#moonlight in mondstadt ​•✧• galactia || kaeya/signe

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There was little time to gather whether Ru made it out of the fray or where she had been pushed to. The roaring of the falling snow and ice made it near impossible to make sense of her surroundings, and Kaeya tackling her out of the way left her little time to react. But once she'd gathered her bearings enough to register the gravity of their situation, she quickly grabbed Kaeya's wrist and pulled hard.

"Come on!" she hurried, her heart racing as she tugged them towards safety. Or, at least, relative safety for now...

With haggard breaths and hands pressed shakily against the cave wall, Signe looked at Kaeya briefly, as if he might somehow have some sort of answer for their situation. The lawachurl seemed to have diverted for now, and the cave walls at least shielded them from the harsh wind of the mountain. She might have even allowed herself to breathe a sigh of relief if not for the racing of her heart and the gnawing chill against her skin. But a pressing, more urgent thought soon crossed her mind, and she quickly made her way back towards the cave entrance.

"Hold on, what about Ru-- is she okay?" she asked, urgently looking around for the horse. Instead of wasting more time looking around, the mage instead began to dig around her bag frantically, searching for something in particular.

"I have a few more warming potions in my bag, and I know a few basic warming spells. Maybe we should go look for her."

Lisa had never been particularly open about the details of the more dangerous books in the Favonius library, and it seems Lady Signe had inherited, or been taught, the same quality. However, he'd never been particularly inclined to the arcane arts, though they were woven into the fabric of Mondstadt history and lore. Still... his curiosity burned, in contrast to the cold that whipped around them. What could these new books teach someone who understood them? Someone like Lady Signe.

He wasn't going to press, but his brow did drift in somewhat idle curiosity.

"Up ahead." Kaeya indicated, nodding his head toward a break in the rock that the path cut through.

The wind whipped around them, sweeping snow at their ankles. Kaeya paused, halting Ru at the side of the snow-covered trail, "Through here. After you, my lady." He indicated, noticing the way she shivered through the cloak around her shoulders.

A warming totem would do them both some good, but he'd taken stock of this particular set of scouting roads that cut across the face of Dragonspine, and the presence of seelies or totems to ease the journey had been sparse. Kaeya had half a mind to give this merchant a thorough chewing when they returned to Mond. The fact that he'd decided to take the mountain as a shortcut at all had been foolish, but that he hadn't brought a guide and his oxen pulling his merchandise had run farther up...

Lisa had likely already told him of his poor decision - more gracefully and with more threat.

Kaeya took up position behind Signe as they picked their way across the trail, "On your right!" He called over the wind, "The out-cropping. It deepens into a small cave!"

Was it him, or had the wind swept up to steal his voice? Or-...?

There was a thundering roar behind him, that sounded more like ice shattering and rock splitting. He let loose of Ru's reins, and twisted, to see a lawachurl, bracing an elemental shield.

And blocking the way they had come.

Shit.

The rising weather had obscured the sound of it, and the ground shook as it stomped, prepared to breathe raging cryo down on them.

"Lady Signe!" Kaeya shouted, turning to catch a sight of her. While his first instinct might have been to tell her to take Ru and go, to keep her safe, they'd stand a better chance of this together, with her electro tearing at its shield, and his movement drawing its attention.

But it didn't come to that. Dragonspine had other plans.

Movement from the corner of Kaeya's eye wasn't a lawachurl, but snow, and earth, and the vibrations from the creature disturbing what had apparently been a delectate balance of rock and snow. It was deafening, the sound, the way a dragon itself might have been shrieking down on them for the way the avalanche above them careened toward them, drowning out everything else.

"Signe-!" Kaeya's eyes widened, seconds left to him to move or they'd both be buried, and he launched himself backward, to knock her away, out of the path of snow, "Ru, run!"

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@galactia asked:

❛ the first time i met you, i had no idea you'd mean this much. ❜ Kaeya smoothed several out of place strands of hair behind Signe's ear, his eyes warm, despite the cool of his fingertips, "I love you, Signe Grimhilt."

