(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?

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? ]

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]

[ 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.

[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'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.

[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. ]

[framestory]

[ Oh. Hm. He hoped Diluc was here so that he could take this child off his hands. Ellis doesn't know how good he should be with kids, because he's never had the experience. He goes to knock on the door, but when there's nothing after a while, he tries to walk around the property.

This place has gotten pretty spiffy the last time since he was here... ]

[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]

[ Kaeya follows along because, well, there's nothing else that he can do. The place does look a little spiffy, but it's certainly nothing like the mansion that he remembers. ]

... Diluc lives here?

[framestory]

[ Ellis nods and tries looking around again. There really is no one here. Hm. He gets out his notepad to show Kaeya: ]

I think he stepped out for a moment. I can wait with you here if you want me to.

[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.

[calla]

[ Kaeya thinks for a moment. He still doesn't know this man and his intentions, but at the same time, he doesn't want to be left alone... so after a few seconds, he nods. Looking at the notepad, up at Ellis, down at the pad, and then back up, he shyly asks; ]

Do you have a sore throat?

[framestory]

[ He shakes his head no and covers his ears instead, then making an X. He can't hear!! But maybe that's too much for a child to understand, since he can still get what Kaeya's saying... ]

[calla]

[ Well, the first time that Kaeya spoke to him, he also showed a page of Diluc. If Ellis is deaf then maybe he just saw that page and automatically thought to bring him here. As for now... well, maybe this is Ellis now telling him that he's deaf. ]

Oh, so you can't hear me.

[ He seems a little dejected. ]

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. ]

[lapidation]

Diluc.

[ He takes out his pamphlet and sees that Diluc is one of their many redheads. That's the only defining feature and this long fluffy ponytail. ]

This one?

[ Shows child Kaeya this stick figure. ]

[calla]

[ The stick figure isn't really defining of any details, but the long red hair and matching name is enough to convince him that the right one, causing him to nod. However, he doesn't know why this grownup has him drawn in his little paper book?? ]

Why do you have a drawing of him?

[lapidation]

[ Zhongli is hoping to distract the baby from crying... Maybe Diluc's angy >:( face on the stick figure would draw him in? Seeing that he's asking questions, it is kind of working. ]

The goddess of this island provided this book to help us get to know our neighbors.

[calla]

[ The distraction through talking does help, slowly calming him down. The crying never really stops, but they start to slow down. ]

He lives here? But he was living with me back home.

[lapidation]

Hm... Like you and I, he's found himself here, away from Teyvat.

[ Fishing out of his pocket, he takes out a makeshift handkerchief. It's just a small piece of fabric. ]

Wipe your tears. You wouldn't want him to see you like this, would you?

[calla]

[ Away from Teyvat? Like the both of them? So Diluc has arrived here too? But how does he already live here? They just saw each other. He doesn't understand and it's too much for his little kid brain to handle at the moment, especially in his crying state. However, Zhongli's question does cause him to bite down on his bottom lip. ]

[ Right, he wouldn't want Diluc to see him like this. That gets his tears to dry as he wipes his face. He also blows his nose so hope Zhongli doesn't want that fabric back. ]

Do you know where he lives?

[ He asks after sniffling the last bit of tears away. ]

[lapidation]

[ Don't think about the details too much. Even Zhongli isn't sure about it and has been going with the flow.

Well... He takes the fabric back and pockets it even if it's dirty now. ]

No, but the island is small, so it shouldn't take us long to find the farm. [ Kaeya gets a small head pat before Zhongli picks himself up onto his feet. ] We might come across some animals, but they're all friendly.

[calla]

[ He looks up at Zhongli as the man stands back up. ]

Okay... are there slimes or Hilichurls?

[ protect him grandpa ]