Chapter Text
C O N F I D E N T I A L
CASE FILE #9407
ASSIGNED FIELD OPERATIVE: LUMINE
ASSIGNED INTELLIGENCE OFFICER: ALBEDO
SUMMARY
CATEGORY 5 HURRICANE MISSING FROM MAP. LAST SEEN FIVE HUNDRED KILOMETERS EAST OF MUSK REEF AT 19:25. CAUSE OF DISAPPEARANCE UNKNOWN.
TIMELINE
Hurricane CIMERIES originated from an area of low pressure several hundred kilometers northwest of the moving Haar Islands five days ago (SIDENOTE: the islands have moved to an unspecified location since then; refer to Appendix B for exact coordinates at the time of the report). The system developed into a hurricane the following day and began a period of rapid intensification that brought it to Category 3 intensity within three days. It reached Category 5 intensity after 16 hours.
At 18:00, forecasts predicted that Hurricane CIMERIES will make landfall on Musk Reef within four hours at peak intensity, and continue west towards Falcon Coast two hours after. Heavy rainfall and storm surge expected.
Hurricane CIMERIES was last detected at 19:10 today within 500 kilometers of Musk Reef, with one-minute sustained winds of 315 km/h, gusts up to 380 km/h, minimum central pressure of 898 mbar.
As of 19:25, no traces of Hurricane CIMERIES can be found. Cause of sudden disappearance unknown.
Refer to Appendix A for the Mondstadt Stormwatcher Society Meteorology Primer.
Refer to Appendix B for a detailed report on the meteorological history of Hurricane CIMERIES.
MONDSTADT RESPONSE
At 3:00 today, Storm Signal Warning #5 has been raised for the entire region of Starfell Valley; Storm Signal Warning #4 for Windwail Highland, Brightcrown Mountains, and Dornman Port; and Storm Signal #3 for the rest of the nation with the exception of Dragonspine. The Knights of Favonius have been working on evacuation and relief efforts two hours prior to the public announcement.
At 19:30, all cities have been issued Storm Signal Warning #3 due to decreased precipitation and rapid weakening of the storm system.
As of 20:45, all cities have been issued Storm Signal Warning #1. CIMERIES is no longer classified as a hurricane.
Its sudden disappearance was not broadcasted in the news. The gradual lowering of the Storm Signal Warnings over time was deliberately planned by the Knights to control public reaction to the unexplained weather changes.
Refer to Appendix C for specification on Mondstadt's Storm Signal Warning System and related Disaster and Risk Management Policies.
PERSONS OF INTEREST
VIND: Director of the Mondstadt Stormwatcher Society and liaison to the Knights of Favonius.
PERCY: One of the meteorologists of the Mondstadt Stormwatcher Society. First to report about the low pressure area detected near Haar Islands.
VENTI: Designated Hurricane Hunter of the Mondstadt Stormwatcher Society.
KAZUHA: Field operative from the Crux Fleet ("unaffiliated" vigilante group, most active around Liyue region). Temporarily posted in Stormbearer Mountains as a volunteer pilot for unknown reasons.
WINDBLUME OBSERVATIONS AND REMARKS
PAIMON: The possibility of a paranormal cause is exceedingly high, but WINDBLUME lacks data on paranormal phenomena occurring east of Musk Reef. Paimon suggests making contact with Mondstadt's Hurricane Hunters to investigate the area.
ALBEDO: I'll look into supernatural weather disturbances in other regions of Teyvat. Inazuma has most likely experienced a similar phenomenon. There might be clues in the Haar Islands as well, but it'll be tricky to track its current location. We should also check in with Kazuha. I'm not sure why he's here, but he might have some intel for us.
LUMINE: Hasn't this year's weather been odd lately? Mondstadt has always been gray and dreary, but it feels like it's getting warmer earlier than usual. A missing hurricane might not be an isolated case, but a symptom of a larger problem. Though, personally, I think warm weather is the exact opposite of a problem.
ALBEDO: Indeed. Klee has been enjoying the sun lately.
DILUC: The Knights have been diligent in their preparations, but it's not certain that they would have handled the disaster efficiently. It's true that the rainy season lasts more than half a year, but Mondstadt has never experienced a Category 5 hurricane before.
PAIMON: And hopefully, it never will!
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Stormbearer Mountains is home to a wealthy family who, for generations, have watched over the eastern sea for incoming storms since the fall of the Mondstadt Aristocracy, though detailed records of their storm watching activities date only as far back as 200 years ago. They have built watchtowers, lighthouses, and most recently the Mondstadt Meteorology Center situated at the highest cliffs of Stormbearer Point.
The director of the Mondstadt Stormwatcher Society, Vind, is also the current heir of the family.
Mondstadt relies heavily on the Stormwatcher Society's weather forecasts, though to say that Mondstadt cares about the weather is misleading. A Mondstadter never asks what the weather will be tomorrow; they only ask how much rain will fall tomorrow. For eight months of the year, Mondstadt's weather is a predictable thing: tomorrow, too, it will rain.
Legend has it that Mondstadt once enjoyed gentle, warm weather all year-round, and that the lake city of Mondstadt never experienced rain. Lumine could hardly imagine it. Although the weather conditions aren't severe like in Inazuma, Mondstadt has always been plagued with rain and sometimes snow, with barely two months of sparse sunshine. Precipitation is a near constant companion for most of the year. Most Mondstadters visit the neighboring country of Liyue to escape the dreary weather.
As far as supernatural phenomena go, a missing hurricane might be the Windblumes' most challenging investigation yet. Weather systems are chaotic, but Mondstadt's weather is supposed to be predictable. A Category 5 hurricane is anything but that.
It doesn't take a scientist to figure out that finding clues out at sea in the dead of the night will be close to impossible.
Then again, "impossible" is the crux of Lumine's career. Teyvat may have moved on to a godless, magic-less era thanks to the Elemental Revolution, but that just means that the supernatural now live behind the shadows. It is the Windblumes' duty to protect Mondstadt from these otherworldly threats and investigate the things that go bump in the night. And Lumine is the best in the business.
The creation and sudden disappearance of a Category 5 hurricane is, almost certainly, the work of the supernatural.
"What do you think?" Lumine asks as she drives through the winding, concrete roads that lead to the Meteorology Center. "Wanna bet that it's ancient Khaenri'ahn tech?"
"I don't take losing bets. As far as I'm aware, Khaenri'ah didn't have the technology to control the weather," Albedo replies. The soft clack-clack-clack of his keyboard filters softly through the intercom in Lumine's ear, disguised as a feather earring. "A spell from an aspiring witch's apprentice, perhaps?"
"Could be. She'd have to be a powerful witch though. The Hexenzirkel would have picked up on her."
"I'll ask Mona about it when I track her location again."
"We don't find Mona. We only see her when she wants us to."