It was second-nature by now, to lean into Kaeya's touch whenever he brushed her hair away from her face, or tucked strands behind her ear. It was just as much a comfortable response for her to give him a subtle, albeit genuine smile when he would cup her cheek, or give her some cheesy, overly dramatic proclamation of his love for her.

But this was different. This was Kaeya's true self, his vulnerability (as far as she could assume), and it caught Signe off-guard. As much as she might have liked to hide her surprise from Kaeya, he was a perceptive person, and she was almost certain he might've heard her breath hitch when he said those words. "I love you." Wasn't it a funny, fickle phrase? A few months ago, that statement might have terrified her. If she allowed herself attachment, maybe he'd pull away later, and it'd hurt far worse.

But instead of deflecting or pulling away, she took a moment to steel herself and meet his eye. Her eyes were warm honeyed brown, soft and genuine, and she leaned into his touch as she spoke.

"I... love you too, Kaeya Alberich."

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@galactia asked:

❛ i could keep you safe. they’re all afraid of me. ❜ Kaeya's hand gripped at the icy cage he'd temporarily halted Signe in. The gloved hand that should have had nails but now was tipped with claws, dug into the spikes, and the smile he maintained flickered, manic, "I could. They won't find you." The smile faltered. He faltered.

Kaeya's voice was siren-like in this form, almost lulling her to safety in the darkness of the Abyss. Had it not been for the alert of Abyss mages and the hostility of the cavern they were in, perhaps he wouldn't have found her lurking around, trying to plan how to return with Diluc to break him free. Perhaps she wouldn't be within the icy bars of this makeshift cage, reaching out to him from between bars.

There was an irony to the comfort he'd managed to give her. Wrapped in one of the warmer blankets he'd managed to scrounge for her, Signe's eyes were fixed on Kaeya's, wide and alert as she contemplated his offer against the furthermost bars of ice. Had he known about the Abyss mages, or the Herald that had found her just a bit too quickly? Did they know that he was still here?

"Or you could come home," she replied, standing from her spot on the icy floor. She was drawn closer to him, to where he gripped at the bars. Her eyes flickered to the clawtips digging into the spikes of ice, and then back to meet his eyes.

"I could be safe at home, too. With you. We could be safe. And I'm not leaving without you this time, Kaeya."

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@galactia said:

“  keep kissing me like that and we’re gonna end up back in bed.  ” Kaeya murmured against her lips, over the breakfast he'd been preparing. Pancakes and strawberries, and fresh coffee, ground from beans he'd purchased last when he was in Sumeru (a bit of an indulgence, but if she enjoyed it too, worth every mora). "I'd hate for this all to get cold." He wasn't making it easier though, standing there in nothing but an buttoned shirt and trousers, and not even bothering to correct the way it his shirt fell from his shoulder.

“We can always warm it up again somehow,” Signe breathed between kisses. She’d just barely gotten out of bed, hair still mussed from sleep, eyes practically still closed. The way she kissed him was sleepy but passionate nonetheless, addicting in the way she lazily and so nonchalantly moved her lips against his.

And then she was off him in an instant, a Cheshire grin tugging at her lips and honey-brown eyes dancing as she moved to take a bite of the pancakes. She knew she would leave him wanting, stealing his breath away and then sitting down to eat with no more than a cruel little smile. She made sure to shrug her own shirt off her shoulders, letting it hang at the elbows as if she were simply too lazy to pick it back up. But the way she stared at him, met his gaze directly, suggested she knew exactly what she was doing.

“Are you going to eat, Captain?”

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@galactia asked:

[ SWORD ]:    Kaeya invites Signe to engage in sword fighting practice with him

The mage had finally run out of excuses -- Signe had been busy enough to avoid a physical training session, whether it was tending to the restricted section of the library or chasing after overdue library books. Cornered in the library after her most recent brush with trouble, though, the mage had nowhere to disappear to this time.

It'll be fun, he had assured. Just one on one.

Her stance was a bit unsteady; a bit wobbly, even, as she adjusted to the weight of her wooden sword. A physical weapon was rather different from the typical catalyst.

