(open) kid kaeya kid kaeya kid kaeya

[calla]

🧊 WHO: Kaeya and anyone
🧊 WHAT: Bonus effects!
🧊 WHEN: Dec 12 ~ 14
🧊 WHERE: Throughout the island!
🧊 WARNINGS: Lots of crying

[ Perhaps you're walking through town, heading from one place to another, when you come across a child. No older than ten, he wanders around doing the following things: ]

[ i. crying his eyes out. Correction: crying his single eye out because even at this young age, he still has his eyepatch, but the point is that there's a kid in the middle of the street and crying. ]

[ ii. sniffling while tugging on your sleeve. In his other hand is the pamphlet. In a quiet voice, he asks for help. ]

[ iii. picking out dandelions. To kids, dandelions are flowers, not weeds, so he's ripping them out and collecting a little bundle in his other hand. When someone passes by, he'll hold one out and ask if they want one. ]

[ iv. shooting at birds with his slingshot. Who gave this child a slingshot? The local grocery store, after promising that he'll bring crops when he's older. What they didn't know what he'd do with it is attempt to catch lunch so... look at that boy go. ]

[ v. wildcard. hmu and i'll write out a starter!! ]

Comments

i

[lapidation]

[ IT'S A BABY

Zhongli stops in his tracks and kneels down, checking on the child. Oh, this kid looks awfully familiar. ]

What's wrong?

[calla]

[ The child peeks up for the briefest of seconds before he immediately hides back into his balled up hands. As he speaks, he hiccups and sniffles between words. ]

I-I don't know where I am.

[lapidation]

[ Oh. It's... A small Kaeya? This is odd, but he isn't unfamiliar with people becoming smaller, he guesses. ]

This island is called Crescentview. [ Hmm. ] Do you remember who you were with, young man?

[calla]

[ The name doesn't ring a bell and that only makes him feel even worse. How does he get home from here? He doesn't even know where Crescentview is, and it's an island?! How did he get over to an island?? ]

Diluc... he's a friend.

ii

[framestory]

[ He feels something tugging at his sleeve and then he turns around... and down? Who is this baby? One of the island citizens? Now that he thinks about it, he has the same color scheme as Kaeya and the eyepatch too. Is this his brother who happens to look exactly the same??

But oh, wait. He's asking for help. Ellis lowers himself to Kaeya's level and smiles. What does he need help with? ]

[calla]

[ A nice looking adult! Though he's not completely reassured yet. With still tears in his eyes and sniffles in his nose, he opens the pamphlet to a page. It's Diluc's profile. ]

Do you know where he lives?

[framestory]

[ Ellis looks at the pamphlet, nods, and offers him a napkin so that he can wipe his tears and blow out his nose if he wants. Or better yet, here--he'll wipe Kaeya's tears for him. Shhh.

But then he believes that it's best to take him back home, so he holds out a hand for Kaeya to hold. Then he'll start leading him to Diluc's house. ]

[calla]

[ Kaeya hesitantly takes Ellis' hand, but he does in the end. Holding loosely, ready to bolt if needed, he follows the adult to the house. He's quiet throughout the trip, even as they arrive. He stands in front of the farmland, looking around the property, but it doesn't appear that anyone is home. ]

iii

[pyronic]

[Whose sassy lost child is this?

Except Diluc knows exactly who this boy is. His heart nearly stops in his chest when he sees Kaeya, a complicated expression knitting his brows into a scowl. Another one of the Goddess' tricks, he's certain, and she's chosen again to target Kaeya. In an indirect way, she's stabbing him with the same blade. He hasn't forgotten what Kaeya was like as a child, too young to know how to hide his lies behind a smile and so quick to take any scrap of affection he could get... and he misses that boy dearly. What a farce.

The shock passes and he smooths the wrinkles out of his expression with a huff, but he still looks rather frustrated. His arms don't budge from where they're tightly wrapped over his chest.]

What do you think you're doing?

[calla]

[ Kaeya's peacefully picking out dandelions when a scary grown-up approaches! Although that long red hair bores a remarkable similarity for the boy he's picking out these weeds for (not realizing that the Diluc in the pamphlet is not one he remembers), the expression does not. Crouched down, he grips his little dandelions a little bit tighter as he looks up at man. ]

Flowers.

[pyronic]

[Hm. That telltale glint to Kaeya's eye isn't there anymore, that carefully manicured sharpness, so is it possible he doesn't remember him...? Moreover, does he even recognize him?

