Genshin Advent Calendar 2025

by Scueriel

Summary:

An advent calendar in which the Traveler invites all the people they've met into their teapot for one big celebration.

Each day is a new chapter focusing on a new combination of characters. They all take place on the same day, though, so they are connected.

 

Also, there's like close to nothing religious about this, so you can still read this as just a normal fic. The explanation in the fic is that the Traveler just picked a random holiday from some random other planet as their occasion and they just so happened to choose Christmas, that's it.

Chapter 1: Intro: The Invitation

Notes:

It took me way too long to tag this fic ahhh

 

Anyway, here's the invitation letter the Traveler sent out, just as a small introduction before the actual advent calendar starts tomorrow ^^

My friends,

In many worlds, in many nations, there are many different days where friends and family gather in one place to celebrate together. Sometimes it's for historic reasons, other times it's a time of worship, and sometimes it's simply because people are inherently social beings.

Practically all year now I have been trying to decide which of those many days I want to take as my occasion. And now it's almost the end of the year, and not many days are left for me to choose from.

So I've decided to go with the day that is exactly a week from the last day of the year, the day people in one of the worlds I've seen call "Christmas". I won't bore you with the details (although you are free to ask me about them the next time we meet), but the important part is that, for some, this day belongs to the "worship" category, while for others this meaning has sort of gotten lost, the day now remaining as simply a perfect opportunity for friends and family to get together.

And that's what I want it to be, too. A day for me to see all the friends I've made during my time in Teyvat. And, of course, a day for all those friends to meet each other. For all of you to meet one another.

Every one of you has received an invitation for my Serenitea Pot, and everyone knows how to use it. So that is where I am inviting you to, starting at 4 in the afternoon, with an open end and the possibility to stay the night if necessary.

I'm inviting you to talk, but of course also to food and drink, to perhaps a show or two, if some of you happen to have something they would like to perform for the rest of us. (Do notify me of that beforehand, though, so I know what to expect and prepare.)

That day will be a peaceful one. Not all of you will end up liking each other, and that is okay, but there will be no fights, physical or not. If you are invited, then that means I trust you will honor this.

Now, all that's left for me to say is that I am looking forward to meeting all of you.

Sincerely

The Traveler

 

(below the signature, in a frankly terrible handwriting, there is an addition of “and Paimon!”)

Chapter 2: Day 1: Childe & Mavuika

Notes:

How noticeable is it that I have no clue how the teapot works? Idk
I just made up some stuff that seemed logical to me :)

Then again it's doubtful that the Traveler knows about Christmas / our world so... this isn't totally accurate anyway haha

Also forgot to mention that all those chapters were written before December so anything that happens during the update on the 3rd won't matter to the story

Childe felt like he was freezing. For a Snezhnayan, that meant a lot.

First of all, it was the coldest part of the year. Of course the nation of Cryo was always rather cold, but even there the weather fluctuated a little over the seasons.

But probably the worst part was that he'd been running around outside for way longer than anticipated. He'd thought entering the Traveler's teapot would be as easy as always, but apparently it made a difference whether he was the only one doing so or not. He didn't really understand Adepti magic, to be honest. Sure, he'd learned a bit about their sigils for his mission back in Liyue, but that (and whatever else Zhongli had taught him over time) was about it.

But the Traveler had said that the Ley Lines played a role, and that finding a Ley Line blossom of any kind might help, as there the Ley Lines were more easily accessed.

And Childe knew that they changed places, yet usually appeared at about the same spots in some kind of pattern. He knew that, but he still. couldn't. find. one.

Only after way too much running around in the snow did he finally find the golden glow of a Ley Line blossom, and only then did his summoning of whatever mark connected him to the teapot finally respond.

So now he stood there before the Mondstadt-style house, clad in his Harbinger coat (it was the warmest he owned, so sadly the most sensible choice), covered in snow and frost from head to toe.

It was awkward, to say the least. Of course the invitation had said that this party was going to be a friendly one, but Childe couldn't wait to get that damn coat off of him. He was here to meet new people, not to scare them away as soon as they noticed the Fatui logo on his clothes.

Fortunately, opening the front door revealed merely the Traveler, Paimon right by their side, and a handful of people he hadn't met before.

 

Childe was honestly relieved he was one of the first to arrive. During that seemingly endless search for a Ley Line blossom, he'd worried that even setting out half an hour ahead of time would end up being too little. Half an hour early because any later than that, Teucer would have returned home and seen him with that damn coat and, well. He didn’t want that just yet. But now, a look over at a clock on the wall told him he was five minutes early. He let out a quiet sigh of relief, shrugging off his coat.

Before he could start wondering where to put it now, the Traveler had already approached him, pointing at the wardrobe next to the door.

"Just hang it up in there," Paimon said next to them, "We emptied it out earlier so there is more than enough space."

Finally relieved from his coat, Childe went further in, taking a look around the main room. Most noticeable were the fairy lights strung up practically everywhere they could be. Then there was a bookshelf immediately at the door, and looking past it showed him a long table, a few smaller ones off to the side, then a buffet to the right, a staircase to the left. At the opposite end of the room there was a bar of sorts, some people already sitting there. He saw a woman with vibrant red hair talking to that pirate captain from Liyue. Beidou was it? The Tianquan sat there too, a hand on the pirate’s thigh, the other holding a glass with some colorful drink in it.

The women looked up as they noticed his arrival, and the one with the red hair suddenly stood up and approached him.

"You're one of the Fatui, aren't you?" she asked, voice... surprisingly not unkind.

She’d noticed the coat, then. At least that spared him the mental discussion with himself about whether he should keep it a secret entirely or just only bring it up when explicitly asked about it. Still, Childe couldn't fully ban the reservation from his tone when he replied, "That I am. The Eleventh of the Harbingers, in fact, Tartaglia. What about it?"

"Ah", the woman replied, "so I was right. I'm Mavuika. I've met your... coworker? The Captain."

"Mavuika", Childe took in the Archon before him, nodding once, "Pleasure to meet you."

The Archon motioned for him to take a seat at the bar, and after a look around the room (the pirate and the Tianquan had left for the buffet, and the room was slowly filling up with people now), he did precisely that, accepting a cup of some drink that, while fancy looking, proved to have no alcoholic kick to it.

"So", he said after a moment, "you've met the Captain?"

"I have. At first we fought each other, in the end we fought together. An admirable man." Mavuika gave him a long glance, humming, "I spoke to you because I hate making the same mistake twice. Since you're here today, that must mean there's more to you than just being part of the Fatui."

 

Childe, to his credit, managed to take in the second half as well, even as his mind kept circling around the fact that Mavuika had actually had the chance to fight the Captain.

Unfair.

He was about to voice his unhappiness when the Archon continued with "Is the type of relationship between the Harbingers one where I should offer you my condolences?"

"You can", Childe said with a shrug, frowning a little as he took a moment to actually think about it. The loss of the Captain was a big one, yes, and of course there had been a mourning period for him just as there had been for La Signora. But condolences? He wasn't sure if any of the others would bother with those.

"I'm afraid his prowess will be missed more than the man himself, but that's just what the Fatui are like sometimes. We all have our missions."

A moment of silence, one Childe used to drink some more from his glass.

"Tell me about it", he finally said, feeling the grin tugging at the corners of his mouth, "sadly I never got to fight him myself, and I probably never will."

