Archive of Our Own ^beta

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. 

Chapter Text

It was the sound of soft sniffling that woke Beidou up from her sleep aboard her ship docked off the coast of Watatsumi Island. Beidou was a light sleeper for this very reason. Anyone could have come aboard while her crew was on a skeleton shift. 

It took her a moment to pinpoint what the noise was. Somewhere a kid was crying. It wasn’t an adult, and it couldn’t have been anyone from her crew. None of their kids would cry like this. None of them were that young to make that childish sobbing noise. That meant she had a stowaway. A pretty young stowaway.

Beidou silently climbed out of her bed. She made as little noise as possible when she started searching around her. Where would a stowaway hide? They had to be in her quarters because that sniffling was too quiet to be far. How the heck did a young kid get on her ship when she was quite far from shore was a mystery she would put aside for now. 

Beidou knew she would help and not apprehend whoever it was. She was not a cruel captain. She was only cruel to those who deserved it. A few faces of past betrayers crossed her mind before she focused on finding this kid. She had a soft spot for kids and if one had snuck aboard her ship and was crying then she would not turn them away. 

After a few more sniffles that made her suspicious it was more than one kid, Beidou found the source of the noise. Whoever it was that was crying was in a spot underneath the wooden plank that served as her desk. How on Teyvat did a kid manage to sneak into her quarters while she was sleeping and not make a single noise to wake her up until they started crying? No normal kid was that sneaky. 

Beidou kneeled down next to her desk. She made her voice soft and coaxing like she would use on the kids that liked to visit her in the harbors she frequented. “Hey, kid. It’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you. But you should know, any other ship and you would have been in trouble. Come out now, I’m not going to hurt you.” 

Just as she thought it was more than one kid. It was two pairs of gold eyes peeking out at her from the darkness underneath her desk. Two little blonde heads poked out into the night air. Two little hands clasped tightly together as the girl pulled the boy out behind her. 

They looked like twin three-year-olds. Identical blonde colored hair that shone in the dim light. Identical watery gold eyes that looked at her with wariness. Identical luminous pale skin that gleamed in the moonlight. The only difference was their hairstyle and clothes. One wore black and gold pants and a thin similarly colored shirt with their hair long and braided. The other had short choppy hair with three flowers tucked behind her ear and wore a blue and white dress with glowing greenish accents on it. 

The boy wearing gold and black was the one who was crying the loudest. His amber eyes were red-rimmed and puffy in the little light she could see from outside her port window. He clung desperately to his sister’s hand like she was going to disappear at any moment. His head was down and his tiny body was trembling like a newbie in their first storm on the open sea. 

The girl with the white and blue dress had one hand behind her that was occupied by her brother. She had a fierce scowl on her face despite the sniffles that escaped her. Her eyes shone with fear. But she showed bravery in the way she brandished a small golden sword at Beidou with her free hand. 

Beidou laughed softly at the display before her. It wasn’t a mean laugh. She simply found this a little ridiculous. She was highly impressed with the tenacity and audacity of the twins before her. “Tough kids. I’ll give you that. Sneaky too. Not just anyone can catch me off guard.” Beidou’s chuckles died down at the sheer familiarity of one of the kids before her. There was something about the girl that Beidou couldn’t put her finger on. “Who are you two then?” 

“‘M Lumine. This Aether.” The small three-year-old girl stuck out her chin stubbornly. The tiny golden sword shifted to point at Beidou’s chest. “My brother.” 

Beidou’s lighthearted smile dropped instantly at the seriousness of the situation. This was the Traveler? Beidou knew the name she gave everyone was a fake name. Lumine was her actual name? “What happened? Last I knew, you were much bigger and still looking for your brother.” 

Lumine’s golden eyes went unfocused as she stared past Beidou at the wall. A confused look scrunched up her delicate features. “Don’t know. Was helping Venti, Zhongli, and Xiao with something. One minute we are grownups and fighting, the next I’m little again and standing on a beach and Aether was next to me also little. Zhongli, Venti, and Xiao were gone. Me and Aether ran away from the bad men with long poles.” 

Beidou nodded slowly. There were a few points of interest in that story. Mainly that there were three others possibly like Lumine and Aether now. Another was more worrying. What had the power to do this? Who was going to care for the mini Traveler and her brother until this can be fixed? She set aside the fact for now that men with polearms tried to attack two little kids on the beach. 

“So you still have your memories?” Beidou shifted from her knees to being seated on the floor. She wasn’t as young as she once was to be seated like that for a long period of time. 

“Sort of.” Lumine tugged Aether closer to her. Her sword vanished into golden sparks. She curled both of her arms around her brother and hugged him tightly. 

Aether stared up at her with big wide red-rimmed golden eyes. His chin was on Lumine’s shoulder. “Who’re you?” He spoke in a hushed voice like he was scared of being overheard.  

“I’m Beidou. Captain of this fine ship and the Crux Fleet.” Beidou couldn’t help but boast a little. Her gaze softened when Aether let out a delighted gasp. 

“Are you a pirate? You have an eyepatch.” Aether took a small step away from his sister. He stood a foot away from Beidou and stared at her with eyes that no longer had tears running from them.  

Beidou gave him a playful conspiratorial wink. “Let’s keep that between us, okay?” 

“Wow.” Aether mouthed the word in awe. He reached out and pulled on Lumine’s arm. “A real pirate who is nice. Lumi! She’s a real pirate.” He was shaking Lumine’s shoulder at this point.

Lumine stared wordlessly at her. She moved her gaze from Beidou’s face down to her feet and back up. Lumine opened her mouth to speak but her stomach let out a loud gurgle. Lumine quickly closed her mouth. Lumine frowned and held her middle. “I’m hungry.” She whined.  

“Me too.” Aether reached out and grabbed a handful of Beidou’s clothes. He tugged on it a couple times. “Miss Pirate Lady, do you have any food? My sister and I can do lots of things for food.” 

Beidou frowned at that horrifying implication. Lots of red flags were waved at that remark. “I don’t need anything to be done but come on. The galley is this way.” 

Beidou groaned a little as she rose to her feet. She wasn’t that old but her body sure felt like it was. Beidou didn’t know how the twins would react to her picking them up, even though she really wanted to, so she motioned for the twins to leave her bedroom first. 

Beidou directed them down the hall to the ship’s galley. Beidou scowled lightly when she encountered none of her crew that was supposed to be on duty. Continuing with that thought, when she poked her head into the room she saw it was empty. Beidou sighed and made a note to have a chat with the crew members on duty right now. Not only did they have two stowaways sneak on board but also they left the other sleeping crew members completely defenseless. If it was someone intending for evil that snuck aboard instead of Lumine and Aether… 

Beidou’s mood soured as the longer she went in the kitchen none of her crew made an appearance. She had successfully cut up a sunsettia for the kids, and got some fresh water, and had the kids eat all with no sign of anyone but the three of them on this ship. 

“Miss Pirate Lady?” Aether’s whisper soft voice called for her. 

A small tug on Beidou’s clothes dragged her attention away from those darkening thoughts and back to the two small children in her care. Beidou looked down to see Lumine and Aether staring up at her with serious expressions on their faces. Their eyes started up with tears again. “Yes, kids?”

“What’s gonna happen to us? I don’t wanna lose Aether again.” Lumine still had Aether’s hand in her grasp. She was holding onto her brother like he was going to disappear on her. 

“Yeah. I don’t wanna go back.” Aether’s lower lip trembled and tears filled his amber eyes. “That place was scary. All the monsters and everyone was mean and it was dark and…” A small sob hitched in his chest. 

At this point, Beidou didn’t care how they would react to her picking them up. Aether needed comfort and Beidou wasn’t going to let hangups like fear of tantrums stop her. She leaned down, scooped up the toddler, and settled Aether on her hip. She rubbed his back soothingly. “It’s okay, kid. I’m not going to make you go back or be separated. You can stay with me while we search for your sister’s friends.” 

Aether tucked his chin into her shoulder. A wet face smeared tears into her neck. Small sobs reached her ears. Lumine stepped closer to Beidou. She raised her arms up in the air in a silent request. Tears were also streaming down her chubby cheeks.

Beidou leaned down and picked her up too. Lumine was set against her opposite hip. Now she had both twins in her arms. “It’s okay. You are safe here.” She couldn’t exactly rub either of their backs with both in her arms so she hugged them tightly and hummed to calm them down. She swayed back and forth with the rhythm of the boat and the sea.

The twins let out simultaneous yawns. Now that they had eaten and had their fears dispersed, they must have been exhausted. It was also past midnight if Beidou’s senses were right. Two blonde heads dropped onto her shoulders. Two separate small hands met around the back of her neck to hold on to each other tightly. 

Beidou left the galley with two sleepy three year old twins on her hips. “Let’s get you two to bed and in the morning we will start looking for your friends.” 

 Beidou entered her bedroom and laid the twins down on her bed. The two of them were already mostly asleep. All it took was a few comforting soothing gestures, a nice warm blanket, and a slow hum to get them to sleep. Beidou had covered them with her own purple and red blanket. It was fine that they were using her bed. She wouldn’t be getting any more sleep tonight. She had some planning to do. 

