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'Did you kill any Fatui soldiers on your travels?'
'W-What?' Aether stuttered, not being sure if he heard that right. She stood with her back facing him, after all.
When Odette had asked him to go somewhere more private, he had expected her to ask him more about Rosalyne, or that she at least wanted to talk to him about ballet or the likes. Not a question like this
With the grace of a performer and a trained fighter she turned to him, her lips as tight-lined as they could possibly be. 'I asked: did you kill any Fatuus on your travels?'
'I - I don't know. I usually incapacitate them so they won't run after me.' Though there was always a chance some didn't survive the injuries they sustained.
Her brows furrowed for just a moment. '...thanks Traveler, I know enough.'
Before he could ask her about her strange question, Odette walked past him, bumping her shoulder with his, causing Aether to stagger a bit, preventing her pointe shoes from stepping on his toes. As he rubbed his shoulder, more so out of confusion than pain, a small part wanted to ask her to explain herself for her behavior, but his guts told him not to. What was there to explain if she did not tell him what was wrong? Their partnership was already flimsy, and any wrong move might shatter it completely.
Staring at her disappearing silhouette, Vodyanitsa’s words echoed in his mind.
She was up all night, thinking about you.
The way she had said that, especially while winking, made Aether comfortable in Odette’s surroundings as he had believed her to like him. Which was not the case, and he should’ve known better.
Being on someone's mind wasn't always the best thing, especially for a controversial person as he was here in Snezhnaya. And that controversy seemed to have finally caught up to him.
With a sigh he walked back to the greenroom they came from to continue his task of setting up the props. Aether was so glad that he had declined the position to be her stage manager, not just because Odette glared daggers at him while he thought about it, but also because he had no clue about ballet.
But he needed a job to explain his presence at the theater, lest the Fatui would get suspicious and investigate him, risking the anonymity of the Rokot. And that job was prop manager.
Stepping back in the room the awkward tension that had lingered before was no longer there; instead there was an air of hostility and irritation. Mostly from Odette, who was practicing again, but her mood affected the others as well.
'Alyosa!' Vodyanista yelled. 'Hurry up with those pelts, the next show starts in an hour!'
The hunter, now working as bodyguard and helper, rushed to her. 'Sorry, had my hands full.'
'We all are!' The lead songstress replied. 'Ah, Traveler, finally. You are in charge of the duckling props.'
He nodded. 'On it.'
As he walked over to the stored props, Aether saw that Alyosa and Vodyanitsa gave him reassuring nods. It relieved him of the thought that the mood would sour even more with him there, as the others seemed to have heard what they talked about but still decided to take his side.
However, that didn't mean things weren’t awkward between them all, as Vodyanitsa was still Odette's closest friend and any show of side would harm that friendship.
For now it was best to do his work and stay out of any discussions, which was easily said than done. There were five duckling props, more than enough for background decoration, but there wasn't a sure way knowing without asking.
'Does anyone know how many there will be used on the decor?'
Alyosa shrugged. 'Sorry, no clue.'
'Me neither,' Vodyanitsa said, 'but Odette does. Odette, how many need there to be again?'
'The usual amount.'
'And the usual amount is?' He asked, knowing very well he was threading on thin ice.
Odette didn't even cast him a glance as she spoke with a chill tone. 'You should know that by now, Traveler.’
The others paused their work to look at him with frowns, probably worried that he would reply and escalate the situation. But Aether was used to snappy people like this, and decided that the best course of action was to improvise.
He picked all five and placed them on the set, occasionally glancing over at Odette to see if he did right. And since there were no signs of disapproval, he left them alone and walked over to the next batch of props.
While tugging at the water prop to pull it out of the pile, Aether heard noises of something being dragged behind him, but paid no attention to it.
Bam!
Until a duckling prop was slammed down next to him with such force cracks showed up in the material, while missing his foot by a hair.
Swiftly turning his head, he saw Odette staring back at him, and if looks could kill he would be death by now.
The staring lasted for a couple of seconds before she swirled around and strutted off with grace.
The room had now gone completely quiet, safe for shuffling as Odette moved around. The mood had been set, and the rest didn't dare to speak a word, going back to their tasks. Aether couldn’t blame them, and after glaring at Odette for a split second he went back to pulling the prop out of the pile.
~
After a whole day of threading on needles and fruitless investigating the Tsaritsa's plans, Aether returned to his room in Podvorye Restaurant.
Normally he would vent his frustrations or talk about his findings with Paimon, but she wasn't here tonight. A few nights already in fact, because of an extended medical checkup. Ever since she had set foot in Sneznaya her health had steadily declined, either because of the cold or another reason.
