Chapter Text
The first word that came to mind when describing Eula’s office was cold.
There was the literal meaning, of course. It had wide windows on the wrong side of the headquarters that never let in any sun but always let in a chill. The hallway outside had a draft that you could feel inside the room. But there was also the non-literal meaning that still applied to the space. Her desk was polished and immaculate, but free of trinkets. Most other offices had photos, name plates, something that told you about the person working there. Hers just had the usual supplies: parchment and quills in the drawers, and a bookshelf that had some important files.
The only aspect of the room that held some sort of warmth was the map on the southern wall. It was beside where the door opened, so anyone who simply peeked inside would only see the bland beige walls and even blander desk. But the map held a presence in the room. It was a colourful drawing of Mond and its borders, covered in pins and threads and photos that no one could ever hope to decipher without guidance.
Except, of course, the Reconnaissance Captain herself.
In recent days the captain had been out on a scouting mission to Dragonspine. It was a journey taken alone, she was one of the few knights with enough skill to handle the cold without losing an extremity. But now she was back in her office, laying out new pins and doing the paperwork for her most recent mission.
She held a much smaller map in her left hand and the pins in her right. She had marked out the sketch with some Xs and Os, but no legend indicated what they meant.
That was how she operated. No communication, no trail, no ties. She only relied on herself for these sorts of things.
She pulled a delicate pale blue pin out of the box and placed it on the eastern edge of a lake. A new Fatui camp. She placed another one on the southern side of the mountain, then a third near the base of a cliff.
The next part was what struck her as odd. She pulled out seven pale blue Fatui pins and set them back in the box. When she had arrived to investigate them earlier that week, there was no trace of the camps she had found but a month before. They were gone. Why? Where did they go? What business did they mean to attend to?
She sighed, setting down the box of pins and sitting down at her desk. Despite how badly she wanted to be useful here, doing that analysis wasn’t her job. As long as she could procure and outline the information surrounding the Fatui migrations, her work was complete. She cracked her knuckles, then flinched at the critiques echoing through her head.
How unladylike, Eula.
Where did you learn such an action?
She toyed with the end of her hair until the thought went away, then pulled out a pen and began writing her report.
Writing reports was easily the most tedious aspect of her job. She was best out in the field, camping under the stars and finding whatever information could protect her city from any external threats. Sitting at some desk like this pulled at the strings that linked to her childhood memories, especially the bad ones.
Your cursive is messy. Rewrite that page.
Your posture is off. Sit up straight, or you’ll turn into an old hag when you’re of marriageable age.
Foolish girl. Your prose is too bland.
Foolish girl. Your writing is far too fanciful.
Horrible child. You’ll-
“Eula! I’m so glad you’re back!” called out a bubbly voice.
Eula felt herself leave her thoughts and enter her emotions.
Amber strode in, running towards Eula and wrapping her in a tight hug. “Tell me all about your mission! I so wish I could have gone with you, you could have shown me how to do those ice baths you like!”
She ignored the tight feeling bouncing around her sternum. “I can’t tell you if you won’t let me breathe. If you wish to choke me, I assure you I will have my vengeance.”
Amber slowly unwrapped herself from around Eula’s chest and perched on her desk. Eula cursed herself internally. Why did she push her away like that?
“Come on, you still have to tell me something. ” Amber insisted, bouncing her legs against the drawers. She paused, tapping her finger to her lips. “Wait. No. I’ll guess. Have you changed your big board yet?”
“I have, just a few minutes ago.”
Amber leapt up, running toward the wall. Even when standing in front of the map she bounced back and forth, side to side on the balls of her feet. “Okay.” she said, drawing out the second syllable. “The blue ones changed! Oh, you really went around all of the mountain, no wonder you were away for so long!”
A piece of Eula’s chest blossomed, just a little, in response to her friend. Someone who paid that much attention to the smallest changes on her map and wanted to know what they meant.