Reminding himself that Kaeya's current state is the Goddess' fault more than Kaeya's, Diluc settles down on bent knees to meet him at eye level. He sees those knuckles and how they've blanched white, but he doesn't reach out a hand to smooth the tension out of them. Not yet.]

They're lovely. Who are you picking them for?

[calla]

[ The Diluc he knows is young, the same age as him, and almost always with a smile on his face. This man looks serious and kind of scary, so even if his hair resembles Diluc's, Kaeya is wary of any strangers, especially in unfamiliar territory. ]

My friend. [ He speaks softly. ] The book says that he lives here, I think.

[ He's referring to the pamphlet. He still doesn't really get how this works, how Diluc was living with him in the estate, but now that he's living on this island. They were just together too, so he's terribly confused about this whole jamjar nonsense. ]

closed to satoko

[calla]

[ Kaeya was hesitant to follow this lady back to her home, but he didn't know where else to go. Standing inside, he looks like a little scared mouse, shaking from tears. He doesn't know what to say or what to do. ]

[sugarnaut]

( she has no idea what the hell happened to kaeya, but she's blaming the goddess. the island's been peaceful (aside from people irritating the goddess into violence), but... it doesn't sit right with her, letting him stay out with no one watching him.

so... why not do what she does best? and that is sugary goods. but the kid still seems nervous.

...

kitten time. by which i mean, satoko leaves the room just long enough to scoop up eclair and come back out. )

Do you like kittens?

[calla]

[ Kaeya constantly looks around, ready to flee if anything seems off. However, he's then distracted by a cat! His face is still tear-stained and he's sniffling, but he looks a little more comforted by the sight of an animal. ]

Mmhm...

[ He hesitantly reaches out for a pet. Can he pet the cute kitty? ]

[sugarnaut]

( he sure can! eclair is a sweet, cuddly baby- something satoko's been sort of conditioning so that hizen can pet a kitty too. he's been stubborn about animals disliking him, though.

satoko sets the little siamese kitten down in her lap as she moves to sit beside kaeya, for the comfort of both the babies. )

His name is Eclair. He's a little quiet- you may just be the third person he's ever met! But he's nice and friendly. You can pet him, just let him sniff your hand first, okay?

( because that's going to get kaeya's hand aggressively headbutted for attention. )

iv

[archivists]

[ Noé's looking at him go... and he's wondering what he's exactly witnessing here. This child looks exactly like Kaeya, even the eyepatch is the same. But there's no way someone could shrunk here in Crescentview, right? (haha)

Before a bird loses its life, he steps in and startles the bird. So much for the hunting. What would Timmy say... ]

Are you the dragon master's kid? I mean... Kaeya's?

[ What happened to your secret is safe with me? It's probably okay to tell a small Kaeya look-alike. ]

[calla]

[ No, his bird!! Kaeya looks up at the perpetrator who scared away his lunch, suddenly going shy. Another adult in this strange island... ]

I'm Kaeya.

[ ??? dragon master, who dat ]

[archivists]

Kaeya is this big, though.

[ He shows roughly tall male model adult Kaeya's height. ]

And he can drink wine. And you can't.

ii;

[esurientabyss]

[ ...

Well, that's gotten his attention... ]

Help with what?

[calla]

[ He holds up the pamphlet. The man is a little scary so Kaeya speaks in a small voice. ]

Can you help me find someone?

[esurientabyss]

[ Has He Xuan considered looking less scary? Nope.png his face was like this since the day he was born.

Kind of. ]

Depends. Who is it?

closed to diluc

[calla]

[ It's decided that their trip into the forest will include a picnic, something to do while also looking at pretty flowers. The basket is too heavy for him to carry, but he can take the blanket so that's exactly what he has under his arm while he runs up ahead. Hmmm! He looks around. ]

Let's sit here!

[ He runs over to a clearing in the grass, just big enough that they can set down their blanket and enjoy some room while still looking at the pretty flowers nearby. ]

[pyronic]

[He's happy to let Kaeya take the lead and pick out his favorite spot. Following along closely behind him, Diluc sets down the picnic basket and helps Kaeya clear out the area and spread the blanket along the ground.]

You chose wisely. We've got a good amount of both sun and shade here.

[calla]

[ Yes, that's exactly why he chose it. His little kid brain really considered that... ]

So, why are we on this island instead of back home?