That actually got a small chuckle out of the woman, even though she immediately shook her head afterwards.

"It was an even match", she said, and in her eyes Childe could see a fighting spirit that reminded him of his own, just a little, "We both had our little tricks, and we both used them well. He was a magnificent fighter."

Her voice softened a little as she added: "in the end, he withdrew. Not to protect his ego or his well-being, but to protect other people that he cared for. I did mean it when I called him admirable."

There was a somber mood between the two of them, Mavuika seemingly lost in her memories, Childe in the pictures his mind had created for what he'd just heard.

"In any case," Mavuika continued after a while, easy smile on her lips, "if it's a fight you're after, I could invite you for a spar some time. I may not be the Captain, but I'd like to believe I'd make a good opponent after all."

And, oh, if those weren't the absolute best words she could have said to him. Ever.

Childe nodded immediately, unable to keep the excited grin off his face. He probably looked like Teucer on his birthday right now, faced with whatever impressive toy or gadget Childe had picked up on one of his missions.

"I'll keep that in mind", he finally replied, a hint of amusement softening the otherwise serious edges of his voice, "don't you let me down now after getting my hopes up."

Mavuika just laughed, heartily and honest, shaking her head as she raised her half-empty glass at him.

"It's a promise, then", she said, matching the grin he knew he wore as well.

Chapter 3: Day 2: Mualani & Yoimiya

Notes:

a bit shorter today but i can already tell you that this fic will be a mix of like less than 1k words and over 2k words so... yay ^^

also im pretty sure my introvert self would run if i ever saw those two rays of sunshine personified talking to each other

Yoimiya arrived with a bundle of fireworks in one hand, and a bundle of sparklers in the other. The outside area of the teapot was rather empty, but just to be safe, she walked away from the spot where she appeared, in the direction opposite of the house, to lay down her equipment over there.

Just because she had her Pyro vision under control didn't mean she could just trust that everyone else did, too. Or that no accidents would happen. No, no. Fireworks were there to make people happy, not to hurt them.

She clapped her hands together once, smiling as she have herself a content little nod. Yep, that was a good spot. Surrounded by rocks that wouldn't catch fire, some distance away from where guests would arrive, plus in the teapot there was no risk of rain, so it was no problem that they were outside. Fantastic.

Yoimiya turned to join the other guests inside (she'd already seen two of them go through the door just as she arrived in the teapot, and surely there had to be even more already inside), but a golden glitter in the air before her forced her to stay in place.

Lucky for her, else otherwise, the other woman who'd just appeared would have... what, exactly? Fallen on top of her? Somehow molded into her body like two snowmen smashed together?

She shook off the shudder at the thought, instead raising a hand to greet the other person with a cheerful wave.

"Hey there!" she said, "I'm Yoimiya!"

The other had light hair in two braids, lightly dressed with marks on her skin that could be both tan lines or perhaps some sort of tattoo?

Most fascinating, though, was the bright smile that immediately appeared on her face as she introduced herself, "Hi! I'm Mualani, from the People of the Springs in Natlan!"

"Hi Mualani! So you're friends with the Traveler too? I know they've practically been to every nation in Teyvat now, I'm honestly a little jealous."

 

Yoimiya felt that familiar excitement at getting to know a new person, that pleasant buzzing in her chest that told her this person would make an amazing friend. Not that she'd met many people who wouldn't.

It came almost naturally for her to take Mualani – in her head from here on out dubbed as her newest friend – by the arm, tugging her along to get inside.

"You gotta tell me about the People of the Springs," she said on the way, "I've never been there, but it sounds great already! Are there a lot of hot springs?"

"It's by the sea, actually!" for a moment, Yoimiya almost felt as if she'd met her twin in Mualani, that's how familiar the cheerfulness of the other felt to her.

Arm in arm they went inside, exchanging stories of their homes. Mualani spoke about the Saurians her people lived with, and Yoimiya told her a story about Inazuma's youkai in turn.

Usually, walking through a crowd with another person could be... difficult for Yoimiya. Not because she'd get overwhelmed, but because she'd feel bad for wanting to talk to everyone around her.

But just moments after entering the building, it was Mualani who suddenly leaned to the side towards a younger girl, greeting her with obvious familiarity.

And not even five steps later, the same thing happened with a young man clad in all dark colors who, to Yoimiya, almost immediately made the impression that his personality would be anything but dark.

So she stopped trying to hold herself back and, almost feeling like she'd turn into one big bundle of sparklers from how excited she was, started to greet the people she knew as well.

Only when they reached the Traveler, a person they both knew, they took a moment to look at each other, which really just ended in a fit of giggles. The Traveler kind of looked back and forth between the two, then shrugged and turned back to the people they'd been talking to.

 

"Seriously", Mualani choked out in between giggles, "That was crazy. You didn't complain once about me stopping every two steps or so!"

"Agreed. And you didn't tell me I'm talking too much!"

"I think I talked more than you." Mualani shook her head, her free hand resting on her hip in a proud sort of pose, chin up, back straightened out in a way that was clearly more theatrical than serious.

"Oh, no, no, no" the grin grew on her face, so big her cheeks started to hurt, "I clearly talked more. Don't you take that title away from me now!"

That earned her an eye roll and a grin that probably mirrored her own perfectly. "We'll share, then", Mualani replied with a shrug, tightening the grip her arm had on Yoimiya's, "no sane person would complain about getting two cakes instead of one. It's the same logic, really."

"You mean why have only the expert guide from the People of the Springs or the Queen of the Summer Festival if you could also have both together?"

"Exactly!", Mualani nodded firmly, immediately afterwards going right back to bubbly and cheerful, "Now come on, you gotta introduce me to your best friends, and I'll introduce you to mine!"

"Okay!", Yoimiya said, already taking a look around to find the first person to introduce Mualani to, "but just so you know, that could take a while. I know lots of people."

Mualani only chuckled, shrugging lightly, "I have time all evening."

"Fantastic!"

Oh, Yoimiya would definitely have to visit Natlan soon. A trip to the People of the Springs was going to be absolutely necessary.

Chapter 4: Day 3: Ajaw, Kinich, Fischl, Oz

Notes:

Uploaded this while waiting for my game to finish updating so if there's any mistakes still in this it's because I was thinking about Durin instead

(I'll read over it later I hope so if you find anything, do tell me about it haha)

Oz followed his Prinzessin up the stairs, looking for a comfortable place to sit down and eat. They just came from the buffet, and Fischl's plate was now so full of dishes she wanted to try ("A sovereign has to have tried the delicacies of every region of their realm!", she'd explained) that he feared it would topple over and shatter on the floor.

Luckily, though, there was a nice seating area just nearby, two sofas in a corner, a coffee table in front of them, a Liyue-style lamp between them to fill up the empty space in the corner.

Oz took a seat on the armrest, Fischl sitting down right next to him, her plate reaching the table in one place, and with all the pieces of food still intact.

"Guten Appetit, mein Fräulein", he said, Fischl repeating the same to him in turn. She started trying all the different pieces of food she'd chosen, handing him various seeds in between.

It was peaceful for a while. In fact, it was peaceful until there came the sound of someone walking up the stairs. And now this might sound as though Oz disliked the idea of having any company other than that of his Prinzessin, but in truth, the issue was that those footsteps were accompanied by a voice that simply seemed... naturally annoying.

