#pertinasities ✧ kaveh

[abyssin]

ㅤㅤthe dreary and dense clouds of his homeland remains the same as ever, barring even the slightest drip of the midday sunshine from showering snowy grounds. if the storm clouds hadn’t dimmed the terrain enough, zapolyarny palace is a foreboding presence to drape even its shadows across the city. 

ㅤㅤto a local like childe, he finds himself breathing in the cool air and smiling at the gloom of the scenery. the bustling life and warmth to liyue were luxuries he enjoyed as a snezhnayan envoy. but liyue is not the prick of ice even with layers of warmth on him, a bite that sparks childe to life. this is home, and the tsarina within still awaits her vision to come to fruition, delivered unto her by her harbingers. him.

ㅤㅤbut, his moment of reverence is cut short with a muffled shout from the distance. with a blink, childe turns to the source of the voice, noting the foreignness of his cadence. an eyebrow quirked up in curiosity as the scholar presents himself, childe’s smile ever amicable. he has little interest to know that this ‘kaveh’ is sumerian, the back of his mind idly recalling dottore and how the doctor may want to evoke his judgment on a sumeru academic. 

ㅤㅤnot that childe would choose to hand kaveh off, no. what would it say about himself as a diplomat, to leave this little stray by his lonesome? the edge of his lips quirk upwards, the smile almost mischievous now. but, before he allows the academic to mull on it any further, he steps forward and grasps his palm into a firm handshake.

ㅤㅤ”well! you’re lucky you’ve stumbled upon me. the other locals aren't as receptive to tourists.” like the flick of a switch, the off-ness to his smile disappears into his usual expressions, the curve of his lips almost the harbinger places a hand on his chest. “kaveh, you say? you can call me childe. welcome to my beloved tsaritsa's palace."

ㅤㅤchilde notices the briefcase in the other's palm, noting the vision first and foremost, and the intricate design to the luggage. "here, would you like help with your things? if you lost your tour group... i can escort you and even give you the grand tour of the palace, if you’d like.”

@abyssin liked for a starter!

Things are not going according to plan.

Then again, Kaveh thinks with a heavy weight of dread, that they never do. His luck always finds a way to curse him - no matter where he goes. Even here, in the far reaches of Snezhnaya.

But a possible sliver of hope appears before him, with ginger hair and a smile so friendly it is a touch unnerving. Still, it’s been longer than Kaveh would like to admit since he’s so much as seen a guard to ask the way. His options are rather limited.

“Hi, sorry!” Kaveh waves a little at the stranger, grin sheepish. “I’m an architect, visiting from the Sumeru Akademiya.” The introduction, he hopes, helps his case. “My name is Kaveh. I’m currently abroad to study international culture and architecture. And, well, the palace of course is a central part of it! But I seem to have gotten caught up in sketching and observation - so much so that I have completely lost track of my tour group.”

Though every word leaving his mouth is the truth, he knows how unbelievable he must sound. It would be unfortunate to be executed by the Tsaritsa because he was too charmed by a railing.

“And, well, I have a feeling I am not meant to be here.” A nervous laugh leaves him as he glances up again to meet the stranger’s eyes. “Could I trouble you for assistance?”

[freshsprout]

“   i’m   brilliant  .   i’m   not   bragging ,   it’s   an   objective   fact  .   ” -from kaveh. i am Also sorry about him KSJSJ

inbox meme | @pertinasities

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ || it's probably a good thing that this is another shared dinner including cyno and tighnari, so kaveh's attention isn't on wholly collei, who currently has a spoonful of rice stopped halfway to her mouth as she stares at kaveh.