He slowly began to believe it had something to do with Project Stuzha, because Paimon was a though little cookie. Nod Krai's cold hadn't bothered her, so no reason for her to be affected now.
But without answers or at least vague clues he came nowhere with speculative thinking, and Aether tried to think about something else.
But besides the Tsaritsa's plans and Paimon's wellbeing the only other thing on his mind was Odette. Why had she asked that question so suddenly, after being so nonchalant about Rosalyne? Or was it a facade she had put up?
It was frustrating not knowing the answers to those questions, but even more that he was speculating once again. Better to try and sleep, maybe tomorrow would be a better day.
The warmth in the room held him like a cozy blanket and soon Aether was drifting between consciousness and sleep. All that work had been exhausting, even for his well-trained body.
Yet just before he fell into a slumber, a cold chill drifted past him. A small gust, nothing more. It would've been nothing and he would've fallen asleep, were it not for more chill air to brush past him. And with it a presence.
Now wide awake, Aether summoned his sword and resonated with Pyro to shed some light on the situation. It was a matter of time before something like this would happen, even with a few Harbingers as friends.
Flames flickered in his hand, casting light and eerie shadows, and revealing the one standing in his room. Hooded, but still recognizable with her tutu.
'Odette? What are you doing here?'
He was relieved it was her, but still kept his guard. For all he knew she was here to try and kill him.
There was no emotion to be seen once again, and this time both her hands were behind her back, so Aether couldn't tell if her hands were shaking. It made him suspicious too, because she might be hiding a dagger or two.
She kept staring at him, and he stared back. Neither moved a muscle, tension rising in the room. Aether was ready to jump away with Anemo at a moments notice, and then parry any attack she threw his direction.
'How do you incapacitate your enemies?' Odette asked.
Another question? Aether had not expected that at all. But if she was just here to ask more, he was all too happy to answer any of her questions.
'I hit them with a gust of Anemo, or strike their head with the hilt of my sword.' There were more ways, but to tell them all would be stupid. 'But mostly trap them with Geo, as that is the quickest way to subdue them without hurting them.'
A small nod was the only show of an answer and that she wasn’t a ghost that had come to haunt her It was strange how still she was able to stand.
'I want you to show me.' Slowly she revealed her hands, and in them were two knives.
'A duel?' He blinked in surprise. 'Right here, right now?'
'Yes.' Odette stepped back, presumably to give him space to come in action. 'Come at me with everything you got.'
Aether shook his head, not believing what is occurring. 'Sorry, but I have to decline. It's late and I don't want to risk the lives of other guests. And I don't spar with Fatui Harbingers or the likes any longer.'
The knives went away quicker than they appeared, tucked away in hidden pockets in her tutu. 'I understand, then come tomorrow to the theater stage. At dawn.'
'Wait, did you not here what I was saying? I don't spar with-'
Odette sprinted away, so fast the flame in his hand went out.
'-Fatui Harbingers or the likes. And she's gone, great.'
Aether did not bother to check the room again, choosing to try and sleep instead. But he should have, as the rest of the night the hair-raising cold stayed with him.
The reason for that he only saw the next day when it became lighter again. The window to his room was open wide, which explained why it was so cold.
'Paimon would've called her petty for this,' Aether murmured to himself as he closed the window, 'and probably made a name up on the spot.'
Looking out the window he saw that the city was already bustling with life, even with the cold temperatures. There were even a few stalls set up, and those got his attention the most. Paimon would be happy to have a souvenir when she returned.
While last night already began to feel like a fever dream, Aether still decided not to visit the theater for today. Better be safe than sorry, and today they weren’t working or practicing there anyway.
Since there weren't any meetings about Project Stuzha planned either, and all Fatui Harbingers were out of Sheznograd, today was the perfect day for leisurely time.
After he had dressed up warmly against the cold, Aether went outside. It was already busier, the plaza almost completely crowded with people.
He took his time at each stall, trying to find the perfect present for Paimon. Something that would scream Sneznaya right away. One particular thing interested him, a snow globe with a detailed maquette of the palace in it, as well as a little Tsaritsa.
Someone tapped on his shoulder. 'You didn't show up. Why?'
Aether nearly dropped the snow globe out of sheer surprise, his gloved fingers barely keeping their grip on the smooth trinket. The merchant gave him a dirty look, but his attention was not to him anymore.
Taking a deep breath, Aether turned to face Odette.
'Because I didn't want to spar. Wasn't I clear?'
