rekidude

[rekidude]

Hi hello lmao🧍‍♂️

so. first time using tumblr, i'm a bit lost on how stuff works but i'll figure it out (probably)

i wanted a place to yap about my ocs so i'll post pretty much whatever i feel like sharing about them here. mostly Droplets on Snow that focuses on Kalma, but i do have some other stuff i've written too :3

anyway hope you enjoy what my brain cooks up! :D

[rekidude]

Droplets on Snow - Chapter I

First thing she saw was a face. Cold and... she couldn't quite put into words what that expression was. After all, she had just been born. How could a child like that tell different expressions apart?

But when she stared into those eyes that looked down on her, as if examining her, she felt something. It was a connection. A connection that would never break, no matter how much time passed. It endured everything she did. That's how it was meant to be from the start.

"Hello, child." The woman in front of her reached her hand out, placing it on her ice cold cheek. "You are my creation, my perfect weapon. I have no doubts that you will perform exceptionally in that role."

She stayed quiet. This woman had an aura around her that she didn't fully understand, but she could tell she shouldn't interrupt her words or thoughts. The silence continued in the empty room, and she found herself waiting for something. Then the woman would finally speak up.

"Kalma."

I repeat the word to the man on the ground in front of me. I usually don't tell my targets my name, but for some reason I today felt like doing so. It wouldn't change anything either way - his fate was already sealed the second his name was given to me. The man, however, only seemed more panicked now.

"Please, I won't tell anyone, I... I can-!"

His sentence was cut short when I finally struck with my knife. My goal this time is to make his death appear like it was the result of a drunken fight, which he himself had made easier by drinking way more than enough just 15 minutes prior.

I watch the blood pour from his neck, the life leaving his eyes as he fell on the ground. For a moment I stand there, my gaze locked in the mans eyes before crouching down and checking for a pulse. There was nothing. There never is anything after I'm done, yet I always check. One mistake in this line of work, and the political storm Snezhnaya would be under would see no end.

I then stand back up and look around. I know every area of Snezhnaya better than anyone, and I know no one saw what happened. The unpredictable part of this mission is leaving the scene without being spotted.

I take silent steps towards the entrance of the alleyway, making sure to hide myself in the shadows. The main street is way too busy even at night, meaning that way isn't an option. I then turn my head back towards the dead end, walking back. The only option now is the roofs.

I jump up to the roof of one of the buildings surrounding the dead end, moving in dead silence. My steps leave footprints in the snow, but no one would see them from this side and the frequent snow storms would assist in hiding them later on aswell.

I jump down seven buildings away from the scene, and walk out of the new alleyway to the main street again. No one pays any mind to me as I pass people, and I don't care to pay attention to anyone else either. This is one reason I find my missions in Nod Krai to be easier than most - it's easy to keep a low profile even while looking different.

I keep walking down the street to leave, but then I notice something. An ice cold presence in the crowd, eerily similar to me. I glance around, and spot a hooded figure in front of one of the stores. It's this person. Something about them makes me unable to just leave, I have to get closer.

I walk to a spot near that person, hidden enough so they won't notice me, but where I could still see them. I stay close for a while, following them along the street until they stop in a crowded area.

If I had a beating heart, it would likely stop when the stranger turned their head, staring directly in my eyes. I can now see that I've been following a young man, seemingly very pale like me. His clothes and hood hide the major details of his face and body, but I can roughly make out his features.

I stand still, not knowing what I should do. He's not a target, so I don't even have a reason to be following him. I'm unsure why I felt so drawn to him, logically I should've just walked past him. But what do I do when discovered by someone not related to any missions, while I'm not even actively working? I have no reason to attack him, he didn't see anything confidential. But is it not suspicious for someone to just follow a person like this? Wouldn't that alone be a threat?

My thoughts are interrupted when the stranger starts walking towards me, smiling weirdly. An expression rarely directed at me, I could count those moments on one hand. My fingers instinctively check the hidden knife on my right arm guard, just in case I need a quick defense.

"Hey, no need to look so serious."

His voice is calm, way too carefree after being followed. That rings multiple alarm bells in my head, and I quickly think over all the defense options I have hidden in my clothes.