"This feels... a bit strained," she noted, her arms feeling just a bit weighed down. "I'm perfectly fine with a Catalyst, you know-- and I'm sure you have some sort of Captainly duties to get to. And I think I recall Lisa needing help in the library--"

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@galactia asked:

There was a man standing at one of the bookshelves in the library. Dark-blue hair was twisted into a thick ponytail low on his head and fur (a wolf's pelt) trimmed his shoulders. He was broad and tall, not entirely pale, but he was turned away, perusing a thick book of history from one of the upper halls in the Ordo's library. From the back, he might have been Kaeya. Might, except his shoulders were wider, his stance wrong, and his skin too light. This wasn't Kaeya. This was Emmerich Alberich. His father. He seemed aware of a gaze upon him, his head turning half-way to glance at the young woman at the desk, but he was unbothered. It was some time - perhaps ten minutes, or a few more - before he came to stand at the desk, a book in hand, looking down at the young librarian. "What are the rules here regarding checking out books?" He asked, voice bearing an accent unlike those in the seven nations. His blue, starry pupiled eyes, a lighter shade than his son's, were piercing.

The young witch knew immediately that the man wasn't Kaeya, but the resemblance was uncanny. His hair was the same dark blue that felt so familiar, and his stare had the same intensity to them that Kaeya's did. It was as though someone had taken some semblance of the Cavalry Captain and then aged him some twenty years. But everything else felt wrong somehow, and the austere the man carried was intimidating to say the least. This man carried the same discomfort that the boughkeeper carried when she had run into him, and the same piercing, light-blue starry eyes. This man was Khaenri'ahn, and he could very well have been Kaeya's father.

"U-uhm. I can certainly get the process started for checking out a book if you'd like to do so," she replied, digging around her desk for her quill. Should she tell Kaeya? Of course she should -- but something told her to be cautious, as though she knew that his intentions were likely not to innocently visit his son. Her gaze remained steady, as though to let him know immediately that she didn't trust him very much. Perhaps it was her own biases acting on her behalf -- her perception of Kaeya's father wasn't very positive. Still, she kept a level head, sliding the form across the desk in a calm, almost cautious manner.

"Are you visiting from afar?"

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@galactia replied to your post:

[ He will embrace and blow a kiss; he will let her decide if she likes to be... petted, and he will never kick her. Unless it is kick her out of bed when she has to get up in the morning, hehe]

She will wholeheartedly accept the embrace and the smooch, because she loves him and she is touch-starved. However, if he kicks her out of bed too early, she will make sure everything he touches before he leaves the house has a touch of static electricity to it.

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@galactia asked:

[ STRIPTEASE ]: Kaeya teasingly undresses for Signe, one piece at a time.

Heated kisses quickly led to firm, passionate touches, and Signe was hardly immune to the spell that Kaeya seemed to weave. Stealing her breath away seemed to be like second nature for him, and the mage found herself pulled towards him with every movement. When he pulled away to undress, Signe seemed to follow, drawn forward as he tore away. But oh, what a sight to behold--

Her eyes followed his movements wordlessly, watching as piece by piece of his uniform was peeled away. The loosely-buttoned white shirt, each belt unbuckled became a tease, and she felt her breath catch in her voice in anticipation. Her mischief and her bravado faded away as each bit of fabric fell to the floor.

"You--" she began, trailing off as she sat propped up by her hands. The thirst in her eyes didn't fade, gold and intense and ravenous. But from the way her flush rose to her cheeks, it was clear he had her wrapped around his finger.

"Hah-- I'm starting to regret all those times I teased just a bit too much," she laughed, ragged and breathless as though he had already drawn close. "What do you think?"

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@galactia said:

[LANTERN MAKING] - Each year, we send up glorious lanterns with our thoughts, prayers, and hopes for the future, and what makes them so special is that no one lantern is the same. Signe and Kaeya create a pair of lanterns together, to send up into the sky at the climax of the celebrations.

Maybe it was the atmosphere of Liyue Harbor that was making the witch so bubbly, unable to keep the gentle smile she so rarely wore off her face. Or maybe the nostalgia was finally getting to her this time around; after all, they were here last year, celebrating their first lantern rite with the same shy giddiness that many new couples brought into the festival.