She frowned, but not a wrinkle was seen on her face. 'It seems we have a misunderstanding. I asked you to the theater to talk, not to fight.'
'We could talk here,' he replied.
Going with her could be a trap, and the only subject they had talked about was Rosalyne and the Fatui. Nothing that would harbor prying ears and eyes.
'Fine then.' Odette crossed her arms. 'Then answer this question of mine; why attack innocent Fatuus?'
...except a question like this one, especially one that was spoken very loudly, resulting in conversations around them slowly fell silent, and even people from all the way over at the center of the plaza turned around.
While Aether wasn't one to quickly get embarrassed, all this staring did make him a bit uncomfortable.
He leaned in closer to her. 'Can't this conversation be continued elsewhere?' He whispered. 'Another time too, preferably?'
'Why, have something to hide?' Unlike him she spoke loud and clear, and he saw that woman that had bothered him and Vodyanista at one of the discussions about Project Stuzha wriggle her way through the slowly gathering audience.
Aether sighed. 'Fine, let's go to the theater as you proposed.'
'Good, because this crowd is getting to me.' She turned around gracefully and walked away, the people making room for her like she was royalty.
Shaking his head in disbelief, Aether turned to the merchant and dropped a lot more Mora than needed for the snow globe. They said something about it, but Aether was already out of earshot rushing after Odette, who was quicker than he anticipated.
At the theater’s entrance stood an assistant he hadn't seen before, but was passionate about his job. He only let them both pass through after thoroughly reviewing their passes, and even then he gave Aether questionable looks.
As they walked past him, Odette turned to the man. 'Don't let anyone in until we both come out. That means other members as well.'
'Yes ma'am!' He saluted like a soldier, to which she rolled her eyes.
Once inside she led him to the stage, where she took a seat on the edge, just like when they talked about Rosalyne.
Even if he was cautious about her next move, Aether still took place next to her, but with more distance than before. It might seem rude, but with how she had treated him the past few days it was a necessary evil.
There was no point to circle around things, so he decided to answer her question directly.
'If you want my honest opinion, there are no innocent Fatuus in all of this.' He gestured to the exit door. 'In every nation that I've been, people talk about Fatui soldiers in a negative light. And each time I walked past a camp, they started the fight, not me.'
Odette sharply turned her head to him. 'What about that Fatui soldier that was minding his own business picking berries?'
'That was a honest accident.' That she even knew about that, but with the overzealous reporting here he shouldn't be too surprised. 'And we apologized, even told him he could file a formal complaint.'
'That's doesn't entirely align with what he said, but the general story is the same. Okay, what about all the ones that were just assigned their missions?'
'Still were so much of a nuisance that people had to request help.' He shook his head. 'But I suppose you have a point. Not all Fatui I met tried to attack me right on the spot, a group down the Chasm and those in Natlan aided the people there, but only because they were ordered to.'
'Why wouldn't they?' Odette said with a raised voice. 'They had families back home, families that needed all the Mora they could get just to survive.'
He hadn't thought about it that way, but her words triggered something in him. She was talking about families in past tense, and her father was a fatuus. Does that mean...
'If this is about your father, I-'
She stood up with a scowl on her face. 'Why bring him up!? You have nothing to do with that, nor with Rosalyne. But you do with other families here in Sneznaya.'
Odette turned away from him, crossing her arms as she looked over the empty chairs. 'Do you know what the Fatuus that survived their encounters with you have named you? Celestia's Final Nail, for wherever you go you bring death and destruction to the Fatui without a second thought.’
The silence that followed was palpable, because for once in his life Aether was truly speechless. He knew he had built up a reputation, but he hadn't imagined that it would be this bad.
Now he understood Odette's hostility to him, her wanting to fight him. She wanted to see if those whispers were true. This was not something he could mend with an apology or with words, but with actions.
Thus he kept silent, waiting while sitting there until Odette seemingly had calmed down. And when she did, she turned to him with droplets down her cheeks. Had she cried? No, those were sweat drops. But why?
'So when I found out it was you, I was confused. You saved me in that cave, even though you knew I was a member of the Fatui. Then you act all nice and friendly here.'
In one swift motion she had plucked her knives out of her pockets and stood ready in an attack stance.
'And the only way to make sure it's not a facade is to fight.'
Aether barely parried the first knife before she tried to stab him with the second, and only because of he launched himself up from his seated position it missed.
'Odette, wait! I don't want to hurt you!'
'Then show it.'
Before he even could land on the stage she was already there, moving around like a ballerina would do.
Her jabs were quick, going in and out of his attack range before he had a chance to strike back. Even with his superior strength, Aether was still struggling. He had never fought someone like this in his life, learning new things on the spot.
