Chapter Text
‘Where are you going’
‘Wherever you aren’t’
Kaveh’s voice was loud amidst the quiet night backdrop. He shrugged his arm off of his roommate’s shoulder and made a point to turn around and strides sluggishly in that direction - a direction that took him further from their house.
Althaitham grabbed his wrist and the force caused him to fall back and almost lose his footing.
‘Well, I am impressed that you have still managed to stay on your feet, given that Lambda mentioned you’d been sulking there since before dusk.’
‘How I spend my time and money is of no concern to you’ Kaveh humped, snatching back his wrist, and started walking thankfully towards home this time.
‘It very well is a concern when I must disrupt my routines to pick you up from bars, and since your rent payments are running 2 months behind’.
‘Well next time, don’t pick me up’
‘Yes, perhaps drawling yourself up Sumeru while not being able to walk straight will teach you a lesson in moderation’
‘At least it means I won’t have to hear your never-ending complaints about my lifestyle’
Their bickering continued throughout the path back home. The moon was shining bright overhead when they’d reached their front door.
‘His requests were abhorrent, I told him over and over that the floorboards would clash with the colour of the furniture, but he just wouldn’t listen. What am I to do with someone like that?’ Kaveh leaned against the doorframe while waiting for Alhaitham to fish out one of the keys and open the door. Kaveh was certain that he often took both keys not on purpose but as a means to badger him.
‘Perhaps you should just accept his requests, after warning him of the consequences, if he is unhappy with the results, the fault would be entirely with him.’ The door unlocked and both men walked inside.
Immediately, Alhaitham removed his shoes and jacket, what he refers to as outside clothing, and looked expectantly at Kaveh to do the same.
‘Maybe I could, but I would feel guilty that I hadn’t done enough to dissuade him’
‘Striving to please everyone is delusional and futile, it would serve you better to fix your efforts into things you can control, like your designs, rather than your client’s emotions’
‘Please, your lectures on Kaveh’s need to please everyone are now rather stale, and I’m quite tired of hearing them. Goodnight.’ The architect slammed the door of his room, leaving the other in silence in the shared living room.
Kaveh woke up with a headache. A really bad headache, which always followed a night of drinking and bickering with his roommate. After getting ready for the day, Kaveh walked out to the kitchen to find his cup of coffee. It was still warm which meant Alhaitham was running late.
It was an unusual occurrence but he just conjectured that to the sudden insomnia the feeble scribe was experiencing. When prompted about this, Alhaitham dismissed the concern, and said that he’d merely received a larger number of proposals than before along with a snarky comment about the declining quality of Akademiya students.
The day started out with its regular normalcy, the architect met his current client in a follow up meeting, still hoping to deter him from making the egregious mistake by spending his late morning producing coloured renditions of what he was being asked to do.
‘You see how colours do not complement at all, and the pattern on the floorworks will just draw attention away from the table centrepiece’ Kaveh pointed rapidly at the different flaws in the design. He left the meeting with an air of accomplishment as the client had finally agreed to forgo the intricate ground pattern for a more aesthetically pleasing one.
The afternoon was pleasantly windy, cutting through the Sumerian heat. If the air was tense at all, Kaveh didn’t notice, he was too consumed picking up ingredients at the local market. Too consumed to hear the hushed whispers between the Matra officers and their concerned faces.
———————————————————————
Alhaitham sat on the maglev with his headphones on and skimmed through a recent paper that used timescale cosmology to try and explain the expansion of the universe. The comparisons with wider used models were underdeveloped and did not take into account as much data as they should he thought.
But perhaps the publication would open up more conversation and debates, which was never a bad thing.
As the train came to a stop, all the passenger made their way off. From here it was an upwards journey through the heart of the city to get to the Akademiya. He had pulled out a book on the implantation linguistic syntax in artificial intelligence, a topic that was taking off especially with the newer students.
The infrastructure seemed to resemble some ruins that he had found in Natlan, ones of the ancient dragon civilisation. Alhaitham had hoped the reading could distract from the crisis awaiting him at his desk - being the Acting Grand Master was more trouble than he hoped and he could hardly hand the job to someone else being in the predicament that they were in.
As the sage stepped one foot in the Akademiya, he was swarmed by panicked stricken matra officers and some of the older sages.
‘Grand Sage, there are more reports streaming in from Liyue and now from the Chasm, do we have a plan?’
‘Acting Grand Sage’ the young matra who had just spoken to him looked bemused at Alhaitham.
