Chapter Text
A violent storm was raging over Mondstadt, forcing the inhabitants to take refuge in their homes.
Grand Master Varka had ordered the population to stay sheltered all night to avoid any accident. He had also forbidden the knights to go out alone outside the city, judging the conditions far too dangerous.
What had been complicated was convincing his stubborn friend to go home earlier than planned.
" I have an important meeting, Varka " protested Crepus. " I can’t afford to cancel it because Barbatos decided to cause problems. "
" There will be a huge storm tonight " declared Varka. " If you don’t leave now, there’s a good chance you’ll have to wait until tomorrow to return. And I think little Diluc would like to have his father with him. "
As he knew very well, mentioning the redhead’s son always worked. That made Crepus think, and he only agreed to leave when Varka told him he would speak to his contact from Fontaine.
Later, as a safety measure, the man had decided to patrol the roads during the night, despite the thunder striking the ground. He wanted to make sure no one was stuck under that rain.
While walking along the forest of Wolvendom, Varka heard a strange noise. It sounded like whimpering, but not from wolves. It sounded like sobs, sobs of a child.
What parents could leave their child alone under such a storm ?
Even if it was difficult to clearly distinguish that sound because of the wind and rain, making one think it might perhaps be just a simple dream, the man decided to go check for himself. He would blame himself if a child were in danger and he did nothing to help.
Walking in the forest was even more complicated because of the mud. With each step, his boots sank, covering them in dirt, nearly causing him to fall several times. Varka finally took out his Claymore to use it as a cane and stabilize himself.
Little by little, the knight approached the noise until he distinguished a bush that was trembling. The creature or child who whimpered must have tried to hide inside.
Wanting to appear as unthreatening as possible, Varka crouched in front of the bush and dropped his weapon.
At that moment, the bush no longer moved, as if the creature inside had frozen. Despite Varka, it was still frightened.
" Hey... don’t worry... I won’t hurt you " said the man in a soft voice.
He extended his right hand to slowly push the leaves aside and found himself face to face with an eye.
An eye of periwinkle violet whose pupil had the shape of a star. But that was not what caught the Grand Master’s attention. It was the fear, the sadness, and the loneliness he read in that eye. And above all, that eye belonged to a child.
By pushing aside the leaves, Varka understood that he could not be more than three years old, judging by his size. He had curled up like a little armadillo to protect himself. At each clap of thunder, the little one flinched. His clothes looked more like rags than anything else, and they were covered in dirt, which made him shiver with cold and fear. He also seemed to be injured in the right eye, judging by the bandage wrapped around it and he was dangerously thin.
Varka could clearly see that the child was afraid of him. He even noticed that he was forcing his eye shut, as if expecting the knight to hurt him.
The Grand Master had to know where his parents were in order to reprimand them for leaving their child in such a state. So he adopted the softest tone possible.
" Hello, little one... Why are you all alone here? Where are your parents ? "
But the only response he received was silence.
Meanwhile, the storm was intensifying, and Varka had to make sure to move as quickly as possible.
" Listen… I have an idea. I could take you to my home, and tomorrow, with several knights, I would look for your parents. Does that sound good ? "
Once again, the boy kept looking at him with fear. Varka had to find an alternative.
" I recently bought some biscuits. If you want, I can give you some. "
That gave him the result he had hoped for. A trace of curiosity crossed the boy’s gaze.
Seeing that the child’s guard had lowered, the Grand Master approached and gently lifted him before tenderly taking him in his arms. Varka also used his cape to wrap the little one, a meager attempt to warm him up, and immediately set off again toward the city of Mondstadt. Of course, the boy froze, not knowing how to react.
The man’s house was located in one of the less frequented districts of Mondstadt. If the Grand Master loved the people of Mondstadt, he also loved calm and rest. Before taking that house, he lived in an apartment right next to headquarters, which prevented him from spending a quiet day. Varka always heard the whispers of his neighbors talking about him, or even passersby trying to catch a glimpse of him through his windows.
He would never thank Crepus and Seamus enough for helping him move in the greatest discretion. He always laughed thinking of how much that move had looked like a secret mission.
When the man arrived at his home running, he slammed the door before catching his breath. Varka gently lifted the cape to see how the mysterious boy was doing.
The child in question still didn’t dare move, but his gaze fixed with curiosity on the dark room where they were. He closed his eye as soon as the adult turned on the light, which hurt his eye.
Before overloading the child even more, Varka placed him on the sofa in his living room and went to his kitchen. He had promised to give him biscuits, and Varka fully intended to keep his promise.
The knight first checked if the biscuits were not too hard. He didn't think the child would have enough strenght to bite them if that were the case.
Returning to his living room, he found the child who had settled into the corner of the sofa, desperately seeking warmth.