"-so you should give all your food to me!", was the first thing Oz could hear from whomever this voice belonged to, followed by another person responding with a non-committal hum.

A moment later, the two people appeared at the top of the stairs. Although Oz wasn't sure whether "people" was the best word for a human and a... honestly? He had no clue what it even was.

Some sort of floating thing, vaguely resembling an animal, but almost as though looking at it through a bathroom window, where patterns in the glass turn everything into little squares.

At least the human looked normal. A man, dark hair, lots of squares on his outfit, too. Which inspired which, Oz wondered, the outfit the pet or the pet the outfit?

In any case, Fischl already stood up to greet the newcomers, "Welcome, dear subjects. You are dearly invited to join the Prinzessin der Verurteilung, Fischl von Luftschloss Narfidort, and her trusted familiar Ozvaldo von Hrafnavins, at her dining table!"

...which, naturally, Oz translated for them: "Fischl would like for you to sit with her. There is enough space for all the four of us." Oz pointed a wing towards the empty couch next to theirs.

"Thanks", the man said, nodding, then he sat down on the free couch, "I'm Kinich. That's Ajaw, but you can ignore most of what he says anyways."

"Hey! Don't you dare talk like this about the Great Dragonlord K’uhul Ajaw!"

...the voice was even worse from up close. Oz wished for human ears he could cover up.

“A Dragonlord?” Fischl exclaimed, before spluttering and quickly correcting herself, “why of course! Naturally, your Prinzessin der Verurteilung knows of all her lords, including the dragon ones! It is a great pleasure that happenstance has brought us together today!”

The man, Kinich, just looked at Fischl, then at his companion, Ajaw, then back at Fischl.

“What mein Fräulein means to say”, Oz quickly spoke up into the awkward silence, “is that it’s a pleasure to meet you. You may simply address us as Fischl and Oz.”

Kinich gave a small nod in turn, a sign of greeting as much as one of understanding. Ajaw meanwhile immediately started screeching again, “What a load of crap! The Great Dragonlord absolutely doesn’t answer to some human princess! What are you even saying, huh?!”

Oz could see the twitching of Fischl’s eyelid even before she suddenly stood up, pointing at Ajaw, “How dare you talk like this to the sovereign of the Immernachtreich?!”

“How I dare?!” Ajaw’s shape contorted strangely in the air, his head taking on a red color, “How do you dare?! Disregarding the grandness and power of a Dragonlord, you puny human!”

Kinich had a look on his face that looked as pained as Oz felt at the moment. He knew better than to reason with his Prinzessin, she wouldn’t listen to him right now. Of course she received negative comments every now and then, people adamant about having to prove her wrong somehow. But she’d never been faced with an opponent – Oz really couldn’t describe it any better than that – like Ajaw before.

He hadn't paid attention for just a moment, and already he'd lost track of the conversation. He listened up just in time to hear Fischl call out a: “If you really are that powerful, then prove it!”

The air was sizzling. Oz couldn’t tell whether because of tension or because of Fischl’s Electro vision. Quite possibly a mix of both.

“Mein Fräulein, please-”, he started, just as Kinich spoke up with a firm: “Ajaw, enough.”

For a blissful moment, there was silence. Then Ajaw cried out indignantly as Kinich hit him with the back of his palm, suddenly making the self-described Dragonlord disappear into thin air.

“He’s in timeout”, is all the man said, crossing his arms with a roll of his eyes, “I’m very sorry for his behavior. I’d say he usually isn’t like that, but then I’d be lying.”

Fischl still looked like she was ready to snap, but she straightened her back and shoulders, nodding slowly as she sat back down. Oz, naturally, could still sense the tension and frustration in her, but he could see how she tried to hold herself back from outright showing it.

“Well,” she finally said with a frown, “At least now I know just how different my people can be. Even subjects as willful as... Ajaw exist in this realm of mine.”

Kinich shook his head, letting out a sound that could be either a scoff or a short laugh, “As I said before, it’s better to just ignore him. Even if he’s saying the truth, he’s by far not as omnipotent as he claims to be. For the most part, all he is is annoying.”

“Respect to you, Kinich, for being able to deal with him”, Oz said, stretching out his wings now that the tension slowly left him, too.

“Well, I’m used to it”, Kinich shrugged, standing up from the couch he’d sat on, “And now I won’t keep you any longer. Or rather, seeing your plate standing here has reminded me to eat, too. It was nice meeting you, Fischl, Oz.”

“However such a polite man has paired up with such an impolite… dragon…”, Fischl shook her head, “But the oddest of pairs work well together at times, I suppose. Fare well, Kinich. Do try to keep this poor realm of mine safe from the claws and words of your companion.”

A small smile on his lips, Kinich nodded, then left to head downstairs again.

“The oddest of pairs”, Oz echoed Fischl’s words as soon as they were alone again, “did you think of one such pair in particular, mein Fräulein?”

“Ha!”, Fischl grinned, reaching out to brush a finger over the feathers on Oz’s head, “you know me quite well, I did. Oh Oz, whatever would I do without you?”

Chapter 5: Day 4: Chasca & Collei

Notes:

Warning for discussions about death in this one -> discussion of what happened to Chuychu

Collei had arrived together with Tighnari and Cyno, but even before entering the main building, she’d told them to go ahead instead of waiting for her. She needed a moment of quiet before being surrounded by so many unfamiliar people. At least that had been the plan before she saw the archery training grounds behind the house.

She didn’t see herself as one who always thinks of training, who always strives to get stronger. Sure, she needed her skills out in the forest, but her motivation and endurance were no match for Cyno’s on his training days, for example.

Now, though, curiosity got the best of her. She was used to circular targets of varying sizes, either standing on the ground or hanging down from branches. Perhaps a wooden replica of an animal or monster, at rare times.

But this here was something closer to a parkour than an actual training ground. An artificial forest, balloons tied to the trees, slightly moving back and forth in a soft breeze.

A wooden rack provided bows and quivers with arrows, and guided by curiosity, Collei picked up one of the bows, testing its draw strength. With a pleased little hum, she found it too light, replacing it with the one next to it. As expected, this one was a bit more difficult to draw, but she tried out a couple more before she found the one that was more or less the same as her own.

 

She picked up a quiver with fitting arrows, and was about to enter the training area when she heard footsteps behind her.

"I didn't expect there to be another person shying away from the party", a woman's voice spoke.

Collei turned to stand face to face with a woman slightly taller than her, with red hair, a pointy hat, and a Natlanese style of clothing.

Collei, unsure of what to say, simply nodded at the rack with the bows, "Are you an archer, too?"

"I am." The woman nodded, her way of speaking to the point without sounding harsh, "I'm Chasca. From the Flower-Feather Clan of Natlan. I'm a peacekeeper."

"I'm Collei", she shifted bow and arrow into one arm, holding the other one out, "trainee forest watcher from Sumeru."

Chasca shook her head with a nod, "nice to meet you." She looked past her at the training grounds, raising an eyebrow, "interested in a small competition?"

"Hm?", Collei had heard that there were many competitions and duels in Natlan, the nation of war. Apparently, it really was so. "Sure", she agreed in the end, "what kind of competition?"

"One picks a target. The other has to hit it", Chasca said, picking out a bow a bit stronger than the one Collei had chosen, "if they miss, the other gets the chance instead. If they also miss, the target cannot be chosen again. The competition is over when there are no targets left."

