from the tree. 

“Wh-where are we going?” He took her back to his top, letting go of her hand. He reached down to grab his shirt. “Oh, you have some?”

“No.” Without hesitation, he tore through the fabric of his shirt. It wasn’t quite a clean tear, but he didn’t mind. He’d probably just replace this shirt when he got back.

“W-What- Tartaglia-!” He took her hand back up, wrapping her palm up in his shirt. She squirmed and tried to pull her hand back, but he refused to let her pull away. 

“Hold still.” She whined out. “I already ruined the shirt, just let me wrap your hand.” Lumine frowned as he tied it off. “You should head back to your inn and get it cleaned up.” 

“A-alright, thank you.” She took her hand back, looking over the bound, bloody hand. “I’ll see you later though, right?” He hummed out.

“I’m funding the memorial, am I not?” Lumine smiled brightly, shining a light back on him. 

“Right, okay! Well then we’ll meet up later! Take care, okay?” He felt a ghost of a smile on his lips as she left, cradling her hand. Watching her leave was almost a little sad, but he was grateful. No longer did he have to worry about exposing himself to her, if Foul Legacy surfaced, at least she wouldn’t be around to see it.

Tartaglia just hoped her hand wasn’t hurting too bad.

Another bright and early morning, another morning Tartaglia was awoken by the same nightmare. It had gotten even worse this morning. He’d dreamt of actually hurting her with his abyssal powers. Her eyes broke his heart, the blood pouring from her was traumatizing.  

So here he was, tearing through more training dummies, trying to forget his nightmare, trying to bury his feelings with his blades. He’d had several dummies set up last night, allowing himself to weave in and out of the ‘crowd’, slashing and leaving his riptides upon them. He was drenched by the time all the riptides had burst and worn off. All the training dummies were torn to shreds, the poles they once stood on dripping wet.

“Tartaaaaaglia!” He stiffened as he heard an all too familiar voice. His hand snapped up to his eye, verifying his eyepatch was still on. He’d been so paranoid this morning that she might show up again, he’d simply decided to leave it on when he started. He was shirtless again, however. With how intensive he’d gotten, and with his hydro splashing around, he’d figured it’d be easier to go without it.

“Traveler.” He greeted as she stopped before him, her usual bright smile illuminating her face. “Why are you here?” 

“Well, you were here yesterday! I thought you might be here alone again.” He could definitely see her eyes were tired despite her energy, but she still looked so happy and she still shined brighter than the rising sun. 

“I like being alone.” He answered simply, looking over at his beaten dummies. “It helps me focus on my training.” And it helped him train to control the abyss.

“Oh.” Her tone and smile dropped at that answer. A ping of guilt pulsed in him with it. “Well… I was hoping… we could…” He looked over at her as she looked away from him. “Spar? I-If you want to! It would be nice to fight against a moving target, right?” He couldn’t do that. He couldn’t fight her, what if the monster within him sprung forth?

“Let’s spar then.” Tartaglia mentally slapped himself. He couldn’t do this, yet he’d just agreed to it.

“Really?! Let’s do it!” He would just have to focus more on keeping his cool, keeping the abyss at bay while they sparred. It was just a spar, there was no need for it to get heated enough to draw it out. Right?

“Not too long, I have some fatui business to attend to soon.” If he mentioned the fatui, maybe he’d remind her not to fully trust him, not to get too close to him.

“I need to be back before Paimon wakes up, it’ll be fast.” Tartaglia walked a little distance away, turning toward the pink haired girl who lifted her sword at him.

“Ready?”

“Ready!” The harbinger made the first move. He withdrew his bow, firing off three arrows at the girl who dodged the first two and blocked the last. A target that moved and dodged, already a vast improvement to his training dummies that fell apart far too easily.

He fired off a few more arrows, which the traveler dodged, slowly drawing closer and closer with each arrow she blocked. Before she could actually reach him, Tartaglia dropped his bow, withdrawing dual blades of hydro and moving in. He drank in the look of shock on her face as she struggled to block his blades.

“H-Hey-! That’s not fair! How am I supposed to concentrate when you’re shirtless like that?!” He let out a laugh as she parried each of his attacks. He shifted back, narrowly avoiding the anemo she used to try to suck him closer.

“Focus on the fight, comrade! Not my pecs!” He couldn't help but notice the blush on her face as he studied her movements. Her ogling him wasn't too much of a surprise. The way she'd talked to Paimon about boys a few days prior had meant she was interested in them. Not to mention, Paimon had said she'd called him hot at one point. But she still should keep her eyes on the fight and not his muscles. It wasn't like he hadn't acknowledged her cute face or her curvy figure, there was just a time and place for everything. In a spar he couldn't sit there focusing on the light shining from-

Tartaglia grit his teeth as  her blade grazed his arm. “Looks like I won~!” Lumine called out in a sing-song tone. He'd let himself get distracted. He couldn't believe he fell for it! “For a fatui harbinger, you aren't very good~”. He couldn't believe she was TEASING him over this either! She'd just been lucky he'd been too distracted to focus on the fight. 

But when he looked at her, she looked so proud of herself. Her smile was brighter than before, eyes shut with her big grin. It softened the blow to his ego that had been forming. If her victory could cause that, he didn't mind taking a loss. He wasn't planning to purposefully lose to her in the future, but if he did lose, at least he'd see a light that shined like the stars in the night sky. 

“Don't get cocky. Next spar, you're going down.” Most importantly, he'd been so unfocused in his battle that the abyss hadn't even attempted to bubble to the surface. If he could learn to fight a bit distracted, perhaps he could hold it down until he learned to keep it locked. That was a task that he was beginning to wonder if it was even possible. After all these years, it still tried to  take him over, even if only for a few seconds. 

“Sooooo, there's a next spar?” She tucked her hands behind her back, looking up at him. “I look forward to it!” Tartaglia let a smile pull on his face, taking a few steps to sit on the rock his clothes sat on.

“So how was everything yesterday?” He probed, watching as she came closer, sitting beside him.

“We made perfume! Ms. Ying’er taught me a little bit about how to make perfume!”

“Perfume?”

“Mr. Zhongli said we needed some for the Rite of Parting, so we bought some flowers and asked Ms. Ying’er to help us make them into perfume.” She hummed out. “He had us make three samples and decide which one to use for the archon. Hehe, I think I’m going to keep one of the other samples for myself!” 

“I bet it smells nice.” He replied.

“It does!” The Traveler chirped with a grin at him. “It smells so sweet and nice, you’ll have to smell it some time!” Why was he letting her get this close to him? She wanted him to smell her perfume? He was failing at keeping her away!

“I’m sure I will.” Liar, liar LIAR! “What’s next on the agenda?”

“Well Mr. Zhongli wanted us to get some ‘Cleansing Bell’. He won’t come with us though…” She hummed out. “Paimon seems suspicious of him. I don’t know if I should be or not. She thinks it’s a bit odd he won’t meet his friend with us.” She was suspicious of Zhongli, but not him, a fatui harbinger? Something in her head must’ve been messed up. It wasn’t like he had a reason to trust the other man, but anyone would be smart enough to trust Zhongli over him.

“I’m sure he’s trustworthy enough. He’s working with you, isn’t he? He must have his own reasons to not go with you.” Lumine hummed out.

“I know, but Paimon isn’t sure. I think she’s overreacting, I don’t know why he’d want to hurt us, we’ve been working pretty close together. He shares a lot of information with us too.” Tartaglia watched as Lumine shifted where she sat. “Speaking of, I need to get back before Paimon gets up!” Lumine snapped to her feet. “Do you mind if I take off?”

“No, of course not. Go right ahead. I’ll see you later, right?” Why wasn’t he pushing her away? Why wasn’t he keeping her further away? He shouldn’t have asked that.

“Yeah! Tomorrow morning!” She called out as she began to hurry away. “Wait-!” She stopped to turn toward him. “Mr. Zhongli spent all our funds for the memorial already, do you think you could give us a little more?” 

Tartaglia let a smile pull on his face again, something she so effortlessly managed to make him do. “Sure. I’ll stop by later.” She grinned wide at him.

“Thank you Tartaglia!” Lumine hurried closer, pressing a kiss to his cheek. Tartaglia froze while she waved at him, running off. Fuck. She was far too gone. Was she into him?! His betrayal wouldn’t just break her heart, it would smash her heart into unrecognizable pieces. 

Tartaglia sighed out, running his hand through his hair. What a mess. How did he manage to get into this? He’d been trying to pull back, yet somehow she pulled him in more and more. 

The harbinger pushed himself up, gathering his clothes and starting for Liyue harbor again. He needed a stiff drink, who cared if it was only dawn. That girl somehow managed to destroy all his plans once again. 

Chapter Text

It was early evening when Tartaglia finally made it out to the harbor. After training with Lumine in the morning, he’d gone back to his office and drank some firewater as he caught up on the various reports that had come in over the course of the night. After that, he’d begun writing a letter back to his dear sister Tonia. During that time, the Qixing once again interrupted him for another meeting. It had at least been a few days since they’d last grilled him about his agents and intentions in Liyue.

The traveler had told him they would need more mora earlier this morning. Now that the Qixing had finally set him free from the long, pointless meeting, he could bring them the mora he’d grabbed from the bank earlier. Finding them had been far easier than he expected, he just followed a sweet scent in the air. Almost like honey or sweet flowers, it was hard to believe this perfume had come from Silk Flowers if Ekaterina had been correct in her report.

“...As for the kite that honors the Geo Archon, one must follow the contract given right down to the last letter. These patterns are ancient, and you can also find them in the Golden House.” Tartaglia hummed softly to himself as he slowed his pace toward them. 

“Ah, Paimon's heard that name before!” If he recalled, he’d once heard of a ‘Golden House’. Mora was made at the Golden House, of course it was linked to the Geo Archon.

“Ah ah ah, Paimon. This isn’t a very secure place.” Zhongli reminded. This made Tartaglia quirk a brow. Why did talking about the Golden House constitute a secure place? He’d only read about it in some books, yet those books seemed just fine discussing it. He stopped to listen a little more. “The design of this kite displays a firm grasp on the cyclicality and eternity so dear to the Electro Archon.” Back to the kite talk. “These markings of tree and leaf pay due honor to wisdom and the passage of time. All this, on a single kite, truly astonishing.” Zhongli looked over the remaining kites. “Justice flows across the surface of the waters, war rages like a flame, as does that which the Cryo Archon once... yes, these details are masterfully done.” 

Tartaglia felt the urge to look at the kite dedicated to his archon. He was a fiercely loyal Snezhnayan, after all. “Hehehe, the compliments of a learned man truly are pleasant.”

“Well then, Granny Shan, I shall take these back with me. As for the payment…” That was his cue.

“Well, allow me.” Tartaglia smiled at the old vendor, approaching her and handing over the mora. He snuck a glance at the Tsaritsa’s kite, an almost white shade of blue with jagged edges like ice. There almost appeared to be something red behind the icey looking kite, but it was impossible to tell what. If it were truly to be his archon, it must’ve represented a heart, frozen and hardened with ice.

“Tartaglia?!” Paimon blurted out, looking at him as if she was surprised.

“Tartaglia, hey!” Lumine greeted, smiling at him. The closer he was to her, the more abundantly clear it was that this sweet smell was coming from her. It must’ve been the perfume. “Thank you for taking care of the payment!”

“My pleasure, comrade. I know how Mr. Zhongli operates by now. When paying… Or I should say, when others pay for him, he neither looks at the price tag nor his wallet. He knows more about mora than anyone, and about how others struggle without it, but he doesn’t seem to understand he’s one of those struggling.” Now that he thought about it, Tartaglia was fairly certain it had been Zhongli who told him about the Golden House, not a book. He’d been the one to emphasize how important it was.

“Yes… Well… Then, since we've purchased our kites without incident, there's no need to take a break before moving to the next step in our preparations. The Rite of Parting requires helping hands as well as materials. We should be able to find some people near the harbor.” Tartaglia watched the older man start to walk off without so much as a show of gratitude. Paimon turned to follow after him with Lumine on her heels. The ginger hesitated for a moment, finally reaching out to stop her.

“Ah, Lumine wait.” The traveler stopped, looking up at him. It took a lot out of him to not focus on her growing blush. “Take this. You said you needed more mora. I trust this in your hands more than I trust it in Zhongli’s.”

“Thank you, Tartaglia! I’ll be more careful than he was!” Lumine moved around him, hurrying to catch up with the other two. With them gone, Tartaglia went back into his thoughts. Why had they felt the need to hide talking about the Golden House? And why had Zhongli decided to hide it after he’d mentioned it to him before? The traveler had been right, Zhongli was looking more and more suspicious…

“Tartaglia! We’re back!” Lumine chimed out as she and Paimon approached the ginger harbinger. The sun was already setting for the day, yet here they were again.

“Hey comrade. It’s good to see you again.” Lumine might’ve trusted him, but he was sure Paimon didn’t. He’d have to force himself to appear friendlier and light hearted. 

“I made sure we saved you PLENTY of mora!” Lumine pulled out the same pouch he’d handed her earlier, though it was definitely less full than before.

“Don’t worry about that. You can go ahead and keep it. The fatui rewards its friends.” Lumine smiled happily, despite the way Paimon crossed her arms.

“You think you can buy us off with some loose change? No way! Paimon demands to know when the next payment is coming!” Bossy and untrusting. The exact opposite of the sweet smelling, kind hearted girl next to her.

“Well, what if I buy some information off you?” She struck him as the greedy type based on Ekaterina's reports. Her kind was easy to deal with. “I’ll pay handsomely. Just name your price in exchange for the information I want. I have an entire bank at my disposal.” 

“What do you want to know?” Paimon asked, practically drooling at the thought. Hook, line and sinker.

“Have you two seen the Exuvia yet?” Asking where it was right away would look suspicious to Paimon. Asking if they'd seen it at all would be a good segue to where if they had. 

“Have we seen it? No, but Mr. Zhongli said it was-” Paimon squeaked and zipped to the pink haired Traveler, covering her mouth. 

“TRAVELER!” She looked at her with bright gold eyes. “That's confidential!” Paimon pulled her hands back. 

“I know, but we can trust Tartaglia!” It was like that sentence carved out a little piece of his heart. She was so wrong. It hurt knowing she had so much trust in him. Trust he'd have to break. 

“No we can't! Don't you remember Signora?!” Leave it to that she-devil to throw a wrench in his plans. Even when she wasn't involved, she still managed to make his life difficult. 

“But, Tartaglia is different. He wouldn't hurt us like she would, he's too caring.” Suddenly, he didn't want the information anymore. At least, not now. If she stood up for him one more time, he'd tear out his hair. She was far too kind, far too sweet, even if she told him and he went where she said; she'd still know she was the one who told him and it would still be a wicked betrayal. Boy he hated himself. 

“Next, we need some Everlasting Incense. For this, we need to go to Bubu Pharmacy, the finest pharmacy in all of Liyue.” Tartaglia was grateful for Zhongli's interruption, it was perfect for breaking up the conversation. 

“Well, I'll leave you to it, then.” Lumine and Paimon looked at him immediately, one face full of sadness.

“Take care, okay?” The golden eyed girl waved at him, his attention catching on his shirt still wrapped around her palm. No wonder she'd thought he was caring! He'd taken the time to care for her when she'd been cut, he'd even ripped his own shirt for her! HE was the one sending her mixed signals!

“You too. Don't work too late, alright?” She beamed in response as he turned away, walking away from the group. All this time he'd spent trying to push her away, yet subconsciously, little by little, he was trying to pull her in. 

Anyone else he would've just told them he'd see them later. Her, he'd told her not to work too late. Anyone else he would've told them to be more careful if they cut themselves. Her, he took the time to rip his shirt and wrap her up. He was curt and refused to put up with nonsense from others. Her, he would've let her go on about anything just to hear her talk and see the look on her face as she rambled on. Everything was a double standard with her. He couldn't even find it in himself to be mad that he'd yet to find the exuvia. The longer it took, the longer he got to spend with her. 

That would, ultimately, be his downfall though. He wasn't quite sure he was ready to break her heart, but he knew he had to. He would have to do it and regret his decisions later. 

This was the third morning in a row he'd been awakened by the same nightmare. Tartaglia wondered if this was his conscience screaming for help, desperate to not hurt the gorgeous pink haired girl he was so fond of. Unfortunate for it, he would be proceeding with the plan whether his conscience wanted to or not. 

As much as he wanted to go out and train, the harbinger forced himself to stay in bed a little while longer. If he went out to train, he ran such a high risk of running into the star that was Lumine. It was already getting harder and harder to pull away from her, he couldn’t allow himself to get much closer.

He laid in bed for three hours before he finally got up. After placing a breakfast order out to a nearby local restaurant, he sat at his desk to begin his endless stream of reports again. He detested going through these so much, but there were plenty of fatui on the field doing various things, and he received most updates anywhere from twice a day to once a week depending on their missions. Missions regarding the Traveler and the gnosis were submitted twice a day, while other missions were submitted twice a week. 

Over the course of breakfast, Tartaglia read through the Traveler reports, most stating she’d had no change since returning to her inn. Only one mentioned leaving in the wee early mornings. Likely to train, his brain supplied. Perhaps it had been a good thing he skipped training this morning. After he finished with those, he perused through the report regarding the sigil of permissions being prepared. Allegedly all the sigils they needed had finally been finished. The last report he looked through after he finished his meal, were reports from those looking for clues to the exuvia, which were filled with a lot of nothing. No one had heard anything about it, nor had anyone found it themselves.

“S-sir.” Tartaglia yawned briefly as he looked up at the nervous agent entering his office. “Ekaterina requests you make your way to Bubu Pharmacy. She said the Traveler will be looking for you.” He felt an urge to hide, like she’d be mad he hadn’t shown up this morning. “Ekaterina also said she had some useful information for you too, master Tartaglia.”

“Then I shouldn’t dawdle.” Useful information? And it was important enough for her to tell him herself instead of in her next report? He had to say, he was curious and hopeful. As for Lumine, he wondered if she would bring up his disappearance this morning, or if they had hit a snag in their preparations. She seemed to be hiding their time together from Paimon, so he was banking on it regarding the rite of parting.

The harbinger left his office shortly thereafter, heading toward the pharmacy. If the information Ekaterina had for him was what he suspected, and she had found the location of the exuvia, then things were starting to turn up. Maybe if he was sneaky enough, he’d be able to reach the gnosis before Lumine even realised the information came from her.

There was, however, a creeping feeling that she’d connect the dots and realise that he was funding the memorial service just to find it. She wasn’t dumb, or at least he thought she wasn’t. She was just naïve and trusting, the thought that someone might have ill intentions rarely seemed to come to her mind.

When Tartaglia began to ascend the steps of Bubu Pharmacy, he noticed his loyal fatui member beside the door, locked in a seemingly passionate make out session. She certainly managed to change her surroundings enough to stay hidden. He’d have to break that up to talk to-

“Tartaaaaaglia!” Or he’d wait. He turned his gaze to the bright eyed, pink haired girl waving at him.

“Ah, Traveler, Paimon and Mr. Zhongli! I just wanted to check in on how the ritual was going. Surely you’re almost done, aren’t you?” A little more casual than he planned, but he couldn’t tell them an agent told him to come.

“Uh…” Lumine rubbed the back of her head. “About that… We sort of… Need a bit more money.” Oh, it was financial help. “Well-! We tried to make a deal instead- only…” She trailed off, looking away from him. “Paimon, you tell him.”

“What? Why should Paimon tell him?” The pink haired girl leaned over, whispering something to the pixie, causing her to huff out. “Okay, fine! We tried to strike a deal with this zombie to hunt down a cocogoat, but we couldn’t find one.” Paimon grumbled out as she crossed her arms. “Then when we came back here, we found out Qiqi wanted Coconut milk, not milk from a cocogoat.” 

A snicker slipped past his lips, but otherwise, Tartaglia’s face remained impassive. He was certainly laughing on the inside, it was hilarious that they managed to mix the two up! He could just picture them searching for some strange Cocogoat that no one had ever heard of. It was a little more strange when he added Zhongli to the mix, as the older man seemed to know everything about Liyue; yet he still fell for such a farce.

“I see. Sounds like you’ve gone through a lot of trouble already. Allow me to handle this.” Tartaglia directed his attention from the Traveler and Zhongli, to the green haired pharmacist. Pulcinella himself had trained him on how to handle these kinds of manners. “Excuse me, sir... Dr. Baizhu, isn't it? Truly honored. I'm Tartaglia, one of the Fatui harbingers. Forgive my audacity, but I see a great many opportunities for us to collaborate in the future…” Very formal and polite, he wasn’t trying to step on any toes nor enrage the man. “If Bubu Pharmacy needed a stable supply of, say, coconut milk, the Fatui could help by setting up a robust and speedy distribution network.”

“Strange... I knew the Fatui infiltrated businesses with seductive deals, but... So much fuss over coconut milk?” He felt a shiver run up his spine. He hadn’t realised the snake was alive. It didn’t particularly scare him, it had just been unexpected.

“Coconut milk. Baizhu. Quick. Qiqi wants coconut milk.” What an odd place this was. A zombie, with a strange craving for Coconut milk. This certainly wouldn’t be the case in Snezhnaya.

“Ah... Yes, of course, Qiqi, anything you want... Th-Thank you, Tartaglia. I look forward to a successful collaboration in the future. I can give you a discount on that Everlasting Incense too, let's say... 2,990,000 Mora.” So much for a discount. The harbinger had been hoping to circumvent the payment by offering them a supply of Coconut milk. He sighed out. Pantalone would have his head for these kinds of expenses, but that was a problem for the future. For now, he had a mission to do. He needed that elixir for the ritual, the price increasing or Baizhu deciding to not sell it wasn’t an option.

“You sure drive a hard bargain.” More like he certainly knew how to SCAM him. “It’s a deal. Send the invoice to Northland Bank, I’ll be sure to handle it once I get back.” As much as he’d like to sit with the others longer, he still had one more pressing issue to handle. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I still have matters to take care of.”

“Take care, Tartaglia!” Lumine chimed, smiling at him. “Don’t work too hard, okay?”

“You as well, Traveler. Paimon, Zhongli.” Tartaglia left Bubu Pharmacy with a smile. He hadn’t really talked much to the girl, yet her infectious spirit still gave him a warm feeling.

