Chapter Text
It was a beautiful autumn day in Mondstadt. The leaves on the trees were changing colors from a deep summer green to brilliant shades of gold, red, and orange. The sky was a bright light blue with only a few wispy clouds on the horizon. A mild crisp breeze rotated the arms of the windmills and gave off a cooling air from the heat of summer. The grass was slowly turning brown and the harvest was ready to be picked. Big fat purple and red grapes were hanging in thick clusters from the vines at Dawn Winery.
It was a beautiful day when everything turned sour. For someone had changed the immortal beings of Teyvat. Someone changed them so drastically that things were about to change for the… well, just come see.
***
Diluc’s life changed on this ordinary autumn day. This one action sparked countless changes, both big and little, to the manor. It all started with a simple talk with his manager of the winery. Elzer and he were outside one late afternoon eyeing the grapes and discussing plans about the harvest when a sharp cry echoed over the fields of grapes.
Diluc tilted his head to pinpoint the wail. It sounded like a young child. Diluc knew it wasn't any of his employees' children. The youngest of them was ten and should be in school. They were too old to make a noise like that. It had to be a young child that had snuck their way into his fields.
When the cry sounded again, this time it was longer and more desperate, he located the general direction they must have been in. The cry came from the south of his property. He frowned as he motioned to Elzer to get help. He walked to the southern tip of his fields. It was very strange for a child to cry loud enough from that area to be heard all the way close to the manor where he was talking with Elzer. It was almost as if the cry was being amplified by the wind.
Diluc scowled. If this was Venti messing with him to steal some of his best wine, archon or not, Diluc was going to ban him from all alcohol for a month. A third time the child’s wail rose up and echoed through the winery. Diluc heard clumsy footsteps tramping through the rows opposite him. Whoever that was needed a lesson in stealth.
Diluc methodically checked every row in the southern parts. No kids so far. He was about to call off the search when soft muttering and rustling reached his ears. He slowly rounded the last row on the very edge of the fields and found a trio of strange kids that made him blink for a moment.
For one thing, none of them could have been older than four years old. For two, well, the horns and other various appendages gave him an extreme pause.
One of them (the oldest looking) had glowing gold horns and a small brown tail with a reddish gold pouf of dirty fur on its end. The pouf was filthy; it looked caked in mud and dirt. The oldest stood up reaching for the grapes hanging on the vine above him with bare claw-tipped fingers. There was something unusual about his hands. Besides the claws instead of nails. His hair was long, unbound, and a dark brown with light almost blonde tips to them. He wore a long brown coat and brown pants that fit him perfectly. Diluc could see brown gold scales on his face near his hairline and going under the collar of that stiff-looking dark shirt. He even wore a neck tie.
Who was this kid?
The second child’s age was hard to guess. He was too big to be a toddler but too small to be as old as the dragon looking kid. He was crouched down before the third (and the youngest looking one). He awkwardly patted the younger’s back. This child had dark hair with teal accents. He wore strange clothes that had him mostly shirtless with one almost full sleeve. Heavy-looking necklaces were draped around his neck. White and purple seemed to be his main colors. Was that a…? Yep. A green tattoo peeked out from his sleeveless side on his upper arm.
Correction. Who were these kids?
The last child looked to be the youngest. He looked horribly familiar and Diluc felt a stone settle in his middle. No. This can’t be who he thought he was and yet… It all made sense in a sickening way. The cry being amplified by the wind. The way he was eyeing his grapes. Even his clothes were a match for him. Just to be sure, Diluc looked him over as well.
The smallest child sat in the dirt under the grapes. He had small familiar green and white clothes on. A familiar green cape was over his shoulders. Big fat tears rolled down his chubby cheeks from two-tone blue-green eyes. His dark hair was that same eerie familiar done in a mostly short cut with two teal braids hanging down by his chin.
Diluc sighed and raised his eyes to the sky in a way that was probably very ironic. "Venti? What have you gotten into now?"
Diluc took two steps towards the trio of kids, only to come to a stop when the middle child held a small polearm to his waist. Well, almost. He was a little too short to make it that far so the polearm was swiftly switched to mid thigh height. Diluc examined the polearm. Even their weapons’ size fit them perfectly? What happened? What did Venti get up to?
"Easy kid. I'm not here to hurt you." Diluc didn’t move an inch. This kid obviously was uneasy about sudden movements and strangers. Diluc probably didn’t help that when he was both a stranger to him and was swiftly approaching out of frustration at his archon’s antics.