"Huh?!" Collei shook her head, looking at the sheer amount of targets, "but won't that take forever?!"

Chasca followed her gaze with a hum, shrugging. "Fine", she relented, "let's agree on a set number of targets then. How does thirty sound?"

Still a lot, but... "Okay. Thirty then."

They set out into the training area, and Chasca had her choose the first target. She settled on a small clay figure sitting on a branch of a tree, pretty far up, but without any other branches in the way.

Chasca took aim, Collei watching as the arrow took flight, then found its target.

"Point for me", Chasca said calmly, looking around for a moment before pointing at a pot nestled in between some rocks, "This one is yours."

Collei gulped. That one was quite a bit more difficult than the target she'd chosen. But, then again, they hadn't set any rules, so why shouldn't Chasca pick a difficult one?

As she took aim, she already knew this wouldn't end well. The hole in the rock through which she could hit the pot was small, the edges jagged, plus she had to aim downwards too.

She shot anyway, and of course the arrow missed it's mark, sliding off the rock and to the side.

Chasca next to her shook her head. "Why did you do that?"

"Huh? Do what?"

"You lost your focus there. Your heart wasn't in that shot." Chasca shook her head, nodding at the target, "Try again. This one was your first attempt, I won't count it."

Well. Collei wouldn't say no to that.

She took another arrow and drew her bow, taking aim.

"You can do it", Chasca said next to her, arms crossed, "you've got great posture, and I see you've got the experience. What's stopping you?"

That last part echoed around Collei's mind for a moment, and she lowered her bow again, releasing the tension from the string.

Doubts were stopping her. Doubts, and maybe a fear of failure.

Not that Tighnari's style of teaching was very intimidating, or much of a cause for fears. Cyno could be intimidating, sure, but rarely towards her, and never on purpose.

"Take a breath", Chasca's voice interrupted her thoughts, "then try again."

Collei looked at her first. The woman stood relaxed, patient, and something about her gave Collei some peace of mind as well.

So she took a deep breath, drawing her bow once more. Taking aim came easier at the second attempt, so she released her breath at the same time as she released her arrow. She held her bow up a moment more, focusing on not disturbing the arrow's course instead of looking to see whether it hit or missed.

Chasca's nod, resolute but kind, gave her the answer a moment later.

"Well done", she said, "Now you give me a target of a similar difficulty."

 

They continued like this for a while. Collei had the feeling that the targets she chose continued being easier than the ones Chasca chose for her, but then again, Chasca kept giving her second chances.

Chasca didn't bother with excuses, simply telling her to try again. So she did. Most of the time, a second attempt was enough. Once, when her target was a wooden disk hanging off the side of the roof by a piece of string, she'd needed three tries before she hit, but she still got a point for it.

It felt a little like her lessons with Tighnari, but also not really. Perhaps more like training with an upperclassman, not that she'd ever experienced anything like that. It was how she'd imagine it to be, though.

Chasca didn't teach her, per se. She gave advice, sure, small pointers like looking out for the way a branch might move on a windy day, or keeping in mind the hiding spots innocent animals might choose, which naturally she shouldn't injure on accident.

At times, she felt a bit... strange. Chasca would have an almost... sad look in her eyes when she looked at Collei.

Finally, she couldn't ignore it anymore. "What's wrong?", she asked, absentmindedly playing with the string of her bow, "you keep looking at me like that."

Chasca looked... caught. Perhaps even embarrassed. She sighed, shaking her head, "This feels a bit like training with my sister. She's... no longer with us. That's why it makes me feel a bit... nostalgic."

Again a shake of her head, and she crossed her arms, "that's nothing you should worry about, though. I told you so you understand, not because I need you to pity me. She died in the war against the Abyss, as one of many. It's how things are in Natlan."

The "I'm sorry to hear that" died on Collei's lips. No pity, alright, she could honor that wish.

"That explains it", is what she finally settled on, hoping that her words sounded final enough for Chasca to feel like she could end the conversation here if she wanted to.

Chasca got the hint. "In any case, it's a good thing", she said, "I enjoyed training with my sister. And I'm enjoying this, too. Even if it's hardly a competition with the both of us having the same amount of points."

Collei chuckled at that last part, and, to her relief, so did Chasca.

"Maybe we can end it here for today", Chasca said then, looking around the training area, "go inside to join the actual party, get some food into us."

"Sure. It's a draw, then?"

"It's a draw."

Chasca shifted her bow into her left hand, holding her right out for Collei to take, which she did.

Chasca had a nice, firm grip, one that somehow gave Collei a feeling of camaraderie, a pleasant warmth spreading from her hand to her chest.

"You should visit some time! I'm sure Sumeru's forests are different from the forests you know.", she said, smiling at the other woman.

"I will. You should come visit Natlan, too. You've got to see the Saurians we have there."

"Oh!" Collei's eyes widened at the reminder of Natlan's fauna, "Yes, of course!"

 

They made sure to tidy up first, collecting the arrows they'd shot. Chasca had this strange sort of weapon that allowed her to fly, which made it wonderfully easy to recover the arrows stuck to targets further up in the air.

They worked silently then, which Collei was grateful for. She could appreciate having a moment to gather her wits before joining the big party inside.

Plus, it was comfortable like this, simply working side by side, like how she'd do with her colleagues when out on patrol.

As she stood in front of the closed door to the house, Collei actually felt... strengthened, rather than tired out. Calmer now than she'd been upon arrival in this Serenitea Pot. What a nice feeling it was, having made a friend.

Chapter 6: Day 5: Freminet & Ororon

Freminet wasn't hiding. He wasn't. He'd just... found himself a nice spot. What did it matter that said spot was nice because there were barely any other people around? Exactly.

Well, okay, maybe he was hiding, judging by the way he looked up each time the door to the small library opened.

The first who'd entered after him had been two young men from Liyue, with one of them picking out book after book while the other trailed after him, throwing in short comments every now and then.
They'd left as a discussion about spicy food had ended with the book-lover chasing after the other one, laughing in this cheerful way usually reserved for little children.

A while later, he'd watched Navia drag Clorinde into the room with her, but Freminet had no clue what happened afterwards, as he'd put his helmet on as soon as the first kissing sound had reached his ears. Neither of them looked off in any way when they'd left, though, so it felt safe to assume that not much else had happened.

And then there'd been that young girl from Mondstadt, with cat ears and a tail, like Lynette, who'd curled up before the fireplace and napped there for a while. The sound of her sleeping had actually been so familiar to Freminet that, apparently, he'd fallen asleep for a while as well, for when he woke up again, he was once more alone.

Maybe Freminet would've felt bad for hiding away like this, but he knew the Traveler. Knew that, if he asked them about it, they'd tell him to just do what made him comfortable.

And he was comfortable here. Not as much as he'd be underwater, but nothing could ever come close to that in the first place.

It was nice, sitting there on the sofa, somewhat hidden from view thanks to a large bookshelf. He could watch and listen as people came and went, listen to footsteps that approached the door without ever passing through it.

Perhaps those came from whoever manned the bar in the main area right now. It was right next to the library door, after all, with some storage shelves on the other side of it.

Freminet was used to this sort of thing. Waiting, listening, watching. Was pretty good at it, too. Maybe the familiarity was what gave him the feeling of comfort right now.

