(A) Kittea in Teyvat

'Annoying… so… damn… annoying…'

 

Gripping his rifle tighter, he clenched his jaw and grit his teeth in irritation as he swept his gaze with narrowed eyes across the mountainous planes of Inazuma and up above at the slowly darkening sky.

 

For months he had been hearing this annoying buzzing and whirring sound around the camp, following them around everywhere they went. It didn't happen all the time, just on and off sporadically enough where whenever he tried to mention it to his team members, they didn't hear it.

 

'Every… single…time…'

 

They all tried to convince him he was hallucinating and hearing things from fatigue, or maybe it was even a bug that was just particularly fond of him. But no, he knows damn well it’s not a bug… because he is pretty sure normal bugs don’t click and flash like the shutter of a Kamera. He swears someone is spying on them but he hasn’t found one ounce of proof to prove the claim and it’s driving… him… crazy…

 

Was he exhausted from trying to figure out what’s been following them? Yeah, but that didn’t mean he was hallucinating, he knows he's not hallucinating. It has to be something, he knows it… but what??

 

Grumbling to himself, he tightened his grip around the rifle and scanned the surrounding areas once again. He was alone, but wait… what was that..??

 

Whipping around, his peripheral vision caught a glimpse of something that looked metal and shiny… Was it a ruin machine of some kind? No… it was too new looking to be one, besides… there was nothing else here for miles, he knew, since he and his team had been stationed here for months now and seen no activity.

 

"Maybe I really am hallucinating…" He grumbled to himself as he failed to spot what he just saw.

 

*Click*

*Chhk*

 

'What was that??!'

 

Looking up quickly, he manages to catch a glimpse of a shiny metal object, hovering in the air before disappearing right in front of his eyes.

 

He stared at that spot for a few seconds before rubbing his eyes to clear them. Blinking a few times, he looked back up towards the sky and… There it was again!

 

This time he could see it clearly. It was a shiny, sleek, orb-like object with 2 protrusions on top of its head. There was a black strip across the front with a cat-like face on it.

 

The orb swayed from side to side and twirled as it hovered in the air…

 

'Is it taunting me??!'

 

He had enough, he was really pissed off now. Months of his team mates brushing him off, months of no sleep, and months of convincing himself he wasn't going crazy, and that 'thing' (that finally decided to show itself) was taunting him.

 

Raising his rifle and charging up a pyro bullet, which felt as hot as the rage that was burning inside him right now. He made sure not to let that strange orb out of his sight as it hovered erratically from side to side, seemingly trying to avoid being shot. Its 'face' now displays one with wide eyes and sweat dripping down its brow.

 

Taking aim, he pressed the trigger and fired…

 

•| ⊱✿⊰ |•

 

"Tch.." 

 

The holographic screen went black and the words 'Connection Lost' flashed in red text as she clicked her tongue in amusement.

 

A shame to lose an expensive piece of technology, but it was not that big of a deal since she had others. Still… she hoped that they wouldn't know how to or have the tools to break into and tamper with her wrecked drone.

 

Kittea shifted in her spot, high up on a branch of a giant, blue-veined tree, a small bundle of black fur purring away on her lap. She stroked its head gently with her free hand as she tapped away on the screen, hoping to still be able to access the files and video footage of the drone. 

 

She had been watching and filming multiple different people and places, surveying the areas with them and keeping a watchful eye on the comings and goings of the inhabitants of this continent called Teyvat. So far, luckily no one had managed to spot her little devices around… no one except for Nikolai of course, a Pyroslinger Bracer that she had been following with her drone.

 

There was no particular reason why she chose him… in fact, it wasn't even her who chose him to begin with. Her drones had some semblance of personality in their programming, so maybe that particular one just happened to find him entertaining.

 

A soft meow that diminished into a yawn broke her from her thoughts as she glanced down at her cat, Luna, who was still laying contently on her lap.

 

"Ooh big yawn~" Kittea cooed, as Luna licked her lips and shook her head after her yawn.

 

The adorable ball of fur purred as Kittea scratched her under the chin.

 

"I should probably try and retrieve that drone, huh..?" Kittea spoke aloud to herself as she absent-mindedly continued to pat Luna.

 

Luckily for her, the files on that drone were recoverable thanks to the fact that any recorded footage was uploaded instantly to the cloud, so she didn't lose anything. 

 

'Pshht, I'm sure it'll be fine.' She thought to herself, waving a hand in the air to brush off that thought.

 

The tools needed to open or even tamper with her technology don't even exist in Teyvat, so there's no possible way for anyone, not even The Fatui (with their technological advancements thanks to a certain someone) will be able to figure it out. 

 

Still, she should probably get a move on now, this had been a fun break just lounging around, but she had stuff she ought to be doing.

 

"Sorry Luna, I have to get up now." She spoke with a high-pitched baby voice as she cooed to her cat on her lap, attempting to move her.

 

Luna looked up at her but made no effort to move or get up, instead she just yawned in reply and opted to roll over onto her back, belly up.

 

Kittea blinked once at the actions of her cat… A soft breeze rustled the golden leaves of the giant tree she was sitting in as a silence fell over the area…

 

"Luna.." Kittea spoke again, more stern this time and poking the belly of her lounging cat, who simply 'mrrrp'-ed in reply but still made no effort to move.

 

Kittea huffed softly at the stubbornness of her cat, but giggled softly to herself as she scooped Luna up into her arms, prompting a startled mew from the cat as she held tightly onto her feline companion, before leaning back off the branch and falling.

 

Luna yowled loudly as they both fell backwards off the tree, her claws unsheathed and clung onto Kittea's top as she did a bit of a somersault before landing on her feet with a soft 'oof'. 

 

It was quite the long way down, but thanks to her abilities, no fall damage was taken.

 

"What? You didn't want to move..!" Kittea laughed with an amused grin on her face, looking down at an unimpressed Luna, still held snugly in her arms. Her tail whipped side to side in an agitated manner as her ears were flattened to the side.

 

"Ok, ok. I'm sorry, I won't do that again~" She cooed and nuzzled her face into Luna's fur, earning her a few swats and slaps on the head by some kitty paws.

 

Kittea yelped and moved her head away from the fury of annoyed swipes from her feline companion. 

 

Luna let out a chuff, seemingly satisfied as to having enacted her revenge on Kittea for startling her and falling out of a tree like that.

 

"You stinky." Kittea commented with a laugh as she put Luna down on the ground.

 

Dusting her hands off, Kittea scanned the area around her making sure there was no one around. Satisfied, she nodded to herself before looking down at Luna once more.

“Let’s head home.” She told the cat, eliciting a ‘mrrow’ in return.

 

With a satisfied smile, she turned around to face the darkness that had formed beneath the overhanging branches of the giant tree and… walked into it, the shadows seemingly enveloping Kittea, Luna followed soon after as they both disappeared into the black abyss.