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Ugh, I hope Diluc comes soon… it's getting hot out here.
Eula can't remember when she'd last been in Millhaven for such a significant amount of time. Before the first rays of dawn had spread across the eastern horizon, she'd already picked dozens upon dozens of Windrest Flowers from the town below out of boredom. Now, she's sitting at the edge of the upper cliff, acting upon an idea Klee had given her weeks prior— crafting a flowery wreath for the "weird grown up." Eula couldn't help but laugh aloud at Klee's nickname.
I wonder if Klee has ever called him that directly…
Her fingers are wrapped around multiple stems at once, awkwardly trying to hold everything together in a tight weave along with the twine she brought. She creates a loop just big enough for the next stem when she finds that it doesn't quite reach. Tugging on it leads to a few stems breaking apart, making her want to give up on the whole endeavor.
Argh…. I don't know why this is so complicated!
Eula bites her lower lip and furrows her brow. But she endures, because she wants to make this whole surprise worth her wait. Her whole plan of vengeance is on the line, after all. And she's almost done, too…
Moments later, a gust of wind almost blows the rest of her loose flowers off of the cliff. She manages to save half of them, before the rest float away with a few stray Dandelions.
Eula watches in regret as they drift downward. She pulls her head out of view, right as some of the townspeople look up in wonder at the falling flowers. Continuing on with a sigh, she counts the rest of her loose flowers and folds the edge of her blanket to protect them from further winds.
About fifteen minutes later, she hears a voice behind her. Unfortunately, it's not Diluc's.
"Captain Eula?"
Eyes widening, Eula scurries to hide the almost finished wreath under the folds of her blanket. But as Varka approaches, she can tell he's already seen too much.
"Grand Master… what brings you here today?"
"Mm, I just so happened to be in the area. Then some townspeople and I noticed a bunch of falling Windrest Flowers from above. Of course, I felt the need to investigate." He smiles. "What brings you here on this fine morning?"
Judging by his tone, Varka seems in particularly good spirits today. Which is not unusual. But with his playful smile and a glance at the flowery wreath beneath her blanket, she knows he's mentally trying to put the pieces together.
"I'm just enjoying the day off," Eula says as casually as she can muster. "It's a lovely view from here. One that I'm sure you've missed during your time away."
"Indeed," Varka replies. "I don't remember viewing Millhaven from here before. You chose a nice place to relax." His eyes wander toward her picnic basket. "Are you planning to eat lunch here, too?"
"I am..."
Eula hopes that she can end this conversation soon, so she can finish the wreath before Diluc shows up. If he shows up.
"I heard you're waiting for someone…"
It takes all of Eula's strength to not react strongly to that statement. But her mind paints a target on Kaeya, since she knows Adelinde and Charles wouldn't divulge her plan to Varka of all people.
I swear, the next time I see him, he's getting a double portion of vengeance. Mark my words—
"Captain Eula?"
She blinks once. Then twice more, realizing she hadn't answered him. Which is almost an answer in itself.
"Uh, yes?"
"Am I keeping you?"
"Um… yes— uhh, no. Wait… that's not what I meant," she stammers, hands flailing in front of her.
Varka laughs. "I'll take that as a yes. Well, enjoy the rest of your day off. Thanks for sharing the view with me." He heads back down the path and is soon out of sight, to her relief.
Eula sighs. She looks up at the sky, noting the sun's position. Judging by its current angle, she figures that if Diluc had found her notes, caught on to her clues, and ridden Kaeya's horse, he would have been here by now. Since he isn't, she supposes that something went awry.
Instead of continuing to worry, Eula puts all of her focus into finishing the wreath as soon as she can. Vengeance accrues interest, sure— but time also waits for no one, including her.
Maybe it's good that he's running slightly later than expected…
As soon as Varka's out of sight, his sense of wonder grabs ahold of him, shaking him so hard that he can't help but look back.
Why is Eula making a wreath, and why did she hide it so quickly when she heard me…
… could it be for Diluc?
It's his birthday today, so it makes sense. But I've never seen them interact before..
Heh. Apparently a lot's happened since I've been away.
I should investigate. She's part of the Knights, after all.
Varka silently makes his way back, movements slow. He finds a nearby bush about fifty feet away and tries to hide inside of it, failing because the bush is not nearly large enough to hide his towering stature.
Hm. There's a reason I've always sucked at hide and seek…
Varka thinks twice about his hiding spot and begins to move when he sees Diluc out of the corner of his eye, riding a gray-colored mare. He slowly ducks his head into the bush, hoping Diluc doesn't notice him.
To his surprise, he doesn't.
Varka pulls back a few stray leaves from the bush, peeking out and watching Diluc approach, scaring Eula in the process. He witnesses how Eula hides her wreath again for a moment, just like she did for him. It's not long before Diluc points it out and she presents it to him, slightly flustered and stammering. He's not close enough to hear their conversation, but the way they're standing close to each other and the expressions on their faces tell him enough.
They're actually good friends…
… or more?
The last two words linger in his mind longer than they should. He continues to stay still, until their backs are turned to him. They appear to be unpacking the lunch Eula brought: sandwiches and… grape juice?
Varka smiles as he tries to back out of the bush, only to find he's caught in its branches. Any attempts to break free leave him even more tangled.
Oh, geez. He sighs. I guess I'm not going anywhere anytime soon.
He hears a pair of voices laughing out loud, but can't make out exactly what's happening.
I haven't heard Diluc laugh like that in ages.
Come to think of it, I've never even heard Eula laugh before.
