Chapter Text
Moving hadn’t exactly been Kinich’s idea, but since both Mualani and Kachina were moving, getting away from his old landlord hadn’t exactly been the hardest choice. Sitting in the driver’s seat of a moving truck with the two girls resting on top of each other was also not exactly how he expected the drive over to go, but since the trip was long, he couldn’t blame them. Kachina had been way too nervous the night before, and reports from Mualani in the morning showed that the two girls had stayed up much later than he had.
Oh well.
He smiled, just a little, to himself.
“Oh wow… the ever-grumpy Kinich smiles… this is impressive!”
Time for him to say goodbye to that smile.
“Ajaw, I thought you didn’t have the energy to grace me with your presence. There are plenty of places for you to laze in the sun.”
Kuh’ul Ajaw, a creature that had been bound to Kinich’s soul and was now just a daily nuisance to him. A little floating dragon, appearing pixilated and the very reason for most of Kinich’s headaches.
“Eh, sleeping got boring. Annoying you is way more fun.”
Kinich rolled his eyes, choosing to ignore the snarky response.
“Where are we going anyways? I liked haunting our old neighbour. He started some crazy conspiracies you know?” Ajaw drew out his words, dancing across the dashboard with some stupid sunglasses materialised over his eyes.
“If you listened to me, you’d know.” Kinich sighed. This would be the fourth time this week he explained it to him. “We’re moving to a place that’ll accommodate people like us. It’s cheap, and looks like it will even be an improvement to our old place.” He glanced pointedly at the spirit before resuming his explanation. “There’s many people there, so I’m certain you have more than just me to harass.”
Ajaw cackled gleefully, spinning in little circles before turning himself into a set of glasses on Kinich’s face, only to be quickly wiped away.
“We’re almost there, and if you don’t want to be used to lug around boxes into the new apartments, you better go find some crevice to hide in, alright?”
With that, the silence of the car returned, only to be occasionally interrupted by Kachina muttering in her sleep.
In the building they were moving into, they would be surrounded by others who could manipulate the elements. They were some of the limited people who were blessed with strange mastery over certain parts of the world, labelled ‘allogenes’. They weren’t exactly ostracised for it, but it was an odd skill that was still being researched into. Both Kinich and Mualani wanted to give Kachina a good childhood, to make sure she was raised somewhere to foster her growth both as a person and with the powers she held and had been looking for somewhere to help with that.
That lead them to stumble upon the Teyvat Apartments. A somewhat well-known building among the allogene community, lead by a set of mystery twins who were famous for being talented and kind. The building was close to a specialised school for their kind, somewhere where Kachina would be welcomed with open arms, and the community of the building had an almost legendary reputation. Kinich thought it would be much harder to get into the area, but after a short phone call with the male sibling and a short visit to prove his abilities, the three of them had landed a place in the building just like that.
The only condition he was worried about, well more Mualani planting worries into his head, was the fact they were separated into floors by the specifics of their powers. Mualani was a water manipulator, Kinich had power over the greens of the world and Kachina could move the earth with ease. He had been assured that the floors were each taken care of people with complete mastery of the element, and everyone would be well taken care of.
“Kinich…”
Glancing at his side, a head of messy blonde hair appeared at his side, rubbing her eyes.
“How close are we?”
Kinich took a hand off the wheel, brushing down a little section of her hair out of her eyes.
“We’ll be there in about five minutes.”
Kachina sighed, just a little, before leaning against Kinich’s side.
“I’m still a little scared.”
A comfortable, understanding silence washed over the car again, letting Kachina talk a little bit more.
“What if they don’t like me?”
“I don’t think Mualani would let you say that.” Kinich huffed “she’s convinced you’re going to be popularity central there. The twins assured me that there are plenty of kids your age there. You’ll be taken care of all day and can spend time with us whenever you want.”
“And I’m only going to have a separate apartment to sleep. Yep! I remember!” Kachina smiled, kicking her feet a little. “You really mean there’ll be people there to help me with my… powers?”
Kinich nodded. He was interested himself to see what extra knowledge he could gain while living with others who had a mastery like his.
“I hope they like me… I know I’m not that strong, but I can get better, right?”
“Of course.”