Two of the three kids were pretty easy to identify. The crying one, dressed in green and brown and staring longingly at his grapes, was obviously a child sized Barbatos. The oldest one with the horns, tail and necktie has to be Rex Lapis. Liyue's archon. He knew of no one else Venti would know who had dragon traits except for Dvalin. But the coloring was all wrong for the anemo dragon. He didn't know off the top of his head who the third one was holding him at spear point. Give him a few minutes though and the answer should come to him.
"Stop! Don't come any closer." The middle kid who had the polearm’s tip at his thigh had a cute lisp to his voice. It made his Ls sound like Ws. Diluc was pretty sure it would work on his Rs too.
Diluc and the middle child were at an impasse. He wouldn’t let Diluc move forward and Diluc wasn’t going to leave like the kid wanted. This went on for a few minutes. Neither one of them moved from their positions. Diluc noted idly that the middle child was very skilled with his polearm. It was positioned so that with one quick movement the tip would sever one of the crucial ligaments in his leg and would leave him incapable of walking. The one to break their stalemate was Venti.
Out of the corner of Diluc’s eye he watched as Venti climbed to his feet. Venti rubbed the tears from his chubby cheeks. Venti tipped his head at Diluc and stared at him for a long moment. A grin bloomed across his face. Venti let out an excited cry and started for him on shaky legs. Despite his wobbliness, he expertly dodged the grasping claws of Rex Lapis and the sweeping gesture made to catch him of the middle child holding the polearm.
Diluc blinked with confusion when Venti stumbled into him with a happy yelp. He was so small he was barely above mid leg length. Tiny arms wrapped around his calf. A small head thudded against the inside of his knee. A hand came up and patted his thigh just shy of where the middle kid had the tip of the polearm resting. The middle one moved the polearm away from Venti’s hand but still in a good reach to incapacitate Diluc should he make a wrong move.
"Good. Help." Venti beamed up at him. His face fell into a frown. Tears beaded in his eyes and a whine escaped his throat. "Thirsty." Venti said the word with an F instead of a Th sound.
Diluc hoped he wasn’t talking about wine. No wine shall be given to underaged kids. Archon or not. As Venti’s whines turned into pleading cries, he raised his eyes away from the disturbing sight. He wanted to pray to his archon for patience but currently, his archon was the problem. Venti was a pint sized kid staring up at him wanting a drink. Apparently, his second choice for prayers was standing a little ways back with his head tipped to the side studying him with a curious cor lapis-colored gaze. Also a kid.
Finally the culprit of the clumsy stomping footsteps appeared at the end of the row. Wyatt huffed as he took in the sight of Diluc. His lips twitched a little with amusement. Despite him always losing his keys and having a tendency to sample the product too much on more than one occasion, Wyatt was loyal and there was a lot more to him than met the eye.
Diluc guessed he looked a little ridiculous with a kid clinging to his pants, another one that had a polearm leveled at his thigh and a third kid with extra appendages and a necktie watching him with his hands in a classic thinking pose, one on his chin the other bracing his elbow across his chest.
Diluc took in the mud caked pouf of Rex Lapis’ tail, the way Venti was whining about needing a drink and the way the middle child was distracted for a brief moment by the grapes hanging nearby. Clearly they had no place to go and he couldn’t leave them to wander the wilderness with no food, no blankets, no shelter, and no drinkable water. Diluc took a moment to think about what could happen to three immortals turned children alone in the wild and made his choice.
"Wyatt? Please tell Adelinde we are having guests for the foreseeable future. We will need a few guest rooms freshened and three extra place settings for dinner." Diluc knew that the middle child would most likely not harm him when Venti was in the way. Sure enough when he bent down and scooped up Venti the kid swiftly moved the polearm away from the toddler.
“Yes, Master Diluc.” Wyatt turned and jogged back towards the manor in the distance. Wyatt was brimming with the news that would be spread around the manor grounds by sunset. Gossip was not shared outside the grounds of the winery but all the workers within thrived in gossip. The good thing was outsiders were not given any ounce of it. Not even the Traveller when she had been snooping around.
"Rex Lapis?" Diluc shifted Venti so his back was to his chest and his arm was under his knees. Diluc’s other arm was across his middle to hold him there. He directed his words to the oldest kid. He hoped he was right about who that was. News had spread all across Teyvat that Rex Lapis was dead. Venti himself had been mourning for a while. Diluc got no response from the child other than a blink of those golden eyes.