" Here, little one. As I promise you. " Varka said, handing him a cookie.
The boy had taken it with much apprehension and stared at it. He looked at the biscuit with worry and his gaze returned each time to Varka.
Was this little one afraid that he had poisoned the food ? The Grand Master put the thought aside to think about it later when he would look for the parents. This was not a normal behavior for a little child.
" I can assure you it's not poisoned. Look. "
To support his words, Varka took another biscuit and ate it in front of the boy, proving there was nothing to fear.
Seeing that the man was still healthy before him, the child took a tiny bite of the cookie, curious to know the taste.
His gaze could make one understand that it was the sweetest thing he had eaten in a long time. After tasting the piece, the child swallowed the rest of the biscuit quickly, as if he were afraid that Varka would take it back from him.
The sight of this hurt the knight's heart and he gave him two more cookies, hoping that would satisfy the child's hunger for a little while.
After, Varka tried to break the ice between them and wanted to obtain as much information as possible about the boy and understand why he was there.
" Little one. " said Varka to get his attention, " Could you tell me what your name is ? "
At first, the little one only looked at him but Varka barely discerned his small voice whispering :
" .. K-kaeya... "
" Kaeya ? " the man repeated, " That's a beautiful name, Kaeya. And tell me, how old are you ? "
Not daring to speak again, Kaeya looked at his hands and then showed him five raised fingers. That worried Varka, Kaeya was too small for his age but he didn't want to worry the boy so he didn't show his concern.
" Five years old ? Wow ! You are a little adventurer ! But tell me, what were you doing all alone in the forest ? " he asked, hoping it would not be too harsh for the boy.
Kaeya's hands gripped his clothes, showing that he was anxious as he tried to form a sentence.
" G-grape ... j-juice.. "
" You were looking for grape juice ? " Varka tried to understand but the boy shook his head to show his disagreement.
" P-papa ... L-looking.. juice.."
" Ah, so your father went to look for grape juice. And your mom ? Do you know where she is ? "
The man understood that he had touched a sensitive point when he saw Kaeya lower his head.
" ... with ... stars.. "
Even if his Mondstadtian was very broken, Varka understood which sadddened him even more.
" I'm sorry, little one ... I'm sure your mom must be watching you and protecting you through the stars." He reassured as best he could.
Looking at his clock and the tired face of Kaeya, he decided that he had to end this conversation. He didn't want to exhaust the boy even more. Besides, Varka refused to leave the little one in such a state.
" Listen ... what we're going to do is I'll run you a bath and then you'll go to sleep. Does that sound good ? "
Exhauste, Kaeya simply nodded his head.
The bath was rather complicated. After filling the bathtub with water, Varka had taken the child too quickly and had unintentionally frightened him. He had to reassure the child again that he would not hurt him before carrying him to the bathroom.
The man was already angry with Kaeya's father but he didn't think that anger could intensify when he removed the boy's clothes.
The boy was covered with wounds that no children should had on them and now he could see even more clearly how afflicted Kaeya was by malnutrition. Varka had tried to remove the bandages around his eye but the child immediately refused, protecting it with his hands.
Washing the child, Varka could finally see the color of his hair and skin that he had not been able to distinguish because of the grime. The child had dark blue hair with some lighter strands and his skin was dark. This confirmed to Varka that the boy did not come Mondstadt but maybe from Sumeru or Natlan. Another riddle he will have to solve.
Then came a small problem that Varka had not thought of before giving Kaeya a bath : The man had no pajamas for the child.
The Grand Master had therefore wrapped a soft towel around the child before asking him to wait for his return. The man had quickly looked at his wardrobe in which kept his pajamas. He had taken the one he considered the best. But so that it would be approximately the boy's size, Varka cut pieces from the t-shirt to make it into a sort of dressing gown. The man had even kept some of the pieces that had been cut to be able to make an eye patch.
Returning to the bathroom, he gave Kaeya the handmade pajamas and it suited him rather well. The sleeves were much too big as well as the bottom but it didn't seem to bother the young one. Kaeya had also put on the new eye patch, making sure it hide his eye from Varka and it seemed to hold.
Taking Kaeya back in his arms to bring him to his guest room, Varka felt that the boy had suddenly put all his weight on him. Looking between his arms, the man saw a vision that made his heart tighten : Kaeya had fallen asleep from exhaustion.
Bringing him into the room close to his own, Varka tucked the child into the bed. The man could only watch the child curl up again in the blankets before chewing on his little hand during his sleep. This new vision provoked an a tender little laugh from. That seemed to be his favorite position.
" I won’t let anyone hurt you again " he murmured, pushing a damp strand of hair behind the boy’s ear.
Tomorrow, Varka would have to think about going to get children’s clothes as well as eye patches, in addition to the searches he had to carry out.