Something feels wrong about spying on two emotionally guarded people who don't know they're being watched. And Varka knows he's no voyeur. I mean, he couldn't be, even if he tried. How could he even get away with that?
How's he getting away with it now?
Thank Barbatos, they're probably too distracted by each other to notice me. Now if only I could get out of here…
He feels some scratches against his right arm, and looks down to see the branches twisting around it, like they've personally found joy in capturing him. Resisting the urge to curse, he bends his wrist inward and grabs ahold of the edge of the branch, pulling at its end.
It snaps, giving him some wiggle room.
With a sigh of relief, he starts to break more of the branches in a similar fashion, managing to free himself about halfway, when he notices their talking has ceased.
He looks up to find them staring in his direction.
Oh, crap. He freezes in place, hoping they haven't noticed.
Eula squints at him and points, to which Diluc nods. A few seconds later, Diluc's already making his way over, with Eula in tow.
"…Varka?"
"Uh, hello! Nice day today, isn't it?"
Varka doesn't know what else to say, but he's just about ready to die from the shame of being caught in a bush. He vows never to sneak around again, if only he could make it out of this conversation with his dignity intact.
Barbatos, please help me…
Diluc leans in, raising an eyebrow. "Pardon me for asking, but what are you doing in a bush?"
The one thing Varka's feared at this point was for one of them to point out the obvious. Of course, leave it to Diluc to do just that. And he swears he can see a ghost of a smile playing on Diluc's lips, as though he's trying to hold in his laughter. Of course, it's rather ridiculous, so Varka understands. He's glad that Diluc has enough sense to not hold it against him. Yet.
"Uh, I was trying to— head back to town when this bush.. got in the way! Of course," Varka chuckles heartily, hoping they'll take that as a valid story and go back to their lunch.
Diluc and Eula exchange solemn glances, but offer a helping hand to break him out. It's not easy, because clearly the bush wants him to suffer for being nosy, but a few minutes later, the bush is reduced to broken branches and loose leaves, and Varka is finally free, save for a few nasty cuts on his arms.
"That's gonna leave a scar," he notes, following it with another laugh.
Eula goes to the picnic basket and comes back with a first aid kit, while Diluc tries to pull some of the stray twigs and leaves out of his blonde hair.
"Oh, you don't need to do that—" Varka says as Eula starts to administer first aid.
"It could get infected," she interrupts, applying the ointment and bandages with an efficiency that surprises him. "There. That should do it."
"Thanks," he grins, still feeling awkward about being there and interrupting their meal.
"Don't mention it." She goes back to their spot and puts the first aid kit away.
"Are you heading back to Mondstadt, or did you mean Millhaven?" Diluc chimes in.
"Uh, Mondstadt."
To Varka's surprise, Diluc's eyes light up just a touch. "Oh, could you do me a favor then?" He points over at the gray-colored horse he rode in on. "Would you mind returning Liebling to Kaeya?"
"I… could, I suppose," Varka says, approaching the mare. She huffs at him, moving away a bit. "Aw, c'mon. I don't bite."
"Liebling," Diluc calls, to which the mare responds readily. He gives her mane a few gentle strokes. "Could you give Grand Master Varka a ride back? He can return you to Kaeya right away, if that's alright with you."
The mare looks over at Varka again, as though she understood Diluc's request. She offers a stubborn snort through her nose in reply.
"Goodness, she seems… resistant," Eula chuckles.
Varka scratches his head, disappointed. "I'll take that as a no. Sorry about that, Diluc."
"Don't worry about it," Diluc shrugs. "I figured it would have been more efficient, since you'll see Kaeya later anyway."
"That's true, but she's probably better in your hands than in mine."
Varka feels like he's already overstayed his welcome, since Eula's been eyeing him like he's become the latest entry on her relatively long list of vengeance.
"Anyway, I'll let you two continue your lunch in peace. Thanks again for getting me out of there. Enjoy the rest of your day."
They look back at him as he walks away with a wordless wave. This time, Eula makes sure he's out of sight.
"What was that about?"
"No idea."
But Eula knows. Her eyes narrow at the spot where Varka spied on them. At least she has some blackmail on him, if he ever decides to tell anyone else about them.
"You could have just asked me, you know," Venti gives a light-hearted chuckle.
"You already knew?" A pause. "And you didn't tell me?"
Venti puts a finger over his smiling lips. "Well, some things are better left alone, Grand Master. Especially if you don't want to incur the wrath of one of your Captains." He adds a wink for good measure.
"You could have at least warned me beforehand," Varka replies, palm dragging down his face. He takes a swig from his flask. "I'm afraid it's already too late for that now."
"Oh?" Venti's smile grows wider, almost smug. "What if I told you I did?"
"You did? When?" Varka gives him a funny look in reply.
"When those Windrest Flowers floated down from the cliff… carried by the wind," Venti replies with another wink.
Varka freezes. If Venti knew all along about Eula and Diluc, and orchestrated the flowers falling at just the right moment, so that he would investigate and discover Eula waiting, then that means he likely knows about the bush incident.
Venti gives him another warm smile before taking a swig from his stein. "Ehe, don't underestimate the curiosity of the Anemo Archon! It's said that he keeps tabs on Mondstadt's citizens, after all, like they're his own children. And most of them don't even suspect a thing." Another wink for good measure.
Varka gulps nervously. He knows. Of course he does. Why go through all that trouble? At this point, Venti's just trolling him.
Now, that's three people— no, two humans and one archon— who could blackmail him into oblivion if they wanted. Then again, Eula and Diluc have a secret of their own, in a way, so Varka supposes that they're at a mutual stalemate of silence.