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When Tartaglia was on a mission, she did not receive chocolates.
It was the unfortunate truth of their missions. If you were on duty during a holiday, you likely would get no celebration. Some subordinates would do little parties for themselves, or give small gifts on birthdays, Christmas, and currently, Valentines.
Tartaglia hadn’t been a part of those since she became a harbinger. If they were at the castle, the Tsarista would give a simple blessing to them. The other harbingers occasionally gave each other gifts, she was willing to bet that Arlecchino had given a gift to either Columbina or Sandrone, whichever one she was currently infatuated with. However, she was not currently at the castle, instead at a camp out in the Sneznhayan cold.
She sighed, sitting down in her tent. It had been a long day of searching for abyss entries, and she was frankly sick of it.
Valentine’s Day was today, and she’d been out in the cold hunting all day long. She loved her job of course, but archons was this shitty.
The thought popped into her mind of Diluc, and what their day would be like if they were together. She let herself sit there and think about it for a bit before sighing, turning over.
Her bag sat in front of her, untouched. She had brought sewing supplies with her as something to busy herself if she managed to get a break. She’d known how to sew for a long time, but had never really done anything with the skill.
Diluc liked soft plush things. She liked owls. Tartaglia had learned how to sew stuffed animals.
What if she made Diluc a stuffed owl? It could be her late Valentine’s Day gift.
That was all it took for her to grab the bag and sit down at her desk, starting to work on it. By the time she finished the sun had started to rise, but she was very happy with it.
She went outside and whistled a familiar tune, then putting her arm out. She knew Noctua stayed nearby whenever she was on a mission, watching over her.
Noctua always listened closely to Diluc’s words, and stayed nearby Diluc if not delivering letters or spying. Because of this, Tartaglia believed that Diluc purposefully sent Noctua to watch over her on missions. Of course Noctua could be acting on her own will, but it made Tartaglia smile to think Diluc was watching over her even here.
Like she expected, Noctua soon came flying in and sat on her arm. She cawed at Tartaglia and tilted her head to the side.
Tartaglia smiled at her and gently pet under her beak, just how she liked. She showed her the package.
“Do you think you could fly this to Diluc? I know it’s bigger than the letter you usually send, but I’m sure you can handle it.”
Noctua cooed and held out her foot for the box to be tied to. Tartaglia smiled at this.
“Good girl~ Thank you, I really appreciate it.”
She tied the package to her foot, and gave her some more pets before sending her off, watching her fly away.
A week later, Tartaglia was just starting on her way home. When she saw Noctua flying in circles above her she stopped and asked her team to wait for a moment, saying she would be back soon.
She then walked out of view before calling down Noctua. The bird came down quickly, with a new box in tow. A fancy little box decorated with the Ragnvindr symbol.
Tartaglia blinked before chuckling, gently taking the box from her. “You can go now, Noctua. Return to Diluc.”
Noctua listened to her and took off, flying in the direction of Mondstadt. Tartaglia hid the box in her bag before returning to her team.
When she finished her work and got back to her Sneznayan home, she sat down in bed and took out the box. It really was a beautiful box, she almost didn’t want to remove the bow.
Under the bow was a letter, in which Tartaglia could almost hear Diluc’s voice.
‘To my Polar Star,
Thank you for the stuffed toy. I can tell you worked hard on it, that means a lot. The little owlet is adorable. I’ll treasure it greatly.
I hope you are doing well on your mission, and that you will return home soon. The birds have missed you greatly.
Tell me before you return, so I can prepare us a nice meal before you arrive. I would like to spent a long day with you, to make up for the missed holiday. And, I do apologize for your chocolates being late. I love you, my Valentine.
Signed, your Phoenix’
Tartaglia smiled at the lipstick mark on the end of the letter, a familiar shade of red.
She gently folded the letter and tied it back up, placing it carefully into her collection of letters. She kept every letter Diluc gave her.
She then opened the box. Inside was a preserved lamplight grass, the bud still faintly glowing. Beside it was a batch of homemade chocolates.
Tartaglia smiled as she looked at the chocolates. They were a soft milk chocolate, filled with sweet caramel. On the chocolates were small white chocolate pieces, some of them engraved with Ragnvindr symbols and other with small fish and narwhals.
After trying one of the chocolates she set the rest to the side, once again sealed in the box.
For the first time in years, Tartaglia had gotten chocolates for valentines.