"No," Albedo says, unusually adamant. "I'll find her this time."
Yeah, sure. Albedo might be a genius with a whole nation's underground intelligence network at his fingertips (a testament to how much Diluc trusts him), but he is no match for a full-fledged witch who operates off-the-grid like Mona. None of them are.
Despite the Windblumes' self-appointed mission to deal with magical threats, none of them have actually dabbled in magic themselves. It is extremely rare for humans to have the ability to naturally manipulate the elements without a conduit, such as a spell book or a rare cursed artifact like a delusion. The Hexenzirkel witches are a known exception.
Lumine herself is lucky enough to be touched by magic. But even so, the only skill she gains out of it is the ability to see and feel faint elemental traces. It helps speed up an investigation and gives her an edge when facing extraordinary foes. But when it comes to a fight, she is just as dependent on Diluc's modified weapons as anyone else on the team.
"Vind should be waiting for you by the lobby," Albedo informs her just as the towering building comes into view. "They're preparing to fly soon, so you might be able to check for residual magic in the area. Good luck out there."
Mondstadt's Meteorology Center is massive. The main building is structured to look like a lighthouse, and there's another at a distance that functions as their engineering hub. Lumine can see a peek of the jets used by their Hurricane Hunters being prepped on the runway.
"They also have a speedboat, but you'd have to take the long way down to get there," Albedo tells her over the comm. Lumine spies a long flight of stairs hugging the cliffside towards the beach below. There is no sign of an elevator.
The rain has stopped. A swarm of crystalflies have gathered by the cliff, diffusing a soft glow to the night sky. More of them are floating peacefully by the shore.
Despite the late hour, the building is in a clear flurry of activity when Lumine meets Vind at the lobby.
"I've heard the rumors," Vind says. "I wasn't sure about your group at first, what with how the media portrays vigilante work these days. You know how it is, right? You would have a bounty on your head if you were operating in Snezhnaya or Inazuma. But you have Jean's trust, therefore you have my trust as well. I'll always follow her lead on these things."
Vind plasters on a pleasant smile as she leads Lumine through the halls. She walks with grace and a perfectly straight posture, reminiscent of the rich folks that attend the galas Diluc couldn't get out of. She talks with a gentle cadence, like a teacher patiently tutoring a student. Dark circles under her eyes betray the flawlessly polite demeanor she puts on. From Diluc's intel, Vind has been working with Jean for the past 48 hours to monitor the storm and plan relief operations.
She reminds Lumine of Adelinde. Just a little bit.
The winged wisp pendant on her neck suggests that she's the religious type — a rare sight in Teyvat nowadays. Barbatos charms are popular in Mondstadt and he remains to be one of the few historical personalities from the past that managed to outlive the Elemental Revolution, but Lumine recognizes the teal lining and the tell-tale signs of starsilver ore crafting.
This pendant isn't one of those one-mora souvenir charms from the kiosks in Dornman Port. This one came from the church.
"Thank you for accommodating us on such short notice," Lumine responds, equally polite. "I know it's quite late already."
"Oh, it's no problem! Had I known that Mondstadt has its own magical investigation unit, I would have asked for your help sooner."
"What do you mean?"
Vind releases a restrained sigh. "Mondstadt's weather has been… unusually erratic for a while. Do you remember Hurricane Leraje two years ago? It was a Category 4 hurricane. The Stormwatcher Society has 200 years' worth of weather reports, and in all that time the most severe storm we've had was Hurricane Marbas 24 years ago. It was a Category 3 hurricane — the strongest we've had without categorizing it as truly severe weather, but it was nothing that Mondstadt wasn't prepared for."
Lumine vaguely remembers Marbas. It was the day after the Archons' Gallery heist, which she and Aether followed on tv. Aether was a huge fan of the phantom thief Therion, who announced their heists with a calling card and broadcasted their escape through the media. The Knights of Favonius never caught them.
She had been five. School was suspended due to the incoming storm and Lumine found a pretty blue rock on the way home. It shimmered like the gemstone she saw on tv. And then suddenly, the winds raged, the rain came pouring fast, and she was soaked to the bone. The world was engulfed in fog. She was lost in the storm alone until Aether found her.
She never found that rock again. It was probably swept away by the storm.
True to Vind's word, Mondstadt has never had a storm as vicious as Marbas until Leraje came along. Mondstadt was caught unprepared. Leraje came out of left field and caused many deaths and injuries, mostly due to flooding and property damage. The knights are still dealing with the economic repercussions to this day.
310 dead, 84 injured, 29 missing. Cimeries, if it had landed, would have been much more devastating.
Lumine fills in the blanks herself. "You think that something is causing the storms to get worse, otherwise Mondstadt's weather should have gradually became severe. This is an abrupt change."
"Precisely." Vind pauses in front of the door that leads to what Lumine guesses is the monitoring station. It's separated from the rest of the rooms in the building. "I'll let Venti and Percy explain to you the details. They've been tracking Cimeries since it developed from a low pressure area. They're getting ready to fly out to sea, so feel free to join them. Venti is also the most familiar with our archives, so he can help you look into our records afterwards. Unfortunately, I still have matters to attend to with the knights."
Lumine tries not to make a face. Diluc is probably rubbing off on her, but talking with the knights is her least favorite part of the job. Any happiness one felt about a national emergency failing to happen will soon be overshadowed by the fact that all efforts to mitigate it have gone to waste.
Mondstadt sees the Stormwatcher Society in very high regard though. Despite the perceived blunder, Lumine hopes that this incident wouldn't damage the trust and goodwill they've built over the years.
"Lord Barbatos, give this woman patience." She pats Vind on the shoulder in sympathy. "Damage control. I don't envy you."
For the first time, Vind cracks a genuine laugh. It's good to establish rapport. "No you most certainly don't. At least you'll be out on a plane while I'm stuck in meetings."
Mondstadt's Stormwatcher Society is one of the more technologically advanced weather monitoring organizations in Teyvat, bested only by the national weather services of Inazuma and Snezhnaya. Considering how important the weather report is in Mondstadt, Lumine always imagined the inside of the building to look like a war room, not unlike the one Windblumes use under the Dawn Winery Estate.
The monitoring station she finds herself in is a mess. Papers strewn about, numerous mugs of cold coffee on the tables, charts and maps and models littering the screens.
One of the older meteorologists is staring at his screen intently, like the answers would come to him if he squints his eyes hard enough on a particular pixel. Despite wearing glasses, his limpid eyes are as clear as moonlight. He is shuffling a deck of cards one-handed without looking.
There is a sickly, pale woman writing something on the desk; she looks like she’s about to fall over. Next to her is a small desk collecting dust. Atop are books and drawings and pictures of a young woman with flowing white hair. The desk’s seat looks like it hasn’t been sat on for years.
