#genshin files

[fischlcatgirl]

GENSHIN X FILES AU. WAIT LISTEN HEAR ME OUT

ok so in this au there exists a branch of the x files fbi made up specifically of children. this is useful because though one can certainly get a ways going up to people and saying hey. we're the fbi. let us in. there is a different kind of infiltration for which literal children work most effectively. if an fbi agent comes to your evil church and talks about investigating everyone is going to be on high alert. but if you have a highly trained small child sneak out of sunday school they'll have probably at least ten minutes before anyone goes looking for them. and even then when theyre found in the records department they say oh im a child. i got lost. whoops.

naturally its a very small department. very niche. very need to know. especially because the cases entrusted to these Literal Children tend to be very weird in nature.

so the main characters of this au are Nahida and Scaramouche NOT IN A SHIP WAY. I NEED THIS TO BE ABUNDANTLY CLEAR. i may be an msr lover but this is an AU with DIFFERENT CHARACTERS you have to UNDERSTAND.

Nahida is the department's agent with the highest efficiency. She is maybe 8 years old and has been a part of the department for as long as she can remember. As long as she can remember is actually only since she was like, five, though. anything earlier than that is a complete blank. this is because, and she does not know this, she is the product of a human cloning experiment done using the combined dna of both the fbi's now deceased actual best adult agent, Rukkadevata, and AN ALIEN. This was done with the INTENT of creating a second functioning adult agent but there were complications and Nahida had to be taken out early, so naturally Nahida is considered a failure for reasons she does not know and thus cannot explain. She is incredibly focused and serious as an agent because she is trying to get people to like her. ITS NOT WORKING.

The cloning project's name is PROJECT BUER. There are still attempts being made at it, but Nahida was their best shot so everyone involved is still kind of pissed at Nahida.

Scaramouche was taken out of a military experiment to see how far they could take mechanical enhancements to the human body. He is 14, and was chosen as a child (10) specifically to see how his regular human growth would impede the enhancements. He and the Raiden Shogun are Makoto's children, and though he was volunteered by Ei following Makoto's death, Raiden was allowed to stay because she was older and less of a kind of. handful. He only cares about completing his missions well because he's been threatened with being sent back to the project if he doesn't. He actually knows about Project Buer on account of some snooping around he did when he was first introduced to the department of literal children, but again, he was threatened with being sent back to the project if he told anyone, especially Nahida.

The project he was part of was run by DOTTORE. Collei and Niwa were also a part of it, and the three of them met while inside, but Collei and Niwa managed to escape. Katsuragi was part of this escape attempt, but Dottore actually managed to capture him. He was terminated, and Dottore told Scaramouche that Katsuragi had said he was involved in the plan, and that he would be punished accordingly. This was. a lie. Dottore just knew the two of them were friends and didn't want Scara to get any IDEAS about escaping as well, and also wanted to take out the fact that two of his other subjects had escaped on someone. The boy who was Scara's friend had basically the same thing happen as in canon, except instead of being in some village in Inazuma, he was part of this project. Afterwards, Scara patently refused to cooperate in any sort of test. They could have kept going, but it would have been more difficult, so he was pulled.

Basically, Scaramouche (the department's "problem agent") and Nahida (not a problem, but still largely low within the pecking order for reasons out of her control) start getting sent on sham missions as an excuse to get both of them out of the department. These are the X Files. Unfortunately for the department's head (Azar, probably), this DOES NOT WORK. Nahida and Scaramouche KEEP SOLVING THE CASES.

Scaramouche's original plan is to keep doing the bare minimum, but he realizes at some point that even then they might deem them to not be doing well enough, and while yeah, he definitely doesn't want to go back to the project, he also realizes that he doesn't know what will happen to Nahida if she gets kicked out of the department? and he doesn't want to admit it but he definitely doesn't want to be responsible for the death of this eight year old girl who puts on her most serious faces but is secretly. deep inside. very silly. SO THEYRE FUCKING KICKING ASS.

Eventually they start getting really hard cases. Ones which, you know, turn out to be really bad for them. Nahida gets trapped inside a computer and lives out a false life that is. unbeknownst to her. Rukkadevta's life. She's reaching out from beyond the grave. And Nahida just kind of has to. Deal with that. They get assigned to a case where they inadvertently run into Raiden, because she's dating a police chief (Sara) in the small town they're in. But they can also tell that they keep brushing against some truth, some hidden scheme, and so they keep going, they keep giving it their absolute all.