 

Freminet looked up when he heard footsteps again, and this time, the door actually opened to let someone in. A young man, a bit taller than him, wearing dark clothes and a hood. Usually, the combination would have made him suspicious, but this man didn't carry himself in a way that would invoke any sense of danger or intimidation. Of course, he could hardly be harmless, not with the vision Freminet quickly spotted. But when the man saw Freminet sitting there, he smiled widely and waved at him as he approached.

"Hey there!" the man said, lowering his hand again, "should've guessed that all the good spots would already be taken. Vegetables know where they'll grow big and healthy, and so do people. I really shouldn't be surprised."

"Uh-...?" Freminet wasn't the best at conversations anyway, but this was even more confusing than what he was used to, "should I... stand up?"

"What?", the other quickly shook his head, waving his hands in further emphasis, "No, no! I'm just saying you got a nice spot there."

Awkward silence. Freminet wanted nothing more than to put on his helmet and disappear.

A moment later, the other spoke again: "I'm Ororon. And I'm sorry for bothering you. Plants and aphids are much easier to talk to than people are, if you ask me."

"Aphids?", Freminet asked, the words out before he'd fully processed them or the other's introduction.

"Natlan is full of those. Saurians and aphids. My bro Ifa is a vet, so he has a pretty good understanding of how many there are out in the wild."

"I'm a diver. I know more about fish than Saurians or aphids."

 

And suddenly the conversation had a flow as easy and natural as that of a river. One talked, the other listened and then found his own transition over to the next topic.

They went from Saurians and aphids to fish and sea anemones, then further to slugs and snails, from there to the different types of diet different species had, finally ending up at the topic of their own favorite dishes.

Ororon was a great conversation partner. Freminet didn't even realize how much he'd talked until his throat started to hurt from how he'd been using his voice so much more than usual. He remained silent, then, listening to Ororon talk about his vegetables.

He enjoyed it.

Perhaps because they didn't know each other.

It was difficult to talk with Lyney and Lynette sometimes. Out of all the people in Teyvat, those two knew him best. Sometimes, he felt like there was nothing he could tell them that they didn't already know, and vice versa.

But this was fine. He'd known nothing about Natlan before, but now he did. He hadn't known Ororon before, but now he did.

Again it reminded him a little of a mission for gathering intel. Only that now, he gathered it for himself instead of others. All he had to do was listen. And maybe ignore the vegetable puns that somehow caught him off guard every single time Ororon used one of them.

Lynette interrupted them. He'd recognized her footsteps even before she entered the library, so he wasn't as surprised as Ororon when his sister suddenly stood in front of them.

"We've been waiting for you", Lynette said in her calm, expressionless voice, "you told Lyney you'd help us prepare for the show. We agreed to meet-" she looked over at a clock hanged up on the wall, "five minutes ago."

"Oh!" Freminet stood quickly, scratching the back of his head to keep from instinctively hiding under his helmet, "Sorry! I forgot the time."

Lynette just rolled her eyes in that way of hers that Freminet knew wasn't meant in a rude way, not bothering to reply and instead simply turning around to walk ahead.

"You heard her", Freminet said with a shrug, unable to completely stop his voice from going all quiet and small, "I gotta go. Lyney and Lynette have a magic show later, and I promised I'd help them prepare everything."

"Oh, no problem!", Ororon stood up as well, resting his hands on his hips, "I wanted to take a look at the books here anyway. Plus now I wanna see if I can find some on marine life. You've inspired me just now, you know?." He grinned, adding a: "but I'll make sure to watch that show. Gotta support my newest bro, and I'm sure Ifa would come with me as long as there isn't any animal mistreatment in that show."

Freminet quickly shook his head, "o-of course not!"

"Ah, great. Then we'll surely be there."

This time, he knew Lynette was trying to help when she said "come on now, Freminet", her voice impatient but clearly a little softer than usual.

As nice as the conversation had been, Freminet was glad to escape the situation. He'd had enough of socializing for now.

Notes:

on a scale of 1 to 10 how obvious is it that i like writing about the introverts a little more than the extroverts? XD

Chapter 7: Day 6: Ei & Furina & Mavuika & Nahida & Venti & Zhongli

Notes:

one of the longest chapters, and also one of my own favorites ^^

idk how common it is that advent calendars have a little special on the 6th for Saint Nicholas Day. Afaik some do, some don't. Anyways, i decided that mine should have one, so here's all the (playable) Archons meeting up :)

Furina looked down at the Dendro Archon in a mix of confusion and doubt, "What do you mean, you want me to join you for dinner?"

"Exactly what I said", Buer replied with a shrug, "it was Barbatos' idea. Since we're all here anyway, save for the Tsaritsa, we might as well meet up for a bit."

"But I'm not-..." Furina trailed off, the words stuck in her throat. She wasn't used to the truth, even now that it was all over.

Buer crossed her arms and shook her head, "Maybe you never were, but you certainly played the part, and you played it well. That has to count for something, right?"

Furina looked around, in part to distract herself, in part to see whether anyone was listening in on their conversation. But no, Buer had cornered her in a more secluded part of the Traveler's home, where the only other people were two little girls sitting on the carpeted floor playing with cards.

"Well-" Furina sighed, moving her arms around herself as if in a hug, "if you're sure...?"

Buer smiled brightly, nodding, "absolutely! Come on now, I'm sure the others are already waiting!"


Buer brought her to a room adjacent to the main room, in which stood even more tables and chairs, as the actual dining area hardly fit all of the Traveler's guests. Instead of sitting down at one of the tables, however, Buer walked up to one of the cupboards, where Morax stood, a large basket next to him on the floor.

"The others have already gone ahead", he said, nodding at Furina in greeting.

She simply nodded back, and maybe Buer noticed her nervousness, for she reached up to grab her hand, the touch gentle but reassuring.

"Let's join them, then", Buer said, waiting for Morax to pick up the basket before following him outside, still holding Furina's hand.

It was getting dark outside, but at Buer's suggestion, using elemental sight revealed a trail of Pyro that they could follow easily.

They walked in comfortable silence for a while, even though the feeling of comfort for Furina came mostly from the Dendro Archon next to her. Maybe it was because she seemed so childlike, but Buer simply felt comforting to be around even after so little time of interacting with her.

"Over there." Morax suddenly said, nodding over at what seemed to be a short artificial mountain range with a tunnel leading into some sort of crater in the middle. The inner part was maybe about the same size as the house, and the mountains surrounding it perhaps about as tall as well. But it fit the dimensions of this Serenitea Pot, and with the trees and flowers growing all around it, it did look pretty impressive.

Through the tunnel, Furina could see a campfire burning in the crater, with three silhouettes sitting around it. Barbatos, Beelzebul, and Haborym, then.

This artificial crater looked more like a glade in the middle of a forest, with trees all around, and only a small, open space in the center. Flowers grew everywhere, infusing the air with gentle sweetness, and fireflies twinkled like living stars all around them, mirroring the stars that were slowly appearing in the sky as it got darker.

"Zhongli, Nahida!", a voice called out as they approached. Barbatos was the one who'd spoken, waving at them to come over.

Buer gave her hand one last squeeze before releasing it, walking ahead to the picnic blanket on the ground where the others were sitting.

While Beelzebul sat there like elegance personified, Haborym was lying down with her hands behind her head, one leg propped up and the other stretched out in front of her.

