Grounded

10

"Ouch!"

Este landed to the cobblestone ground with a thud. He landed on his behind, and the basket of fruit in his arms just a second before was surely on the ground now.

He glanced up, and yup, from the corner of his eye he can see the sunsettias are now spilled out of his basket and rolling on the ground. Hours of work, slowly climbing trees to pick these fruit, wasted just like that.

Este's brows furrowed and he gave out an enraged huff. He looked up to meet the perpetrator for all this, the sudden wall he had collided with.

He met eyes with a woman. Her hair was blond, straight and draping over her shoulders. Her eyes were a light pink, and clear elf ears poked out of her head. She was in traditional Mondstadt clothing, a purple adventurer robe with a hood, and anyone could tell she was a mage with maybe a vision, electro based off her colour scheme at least.

She had a sort of toothy smile on, and Este immediately pegged her to be trouble.

"Hey lady! Apologize to my sunsettias!" He quickly sprang up from the ground back to his feet. He also raised his fist at her, and yelled at her.

Her expression stayed steady, Este's angry expression twitched.

"Say something! You're not deaf with those huge ears are you?!" Her silence just continued to make him angrier.

Suddenly, her expression faltered and- and she snorted.

The audacity of this wom-

"Ohh-myy-gooowd! Who's this kid, he's so cute!" She yelled, and quickly slapped her hands on his cheeks as she crouched down. She then grabbed at his cheeks and pulled, and mushed his face around. Este's mood hit rock bottom.

"Let go of me you- you cicin mage rip-off!" He grabbed at her wrists but truly, the strength of a small 5-year-old doesn't exactly compare to a trained adult.

"You're sooo cuuute! You know your words big boy, that's so creative! Look at those puffy cheeks and those sparkling eyes, you look so adorable!" Her squealing seemed to get louder the more angry he got. Este's mental aged self at last gave up, and he started up a kid's greatest weapon.

On command his eyes started to water.

"I- I'll tell my mom on you! Let go you scary lady! I don't like this!"

Boom, her expression was struck by lightning.

Truly, the puppy eyes are a child's most lethal weapon.

However, it seems he didn't get the result he wanted.

"OOH! MY! GOD! THAT'S EVEN CUTER!"

The woman yelled, and suddenly Este was in the air. She had thrown him up, and her elated expression as she caught him again told Este of even more trouble.

"Stooo-wooah-oop!" Este screamed his head off, as the woman continued throwing and catching him. Somewhere in there she spinning around, and started squeezing the life out of him.

"OH lord, you're just the cutest little grumpy cat! Yes you are!" She squeezed, and mushed her own cheek against Este's.

"Just already..." Este was at this point, close to turning to begging.

"My name is Alice, what about you little spicy kitten?" She gave him a little space, and with how she held him in her arms, he automatically gripped her clothes for security.

Este blinked in surprise. He turned his attention back to her, where she was now watching him with a calm expression. The whiplash the quick change brought him was enough to stun him for a while.

"I'm Este..." he trailed off, then, his brain finally processed the most important bit that line gave him.

"WHO THE FUCK IS A SPICY KITTEN! GO TO HELL LADY!"

Este's face became an embodiment of pure rage, and in his rage he grabbed her hair, and pulled.

He watched with vicious glee as she let out a squeak. She automatically moved her arms to let go of him, and he quickly ran away, abandoning his fruit basket and the woman far behind.

Well, there was also the fact that this was likely Klee's mother.

But his pride was more important in this instance.