Chapter Text
The heated moment left as fast as it came as they both internally paused to wonder about what in Celestia's name had taken control over them at the back of the inn.
No, whatever that had been, it had been wrong on too many levels, and it was never going to happen again.
For the rest of their dinner, they didn't speak anymore.
The last contact they had that night was the brief stern glance they exchanged before Mona stood up and simply walked to the inn, not even thinking about looking back to the still-eating Harbinger. She quickly went to the room that was arranged for her, pausing a moment to bid Mr. Zhu a hasty 'good night' before rushing up the stairs.
In spite of Scaramouche's apparent lack of ill intentions, Mona didn't feel entirely safe knowing that she was going to be spending the night withing his vicinity. That's why, even though she locked herself in and placed a powerful seal on the door, she couldn't manage to sleep at all, her ears picking on every little sound, as she partially expected for him to attack her in the middle of the night.
When morning finally came and she was still as safe and sound as the previous night, she decided to leave her room. Mr. Zhu told her that the young Inazuma traveler had left already, when the sun had barely risen. It was only at that moment when Mona could finally feel her body relaxing, the pent up tension suddenly making its toll on her.
"Mona, it looks that you haven't slept at all" Mr. Zhu raised an eyebrow at her when she placed a shaking hand on top of the reception counter. "Please, let me arrange a carriage for you to take you to Mondstadt"
"There is no need, really" Mona managed a weak smile. "I prefer to walk, but thank you anyway. How much do I owe you?"
Mr. Zhu seemed to hesitate for a moment, still worried about Mona. However, like everyone else who knew her, he was well aqcuainted with her stubborness, so he decided to drop the issue.
"Nothing at all. That young man paid for both your dinner and your room" he said, opening a drawer and taking out a bill. "I didn't know you had a good friend from Inazuma" he added with a smile.
"He is not my friend" she said on impulse, suddenly aware of her sharp tone. "Sorry, Mr. Zhu. We have a... complicated relationship..." she honestly couldn't think of a better word to describe it, and she didn't want to disclose any important information to the owner of the inn. "Could I please know the price, anyway? So I can repay him in the future"
"Sure, just take this copy of the bill" he handed her a small piece of paper.
The number at the bottom made her suddenly send a mental 'thank you' to that scumbag. It was not expensive, by any means, but if she were to spend that amount of Mora at that moment, she couldn't be buying new astrological equipment for some time.
Mona shook her head. Her priority couldn't be equipment. She had to pay him back, because she didn't want to owe him anything. Not a single thing.
---------------------
He had been appearing in her dreams from time to time since their first encounter, back when they were researching those mysterious meteorites. However, since they last met at Mr. Zhu's inn a few weeks ago, the Harbinger's presence in her dreams had increased considerably, to the point that he was constantly plaguing her nightly visions, much to her complete and utter annoyance.
In them, Mona always saw the same scene: at first, they were bickering and verbally tearing each other down. After a while, however, the insults always evolved into a full-on fight, where they both unleashed the power of their Visions to try to destroy the other. Neither she or Scaramouche ever won, though, as Mona always woke up before the fight could reach an outcome.
That had been the normal string of events in her dreams up until now, only confirming what the stars had already shown her: that they both were fated enemies.
But this time, something was different. As Mona was laying down on her bed and she was reaching the point when her dream usually ended, something new came into view.
Well, not something, rather someone.
A sharp blade cut through the clashing of their Hydro and Electro powers, and when Mona turned to its owner, she was met with friendly but fierce golden eyes.
Lumine.
Mona woke up with a gasp, hand clutching at her chest while her eyes tried to adjust to the morning sunlight that entered her room through the tiny crack of her blinds.
She passed a hand through her messy dark hair, frowning in thought. That had to mean something, didn't it? Lumine suddenly meddling in her fight against that asshole... That was unexpected for sure.
Mona threw the covers off of her, rubbing the last remnants of sleep from her eyes. She didn't wait a second before getting up and quickly summoning her scryglass, set on finding out what in Barbatos' name did she just see.
And when she found it, an even deeper frown crept up to form creases on her brow.
When Mona searched for Scaramouche in her scryglass after their first meeting, she was surprised to see a shiny string made of stars connecting the two of them, indicating that their fates were interwined somehow. As enemies, Mona interpreted back then.
Even if she was unable to see the end of their joined constellations, which meant that the future was not clear, she knew they were bound to confront each other.
But now, that line of bright dots had been intercepted by a third constellation, not breaking it entirely, but effectively weakening their connection.
Not only that, but it appeared that the newcomer, which was now undoubtedly Lumine, was pushing Mona's constellation away from Scaramouche's.
"T-this means..."
Mona shook her head. It was too early to confirm anything yet. It was better if she waited a bit more before checking her scryglass again.
------------------
Three days later, Mona had her first dreamless night. She woke up with a nagging feeling at the back of her mind, but she couldn't tell where that annoyance was coming from.
The night after Lumine appeared in Mona's dreams for the first time, the girl in question stopped her fight against Scaramouche once again, but that time, she also pushed Mona away from the Harbinger, taking her place in the fight.
A night later, Lumine not only pushed Mona away from Scaramouche, but the astrologist was suddenly watching the two of them fight from very far away, their figures getting more and more difficult to see by the second.
And after that, nothing. Not a single dream.
Mona breathed in shakily as she prepared herself for a confirmation of what she had been suspecting for the past days.
"S-so... she is able to change not only her own destiny... but others' as well..." she whispered to herself, her hands shaking as she read her scryglass. "This is... impossible"
The line that connected her with Scaramouche was barely visible now, and Mona finally understood what that meant:
It was Lumine, not her, the one who was bound to fight Scaramouche for good.
And she was going to win.
The realization came as if a bucket full of ice was thrown over her head. The information was too much and it came all of a sudden, so Mona numbly sat down on her bed, her eyes glazing over as she was lost in thought.
Of course, Lumine winning against Scaramouche was a good thing... but that piece of news arrived with some negative feelings that Mona couldn't quite place.
Then, of course, was the fact that her friend could change destinies... That was the most mind-blowing thing Mona had ever witnessed in her entire life, because that never happened.
It was simply impossible.