“Master Tartaglia.” He whipped his head to look at his underling who had redressed herself in her fatui attire.

“What was it you heard?” This was the moment he was waiting for. Ekaterina wouldn’t bother him in person if it wasn’t vital information, it had to be the exuvia.

“They spoke of the Qixing taking the Golden House…” The Golden House… His eyes widened at that revelation. No wonder they had refrained from talking about it! The geo archon kite had patterns that were supposedly featured in the Golden House. It made much more sense that they would’ve stashed the exuvia there. A secure location, a place of great importance, overflowing with Mora.

“If they took over the Golden House, I think I know where to find the exuvia.” He cast a glance back at the pink haired traveler and her companion. “I’m sorry, Lumine. But you’ve lost this one.” Tartaglia hesitated before forcing himself to walk away from the pharmacy. 

He had a lot of preparations to do. Plan A was simply to steal the gnosis, but plan B would require the full force of the fatui in Liyue. It was time for him to put the word out for everyone under his command currently to pull back and prepare for a fight. If he put his nose to the grindstone, he could maybe swing for everything to be prepared by tomorrow evening. Perhaps the day after tomorrow would be best. It would allow recruits, agents and soldiers to all return and prepare. Not only that, but it would give him time to mentally prepare himself for the end he'd known was coming. 

As much as he didn't want to dwell on that, he had arrangements to make, people to summon. He had no time to focus on his feelings nor his regrets for having to stab the poor girl in the back.

“I don’t CARE! Make sure EVERYONE knows the plan!” Tartaglia slammed his hands on his desk, a bottle of Snezhnaya’s finest wine tipping over onto the letter he’d been drafting to the Tsaritsa. It had only been a day since he’d heard where to find the exuvia, he’d been celebrating and preparing for the next phase of his plan.

But it seemed celebrations were being cut short. It was only two hours ago that he’d heard the Adepti had arrived and were squaring off with the Qixing. It had been fifteen minutes ago that he’d received word that some fatui were being thrown in jail and others were being forced back to the bank.

“But sir, we can’t-”

“DO IT!” He had to make sure everyone knew the plan in case he needed to enact plan B. He’d planned to deliver an announcement tomorrow morning before everything went down, but it was clearly too late for that now. Instead he would need to use a less reliable method of sending out his agents to inform everyone of where to go and what the exact plan was.

“Y-yes Master Tartaglia.” The harbinger shoved himself back from the desk. He had to get that gnosis now. The adepti and Qixing pushing against each other had been extremely good for him, but the more pressing issue was his men. They were being jailed for no reason, waiting for a punishment they didn’t deserve. He needed to get the gnosis and leave before more fatui fell victim.

Tartaglia rushed out of the bank at a quick pace, looking out over Liyue. It was still a bright, unsuspecting day, like the weather was oblivious to the millelith arresting a couple of fatui down below. He’d have to avoid them.

The ginger looked up at the roofing above him, formulating a plan. Climbing onto it was no problem for him, nor was jumping to the next roof. From there, he leapt onto the roof of Wangsheng Funeral parlor. He took a moment to calculate his next moves. A glance to the left, and he noticed some millelith on the bridge arguing with one of his agents. So that was a no go too. He looked down at the water far below, then the cliffs to his right. He leapt to the cliff, hurrying towards the Golden House.

The Golden House itself was a grand, imposing building a little distance away from the rest of the harbor. A small, decorative pond sat in front of the building. It was quite peaceful and serene, as opposed to the oppressive millelith guarding the building.

“The Golden House is closed to visitors, none may enter.” Tartaglia's delusion pulsed. Oh these poor souls had no idea who they were addressing. Electro shrouded him as he summoned blades of electro to his hands. He took one step forward, then in the blink of an eye, zipped between guards, knocking them out, one by one.

His delusion settled as he released the electro in his hands. He’d kept his blades too dull to cut, even going as far as knocking out the millelith, but being sure to leave no fatal wounds on any of them. He meant to incapacitate, not kill. They were not his enemy, just obstacles. They didn’t deserve to die. The harbinger pushed open the doors, drinking in the look of the mint. A large, extravagant building with tall ceilings and filled to the brim with mora.

And across the way, just as his hunch had been, stood the exuvia of the great Rex Lapis.

He took a step forward before he heard a familiar, high pitched voice. “Wow... This is the Golden House?.” Tartaglia moved aside, hugging a pillar as Lumine pushed open the doors to the Golden House. He could still smell her perfume as they passed by.

Damnit, he had been hoping to be done with this before the pure hearted girl arrived. He listened to Paimon talk in awe about the building itself, waiting. He had to get through them. If they were already here, then… Then they suspected he'd be here. He’d read a report saying the Qixing was meeting with Lumine and Paimon, but somehow he’d convinced himself she wouldn’t side with them, that she was too trusting of him to listen to their words.

“The… The millelith… Are they… dead?” Lumine looked over the bodies, holding her hands to her chest. His shirt scrap remained around her hand, reminding him of that morning again.

“Um… No, Paimon doesn’t think so. They just look unconscious. But that means trouble still!” Paimon squeaked out. “Quick! We have to go make sure that the Exuvia is alright.” Lumine ran toward Rex Lapis with Paimon beside her. Tartaglia sighed out. This was how it had to play out, huh? After everything he’d done? He supposed he would have to play the villain.

No, he’d been the villain all along.

He forced himself to follow after the girls, steeling himself. “You've already fulfilled your task as guides, so why do you still linger here? Haven't you already seen enough trouble for today?” Professional. Tough and professional. That’s what he had to be. He was exceptional at that usually, he just had to channel it.

“Huh? Who’s there?”

“Tartaglia…?” Lumine turned around along with Paimon. His gaze shifted to Paimon. If he stared at the pink haired girl, he might cave.

“If you were Fatui, I imagine that you would be entitled to a generous reward from the Tsaritsa herself. Why don’t you scurry on out of here? Leave me to my work for now.” Lumine cradled her bandaged hand in her other. 

“You are here… So… Is everything true? You’ve been working against us?” He could hear the disbelief in her voice. Maintain professionalism, it was the only way he could go through with this. 

“I wouldn’t say I was working against you. I just happened to be working for my own goals first. You would ‘meet’ the archon, and I would get my gnosis.” Lumine watched him in silence, but he couldn’t watch her. “If it weren't for that lovely little Rite of Parting ceremony you put together, it would have taken me a whole lot longer to get the information I needed.” It WAS why he’d pushed them together in the first place. For them to prepare the Rite of Parting, which in turn would lead him to the exuvia. “Stopping the Mora mints, hiding away the Exuvia... Hahaha, the Qixing are really pulling out all the stops this time…” And to think, they could do all that while harassing his comrades over and over.

“So you've been planning to take the Gnosis from inside the Exuvia all along!?” It was a surprise that Paimon hadn’t seen this coming. She had been the one trying to warn Lumine, she had been the one bringing up Signora. The traveler, on the other hand, continued to say nothing.

“As one of the Eleven Fatui Harbingers, it's my duty to see the will of the Tsaritsa fulfilled. Did you not wonder why one of the harbingers was in Liyue?” He straightened up, walking toward them again. “Now, step aside while I retrieve the gnosis.”

“N-no. Tartaglia, please…” Lumine uttered out, in a voice so small he would’ve missed it if he wasn’t listening for her. She looked down at her feet, clearly caught in a war of emotions.

“Don’t get in my way. I won’t back down from this, Traveler. I’ve enjoyed our times together.” He felt himself soften, but he couldn’t allow that. He had to harden back up. “But you can’t stop me.”

“Tartaglia- please!” He refused to stop. This was what he had to do.

“...I’m sorry, Lumine. But this is how it will go.” Lumine clenched her fists.

“Don’t think you’ll get through us!” Paimon shouted, but Tartaglia simply scoffed at that.

“I-I won’t go down without a fight!” Lumine shifted into a battle stance, ignoring the tears beading in her eyes. To his amazement, she didn’t shake, nor turn away again. She was facing him head on, ready to properly fight him. The grip on her blade was firm and steady.

“Oh? So you intend to fight me? Good. I won't kill you, Traveler. I'll just play along, to feel the thrill of battle!” Tartaglia withdrew his hydro blades as Paimon squeaked and backed away from the two. Lumine’s eyes boldened, despite the tears in them.

This was just like their spar before, except this was a serious fight. The Tsaritsa needed that gnosis, and if he wanted to bring it to her, he couldn’t afford to get distracted again. He had to win this. This time, the harbinger moved first, darting toward her and forcing her to throw up her guard.

“Tartaglia…!” She looked up at him with the saddest eyes, but he refused to look at them. He was hurting her. He pushed off against her blade, catching his footing as she lowered her sword. Was she not willing to fight him? Was she just going to defend herself?

“Is that all you got, Lumine?!” He withdrew his bow and fired off a shot at her. She blocked it with ease, inhaling. When she exhaled, she finally moved, running toward him. In seconds it felt like their spar, he fired off three arrows, she dodged and blocked as she came at him. His own blades replaced his bow as she came up to him.

Metal clashed with water over and over as the two engaged in combat. They nicked each other a few times, slashed at each other and tumbled about as they fought. The first serious hit came from the pink haired girl. While they were locked in sword combat, she summoned Geo to her fist.

Before he could understand the intent, she punched him right in the face. It hurt like hell, a bit of blood flying from his lip, but it was clear she'd pulled her punches. He huffed out and wiped at his lip. 

“Excellent…” His delusion flared up at his side. He wished she wouldn’t hold back, it would make fighting her so much easier. Instead, the guilt was weighing him down, making him feel awful.  

It was remarkably easy to inflict hydro on her, slashing her arm once, then darting in again to inflict riptide on her. With his knee, he forced her back to give himself space. The pink haired girl forced herself up with a slight stumble before she was rushing him again. Hydro shrouded over him, forcing her right back. 

“Good! No wonder Signora was so wary of you.” He really sounded like the villain now. “Well, that just means I can go all out! Brace yourselves, this is about to get tough… Now, show me what you can do against the might of a Harbinger!” Electro jumped across his body, the hydro cover falling. His mask sat over his face, his clothes now a dark black in contrast to their normal grey. He certainly hoped those words had sparked her, he needed her to give him a fair fight if he wanted to relieve any of the guilt. He was hoping to goad her into a real fight. 

In a flash, Tartaglia was in front of Lumine again, a blade of electro in his hand. He sliced her other arm with the electro blade, ignoring the remorse that came with the scream she let out from his potent electrocharge. At breakneck speeds, he slashed and sliced at her with his blades. Every cut left was shallow, nothing too serious, nothing fatal- but enough to hurt. Enough for him to feel bad for what he was doing.

Through it, Lumine sucked in anemo, causing his blade to find deeper purchase in her arm. He stumbled a little when she pushed him back with him. There was still panic and fear in her eyes, but he had to keep going. 

At least, until she sent a whirlwind at him. Tartaglia was off his feet as soon as the twister hit him. Briefly he'd realised he could've dodged it- but it was almost like he purposefully took the hit as if to level the playing field. Besides, he barely felt any of the cuts or scratches the wind inflicted on him. 

He hadn't realised how high he'd been until the twister deformed around him and he came crashing down. Large, sharp crystals sprung from the ground under him. She was finally fighting back. But she'd have to do better than this. He turned to land on his feet, pressing off against a big crystal and leaping for her. 

Metal and electro clashed over and over as she met each of his attacks with her blade. There was visible panic on her face, as if she were still trying to process all this. Knowing her, she was. He sliced his blade up one arm, ignoring the pain he felt at seeing all the blood ooze to the surface. He pictured her bright smile as they clashed again, regret already plaguing his soul.

A burst of pain blossomed in his side as her sword buried itself deep into his side. He grit his teeth as her eyes widened like she'd been surprised by her own actions. If this was how strong she was while holding back, it was a real shame she wasn't fighting him at her best. 

“Tartaglia-!” He forced himself back again. He didn't want to see the concern in her gold eyes. 

“Yeah! You go Traveler!” Paimon shouted as Tartaglia combined his blades together, spinning the newly formed polearm. 

“Not bad. Your swordsmanship is quite impressive.” She was fighting back, this was his chance. “But, that's about as far as you'll get.” Tartaglia darted in with his polearm, slow enough for her to raise her hand to block him with anemo. Lumine faltered back a step and he had to force himself to keep down the dread. He could really hurt her, he could really kill her. 

From his blindspot, more crystals sprouted up toward him, displacing him. He leapt back before she could make the ground burst under him, before she could do real damage to him. This was the moment he'd been waiting for!

Paimon zipped back to the Traveler’s side, while he dashed to the exuvia with intense speeds. He wished he could've called this fight fun, but between her lack of willingness to fight him and the guilt holding him back; he was just happy it was finally over. 

“Where…?!” Lumine and Paimon looked all over for him. He swallowed a lump in his throat as Paimon looked up. 

“You! You were just playing us to get close to the Exuvia!” Paimon shouted in accusation. He watched the pink haired girl look up at him. There was momentary relief on her face before it was back to worry and a little bit of frustration. He could only imagine what she was thinking now. 

“Don't act so surprised. You had that run in with Signora already. You knew what we were after.”

“But- But I trust you!” Lumine blurted out and Tartaglia swore he felt his heart shrivel up and die. 

“...You trusted wrong.” He muttered out before he pierced Rex Lapis's chest. After all this, he'd go home and never think about this sweet, kind hearted girl again. He'd forget about her gorgeous smile and bright eyes. He'd forget about her trusting nature. He'd forget about how much he wanted to protect her. He'd forget about how she made him feel. “I'll be taking Morax's Gnosis now!” 

Tartaglia nearly broke when he pulled his empty hand out. The gnosis… was gone? How could it be gone? He'd gone through all this, planned everything out, worked his ass off; and the gnosis was gone. A million thoughts crossed his mind, a million scenarios and reasons this could've happened. But all he felt right now- was boiling anger as he saw red. 

“I see. Well, this is most unexpected.” There was nothing but unbridled anger now. He knew what happened. “You... You beat me to it, didn't you?!” She'd probably taken it before, hid it from him. 

Everything was an act. There was no sweet, naïve Traveler. She was using him. She was playing him, and he fell for it. No one was that gullible and trusting. He was a fool for ever BELIEVING she was different. He didn't know how she hid it so well, but it didn't matter anymore. He didn't like being tricked. He didn't like being used. He'd let her get close to him, and it had all been a ploy.

“You're- YOU'RE JUST LIKE ALL THE REST!” Manipulative, backstabbing, traitor. It was lost on him that he'd been doing the same thing to her. He hated her kind. She reminded him of Signora or Arlecchino, playing those around them to do as they pleased. But she'd messed with the wrong harbinger. 

She was going to pay for this.

Chapter Text

“You're- YOU'RE JUST LIKE ALL THE REST” Lumine watched as Tartaglia shook with rage. She had no idea what he was talking about! The gnosis hadn't been in the Exuvia? Then where could it be?! And what was he going on about?! She hadn't taken the gnosis! She had no need for the gnosis! She had to tell him that! 

“I-I didn't take the-” Tartaglia zipped past the girls, Lumine's arms flying up to shield her face as her dress fluttered while Paimon tried to keep from tumbling. He crashed in a cloud of dust, eye fixated on her. 

“I WON'T LISTEN TO YOUR LIES. YOU USED ME!” What did he mean?! She hadn't been using him! She'd genuinely begun to like him! He made her heart beat faster and made her knees weak. She didn't understand how he thought she'd used him! She needed to reason with him, even if she was still struggling to wrap her head around him taking the gnosis. All they had to do was talk it over! It was just miscommunication!

“Please-! Tartaglia!!” He ignored her as he reached up to pull his mask off. She'd never seen so much anger on his usually neutral but handsome face. If looks could kill, she'd be dead a hundred times over. 

“I'LL SHOW YOU WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU MESS WITH ME!!” Tartaglia reached up and ripped his eyepatch off. She'd never seen what was under his eyepatch, but she'd always suspected based on what he said, that it'd been an empty eye socket, or maybe an ugly scar he'd wanted to hide. 

But this. This was much different.

His left eye was large and blue. The whites of his eye were a dark blue, while the pupil was a light blue and undefined. It shined like a violet pearl coated in something sinister, yet it seemed to go on endlessly like an ocean. A thin black scar ran across his skin through his eye, the skin around his eye itself was an angry dark red. There was no way he was just human. She’d never SEEN anything like this!

“I’LL SHOW YOU MY FULL POWER!” Lumine shook as electro and hydro burst out from him, throwing her back to the ground. Paimon cried out as she was thrown back with her.

“Wh-what’s happening?!” Paimon shouted as the pink haired girl looked up from the ground. The man raised his arms, electro and hydro along with something else covered his arms, transforming into dark black armor over dark purple. She clenched her fists in worry, her eyes locked on him. The same odd, unnatural mixture ran up his legs, leaving similar armor in its wake. 

“T-Tartaglia…” She watched armor shroud his chest, running upward. His eye shone a bright purple as it grew, dominating his face as a large, red mask formed over his face; eerily similar to his fatui mask but far larger and it encompassed far more of his face. His hair had grown longer, tips dyed white. Behind him fluttered a giant, starry looking cape.

Tartaglia looked hardly recognizable now, he scared Lumine. She’d never suspected he could turn into this, had he always been like this? Was he even human? Was he far more dangerous than she thought? Before today, she’d never thought he’d hurt her. She always felt really safe with him. 

He held his polearm, pulsing something into it, leaving something sinister over his polearm. Whatever it was felt dark, almost evil, and… familiar. Was this, abyssal powers? Had the abyss sunken its hooks into him? She wasn’t sure she understood much about the abyss, but she wasn’t sure what else it could be!

“I’LL DESTROY YOU!” His voice was far darker, twisted and deep. Something evil lurked behind him. Lumine gasped as he slammed his polearm down, cracking and splintering the ground. What was he trying to do-?! The floor was going to-

“AAAAH-!” Lumine and Paimon screamed out as they fell, though the latter at least could maintain herself above the floor. She slammed down into the ground with a hard crash. She tried to get up, until the rubble crashed on top of her. 

The pink haired girl momentarily blacked out until she felt something trying to lift the rubble above her. “-VELER!” She raised one hand up to try to help push it off her, but her attention was quickly on the abyssal creature lowering down in front of her. There was a sudden gust of wind as his power exuded from him, blowing back the rubble (and Paimon). 

She had let this man get close to her, she’d let herself get close to him. And he used her, accusing her of using him. Had she really been such an idiot to trust him? Why had she been so willing to trust him? She had never suspected he would be a monster. He was a monster in a man’s body. She tried to push herself back up, collapsing back down immediately after. With all the damage she’d sustained and her emotions going haywire, she couldn’t…

His shirt. Lumine looked over the scrap of his shirt tied around her hand. The wound on her hand had closed and was mostly healed by now, but his shirt had felt nice around her hand, like there was a little piece of him protecting her. She remembered the concern he had when she’d merely cut herself. She remembered the way he’d sprung in to save her from the millelith. 

That had been what made her fall for him in the first place. He was caring. He wasn’t a monster, he was just trying to do his job. He believed she was manipulating him, but she’d have to show him he was wrong. She trusted him, even after everything. He had used her, but the genuine concern she saw in his eyes sometimes, the genuine smiles he flicked her way; there was no way he had made those up. He cared for her, and she cared for him.

It was with that power that she pushed herself to her feet, stumbling a little before her sword was back out. The Traveler just had to prove to him that she was innocent. She just had to prove to him that she wasn’t using him. She just had to be there. She wasn’t about to abandon him now. She would prove herself to him, and things would work out. They always did.

The world wasn’t inherently evil, it was what people made of it. She wouldn’t let it end like this. She would just have to be strong for the both of them.

Chapter Text

Tartaglia gazed at his opponent, his enemy. The Traveler seemed to finally be taking this seriously, he was in for a good fight. All that guilt he’d had before had changed to rage, fuel for his anger. How dare she use him, how dare she toy with him, how dare he fall for everything about her?! He couldn’t wait to wipe the floor with her.

Deep down, there were still reservations about all this; but he locked those feelings up. They were founded on falsehoods and lies, he just hadn’t rid himself of those feelings. He would do that at the celebration after the battle when he drank himself stupid. It would be the only way he could recover having his own heart torn in half.

“SHOW ME WHAT YOU CAN DO!” In a flash he was in front of her. If she’d thought he was fast before, he’d show her he was even faster now. He slashed his blades all over her body again, uncaring about the depth or where they landed anymore. He just wanted to hurt her. To her credit, Lumine managed to block about forty percent of the blows with her blade, but she took most of them over her arms or chest. By comparison, her movement was slow and sluggish, though Tartaglia guessed that was due to the blood already falling from her and having been crushed by the floor not even moments ago.

An odd mix of pain and regret prickled in his chest. Despite the fact that she used him, he still hated seeing her hurt. He wanted to make it better, he wanted to protect her, to care for her. He knew she’d manipulated him, but he just wanted to make her feel better. What had she done to him?

The abyssal creature disarmed her with a flick of his wrist. Her eyes left him briefly and he ran his blade up, cutting into the soft flesh of her arm and shoulder. It was enough to knock her back a little, enough for him to struggle with his conscience. He had no idea why he wanted to take pity on her.

The pink haired girl raised her hand, drawing his blade away with anemo. If she thought he'd fall for that again, she was sorely mistaken. He leapt back, charged his polearm with electro and threw it at her like a saw blade. As soon as it was free from his hands, he pulled his bow, coated in the abyss, and fired off a hydro arrow. She could dodge one attack, but not both!

At least, he thought not; but if anyone would surprise him, it'd be her. She reached up to catch his polearm with her bleeding arm, shifting it to deflect the arrow back at him. He grunted as the arrow pierced the armor over his arm. She certainly was fascinating, for a manipulative two faced bitch. 

The traveler tightened her grip on his polearm, even as he noticed the electro spark back from it, inflicting damage to her the more she held on. Not many would hold onto something that hurt them, but he supposed if she had it, he didn't. He let energy burst off him, dislodging the arrow and fired off a few more arrows. He'd just have to fight harder. 

The girl blocked another two arrows before geo sprouted up around her. She made a shelter to defend herself. How cute. It wasn't like he couldn't break through it. He dashed in, punching and kicking at the geo construct that held her in. He doubted his arrows would do much, and she held his polearm. If not for Foul Legacy, hitting her geo would've hurt like hell, he was sure. Another crystal shot out from her protective construct, smashing into his chest. 

