"Stay focused, dear."
"I'm trying-"
Y/n grunted when she was suddenly knocked back, the dull sword she had been training with flying out of her hold and clattering down onto the ground of the empty village.
She raised her head to gaze up at the woman responsible, watching her white locks of hair and red-tipped ears flow back amongst the breezes that had been caused during their little duel.
A red fan floated above her left hand, tinted with patterns of shimmering gold that trailed all over the silky material.
Her red eyes glimmered with both disappointment and wonder as she stared down at the ward she took under her own wing.
"It seems that a sword isn't a suitable weapon for you either."
Y/n brushed her purple-tinted hair out of her face, huffing softly whilst she pushed herself to sit up from the ground.
"How can you be so sure already? It's the first time I've tried wielding one."
The fox deity responsible for her current position merely sent her a small smile.
"Let's just say it's an adepti's instinct."
The puppet sighed at her words, proceeding to get up from the ground and stand on her own feet once more.
"Let's take a break for now." Yanli allowed her catalyst to fade, turning her head away and waving her 'student' off. "Go on, take a walk and clear your mind. Once you return, we'll start your training with a claymore instead."
"And what if that fails?"
"Then we'll try a bow." The deity chuckled, "We'll keep going until we find something. I would train you for a catalyst first, but I don't have any books on me at the moment."
Y/n frowned. "What about your fans?"
"That.." Hesitation diverted Yanli's smile, "..would prove a rather difficult situation. I may speak more of that to you some other time."
She soon begun to walk towards the most lively house to be spotted within this village. "Now, go on."
"Ah..alright."
♡__.○.__♡
What did it mean to be a part of this world?
Y/n had a tendency of thinking many different thoughts whenever time to herself was granted to her, which concludes to her current wonders.
She's asked that question before.
'There will never be a specific answer.'
That was Yanli's opinion.
The sun was setting and various hues of orange filled the sky, the clouds taking new shapes that can be interpreted in many ways depending on how one's mind worked, decorating the dusk and differing it from all the others.
Perhaps that was a good example to Yanli's answer.
Human minds were like clouds, different and changing.
Yet none of them would be acknowledged in the same way.
When you compare the clouds to the hues of a dusk, the heartwarming orange in the sky would be much more memorable than the fading white.
That's where y/n could begin to see herself.
She represented the clouds, and Makoto was the sky.
Coming to an abrupt stop within her tracks, y/n would soon come to close her eyes.
The breeze slipped past the trees, carrying a message.
There were people nearby.
♡__.○.__♡
"I knew this was a bad idea.."
"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll be able to find our way back!"
Walking past all the trees and manoeuvring over the rocks, there appeared to be two little kids.
One with bright red hair, and the other with cobalt blue.
"Come on, Diluc. We just gotta hold on for a little longer!" The blue one spoke.
"I don't think we have any hope of finding our way back to them, there's no path.." The red one pointed out.
"Huh?" As if he hadn't realized it, the blue haired boy came to a still and gazed down at the ground beneath them. There indeed was no path, but only grass.
"..."
Silence momentarily filled the air before little sniffles could be heard instead.
"W-..We're lost?.." The blue one looked towards the red one with tears in his eye.
"Ah-" The ruby eyed boy seemed rather startled, quick to step closer to the other ahead of him.
"Please don't cry, Kaeya. I'm sure we'll find a way back." He repeated what the teary eyed boy had said earlier, disregarding his own doubts that he expressed only mere moments ago.
"O-Okay," Rubbing at his eye, he'd nod his head. "If you say so.."
"Kaeya and Diluc.."
"Huh?" The two children turned their heads when they heard an unfamiliar voice speak their names.
There was a silhouette in the distance.
Diluc narrowed his eyes, wasting no time to step in front of his little brother and spreading his arms out to protect him. "Who are you? What do you want?"
"L-Luc.."
Upon hearing his brother's stutters, Diluc would glance behind himself and meet sight of a group of hilichurls running towards them from the other side.
He gasped when he realized that they were already too close, quick to wrap his arms around Kaeya in hopes of being able to keep him safe in some way.
Just when they thought they were doomed, they were swiftly pulled aside by the silhouette that rushed past.
Both of the kids huffed once they made impact with the ground. It didn't seem to be intentional, since the figure that moved them away also appeared to have fallen down.
They both sat up to gaze upon a lady in a white and purple hanfu.
The crystalfly accessories that decorated the girl's hair threatened to fall out as she also pushed herself to sit up.
A blue eye, red eyes and e/c eyes all made a collision.
"..Who are you?" Diluc questioned, only to tense when he was suddenly embraced from the side.
"That was so close!" Kaeya cried, clearly still frightened. "Thank you, miss!"
"Ah.."
Y/n wasn't very sure of what to say, turning her head to look towards the monsters who wished to approach them again.
"..We need to run."
"Can't you fight them?" Diluc wrapped his arms around Kaeya as well.
"I would..if I could wield a weapon."
She reached to take ahold of their wrists before standing, pulling them up along with herself.
"Try to keep up."
"You seriously can't fight? I thought all people knew at least the basics especially against mere hilichurls." Diluc frowned.
"Don't even talk, you're the ones that nearly died."
"Cause we're kids!"
"And for all you know, I am too."
♡__.○.__♡
"Miss..how did you know our names?" Kaeya couldn't help but ask after he and Diluc caught up with their breath.
Y/n didn't seem to be fatigued at all despite all their running.
"You weren't exactly speaking quietly."
They actually were, but she'd rather not speak of her supernatural senses.
"Where are we headed?" Diluc asked next. These kids' questioning just never seemed to stop.
"..My home." Was y/n's answer.
"You have a home this way? All I see is a bunch of trees.."
