Chapter Text
Klee’s day was undeniably boring. Nothing had happened. Nothing! She hadn’t seen any fish in all of the lakes around Mondstadt, no new exploding barrels that the traveler blew up at her behest, not even any adults that she could pester. Jean was busy doing what Klee termed ‘Jean-stuff’, Lisa was being a hermit amongst the books, Amber was barbatos-knows-where (and she’d taken her baron bunny with her), Kaeya was at a building that Klee was strictly forbidden from entering, and Noelle was running around, not even glancing at the child apart from a few stressed glances.
She was Bored. Capital B Bored. That was something new Klee had learned recently, capitals. Whoops sorry, Capitals. She’d gone around asking Noelle just recently about whether different things she’d pointed to had Capitals or not. Noelle just hurriedly nodded at whatever Klee was saying before disappearing with a broom in her hands.
Klee sat down on the Bench, her legs swinging in the air. She glanced up around her at the windmills, watching with stars in her eyes as the cloth turned round and round. She was entranced for a little while, the white flags attached to the spiral slowly turning into fins. She blinked and instead of the colossal fish her mind had inserted into reality, Klee was back to looking at windmills. B-oring.
She slumped, her torso laying back on the seat of the Bench, her short legs touching the ground, slowly rolling her to a standing position. She straightened herself and decided that if none of her trusted adults were around, she’d have to find someone else. She nodded to herself, a fierce glint in her ruby eyes as she set off.
Her arms were swinging determinedly in front of her with every step, the soft noise of her boots hitting the ground sounding as she walked down the stairs, hopping down every step. She could almost see the hopscotch laid out in front of her.
One, one, one, two, one… TWO! Klee snapped out of her thoughts as her boots caught on one of the steps, sending her tumbling down the steps.The world seemed to move in slow motion past her wide-stretched eyes, her arms moving from their determined clench to spread out in front of her (something Albedo had told her to do whenever she was falling).
But, before she hit the ground, she made contact with something else. Someone else, if the way a pair of crimson eyes were staring back at her told her anything. They were similarly quite wide and they only appeared to widen when Klee felt her eyes begin to close and water start to well up in her tear ducts. A hiccup left her throat as the stranger put her down, offering her an awkward pat on the head before the stranger took off, leaving Klee stumbling and crying.
“Oh my! Klee, are you alright!” Finally, Klee recognised someone. She waddled her way to you, tears rolling down her cheeks as she clung to your legs.
“I-” She began, a big sob interrupting her words. “I nearly fell! Dow- down the Stairs!” She took a short breath in as more tears erupted. You only shook your head soothingly.
“You’re okay now, aren’t you though?” You asked quietly, crouching down beside the girl. She slowly nodded, looking at the ground to not make eye contact with you. You sighed audibly, obviously conveying your relief to make the girl feel better. Her head bobbed a bit at the sound.
“That’s good to hear Klee. Did you catch yourself before you fell?” She shook her head, and you cursed as more tears welled up in her eyes. That was definitely not the right thing to say. Why? You had no idea, children were hard work.
“N-no. A stranger caught me before I fell!” You tensed. A stranger? Caught Klee? Klee, the notoriously dangerous and explosive young girl? Everyone in Mondstadt tried, not to avoid per se, but to remain distanced from her, her bombs making her well-known amongst worried mothers. So, why was a person catching Klee willingly? Were they fearless or something?
“Are you sure it was a stranger? It may have been Bennet after something went wrong.” You offered and she shook her head violently, her hat waving around on her small head.
“No, no! I didn’t know who it was! And they left after putting me down!” Her tears had stopped for the most part, though a frown still rested on her face. You, likewise, frowned. Why was a confirmed stranger touching Klee?
That thought stopped you in your tracks. You froze in front of the young girl. A stranger, only seen by Klee, near a gate to the outside of Mondstadt. What if…? Your thoughts ran wild, one of your hands coming to rest on the girl’s shoulder protectively.
In the daylight? You tried to reason. No, people like that don’t care.
Near my post? You turned back to the quest board behind you. The time that Klee had fallen was the time when you and Hertha swapped out, so neither of you were there to witness the accident. Maybe you were reading too far into it. But then your doubt creeped in and you reasoned that it was better safe than sorry.
With your hand clutched around Klee’s upper arm, you quickly pulled the girl all the way to the Knight’s of Favonius Headquarters, accidentally tuning out her rambling about Capitals or something. Your mind was completely focused on the possibility of there being a… No, you shouldn’t think it.
You passed Klee onto Lisa, ignoring both of the girl’s protests, deciding your cause was more important that whatever decimal system of sorting the books Lisa was talking about. You stepped outside the headquarters, head held high, determined to find out who this stranger was and what business they had touching the children of Mondstadt. Ugh, even thinking that made you shrivel up inside.
You had your cause and you had a plan of action. First, the Angel’s Share. Only to find Kaeya and get him on your side. No other reason.
(God, you needed a beer)