They both fell back into the silence, Kachina humming to some song Kinich couldn’t remember.
Maybe this would be a good thing for them.
.`.
They had arrived toward the middle of the day, Mualani waking to the stop of the vehicle. Beginning to unload themselves, they were greeted by two friendly faces at the entrance, a set of blondes.
“Greetings. Malipo Kinich.” He extended his hand to the siblings. “I don’t believe we’ve met in person?”
The brother grasped his hand, smiling at him.
“Aether, and this is Lumine! We will be your tenant from now on. Kinich, Mualani and Kachina? We’re glad to have you.”
The sister glanced over at their truck. “We can have some people move your items for you if you’d like? If they aren’t labelled, we’ll need your help to sort them to the different apartments.”
“Thank you so much! We have them all sorted into colours, actually!” Mualani and Lumine walked off together, the latter smiling as Mualani talked to her about settling into the apartment.
Kinich turned to the blonde boy in front of him, greeted with a knowing smile.
“Hello Mr. Aether, I’m Kachina! Uhm…”
Aether perked up, squatting down to hold eye contact with the girl. “Hey Kachina! My good friend Paimon has been super excited to have another person her age to talk to, do you want to come meet her?”
Kachina nodded, beginning to follow the blonde inside, before turning around to Kinich, holding her hand out.
He took it, being led inside the apartment. The inside of the lobby looked quite nice, decorated cleanly, but with plenty of evidence of life. Mailboxes lined a wall, and a shoe cupboard sat next to it, full of many different kinds of shoes, from runners to extreme looking heels. Couches and beanbags were laid across the lobby, plants and the life sitting at the walls. Aether trailed toward the door to the left of them, opening them to reveal a very large and well taken care of garden.
“AETHER!”
A small voice came tumbling toward them, a small girl with white hair smiling a toothy grin at them.
“Are the new people here? Are they here to meet Paimon?? Where’s the new friend you promised me???”
Kachina hugged Kinich’s leg, hiding her face half behind him.
“Paimon…” Aether exhaled, smiling at the small girl. “You’re scaring her. Come over here and make a proper introduction.”
“Paimon is very sorry!” She, presumably Paimon, stuck her hand out, not before brushing the dirt off on her overalls. “Paimon is Paimon, and she is this here traveller’s bestest friend. Paimon would like to humbling… greet you?”
Kachina giggled, loosening her grip on Kinich.
“And I am… Kachina! I would like to also humbling greet you.” Kachina grabbed Paimon’s hand before being shaken by a very intense handshake. Paimon began explaining exactly how the snack system she had apparently created worked to the girl, and the two wandered over to another part of the garden to play with the dirt castle Paimon had been working on previously.
Aether sighed next to Kinich. “I’m so grateful to have her sometimes. I swear, I was so bad with kids before I took her in, and she helps me melt some of the toughest hearts.” After observing the two for a short while, Aether apologised before walking off to sort some paperwork out. Kinich took the time to himself to explore the garden, observing the large array of foliage that was at his fingertips.
As he wandered around, he came across a wilted looking flower. Kneeling down, he gently picked up the wilting petals, crushing them slightly under his fingertips, before lifting them to under his nose. He recognised the sent as a Fontainian flower, one with a rich romantic sent. He hadn’t seen them before but recognised their basic components. Glancing around a slight bit, he pulled off his gloves, cradling the bud in his cupped hands and closing his eyes a little and channelling the small tug within his body. Opening his eyes again, a bloom of pink and white was in his palm.
“Oh? What’s this?”
Kinich straightened up, accidentally pulling the bud off its stalk. A man had appeared behind him, standing relaxed with an amused expression on his face. All Kinich could see were his eyes, a deep purple that just couldn’t help but he stared at.
“Here I thought that poor little flower had lost all hope, but here you are saving it from certain doom!”
The guy walked forward, standing slightly leaned over, observing the flower in Kinich’s hand. He extended his hand a slight bit, pausing first. He looked into Kinich’s face, looking for a silent answer to his quiet ask for consent. All the silent man could respond with was a slow blink, but that seemed to be enough, as his companion grabbed the flower.
