#ecleips

[ccaptain]

❌ 👀

kaeya vc: grabbing kaeya by the shoulders -- @ecleips

' it's less about disliking, and more about being concerned. i beg of you to give yourself priority- and that you are loved, even when you don't think you deserve it, or when you refuse to see it. you're deserving of love and care, sibling. you better mind those words, or i'll give you a noogie. '

[zorkaya-moved]

@ecleips

ABOUT: KAEYA.   the one left behind from a fallen kingdom.

Poor, poor Sir Kaeya. We are talking about one and only Kaeya Alberich! The Cavalry Captain, the one with the eye of the cursed, always an outcast. Hm? No, you are incorrect. The reason why I find him entertaining is because of what expressions he shows me. Such hatred, such disgust, such tension. He doesn't show you that look, does he? I would say it's rather attractive. Sickeningly so, yes. I enjoy sharpness in one's gaze; it's fun to see how my very existence puts him on edge. The serpent within me yearns to take a bite, but haha... I won't, I'm a human, after all. Though, he has to have so much repressed anger, don't you think? How he carries himself, how he is wary of so much, and how he looks at you. He doesn't trust many, but I respect that. Ah, but isn't it strange, Traveler? He knows what I've done, but he's never met me before, yet he's aware of my doings in the Abyss and against Abyss Order. Tsk, tsk, you look surprised. Don't you think that is particularly suspicious, and you should be wary of those around you just as much as you are around me? I'm not the only snake in this beautiful garden called Teyvat.

[supportingfire]

" thoma, it's okay - really. " and it is, truly. a lot of time had passed since the days when they were reckless youths, playing, pretending they didn't have bigger responsibilities waiting for them. gone were the days when diluc would gaze longingly at jean, and thoma ; diluc, and ... kaeya ; thoma. childhood crushes were fleeting things after all, miracles if one got the chance to act on them. if anyone deserved a miracle, it was his brother. " charles probably thought you knew ! i'm sure he wouldn't have brought it up otherwise. he was used to me coming in , complaining about my latest infatuation. " it's awkward, and a tad vulnerable. and frostwind doesn't like it one bit. " i assure you that even back then , your companionship was too important for me to sabotage. it still is. now so more than ever. i needn't remind you that if anyone hurts diluc there would be hell to pay. don't think i'll go easy on you just because we're friends. "

he remembers what it was like, to be young and experiencing an emotion you thought was love for the first time. it was an important time in a kid's life, but it was also incredibly transitory. a stage of growth that lead to more permanent outcomes. did his fourteen-year-old self look at diluc and think, with dreamy sighs, they would be together forever? sure, maybe in his daydreams. but it wasn't until a decade later, when he returned a stronger man, was thoma able to make sense of it all. the first crush was important to figuring out who you were, but it didn't define it.

even with knowing that, thoma can't help the feel of guilt that has floated around his person since earlir that morning. since it was casually joked that the ragnvindr brothers both pined after the wrong person in their youth. thoma hadn't even seen it, too busy watching diluc chase jean…kaeya had been doing the same, but with him. how isolating must that have felt for a young man, just coming in to his own? thoma recalls the times they did spend together, when diluc was busy being the youngest knight the faction had ever seen; waiting up late at the winery for him to come home. whispering under pillow forts to not wake the maids. kaeya didn't indulge too often his personal shortcomings, even when they were kids, but every once in a blue moon…thoma would hear it. the longing to be as good as his brother. the desire to be favored. still just kids, thoma hadn't been sure how to help. he was struggling with his own hardships, after all. now and adult, he believes kaeya when captain says it was alright. time forever marched on, childhood crushes fizzled and withered.

but still. how lonely must kaeya have felt then? and then retainer left without much word...thoma feels a soft ache in his heart.

"i have always cherished our friendship, you know that," at least, thoma hopes the man does, "if i ever made you feel isolated, or rejected…i'm sorry. even though we were kids, i never wanted you to hurt. i…knew what that felt like. if i had known…" a pause. thoma isn't sure what to say. what would he have done had he known the truth? he was a child, the answer was hard to find. so he doesn't answer at all, not wanting to respond with something that might not have been truthful.