There! An opening! He struck with the dull end of his blade at her head, but Odette did a split, countering by swiping his leg as she spun back on her feet, striking with her knives at the same time.
That he was prepared for, standing his ground and knocking one of the knives out of her hand. It flew through the air before landing in the wooden floor, sticking out like a sore thumb.
Now she just had one blade, and Aether focused on disarming her of that one too, going on the offensive now.
But even with one weapon down, Odette was still a though opponent. He struck quick, almost hitting her in the side, but she was somehow quicker and jumped back, looping in the air and throwing her daggers at him, which he deflected easily.
Wait, daggers?
While shielding himself, Aether saw that she was throwing no ordinary daggers. In fact, none of them were. They were made of Cryo, which explained why she brandished them on a whim. His disarm strategy would be futile here.
He reached this conclusion before she even landed on her feet, and once she did there was a moment of respite as they both stated at each other.
Then she came in again, swinging at him with multiple quick strikes. One from the left which he blocked, then from the right which he dodged and then another from the left with a spin.
Aether dodged the knife, but as he attempted to make use of her unnecessary spin he saw a foot coming his way. His first instinct was to strike, but last moment he decided not to and took it to the face, staggering back dazed for a brief moment.
Not defenseless though, his eyes might be tearing from the blow on his nose, but Aether was still in it. He had received worse blows than this.
And it was a good thing he was ready, as she went in with a tiny jab before stepping back, going in again and stepping back once more. After the second time she did it again, being very predictable as if testing his resolve.
Which he had enough, and after the third attempt he struck, surprising Odette with his speed. He dove under the knife, summoned a ball of Anemo in his hand and punched the air right in her stomach.
She was pushed five meters back, all while bending over like she was in pain. From experience he knew it hurt, bringing even the toughest soldiers on their knees. But where others would cough or vomit, Odette barely reacted to it.
And when she came to a halt she did not take a few seconds to recoup, instead charging right at him again, not even a hint of pain in her face. Aether barely managed to block her next few strikes, confused and surprised that she ignored it so easily.
No, ignore wasn't the right word here, didn't he hear somewhere she couldn't feel pain? That explained why she shrugged it off like it was nothing.
But she was still capable of getting injured, meaning that any strike on the head might daze her if it were hard enough, but also risk giving her a concussion or worse.
That meant his options were limited, and trapping her in Geo wouldn't work either, as she could crack it with enough Cryo.
Parrying another attack, Aether decided on a radical option, one that would cost him his life if he had interpreted her words wrong.
One last time he went all out, creating a barrier of Geo between them that span from one side of the theater stage to the other, giving him time to act out his plan. He rushed to the furthest edge she had to go to and dropped his sword before him.
Turning around he saw Odette sprint over to him, ice knives in hand and ready to throw. But Aether did not grab his sword, instead he sat down and closed his eyes.
An ice-cold feeling on his neck told him she had arrived, but he did not react. He kept silent did not move a muscle nor opened his eyes.
Seconds turned into minutes, but the feeling remained, pushing his nerves to the brink. Because while he was still, his mind raced with questions. But to cast away her belief he was a bloodthirsty monster, Aether remained still.
Then finally the cold dispersed, and Aether dared to open his eyes. And once he did, he saw Odette stand before him with no daggers in her hands.
Looking up at her face he still saw no emotion anywhere, but when their eyes met she casted her gaze away.
'Your reputation exceeds you. I have decided.'
Aether nodded lightly in response, his throat too dry for him to speak.
She swiftly turned her back to him and walked away, leaving him and the theater that was now a mess behind. But just before she stepped off the stage, Odette paused.
'Do not think I will chat with you like the others do after this.' Her hands went to her stomach, rubbing it as she continued to speak. 'I trust you again, but still dislike you, Traveler. But remember, trust is a flimsy thing, as is life.'
With those final words she parted from him, and Aether kept watch on her until the exit door closed, and only then he brought his hand to his neck where she had pushed the dagger against his skin.
Pulling his hand back, there was a smudge of almost dried up blood on his finger tips, and he knew it was a warning and a message.
For a while he stayed there to reflect on her parting words, mulling the best course of action over. If he went too much in one direction he would risk animosity from the other nations, and in the other direction the flames of resentment might only carry on more. Odette might've brought it like it was an easy task for him to apologize, but the political, social, cultural and personal he had to account for as well.
But he could do something else, and that was by repairing the theater stage
Because if there was anything he could do at the moment to give her more reasons to trust him, it was cleaning up after his own mess.