Inspector Eroch was a traitor.
Kaeya uncovered a lie that was hidden in paper.
The very documents that wrote off his dearest brother.
The source of the foul play laced in poison had been cut off.
After all, they were good at covering their tracks— whoever they were.
But it was enough for Kaeya.
It was enough for Grand Master Varka, too.
Only two months after Diluc's birthday.
Inspector Eroch was a branded a traitor.
And exiled from Mondstadt.
Two months too late.
If the man had left with a black frostbite, not one soul said a word.
._._._._._.
Kaeya wanted this to be a joke.
But it wasn't.
Grand Master Varka had it signed.
The very proof was right there.
In front of him.
Varka's eyes were soft, despite his size.
Ever the pillar of Mondstadt's Knights.
(Despite the mountain of duties he passes to others.)
"Congratulations, Captain," he said.
His voice warm and proud, yet somber with understanding.
A large hand rested on Kaeya's shoulder.
"Your brother would've been proud."
Kaeya stared at it a little longer.
Before he gave a pained smile.
And walked out of the office.
._._._._._.
Kaeya stared at the mirror.
He wanted to yell.
To scream.
But he didn't.
He closed his eyes.
Counted one, two, three.
And slipped on his eye patch.
The newest Calvary Captain smiled at the mirror.
The soft blue glow of his Cryo Vision followed in his wake.
._._._._._.
Kaeya learned to smile his pain away.
To put on a friendly demeanor to gain information.
To ease the tension and make it snap.
To use his words in subtle traps.
Kaeya knew what he needed to do.
Took the dirty work upon himself.
It wasn't like he hadn't done it before.
He would do it for the sake of the family he had.
Or once had.
Mondstadt was his to protect now.
Jean had many things to say.
But when he smiled at her.
The one that begged her to look away.
She kept her mouth shut.
And never looked away.
._._._._._.
Childe heard a lot of rumors.
He manned a camp for a few days at the boarders of Snezhnaya.
Those who returned Mondstadt had dropped by.
In the breaks from training the recruits to the bone, Childe learned a couple things.
He knew the basics already.
The Knights of Favonius were the country's main defense.
All of Teyvat's top selling wine flowed from Mondstadt.
That the Grand Master Varka was the strongest.
Childe wouldn't deny how much he wanted to have a round with him.
He learned about a Calvary Captain.
Who died under the claws of the drake that prowled Mondstadt's lands for so long.
The Calvary Captain was young.
Maybe too young.
Maybe even reckless.
He was treasured dearly.
The perfect knight that excelled.
Even considered as their uncrowned prince.
But he died on duty.
Declared dead on the day of his eighteenth.
A child of fire that burned out before his prime.
Childe couldn't stop thinking of a certain Firefly.
Of the vermillion Vision on a night stand.
Of the red that curled in long waves.
He heard of how the brother took over.
Another young teen.
A year younger than the first.
With a star in his uncovered periwinkle eye.
He heard how the father grieved.
The Dawn Winery's Owner was rarely seen.
And yet the wine from the City of Freedom still flowed.
Still sweet.
Still rich.
Childe tasted a drop of the Dandelion wine.
And wondered if Diluc ever tasted the same thing.
Endearingly sweet.
And lovingly rich.
._._._._._.
Diluc didn't know much about Snezhnaya.
He knew about how cold it could get outside.
How snowstorms can last for weeks.
How every home had a heater.
His own Vision was sparingly used.
Morepesok was just a small village on the coast.
The surrounding waters were mostly frozen.
Chunks of ice lined the coast side.
Ice fishing happened further inland.
The people were nice.
Mostly.
They were wary of his appearance.
His crimson hair and eyes were absolutely natural.
But out of place in such a small town.
He knew about the Fatui.
About how they served their Tsaritsa.
About how they had been spreading their ranks to far and wide.
Last he knew, a small delegation came to Mondstadt.
Grand Master Varka seemed welcoming.
But the glint in his eye was telling.