But before we get to that and because if you've gotten to this point in the post you're really in it now, let us go over some of the other characters involved in this au.

Alhaitham takes Azar's place after he is dismissed for not being able to get rid of Nahida and Scara. He takes a kind of interesting role, where he does not support the x files, believing the reports Nahida and Scara give to be ridiculous fabrications even when they get results, but also being forced to acknowledge that well. they GET RESULTS, and also that it's very strange that the higher ups are trying to get rid of Nahida and Scaramouche. He's aware of Scara's background, but not Nahida's, and his primary goal is The Truth, so he keeps them together and keeps sending them on x file cases.

Kaveh is Alhaitham's former partner (in an fbi way) who also functions as the department's stand-in Parent Figure, so when they need to pull a kid out of a situation fast they send Kaveh in to go "oh my poor child has been on the run im so glad that theyve been found anyway goodbye" he's there because he and Alhaitham keep getting put in the SAME DEPARTMENTS. they both HATE IT. Kaveh is conflicted about his role but ultimately he's actually in a ton of debt and needs this job, so he stays on until later when he and Alhaitham join up with Tighnari.

ON TIGHNARI. you may have noticed earlier when I mentioned that Collei escaped from Dottore. Well. She is technically currently on the run from the government. But she is in fact. Right underneath their noses, because Tighnari (also an fbi agent) took her in and keeps redirecting any attempts to find her. His primary goal is to take down the experiments Dottore is running, and then once that is achieved, to take down the Literal Children Department so they can have Normal Lives. Cyno is a part of this effort, but he mostly appears in conjunction with Tighnari. They're like. Co-heads of this attempt, which is. Naturally. Secret.

Collei is slowly dying because the older she gets the less her enhancements "fit her". They're all kind of jerry-rigged into working still, but it's definitely not a lasting solution. Something needs to be done about it, but obviously she doesn't want to have to go back to the military, especially because now since she's been out of containment and observation for so long there's a good chance they'll just kill her.

Faruzan is a Deep Throat (normal name) sort of character for Nahida and Scara. She secretly helps them in cases while also being frustratingly vague. It's her who eventually leads Nahida to the Project Buer stuff, which is when Nahida really starts going like ohhh nooo i need to get out of here. She's found out and made to vanish by the higher ups once they find out she's been helping, and then replaced by Kaveh, who is really there to take the fall for the person who is telling him to help them, Dori.

THE KNIGHTS OF FAVONIUS. The knights make up a much normaller section of the fbi EXCEPT for Jean and Kaeya, who are Basically Scully and Mulder (AGAIN NOT IN A SHIP WAY). They take care of different X files, and due to some mix-ups regarding how secret the Literal Children Department is, keep getting assigned to the same cases as Nahida and Scara, which makes them go hey. why do these two children keep showing up.

Jean is kind of the Mulder of the two of them, because Barbara was abducted by aliens when they were kids, and when she came back she became the puppet figurehead of a cult. Jean wants these invaders GONE and is very upset by the fact that everywhere she turns it seems like the government is COLLABORATING with them???

Kaeya is an alien. That's all there is to it really. Diluc found out and tried to kill him. When that didn't work he tried to report him to the fbi. when the fbi was like "yeah we know" Diluc quit. And now he's trying to expose the fact that the government is working with aliens but mostly he just gets dismissed as a freak.

Albedo is Jean and Kaeya's Deep Throat (again, normal name) and his main goal is really just revealing the existence of the Literal Children Department to them, mostly because he was the product of the same kind of cloning Nahida was, and he wants her to be able to live a normal life. Also because the head of his project, Alice, has started talking about volunteering her daughter Klee for the Children Department. And Albedo, who was raised basically as Gold and Alice's son (this has created unique problems for him, as being raised by two women who will sacrifice not only their department(the hexenzirkl)'s freak chalk baby but also Alice's flesh baby to the FBI might), cares deeply about Klee. He thinks that Jean and Kaeya are uniquely suited to this because 1. they both care about children (Jean because of the Barbara thing, Kaeya because of his own thing) and 2. They both have a unique sort of untouchability within the fbi, because Barbara's cult is actually generating a lot of revenue for the fbi (alien and government partnership) and because Kaeya. um. (alien and government partnership)

BACK TO THE PLOT.

