Iridescent Ice

Under The Rain

Everyone had a secret, and Jasmine held one in the depth of her heart, left in the shadows to vanish with no one to speak of it. Her secret was one of hatred and darkness, terror in the night, set by those who were supposed to love her.

But the ones who were supposed to love her had a secret too, and this was a secret she carried with her as well, a secret which she knew she could one day use. Her arm burned with pain as she ran down the streets. She held onto her sword as if it were her lifeline. The last image of the house she had was her mother in her usual anger, and her brother reading a book on the couch, his eyebrows scrunched, and his eyes weren't moving, as if he weren't reading at all.

The rain fell around her, soaking her clothes and leaving her shivering. But she was grateful for the darkness covering the trails. She hoped they wouldn't discover she was missing until much later into the night. Jasmine headed up to the city's higher ground, where not many houses existed, but the Cathedral did. The Cathedral would never turn someone down. She stopped at Barbatos' statue, and held back a scoff.

The City of Freedom indeed.

Taking a seat at the fountain, she sighed. The sisters took care of orphans, but she wasn't one. Her eyes lingered on the water, watching the rain form ripples in the fountain. Quiet footsteps alerted her to the presence of another person — a young man who was walking up to her. The lamplight illuminated his face, and Jasmine studied him, vaguely noticing his peacock-like fashion sense. Her eyes landed on his eyepatch and stayed there, as he studied her in return, a quick glance at the sword at her side. His eyes fell on her arm and stayed there.

"How did a pretty thing like you get injured?" he asked, taking a seat next to her, as she scooted away lightly.

Jasmine kept an eye on him, wariness tensing her muscles. But she felt her guard drop the moment he smiled. It was a smile without anything hidden, a smile that said everything would be fine, that he could be trusted.

And she hated herself for thinking that for a second.

"It was an accident," she said, looking away, worried he would see the story in her eyes. The screaming, the crying, the apologies for something that wasn't even her fault. Something else caught her attention, and she knew he felt it too as his smile dropped immediately and he stood. An Abyss Mage appeared with a flash of blue light. Jasmine stood up calmly, pulling her sword out in sync with the peacock man.

The Abyss Mage cackled, forming almost human-like words. "It hasn't been too long since your father died, are you really steady enough to stop me?" The Abyss Mage looked to the Cathedral, and Jasmine knew he was planning chaos.

Her eyes moved to the other man's, whose lips had tightened. The Abyss Mage opened his mouth again, and Jasmine, feeling a sort of kinship to the man she had just met, struck with her sword, the familiar feeling of adrenaline rushing through her. The Abyss Mage threw up a shield, and she clicked her tongue, but her companion smiled and swung his sword. Jasmine watched with amazement as ice entrapped the Abyss Mage, the cold seeping through her even as she stepped back. The man slashed at the Abyss Mage and the ice broke, but the Mage was nowhere to be seen.

Jasmine appraised him again, and then noticed the Cryo Vision hanging from his belt. She wondered how she had missed that.

"My eyes are up here, darling."

She rolled her eyes as she met his amused smile. "Kaeya, Knight of Favonius." The sword disappeared from his hand, and he nodded to Jasmine, his question evident.

"Jasmine."

"Where did you learn to fight?" he asked, his eyes landing on her sword.

"Here and there."

"You have no Vision," he noted.

"No," said Jasmine, shaking her head. "Only the ambitious are given Visions."

"You mean to say you have no ambition?" He seemed interested, but something about his eyes told Jasmine that he was going to remember everything about this conversation.

She pondered her next words, and then decided it was no matter, there was nothing he could do with what she told him. "One who has given up on living would never be gifted a Vision."

Kaeya's eye softened with the most real emotion she had seen from him, and she wondered how he could show so much with just one eye.

"Do you have a place to stay?" he asked.

"Yeah," said Jasmine, a quick glance at the Cathedral which did not go unnoticed by Kaeya.

"Allow me to rephrase. Do you have a place that you wish to stay in?"

"No."

She looked away, and so did he. Her eyes landed someplace far away as her thoughts quieted down, and his eyes landed someplace even further away, his thoughts reeling. The only sound was that of their breath, and the falling rain.

"Would you like to come with me?"

The absurdity of it all made Jasmine throw her head back and laugh. A laugh that was hollow, filled with secrets and pain. "I'm no prostitute."

Kaeya tilted his head as he shifted his weight from one leg to another. "You could be a Knight with your skills. You just needed someone to realize that was a path open to you." His smile softened. "And I think wherever you came from did not have people who would help."

So this was charity. Jasmine thought twice, weighing both the pros and cons. She blinked as Kaeya stepped forward, and gently pushed a damp stray hair from her face. The pros did outweigh the cons by a mile. She nodded, and Kaeya turned away, leaving her to follow him down the stairs.

Stopping in front of a house, he threw open the door, leaving Jasmine to look in first. One look, and she already knew there was no one else inside. There was no sound of footsteps, of another person breathing besides the two of them.

His house wasn't very large, but it was cozy. Her attention wandered straight to the bookshelf, and Kaeya smiled. "Feel free to read anything you'd like." He closed the door behind him, taking his coat off and draping it over a chair. He gestured to a room. "Take the spare room." He eyed her up and down once, and Jasmine felt the scrutiny of his gaze. "And wash up. You'll catch a cold at this rate."

Jasmine pulled her hair to the side. "Do you often pick up stray girls from the street?"

Amusement flashed in his eyes as he leaned against the table. "Perhaps you're the first beauty I've seen around these parts."

She let out an audible sigh before heading into the room, ignoring the amused chuckle behind her. She headed to wash up, and was surprised to see a change of clothes laid out on the bed.

Jasmine didn't come out of her room, but Kaeya knocked on the door a little later, before entering. He handed her a tube of medicine, and offered to help her out. Ignoring her protests, he spread the medicine over her hand, and the coolness against her skin almost made her sigh with relief. She hadn't acknowledged the pain until now. He walked out, tossing a good night over his shoulder. She realized he hadn't looked her in the face since he had walked into the room.

Perhaps he knew the water on her face was not due to the rain.

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