Signe was meticulous with her decorations, each paint stroke carefully placed to ensure a neat, elegant finish. Their balcony was secluded enough to offer some privacy, but just downstairs was Iron-tongue Tian, telling stories of previous lantern rites and the history behind each comparative celebration. One might have expected the witch to want to sit and listen, but she was instead distracted, mesmerized almost by the lanterns already floating by, leaning out against the balcony with a dreamy sigh.

When she looked back at Kaeya, lantern still in hand, she cleared her throat, taking a step back and dusting off her lantern as though she hadn't just been gazing wide-eyed onto the harbor. But there was no hiding the gentle flush upon her cheeks, nor the way she stole glances at him every so often as though the first look wasn't enough.

"Ahem. Are you, um. Are you ready?"

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📏+ 6ft 1inch for Kaeya ( ;) )

Send me 📏 (ruler) + your muses height and I'll compare them to mine! || Accepting!

Kaeya: 6’1 (~185cm)

Signe: 5’1ish (156cm)

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@galactia asked:

“ Yes, it’s my job to keep you safe, but you could work with me a little to make it easier. ” Kaeya remarked, a tease laced with a hint of frustration and sprinkled well with concern. He poured out the tincture onto a clothe and reached gentle hands, one to keep her chin steady and head turned and the other to clean at the wound, to wipe away the smear of blood that lingered at Signe's temple.

Signe huffed gently despite the way she leaned into Kaeya's touch with little hesitation. The ruins she was in the middle of exploring were some five hundred years old at least, and in Signe's mind, were ruins very much worth protecting; the band of treasure hoarders just outside didn't seem to think the same. The first few were easy to incapacitate, and the next band were barely much more difficult. But more and more treasure hoarders seemed to flock to the ruins, and the spellcaster quickly found herself overwhelmed, just barely missing their attacks. If Kaeya hadn't arrived when he did, she might have found herself in a much worse situation.

Not that she'd admit it, anyway.

"I wasn't expecting quite so many... if only they'd respect the sanctity of these ruins. They're incredibly rich in history, you know. Can you imagine wanting to desecrate something so valuable just to make a few mora?"

She sat still, letting Kaeya work; his hands were skilled as always, practiced in quick patchwork when out on the field. She even closed her eyes, relaxing enough to look like she might take a short nap there in his arms.

"Anyway. I couldn't just stand by when I heard about their plans. Had I known there were so many of them..."

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Signe's gaze snapped to the Cavalry Captain as he changed directions on a dime, leaving her to half-jog to catch up with him.

"Six, seven... I think I was just starting to live in the windmills, then," she posited, adding a little pensive 'hum' at the end. "I didn't love going to church either, mind you. Frankly, I found it a little boring. But it was food and a warm bed. For a little street urchin who had to steal to survive, spending a night or two in the church was hardly a difficult decision. Although, in retrospect, they never did manage to keep me for long."

Right, a lot on his plate. That certainly made sense. Signe was quick to drop the subject, although not without mentioning what happened to didn't return their books on time. "Lisa's particularly strict on that, and I've heard a loss of sensation in your arm is far from pleasant," she stated, as if it were some ordinary library policy.

Hearing that Kaeya would be the one setting their rations and making camp gave the witch some sense of relief. Hardly had she ever been on a patrol that required an overnight stay; any patrols that were longer or trips to gather ingredients usually resulted in a simple late-night return. Sleeping under the stars, at least, would provide some comfort.

Without little more afterthought, Signe began building her campfire. A neat circle of stones encircled a small collection of their firewood, and it would be easy enough for her to simply light it with her Electro. But before doing so, Signe would look back at Kaeya for confirmation, as if she wouldn't dare continue without his word. Briefly, she made accidental eye contact with his horse, and that had her mind wandering even further.

"What, um... what does she eat?"

Persistent, wasn't she? She'd dismissed the questions directed at her, but pried further at him.

A fire was the first order of business, though with two of them, one could be working on the fire while the other unpacked rations and bedrolls, but she seemed to expect him to follow her. Was she being presumptuous or just curious? And did she know how to... make camp?

"Stay here, Ru." Kaeya murmured.