Tartaglia grunted as he went flying back a little, flipping to land on his feet before he hit the ground, skidding to a stop. If he couldn't break in himself, he knew one way to get in. And with his polearm pumping electro into her body, she'd be done for. 

The harbinger let out a monstrous roar as he summoned as much hydro as he could. A whale formed over him, preparing to crash down. Even if she tried to dodge, there was no way she'd get out of her protective shell fast enough. Her geo construct would take too long to fall apart and his polearm would provide an electrocharge as soon as hydro touched her. All she'd done was make herself a tomb. 

As the whale crashed over it, the geo shield burst under the pressure. Lumine screamed out as she was shot out from where she’d been, his polearm left stabbed into the ground right where her shelter had been. Electro jumped over her body as she twitched where she collapsed onto the ground. This was the end for the deceptive, two faced Traveler.

Tartaglia darted forward, grabbing his polearm as he passed it. As she began to lean up, the harbinger tackled her, pinning her down under the heavy weight of Foul Legacy. He adjusted his polearm, holding it over her. How dare she take his gnosis, how dare she mess with his heart. 

“ANY LAST WORDS BEFORE I PUT YOUR LIES TO AN END?!” He really hadn’t wanted to kill her at first. Even now, he didn’t really want to kill her, but some part of him told himself he’d move on better if he’d killed her. It would help him mentally recover and move on. 

“TRAVELER!!” Paimon shrieked out. 

He’d tried to avoid looking in her eyes before this, but this was his last chance to see the eyes his heart had begun to long for. For the first time since he’d changed, he saw her bright, golden eyes. Her tears finally spilled down her cheeks as she stared up at him. Despite everything, there was no fear in her eyes, just sadness and heartbreak.

“I-I’m sorry you can’t trust me.” Her eyes were so genuine, so pure, even despite their situation. She made no attempt to get out from under him either. Had he… Had he been wrong? She still looked so gentle despite being so beaten up. She’d still been defending herself, she hadn’t been putting up a fair fight. She was willing to let him destroy her if he wished…

Tartaglia let out a loud roar again. He’d gone insane over nothing! Of course Lumine couldn’t have taken the gnosis! He’d gotten here first, how had he forgotten that? Even Paimon had been surprised he wanted the gnosis, they wouldn’t have taken it from the Exuvia. His gaze fell on the girl beneath him, the girl who panted out from her wounds. The very wounds he’d inflicted. He really was a monster, inside and out.

Tartaglia shook. How could he have done this? He knew he had an exceptionally bad temper when provoked, but he’d nearly killed the girl! It felt like Foul Legacy was burning away as he panicked, the armor on his hands dissipating before his very eyes. The armor faded from his legs and soon he felt the hard floor of the Golden House beneath his knees. 

It was just him, knelt on top of the golden ray of sunshine. The very sunshine he’d been about to snuff out. His hand flew up to his left eye, covering it as if he were covering the darkness within while he finally pulled off the girl. His mind was running a mile a minute, all that rage and anger turning right back to guilt and regret. He wanted to throw up. How could he think she was using him? How could he REALLY think she could be capable of anything so devious? She had no manipulative bone in her body! She was nothing like the other harbingers! That’s what had drawn him to her! She was kind and sweet, pure and innocent.

He had to get out of here. He was struggling to breathe as his mind practically exploded. Was this what a mental breakdown was?! Thinking was getting harder and harder. He couldn't believe he thought she was anything but innocent! 

What was she doing to him?! He'd done far worse to others before, killed as many people as he had to for the Tsaritsa with very little regret or guilt. But when it came to her, he hadn't even killed her, he spared her- yet he was completely swallowed with guilt and shame. He was struggling to get a hold of himself. 

Everything felt wrong now. He'd felt a desire to protect her, shield her from the dark, twisted world around them. And of course, he had to be the monster to hurt her. He'd known he would all along, but not like this. He’d never intended to show her the abyss lurking in his soul.

At this point, he was just repeating things in his head while reminding himself what a monster he really was. The more he looked at it, the less it seemed to make sense how he'd gotten here, how he'd made that mistake… His head was pounding and he couldn't take it anymore. 

“Tartaglia…” He was still panting as he looked up. Paimon was beside the Traveler, holding onto her as she reached out for him. After all this, he would’ve suspected with a blade; but instead, with her hands. It was almost like she was trying to hug him. Like she was… trying to comfort him after all this. He didn’t deserve that. He didn’t deserve her.

He needed to get away from her. Plan A had failed, he'd have to enact Plan B. He had to. It would allow him some space from her, which he desperately needed. He was pretty sure if she touched him, his heart or skull would explode. He just wasn't sure which one. 

He just had to… Start the next phase, and then he could take some time to himself and get his thoughts better aligned. He pulled out the sigils of permissions, exhaling. The strips of paper surrounded him and began to circle around him. Everything had started when he handed her the first sigil of permission, and that was how things were ending. He REALLY hadn’t wanted to do this, he hated the idea of hurting innocent people; and he REALLY REALLY hated the idea of the Traveler being caught up in all this.

His breath came out ruggedly as he struggled to calm his nerves still. He looked up to see Paimon shouting at him, but his head was pounding far too heavily for him to hear her. His eyes were only on the pink haired girl trying to get to her knees. He’d gone too hard on a girl who seemed to refuse to fight back seriously. He felt like a monster. He was a monster.

“Traveler…” He didn’t deserve to say her beautiful name. He inhaled when her gorgeous, gentle gaze turned up to him. If he wasn’t already drowning in guilt, he would be now. Her eyes held no fear, nor resentment, just concern. Concern he certainly didn’t deserve. “You have to get out of here before the harbor is flooded.” Her eyes widened and he had to shut his. 

Tartaglia couldn’t stand to talk to her right now, not a serious conversation. There was too much guilt and his emotions were too intense. He had to go, he just hoped she would get away. He just… hoped this wouldn’t break her. If his betrayal hadn’t, could she stand for this?

Hydro engulfed him and carried him upward as he made his escape. “TARTAGLIA! WAIT-!” He trembled in the safety of his hydro. Tears pricked in his eyes briefly. Why was he like this? Why couldn’t he just… Why did he let himself fall into these positions? His mind had yet to stop racing, why was he so awful? Why did he go along with these plans? Why had he made them? Had he expected himself to be stronger? And how could he lose his temper over the gnosis? He’d made plans in the event it wasn’t there, yet he’d just beaten the Traveler to a pulp over it.

“M-Master Tartaglia-!” One of his agents shouted as he practically collapsed out of his hydro in front of his men. Physically, he was fine, aside from a stab wound and minor abyssal burns around his eye, but that would go away after a while. He was just too mentally drained and moving was getting increasingly harder beneath the crushing panic. 

“O-Osial will be here soon. Prepare for attack.” He hazarded a glance back toward the chaos of the harbor, but taking in anything was next to impossible. “If they try to stop him on their own, stop them. We need Rex Lapis to appear. We need him to…” He was done, burnt out and completely broken. His mind was at near constant war with itself, he couldn’t go on any longer.

“S-Sir?!” Tartaglia was trembling as the agent called out to him. It was the last thing he could remember before blacking out.

Chapter Text

Tartaglia groaned as he stirred in his sleep. He wasn’t ready to wake up. He had dreamt about his fight with the Traveler, over and over again; except he wasn’t himself. For the most part, he dreamt of their fight from an outside perspective. It made his actions look far more ridiculous. It seemed so obvious that he should’ve verbally confronted her and not tried to kill her.

He’d also dreamt he was Lumine, though he had no control to change the course of action. He experienced what he suspected was heartbreak when she realised he was using her, feeling sorrow and pain as he imagined she had felt. He also felt uncertainty and fear, more of what he thought she might have felt. 

He watched himself accuse her of betraying him, along with panic and confusion. When he transformed, he felt fear and worry build in her. He imagined that was the first time he truly scared her, though he assumed not the last. He could only imagine how revolted she was when he tore off his eyepatch.

That thought alone made Tartaglia sit up instantly, eyes wide open now. His hand frantically flew up to his very naked left eye. Who had seen his eye? What were they thinking of him? And where the hell was his eyepatch? 

A brief glance around the room told him he was at the bank, lying out on one of his couches. Things were still a haze, but he remembered fighting and he remembered commanding his army to try to-

The gnosis! No no no! If he'd passed out, that meant the gnosis was never recovered! An agent or someone could've stolen it for him; but Rex Lapis wouldn't be taken down by a mere agent. He was probably the only Fatui in Liyue who stood any chance at the gnosis. 

Tartaglia groaned out loud. He wanted to sleep more, to get some rest and heal his mind; but as a harbinger, he had other things to do. He pushed himself off the couch. First things first, he had to cover his eye back up. It alone could cause trauma and suffering (and if he were honest, he was extremely self conscious about it). Without his eyepatch, he had to make due, and fast so he unfastened his scarf and wrapped it around his eye, ignoring how naked he felt without it around his collarbone and how strange it felt around part of his head.

With that taken care of, the ginger harbinger pulled open the door of his office. There were no guards posted, fatui or millelith. He supposed him not waking up in prison was a pretty good sign, but it wasn’t comforting to see the usual guards were gone. As he made his way out to the rest of the bank, he kept his eye out for anything that could give him any more information about the current situation.

“-aglia came back out cold. I can’t say I’m surprised, he’s always been a little…reckless.” He knew that voice. He loathed that voice. Irritation was already rising again, but he had to keep it down a little. After everything he’d done due to his anger, he couldn’t afford to get pissed off again. Even if he DID hate Signora.

“Is that right? He struck me as a patient yet cold gentleman.” And Zhongli? Why were the two talking to each other? “The Traveler seemed to talk very highly of him quite often.” He didn’t need that. It only made him feel worse, picturing her rambling to the other two about him. He could only imagine what she’d say now.

“I’m certain that’s an act.” Her voice certainly grated on his nerves, even as he approached the railing and looked over at the pair chatting as if they were good buddies. “The Traveler talked about him, did she?” Oh he knew her game. She was trying to find some form of leverage from Zhongli. Whether it was leverage on him or Lumine, he wasn't sure. Still, he couldn’t imagine this was the only reason she was here.

“All the time. She would quite often talk about how he’d saved her and how he was ‘very caring and sweet’. Her travel companion, however, didn’t seem to agree with these points.” Tartaglia grit his teeth. They were hashing at too recent wounds.

“Don’t you DARE think of hurting her.” Tartaglia grouched, practically announcing his presence. He’d hurt her enough already, he didn’t need Signora sinking her talons into the poor girl.

“Ah, Childe. I see you’re awake from your little nap.” He glared at her.

“I told you not to call me that.” He snapped, crossing his arms.

“What an odd nickname.” Zhongli remarked.

“Whatever.” Tartaglia directed his full attention to Signora. “What are you even doing here?” Even looking at her was pissing him off.

“Oh quiet, Childe. I came to see Morax here.” Tartaglia narrowed his eyes.

“Morax? You mean-” Signora was watching Zhongli, a wicked smirk on her face while Zhongli had his eyes closed, silent for once. Morax, he’d heard about him. It was another name for the Rex Lapis, the Geo Arch… “HIM!?” He pointed at the dark haired man. He HATED being deceived. He hated feeling like a fool. “Ugh. I should’ve known.” His glare turned back to Signora. “And how did YOU know?”

“I arranged a deal with him. You cause problems, he sees if his little citizens can handle it, we get the gnosis.” Signora crossed her arms. “Think of it as a little… Cooperation between harbingers.” Tartaglia’s blood was boiling. He was a damn pawn. He’d just blown up at the Traveler over this! Hurting her had been in the plan too!? Why did it seem like he was always falling into these situations?!

“You call this "cooperation between Harbingers"? Cooperation involves communication, you know…” He hated talking to Signora, but he hated being duped more.

“Hehe, don't take it to heart, Childe. Besides, weren't you happy that you got to skip the formalities and bring chaos to the land? I'm sure you must've enjoyed that…” Tartaglia glared harder at her, clenching his fists. He was beyond pissed.

“I said don’t call me that.” It was a stupid, childish nickname. Why some of the harbingers like Signora insisted on sticking with it, he didn’t know; but he couldn’t STAND it. “ You made me put innocent people at risk. You made me hurt a kind hearted girl. You made me look like a fool! Tell me! What part of that was I supposed to enjoy!?” Something in him screamed to punch her in the face.

“...Tartaglia?” And just like that, his heart leapt into his throat and it felt like there was ice in his veins. This was his first time facing her after everything, he was beyond terrified.

“Traveler…” He turned to look at her, her bright eyes still shining at him, though she had bandages over her arms and chest. Her smile was less bright, though he had to admit, it was still quite remarkable. Her hair was a little matted and she had some dirt on her and the sweet smell was gone, but she still looked gorgeous.

“Hey, it's Zhongli and Tartaglia!” Paimon called out. “And... you! You're also one of the Harbingers.” He hated being lumped together with that witch. 

“Signora.” Tartaglia had never heard Lumine sound so hostile to someone, not even him during their fight. But her tone, it was like she hated her. Who knew such a sweet girl could be so hateful? Well, it wasn't like he could fault her. This was Signora after all. He understood her hatred.

“Haha, it's you two. I believe we've met once before... In the City of Bards, was it? I'm glad you still remember my name.” Both Lumine and Paimon glared at her. “Ah, right. I imagine that it must have been rather hard to forget watching helplessly as something precious was snatched away from your friend.”

“Signora. Leave her alone.” His reply came out clipped, a touch of danger laced into it. “There's no need to antagonize her.” 

“Stay out of it.” She snapped back. 

“I'll take you on right here. If I win, you'll give it back.” Tartaglia had to admit, he was oddly proud of Lumine for that. And insanely jealous that she'd jump into a fight with Signora but not him. 

“Hey, Traveler! You're still recovering after that last fight. Take it easy. There's two harbingers here. Paimon knows you're strong but you can't take them both on!”

“Like I'd help her.” Tartaglia snarked, huffing out.

“Hmph. Paimon knew it was a mistake to trust you, she won't be making that mistake again!” Lumine was silent, keeping her gaze away from him. It felt like a skewer was stabbing his heart. 

“... I'm sorry. I should've listened to you. I certainly enjoyed our time together up until the fight.” Lumine glanced at him. “We just have…different goals. Next time, I'll talk to you before I get upset.” He wasn't really sure if that was true or not, but he'd at least try if it meant he wouldn't hurt her, physically or emotionally. “Besides, I wasn't the one pulling the strings behind all this. That would be Signora and Zhongli.” Did that sound like he was excusing his actions? In any case, that still didn't stop him from pointing a sharp glare at the other two. 

“Wait… Zhongli? How was he pulling the strings? He just wanted a funeral for his archon…” Tartaglia huffed. If this broke the girl, he swore he'd never forgive these two. He already hated manipulative, deceiving people; but if they hurt the ray of sunshine that was Lumine, there would be hell to pay. 

“Why don't you-”

“Stop wasting time, Childe. There'll be plenty of time to chat once I'm through here.” He HATED that nickname. Why did she keep INSISTING on it? “You remember the agreement, Morax. Now, if you would be so kind... The Gnosis, please.” 

“Wait… Gnosis?” Lumine's eyes widened. “HE took the gnosis?!” 

“What? Paimon doubts Zhongli would- wait…” 

“The contract is fulfilled. That which thou seeketh is now bestowed unto thee, for my promise is solid as stone.” Lumine and Paimon watched with baited breaths as the gnosis was withdrawn before their very eyes. A sour look sat on Tartaglia's face. He'd spent an insurmountable amount of time on this plan. He'd really thought the Tsaritsa thought he could handle this. He'd gotten close to Lumine and ended up hurting her- all for La Signora to be the one to get the gnosis. He didn't want to stand for this. If it weren't for the dear sweet Traveler beside him, he'd have stormed out by now. But he really didn't trust Signora alone with her, nor could he trust Zhongli with her anymore.

“Hmph, how sanctimonious…” Tartaglia loathed her tone. 

“Zhongli is…” Lumine began, the wheels turning in her head. The harbinger wasn't sure if she was confused, or if it was just in disbelief.

“THE GEO ARCHON?!” He stiffened at Paimon's shriek. “No, wait! That's an exciting twist and all - but why give the Gnosis to the Fatui!?” It still felt like his ears were ringing from her scream.

“I do not give it for free. I give it as agreed upon in the contract... for it is a matter solely between the Tsaritsa and I.”

“And why couldn’t you go through that contract with me? Why did you have to backstab me in the process? And why did you have to involve the Traveler?!” No, he wasn’t over it yet. He was still beyond pissed.

“Hush, Tartaglia. You’re no longer involved in this.” He’d never wanted to fight her as much as he did right now. There was so much anger building up, he would’ve preferred relieving that.

“You don't think you went a little bit too far with that whole fake death thing!? Everyone was preparing the ceremony for you when splat, this big dragon falls out of the sky and all of Liyue goes into an uproar. Talk about a disaster!” Did Paimon not understand the point was to cause the uproar? 

“Hehe... Gathering all the forces that had been bubbling behind the scenes, and then stirring them together in a pot that was bound to boil over... That's what he wanted to see, am I right?” 

“What? Why would he want that? This is his nation…” Lumine put her hand to her chin in thought.

“I’d rather you hear this from me.” Zhongli replied and he cleared his throat. Tartaglia watched with a glare as the archon began telling a story. Admittedly, as the other male mentioned some form of cracks in his foundation, it almost sounded like he was saying he was past his prime. As he continued on, it almost sounded like he wanted to stop being the archon, but still wanted his nation to be protected.

That seemed odd to him. What was even the point in all this? He may not be in his prime anymore, but he would’ve thought he’d do everything to protect his people. Was there not an easier way? Why couldn't he run the nation alongside the Qixing and the adepti? He could’ve been their ace in the hole if they ever needed more protection. Was there more to being an archon than just protecting his nation? If it were him and his family, he doubted he’d ever be able to let go. He doubted he’d ever be able to not protect them. But he wasn’t an archon. He had no idea what all went into it, nor how to handle everything.

“...Just as a child quickly matures after losing their parents, so has Liyue matured when faced with the death of its deity…” That was the first thing he heard again. He loathed that phrase, it hit a little too close to home for him. He might still have his parents, but they often looked at him like he was a monster. Many days it felt like he wasn’t even their son, but more like a threat to their wellbeing. What she was saying was absolutely correct, but he just didn’t want to hear it.

“...At my request, she kept everything she knew in strict confidence — this despite the eavesdropping ears of her colleague, Tartaglia.” He was still seething at that. He wasn’t REALLY paying attention to what was being said anymore, he’d put the pieces together already, but it didn’t make him any less upset. He detested being used, and he couldn’t stand that they had treated Lumine like she was just another pawn. She was so much more than that.

Perhaps more infuriating was that they were holding a civil conversation with Zhongli. Paimon almost seemed to PITY him! Paimon had seemed quite upset he’d tricked them, but when it was Zhongli tricking them she seemed fine with it? He couldn’t believe this double standard! At least with him they should’ve expected him to cross them. At least with him, he wasn’t putting his own ‘beloved’ nation at risk. At least he didn’t want to make the girls into a pair of fools. He wanted to crack heads open with all this rage.

“Hey, what about me? Doesn't anyone feel the least bit of remorse for deceiving me? You've practically kept me in the dark!” Tartaglia finally snapped out, a deep glare set on his face. He was ready to go home. He was done with this backward nation.

“I think that thanks would be more appropriate. You certainly played no small part in all of this... Wreaking havoc and turning the city upside down. The Lord of Geo ought to thank you for your performance, if anything.” Signora’s insufferable smirk was going to drive him insane. Fighting Signora was too high of a praise. He was going to kill her. “If you hadn't created the pressure of a battle between mortals, adepti, and a god, the lump of coal resting in the hands of the Geo Archon, Liyue, would never have been able to become a dazzling diamond of a city.” 

“I don't see why you had to pull the wool over my eyes! If you'd told me sooner, I would’ve played along! And why involve the Traveler?! She didn’t need this!” Tartaglia grit his teeth, fists clenched.

“Would you have been willing to put your all into this if you were aware of all the people you’d have to put at risk? Would you have done everything to destroy the city? Your actions had to be genuine. Or would you go soft in your intentions like you’ve done with Lumine?” He bit his lip. Damn him. He wanted to say he would do everything still, put his all into it all; but he knew there was some part of him that would be reluctant, some part of him that would’ve taken pity on the city, even if it had been assured they would live. Still, he didn’t want to admit that.

“I would’ve. You don’t know if-”

“It’s okay, Tartaglia. They fooled us both.” He looked over at Lumine. They were both the ones hurt by this plan. He was crossed and made to look like the enemy, while she had been crossed and hurt. He had been forced to hurt her. He would never forgive these two for that.

“At least you’ve come out like a hero, I’m just the monster who tried to destroy the nation and failed!” Admittedly, he was happy to have failed, but… It did nothing to soothe his rage. How would be able to stand himself later when this was all over? 

“Well then, with the Gnosis in my possession, I have no use for such idle chatter. We should return to Zapolyarny Palace and seek an audience with Her Majesty, the Tsaritsa. Come, Tartaglia.” He huffed out, glaring at her.

“Fine. But I’m not sharing a boat with the likes of you. I need some space away from snakes.” She rolled her eyes at him.

“Oh stop behaving like a child.” A sigh. “But fine. Do as you wish, just don’t keep us waiting.” Signora headed for the door, an air of arrogance surrounding her. Tartaglia begrudgingly followed her, sparing a brief glance back at Lumine as he walked through the doors. It felt wrong for her to say nothing as a goodbye. He had come to expect it.

Signora turned down the steps, but Tartaglia didn’t follow. Signora said nothing as he instead walked to the railing, leaning over and looking out at the harbor he’d almost set up for destruction. He looked at the old people stopping for tea, at the kids running through as they played some game, at young couples going out on dates, at businessmen striking deals… He had almost killed them all. He hadn’t wanted to, but he had been willing to for his god. 

Perhaps the Tsaritsa had found him fit for this position, found him fit to play the monster. After all, he already fit the bill. He ran a hand through his hair. Yet, if he were such a monster, why did he hold these feelings and regrets? Why did he have a conscience? Why did he have to know so much of this was wrong? A real monster would’ve been fine with all this, Dottore would’ve been thrilled to do this sort of thing.