When the child realized he was being spoken to he frowned and stared at him. "I don't know who you are talking about. If you are talking to me my name is Morax." Liyue's archon bowed in his direction in the traditional Liyuen way. "I'm sorry if we bothered you. Barbatos wanted some grapes. Xiao and I can leave. We don’t want to impose."
Diluc scrunched his face up at the weird contradicting image of a young kid using such big words. He knew one thing, he didn’t want Morax and Xiao to leave. Venti kicked his feet and giggled when Diluc tightened his grip on him so he wouldn’t fall. “It’s not an imposition. I can get you some food and drink up at the house. Maybe we can figure out what happened to you three."
Morax turned to look at Xiao with a concerned expression. Xiao clearly wanted to leave. Xiao glanced at the open area behind them and shifted on his feet like he was ready to run at the go-ahead from Morax. The half-dragon turned to face Venti in Diluc's arms. “Should we Barbatos?”
A small sticky hand smacked against Diluc's forearm held across Venti’s middle. How the heck did his hands get sticky when there was nothing around for him to touch? "Good. Help. Luc good."
Diluc's chest ached at the way he was called Luc. He hadn't been called that in years. Not since… Diluc shoved away the memory of a red-rimmed tear-filled blue eye and a soaking wet eyepatch.
“Please. Don’t do this, Luc.”
Diluc pointedly ignored the strained words in his mind and motioned to the house. He quickly stopped and held onto the toddler in his arms when Venti began to slip. "I have some food if you are hungry. Adelinde was making something with fish for dinner."
Morax's face wrinkled in disgust. "No fish!" He glared at the ground. His eyes snapped up to meet Diluc with a scary golden glow to them. “No fish.” He repeated with a disgusted look on his face.
"No fish," Diluc promised. Who knew the geo archon detested seafood so much? Didn’t he live in Liyue Harbor? He shifted Venti in his arms so he was settled more against his hip. He wondered if Venti found it as awkward as he felt carrying him.
At Morax’s start towards the manor at the top of the fields, Xiao grumbled and gripped his spear tighter before sighing and dismissing it with a flick of his hand. Xiao stayed silent but his disapproval was strong. Xiao followed Morax as he led the way to the house through the rows of grapes.
Diluc’s mind was spinning as he walked behind Morax and Xiao to the manor. Barbatos was a toddler. At the very least appearance-wise he was. Who knew about their minds. Rex Lapis was also a kid. The rumors of his death must have been exaggerated. He must have faked his death. Why? But that does explain why Venti stopped mourning. Venti must have gone to Liyue the week of his disappearance in Mondstadt. The third child, he was less familiar with but a tiny little thought was nudging at his mind.
Liyue might have different legends and different gods but even here in Mondstadt, if one knew where to look, were books on one Conqueror of Demons. The Vigilant yaksha. That jade winged spear was his trademark no matter how small it had gotten to fit with its wielder’s current size.
Diluc absently slowed his pace when a thought occurred to him. This all meant Liyue had a problem with both its archon and guardian here in Mondstadt and currently kid-sized. Who did he even contact for something like this? Did he call for Barbara at the Church or did he send someone to Liyue to contact the Qixing? Who did you call when two archons and a yaksha showed up at your backdoor looking like this?
“Luc?” Venti sounded upset and a little hoarse.
Diluc glanced down. Venti’s hand was up to his throat. Whines spilled from his mouth and his blue green eyes filled with tears.
“Thirsty.” Venti complained with a whimper. Again he said the word with an F sound.
“I know, Venti. We are almost there.” Diluc quickened his steps when he realized how far back he had fallen. Morax and Xiao were already waiting by the front door. He could see two of his maids, Hillie and Moco, starting to approach the kids. Diluc sent them a look. They instantly backed away. Hillie and Moco were the worst gossips there was out of everyone.
Diluc entered the winery manor. He arched an eyebrow when Morax carefully wiped his feet on the ground outside and then turned to Xiao. The small half-dragon urged the yaksha to do the same. Both boys stepped into the house with wide eyes at all the wood beams and stairs. There were books lined on several bookshelves around the entry hall. Adelinde was waiting for them by the stairs.
“Oh my. Wyatt wasn’t joking.” Adelinde stared at all three boys in shock. Mostly her gaze seemed to fall onto Morax. In her daze, she walked closer to Diluc and the three kids. “Is that really them?”
