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There was a realm of emotions you never wanted to experience in this lifetime, and tonight, the trigger was right in front of you. Beautiful, white, porcelain. Kazuha. He was as ethereal as the day you had first met him. The day you had first kissed him. The day you had first lay in bed with him. The days you would laugh, smile and cry with him right beside you.

But those were all just memories now, and they were all too painful to look back on. Tainted, burnt into flames with nothing but ash and smoke.

He chose a life full of wondering, exploring and travel over the likes of you. Of course he had never said it explicitly, but the days coming down to your eventual breakup let you know exactly why you couldn't keep holding onto him.

You were too attached to a man who wanted to roam free. It wasn't his fault. And it wasn't yours either. But when he left you in Liyue, you couldn't help but feel enraged at the thought that he was out doing brilliant things without you holding him back.

And here you were at a house-party your friend Yanfei had dragged you into. You wish you stood your ground and just stayed home. That way you wouldn't have to watch as your group and his group of friends surrounded him with welcomes. From the sounds of it, he had just arrived back into Liyue a few days ago, to 'take a break' and 'rest'.

You look away from Kazuha immediately, feeling your stomach flip and throat burn. You might as well start tearing up right on the spot, but you didn’t want to give him that pleasure. No, who were you kidding, he’d probably be just as upset to see you react like that.

He was that kind after all. A kind boy, a sweet boy, one who would never tell you no or even dare raise his voice at you. You were always the mean one, the monster who would yell and scream.

You were emotional, he was grounded.

Kazuha tries all too well to mask his own emotions, not wanting to stare at the girl he adored for oh so many years - knowing well it would make you uncomfortable. More uncomfortable than you already were of course, since you were already looking away from him. But his eyes couldn’t help but shamelessly gloss over your figure. He wished he could see your face more clearly, he wished you would turn back around and let him admire how you've grown a little more.

“That’s amazing Kazuha” the voices made him snap back to conversation, smiling as if he hadn’t been sidetracked moments before. He smiles as usual and returns to conversation, not missing how his ex-lover had snuck away from the crowd.

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“It’s been a while” Kazuha starts, his voice was as gentle as ever, it made you want to sigh and rest your head onto his shoulder. Like you once did. You huffs softly, looking to the side. He was a kind boy, but that didn't mean he wasn't persistent enough to follow you through the night and wait for a chance to talk to you.

He was kind, but he was shameless - perhaps it was a trait he learnt from you.

“If you would be so kind Kazuha, I really rather not act like we’re on good terms. It betrays my morals of being truthful to people. Even you.” you speak, earning a look from Kazuha where he raises his brows,

“I didn’t know we were on bad terms”

“I didn’t say that, I just said we aren’t on good terms” you correct him and he stifles a small giggle. The sound was melodic, it made you glance at him without hesitation. As if a bell had rung to alert a dog that there was food. Oh how he was still so enchanting.

“I see. Well, I’d still like to catch up with you, regardless”

“Well, I don’t” she says, “You don’t get to leave and come back into my life as you please, Kazuha. I’m not a motel”

“Y/n”

Perhaps it was his pushback, or perhaps it were the fact that he had called you by your name. It reminded you again that what you had was gone.

“No! I don’t want to see your face ever again. I’ll be civil since we have the same friends and for some reason, you’re quite the name around here. But do not expect me to even glance your way when we’re alone. I despise you”

The last words made Kazuha wince a little, his eyes soft and pained as he watches you walk away.

He knew he should tread lightly around you, but even that wasn’t enough. He knew the right thing was to truly leave you alone, but his selfish desires of having her at least as a friend kept him trying to win her back.

It was wrong for him to want you back, even as a friend. But he was shameless.

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“Kazuha…” your breath was warm, like your cheeks. Kazuha imagined, they were pink and hot, he felt like stroking them just to feel what the heat felt like on her skin. The night had passed extremely slow for him, but he was sure you would saw the opposite. With the amount you drank, you probably wont even remember most of it.

Of course, he was looking at you the whole time. And maybe, just maybe, you felt him looking. He wondered if that were the cause for your now intoxicated state.

“Mmn?” he hums, eyes narrowing a little as his fingers softly cup your cheek, soothingly rubbing over your gentle skin as you melt into his cool touch.

“I missed you, a whole lot” you sigh, closing your eyes, as if you'd fall asleep right there on his palm. Kazuha’s lips quirk into a small smile. He shouldn’t be enjoying this as much as he is, it wasn’t right to have you speak your truth when you were intoxicated like this.

But you were being so awful to him just moments ago.

Rightfully so, but still.

“Is that so?” he taunts, and yet there’s something so beautifully soft about his voice, almost edging her into oblivion. You hum, nodding against his palm.

“Yeah” you breathe

“Yeah?”

Your lips pout a little, it was involuntary of course, Kazuha knew that habit of yours. You were close to fully passing out, he could even understand from the weight of your hand on his palm. Kazuha scoffs before pulling you in closer and taking ahold of you properly, hoisting you up and into his palms.

“I wonder who would be picking you up if it wasn’t me” he mumbles mostly to himself as he goes in search for Yanfei. But through countless efforts he came to the conclusion that she had probably left. He remembered her talking about a court case early the next morning.

With a sigh, Kazuha clutched onto you a little tighter, mentally deciding he would take you to his place. Though, he was already dreading your reaction the morning when you wake.

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Kazuha places you as softly as he could on his bed. He hasn’t had to take care of you much like this before since you were never reckless with alcohol. So it a first for him too. He didn’t know how he felt about it. One part of him was pained that you felt this uncomfortable around him, to drown yourself and intoxicate yourself to such and extent. And the other side of him, well, he was rather amused.

You flutter your eyes open, squinting and moaning a little as you twist and turn, trying to get yourself back up but Kazuha ushers you to lay back down.

“Hmn… where…huh?” you mumble, still drowsy but incredibly stubborn, even making Kazuha huff as he sits in front of you, giving up with ushering you back to sleep.

He was bracing himself for a lecture, scream, even a slap, but you were still far from sober, he could tell with the way your eyes softened and lips smiled warmly at him. He could tell immediately, that you weren't your rational self.

Sober you would never jump into his arms the way you did just then.

Kazuha felt his heart skip a beat, his frame was frozen before he finally gave in, patting your back a little awkwardly. He didn’t want to encourage you, but he was relishing in the moment, just the slightest.

“Kazuha…”

“Yes?”

“You took me back? Is this real?” you say innocently enough to shatter his heart. The way you looked so incredibly innocent, so devout, patient, as if you had been waiting for centuries at his doorstep, just waiting for him.

“I missed you so much” you whisper again, tears brimming in your eyes making the boy panic a little. He leans in immediately to wipe them away but it seemed to encourage you even more. Before he knew it, you were sobbing right in front of him.

“Y/n please…” he says, 

“I missed you. I missed you so much”

“I know” he says, “I know. I missed you too”

“You’re a liar” you say, your voice cracking as you break into tears again, the very way you spoke made Kazuha begin to shed his own tears.

“Lets go back to sleep, hm?” he says, a small smile, a fake one as he gently pushes you down, “we can talk about it later.”

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Kazuha awakens the next morning with the sound of your shriek. He sits up straight, frazzled, his back hurting from what he can only imagine was the effects of sleeping on plain wooden flooring. It takes him exactly a second to understand his surroundings, and what present he was in.

And once he does, he takes in a breath, and breathes out.

“Calm down, please?” he says, standing up and gently patting his clothing so it lay straighter. You were flustered, as expected, eyes wide as you looks at Kazuha, scanning him up and down. He didn’t notice that part.

“I tried to find Yanfei to send you home, but she had already left. You passed out and I couldn’t ask for your address either so I brought you here. Nothing happened, I promise.”

You seemed to calm down at his explanation. In truth there was no reason for you to worry. Even without a promise from Kazuha, you were pretty certain he would never try anything either way. He wasn’t that type.

“I’ll fix breakfast. You should shower up. I’ll leave you some clothes” he says, breaking you away from your thoughts. You couldn’t say a single thing. You didn’t know what to say. You were so awful to him last night, you cant imagine how much more awful you were when you drunk. To make it worse, putting him in a position where he had to take care of you... it made you cringe all over again. You wanted to hide away and bury yourself that instant, really. But Kazuha was still as prefect and poise, charming and radiant as ever.

A saint, pure and kind.

You didn’t deserve him.

You shouldn’t have talked to him like that.

You swallow your pride and decide to stay silent. Thanking Kazuha softly as he passes you some of his clothes to wash off. When you come out, you're nervous, as if you were strangers yet again. You miss the way Kazuha’s eyes look you up and down - his cheeks a little rosy when he looks away and sets two plates on the table.

“You didn’t have to” you start, looking at the waffles that he had prepared, it was nostalgic. You almost felt your throat clog up, the memories between you were still so fresh in your mind.

“They’re your favourite” he smiles, cutting into his own waffle, eyes intent on yours. You don't say much. Though the meal was silent, your mind did most the talking, ranting, rambling; memories flashing left right and center, your heart racing and never stopping. All because of him. It was exhausting.

