Work Text:
On the afternoon of a particularly unremarkable day, two sounds could be heard from the background of rustling leaves and light breezes passing through Monstadt.
The first was the sound of a simple mora coin being flipped continuously. Caught then tossed, caught then tossed. Kaeya, a bounty hunter and a vampire, leaning on the thick trunk of the tree The other was the quiet sound of charcoal on paper. A witch many have called him, able to bring life from paper and dust, hanging from a branch above Kaeya but not far away from him, both under the shadows.
The two figures overlooked the bridge to Monstadt, underneath a tree that held the ripening apples of the season.
To them, this was another ordinary day. A day where they could admire the scenery and watch the sunset but of course, that was never something they had the privilege of doing. For some people, this particular day was a day where they would officially have their heads.
Albedo, who was hanging upside down on a tree branch, shoved Kaeya with his clipboard to the side. Though giving him a fake-hurt look as he stumbled to the side, Albedo only rolled his eyes as an arrow infused with pyro barely missed his face, planting itself in the spot where Kaeya was standing.
“Hands up, traitors!” A woman’s voice said. Her red and brown attire is immediately recognizable. Amber, an Outrider. Behind her were a couple of apprentices she took out on hunts, equally skilled in archery.
Both Kaeya and Albedo gave out a groan. Damned persistent girl, they both thought.
Albedo swung himself off the branch, landing solidly on two feet, the charcoal and clipboard still in hard.
Another arrow was shot at Albedo which was easily parried by Kaeya’s sword. Albedo huffed. As expected.
With a wave of his hand, a light shone off the page creating monsters from the clipboard. Amber’s apprentices quickly readied themselves arrows manually as Amber fired again though this time, they were met with the rocky scales of Geovishaps.
Amber wrinkled her nose in disgust at the “witch’s arts”. Even her own pyro arrows would do little damage to the creatures. However, if she was known for one thing, it was that she was stubborn.
Kaeya swung his sword around with ease. “Looks like you were actually doing something useful up there, you little minx.”
Albedo smirked. “Unlike you, I actually prepare for battles like this.”
Kaeya glanced around. Three vishaps, two of the three apprentices and one on Amber. If they don’t finish this quickly, more Knights of Favonius captains will arrive. Amber may be stubborn but she would never confront them without calling for backup first.
Kaeya materializes some icicles from his palm, shining in the abnormal colors of the Abyss stars. Unfortunately, Amber sees it coming. Whether it’s from her years of experience in sparring Kaeya or her base instincts being strong, she effortlessly dodges, backflipping with her bow in hand. Once she lands safely she launches an immediate arrow at Kaeya who just as quickly infuses his sword with the same ice and deflects it just as effortlessly as she dodged.
The split-second of giving her focus to Kaeya though gives the opening the vishap needed and it claws at her stomach, tearing her uniform open and ripping a chunk of her flesh off.
It begins bleeding quickly and Amber cries out in pain.
Just as it pounces again, a large claymore covered in vision ice slashes away at it and leaves the creature dead. Her apprentice goes to Amber’s side to tend to her wounds and drag her to Monstadt for first-aid.
The rescuer was obvious and familiar to both Albedo and Kaeya, who haven’t bothered to move from the apple tree. Albedo hummed absently while Kaeya tossed his sword around. The sun was slowly setting and painting the sky orange and pink.
“You…” Eula nearly growls. “How dare you have the nerve to even show up in front of the gates of Monstadt!”
Albedo plays oblivious to her anger. “I’m not entirely sure what you are insinuating. We are Monstadt citizens, are we not? I don’t see no reason why we can’t simply watch the sunset-“
Kaeya grabs Albedo’s arm to throw him away from a pure icicle that Eula threw at him. It impales the tree behind him before disappearing to elemental particles. Albedo lands on the ground near the tree with a huff.
It was Kaeya’s turn to smirk. “Now you owe me.”
“Shut up.” Albedo said, dusting himself off and getting up. “I still haven’t talked to you about the time I saved you from Amber’s arrow.”
“Enough talk.” Eula growled. “You traitors are not welcome on Monstadt ground. Leave before I force you to leave.”
With the clipboard still on the ground, Albedo summons a small alchemic circle above his palm.
“And how do you plan to do that?” Albedo says with no rush or worry in his voice. “You already know you’re no match for a mage. And Kaeya surely won’t stand idly by as I am attacked. It only seems that you are the one who is at a disadvantage.”
“Hey, who said I was going to help?” Kaeya said. “I would love to see a performance between the two of you.”
Albedo groaned. “Ugh, fine. Whatever.”
The alchemy circle tripled in size, the corners becoming projectiles and launching at Eula. Eula dodges them with difficulty, her claymore deflecting most of them reinforced with her ice.
Albedo waved a hand up and summoned three Abyss-infected blades, each coated in poison.
Eula didn’t spend time waiting around. She rushed at him, claymore in one hand and posed properly and guarded. Albedo instantly summons his sword and parries and deflects, an upfront clash would only serve as a way for her to break his arm. The Abyssal blades descend on her and she is barely nicked by one while the others stab the dirt road.
Albedo lifts a hand and they quiver with the power controlling them but nonetheless float in the air once more. The Abyss energy is already flowing into Eula and she can feel her elemental powers dampening.
“Damn the Abyss.” She curses under her breath.
This will be a losing battle, she is sure of it. Her pride being the only reason she was still in battle and the want of revenge for harming Amber.
Kaeya walks behind Albedo to wrap his arms around his waist and then places a quick peck to his cheek.
“Come on, sweetheart. We weren’t here to cause trouble, were we?”
Albedo rolled his eyes. “You started it. If you had helped, we could’ve killed her and then enjoyed our time alone together without further disruptions.”
Eula’s blood chilled at the thought of the conversation of her death being discussed so casually. Two people who she once thought had a heart.
She hears rustling behind her and sees Amber patched up and her apprentices carrying her to safety in the forest.
Eula takes this as a sign to retreat while Albedo is distracted with Kaeya.
She takes almost five steps when an Abyss blade stabs the ground in front of her.
She turns back to find Kaeya still nuzzling up to Albedo while Albedo has a hand outstretched pointing directly at the direction the blade planted.
“Ah, ah, ah.” Kaeya said, pinching a grumpy Albedo. “No leaving until we want you to. You will answer our questions.”
Eula swallows. She sees the apprentices and Amber get a decent distance away. She needs to buy time for them.
“Ask away. There will be no guarantee that I know the answer.”
“Well it’s only one question.” Albedo said, finally free of Kaeya’s hug.
His eyes turn colder and Eula braces for an attack.
“Where’s Klee?”
The question freezes her and then it sends her into a laughing fit.
“Where’s Klee? Where’s Klee ? That’s what you want to ask?”
Neither Kaeya nor Albedo was amused by her answer but Eula couldn’t fathom the ridiculousness of it all.
“You killed her, remember? Don’t even pretend like you genuinely cared about her.”
The cold eyes don’t blink at her reaction but the Abyss blades quiver.
“I need to know the location of her grave.”
Eula glances at them, then at the woods, then at the Abyssal blade at her feet, and then at the floating Abyss blade above Albedo.
“Never.”
—