"i'm happy we're still friends. and i'm happy we get to be family…you don't have to worry about me, i think i'd sooner fall on my own spear than hurt diluc."

[astrclreflection-a]

@ecleips​ sent: ✎ = speaking in a different language . ( perhaps he swears in khaenri'ahn a little before he remembers she's there. )  ┊ ┊ ⋆˚   send one for my muse’s reaction ( ACCEPTING )

Mona was being a bit too much today towards the cavalary captain. Getting a rise out of him here and there was becoming a favorite past time. Plus, she believed that when one is frustrated, their guard becomes wavered, making possible slip-ups. She hadn't learned much, if anything at all, from him and his speculated relation to the fallen region. However, being around him was becoming more routine, whether she learned anything or not, and it was entertaining to say the least. Or, well.. annoying him was entertaining. 

She tugged at his low ponytail, as he had done to her many times before, getting a reaction out of him. A small laugh escaped from her lips, as she couldn't help but feel childish, but that only lasted for a moment. It stopped once he mumbled words... words that she was not familiar with in the slightest. Within her travels, she's heard her fair share of languages spoken around Teyvat, but not this one. It peaked her curiosity. 

She looked over at him, an arm across her chest, as the other rested upon it. Her index finger lightly touching her chin in a pensive manner, for the dramatic effect, before pointing at him. ❝ A-ha! What was that you just said? Or should I say what language did you just use, Mr. Cavalry Captain? I'm all ears for this explanation. ❞

[stellarismegistus]

『 ↳ ☾ ⋆*･ﾟ ✧･ﾟ @ecleips​​​;

    ❝ Pardon, but do you have a moment? I was looking through the library and found a hidden book about a distant region that is no longer? Would you know anything about this? ❞ 

[toradoji]

@ecleips​ --- ;

“I’ll admit, it wasn’t easy to come by, but everything’s there.”

Traveling between Sumeru and neighboring countries while attending the Akademiya wasn’t the most orthodox of ways to spend the term, especially in what limited free time the students were allotted, but the mora was needed to foot the Akademiya’s various bills. Hence why she undertook such illicit jobs, like being an informant. In the outer limits of Springvale, the night had weathered slow and dark, nearly starless while most of the residents slept. Outside was for secrets, and the night was the best keeper of them. 

“Movements, supply chains, current membership roster--it’s all there.”

[piercingdarke]

keller comes back to diluc on the first of may with a little package, a peacock feather tucked into it a clear indicator of who it's from. inside was a beautifully crafted owl brooch, dotted with small stars, coloured in gems of dark blue, purple, soft orange, most notably made to appear crepuscular. on the back of the brooch was a khaenri'ahn rune, the package containing a small rolled up paper with a cipher written in kaeya's hand. under each glyph, the direct translation : ' go, with love. ' and then underneath it, a small note ' they're khaenri'ahn protection sigils. you're supposed to give them to family before they go into battle. '

     🔥 happy birthday, diluc <3

          it’s not often that his bird returns to him with anything he wasn’t expecting, and he was no longer surprised by how chipper the falcon had seemed as soon as the feather in her parcel caught his eye. for some reason, when he finally locks himself away in his study and makes to open up the little package, his fingers are trembling--it’s easily reasoned away with the excuse that he must still be a little on edge from the previous day, and dawn presses promptly onward.

          he spends several long, silent minutes looking over the package’s contents, ruby hues far off and perhaps somewhat forlorn as he reads over his brother’s neat script more than once, carefully turning the brooch over from one side to the other and back a few times, fingertips tracing its edges and the sigils imprinted on its surface. at some point, he blinks for the first time in what feels like ages, and a droplet wets a small spot on kaeya’s note, garnering diluc’s attention--he utters a soft ‘huh?’ beneath his breath and raises a hand to rub his eye, surprised to find the wetness of tears gathered on umber lashes. like the curious phenomenon of wounds that are painless until you notice them, he chokes up rather suddenly, hot tears flooding crimson hues as he clutches kaeya’s gift to his chest with one hand and wipes at his eyes with the other, but there’s a sense of solace and relief in realizing that it doesn’t hurt.

[lupicalled]

👀 “uncle kaeya”?

          since diluc is dad-shaped, it's only fair. but i don't think diluc wants razor to call him that.