fidelity || gi

origins: diluc ragnvindr

• old mondstadt, 2,600 years ago. •

veritas had been struggling to provide for her and her younger brother for a very long time. her brother would busk, bring music to the otherwise miserable city of mondstadt, earn a coin or two in the lifeless town square, and veritas' job was to barter with the traders to turn the tuppence into something to quench their constant hunger.

no matter how much she tried, she could not muster more than enough for just one person, and her brother always took priority. some days she would become so hungry it was painful, and she would never wish that on her brother.

"girl," a man called to her one day, as she walked defeatedly away from a stall, carrying a measly loaf of bread in her hands. she looked up at the man, looked around her cautiously, and, upon realising that she was the only 'girl' in the vicinity, approached the tall, lean figure.

the man was hooded, but he looked rather wealthy from the state of his attire. fur shoulders and a belt, as well as some rather expensive-looking boots, and... was that armour on his legs?

"you're the dawn knight," veritas stated with wonder.

the man hushed her gently, pulling her out of the middle of the town square into a side path.

"please, call me caleo." the man smiled, pulling back his hood and revealing long, dark crimson hair tied into a low ponytail. his eyes were a bright amber-brown colour, alight with mischief, like a roaring flame. "but yes, some like to call me the dawn knight. my real name is caleo ragnvindr."

"don't kill me if i mispronounce that surname sometime, okay?" the girl said nervously, and the man threw his head back, laughing heartily.

"not at all! sometimes i find even myself scratching my head at the spelling." the man joked, placing his hand on her shoulder. veritas flinched away from the touch at first, but let his hand stay there.

"what do you want?" veritas said bluntly.

the man chuckled, unfazed by her lack of courtesy. "straight to the point, i like it. i heard the bard performing this morning- if i'm not mistaken, he is a friend of yours, correct?"

"brother." veritas corrected him, and he nodded apologetically.

"i see. my mistake, i'm very sorry. well, i was running errands in the square just yesterday and managed to catch a new tune of his; this morning, i was lucky enough to hear it again, and it's quickly become one of my personal favourites- perhaps i'm a little biased, seeing as it's about me." the man boasted.

"i see. he's going to get himself into trouble, someday, with his songs of blatant treason." veritas muttered, fiddling with the sleeve of her fur coat. "no matter. it puts food in his stomach. as stupid as he may be, his ballads of rebellion do make my purse far heavier." she said nonchalantly.

"your brother has spirit." caleo corrected. "it's something that's very rare to see in this age, which is why i'm having so much trouble with this whole revolution business."

"trust me," the girl looked up at him fiercely, with a sudden change of spirit, "your efforts are not going unnoticed, sir. if i were not so caught up providing for my brother and i, i would join you in a heartbeat. one day, i will. hopefully, that day comes soon."

"well, let me make you a deal...?" the man looked at her questioningly.

"veritas." veritas said.

"let me make you a deal, veritas. and please don't see this as bribery, or anything of the like, because from what you've just told me, this offer is very much in your favour. i will pay for you and your brother to eat like kings, and you join my little revolutionary army i've got going on here. that's all i ask. we could use a couple more younger rebels like you two. we'll train you to fight, and when the time comes, you'll be on the front lines, if you wish."

veritas sniffed. "i don't think there's any turning that offer down, sir. but, you're not dragging my brother into this."

"first of all, please stop calling me sir," the man held his hand up to veritas, "and... why ever not?"

"he's fourteen." veritas shook her head. "he's not fighting in a war."

"but you don't look a day over eighteen, veritas. why shouldn't he fight, if he wants to? he is very passionate about what he believes in in his performances."

"i'm nineteen, actually!" the girl argued. "almost twenty. and it's different for him. i promised to protect him, so he can't fight in a revolution. if he gets hurt, i'll never forgive myself."

"very well," the man sighed. "but he should at least be trained to protect himself. he won't fight if that's not what you want. but something is better than nothing, don't you agree?"

"you're right." the girl agreed. "fine. i agree to your terms. you'll start my training promptly."

"yes, ma'am!" caleo grinned amusedly at her bossiness.

-

when the captain of civil affairs visits the tavern, diluc doesn't fill her glass quite as much as he would for another customer. she's a lightweight, and it's very easy for her to go over the edge, so he measures her quantities very carefully.

he recognises the slur in her voice, and he can tell by the size of her pupils when she's had too much, and that is when he shuts down and refuses to let her buy any more.

he has a very strong feeling of protectiveness toward her, even though their only encounters are mostly in the tavern.

she does visit often, though, and she's good company when business is slow, and the tavern isn't as lively as usual.

he puts it down to his father. ever since he lost him, she was the only consistent thing in his life; every day, in the tavern, same time, same order, same uniform. both before he left for his travels, and after he had returned, she would be there. sometimes she would bring her good friend, the bard. whatever was happening that day, he could always rely on the fact that she would be there, sitting at the bar with a mischievous grin and a story to tell.

what diluc didn't know was that veritas actually went out of her way to do this as she knew that he would be there, that time, that place, that day.

at first, she held a little resentment for the man, as she had for his ancestor years ago, especially before she had been promoted to a captain, when she was about twelve up until she was fifteen, and was working as the cavalry captain's secretary, running his errands and completing his paperwork. but she remembered that day so clearly whenever she saw him, remembered the training sessions, remembered the blood and sweat she sacrificed with the dawn knight, she could hear her brother's melodious voice so clearly that she couldn't resist but visit to greet the same long, dark, crimson hair tied back into a ponytail, the same amber-brown eyes alight with a raging flame.

and diluc just couldn't understand the correlation between 'diluc' and 'caleo', and neither could he understand why veritas would always call him it whenever she became tipsy.