Nahida discovers the Project Buer thing. Faruzan starts contacting them and helping them on cases. Both her and Scaramouche find out about the Tighnari thing, because Scaramouche recognizes Collei while they're out on a case and they follow her back home because they think it might be relevant to their case. And also for personal reasons. They agree to help.

They actually aren't doing well on a case because of Government Alien Nonsense and Alhaitham comes up to them like hey. youre not doing well on your case. And Nahida blows up in his face about Project Buer and Scara backs her up (they are close at this point). Alhaitham says. Hey. What. What are you talking about.

Alhaitham starts trying to help them figure out what's going on with this whole alien thing. Naturally they are trying to be so stealthy and fly under the radar, but it does not work and eventually he and Faruzan both go missing. He's replaced by an officer from the military, Arlecchino, who actually joins that which is under her purview (also literal children, but this time they're child soldiers instead of child fbi agents) with the fbi one.

Kaveh starts acting as both the kids' informant as well as Tighnari's. He's Nahida and Scara's man on the outside, and Tighnari, Collei, and Cyno's man on the inside. He also wants to know what exactly happened to Alhaitham.

Nahida and Scara get a name for what it is they're chasing: PROJECT CELESTIA, and find that it's connected to Project Buer. Basically. It's aliens.

Jean and Kaeya find out about Scara and Nahida by basically cornering them and saying HEY. WHATS GOING ON. But Albedo shows up and hes like "no.... it isn't time yet... it will be Bad if anyone finds out you met and talked in person". And Jean says NO. WHAT IS HAPPENING. But after everything gets explained to them and everything seems like it's going back to normal Kaeya disappears. And Jean goes to the kids and is like. "I hate to do this but I need help to find Kaeya".

So they find out Kaeya has been basically kidnapped and is being held hostage at one of the Project Celestia like. Stronghouses. Government. Buildings. Whatever. All three of them go to rescue him and they find out he's an alien. It's crazy. But ultimately Jean decides to put her hatred of aliens aside because like. that's her partner (in an fbi way).

They all keep investigating Project Celestia together but separately so that the fbi doesn't detect that they're working together. It's like both the knights' department and the Literal Children Department are working in tandem. But then things seem to be going a little too well?? Like, it seems like they keep getting new evidence that actually turns out to be nothing, like they're being strung along.

AND THEN. Through a massive group effort the Children Department gets SHUT DOWN. Diluc's credibility has been slowly rising because he's been getting fed the results of the cases from Kaeya (begrudgingly), and he's threatened to expose the Literal Children Department if it doesn't get disbanded, with the extra backup of the article ready if he happens to mysteriously vanish because of it (the backup is in Tighnari's possession, not that the fbi knows that).

So Nahida and Scara get put in like a special sort of fbi containment orphanage (lead by Arlecchino still, who may or may not have been part of this plan it's unclear) where they can lead Kind Of Normal lives (it's not ideal) except now they're not agents anymore. So they can't investigate Project Celestia anymore. And all of the adults in their lives are like "that's good!!" but they hate it.

So Nahida, Scara, Collei (who is also a part of the orphanage as part of the deal to not publish the expose about the Children Department), Klee, and Lyney & Lynette & Freminet ALL run away and Try To Get Answers. They are all on the run. They contact Jean and Kaeya, who, with the help of all of these. children. are able to sneak into the government facility where the Project Celestia files are being kept.

THEY GET THE FILES. THEY PUBLISH A LARGELY INCONSEQUENTIAL PART OF THEM BUT ITS STILL LIKE. ALIENS ARE REAL 2K24. EIGHT ADULTS AND SIX CHILDREN GO ON THE RUN. THEY CHANGE THEIR NAMES AND IDENTITIES AND ARE NEVER FOUND BECAUSE PART OF BEING AN AU MEANS DESPITE BEING IN THE X FILES THEY CAN BE HAPPY.

THE END <3

if you made it this far. i hope you enjoyed this post. i'm sorry it was 1 million miles long and if you have any like thoughts or ideas or whatever i would love to hear them.

[zephyrine-gale]

conductor pose studies ft. arlecchino (refs below!)

