Ch. 8 – Of Seabirds and Seashells

The sun rises above the trees early in the morning and Kaeya squints as it shines brightly in his eye. Songbirds sing loudly as cool wind breezes through his hair and he involuntarily shivers. He pulls the light sweater he has on closer to himself, kicking at the dirt with a foot as they wait for Master Crepus to come back. It's too early to be up and running about, but Diluc had woken everyone up and after a quick breakfast, they're outside getting ready to go to Falcon Coast. A prime location for a day of relaxation in the soon-to-be hot summer day.

He yawns and looks up at the horse he's standing next to. The chestnut mare is much larger than he remembers—and younger, too. She lowers her head and he leans back away when her head gets too close to him. He's well aware of her biting, it's a habit she has never broken despite how many times both he and Diluc have tried to break it out of her. "My hair is not food," he immediately tells her.

"Lady's tried to eat my hair before, too," Diluc says from somewhere behind him. He reaches up to pat her shoulder. "She won't bite you. She's just curious."

Kaeya looks at Lady with uncertainty. Of all the animals the Ragnvindrs have had, he can't understand why Diluc chose Lady to be his favorite. He finds himself subconsciously hiding behind Diluc to avoid her biting when she stretches her neck toward him. He doesn't want his day to get ruined by an old horse—well, a young one at the present time. He's much more used to the mild-mannered old Lady she matures into but even then, he didn't exactly enjoy his time with her.

He takes another step away from her when she ignores Diluc completely to nudge him. The other boy just laughs and takes the reigns to get her to leave him alone. Kaeya almost laughs at himself when he feels his shoulders relax. Him? Nervous around a horse? Some cavalry captain he is.

For some reason, Diluc looks back and smiles at him, an almost relieved look in his eyes. "It's okay, Kaeya. I know she's really big, but she's super nice."

Lady lets out an annoyed noise when she realizes Diluc won't let go. Kaeya narrows his eye at her and objects, "Not when she keeps trying to bite me, she's not."

He laughs again. "Maybe she thinks your hair is just a giant blueberry."

"Then she should eat yours since you look like a strawberry."

"My hair does not look like a strawberry."

"Fine, then a raspberry."

Diluc isn't impressed but he doesn't keep bickering when Master Crepus walks around the corner leading another horse. This one is also brown but with white patches of fur on its legs and its large eyes lock onto him the moment they stop.

This one, Lilly, is older than Lady and thankfully doesn't try to bite him or eat his hair. Lilly was Kaeya's preferred companion up until she passed away of old age when he was fourteen. Master Crepus lets the reigns go and she doesn't move, too interested in the grass at their feet. "You boys ready to go?" he asks them.

"I've been ready, you were taking forever, Father," Diluc said and eagerly rushes back to Lady's side.

"Hey, be nice to your old man."

"You're not that old, Father."

Kaeya watches Diluc expertly climb into the saddle and looks at Lilly. He doesn't want to get anywhere near Lady, even though she's smaller and probably more comfortable to ride. He attempts to climb up onto Lilly's back but scowls at the saddle when he simply can't reach the top. Has he always been this tiny? Begrudgingly, he looks to Master Crepus for help.

The man in question chuckles. "Do you need some help?" he asks.

"Yes, please," he mumbles. He can feel his cheeks turn warm, embarrassed. He's never had trouble getting into a saddle—although, Lady is a big horse. Master Crepus is barely as tall as she is.

"There's no need to feel embarrassed, Kaeya. It's all right to ask for help."

For some reason, the statement makes him hesitate. He knows Master Crepus means well, but maybe he's just talking about mounting horses. Yes, that's it. He won't ask for help once he can find something to climb or when he gets taller again.

Master Crepus lifts Kaeya from under the arms and when he's sat on the saddle, he grasps the saddle horn tightly. His feet can't reach the stirrups, and he holds on for dear life as Master Crepus mounts Lady behind him.

"How come you don't want to ride with me, Kaeya?" Diluc asks. He looks behind him at the basket that is tied to the saddle. "There's plenty of room, even with the picnic basket stuff."

Kaeya looks at the basket. It's secured to Lady's saddle, but even with the extra room, they would be squished together. "Because Lady tried to eat my hair," he easily replies. "Plus, I like Lilly more."

"It's also better if a new rider is with a calm horse on their first trip," Master Crepus adds.

