callalilies | ミ★ pre-crau2 psls

[ it's tanhua, actually, that greets them at the entrance to ghost city after a myriad of messages and letters and art passed back and forth, of proposed ideas. hua cheng has ways of procuring what kaeya needs, and the invitation is extended to him - and diluc, too, for the moral support.

(yuri and sheba will be welcomed another time, but this visit is all business and minimal pleasure, today.)

the large huli jing sits neatly at the outer gate, ignoring all passersby - who, in turn, give their lord's daemon a wide berth - and keeping his right eye closed as he watches people come and go. the only person he remotely acknowledges before the arrival from teyvat is a person in black whose presence otherwise goes unnoticed, and all that he spares is a quick glance before he's rising to all four paws when the tear in between worlds opens with the coin's power.

he meanders forward, checking for fellow daemons. ]

Alberich, Ragnvindr. We're doing finishing touches. Come with me - he'll meet you at the Manor.

[ the first to step through, or rather give a graceful leap through the tear, is polaris in all of his fluffy glory, shaking out his coat. he has the scent of warm summer wine and the green, rolling fields of mondstadt. he doesn't hesitate, trotting over to tanhua and gently thwacking him in the flank. ]

Thank you again for having us. Captain!

[ it's said fondly, hardly with a bit of station to it, more like an affectionate name than a title. kaeya slips through the window with a stretch upwards and a big sigh. he has no eyepatch today, instead choosing to walk with his other (and only) eye on full display, glowing a soft blue. he casts a brief smile at tanhua before turning back to the window and holding out a hand. ]

Come on, 'Luc, you're going to keep Crimson Rain Sought Flower waiting~we have a date!

Edited 2022-05-23 13:59 (UTC)

[ traversing worlds will never be easy, diluc has decided, because he nearly falls through the tear. also doesn't help that canopus bolts past him to follow after polaris, knocking him off balance. thankfully there's a hand for him to grab hold of, taking it slow as he steps all the way through.

with a sigh, as he is finally able to look around... ]

I'm not sure I will ever get used to traversing worlds. [ looks to his daemon ] Please take it easy, from now on, Canopus. You nearly knocked me over.

[ he looks to tanhua and gives a nod, before following after the daemon. ]

Thank you for having us.

[ without hesitation, tanhua snatches polaris' ear in his teeth - but for all the roughness of the gesture, there's no hostility, and he doesn't break skin. he just gives a pull in response, tails lashing, before letting go. canopus is given a more polite greeting, dark eye looking to her, then up to their boys, his own ears twitching up and at attention. ]

We promised an eye, so we'll give an eye. Only fair for what Alberich went through for us.

[ with that, he turns in a smooth motion, heading into the gates of ghost city and through the market street. the vibrant reds and bustling stalls and shops are filled with ghosts and ghouls and beasts, all of various sizes and shapes, that turn their attention towards them in spades. the attention lingers, but they don't immediately jump at the bit to interact with newcomers - tanhua's presence tells them they've got guests of their chengzhu, so they behave for now. ]

Easier than writing any of you, having you here. And he wanted to ask Ragnvindr about exporting your wine to Ghost City anyways.

[ polaris is content with this, pushing his muzzle briefly against tanhua's jaw before trotting away to take up his place at kaeya's blind side. his fingers find the daemon's thick fur as they begin to follow tanhua. kaeya releases diluc's hand only when he's certain he's all the way through. ]

It was worth it all in the end. What's an eye between friends, yes? [ he smiles, and most certainly means it this time around. a rarity. ] But... the wine, now that's a delightful prospect. If that happens, I'll have to show him my favorite drink.

[ in the meantime, he'll most certainly follow tanhua wherever he leads, diluc at his side. is he nervous? nah. but he is taking in the sights of ghost city, nearly as luminous as the paintings he's been given, illustrating the very streets they walk now. ]

[ diluc nods in response, canopus doing the same, like human like daemon. she rejoins him at his side. ]

It is something that's been brought up and seeing how lively it is here, I think it'd go over well.

[ he just shakes his head a little, at kaeya's remark, turning his gaze up and around to take in the sights.

thinking...thinking...]

Maybe even create a new drink, something that really captures the overall atmosphere of Ghost City.

[ the daemon looks briefly at kaeya when he says friends, a mild form of disdain on his face that would be perfectly mirrored by the ghost he belongs to. but he just moves up the steps to paradise manor as they pass by the rowdy gambler's den, a slightly more quiet part of the world that they call home here. ]

That'd likely meet decent reception - the residents here are rowdy, but proud to call it home, so they'd brag about a drink created for the city for a couple hundred years straight like the insufferable bastards they are.

[ affectionate? anyways, the doors open for the group independent of anyone's touch, and tanhua meanders to a side passage that's barely noticeable at a glance. it leads away from anyone that might be in the manor, away from music and women's laughter and singing in the main hall, towards a still room lit without the bleeding reds of the city. ]

Well, come on then. [ with the dry tone of someone that hasn't really been kept waiting that long, hua cheng stands at a shelf, plucking a bottle off of it without turning to greet them. ] We'll talk wine after we get this part taken care of.

Crimson Rain Sought Flower, how good to see you.

[ kaeya grins cheekily, giving a stretch as he's told that there's something to be taken care of because, well, of course there is. while diluc has made agreements with jean, kaeya hasn't been back into work in-person for quite some time. most of his missions are outside the city proper, and his missives are sent in via polaris or diluc himself. life is currently very limited at the moment.

he glances at the bottle, and begins to move forward, polaris at his heels. ]

And how exactly does this part... get taken care of precisely?