While this threw a wrench into her plans this was highly more urgent than what she was here for. This situation couldn’t wait. Lumine’s friends' names that she said earlier were important. If those three are like Lumine and Aether now, where were they? Lumine and Aether ended up here. Were there three more adults turned kids wandering around the wilds of Liyue with no one to care for them? Zhongli and Xiao were Liyuen names. Venti sounded like he was from Mondstadt. 

Beidou spent the night sorting through her crew members for who would go on what ship. She only needed one ship to sail back to Liyue. Her others she will leave here in her first mate’s hands. Kazuha would be extra protection for her crew. Everyone loved him. Her business here can wait. The Divine Priestess will understand. Beidou will have to stop at the shrine before she leaves. 

****

A soft noise made Beidou look up from her seat before her desk. She had worked through the remainder of the night to distribute supplies and arrange her crew in preparation for her upcoming trip. It was a little before dawn when the twins finally stirred from their sleep. 

Beidou knew it wasn’t a restful sleep for either twin. Lumine had woken up a few times, tossing her arms and kicking her legs. Beidou had paused working to hum and soothe her back to dreamland. Aether had stayed where he had drifted off. He didn’t wake up but his face had steadily gotten scrunched until this moment. 

Beidou set down her pen. She faced the bed with a quick glance to see what twin was crying out. Aether was whimpering in his sleep. He moved his limbs frantically on the bed. He almost whacked Lumine in the face. That would have started the morning off with a grumpy toddler. Beidou knew she was practically a stranger to them but she couldn’t leave a kid crying in distress alone. 

Beidou sat down on the end of the bed and reached out. Her fingers connected with the strands of soft baby-fine blonde hair. She ran her hand through it soothingly. She made shushing noises and softly began humming an old sea shanty that she slowed down to make it a lullaby. 

It took a few moments for Aether to recover from his restless movements. Lumine groaned under her breath at the sharp shaking of the bed. She blinked awake and stared in surprise at Beidou’s position on the edge of the bed. Beidou reached out for Lumine too. She brushed her fringe out of her face. “You still have an hour or two to sleep if you want it.”  

“Thank you.” Lumine didn’t say anything else. She rolled closer to Aether and pulled him into her arms. She closed her eyes and her breathing deepened shortly later. Her head was smothered in Aether’s back.  

Beidou waited a minute to see if either twin was going to be disturbed by her moving away. The twins let out simultaneous snores. Beidou huffed a silent laugh and stood up. She went back to her desk and picked up her pen. She finished her final sorting through of crew members, supplies and a sail plan a half an hour later. 

Beidou stood up and stretched her arms and back. Despite the frequent breaks to get up and move a little, sitting at her desk for half the night was still not good. After a good thorough stretching of her muscles, Beidou leaned into the wall with her back pressed to the hull of her ship. She needed to think and sort through all the information she had. Hopefully this would be enough to slide what the Divine Priestess needed to her other crew members. 

First point. Something must have happened in Liyue with the traveler and her friends. Three of them were missing. Lumine was now a kid somehow and so was her brother. He was brought out from wherever he had been taken. 

The questions overflowed and poured into her mind. What happened to the other three friends? Where were they? Were all of them now kids? What could do this to someone like Lumine and her brother? What trauma did Aether have from wherever he had been taken to? How did these two get all the way to a beach in Inazuma when it sounds like this took place in Liyue? What did she do now? And where did she go from here? 

Obviously, they needed to get back to Liyue where this took place. They needed to find these three others. Venti, Zhongli, and Xiao. Then they needed to take down whoever did this to them. If something was going around changing immortals into kids, they needed to be stopped. They were dangerous. 

Beidou had her suspicions about how old Lumine actually was. If Beidou was right, the Traveler and her brother had a far from normal average lifespan. Also, if Lumine and Aether were affected, what is she to say that the others with her weren’t also like her? Zhongli, she had heard of in Liyue Harbor. Rumors were that he was an adeptus. Xiao. She knew about him from Ningguang. Also an adeptus. Three of four had long lifespans. She would bet every last mora she had that Venti was also like them. 

Beidou shook herself from those thoughts as the sun started peeking through the port side window. She needed to change before the kids woke up. So she went behind her pingfeng bolted to the floor and quickly did her hair and fixed her clothes. It took a few minutes to switch everything to a fresher set. 

Apparently she took longer than she thought because when she rounded the edge of the pingfeng, she saw Lumine and Aether sitting up and looking around her room from the bed. Her red and purple blanket was kicked to the end of the mattress. The twins’ golden hair was messy and falling out of their styles. Aether’s braid was coming undone and he had dried drool on the corner of his mouth. Lumine’s flowers were skewed and her choppy locks were smushed on one side. Lumine had sleep crusties in her eyes. 

It was a cute sight. Both twins were sleep rumpled. Well, it was an adorable sight until the typical sibling bickering started up. Quickly devolving into a physical fight.  

“There. I told you she wouldn’t leave us.” Aether stuck his tongue out at his sister. 

Lumine pouted. She shoved his shoulder. “Stop that Aether.” 

Aether pushed her back. “Don’t do that!” He shouted.

Lumine growled and prepared to jump on her brother. Aether looked ready for a fight too. 

“Okay. That’s enough of that.” Beidou swooped in and picked both kids up. Her arms were wrapped around their middles with their bellies resting in the crook of her elbows. “Let’s get you sorted and then we have some business to take care of.” 

It took ten minutes to braid Aether’s hair and to brush Lumine’s back into an acceptable look. What should have only taken five minutes took twice that because the twins had a lot of questions and spent part of the time exploring Beidou’s hair accessories and cosmetics she kept in a basket below a mirror. 

Finally they were done. Lumine and Aether shrieked and giggled as Beidou stepped out of the Captain’s quarters with them tucked under her arms. They laughed and swung their legs as she marched down the deck toward her crew. “Listen up, crew!” Beidou made her voice loud to reach them all from her place atop the stairs. 

Aether went deathly quiet and flinched hard in her grip. Beidou set both twins down on a crate next to her. She brushed her hand soothingly down Aether’s back in apology as she told her crew of their change of plans. She would be taking a skeleton crew back to Liyue Harbor due to urgent business. The rest of the crew were to finish the job for the Divine Priestess and meet up with her later. 

When she was done stating what was going to happen in the next few weeks, her crew called out their agreements and set about their work. The hustle and bustle picked back up from the previously quiet men and women in her crew. Beidou observed her crew doing their jobs, searching for her first mate to question him about the night watch. What happened last night was unacceptable.  

“Wow. Miss Pirate Lady? Are you the boss?” Lumine tugged on Beidou’s clothes. Her eyes were wide. She watched the activity of the men below them with childish delight.

“I’m the Captain.” Beidou gently corrected her. She ruffled Lumine’s hair and laughed breezily. She gently nudged the back of her head. “Come on. Let’s get ashore. We will eat soon.” 

Lumine and Aether cheered. They hopped down from the crate in a display of agility unseen in a normal three-year-old. Both reached up for Beidou with their tiny hands grasping and unclenching. It was a gesture known to all kids of all species. A pick me up motion that made Beidou’s chest feel warm. 

Beidou scooped up a twin in each arm. She settled them on her hips with an overly dramatic huff of breath. In truth they weren’t all that heavy for her to carry. She was lucky she trained with a claymore most days otherwise these two would tire her out. 

Beidou made a detour on her way to the boat that would take them to the beach. She signaled her first mate and explained what happened last night and why she was concerned. He promised to look into it. 

With that taken care of, Beidou passed the twins to Furong who would be sailing them to shore. Beidou jumped down behind them. The twins instantly glued themselves to her side. They shot wary glances at Furong. Beidou guided them to the back of the boat. They sat on a wooden seat at the stern. “Don’t lean too far out of the boat or you will fall in.” She cautioned as Furong started the wave rider. 

“Yes, Miss Pirate Lady.” Lumine nodded her head and reached for Aether’s hand. 

Beidou braced herself against the back of the wooden bench when the boat lurched forward. Beidou was on edge, ready to grab the twins at any sign of them beginning to go overboard. The boat sped up and the sea spray kicked out behind them making the twins giggle and shout. Beidou had to smile at their glee. It was always nice to see the sea appreciated by others. 

****

The twins were wide-eyed at the sight of the village before them. From the unique foliage to the people around them, Lumine and Aether would let out gasps of delight. They echoed in Beidou’s ears and made her smile softly. Kids would always amaze her with what they found awe-inspiring. 

This was part of the reason she became a pirate. Besides the obvious she means. Nothing beats being on the open sea with the salty sea wind in her hair and on her face, but seeing new places and finding exciting things… that had to be a close second. 

Beidou walked slowly through Bourou Village so the twins could see most of it. She held onto their tiny hands and went at their pace through the dirt streets. It would make them late for breakfast but Beidou couldn’t help it. She enjoyed their excitement and happy giggles at the new scenery. That all ended for one of them when they came to a stop on the edge of the cliff where the rope bridge started. 