“Tartaglia?” The man in question nearly leapt out of his skin in surprise. He hoped he didn't show it, or at least that she hadn't noticed. “Are you okay?” She leaned on the rail beside him, her amber eyes full of worry. 

“No. They tricked me. They made me look like an idiot!” He huffed out. 

“I know, they played me too.” He looked over at her as she sighed out. “It feels kind of silly, Mr. Zhongli had us set up his own funeral. But it's a good thing everything worked out, I can't help but wonder what would've happened if it hadn't…”

“You could've been killed.” A thought that was plaguing him. They'd all put her life at risk. Zhongli and Signora were more passive about it, but they'd played a part in it too. He hated all three of them, especially himself. 

“I know, but I wasn’t.” She scooted a little closer. “Thank you, by the way.” He turned his head to look at her.

“Thank you? For what?” For hurting her? For opening her eyes to the world? For showing her his true colours? He hadn’t wanted to do any of those!

“For sparing me. You could’ve killed me, but… you stopped.” He stared at her a little longer, unsure what to say. Guilt was piling up just thinking about what she said. He’d nearly killed her after using her; yet she was thanking him for sparing her. 

“Oh come on, Traveler.” He looked back at Liyue harbor. “Do you really think I could kill you? I know I’m a monster, but I don’t know if I could’ve even gone through with it.” Realistically, he might’ve been able to kill her, but that was gone the instant she’d apologized to him. It had been so clear after that, she was too innocent, he wouldn’t be able to rationalize doing the deed. If he had, there would’ve been so much regret and he doubted he’d ever live that down. He truly believed it would haunt him.

“Hmph! Someone like you? Of course you could! You’d probably just laugh about it!” Paimon snapped, arms crossed. Tartaglia glanced over at Paimon and Zhongli beside the door to the bank. That wasn’t exactly comforting to hear. “Monster doesn’t even BEGIN to describe you! If you even think Paimon is going to-” 

“PAIMON!” Lumine yelled out as Tartaglia hung his head. “You two should head to the Rite of Parting. I'll be there soon, okay?”

“What?! And trust you alone with this creep? No way! Paimon would never trust him alone with you!” 

“Paimon, come on! Even if he did do something, how are you going to stop him?” Her example didn't make him feel better either. In fact it was just making him feel WORSE. Did they really think he'd try to finish her off now? Or were they implying something worse?

“Perhaps it's time to go our separate ways.” Zhongli spoke up. “At least for now. Come on Paimon. We'll get some snacks on the way.” Tartaglia wondered where he'd get the mora for those.

“But-” He heard a sigh from the pixie. “Fine! But if that stupid harbinger touches even ONE HAIR on Lumine’s head, Paimon’s going to-!” She let out a frustrated huff, turning and leaving with the real geo archon.

“Don’t listen to her. She’s just upset over everything that happened.” A completely normal, valid response if anyone asked him. This girl was the one who was unreasonable.

“She’s right though. You shouldn’t involve yourself with a monster like me.” He sighed out. Why was this bothering him so much? He would’ve expected to be fine with it.

“Hey, stop it. You’re not a monster!” Lumine snapped with a huff.

“You don’t know me, Traveler. After everything, I still tried to kill you. I still tried to drown a city of innocent people. Hell, you've seen the abomination I am. How the hell am I not a monster?” He folded his arms on the railing and buried his head in them. Maybe a trip home would be nice. 

“You’re focusing too much on the bad things.” She let out a soft hum. “You have plenty of good qualities too! You’re caring and protective, you listen to what others say, and you seem fiercely loyal. You’ve done some bad things, but I don’t think you want to. You thought I hurt you, but you couldn't kill me, even when you thought you wanted to.” Tartaglia was silent. “I think on some level, you're happy I stopped your back up plan. You didn't really want to drown Liyue, did you?” 

How was he so easy to read? She didn't stop there though. “Everyone thinks I’m dumb and clueless, but I’m not. I just try to see the best in everyone.” She flashed a bright smile at him. “And I see a lot of that in you. I just hope you’ll let me see more of it.” He didn’t deserve her. He didn’t deserve even being around her at all. She was just so warm and kind, and he was… He was dark and dangerous, yearning for her light.

“If you think there’s anything good in me, then you might be more clueless than you think.” He smiled into his arms as she moved to lean against him.

“I’m not, you’re just blind.”

“Did you forget I wear an eyepatch? I think I’m allowed to be a little blind.” What was it about her that made him feel like joking around with her? He wasn’t one for jokes and funny remarks, but she seemed to pull them out of him.

“Oh, wait Tartaglia!” She leaned back up, the sound of rustling filling his ears. “This is for you.” When he looked up at her, Lumine held out a red and black cloth to him. 

“Is that…?”

“Uh-huh! After our battle, I went to find your eyepatch. I found it under some of the rubble.” He couldn’t believe she’d gone to find it for him… “I washed it for you too.” A hesitant hand reached out for it, hovering over her hand as he stared at her hand.  

Tartaglia had just assumed he’d have to replace his eyepatch, and had already figured he’d wear his scarf like this until he got home. This was… Completely unexpected, even for her. He was touched by the compassion she showed, by the way she wanted to make him happy. He knew she was sweet and kind, but he really didn’t expect her to go to such lengths to make him happy.

“Th-thank you…” He hated that small stutter. 

“I looked for your mask too, but when I found it, it was crushed to piece already…” 

“That’s alright.” He reached over for his eyepatch, noticing his shirt around her hand still. He wondered if she was still hurt, or if it had been a new wound on her hand.

Tartaglia reached up to untie his scarf, removing it from his now closed left eye and setting it aside. “Can… Can I see your eye?” He glanced over at her as he unfolded his eyepatch.

“You’ve seen my eye, remember?” He couldn’t, for the life of him, understand why she’d want to see such a horrifying thing.

“Only for a few seconds before you got all big and…” She was trying to avoid calling him a monster or freak, he could tell. “...Covered in armor.” He could almost laugh at her.

“It’s called Foul Legacy. It draws on abyssal powers. My eye looks the same as that eye.” Still, he turned his head toward her, glancing around. He would’ve shown her, if not for Vlad starting guard beside the doors of the bank. “Next time, okay? I’d prefer not to show others the kind of monster I am.”

Lumine huffed at him. “You’re not a monster.” The more she said it, the more he wanted to believe it. He tied on his eyepatch, noting a hint of sweet honey in its scent. 

“Master Tartaglia.” He turned to look past the pink haired Traveler at an agent beside the stairs. “Your boat is ready, sir. Lady Signora demands you make haste.”

“Fine. I’ll be right there.” He looked back down at Lumine. “I guess this is where we part ways, Traveler. Hopefully, the next time we meet, things will be less chaotic.” He held his hand out to her, offering her a civil handshake. She looked at his hand for a few seconds as if she were unsure.

Instead, the girl with the golden heart tackled the harbinger, arms wrapped tightly around him. “Take care, Tartaglia! I hope you feel better.” His face felt red as he momentarily froze up. He would miss this girl so much.

He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t ready to go home though. “You too. If you’re ever in Snezhnaya, I’ll be happy to help you out.” She beamed at him when she pulled back. He grabbed his scarf, slipping it back to where it usually rested on his chest.

Walking past her was a little hard, but he had to go. At least it would give him time alone to think and reflect on how he felt about her and how he felt about himself after everything he’d done. He was far from having a calm mind, but he would at least have all the time he needed to think of the sweet girl who managed to look at everything positively, the kind girl who could not be torn down. 

How odd, not even ten minutes ago, he’d wanted to head home and forget everything about her. But now he wasn’t so sure he wanted to do that anymore. Something in him seemed to always be chasing her, desired her and wanted her; but wasn’t sure if it would be best to indulge that part of him or not.

In any case, Tartaglia just hoped she’d maintain her innocence, that the world wouldn’t destroy her quite yet. They would surely cross paths again; when they did, he hoped she would still be the ever positive and happy girl she was.

Chapter Text

Tartaglia groaned out as he sat back down at his desk. He'd hoped he'd never have to see the Qixing again. Keqing and Ningguang at least seemed well, though it had only been a month since he left Liyue. Frankly, he wished it'd been longer. The memories of Liyue had grown to be a rather large headache in the back of his mind.

The nation itself reminded him of how easy it was to lose himself. It reminded him of how awful people could be, tricking and deceiving him. It had been the first time he doubted his Tsaritsa. He might not have doubted her at the time, but the more he'd processed the events in the geo nation, the more he wondered if his loyalty to his god was deserved. 

Instead of exploring that, he'd instead bottled it up tight and hid it on a very tall shelf.

In addition to wishing he could stay out of Liyue longer, he had mostly wanted to stay in Snezhnaya longer. Truthfully he’d spent most of the last month alone, drinking and facing the demons deep in the recesses of his mind. He’d turned over every step he took, analysed what he’d done wrong, how he’d allowed himself to be used, and how the outcomes could’ve been vastly different. 

His parents had been scared of him for so long now, he kept his visits back to them few and far in between. He loved his family too much to scare them more than he already did. If only he could see his little siblings more. Tartaglia had at least gone ice fishing countless times while he was home, even if he’d been mostly alone on the lake. If he closed his eyes, he could almost hear his papa still telling him stories. He could almost pretend he was still a young boy. Almost. He could never fully escape the hell he’d made for himself. 

He’d been such an awful person when he was here last. He could finally understand that most of it wasn’t his fault, that he’d been baited and led into doing what Signora and Zhongli had wanted. He wasn’t thrilled about it, but he’d accepted it. But he was responsible for what he did to Lumine.

That was perhaps the only reason Tartaglia was happy to come back to Liyue. He was excited to hopefully see how she’d been in the last month. He hoped she was still that same bubbly and sweet girl he’d begun to long for. Nothing could tear her down, he admired that about her.

It was crazy how much she affected him. He’d been entranced by her naivety and kindness, but that wasn’t all to her. He admired how much she seemed to genuinely care about him. She knew the horror of his transformation, she’d been on the brunt end of his anger; yet she still cared about him, still worried about him. That meant everything to him. Tartaglia had come to realise how much he needed her, how much he desired her. 

One night after coming home from his parent’s house, he’d been half way through a bottle of firewater. He remembered spilling his bottle while he recounted each and every interaction he’d made with her. He’d even stroked his eyepatch in memory of her. It had been a truly dark night for him, but he remembered with crystal clear memory, him promising to himself that he would NEVER purposefully hurt her again (unless it was in some sort of spar). Once the alcohol wore off, he was deeply ashamed of himself, but he decided he’d keep the promise.

Tartaglia was very aware there was only a SLIM chance of running into the pink haired girl; she was a traveler for a reason, she had probably already left Liyue and onto the next leg of her journey. Still, a man could hope.

As for the Qixing, the harbinger had been sent to Liyue to ‘fix’ the relations between this nation and his own. As if he’d been the one to ruin them. If not for Signora and her devious ways, he wouldn’t have even needed to BE here.

“Master Tartaglia.” He looked up at the recruit entering his office. 

“Aleksey. You should knock before you enter. I hate intruders.” Thankfully, he’d just gotten back and hadn’t even gotten a chance to get his eyepatch off. 

“A-ah-! Right…! Sorry, sir.” The recruit bowed to him. “It won’t happen again!” Tartaglia sighed out.

“What did you want?”

“U-uhm… Someone is here to see you. She said it’s urgent.” He swore if this was one of the Qixing coming to harass him again, he would be splitting heads.

“Send them in.” He leaned forward, setting his elbow on the desk and resting his head on his hand. It was better to get this over with. The recruit scrambled to the door, throwing it open and calling out.

“Right this way.” Tartaglia's eyes widened when he spotted a familiar pink (though it looked more vibrant now and less faded) head enter. Her eyes seemed a little downcast, and she didn’t seem as energetic in her brief entry. But before he could focus on that, a little boy came in.

“BIG BROTHER!” Tartaglia was on his feet in a second, eyes wide as he looked down at the ginger haired boy running toward him.

“T-Teucer?!” The Harbinger caught the boy as he leapt at him. “Wh-what are you doing here?!” This was certainly a surprise. He’d just been hoping to run into the Traveler, never in his wildest dreams did he think he’d see Teucer here. “Shouldn’t mama or papa have told me you were coming?”

“Papa and I were in town together and I heard some sailors talking about Liyue! While papa was at his haircut, I snuck out to the boat!” He felt his eyebrow twitch in worry. “A nice man gave me some food on the boat too!” He’d have to go over ‘don’t accept food from strangers’ with him again at some point. “And when I got off the boat, I started walking… Then… Then I got lost.” Teucer sighed out, looking down.

“That’s where Paimon and the Traveler found him! He was walking out of the harbor alone.” Paimon crossed her arms. “Lumine thought he might get hurt if we didn’t help him, so we stopped to check on him.” Tartaglia’s gaze moved to Lumine’s, noting how she said nothing to add.

“Teucer…” He pulled the boy back, kneeling down in front of him. “That’s very dangerous. Do you have any idea how worried everyone must be about you?” Teucer looked away. “And what if this nice girl hadn’t found you? What if something had happened to you?”

“I…I just… really wanted to see you…” Tears pricked in the boy’s eyes as he glanced back at his older brother’s face. “I-I’m sorry Ajax…”

Tartaglia sighed out. “I’m happy to see you, thrilled even. But you have to understand how dangerous this is.”

“Tartaglia, he just wants to be with his big brother, go a little easy on him…” His gaze turned up to the pink haired girl, avoiding his gaze.

“I’m just… trying to look out for him.” He pulled Teucer back in for another hug. “I’m happy it worked out, just… Promise me you won’t do this again without permission, okay? Next time, I’ll block out plenty of time for us to spend together.” Teucer’s face lit up a little and he hugged his brother back.

“O-Okay big brother! I promise!” A part of him wondered if he was being too easy on the boy. He had to understand how risky it was. How lucky was it that the boat took him close enough to Lumine and Paimon? What if it had led him to another city, or he’d ran into kidnappers before them?

“Paimon’s surprised to see you’re the guy Teucer was talking about! He made his brother sound like he was a real human for a second.” That hurt, but Tartaglia was stronger than that.

“What, do you think I can’t have a family?” He quirked an eyebrow up at the pixie.

“It’s not that, Paimon just never really pictured you as a ‘family’ kind of guy.” Was it his imagination or did Lumine flinch at the mention of family. “Besides, Teucer said his brother is a businessman.”

The boy turned to glance at Paimon. “Yep! Big brother Ajax said he does business for the bank! But he’s away on business so much I don’t get to see him very much.” He turned back to his older brother. “That’s why I snuck on the boat! You hardly spent any time with me when you came home…” It wasn’t like he didn’t want to; but with how he’d been feeling, he didn’t know if he could handle his parents looking at him like he was pure evil and dangerous. He had already been struggling.

“Oh, Paimon gets it. You’re not a family man.” She huffed out. “You ignore them.” Tartaglia was really not fond of Paimon. He understood if she was going to say it, but she didn’t have to say it in FRONT of Teucer.

“I hate to break it to you, Paimon. But family is very important to me.” He stood up. “Family should always come first, right?” Paimon put her hands on her hips, glaring at him.

Just as Paimon opened her mouth to speak, Lumine cut her off. “R-right. Family is irreplaceable.” He offered her a gentle smile, but she didn’t return it. She just looked… sad. It didn’t fit her normally bubbly personality. If it wasn’t for Teucer here right now, he’d be asking her what was wrong, why her smile was gone.

“Teucer, I need to send a letter out to mama and papa so they know you’re here. It’ll take a few days until I can get a boat and escort scheduled, why don’t we spend the time together now?” It wasn’t like there was a lot for him to do, and it was rare for him to get time with his kid brother.

“Really?!”

“Really. Just let me write a letter to our parents.” That was priority number one. He could only imagine the panic and pain his parents were going through. They must’ve been so stressed out about their youngest. As soon as they received his letter they’d be able to calm down a little. Or at least they’d know where he was. As for the ship, he knew a ship would be sailing out of Liyue Harbor on Friday. It was a passenger ship, which also happened to be transporting Mora from the Northland Bank back to Snezhnaya. He just needed someone to properly escort him back home.

“Can the girls come with us too?! This lady has been really nice to me since she found me. She even gave me some candy!” Lumine said nothing as Tartaglia looked up at her.

“Oh, the Traveler loves kids! We usually end up playing with them all the time! Back in Mondstadt she picked up a bunch of candy to hand out!” Paimon chirped up. “Would Tartaglia really want us hanging around though? We have some bad history…”

“Bad history? What did you do to my big brother?” The boy gasped. “Are you bad people?! Or some sort of rivals?!” Teucer moved to hide behind his brother.

“Relax, Teucer.” Tartaglia pulled out a piece of paper from his desk, reaching for his pen. “We just had a little… clash, okay? It was a small disagreement.”

“Small disagreement? You-”

“-got very heated, I know. It’s nothing personal, just business.” He hoped the girls would sense his tone. Paimon shot back a glare, but Lumine’s expression didn’t change much. “If they want to come with us, I don’t mind. It’s been a while since we spent time together.” Tartaglia began to write out the letter. “Just keep yourselves busy for a minute or two. I need to write this letter.” 

“So… Uh, Teucer. What did you want to do in Liyue?” Paimon smiled down at the boy. 

“I don’t really care, I just want to spend time with my brother.” There was a beat of silence under Tartaglia’s pen scratching into the paper. “Well, I wanna get stuff for my family! Big brother always brings toys and candy back for me, so I want to bring stuff back for my siblings too!” 

“You’re a sweet brother, aren’t you Teucer?” Lumine might’ve looked broken, but her voice remained as sweet as ever. 

“That’s just because I have the best role model EVER!” 

“He is pretty great, isn’t he?” Tartaglia could still hear the pain in her voice if he listened closer. He desperately wanted to know what had happened. Whatever it was, he would KILL whoever messed with her. She didn’t deserve to have her soul broken, she didn’t deserve to be hurt like that.

“He’s the best! I just wish he had more time for me…” Tartaglia sighed out as he looked back over his letter. It was short, incredibly short for his standards; but time was of the essence. He needed his parents to see this as soon as humanly possible. 

“I know, big brothers never seem to have time for their siblings…” It almost sounded like the poor girl was speaking from experience.

“Aleksey.” The man who had lingered far too long turned to his desk. 

“S-sir?” The harbinger folded up his letter, slipping it into an envelope. He quickly penned the all too familiar address on it.

“Take this to be sent out. Urgently. I don’t care how much it costs, I want this delivered as early as possible.” He held the envelope out to the bowing man, watching him snatch it and scurry away. “Alright, let’s head out.”

“What? Just like that? You don’t have to check in with anyone?” Paimon asked.

“I’m the one in charge here, who would I need to check in with?” He stood up from his desk. “I’ll just tell someone I’m headed out and not to disturb me unless it’s an emergency.

“Wow! My big brother is so important!” Teucer shouted, practically bouncing with excitement.

“Well, Paimon supposes that makes sense. She didn’t think there were any other har-”

“HARD WORKERS? There’s plenty of hard workers.” Tartaglia would have to take a minute to tell them he wasn’t a harbinger to Teucer. Perhaps he’d be able to make the time while they were out.

“What? No! Paimon meant because you’re a har-”

“Paimon, no.” Lumine cut in, shaking her head at the pixie. Paimon looked between him and the Traveler. It made him happy to see that she understood he was covering up his status.

“Ahem, right. Should we get going then? If we wait any longer, it’ll be dark.” That reminded him, he’d need to make sleeping arrangements. He saw no harm in letting Teucer bunk in his inn room, but he’d have to check if the girls had a place to stay.

“Yeah, okay. Paimon recommends getting lunch first!” Lumine crossed her arms at the girl. “What?! Paimon is STARVING!”

“Lunch sounds like the perfect place to start. Here, I can get us a private table at Xinyue Kiosk.” Tartaglia offered a smile to his younger brother.

“Yeah! Let’s go!” The harbinger escorted Teucer and the others out of his office. This could be fun, spending time with both of the sweetest people in the world (and Paimon) without anyone trying to bring them down or separate him from his younger sibling.

Chapter Text

Paimon grimaced as the waiters set down the plates in front of them. Tartaglia had been sure to order some dishes to Teucer’s tastes, which included many sweets and some extremely costly custom orders. He at least made sure to order some Liyue specialty dishes; Teucer might not have wanted to try more dishes, especially not the more spicy ones, but he had to expand his palette a little.

“How can someone eat like that?” Paimon cringed at the sweet smell and the sight of the different foods smothered with sugar and syrup among other sweet toppings. Truthfully he understood that thought. If he hadn’t known Teucer like this, he would likely feel the same. Not that that would stop him. He wasn’t a picky eater.

“Children just like sweets, Paimon.” Lumine chimed in, looking over all the food with far more desire. 

“I made sure to order some real food too. There’s some Jueyun Chilli Chicken and Stir-Fried Fish Noodles. There’s also some Golden Shrimp Balls and a Golden Crab.” Tartaglia pointed out each of the different dishes. “Teucer, you’ll have to try some of these too.”

“W-what?! But the smells burn my nose!”

“It’s good to try new dishes. I’m not asking for you to try a lot, just a little bit.” He looked over at the other two. “Come on, dig in. I’ll cover the costs.” Tartaglia watched as both Lumine and Teucer began to dig into the overly sweet dishes. The hint of a shiver ran through his body, he wasn’t picky and could eat sweets, but it certainly wouldn’t be his first choice. His teeth were practically rotting at the thought.

“Paimon doesn’t get how you can eat that kind of stuff!” Paimon shook her head, reaching over for some of the Stir fry. Tartaglia grabbed the plate full of shrimp balls, taking a few for himself and putting one on Teucer’s plate.

“Ew, I don’t want that!” Teucer whined out, pushing it toward the edge of his plate. 

“Come on Teucer, just try it. You might like it.” Tartaglia took the stir fry from Paimon, handing her the shrimp. 

“Are you sure? What if it’s spicy?” 

“Come on Teucer, I’ll have one with you!” The boy’s eyes lit up as Lumine reached for a shrimp ball. 

“O-Okay!” Teucer reached down to pick up the Golden Shrimp Ball, watching her.

“Ready?” He nodded. When Lumine bit into hers, he bit into his.

“Well?” Tartaglia watched as the boy chewed his shrimp. Lumine finished her shrimp, but Teucer did not follow suit. Instead, he quickly grabbed a napkin and spat the food into it. The harbinger sighed out. 