"..."

she can't say she's particularly close to the guy, but something about his harmless (and amusing) demeanor makes it easier for her to relax. in fact, rather than being nervous, she finds herself having to hold back little bouts of laughter throughout the dinner, lest she accidentally offend and/or embarrass kaveh.

he's definitely... interesting, that's for sure. loud, expressive... and apparently also brilliant, according to kaveh himself. collei doesn't have it in her to imply otherwise, though she does duck her head and hide another amused smile behind her hand as she finally takes a bite of the rice.

judging by their expressions, it seems that cyno and tighnari had caught her reaction, but neither make a comment on it. seems like all three of them are trying to do kaveh the favor of protecting whatever's left of his dignity.

[aeviare]

tag drop iii. partner specific ship tags. i will add otp & character tags as they pop up

[beyondthefirmamentum]

@pertinasities asked: “ I'm seriously at my limit. ” kaveh for alhaitham!

"You were at your 'limit' four days and thirty thousand mora ago." Alhaitham closed his book with enough force to make a point, sighing as he discarded it on the coffee table in front of him. It didn't seem like he was going to be getting any reading done right now, not with Kaveh in his current state. Usually he'd just ignore his roommate; Kaveh never listened to any of his advice anyways, what was the point of trying to talk to an angry brick wall?

But Kaveh seemed to be in a worse state than usual. He hadn't even snapped or yelled when Alhaitham had purposefully moved only Kaveh's books out of the living room earlier. He had just been sitting there, staring at his hands while he spoke for at least five minutes now.

"Come on- let's go out. Sitting in here wallowing isn't going to fix whatever you're currently freaking out about. I'll cover dinner." He could give Kaveh an invoice later- but he didn't need to mention that now.

[empyreanparadisaea]

So his eyes weren't deceiving him! It was his dear friend. A soft smile returned as he was happy to see him again. "You'd be right! Sharp as always haha." Kaveh puts his hand on his hip. Just having a familiar face around has brightened his day. Not that he didn't enjoy his job as a lecturer. But it was a lot of hard work, exhausting work. Having someone who also understands it made it bearable.

The architect stands a bit prouder, it seemed like he didn't have to ask if the other wanted to join. "Well you know I can't say no to you. Actually," Kaveh's smile turns into a wider grin. Almost smug but not in a mocking way. More of I have a surprise for you way.

"You always treat me when we eat. Let me repay the favor. I got paid this morning and I feel like eating well today." Lavishly even! But he knew what the other was like when he tried to order liberally. So they'd go for something more toned down. For now anyways. "And I won't take no for an answer, I insist!" Kaveh says firmly. 

[aeviare]

@pertinasities liked for a starter! {kaveh modern au c:<}

he easily curls his fingers with kaveh's squeezing the taller's hand with his own, a smile on his lips as he tilts his head up slightly. "so, i was thinking that we could go see that movie that came out recently. my classes are done early tomorrow, what do you say? i'll buy the tickets, if you buy the popcorn?"

[freshsprout]

@pertinasities liked for a starter— for kaveh!

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ || "are you... sure you can help fix it?" collei's voice is timid as she speaks, nearly drowned out by the sound of rain hitting the roof of her hut. sumeru is deep into its rainy season, the effects of which can really be felt in small rainforest settlements such as gandharva ville. minor mudslides aren't uncommon and rivers rise nearly a foot in water level. luckily, it's something the village has long since adapted to— for the most part.

she looks out the window, over kaveh's shoulder, at the old wooden platforms and hanging bridges. collei has to be careful when crossing them even on a good day; braving those slippery planks in the rain during a bad flare-up would just be asking for trouble. there are other ways to get around, but they're often more time-consuming, and honestly, frustrating.

which is why she can't bring herself to turn down kaveh's suggestion of designing more accessible pathways in the village, even if she does feel bad about inconveniencing him.

"i-i mean, it would be really great if you could— n-not just for me but... some of the elders in the village also have a hard time getting around, especially this time of year..."

[beyondthefirmamentum]

@pertinasities asked: ‘ you've got to go through it to get to the end of it. ’ | kaveh for nahida!

