The Vulture and the Paradisaea (Alhaitham x Kaveh)

S1 C2 - He's Not Home

Alhaitham sighed as he walked toward his house. Today had been a tiring day. In fact, it had been so exhausting that he was certain that the moment he laid in bed, he would pass out. Then he noticed something odd. Kaveh was not waiting for him at the door. Usually, Kaveh would usually sit by the door and wait for Alhaitham, since he had both their keys. It was around 22:00, surely he would be home right now. Alhaitham reminded himself, Kaveh is a grown adult. He knows how to take care of himself. If worst comes to worst, at least he has Mehrak by his side. Even with that in mind, he still couldn't shake the feeling that Kaveh was not okay. So he decided to wait outside for a little. Each minute that he waited, the dread in his heart increased. Kaveh wasn't coming. Was he injured? Or it could be a whole lot worse. But surely that wasn't the case, right? That fucking dumbass, Alhaitham thought.

He began walking around Sumeru City, making sure to only call out softly so no one would wake up. He must have pasted the Grand Bazaar five times before he started to get annoyed. Kaveh... You would have thought that he was smart enough by now to know what was a scam, what was dangerous, and what-not. He definitely wasn't. Alhaitham recalled talking to the Traveler about how idiotic he was. Giving out money to hospitals when in Sumeru, hospitals were free. What if he got scammed or kidnapped? No one would help out because Kaveh wasn't a child. Alhaitham could almost hear the authorities say, "He probably just got bored and decided to take a break in Liyue or the newly opened Inazuma. You shouldn't worry." It wasn't his job to look after Kaveh, but look where he was now.

Alhaitham sighed and looked for a mercenary from the Corps of Thirty. He ended up talking to Farid, a officer often on patrol near the Grand Bazaar. "Have you seen a person about as tall as me, with blonde hair and red eyes? Probably could be mistaken for a woman, especially with his choice of clothing. You might know of him. His name is Kaveh, or better known as the Light of Kshahrewar."

Farid looked deep in thought and answered, "Yes, I saw a blonde talking to a man around this afternoon. They seemed to be planning to meet up somewhere. Later, around 21:00, I saw the same blonde walking around in confusion, furrowing his red eyes at a small slip of paper I could have sworn that man handed him. He seemed to be heading toward the villages. That's all I got out of it. The blonde seemed pretty confused."

"Thank you. This information is very helpful. Be sure to stay on the lookout for him. If I don't find him, I'll be back. Thank you for helping me, I appreciate it." Alhaitham then walked toward the small village just northwest from Sumeru City. He had passed it a couple of times, and he remembered the guards had searched it for Lesser Lord Kusanali. It was a plan they had managed to complete successfully. It was a big win for everyone. Kusanali was safe, and the sages' new god had been foiled. Although Alhaitham heard drips and drabs about a wanderer who was connected to the god, he couldn't have cared less. As long as this so-called wanderer wasn't planning on creating any trouble, he could afford to look the other way.

The sage's plan was amongst the ones that he voluntary chose to participate in. It would have affected all of Sumeru, and perhaps even the other areas, like Liyue and Fontaine. The Canned Knowledges that had been smuggled definitely were dangerous, and he admitted that he was looking for more knowledge himself. But this? Why was he doing this? Kaveh wasn't his friend. At least, not anymore. Alhaitham became annoyed at the sudden memory, and he shook it off. The only reason he was doing this was because Kaveh owed him, and if he were to suddenly disappear, Alhaitham wouldn't be able to use the favor.

As he walked into the village, he noticed that most people were awake. That's helpful. I can ask if they have seen him. So Alhaitham walked up to another mercenary, this one known as Nidal. "Hello there sir, have you seen a blonde with red eyes?"

Nidal looked him up and down and snorted. "Yes, I have, what about it? I can't give out that kind of information to a passerby, only a Mahamata." Alhaitham held himself back from rolling his eyes. The man acted as arrogant as the sages.

"Just tell me which house he went in. He owes me something, and I can't promise I won't get violent if he doesn't give it to me." Nidal looked furious and opened his mouth to argue, but Alhaitham interrupted with, "Of course, that can be avoided if you just would tell me where he went. I promise you will hear no more from me."

Nidal sighed. "Around 21:00, he went into the house of a man named Karim. You may not know of him, but the Akademiya and the Corps of Thirty despise him. I'm not sure how, but he manages to get away with the most disgusting crimes. Smuggling, rape, worse. They have dirt and solid evidence, but he has something that makes them back off. He's got a terrible reputation, I'm surprised your blonde went inside. Or course, if he does owe you something, he might owe Karim as well." Alhaitham felt his heart pound. Shit, that wasn't good. Nidal picked up on Alhaitham's panic and continued, "Don't worry too much about it, I saw him going out of there a couple of minutes ago, back to the city. He seemed a bit less thrilled about being here then he was before though. I don't know where he was headed, but he seemed to be focused only on where he was going."

"Thank you for this information. I'll be taking my leave." Alhaitham looked deep in thought and he walked toward to his house. There was only one place Kaveh could have been going to. He remembered it quite fondly. They had spend many days playing over there when they were younger. He headed on over.