One of them apparently has fallen over already, bundled up in a fluffy green blanket and sleeping peacefully on the sofa.
Kazuha is lounging next to him, scrolling through his phone. He is the only person Lumine recognizes, and the only person in the room who looks at ease.
"Oh, hey V, you're back." Kazuha waves at them. Something playful dances in his eyes as they land on Lumine. He definitely recognizes her. "And this is…?"
"Lumine here was sent by the knights to help investigate Cimeries," Vind explains. "We talked about this earlier. She'll join the flight tonight, so please assist her in any way you can. She'll hear your theories out, and yes, that includes the ones on The Whiteboard, Percy."
The man who was narrowing his eyes on the monitor looks up and adjusts his glasses. So that's Percy. "Don't tease me, V. You know we were just playing around. Nobody actually believes those."
Vind allows herself a wry smile. Lumine notes how she's much less guarded around her team. If they're already on nickname basis, then she seems to be well-liked.
"Venti does," Vind says. "No matter how out of this world it is, Lumine will take it seriously and tell you if your theories have merit. It's her job to investigate this whole thing, after all. Now, I still have to go back to the knights after this, so be good and don't make trouble for us, okay? You can go when you're ready. Anna, please stay here and man the monitoring station while they're out."
The pale woman gives a mock salute. "Will do, V. I can't handle going out anyway. The station's warmer, and I can hog Venti's blanket when everyone's gone."
With brief introductions finished, Vind leaves Lumine in Percy's care. The green fluff on the sofa rises slowly with a big yawn after Kazuha shakes him awake. By process of elimination, this must be Venti.
"Nice to meet you, Lumine. Thanks for coming by, though I doubt we'll actually find anything out there," Percy confides in her as he stands up to stretch. "I mean, it's a storm. What else are we going to see other than water and wind, like any other storm? And it's already been two hours since it disappeared too. There's practically nothing left."
"Wasn't it your idea to go though, old man?" Venti says, voice rough with sleep. He's still wrapped up in the blanket like a cocoon. "You know, we might find—"
"—an Eye of the Storm, yeah, yeah, I know." Percy flicks a card in Venti's direction to cut him short. It hits him square in the chest and flutters about the air before landing on the floor face up. It's the joker. "Of course you'd want to go cryptid hunting."
Venti blinks, slowly regaining awareness. There is clear amusement in his voice when he says, "I chase storms. I'm not the one chasing ghosts here."
His eyes land on Lumine. Venti shares a wink with her before continuing, "So you must be V's guest, huh? Just give me five minutes, then we can head out. Are you familiar with how hurricane hunting works?"
Lumine shrugs. "Sort of. I've seen Catching the Wind."
She's not sure if that's enough of an overview. Every child of Mondstadt is required to watch Catching the Wind during their secondary and tertiary education, as part of their environmental science classes. The documentary features a brief history of Mondstadt's weather forecasting practices, protocols and storm warning signals that have been set in place by the knights, among other weather-related topics. The film also has a short section on storm chasers and hurricane hunters.
"The technology there is a bit outdated, but the gist of it is still the same. Once a hurricane is close enough, we fly into the eye to measure pressure, air temperature, wind speed, and so on. It's all so we can feed more accurate data to our prediction models." Venti shrugs off the blanket and waves a hand dismissively. "Of course, since Cimeries is gone, there wouldn't be anything left to measure. But I still want to check things out and go cryptid hunting, for Percy's sake."
Percy frowns. "You can't pilot the plane. You haven't slept in days."
"That's why we have this guy!" Venti grins, slinging an arm around Kazuha. "Now come on, come on, the sea won't wait for us!"
He grabs a long metal instrument from the sofa and pushes Percy out the door, leaving Lumine to fall in step with Kazuha as they follow from behind at a more leisurely pace. From the corner of her eye, she spots Anna bundling herself with the discarded blanket, a mug of cold coffee in hand, waving them goodbye.
Static hums in her ear as they fly past Musk Reef.
"Lu--…—you're—…—offline," Albedo says, voice choppy. "—…—enabling logs—…—lose you—…—stay safe."
Lumine nods back, even though Albedo can't see her. The Windblumes' communication systems is impressive, but it can't reach as far as the eastern sea. Looks like she'll have to finish the recon on her own.
There is a lot of room in the jet for four people. Kazuha took control of the pilot's seat and Percy assigned himself the role of flight engineer. They both kicked Venti out of the cockpit before he can commandeer a seat.
"You can pilot the plane when you've had eight hours of sleep. Minimum," Percy tells him over the speakers just as Lumine settles at the back of the jet, where the navigators would usually sit, tinkering with their own machines. "We'll fly close to where Cimeries was last located, then we can check Musk Reef on the way back. We should arrive in about an hour."
"Lumine, I'm sure you have questions, so why don't you ask Venti for the time being? It will keep Venti occupied," Kazuha says. The wording is clear: there will be time for her to ask Kazuha questions later. "I think he wheeled in The Whiteboard."
"He did," Lumine confirms. As it turns out, The Whiteboard is where the team wrote all their theories about what's happening with Mondstadt's erratic weather. It's filled with maps, reports, and a lot of chicken scratch writing that Lumine can barely make sense of. There's hardly any space left to write in.
Sans the illegible handwriting, it looks similar to the evidence board Lumine uses when she's investigating a case and trying to piece together her leads. The familiarity brings out a smile in her.
She taps her feather earring twice to take a picture. Albedo should receive a copy of it when she's back within range.
"You'd think I would crash the plane just because I haven't slept in a while," Venti grumbles under his breath. He sighs and plasters on a polite smile, not unlike the one Vind wore earlier, and turns to Lumine, "Well, we've got one hour to kill. What do you want to know, miss knight?"
"I'm not with the knights," Lumine says reflexively. Diluc would totally be proud of her for that.
Something about that statement changes the way Venti looks at her. "That's not what V said."
"Sometimes we work together. Or rather, they bring me in for… unusual cases. I'm more like a private detective."
"A vigilante then." Venti nods to himself, satisfied with his conclusion. As expected, the polite smile doesn't waver. Kazuha's low chuckle is heard from the cockpit.
Lumine understands the hesitancy though. The knights aren't forthcoming to the public about how much they rely on the Windblumes, so most people think that working with vigilante groups is like playing Snezhnayan Roulette: there's always a chance they'd turn on you. They claim to be a force of good, but only if you're lucky.
Diluc drilled it into her head that this is the result of the Elemental Revolution, that time period 500 years ago where nations all over Teyvat clamored to ban magic and take down institutions relating to the archons. The revolution period officially ended with a worldwide information blackout on the supernatural. The broad strokes of it are now thought of as fairy tales or ancient, underdeveloped technology.
It's taboo to rely on magic and alchemy, and that extends to investigating cases where magic is the cause. The repercussions range from prison time to social alienation.