"Hmm... That may be true, but..." subconsciously a hand comes up to her mouth, a habit she was accustom to using to help her think. "Well- imagine being a little bird, flying home to your nest after collecting food for your babies; when suddenly a horrible storm rushes in from nowhere. You could just keep going, try to tough out the storm. You might get home faster, but you could also get injured, or even die in the process. You might even run out of energy trying to fly against those strong winds, and drop right out of the sky! The smart thing to do would be to find a nice, dry tree branch to take shelter on and wait the storm out, so you can get back to your babies. Late yes, but dry and unharmed. Does that make sense?"

She lets out a small sigh, shaking her head a little. Kaveh was a kind man; it was easy to see that he carried his heart on his sleeve, ready to tear off a little piece of it for anyone that might need it. She admired the altruistic facet of humanity, and he embodied it perfectly. But at the same time she understood Alhaitham's oft voiced frustrations with him. He helped others to the point of not being able to help himself. It would be nice to convince him that if he looked out for himself more, he would be able to put more into doing things for others. There was only so much advice she could offer to someone too stubborn to listen to it, though.

"I'm incredibly grateful for your help on this project, as I'm sure the rest of the city is as well. But just like the bird trying to take care of its family, you might not make it to the end if you aren't smart about the journey itself."

[aeviare]

he laughs softly at the other male's voice, almost giggling to himself at the higher octave. amusement fills his features as kaveh closes his eyes and goes through with the motions. how would the other blond even know who won if he wasn't watching? aether could have easily changed his answer to beat the taller. "how about we leave it as a surprise?" the traveler responds, his voice teasing.

🪨📃✂️{kaveh lmao} | @aeviare

“R-really? Right now?” Kaveh’s voice shakes a little more than he’d like to admit. Still, he turns around, squared his shoulders, and prepares his hands.

“Rock… Paper… Scissors.. Oh dear.” His eyes screw shut, fingers falling into the scissors symbol. “Well? Who won?”

[empyreanparadisaea]

@pertinasities

"I think that's more than enough for today. If you have any questions, after lunch I'll be in the main office to take in any questions. Thank you for your time."

A round of applause, murmurs of students and said students leaving the classroom. Kaveh had almost forgotten how it was being back at the Akademiya. He's given presentations before but it was difficult this time. Now he was here as a guest lecturer. Truthfully… it was nerve wracking. Long nights of research for what would be best to talk about. For once the Akademiya had been kind. They offered him any topic as long as it related to his work. It was hard to pin something down for him to speak on. 

If allowed, Kaveh could go on about various aspects he found enjoyable. But he had to narrow it down to historical architecture and its effects on the modern day. It was the best topic he was versed in. One that was close to his heart. Still it was a lot of hard work digging for all the materials to go over.

By the time his lecture was over, Kaveh felt completely drained. Thankfully it was his only lecture for the day, though he would stay if any student had questions about it. But that was for later, for now he was free to grab some lunch. 

"Ah! What am I going to get now?" He says, stretching his right arm across his chest. The Akademiya seemed busy as ever as the hallways were crowded with students rushing to class or returning from class. Tired red eyes scan for the exit when they spot a familiar set of ears poking out from the crowd. 

Kaveh blinks, was it Tighnari? He begins moving forward, towards the direction the ears were at. His hand comes up to cup his mouth. "Tighnari? Is that you?" 

[freshsprout]

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ || tighnari is good at talking. it's one of the first things collei had realised about her mentor; from the day they had been introduced, tighnari always had something to say and rarely hesitated to speak up. although, with how withdrawn collei had been back then, anyone would seem talkative compared to her.

she finds that she enjoys listening to tighnari, even if he does lose himself in his rambles now and then, leaving her a little overwhelmed. luckily, as she grows and learns, she's able to understand more of tighnari's totally-not-lectures. she doubts she'll ever be as eloquent and knowledgeable as him, but as long as she's improving, she can consider herself satisfied.

she listens intently as he speaks, nodding every now and then. her eyes glance from the ingredients, to the stew, down at the notebook, and finally, up at tighnari. right— he's waiting for an answer.

