Diona: The Ties That Bind
Her father had been her hero and she had been his little girl and while he would work hunting for the town he could always go back home and she would be there to help his day get better showing him a rock she found or playing with a slime who was much too friendly. Then she had found he liked to drink, which honestly would not been a problem it was fine, but she had to realize as he stumbled back home after a particular hunt that he was stumbling back and it made her sick inside to see him need the help of the door frame.
It was not because he had done evil things while drunk, her father still would not do anything and the most he never changed was being a little more blunt then normal with his speech. He was her papa, and she would make sure he would be around for generations and that meant he had to stop drinking. What he was drinking though she had to find out.
Alcohol had an esteemed place in the community of Mondstadt and she would do nothing but to love dispelling what people could do and not do after drinking it. She was a fan of making sure that anyone who stumbled to be held for the night, for anyone who slurred to the point of they could not be understood by anyone, for those who made stupid jokes, or thought she the bartender, was a child, needed to be put away for a night in a jail cell, but it was something that the Knights were not warm on.
She had been so sure of yourself, she could destroy the wine industry, and then she realized from her job that there would be someone who would always take the market back. What had been needed either for something for people to get off it together. It had been something she wondered for many years that when she made a drink it was delicious but when someone tried copying it, it could be dreadful. Even if she watched them do it the same way there would be too much of a difference and when she could hope to figure it out, it was a gift that could be aggravating when she wanted to destroy the industry that was currently responsible for where she was getting her money every day.
It did not matter she was loved by the people, and it confused her how she could a get a different set of customers as Barbara and while deep down she had to admit it was not just the wine it did not make her feel any better when she tried to make something revolting on purpose and people would just down the glass and ask for another. She had used everything that she could get her hands on from crab, to Loach pearls and for some reason even lavender melon was in a cocktail that only she could make and it bothered her.
Being honest to herself she was happy the people liked her it was just that she did not want to be the reason they had to deal with the pub or other things that could be bad in their lives, she wanted them to be happy as she wanted that with her father, it was just annoying when she couldn't get people off her creations.
What could a child do when her father was not a bad man, and she was just well, as she sat with herself and hearing him pass out in his bed unable to finish her bed time story, because she had to be the one to tell the story, she would get halfway done and he would be asleep, how could a child tell a story if the adult never was up to listen to it. She could huff and be mad all she wished but being there with her father was some of her favorite memories.
Her bloodline had been strange as well, the Katzlein blood had led to her being a good hunter as well, and something she would often try to go on them to have the fun hunting with her daddy before the rest of the horrid hunters try to pull them back and scare away the animals. It was shocking that those grown men who had been learning under the tree of her father could not understand that the wind would carry their scent or that the did not need to see the outline behind the brush so much they could see enough to tell where the body was going to be.
Graff was someone who could go out and hunt and get enough meat for the village for a couple of weeks and when she went there was enough so that fur and fat were becoming a surplus which was something they could always use. The town for how close it had been to everything could use everything from a hunt and make sure no ounce was wasted from candles to bow strings and everything in between and she was proud of that heritage.
Few could trace their bloodline back and she had proof that her bloodline was as she thought for the ears and her tail were as real as any other cats. Night vision had been something of a gift from the family blood line and it was said that all members had that ability with increased agility as well as using the bow had been much easier, she could go around and climb trees and string her bow before most of the adults her father had hunted with. It was so bad that whenever she would go on the hunt they would have no less then three moments where the other hunters would do something stupid and let the animals know where they were and they had to go into action.
The day she had remembered it had been a slow day at the Cat's Tail. Few people had come in and there was some comment outside, but there had been a more quiet day which was nice considering the rest of the days had been busy enough where she could just sit and remember. Hunting was fun and she would have to go and do it again, when she could by the meat with money it was nice but she would rather just sit on it and wait for the need to come up, because as it stood they could just buy for veggies and go out and hunt mean for the next couple weeks and she would be just as happy as she had ever been.
Putting her stuff away under the bar she had gone to her boss who said she could leave and grabbing her bag and bow left to see what could be done with a full day, maybe doing some looking far away from there usual haunts. Hunting in the fields was always interesting and despite the boars not being there the rivers and outlets to the ocean had plenty of fish which made it an easy day and they could catch a lot of fish to last them a while before they would need to come up with more.
Upon leaving the city she had begun the small trip back and before she could get out of the city she could see her father again. The breeze was blowing softly and she ran to him screaming to him before he had taken a few steps and dropped to a knee. Picking up his kitten before spinning her around the few people in the city smiling at the pair of them enjoying the bright sunny day.
"Dad, I am done for the day, do you want to go fishing?"
Graff had thought about it for a moment before countering back in.
"I think that is a wonderful idea, and we could do it just you and me." he remarked tapping her nose.
She had been shocked how sober he had been and how no one would be joining them on the hunt. It was found out later as they had picked up their rods and began to make their way out to where she wanted to fish that the hunters had gone out for the day trying to make the top hunter proud and only came back with two boars out of a time when the herd had been full for the hunt.
He just laughed and thanked the men for their service before trying to figure out what to do for the day and picking up his daughter the family began to walk over to the giant tree where the winds would often bring a gentle breeze and provided there was no ice slimes frosting the lake there could be a lot of fish coming down from the mountain rivers.
When they had made it to the lake it was clear from the bouncing blue blobs and the iced over surface that the slimes had to go. Graff was a man of simple things, he loved his daughter, the town and a nice drink but the blood in his veins gave him capability so drawing his bow he began to fight the slimes while his little baby watched. Smiling, the slimes got the point before they had been killed and bounced off. Diona had been wondering if he would be cause as far as she knew her father did not try to kill other creatures, he had been more willing to release them or shoo them off.
The rest of the day would be spent happily as the lake filled from the run off of the different rivers and the fish came back easily. Pulling the pair of rods and grabbing a couple worms fro ma small container they had the lines in the water sitting from the grasses and talked about the biggest fish they ever saw, making it a nice easy day where the pair would go through and she would hope and pry before catching as many crystal flies she could getting the core as she was taught to on a quest not that long ago.
First, her father had caught a fish, a flower fish that had been caught easily and tossed towards the line before she froze it. Letting the fish come to them was something difficult. While the hours moved away there was so much she wanted to say but he had just come over when she spent her energy and gave her a big hug while he rest the fishing poles between them.
While many could not fish and for them it would be something they could not do often there was a certain bliss in just sitting under the tree and fishing to fill their lines. They fished the whole day while she explained her days at the bar and how the patrons would protect her if anyone would get close to belligerent, which made the older man smile. She had taken the job for some reason, because it was known that she hated drunks but because of something any cocktail she had made no matter what with.
From what she had known the talent that she would give back if she could it would often mean that she could control those who drank by not making anymore of a particular cocktail and that meant they would have to go home.
Not many would try and order the small cat girl around without risking getting bit, shot, or scratched depending on how mad she was prior. Being able to do all of them very well had made it that she could do much more damage despite her small stature and that often lead to people behaving if they did not know or being told by a regular patron if anyone saw someone new. The city patrons had been well enough to protect his baby girl and they did well to. Graff was a good hunter but those skills could come into fighting again as he had done it before but as he sat with the girl and enjoyed the last bits of sunlight coming over the land, it made them both feel good to know the other was still there.