"Want to step aside to chat?"

He nods towards an alleyway, much quieter than the busy street. He wants me alone with him, somewhere no one can see us, and that suits me perfectly. If no one can see us, it's easier to deal with him if he turns out to be a threat.

I nod in response, and walk next to him to the end of said alleyway. Once out of the crowd's earshot, I speak up immediately.

"Who are you?"

"Shouldn't I ask that first? Seeing as I was the one being followed by you."

The man laughs, no hint of real worry on his face. Though he also seems interested in me, and for some reason it's not just because I followed him.

"That is your own fault for feeling off."

I stare at him. I'm still careful, yet curious about that aura around him. It feels similar to the feeling I get whenever I'm standing in nature, surrounded by only the cold elements. There I feel like I'm where I belong, like I'm one with the snow around me.

The man laughs again, he only seems amused by my words.

"My fault, huh? You're awfully familiar aswell."

He steps closer, his gloved hand on his chin now as he examines my face carefully. My fingers once again find their way to the knife on my thigh, almost like an automated command.

"That won't do anything against me."

He speaks calmly. He noticed my moves, but he's not worried in the slightest. He clearly takes my actions seriously, but if he doesn't deem my knife a threat even knowing I would stab him in a heartbeat if he attacked, it must be true. Fine with me, I have more defences hidden than just my knives.

"Who are you?"

I follow his every move carefully, my voice stable. I know he can't hurt me no matter what he tries, but what I find troubling is how he seems to have the same idea towards my actions.

"Someone I doubt you should pay attention to."

I watch as his eyes go down to my shirt, registering the Fatui symbol on the fabric. Then he notices the Delusion embedded just below my collarbones, and he seems to come to a realisation.

"Hey, is that-"

He starts to ask a question while reaching towards what some would call my heart, but before he can finish the action nor his sentence I grab his wrist and hold it in place firmly, roughly twenty centimeters from his point of interest.

"One move closer and you lose your head."

I stare even more intensely in his eyes now, my normally stoic voice now colder as an additional warning. The second anyone tries to get too close to my Delusion, my self-preservation takes over entirely. The artificial vessel of elemental energy is what keeps my body temperature cold enough that it stays together, if it gets removed or broken I would melt within half a minute. Countless alarm bells are ringing in my mind now that the man has reached for it, and for some reason seeming already aware that it's vital to me in some way.

"Wow, relax. I won't hurt you."

The man holds his free hand up, likely would do the same with the one I'm still holding if only he could get it out of my grip. But I won't back down that easily.

The man seems to realize that also, since he slowly reaches for his cape. He pulls it aside, revealing his outfit underneath. It's a mix of different shades of blue, a huge contrast to the dull brown cape he's wearing over it. The style of his clothes is unfamiliar too, it's definitely not Snezhnayan. But the thing that really catches my attention is the Fatui symbol on the fabric corset around his waist.

I glance up at his face again. I've never seen him before, no one in the Snezhnaya branch of the Fatui looks like him, much less dresses like him. Although one of the Harbingers wears a style that somewhat resembles his, so he could be just from a different branch. Or he's someone from an entirely different organisation, just disguised as a Fatui agent for a currently unknown reason.

I consider the possibilities for a moment. Suddenly I realise how his wrist feels - I'm in direct contact with his skin, but I can't feel any warmth on it. It's not like any human I've ever come in contact with, but I didn't even notice it before now. It's cold, just like my own body. That causes me to finally let him go.

"Who are you? I want a real answer."

The man smiles, crossing his arms as he again looks me over.

"There are many ways to answer that. My name is Khion, I work with the Fontaine branch. I assume you've heard of the House of the Hearth?"

I do recall that place, although I've never worked with anyone from there. A good amount of our agents grew up in that orphanage, they take in children from all over Teyvat to raise to work for us.

"I know of it. You don't look like an orphan, so why are you in Nod Krai?"

"Unfortunately I was sent here as an errand boy."

Khion shrugs, and even though he tries to seem carefree I get the feeling he's not entirely fine with the job. Something here is bothering him, but I can't guess what would make him dislike Nod Krai. Not that I care to guess anyway.