“Of course. That was what my duties included.” Eula shrugged. “And yourself?”
“Eh. Not much.” said Amber. “I had to babysit Klee for a couple days, that was fun. She’s a cute kid. I missed our Friday lunch though, do you want to go to Good Hunter with me when you’re done with your paperwork?”
“Perhaps. Let’s meet in an hour or so in the foyer.” Eula said, careful to keep her tone steady.
“Sounds good! I’ll leave you to it, then.” said Amber before sauntering out the door.
Eula watched her go, waiting until her steps stopped echoing from the hallway before letting her head collapse on her desk.
How long could she keep pretending that she wasn’t in love with her only friend?
Growing up, love was never a common thing. Her relatives never claimed to love her, simply opting to frame her existence around a duty to her clan. When she finally broke free of their grasp and moved to the city she went from tolerated by her family to hated by her peers. She didn’t know which was worse, the pinch of her forearm from someone close to her or the jeers of people who might not have even known her first name.
Amber was the one person who was kind. Not just kind, friendly, even. The way she never mentioned her family name was the first thing that drew Eula towards her, but she stayed because of her warm nature. The way Amber held herself with such high spirits was intoxicating. It was only when they were alone in a cosy room in the Cat’s Tail celebrating Eula’s promotion to Reconnaissance Captain that she finally realised that that intoxicating feeling meant something quite different from friendship.
She wanted Amber. She wanted her so, so badly. She wanted her to be there on a couch with a warm cup of tea after a long and hard day. She wanted her to be there, camping under the stars, pointing at all the constellations. If she was feeling particularly indulgent, she wanted her there, in between her legs, gripping Eula’s wrists, mouths pressed keenly and desperately against one another.
And that was where Eula’s problems began.
Because Amber was her only friend, and there were a thousand ways things could go wrong if things were any different. She could say no, that she didn’t love Eula back, and then Eula would have her heart completely broken. She could decide that Eula wasn’t worth her time or kindness if she wanted romance instead of what they had now. She could say yes, and change her mind a few weeks later and leave her alone. She could say yes and leave her years later, still completely alone.
If Eula wanted any sort of connection, things needed to stay the way they were.
She sat up and straightened her posture, getting back to work. She had to finish her mission report quickly enough to get to lunch with Amber.
She did her best to clear her mind of any thoughts lest she get consumed by her emotions. She dipped her quill in dark blue ink and began to work on the details of her report. There were some new Fatui camps in Dragonspine. A large number of platoons had relocated elsewhere without any noticeable tracks. They carried some large crates containing unknown supplies. There were no obvious impacts on the environment as a result of the platoons.
By the time she was done with her report for Jean and her own personal copy of it, her hand was cramping badly. She had no idea how she would be able to hold her cutlery at lunch. She resisted the urge to shake it out, instead opting to stretch out her wrist using the firm surface of her desk.
Eula stood up and stretched, letting blood flow back into her hips and legs. She smoothed her shirt, then marched out of her office and to the foyer downstairs.
The Cavalry Captain, Kaeya, was leaning up against a wall in the foyer. He was holding a massive stack of papers and flipping through them with a face that looked almost concerned. Eula peered closer, noticing bags under the man's eyes.
Upon seeing her, the Captain cleared his throat and corrected his posture. “Captain Eula.” he said, acknowledging her with a polite nod.
“Captain Kaeya,” she said, returning the gesture. Despite the man’s flair for melodrama and flirty gestures, he was always polite to Eula, abiding by some mixture of colloquial conversation and the aristocratic etiquette they had both been raised in.
Eula stared at him. “I should hope that you do not intend to hide the matter that is troubling you. I will have to exact vengeance upon you if you maintain secrecy over such important matters.”
A wry, thoughtless smile appeared over his lips. “Unfortunately, your vengeance will have to wait. I was just about to contact you about this case, in fact.” he paused, peering over Eula’s shoulder. “And you too, Outrider.”