Kaeya looks up at him with an innocent blink. "What if I've ridden a horse before and I just don't like Lady?"

"Then I wouldn't believe you since you have never wanted to go near a horse until recently." He gives Kaeya a fond smile. "I'm glad you're willing to get close to horses now, but you still need lessons before I let you ride on your own, or with Diluc, for that matter."

Diluc grins. "I'm perfectly capable of riding with someone else now. Master Varka is training me in horseback riding, too."

"Exactly. You're still training. It'll be a while yet before you two can ride alone." He looks at the manor as the doors open. "Adeline, are you ready?"

Diluc turns in his seat and Kaeya leans forward to peer behind Master Crepus. Adeline closes the door behind her, dressed in casual clothes suitable for riding. She approaches Lady and Diluc looks back at Master Crepus. "Addie's coming, too?"

She nods and replies, "Elzer is taking care of the winery's affairs today, and I will take care of you three and keep you out of trouble."

"We do not get into trouble!"

"I will believe that when pigs fly, young master." She easily climbs up behind Diluc and despite his initial grumbling, he doesn't seem to mind sharing a horse, either.

He looks up at her as he holds the reins. "Can I lead her? I want to practice some more."

"Of course, just be careful."

Master Crepus nods and turns Lilly towards the road. "Let's get going," he says. He then looks down at Kaeya and pats his head. "Get comfortable, it'll be a while before we reach the coast."

It doesn't take that long to get to Falcon Coast, even when they're stopped from time to time by a few knights along the way. They cut through Windrise and Kaeya makes a point not to stare at the broken pillar they pass, or the trees near it, or the cliff wall just beside that, or the boulder that rests on the—

He shakes his head. No, he won't think of it today. Today, he's just going to the beach to have fun. He doesn't call it a family day, that wouldn't be right of him to do. He's only spending time with the people that are taking care of him, and maybe they'll find some seashells to take back with them.

Eventually, the grass begins to thin and a sandy beach comes into view. Falcon Coast is void of any monsters and people, only the crabs scurry about and a few birds fly away the closer they get. Diluc can hardly sit still anymore, wanting nothing more than to jump off of Lady's back and run into the water.

Kaeya snickers as Adeline scolds him before he could do any of that. Master Crepus stops Lilly and slides off first before he helps Kaeya down. Kaeya looks down at the sand and turns his eye back to the water. The ocean has always brought him a sense of peace, and today is no different.

Diluc slides off of Lady and lands on his feet. "We can go play now, right, Father?" he asks Master Crepus eagerly.

"Don't wander too far," is all Master Crepus can get out before Diluc snatches Kaeya's arm and runs for the beach.

Kaeya keeps up with him even after he lets go, sliding to a stop at the water's edge. He can't hear Adeline or Master Crepus over the sounds of the waves, and the wind drowns out the occasional whinnying the horses make. There are a few seabirds nearby and he stares at them for a brief moment before he smirks at Diluc. "Hey, Diluc," he says.

The other boy barely pauses, halfway through taking off his shoes. "Yeah?" he asks.

He points at the birds. "Do you want to go seabird hunting?"

He tosses his shoes and socks aside, uncaring if they landed together. "Why would we hunt them? Addie made food for us."

He shakes his head. "No, not actual hunting. Just scaring them."

"Why would you want to scare them? That's not nice."

"It's just for fun. But if you don't want to, we can look for—"

"Look for the perfect seashells to give Father and Addie!"

Kaeya pauses. He drops his arm with a short laugh. "Yeah, we can go seashell hunting."

The two of them begin to scour the sandy beach for the perfect seashells, avoiding the crabs to not get pinched. He doesn't know how many hours they run around for after that and he barely notices Master Crepus and Adeline anymore. He wonders if they're bored just sitting there, but one glance at them and Master Crepus simply waves before he goes back to whatever conversation he's having with Adeline. At least they seem to be entertained.

Diluc notices and waves back wildly. He smiles and turns to Kaeya. "We should pick out the best ones we found and then show them to Father and Addie." He looks at the pile of shells in his shirt, holding it out as a basket. He squats down and dumps the shells onto the ground. They scatter across the sand in a loud clatter and Kaeya kneels in the sand, not caring that the sand is getting into his shoes or he's getting his knees and legs dirty.