You two weren’t even speaking, but it was all so exhausting.

“Shinobu called me just then, she was planning a camping trip with the rest. They invited me to go along.” Kazuha started, he looked a little nervous even speaking of it, you knew where this was going and you were dreading it. You were invited to this camping trip too.

“I…I know it might be uncomfortable if I tag along, so I wanted to reassure you that I won’t go.”

Your eyes widen and eyebrows shoot up. And just like that, your heart also sinks. Oh no. You felt terrible. Your words must have really settled in on him. It was true you would be incredibly uncomfortable putting up a front in front of everyone, but your didn’t want to isolate Kazuha either. Especially when his travels were all on his own too. And he was likely wanting to spend some time with his friends too.

It was just unfortunate how your circles were so close.

You shake your head,

“I could care less if you came along” you start, almost cussing at yourself for being so nonchalant about it, “It would be rude to turn down their offer, me being uncomfortable doesn’t doesn't compare to the joy the rest would feel having you back”

Kazuha is stunned at your words, but more at your ability to dismiss yourself so easily. He always knew you were hard on herself, he wanted to tell you that you were wrong. At least, in his eyes, your discomfort outweighed everything else in this world.

“I’ll tell them you changed your mind” you mumble, eating your last piece of waffle before taking your plate up to the kitchen. Kazuha felt a little heat in his cheeks, nodding like a small schoolboy.

She was still kind as ever, selfless, and beautiful.

hufflepuff!kazuha who defended you from mean witches/wizards that called you a squib just because you hadn't shown any signs of magic yet.

hufflepuff!kazuha who fell asleep on you during the train ride. you continue to tease him about it, even in your later years at hogwarts.

hufflepuff!kazuha who has been your number one supporter from day one. regardless on what house you get sorted into, he promised to remain by your side.

hufflepuff!kazuha who was convinced to go out for quidditch by hufflepuff!gorou. he ended up making the team as their new chaser.

hufflepuff!kazuha who always gives you his scarf or his tie to wear when you come watch his games. unless you play too, he always gives you his house attire, even if he's playing against your house.

hufflepuff!kazuha who always celebrates with you when he wins. he will occasionally celebrate with his team, but he loves being able to celebrate with you. especially if you don't play.

hufflepuff!kazuha who's been in love with you since you were seven. he does get asked quite often if the two of you are together, but he always shakes his head. he doesn't want to ruin your friendship.

hufflepuff!kazuha who cats are just naturally drawn to. he has befriended almost all of the cats that live in the castle (which isn't a lot since most people have owls)

hufflepuff!kazuha who is surprisingly very popular among your year. he's just so kind to everyone he meets, it's hard for people not to like him.

hufflepuff!kazuha who would choose you over anyone else, any day. he doesn't mind having so many friends/aquaintances, but he prefers to spend his time with you over anyone else (don't tell gorou though)

hufflepuff!kazuha who is the first one that can tell when you're under the weather (both physically and emotionally) even if you don't tell him.

hufflepuff!kazuha who knows exactly what kind of sweets you like and your favorite things. all of which he brings you when you're feeling sick or just down in the dumps.

hufflepuff!kazuha who will bring you food from the kitchens when you're sick. he learned about the secret entrance within the first month at school. he knows exactly how to make your favorite soups, and brings them to you if you're sick.

hufflepuff!kazuha who became a prefect (and later would become head boy) because of how well he got along with his peers and the professors.

hufflepuff!kazuha who wasn't a stellar student, but he could hold his own in classes. a solid average student. although that could partially be blamed on his wandering mind.

hufflepuff!kazuha who goes to hogsmeade for you. he knows where he can get those sweets from zonko's that you like, plus he liked the butterbeer. he doesn't hate going, but he'd definitely prefer it if you went with him.

hufflepuff!kazuha who writes poetry in his spare time, he just doesn't share it with anyone, preferring it to stay between him and his parchment.

hufflepuff!kazuha who is such a light weight. he could have maybe a tiny sip of firewhiskey and that man is gone.

hufflepuff!kazuha who barely drinks, but when he does he's a very touchy and clingy drunk. he has to be touching you in some way, whether that be with him holding onto your arm, or completely hugging you, he will pout if you break physical contact. especially while he's drunk.

hufflepuff!kazuha who will not drink, especially if you drink. he knows your senses aren't as perceptive when you're drunk, so if you drink, he will keep his eye on you the entire time.

hufflepuff!kazuha who stays at the castle during holiday breaks. of course, he has the option to go home, but he prefers the peace and quiet at the castle. if you stay as well, he absolutely insists that you continue your christmas traditions (if you celebrate it!)

hufflepuff!kazuha who decided one year that the two of you had to make christmas cookies, which ultimately ended up in both of you being covered in ingredients. your parents banned you from the kitchen after that. he definitely insists continuing the cookie making tradition especially if you guys spend the holidy at the castle.

hufflepuff!kazuha who finally told you how he felt after he saw you talking to slytherin!scaramouche. nothing was going on, scara just had a question about your potions essay, but it made him realize that if he didn't say something soon, someone might take you away forever.

hufflepuff!kazuha who gives you random kisses while you guys are studying together. he calls them motivational kisses, to motivate you to finish faster, but you know he just wants attention.

hufflepuff!kazuha who brings you food from the kitchen because he didn't see you in the great hall for lunch. he knows you didn't eat.

the library was one of the most common places for students to study. perhaps it was for this reason that the library was busier than usual. not to mention, final exams were coming up, meaning a lot of students were doing some last minute cramming. not that you blamed them, you were part of the group weren't you?

unfortunately, with how busy the library had become, it was almost impossible to focus. even with lisa's constant reminders to be quiet, there were still quite a few chatterboxes at the table behind you.

"can you please shut up?" you said, glaring at the noisy individuals behind you. "you know this is a library, right?"

"aw, come on [name], don't be like that." childe said with a cheeky grin. "we're just trying to relax before finals."

"then go relax somewhere else." you said shortly, before returning your focus to the potions essay you were supposed to be writing. everytime you tried to put words on the parchment, your brain would stop focusing, making it impossible to actually write.

if you weren't on such a deadline, you would have taken a break. unfortunately, these assignments were due relatively soon and you didn't want to risk failing. not with finals just around the corner.

you frowned at the parchment, trying to figure out how to start it. just as you had tried to gain focus again, your thoughts were interrupted once more by the sound of your stomach. due to the amount of work you had, you skipped lunch, trying to get more things done. unfortunately, your hunger didn't do much for your mood or your brain, as the lack of food seemed to put you in a worse mood and the inability to focus on anything but your stomach did not help your brain at all.

"be careful in there, they're not in a good mood." you heard a feminine voice from the other table. you weren't sure who was coming in, but you knew that hu tao was talking about you. "oh, it's just you." hu tao said again, although you were trying your best to not pay attention. "yeah, they're just over there."

it wasn't that you didn't get along with hu tao or childe, it just so happened that they were keeping you from being able to focus. you hadn't meant to be so mean to them, but you were tired, you just wanted to finish your assignments.

glancing up when hu tao directed the visitor in your direction, you were pleased to see the sight of kazuha standing in front of you. "hi." you mumbled, glancing back down at the blank parchment, expecting kazuha to scold you for skipping lunch.

"i didn't see you at lunch. so i brought you this." kazuha said, with a soft smile, handing you a small pastry he must have gotten from the kitchen.

you took the pastry with a small smile. "thank you."

as you took a small bite, you watched as kazuha took a seat beside you. "what are you working on?" he asked, setting his bag down. while he waited for a response, kazuha grabbed a few books from his own bag, no doubt to work on a few assignments of his own.

"stupid potions essay." you said before leaning into him slightly, relaxing a little bit. "i can't figure out what to write." you said with a sigh.

kazuha smiled down at you before placing a quick kiss to the top of your head. "you'll figure it out, my love. you always do." he said, wrapping one of his arms around you in a comforting manner. "and i'll be here to help you as best as i can."

"don't you have practice?" you asked, looking up at him curiously.

kazuha shook his head. "no, not today. they wanted us to focus on studies today." kazuha offered a small smile. "so i'm all yours today, okay?"

you nodded before leaning up to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. "i can live with that." you said, grinning up at him. it wasn't often that you got kazuha all to yourself, with both of your busy schedules, but it was nice when you did.

you smiled a little bit as you pulled your potions textbook into your lap, still leaning into kazuha's side. perhaps just having kazuha there was all you needed to be able to focus. it didn't take long after his arrival and after the consumption of your pastry that you had gotten through a good chunk of your essay, completely forgetting why you were struggling in the first place.

what you didn't see while you focused, was the way kazuha watched you in between his own assignments, with nothing but love and adoration in his eyes. while he was worried about you taking care of yourself, he knew better than to scold you for it. he would be quite the hypocrite for doing so, as he had the tendency to do the same thing.

so instead of scolding you for it, kazuha settled on the next best thing; being able to remain by your side, taking care of you when you were too caught up to take care of yourself. but neither of you would have it any other way.

