Iridescent Ice

Poison

Jasmine walked into the Dawn Winery to see Diluc tending to the bar. He looked up as she walked in, and nodded to a seat. Jasmine took a seat next to Venti, who was holding a cup of Dandelion Wine in his hand.

"What brings you here?"

"I was searching for Kaeya. He hasn't come home yet."

Diluc looked up from the glass he was cleaning. "I'm afraid you just missed Sir Kaeya. He said he was heading back to the headquarters, and told me to tell you that he wouldn't be coming back tonight."

"Work?"

Diluc nodded, setting an Apple Cider Vinegar before her.

Venti took a sup of his Dandelion Wine. "Maybe it's about the burnt house."

"There's been no lead?" asked Jasmine, looking between Diluc and Venti. That was an assignment for the higher-ups to deal with, so information on it was hard to come by.

Diluc shook his head and Jasmine took the opportunity to ask him another question. "So we does this we still don't know their motive?"

Diluc nodded. "And if they strike again, we won't know until it's too late."

Venti was unusually quiet and Jasmine caught him staring at his glass with a frown. "What's wrong?"

Diluc looked around as well.

"The wine tastes different."

Diluc narrowed his eyes, and Jasmine took a closer look at the glass. It almost seemed like the color was lighter. A shiver ran through her as she grabbed Venti's glass and took a sip of the wine, to Diluc's dismay. Diluc glared at her, but Jasmine barely noticed as she put the glass down, a hand on her mouth. "The wine's been poisoned."

"What?" asked Diluc. He didn't ask for an elaboration as he tried the wine, jumping over the counter and out the door before Jasmine could ask him where he was going. She thought she heard the screech of a falcon somewhere.

Venti looked so okay that Jasmine was surprised. "Do you feel alright?"

"I won't be poisoned that easily. Although..." he drifted off, his eyes falling on the rest of the patrons as some of them choked, and some of them fell to the ground, their eyes rolling into their heads.

"This is bad."

Venti nodded. "Diluc will take care of the source. Go check the situation in the Cat's Tail, would you?"

Jasmine ran out the door as well, the coolness of the night as opposed to the warmth of the tavern catching her off-guard. She ran into the Cat's Tail and stopped as she burst through the door. Men were lying on the floor, Diona kneeling down next to one of them, a hand on his wrist as if he were checking his pulse.

"He didn't drink enough to be knocked out..." she muttered as she stood up. Her eyes locked onto Jasmine's and Jasmine swiped the wine off the table and sniffed it.

"Your supply has been poisoned too."

Diona's eyes widened as she ran out the door as well, and Jasmine took a seat on the floor, feeling her head spin. She focused on the ceiling, trying to keep her breathing steady. She thought she had built a resistance to this poison, courtesy of her mother, but it looked like it had worn off.

Someone opened the door and knelt beside her, and a flash of blue danced across her vision, becoming the only thing she could focus on. That person picked her up, and she heard Kaeya's calming voice in her ear, telling her she would be alright. Eyes closed, she traced ingredients on his shoulder, hoping he would make sense of the words as he walked, hoping he would know what she was trying to tell him. The world turned dark.

                                 *

She woke up hours or days later, she wasn't sure. Someone was pouring something down her throat. Sputtering and coughing, she pushed the vial away and sat up to see Kaeya's face, impassive with a hint of concern under the shadow in his eye. His relief was imminent, visible only to the trained eye.

"You're awake."

"And you got the cure."

"I am a Captain of the Knights of Favonius after all," he purred softly in her ear as he stepped back.

Jasmine looked around, taking in the white walls. She watched Sister Rosaria watching the other sisters walk around to the rest of the patients, who were also lying around on blankets on the floor. The scent of Wolfhook berries wafted in the air, relaxing her shoulders instantly.

"Is Diluc alright?"

"He managed to stop the supply of wine at the winery." Kaeya's eye darkened as Jasmine rested her head on the pillow. "How did you know it was poisoned?"

"It tasked similar to..." she trailed off.

Kaeya waited.

"To the poison my mom made."

"Can we assume she's a suspect?"

Jasmine nodded, her thoughts trailing off. Why would her mother, wherever she was, poison the entire city? Considering everything that happened, it would make sense if she tried to poison Jasmine, but this was going too far. Kaeya waved a hand in front of her, breaking her train of thought.

"Alright?"

"Yep." Pushing herself up, she tried to stand. The room spun and she fell forward, Kaeya catching her around the waist with a hint of amusement. He gently pushed her back into the bed as she complied.

"Perhaps you shouldn't be up just yet."

She nodded in defeat as Diluc and Jean walked in, Diluc looking older than ever and Jean looking exhausted. Jean gave her a look of approval. "You did good, identifying the cause before things went out of hand."

Jasmine waved a hand in gratitude.

Kaeya leaned against the wall as Diluc gave a verbal report, having found and tortured the one who had the gall to poison his wine supply. Jasmine watched with vague interest, even as sleep clawed at her. She watched as Diluc reported that the Fatui diplomats were behind it, and could almost hear gears turning in Kaeya's head. Kaeya raised an eyebrow as he looked at her, and then he pushed her down into the bed, covering her eyes. "Sleep."

And so she slept.

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