Barbatos had a lyre in his lap, but it momentarily went forgotten once Morax came closer, since the Anemo Archon immediately reached for the basket, rummaging through it until he pulled out a glass bottle with a triumphant hum.

Furina followed with a bit of hesitation, finally sitting down at the very edge of the blanket. "Hi everyone", she said, the usual bravado nowhere to find in her tone of voice.

"Hi!" came Haborym's response, the Pyro Archon sitting up, legs crossed as she turned to face Furina, "Focalors, right?"

"Oh, uh- Just 'Furina' is enough, really!" she shook her head quickly, forcing out a laugh that sounded fake even to her ears.

"I agree", Barbatos chimed in with a strum of his lyre, "let us forego those official titles for tonight. This is hardly a business meeting! I'm Venti."

Furina shot him a grateful glance, relieved at his attempt at making this less awkward for her.

"Zhongli", Morax-... Zhongli continued, which Beelzebul followed up with an "Ei".
The Dendro Archon, "Nahida", was next, and finally Haborym told them to call her "Mavuika".

There was a moment of silence, then Venti let out a happy little sigh, “That’s more like what I had in mind, yes. There’s nobody around who we have to act all regal and mighty in front of, so let’s just not do that.”

A hum from Ei, a small laugh from Zhongli, with the latter adding an amused “Not that you ever do in the first place.”

“Hey!”, Venti’s indignation was accompanied by a cheerful grin, “says the one who faked his death to live like a human! At least my followers still think I’m alive.”

Nahida had taken the basket from Zhongli at some point, now unpacking some of the other things inside. Another bottle – this one labeled as apple juice – a fluffy loaf of bread, a bowl of soft butter, a couple different fruits from all over Teyvat.

“Are there any cups as well?”, Ei asked from off to the side, already reaching out to check for herself. There were cups, yes, and she stood to give one to each person. Zhongli and Venti momentarily paused their banter to thank her, before seamlessly going back to their friendly argument about which of them had it worse.

Mavuika rolled her eyes at the sight, moving over to take a bread knife from the basket and, without using any sort of cutting board, cut the bread into slices. Furina had to look away, shuddering at the sight. She had to imagine Escoffier’s flabbergasted expression to distract herself from the horror she was experiencing here.

Naturally, her reaction didn’t go unnoticed, as Nahida giggled next to her, gently nudging her with her elbow, “I packed some sweets as well. Take a look if you want.”

Well, she didn’t have to say that twice. Furina was the next to reach for the basket, pulling it closer to peek into it. Some more bottles were left inside for storage, as well as another loaf of that bread. A couple butter knives lay in a wooden box, and off to the side were a glass of berry jam and a glass of honey. At the very bottom lay a round tin box, and for a moment, Furina was surprised that someone had packed sewing equipment, until she realized that this box actually contained the cookies advertised on the lid.

They each got themselves something to eat and drink, with Mavuika being the one who also kept an eye on the campfire, adding wood when necessary. It was a cozy little gathering that they had. Furina sat with Nahida to her left and Ei to her right, then next to Ei was Zhongli, then Venti, then Mavuika on Nahida’s other side with the fire between her and Venti.

The Anemo Archon had offered to trade places with her so she could sit closer to the fire, but it was warm enough, and Furina didn’t mind the distance. Still, it made her happy somehow that the others looked out for her, mortal as she now was.

 

They’d spread food and drinks out in the middle between them, the basket with the extra supplies off to the side for now. Mavuika and Zhongli currently had a discussion about who had the higher spice tolerance between the two of them, while Venti had asked Nahida to tell him a story from Sumeru that Furina was only following with one ear, mostly concentrated on just… enjoying the moment.

It really was dark now, the stars twinkling above them, and the fireflies doing the same around them. In the distance, crystalflies trailed elemental particles behind them as they chased each other through the treetops, and a kitsune was slowly sneaking towards the basket on its search for food.

Furina tapped her foot against Ei’s to get her attention, then nodded at the little fox. The other woman chuckled quietly at the sight, reaching for an apple slice. “Watch”, she whispered, tossing the piece of food towards the kitsune, which quickly snatched it and immediately retreated back to where it came from. It stumbled over its own feet at the excitement of having found itself a snack, and the sight made Furina giggle, the corners of her mouth already aching a little with how much she’d smiled tonight.

They caught Venti’s interest, but Furina just shook her head, giggling some more as she left the explaining to Ei.

Venti’s initial reaction was an “Aww!”, immediately followed by a more playfully indignant “Why didn’t either of you notify me, huh? I wish I’d have seen that!” This naturally ended with the others wanting to know what had happened as well, and in the end, they all sat there in varying stages of amusement, from Ei’s small smile up to Mavuika’s hearty laughter.

It was nice. They didn't talk about state matters or politics as Furina had feared. Sure, there were questions along the lines of "how would you deal with that issue I'm having?" every now and then, but it was fine. And Furina could still share her own insight, even though those sorts of matters were already in her past.

For the most part, they talked about the simpler things in life. Food, music, differences and similarities in culture.

Nahida had started redoing Ei's braid at one point, after the Electro Archon had a loose strand catch in a small branch on the ground, undoing part of the old braid. Furina had switched places with Nahida, sitting next to Mavuika now and enjoying some tales of Natlan's heroes of the past.

She'd just heard a story about one of the most successful Night Warden Wars, when suddenly Venti stood up, grinning as he waved a bag of marshmallows back and forth.

"Anyone want some?", he asked, a cheerful, song-like quality to his voice.

"Sure!" Furina was the first to stand up, grabbing one of the sweet little treats.

"Here", Nahida suddenly spoke out next to her, lifting her hand as a branch grew up from inside her palm, "use this!"

 

Zhongli had summoned some Geo constructs for them to sit on, and now they sat around the fire, each with one of Nahida's self-grown sticks with a marshmallow at the end.

The young branches still had a good amount of moisture in them, diminishing any fear that they might start burning. Still, Mavuika ended up with a marshmallow so dark that Furina wasn't sure if it was still consumable. But maybe that was just the Pyro Archon's preferred taste, she ate it without even commenting on the dark color.

While Furina enjoyed her perfectly roasted marshmallows, Mavuika her completely charred ones, and Ei hers with only the faintest trace of brown, Zhongli had switched back to a cup of wine, and Venti to his lyre. Nahida, too, had given up on the marshmallows, currently roasting a slice of fruit instead.

"We have to do this again some time", Venti said over a strum of his lyre, "all of us getting together like this."

"Perhaps there will be all seven of us next time, depending on how the Traveler's journey to Snezhnaya goes", Ei added with a contemplative nod.

Silence fell over them at the mention of the Fatui's leader, all of them having had some experience with that particular organization. But then Nahida chuckled, "knowing the Traveler, they'll most likely befriend her somehow. I've seen a few of the Fatui running around here tonight, so it's hardly without precedent."

Furina nodded in agreement, remembering how she saw the Knave talking to some other people earlier.

"Better have everyone as friends than as enemies", Venti said with a pleased hum, "especially on a nice evening such as this one."

"Yes", Ei agreed with a thankful nod at Venti, "Thank you for organizing it."

"Oh, sure thing!", he shook his head, waving a little as though to wave away the thought itself, "Nahida helped as well, gathering all those tasty things to eat and drink. And the Traveler recommended this spot, so it was hardly my work alone!"