“Wow. Are those shells?” Lumine’s eyes were wide as she stared at the huge pink pieces of coral in the distance. Blue grass and lavender trees were seen surrounding the pink coral. 

“Coral.” Beidou corrected her with a fond smile. She ruffled Lumine’s short locks playfully. “Come on kids. Up you go.” 

Aether was staring over the edge down at the rushing river below them. He slowly backed away until he was pressed into Beidou’s legs. “I don’t wanna fall.” He whimpered. He turned his face into Beidou’s knees. 

Beidou got down beside him. She wrapped one arm around Lumine so she wouldn’t go far. “Hey, we aren’t going to fall. I’m going to carry you across this bridge. If we do fall I have this nifty wind glider that will catch us. Okay? First Mate Aether.” Beidou said it on impulse. Anything to bring a smile to those haunted fearful looking gold eyes. 

Aether brightened up quickly. So fast it made Beidou blink in surprise and confusion. What did she say to make him that happy? 

Aether smiled so widely that his chubby cheeks bunched up and his eyes crinkled. His fear of going across the bridge was all but gone now. “I’m part of your crew?” He stared at her with such hope and excitement that Beidou couldn’t take it back. 

“Of course.” Beidou picked him up while he was distracted. She leaned down and scooped up Lumine in her other arm. “So is your sister. First Mate Aether and Quartermaster Lumine. Let’s go.” 

Beidou started across the wooden rope bridge carefully but quickly. If they fell, she didn’t know if her glider could carry all three of them to safety. They had a weight limit on them for a reason. They probably wouldn’t fall. This bridge was sturdy and had routine checks on it, but she wanted to be on the safe side. 

****

Beidou rounded the last turn before the main shrine on the island. She set the twins down and held out her hands. “Stay close to me.” They were already over fifteen minutes late but she hoped the Divine Priestess would be understanding. Beidou was finding that kids always made you late for things. 

Small hands grabbed a hold of her first fingers. Beidou was nearly hunched over but she made her way to the shrine where Kokomi resided. Slowly. At the toddling pace of the twin blonde three-year-olds. 

“Captain Beidou.” General Gorou was waiting for her on the front steps when she finally arrived. “I would ask what took so long but I can see for myself. Her Excellency is waiting for you in the courtyard.” 

“Lead the way, General.” Beidou inclined her head for him to start. Her hands were full with the twins slackening grasp. 

Gorou turned and walked through an archway. “Might I inquire about your companions, Captain Beidou?” 

Beidou cast a glance around at the gathered soldiers and shrine goers that were on the path. If word got out that the beloved Captain of Swordfish II was a kid either of two things would happen, a swarm of cooing soldiers, or mass panic from frightened soldiers wondering what happened to their beloved leader. Neither option was something she wanted at the moment.  “Not here. I would like to speak to both you and Kokomi at the same time. It’s a… delicate matter.” 

“Of course.” Gorou nodded. He gestured at the table laden with food and drinks set up for three in the middle of the blue, pink, and lavender garden. There was no one around except them.  “Will this be private enough? Although, I will send for two more places to be added. Excuse me for a moment.” 

Beidou came to a stop a few feet away from Kokomi who was standing at a railing overlooking a pool of water. Bubbles formed around her from her vision and power as the Divine Priestess of Watasumi Island. “Your Excellency. I have some urgent matters to discuss with yo-” 

Beidou was interrupted by Lumine’s childish question and awe at the sight of Kokomi. She stared bemused at the twin toddler’s ignorance of tact. She asked the question in the way only an outspoken child could. 

“Are you a mermaid?” Lumine took a step forward in front of Beidou. She let go of Beidou’s hand and inched closer to Kokomi with her face scrunched up in a hopeful smile. 

When Lumine and Aether smiled they did so with their whole faces. It was frankly the most endearing sight Beidou had ever seen. Tiny noses wrinkled, chubby cheeks bulging, and eyes nearly squinting from the force of their smiles. Beidou would like to see anyone resist those grins. Kokomi sadly had no defense against it. 

Kokomi's shoulders stiffened when she heard the question. She probably got that a lot from foreigners. She turned to see Beidou and her companions. Her entire manner softened when she saw Lumine and Aether at Beidou’s side. “I am not. I am Kokomi. May I ask who you are?” 

“I’m Qu-ar-ter-mast-er Lumine.” Lumine carefully sounded out the word. She beamed with pride when she got it right. “This is my brother. First Mate Aether. We are part of Miss Pirate Lady’s crew.” 

Beidou shifted when Kokomi and Gorou’s startled gazes landed on her at the familiar name of Lumine’s brother. “That is what I need to talk to you about and why I am so late to our meeting.” 

“Have a seat. Are you two hungry? There is more than enough food for everyone.” Kokomi recovered from her shock at the sight of the mini traveler and her brother first. Ever the gracious hostess, she settled at the table with Gorou, Beidou and the twins. 

Over a delicious traditional Inazuman breakfast of steamed rice, miso soup, fish and fried eggs, Beidou explained the best as she could the events of last night and her plans for the job Beidou had been recruited for. 

“Unfortunately I need to set sail for Liyue and figure all this out. More importantly, I need to find out what happened to the three they mentioned. If they too are like this and where they are at currently. I can send most of my fleet with my first mate in charge to gather the rest of the supplies. I trust him to honor our agreement.” Beidou swiped a napkin across Lumine’s cheeks. 

The three-year-old had somehow gotten the yoke from her fried eggs all the way up to her forehead. Rice was sticking to the yolk on her nose. Aether was next on her list of sticky messy faces and hands to wipe up. He had splashed miso soup broth on his chin and his fingers and palms were filled with pieces of fish. 

“Don’t worry about the supplies. This takes precedence. I agree that finding the three others is more important. I will send word to Kamisato Ayaka with the Yashiro Commission for the rest of the things we need. It is a party after all. I’m sure she would be willing to help out.” Kokomi dabbed at her mouth with a cloth. She placed it delicately back in her lap. 

“Do you need help getting supplies for your journey?” Gorou set down his chopsticks on his empty plate. “I have a connection if you need it. Someone in Fontaine came up with these safety floatation devices and have been advertising them on the island. I believe they might still have some in stock.” 

“Floatation devices? Why would I need floatation devices?” Beidou frowned in confusion. She followed his pointed gaze to the twins. Beidou shuddered at the mental image of the twins going overboard and being lost to the sea because they were too little to fight the currents. “Right. That might be a good idea. Send them to the Alcor if you can. I can get you some mora for them. We will leave in three days. I need to restock for the trip and patch a few repairs. My men should be working on them but my Quartermaster said a few days at best.” 

Lumine let out a cry of dismay and turned to look at her with a pouting scowl on her face. “I’m Qu-ar-ter-mas-ter.” She frowned. She raised her finger in the air and pointed at Kokomi. “I say we stay with the mermaid.” 

Beidou reached over and fluffed Lumine’s blonde hair playfully. She pushed on Lumine’s hand to lower her finger. “We can’t stay. Don’t you want to find your friends? Zhongli, Xiao, and Venti?” 

Lumine looked torn on what to do. Her face lit up after a few seconds of intense thought. She turned to Kokomi with a gleam in her eyes. She clasped her hands in front of her chest and widened her eyes in a serious case of the puppy eyes that Beidou had ever seen. “Can you come with us? Please?” 

Beidou hid a chuckle inside a cough at the sight of a flabbergasted Divine Priestess trying to fight the compulsion and wiles of an adorable three year old traveler. Finally Kokomi found her resolve. “Ah. I’m afraid I can’t. I am in charge of all these people so I have to stay. But you can come to visit me after you find your friends.” Kokomi seemed upset at being called a mermaid. 

“Lumi…” Aether nudged his sister in her side. “That means she’s a princess.” He whispered loudly. So loudly that everyone at the table could hear him. Probably the guards at the entrance to the garden could hear him too based on their slightly shaking shoulders and coughs. Aether was so young he didn’t fully grasp the concept of whispering.  

Lumine gasped in shock and delight. She whispered back to Aether at the same volume. Meaning everyone within a certain radius could hear her too. “She’s a mermaid princess?!” 

Beidou tried to hide her snicker behind a polite cough. This was priceless. Beidou could only imagine Lumine’s true thoughts on everyone she has met in Teyvat so far. If Kokomi was a mermaid princess, what was Gorou to them? Or Ningguang? If the twins met Ningguang at this age what would they call her? 

Kokomi sighed in defeat. Her shoulders slumped at the twins' clueless smiles. “I guess the bubbles don’t help things.” 

“Miss Mermaid Princess?” Lumine held out her cup with a lid to her with a full facial scrunched up smile. “Can I have more juice please?” 

“I have to wonder if this was what Lumine has thought about you this whole time, Your Excellency.” Gorou teased her. He winced when a thud happened under the table. Kokomi must have kicked him.  

