Over the course of the next several months, life slowly started to return to a somewhat normal state in Mondstadt. Kaeye agreed to take a small portion of his allotted will, and moved in full time to the Knights Headquarters. He also changed his last name back to Alberich, the name he had when Crepus first adopted him, believing that Diluc would be ashamed to share the same family name if he ever returned.

Adeline and Elzer took over the Winery and Charles took over Angel’s Share. Jean was newly single, and had finally packed up some of Diluc’s gifts and belongings into a box she couldn’t seem to get rid of, and Albedo and Klee we’re continuing on as normal, Klee confused as to why Nat and Kaeya each had moments of sadness that seemed to pass over them out of the blue. Albedo had a hard time explaining these emotions to Klee, he wanted to be logical with her but also sugar coat things a little bit, Nat reassured him that he was doing his absolute best.

As for Nat, she was still working, training, and pushing herself further and further. Kaeya worried that Diluc’s prophecy would come true, and Nat would push herself too far one day soon. For Nat, this was the new normal, pushing out her emotions through her sword, working her hardest to harness her Geo power properly, all while making sure to do well as a knight. Nat was still doing weekly trips to Liyue, and sometimes Albedo now accompanied her, something she enjoyed very much.

“Nat I must ask, are you with the alchemist?” Xingqiu asked, taking a sip of his water. He and Nat sat back under the shade of the buildings along the Liyue Harbor docks, waiting for a shipment of goods to come in from Snezhnaya, including Nat’s favorite style of boot. Nat looked over at Xingqiu, and back toward the water where Albedo was studying Chongyun’s movement as he showed him how his vision helped balance out his body temperature, something Albedo had many curiosities about.

“I don’t think so…” Nat sighed, not realizing the disappointment that echoed in her voice. She watched as Albedo touched Chongyun’s forehead, quickly writing down the temperature.

“Ah, but you would like to be?” Xingqiu prodded, hearing her tone. He had watched Nat and Albedo in Liyue the last few times he came with her, and saw the way he made her smile, or the way he drew her in his sketch pad when she wasn’t looking. He wanted his friend to be happy, and felt that Albedo could help her be happy with everything going on. She just had to open her mind to the possibility of growth in her personal life instead of just her work life.

“I think so?” Nat questioned, not sure who she was asking. In times like this Ajax would know what to say, hell Diluc may even be able to help her, but she didn’t know what love was. Her parents weren’t exactly a shining example of love and romance, “Xingqiu, how did you know Chongyun was your person?” She asked. Xingqiu smiled as he thought of the early memories he had with Chongyun, how nervous he was when they would go on dates or the first time they were alone.

“The day I got my vision, I was overwhelmed with intense emotion. Happiness, sadness, anxiety that I would mess everything up,” Xingqiu paused, watching Chongyun in the distance. He continued, “I had always wanted a vision, knew I would need it to properly master the Guha Art’s Rain Cutter, but once I had it I was so afraid I would mess up, or hurt someone. The first person I had to tell was Chongyun, which seemed like a sign all in itself. When I found Yun Yun, he was hurt. He had climbed into a tree chasing a spirit, lost his footing and was bleeding pretty badly in the middle of Wuwang Hill. It would’ve been impossible to get him help, and, like second nature, I began to heal him with the Hydro vision. Before I knew it Yun was healed, and freezing from the water ice combo. I gave him my jacket, put my arm around him under a tree, and waited for him to warm up when he fell asleep. When he woke up, he looked up at me, mumbled to the archons that he loved me, and kissed me.”

“He kissed you?? How long had you known each other? We haven’t kissed…” Nat was shocked to hear a kiss could come that quickly, but also felt a weird feeling in stomach at the idea. Xingqiu couldn’t help but giggle at Nat’s surprise, while she was older than him she certainly lacked a certain level of experience in certain social situations.

“We had been friends for a few years of course, we had been alone many times too. I assume we had been courting one another for a few months at the time, but both of us were too worried to ask, we needed each other even if it was just as friends.” Xingqiu and Nat sat for a moment, watching Albedo as he instructed Chongyun to use his ice powers in the harbor, continuously taking notes of the reactions.

“What happened after the kiss?” Nat continued to inquire, biting at her nails at the idea of a kiss.

“Well, we stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, and I said I love you too. From there, we started to go on official dates for dinner, tea, and small trips and here we are today.” They sat quietly for a few minutes as a ship came into port. As Xingqiu got up to check on the shipment he turned to Nat, “It’s really not as scary as you think,” he said, smiling as he walked away. Nat felt her cheeks turn red and became flustered, getting up as quickly as she could, tripping on the last step, she was about to fall flat on her face, until Albedo caught her.

“Well, well. Looks like you need to take one step at a time,” Albedo laughed as he helped Nat up, causing her to become even more flush.

“Nat,” Xingqiu yelled, “this is our ship!” Nat thanked Albedo and walked over to Xingqiu. They got their shipment, and Nat’s boots, before moving on to deliver the goods across the entirety of Liyue. When they were done, Albedo and Nat made their way home, Albedo rambled the entire way home about Chongyun and how special he was, until they ran into a merchant that was surrounded by hilitrolls. Both of them drew their swords.