“That’s so gross!!” He shouted, sticking his tongue out.

“Alright, calm down. Eat something else then.” Tartaglia took the rest of the ball from his brother, eating it for him as Teucer dug into the sweeter dishes. 

“Paimon can’t imagine not liking those Golden Shrimp balls!” She looked at the pink haired girl. “These are Keqing’s favorites, aren’t they?” Tartaglia internally groaned at the name. Of course the Traveler was well acquainted with her. Everyone knew the illustrious traveler.

“Big brother?” He looked over at the boy. “Is there a bathroom around here…?” He raised a finger toward the back of the restaurant.

“Through the doors, take a right.” Tartaglia watched the boy get up and hurry toward the back. “Make sure you wash your hands!” Normally he'd take his brother himself, but he still had to talk to the girls. When Teucer closed the door behind him, he let a serious look take his face. “Alright. While you're with my kid brother, please don't tell him I'm a harbinger.”

“What? Does he not know?” Paimon looked at him in surprise.

“No. The rest of my family know I'm working for the fatui, but Teucer is still young.” He crossed his arms. “I don't want him to know about that yet. I'll tell him one day, but not yet. I want him to remain innocent for a little longer.” 

“Ohhh so that's why Teucer called you a businessman!” Paimon smirked at him as she crossed her arms. “Seems like we have some leverage over you.” 

“Blackmail, huh? I'd rather pay you for your silence.” It was a lot better than feeling like Paimon owned him or demanding constant favors . “If you say nothing to Teucer before he leaves on Friday, I’ll pay you 2 million mora.” Paimon’s eyes widened, practically popping out of her head.

“D-Deal! Hand it over!” She held out her hands expectantly.

“Uh-uh-uh. I’ll give it to you after he leaves.” Did she think he was an idiot? If he gave it to her now, there would be nothing to stop her from blackmailing him for more.

“Wha- Well… Ugh, fine!” Lumine glared at Paimon.

“Paimon, come on. We don’t need that. Can’t we just do this for Teucer and Tartaglia?”

“B-But Traveler-! TWO MILLION! We could use that mora!” Lumine sighed out, shaking her head. Maybe this would be the time to ask Lumine what was wrong. He knew something wasn’t right, but he wasn’t sure what it was.

“Actually Traveler I-” The door opened as the boy entered the room, a bright smile on his face. Seems like he would have to wait a while longer. “Hey Teucer, did you wash your hands?” Teucer grinned at him.

“Yeah! I washed my hands nice and clean!” He shouted, raising his hands for him.

“Good boy.” He slid back into his seat, digging back into his pancakes smothered in chocolate sauce. 

“What were you talking about?” Tartaglia reached for some chicken.

“Nothing too important. Just boring grown up stuff.” Once he set the plate back down, he grabbed a napkin to wipe chocolate sauce off his brother’s face. 

“So- uh Teucer! Tell Paimon more about yourself! Is Tartaglia your only brother?”

“No, I have more brothers and some sisters.” The boy gathered up more food, shoveling it in.

“More brothers and some sisters? Sounds like you have quite a large family.”

“Mhm! But Ajax is my FAVORITE brother!” Teucer grinned at his older brother, drawing a sigh from him at how messy his face was again.

“We actually have five other siblings. But Teucer is easily my favorite brother too.” His older siblings seemed to view him much like his parents, like he was the devil himself; but at least they hid it slightly better. He adored Anthon and Tonia too, but there was something extra about Teucer and his childlike wonder.

“Wh-what?! FIVE?!” Lumine’s eyes were wide as she stared at Tartaglia. “That’s a LOT of kids!”

“My parents love children. Snezhnayans tend to have families on the larger side anyway.” He wasn’t quite sure if it was a result of cuddling together in the sheer cold climate, or if it was due to child mortality being a little higher (what with more vicious creatures and the freezing cold) and the fatui recruiting children mostly due to Dottore’s selfish experiments (that he didn’t agree with at all).

“Aw, that’s cute… I bet family is important there…” Lumine let out a soft sigh, shutting her eyes.

“It is. Where we come from, family comes first.” Tartaglia smiled at his little brother. “A rule I live by the best I can. I would do anything for my family, especially my little siblings.” When he looked up again, the Traveler was watching him with a sad smile.

“I…I understand. I would do anything for my brother. I would do everything for him.” Paimon frowned at her, floating a little closer to reach for her shoulder.

“I’m sure he feels the same about you. I bet he loves his sweet sister.” Her smile fell immediately at that statement. Had he said something wrong? That seemed like such an odd reaction to have.

“He doesn’t. I know he doesn’t. He didn’t even care about me.” Tartaglia’s gaze softened. He didn’t know the full story, but she sounded so hurt by those statements. Surely she must’ve misunderstood her last encounter with her brother. He hadn’t met him, but he had a hard time believing a brother wouldn’t care for his sister. He knew the world was full of messed up people, but she’d been so vibrant and carefree last time, so unlike someone who’d been hurt by her brother. 

“Ms. Lumine? What’s your brother like?” Leave it to a kid to not notice the pain in someone’s face and voice, nor to know when to leave certain topics alone.

“He’s… Or… Was… Very sweet, and very protective of me. We’re twins, but he’d always done everything to take care of and love me. He’s all I’ve had since we began our travels together.” She exhaled. “U-Until I met Paimon!” She forced a fake smile to her face, but Tartaglia wasn’t sure she even convinced Teucer. 

“Oh… Traveler…” Paimon moved to hug her, squeezing her tight. He had to change the topic. This was not the time and place for him to learn more about this. Something had clearly happened to her brother, and while he wanted to know more; in the middle of a restaurant in front of his brother was not the time.

“Uh, right. I’ll go pay for our lunch. You three finish your meals.” He turned to Teucer. “And that means eating, not talking or we’ll be here all day. You wanted to go out and do some shopping didn’t you?” The boy gasped, starting to shovel more of his food into his mouth.

“Thank you, Tartaglia.” Lumine called out to him, looking down at her plate as her smile fell. It hurt to see her still so down, but he couldn’t fixate on that.

“Anytime.”

“Wow! Look at that!” Teucer shouted as he ran from his brother and the girls. Tartaglia approached the toy stand his brother had been attracted to. The very toy stand he remembered having made those kites for the Rite of Departure. “What are those?”

“They’re kites, Teucer. I don’t know a lot about them, but I’ve seen some kids flying them.” Teucer looked at them in amazement, gasping at the different colors.

“Hello there, dear! You look like you’ve come a very long way. Let granny guess. From what you’re wearing, I would say… Snezhnaya.” 

“Hehe! That’s right. How do you play with these kites, Granny?”

“When the wind picks up, you let out the string and WHOOSH! The kite will fly into the air, up, up and away!” Teucer looked at the kites again, then up at his older brother.

“Big brother, I want to get one with you! Will you fly them with me?!” Truthfully, he had no interest in these things, but Teucer was looking at him with the largest eyes and excitement brimming in them. What kind of monster could say no? Regardless of what people said or what rumors there were about him, he wasn’t that cruel.

“Hm… Alright, we can fly some later today or tomorrow. Why don’t you pick out one you like?” Teucer moved to look over the various kites, mulling over his choices carefully.

“I want this one!”

“Ah, the goldfish is very popular among children your age.” Tartaglia hummed out, looking at the kites. He admitted he would’ve preferred the ‘goldfish’ too, but variety was probably make the experience better for Teucer. 

“I’ll take this one.” He pointed at a blue coloured kite.

“The swallow, one of my favorites, sir…” She squinted at him. “Wait… Have I seen you before?” Oh, shit. He was hoping no one would recognise him, he didn’t want Teucer to learn of his misdeeds.

“Uh, Comrade.” He turned his head toward the girls. “D-Do you two want some kites too?” Surely the prospect of additional sales would distract her.

“Ooh ooh ooh!” Paimon grinned as she looked over the kites. “Hm… Hey Granny, do you have something like Paimon?” The old woman shook her head.

“I’m afraid not. I can do a custom build if you want, but it can get a bit expensive and will take some time. I’ll need some reference pictures too.”

“That’s fine, I’ll pay for it.” It wasn’t like Tartaglia was low on money. He made more than enough to afford it. “Lumine?” He looked at the pink haired girl staring at the various kites.

“Uh… I think I’ll take a butterfly. I like the colors.” The harbinger turned back to the older woman shuffling toward the kites. She grabbed the goldfish and handed it to the boy whose eyes seemed to grow in anticipation. She reached for one of the swallows and one of the butterflies, handing them to the respective patrons.

“And you?” She looked at Paimon. “I’ll need a good picture of you…”

“Oh, I can cover that.” In no time, Lumine was withdrawing a clear, lovely picture of the pixie. “Will this do?” 

“Yes… This will do nicely. You’ll be able to pick it up in a few days.” She took the photo, tucking it into a drawer built into her stand. “Now, for two kites and a custom order…”

“Three. There’s three kites.” Tartaglia reminded, shifting his kite over to the Traveler so he could withdraw his wallet.

“No charge for this lass’ kite. After everything she’s done for this city, it’s the least I could do.” He spared a glance at his little brother, but thankfully his attention was on the kite, rather than the conversation.

“Alright. Then this should cover the costs.” He handed the older woman a large chunk of mora. He didn’t know exactly how much it was, but if he spent much more time here she might figure out who he was.

“Ah, wait, this is more than enough-” Tartaglia quickly turned his brother and the girls away from the stand. 

“Thank you Granny!” Teucer shouted over his shoulder.

“Alright, should we go fly these?” The older male smiled down at his brother.

“No! Not yet! I still have to get gifts! I’m going to be like you!” 

“Aww, you’re such a good brother, Teucer!” Lumine let a soft smile pull onto her lips.

“Alright, what do you want to get then?” Teucer was silent for a few seconds, putting a finger to his chin.

“Hmmm… I… I don’t know…” The boy deflated with a sigh. “I guess I’m not really a good brother…”

“Hey,” He patted his brother’s back. “Why don’t I tell you what I’d get them, then you can pick them out.”

“R-Really!?” Teucer grinned at his big brother, perking up instantly. “O-Okay! What would you get for them?!”

“Well, Papa loves fishing, so I’d look on the docks for some unique fishing equipment you can’t get at home. I’d get Mama some cookbooks, you know she loves trying new recipes.” He hadn’t quite thought them all through yet, but he was pretty good at making them up on the fly. “Oldest brother… I’d get something for his kids, like candy. He’s always appreciative of toys or candy for them.”

“Wh-what?! Paimon thought you were the oldest!” Paimon looked at him as if he’d grown another head. “Teucer is so young, Paimon thought you couldn’t have any OLDER siblings!”

Tartaglia let out a short, dry laugh. “I’m actually the middle kid, Paimon. Three older siblings, three younger siblings.” 

“So… You know what it’s like to be a younger sibling too?” Lumine’s eyes sparkled a little as she looked up at him.

“A little. My older siblings don’t really want to deal with me very often.” And he’d tried to connect to them still. More often than not, however, he simply shipped their presents to them. 

“What about older sister?!” Teucer chirped in, watching him excitedly. Now that was a hard one. He wasn’t really in the mindset of a woman, nor did he see her much. She was always cold and a little more distant to him.

“Hm… Traveler. What would you want as a gift? Something we could find here, please.” Lumine blinked at him, thinking it over.

“I’d want flowers, but since they wouldn’t ship well… Hm… Maybe something like perfume or make up? Ying’er helped us make some perfume last time we were in town.” 

“Perfume? Like that stuff that makes women smell nice?” Teucer questioned, eyes wide. Lumine smiled at him and nodded. “Big sister would love that!”

“We can get some perfume for her then.” Tartaglia smiled at his little brother. “As for big brother. Hm… Well he started wood carving not too long ago, so maybe we can collect a bunch of wood for him to carve with.” Tartaglia might not have planned this ahead of time, but he’d had enough experience gathering gifts. “Tonia, I got her a new stationary pad, you could get her some new inks. Anthon had been asking about the Liyuese when I came home last time, you could get him a book on their culture.” Teucer nodded, though Tartaglia suspected he wasn’t keeping track of any of this, or he at least would forget.

“Okay, big brother! Let’s go!” Teucer grabbed his hand and pulled him down the street with the girls behind them.

Tartaglia sighed out as he pushed open the door. Teucer had been drooling on his shoulder since they’d left the picnic bonfire they’d had. After they’d finished shopping for everything, they’d gone out with the Traveler and Paimon to fly kites and enjoy a dinner over a campfire. Teucer had fallen asleep shortly after, so he’d carried him back to his inn room. Lumine and Paimon had split off from them in the lobby to their own room.

The tall ginger carried the boy to his bed, pulling the covers back. He laid the boy down in the bed, gently tucking him in. His eye lingered on the boy’s face, taking in the sweet, innocent look he had in his sleep. What he wouldn’t give to be that at peace. What he wouldn’t give to not be so tense all the time.

He pushed himself off the bed, lifting his eyepatch just a little bit to allow air into his eye. Taking it off entirely wasn’t the best option in case his little brother woke up, but this was enough for him. Silently, he crossed the floor to open the window, allowing cooler air to filter in with the moonlight. Being Snezhnayan, he was used to sleeping in a colder temperature, Teucer probably was too.

Tartaglia turned around to observe his room as he removed his jacket. He'd been staying in his office his entire stay here. He'd rented this room, but he never found himself actually in it. The office had been enough for him. Everything was very unfamiliar to him, especially in the darkness. There was only one, large bed in the room with its headboard pressed to the wall. That was where he'd tucked Teucer in. The bedspread was a simple pattern, lined with a coloured border around the edges. He wasn't positive about the colors, however. All he had was the moonlight. 

Across from the bed sat a desk, empty except for some stationery for guests to use with a matching chair tucked in under it. A small lantern also sat on the desk, unlit for obvious reasons. Beside the desk was a rather uncomfortable couch with a folded blanket and pillow sat on it. Tartaglia couldn’t tell the color in this lighting, nor could he even tell the texture (not that he really ever paid attention to texture).

It had been a long day, seeing his brother and suddenly putting everything on hold, hoping that the Qixing wouldn’t bother him while Teucer was here. He’d also spent much of the day with the girl he’d become enamored with, but he was very aware that she was forcing herself to be peppy and upbeat for his brother. He noticed the way her smile was only ever out when the boy looked at her, but it was never a real smile; and her voice made her sound so distraught and upset. He just wanted to make her feel better.

The harbinger soon found himself under his own covers on the very stiff and uncomfortable couch. Not only that, but the blanket the hotel had given him was far too thin. He wasn’t cold, but there was no comfort to be found. Even his pillow was a little lumpy. None of it compared to the soft looking bed with the thick blankets and perfect pillows. But he wasn’t about to take it from Teucer, nor did he want to wake the boy up by sliding in next to him. Besides, it wouldn’t be a problem when he fell asleep.

Except, sleep never claimed him. Instead, he was left wide awake, replaying the day over in his head, remembering every snag and bump, reliving all his worries and concerns. He tossed and turned in his attempt at sleep. It wasn’t like he couldn’t work on little sleep, he’d been a light sleeper and operated on short bursts of sleep often in the past few years; but he had hoped to sleep easy and be ready to wake up before his brother.

And that would’ve been a fine plan, but his mind was fighting him. He was still thinking of the Traveler, and of how Teucer had gotten here without anyone telling him. How had his parents not contacted him? How had he heard nothing about the boy arriving in Liyue? Hopefully his letter to his parents would ease their worries. Or maybe not with how they felt about him. He was trouble to them after all.

Tartaglia threw off his blanket, sitting up on the stiff couch. Maybe if he worked a little bit of training in, he’d be able to sleep better. Even if he only trained for a few minutes. He had to find something. As he gathered his jacket again, he spared a glance at the boy in bed with a bright happy smile on his face. He'd make sure to be back soon. Teucer would throw a fit if he woke up and his big brother was missing.

The city streets weren't quite empty, but there were certainly less people than earlier in the night. The air was still filled with the scent of food frying, and there was certainly still commotion; but there was a sense of ease too that only the deep night time could bring him. In the dark, he could forget all the things he had done in the light. He was practically a creature of the night anyway.

Leaving the city smells and sounds behind was nice. The plains were far more calm, and much more at peace. The space was much more suited for training too. Or it would’ve been, if not for the grunts and cries echoing out. Was someone else out here training? Maybe they could fight and he could get a real workout! The last time he’d been out here and had a proper fight had been with the Traveler, he was itching for another fight.

“Stupid-! Worthless-!” He slowly moved in toward the voice. “He left you because you’re WORTHLESS!” Before he could even realize the voice was familiar, he spotted a hilichurl camp, but they were all, notably, dead. At the center of the chaos, blood and bodies; he saw the Traveler, hunched over and stabbing something repeatedly. “He doesn’t even want to be AROUND you!” 

Tartaglia wasn’t quite sure what was happening, but he felt bad for her. He knew what it was like to be pushed away, but someone had pushed her away? Who could push away someone as sweet and cheerful as her? He slowly approached her, stepping over the arm of a hilichurl. 

“N-Naïve! STUPID!” She gasped for air as she paused in her actions. “I-I trusted him! I-I-! I can’t believe I thought he’d BE there for me!” She cried out, staring down at her target. “H-He always told me I was too trusting!” The ginger noticed that she was trembling in her tears. Whoever had hurt her, had hurt her bad. He refused to acknowledge the anger starting to boil in himself. This was about her, not how PISSED he was at whoever hurt her. He’d seek out the sorry BASTARD later. He would make him apologize to her.

Tartaglia continued toward her, weaving around bodies. The gashes left were deep and efficient, she really knew how to fight. He admired that about her. She might’ve looked as fragile as a flower, but she punched like-

He stopped in front of a pure white and blue flower laying in the spilled blood of a mitachurl. It was one of her flowers. It must’ve fallen when she was fighting. He knelt down, uncaring about the blood staining his knee as he picked it up with all the gentleness in the world.

Tartaglia stood back up amidst the pink haired girl’s sobbing, brushing off any and all traces of blood on the oddly hard blossom. “WORTHLESS!” He looked up at her scream, startled as she threw her sword back. Honed instincts brought his other hand up, creating a hydro blade just in time to deflect her sword before it could hit him. Lumine leapt at the sound of her metal sword clashing into his hardened hydro blade, glancing over her shoulder at him.

Her face had already been covered in tears and dirt, along with a bit of blood smudged in. Her eyes went wide with panic, fear and dread as she looked at him. “WAIT!” He shouted as she scrambled to her feet. 

“I-I can explain-!” She wiped at her eyes immediately. “I-I just got something in my eye-!” He took a few more steps toward her until he was almost at arm's length. She spun around toward him, pulling on a very wide, very fake grin. “I came out here and-” She only took one step closer to him, but she lost her footing immediately amidst the grief she was clearly feeling. 

Thankfully for her, Tartaglia closed the distance, leaning down to wrap his arms around her to catch her. “I got you. Just be careful.” She hesitated, frozen in his arms. He couldn’t see her face from this position, but when she looked up at him, all he could see was a vulnerable girl on the verge of tears again.

In seconds, Lumine clutched his jacket and buried her face into his chest and just cried. He hated seeing women cry. Or anyone, for that matter. He could fight a lot of problems, but tears weren't something he could often fight to fix. It made him feel weak, like there was something he should be doing to make her feel better but he wasn’t doing it.

He looked around at the various bodies around them, then glanced over her crying form at the former target of her aggression. Based on their location and their surroundings, he'd expected a hilichurl with multiple stab wounds. But instead, it was one of the hilichurl’s training dummies. She was too soft to even take it out on something dead already? He found that kind of cute. Even in her darkest moments, even when she was clearly miserable and stressed- she was still so innocent. Stabbing one of the hilichurls like that probably hadn’t even crossed her mind.

“Come on, Comrade, let’s… Let’s get you out of this mess.” He held her flower carefully in his hand as he tightened his arms around her. She clung to him as he walked her through the field of bodies and destruction. It was a little awkward, but Tartaglia was being careful not to look at her. He didn’t want to see the tears running down her face, he could already picture it, he didn’t need to see it in first person. Besides, he suspected he’d see that before the night was over.

“I-I’m sorry, Tartaglia, I...” She never finished that though, and he was glad she hadn’t. He might be cold and hardened by the world, but he didn’t want to hear her apologizing for her own feelings. He wasn’t sure what to even say, he didn’t often feel things beyond rage and frustration. How could he offer her any advice? 

The harbinger looked around, deciding to take her toward a large rock. He exhaled as she sobbed into the open air. He could handle this. Crying made him uncomfortable, but most of the time it barely affected him. So why was it hurting him so much to hear her cry?

He knew why. It was because he wanted to protect her. It was because he worried someone had shattered her world, had exposed her to the cruel, darkness of the world. He'd wanted to protect her innocence, yet someone was trying to ruin her. That thought stoked the abyss in him, urging the beast to come out. He sat down and helped her sit beside him. He regretted seeing her crying face as she struggled to breathe through her tears. Even with her clinging to him, he hadn’t expected her to scoot all the way in and cry to his shoulder.

Tartaglia understood she (somehow) saw him as a friend, but she must’ve been really badly hurt to cry to him like this. She was too trusting, but he suspected she understood not to trust him this much. Not after what he’d done to her, not while he was a harbinger. 

Or maybe she didn’t have those reservations. Maybe she did trust him like he hadn’t hurt her.

“T-Tartaglia…?” His attention was down on her as she looked up at him. Her eyes were full of pain and sorrow. And tears. Lots of tears. Her eyes were overflowing and it was like a gut punch to him. He subconsciously squeezed his arms around her while being careful of her flower, almost as if he were trying to reassure her that he was there for her. He didn’t want her to hurt anymore. “Th-thank you…” 

“Girlie… Lumine…” He wasn’t sure what to say. Comfort wasn’t his strong suit. He hurt and killed others for a living, that was the OPPOSITE of comfort. That said, he had to try. “Who…” He paused. Maybe he didn’t shouldn’t start by asking her who hurt her. He wasn’t sure he would be able to stop himself from hunting them down right now. “What happened?”

Lumine sniffled as she looked up at him, opening her mouth for a second before closing it again. She was trying to formulate the words in her head. He said nothing else, letting her take the time she needed. She was quiet for a little bit, inhaling, and exhaling. “I…I saw my brother.” She inhaled again, forcing back fresh tears pricking in her eyes. “And…” She wiped her eyes. “H-he didn’t want to see me.”