He helps him toss the smaller and broken shells aside, and then spots one underneath a different shell. He pushes the one on top aside and turns it over in his hand curiously. He holds it up towards the sky, the sunlight shining a little through a tiny gap in the shell. This can't be the same shell he had kept in the box, right? He had piled some seashells underneath letters he exchanged with Diluc when he left Mondstadt into a box, and then hid said box in a wall.

There's countless seashells in the world—he can't have chosen the same shells twice. He retracts his hand and holds it close. This new life is so similar, but at the same time, it is very different. Little moments here and there constantly remind him of his old life, and some things that are just different enough to make him remember that this isn't just one big dream.

A smile graces his face and he puts it into his pocket for safekeeping. The water is bound to reach them and he would likely lose it to the ocean again if he forgets about it. When Diluc lets out an awed noise, he looks at him.

"Kae, look!" he exclaims. He scoops his hand into the sand and digs out a much larger shell than they found. He pulls out a nearly perfect conch, and he holds it upside down to dump sand out of it. "I've seen these before at the souvenir shop! If you put it against your ear, you can hear the ocean!"

Kaeya blinks slowly. "I don't think that's the shell." He turns his head to the waves. "It's not like we're right next to the ocean."

He rolls his eyes. "I'll prove it when we go home. You'll still be able to hear it even there!"

"If you say so." He looks at him as he pushes it into his hands. He finally takes off his shoes and socks, tossing them at Master Crepus and Adeline's direction before he takes the shells he wants to keep to the water. Diluc follows close behind, his arms full of shells as well.

He shivers when the water brushes against their legs. It's cold and goosebumps scatter across his body. Most of the water around here is cold from Dragonspine's constant snowmelt. While the majority of the ice and snow is permanent, the lower portion of the mountain's ice melts and refreezes consistently throughout the year.

He leans down to rinse the shells off and shakes off the excess water. "Want to go show them to Master Crepus?"

"You know he gets sad when you call him that?" The statement surprises Kaeya and he turns to Diluc. The redhead is frowning and he goes to stand at his side. He dips the conch into the sea water and dumps out more wet sand from inside. "You don't have to call him 'Father,' but I don't think he likes that you keep calling him 'Master.'"

He clutches the shells in his hands tightly and looks at the two adults lounging near the horses and a tree for shade. "Everyone else calls him Master Ragnvindr or Master Crepus. Why am I any different?"

He doesn't have the right to drop the title. Even though he has no intentions or is eager to see his birth father again, he's still lying to Master Crepus and to Diluc. Maybe he should be calling Diluc 'Master' as well.

"Because I consider you family."

His eye widens and he looks up at Diluc again. The boy is smiling as brightly as the sun, and he laughs at the dumbfounded expression he gives him. Diluc has no idea why he's feeling as stunned as he is. He wishes he could have heard older Diluc tell him that before he died, and he can feel his grip tighten on the shells even more. "What?"

"You've been living with us for a little over a year." He shifts on his feet to glance at Master Crepus and then back at him. "I don't know if you should know yet, but I want you to know now."

When he doesn't continue, Kaeya tilts his head slightly, trying to play innocent. "Know what?" He knows exactly what Diluc is trying to tell him. Adoption has been in the back of his mind, he's been too worried about other things to think about it.

"Father wants you to be a real Ragnvindr. He wants to adopt you, Kae. So, that means you can't call him 'Master' anymore." He smiles again. "You'll be my little brother for real!"

"Adopt me?"

"Yeah! I went into Father's office and saw adoption papers on his desk." He scratches his cheek with a finger. "So I guess I'm not supposed to know, either. But when he does ask you, please say yes!"

He doesn't know what he should do. He looks at the seashells in his hands and swallows a strange lump that is forming in the back of his throat. "I… don't know. Thank you for telling me now. I can think about it."

"I still think you should say yes. You would make Father really, really happy if you did. Now come on, we gotta go show them the cool shells we found!" He starts to run toward Master Crepus and Adeline.

Kaeya takes a breath to calm himself down and then moves to follow him, He easily catches up to Diluc, right on his heels.

Adeline spots them coming first and chuckles as they stop running when they're close enough. "You boys have sand all over you," she says.

"Look at these cool shells!" Diluc dumps his shells on the ground between them and Kaeya deposits his in the pile as well. "Don't worry, we rinsed them off in the water so there isn't any sand in them now."