You slowly close your eyes and take a deep breath before you speak to the young man. “I apologize for staring at you, sir. I was,” You are hesitant to finish your sentence but you just suck it up. “Mesmerize but your appearance.” You honestly expect the boy in front of you to berate you or scold you but..he did the exact opposite. “It is alright, dear. I have gotten used to being stared at. I have not seen you here before. May I have the pleasure of asking your name?”

‘Damn..he is..very more polite and bearable than the other customers.’ You think to yourself as you remember the types of customers and this boy in front of you is not one of them. “My name is y/n l/n. And you?” The male smiles at you and introduces himself. “My name is Kaedehara Kazuha. I am a college student at a university not far from here.” You were a bit shocked at the news. “Teyvat University right?” You ask Kazuha, just to make sure you are correct.

“The one with that large ass gate that makes you second guess that it’s the gate of the school, not the gate to heaven nor hell?” Now that makes Kazuha chuckle a bit at your description of the gate. “Yes, that university. I am surprised that you still remember that university.” You look at Kazuha like he just insulted you. He must have realized what he has said and later added. “Oh no do not think I am insulting you. It is just..Teyvat University is more commonly known among us students as the University of Heaven and Hell. It is mostly because of the gate.” Oh..so Kazuha was not insulting you. He was just surprised that you still called that college Teyvat University.

“Oh. I see my apologies. I am used to customers insulting me so,” You trailed off which Kazuha nodded his head in understanding. “That is understandable. I do not mind correcting myself if I happen to offend you.” You and Kazuha chat until Kazuha has to leave for his classes which start in 30 minutes. After Kazuha left for his class, you went back to work and dealt with the types of customers again. But you can not seem to get Kazuha out of your head no matter how hard you try. Kazuha lives rent free in your head and you have to admit. Kazuha is more gentleman-like than any males that you have seen in your life. Whenever you get home from work, you start to feel butterflies. His ruby eyes, his white hair with that cute red streak. His prince-like manners and he is a college student. He is even better than your typical customer who is the complete opposite. Do you even wonder what Kazuha is thinking about? Well.

Kazuha is more distracted in his classes because of you. How you were a waitress in his favorite cafe, he used to go there, do his classwork, order something and just leave. But you caught his interest and he does not know why. There is something about you that peaks his eye and he..does not want to waste time daydreaming. He needs to see you again and probably ask you out. The next day, Kazuha walks into the cafe with the gentle aura around him. Kazuha sits on his favorite spot near the window, letting his eyes wander from person to person until they land on you, who is currently serving some rude couple with that fake smile. ‘My, [y/n] work so hard yet have to deal with such rudeness from strangers.’ Kazuha thought to himself. ‘I will have to wait for you to finish or on a break.’

Kazuha waited so patiently for you to finish you to be on break. Once you are on a break, Kazuha calls you over. “[Y/N] come here darling. Sit down.” You walk over to him, smiling at him. “Hello Kazuha. You were waiting for me? I am sorry.” You tried to apologize to Kazuha but the male just smiled. “There is no need to apologize dear. I am in no rush. I understand that you have to deal with your daily life as the waitress.” You only nod your head and sighed. “Of course. I had to deal with different types of customers and sometimes it gave me a headache.” You explain as Kazuha nodded his head. “Dear..I am so sorry you have to deal with that. If only I am yours, I will kiss those worries away.” Huh?

You look at Kazuha whose face has a light side of pink dust over his face. “O-Oh well. If you want me to be your boyfriend. I do not mind at all.” Kazuha laughs nervously as you only watch him with amusement. “Hmm..having you as my boyfriend. Well,” You grinned. “I accepted but you will have to deal with me.” Kazuha just looks at you with a dumbstruck expression on his face. ‘Archons this woman will kill me but damn I love it.’ “Well of course. When are you available?” Kazuha asks you which you just hummed. “I am off on Fridays and Sundays so..take me out on a date this Friday at 6pm, kay cutie?” You peck Kazuha’s cheek and walk off to start your shift again, leaving a lovesick and flustered Kazuha who is know your boyfriend behind

What is the most cheesy way to meet your first love?

Your answer: Coffee shops or cafes are the most cheesy way to meet your first love.

  He put you in his lap—doesn’t that mean it’s petting time?

 Where’s your damn attention?

  Slightly exasperated, Alhaitham tries to multitask and pet you while he's scooping your hair—but more keeps tossing around with every upstroke of your thick fur… why did you have to turn into a hairball? Couldn’t you have been a hairless cat? He’s almost tempted to just put you in the bag. 

  He’s a respectable “pet owner”, but does lack in one aspect that’s quite important to you, at least… perhaps not all cats

  No kisses?? 

  You’d at least like some on your head—he doesn’t have to kiss your nose or anything. Though you shouldn’t be surprised, Alhaitham isn’t very forthcoming with his affections and most of your casual kisses are by your initiation and his response to it.

  So now you have to effectively smush your furry little head into his face to communicate that you want kisses. 

  It takes him a few tries to understand what you need, but thankfully he got it rather easily, smart lad. 

  Kaveh sometimes catnaps (kidnaps) you for… cat naps. He says it’s nicer than hugging his own pillow—and you don’t particularly mind, but Alhaitham does. Once he can’t find you after a general sweep of the house he figures Kaveh took you again and like a seasoned thief, swaps you out with a pillow while the architect is asleep. 

  “Hmph… he should get his own cat,” Alhaitham says to himself after shutting the door quietly, holding you like a baby in his arms, your paws in the air. He looks down, grey hair tilting over his eyes as he smiles only slightly. “What? You are my cat. Perhaps I should call you kitty from now on, even after you’ve changed back.”

  You tried to climb onto the back of the chain in the study when Alhaitham was doing some studies once, but quicker than you could react—even with these new cat reflexes—he grabs you by the scruff of your neck and hoists you off. “You’re scratching the furniture,” he moves you from the back of the chair and plops you down on his lap. “Do refrain from doing that.”

  Hmph. You wanted to bite his hair a bit… it smells nice. But fine. Lap it is, you can settle for that.

  It takes you about two and a half minutes not to be satisfied with that, and lounge over his book instead, hoping he’ll stop and pay attention to you instead. You have a feeling he would do the same if he were in your position. 

  Alhaitham seems annoyed for a few seconds, but he only needs to stare into your big, cute cat-eyes for a few seconds to fold. What can he do? It doesn’t take much for you already to rope him into whatever shenanigans the day brings, and especially not like this.

Arataki Itto;

You just wanted a nice, cool nap. 

  It’s hot as balls in Inazuma, and you found an excellent spot under a slanted roof. You got comfortable and were half asleep already when you’re suddenly dragged off the crate and raised in the air like a divine heir. 

  Flailing in protest, your screaming of; “PUT ME DOWN YOU OAF” isn’t translated very well into frantic meows and hisses. 

  And of course, Itto has no idea what you’re trying to communicate—in fact, he thinks you’re just a bit surprised yet happy to see him. He sets you on his shoulder and you hold on for dear life. He’s broad, but broad muscles are also rather round and his outfit isn’t easy to grab onto—you just thank feline evolution that you have good balance and can hold yourself somewhat steady. 

  He sometimes just parades you around on his head like a strange hat, he doesn’t even seem to mind the death grip you have on his scalp. 

  Best naps, laying out in the grass on a warm summer’s day as the bright rays of the sun shine down on you. It’s comfortably warm, your fur keeps you cool enough that you don’t get lightheaded—despite popular belief, Itto is not a snorer, but he is a hugger. 

  You’re caged against his broad chest and there’s little escape or ways to wake him without scratching, biting or wailing like you’re trapped under a boulder. 

  Itto is a seasoned pet owner, he has multiple beetles that he takes good care of and thus he’s surprisingly adept at handling you. He doesn’t toss you around (except to put you on his shoulders or head) and doesn’t lock you out of the house or forget to feed you. In fact, you’d say he’s a top-notch owner, though you might be slightly biased. 

  The summer days are warm in Inazuma, and sometimes one just needs to do something to keep their mind off of the heat. Even with your coat protecting you from most of it, even you are starting to get dazed by the sharp, overbearing heat of the sun. And Itto is also very good at filling empty time. 

  He takes you out to the beach, though it wasn’t the best idea—he thought it was genius, the ocean is cool enough, there are not many around on the eastern beaches because of the awkward positioning and further distance from the city… but he didn’t take it into account that you absolutely refuse to get in the water, and there’s no shade. So that idea gets abandoned quickly. 

  For some reason he loves to touch your nose; poke it, kiss it, rub it… anything. And every time he does, you have to wet it again—it almost becomes a funny game to him to touch your nose and watch as your tongue darts out to wet it again. 

  Being unable to communicate with you isn’t a problem, he’s a yapper and can talk enough for the two of you. You try to meow along in response to show that you’re listening, but even if there was no brain behind your eyes, he’d still talk your ears off. 

  He creates a makeshift cat-bed for you out of some blankets and cushions, Itto was rather proud of himself for the craft that went into making it as soft as it is…

  It still always ends up with you on his chest or legs at the end of the night. Without exception.