Oh. Tartaglia hadn’t been sure why her brother had caused tears until that. He’d never expected her to understand how it felt to be rejected by family, but he couldn’t figure out why he’d push her away. Lumine was sweet and kind, why would that be a problem? 

The pink haired girl wiped at her cheeks again, trying to dry her tears. “H-he told me… He told me I’m too trusting.” A sentiment Tartaglia agreed with, but he wasn’t going to break someone’s heart over it. “He thinks I’m blind to the world and th-that I need to open my eyes to everything around me. Th-that this world will crush everything it can. Including m-me. He doesn't w-want to be with someone this we-weak.” He tightened his grip on her. What kind of brother wanted to destroy his sister’s innocence? That was the last thing he wanted for his siblings, how could her brother think it was good for her? She buried her face into his chest again. “M-maybe he’s right. If I hadn’t trusted him-”

“NO!” The outburst scared Tartaglia himself. He hadn’t meant to do so, but he hated that thought. Her innocence needed to be protected, she needed to shine like the beacon she was. “I…I can’t tell you why he said that.” He looked away from her. “But as a brother, I’m sure he would never want to hurt you.” Or he wouldn’t want to hurt his siblings. He couldn’t imagine any other stance. Maybe if he had wanted her to grow so she could stand on her own two feet, but he would never want Teucer to be broken to learn to be independent. 

“Th-then why did he push me away?” The crack in her voice nearly destroyed him. He wasn’t sure what else to say. She broke into another round of sobs as she clung to him like he was her anchor. He just held her close, trying to understand. How could a brother hurt his sister so much? He could never hurt his siblings like that. He knew what it was like to be pushed away by family. He… knew what she was going through.

“Lumine, do you remember when Teucer mentioned I had older siblings?” She sniffled and looked up at him, nodding. “He didn’t mention how the others treat me. He doesn’t know any of that.” He rubbed his hand up and down her arm, he wasn’t sure if it was helping, but he faintly remembered his mother doing it to him when he’d cry when he was younger. “My older brothers and sister push me away too.” Her attention was locked onto him. “When I was younger, I was much more… normal and upbeat.” It felt like a lifetime ago. “Then… I… Had an encounter with the abyss, and I was changed and scarred.” He looked away from her again, staring off at the field in front of them. “My family saw the change in me, and it terrified them. I was aggressive, I looked like a monster, and my parents sent me to the Fatui.” He wasn’t sure if he really enjoyed that decision. He loved being able to fight others and get paid for it, but… “Ever since then, all I do is push my family away, and I can’t stop. My parents look at me like I’m a monster, my siblings are terrified of me, and I can’t fix any of it.” Out of his peripheral vision, he noticed Lumine still staring at him. “I can’t pretend I know what your brother is thinking or doing, but I know how you feel. Being pushed away by those you love and trust…” At least he knew why his family pushed him away.

“Y-you know, you aren’t a monster though, r-right?” He looked down at her as she shifted against him, trying to sit up. “Th-they’re wrong about you. You wouldn’t hurt them.” Unlike her brother, evidently. 

“I wouldn’t. I love them.” Even if they hurt him. “Your brother is wrong about you too.” She froze under his gaze. He moved a hand up to wipe at the tears in her eyes. At least they seemed to be clearing up. “He’s right that you’re a little too trusting, and that you don’t see the darker things in the world.” He inhaled and looked over the flower in his hand. He had to figure out the best words. He didn’t want her to go back to suppressing her feelings, or to make them worse. “The world is cruel, it’s dark and twisted. It won’t hesitate to snuff out any form of light.” He paused when she turned her head away from him, another sniffle coming from the pink haired girl. “But the world needs people like you too. You’re like a bright star shining in the dark night sky.” He brought her flower up, fixing it into her hair. “You’re always there to help others and see the best in people. You still believe in people.” He loved that she retained that light.

“T-Tartaglia…” He swore he saw hope reignite in her big golden eyes. “I… I…” She was speechless, that must’ve meant he was doing a good job, right?

“You’re very innocent, and kind. I don’t know the last time I meant someone so sweet. Your brother shouldn’t try to break you, he should be protecting that gentleness you have in you.” He inhaled again, trying to formulate more words. “I’m sorry he broke your trust, but I’m sure a girl like you can find more good in the world.” He certainly couldn’t, but she was kinder than he was. She wasn’t tainted like him. She wasn’t-

Tartaglia nearly fell back when Lumine shifted on her knees and pressed herself to him, locking her lips with his. His face turned a dark red as she held his face in her hands. He’d never been kissed before. He hadn’t expected to be THIS caught off guard. He also didn’t know how to even respond. Not until she was pulling back. The second she began to pull back, he brought his hands up to hers, rooting them in place as he pressed his lips to hers again. This was completely unfamiliar territory for him, his body was moving on its own. 

Tartaglia's brain soon caught up, and he quickly separated their lips again, releasing her hands. They looked at each other for a few seconds, neither daring to ask what had happened. Lumine was the first one to look away, red tinting her face as she avoided his gaze. 

“I…” She cleared her throat. “I'm sorry. I just… I felt really close to you. Like… Like you knew what I was feeling, and you were still reassuring me and-” She cut herself off to inhale again. “Thank you for being here with me, Tartaglia. I… I know I shouldn’t trust you. Not after the last time, but… Something about you tells me to trust you.” That was a first for him. Typically people avoided him.

“You shouldn’t, girlie.” He watched the way she shifted where she knelt, fidgeting in her seat. “But, I don’t want to hurt you.” He wanted to tell her he wouldn’t hurt her, that he would protect her and defend her, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it. If anything happened, if he had to turn on her for whatever reason… He didn’t want to betray her, he didn’t want to lie to her. Not about something so important.

“I know you don’t… And… That’s why you’re not a monster. Your family is wrong about you.” He looked away from her. He didn’t want to dive into that. He didn’t fault them for those thoughts, he often shared those thoughts himself.

“You don’t know m-”

“I know you well enough to know you aren’t a monster.” She huffed at him. “A monster wouldn’t spend all that money on his little brother and make him feel like he got the gifts for his family. You want to make him happy, does that sound like a monster?” When he looked back at her, he noticed she no longer seemed sad, though her eyes were still a bit red and puffy. If this kept her mind off the darker thoughts, he supposed he could indulge her a little.

“You’ve seen that I’m a monster. You’ve experienced first hand the kind of monster I am.” He could picture the way his family looked at him the first time he opened his eyes after the abyss, and again when he’d first been found by Pulcinella. The fear that had been on their faces as they looked at him in horror. “I just want to protect and care for my family too.”

“A monster wouldn’t have stopped to comfort me too.” She ran a hand through his hair. “You could’ve left me alone when you found me, but you came to help me instead.” She frowned at him. “There’s more to a monster than you think.” Hesitantly, her hands moved up to his eyepatch, pausing. She was silently asking to move it. He closed his eyes, but made no move to stop her. “I don’t see a monster in you.” She pushed it up, slowly running her fingers over the black scar over his eyelid. When he opened both his eyes to look at her, her gaze was fixated on his eye. “You don’t look like a monster. You look like you’ve gone through something, but you aren’t a monster.” He sighed out. She was the first person to look at his eye like this and not stare at him in fear. Why did it feel almost, freeing? “You don’t seem to scare Teucer with it either. You’re way too hard on yourself.”

“Teucer’s never seen it.” She ran her fingers around his eye. “We always told my little siblings that I lost my eye in a fishing accident.” She gasped, letting a frown pull on her face.

“That’s terrible!” There was a strange silence that took hold between them after that. It was almost… comfortable. She just knelt there, feeling the skin around his eye, enthralled by his different eye. He wasn’t really sure what else to say anyway. She didn’t seem nearly as upset about her brother anymore, or at least it wasn’t the forefront of her mind. “Do you see any differently?” She blurted out.

“What?”

“Well, it’s really blue. Do you see in shades of blue? Or are you blind to the color blue?”

“No, I see just fine.” Lumine hummed out. He let her stroke his eye a few minutes longer, unsure why she seemed so calm and interested in it. “It’s getting late, you know. Teucer would be disappointed if you were too tired to join us tomorrow.” She looked up at the sky as if trying to judge the time.

“Ah, I guess it must be pretty late. Paimon would never let me hear the end of it if she knew I snuck out.” She pulled back and turned to sit back down, pushing off the rock they’d been on. 

“I’ll walk you back.” He got up, gesturing to the path and letting her go first. “Are you feeling better?” She looked up at him, smiling brightly.

“A little. I’m still not happy, but I… I think I just need to confront him myself. Maybe you’re right, maybe he does just want to protect me.” She sighed out. “I just… I just wish he was here with me.” She paused for a second, glancing up at him briefly. “But at least you’re here.” It was clear he wasn’t her first pick, not that he minded. He understood her desire to be with her brother, especially if he’d hurt her and left her confused. She wanted his validation and acceptance. 

“It’s okay to be upset. He hurt you, that’s reason enough to be upset. Just… Don’t let it change you.” When Tartaglia looked down at her, he noticed her staring at his hand, her hand wavering back and forth. He inhaled before reaching to take hers in his hand. Watching the Traveler jump and blush was a reward itself, even as she looked away. “Why don’t you tell me about him?” She immediately looked back up at him. Maybe talking about him would remind her of all the good he (probably) had in him.

“Aether? Oh, we’ve always been close. He’s all I’ve had since I can remember. He always acts like he’s my big brother even if we’re twins. He’s really very protective and sweet.” She smiled sweetly to herself. “He always tells me I’m way too danger prone and that I need to think things through more, but I know he just worries about me. I always remind him I’m strong enough to fight my way out of traps, but he insists I should just think clearer.” 

As Lumine talked happily about her brother and their past experiences, one thing became clear to Tartaglia. It was Aether who had protected her kind nature. From her stories, he was the one always there to save her, he was the one always wary of dangers. That led him to think maybe her brother had wanted her to harden and become stronger on her own; but he wasn’t sure, nor did he agree. She could be strong and innocent, he would see to it. He’d do everything he could to protect that kind, sweet innocence of hers. 

“And to this day, I'm still terrified of spiders!” Lumine laughed nervously as they approached the inn. Shortly before entering the city, he'd pulled his eyepatch back down. Lumine's frown told him she didn't like that, but she said nothing as she continued her story. He'd been more content to listen to her.

“What, even the tiny, harmless ones?” She shuddered and shook her head as he opened the door to the lobby for her. 

“No! You never know what they're capable of!” He couldn't help but chuckle at the cute pout she made when he said that. She really was a cute girl…

“Alright, if you find any, I'll kill them for you. Now go get some rest, girlie.” She smiled at him, tugging gently on his hand before releasing it and turning toward her room. 

“Okay, goodnight Tartaglia. And uh… Thank you, again. For everything.” He shook his head. 

“No, don't mention it. I just want you to be happy.” He watched her walk away with a small little bounce in her step. This was much better than her sobbing. He loved seeing her happy. Once she turned out of sight, he turned toward his own room, walking down the long hall. 

The ginger harbinger pushed open the door to a dark, empty room, finally yawning. He'd gone out to clear his mind, but oddly enough, he came back almost weightless. He felt better than he had in so long. He could actually sleep now. He kicked off his boots at the door, removing his jacket and hanging it up. 

He wondered what he'd call the two of them now. He didn't think they were dating, but they'd kissed and even held hands. Did they have some sort of label to that? Romance wasn't something he was well versed in, were there little signs she'd left about her feelings? These thoughts followed him as he sat down on the empty bed, shifting to lay down. He couldn't afford to think of it now. Like he'd told Lumine, Teucer would be angry if they missed spending time with him. 

Tartaglia had never sat up faster in his life. Panicked movements led to him tossing the covers off the bed, his eye searching the room desperately. “TEUCER?!” But there was no response, just silence. The only thing out of place he could spot was a piece of paper sitting on the desk, illuminated by the light from the open window. He scrambled to the desk, nearly tripping in his pursuit, His nerves on high alert.

If you want your brother back, come to the Ruin Guard's Research Facility. 

Chapter Text

Tartaglia trembled with anger as he struggled to calm down. After reading the note left behind, the harbinger had felt unbridled rage filling his being and triggering his Foul Legacy. The desk and bed had been slammed into their respective walls from the force that exerted with his transformation. Frankly though, he didn't care. His brother NEEDED him!

But he couldn’t be in Foul Legacy through Liyue harbor. That would draw attention, even in the dead of night. If that made its way back to the Qixing, that would completely ruin their ties with Snezhnaya. The Tsaritsa wouldn’t be happy. More importantly though, if he were to be spotted by the millelith, they would slow him down in his pursuit for Teucer. 

He shook as the abyssal armor melted away, replaced by his angry self, infused by his electro delusion. He panted in anger, slamming the window open as wide as it could go. He stepped out onto the rooftop beside his room. One deep, calming breath. Then he began sprinting down the roof, increasing his speed with electro delusion.

“Tartaglia?” Tartaglia glanced back as Lumine leaned out of her window, eyes big with curiosity and worry. 

“Lumine- someone took Teucer! Back me up!” He didn’t have time to talk to her, but if she knew, maybe she’d help him. He had to save his brother, however he’d need someone to protect the kid while he destroyed the culprits.

“What?!” She let out a gasp, eyes hardening. “L-Let me grab my boots!” He shook with rage, watching as the pink haired girl pushed away from the window. He heard chatter in the room followed by a high pitched ‘WHAAAAT?!’ from the pixie inside. In a couple minutes, Lumine climbed onto the roof, Paimon floating out with her. 

“Get on my back.” Tartaglia turned away from her, leaning down.

“W-what? You don’t have to carry me.”

“I’m faster. Get on.” Lumine opened her mouth, but Tartaglia’s gaze hardened until she finally climbed onto his back. As he stood back up, Paimon grabbed the Traveler’s arm before Tartaglia was off. He noted the gasp she let out from the speed, but refused to slow down. He leapt across the roofs, finding them faster and less complex than the streets and the millelith that came with them.

“Wh-where did they take him?” She gripped his shoulders tighter as he leapt off the roof to the streets as they left Liyue.

“Sounds like… one of Dottore’s old research facilities.” Ruin Guard’s Research Facility. From what he knew, there were plenty of Ruin Guards in the lab, he had no other clues where else they could be. What normal facility would be able to wrangle plenty of Ruin Guards?

“Wh-who took them?” Paimon asked, holding on tighter to the pink haired girl.

“I don’t know. There was a note left in my room, I don’t know who the HELL would take my brother!” He growled out, glaring forward as he made his way across Liyue.

“Do you have any enemies? Other than Paimon and the Traveler of course.” Tartaglia huffed out at the pixie’s question.

“I’m in the Fatui. Of course I do.” But he had no leads on who the hell would even have the nerves to kidnap Teucer. 

“Do you regr-” Paimon began, but from the slapping of skin behind him, he presumed Lumine must’ve shut her up. Instead, he focused on the trip. He was sure he knew where the factory was, he’d been there once or twice since he first came to Liyue. He’d asked his underlings to lock up after him, though it seemed fairly evident they hadn’t. At least he could be certain the kidnappers wouldn’t have access to the Ruin Guards. Dottore had sole access to the controls, even Tartaglia hadn’t been able to access it. He’d considered using them while summoning Osial, but the console had been locked up tight.

Tartaglia slowed to a stop in front of the factory. Seeing fresh footprints in the dirt leading inside made him feel much better. “I’ll let you down here.” He looked at the entrance to the factory, leaning down to let the Traveler down.

“Are you sure? Paimon doesn’t think this looks much like a research facility…” The pixie put her hand to her chin.

“I’m sure. Dottore was careful to hide his facility.” Building in enemy territory was risky, he wasn’t about to leave an obvious entrance. 

“Tartaglia, what are you going to do if they’re not here?” He clenched his fists, inhaling and exhaling through his nose as he tried to keep himself from kicking into Foul Legacy again. He needed a level head. It was easy to piss him off, and he surely was pissed off.

“Then I will hunt them down myself, and personally slaughter them for harming my little brother.” He could keep his cool a little longer, but he fully intended to kill whoever had taken Teucer regardless. He wouldn’t stand for this. The girls said nothing, even as he entered the lab. If they had reacted to his statement, it hadn’t been vocally.

The harbinger was on pins and needles as they proceeded in. He had to keep his calm, even as he tensed up. He was focused and ready to react as needed. Any trace of his brother, and he would move. He trusted Lumine to watch his back in case of traps or ambushes. He was especially worried about the latter. He fully expected the kidnappers to plan some sort of ambush.

“Paimon!” He glanced back at Lumine as the pixie floated back toward the Traveler. Having missed whatever had transpired, he turned back forward. Without much thought, he activated the nearby hydro monuments as they walked deeper into the factory. He swallowed a lump in his throat as he slew through pyro slimes, unphased by them and far more focused on what would be ahead. Who would be the one willing to kidnap his brother? Who would know he was his weak point, yet had the courage to threaten the boy?

He struggled with a locked door deeper in, but found he couldn’t find any controls to it. “What the- how the heck are we supposed to get i-” Before Paimon could finish complaining, Tartaglia enshrouded himself with abyssal energy, summoning Foul Legacy around him. With little effort, he slammed through the large, locked door, huffing out. “-in… Whoa! Paimon didn’t see that one coming!” Lumine and Paimon stepped through the door after him as the abyssal energy burned away from his body.

“That… Was really…” The Traveler let out a soft, content sigh as she watched him. He gave no remarks back to them as he started forward again. He had a brother to save, he didn’t have time for casual replies. 

They moved on again, at least until they reached another locked door, the switch refusing to open the next door. He spotted a control panel nearby, but it was out of reach. He took approximately two seconds to try to work it out how to properly activate the controls before breaking the door down again. 

“Tartaglia, are you okay?” He dusted himself off, shaking his head. “Just, be careful.” He swallowed. “I know you’re worried and stressed out but-”

“I’m fine.” He replied, moving away from the pink haired girl. He understood she was just worried about him, but he wasn’t ready to deal with the emotions behind it. “Be careful of the lasers.” As they stared at the lasers, Ruin Guards came down to move across the path, interrupting the lasers crossing the walkway. They followed the Ruin Guards, but he couldn’t help but wonder why they were even moving. This lab was supposed to be shut down or at least inactive. Whoever was here had managed to turn this lab on apparently. He wasn’t sure if he was impressed or worried.

“Boy, this lab is really dangerous… Who are you trying to keep out of here? You’re a harbinger!” Paimon hummed out as they walked through another large door.

“I didn’t design it. Dottore’s had this for as long as I’ve known.” He wasn’t even sure if Dottore had designed it, or if he’d found it. “Some of these traps shouldn’t be on. Whoever is ahead is dangerous. Lumine, you’ll still watch my back, right?”

“Of course. You can trust me!” She grinned at him, which he replied back with a small smile. It was nice to know she would be behind him to support him. An ambush really was a concern of his, though he also just wanted someone to watch Teucer after he saved him. If she protected Teucer, he was fine fighting everyone else.

“BIG BROTHER!” Tartaglia stiffened as his little brother came into view, along with three men behind him. Men he didn’t recognise. One man stood behind Teucer with a hand on the boy’s head, one man stood at a nearby control panel while the last one stood between them.

“TEUCER!” Tartaglia took a few more steps, before the man behind his brother withdrew a knife.

“FREEZE or your brother will go home in a body bag.” Tartaglia froze. His nerves were a light, his entire body tense.

“Wh-who are you?” Lumine called out from behind. “What do you want with Teucer?!”

“This doesn’t concern you. We have business with the harbinger.” Tartaglia grit his teeth as his eyes locked on the man in the middle, the one in charge. If it weren’t for the active threat to his brother, he’d be destroying them.

“What do you want?” He didn’t really plan to grant them what they wanted. They would NOT be allowed to leave alive.

“We want our debt canceled.” Their… debt? They kidnapped Teucer… For a debt…? “We want your precious ‘debt collectors’ off our tail.” Tartaglia clenched his fists. He didn’t care about the money they owed him. He did care about the threat they were placing on his brother.

“Fine. Let the boy go.” Teucer blubbered as he looked down at the knife then back at his brother.

“Not so fast. We want one hundred million mora too.” That made it more logical. Kidnapping Teucer was such a risk, of course they went for the largest possible reward.

“And so you don’t get any funny ideas…” The third man replied, reaching over to the control panel and pulling a lever. There was a sudden screech behind Tartaglia, followed by the girls screaming and a loud crash. When he turned, he noticed a Ruin Guard had fallen from above them. Not only that, but it was active, grabbing the pink haired girl and crushing her in his hands. Paimon slammed her hands into the Ruin Guard’s fingers, screaming out.

“L-LET GO OF THE TRAVELER!” She shouted as Tartaglia turned back forward, glaring harder at the men. Oh, they fucked up. He’d already been pissed about Teucer, but now they were threatening the Traveler too?!

“Not so tough alone now, are you?!” The man in charge shouted out. Tartaglia felt the rage pump through his veins. He had had ENOUGH. He could feel his blood boiling. He didn’t know if he could contain the abyssal energy. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. “Come on, we don’t have all day!” 

Then again, the speed burst with Foul Legacy would be perfect for this. But, how could he do that in front of Teucer? He didn’t think he could handle him looking at him like he was a monster. Teucer was the most important person to him, what if he couldn’t handle his brother being such a menace?

Tartaglia glanced back at Lumine as she cried out in the Ruin Guard’s hands. Maybe it was irrelevant how Teucer felt about him. If it would save him, and save Lumine, he would have to do it. Their safety came before his own feelings. Even if Teucer would never look at him the same.

“You have NO idea who you’re dealing with.” With a deep breath, the harbinger ripped off his eyepatch, allowing the abyss to coat his body. Black armor was quick to appear on his body, the three men freezing under his gaze. They clearly hadn’t expected this outcome. They had really underestimated him.

Tartaglia closed his hand as he summoned his own bow, enshrouded in abyssal energy, raising it with quick speed and firing a hydro abyssal arrow into the skull of the man behind Teucer. He turned to fire another arrow at the man in charge. 

“Teucer.” His garbled, dark voice called out. “Get away from them!” He ignored the blood in his brother’s hair from the man’s head, turning on his heel. He dashed forward, shifting his bow into a polearm. He slammed the electro infused polearm into the Ruin Guard’s eye, sweeping his blade to rip the mechanical machine apart. 