“A rainbow rose, saved by a dashing new man to Teyvat. How curious! Did you know, rainbow roses, when gifted, are a display of love?”
Kinich cleared his throat, blinking once more before finally responding. “I… was unaware.”
“Well, well, you speak!” The dig at him held no malice, accompanied by a slight sly smile. “You know now. I must get going unfortunately, as I have a lunch to attend, but before I do go, here!”
The man with the purple eyes suddenly covered the flower in his hands, encompassing it before opening his hands with flair again.
“Poof! It’s gone. Have a good rest of your day, pretty boy!”
And before Kinich could even muster another word, the man vanished, blonde hair slipping away. He stood there, taking in what just happened, hands falling to his side.
“What is this??? What is wrong with you? Speak up, Kinich, you lettuce! Left speechless by some street magician?”
Not even Ajaw’s pestering could get to him. What had just happened to him??
.`.
Mualani had found him in the garden, dragging his shocked form back into the lobby to collect their keys and scope out their rooms. Apparently, some guy with impeccable fashion taste and a very scary scowl had accompanied the twins to put their things in their rooms, everything all ready to go for them to step up and settle in. They started with Kachina’s floor, as it was at the top. They were greeted by a tall man with long brown hair, who was apparently the floor representative. He was kind, and offered to help Kachina set up her apartment, so Mualani and Kinich left her with promises to greet her at dinner and go out for some food. Mualani’s floor was similar, with another man who seemed of similar age to Mr. Zhongli of Kachina’s floor, a Monsieur Neuvilette. Mualani immediately began talking to him about her plans for his room, and so Kinich silently left the two of them two keep their conversation going.
With the trend of the last two representatives, he was expecting to be greeted by another older man but was surprised by a girl that appeared just as old as Kachina.
“Hello there! You much be Kinich!”
“Oh, yes. That’s me.”
The girl smiled, giggling a little. “I am Nahida! I may look young but I promise I try my hardest to take care of this floor! Your room is toward the end. Would you like me to walk you there?”
Kinich nodded, and they began talking quietly about where Kinich came from, and other small talk just to pass the time. She presented him with his key and let him into his room, budding him goodbye after giving him her number with the promise of responding to pretty much all calls or texts with concerns.
Stading in the middle of his small living room, he let himself close his eyes and relax for the first time that day, alone. He enjoyed the presence of his friends, but being able to sit on the floor and reconnect with himself was important to him. He would set up his bed for the evening, and maybe unpack most of his clothing, but resetting himself before he left the apartment again was his first priority. Usually, in his quiet time, nothing came to him other than small thoughts, but for some particular reason he could not get a specific shade of purple out of his head. He closed his eyes, and a voice echoed. He ran his hands through his hair, attempting to stop his thoughts from running, but as he drew his hands back in front of him, a small object caught his attention.
The flower from earlier had been in his hair.
The man with the pretty purple eyes and ability to make things disappear had given him the flower.
What in the world was he going to do with himself.
.`.
By the time he had settled into his room, a small knock came to his door, drawing his attention away from sorting his clothes out. Opening the door, a small group of people greeted him with smiles, welcoming him to the floor. A blonde man stepped forward, smiling and holding out a small charm to him.
“Welcome to floor 3, or the ‘dendro’ floor as we all call it! My name is Kaveh, and here is your charm for your keyset! We all have them on our keys, so if you ever lose them, it’ll be easier to find!”
The group chuckled at the blonde, one of them making a small joke about him being the reason why they had the policy in place. The group seemed well acquainted with each other, causing some more of the stress to melt away from all the introducing. He wasn’t incompetent socially, but he didn’t exactly seek out those new friendships.
Thanking them for the keychain, he expressed his desire to start his evening, but before he could go, they managed to swipe his phone and add him to a group chat and mentioned something like floor weekend game nights. Quietly nodding, he slipped inside, already getting welcome messages from everyone in the floor.
As he slowly replied to everyone’s welcome, another notification came through, one from Mualani. She asked when he’d be up to Kachina’s room, mentioning the pizza that she’d ordered in for them. “Hawaiian for you, cheese for Kachina, and a Margarita for me!” throwing a quick thumbs up reaction to her, he pocketed his phone before heading back to the elevator, small smile on his face.