[ he's trying to see the bottle. he's being NOSY. ]

Good to see you. You look well.

[ considering hc is now free of his celestial duties, he can only assume things have become easier, once again. they've all had their fair share of time to unwind and reacclimate themselves into their worlds.

diluc nods in response, sighing as he watches kaeya be nosy.]

Yes, what is the first step in this process?

[ what if this was some harry potter nonsense and kaeya had to drink eyeball juice to grow it back, like the bone juice they have...yuck.(no)]

Edited 2022-05-31 06:29 (UTC)

[ kaeya has decided that it's bring your daughter to work day, but more importantly, bring your daughter to all the fun stuff you do at work day. their first stop, of course, is getting her outfitted in proper adventuring clothing, of course, stopping by a tailor who makes adjustments on kaeya's uniforms, but can also craft bespoke robes, tunics, dresses, and what have you. once she's fully kitted out for a day with kaeya, he'll take her hand and hum thoughtfully. ]

We have a few options. We could bother Miss Lisa in the library and spend a bit of time there, or we could venture out to Windrise to practice your gliding off of the trees.

There's also the matter of gathering some materials from a... local piece of sentient flora. [ he turns to her and grins ] I'd need some help with that and I know your particular skillset can help me quite a bit!

[ their daughter is so synergistic with cryo and pyro wow! ]

[sheba is dressed for adventuring and looks, for all intents and purposes, like she's actually from mondstadt! or, close enough, anyway. (she still sometimes gets asked if she's from sumeru when she wears her cloak from weyard, but people stop thinking that soon enough once she starts talking. hmm.)

she's admiring the outfit she's been set up in (it's like this, just purple instead of grey) when he takes her hand, and as she listens to him speak, she grins.]

That all sounds fun, but... I wouldn't mind beating up a plant!

[REVENGE.]

I knew you'd be the best partner to take with me on this important mission of mine.

[ because plants that could eat you suck. he says he's over looking @ sheba's digested remains, but he's not!!! whew!!! in any case, he'll give her a very pleased smile. ]

There's treasure to be had after we beat it too, not just the cores it leaves behind.

[ we're gonna equip sheba w some artifacts can u believe :o in any case, he'll lead the way with her beside him, and they will probably grind some pesky slimes along the way. it's a route he's fairly familiar with, having taken bennett along this way from time to time for a bit of training. he know's sheba's accomplished, but hey. warming up is nothing to sneeze at. ]

Ooh, treasure?

[this tracks. boss enemies drop things in weyard, too. sheba took one of her better weapons off the corpse of a monster they killed in the anemos inner sanctum...

anyway. i think constantly about how sheba has no vision but her canon powers are just anemo and electro. she's still learning about how elemental reactions in teyvat work, so the warmups on the trip there are really just her getting a feel for which situations are better for superconduct and which are better for swirl.

as they get closer to the regisvine, she twirls her mace and hums a little.]

I'm sure we'll make short work of it. This plant doesn't stand a chance.

Great treasures—artifacts that one could use to enhance their natural ability, precious gems we can take to an alchemist, all sorts of things, my dear.

[ and kaeya is no doubt thoroughly impressed with how quickly she learns. he takes her purposefully towards some water where they can utilize her ability to harness the wind to spread the effects of his cryo further out, freezing slimes and even some fish for tonight's dinner (wow! multitasking!)

he takes her towards the edge (you know the one) of the cliffside and places a finger to his lips before leaping off the edge and releasing his glider. it'll be a smooth flight down, avoiding any enemies they don't really need to deal with at the moment so they can slink into a nearby cave that's full of harvestable iron. ]

Now... this is a very feisty flower. We're going to want to make certain to hit along its core and roots at first to paralyze it. That way we can move towards the head. The only way to paralyze it however is to use our elemental reactions with one another. You know what those are, correct?

[ he grins. ]

I like the sound of that.

[bring on the treasure!! she probably does not have any artifacts at all, so the only way this can go is up.

or down, it seems! she nods when he puts a finger to his lips, and she watches him drop down and glide. there's no hesitation before she follows - her own glider is something she's still getting used to, but it's fun, and she can at least use the wind to help her guide herself if she's struggling. she lands gracefully enough and backs into the cave along with kaeya.

her grin, when she returns his, is mischievous.]

Yes.

[she twirls her mace.]

Superconduct will work better than Swirl in this case, won't it? Since... well...

[it's one frosty flower! and she can really only swirl cryo right now.]

Precisely!

[ this is a tricky one, after all, and he's done so on purpose. while his own cryo abilities won't hit very hard here, that's quite alright. he plans on taking advantage of sheba's superconduct capabilities and his own physical prowess. ]

You're going to do great. Now, I'll go wake it up, and the moment it rouses, you start striking the core from a distance. Since you're able to hit it from afar, I can keep most of its attention. When its head goes down, that's when we go all out, alright?

[ this is a family where hands on learning is essential. ]

Yes!

[sheba really should not look so excited about kaeya waking up a giant, murderous plant. but she trusts that his strategy will see them through this, so she looks toward it and gets ready.

she watches, and waits, and then once kaeya has gotten its attention and begins to move -

casts spark plasma. if she gives a little giggle as the bolts hit the thing, it's fine.]

ミ★ pre-crau2 psls

ミ★ an eye for an eye

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ミ★ father & daughter bonding

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