The Strange Mission / Venti x Aether Albedo x Kaeya Childe x Zhongli

Chapter Two: The Meeting

The tavern in Mondstadt, closest to the East exit. The exit stood currently unguarded, as it's keeper, Guy, had finally gotten the more action he had been craving.

Many costumers were here around drinking and having a laugh. One of these costumers was the bard, Venti, who had been hoping to get a drink without having to deal with too many drunks. To his dismay, the tavern was absolutely full of all different kinds of drunks. The flirts, talkative, hyper, overly happy and so on.

Venti spotted the tavern owner, Master Diluc, trying to convince his staff to close up early to avoid the rest of the groups loosing their designated sober/driver, not that anyone was driving.

"Need some assistance?" The bard coed as the workers finally agreed and began to ease the crowd out.

Diluc opened his mouth to respond but was immediately interrupted by a drunk Knight of Favonius.

"Havve you seen myyy cup~." The man slurred while placing and arm on Diluc's shoulder. A scowl formed on his face and the man just smirked. "Awe~ Is Masterr Diluc on edgee now that thee knightss need hiss help?~"

Diluc's scowl lightened as he looked questionably at the Knight. "I don't believe I've heard such a thing."

The mans eyes began to droop as a quiet man with soft white hair whisked him away before he could say anymore and make Diluc any more mad.

It only took moments for the tavern to clear and the final workers gave a small wave before heading their separate ways.

"Are you not leaving?" Diluc asked Venti while rubbing his forehead and temples.

"Oh—-" Venti tried to reply before being abruptly interrupted.

The door suddenly flung open and revealed Kaeya in his normal outfit. His face appeared void of any emotion but it was obvious he was not here for a drink.

Diluc sighed and turned away from the bard to look at his other unwanted guest.

"And what might bring you here? I don't have any interest in taking care of two drunks after we've closed."

"Master Jean would like for you both to accompany me and some unknown others in a meeting this next week." He stated with a small sigh. "I don't know much but people are coming from Liyue Harbor to discuss the Wolf issue."

"What issue? I don't sense him being in any pain or dismay?" Venti leaned on the bar behind him and looked questioningly at the two taller males.

"The guards you have scurrying around haven't solved it, hm? Should have expected this from the Knights, always needing help." Diluc walked back in behind the bar and began to put away the rest of the alcohol while waving a hand dismissively at the others.

"And you don't know who's coming? That's odd, normally you have the most intel." Venti felt something off about this but he could also tell Kaeya wasn't lying.

"Off you two go." Diluc said from under the bar.

Venti sighed and walked out, disappointed he missed his chance to get a drink. Kaeya followed after him but quickly veered off to go deal with other matters.

✨Time Skip brought to you by the the joy of watching players perish in sheer cold✨

Zhongli and Childe finally arrived at the bridge to Mondstadt. They quickly nodded a greeting to the boy with seeds and the two guards watching him with concern in their eyes.

The two made their way to the Knights of Favonius headquarters, keenly aware of the strange glances and curious looks. They pushed open the door and realized they had arrived at the exact time the meeting was scheduled, almost as if it were planned precisely.

"What is a Fatui doing here!?" Kaeya, a Knight with long blue hair and a eyepatch, yelled to the others while gesturing at Childe accordingly.

Childe would have normally felt offended, even in the slightest, but for once he understood the feeling of distrust and chose to stay silent.

"For once I agree." A strange man with red hair stated, causing Kaeya's eyes to widen in surprise.

"He is needed." Acting Grand Master Jean stated simply, only earning a sigh from the other Knight.

"Wait, Aether?" Zhongli asked, finally noticing the shorter male who was standing to the side silently.

"Hi," He greeted calmly.

"How did you get here so much faster than us?!" Childe exclaimed, dumbfounded.

"Not important." The others all gave him the same look and Jean was smiling slightly, almost like she knew something the others didn't about how he got here...

"Gah! I'm sorry for being late!" A side door flung open and a short boy with two braids down by his shoulders rushed in, panting.

"Bar—," Zhongli was about to start before deciding to take a better approach. "Long time no see." He finished with a little bit of annoyance and a little bit of pride. "Why did you not use the main door?"

"Not important." He tried to brush it off but everyone just looked to Aether who had just said the same thing moments ago. "What?" Venti asked confused.

"Now that everyone's here, we can begin discussing matters thoroughly." Jean explained while leading the 6 males summoned as well as their librarian, Lisa, to another room with a table and a map.