Signora narrowed her eye on Kaeya. "You."

He chuckled. "How rude of you to not call me by my name. We are in the same year, after all. Could it be that the mannerisms in Snezhnaya aren't up to date with the rest of Teyvat? What a pity."

"How dare you insult my homeland?" She took a bold step forward before hesitating. "I will not waste my time on the likes of you. I'm here for her."

"Oh?" he twirled his sword. "Afraid of a fair fight? I promise to go easy on you."

"In your dreams. Members of the student council are lapdogs to the administration. I am well aware that you are disgustingly wily. As such, you have gained enough of the Academy's favor to possess heavy influence over their dealings in student affairs."

"Have you been keeping an eye on me?" he smirked. "I didn't realize I had a secret admirer. Though, I can't say I'm surprised."

"Save it." Signora cast away her catalyst with a simple wave of her hand. "I'll not jeopardize my standing with the Academy by your hand. I already have enough problems to be bothered with. Until next time, wench."

She stomped a heel that clicked loudly against the stone path, and a flurry of snow accumulated around her body. The wind created from the activity blew my hair back, and goosebumps crawled up my arms as I faced the cold front.

The blizzard wrapped around her form in a vortex, completely concealing her presence before falling away to reveal nothing. The only telltale sign that Signora was even here was the Cryo wall she had erected to block my path, now melting at an accelerated rate into a sizable puddle.

"Well, that was rather anticlimactic." Kaeya disappointedly put away his sword. "Care to enlighten me as to what she wanted from you?

I stared at the spot where Signora had stood moments before. "She was upset I didn't want to be recruited into…whatever her judgemental group was."

"She normally isn't so brazen with it," he said. "Most of Signora's victims are found shaken and disturbed days after she's through with them. Some have even discontinued their enrollment after a single encounter."

My jaw dropped. "And the Academy allows for this to happen?"

"Of course not," Kaeya shook his head. "Her presence alone is enough to keep others silent. However, students like us who refuse to bend a knee and would prefer to personally take her down have never obtained solid proof of her tormenting. That is, until now."

"We don't have proof."

The Cryo wall had melted entirely at this point, and the remaining water dribbled off the path to be soaked up by the grass.

"Oh, but we will. Now that we know she's out to get you, we can stage the scene by our own design. We'll lure her in while an authoritative figure witnesses her rotten nature firsthand."

"You want to use me as bait."

He patted my shoulder. "Come now, don't look so offended. You'll be saving the rest of the powerless student body from her temper. There will be no need to watch your back while idly wandering the halls. Say, don't you have somewhere to be?"

My stomach dropped. "I'm late for class."

Straight away, I continued my route to Horticulture, picking up speed into a brisk walk. I'm not sure if I could afford to be any later than I already was.

"What's the class?" Kaeya kept up with me.

"Horticulture."

He whistled. "Baizhu is a tough one."

"You don't need to remind me."

"It's a good thing you weren't debilitated by Signora's attack. It worries me how far she might have gone if I didn't show up," he said. "Nice dodging, by the way."

"Thanks for blocking the attack from behind." I offered as we rounded the corner of a building. "Though, I'm sure a trip to the infirmary would be a good enough excuse for my tardiness. I'd rather be gravely wounded than have a letter grade knocked off."

Kaeya halted briefly, falling behind. "Don't," he caught up with me. "Don't ever joke about your well-being. Always prioritize your health and safety."

"It's not that important. Barbara can heal me in a flash."

"It's important to me." He pressed his lips together, "Your safety is important to me, Lumine. I've seen too many people in my life that I care for in pain. If I can help it, you will never be one of them."

He was being serious, I realized. We reached the laboratory building where Horticulture was held, and though I was eager to get there as soon as possible, I wanted to reassure him. "I'll try not to get hurt."

"Promise?"

I nodded.

"That's not good enough for me." Kaeya looked me in the eyes. "Out loud."

"I promise."

Satisfied, he nodded once and opened the door for me. "Good girl. Now, get to class."

Taking a slow breath, I braced myself for Professor Baizhu's reprimands as I entered the Horticulture room. The door swung open with an unhelpful creak, alerting my presence to the entire class. Everyone turned to the source of the sound, and I fought the urge to spin on my heel and walk out the door.

Professor Baizhu was facing the chalkboard and turned away from his unfinished sketch of a Mist Flower. He looked at me through his glasses with a silent, disappointed stare. Crossing his arms, Professor Baizhu said nothing. The tail of the white snake coiled around his shoulders and swished from side to side.

"I'm so sorry I'm late," I spoke at last. "I was on my way to class and—"

"Have a seat," he said with a flicker of annoyance. "You've missed much already, Lumine."

Cheeks flaming with embarrassment, I quickly found my seat next to Xiangling. She shot me a wide-eyed look before shifting her notebook to my side of the table. Her notes on Mist Flowers and Flaming Flowers were fully written out, and I whispered a quick thank you as I pulled out my own notebook to copy them down.

"As I was saying," Professor Baizhu added to his sketch on the board. "With any lifeform, there is the potential for mutation. In the case of the elemental flora, a mutagen backed with the right amounts of elemental energy will grow an entirely new lifeform—the Whopperflower."