Master Crepus picked up the conch and turns it over in his hand. "This is a good one, Diluc," he says. He sets it back down. "You both found some good seashells."

"Yeah, we went seashell hunting instead of seabird hunting."

"Seabird hunting?"

Kaeya sighs. "Not literal hunting," he clarifies.

Diluc laughs. "Maybe we should go seabird hunting now!"

"You should eat lunch before running off again to play," Adeline suggested.

Master Crepus hums in agreement. "But we shouldn't stay for too long. Looks like a storm will be coming in and I'd like to get back before we are caught up in it," he tells them.

Kaeya follows his gaze to the ocean. In the distance, dark clouds are beginning to roll in and he hears Diluc's pout before he sees it. Storms in Mondstadt happen often, more so in the winter and spring, but the occasional summer rainstorm is not uncommon. Adeline pulls the basket off of Lady and sets it onto the ground between them. "There are some chicken mushroom skewers I made before we left, please enjoy," she says.

Kaeya takes one gratefully and hums in satisfaction. He likes the skewers from Good Hunter, sure, but the way Adeline makes them makes it ten times better. "They're really good," he says.

"You really like skewers, don't you?" Diluc says and laughs at the nod he's given.

Master Crepus tells them to get their shoes and socks back on after they eat and the wind begins to pick up. He runs over to get his things from the beach and sits down to brush the sand off of his feet and legs before he pulls his socks and shoes back on.

As he stands and pats the sand off of his clothes, he notices something move from the corner of his eye. He looks up at the cliff far from the beach and spots a distant figure. He can't see who or what it is from this far away, but he knows that it's staring at him.

Diluc's voice suddenly calls for him and he jumps to turn and look at him. "Hurry up, Kaeya!" he shouts. He can barely hear Master Crepus telling him to calm down as he unties Lady and Lilly from the tree.

"Coming!" he calls back. He looks back at the cliff. There's no one there, and he blinks a few times before he shakes his head and starts to run for Master Crepus as well.

Had he just imagined someone being there? No, there had definitely been someone there.

Who was that?

Rain pounds against the winery's roof and the wind is loud outside of Kaeya's bedroom window. He'd closed the curtains as tightly as he could before he went to bed, but flashes of lightning come through the cracks he couldn't cover up.

He faces away from the window and pulls his blankets up over his head. He thought he had long outgrown this fear. Storms happen all the time, there's no reason to be afraid. He tries not to flinch when thunder rumbles through the air.

It's the first storm they've had since he first woke up but he can't understand why he's so jumpy still. He squeezes his eyes shut, trying not to fall into his memories again and jumps again when another loud rumble rolls through the sky. He looks up when he hears his door open, and a small voice ask, "Kaeya? Are you awake?"

He lifts the covers only to see Diluc standing at the door. "Mhm," is all he can manage to get out.

"Can I come in?" He doesn't say anything and Diluc steps inside anyway, closing the door behind him. He walks over, holding the stuffed toy in his hand. "I know you're scared of storms, so maybe this will help you sleep." He offered him the toy. "Whenever I get scared, I hug it and I feel better."

Kaeya hesitantly takes the toy. He hasn't slept with a toy in years, but for some reason, he doesn't think he minds this one time. He swallows something down and mutters, "Thank you, 'Luc."

Diluc smiles. "You're welcome, Kae."

A sudden flash of light brightens the room for a second and Kaeya grasps the toy tightly as he pulls it close to himself. He looks up when he notices Diluc hesitantly start to make his way for the door. He glances at the toy again. It's a nice thought, bringing him one of his favorite toys but… he doesn't want to be alone. "'Luc, can you stay?" His voice is small, and he struggles to contain the irrational fear that threatens to come out.

Diluc turns back around and Kaeya swears that his gaze softens. He quickly makes his way back to the bed. "Scoot over."

He obeys and makes enough room for the older boy to lie down. "Why is your bed comfier than mine?" he says.

Kaeya smiles a little. "It's not much better," he replies. He feels himself begin to relax and his eyes begin to drift shut again. Is this really all it takes for him to feel better?

"That's a lie."

"Nu-uh." He yawns and hugs the toy again. He remains under the covers, and its warmth and Diluc's distant mumbling eventually lulls him to sleep.

Neither of them are awake when Master Crepus comes in to check on them or see the smile on his face as he closes the door behind him.