Albedo went left, dropping his Solar Isotoma, knocking the enemies down. Nat jumped on top of it, getting some extra height before dropping geo blades down onto the enemies. She flipped down, something she had learned from Xingqiu, and fought back to back with Albedo until all the enemies were down.

“There have been a lot more hilitrolls near Mondstadt lately, it wasn’t like this before,” Nat sounded concerned and Albedo agreed.

“Let’s tell Master Varka when we return,” Albedo noted, and they went straight to Varka’s office upon their arrival.

When they got there, Master Varka was in a meeting, and Albedo had to meet with Lisa about the renovations she was making to the Alchemist lab at headquarters. Nat stayed and sat outside his office, waiting on a velvet chair, until Eula walked by.

“Well hello Natayla, are you waiting for Master Varka as well?” She asked.

“Yes, I’ve been waiting for almost an hour, I’ve noticed a significant amount of hilitrolls lately near Mondstadt. It feels wrong.” Nat explained.

“Intriguing, I too have noticed the increase in Hillitrolls, mages as well. I will take note to warn the other knights and to check in with Varka tomorrow after your talk,” Eula paused for a moment, contemplating her next words, “how are you doing Natayla?” Nat was surprised to hear Eula being empathetic with her and she assumed it was about Crepus and Diluc.

“I’m doing okay, thank you for checking in.” Nat smiled.

“I know how difficult it is to lose your sense of self and family through loss and debate. Vengeance can aid in the process, but isn’t always the answer. I am available to air out any grievances you have if needed.” Eula tried her best to smile, but was awkward about it. Nat had never seen this level of emotion from Eula, as most of their interactions had been around swordsmanship and battle, so she was truly taken aback from the offer. Before Nat could respond, Master Varka opened his door, letting Jean and Eroch out.

“Nat, please come in. I apologize for the wait.” Master Varka said as he invited her in. Nat turned to say thank you to Eula, but she was already gone. Once inside Nat explained her concerns with the number of hilitrolls she had encountered lately on her way back from Liyue when entering Mondstadt.

“I’ve been taking the route for almost three years, and there have never been this many enemies along the line.” Nat concluded. Varka understood, and said others had also voiced concern. He seemed secretive in his answers, but assured Nat they had a plan in place to deal with it. With that Nat was allowed to leave, and she went to find Kaeya.

Kaeya was three drinks in at Angel’s Share, Charles threatening him if he tried to take the bottle again, when Nat walked in. Nat got the usual hello from passerbyers, and heard beautiful music coming from the new bard that had shown up in town earlier that month. She took a seat next to Kaeya, ordering a drink for herself.

“You’re quite late, did Albedo catch your tongue?” Kaeya chuckled, making himself laugh. Nat was quickly annoyed by his quip.

“Why is everyone asking me about Albedo today? I was actually with Master Varka discussing the immense number of hilitrolls we’ve had lately.” Nat huffed as she took a sip of her drink.

“Woah, what’s with the fumes today?” Kaeya asked, a little worried about Nat, who had seemed to be doing a little better as of late.

“You’re the second person today to assume I’m with,” she lowered her voice, “Albedo in a romantic way. Like yeah, I like him, but we haven’t even kissed.” Nat dropped her head into her hands, elbows resting on the bar.

“Just tell him how you feel Nat, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by his response.” Nat didn’t respond right away as she continued to down her drink and ordered another. Kaeya, sensing her worried ambiance, changed the subject. “Tell me what Master Varka said about the hillitrolls.”

Nat told Kaeya about her meeting with Master Varka, scoffing when she mentioned how Eroch held her up. She had finally told Kaeya about Diluc and Eroch’s exchange, and how Diluc had given up his title and vision. Kaeya, though, was much less concerned then Nat and knew that those who mattered knew the truth. He believed that justice was not an absolute principle, and that one day everyone would know the truth anyway. For the next hour the two caught up chatting about work and life. When Nat finished her second drink, she felt determined.

“I think I will go find Albedo after all Kaeya, right?” She looked to Kaeya, using her new found inhibition to muster up the courage to talk to Albedo, see how he really feels, but needed her brother’s reassurance.

“I believe that’s an excellent idea Nat, please tell me how it goes tomorrow.” Kaeya responded with a smile as Charles handed him another drink. Nat waved goodbye, leaving mora on the bar for her tab before running out.

She figured Albedo would be home for the night at headquarters, and she cut through the center of town, which was still very crowded with civilians getting dinner and shopping, some sat by the fountain chatting. She slowed down as she pushed through the people, and heard a familiar laugh coming from Good Hunter, causing her to turn around, bumping into Swan and falling backwards.

“I’m so sorry Nat, are you okay?” He asked as he put a hand down to help her up. She thanked Swan for her help, told him she was fine, choosing to ignore her scraped palms, and looked toward Good Hunter. There was Albedo, sitting with a woman Nat didn’t recognize, laughing and smiling. She couldn’t tell if it were her emotions or her alcohol that made her feel overwhelmed with sadness at the scene in front of her. Albedo was facing Nat, but didn’t see her in the crowd, and she saw him reach out to touch the girl’s cheek. Nat felt tears start to form and quickly wiped them away, making her way back to headquarters where she promptly went to bed, hoping she would forget it all come morning.