Chapter Text
The sound of the wind whipped through the air, devouring the panicked shouts of the people of Mondstadt. Kaeya cursed under his breath, when he spotted the great dragon soaring overhead.
Not good.
Kaeya raced for the Knight's Headquarters, pushing past the other Knights as they ushered the common folk to safety. They hadn't planned for an attack from Stormterror so soon—he had to get back to help Jean figure out what to do—
Kaeya slowed to a halt at the doors of the headquarters, when he heard a familiar shout of shock.
Amber.
Kaeya turned to see the Outrider rushing up towards the Statue of Barbatos, her eyes cast upwards towards the sky. Why was she freaking out so much? She'd seen Stormterror before—
Kaeya followed her gaze, his eye widening when he saw that someone else was caught in the whirlwind above. He couldn't see much but a flicker of a white dress, and he cursed again.
Someone had gotten swept away?!
"Kaeya, what's going on?" Jean's voice turned his attention, and he saw her ushering out of the Headquarters, her sword in hand. "I heard Amber shouting—has someone been caught by Stormterror?"
"Looks like a tourist," Kaeya replied. "No one I recognize." He turned to gesture towards the torrent of air, only to stop.
He could see the individual, now. The woman appeared a little more clearly, but still soared so far from the ground. For a moment, he thought she had sprouted wings—she moved through the air as though she were a bird in flight—but it dawned on him that it was merely a windglider on her back.
Even more shocking, though, was that the woman was bearing down on Stormterror. She was chasing him.
"Is she...?" Jean breathed.
"She's fighting the dragon," Kaeya whispered.
They watched in incredulous silence, as the stranger continued her relentless hunt. Was she a blessed envoy of Barbatos? Was this meant to be their solution to this mess?
Kaeya wasn't sure how much he trusted that.
They watched as Stormterror took off, disappearing from the skies as swiftly as he'd come. The woman, meanwhile, had given up on her pursuit. Kaeya saw her approaching the ground—and he could see Amber and a small, floating creature reaching out for her.
"Looks like that little lady is a friend of Amber's," he muttered quietly.
"I want to meet with her," Jean said. "Fetch her for me, if you could—I need to speak with Lisa on our next course of action."
"Right."
Kaeya watched as Jean slipped back inside, before he approached the Church's courtyard. The woman had just touched down, and he could see Amber dusting off the woman. The little creature that floated beside her looked like a small child—he could hear her squeaky voice as she fretted over the blond woman that had taken on the dragon.
One brief look at the stranger made him even more bewildered and impressed—she looked young for a dragon fighter, with round yellow eyes and a soft face. She seemed unfazed, as well—a little shaken, but otherwise completely fine.
How in the hell...?
Kaeya approached, unable to keep himself from applauding her skill.
"So you have the power to go up against the dragon." He surveyed the young woman carefully, as he stopped in front of them. "Are you a new ally—?" Immediately, the stranger's eyes shifted towards him, and Kaeya knew, then, that this was no ordinary tourist. "—Or a new storm?"
As Amber ran through their introductions, Kaeya kept his gaze trained on that sharp yellow stare. Whoever this woman was, she spelled trouble—Kaeya could feel it in his gut.
He just hoped she wasn't too boring to keep an eye on.
Lumine had to admit—for all the hell this world had already brought her, she kept finding herself more and more entertained as she went along.
It started with a brash Outrider (whatever that was), a whirlwind flight, a dog fight with a dragon, and now a strange pirate staring her down with all the mistrust of a mouse eyeing a rat trap.
As much as she wanted to get out of here and find Aether, Lumine knew it wouldn't be right to just ignore the help that this city so clearly needed. She'd have to give them a hand, and maybe she'd get a bit of help from some of them in return—
And, at the very least, she could find a bit of fun in these strange characters she found herself surrounded by. Already she wanted to ask Amber about that windglider—and maybe press questions to this mysterious Grandmaster that they were now taking her to meet.
But what really drew her attention was that damn pirate.
Are you a new ally? Or a new storm?
Lumine had tried really hard not to laugh at those words when he said them. He had seemed so proud of himself, too—as if his suspicion of her was a badge of honor.
If he wanted to challenge her to a duel of wits, she'd gladly accept—
And she could help take down a dragon while she was at it.