Many organizations have claimed to police these incidents without relying on local authorities, for the sake of peace and justice. Many others have claimed the same, but fell into terrorism later on. Eventually, anyone who works outside of law enforcement or is associated with magic is met with suspicion. You can't know who to trust these days.
Lumine, however, suspects that the wariness both Vind and Venti approach her with stems from something more than just what a normal civilian fears about the Windblumes' reputation. Instincts tell her that it could be indicative of something bigger, that they're masking to hide something. But another, more sensible voice (one that suspiciously sounds like a mix of Aether and Albedo) tells her not to jump to conclusions yet.
So Lumine smiles back and mirrors the politeness. She'll work on building rapport with Venti gradually. It's important to gain his and Vind's trust, given how much intel they possess.
"Why don't we start with your latest theories?" she suggests, tapping The Whiteboard. "I read the report on Cimeries already. I was called in to investigate the sudden disappearance, but something tells me you've been looking into something deeper before this even happened."
Venti nods. He uses the metal instrument he took with him to point to various writings on the board. Lumine belatedly realizes that it's a flute.
"There has been a gradual increase in precipitation over the last two decades," Venti explains. "Weather systems are chaotic and stronger storms are expected, but there have been two strong hurricanes that intensified faster than any other storm recorded in history."
"Leraje and Cimeries. Vind mentioned that part to me."
"Right." Venti twirls the flute in his hand as he continues. "They basically came out of nowhere. We think they didn't develop due to natural causes. So! We've come up with a few ideas on what might have happened."
He flips the whiteboard over. On the other side are more chicken scratch writing, with some words crossed out and some encircled. There are at least eight question marks scattered throughout.
Discreetly, Lumine takes another picture.
Venti points to a crude squiggle of lines above a drawing of a fire. The image has been crossed out. "Anna looked into environmental factors. Hurricanes need heat and wind to survive, so she thinks that maybe the sea is getting warmer than before. We checked though. There hasn't been a significant change in average sea temperature over the last five years."
Next, the flute points to a doodle of a triangle that vaguely looks like a witch's hat. Next to it is a string of… swirly blobs? "Percy thinks it's a witch's curse. Vind thinks it's anemo-charged, a huge Eye of the Storm. Like, an evolved version of it? Assuming that these Eyes actually exist, of course."
Officially, Mondstadt has never seen an Eye of the Storm in centuries. Unofficially, Lumine has taken down four of them in the last six years. They are uncommon and well-hidden enough to not cause a huge disturbance.
"And what do you think?" Lumine leans forward and props her chin on her hand.
Venti blinks, then stares at the board. He chews on the end of the flute absent-mindedly as he gathers his thoughts, and for a moment, the mask falls. There is a genuine spark of interest in his eyes as he points to a clump of tiny wisp doodles and says, "I don't know how or why yet, but I think that it's the Thousand Winds that's causing the rapid intensification."
He says it with such conviction that Lumine doesn't even doubt he's messing with her. He truly believes that the Thousand Winds exist. A being that has been relegated to fairy tales, and even then, mentions of the Thousand Winds are rare. Not even the Windblumes have confirmed its existence.
Not even Lumine thought she might be investigating the Thousand Winds. How strange that this group of weather scientists are up to date on obscure mythology.
Something's up.
Percy's voice filters through the speaker after a long pause. "See Venti, I told you nobody would believe us. She probably thinks we're crazy."
"No, you're not crazy," Lumine immediately replies. Percy sputters in response. "I just didn't expect anyone to bring up the Thousand Winds. It's usually not included in children's books. You'd have to read very obscure literature, or non-canonical holy texts, to know about them."
"I'm a well-read person. Might have gotten it from my brother, actually. He studies literature and rants to me all the time about the old bard songs he's reading. I know all the myths and poems from the past and present!" Venti grins. Another crack in the mask. Maybe Lumine will get him to lower his guard before the night ends. "Looks like you did your homework too."
Lumine gives him an easy, earnest smile. "It's part of my job. I don't know much about meteorology, but if you think that science isn't enough to explain what's happening, then I believe you. If it's a supernatural cause, I'll help you get to the bottom of it. I'll help you figure out what's causing the intense hurricanes."
She means it, too. She already has a few leads to follow up on. Lumine already can't wait to get back home and update her evidence board.
They spend the rest of the flight going over the writings on The Whiteboard. Venti's appraising looks are a lot more promising after that, and even Percy is warming up to how Lumine is considerate of all their wild theories. Any other person would have dismissed their ideas as fanciful at best and joking around at worst, but Lumine makes sure to let them know that she's taking everything they say very seriously.
Lumine counts it as progress when Venti starts looking at her in wonder instead of cautious politeness.
She also decides not to point out how, for all their theorizing over the cause of the hurricanes, nobody in the jet brings up why they think Cimeries just disappeared.
High above the last location where Cimeries had been, Venti lets Lumine feed the dropsonde to the launcher. It's ejected from the plane and sails down with a tiny parachute, ready to collect whatever measurements the team needs to characterize the weather.
For Lumine, the scenery is obvious. There is an eerie calm, a quiet that would have fooled anyone into believing that a hurricane had not raged through the waters just a few hours ago.
It's faint, but there are elemental traces all around them. Anemo hovers in the air, while cryo lingers on the water's surface, trailing back all the way to Musk Reef. This confirms one theory at least: Cimeries was destroyed using leyline energy. A leyline disturbance perhaps? Or is something manipulating it?
Before Lumine can make the suggestion, Venti is already asking Kazuha. "Can we land on Musk Reef?"
"Sure, I'm on it," Kazuha says as the jet maneuvers its way back towards the small island.
"Did... did you see something, Venti?" Percy asks.
"Well, we can't exactly land on the waters, can we? If we're going cryptid hunting, our best bet is in Musk Reef. V's gonna be happy if we find an Eye of the Storm."
There is a glow in his eyes as he looks over the horizon where the sky blurs with the sea, an untraceable teal that a normal human wouldn't be able to notice. To Lumine, however, it glimmers prettily under the night sky and the jet's bad lighting.
Lumine knows those eyes. Her eyes should be glowing too; gold, like Aether's. Mona's eyes are a cool indigo when she's "divining the elements," as she puts it.
So. Venti can see elemental traces too.
Lumine blinks and shuts off her elemental sight when Venti turns to look at her. If he noticed the change in her eyes, he doesn't mention it.
"Hey detective, do you just investigate or do you also know how to deal with, uh… supernatural creatures?"
"Didn't cover this in the cryptid hunting plan?" Lumine jokes. It's clear that while everyone in the team pitches in with their ideas, it's Venti who actually compiles all this information and makes coherent theories and plans out of them.
