Children Of The Abyss

Arrangements

Kaya stood staring at the ground, drawing circles in the dirt with the toe of her shoe; her pink hair falling around her face, acting as a curtain between her and Kaeya. Kaeya sat staring at the endless circles in the dirt, not quite sure what to say. He knew that she was a member of the Alberich clan, but he didn’t understand how. The only supposed Alberich member left, other than Kaeya himself, disappeared centuries ago. And as far as he was concerned, his biological father never existed; he wasn’t even sure if the guy who dropped him off at Dawn Winery was his dad. But he'll figure it out later. Right now, he has cavalry captains and knights waiting for him, and a battle to try and avoid.

“Hey,” he said sweetly, placing a hand on her cheek,  “look at me,” Kaya slowly and shyly looked up at him. Kaeya moved her hair behind her ears, looking her in the eyes, “listen, I have business matters to attend to, but when I come back, you and I can talk, okay? For now, Albedo will take care of you. Does that sound good?” Kaya enthusiastically nodded her head, wrapping her arms around Kaeya’s neck in a final goodbye before running off with Klee. Kaeya caught Albedo softly smiling at him.

“What?” Keaya said, getting off the ground laughing and walking towards the blonde Alchemist.

“Nothing,” he said, shaking his head and laughing, “I was just thinking about how you won’t be alone anymore.”

“I really gotta stop talking to when im drunk.” Kaeya said, smiling back at Albedo. It was true, Kaeya spent a lot of time talking with Albedo. After his fallout with Diluc, Kaeya felt bad about bothering Jean with his problems, and well, there was something unsettling about Lisa. But Albedo was always there to listen. He didn’t judge and, on some occasions, gave petty decent advice.

“Kaeya,” Albedo said softly, staring off into the distance. He looked slightly worried for a moment but then returned to his default facial expression, “be safe.”

“I will.” Kaeya said, patting his back and heading back down the trail, waving his hand in a goodbye. ‘Come back alive’ was the last thing he heard Albedo say before running off towards Mondstat. He would sure try, but Kaeya wasn’t entirely sure what this encounter could bring. It could be war or a peaceful negotiation. It could result in him leaving behind his city and joining his dying people or handing Kaya over. One thing was sure, tho. She was never going back there. Kaeya didn’t care about the cost.

Jean was pacing around the outside of the city waiting for Kaeya. It was his job to negotiate and his job to talk the knights through the plan.

“Listen,” Kaeya said, standing on a rock, “our main goal is to try and avoid war. We want this to be as peaceful as possible so no one else gets hurt. If fighting is necessary, I will give you a signal. Eula, can you take your group of knights and scout out the land? See where they’re camping, what they’re up to, how many there are. Then send one or two knights back to report, then lay low and wait for the rest if us,” Eula nodded her head and left with her group, “we need to do this quickly and quietly. The citizens of Mondstat and townspeople of Springvale are already on edge, and there is no need to make it worse. Do I make myself clear?” A unanimous yes filled the air as they all saluted Kaeya, “good. Now, all we do is wait. So pray to Barbados that we make it out unharmed.” Kaeya sat down on the rock and rested his head in his hands. There was no going back now. But maybe trying to negotiate would prevent him from hurting more of his people.

“Father forgive me," Kaeya whispered to the wind.

Sorry for how short the last two chapters have been. I feel like this has become a little confusing, so i would like your honest opinions on it so far.