"mhm, that sounds nice." she's only briefly looked through the notebook before, so she takes the chance to actually read some of the recipe names. she may still be a slow reader, but recipes are quite forgiving; they contain simple words, simple sentence structures, and no overwhelmingly long paragraphs of text.

...but tighnari said he was open to making dishes not mentioned in the book too, so perhaps... "do you know how to... make any dishes from mondstadt?"

[ -> @freshsprout liked for a starter !! ]

"You have to make sure they're about the same size so they'll cook evenly," Tighnari hums, angling himself away from where he's chopping mushrooms for their stew so Collei can see them. "Mushrooms are pretty forgiving, though, so they don't need to be perfect. Potatoes are a little more finicky, too big and they'll stay raw in the middle." His lips curl into a frown at the thought.

"I like the taste of the mushrooms by themselves, but there are many different things you can add to change the flavor - or the uses." He hums, tipping the cutting board into the pot. "You could add some of the spices you use in pita pockets, for example. Or other vegetables or meats for additional nutrients." After giving the mushrooms a stir, he rummages for the notebook with his recipes.

"If you'd like, for your writing practice next week, I think we could work on recipes." He holds out the notebook, chin canted slightly. "We can make anything in here that sounds good, and you can copy the recipe down for yourself. We can also try other things, but you may need to give me a heads up so we can make sure to get any ingredients we might not have readily available."

He turns back to the fire, tending to the stew. "Would you like that?" Tighnari tries to give Collei space to think, to relieve the pressure of eyes on her should she wish to say no. It's no easy thing, certainly, but it's getting easier all the time. Pride swells in his chest, thinking about how far she's come since Cyno brought her to the forest.

[empyreanparadisaea]

Kaveh knows he should pay attention. But… with each twitch of the tail he finds himself hypnotized. The architect promised himself he wouldn't stare too much but it was impossible with a fluffy tail in front of him.

Especially when the botanist asked him to follow him. When said man did call out to him, Kaveh straightens up and looks straight ahead. “Y-Yes I see!” He didn't actually see. Not until Tighnari points to the plants below.

The thought of the tail is gone. Now ruby eyes widened at how marvelous looking the plants he picked out. “Oh! These are lovely!” Curious fingers touch at the leaves. They were a lovely shade of purple. And they felt very healthy under his fingertips.

“I might have to do some changes with the other plants I wanted but I think it'll be for the best.” He says, nodding to himself. “Let me take a photo.” He reaches for his bag and pulls out his Kamera. While he gets it ready, the young architect continues. “What else can you tell me about them? Botany isn't my forte haha, but I know some trees can make extensive root canals.”

[beyondthefirmamentum]

@pertinasities

"Hmmm, well maybe, I guess, but I don't think it's that simple." Yoimiya took a drink from the mug of beer in front of her, taking a moment to gather her thoughts as she listened to the boisterous banter of the tavern. She hadn't really known Kaveh that long; she was on a return trip to Sumeru, this time for a meeting with the Sabzeruz festival planning committee to discuss a commission. She had decided to check out some of the local shops to find more souvenirs to bring home- when she had overheard him talking about the traveler. Any friend of the traveler's was a friend of hers she had said, and apparently that's all it took to win Kaveh's trust.

It had been a few weeks at this point, and Yoimiya had gotten a pretty good idea of what kind of man Kaveh was; not like he hid it particularly well. They had gotten along well from the start- Kaveh was a kind man, and Yoimiya loved to meet someone she felt liked to make other people happy like she did. But after multiple nights of drinking together, it had become pretty apparent he had a lot he was trying to forget- and avoid. This wasn't the first time their drinking banter had turned to Kaveh drowning in misery and self-flagellation. Usually it seemed that he just appreciated having an ear to borrow, and a shoulder to lean on. But it looked like tonight something was weighing on his mind extra heavy.