Baizhu;

He really scratches his head over this situation, how did this happen to you? You had gone out to deliver some medicine to those who aren’t well enough or mobile to come fetch it themselves, and had stayed out far longer than usual—Baizhu had started to worry and nearly had gone to look for you… when a cat with your eyes and mannerisms stumbles into the pharmacy meowing up a storm trying to explain itself. 

  Distressed, confused and much smaller than you’re used to being, Baizhu quickly scoops you up into his arms to calm you down. “Do not worry, I recognise you,” he assures—he feels a little silly saying this to a cat, and has a twinge in the back of his mind that he might be wrong. But the way you’re waving your paw is strangely… human, though muddled by the restrictions of your cat-joints. 

  Changsheng however, finds this HILARIOUS. She unwinds a bit from Baizhu’s shoulders and nearly bumps snouts with you as she wonders whether you were even fully aware of yourself, and after some arguing—in the form of loud yowling and meowing—they concluded that yes, your mind is well. 

  Baizhu tries everything he can think of, but he’s never really encountered a situation like this before and he has to use a lot of his attention to theory-crafting and tests. 

  The only thing that made a difference, was that one concoction he crafted made your ears twice larger… but it didn’t change you back. So now you just have unnaturally large ears for a cat. 

  He smiles sheepishly as he examines you to make sure nothing else is affected. “Ah… apologies, my dear. I don’t mean to laugh… but the ears,” he tries his best not to smile too widely, or give a soft laugh. But it’s difficult, you look so disproportionate it’s just adorable.

  Despite your grievance over your proportions, Baizhu can’t help but rub your ears and scratch behind them. He gives you some good treats as an apology. You reluctantly accept. 

  Unfortunately, Baizhu has a job to do and can’t just close the pharmacy off from his assistance to tend to you. He multitasks as much as he can, but there are scheduled appointments to be present for.

  But he has a good idea of how to utilise you, after all, you’re the usual deliverer—customers likely won’t mind if you’re cat-sized.

  Thus, he gets some help from contacts and a day later you have a fancy harness with a delivery box on your back. Baizhu sets some medicine in it and fastens it properly so it won’t slip off and you don’t feel too constrained… and sets you on your way. 

  You were getting bored lounging around in the pharmacy anyway, so you revel in getting to stretch your legs a bit. You make the deliveries in record time, able to get through tiny crevices you weren’t able to before and hope through shortcuts you didn’t even know about.

  As you return to the pharmacy after the final run, Baizhu smiles and kneels down in front of you, removing the harness and scratching where the lines of it had pressed against your fur. The nice feeling of being pet brings a rumbling purr from your chest and your tail sways happily as he gives you some water to drink and attention. 

  “Good work today,” he strokes between your large ears and rubs his thumb on your cheek. “It’s almost time to close up, let’s go upstairs and continue trying to figure out how to turn you back.”

  The soft ambient light of the room and the sound of Baizhu’s brush stroking against the paper of a scroll makes you much more tired than you expected. You lay curled up on the desk against the wall where he sits and writes formulas and theories, Changsheng slithers up next to you and bundles herself on your back—it’s not particularly comfortable, but you’re too lazy to move, and it’s kind of cute. 

  Baizhu hums to himself and looks at you, his gaze lingers for only a short time before returning to the scroll in front of him.

Cyno;

He stares at the cat in Tighnari’s hands, his eyes look up to the man holding you and then back down. “What.”

  The ranger deadpans and plops you into his arms. “I’ve been scouring the library for days while you were in the desert, I don’t know what happened, but it’s just how they are right now.”

  Cyno lifts you up by holding your torso under your front legs, he peers at your face as you dangle like an idiot but have no way to really wriggle away. “Blink twice if it’s really you.”

  You blink twice.

  “Huh,” he just makes a sound of affirmation, then tucks you under his arm. “Thank you, I’ll take it from here.”

  Tighnari stares at him, unimpressed by his lack of reaction to the fact that his partner is currently a small, furry cat. “You're not going to ask where I found them, how I know it’s them or how my progress is going when it comes to turning them back?”

  Cyno is silent for a beat before he speaks again. “I know it’s them, I know their eyes.”

  Somehow, the duty of getting you back to normal remained on Tighnari’s back, and Cyno sets you down on the dining table in your shared home. He folds his arms over his chest and analyses you, it’s a little awkward—you’re not sure why he’s staring so intensely at you. 

  “This is… quite the cat-astrophe—”

  Oh no. 

  You have no way to stop him, and though you usually let him get it out of his system once he feels the need… you could also stop him once it gets out of hand. In this form, you’re effectively defenceless and unable to protest in any meaningful ways. 

  Thankfully, he does stop after you dive under your bed and hide for ten minutes in hopes he won’t drag you back and perform stand-up for you for the rest of the night. 

  Once Cyno is assured this strange transformation isn’t dangerous nor necessarily permanent, he’s rather laid back about it. He finds it quite funny (evidently) and there’s no way around it, you’re cute like this. Not that he didn’t consider you cute before, but it’s especially unavoidable now. 

  There’s no real way to stop him from making jokes or puns about this situation, it’s in his soul—and though you wouldn’t trade his soul for the world, you get moments of temptation when his brain hyperfocuses on one thing to centre his jokes around. 

  They get a bit tired.

  You follow him around everywhere, it’s not like you’ve got better places to be. He thinks it’s rather adorable to see you trotting around at his heels as he walks through the city, though he tells you to remain home when he has work to do—it can turn dangerous sometimes, depending on the day, and he recognises that your body is smaller and more fragile than it used to be. 

  He does always come back right away, he wraps up any follow-ups and paperwork as quickly as he can—if only for the moments of arrival. Of opening the front door and being greeted by you sitting at the entrance of your home, staring up at him with a swaying tail. Waiting excitedly. 

 Dainsleif;

You’ve never seen this expression on his face, in the moments after you touched a strange-looking artefact, there’s a poof—and your body shifts to that of a small cat. It wasn’t painful, nor do you feel as if you were cursed in any way. 

  “... meow?” 

  Dainsleif stares at you, lips parted slightly, he’s positioned with one foot forward as he had been in the process of rushing towards you to hopefully stop you from touching what you shouldn’t… but he was a tad late. 

  He straightens and takes a breath. Okay… from one mystery to another. 

  He approaches you and picks you up—a bit awkwardly, as if he doesn’t know how to hold a cat—and you’re too confused and disoriented as to what just happened to process you being turned back towards the round artefact. Dainsleif takes your front right paw and makes you touch the artefact again.

  Nothing. No glow, no poofing. 

  There goes his only idea. 

  The following days were confusing and mildly frustrating. It’s been a while since Dainsleif traveled alone, and though he isn’t technically alone—you’re still there, it doesn’t feel the same. He’s quite struck with the confrontation that he’s become very accustomed to your presence and how much he’s come to rely on it. 

  He’s a bit quiet and distant from you for a few days, while it makes you sad—if anything, you should be the one who needs comforting—you do try to slowly approach, you know that he can run the danger of isolation. 

  After starting a flame one evening in the alcove of a cave beneath a bright starry sky, Dainsleif sits down to rest for the night. You walk over with slow steps, careful and quiet, before sitting down next to him. 

  Far enough that you’re not touching, not even your tail… but close enough to be present. 

  His eyes slide towards you, and his head follows. “... what is it?”

  “Meow.”

  His eyelids squint, unsure what to make of your reply. Your answers always make sense to him… but what can he decipher from your feline face? The only familiar part of you is your eyes, shining under the light from the flames. “I see.”

  You doubt he deciphered any meaning from your meows, but he’s engaging with you now. Progress. 

  Trying your luck, you move closer. He stays as he is, watching you closely.

  You move closer yet, your tail touches his coat. 

  Dainsleif sighs. 

  You stop. 

  He can’t particularly feel your presence, not yours—but there is a presence next to him. It is yours, despite the fact he can’t sense it… and perhaps one day, were he to outlive you as if likely, he will have to find your presence in something you’re not. 

  And though you are this weird-looking cat, somewhere between a sentient human being and a feline animal, you’re still you. 

  The same, those same eyes, the very same gaze and mind. 

  He reaches out and sets his palm onto your furry head. Dainsleif pets your head slowly, and you nuzzle into his hand. You sit in silence before the swaying flames.

Diluc;

He can’t help but think that you might’ve done this on purpose. 

  Diluc has been very busy the last weeks he’s been coming back home to the winery late, leaving early—getting up in the middle of the night and waking you up when he goes out for his Darknight hero duties—and though you rescheduled it for next week, missed a dinner in the city that had been booked in advance. 

  He does feel bad, Diluc wants to spend all the time he can with you, all his free time and more—but with the winter months drifting by, business in the winery booms as people stock up on wine for the holidays. Businesses buy in bulk for holiday menu changes, and such. 

  And now, after hurrying back home when he was contacted that “something had happened” to you… he’s standing in front of a cat. 

  He thought you might’ve been hurt, or sick—he had run so fast his hair was loosening from his usual tail. 

  And while you’re not hurt or sick, you are… different. Something definitely happened. 