[erabu-san]

playing w sparkle shoujo brush is so fun kskskss At first, I drew Collei being cute and Freminet was the one being confused and I don't know how I reversed it

[kiwifie]

making him increasingly more mikorin variety tsundere every time i draw him

[poruvoron]

komorebi ('23)

[royxart]

vidyadhara kokomi ✨🐟

[luminique]

wrio x you pt. 2 because the people (me too) asked for it

you’re the only exception of people who were in his past that he’d try reconnecting with. he swore to himself that he never would but the memory of you haunted him every day and night.

working in the fortress didn’t even make it easier. he’d reminisce the past during his daily checks, filled with fights, scratches and blood, but you were each other’s rock in this cold and dark prison. sleepless nights where he’d go over to your bunk, you’d both be talking and laughing about the future until other inmates woke up to give both of you a good beating.

a letter wouldn’t hurt. signed and sealed, ‘Duke of the Fortress of Meropide, Wriothesley’ with the wolf insignia on the wax seal. he read the letter multiple times until he got sick of it and threw it in the trash. any and every free time he had, it was spent to write the perfect letter to you.

he even consulted sigewinne, clorinde and neuvillette for more opinions. it was honestly humorous to see the Duke be this… frustrated over something as trivial as a letter. his trash basket was overflowing with crumpled up pieces of paper.

“wriothesley, this letter feels too formal.” was a comment by clorinde about his 10th attempt. “you should add more emotion!” sigewinne responded after reading his 27th attempt. “i am not too familiar with matters relating to human love however i do believe that you have not conveyed that in this letter,” said by neuvillette regarding his 59th attempt.

he lost count of how many letters he had written, how many ink bottles he had opened, how many seals he had stamped. it was eating at him, and now the heavy weight of whether you’d even feel the same way back was beginning to creep in.

the ink pooled on the paper. he had run out of ideas, his hand shaking from the fear of it being imperfect. he couldn’t handle it anymore and let his emotions take over him. every word he wrote that night came straight from his heart instead of his brain, putting aside his own formality and rules for you. it’d be another scrapped attempt anyway…

‘With all my love, Wriothesley’, signed off with no wax seal. he had read somewhere that colored wax was used by sculptors when they made mistakes. this letter was no mistake, his love for you was no mistake.

he used his connections, specifically neuvillette and the maison gardiennage, to find where you had decided to settle down. he originally intended to have it sent to you by courier, but here he was, standing in front of your front door. to have the Duke come all the way up to the surface and hand deliver you his letter, oh how smitten he was over you. a quick fix of his outfit, brushed off any dust and fixed his hair before he knocked on the door.

he could hear your footsteps as you scurried over to the door, your voice behind it.

“i didn’t order anything. why is there a-“

you were cut off by the sight in front of you. his charming smile and blue-grey eyes that captivated you the moment you became friends in the fortress. he straightened up his posture, clearly taken aback by how much you’ve changed but it seemed to go both ways.

“good morning, i believe we have some catching up to do.” he said before holding out the letter for you to take. the sun was still out, there was tea in the kitchen and you had time to spare. next thing you know, you were sitting next to each other on the sofa and chatting about each other’s new lives, times changed yet feelings stayed the same.

[veeiiiii-0-ween]

Had an idea and ran with it

[stardustdiiving]

I like to imagine there comes a point all the Archons realize they can’t leave Nahida & Zhongli alone together when they’re all hanging out because the two of them will in fact get locked in an endless loop of deep philosophical discussions and mutual infodumping that’s nearly impossible to get them out of. Additionally when they DO manage to get Zhongli and Nahida back to the same plane of reality as everyone else they’re faced with the harrowing ordeal of both of them leaving the conversation having absorbed each other’s speech mannerisms

This has resulted in Venti resorting to drastic measures (threatening to collaborate with Hu Tao to be as annoying as possible on purpose) to stop Zhongli from “corrupting the youth” (he asked Nahida if she wanted something to drink and she went on a long poetic waxing monologue about how “at her age” one of the finest joys in life is enjoying a simple cup of tea on a porch while greeting the accompanying sunrise as an old friend) (she needs to wait until she is At Least 2.5 thousand years old before she can talk like that)

[kuroizuna]

[skradio]

what is he pondering...