I paid close attention and took detailed notes on the Whopperflower lesson that soon deepened into an overview of Regesvines. There was no hands-on observation during this class, meaning we would be directly dissecting Mist Flower Corollas and Flaming Flower Stamens in tomorrow's class. That was a relief, I learn best when I can physically interact with the material.

"As with all element-based lifeforms, these plants have an increased resistance to their own element." Professor Baizhu added notes to the plant anatomy drawn on the bard. "Just as Mist Flower Corollas can be accessed via Pyro, a Cryo Regesvine is best taken down with Pyro attacks. The same goes for Flaming Flower Stamens and Pyro Regesvines—Hydro and Cryo attacks. This is one of many examples where what you learn in my class is pertinent to your survival in the real world." He cut a look at me, and I gulped. "Missing any part of my lessons could very well put you at risk in the future. With that said, class is dismissed."

Chairs squeaked and papers rustled as my peers gathered their belongings and left the room. Xiangling was still doodling around the Pyro Regesvine in her notebook, surrounding it with blazing flames in red ink.

"Xiangling," I nudged her. "Class is over."

She jumped. "Oh, is it? Perfect, I'm starving!" Xiangling shoved her notebook into her bag and carelessly tossed her pens in as well, not bothering to maintain any semblance of organization. "Wanna grab an early dinner?"

I shook my head. "I need to speak with Professor Baizhu about my tardy."

"Ah," she squeezed my shoulder. "Good luck, Lumine. Maybe you can convince him to take off only half a letter grade instead of a full one? I don't know, though. No one has dared to come in late after we were on the first day. He might make an example out of you."

"I have to try."

"I'll cook you a special meal for my condolences."

Her lack of faith was astonishing, but I couldn't blame her. At this point, the last of the students had filtered out of the room, and it was just Professor Baizhu and me. He was carefully organizing his lecture papers at the front desk, and I waited until he was finished before speaking.

"Staying in the room longer won't make up for the time you missed at the start of class, you know," he said before I could get a word in.

I began to sweat. "I really am sorry. I got held up by an upperclassman who had differences with me. She wouldn't let me pass until I gave her a response she wanted."

"Social interactions are no excuse for tardiness." He shook his head. "If anything, this is worsening your case, Lumine."

I didn't bother trying to explain how my encounter with Signora was anything but a frivolous social interaction. At this point, I had to focus on current actions rather than try to change his mind on what was in the past.

"Is there anything I can do to avoid the tardy penalty? I've been incredibly committed to your class, Professor Baizhu. For an entire letter grade to be taken off, that would derail from my hard work."

He stared at me thoughtfully, and his snake lifted her head to his ear, hissing something I couldn't quite catch. Professor Baizhu stashed his papers away into a briefcase before turning back to me. "It pains me to do this to you, Lumine. You currently have the highest scores in my class. From lab assignments to holistic exams, you exceed your classmates' work each time. However, you were tardy by a wide margin, and I have my limits."

He was cracking, I could tell. I just needed to push a little further, and maybe something could be worked out. "Extra assignments, grading work, even petsitting your snake—I'll do anything. Just, please. Let me correct my mistake."

"I am no pet," the snake spoke, and its tail snapped around erratically. "I take offense to the insinuation."

I flinched at the hiss. "Sorry, I didn't realize."

Professor Baizhu laughed, "She meant no ill will, Changsheng, let it be. I appreciate your dedication to academics and tenacity to right wrongs, Lumine. Just this once, I will refrain from deducing points off your grade."

A sigh of relief escaped me. "Thank you so much, professor. I promise I'll never—"

"If," he held up a finger. "You help me with a task."

I nodded in earnest. "Of course, what can I do for you?"

"Instructing courses here at Celestia is only a fraction of what I do," he began. "I am also the owner of Bubu Pharmacy in Liyue Harbor. One of the benefits of partnering with the Academy is that I am allowed full access to all plant life specimens that the island has to offer. However, because instructing fills much of my schedule, I do not always have the time to collect the herbs I desire. I want you to descend the mountain and venture into the island's forests to pick them for me."

"I'll do it."

Picking herbs was an easy task, far more simple than what I anticipated from him. Even better, I now have a valid reason to traverse the forest on my own. A plan was already beginning to form in my mind, and I felt the excitement build up at the opportunity. While gathering the herbs for Professor Baizhu, I could also spare some time to look for the Seelie. If I'm lucky, the Seelie might even find me first. Two pairs of eyes would be better than one, so I'll have to scout out Kaeya before I begin.

"You will be accompanied by my assistant."

There goes my plan.

"This is not to say I do not have trust in your abilities to pick herbs. My assistant has lived a long life and is quite knowledgeable in the locations of the herbs that I require. Though, she is often forgetful and cannot be left on her own for too long. She, too, has multiple occupations and works in the Academy's infirmary as a receptionist. You may find her there."

His assistant seemed familiar by description alone. Could she be…

can we get an owa owa for kaeya?

((OWA OWA))