  He sits down and you climb onto his lap, sitting down and pawing at his chest, small meows leaving your small mouth. Diluc strokes your back and ruffles your fur with both hands. “How did this happen?” he knows you can’t answer him, but he can’t help but ask anyway. 

  You rise up on your hind legs, front paws on his chest as you lick and wet his cheeks. Diluc’s eyes close and his face scrunches up. “H-hey, stop that,” he puts his hands around your torso and holds you away from his face, your little tongue bleping down out of your mouth. 

  A smile tugs on his lips at the cute expression. 

  He still has to attend to his job, but while he usually handles most things himself, Diluc does accept help from his staff now that you’re… like this. So now he has more time for you, which isn’t exactly how he intended to spend that free time—searching for ways to turn you back, and having you loafing on his lap and being unable to stand up and fetch his coffee. 

  He’s not going to move while you’re so comfortable… he wouldn’t do that even if you weren’t a cat. 

  Not the biggest fan of the hair you leave around you, he needs to wipe his clothes thoroughly after you’ve so much as looked in his direction.

  You get so much attention around the winery it’s not even funny, every employee pets you, gives you treats and treat you like you’re more of a royal cat than just a normal person turned into one. 

  Diluc came home one evening to see you loafing on the sofa, a shiny bow tied around your neck and a bowl of treats next to you… in reach for whenever you wanted it. 

  He had a conversation with the staff about making sure you don’t eat so much that your stomach will hurt… and that maybe not make you get too comfortable like this, he wants to turn you back to normal after all. 

Kaedehara Kazhua; 

He thinks it’s adorable, Kazuha is a rather laid-back person overall, and he’s certain you’ll be okay—so why not have fun while you’re like this? 

  It started all fun and games when on land, Inazuma is filled to the brim with foods that cats would love, every shop has some form of fish or vegetables that Kazuha can share with you…

  But as soon as you go out on the open ocean, it’s over. 

  Kazuha has never seen you so violently unhappy on the ship, every rock of it makes you yowl and dig your claws into whatever you’re standing on, be it a crate, table, bed or Kazuha’s clothes (you ruined two pants, but he doesn’t particularly mind). 

  You have an irrational (or very rational) fear that you might be tossed off the ship and into the ocean at the slightest dip of the deck. Kazuha does his best to calm you and comfort you, he even offers to make a harness and leash for you so that he can yoink you back if you happen to fall overboard. 

  You don’t find his idea as funny as Beidou does.

  Thankfully, you don’t get tossed overboard you don’t spontaneously die or have any other terrible event happen to you—and you’re so thankful to touch land that you hop off the side of the ship and to the harbour the ship docked by before it can even properly be tied down by the dockworkers. 

  Kazuha leans over the railing of the ship and calls your name, a bit worried—he hopes you don’t get lost before he can catch up to you. 

  It takes a while for the ship to dock and open up for people to leave, Kazuha convinces another person on the ship to take his duties for a while as he rushes out to find you. He’s not worried you might get yourself in trouble—you’re rather good at keeping out of it, but he doesn’t want you to get lost or have to spend all day looking for you.

  Even though that’s kind of what he’s starting to do right now…

  Kazuha shoulders past the crowd in the busy markets of Port Ormos, it’s early noon and it’s starting to fill up. The Crux has stocked up here often before and thus the both of you are quite familiar with it, but the winding streets and large crowds filling the markets can make it disorienting for even seasoned visitors. 

  After looking around for longer than he cared for, Kazuha finally spots your tail disappearing behind a corner.

  Kazuha picks up his pace and somehow manages to catch up to you, perhaps the soft breeze is on his side, as he swoops up next to you and scoops you up into his arms.

  He smiles, ducking out of the crowds and into a small alley where some crates are stored for the market stalls. “No need to run away, you’re safe on land now,” he holds you like a baby, your paws in the air as his arm holds your back steadily. “Though you are also very safe on the ship, I won’t let you fall overboard.”

  You meow gently, Kazuha isn’t sure if you’re thanking him or expressing concerns… but the way you look up at him in this position is pretty cute. “Let’s find some good food, hm?”

Kaeya;

Funniest shit he’s seen all year. 

  Kaeya tries not to look like he’s very happy this happened—so long as he knows it’s not dangerous or permanent—or that watching you lick yourself to clean your fur isn’t very amusing. 

  He brings you everywhere, lets you follow him around and even holds you and lets passersby pet you…

  Kaeya is just straight-up treating you like a real cat.

  At this realisation, that he was acting like you were a pet, and not his very real (though cat-like for now) partner and previous human… you got angry! you wriggled in his grasp, surprising him and causing Kaeya to almost drop you—he righted his hold and blinked at you with a confused expression. “What is it? Did I hold you wrong?”

  A series of angry meows and swats of your paw later, Kaeya was none the wiser. 

  He tried to bait you to “forgive” him with some nicely cut fish… and it kind of worked, that was some good fish. 

  Kaeya sits by the table you’re on as you gobble down the fish he bought you, he leans on his fist with a smile and watches as you lick your muzzle after getting fishy-oil on it and shake yourself when you accidentally dip your whiskers into the water next to the plate. 

  The sun almost makes it seem like your fur shines and sparkles under it and as you sit down, belly full and satisfied, Kaeya reaches out and scratches behind your ears. “Did you take behavioural classes before this? To behave like a real cat? You’re really nailing it.”

  You make a huffed sound, but reach your head further into his hand. 

  He tries to get you to play with toys, he buys a stick with a bundle of feathers on the end in hopes that you’ll chase it when he dangles it in front of you… but when he sat down with you on the floor of your shared home and dangled it in front of you…

  You stared at him as if he had just grown three additional heads.

  Kaeya pouts, he wriggles it a bit—and though you follow it around with your head, you still sit where you are and don’t move.

  Not until he lowered the toy and the feathered end touched the floor.

  You pounced onto it.

  Kaeya pauses, blinking at you in surprise. You look up like you got caught with your hand in a cookie jar. 

  And then he just laughs, he wriggles the toy again and you swat at it in frustration for making you leap at it like that, you’re not a real cat!!

Kamisato Ayato;

He doesn’t leave you alone. 

  You’re trotting along the engawa of the estate on your way to find a nice spot to nap—and suddenly, you’re swooped up into his arms. Ayato smiles and strokes your head. “There you are, my dear. I was searching for you,” he hums and turns around to walk into the estate. 

  Ayato spends about half the day—and sometimes more—in his study tending to paperwork of many kinds. Unusually, you would lend a hand and help with the neverending piles on his desk, but you’re little help like this… still, he demands that you “lend your paw” and sit on his lap the entire time. 

  It was nice at first, he’s got a nice lap to lay or loaf on, and he would scratch you in spots you couldn’t reach yourself, or just stroke your back… but after five hours, you really want to stretch your legs.      So, you squeeze out from under his arm and stretch next to him, letting out a big yawn—only to find a finger poking your tongue?!

  The bastard actually stuck his finger in your mouth when you yawned. Ayato smiled, all smug and somehow innocent at the same time. You meowed in disapproval, but it went straight over his head, as if he had any idea as to what you had just said to him, insult or not. 

  He also keeps pinching your toe beans, sometimes making your claws stretch out and then back in—even in the middle of the night, he rubbed your paws and stuck his finger between the beans. What is wrong with this guy. 

  Other than messing with you and pulling your leg, he does provide the best food and treats—as usual, you have the privilege of accessing the clan kitchens and being made food by them on a daily basis and it never fails to make you nearly cry with how good it is.       And even now, as you sit next to his desk and his dinner is brought to him (even though you’ve tried to ask the staff to not bring it to him, and that he has to eat outside of his study or else his ass will get stuck to the floor) you are given your own tray of dishes as well. 

  Gobbling down the freshly made meals tailored to you even in this form, Ayato is happy that you seem to have a good appetite. He had been concerned that this… situation might stress you out and you wouldn’t be able to eat or sleep. 

  Despite his endless workload, Ayato somehow finds the time to pamper and take care of you between his busy schedule. He sits down with you in the gardens and brushes your fur, rubs your cheeks and kisses your nose (and you need to wet it again every time). As if you were a little fur baby for him to take care of. 

  He still talks to you as if you were as you always are, though Ayaka uses a baby-voice like one would use with a cat (she tries not to, but fails), Ayato speaks to you normally. He plucks the seeds out of a small cube of watermelon before feeding it to you as he recounts his day, humming in affirmation as you meow back about your own… he doesn’t understand it, but you need to get it out as well. 

  Your snout is practically pink by the end of the watermelon bowl, and Ayato gives you that smile… oh no. 

  “It’s been a few days now, and you ran around the garden yesterday… and now you’re covered in melon juice. Why don’t I ask Thoma to warm a bath to wash your fur?” he asks innocently, and watches in amusement as you shoot out of his lap and flee into the estate. Not a chance. 

Kaveh;

Kaveh gapes at you. You stare up at him. He blinks. You blink.