[fischlcatgirl]

i feel like there is nothing better to illustrate why exactly my fics take so long to write than the fact that writing that mostly-summary very-casual 2.5k word x files au post took me FOUR HOURS of writing mostly the whole time. like with no writers block or anything i cant even do 1000 an hour what am i doing with my life

[siennaditbot]

Sethos x Reader: Sun & Moon

Hehe, look at me actually finishing it lol. Been ages since I've written x Reader stuff but I hope yall like it. Sethos needs more love <3

Female reader but I hope yall can still enjoy it lol :>

Sethos was a people person. He could talk to everyone and make them forget that they hadn't just met him, seamlessly integrating into any group he wished.

He had a good facial memory, so he could strike up a familiar conversation with most of the citizens.

But there was someone in Sumeru City that he had never properly caught for a chat. A humble cleaner girl, who seemed to hate him for some reason.

Whenever he tried to start a casual conversation with her, she focused on anything but him, her body language telling him she did not want to talk. Her replies were curt and he had to try hard to keep the conversation from dying.

He was pushy, yeah, but he knew not to push his luck. She was practically holding a weapon she could smack him with, after all. An everyman’s polearm - a broom.

So, he stopped approaching her. They just coexisted, him passing by her sweeping the streets sometimes, offering a polite wave as he jogged past her.

Then, on one rainy day, Sethos was caught enjoying the shower between his errands. He stood in the middle of the empty street, eyes closed and face lifted skyward as if to hug the rainfall.

But the rain suddenly stopped.

He opened his eyes in surprise and briefly met hers, before she handed her umbrella to him and dashed off. He was left there, staring at her disappearing form and the splatters of water as she ran.

He was confused, but shrugged the absurd encounter off with an amused smile.

“Heh, guess she doesn't hate me, after all. Interesting.”

Sethos loved being in the city. It was full of fascinating people, especially within the Akademiya. He loved learning about them, their stories, ideas and passions.

And now the curt sweeper girl had caught his interest.

He still politely greeted her when he passed by, and her responses were curt as ever, usually simply nodding and letting him pass. But now he read her behavior as shy and awkward instead of hateful.

His polite smile became a bit more genuine when he understood.

He kept noticing her in other places after that, too. She was often found sitting in random spots, holding a notebook she was very focused on, not paying attention to anyone who wondered what her deal was.

Sethos was one of them. He curiously eyed her every time he saw her, but she never lifted her face from her notebook.

One day she was sitting on a box behind Lambad’s Tavern, hand going wild as she worked on the notebook in her lap. Sethos noticed her, and decided to approach her for once.

She jumped when his voice cut through her concentration, having broken into her bubble.

“Soo. What’cha working on there?”

She immediately shut the notebook and looked away, clutching it to her chest.

“Heh, you were really into it. Sorry for spooking you.”

She didn't reply, no idea what to say, so she literally waved it off. He got the message, leaning against the railing next to her.

“You're a funny one, you know. I can never expect where you'll be sitting with that secret tome of yours. I’ve heard people call you a local cryptid because of it.”

That made her snort, and she immediately threw a hand up to cover her mouth.

His smile widened, proud of drawing a new reaction out of her.

“It's true, though. I've seen you on several branches of the Divine Tree, on a roof or two, and I swear I caught you behind a bush once. What's up with that?”

She scratched her cheek shyly, not expecting anyone to pay attention to her.

“...Inspiration”, she finally managed.

“Inspiration, eh? What's so inspiring about sitting behind a bush?”

She chuckled lightly in response.

“I just like switching spots. Different angles.”

"Riight, right, that makes sense. What do you need that inspiration for, then? Writing, drawing, homework?”

She turned the cover of the notebook towards him. It had ‘sketchbook’ written on it in fancy letters.

“Ohhh, an artist, I see. That's cool. You got the whole ‘vibe’ down too, now that I think about it.”

She drew the sketchbook back to herself again, shrugging with a small, amused hum.

“Quiet and mysterious. Who knows what's going on inside those covers”, he explained with a playful grin.

She was still curt, but her small smile gave him confirmation that she definitely didn't hate him.

“I’ll let you continue, then. Can't stop an artist when inspiration hits, after all.”

After seeing her nod and timidly wave at him, he stood back up with a satisfied smile. He waved in response and walked off, arms stretched behind his head as he went to continue on with his day.

