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The morning light is barely creeping through the windows of the bedroom when Siegfried hears a sharp knocking on the door.
“Dad, are you awake?” his daughter’s voice asks from behind the door. It’s… what time is it?
Siegfried rolls over to stare at the battered alarm clock on the bedside table. Paint peeling off it’s edges from rough handling.
6:00 AM
“Dad?”
“Daddy’s sleeping, babygirl.”
“…”
There is an odd silence, then, footsteps scamper away. It’s… difficult for Siegfried, taking care of Kiana all by himself.
The little girl looks so much like her mother, but that’s about the only thing she took from Cecilia. This little Ceci junior is a bundle of joy with way too much energy, with a stubbornness that reminds Siegfried of his youth.
Though, in Cecilia’s absence, Siegfried tries his best to look after their daughter. It could be easier to manage if he took her back to the Kaslana House but given his relationship with that mess of an extended family, and the fact that it’s on Schicksal’s grounds… yeah no, terrible idea.
The last thing he wants is to put Kiana in the hands of that clown, not after what Anti-Entropy sent him last night.
He’s hidden the documents in a super inconspicuous folder on his computer. That creep of an Overseer has been using his daughter’s genetics for a—
“Dad! I’ve got something to show you.” Kiana shouts from the other side of the door, sounding like she just ran a lap.
“Yes?”
Theres a strange sound that’s vaguely like the grunt of an animal. Siegfried watches as the door creaks open.
Little Kiana in her yellow dress is leading what looks like a black and blue Honkai Beast in the shape of a… horned horse into the bedroom.
Siegfried uses up most of his brainpower to process what he’s looking at.
“Kiana, what the fuck—”
Many years later.
Durandal is taking a tour down St. Freya. It’s been a while since she’s been taught here, as the Overseer pulled her away for Schicksal’s duties, as Otto had deemed her ready for on-field operations.
She feels an itch at the back of her head and turns a corner behind a building where there isn’t anyone looking.
“Krishna, you can come out now.”
The Honkai Beast materialises beside the blonde Valkyrie, lowering their neck and allowing Durandal to scratch behind the grooves of Krishna’s carapace soothingly.
She doesn’t remember where the beast came from, as Krishna had appeared out of nowhere a week ago. The Honkai Beast felt familiar, so she let it stay around her, though it has become increasingly harder to keep the beast hidden from the others—
“Woah!” a girl’s voice comes from the bushes, and a head of white hair emerges from the foliage.
A girl with blue eyes and twin braids runs over to Durandal, much to her surprise.
Where did that girl come from?! Krishna wasn’t meant to be seen! If word gets out—
“Uh…” Who. What. Where. “sure, miss…?”
“Kiana. Name’s Kiana. You’re… oh I know you! You’re that top Valkyrie everyone’s talking about! You’re Dudu!”
“I…” what is with that ridiculous nickname? Also, that’s K423 standing in front of her. Bianka has heard the Overseer talking about her quite a bit, and she just ran into her—
“Can I pet them?”
“…sure? Just, don’t tell anyone you saw them.”
Durandal watches the girl excitedly pat the Honkai Beast like it’s a puppy. She’s not sure what Krishna actually is, but…
“Hmm…”
“Is something wrong?”
“Y’know… they look exactly like the horse I saw in my dad’s photos. Apparently they just… appeared one night when my Stigma was flaring up, though I don’t remember them, hit my head and forgot everything. Think their name was…”
Kiana pauses for a moment, trying to recall… “Krishna, that’s what dad said we named them.”
Hold on.
Durandal suddenly feels a pang of dread, sweat dropping from her face.
“I… need a moment.”
That’s… the same name she called the Beast on reflex?
As the S-Rank Valkyrie starts to mentally unpack what she just discovered, she sees a large shadow suddenly appear behind Kiana.
“Oh! There you are!” The white-haired girl says as a black and blue dragon shaped Honkai Beast rumbles softly. “Bella, say hi to Dudu!”
Theres a whine from the Judgement-Class Honkai Beast that just spontaneously appeared out of thin air, bearing similar white etchings on it’s carapace, just like Krishna.
Bianka “Durandal” Ataegina uses up all her braincells trying to process the scene in front of her.
“Kiana, what the fuck—”