“Yes, you may Lumine.” Kokomi poured more sunsettia juice from a pitcher into a makeshift sippy cup. 

“Thank you.” Lumine smacked her lips after taking a big long gulp. She was breathless as she declared, “Yummy. I like this.” 

“Me too. Thank you, Miss Mermaid Princess, for breakfast.” Aether bowed his head at her in thanks. His arm waved out in a complicated movement. It must have been their people’s version of a show of respect to royalty. After his elaborate gesture, he elbowed Lumine in her ribs. 

“Oh. Right.” Lumine copied him by lowering her head and waving her arm. “Thanks, Miss Mermaid Princess for the yummy food.” 

Beidou finished her last bite of fish and rice. She began cleaning the twins' faces and hands for the final time with a wet napkin. “Should I send my first mate with most of my fleet?” 

“If you would be willing to part with them for a short time.” Kokomi stood up from the table. She bowed lightly at Beidou, causing Aether and Lumine to gasp. “Thank you Captain Beidou for your help. May your journey be safe and I hope you find the others in good health.” Kokomi left them there in the courtyard with a smile and a wave. 

Beidou hefted the twins back into her arms after making sure they were clean from breakfast. “I will see myself out, General. Please send those supplies to my ship when you can.” She nodded her head at Gorou since her arms were full. 

Beidou paused and had to take a moment to collect herself at the twins’ parting calls to General Gorou. It was payback to the comments he made to Kokomi. Beidou could only wish the Divine Priestess would have been there to hear it.  

“Bye Mister Fox Man.” Lumine waved over Beidou’s shoulder at Gorou. “Do you think next time I can pet his tail?” She ‘whispered’ to Aether and Beidou. 

Beidou headed for the front entrance leaving Gorou spluttering in dismay and the guards choking on their laughter. Her job there was done. It was back to the Alcor to oversee the repairs and supply shifting from the ships in her fleet. 

****

Beidou stepped down into her bedroom with a slight relief at being kid free for a moment. The twins were being watched by Kazhua out on the main deck. He was showing them his vision and doing small tricks with it. Beidou felt it was safe enough to come in here. She needed to gather her thoughts. 

Beidou dropped onto her bed in exhaustion. She had been up for half the night and she wasn’t used to the energy two three year olds could produce. It would be two more days before they can set sail to Liyue. The journey won’t be as treacherous as before. The Raiden Shogun had lowered the barrier surrounding Inazuma after the Sakoku Decree ended so her sailing should be relatively clear. 

The issue was how to handle the two blonde three-year-olds at sea. What if they suffer from seasickness? How did she both captain a ship and take care of sick toddlers at the same time? What if a storm happened and they got swept overboard by the crashing waves? What would she do then? 

Beidou was about to exit her room when loud thundering feet came running down the hall. Beidou burst out the door spun with electro building on her fingertips. She was ready for the threat coming. 

Two small figures came hurtling around the corner. Beidou quickly dispersed the electricity before she accidentally hit the twins running for her. She caught one of the two speeding bullets before they crashed into her legs. “Hey now. What’s wrong?” 

“Aether is being mean.” Lumine pouted. She stuck out her lower lip and rubbed her fist across her eyes. “He says that I can’t be qu-ar-ter-mas-ter because there already is one.” 

“Did not!” Aether grumbled sourly. A small hand came up to rub at his face. “You are just a tattle tale.” 

“Did too! And I’m not a tattletale!” Lumine growled and lunged for her brother on the floor from Beidou’s arms.  

“Okay.” Beidou raised her up so she couldn’t reach her brother. Lumine was high enough away from Aether that she wouldn’t be able to start a fist fight in the halls outside Beidou’s quarters. “That’s enough.” 

Lumine squirmed in her grip, kicking her legs and waving her arms. She had a grumpy glare on her face. Lumine fought back a yawn.  Beidou noticed Aether rubbing at his drooping eyes. That explained it. Didn’t young kids have to take naps throughout the day? Was this their nap time?  

“Nap Time.” Beidou decided when she saw Aether yawn so widely it made his eyes close. She scooped up Aether before he could turn and bolt back down the hall. She turned towards her room. “I’ll tell you a story if you come quietly.” 

“Nooo!” Lumine whined and thrashed in Beidou’s grip. “No naps! I’m not sleepy!” 

“Tell you what, I’ll tell you a story and if you aren’t asleep by the end I will let you stay up.” Beidou highly doubted that either twin would make it to the end of the story she was planning on telling. She deposited both twins on the soft mattress.  They bounced for a bit before settling at the top. 

“Fine. But I’m not sleepy.” Lumine laid back on the bed and crossed her arms over her chest. She glared at a spot on the creaking boards above her head. 

Beidou hid a smile as both twins let out huge yawns against their wills. “Once upon a time…” Beidou began to tell a story. By the time she was halfway done, both twins were out like lights. 

Beidou brushed their baby-fine soft blonde hair back from their faces. “Goodnight, little ones. May you have sweet dreams.” She had to resist the urge to kiss their foreheads. What was wrong with her?

Beidou stood up and headed for her desk with purpose. While she was telling her story she figured out the rest of her plan for when she gets to Liyue Harbor. Who in the entire harbor had informants everywhere? Who in the entire harbor knew everything that was happening in Liyue? Only one person would have the information she needed to find those other three lost immortals. 

She needed to write a letter to pass on to Ningguang the moment upon their arrival in Liyue. She wouldn’t have time to write at sea. A true captain never slept unless necessary while out at sea. They always kept watching over their crew making sure that all under their command were safe. She wouldn’t have her first mate on this journey to keep watch.  

Beidou put pen to paper while sitting at her desk where this all started for her. 

“Dear Ningguang, 

First, let me say this. It wasn’t my fault this time. I swear…”

Chapter Text

Kamisato Ayaka had to hide her smile behind her hand. What she was seeing was too adorable for words and if she spoke out loud or openly showed her awe and mirth she knew she would have all three of the people before her pouting and whining at her. Yes, even the adult included in that trio. 

Ayaka took another look up from her spot at her desk and wished for a kamera on hand. This was a priceless moment. To capture this scene forever on paper to look at again and again. It was something she would truly cherish. Oh where was a kamera when you needed one? 

“Milady… a little help?” Thoma’s plea was there in his tone. 

Ayaka met his gaze without thought. His green eyes were widened in a bid for assistance. His neck was strained because he was craning his head forward but was still making sure to be far enough back in the range of little fingers. He was seated on a cushion while the two toddlers worked on his blonde hair. Well, one toddler did. The other sat in his lap chewing on a piece of her sleeve. 

Ayaka felt a little bit of pity for Thoma. It wasn’t in his job description to be a nanny and yet he accepted the role without complaint. None of them were prepared to host such important young ladies. Thoma was the only person she trusted to care for them without malicious intent. That wasn’t to say all of her household was full of evil people but a lot of them would panic and not care for these two girls in the right way. Thoma was the one she could rely on and trust to not give in to their every wish while also at the same time be their best protector and defender until they could resolve the problem.  

“Miko, what are you doing?” Ayaka set down her writing brush on its rest. She still felt like she was being disrespectful calling either girl by their given names but she learned her lesson earlier on calling either girl by their title. 

The small two-year-old pink kitsune looked up and smiled a sly sharp-toothed grin at her. “Making him pretty!” Miko cheered and clapped her hands together. She grabbed at the ends of Thoma’s hair. She twisted the strands and reached as high as she could up to his neck. With a small grunt of effort she placed another clip haphazardly in it. “Ei is helping.” 

Ei gave a gummy smile and held out a pale pink butterfly clip that clashed horribly with Thoma’s red undertone to his blonde hair. Ei didn’t say a word. She just shoved her thumb and first finger in her mouth to suck on. 

“Hmmm.” Miko tapped her chin in a thinking pose. She looked between the hair clip and Thoma. She tilted her head and clasped her hands together behind her back. The young kitsune narrowed her eyes and shook her head. “Hhmmm. No. Try another one, Ei. Maybe blue?” 

It was the most adorable thing to see a young Guuji Yae consider what color would look best in Thoma’s hair. All three of them made such a cute scene. Ayaka longed for her kamera again. Miko with her serious expression as she did a helpless Thoma’s hair while a young Ei sat in Thoma’s lap with a basket of hair accessories in front of them. Ayaka had to hold back her laughter at the image before her. Oh Ayato would love to see this. 

Ei held out a bright blue flower clip proudly. She made a small grin in triumph when Miko squealed in happiness and took the clip. She placed it front and center on Thoma’s head. The blue flower wobbled precariously on his bangs between a green sparkly barrette and a velvet purple heart pin.  

“There. You look better.” Miko beamed a smile. She looked so happy and pleased with herself. Miko clasped her small hands to her chest and cooed at Thoma. “Now you’re pretty.” 

Ayaka hid a chuckle inside a polite cough. Thoma shot her a mild glare. “Next time, Milady, you can be their doll.” He muttered under his breath. Thoma winced as he tugged on a blue ribbon that had knotted in his hair. 