From there on, he stopped to bother her for a moment or two whenever and wherever he caught her. She didn't seem willing to talk about art or her secret sketchbook, so he kept the conversation alive, talking about whatever. She was still curt and shy, but her snorts and amused huffs became a more common occurrence as days passed.

One day, after he was done telling one of his stories, she seemed particularly thoughtful.

“What's up? Remind you of something? Oh, oh, did I give you inspiration?” he grinned excitedly, pointing at her.

She took a moment to formulate her reply.

“..How do you always have something to talk about?”

He didn't expect that. She didn't seem annoyed, though..

“Heh, I’ve just seen and heard many interesting things. I like sharing mine, and learning more from the people I meet.”

“That simple?”

He shrugged casually.

“I’m a people person. I like talking and listening.”

Her face formed a strained smile as she looked away.

“My brain always goes blank when there's people around. It's like there's not a single thought in there.”

That seemed to confirm his assumption of her treatment of him before. She was just shy. Or socially anxious.

“Ah. More of an introvert, then?”

“...No, I want to be around people. I just… short circuit. Not very interesting company.”

“I think you're plenty interesting”, he stated matter-of-factly, “you've got me curious.”

That surprised her, and she turned to look in the general direction of his face, but still not meeting his eyes.

“You’re curious? About me?”

“Sure am. There's the sitting in random spots thing, your mystery book, how you're so focused you don't react to people gawking and talking about you right next to you…”

He counted with his fingers, amused but genuine.

“There's obviously a lot going on in there. I’m curious about what sorts of ideas you have. Art isn't exactly the biggest thing around the city, after all.”

She had to take a moment to take in his words.

“It's nothing special, really. Just stories, imaginary situations and encounters.”

“A bit of fantasy added to the ordinary, eh? That's fun. Care to give me an example?”

A bit nosy, maybe, but he was interested.

She looked away for a moment, not sure if she should or whether she even could produce an example for him. He seemed genuinely curious though, so she tried, and inspiration hit when she gazed down at the docks.

“Um, like, a long-awaited reunion happening down there. A tearful embrace…”

She suddenly felt very embarrassed.

“..That's dumb, isn't it? I can-”

“No, no, no, don't worry. I can see it. A bit of a romantic, aren't you?”

She blushed a little, but shrugged with a noncommittal chuckle.

“Comes with the whole art thing, I think.”

“Heh, makes sense. I like it.”

A moment of silence. It was comfortable to him, but she felt the need to fill it.

“U-um, thanks, for, you know, always talking to me.”

He wasn't expecting that, either, and hummed in question, grinning curiously.

“...I like talking to people. It's just..difficult”, she continued, wanting her thanks to reach him properly.

“Well, I’m always down for a chat. I'll keep stopping by to bother you, then?”

“You aren't bothering me. But yeah. I'd like that. Maybe I’ll learn some tips and tricks from the master of social skills”, she joked with a soft smile.

“Sounds like a plan.”

And so they continued their occasional chats. He often ended up stopping people to talk with them, anyway, but it was nice to have confirmation that he actually wasn't bothering her.

His company gradually helped her relax and learn to imitate some of his social techniques, like asking questions and using more open body language.

Eye contact was still an issue for her, though. And to Sethos’ surprise, it bugged him a little.

He was straightforward and social, so eye contact came naturally to him. Not everyone he talked with looked back into his, so he knew it wasn't easy for everyone. And, to be fair, his eyes were kind of intense, which was a blessing and a curse sometimes.

Yet, somehow, he couldn't shake the thought of wanting to meet her eyes. She was always looking somewhere else when they talked. Usually her sketchbook.

Still, he didn't want to make her uncomfortable, so he did his best so she could relax when they chatted. He wouldn't push her, make her feel like she had to do it.

He had only met her eyes once, by accident that time she handed him her umbrella. They were bright and curious, almost striking in the muddiness of the downpour.

He remembered them clearly.

So, instead, he focused on learning more about her and her ideas and visions, and loved telling her his stories since they seemed to inspire her to some extent.

He learned to pick up on the change in her expression when she moved from listening to him to formulating an idea.

It was cute.

He thought positively about people, appreciated their qualities, both inside and out, but it wasn't often that he considered a person cute.

That thought lingered in his mind, too.

Her reactions made her even more cute to him. She blushed at times, yes, but she was playful in return, smacking him with her pencil or broom or rolling her eyes with that amused smile of hers. And she gladly showed him her work now.