"Still, thanks", Furina chimed in softly, "and thanks for the invitation, too. This was nice."

She received a gentle pat on the back from Mavuika in return. "I'll drink to that", she said with a grin, lifting her cup towards the fire before emptying it in one go, to the bright amusement of Venti and a fond eye roll from Nahida.

They sat like this for a while longer, with Ei being the first to leave, excusing herself to "go meet up with Miko".

Venti chuckled as she left, playing a song on his lyre that Furina quickly recognized as quite a popular love song.

A while later, Mavuika stood up as well, leaving the task of tending to the fire to Nahida before she also left to join the big party inside.

For some time, Venti played some songs, sometimes singing along, while the others listened. Zhongli sat with his eyes closed and a soft little smile on his lips, while Nahida sat with her back against Furina's side, her face therefore hidden from view but her body visibly relaxed as well.

Only after a while did Zhongli softly interrupt Venti as he ended one song and was about to continue with the next. "May I speak with you in private for a moment?", he asked with a frown, "it's about... you know who."

A nod from Venti in turn, then towards Furina and Nahida: "Seems like that's where I leave as well. Have a nice evening you two, maybe we'll see each other again tonight at some point."

Furina waved at him, while Nahida sat up to stretch out her arms. "I think I'll get going as well, then", she said, "you wanna walk back with me?"

"Sure."

So Furina and Nahida were the last to stay behind, with Furina using her vision to extinguish the fire. Zhongli, upon hearing Nahida say that she wouldn't stay either, had removed his Geo constructs, and the two men had also packed up the picnic blanket and the basket of food and drinks, taking both with them as they'd left.

Nahida and Furina walked in silence for a bit, taking their time on the way back.

"You know", Nahida suddenly spoke, "Mavuika is human, too. With an Archon's power, sure, but she's still mortal in the end. So you're not alone, okay?"

Furina couldn't help but smile a little, nodding, "It's fine. In truth, I'm probably more relieved than hurt now that I'm not Fontaine's Archon anymore. That was never..."

"Your dream?" Nahida suggested softly, looking up at her with a curios, open gaze.

"I was going to say 'me', but... yeah, that works too. It was a... a duty. Something I had to do because nobody else could."

A soft hum in reply, then: "you don't have to any longer. It's your past. Your roots, not your flowers."

Oh, how sweet. And well fitting as something said by the Dendro Archon.

"Thanks", Furina whispered, coming to a halt and quickly crouching down to wrap her arms around Nahida, who gave a soft laugh in return, and hugged her back.

"You're welcome. Come visit me any time, yeah?", Nahida whispered into her hair, "or write me a letter. I'll make time for all my friends if they need me."

"I will. Thank you, Nahida." Furina didn't let go, but her grip loosened as she relaxed into the embrace. "For the offer, and... for seeing me as a friend."

Nahida chuckled gently, leaning back a little to look at her, "again, you're welcome. You're not the first to come to me for comfort, and you will neither be the last, nor will you be the first I reject. So don't even worry about bothering me, okay?"

A smile tugged at the corners of Furina's mouth, and she gave a small nod in turn, "yeah. Okay."

"Okay. Now let's rejoin the others, hm?", Nahida pulled back completely, and Furina let her, calm as she now was again, "I've heard that there will be a Liyuen opera performance, and I have the feeling you'd like to see that."

"Oh?", immediately, that got her attention, "well, you'd be very much correct with that assumption! Come on then, let's go!"

Another soft chuckle could be heard as Nahida followed after her, little bells jingling with every step she took, as if trying to get Furina into a mood for music already. It worked.

Chapter 8: Day 7: Diluc & Kaeya & Neuvillette

The Traveler hadn't been successful in trying to get Diluc away from the bar. Countless times they'd tried to convince him to enjoy the evening, and countless times he'd responded with "I'm enjoying it best from behind the counter." In the end, the Traveler had given up.

Diluc was quite grateful for that. Sure, an evening without work would have been nice, but frankly he wouldn't know what to do with himself. Manning the bar, something he knew how to do, was by far better than awkwardly searching for something to do while avoiding certain people he didn't want to interact with. Read: all those Fatui Harbingers that somehow had managed to snatch an invite. Not that there were many of them, but everything more than zero was too much in his book.

So he made drinks as usual. Mostly nonalcoholic, for which he was quite grateful. And the drinks that did have alcohol in them didn't have too high percentages, so it was... fine. At least he shouldn't have to expect any alcohol-related chaos tonight.

Diona had come over at one point, had practically forced him away to get something to eat while she took over for him in the meantime. He'd felt bad for accepting it, even though of course he knew how hypocritical that was.

Still, Diluc had enjoyed a nice dinner, had talked to one of his Nod Krai contacts for a bit, and now he returned to the bar, where he gave Diona a pat on the shoulder, nodding off to the side.

"Thanks a lot", he said, making sure to keep his voice a bit softer than usual, "I'll take it from here."

Diona rolled her eyes, but then she spied one of the Traveler's cats in the background and quickly ran off in its direction.

Diluc only noticed he was smiling when an awfully familiar voice from off to the side mentioned it "Oh, Diluc? Is that really you? With you smiling, I almost didn't recognize you!"

"Kaeya."

He turned towards him with a scoff, whatever smile there had been before, now quickly falling.

"Give me a glass of wine, would you?" Kaeya asked in that annoyingly nonchalant tone of voice of his, "Whichever one is closest to you right now, I don't really mind."

"Don't have any here", Diluc replied with a roll of his eyes, crossing his arms.

"Diluc, I can see the bottle right next to you."

...oh well, it had been worth a shot. Diluc lifted up the bottle Kaeya had pointed at to read the label.

"That's grape juice." Diluc held the bottle out to prove that he was actually saying the truth this time, "I'd love to give you a glass of this, but I'm afraid you'd manage to 'accidentally' spill it all over me."

Kaeya took the bottle with a scoff, looking at the picture of some grapes on the side, which had probably been the only part of the label he'd managed to see from where he sat.

"You'd be right", he said with an eye roll, handing the bottle back, "I don't understand how you manage to drink that stuff."

"And I don't understand how you manage to drink as much alcohol as you do."

A familiar anger was bubbling up inside him again, slowly but unmistakably. This could have been a nice evening, but no. Just his luck. Kaeya at least didn't seem to feel any better, his one eye squinted, expression tense.

"Grape juice is much better." Diluc firmly shook his head, "It's sweeter, healthier, and most importantly, there's no alcohol in it."

"You use alcohol as an argument in favor of grape juice, when it really is an argument against it." Kaeya crossed his arms, scoffing, "grape juice is boring."

 

"Actually", a third voice suddenly spoke up from off to the side, "you are both wrong."

Diluc looked at Kaeya, Kaeya looked at Diluc, then both of them simultaneously turned towards the stranger who'd just joined their conversation.

It was a man in long, dark clothes, with hair a shade of white that actually suited him rather than making him seem old. He looked more like a catalyst or sword type of person, with lots of fabric that would be in the way of a larger weapon or bow. If he was muscular, all the fabric hid it well.

He still looked capable, though, like a person that was not to be underestimated.

Diluc reigned in his annoyance, raising an eyebrow at the man, "then what is the right choice,...?"

He left a deliberate gap for the name, an opportunity the other noticed and took: "Neuvillette. And the correct choice, of course, would be fresh spring water from Fontaine.