“Adelinde these are…” Diluc jumped when a sticky wet hand smacked his mouth to quiet him. How did his hand get sticky again? Was he putting it in his mouth? Diluc made a face at the thought of a drool soaked hand touching his face.
“Hi. ‘M Venti.” The small bard waved his fingers at her. “Morax and Xiao.” Venti pointed at Morax and Xiao. “My friends.”
“Are there drinks we can pass out? Adelinde, I know you worked hard on dinner but Morax requested no seafood.” Diluc widened his eyes in a plea he knew worked on Adelinde to soften her up.
Adelinde sighed deeply. “That look was more effective when you were a child, Master Diluc. But, yes. I will get something else for dinner. It might take me a bit. I will send out some drinks with Elzer.” Adelinde walked away briskly towards the kitchen in the back of the house.
A few minutes later, Elzer walked into the room with a tray of apple juice. Two cups were passed to Morax and Xiao with care. Venti was handed one with a lid. Venti took a sip and scowled.
Diluc huffed. He would stand by what he thought earlier. No alcohol for Venti while he was like this. Diluc didn’t care that he was his archon. He wouldn’t be giving a one year old any wine.
Diluc set Venti on the floor when the toddler wiggled and demanded to be put down. Venti wandered away with his cup of apple juice. Venti went to Xiao and dragged him over to the vase on the table. Venti was talking to Xiao with a happy lilt to his voice. Morax was by his bookshelves looking at the stacks down at his level. Mostly they were unimportant ones Diluc rarely read.
“Are you guys actually kids or just kids in appearance?” Diluc kept an eye on the younger two as he stood next to Morax. Diluc needed more information to go on to help them and Morax seemed like his best bet. His answer came not from Morax but someone else.
“It feels like a dream,” Xiao spoke up softly. His lisp made an appearance as he talked. He stared off at a random point on the wall with old exhausted eyes that had seen too much in too much of time.
That was a scary look on a kid’s face. Kids should be happy and innocent. They shouldn’t be looking like they have seen horrors beyond any adult’s imagination. Nor should they look like they have lost so much.
“Being older. Like, we know we were grownups. We know all the memories and all the things that come with being grownups. But it feels distant. Like it happened to someone else and we were just watching.” Xiao’s lisp came through stronger as he got lost in memories. Xiao’s hands twitched as he shook his head and wandered away again.
Diluc processed that for a moment. “So you remember being an adult but you feel more like kids?”
“Exactly.” Morax nodded with a tiny grin. He looked over at Xiao with pride. “Well done, Xiao. I couldn’t have said it better myself.”
Xiao hid his face in his hands. Was his ears getting red or was that just Diluc’s imagination? Morax patted Xiao on the back and turned to Diluc with a glint in his eye. He gestured at a bookshelf further towards the stairs. Venti was… too quiet.
Wait a minute. There was something familiar about this interaction. This was a distraction technique. Diluc could recognize one easily. Xiao and Morax held his attention by answering his questions while Venti did something. Venti was up to something. What would he be interested in? He had his drink. Wait.
Diluc whirled around to his alcohol cabinet. Morax and Xiao had successfully made him put his back to it. His cabinet was a mix of non alcoholic and alcoholic drinks. When he was entertaining, the non alcoholic was for him to make it look like he was indulging and the alcoholic was for everyone else. He usually forgot to lock it because he didn’t have kids running around the manor. It was the perfect target for Venti.
All this ran through his mind in a second. He jogged around the corner to his alcohol cabinet. He was a little too late to catch him from stealing but not late enough to stop him from drinking some. Standing on his desk about to leap off was Venti holding onto the neck of the best bottle of the bunch in his tiny hands.
Diluc snatched up both the toddler and the bottle. He wrenched the bottle out of Venti’s grip. It was easy when he was this small. He tucked Venti under his arm and set the bottle back on the desk. “No.” He spoke sternly. He was standing firm on this. “No alcohol.”
Venti whined pitifully and reached for the wine sitting on the desk. He stared up at Diluc with big watery eyes. Diluc was pretty sure those tears were fake. Diluc set the bottle up high on top of the bookshelf instead of down where Venti could reach it again. He would have someone retrieve it and lock it away later as well as locking the cabinet back up.
Diluc kept a hold of Venti even when he squirmed and fought his grip. Diluc shifted him to his hip. Venti pouted and kicked his legs out when Diluc didn’t respond to his sad pleading look. Venti had nothing on a small Kaeya and his pointy elbows when they tussled.