  “H-hah???!” he scoops you up—accidentally upside down, but you just flop in his arms, still blinking at him from your angle, you know he won’t drop you. Kaveh rights you and brings you nearly nose-to-nose as he stares into your eyes. “How did this happen? You were just—I was… this…”

  He holds you a few centimetres away so neither of you go cross-eyed. “... Do you understand me?”

  You nod and raise your paw, pressing it onto his cheek.

  Kaveh doesn’t move his face away and lets your paw just press against his skin. “Okay, you’re… uh, aware… how do I fix this?”

  “Meow.”

  “...” right. Maybe this was a stupid question. 

  Kaveh goes a bit overboard, he researches the best ways to take care of a cat, the best foods, beds, toys—everything. And suddenly, he comes home after a short day at work (he has more important things to tend to!) with… so much stuff. 

  You stare, dumbfounded, as Kaveh carves out a cat-space in his and Alhaitham’s house… did he get Alhaitham’s permission to do this? You somehow doubt it. 

  After everything is set up, he stands and sets his hands on his hips with a wide smile. “What do you think?” Kaveh asks, looking down at you sitting by his feet with a swaying tail. “I think it fits very well, the colours compliment our living room—and I tried to arrange it in a way that mostly hugs the wall and doesn’t intercept with the flow of the room—”

  He’s rambling again. You don’t mind when he gets going and his interior design skills ARE good, despite it not being his expertise, it goes hand in hand with architecture. 

  But… did he consult the other half of this house before doing this? 

  You found out quickly, you had just settled in the high cat-bed that hung on the wall, giving you a good view over the living room as well as a height advantage to him (now you get why cats enjoy the high ground)... when the front door opens and a very familiar Scribe enters. 

  Alhaitham wasn’t even aware that you had turned into a cat, to him… he just came home to see a random cat in the living room—and that it was arranged completely differently to give you space. 

  Thankfully Alhaitham has a good few brain cells to rub together between his fingers, and isn’t quick to rise, so he looked to Kaveh and tilted his head towards the kitchen… where they had a lengthy discussion, where Kaveh explained everything to him and asked him if it was okay…

  Which is a tad late when he’s already rearranged the entire living room and gotten you comfortable there… but fine. So long as he takes it all down and makes everything as it should be once you’re back to normal. When asked, Alhaitham said he was too busy to help turn you back and told him to consult the library. 

  Kaveh is a hugger in his sleep, and you’re a victim (you love his hugs). He practically wraps himself around you and holds you to himself the entire night—and don’t you dare try to leave, he’ll wake up and whine about it. He does sometimes squeeze a bit too much—you’re not as durable as you usually are, you’re just a little kitty…

  He gets cuteness aggression when you do anything mildly affectionate. Rub against his legs while he’s at his desk, loaf on his lap and slow blink up at him, lick his hand when he strokes your head… Kaveh tries his best not to squeeze you or shake you like a keychain, he bit into his own hand once to refrain from biting your full cheek of food once. 

  He drew a full sketchbook of you over the span of two weeks, he can’t help it—you’re too adorable and he wants to keep the image of you forever. 

Neuvillette;

Not chill about this, Neuvillette was immediately concerned with how to turn you back and if this curse-spell could have any permanent effects on you. He doesn’t really have many tomes to consult, nor are there many people he could ask for advice as to… how to fix this. 

  After some time, and you rubbing your furry cheek on his arm and leg to try and calm down his nerves, Neuvillette does slow down. He’s usually very calm in the face of the unknown or danger—but he’s never had to deal with direct danger (or not, he hasn’t figured out if it’s dangerous or not yet) when it comes to you. 

  Thankfully, you’re still there with him, just… a bit smaller, and furrier… and you smell a bit weird—still like you, but also with a tinge of something else. Perhaps that part of your scent has always been your humanity. 

  And now you’re a cat. 

  He’s never owned a pet before—and you’re hardly a typical pet, and thus consults the only person he can think of. Furina (though he’s unsure she’s ever owned a pet either?).

  And she loves you, she already likes you well enough—but like this? You’re getting picked up, petted, smooched, pampered and loved. Neuvillette just stands a bit awkwardly as Furina gets it out of her system and you get dangerously close to being fed up with her hugging and smooching… you’re not an actual cat! You just look like one!!

  After being freed from her clutches, Neuvillette holds you with more dignity for a while until you feel safe enough to walk around the ex-Archon’s home (and won’t get swooped up again). When the initial chaos is over, he sits down with Furina and they put their heads together to try and find a solution to this. They write down how it happened, what exactly changed—your mind is the same, your scent as well as your eyes. Though your fur has turned a shimmering white regardless of your head and body hair colour before. 

  You look like a big snowball. 

  There’s no real conclusion to the first session of brainstorming, but they manage to narrow down that though neither was there to see what exactly happened, it was likely a spell, or perhaps an artefact you touched (where would that even happen inside Fontaine?) or something along those lines. 

  Thus, Neuvillette takes you back home for the night. He’s a bit stiff around you, he doesn’t interact much with animals and though he won’t avoid them if a cat approaches him on the street (he’d mostly greet and nod at them) he hasn’t exactly had to care for one before. 

  He has to rely on asking you yes or no questions that you can nod or shake your head to, and makes it through the first few days like that. And while you’re… cute? (He’s not entirely sure how to describe you) Nauvillette does much more prefer you in your normal state, where he can communicate with you, hold your hand and touch your cheek without getting sniffed at by a wet nose.

  Not that Neuvillette doesn’t enjoy petting your fur and scratching under your chin, it’s just not the same. 

  It is very amusing to watch your head move left and right as you sit on the kitchen counter and watch Neuvillette prepare dinner—mostly for himself as you don’t eat typical foods now. He offers a small piece of a carrot and watches as you crunch on it for a good thirty seconds until it’s mushed enough to swallow. 

Tartaglia;

Another situation of; the funniest shit he’s ever seen. 

  He brings you everywhere—Childe has no concept of ‘pet-free zone’ because you’re not his pet? You’re his partner? His beloved? Why is he being shooed out, you’re on a leash and everything (half chewed apart because you refuse to wear it with dignity and do all in your power to get free, how dare he put you on a LEASH).

 Of course, initially, he was confused and rather concerned. He thought you might have been attacked, or targeted and thus had been made into this… cat, maliciously. 

  But you honestly seem pretty undisturbed, so he is as well. Calm cat, calm Childe. 

  He dresses you up before taking you outside—not necessarily for fun, but rather because it’s insanely cold in Snezhnaya in these months, and he doesn’t want you to be a block of ice after a few minutes. So he goes and buys some puffy coats, socks and a warm blanket for your return. You feel like you look like an idiot (you already look like a cat…) in all these clothes, but his cooing and smooching make it less annoying—mostly because now your annoyances are focused on him. 

  His siblings don’t really understand that it’s you, not at the younger range—and Childe just tells them that you’re a cat he and you decided to take care of for a while and that you’re busy elsewhere. Tonia doesn’t seem as convinced when Childe keeps smooching your nose and rubbing his cheek against yours. 

  Embarrassing enough as it is, Childe starts to call you nicknames now—it isn’t entirely unusual, but they’ve always been normal… now he’s calling you “Combat kitten” and “Fuzzy comrade”... worst of all was “General toebeans”

  You wish you could tell him to stop, but all you have are meows and hisses. 

  Snezhnayan homes are made to withstand cold and harsh winds, and thus have excellent central heating systems… also known as a fireplace—and a furnace elsewhere. And curling up on some soft blankets or a plush chair by the furnace as snow gathers on the windowsill and winds brush against the exterior of the house… there are few places more comfortable to take a nap.

  Unfortunately, Childe’s humming and singing from the kitchen disturbs your perfect peace, but you’re just glad he’s having fun. You’ll live. 

  And he brings you some treats, places a small kiss on top of your furry head and sits down in the other chair, dragging the one you’re on to be next to his so that he can stroke your back and belly when you eventually flop on your back for more attention. 

  He’s pulled every string and contact in the Fatui to try and figure how to turn you back (except a select few who will either be last measures or just straight avoidances despite advice they might give) but hasn’t had much luck so far. Thankfully you've only been stuck like this for a week or so, and thus it hasn’t been so long to be concerning. 

  Perhaps it’s just a matter of waiting it out, and Childe is surprisingly patient. 

Thoma;

The Housekeeper stands in surprise as a cat is suddenly plopped into his arms. “Ah… is this… a new house pet…?” the Kamisato estate doesn’t exactly have pets, there are some cats that come around and nap in the gardens every now and then and leave after a while, but this cat is staring at him as if they’ve known him their entire life.

  Ayato only hums as he’s already turned to another task, rushing from one thing to another as the busy days of summer come along. He doesn’t have much time to explain—nor is there much to explain. He had borrowed you for a few minutes to help him with something, he turns around for a moment, and the next you’re a cat.

  Thoma stares at him, silent for a time. He’s not entirely sure if Ayato is messing with him or not—it’s entirely possible, and par for the course for his lord—but as Ayato shakes his head and waves his hand in dismissal, he speaks again. “I already have someone looking into it, take care of them in the meantime. I’ll have someone fetch you if there is news.”

  You’re actually a cat. 