Even ordered half of the Knights to be watchful.
He knew the Fatui's symbol as he'd seen it all too often in Morepesok.
One he only saw a few times in Mondstadt.
All in unexpected places.
Diluc looked up at the blue sky.
Clear of the snowstorm that faded not too long ago.
Small birds flapped overhead.
Diluc watched them carefully.
And wondered if Ajax ever eyed the sky the same way.
Observant.
And wary.
._._._._._.
Ajax came home for another visit.
It was sooner than the rest.
Only a month instead of months.
Tonia greeted him like she always did.
Thanking their Archon before giving him a near back breaking hug.
Anthon looked relieved as always.
Laughing at his expense as a little brother should.
Tuecer's mouth ran a mile about anything and everything.
It was how Ajax usually got his news (albeit exaggerated).
Father gave him a proper hug.
Although, if he were any stronger Ajax's father would break his back.
Mother was missing.
So was Diluc.
The seemingly new addition to his family.
For a second, he thought that the Firefly might've left.
But when he asked, Tonia only gestured down the hall with an expression that spoke for itself, 'Go see for yourself.'
To be quite honest, Ajax didn't know what to expect when he knocked and opened the door.
It certainly wasn't this.
Diluc stood in the middle of the room.
His scarred side in clear display.
The old, pinkish gash traveled from the edge of his pants.
To his back, under his shoulder blade.
As if he tried to escape a blow meant for his stomach.
Healed burns littered his skin.
Crawling from his hands to his biceps.
A bluish yellow bruise was like a bracelet around a wrist.
Mild scratches were shaped all too oddly.
Ajax couldn't help but notice how recent it was.
Diluc himself froze in mid action.
The cotton shirt almost slipping out of his scarred hands.
Crimson eyes wide for a second.
Before Diluc turned away with the flattest look on his face.
"…Aren't you supposed to wait after knocking?"
Ajax spluttered.
Backed out of the room.
And slammed the door shut.
"Sorry!"
He most certainly did not squeak.
And no— he didn't think how beautiful Diluc looked despite it all.
With the fiery red hair gathered in a loose braid.
Tied with a ribbon he gifted Diluc through a letter.
Ajax fought down the urge to outright ask him to a fight.
Because really— Diluc had a body of a fighter.
Tonia laughed from the living room.
It was loud and resounding.
Ajax, being the big brother he was, pouted down the hall.
"You set me up!"
It only made Anthon's laughter join his sister's.
._._._._._.
Diluc had a slight limp on his walk.
And Ajax knew he couldn't ask for that battle.
Or spar.
Especially since he just found out how much of an idiot Diluc had to be.
"You saw a bird?" Ajax asked not too long after he heard the story.
When they squared away in one of their rooms for peace.
Diluc only shrugged, "I thought I saw a bird."
For a second, Ajax thought that Diluc was finished.
He learned very quickly that the Firefly was not one to use many words.
If anything, Diluc's lack of words made everyone think twice.
But Diluc wasn't finished, "it was a metal bird. With a symbol."
Ajax really looked at him now.
Watching as Diluc lifted a hand and traced a foggy window.
The Fatui's emblem stared back at them both.
Diluc looked up at Ajax, hair swaying away from his face.
"You know what this is."
It was scary, really.
How Diluc's crimson bore into Ajax's cerulean.
The Firefly had not a scrap of doubt.
But just an ounce of wariness.
"…It was the last thing I saw before I fell."
Into the Abyss, Ajax's mind finished.
It hit Ajax then.
The weird, strange way Dottore had been acting.
As if a plan had fallen through halfway.
The amusement in Signora's face.
As if she found the whole fiasco humorous.
The odd rumors he heard about Mondstadt.
As if something unbelievable happened.
It had everything to do with the Firefly in front of him.
Ajax smeared the emblem on the window.
Locked the door to his own room.
Pulled Diluc to the center of the space.
And returned Diluc's frown with his own.
.
.
.
.
.
"Tell me everything."
.
.
.
.
.
.