"If you're from Fontaine, why do you act like I'm familiar to you?"

I keep my eyes on him, still not buying the whole story he's feeding me. I see his eyes briefly look at my Delusion again before he pulls his hood back from covering his head.

Now that I can clearly look at his features, it answers atleast half of my questions. I feel like I'm looking in a weird mirror, he looks just like me, only with more masculine features. The same nose, same eye shape, same lips. Same pale, nearly colorless skin. Even our hair is the same, mostly white but turning into blueish, somewhat translucent strands near the ends where they were cut.

Then there are his eyes. One blue, one silver, exactly like my eyes are, except for the colors being on the opposite sides than mine. We are almost perfect copies of each other, just mirrored versions with different genders.

"You're..."

I try to make sense of this new information in my mind. This answered some questions, but created atleast a dozen more. We look way too similar for this to be a coincidence, but who exactly is he? If he's a Fontainian, why does he look like me, a Snezhnayan? Or maybe it's the other way around, do I look like him instead?

"You're a puppet."

His words interrupt my train of thoughts, and I stare in his eyes again, noticing now that my gaze had wondered all over his features. Logically it makes sense he knows that, given our similarities, but how? Is he also...

"You are aswell."

For some reason I'm now sure of that. He has to be snow too, his nonexistent body heat and how nearly identical we are is proof. And even if those weren't enough, his nod is.

"Crafted by Her Majesty the Tsaritsa."

"But why would you be in Fontaine? Logically theres no reason for you to-"

My questioning is interrupted when he looks at me with a slight change in his expression, but I can't figure out why.

"I was transferred from Snezhnaya. 24 years ago exactly next week."

Next week. That feels like an important time already, but I can't remember why. I shove that thought aside, I'll think about it later.

"You know, I never got your name."

There's a lighter expression on his face when he changes the topic, and I think about it for a moment. I don't usually mention my name to people, not even to most soldiers. They are familiar with it, but I like to not rely on the influence my name carries. But this time I do want to tell Khion.

"Kalma."

He raises an eyebrow at that.

"Kalma, huh? That's certainly a dark one. Is that why you're as expressive as a corpse?"

I just cross my arms in response. My lack of expressions is unsettling to most people, but it never drives away everyone. Some even seem to somewhat enjoy it, but Khion doesn't seem to think much of it positively or negatively.

"Come on, is there really nothing beneath that empty expression?"

He's grinning now as he leans a bit closer to my face. He seems more focused on what could be going in my head instead of disregarding the idea of me having any feelings about anything entirely like everyone else does.

But he's wasting his time.

"I don't see a point in useless things like that."

That's the truth. I have lots of thoughts, but my main focus is always my job. I don't have time for pointless things like emotions.

"Useless? I disagree with that idea."

Khion tilts his head a bit, seeming surprised by my words.

"They are an obstacle. They get in the way of people's ability to do their jobs."

I keep my eyes on his, maintaining eye contact. He looks thoughtful for a bit, like he has never considered the negatives of emotions.

"Maybe, but all things we consider "just work" are not right. Emotions are what gives us the ability to be empathetic, and that keeps us from doing bad things."

He seems sure of his words, and now looks way more serious than before. The way he defends the flaws of humans somewhat irritates me.

"If everyone only acts with the thoughts of how someone else could feel in mind no one would get anywhere with anything. That is why humans fail at so many things, they focus on things that don't matter."

Khion's expression shifts again. The previous playfulness is gone, and he stares almost like through my eyes as if he's trying to figure out something. I stare right back, not backing down or explaining more.

For a split second I can see something in him break, I can feel a shift in the air around him. It's such a short moment that I don't have time to understand it properly, but it was definitely there. He looks like he takes a breath in, then puts a smile back on his face.

"Well, I think we've chatted enough. Bye bye!"

He turns around and before I can take more than one step he drops something on the ground, and once it explodes in silence the air around him is instantly filled with snow that covers him from my view.

"I didn't say you could-"

I start, but when the snow settles on the ground he's already gone. Even after I step on the main street again I can't see any trace of him anywhere. So he doesn't only look like me, he also knows the same tricks I do... Or some of them atleast.