A cry spilled from the Traveler’s lips as the bot released her, Tartaglia darted down to catch her and set her back down. “I-I’m fine! Take care of your brother!”

The harbinger looked over at the boy staring with wide, startled eyes. “YOU’RE GOING TO REGRET THAT!” The other man turned to slam another two levers, Ruin Guards reeling in and dropping around them.

“TEUCER! GET TO THE TRAVELER! SHE’LL PROTECT YOU!” He shouted, the boy refusing to move. The harbinger gripped his blades, ready to fight. 

Two Ruin Guards. No, three, four, five, six. Eight, ten... He was losing count of how many there were. He would just have to protect them all, and end the still living man behind this, of course.

“I’ll protect Teucer!” Lumine shouted as she sprinted for the boy. “Good luck, Tartaglia!” If she was the last defense for Teucer, he would be fine with that. With them together, he would have less to worry about. 

Well, at least these Ruin Guards would prove to be a challenge.

Chapter Text

“TEUCER!” Lumine sprinted as fast as she could to the small boy petrified by the scene before him. Tartaglia had begun demolishing Ruin Guards, a few bolts and other scrap metal flying as he smashed into the large mechs, throwing them into each other or the wall. “Teucer!” She called out again as she scooped him up into her safe, strong arms. 

“Teucer, are you okay?!” Paimon asked as she came up behind the pink haired girl. “You worried Paimon!” She shouted as she looked at the destruction in front of them. 

“M-my brother's… a-a monster…” Lumine's jaw tightened. That was probably the last thing Tartaglia wanted Teucer to think of him as. He seemed so sad about his family thinking of him like that. But she couldn’t blame Teucer for thinking like that. At the moment, he looked like a beast or creature. She had to change his mind, she had to help Teucer see his brother in a better light again.

“Well Paimon can't argue with that!” She huffed at her best friend. That was NOT helping. 

“Tartaglia isn't a monster, Teucer. He's your big brother!” She swung herself and the boy to the side as a bolt flew past them from the mechs’ destruction.

“He-he's no big brother of mine! He's a- a- devil!” Lumine looked back as Tartaglia threw one Ruin Guard into another, darting off after the pair. He didn't deserve this. He was doing everything to protect them! He would do anything to save them!

“He's not! He's your big brother! All he wants to do is protect you!” Briefly, she wondered if Aether wanted to protect her too, if somehow that was what he was trying to do, but the thought was forced from her head immediately. She had to focus on Teucer and Tartaglia for now. 

“He… He's a liar! He never told me about that!” He pointed past her at the man rampaging over the machines. “The big brother I know would never lie to me!” This was so much more complex than he could understand. 

“He…He…” She searched herself for a reply. Too long she'd be fixated on Aether's betrayal to her, but maybe this was some sort of parallel. Maybe she too didn't understand everything yet. “He couldn't tell you…” Because he was scared? Would Teucer understand that? Because he didn't want to shatter him? That was too far too. No, she needed an easier answer, she needed something more sanitised for a kid.

“Because that's what heroes are like!” Sometimes, she surprised even herself with her quick wit! Who said blondes were dumb?!

“Huh?” Teucer looked at her in confusion, flinching as she held him to her chest, protecting him from a flying piece of scrap metal.

“H-heroes! You know, they always have secret identities to protect their loved ones! Your brother is practically wearing a costume right now!” Definitely a bit of a stretch, but if it worked, it could buy Tartaglia a few more years to tell Teucer the truth in a less traumatising way.

“Tartaglia? A hero? Paimon wouldn’t-”

“PAIMON!” The pink haired girl glared at the short white haired pixie. “Just because you don’t think of him as a hero, doesn’t mean he isn’t one.” 

“I’ve never seen a hero like him…” Teucer looked over her shoulder at his brother. “Are you sure he’s a hero?” Lumine pushed a smile to her face.

“Shouldn’t he be your hero? You KNOW he’d do anything for you.” Teucer continued to stare at his brother as he slaughtered through the mechs. “He might even be mine.” Behind Aether at least. Or… maybe ahead of him. She still wasn’t sure how she felt about her brother, but Tartaglia was certainly being heroic. She admired a man who put his family first like he was doing. Tartaglia had a drive to him, he was smart and sure, he was a little rash, but he meant well. She could tell he had morals too, even if he couldn’t adhere to them all the time. There was definitely a good heart in him.

“Yours?! After everything he’s done?!” Paimon squeaked out as she dodged an arm that flew past them.

“You need to be more forgiving, Paimon.”

“TEUCER! TRAVELER!” Lumine turned her head at the twisted, garbled cry of the harbinger. She squeezed the boy in her arms as a Ruin Hunter flew at them, clearly thrown off its balance. She hadn’t even noticed Ruin Hunters were part of the battle! Were they still dropping down around them? Tartaglia dashed in front of them, slicing the automaton in half, protecting them from more harm. She loosened her grip on Teucer as he practically stood on his tippy toes to watch his brother.

“GO AJAX!” Tartaglia was certainly going all out, even if the automatons were still dropping, he was doing a great job at destroying them before they could gang up on him.

“Excellent.” The man beside the controls remarked. “You can defeat all those mechs, but let’s see if you can take me on!” There was almost a flash, before the man was replaced by a hydro herald. Lumine found herself freezing up at the sight. Last time she’d seen one had been when she saw her brother.

“What are you?” Tartaglia’s voice rasped as he looked over at his opponent. 

“Are you really one to ask that? Look at yourself.” The herald called out, raising hydro up around him.

“Ngh… It doesn’t matter. You’ll PAY for threatening MY family!” Tartaglia kicked off against the scrap of a Ruin Guard, launching himself for the herald, leaving electro in his wake. Lumine shielded the ginger boy in her arms as they began to fight each other. Tartaglia was not above throwing robotic bits at the herald, doing his best to avoid hurting her and Teucer. Lumine could tell he was. When the herald shielded himself and blocked a hit, Tartaglia sprinted to deflect debris from the pair.

“Whoa! He really IS a hero!” Teucer bounced in Lumine’s arms, intent on watching the abyssal creatures fight.

“Wait- that man was…” Paimon held a hand to her head. “Traveler, are you following along? Paimon’s confused here!” The Traveler looked up at the pixie. “What the HECK just happened?! Where did the abyss herald come from?!”

“I think he was one of the men who had already been here.” Lumine grit her teeth. 

“What?! Paimon missed that!” She sighed out.

“GO BIG BROTHER! YOU CAN BEAT THE BAD GUY!” Teucer bounced a bit more, squirming as he watched Tartaglia slam his polearm into the hydro herald.

“Oh… GO TARTAGLIA!” She could support him, that was what she was here to do. Protect Teucer and support… her hero.

Chapter Text

Tartaglia grunted out as he blocked a hit from the hydro herald. He still didn’t quite understand what was happening. He thought he was fighting a human who knew how this place worked. But this human was some sort of abyss creature? He doubted he had done this for the other human’s debts. In fact, he was starting to suspect this creature had tainted and corrupted the others.

He charged electro into his blade, throwing the creature’s hands up and darting in to slash across the creature’s chest. He supposed it didn’t matter why he had done this, all that mattered was making him pay.

But he was still curious, he still needed to know if this threat would persist. If he could squeeze answers out, then that would be all the better. 

Tartaglia gathered more electro, producing a large blade. “Excellent form! Keep that up!” He didn’t understand. Was his opponent… happy? Why would he be happy about this? The harbinger swung his blade, launching electro at his opponent. He’d long since figured out it was not ideal to use hydro, this beast seemed to have a shield of hydro.

“Why are you doing this?!” He shouted as he blocked a slash from the herald. “Why would you try to HURT my little brother!?”

“To make you fight me!” How ABSURD! If he knew anything about the harbinger, it would’ve been that he loved a challenge. He would’ve accepted a duel or spar with him without a second thought. “I wanted you to put your all into this!”

Tartaglia skid across the ground after the herald kicked him in the ribs. “And you thought kidnapping my brother was the best way to get to me?!”

“I needed you to go all out!” The herald shifted, appraising him. “You’re doing well to master the abyss.” Master the abyss? This was all about… Foul Legacy? “But you still have a long way to go before you’re ready.” Ready for what? Tartaglia was at a loss. He didn’t understand what was happening. Foul Legacy was what put his brother (and the Traveler) at risk? But why was that? What was this creature’s plan?

“Who sent you?!” Tartaglia looked to his side taking note of his surroundings. He threw up a block as the herald came back toward him. He huffed as he held off another swing of hydro, shifting back a little. The herald spun another hit at him, but Tartaglia was quicker, grabbing the arm of a Ruin Guard and slamming it into the other creature.

“That’s for you to find out.” The herald dashed back, straightening up. “I’ve spent enough time here today.” Was he leaving? He couldn’t let the beast leave!

“Wait!” Tartaglia dashed forward, readying his polearm.

“Ah ah ah. You better take care of your brother!” The creature swung hydro toward Lumine and Teucer. 

“You-!” The abyss tainted human changed his course immediately, running for the pair to block the hit before it could reach them both. Unfortunately, as he did, the creature opened up a black portal, using the opportunity to escape. 

Tartaglia shook with anger, glaring at where the monster had been. He exhaled. He had to calm down. That creature was gone, he had to calm down and handle Teucer’s reaction to Foul Legacy. He didn’t want to lose his brother, but he didn’t have faith in this working out in his favor. At least the boy was safe.

Tartaglia exhaled as his abyssal energy burned off his body, slowly lowering himself down to his feet, then down to one knee. He couldn’t remember the last time he used Foul Legacy for that long, but he felt exhausted. That was a feeling he never felt with it, but he had pushed himself a considerable amount.

“Big brother!” He turned to see his little brother running toward him, his mismatched eyes widening in surprise. He wasn’t… afraid of him? 

“Teucer…” The hydro leaned down, catching the little boy as he leapt at him. “Are you okay? Did they hurt you?” He squeezed him in his arms, clearing his throat. It felt so good to hold him again. He'd been so worried about him, so tense and unnerved by whatever could've been happening to him; but now he could finally relax.

“No, I'm fine! Thanks to you!” He looked back at Lumine. “And Miss Lumine!” Tartaglia looked up at the Traveler too, smiling at her. 

“I knew she'd take good care of you.” Lumine had been a good choice to bring. He had definitely noticed her trying to protect Teucer, even if he had worked to intercept every little bit of scrap. It had been good to know she was ready to move.

“B-but you're my hero, Ajax!” Tartaglia’s eyes were on the boy immediately. He'd never actually told him that. He knew he was his favorite brother, but not his hero. It was foreign to hear, especially after he'd seen him in his darker abyssal form. 

“Teucer, about what you saw…” Maybe he could use this opportunity to explain, maybe the boy would understand. Oh who was he kidding, this was far too complex for a little kid to understand!

“Miss Lumine already told me about your costume and secret identity! I'm not afraid of you!” Tartaglia looked at the boy in confusion, then up at the Traveler. Costume? Secret Identity? And hero? Did Teucer think he was one of those superheroes from some storybook? Had Lumine put that into his head? The girl in question smiled nervously at him, rubbing the back of her head and avoiding his gaze. Did he really want to lie to Teucer again? It was the easier solution, but how would he feel when he found out the truth?

Or maybe it wasn’t a lie. He couldn’t be sure exactly what she’d told him, but if Teucer simply thought of him as a hero, he could at least try to act like one. If he acted like a hero, then at least they wouldn’t be as much of liars. Foul Legacy wasn’t much of a ‘costume’, but to a kid it was close enough. Maybe when he was older, he’d clarify to him that he wasn’t a REAL hero.

“Big brother?” He looked down at his brother, realising he’d drawn out the silence. 

“Uh, right. Thank you, Teucer. I’ll do whatever I can to be the hero you need.” He hugged his little brother tight. He really did mean that. He always put the boy first, which if anyone asked him, was the first step to being a hero anyway. What kind of hero couldn’t protect their loved ones? 

“Not to ruin the touching moment,” Paimon chimed in as she floated toward them with Lumine behind her. “But don’t you think it’s time we get out of here? Paimon’s worried more of these things are going to drop on us!”

“You’re right.” He wasn’t sure if there were even any more Ruin Guards in the factory, not after the amount he’d fought (which he’d lost track of after the third wave). “Let’s get out of here.” But it was safer than staying here any longer.

“Alright, Ajax!” Tartaglia stood up, surprise on his face as Teucer rushed to take his hand. “Miss Lumine?” He held his other hand out toward the pink haired girl. He was surprised to see Teucer warm up to her so fast, but maybe she really was just that good with kids. Or maybe something about her kindness had been warm and enveloping to the kid. Still, Lumine blushed a little, slowly reaching over to take his other hand.

“Hey! What about Paimon?” The pixie whined as Lumine snickered out. Tartaglia led them toward the exit, leaving was far easier than getting in had been. He would, however, have to remember to have some recruits check this place out (or maybe he’d do it himself after Teucer left). He would have to send a message to Dottore regarding his lab and having more information was better than nothing.

Once they were outside, the sun could be seen barely peeking out of the clouds. Dawn looked extremely gorgeous beside both of his favorite people, he noted. Even with Paimon yapping about her empty stomach. On the way back to Liyue Harbor, he and Lumine swung the youngest member of the group with their arms. Teucer laughed much like Tartaglia had when he was a kid being swung by his parents. It put him at ease, a feeling he certainly needed after tonight’s experience.

Even as they came back to Liyue and sat down for breakfast though, Tartaglia couldn’t help but wonder more about the abyssal creature that had taken his brother. It had felt like he was testing him, or maybe he’d been searching for a challenge? Why had he felt like he needed to drag Teucer in though? Or even the other men? Had he manipulated them? Why didn’t he just send him a challenge? He understood nothing about him, but unfortunately, he didn’t think he’d get his answers anytime soon.

After breakfast, it was fairly unanimous that everyone took a little bit of time to rest. Paimon needed to ‘rest off the delicious food’, while Tartaglia and Lumine had felt drained from spending the entire night awake. Even Teucer seemed to be low on energy, especially after all the danger he’d been through. 

The two pairs split off with a promise to meet back up together later to enjoy the rest of the day together.

“And make sure you stay with this nice man, okay? Don’t go running off!” Tartaglia warned as he packed a suitcase for Teucer. Another man stood a short distance away, ready to accompany the boy on his way home. “And don’t talk to strangers either. We don’t need a repeat of the other day.” Teucer sat on the bed, pouting as he kicked his feet.

“Why can’t I stay with you?” He asked with a huff. Tartaglia sighed out as he gathered up some of the clothes he’d bought Teucer during his stay.

“Because you don’t want mama and papa to worry too much, do you?” Teucer plopped back against the bed. “Besides, it’s too dangerous to stay with me full time. I don’t want you to repeat yesterday’s events.” 

“Aw Ajax… It was ONE time!” Leave it to a kid to not understand how dangerous it would be to be with him. “Besides, Miss Lumine can help take care of me!”

“Hold on, I don’t travel with Lumine. You wouldn’t be able to rely on her to protect you.” He gathered up a few of the gifts Teucer had wanted to give to the family and began to pack them away. 

“You don’t? Why not? She looks at you the way mama looks at papa.” Tartaglia felt his face warm as he tried to focus more on the task at hand and not what he’d meant. He and Lumine hadn’t talked about the night they spent together yet, he wasn’t even sure if she was telling him she liked him, or if it had just been a sudden rush of feelings.

“No she doesn’t. I think the sea air is getting to your head!” He immediately turned to scoop up his little brother, tossing him up into the air. “You’ve been way too silly lately!”

Teucer let out a laugh as his brother caught him and spun him in his hands. “I-I have not! I think she likes you!” Tartaglia set the boy down, ruffling his hair under his hat. 

“Hey, do you have anything else you want to pack?” A change of topics. He needed to be off that topic. He didn’t want to make any assumptions about Lumine until he had a real conversation with her.

“Big brother you forgot this!” Teucer ran to the desk, gathering up the last of the gifts; a large cookbook for their mother.

“Alright, do one more search of the room. Make sure we don't forget anything.” Tartaglia slipped the book into the much too full bag, struggling to zip up the bag. Teucer pranced away from the bed, looking over every nook and cranny in search of anything he’d brought or gotten during the trip.

“I think that’s everything.” Tartaglia lifted up the bag. 

“Then let’s head out. The boat will be leaving soon.” He took the boy’s hand, walking him out with his brother’s escort. He was NOT looking forward to Teucer’s departure. He would be glad to have him back home where it was safe, but seeing him go was already heartbreaking enough. It was like that with all of his family, but it was always harder to leave Teucer behind.

“Hey, if you’re not traveling with Miss Lumine, why can’t you come back with me? Mama and papa would be happy to have you home!” So innocent, so sweet. He had no idea how wrong he was. There was a reason he rarely went home when he was back in Snezhnaya.

“I still have a lot of work to do, you know that.” The smell of fried food hit their noses as they made their way out onto the main road.

“Can we stop for lunch then?”

“Teucer, you have a boat to catch. We can eat together when I come home next.” He was trying to extend his stay, he knew. He didn’t want to leave, but he had to go.

“Aww but you never come home!” He pouted as he looked forward at the road. “I never get to see you anymore…”

“I’m sorry…” He hated how sad Teucer sounded. He hated being the cause of it. “I’ll try to visit more, okay?”

“You promise?”

“I promise.” Teucer perked up a little at that. 

“Don’t forget!”

“I won’t forget, I could never forget a promise to you.” Teucer’s smile brightened as they approached the docks, pulling on his brother’s hand.

“Miss Lumine! Paimon!” He pulled the harbinger toward the girls as Lumine and Paimon turned to smile and wave at them. Teucer released Tartaglia’s hand and leapt into Lumine’s arms, laughing as she spun him around once.

“Teucer! Hey! We came to see you off!” She said as she grounded him again.

“Yeah, we were worried we’d missed you already!” Paimon chimed in. “Are you all ready to go?”

“No.” He pouted, looking back at his brother. “I don’t want to go.” Lumine squeezed him tight. 

“It’ll be okay. Hey, when Paimon and I get to Snezhnaya, we’ll come visit you.” His eyes lit up bright at that.

“R-Really?!”

“Yeah! We visit all our friends.” Paimon smiled at him. “And you’re our friend now.”

“I even got you some presents.” Tartaglia watched as Lumine withdrew a small white stuffed rabbit, alongside some candy. “So you’ll remember us.”

“For me?!” Teucer took the candy first, gathering up the stuffed bunny after. “She’s so soft!”

“I hope you like her!” She smiled brightly at the boy as he hugged the stuffed animal. “I didn’t know your favorite animal, so I found something cute.” He tackled her in another hug, squirming happily as she squeezed him tight.

“Now Teucer, what do you say?” Tartaglia reminded, watching them both with a fond smile. 

“Th-thank you, Miss Lumine!” The boat horn blew, calling for passengers to board.

“Sir, we should get going.” The hydro harbinger looked back at the man holding Teucer’s suitcase.

“I expect you to mail me a detailed report on the trip.” He had already asked his father to send him a letter when Teucer got home, he of course wouldn’t get any sleep until he knew his brother was back with their parents. Still, he wanted any form of report as soon as he could get it. “Teucer,” Tartaglia knelt down as his brother turned to look at him. “Promise me you’ll be really careful, okay? Stay away from the ship’s railing and don’t talk to any strangers. This man will take you home, don’t go with anyone else until you get to mama and papa.” Teucer looked at him with tears in his eyes.

“I don’t want to go, Ajax…” Tartaglia felt his heart crack as he reached his hands up to wipe away his tears.

“I don’t want you to go either, but you have to.” He squeezed him in his arms. “Mama and Papa are worried sick about you.” 

“Come back soon, big brother.” Teucer sniffled in his brother’s arms.

“I will. Just don’t cause too much trouble for our parents.” He was usually a well behaved kid, but sometimes he did some stupid things. Like sneaking off to Liyue.

“Sir, we should go before the ship takes off.” He glanced back at the man he’d assigned to his brother.

“You heard him, Teucer. Be strong until I come home, okay?” Teucer nodded as the harbinger stood up. The young Snezhnayan hesitated before slowly walking toward the other man.

“I-I… I’m ready.” The man nodded, turning to lead him toward the boat. Tartaglia felt his legs twitch, struggling to hold himself back. He wanted to go with Teucer, follow him home and stay with him. But he couldn’t do that and he knew that. It was hard to watch him go, especially with one of his recruits and not family; but there was nothing else he could do.

“Bye big brother!” Teucer threw back over his shoulder as he boarded the ship.

“Take care, Teucer!” He shouted back, raising a hand in a half wave.

“See you again soon, Teucer!” Paimon shouted as she waved far more energetically.

“Be safe!” Lumine shouted out at him. Once the boy was out of sight, Tartaglia felt like he crumbled. The smile he was forcing fell, already missing the boy so much. The ship hadn’t even left yet, but he couldn’t stand how much he missed him. “You’re a good brother, Ajax.” Lumine’s reassurance told him how visible his stress and sorrow must have been.

“I do what I can.” As he stared at the boat, it occurred to him what she had called him. Not that it bothered him at all. He liked the sound of his real name on her tongue. It made them feel closer, like he was truly letting her into his life.

“I think even Teucer knows you do. He seems to think very highly of you.” She leaned her head on his shoulder as the passengers finished boarding the ship. He hated watching them start it.

“It sounds like I have you to thank for that. Telling him I’m a hero might’ve been a bit of a stretch.” 

“You are a hero though. Maybe not the kind he’s thinking of, but you’re a hero to him.” Hearing her call him a hero made his face warm a little bit as he watched the ship slowly start to move.

“Paimon’s really going to miss him.” The pixie chimed in, reminding Tartaglia that he wasn’t alone with Lumine. “Paimon can’t believe he’s related to you.” He could hear the verbal jab in her voice. He wasn’t sure if she truly hated him anymore, or if this were playful banter that just sounded too aggressive.

“Master Tartaglia-” He turned his head a little as a recruit wove through the crowd, hurrying toward him. “I finally found you, sir!”

“What is it?” If it hadn’t already been ruined, this man would’ve spoiled his mood.

“The Qixing is requesting your presence again.” Tartaglia groaned out. He had nearly forgotten about dealing with them. He’d been far too distracted by Teucer.