"Oh, I can take care of myself," Venti says, and he seems to wholeheartedly believe it despite admitting fifteen minutes earlier that he has never seen an Eye of the Storm before. "And Kazuha can protect himself and Percy. But since you're the one with experience and all…"
Huh, so they don't know about Kazuha then. Lumine remembers fighting an Eye of the Storm with Kazuha once before, in the borders between Liyue and Mondstadt. She can feel him smiling all the way from the cockpit.
Lumine pats Venti on the head. "Don't worry. I can deal with any cryptid you throw at me. If anything happens, I'll protect you."
They land on Musk Reef just before midnight. The island is small and uninhabited, with the dilapidated ruins of a moondial serving as its only remarkable landmark. Kazuha stretches his arms as he disembarks, content to watch from afar while Percy and Venti run around the island in search for cryptids.
Venti makes a beeline towards the back of the ruins, playing a jaunty tune with his flute like some kind of pied piper character trying to entice the supernatural to his side.
"I'll take care of them," Kazuha says. "Go do what you have to do. We'll talk later."
He slinks towards the back of the ruins to join the others.
Yeah, he's definitely hired to be their bodyguard, or some other similar job. It's rare for him to be in Mondstadt territory, and even rarer for his work to overlap with Lumine's, but it has happened before. Kazuha is capable, so Lumine lets him handle the cryptid hunting team.
The static in her ear comes back to life as she approaches the shore facing Mondstadt.
"You're back online," Albedo says, though his voice is still not as clear as when Lumine was back in the mainland. "I'll ask Diluc to widen our network to cover your area next time. Are you okay? Do you have something for me?"
Lumine's eyes flash gold. Wisps of blue-white energy stares back at her from the surface of the water, covering the perimeter of the island and running all the way to where Cimeries was last seen. She bends down and dips her hand in. It's cold, freezing cold, and contaminated with cryo energy that's slowly dissipating away. It was likely even colder than this a few hours ago.
"Albedo, can you look up what the water temperature around Musk Reef usually is? The Meteorology Center probably has this data stored somewhere."
"27 degrees averaged over the past year." A pause. "Hurricanes develop over a sea surface temperature of at least 26.5 degrees Celsius."
"Someone's been reading the weather primer."
Of course Albedo would be diligent enough to read through the appendices in the case file. Lumine usually reads them later, when the urgency of being on the field has worn off and she has time to deliberate in front of her evidence board.
"That is what I'm here for. Is there something different with the water?"
Lumine hums and dips her hand again. "I don't have a thermometer, but I'm pretty sure this is not warm enough for a hurricane. It's as cold as Aether's precious iced coffee drinks. And there's traces of cryo here." She scans her surroundings. "I'm not seeing a source of the cryo energy though. Only traces that indicate that something happened here, about a few hours ago. It's fresh."
Albedo hums in thought. "So something or someone cooled the surrounding waters, cleaned up the evidence, and left. Can you trace any other elements?"
"Yeah, there's anemo, which isn't surprising, and— wait, hold on, is that…? Oh shit."
The traces of anemo have concentrated behind her to the back of the ruins, exactly where Venti went. Sand flies around as an actual Eye of the Storm twists the air around it. The jaunty little tune Venti is playing takes on an almost panicked cadence to it, like a nursery rhyme sped up.
Honestly, Lumine should have seen this coming.
"Trouble?"
"Yeah. Kazuha's with them though, so that should buy me some time. I'll handle it."
Lumine takes out her gun and dips it in the waters, letting it absorb the remaining cryo energy resting on the surface. It's one of the newer, modified weapons Diluc provides for the Windblumes. Each bullet is created with crystalfly cores and resin from Petrified Trees, while the muzzle is lined with small alchemy inscriptions.
In essence, an elemental firing gun. Few people find a use for it since you'd have to charge it with elemental energy, and there are more efficient weapons out there. But for agents with elemental sight like Aether and Lumine, these guns are extremely useful.
Lumine runs towards the back of the ruins and climbs one of the pillars to take stock of the situation. On instinct, she taps her earring thrice to record.
Kazuha already made decent work at creating dents in the Eye's armor. Percy is standing with a hand out in front of Venti, as if attempting to shield him. And Venti…
Venti is still playing the flute like a madman. He rushes through the melody of a cheerful-sounding song that suspiciously sounds like a sped up version of the jingle that Good Hunter uses in their commercials to get people to buy their sticky honey roasts.
The Eye of the Storm drops near the shore, a heavy weight pulled by gravity. Only Kazuha is close enough to suffer through the resulting splash of water, drenching his clothes. Venti pauses his playing and stares at the scene in awe.
A rare, armored ball of anemo sits quietly on the waters. It waits, as if the eye is staring back at Venti.
And then suddenly, the Eye of the Storm begins to whir and gather wind into itself. Wind violently whips around it.
Venti sheepishly looks down on his flute. "Uh oh. That wasn't supposed to happen."
Lumine takes that as her cue. "Hey big guy!" she yells from the top of the pillar she's now standing on. "You might want to air on the side of caution!"
Three things happen in quick succession. One, Lumine jumps as close to the Eye of the Storm as she can, holding her arms up in front of her to shield herself from the winds and sand, though some of them slice through her skin. Water splashes on the core of the Eye of the Storm as she lands.
Two, Lumine aims for the cracks in the armor that Kazuha made and fires three cryo bullets. Bang! Bang! Bang! The howling of the wind stops, and the Eye of the Storm floats frozen on the water's surface.
Three, she hikes up her dress and procures the starsilver dagger strapped to the back of her thigh with suspenders (and vaguely recognizes a choked sound coming from behind her). She stabs the core of the Eye with her dagger, lets go, and swiftly turns away to give space for Kazuha to follow up with his own attack.
Within seconds, the Eye of the Storm shatters into bursts of anemo energy. The island is engulfed in silence.
"Nice thinking out there. Thanks for the assist," Kazuha says as he wrings water out of his clothes. A nasty gash has ripped his shorts and the skin on his left thigh, but it’s nothing Kazuha can’t handle. This isn't the first time they teamed up against an enemy, and it won't be the last. He offers her a fist. "Didn't know you could wield a gun like that though. Is it new?"
Lumine grins and bumps fists with him. "Yeah, Albedo made it recently, though I already learned how to use a gun a long time ago in Fontaine."
A cursory glance with her elemental sight tells her that there's no more imminent danger of the elemental kind lurking about. Satisfied that they're all safe, Lumine picks up her starsilver dagger from the sand, inspecting it. Still looks good, but she'll need to sharpen the edge again when she gets back. Sighing, she slides the knife to the back of her thigh, though unfortunately the sheath is now wet with sea water, just like the rest of her dress. Great.
Another choked sound behind her. This time, without the rush of the fight clouding her thoughts, she can recognize that it's coming from Venti.
"Is everyone alright?" Kazuha asks. Venti is looking very intently at his flute while Percy is grinning. They look unharmed, and strangely calm for civilians whose lives were in danger just a second ago.