"Mmm- so get this; a few years ago I got an idea for a new firework. I wanted to make something that would spin and emit sparks as it flew up from the ground. I had all sorts of plans, like rainbow colors, some noises, different spark patterns; just TONS of ideas. It was the first things I wanted to try to design all on my own, so it was really important to me. I just knew it was gonna be soooo pretty, and I spent days working on drafts and drumming up excitement from the locals. When time for my first test came around I was sooooo excited. I might have... kinda forgot to follow the safety rules my pops had spent years drilling into my head in the heat of the moment." She let out an awkward laugh. "Anyways the test, uh, didn't go great. The timing was off. So when I lit it, the force of the sparks pushed it right over, and then it flew RIGHT at me instead of up."

She pulled her right sleeve down, exposing the starburst-like burn scar across her upper bicep for a moment, before putting her sleeve back in place. "It ruined my favorite kimono... I was pretty bummed. But I wasn't ready to let go just yet. So started working on adjustments," she shimmied to the side to bring her legs out from under the table, pointing to another scar on the side of her left thigh. "This is from the second test. The third one went up! Aaaaand then plummeted right back down, setting a nearby field on fire... I was in a whooole lotta trouble for that one." She pulled herself back into a correct sitting position, leaning over the table with her head in her hand and a sigh. "The fourth round didn't go much better. neither did the others. In the end I had to give up on it, and I still get frustrated thinking about it. The one that got away."

Her finger traced swirls into the side of her tankard, the mental image of one of her dream designs still strong and vibrant in her mind's eye. "At the time I wouldn't say I gained much from the experience; I was so upset about the failure that I ended up going in a completely different direction for my next projects- I didn't even want to look at my old drafts. My first few works were all pretty rough for different reasons, and a few were just downright boring. For a little while I thought that maybe I wasn't actually cut out for the family business, no matter how much I waned to be. If it hadn't been for my pops pushing me and refusing to let me quit, I might have ended up being, oh I don't know, a farmer or something. I am definitely worse at farming."

She finished her drink in a few, fast gulps, setting the tankard down before gesturing to the bartender for another round. "I guess what I'm trying to say is... Well you aren't the main character of some light novel who's got some big, grand, incredible moral to learn at the end of your current journey. People just... Kinda have to keep going and stumbling, and hope they learn from their experiences over time. And sometimes you need someone else there to bop you over the head. That first failed firework wasn't the last to give me bruises and scars- and I know there will be more ahead. Pops still lectures me when I forget to be careful sometimes in my excitement. But you wanna know what I have gotten better at?" She laughed as she grabbed her next drink. "Ducking for cover!"

“You are human, are you not? You are allowed to make mistakes.” [Yoimiya to Kaveh. time to remind this bitch of childish wonder lets go-] | @beyondthefirmamentum

"I- well, yes, I suppose I am." Kaveh huffs out, slumping back against the booth he's taken residence in. Still, it doesn't feel fair - he doesn't feel like he's earned the right to make mistakes. Or, more so that he's made all the mistakes he should be allowed to already. And yet he cannot stop making them.

"But aren't you supposed to- to learn from them?" That's what Tighnari always says, anyway. He's heard the words repeated soothingly to Collei on many occasions. And a few times in his own direction. But as far as Kaveh can tell, he seems to be best at making the same mistakes - and doing so over and over and over again. And as if he isn't perfectly aware of it, Alhaitham goes out of his way to make sure he knows it.

With a sigh, he drops his chin onto his crossed arms on the table.

"Do you ever..." Kaveh frowns, furrowing his brows as he tries to put his words together. "What if you never learn? What if someone who makes silly mistakes at every turn is just - is just who I am?" There's a laundry list he could name off the top of his head, and twice that if he thinks a bit harder about it.