“The Qixing? What do they want with you?” Paimon asked, smirking. “Maybe they’re here to arrest you for-” Lumine slapped her hand over Paimon’s mouth, shaking her head with a glare.

“Ugh… Alright, alright.” He stepped away from the girls. He’d been really hoping to finish watching the boat go. 

“Hey, Tartaglia? Do you need me to help? The Qixing love me after what I did for them.” He sighed out, shaking his head. He couldn’t blame them, but it still stung that she’d gained that love by stopping him when he’d been manipulated by their archon.

“No, I can handle it.” He began to walk away, but stopped himself. He still needed to talk to Lumine. “Traveler,” The ginger looked over his shoulder. “Let’s meet up later. The usual place.” 

“O-Okay! I’ll see you later!” Lumine replied, he could practically hear the smile on her face. As he walked away from them, he could hear Paimon interrogating the pink haired girl.

“Oh, maybe I should’ve come sooner…” Tartaglia turned his head as he continued his training. With Teucer gone, it was about time he started working on his training again; hence why he was here, shirtless, doing one armed pull ups on a tree branch. They were far more intensive and he really had been slacking while his brother had been present.

“Comrade, I didn’t think you’d be here this early.” The Traveler’s eyes ran all over his chest as he continued his pull ups. 

“So, do you do these every day or am I just lucky?” He let out a soft laugh, raising his other arm up to change arms.

“I change up my exercises daily.” He was acutely aware of the way Lumine stared at him as he worked.

“I see…” He continued his work out under her gaze for a bit longer until she finally spoke up again. “So… You wanted to meet me?”

“Yeah I…” He leapt off the branch, rolling his arms. “We… haven’t got a chance to talk since we kissed.” Lumine’s face reddened immediately, starting to avoid his gaze.

“O-Oh, yeah… We haven’t h-huh?” She cleared her throat and shut her eyes. “Okay… Ah… I… I really like you. But…” Oh no. He hadn’t prepared for a ‘but’. He swallowed a lump in his throat as she exhaled. “But I think… I think you’re right about my brother.” 

“E-excuse me?” What did that have to do with-

“I think… He must be trying to protect me, somehow. Thinking back on my time with him, and seeing you with Teucer… I can’t imagine he’d want to hurt me.” Lumine still refused to look at him. “I need to continue my journey so I can find him and figure out what he’s doing and why. I…I can’t settle down with you. Not yet.”

“Settle down? I'm not asking you to marry me.” That thought hadn't even crossed his mind! She was precious and he wanted to protect her, but he wasn't NEARLY ready to marry her. 

“I know, I know. But I mean, I can't just… Stay here with you, or go wherever you go.” He noticed her start to fidget with her hair. “I really like you, you're strong, confident, and you have your morals. You're also a great big brother and you're really sweet to me; but Aether is my brother. I can't just abandon him either.”

“Lumine.” She hesitated but looked up at his blue eye, her golden ones full of nervousness and unrest. “I'm not asking you to stop traveling. I'm not asking you to abandon your brother. I'm only…” He hadn't really even asked her if she wanted to be with him. How was he supposed to go about that? How was he supposed to tell her he cared about her like that? “I just… want you to be…” Mine. Did that sound too possessive? His inner demons were really possessive, but he didn't want her to feel uncomfortable with him. “...someone important to me.” He was already regretting that wording. She already was important to him! “Mine. I want you to be mine.” 

“L-like your… girlfriend?” She looked up shyly at him. With the rest of his courage, Tartaglia reached up to take her hands in his. 

“You can still travel and search for your brother. I won't stop you from that. I just…” What did he want? To send her letters? To keep her for his own? Exclusively? No, he knew what he wanted. He wanted to travel with her. He wanted to protect her from all the darkness in the world. He wanted to be the shadow behind her radiant light. But he couldn't. The Tsaritsa would never allow it, and even despite questioning his loyalty to her; he wasn’t one to go against her word.

“Tartaglia…” He swallowed. She was going to reject him. He could feel it. “I… You and I…” She was looking for the words to break his heart. At least he could handle the heartbreak. “Let’s…” Just be friends. He wished she would stop breaking her thoughts like this. “Just try it until I leave for Inazuma. I don’t know how it’d work when I get to Inazuma but…” He froze in place at that. She was willing to give him a chance…? She leaned up to kiss his cheek, and he swore he never felt this warm before.

“Lumine…” He almost wanted to lift her up and spin her in his arms. He wanted to pepper her with kisses. But his emotions weren’t nearly that intense after everything that's happened in his life. Instead, he settled for releasing one of her hands to stroke her cheek. His hand was so large compared to her cheek. He felt his heart swell a little as she leaned her face into his hand, nuzzling into it. 

He gave into his emotions, leaning down to kiss her, holding her hand tighter in his as if she’d run if he let go. He didn’t understand how she made him feel so warm, he didn’t understand how she made him feel like he was on fire. She almost made him feel like he did before the abyss. He would make her as happy as he could so she wouldn’t want to go. He didn’t want her to regret this, he didn’t want to make her upset. He would protect her, care for her, cherish her.

Tartaglia pulled back from her, looking her back over. She was beautiful. He knew that, he’d always known that, but he swore she’d never looked as beautiful as she did now. Her eyes were bright and golden, sparkling with joy, her lips looked so delectable he wanted to kiss them again, and her smile was wide and genuine. She was purity and light all in one.

“Tartaglia, I’ve been meaning to ask you something too.” The Traveler raised her free hand up to his face, slowly pushing up the fabric of his eyepatch. He almost instinctively reached up to move it back in place, but he forced himself to stay still for her, to let her reveal his eye again. “Back in Mondstadt,” she grazed her finger tips over his scars. “I learned how to purify a crystal coated in the abyss. I could try to do it to you.” She paused. “If you want me to?”

Tartaglia sucked in a breath. He hated how much the abyssal energy in him had taken, from his innocence to any and all positivity, to taking away his family. Life would’ve been much more simple if he hadn’t fallen into the abyss, if he hadn’t been exposed to the horrors and traumas he saw deep down. 

But if Lumine purified him now, would anything change for the better? Would his family still view him as a monster? Would he even gain a positive outlook again? He’d been calloused and tainted already. Not to mention, without the abyssal powers running in his veins, he wouldn’t have gained a desire for combat, he wouldn’t have joined the fatui and skyrocketed the ranks. He wouldn’t have met Lumine. She still liked him for what he was, she didn’t mind his internal demons.

There was a lot of trauma and pain that came with his ties to the abyss, that was obvious. There was a lot of suffering he often wished he didn’t have to deal with. Sometimes fighting abyss creatures made him hurt from some form of overload (he had some internal pain from fighting that abyss herald, but he hadn’t allowed it to slow him down). Sometimes he gave into his more aggressive tendencies brought on by the inner demons.

But having these powers were very useful too. It helped him get stronger, just the other day it had helped him protect his brother. It allowed him the freedom he needed, and he would use that to protect Lumine’s light. What would be better than protecting her and Teucer from the harsh realities? 

“No. I don’t think I want to part with it.” Lumine looked at him with her eyebrows raised. “It’s a part of who I am.” Besides, she was all the light he’d need until he returned home. He didn’t need to be purified. “Thank you, though.” 

“You know…” She looked into his eyes. “I think I prefer you like this anyway.” She took his other hand again. “I didn’t really want you to change.” She smiled brightly at him. Tartaglia blinked, sighing out.

Lumine really was breathtaking. He was already lucky to have her. He would do everything to make sure she wasn't tainted by him or anyone else. She would have nothing to worry about except her brother. 

“Tartaglia?” He loved the way his title rolled off her tongue. “I should… Get back to Paimon before she freaks out about me being gone.” He didn't want her to go yet. 

“Let me walk you back to the harbor.” She smiled and nodded. He stepped away from her to gather up the clothes he’d taken off for his training. Once he was dressed again, he took her hand in his, inhaling one more time as he drank in her pleased smile. Lumine interlocked their fingers, starting to tell him about one of her older adventures as they walked back to Liyue.

Chapter Text

Tartaglia let out a sigh of relief as he set down the letter he’d been reading. It had come from the Tsaritsa in reply to his last report and personally written letter. Allegedly she was quite happy to hear the relationship between Liyue and Snezhnaya had improved after he’d been here for a few weeks (notably it had been due to the Traveler’s influence on the Qixing). Truth be told, he couldn’t quite remember how long he’d been in Liyue anyway. Since Teucer had left a couple weeks ago, Tartaglia had been splitting his focus between the Fatui and showering Lumine in attention. 

He’d offered to get her a boat to Inazuma himself, but Lumine was incredibly stubborn and prideful. She had insisted that she’d get her own ride to Inazuma without his help. It was kind of adorable to watch her scramble around in search of a ride, all because she had too much pride. It had at least given him time to see how she did things. He had learned she tended to spend the first few hours of the day doing commissions for the Adventurer’s Guild. He also got to learn some of her food preferences, and that she was actually a blonde (she just happened to dye her hair pink, something about being called a dumb blonde?), and was able to explore her combat skills firsthand when they sparred together. He had also learned, in combination to her naïvity, that she was really easy to scam. He had already stopped countless merchants from scamming her.

Tartaglia looked up at the clock above the door. It was about time for Lumine to finish her commissions. If he wanted to treat the girls to lunch like he had been for the last couple weeks, he’d have to head out now. He glanced at the letter from home he hadn’t read through yet. Normally, he would’ve started with it, but he had been waiting for this letter from the Tsaritsa. He was very pleased with the contents of it.

He pushed himself up from his desk, however, reaching for his eyepatch. Enough sitting around. The girls were waiting for him. After putting on his eyepatch, the ginger harbinger left his office. At this point, many of the bank workers were aware their boss left on the regular, though few knew where he actually went (of course he made sure a few of them were informed if something came up) and as such, rumors flew about where he was going. Tartaglia didn’t really care, if it brought them entertainment, then so be it.

On the way to the Adventurer’s guild, Tartaglia stopped at a stand to buy some flowers. He had never bought Lumine flowers, but he remembered that she had told him she would like to be given flowers. He wanted to see her face when he held them to her. She deserved to be spoiled.

“Make sure you give Paimon her cut too!” That sounded like the squeaky voiced girl always at his Traveler’s side. He turned the corner to see them descending the steps from the Adventurer’s guild.

“What? You weren’t helpful AT ALL!” Lumine huffed out, but reached into her mora purse to pull some out and hand it to the pixie.

“Paimon is an emotional support Paimon!” She shouted as she took the mora from the pink haired girl.

Tartaglia met the Traveler and Paimon at the bottom of the steps, startling the golden eyed girl with a bouquet of Glaze Lilies. “Hey girls. Ready for lunch?” Lumine gasped and covered her mouth as she looked at the flowers. 

“Did you get these for me?” She nearly dropped them as he pushed them into her hands. 

“Who cares about flowers, Paimon is starving!” Lumine sniffed the flowers, a bright smile spreading on her face.

“Where are we going today?”

“Wait, Tartaglia-!” The girl leaned up on her toes to place a kiss on his cheek. “These are lovely, thank you…” He smiled back at her as she looked over the blue flowers. 

“Paimon and the Traveler decided on going to Wanmin today.” Lumine hummed out in joy as Tartaglia wrapped his arm around her, walking her across the street to the restaurant.

“Oh! I’m going to go show these to Xiangling really quickly! Order me something yummy!” The bright eyed girl left Tartaglia and Paimon in front of the counter, running into the shop with a peppy bounce in her step.

Tartaglia let Paimon order her own food before he ordered his and the Traveler’s food, covering the entire bill. Money was no issue to him, and he’d gotten used to paying for the entire order. Dating Lumine just meant he was paying for three meals instead of two, no big deal. He and Paimon found a table to wait at while the Traveler was still inside. There was minimal chatter, but it wasn’t awkward between them. By the time she came out, their food was brought to the table and they enjoyed their meal in a calm, comfortable silence.

At least until Lumine spoke up. “So… Uh, Tartaglia…” He looked up with a piece of fish on his fork (he had long foregone trying to make chopsticks work). “During our commissions today, Paimon and I found a route to Inazuma.” Lumine fidgeted with her chopsticks, looking down at her dish.

“Oh, that’s good. I’m glad you were able to find a route.” He ate the fish off his fork, pausing for a second to do so. “Is it a safe route? You don’t have to do anything too dangerous, do you? You aren’t being swindled, right?”

“You don’t have to worry about me that much.” She rolled her eyes. He could tell she wasn’t the fondest of how much he prodded her for information, but he was always worried about her. “Yes, it’s safe, I don’t think they’re conning me or anything.” She looked up at him when he said nothing, waiting for her to continue. Something was making her nervous, and he wanted her to tell him what was wrong. “But… We leave tomorrow.”

The eleventh fatui harbinger froze, looking over at the girl who once again avoided his gaze. “Th-that’s… Really soon.”

“I know. I wish we had a little more time together, but Inazuma is a closed nation and finding any transportation has been nearly impossible.” He opened his mouth, but she cut him off. “And I DON’T want you to arrange a ride for us.” Maybe she knew him too well.

“Well…” He sighed out, setting his fork down. He ran a hand through his copper hair. “I’m leaving tomorrow too.” He noticed the way Lumine stiffened and jumped a little.

“Huh?! How come you never said a word of this to us?!” Paimon exclaimed, looking at him. 

“I just found out today.” He looked at the Traveler across from him, frowning at the way her face shifted into a frown. He couldn’t do this to her. He had to tell her. “I got a letter from the Tsaritsa and-”

“Hey!” A black haired girl shouted as she squished herself against Lumine, trapping her in a hug, oblivious to the serious conversation. “This must be the boyfriend you told me about!” She looked at Tartaglia, shifting to hold her hand out. “I’m Xiangling! The Traveler is a friend of mine!” Talkative, he noted with an internal groan. Way for her to ruin the moment.

“Tartaglia.” He shook her hand, but wasn’t sure what else to say to this girl. He’d heard of her in passing once or twice, but she wasn’t someone Lumine talked about often. 

“The Traveler has told me ALL about you, she never STOPS talking about you!” Xiangling sat herself down next to Lumine. “So, you’re really strong, right?”

The rest of the meal passed with Xiangling sitting with them, prodding the harbinger with questions and comments she’d heard about him. It really made him wonder just how much Lumine talked about him to others. He supposed it was a good sign that she talked about him so positively to everyone. The topic never truly went back to his news; so instead, he decided to surprise her with the news tomorrow when they both left the geo nation. 

When they were done with lunch, Tartaglia went back to his office to pack. Thankfully, he didn’t have a lot of stuff with him, so he was done fairly quickly. After that had been taken care of, he took time to read the letter sent by his younger siblings. He smiled at the energy behind each word, taking extra care to handcraft the perfect letter back home for them.

“Ajaaaaaax!” Lumine shouted as she pushed open the door to his office. He’d sat her down at some point and told her how it felt to hear his name roll off her tongue, he was elated by it; but he preferred she do it only in private. “Come on!” She hurried toward him, grabbing his arm and trying to pull him up. “Up, up!”

“And why do I need to get up?” He had just finished signing his letter toward home, he hadn’t planned to get up so soon.

“Dinner! I want dinner!” Tartaglia let out a half laugh.

“You sound like Paimon, you know.” He set his pen down as Lumine let go of his arm in favor of grabbing him by the scarf and pulling.

“I have reservations, you jerk!” She huffed at him, her tune changing to a much more cheerful one when he got up. “It’s at Liuli Pavilion. You know, the place we ate together for the first time…” He looked over at her, catching a light pink dusting her cheeks. 

“Okay, okay. I get it.” He pushed himself up. “I’ll finish this letter later.” He really only still had to get an envelope and write out addresses. Lumine hurried to his side, linking their arms together, a bright grin on her face. 

“Who were you writing?” She asked as she pulled him out of his office, taking the lead with a pep in her step. “Was it about me?” She teased before letting out a soft giggle.

“A little.” She faltered a little as if she hadn’t expected that answer. “Tonia wrote to me. I was writing a reply to her.” It went without saying that the letter itself was going to all three of his little siblings. He’d told Lumine about them enough by now.

“Wait, really? That’s so sweet!” She put her head on his shoulder as she pulled him out of the bank. “Do you think you’ll write to me when we’re gone?” There was a pause after that. He wasn’t sure if he should tell her anymore or not.

“Of course.” She glanced up at him as they descended the steps of the bank. “I’d write to you every week.” The traveler perked up at that.

“And I’d write to you every single day!” She was adorable. He could never hurt her again. He’d break his own heart.

The couple ate at a very nice and very private table for dinner. The Traveler had gotten special treatment from the restaurant for saving the city, but Tartaglia insisted on paying for dinner. His papa used to tell him he should always pay for a lady’s dinner. A little dated of a sentiment, but he really cared for her. Plus he made far more money than Lumine did. He was on a harbinger’s salary, and she was still on an adventurer’s salary.

“You look cold.” Tartaglia remarked as they left the restaurant. Lumine looked up at him, shivering a little in the cold night air.

“I-It’s just a little colder than it was earlier.” Tartaglia let out a chuckle.

“Well you do show a lot of skin.” She pouted up at him as she crossed her arms, running her hands up and down her arms.

“Ugh, you sound like my brother.” He couldn’t help but stare at her for a second, noting how she shivered again. He sighed out, unwrapping his scarf and pulling his jacket off. He draped it over her shoulders, securing it around her. It was so cliche, but he couldn’t have her being cold. 

“Tartaglia?” He smiled at her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and walking her toward their inn. 

“Yeah?” She hesitated, pulling his jacket a little closer.

“Thank you…” He held her close, wondering if they’d be able to do this more in the future.

“You’re welcome.” He felt his heart open around this girl, an odd sensation when he was used to being cold and emotionless. She made him talk more, she made him feel, she made him open up. He adored her. “When do you leave tomorrow?”

“Paimon and I are leaving the harbor at ten in the morning.” He inhaled. Ten AM. He would remember that time, he had to be at the docks by then.

“You’ll have to be safe, alright? I don’t want you to get hurt while you’re gone.” Lumine nodded.

“Of course! I’m smart and strong! Nothing can hurt me!” Oddly enough, that still didn’t comfort him. She was indeed very strong. They sparred and fought often enough now, but she was so naïve and fell for the simplest tricks.

“Just… Be very careful.” The Harbinger kept her close as they walked into the inn, sighing out.

“I will!” He turned her toward him as they stood in the lobby. He stroked her cheek, memorising her face. 

“Lumine-”

“I’ll miss you, Tartaglia!” She blurted out, eyes locked on his eye.

“You’re strong, you’ll be okay.” He placed a kiss on her forehead, but she pushed herself up on her toes to kiss him directly. Tartaglia set his hands on her arms, holding her as he kissed her back. It was clear she was dealing with grief. She didn’t want to leave him, she wanted to stay with him a little longer. But she had to go tomorrow, and it was hard for her.

“I don’t want to let you go…” She muttered as he slowly pulled back. 

“You don’t have to.” He hugged her again, letting her clutch his shirt. “I’ll see you in the morning, okay?” She nodded to his chest, but refused to let go of him. In the end, he walked her right to her door before peeling himself away from the clingy Traveler. He would’ve stayed with her tonight, but he still had to double check that everything was packed for tomorrow. He’d already packed, but the last thing he wanted was to miss anything.

Morning came sooner than expected for the young harbinger as he double and triple checked he had everything either sent home on a boat, or packed with him. He’d also spent most of the night arranging leadership of the bank and distributing tasks. He left from Northland Bank by almost nine thirty, heading toward the docks.

“TARTAGLIA!” He looked up at the pink haired girl as she pushed away from her pixie friend and away from the docks. He barely managed to catch her as she leapt into his arms. “I-I almost thought you weren’t going to make it-!” She looked up at him with such bright eyes, a little bit of panic on her face.

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” He looked up at the lack of ships by the docks. “I don’t see a boat though.”

“Oh, the boat isn’t here. It’s in Guyun Stone Forest.” She took his hand, walking with him toward Paimon.

“What? Then why are we meeting here?” Lumine hummed out.

“Because the Traveler thought this would be the first place you’d look.” Paimon rolled her eyes. “Paimon thought you said good bye last night.”

“Well, we sort of did.” The girl muttered as she looked away from the pixie.

“If the ship isn’t here, we should leave now. We shouldn’t make the ship wait for us.” Paimon nodded, turning toward the entrance of the harbor until Lumine froze in place.

“Hey,” They both turned to look at her. “What do you mean ‘us’?” 

“He probably just meant he was going to see us off.” Tartaglia squeezed Lumine’s hand.

“I want to travel with you.” Lumine blinked, face reddening. “I didn’t think you’d mind that.”

“See, Paimon to- WAIT WHAT?!” Paimon looked at him in shock.

“You…You’re going to travel with us…?” Lumine’s eyes sparkled as she looked at him. “B-But-!” She hesitated, but Tartaglia could see the wheels turning in her head. She was trying to process this news. She was trying to understand. “Wh-what about your job? Y-you’re a harbinger-!”

“I wrote a letter to the Tsaritsa. She gave me permission to travel with you.” He pulled her toward the entrance to the harbor. “Come on, we shouldn’t make them wait. We can talk about this on the way to the ship.”

“Wh-what?! I-I didn’t even know you asked her-!” Lumine hurried to catch up to him. 

“Are you just going to spy on us?” Paimon asked as she floated after them.

“No, I want to protect Lumine.” A light lie. He did want to protect the Traveler, but the Tsaritsa did want to know what she was up to; but he didn’t want to make them suspicious of him.

“Wh-what?! I’m strong!” Lumine leaned her head on his shoulder, sighing out. “I told you that you don’t need to worry about me.”

“I know you are. I just want to give you some extra protection. I want to help you find your brother.” He could feel the Traveler freeze up against him again, but continue walking with him.

“T-Tartaglia…” She sniffled out, inhaling. She was getting emotional, it made him smile. “Th-thank you.”

“Thank you for lighting up my life.” He kept her close as they walked. He really was lucky. He’d caused this girl so much pain, so much heartache, yet she was here with him. She really was the star shining bright in his dark empty night. Her innocence and kindness had drawn him, but it was her forgiveness that trapped him. He didn’t deserve her, but he would spend his life trying to make up to her the way he had turned on her. She deserved that.

He would be the shadow that followed her light. And he couldn’t be happier with that.