He didn't think it affected how he interacted with her, but he unconsciously became a bit more friendly, almost flirty at times. He often grinned when they talked, initiated playful physical contact - like poking or gently kicking her - and couldn't help but give her tons of honest compliments, especially on her art.

One time after their brief chat when she was working, he was left with a single thought in his mind:

“Heh, shucks. I like her.”

It wasn't a world changing revelation, just made him connect the dots and realize how much his way of interacting with her had changed.

…And he was pretty sure she liked him too.

He kept interacting with her like usual, honestly just enjoying what they had. A comfortable friendship with banter, intrigue and plenty of laughter.

But it would be a lie to say that he wasn't also gauging more on what she could be feeling.

He picked his best stories, told them with a bit more flair, and gave her more casual compliments.

And, well, if their knees happened to touch when they were talking, or his playful pokes lingered on her skin a moment too long to be read as platonic, he didn't make a big deal out of it.

One day Sethos caught her sketching on a sturdy branch of the Divine Tree, easily accessible but not immediately visible to the townsfolk.

He chuckled and approached her, nimbly making his way to her in the tree.

“You're an enigma, you know that?” he grinned as he sat down next to her.

“It’s simple, really. The view is great from here. So many people to see, so much inspiration to gather.”

He looked down. The citizens were enjoying their evening activities; entering and exiting the tavern, boats docking, adventurers returning to get their rewards for their daily commissions.

It was interesting. He preferred to be mingling down there with them, but stepping back and watching the hustle and bustle from a different angle made him appreciate it in a new way.

He might not have lived in the city for long, but watching all those people do their thing made him realize how lucky he was to be around so many people nowadays. He grew up in the desert, with only the people of the temple as his company, after all.

He was gazing down with a gentle and slightly solemn expression, happy to be where he was now. He had friends, connections, and now… her, too.

He turned to look at her, about to share his appreciation for the view too, but to his surprise, he met her eyes. She had been watching him, curious about how quiet he went and what he was thinking of.

Her eyes held a hint of worry, but enough affection to make him stumble with his words. This time it was Sethos who broke eye contact, turning to look back down.

“Y-yeah. I get it. All those people have their own lives and stories to tell.”

“Exactly!” she chuckled and pointed the end of her pencil at him. “A gold mine of inspiration and ideas.”

They both loved getting ideas from people, huh? Their ways were different, sure, but maybe they were pretty similar, after all.

Stories, curiosity, ideas and inspiration. They worked well together.

That train of thought suddenly made him feel the need to communicate his feelings to her. Like his soul was calling out, wanting to connect with this girl whose company he had been enjoying more and more.

“You know, you remind me of the Moon sometimes”, he started, fittingly artistic for what he was about to do.

“Sounds fun and poetic. Care to elaborate?”

“You're always present, I just gotta know where to look. Mysterious, but mesmerizing.”

“Hehe, thank you.”

She smiled, but didn't seem to catch the full meaning of his words, so he continued.

“What I’m trying to say is, I like you. You draw my attention in a way no one else does.”

Well that definitely caught her attention.

Their eyes met again, and he nodded, not ashamed or embarrassed, but ever so slightly nervous.

“You do?”

She cleared her throat to answer him.

“...I always thought you were like the Sun. You're warm, fun, and easily draw people to you.”

She wasn't as calm as he was, but hoped her indirect poetic message reached him too.

“Does that mean what I think it does?” he couldn't help but ask, a hopeful grin on his face.

She moved her gaze down and nodded.

“I-I like you too. I feel like I can relax around you.”

Both sat in silence, soft and giddy grins on their faces, taking in the big words hanging in the air.

They turned to look back down at the citizens buzzing around the streets, the shy mood eventually becoming comfortable again, and moved on into imagining what kinds of adventures the people below them had experienced today.

Their fingers soon found each other and intertwined slightly as they sat together.

[shrews-art]

White chrysanthemums for grief, lavenders for devotion 🌸

[yumenosakiacademy]

[alltheshadesofamber]

My personal interpretation of Kavetham is that Alhaitham is aware of his feelings for Kaveh and he’s just accepted them, shrugged and continued living his life. It’s just a fact to him now. And if someone asked him if he ever planned on telling Kaveh, he’d be like, “It’s none of his business.”