“Miss, I want food. Ei wants some too. Is it time for food yet?” Miko turned her attention to Ayaka. Miko stuck out her lower lip in a pout. “My tummy is making a noise.” 

Ayaka glanced at the clock on her desk. It was an hour until the kitchens were expecting to feed them. An hour was too short of time to prepare a snack before a meal. Most of the staff would be busy away from the estate gathering things and running errands for an important party for a family in a clan below the Kamisatos. Actually, Ayaka was supposed to be looking over all the requirements and details but had gotten distracted when the little trio burst into her office with a basket of hair supplies. 

.“It’s not quite time yet. Why don’t you color some pictures for now? I’m sure the kitchen could use some decorations. Thoma? Would you please be so kind as to get some crayons and paper from the girls’ rooms?” Ayaka hated to ask Thoma to do this. He was not a nanny. He excelled when he could run errands and take care of other things around the estate. 

Ayaka feared the day when Thoma would have enough and leave them. Thoma’s help around the house and his presence in her life was priceless to her. No one could do what Thoma could do. Thoma was her dear friend and most trusted person besides Ayato. When Ayato was busy it was Thoma she turned to for advice and guidance. Asking Thoma to care for the girls when it wasn’t what he wanted to do was killing her. 

“I will, Milady.” Thoma stood up with Ei perched on his hip. He turned for the door to her office, hair clips and bows dangling from his tangled hair swinging behind him. “Follow me, Miko. We can color until lunch is ready.” 

Miko hurried after him. She was so little that Thoma had to shorten his stride so she could keep up with him. For every three steps Miko took, Thoma took one. It was a slow exit to Ayaka’s office. “Wait for me! No fair Ei gets to be up. I wanna be up. Pick me up!” 

Ayaka watched them leave her office with a thoughtful look. She should have been focused on the planning in front of her. She needed to read through the list of things the family specified for the party. She needed to sort out what needed to be done when. 

But her mind went back to that stormy night two days ago when they found the two young immortals trapped in Chinju Forest by a rifthound. The Guuji Yae and the Raiden Shogun both turned into helpless little ones. If Thoma hadn’t been running late on his way home… Ayaka shuddered at the mental image of if Thoma hadn’t found them in time. Inazuma would be lost without their Archon and Guuji. Not to mention the horror in all of that thought. 

Ayaka stared out the window at the falling sakura blooms as her mind drifted. 

****

It had been close to the end of the day. Thoma still wasn’t back yet from his errand. He was more than 20 minutes late. Ayaka was pacing in the front room. Ayato was out on a trip for the past week. Ayaka was in charge and Thoma was supposed to be back by now. Where was he? 

Ayaka remembered the waiting and her worry growing stronger by the minute. Thoma had to have run into some trouble. Was it hilichurls? Was it an abyss mage? Was it the fatui in the forest holding him up? Was the storm causing trouble on Thoma's trip home? Or was it something less dire. Were the bake-danuki keeping him in the forest for a game of hide and seek? Did Ioroi have an errand he needed taken care of? What was keeping Thoma? It was past dark at this point. 

Despite the guards keeping an eye out for Thoma, and her maids trying to calm her down, nothing soothed her mind until the alert that Thoma was home reached her ears. Ayaka let out a deep sigh of relief as the worry and fear melted away. 

He was back. That was what she remembered thinking before the front doors burst open and Thoma stumbled in with two little girls clinging to him. The rain had soaked them to the bone. Thoma’s vision was pulsing with heat causing a fine mist of steam to rise off him. The two little girls were whimpering and had handfuls of Thoma’s jacket. 

Ayaka could only stare. What in all of Teyvat happened to change both the Guuji Yae and the Raiden Shogun, formidable warrior women, into these two trembling terrified little girls? The two girls were either lookalikes or were actually the two leaders of Inazuma. 

One of the small children was a young pink-haired kitsune. Her ears were folded back on her head. She wore a familiar looking unique take on a shrine priestess’ robes. She had a golden head piece of a head shrine maiden with matching gold earrings clipped to her tiny fox ears. Even the electro vision attached to the right earring was small. Everything on her from her earrings to her white and red sandals fit her perfectly like whatever caused this shrunk the clothes and jewelry she was wearing to fit her smaller body. 

She was without a doubt the Guuji Yae. What happened? 

The other girl wore a light purple kimono with billowing sleeves. Her long dark hair was braided down her back. She had a kanzashi with purple flowers pinned to her head. Even her shoes were what the Raiden Shogun wore. All of it was perfectly miniaturized to fit the young lady she turned into. Everything was in contrast to what Ayaka knew about Raiden Shogun. It was conflicting to see how their archon was perched on Thoma’s hip with her thumb in her mouth. The young toddler let out a distressed whine and tears dripped from her purple eyes.  

Ayaka blinked but there was no changing the image. She pinched herself discreetly and there was no jolt of waking up. This was reality. This was real. Somehow, the Shogun and her Guuji were kids. No… toddlers. The Raiden Shogun was less than a year old but not by much. The Guuji was older than Ei. That much was obvious by both size and the fact that the Guuji could speak words. She was whining into Thoma’s shoulder. 

“That’s…” Ayaka closed her mouth from her attempts at speaking. She had no words. She stared at the tiny kitsune and electro-archon. They were clinging to her housekeeper like he was going to disappear. Ayaka tried to speak again and only managed one word. “Where?” 

“I found them on my way home. They were running from a rifthound. I managed to kill the hound. I found these two shortly after.” Thoma set down the Guuji Yae on the floor. He shook out his arm from the strain of carrying her all this way. 

Guuji Yae hesitated for barely a second. Her purple eyes widened upon seeing Ayaka. The Guuji marched up to her. She placed her hands on her hips. “Who are you?” She spoke loudly. 

“I’m Kamisato Ayaka, Guuji Yae. Surely you remember me?” Ayaka was even more worried about this situation. Did they not have their adult memories? What would the fate of their nation be if their leaders did not have their memories. What would the people do if word got out that their Guuji Yae and Raiden Shogun were children with no memories of being the leaders they desired? 

Guuji Yae scrunched her face up in distaste. A stubborn glint came to her eye warning Ayaka that if she called her by that again a tantrum to rival all tantrums was sure to occur. “My name is Miko. Not whatever that is. This is Ei. She’s my bestest friend ever.” 

“Miko.” Ayaka corrected herself despite how wrong it felt to be calling the Guuji by her given name. “Do you know what happened to you?” Ayaka didn’t have much hope of her knowing who or what did this to them. But she needed to ask to see if there was any possible way to fix this. 

Miko shrugged and wandered away from her. Miko stopped at the shoji screen. She studied the design on it. “I don’t know. Ei and I were grownups eating dinner at a restaurant down by the ocean with all these big ships and lots of happy people leaving. The next thing we knew, we were in a scary forest. Ei was small and I was too. I think there was a bright light. Then Mr. Thoma saved us. He fought that mean doggy with this big long pole. But…” Miko sighed deeply. “Now we don’t have any place to go.” 

Ayaka considered that story. It was the truth she could tell that much. The problem she was having was who she was going to ask to care for the girls until a solution to make them adults again could be found. She already knew she couldn’t send these girls anywhere else. It would cause mass panic to know that their archon and Guuji were currently children. 

Maybe Furuta could care for them? But Furuta was already doing so much and she might not be able to keep up with them. What if whoever did this came after them because they escaped? Who could she then assign to care for them that wouldn’t be easy enough to take out? 

Ayaka’s thoughts spun as she cycled through all the staff in her mind. Most of them were too elderly, not good with children, or they were busy doing other tasks in preparation for the upcoming event they were planning. Who could Ayaka trust to care for the girls and protect them until an answer could be found? 

Ayaka was silent as she contemplated. Her attention was caught on Thoma’s vision as he turned to guide Miko into a warm towel offered by Furuta. Thoma was… no. She couldn’t ask that of Thoma. He wasn’t a nanny. He had no experience with children and yet… The way the girls already trusted him. The fact that he took out a rifthound without too much trouble and saved them. Thoma was the person she trusted the most outside of her brother. Thoma was the best choice. No matter how much she despaired to do this, she had to. 

“You can stay here with us.” Ayaka shot a look at Thoma that was filled with everything she was feeling at the moment but couldn’t say. “Thoma can look after you.” Ayaka ignored Thoma’s questioning and turned to face Furuta. “Would you be willing to let the staff know to set up the rooms next to mine for our guests?” 

“Certainly, Miss Kamisato.” Furuta turned and left the room as fast as she could. Ayaka knew she made the right choice when she saw Furuta let out a relieved sigh and her shoulders relaxed as she walked away. 

“In the meantime, I think I can have some snacks brought out. Surely you both must be hungry.” Ayaka gestured to the last member of staff nearby, who wasn’t Thoma. “Can you please bring some crackers for Miss Miko and a jar of pureed lavender melon for Miss Ei. Oh, and a plate of food for me? I’m afraid I was so worried about Thoma I didn’t eat well at dinner.” 