“Thirsty.” He complained with a grunt and a pointed kick into Diluc’s ribs.
Diluc didn’t even flinch at the sting. He had worse than one small toddler kicking him in the ribs. “Then I will get you some grape juice if you insist on drinking. I will not under any circumstances, archon or not, give anyone that even looks underaged alcohol.” Diluc carried the grumpy toddler back over to where the Liyuen adepti waited patiently.
Morax looked mildly amused when Diluc appeared around the corner with Venti in his arms. Morax perked up when Diluc approached them. Xiao had a smirk on his face and was looking between Venti and Diluc. Diluc didn’t know if Xiao was smug because Diluc was fooled if only for a moment or two or if he was laughing at the fact Venti got caught.
“Now. I believe food is this way.” Diluc hoped enough time had passed that Adelinde had something to feed them before they got into trouble. He herded the kids toward his dining room table. As he passed a maid in the hall, he requested that all alcoholic beverages be under lock and key while the kids were there.
Venti overheard and was not happy about it. He scowled and grumbled in his arms. His small feet kicked into Diluc’s chest every now and then while he was instructing the maid. Diluc ignored the feeling of small thuds against his torso. He had sparred with Kaeya on a daily basis once a long time ago. Once you get used to Kaeya’s style, small feet kicking you is nothing.
Diluc headed for the dining room with an amused Morax, an apprehensive Xiao, and a grumpy Barbatos. What did he sign himself up for with these kids?
****
Xiao didn’t touch a single ounce of food. While Diluc spoon fed Venti bites of broth soaked carrots and radishes, he watched the yaksha out of the corner of his eye. Xiao curled his lip at the food in front of him. He shoved his bowl away from him with a wrinkled nose. His arms were crossed and he was glaring at the bowl of stew on the table.
Diluc opened his mouth to ask what was wrong. Why wasn’t Xiao eating the food like Morax and Venti were? Was there something wrong with his portion? Or was he an even pickier eater than Morax with his whole no seafood thing?
Morax was aware of what was going on even though it looked like he was focused on eating his stew. Morax looked up at Diluc from his bowl. “Xiao doesn’t eat. He doesn’t like most food.” The half-dragon went back to spooning in his own soup. He hummed in delight at a tender piece of meat.
“Is there anything, in particular, he does like?” Diluc lifted another spoonful of cream-soaked pieces of radish into Venti’s mouth. He scraped the edge of the spoon across Venti’s chin to catch the spill over from his eager bite.
Diluc found out very quickly that Venti was uncoordinated with cutlery. His small hands could barely grip the spoon. After the first drips of creamy broth and carrot dropped to the floor, Diluc scooped him out of the chair and confiscated the spoon. It was a weird feeling to have one’s archon pint-sized and sitting on your knee as you spoon-fed them stew.
“Sweet food.” Morax paused over a bite of radish and meat. He lowered the spoon back into his bowl. “Xiao likes sweets. He hates sandwiches.” The spoon was picked back up and another mouthful was eaten enthusiastically by Morax.
Diluc held back the urge to roll his eyes at the childish bid for dessert. Likely story. How many times did he use that one growing up to get more sweets? He and Kaeya both. Although their stories grew more elaborate over the years. Diluc could remember a few better stories than this.
Diluc was an expert at calling forth truth from lies and schemes. He would need to be gentle though. Morax might be a six thousand year old dragon deity but currently he was also a four year old kid.
“Just sweets in general or…?” Diluc trailed off to let Morax fill the silence. He gave Venti another bite when he reached for the bowl himself. How much could Venti eat? He was a toddler and he already ate almost a full sized adult bowl of stew. Another thought occurred to him. Was Venti getting enough to eat as an adult? Morax’s answer spared him from further thoughts on that subject.
“Almond tofu. Xiao likes the texture. He doesn’t like to eat anything else.” Morax scraped his spoon along his bowl to catch every bit of stew. “This is good. I like it.”
“The texture?” Diluc mused thoughtfully. He could understand that. Some people just couldn’t handle certain textures of things. He knew someone who couldn’t eat raw apples. But to not like the texture of all food except one? A little unusual. But Diluc could give in this once. The kid obviously wasn’t going to eat the stew and he was hungry. Diluc couldn’t send a kid to bed starving.