"Oh, everything's peachy. Venti had a good time cryptid hunting, didn't you buddy?" Percy pats Venti in the back. "Say Lumine, out of curiosity, did you ever say how old you were?"
Lumine tilts her head, feigning innocence. "Twenty nine."
Percy's grin is shark sharp. "Hm, interesting. Very interesting, don't you think, Venti?"
Venti resolutely ignores the conversation and gives Percy the side eye. "Did you at least get pictures of the Eye of the Storm?"
"I got pictures of your cryptid, don't worry. V will be disappointed if she heard about this and we didn't bring pictures."
Venti nods, makes an excuse about how it's getting late and he'll get the blankets and the med kit prepared for Kazuha and Lumine, then runs to the jet without looking back.
Albedo chuckles in Lumine's ear. "I looked into everyone's data while you were offline. Interestingly, Venti was born during a really bad storm twenty four years ago. That number rings a bell, doesn't it?"
Hm, interesting indeed.
Should she put Venti under the suspects list in her evidence board or not? Either way, with his behavior during the fight, he's definitely more involved with this case than he lets on.
She'll need to research on Hurricane Marbas later too, although no doubt Albedo is already way ahead of her. Maybe she'll just ask him to give her a summary of what he finds. Research has always been his domain anyway. Lumine is better off gathering intel on the field. She still needs to talk to Kazuha too.
The adrenaline has worn off by the time they all return to the jet. Venti is much more composed than earlier. He passes blankets and bandages while Percy checks the engines. Kazuha goes off to the side to clean his own wounds, leaving the Lumine alone with Venti. The med kit is already laid out neatly on one of the desks.
"Thanks for saving us earlier. Do you need help dressing your wounds, detective?" Venti asks.
She doesn't. There is one long cut on her left arm, from when the winds sliced through her. Blood soaks through the blanket and there's some sand sticking to her skin, but it's nothing Lumine hasn't experienced before. She knows how to clean her wounds on her own; has done so dozens of times.
She holds her arm out and asks, sweetly, "Can you roll out the bandages for me, please?"
Venti has gentle hands, but with calloused fingers. His eyes are tired and rimmed with dark circles — he really hasn't slept well. He looks like he'll crash any time once his body feels safe and they're back in Mondstadt.
Their heads bump as they both lean down to clean her bleeding arm. Lumine can feel herself drifting away, already going through the mental notes she made of her investigation while her body works on autopilot to dress her wounds and catalogue the behaviors of the tired man beside her.
"Vind told me I can go to you to look through your archives?"
"Yeah, just swing by any time and I'll help you find what you need. I've gone through the records hundreds of times already."
Venti is sticking his tongue out, giving her wound more concentration than it deserves. It really isn't as bad as it looks.
Lumine considers her words carefully. "Alright. It's a date."
Venti's hands still. He fails to hide the smile spreading across his face.
He's intriguing as far as Lumine's "dates" go. Usually she has to sit with politicians, shady businessmen, terrorists, and even the occasional cultist or two. Or ten. Cultists are an unfortunate purview of her job description.
But for all his secrecy, Venti is… normal. He doesn't have the sly arrogance of criminals. His smile is careful, but genuine. He has a sharp mind, but he's in over his head with what he's getting into. He doesn't see the supernatural as a weapon, only a curiosity worth discovering.
He's looking for Eyes of the Storm. He thinks that the Thousand Winds are creating hurricanes. He is Marbas's child.
Lumine wonders, idly, whatever happened to the pretty blue rock she found on that day when Hurricane Marbas passed through Mondstadt.
CASE STATUS: OPEN
INVESTIGATION PERIOD (ONGOING): 4 DAYS
PERSONS OF INTEREST (UPDATED)
ANNA: Recent intern at the Stormwatcher Society, early twenties. Chronically ill. Most likely not deeply involved with the case, but is peripherally involved with those who are.
PERCY: Parsifal Landrich. Early forties, disowned by the Landrich family eighteen years ago for acts of heresy. Has gone no-contact and worked for the Stormwatcher Society ever since. His family is unaware of his whereabouts and presumes he's dead. Dabbles in sleight-of-hand magic tricks. Visits the taverns often, heavy drinker. Something weighs heavily on his mind, unclear if it's related to the case.
VIND: Mid-forties, led the Stormwatcher Society for almost two decades. Had a strained relationship as liaison to the knights until Jean became the Grand Master. Single, legally acted as Venti's guardian until he became of age. Religious, but with eccentric beliefs. Goes to the Church of Barbatos every Sunday, but reads non-canonical texts. Participates in auctions for vintage musical instruments.
VENTI: Born during Hurricane Marbas. No records of his birth family. Dotes on his younger brother (from Vind's family) Carmen, who studies literature in Mondstadt University. Can use elemental sight, proficiency unknown. His flute might be a supernatural artifact. Extensive knowledge on meteorology, local mythology, and winemaking. Seems to have eidetic memory based on his perfect recollection of the Stormwatcher Society's archives. Fond of cecilias and wine. Doesn't sleep well (insomniac?). His penchant for "cryptid hunting" seems to stem from curiosity, but he frequently cites that it's for Percy's sake for some reason. Surprisingly, an atheist.
KAZUHA
MONA
LEADS AND PRIORITY INTEL
KAZUHA: Seems to be investigating something else on his own, but it's likely not related to the missing hurricane. Our cases may overlap. Best case: they're related and we can share intel; worst case: it might be a conflict of interest.
STORMWATCHER SOCIETY: They are currently investigating the cause of erratic weather. They don't seem interested in figuring out why a Category 5 hurricane disappeared, despite putting up pretenses in front of the knights that they are investigating the matter.
MUSK REEF: Found an Eye of the Storm there and exterminated it quickly. Its presence means that there is a disturbance in the ley line or elemental energy of the region. Found abundant traces of cryo energy in the water.
MONA: Can predict the next location of the Haar Islands and confirm if the hurricane disappearance was caused by a witch. Still off-the-grid, still being tracked by Albedo. The Haar Islands may or may not be related to the incident.
THOUSAND WINDS: Venti believes they are the cause of the unusual rapid intensification of hurricanes.
DISCARDED INTEL
INAZUMA: Weather disturbances in Inazuma are due to natural causes from lingering archon remains and don't match the irregular weather characteristics we see in Mondstadt. Inazuma Meteorological Agency suggests that Hurricane Cimeries, Leraje, and Marbas were likely isolated cases.
※
Four days after Hurricane Cimeries never landed, Mondstadt is doused in beautiful sunlight.
Mondstadt's seasons are predictable. So much so that the agricultural calendars only have at most a two-day margin of error. Spring isn't expected to arrive until a week later.
And yet...