 The woman nodded and departed from the room. It was only her, Thoma and the two girls left in the receiving room. Ayaka sat down at the table on her cushion. Miko was over by the gong but was ushered to the table by Thoma. Another cushion was pulled out and Thoma sat down with Ei in his lap. 

Thoma tapped his fingers nervously together. Ayaka noticed three more nervous tics of Thoma’s before he finally spoke. “Milady? I can be doing so much more to help you. I can do a lot to get the party going. Why are you… I mean… Why am I…” 

“Thoma.” Ayaka reached out and stilled his hands from pulling out a thread on the cushion. “Whoever or whatever did this to them might come back. I need a person who is not only strong enough to defend them until help comes but also is someone I trust completely to not abandon them or to give them whatever they want and ask for. I need someone who they trust and get along with. I need someone who can keep up with them. Thoma. You are the only person I can think of that fits all of those requirements.” 

Ayaka pulled away and cleared her throat when the staff came into the room carrying a plate of sakura shrimp crackers and a bowl of pureed lavender melon. Another plate of food from dinner was put in front of Ayaka. 

It was past dark. Thoma missed out on dinner. The two girls didn’t sound like they got their food. Everyone was exhausted. Ayaka dismissed the staff and lightly pushed the plate of food in front of her over to Thoma. “Eat. Then it’s bedtime for everyone I think.” 

****

Ayaka let the memory go at the sound of people walking past her door. It had been two days since the girls arrived and she was flooded with work. Not only did she have the party to plan, she also had documents that needed to be signed to keep running the household, paychecks to be approved for the staff, and missives to send for the people under her clan in response to the ones they sent. Those are the things that occupied her daily life. 

As an extra task she had been trying to send discreet inquiries to the other commissions to ask about any news of big things happening in the country. Whatever power made Ei and Miko turn into kids had to be an incredible source and that would not be an easy thing to hide. The more important clan to question was the Kujou Clan. The Commissioner was most likely too busy to respond to her so she sent her missive to his sister, Kujou Sara, who also was the best connected with the Tenryou Commission detectives.   

It took her all morning to write her letter and pose her questions in an non-alarming way. There was no sense in alerting the Tenryou Commission to what was actually happening and causing panic amongst the people. She had sent her letter out shortly before Thoma and the girls had invaded her office in the best kind of distraction. 

“Miss Kamisato.” Someone knocked on her office door. “You have a message from Watatsumi Island. It's from the Divine Priestess.” 

“Bring it in.” Ayaka received the letter from the woman who bowed politely before leaving. Another in a long line of requests and obligations. What could the Divine Priestess want from her? They had a good working relationship during the Sakoku Decree and they still occasionally sent letters between them. Maybe this wasn’t so urgent. 

Ayaka broke the seal and skimmed the contents of the letter. She felt disheartened at yet another request. She couldn’t refuse Kokomi though. She knew how important these supplies were to her. Kazuha’s birthday was something both she and everyone who knew the wandering samurai wanted to celebrate. She couldn’t let them down by having low supplies for the party. 

Ayaka began drafting a reply immediately. It was better to get this off her desk as soon as possible. Getting goods between islands took a while and based on the date of this letter, Kazuha’s birthday was a week away. That left barely enough time to get the supplies ordered and to Watatsumi Island in time for the set up. 

Ayaka hesitated at the end of the letter. She wanted more information on what happened to the girls. If there was no sign of what did this on Narukami Island maybe they were hidden on another island. Kokomi would know about anything on Watatsumi and Yashiori Island. But the issue lay in how to word this without causing panic. If she was too subtle it might get dismissed and if she was too outright it would set off something she wasn’t prepared to handle. 

Maybe she just shouldn’t write anything at all. Maybe she should wait for Kujou Sara’s reply before she decides to try looking on the other islands. Yes. That was the better choice. Ayaka was about to close out the letter but something made her pause. Maybe it was the hopeful view of the peaceful garden out her window. Maybe it was the glimpse of the seelie serenely floating around outside. Maybe it was something deeper. Whatever it was Ayaka decided to be bold. She pressed her brush to her paper and explained about Ei and Miko. She asked her questions at the bottom. She signed the letter with the last of that warming encouragement. 

Ayaka tucked it in an envelope when it was dry and set it aside for someone to send it off after lunch. It seemed that she had been lost in thought for much longer than she thought. In one hour all she had managed was one response to the many many missives on her desk. She might need a moment to clear her head this afternoon. It would be more productive then most of what she had been doing all morning. Maybe she can take the girls out to the city for the afternoon? Or they can play outside in the garden? She needed to do some kind of activity with fresh air. 

Ayaka left her desk piled high with papers needing her attention. She had the letter for Kokomi in her hand along with the one for Kujou Sara. She headed for the dining room with her stomach feeling empty. As she passed a staff member she asked them to post the two letters as soon as possible. She gave them the sealed envelopes. With that taken care of she felt free enough to spend a few hours away from her desk. Nothing else was marked urgent and the party preparations were well in hand with the help of everyone else.  

Ayaka entered her informal dining room. She saw Thoma already there with Ei and Miko. Miko had her own cushion next to Thoma’s. Ei was in Thoma’s lap. Miko was holding her stomach and was slumped in her seat. Ei was whining and pounding the table with her hands. Thoma had taken out all the hair accessories from the girls’ attack this morning. His hair was combed and put back in his usual hairstyle. The one allowance he gave to the girls was a dark gold ribbon tucked around the bulk of his hair grip, hiding the black material of it. Thoma looked frazzled and two minutes away from bolting from the room and the girls.

Ayaka could guess he was uncomfortable being at the table where she and Ayato usually took their meals unless they were occupied with urgent matters or away on business. Thoma did get special privileges sometimes being a dear friend to both her and Ayato. It didn’t endear him to the other staff members though. 

Ayaka could also understand that Thoma needed an afternoon off as well. Chasing after and occupying two young children was hard. Especially when one of those was Yae Miko. She was mischievous as an adult. As a kid, Ayaka could see it was worse. She had none of the self control she had when she was fully grown. She had already played a few tricks on unsuspecting people. Ayaka had heard the guards talking outside her office window.   

Miko spotted her and her posture straightened. “Finally. You took a long time. I’m hungry.” Miko stressed the word long into a whine. Miko crossed her arms over her chest and pouted. She kicked her feet out petulantly. They thumped into the table. 

“Miko. Be nice.” Thoma scolded. He grabbed Ei’s hands and pulled her away from smacking the table again. “Milady. I was about to come and get you myself if you took any longer.” 

“My apologies, Thoma. I lost track of time. Now that I’m here, let’s eat.” Ayaka took her seat and motioned for the food to be brought out. 

Ayaka studied Thoma. He looked so worn out from distracting the girls for the past two days. There was only so much you could do as a child at the Estate without interrupting the people working. Ayaka should know. She had gotten into trouble a lot because she was somewhere she shouldn’t be. Until her lessons started, she was always wandering around the estate bored. 

Yes, an afternoon off for everyone at the table would be just what they needed. Ayaka had written a few jobs she needed done in preparations for that party and Thoma wouldn’t feel better unless he could do his actual job instead of nannying the two girls. Ayaka could entertain the girls for the afternoon. When she was young there was nothing she loved more than having the afternoon with her mother to go to the city or do an activity together. 

She must have been staring at Thoma this entire time. Miko noticed where she was looking. “He messed up our work. We spent so long on it.” She complained with a scowl at Thoma.

Thoma expertly ignored her grumbling. Instead he distracted her. “Miko. What do you think about going to play in the garden this afternoon? We can get some fresh air.” 

Ayaka listened with half an ear at Miko’s bored response. Seems everyone was done with being stuck at the estate. There went Ayaka’s plans of staying close to home. She did have some things to do in the city. The trek there might be long enough for the girls to get a decent nap in. Where was she going to find a baby car at such short notice? Maybe they had one in storage? If they did have one it would be old. From when she was a baby at the very least. 

The food was brought out, making Ayaka’s stomach rumble and pulling her from her thoughts. The meaty scent of freshly made katsu sandos and frosted drinks of rainbow aster were placed on the table. Miko’s cup had a lid so she wouldn’t spill. A simple lunch. It was the perfect meal to be followed by a walk and afternoon out. 

“Thank you.” Ayaka picked up her sando and took a bite. It was perfect. Toasted bread with the crispy fried pork cutlet and the crunch of cabbage with the tang of the sauce. 

“Thank you.” Miko chorused after her. She picked up her food and took a huge bite. Miko made a face at the shredded cabbage in the middle. 

Ayak saw her pull a few pieces out from between the bread. Before she could toss them under the table like at previous meals, Ayaka spoke up. “Eat all of your sando and there just might be some special treat this afternoon in it for you.” 

Miko’s eyes widened in delight. She reached for her food and took an even bigger bite than her first one. Her cheeks were stuffed full as she chewed. She swallowed with difficulty and took another large mouthful. She was even ignoring pulling the cabbage from it in her hurry to eat the food as quickly as she could.  