  After leaving Ayato’s study and sitting down outside where the afternoon sun has begun sinking towards the oceans beyond the cliff the estate sits on, Thoma stares at you as if he’s not entirely sure what to do with you. 

  Despite the initial confusion (and the followed concern, but it’s quickly dampened somewhat, Ayato has someone on the case and he trusts him to find a solution) Thoma is a very responsible person. He makes sure you’re not uncomfortable at all despite some estate staff vehemently refusing to let you in specific places… such as the kitchen. Fair enough. But there are also certain rooms and areas that have to be kept very clean and they don’t want cat hairs to get all over the place. 

  Thoma brings you around, he’s got many places to be, and he’s sure you’d like to stretch your legs anyway—it’s always nice to leave the estate for a few hours and run some errands. He had to head down to a nearby village and see whether trade agreements were coming along smoothly, they produce a lot of high quality rice and are often stuck in trade deals with large towns and clans for their rice—and for a well enough reason. Recently, Ayato had struck a deal with them and everything was signed and well along its way, Thoma just had to go and make sure they had everything they needed for transport. 

  It was a good walk, but you kept up easily… somehow having four legs rather than two makes you less tired after walking for some hours…? Or perhaps it’s because your body is so light now, you don’t know much about cat anatomy. 

  The meeting went well and you didn’t linger for long.

  Unfortunately, a heavy downpour began to fall on the two of you as you headed back. Thoma quickly scooped you up and tucked you into his jacket—it’s not much of a jacket, it barely reaches below his ribs, but it was just big enough for him to cover you (and lean a bit to cover you better) and pick up his pace to run back to the Kamisato estate. 

  After making it back inside, the rain was as if a waterfall had opened in the heavens to drop down on the roof. Thoma’s hair is wet and sticks to his cheeks as he sets you down. “Ah, that was close,” he laughs softly. “Are you dry?”

  You shake yourself after being pressed against his chest for so long and sniff around your fur, then give him a nod. 

  “Hah, that’s good, I’ve heard cats don’t like water much,” he smiles. “I need a change of clothes, come with me?”

  You let out a happy meow and follow him along further inside. 

Venti;

Cooes at you and talks to you with a baby-voice, he puts both thumbs on either side of your cheeks and rubs your face like it’s dough… even though it makes his nose red and his eyes puffy—despite the cursed allergy that torments his everyday life (there’s so many cats in Mondstadt) he doesn’t let it stop him from being around you. Pestering some healers for a medicine that could help, he feels… less bad, but it doesn’t really dampen the itch in his eyes and throat well enough.

  He doesn’t take this situation seriously at all, at least not nearly as much as you do—you should probably trust his reactions and instincts, as he’s far more knowledgeable than you (even though he doesn’t act like it at all) and if you were in any danger, he wouldn’t be smooching your cheeks and nuzzling you like HE’S the cat. 

  Thus, you try to calm down, to focus on just getting through the days and not feel embarrassed when you have to clean yourself or relieve yourself as a cat. 

  But Venti also doesn’t make it easy for you, he builds a “throne” for you out of books and pillows for you to have the high ground (he doesn’t want to put holes in the wall for a hanging bed) and gives you “Mondstadt’s finest tuna” that tasted very much like a normal piece of tuna, but you appreciated the gesture nonetheless.

  Sometimes you really wonder if he was the one who cursed you just so he could mess with you and cuddle you without you being able to fend him off. Not that you would be particularly opposed to cuddles in the first place? He could just ask?? Besides, why would he choose the form of a cat out of every other pet considering his consistent sneezing up a storm around them.

It doesn’t add up, you discard your theory.

  You can’t sleep in the same bed anymore, both because Venti moves a lot in his sleep and being a cat does not make it safe, he could crush you! (as if he’s heavy enough to do that) and because he might well and truly pass away if he had to be so close to your furry-ass for such a pronged amount of time… and thus, Venti makes a nice bed for you out of blankets and pillows next to your usual one where you can rest.

  There was a time where these new cat instincts took a bit too much over, and when you were chasing a crystalfly on a walk along the roads outside the city, you had hopped onto a big rock—and after missing your chance to catch the crystalfly, you hopped onto Venti and tried to eat his braids. 

  He yelped in surprise, but laughed once he realised what you were doing. “My hair isn’t for eating, it’s no good for your digestion either!”

  You felt embarrassed about this little incident, and he kept making fun of you for it—though not necessarily maliciously, Venti just thought it was funny that you didn’t go for his hat, but his hair instead.

  Climbing to the top of the Mondstadt cathedral or the statue of himself isn’t your favourite pastime, but it’s surprisingly much easier in this form—and thus when Venti suggests you go to the top to play some songs, you had been hesitant at first.

  Making it to the top, Venti sits down comfortably as if he’s done it a thousand times (you sometimes suspect he climbs it to make you feel better, because you know he can just float up with a gust of wind) and pats his lap for you to sit down. 

  You plop yourself onto his thighs and settle comfortably as the sun sinks below the horizon, Venti takes out his usual lyre and tests a few tunes to ensure it’s properly set. “Let me play you something nice, it’ll help you sleep.”

  And it is nice, your ears flick as his fingers dance along the harp’s strings, he hums along with it but doesn’t sing full words—the vibration of the song calms you and you rest your head on your paws. 

Wanderer;

“You are the ugliest cat I’ve ever seen in my life.”

  He’s being dramatic, you’re not that ugly… but…

  Why did you have to turn into a hairless cat? 

  You feel strange, and perhaps you would also feel the same way if you had a lot of hair, but every single breeze makes you feel you are especially naked—because you are!

  Wanderer isn’t exactly happy to have to take care of you—he will do it, of course, but he will also complain about it. You were perfectly independent and functional as a person before you just had to go and sniff some plant in the wild that poofed you into a cat before his very eyes. 

  He refuses to seek help to find out how to turn you back, not because he doesn’t want anyone to know that you’re a cat, but rather because he’s certain he can handle it himself. 

  You whack at his arm with your paw, meowing up a storm after a few hours of not being fed the day after—he had completely forgotten that he needs to prepare something digestible for you… he’s never had to take care of a creature like you before—what can you even eat?? He clicks his tongue. “Don’t swat at me like that. You’re human, act like it…”

  You’re not human right now!! Give me food!!

  Eventually, he does begin to take proper care of you, even though he keeps telling you that you look like a peeled potato… you don’t have many ways of retaliation except whacking him with your paw or hissing when he lightly pinches a big patch of your skin. 

  Surprisingly, during one strangely cold night when you were curled on the bed and trying to stay warm—even the slightest drop in temperature was very cold to your hairless body… you feel something soft drape over you.     Half-asleep and cold, you squint up and scrunch your nose as your whiskers squish against the blanket, you see Wanderer turn back around after setting it over you. Hah… he’s soft under that hard shell as always, even if he tries to act aloof. 

  After several days of no luck in trying to turn you back, Wanderer does begin to cave to asking for some… advice. Not help. Advice.

  With you in his arms, head reaching towards the market stalls of Sumeru city (literally everything smells good and extremely edible) as he passes by, Wanderer takes you to meet with Nahida who is rather enthusiastic about this mystery. She pets you and smiles, humming as he recounts what happened and describes the particular flower you smelled. 

  “Hm, I have an idea, but it’ll take a while to execute… do you think it’ll be okay for them to remain like this for a few more days?” the archon taps her chin in thought, mind swirling with ideas and possible solutions. 

  Wanderer huffs, not exactly a scoff, and clapped his hand onto your head. “It’s fine.”

  But as soon as you returned back home and he set you down on the living room table, Wanderer points at you. “You better turn back to normal soon…” he folds his arms over his chest, his expression isn’t as tight as it was before. “I don’t want to deal with this forever. Just get back soon.”

  You inch closer to him on the table, reaching your paw out to tug his sleeve closer—only to rub your head into his palm. He clicks his tongue. “Whatever… don’t think this counts as an apology. You’ll have to make up for it properly when you’re you again.”

Wriothesley;

You are, quite possibly, the smallest cat he has ever seen. 

  He holds you in the palm of his hand, it’s adorable. Wriothesley cracks a grin and lifts you to eye-level. “Hm, you’re not nearly as scary like this, no one in this prison will listen to you like this.”

  You want to whack him on his nose, but politely refrain—if only because you don’t want to get dropped. You meow at him, ferocious and upset at this situation, you have a job to tend to! Things to do!

  But Wriothesley has other ideas, he sets you down on his desk and sits down. “Now, how did this happen? I assume this wasn’t intentional?” is he teasing you? Most likely. He knows you can’t just answer his questions, and you assumed he would be slightly more concerned when a guard brought you to his office…

  But no, he instantly recognised you and dismissed the guard. Had it been the eyes? The fur? Is he somehow responsible for this??

  All unanswered questions, and though he sends out word to some people he thinks might be able to help decipher this mystery, he doesn’t seem to be in any hurry to get you back to normal. He sets you in the pocket of his vest (it’s embarrassing that you actually fit) and goes on with his days as normal. 