The flowers are blooming happily, the crystalflies are dancing, and the animals are coming out of the woodwork. The windwheel asters are spinning at a more leisurely pace instead of their usual frenetic turns. Bud burst season arrives earlier than expected for both outdoor and indoor wineries. Grapevine buds swell until new green leaf tissue shoot up, ready to soak in the gentle warmth of spring.
Everyone has picked up on the fact that something is not quite right these days. They hold their breaths, thinking that the rain will pick up soon, like it always did.
Then a week passes by. Not a single drop of rain has fallen. Mondstadt has never had gentler weather before.
Cautious optimism soon turns to joy. The weather is nice enough to go swimming in Falcon Coast. Families are setting up picnics in Windrise Park. Maybe the outdoor wineries will have a good harvest this year! Maybe they can have a sunny day for the Windblume Festival!
For archons' sake, Venti hopes the good weather will last until the Windblume Festival. He worked his ass off to draw the sun out for as long as he can. V keeps badgering him to get some sleep, but what if the rain comes back again? Mondstadt is already putting up the usual festival decorations, and the flowers had looked so pretty and romantic.
The detective even came by last night with fresh cecilias and asked for an evening walk. An evening walk! With no mud or ugly raincoats to worry about! She listened patiently to all of Venti's ramblings that day — about how Anna brought valberry pie, about Venti's new theory on what an Eye of the Storm is made of (concentrated anemo energy left over by a hurricane), about how excited he is to experience a proper Windblume Festival.
Lumine raised an eyebrow at that. "You think it will stay sunny until the Windblume Festival? It's a month away. Mondstadt is not that lucky."
In the past two decades, Mondstadt held a sunny Windblume Festival for a total of six times. And even then, sunshine lasting the whole week of the event only happened twice.
"With a hurricane disappearing and all, maybe our luck is turning around."
"Or maybe we're using up all our luck. You better hope we don't run out before the festival then."
Venti simply smiled. He didn't need to rely on luck. He can make his own.
Once Lumine waved him goodbye and her car was out of sight, Venti sprinted back to the cliffs and played his flute. He'll make sure that this year's Windblume Festival will be sunny all week long.
Venti is still wearing the cecilias in his hair the next day.
The weather is so pleasant that even Carmen drops by to surprise Venti on his day off, instead of holing up in his dorm at Dornman Port, crying over his readings and essays. And as much as Venti wants to laze around in his bed and take a nap, Carmen is his little brother. He always dotes on his little brother.
They go on a day trip to Springvale. Carmen coos at the cecilias in Venti's hair and asks to take a picture. Carmen tears up at how much natural light there is that he brings out his instant film kamera.
"Here." He shakes the film and hands it to Venti. It's a selfie of the two of them posing in front of the cute cottages in Springvale. "Look how clear the picture is. And the colors! Archons, I've never seen Mondstadt so sunny before. I'm starting to think those old fairy tales weren't joking around after all. Springvale looks just like how the books described it."
Springvale is one of Mondstadt's cultural heritage sites alongside the Old Mondstadt Ruins. The knights have strict orders to preserve its ancient architecture, both for cultural conservation and for boosting the tourism industry. It became a popular dating spot and film site once the knights started advertising the romance of Springvale's medieval-style cottages and climbing flora.
To their credit, it's all authentically preserved and not the staged modern replicas you would find in an amusement park. Mostly.
Venti waves a hand and says, flatly, "Yeah, thank Barbatos and all that."
Carmen frowns at him. "I know you don't believe in all that stuff, but can you at least try to sound sincere when you invoke the archon's name like that? V would be very upset with you."
"I wasn't being blasphemous or anything. Didn't I just thank him? I know you're a church boy Carmen, but come on."
"Don't start a fight with me. I know society doesn't really encourage religious thinking… but who's to say the early spring isn't a blessing from Barbatos? You gotta admit, this is looking like a real miracle."
Venti sighs. Barbatos wasn't the one who calmed the winds. Barbatos wasn't the one who spent every night playing his flute on the cliffs so the crystalflies would flap their wings just so — enough to interfere with whatever the eastern winds are cooking up. His laptop almost took a nosedive yesterday when Venti nudged it too far while trying to read the weather simulations to make sure he's instructing the crystalflies right.
He'd like to see Barbatos do even a fraction of what Venti is doing. It's not easy!
But it's not like Carmen knows that.
"Alright, alright, don't be upset." Venti pinches Carmen's cheek. "I'll do you a favor, so stop pouting. Go over there and get ready to take the shot. They won't leave even if your kamera flashes."
Confused, Carmen dutifully stands near the flowerbed and prepares his kamera while Venti sits on the wooden bench beside him. He's tempted to just sink into the sturdy wood and close his eyes for a bit, just for five minutes. But then Carmen would worry and feel bad that he dragged Venti to this outing, and Venti can't have that.
Venti whistles.
Two crystalflies approach the flowerbed. One of them lands on the flower, slowly flapping its wings like its breathing. The other dances around its partner to the whistling tune of Happy Birthday.
Carmen watches, wide-eyed and entranced. He leans forward and takes a shot. And another. And another. The crystalflies continue dancing as if they weren't bombarded by three flashes of blinding light.
The crystalflies leave as soon as the film develops and Venti stops whistling. A gentle breeze picks up around them.
"Dude," Carmen whispers, still awestruck by the pictures. "You've gotten soooo much better at this. Do you know how hard it is to get a good picture of a crystalfly? They always run away too fast! Even faster than butterflies! You're like a bonafide crystalfly whisperer."
Venti almost winces when he stands up. Whoosh goes the world. He plants his feet down. He can't sway in place.
"I've been practicing," Venti says. "Gotta have a good party trick, or else Percy will show me up with those sleight-of-hand card tricks of his."
"Or I'll upstage you with my songs."
Venti can't even argue with that. Carmen's songs are always a show-stealer in the taverns.
By sunset, Carmen has amassed forty photos, a philanemo plushie, and two cartoonish Barbatos charms that will surely go with his fifty other charms in the collection. Both religious and commercial.
He meant to give the other charm to Venti. But Venti politely declined, citing that Barbatos would appreciate it if a true believer like Carmen took care of the charm. It would have collected dust in Venti's room anyway.
Venti forgets to pretend once they settle down at a cafe. Immediately after ordering (pasta and the house blend spritz, because of course he has to try the local cocktail), Venti sinks into his seat, slumped over the table.
"You look dead on your feet," Carmen observes. The giant philanemo plushie flops on his lap. Venti stops himself from asking if he can use it as a pillow. "Is it work? You know V would let you take a vacation leave. She's practically begging."
Carmen looks at him with big, round eyes. Venti sighs and sits up straight so his brother can take him seriously.
"Nah, it's just that we walked around all day. I'm not used to it. I sit on a chair the whole day every day in the Met Center."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure. You're rarely home, so I'm always happy to spend time with you. It's worth it."