But what had a similar texture to almond tofu that was ready to eat? Almond tofu took over twelve hours to make from scratch and Diluc was not asking Adelinde to cook something completely new for dinner. Yesterday she made a batch of mint jelly. That would have to suffice for tonight. Maybe tomorrow for breakfast they could try some porridge. They could expand the kid’s palate for food slowly over the next few days.
Diluc spotted his housekeeper coming into the room from the kitchens with a carafe of ice water in her hands. “Adelinde? Do we have any mint jelly left for Xiao?” Diluc directed his words to the yaksha at his table. “It might not be the same as almond tofu but it has a similar texture. Would you like some Xiao?”
Xiao stared at him for a long moment. He glanced around the room before scowling at all the eyes on him. “I’ll try some.” He finally spoke quietly.
“I will go get it now.” Adelinde refilled Diluc’s water glass with the pitcher in her hands. She went around the table topping off Morax and Xiao’s cups as well. Adelinde frowned at Diluc’s untouched bowl. She didn’t say a word as she turned to head back to the kitchen.
“Wait! Miss?” Morax climbed down from the table with his bowl in his small hands. He was careful of his claws as he hurried over to Adelinde. The top of his head barely cleared the table so all Diluc saw were his horns as he rounded the edge. “May I have some more?” He held up his empty bowl to Adelinde. “It was really good.”
“Of course.” Adelinde didn’t even flinch when Morax’s tail swished across the ground in his happiness. “I will be right back.”
Morax let out a joyful trill before he climbed back up in his seat to wait for more stew. He tapped his claws on the table delicately. Morax’s mood dropped when he glanced out the window at the setting sun. “We should probably leave soon.” He announced calmly.
Diluc raised his eyebrow and stared incredulously at the half dragon kid. “Any particular reason you want to leave?”
“We can’t impose on you any longer. You have already given us food and water.” The tick tick tick of Morax’s claws on the table top slowed to a stop as the half-dragon stared out the window.
Diluc let out a soft sigh. “Morax, I want you three to stay with me. It’s not safe out there for three seemingly innocent kids. I know you are gods but there are still things out there that can easily subdue you when you are this size.” Diluc set down his spoon. Venti seemed full enough now. He wasn’t reaching for more stew. Diluc used his napkin and carefully wiped Venti’s face.
“Luc good. We stay.” Venti slapped his hands on the table to get the attention of Morax.
Morax opened his mouth to argue. The tapping of his claws picked up speed in his irritation. His tail snapped back and forth across the chair behind him. He kept his mouth shut when Venti scoffed. The small anemo archon glared at Morax and Xiao. “My land. My rules. We stay.”
Morax sighed in defeat. His hands stilled on the tabletop. “Fine. We will stay. Thank you for letting us stay with you Master Diluc.” Morax gave Diluc a Liyuen gesture of thanks.
Adelinde came back into the room with two bowls. Perfect timing on her part. Diluc didn’t know how to respond to Morax’s sort of bow. Adelinde didn’t acknowledge the tension at the table.
“Here you are. Mint jelly and another helping of cream stew.” Adelinde set the two bowls in front of the kids who requested them. She stood back with her eyes on Xiao waiting for his reaction.
Xiao stared at the green gelatinous dessert placed before him. He picked up a spoon and poked it. It wiggled and bounced in the bowl. Xiao looked up with a cute frown on his face. His amber eyes went wide and then narrowed in a squint at Diluc. “Is it supposed to do that?” He demanded sharply.
The force of scrunching his face up made his cheeks look squished. The scowl across his face was very cute on the three year old. His fascination at the mint jelly wobbling in the bowl made every expression across his face right now, one thousand times better. Diluc held back a chuckle at Xiao’s adorableness. He had a feeling the yaksha would be very upset and angry at Diluc’s opinion of his cuteness “Yes. It’s supposed to do that. Try a bite.”
“It looks like a slime.” Xiao frowned and poked the jelly again. It jiggled and moved in the bowl. He side eyed Adelinde, Morax and Diluc who was watching him.
Diluc figured he would be more comfortable if no one was staring at him. Diluc had to smile at Xiao’s comparison of the Mondstadt style dessert. “It’s not made of slime. I promise.” Diluc turned his attention to cleaning up the toddler on his knee. He wiped Venti’s dirty hands. How did they get so sticky? Surely this wasn’t from the stew? He didn’t even touch it.