  Siegwinne was initially very concerned, she seemed much more sensible in her worries that leaving you in this form for too long might be dangerous and that the Fortress isn’t exactly a good place for pets. There are a lot of crevices to get stuck in and things to get hurt on.

  Though you still retain your mind, so you should be alright in that sense… so long as you don’t get overly curious. 

  He is undeniably very warm, and cuddling up to him at night is very comfortable—especially now that you can just lay on his chest and snooze there and not worry about being dragged back into his embrace if you move too much in your sleep. You barely move at all in this form.

  Come morning, Wriothesley was already awake by the time you open your eyes, he strokes your fur and scratches behind your ears. Having a day pass by does make the initially amusing situation a bit more… real. He doesn’t want you to be struck with a permanent curse, or some kind of spell that might harm you in the long run. 

  “Don’t you worry,” he mumbles, voice rough with sleep. “I’ll make sure you’re back to normal soon, just stick close by.”

  And you do, mostly because you couldn’t have been blessed (cursed?) with a normal-sized cat body, but possibly the smallest there could be. You can’t even jump up onto his desk by yourself and have to yowl at him to let you up. 

  He does so happily, surprisingly eager to carry you around and help you with the smallest things. 

  Wriothesley doesn’t even change in mood from amusement when you chase the pen in his hands as it glides across paperwork he signs, you leap onto his arm and try to whack at the pet in either some strange instinctual haze, or an attempt to play—and though you whacking the pen makes it seem like he has the handwriting of a toddler, it’s just rather funny.

  The Fortress doesn’t exactly have a large variety of foods, not in the sense that it can be adjusted for the diet of a cat that isn’t accounted for during inventory fills, and thus Wriothesley sends for specific ingredients that won’t be heavy on your tiny little stomach. 

  And he also… got some cat-related things delivered, like a bed, some string toys and treats. You never used the bed, either preferring his lap to nap on, or just slept in the strangest places he never even imagined you could reach with those stubby legs. 

  But he’s a very responsible caretaker, at least, that’s what he claims as he holds you down to brush your teeth and you wriggle and flail like an eel. 

Xiao; 

Very worried, he didn’t even realise the cat sitting in the clearing of the forest was you at first and searched for you for several minutes before seeming to realise that you had just… shrunk. Into a cat. 

  He stares at you for a good minute, lips parted and eyes large… before your name tentatively leaves his mouth.

  You meow in affirmation, standing and shaking yourself as you try to understand the situation yourself—still a bit disoriented. 

  Xiao approaches you quickly and kneels down in front of you, he lifts you up to your hind legs, puts you down and inspects your ears, your tail and under your paws. You meow in curiosity as to what he is doing, and surprisingly he seems to understand your question. 

  “There might be traces of whatever did this on your body, it will make it easier to track or reverse,” he says and even checks inside your mouth, which you weren’t really happy with. 

  Unfortunately, he doesn’t find any answers, and kneels there rather awkwardly with you in front of him… what now? This situation has stumped him a bit—he’s supposed to be able to keep you safe from all manners of danger and curses like this (perhaps not exactly like this, he never prepared for this exact scenario) and now that he’s not got many leads to fix it, his mind is a bit aimless in where to search for information. 

  He has no idea how to care for you, and while he has vague ideas of the behaviours of animals…they mostly stem from wild animals and their reactions to foreign presences in their territories, or similar scenarios. 

  What does a meow mean? Is there something wrong? What does it mean when you paw at the door? Do you want to go outside? But it’s two in the morning?

  He severely overestimates the portions of food you eat, giving you a full plate of something the Wangshu Inn kitchens prepared on his request (they figured out what happened and have been trying to help him, but Xiao is still trying to be subtle and secretive about the situation) and being confused when you only ate a fourth of it. 

  Are you sick? Was it the wrong kind of food?

  He brings you along with him on his hunts, while he could leave you at the inn… how can he be sure that you won’t get into trouble? The window is high above the ground, what if you tumble out of it? What if you try to climb up on the dresser in the room and get stuck? Or fall down and hurt yourself?

  No, you’re safest with him, even if he has to wield his spear with one hand and hold you with the other. 

  He’s surprisingly good at it too. 

  Desperate after a week of unsuccessful herbs and potions he tried to make, Xiao caves and contacts Liyue Harbour and the adepti that reside there for help.

  It seems his message had gotten into Cloud Retainer’s hands, and instead of any actually helpful advice on how to turn you back… she had sent an entire booklet of cat behaviours, diets and how to take care of them.

  Helpful, sure… but not exactly what he was asking for. 

  One evening as he was out on the usual hunts, he noticed that you were walking slowly by his side, yawning and rather cold so high in the mountains. He didn’t even have to think about what might be wrong or what to do, as he had already scooped you up into his arms and teleported back to the inn, where he sat down with you on the bed. 

  “You should tell me when you’re tired…” he grumbles and tugs one of the covers on the bed to his lap where he wraps it around you as if bundling a baby up. Xiao reaches up and scratches behind your ears as your eyes blink closed in the comfort of being back in the warm room.

  He had only been petting you for s few seconds when he felt you… tremble? There was a strange rumbling sound coming from you, are you uncomfortable? He doesn’t quite understand it… but you continue to rumble as he scratches your head and ears. 

  Ah, was this the ‘purring’ he read about in one of the booklets Ganyu sent him? How… cute.

Zhongli;

“Ah…” Zhongli stares at you, this isn’t quite what he had imagined would happen… he had been crafting a potion in hopes it would help Ganyu sleep better, she had been overworking herself (again) more than usual and was so tired that she couldn’t sleep. It can happen. 

  The combination of herbs and materials required for the potion he had put together wasn’t very suitable for humans, and of course he made sure to let you know so that you wouldn’t drink it… but he hadn’t expected that only being touched by a single drop onto the back of your hand would lead to a poof, and your size being reduced and body turned to that of a cat. 

  You had only wanted to help by handing him ingredients so that he didn’t have to turn around so often… you didn’t anticipate this either!

  He makes sure the potion won’t burn and sets a lid on the pot before turning towards you. “I… had not foreseen that this could have been a danger to you, my apologies,” he kneels down on one knee and holds his hand out for you to sniff. You do so, snout twitching towards his finger before you bump your head into his palm. 

  “Have you retained some sense of consciousness?” he wonders, gloved hand moving to stroke over your small head, your ears flattening under his palm. “I’m sure I can find a way to reverse this.”

  He was sure, at least. But after some research and testing… he wasn’t making any progress—at least, he wasn’t making progress in finding ways to turn you to your normal self without some potential risks or aftereffects. 

  What he did find, was that the herb that you had been touching, and the potion he had halfway crafted was similar to another concoction that he had made before—and the effects of that had only been temporary. 

  It seems you will simply have to wait until the effect wears off. 

  Zhongli had instinctively prepared a delightful meal in the way he knows you would enjoy while you sit in the kitchen counter and watch with interest, your tail swaying happily as you watch him chop some vegetables and set them into the pot… but halfway through the process as he’s setting spices and herbs into the pot, Zhongli realises that more than half of the ingredients in the pot are unsuitable for cats to eat. 

  He finishes the meal and sets it aside, before fetching some fish you had purchased just yesterday that he was going to use for lunch tomorrow and cut it into nicely bite-sized pieces. You tilt your head slightly as you watch—the meal he had just been putting together doesn’t have any fish in it?? What’s it for?

  And honestly, when he plated your food (in a very professional and presentable way) and set it down on the dining table, then set his own on the other side for himself… you felt a bit offended. Raw fish, some rice and a hard boiled egg… next to his delicious smelling beef stew… 

  If you could’ve cried, you would have. And Zhongli felt pretty bad for the rest of the day, he tried to offer you some “safe” treats or make it up to you with some pets and scritches, but you still sulked.

  You had looked forward to this dinner all day…

  Thankfully you got over it rather quickly and Zhongli is glad that he didn’t offend you too badly… it seems having been turned into a cat had made you quite dramatic as well, he doesn’t recall you ever having sulked like this over a meal before.

  Knowing that it was simply a waiting game, Zhongli isn’t very concerned about your state, but he does ensure that you’re comfortable and not afraid—he understands that perceiving the world differently like this can be strange and even scary, but he’s glad when it seems that you’re relatively calm. 

  Your nightly routines are slightly out of whack now—something that Zhongli isn’t very fond of, he quite likes it that after cleaning up after dinner, the two of you settle in the living room for a while. He tends to read and it varies what you get up to, but it’s always a shared time where you sit in silence or chat about your days.

  He does talk about his day to you, sitting on the comfortable seat in the living room with you on his lap, Zhongli recounts his day to you and expresses that he hopes you weren’t too bored alone in the home today, and that perhaps he can convince the director to allow him to bring you for a day. He strokes your back and smiles as a rumbling purr leaves you, he scratches under your chin and touches his forehead to yours as you seem to have fallen asleep on his lap. He reaches for his book and decides to read for a while before taking you to bed. 

  Despite the mishap, he’s glad you’re safe—he will endeavour to be more careful in the future and ensure you won’t be hurt or disturbed by his work.