‘My title is Acting Grand Sage’ he called as he pushed his way through the crowd and simultaneously turned up the noise cancellation of his headphones. Why some of the new matra officers demanded answers to such vague questions was a mystery even months into this new job.
He sat down in his office, likely at his desk, but it would be impossible to know with certainty since not a speck of the dark wood of the table was visible under the mess and piles of documents. One sat at the top and caught the Sage’s eye. It was a letter marked with the emblem of the Liyue Qixing.
Acting Grand Sage,
Witness accounts of the undead are increasing fast, and many new refugees are seeking help in Liyue Harbour. By now, I am sure you are aware of the threat we are faced with. I am requesting aid for our country, as our provisions will not be sufficient for the growing population. Our defence has also been weakened by many of our patrols not returning. Any assistance that you are able to offer would be ample. We hope you are able to find munificence to support us in our dire need and please be assured it will not go forgotten.
Nigguang
Tianquan of the Liyue Qixing
If nothing else, at least she had addressed him by the proper title. Alhaitham sighed. The reports of the Zombies for a lack of a better word were approaching closer and closer to Sumeru. The news was being contained within the Matra as tightly as possible, but even secrets locked in vaults with the key thrown into the sea were susceptible to leaking.
If anything this morning’s crowd has shown was that some thin-lipped matra had cracked. He would usually call Cyno in and have him take care of his subordinates, but the General was stationed on the west wall of the Chasm so he could raise an early alarm if the monsters managed to cross.
An announcement, he thought, was due now, at least this way, they would also inform the citizens of their plan of action. What was their plan of action? Right now, Alhaitham has not a clue.
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Some vendors had started packing up their goods, but it was hardly a couple hours past noon. Kaveh approached some matra officers who were standing huddled and whispering. Rather unprofessionally he remarked in his head. He did not go up to them directly, but feigned outstanding enthusiasm in the watermelons being sold nearby. Kaveh recognised some of the merchants who were leaving early, and they all had relatives in the matra.
‘I heard the Grand Sage is putting us in a city-wide lockdown -’
‘A lockdown? That would only serve to hand the undead a 5 course meal of Sumerians to all the undead.’
‘You think you’re better off on your own then?’
‘Definitely, I’ve a plan to take my family to the desert tonight. Haven’t you heard of the cataclysm happening in Mondstat and Liyue? It's only a matter of before the same happens here. I just hope the heat of the deserts keeps them away.’
That was a great hope to place your and your family' s life on Kaveh thought. This information was definitely worrying, this would have been what had been weighing on Alhaitham.
The blonde puffed a little when he realised that his roommate had decided that a zombie apocalypse was not a large enough calamity to inform him. If Sumeru was indeed to go into isolation, then nothing was coming in.
Kaveh emptied his wallet to see how much he had on him. Only 1,200 mora. But this news of zombie invasion hadn’t reached the average Sumerian, surely he would have more opportunities to stockpile necessities. Nevertheless, Kaveh took another walk of the market, picking up as many cans of food as possible.
Still feeling anxious and slightly betrayed that Alhaitham had left him in the dark, he made his way home. The streets felt quieter and disturbing, and the air smelt slightly of smoke, leaving a bitter taste in the mouth. The smell of smoke this pungent was not common in Sumeru. Looking up, it was being delivered by the wind, carried here from the East.
Kaveh raided the fridge when he arrived at home. Milk, rice, fruit, fresh meat. All the food that would expire quickest. After soaking and seasoning the chicken from their last grocery trip, he cut it up into small pieces and placed them on their grill pan. Chicken Kabobs. He also cooked the rice, served it into bowls, added a splash of milk and sugar for a dessert.
Kaveh stepped back to admire his handiwork. The thoughts of the zombies still gnawed at the back of his mind. Now that dinner was ready, there was no other thought that could entertain him. Surely Alhaitham would know what to do?
Begrudgingly, the blonde had to admit his housemate was the smartest he knew. However Kaveh couldn’t help but agree with the headstrong matra at the market. By imposing a lockdown, it only gathered up the people of Sumeru City as a sacrifice, as lambs to the slaughter. If even one of the undead creatures made it inside, the effect would be exponential.
He shuddered at the thought of Tighnary or Collei as undead. He didn’t even know what these zombies looked like. All that he had for proof of their mere existence was the words of the young matra, which could be baseless gossip. The sun had dipped below the horizon, the rays of orange that had just painted the living room had faded out. Alhaitham would be home soon and with him the truth.