Amber appeared at Eula’s side, sending a jolt through her chest. Her bouncing energy was gone, though, replaced by an annoyed expression.
“What do you want?” she asked in a flat tone.
Kaeya stirred from his exhausted manner, placing a mocking hand over his chest. “What, no kind greetings for your favourite Captain?”
Amber snorted. “You obviously want something from me and Eula. What is it?”
Kaeya tossed his ponytail aside. “Well, since you asked me so kindly, I was hoping you and Captain Eula could investigate an important case.” He folded his arms back over the documents. “Though, this case is meant to be kept rather secret. Would you mind joining me in the Grandmaster’s office.”
Eula raised her chin. “Since this case is so important, why is Jean not managing it? And why is it delegated to myself and Amber in lieu of the Investigation team?”
Kaeya walked towards the Grandmaster's office, attempting to get the two to follow. They did, staying close together.
“Let's just say that Jean has a conflict of interest in this case, and has asked me to manage it so that it can be done in an efficient manner. As for why it’s you two, I suspect this case could take us outside city walls. I would rather have you two than some detectives who are incompetent at pitching a tent.”
Kaeya waited until Eula and Amber were inside the office before softly shutting the door behind all three of them. His voice took on a new tone, much more friendly than the formalities he used with Eula and much more sincere than his mocking tone with Amber.
“Hey, Jean. I brought Eula and Amber to help us with this.” he said.
Eula’s attention turned to the Grandmaster, slumped over her desk. Her eyes were red-rimmed and her hair was messy, a stark contrast from her usual self. Nevertheless, she adjusted her ponytail and smoothed her clothes upon seeing the two new women.
“Thank you for joining me here. Has Kaeya explained the situation to you?” she asked them. Amber shook her head.
Jean seemed about to speak, with great difficulty and trembling fingers, but Kaeya set a hand on her shoulder. A look of understanding passed between the two.
“The deaconess has been reported missing. There were signs of a struggle in her bedchambers at the Church, but none that suggest that she is injured. The most likely scenario is that she was kidnapped.”
Amber tilted her head, looking down at the stack of papers Kaeya had set down on the desk. “Oh dear.” she muttered softly. “Are there any leads? Anything that could tell us which direction to track her in?”
Kaeya flipped the report a few pages inwards, gesturing at a paragraph that Eula couldn’t read from her distance. “An informant spotted a group of Fatui following a trail through Wolvendom, the one that leads North-East. It was a smaller group in a strange area for military operations, so that is a possibility.”
Eula paused, remembering the details of her own report. The one in her hands. She set it down on the desk and flipped to the second page. “That observation is in accordance with my own. Large numbers of Fatui have left the Dragonspine area. It is logical to extrapolate that they have been placed in a more important mission.”
Amber raised her hand, the way a child would in a schoolroom. “Wait, wait. How are we so sure the Fatui aren’t just, you know, moving around? Or rather, how do we know this isn’t some regular kidnapping?”
Kaeya sighed. “Think about this. If you were a kidnapper, what would your motives be? In the case of a victim with connections such as the Deaconess, then there would most likely be some ransom plot. However, despite being missing for close to 24 hours, there is no ransom letter.” He pointed at Eula’s report. “We now have conclusive evidence that the Fatui’s regular stations have been changed, meaning that they are employing some sort of new tactic in Mond. I doubt it’s a coincidence that Barbara went missing at the same time that a dangerous military power started deploying their soldiers to a new area in Mond.”
Eula flipped the pages of the report back to its cover page. “Well then, it appears this mission should be fairly straightforward. All we need to do is track the Fatui to their new camp, yes?”
Kaeya nodded.
“Simple, then. Amber, let’s go and pack our bags. We should leave in a couple of hours.”
The Captains and Outrider left the office, bustling to whatever tasks they needed to do. Eula reflected on her words, pondering her new situation. Going out for a long mission in the wilderness, just her and Amber.
It would be far from a simple mission.