Ayaka laughed at the young kitsune’s excitement at getting a treat. She wasn’t like this as a young girl, was she? “Slow down, Miko. It won’t go anywhere. We still have a bit of a trip before we can have a treat.” 

Miko swallowed her big mouthful with an audible gulp and took another smaller bite. “Okay. Mr. Thoma? Are you coming with us?” 

“I think so. Milady? Are you coming with us?” Thoma was eating his sando with one hand. Every bite or two he took a break to spoon some mixture of pureed fruit and hidden vegetables into Ei’s mouth. 

They noticed quickly that Ei preferred sweet food and would refuse to eat any sort of healthy food like vegetables or meat even. They had to get creative when they gave her food. Pureed fruits with a few vegetables was a big hit with her. Another big hit was something new that hit the streets called dango milk. It had been given to Ei by accident but was something that was an instant favorite. 

Ayato liked to pull pranks on Thoma and order the worst tasting flavors of dango milk and have Thoma try them all while drinking the exact same kind with a straight face. Thoma would get him back whenever they played the hotpot game. Ayaka quickly learned to forfeit early to avoid any of the stomach hurting ingredients. Ayato had a stomach of iron because he rarely had any issues and won every time. 

She was lost in thought a lot today. Ayaka had made her plans. Thoma was watching her with concern. Ayaka would talk to him later. When the girls were in bed tonight. “Thoma? I have a few urgent errands I need you to run today. I can watch Miko and Ei in the afternoon. We will be going to the city.” 

Thoma’s whole body and manner perked up. He was smiling widely. He set down the spoon on the table. “Yes, Milady?” He leaned forward in his seat to take in Ayaka’s words.  

“Kokomi needs some items for Kazuha’s surprise birthday party. For some reason Captain Beidou had urgent business elsewhere and was only able to get half the supplies. I was hoping you could go to the city, gather them and make sure they are on the way to Watatsumi Island as soon as possible. I wrote down a list of the things she requested. It might take a few afternoons to get everything together and send it off. I can watch the girls while you take a few days to complete this task.” Ayaka took the last bite of her sando to hide her smile as Thoma seemed to sag in relief. 

“If you are sure that you don’t need me for anything else, Milady. I will set out after lunch.” Thoma finished spooning Ei the last little drops of her pureed fruits and vegetables. He took the last few bites of his sando in a hurry. He stood up with Ei in his arms, still chewing. He looked between Ei and his cushion for a moment. 

“I will take her, Thoma.” Ayaka held out her arms for the small little archon. Ayaka was done eating. Miko still had one half of her sando left. Ei was placed awkwardly in her arms in Thoma’s haste. Thoma was halfway out the door when Ayaka called him back. He didn’t know where the list was located. 

Ayaka adjusted her grip on Ei and set her to be seated in Ayaka’s lap. “Thoma, you need to know where I put the list.” 

Thoma came back into the room with a sheepish scrub of his hand across the back of his neck. “Where is the list?”   

“The list you need is on my desk. Right next to my brush. It is the top paper on the stack.” Ayaka nodded at Thoma’s questioning look to be let into her office without her there. Most people would only be allowed in her or her brother’s offices while they were in the room. Too many sensitive documents were stored in the rooms to have people snooping around.  “Have a good afternoon, Thoma. We will see you for dinner.” Ayaka dismissedThoma with a light laugh when he hastily bowed and bolted from the room. He must have been eager for his break from babysitting. 

Ei giggled with her. Ayaka looked down at the delightful little baby laugh. It was unrestrained and a truly happy noise to hear.  “Was that funny Ei?” 

The small shogun clapped her hands together and nodded her head. She still hasn’t said a word despite being close to a year old. She shoved her first finger and thumb into her mouth. She reached for Ayaka’s glass of rainbow aster. Ayaka quickly lifted it away from her sticky wet fingers. 

Ayaka considered the little bit of liquid left in her glass and the small archon. A little sip couldn’t hurt. Ayaka held the cup and tipped the small amount into Ei’s mouth. Ei drank it and backed away with a large gasp of air. Ei tipped her head to the side before shoving her fingers back in her mouth to chew on them. 

“I’m done.” Miko announced. Miko held up her empty plate to show that only crumbs remained. “I even ate all the yucky vegetables. Can I have my treat now?” 

Ayaka clumsily got to her feet with Ei still in her arms. How did mothers do this and not drop their baby. As it was Ei, slipped twice and she had to tighten her grasp on the young toddler. “Let’s get ready to go. I know a special place that has some good snacks. They even have ice cream if you want that.” 

“Yes!” Miko cheered and bounced up from her cushion. She was full of energy after eating her sando and drink. She grabbed Ayaka’s free hand and pulled with all her might towards the door. “Let’s go. Let’s go. Let’s go!” 

Ayaka smiled and allowed herself to be dragged down the hall. When she got to the front doors, she found Furuta enjoying the sunshine out in the garden. Ayaka let Ei down to play with Miko nearby. She headed to Furuta and asked her if she knew where she could get a baby car on short notice. 

Furuta had been a part of their household since before Ayaka was born. If anyone knew where to find a baby car in the entire estate it was her. It took almost an hour to locate a baby car. Luckily the one that was found was big enough for both Miko and Ei. It would be a little bit of a tight squeeze but both were brought to the baby car.  

Ayaka thanked Furuta for getting it for her. Furuta told her to wait a moment before leaving and went into the house. Ayaka took the time to get the girls in the baby car. Luckily it took long enough to get the carrier for Ei and Miko to tire themselves out enough from the food that both were sleepy and went in the baby car without too much fuss. 

“Come on Miko. Let’s get you in.” Ayaka lifted Miko and set her on the cushion. “Get to where you want to be. I’m going to put Ei in next to you.” 

Ayaka gently sat down Ei next to Miko on the seat. She wrapped a blanket around them snugly. It was autumn after all and it was a little cold. Especially in the shaded forest where they would be walking through. “Okay. I’m going to pull this canopy over the top of you. I’ll leave a gap so you can see out.” 

Ayaka pulled the little cloth extender over the top of the girls. By the time they were all ready to go, Furuta was back. She handed Ayaka a bag filled with items for the girls. Furuta told her she would need it. Ayaka slung the bag over her shoulder. She grabbed the handle of the baby car and started pushing it down the path toward the city. 

****

Chinju Forest was beautiful in the fall. The leaves were changing colors and the air was cooler than the heat of summer. Ayaka breathed in the fresh air deeply as she walked down the forest path to Inazuma City. Her ultimate goal was a little bakery by the tea house. It was a long walk to the city and she hoped that Miko and Ei would take a nap on the trip across the island. 

It was an enjoyable walk. No monsters were on their path. Ayaka spotted scorch marks and polearm slashes. Thoma must have cleared out the hilichurls and scared off that fatui mage that hung around these woods. She hoped he got that abyss mage that floated on the pond at the edge of the forest. 

All she heard as she trekked through the woods was the sound of bird song, the rustling in the trees and bushes from the cool breeze, the distant laughter of the bake-danuki, and the childish chatter between Miko and Ei. It was peaceful and refreshing to Ayaka. 

She didn’t know what she was missing until she had it in front of her. The giggles of the girls, seeing their simple joy at the fact they were going shopping in the city, being able to have life infused into the estate. Ayaka never realized how solemn and quiet the estate had gotten until she had Ei and Miko running through the halls, playing in the garden, filling the space with happiness and colorful childish pictures and the shouting of happiness. 

If Ayato could see the state of things now, what would he do? Would he enjoy it too? Would he miss it too? 

The sad thing was, Ayaka knew Ei and Miko couldn’t stay like this forever. What she had wouldn’t last. Inazuma needed the adult Guuji Yae and Raiden Shogun. While the girls were a delight, Ayaka couldn’t be selfish enough to keep them like this while the people flailed without their archon and head priestess to guide them. 

What worried her greatly was how this could happen to two powerful immortals. Who exactly had the power and skill to turn two gods back into kids? Was it some god of time or was it a god of youth? Was it even a god at all and not some trickster spirit? Did it just affect Ei and Miko? How did she get more information? A warm light and being somewhere else wasn’t a lot to go on. What did she do? Any more attempts to get information out of Miko only resulted in her pouting for an hour or two after saying she didn’t know. 

Ayaka came to a stop just outside the forest. She checked for the abyss mage, she was pleased to discover that it was gone along with the slimes that occupied the shallow pool. Thoma had her thanks. She might pick him up a present while in town. He missed Mondstadt. Maybe she could find him something from there without having to go to Ritou. 

Ayaka took the chance while she was here to see what the girls were up to. They had been quiet for the past few minutes. She peeked under the blanket and had to squash down a coo. Miko and Ei were asleep. Miko was curled around Ei protectively with her head tucked next to the archon’s. Miko’s arms were wrapped around Ei’s middle, holding her tightly. Ei had her fingers curled on top of Miko’s hands. 

