Chapter Text
He knelt in the grass as rain poured down on him.
Diluc had already left. It was quiet. A cool wind blew, making grass blades bow at its will under the starless sky. It carried the faint scent of calla lilies mixed with the acrid smell of scorched meat.
Kaeya stayed on the ground, shins digging into the muddy soil underneath him. His clothes were drenched and his blue hair stuck to his skin in intricate and messy patterns, like frozen rives. The sword he fought with was on the ground, abandoned and forgotten.
The shiny object in his lap was cold, it made his thighs go numb and sting. He couldn’t bring himself to move it away. Ironically, from the moment it descended from the sky, he was as if engulfed by ice and he couldn’t move from the shock. He didn’t think he deserved his Vision, for more than just one reason.
The bushes rustled. It wasn’t the gentle wind, it was something… more sinister.
If it had been a wild animal, say a boar or a wolf, Kaeya Alberich would’ve laughed. He would’ve laughed so hard, letting everything out with that hysterical sound. What a great end would it be for a filthy traitor like him to die eaten alive by some mildly dangerous beast, like he was common prey!
Truth is, something- no, someone was still there to feast on his already wounded flesh, to rip apart the rest of him.
“Crepus Ragnvindr is dead.”
The voice came from behind Kaeya. The boy turned around instinctively to the source. The man was tall and he wore a white coat over his black pants, both drenched just like Kaeya’s clothes. The man’s steps were slow and deliberate, he was approaching the boy.
Kaeya felt uneasy about the figure. The tremble in his hands was now amplified as he reached for his discarded weapon. He couldn’t wrap his fingers around the hilt of the sword, no matter his desperate attempt to take it, to fight, to defend himself. His right hand refused obedience.
“My condolences, Kaeya Alberich,” the man continued.
He held his hands behind his back, like a studious or a decrepit man would, puffing his chest out. He looked down at Kaeya, red eyes drilling holes in his skull. The blue vial-like earring glowed in the dim light of the cloudy evening.
“Who are you?” Kaeya asked, gritting his teeth.
“I go by Dottore, nowadays.” He grinned. “Second of the Fatui Harbingers.”
At the mention of the Fatui, Kaeya’s heart sank deep into the pit of his stomach. The Fatui… He heard of their misdeeds. Of their cruelty. His weapon was useless to him in this state, but… There was something else he could do, thanks to his gift from above. In a fit of rage, he threw sharp icicles at the man. His aim was off, but not by a long shot. Dottore was good at dodging.
Before Kaeya could even collect his thoughts, he was knocked off his balance and pushed on the ground. He recoiled as the muddy water touched his ear, as his long hair soaked in it. A heavy boot stepped on his shoulder, holding him down. His heartbeat sped up as he tried to free himself, nails desperately digging into the thick black leather.
“You did this to yourself. I hope you’re aware of this fact,” Dottore said, fake pity in his voice.
Kaeya glared at him with cold and sharp anger as a light ice film started unfolding over the grass. It didn’t take long for Dottore to summon his own weapon and push its blade against Kaeya’s neck. The boy shuddered. He was never this close to death. Even when he had fought Diluc, he hadn’t really feared for his life.
Kaeya’s struggle ceased. It was not to be interpreted like surrender, but as the only sensible choice for the boy at that moment. Dottore knew Kayea wasn’t among the weakest people he’d meet based solely on his defiant gaze.
“That’s better.” He let his claymore vanish and he crossed his arms, keeping his foot on Kaeya’s shoulder blade. “Will you behave?”
“What do you want from me?” Kaeya asked, but he nodded at the question.
Dottore stepped back and put his hands behind his back, regaining his dignified stance.
The boy pulled himself up, his hand digging in the mud. He tucked the disgustingly muddied hair behind his ear. Despite being face to face with death, he didn’t want the wound on his eye to get infected. Thankfully, the rain would wash it all away if he sat there for long enough.
“Now, now, little Kaeya,” Dottore cood. “Don’t be so mean to me. I just…”
He wasn’t the type to get distracted easily, nor was he the type to stop mid-sentence. But what he saw was something so great, so particular, so unique… It almost made his hands shake from excitement.