He did follow, piling sticks and kindling into his arms, senses alert to their surroundings and thoughts mulling over whether he wanted to continue in this vein of conversation. The people of Mond had always thought him mysterious. It was shadow he hadn't managed to dispel, in all of the years he'd called the place home. They'd had many words for him. The nobility was always the worst. He'd wondered since he was a boy if it was because of his eyes or his skin color, or both, or everything.

It suited him, most days, that they thought him rather secretive. Others... not.

"At the church-" Kaeya exhaled on a sigh that tangled with a chuckle, "Yes, I did always hate to have to go." He was Khaenri'an. Even as a young boy he'd known he didn't want to worships any gods, no matter how much he'd ached to belong with the Ragnvindrs. It had felt wrong; revolting, even, to worship.

"I was six, nearly seven, when I came to live with the Ragnvindrs." Kaeya answered, noncommittal.

Kaeya quirked an eyebrow at her, "As for my overdue books, I suppose I have been a bit-... behind. There's been a lot on my plate, recently." Like drinking, and trying not to drink, and training his hands to grasp his sword again and-.. sometimes reading helped, when he was lonely. Kaeya, with a bundle of brush and sticks in his arms, paused, "This will be enough, for now. Let's head back. I'll get things started for our rations." It was his turn to assume she'd follow.

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The witch sat like a deer caught in headlights, wide-eyed as if she hadn’t just stolen Kaeya’s shirt while he was in the shower. Her surprised look quickly changed as she sported a Cheshire-like grin, leaning back in satisfaction at the Captain’s reaction. She knew once he’d seen her that she had him completely hooked.

“Getting caught wasn’t in my agenda,” Signe lied, clearly proud of her shenanigans. “I suppose you’ll just have to arrest me, then.”

She wasn’t expecting him to kneel down before her, lending to the full-body shiver she gave him as he licked her thigh. If Kaeya was planning on going to work that morning, she was sure it would be rather difficult to concentrate. Her breath caught in her throat, and her nails scraped against the fabric of the sofa as she tensed in anticipation.

“—you have a Cryo vision,” she breathed, huffing a laugh as he teased her. “I have a feeling you’re a little more resistant to the cold than I am. And besides—“

Her breath fluttered, and she avoided his gaze just briefly.

“If you did catch cold, it would force you to take a— a much-needed break.”

@electric-ecclectic | unprompted | always accepting!

“Borrows” his shirt but like fresh out of the shower (she’ll give it back if he asks nicely)

He was certain he'd laid out a shirt. Certain. In only trousers, and with his hair damp and brushed out, he stood at the bed with hand braced at his hips. He might have been a trifle sleep-deprived, but there was only one explanation that didn't involve senile tendencies afflicting him at twenty-five (concerning, in light of his lineage): a thief.

A girlfriend shaped thief with mouse-brown hair. As he came from the bedroom into the small living space that adjoined the kitchen, he caught her on the two-person sofa, in his shirt.

The top buttons were undone and it slouched comfortably off her shoulder. Rather maddening.

"Well, well. It seems the culprit did not run far." Kaeya mused, "You know, it's rather foolish to steal from a captain of the Ordo." He eased down to his knees all while not letting his eyes stray from hers, "I do have the authority to arrest you, after all." Came the hum as he leaned closer, dipping his head to lick a warm stripe across her inner thigh.

"I might catch a cold. How ever shall I stay warm?"

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“Well, maybe I’m not looking for a protagonist. Diluc is fun to hang out with and all, but personally, I think I’m much more suited to an anti-hero, anyway.”

She slid the few potions he’d ordered across the table, giving him a warm, if not slightly shy smile.

“I think you should give yourself some more credit. Maybe you don’t think yourself a protagonist, but a lot of people in Mondstadt do. And at the end of the day, you seem no less willing to help others when you see them in need. That has to count for something, right?”

"I don't think I'm the protagonist in this story. Not that I'm a villain, don't look at me like that. But Khaenri'ah was already doomed once. There's a reason you don't even know the names of the people who were destroyed before us." He flicked his coin, catching it as it descended, cold and heavy into his palm, "Protagonists don't disintegrate into the scenery. They don't become the props. They don't stop resembling the person they started as so entirely, that-.... that person doesn't exist, anymore."

There's a flicker of a smile. What is he saying?

"If you're looking for a protagonist, you ought to hang around my brother."