Sure enough as soon as Diluc looked away, Adelinde moved on to the kitchen and Morax began eating his second bowl of food, Xiao started eating. There was the sound of a spoon scraping across a bowl. A pause of quietness. Another quicker scrape of cutlery across a ceramic surface. Soft quiet chewing noises.
Diluc let out a soft hum. So there was something else that Xiao would eat. Good. He didn’t know if his cooks knew how to make almond tofu. It wasn’t something that was common in Mondstadt. They might have to look into it. Xiao couldn’t just only eat mint jelly. Diluc would try to broaden his taste in food. They could start with porridge and maybe for lunch they could try something with apples. Maybe applesauce and one other thing.
Venti caught his attention when he stretched his arms over his head and yawned deeply. “Sleepy.” He brought his hands to his face and rubbed his eyes. Venti’s head dropped to Diluc’s chest.
Diluc didn’t move as he waited for Morax to finish his second bowl of stew. He just hummed under his breath while the two kids ate their dinner. Xiao took the last bite of the mint jelly around the time Morax shoved away his half full bowl.
Diluc noted how Xiao was blinking hard and Morax’s tail was sluggish in his movements. “Let’s get you three off to bed.” Diluc rose from the table with Venti almost limp in his arms. He shifted the toddler until he was in a better position.
“It’s not even dark.” Xiao protested. He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at him from the table. “I’m not going to bed.”
“Kids can only do so much before they get exhausted. And right now you are a kid.” Diluc winced when Venti let out a jaw cracking yawn. He tucked his face into Diluc’s arm and rubbed against it before resting his cheek on Diluc’s shoulder.
Xiao still had a stubborn glint in his eye. He ignored Diluc and settled firmly in his chair. Diluc huffed. Venti was getting heavier the more he fell towards sleep. Diluc stared at Xiao while he thought. Maybe playing on his protectiveness was the way to go? Diluc didn’t like doing this to Xiao but he could see how tired the three kids were. Getting Xiao upstairs to bed was the most important thing right now.
“Look, Venti is tired. He’s going to go to sleep. Don’t you want to make sure he is safe?” Diluc felt really uncomfortable when Venti cuddled closer to him. Venti’s hand grabbed a handful of Diluc’s shirt. His other hand went around his neck to clutch a handful of his hair.
Xiao looked torn between staying downstairs where the action was and going upstairs to protect Venti while he slept. There was another long moment where he stared at the table. Xiao shot a look at Morax before he let out the biggest groaning sigh Diluc had ever heard from a toddler.
“Okay. Fine.” Xiao climbed down from the table with Morax’s help. He still had that pouting glare on his face. Xiao crossed his arms and scowled up at Diluc. “Lead the way.”
Diluc couldn’t exactly motion with his hands to the stairs because he had an armful of a sleepy anemo archon. Diluc jerked his chin towards the hallway that led to the upper floor. “Bedrooms are this way.” Diluc brought up the rear to make sure neither Morax nor Xiao fell down the stairs.
Diluc headed towards the wing with the guest bedrooms. He paused when he saw Adelinde coming out of the door across the hall to the master. She was holding a broom and a duster in her hands. That was his old nursery. He hadn’t been in that room in years. Not since Kaeya…
Diluc shoved that thought aside. There was no time for reminiscing. He herded the sleepy gods down the hall at Adelinde’s insistence. Diluc shoved open the door. He stepped in the room, ignoring all the toys on the shelves and colorful rugs scattered on the floor.
“Why do you have a kid's room?” Xiao raised an eyebrow at him in suspicion. He was poking at a red stuffed bean bag in the corner. Another blue one was shoved next to it.
“This used to be my room. Mine and my brother’s. I haven’t been here in years.” Diluc looked over at the window seat. It was clear of any toys but Diluc remembered battles fought and won with the little toy figures his dad bought for his boys. Diluc could almost hear the playful taunts and jeers.
“Hah! I win! Beat that Kae! No one can win against the mighty dragon!”
“No fair! You always play with the dragon. Let me play with him.”
“No. He’s mine. You can play with this one.”
Crying. Sniffling. A tear-filled blue eye.
“Please, Luc? Just once?”
Sigh. “Fine. Only once. I’ll play with… him.”
He shook his head to rid himself of the memories. “Beds are this way.” Diluc herded Morax and Xiao over to the side door to the room where he used to sleep with Kaeya at his side.
Diluc pushed open the door with his hip. Two small beds were made up with blankets and fresh sheets. An old wooden crib stood in the corner. The crib was obviously for the toddler in his arms. Diluc moved over to the crib and carefully laid Venti down. He took off the small shoes and hat and placed them on the dresser. He would have to see about clothes tomorrow.
