Pavo Noctua - Calla Ragnvindr's Story

II - A Rift in the Chasm

Kaeya was just at Angel's Share that night for a couple of drinks and to gather information about nearby fatui bases and abyss order dealings, when his right eye began to throb and seemingly burn without being set ablaze, causing him to have to cover his eyepatch with his hand and hiss as the pain hit him rather hard.

He quickly downed his glass of Death After Noon in an attempt to ease the pain but it did nothing of the sort.

"You must be Calvary Captain Kaeya," a feminine voice said to him, gently. "Come with me. I... know how I can help you."

Kaeya raised an eyebrow at the mysterious teenager who looked like a perfectly crafted mix of him and Diluc, but shrugged and followed her anyway.

They walked for a couple of minutes, and only stopped when they reached the side entrance to the main city of Mondstadt where they met up with none other than the Darknight Hero.

Kaeya was still clutching his right eye in his hand, the vision in his left blurred due to the unshed tears pooling in his eye.

The Darknight Hero, who Kaeya already knew the identity behind the mask, gasped as he saw the state the Calvary Captain was in. "Kae-Calvary Captain. Are you alright?"

"I," Kaeya started but stopped to hiss in pain. "I already know it's you, Master Diluc. You're not exactly subtle."

"Kaeya," Diluc deadpanned. "What's happening to you? Do you need a healer?"

The mysterious teenager spoke up, "excuse me if this sounds personal, but you, Darknight Hero, are probably the only person who knows that Calvary Captain Kaeya is from, well, Khaenri'ah. Don't worry, I know because of my heritage. I'm a descendant of a Khaenri'ahn."

Diluc raised his eyebrows at this revelation. "Ah, you speak more than demands. So what's your name, kid?"

"Calla," the blue haired teenager said. "No, you don't get to know my last name."

Kaeya chuckled before he squeezed his eyes shut and hissed in pain once more. "You're very secretive, young lady."

"I have... good reason for it," she frowned. "You two have a lot to talk about and not a lot of time to do it. I'm not sure that Aether and Paimon can do what they need to do without failing their mission tonight."

That got the two men's attention. "Why did you mention Aether? Do you know him?"

"Not... necessarily," she cryptically replied, before huffing and crossing her arms. "All I know is that he's in the chasm, and something is happening that's causing all natural born Khaenri'ahns pain, and could kill them, so if you want Calvary Captain Kaeya to live, I'd suggest you start talking."

Diluc frowned, "And just what are we supposed to talk about?"

"The night Gr-your father died, Master Diluc," She said, trying not to slip up and call Diluc Father. "I know you feel guilty for your reaction, but does Calvary Captain Kaeya know that?"

Kaeya looked up at Diluc at that statement. "What-What do you mean?"

"You're correct," Diluc sighed, uncrossing his arms. "I absolutely regret reacting the way I did when you told me that you were 'planted in Mond as a spy for the Abyss Order', Kaeya. I was overwhelmed by the fact that I had just lost my father. I didn't even think of the fact that you had basically been abandoned in Mond with little to no knowledge of our culture or language aside from specific yet basic words. I didn't think about the fact that Father was the first person to truly teach you what love really was in family."

Kaeya's eye widened as he teared up at the sincerity of Diluc's words.

"I was just blinded by my emotions, and I know that doesn't excuse what I did or the trauma I caused," Diluc was crying at this point but he continued. "I had let the sorrow of losing my father come between me and the feelings I had and still have for you and it took me getting banned from Snezhnaya to realize that I may have lost the one person that I had fallen in love with over the course of our childhood."

Diluc fell to his knees, and Calla took that as her opportunity to leave and find the portal back to the future. "I'm so sorry, Kaeya. I know that you might not forgive me for what I did but I hope you know that I am sincere with my apology."

"I accept your apology, Luc," Kaeya sobbed. "In fact, I had forgiven you a while back."