Venti smiles. That one isn't even a lie.
Carmen's voice is soft. "Me too. College is driving me crazy, so I'm glad we can hang out today. And on a sunny day too! I didn't want to waste such good weather…"
People say that talking about the weather is considered small talk. But in Mondstadt, a day like this is worth all the deep conversations and good memories. There is even the prevailing superstition of "dandelion dreams" where if you blow a dandelion on a clear, cloudless night, your wish will come true.
Of course, it's the kind of urban legend that nobody believes in, but they participate in it all the same just to show their appreciation of a good evening weather. Social customs are strange like that.
When they were nineteen, Venti and Carmen blew dandelions from the cliffs of Stormbearer Mountain. Venti does not lead a complicated life, nor does he want for much, so his wish had been simple. He heard that wind-fermented dandelion wine is the sweetest and most exquisite of them all, so he whispered to the dandelions if he could have a bottle of it.
To this day, it is still his greatest wish. To this day, he hasn't had a sip of dandelion wine.
Most of Mondstadt hasn't, except perhaps for the Ragnvindrs. Perfectly good wine requires a mild spring season with no inclement weather to speak of, an equally warm summer, and a dry fall before the harvest. These conditions allow for even ripening and optimal levels of sugars, acid, and tannins.
Excessive rain saturates the vines and encourages fungal growth. Mildew eliminates the grapes' flavors and makes them taste moldy. Harsh storms can devastate vineyards altogether.
Luckily, Mondstadt is a resilient nation. Grapes evolved and agricultural technology has improved over the years to allow decent wine to be made from indoor wineries, where the plants are given ample protection from storms and the environmental conditions are controlled to perfection. In many ways, the technology allowed for small and medium-sized businesses to pop up, diversifying the wine market.
But Mondstadt is also a romantic nation. Some wineries, when they can afford it, will set up a small plot of land for a traditional outdoor vineyard in the hopes of creating liquid gold. A true, wind-fermented dandelion wine.
The Ragnvindrs own the oldest outside winery in Mondstadt, but even their estate hasn't produced quality dandelion wine in years. And they should know, because they also own the most ancient vintage wine bottles. The ones that house authentic dandelion wine from the past.
For Venti, dandelion wine is the ultimate dream. If asked, he would confess that all the effort he put into fine-tuning their weather models, all the late nights he spent training and choreographing crystalflies, all the hiding and secrecy, all of it is for that sweet, sweet taste of dandelion wine.
Dandelion wine means outside wineries and blooming flowers. Dandelion wine means sunny Windblume Festivals and late night walks with sharp detectives and taking colorful selfies with his brother. Dandelion wine is the promise of a simple, carefree life.
But Carmen doesn't have simple wishes like Venti.
Venti reaches out to hold his brother's hand. "Hey Carmen, if the sun continues to shine in Mondstadt like this, do you think your dandelion dream will come true?"
Carmen is the idealistic kid who dreams of traveling and singing songs and leading a charming life of artistry. He will be graduating soon with his literature degree. If he doesn't get the chance to act on his dreams, he might have to swallow the bitter pill and work a corporate job, or leave the country to pursue his fantasy of living like a bard elsewhere.
And Carmen loves Mondstadt.
"Pfft, you know that's not gonna happen. Weather this good never lasts long."
"But what if it did? Come on, you're the poet here. Indulge me with your imagination."
Carmen shrugs a heavy sigh. Better to go along with it. "Hm, maybe? I think if we had weather like this all the time, I could join the Wanderer's Troupe. I heard they're looking for a playwright, and maybe together we can set up open theaters again. Mondstadt used to have a lot of those. But come on, Venti. Even I know that's a pipe dream."
"You should dare to dream more, Carmen." Venti squeezes his hand. "If today is looking like a real miracle, why can't we ask for that everyday?"
Carmen bristles. "You don't think I tried asking for it everyday? You don't think I pray for it?" He pulls his hand back, startling both himself and Venti at the sudden loss of contact.
Silence weighs heavily between them.
And then, the fight leaves him just as it came. Deflated, Carmen looks away and melts into the embrace of his phileanemo plush. "No, sorry, let's not get into this. I don't want to fight."
"…Yeah. Let's end this day on a good note. Tell me about how college is going for you. What are you up to these days?"
Carmen smiles at him gratefully. “Oh, we’re preparing an exhibit for the Windblume Festival! I’m doing research on a bunch of obscure myths and legends for it. Have you heard about Heart’s Desire? It’s a collection of fantasy stories centered around a mysterious antique shop that was widely popular during the Old days. I think you’ll like it. Actually, we should try out some of the urban legends from the book. They say that if you close your eyes and walk around the fountain…”
This... this is safe. Tomorrow, Carmen will go back to Dornman Port and Venti will stay in Stormbearer Point. It's best not to rehash old arguments. As much as Venti loves his brother, they can never see eye-to-eye when it comes to certain things.
Fortunately their food arrives, breaking the tension in the air. Venti can never be angry with Carmen, never likes fighting with Carmen, so they quickly fill the silence with safer topics. They're both laughing before dessert arrives, and all is well and good. Carmen slides their selfie across the table as a peace offering.
The spritz tastes like it came from an indoor winery, though with the cheap price tag Venti should have expected that. If the archons are real, he prays that all this hard work would finally pay off and he can taste a true wind-fermented dandelion wine from an outdoor winery, nurtured by the gentle weather of the Thousand Winds. He wants an expensive bottle, like the one from the Ragnvindr's estate.
He takes another sip of his pathetic spritz and amends his prayer. Scratch that, he doesn't need prayer. Why wait for an absentee archon when he can hire someone to do the job?
He shoots Parsifal a quick text.
VENTI: heyyyyyy. you bored?
VENTI: i know you're not really open for business, but i got a sick job for you
PARSIFAL: What's in it for me?
VENTI: it'll be fun?
VENTI: you'll make me happy
PARSIFAL: ...
VENTI: you'll be stealing from the rich
VENTI: and lil old me deserves a reward
PARSIFAL: ...Unfortunately, you DO deserve a reward :/
PARSIFAL: Fine. What am I stealing?
VENTI: [worlds_most_expensive_vintage.jpg]
VENTI: vintage dandelion wine from the dawn winery's cellar
PARSIFAL: Archons...
PARSIFAL: Okay, but you're sharing this with the team. They deserve a reward too.
VENTI: of course!! i was planning on sharing anyway!
VENTI: with you, the team, maybe even the detective...
VENTI: anyway, thanks. you're the best, therion
PARSIFAL: You're lucky you're lovable, brat.
Luck has nothing to do with it.
Venti lost days of sleep monitoring the eastern sea, decimating Cimeries into nothing, and bringing a week's worth of sun. He worked hard for this weather.
He absolutely deserves that vintage dandelion wine.