When the boy moved his hair out the way, he could see his face in its entirety. Undisturbed by the burned skin, a golden eye blinked at Dottore. It was such a gorgeous thing to see, bearing the star-shaped pupil, a mark of Khaenri’ah. Oh, his mind raced with endless possibilities for experimentation.
“Are you badly injured?” Dottore asked.
“What is it to you, you fatui scum?” Kaeya spat back.
“I am a doctor,” he shrugged. “Isn’t it my duty to help people in need?”
“I don’t need your help.” He waved his healthy hand in a dismissive manner.
“Do you need something else from me, then?” Dottore asked, a sly smile on his lips. “There’s a lot I could offer to someone like you.”
“To someone like me?” His eyebrows furrowed, the movement of his face shooting pain in his system.
Kaeya had no way of seeing himself, he could only feel the pain and remember the fire burning into his flesh. For all he knew, half of his face could’ve easily been melted off.
“To a young man that was cast away from the land he grew up in because he was different,” his tone made it sound like a vague answer. “How much did you lose today? How close to everything is it, really?”
Kaeya bit his lip. Crepus Ragnvindr is dead. Diluc is gone for good from his life, especially after the whole spy from Khaenri’ah thing he pulled. The Dawn Winery is off-limits too, just because Diluc is its owner now that Crepus died. He was still a Knight, but there was no way that would’ve lasted for long either.
Kaeya betrayed Diluc’s trust. It was only a matter of time Diluc made him taste his own medicine, but three times worse. He was a gentle soul, but grief can change a person’s soul so deeply, so radically.
“Are all Harbingers slackers like you?” Kaeya asked, sarcasm dripping from his voice. “I thought the Fatui had serious work to do. Is your great mission making sure all teenagers are properly bullied?”
Dottore laughed. It was an unkind type of laughter, the one he would force to make everyone uncomfortable and afraid.
“No, I’d say this is more of a hobby of mine,” Dottore joked. “A guilty pleasure, in a sense. Except, I feel no shame in admitting I do not feel guilt for the things I say.”
“Of course you feel no guilt. You’re in the Fatui.”
“And you feel so guilty about telling young Ragnvindr about your little secret? You think you did the right thing?”
“He deserved to know. I did what was right. I couldn’t keep this a secret forever. I did this for him!” Kaeya said quickly, rising his voice. The last thing he wanted was to be thrown in the same bag as that man.
“No.” Dottore said. He was already feeling pleasure for the things he was about to say. “No. I’ll tell you what you did. What you actually did. You slashed his limbs and stabbed his chest when he was the most vulnerable, so he cut you off. And now you’re alone and in pain under this merciless rain.”
Kaeya was suddenly grateful for the raindrops. They helped camouflage the tears that started running down his cheeks. Dottore was, to Kaeya’s dismay, right. His life was ruined and he fucked it up himself. It was like… he had a natural instinct towards tragedy, a deep-rooted desire to make his own life a mess whenever he had the chance.
“I refuse to listen to you.”
“It’s quite alright if you don’t, Kaeya.” Dottore said. “But deep down, we aren’t too different. All humans are selfish in the same way, the Fatui only acknowledge that fact.”
Kaeya shook his head. He looked down at his muddy knees, at the pristine cryo Vision. Is this how it was all supposed to go? If he… If he chose his words with more wisdom, if he picked a better moment maybe things would have gone differently? Maybe he’d still be just Kaeya and nothing more.
“That being said, I have an offer only an unwise person would turn down. I offer you this: how about you join the Fatui?” Dottore asked. “I could give a look at your wounds and do what’s possible to make you recover and you could… find a new place to be, away from all this… personal tragedy of yours.”
Dottore knew Kaeya wouldn’t accept the offer. He was too stubborn, too prideful to work for the slackers . He would probably have to use… more persuasive methods to get Kaeya’s cooperation. He was sure he could see right through him.
And one can imagine Dottore’s surprise when Kaeya grinned in response.
“You know what, Dottore? I agree. I accept this offer of yours.”
Kaeya’s thought process was simple. He had lost so much that day, to the point his life was the only thing he had left. And… even that wasn’t worth much. By joining the Fatui he had the chance to get something out of it.
“Very well, then.”
After all, there was nothing holding him bound to Monstadt anymore.