Yet again, Ayaka wished for a kamera to take a picture. She needed to start carrying one. This was too adorable to ignore. Sadly, Ayaka did not have a kamera on her. She closed the canopy and kept going. She had another hour to walk until she reached the city. She would let the girls sleep for as much as they can and then tire them out again in the city. 

Ayaka thought about all the things waiting for her at home. The requests and appeals and the documents that needed her attention. After about half an hour of this, she forced herself to stop with an irony filled chuckle. She spent all morning trying to work while thinking of taking a break and now she’s on break and spending her time thinking of work. 

Ayaka started making a list of things she would like to do with Ei and Miko while they were this young. Maybe seeing Yoimiya and having a fireworks show. Next, she would take them for dinner in the night market and watch the street lights come on. Maybe a walk along the beach too. There was one by the estate. She could take them to that one. A picnic in the gardens at the estate would be another fun option. 

Apparently, she had a lot of ideas to do with the girls while they were this young. Has Miko ever taken the time to just wander the night market with friends? Has Ei ever experienced the ocean on a warm day? Has either girl had a picnic in a garden without one worry in their adult lives intruding in their mind? Has either of them truly enjoyed a fireworks show with all the awe inspiring joy they produced? Ayaka had a feeling it was either a no to all these questions or it was so long ago they had forgotten. 

Ayaka smiled as she approached the outskirts of the city. They finally made it. Ayaka waited until she was further in the city on a busy street before waking Miko and Ei. She carefully pulled back the sunshade and gently pushed on Miko’s shoulder. “Ei? Miko? Wake up. We are in the city.” 

Miko released Ei. She sat up and lifted her arms over her head in a stretch. “Treats?” She leaned over Ei and poked her in the face. “Ei. Wake up. Treats.” 

Ei sleepily blinked her eyes open. Ei stared at Miko for a long moment. She yawned before scrunching back down in the carrier. Her eyes slipped closed again. She ignored Miko’s calling of her name.

“Ei. Ei. Ei. Ei. You are gonna miss a treat.” Miko poked Ei in the stomach a few times. “Wake up.” 

“Miko. It’s okay. We still have a little bit to go. We can wake her up when we get there.” Ayaka tried to stop Miko from starting a fight. Ei was still tired and Ayaka had a few places to stop before they would be near the bakery. She had time to sleep. 

Ayaka left the shade up so Miko could see out. She started pushing the baby car down the streets in a roundabout way towards her clan’s tea house. Miko watched the crowds eagerly. She waved at various people and pointed at the stalls selling things that caught her interest. Miko would try and wake up Ei every so often but the small archon ignored her and kept sleeping. 

Ayaka did a few errands while the girls stayed in the baby car. One such place took them near a book stall. 

Miko lit up when she saw the books on the makeshift shelves. “Can we get a book? Please? I want a book! Miss? Can I get a book?” 

It seemed Miko’s love for books was one reason she started her publishing house. Ayaka didn’t know Miko loved books so much that it carried over to being a kid. Ayaka stopped at the stall. She lifted Miko from the cushion and set her on the ground. “We can get one book.” 

Miko got that sly looking stubborn glint in her eyes. “Two books. One for me. One for Ei.” 

Ayaka thought that over. It was a better option than her doing something drastic to get her way. A display of her power in the middle of the city would not go over well. She could still swing this her way. “Two books as long as you eat all your vegetables with dinner. No hiding them or throwing them on the floor under the table.” 

Miko froze when Ayaka spoke her terms. She looked sheepishly at Ayaka. “Sorry Miss for throwing my vegetables under the table.” 

“Apology accepted. Do we have a deal?” Ayaka held out her hand ready for a shake to seal their agreement. 

“Deal.” Miko shook her hand quickly. She hurried over to the shelves of kids' books and started browsing the titles. 

Ayaka waited by the front of the store with Ei. She checked on the young toddler to see her still sleeping. Ayaka grew concerned at the fact Ei was still asleep. That wasn’t normal, right? It had already been over two hours since they left the estate. How long did a toddler sleep in the afternoon? Should she wake her up so she could sleep later tonight? Or did she let her sleep and hope everything would go okay at bedtime? 

Ayaka kept an eye on Miko as she examined book after book. Finally, she chose two and carried them up to Ayaka with a little difficulty. One of the books was larger and thicker than the other. 

“These two. Do you think Mr. Thoma will read them to us?” Miko huffed as she handed the books to Ayaka. 

Ayaka counted out the right amount of mora and passed it to the lady in charge of the stall. Miko beamed as she was lifted into the baby car with both books in her arms. Ayaka helped her get situated with the books pressed to the sides and Miko settled next to Ei. 

“Look what I just got Ei.” Miko’s excited voice finally woke up Ei for good. 

The small archon yawned and sat up with Ayaka’s help. A tiny scowl was on her face at the fact she couldn’t keep sleeping thanks to Miko’s excitement. Once she was seated on the cushion, Ayaka started walking again. Miko’s excited chatter floated up from the carrier. 

They were finally done with her errands. Ayaka came to a stop at the tea house. She pushed the carrier inside while the door was held open by the hostess. 

“Tea? That’s our treat?” Miko wrinkled her nose at the boringness of the treat she was promised. She gasped when she spotted Taromaru. “Look. A doggy. Is he nice?” Miko waved at the hidden ninja. “Hi. If you aren’t nice, Mr. Thoma will bonk you on the head with his pole.” She informed Taromaru. “So you better be nice.” 

Ayaka motioned to the startled owner that she will explain things in a minute. She lifted Miko out of the baby car followed by Ei. “I need to have a word with Taromaru. Why don’t you go explore? Stay close though. Keep an eye on Ei.” 

“Okay.” Miko nodded. Once she was set on the floor she smiled at the ninja. “I’ll see you later, doggy.” Miko went to the side with Ei’s hand in hers. 

Ayaka bowed in apology at the ninja. “Sorry, Taromaru. This is Ei and that is Miko. It’s a bit of a weird story about what happened.” 

Ayaka explained what happened that stormy night two days ago and just who Ei and Miko were. Taromaru’s eyes got wider and wider. He barked once in disbelief. 

“I’m working on figuring out what happened. I promise I won’t rest until this matter is resolved.” Ayaka wasn’t sure if she was assuring the ninja or herself. “Can I leave this here for a few minutes? I promised Miko a treat at the bakery across the street. Can we have a room with some tea for when we get back?” 

Taromaru barked in agreement and tossed his head towards the back room. Ayaka thanked him and pushed the baby car into the storage room behind the counter. She made sure it was out of the way of anyone coming in to retrieve something. 

“Miko? Let’s go get our treat.” Ayaka called for the kitsune who had disappeared with Ei. 

“Yay! Treats!” Miko came running down the hall tugging Ei behind her. “Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go.” 

Ayaka picked up Ei and settled her on her hip. Miko was on her other hip. Both girls were a little heavy but they were only going a short distance. If it came down to it, Miko could walk back next to Ayaka. “We will be back shortly,” Ayaka waved goodbye to Taromaru.  

“Bye Mr. Ninja!” Miko copied Ayaka and wiggled her hand at Taromaru. 

Ei followed them as well and tossed her hand at Taromaru before shoving her fist in her mouth to chew on it. She didn’t say anything. The door was held open for the girls. Ei held onto Ayaka’s clothes for balance. 

Ayaka crossed the street to the bakery while holding onto both girls. She was going to make Miko walk on the way back. Both girls together were really heavy. Miko took forever choosing her promised treat. Ayaka got some flavored iced cream for Ei and they headed back to the tea house to enjoy their snacks. 

Taromaru had a room set up for them when they returned. Ayaka was happy to relax at the table with a pot of hot tea. Miko was distracted with a pad of paper and a pack of crayons. Ei was on her lap finishing her ice cream. Ayaka was pouring herself a cup of tea when a messenger appeared. 

“I’m glad I caught you, Miss Kamisato.” The messenger panted for breath. They were dressed in Watatsumi style robes. “I have an urgent letter for you from her Excellency.” 

Ayaka was worried. This was unlike Kokomi. Her letter wasn’t that urgent but it must have reached her quickly. Did she have an answer to Ayaka’s questions? Dread welled up in her chest. Was she going to have to say goodbye to Miko and Ei sooner than she thought? Ayaka wiped her hands clean from Ei’s ice cream and opened the letter. She quickly read its contents and was conflicted at what she read. It wasn’t as bad as she feared but it was still not as good as she hoped. 

This didn’t just happen to Ei and Miko. The traveler and her brother were also affected as were possibly three others. This was worse than she thought. She couldn’t just up and leave for Liyue though. She had responsibilities here. She would keep Ei and Miko with her in Inazuma and hope Captain Beidou could figure all this out. 

“Thank you for your haste in delivering the message. Please help yourself to some tea on behalf of the Yashiro Commision. Tell Taromaru it is my treat.” Ayaka folded up the letter and placed it in its envelope. She needed to write a letter for Captain Beidou and send it on the next ship bound for Liyue. Good thing she was already here in Inazuma City.

This situation just got a whole lot more complicated.