"Maybe it's a tree house!" Kaeya lit up.
Neither of them had been prepared for it once they saw the image of endless trees fade upon touch, revealing a village of many flora and crops of unknown fruits.
The image of trees had been an illusion.
Y/n awkwardly kept her gaze away from the two amazed kids, not really in the mood to answer any more questions.
♡__.○.__♡
"Care to explain?" Yanli asked, staring forward at the trio after inviting them into her home whilst holding onto a tray with various cups and a teapot of oolong tea.
Y/n sent her guardian a sheepish smile. "They got lost.."
"Fox.." Kaeya mumbled, blinking his eye as he glanced up at the fox deity's ears.
Diluc seemed rather weary, on the other hand.
"..We tagged along on a shipment to Liyue harbor, but we got separated from them." He explained.
Y/n could tell from how Yanli's eyes glistened that she knew it wasn't the entire truth.
"..And by 'getting separated', you actually mean 'ran away to explore and play', correct?"
"Eh.." A bit taken aback from being seen through his lie, Diluc would turn his gaze away from her.
Kaeya frowned. "It's my fault! It was my idea, Diluc told me it was a bad one." He lowered his head.
Y/n wondered if Yanli was about to scold them, but she knew that wouldn't be the case when she saw the fond smile that formed on her mentor's face.
Silence filled the air, the only sounds coming from the way Yanli knelt to place down the tray in her hands and picked up the teapot to pour some of the hot beverage into the cups.
"Here, drink this."
She placed the cups of tea near the two brothers.
"Tea relaxes the mind, and I think you two need that the most right now."
The duo was rather surprised at the offer, but accepted regardless.
Yanli then glanced towards y/n. "Would you care for some as well?"
Y/n smiled.
"Do you even need to ask?"
♡__.○.__♡
"And then dad got mad at us..even when it was all just Kaeya's fault."
"Hey, how was I supposed to know pyro slimes would explode when defeated!?"
Laughter filled the atmosphere, the air warm as the fire place that the three sat in front of had been crackling for a while.
"You two are so troublesome."
"What about you? Didn't you ever cause problems for your mom?"
"..Huh?" Y/n blinked, not really getting the question. "My mom?"
"Miss Yanli! She's your mom, right?" Kaeya said.
"Obviously." Diluc sighed at his brother's unnecessary question.
Y/n remained silent for a moment to pass.
A mother was the one that put a person into this world. The one that creates.
Thus statistically speaking, the electro archon was her mother.
..And yet,
As the books portray, a mother is also someone who cares for you.
In which case:
"..Yes, you could say she's my mother. I've caused more trouble than I'd like to admit."
Kaeya laughed happily at her confirmation whereas Diluc just shook his head. And together, they all enjoyed their tea and mandarin oranges for a little while longer.
It didn't take long before the little ones would fall asleep, leaning against one another and keeping each other warm and cozy.
Y/n held onto her fifth cup of tea, watching the two with a certain glint of emotion in her eyes.
Siblings..they must've been nice to have.
Keeping each other company and reassuring one another when one worried too much.
Always being on each others side.
As she stared forward at the blue and red duo, y/n couldn't help but feel envious.
Slowly, she'd raise her head to gaze up at the ceiling.
She faintly recalled a name:
"..Kunikuzushi?"
♡__.○.__♡
"You..placed an illusion into their minds?"
"Indeed," Yanli stared forward at her ward, fan in hand.
The gold patterns of the catalyst were glowing, and so were the red tips of her ears.
"They'll forget our names, and they'll think of all this as a mere dream. Something to be forgotten."
Forgotten..
Once again, y/n would be forgotten.
♡__.○.__♡
"You two have been hiding here the entire time!?" The panicked merchants from Mondstadt knelt down to the two children, who were leaning back against one of the large crates at the docks of Liyue harbor.
They stirred awake, having been asleep.
"..Huh?.." Diluc rubbed at his eyes, whereas Kaeya shook his head to wake himself up some more.
The merchants' scolding were inaudible to their ears as they tried to figure out what on earth had happened to them. How'd they end up here, weren't they lost?
Ah, no. That was a dream.
They remembered now:
After they arrived, they went to play and wandered a bit too far off into the harbor.
"So sleepy.." Kaeya yawned, blinking his eye when he felt something in his hand.
Slowly, he raised it to meet sight of a strange orange citrus fruit in his palm.
"..What's this?"
♡__.○.__♡
"Kaeya! You've come at the right time, we must-"
"Hold on, Amber. Are you perhaps forgetting to introduce us?"
The blue haired man looked away from the panicked pyro wielder, turning his gaze upon the fairy, blonde, and purple tinted girl.
As the outrider began to introduce their names to one another, their voices started to fall deaf to y/n's ears.
So it was indeed Kaeya.
He did look familiar, but at the same time, he was completely unrecognizable.
Something about him seemed different, and the same applied to the red haired man she had met earlier.
They had both..changed.
The look in their eyes.
"Y/n!?"
"Ah- yes?" The puppet glanced towards the one responsible for the high-pitched voice that called her name, noticing the worried look in both her and her travel companion's eyes.
"Are you okay? Paimon's been calling your name for a while now."
"Are you still shocked from going up against Stormterror?" A guilty frown slipped its way into Amber's expression. "Its alright, you can take a moment to lay down at the Favonius headquarters!"
The Favonius headquarters? Were they headed towards there? She must've missed quite a bit of the conversation.
"..Sorry, I was just thinking."
The girl rubbed at her head while Aether pat her back as an act of comfort, walking forward and after Amber who rushed to guide them.
Behind them, Kaeya followed, though his eyes lingered onto the hair of the other cryo wielder.
'Something about her seems familiar..'