Venti made a sleepy whine of protest when Diluc pulled off the cape from around his shoulders. Blue-green eyes cracked open a little to glare at him. “Sleepy.” Venti let out a huge yawn. He grumbled and rubbed his eyes.
“Then go to sleep.” Diluc pulled the green fluffy blanket up to cover him and keep him warm. Diluc made sure that Venti was set for the night before he turned his attention to the other two kids in the room.
Diluc was a little amused to find Morax pulling all the blankets on his bed this way and that until he had a little ridge formed around him. He left no blanket to cover himself up but a thin top sheet. He shivered a little as he settled in his nest that he made. Diluc grabbed an extra soft fluffy blanket from the closet in the room and draped it over the geo archon. The half-dragon god made a happy churring noise and rolled himself into a ball under the blanket. Within a few seconds his eyes were closed and a languid rumble was in his chest.
With Morax and Venti taken care of, Diluc turned his attention to the final kid in the room. Xiao had taken the bed closest to the window. He sat on it instead of laying down. His back was pressed against the headboard. The pillow was set next to him on the bed instead of tucked behind his back. The blankets were still pulled over the mattress. His spear was draped across his lap. He seemed alert but Diluc saw his eyes drooping. He would blink hard and shake his head before staring out the window.
Diluc stepped into the closet to retrieve another blanket. He just knew that when Xiao fell asleep he was going to either sleep with his chin to his chest or slump over on the pillow next to him. He didn’t know how the yaksha felt about blankets. It will get a little chilly tonight. It was the middle of fall and the temperatures dropped at night. He stayed undecided but he came out of the closet with the thick blanket. If nothing else it will act as extra cushion if the kid falls to the side to sleep. Diluc left the blanket on top of the pillow by Xiao.
With all three kids taken care of for the night, Diluc lingered in the doorway, unsure if he should say goodnight or not. Morax made happy little churrs in his sleep and Venti was snoring softly. Xiao’s head kept dropping to his chest before he would jerk it up and blink rapidly. All three were either asleep or well on their way to it. No sense in saying words to disturb them.
Diluc silently left the room. He left the door to the bedroom into the playroom open. He left the one that led into the hall open a crack. Diluc stood in the hall for a long moment contemplating how bizarre his afternoon and evening had become. He now was caring for three immortals turned kids. He needed a set plan for the next few however long it would take to fix the issue with the three kids.
Diluc made a mental list of things he would need as he went down the stairs to his office. Diluc sat in his desk chair and dropped his head into his hands. He took three deep breaths before sitting up and getting to work.
Was this a revenge attack by the Abyss Order? Did something else do this to them? If there was a threat heading for Mondstadt, he needed to be prepared. What scared him the most about this was if this was an attack… What exactly could be powerful enough to turn two archons and a yaksha into defenseless kids and was it coming after them?
Diluc couldn’t in good conscience kick three kids out into the cold nights. He needed to prepare for an attack. He had to fight. How did he fight something way out of his league though? If this thing could take down archons… there was no way he… a puny human in comparison could win.
He needed to be on the lookout for anything unusual coming this way. His informants were good but they could only do so much and he needed spies everywhere. Even in Liyue. It must have happened in Liyue. His land was on the border and based on the fact both Morax and Xiao were here they must have traveled across the border.
Another point was if it affected these three, were there others? What about the cryo and electro archons? What about the dendro, pyro and hydro archons? Who else has been affected and where are they now?
Diluc straightened up and pulled out his stationery. He needed reinforcements. Not the Knights of Favonious. They were getting better, yes but they were far from efficient. Kaeya might be of use but he discarded that idea. He had been on his mind too much tonight. He couldn’t think about him now.
No, he needed more information. Surely there was someone somewhere in Liyue who knew something. He couldn’t contact the Liyue Qixing. If Morax was considered dead to his people then there had to be a reason. Diluc wasn’t one for broadcasting others’ secrets.
There was someone he could contact in Liyue. An old friend that helped him long ago. There was someone who knew a lot about medicine and herbs that patched him up more than once when he was younger and on a mission. Dr. Baizhu would hopefully know something. At the very least he could put him in contact with someone who had an information network like his.
Diluc put pen to paper and began to write a letter to Baizhu at Bubu Pharmacy in Liyue Harbor.