Kaeya turned on his bar stool to face the newcomer, elbow resting on the tabletop of the bar counter, "water. Really now?"

Diluc would be amused by Kaeya's shock if he didn't feel it himself as well. They debated wine or grape juice, and the Iudex of Fontaine – for that was exactly who this man turned out to be – suggested water?!

"No." Diluc said, blinking once, really too surprised to give any further reaction.

"No!" Kaeya half-shouted at the same time, indignation clear in both his voice and his expression.

Neuvillette looked back and forth between them, frowning first before then crossing his arms, "so this you two can agree on?"

The man was like a statue. He just stood there, his only movement coming from his eyes looking back and forth between Diluc and Kaeya.

"I guess", Kaeya sighed, rolling his eyes.

Diluc just shrugged, making a point of not looking at either of them, instead grabbing a random glass, rubbing over it with a rag.

Naturally, he didn't fool either of them.

"Well, I for one would like to have a glass of water", Neuvillette said then, bowing his head a little.

Diluc sighed, then nodded, forcing a pleasant enough expression back on his face, "sure. I doubt it's Fontainian spring water we're having, though."

"That's alright." Neuvillette waved away the thought, "any water is better than whatever else it is you're having."

Again Diluc felt the whiplash of the thought itself almost bodily, shaking his head as he fulfilled the order, giving the man his glass of water.

Neuvillette actually sipped on the water before giving a content hum, nodding at Diluc, then Kaeya, before leaving the bar.

 

"I think", Kaeya said slowly, hesitantly, once the Iudex was out of earshot, "I can accept your opinion a little better now."

Strangely enough, Diluc found himself nodding in agreement. "It would be fine if he just preferred water, but... so specifically? Who has such specific opinions on water?"

"Right?", Kaeya leaned a bit closer, almost looking conspiratorial as he focused on Diluc, "I mean, Fontainian spring water?! Can you even buy that somewhere?"

"Never heard of it", Diluc replied with a shrug, "and I do think I'm rather knowledgeable when it comes to drinks."

Kaeya chuckled in reply, shaking his head, "can I get my glass of wine now? Please?"

Diluc rolled his eyes again, but as he did, he already knew he didn't mean it quite the way he did all the previous times.

"Fine." He finally said, pouring Kaeya a glass, "here."

And Kaeya, clearly also in a more... generous mood now that they had a common enemy of sorts, smiled a lopsided little smile and murmured a quick "Thanks."

 

When Kaeya left, Neuvillette returned to bring back his empty glass.

"Thank you", he said, then with a glance towards the direction Kaeya left: "not everything is yet lost or beyond repair."

Kind words from an uninformed stranger, but kind words nonetheless.

So Diluc said a quiet "thanks", and thankfully Neuvillette left it at that, nodding at him before walking away again to leave Diluc to the small crowd that had gathered around the bar in the meantime.

For some reason, work went a little easier afterwards.

Notes:

I imagine Neuvillette has gotta have at least some experience with ppl arguing in court, so thats why i wrote it the way i did ^^

Chapter 9: Day 8: Citlali & Xingqiu

Citlali had been sitting with Ororon in the library for a bit, but now he'd left together with Ifa to... probably cause some chaos somewhere.

Not that Citlali minded the alone time with the Traveler's huge collection of books. Far from it, actually. Not that she'd say she wanted Ororon to leave, either, but she wasn't exactly unhappy now that he had.

Perhaps that made her a bad granny. Did it? Surely not, right?

She reached for the book closest to her as a distraction, reading through the blurb before deeming it boring and putting it back. Moments later, she was deep in concentration reading through summaries and prologues.

So when someone entered the library, she didn't immediately notice. Only when the other person reached for a book in her field of view did she notice she wasn't alone anymore. She flinched, embarrassingly.

"Oh!"

"Oh, no, sorry! Scaring you was far from my intention!"

"It's okay! I didn't get scared! Just surprised." Citlali pulled back and turned to look at the other person.

"I'm Xingqiu", the young man introduced himself, holding a hand out to her, "a big lover of books."

"Citlali", she introduced herself, shaking the offered hand, "I guess you could say I'm also a lover of books. Light novels, specifically."

A part of her was already screaming at her for being so direct about her tastes, expecting to be ridiculed for them, but Xingqiu smiled at her.

"How exciting!" he said, "for the most part, I read cultivation novels from Liyue. But I have read a few light novels from Inazuma as well."

"Oh? Really now?"

Before she even knew it, they were exchanging book suggestions. Xingqiu had taken out some paper and charcoal, and originally he'd offered to write some books down for her, but then she'd taken a look at the list, finding it completely unintelligible.

"If you were my grandson", she said, taking pen and paper away from the other, "I'd have you transcribe some story over and over until your handwriting gets better."

She let him read out the names he'd written down, then copied them in her own handwriting.

She played with the thought of writing her own suggestions to him herself, but since she assumed that he himself was able to read those scribbles he called words, she figured he could just write them down himself with her dictating the titles and authors.

They exchanged recommendations for a while, with each of them clearly showing their own interests in genre. Citlali tried to come up with some Natlanese books she could tell Xingqiu about, but soon she realized that most of those books were more like textbooks rather than novels.

At least she got quite a list of Liyuen novels from him, most of them with some lyrical title that gave away nothing about the plot. Like "Heaven's blessing" or "Small Mushroom", which both didn't give her any clue about the direction those books might go in. Well, she'd simply have to find out for herself then.

"I wish some of the things in these books actually existed", Xingqiu lamented with a sigh, "just imagine being able to fly around standing on the blade of your sword!"

Citlali didn't have a sword, but she had read about this trope and she certainly liked the idea as well.

"I know someone who flies on a gun", she said with a shrug, thinking of Chasca, "maybe it's possible with an Anemo vision. Or with a sword forged by using some sort of elemental energy."

But Xingqiu only sighed, "if only I hadn't asked almost every blacksmith in Liyue about it, only ever receiving the same feedback: not possible."

Afterwards, she felt a little bad about it, but in that moment Citlali just shrugged and asked: "what about those from other nations? I know someone who always says that making some new tool is impossible, but in the end, she manages to forge it anyway."

"Really?!" gods, she almost flinched from his sudden reaction, immediately chiding herself for it internally. So stupid of her, reacting so visibly. What was the other thinking about her now, huh?! But honestly, she probably didn't have to worry anyway, with Xingqiu seeming wholly focused on her suggestion.

"Who is it? Are they here tonight as well? Would you be so kind and introduce me to them?"

A sigh, then she lifted her hands to slow him down a little, "Her name's Xilonen, and she should be here tonight. And no, I won't. If she finds out I'm the reason for why she now has some extra work to do, I won't hear the end of it."

She scoffed, shaking her head, "I can give you a description and you can talk to her yourself, but please do me a favor and don't mention me."

"That's amazing already, thank you!"

Citlali sighed. Youths and their boundless energy and motivation somehow managed to overwhelm her time and time again. How could they be so optimistic?! She couldn't promise anything, and yet Xingqiu looked at her like she'd just given him one of those swords right here and now.

But what wouldn't she do to make a kid's day, huh? Very little, it seemed.

So she gave him a quick description of Xilonen, watching him rush off with her list of book suggestions in hand.

Flying swords, huh? Well, if he did get one, Xilonen better be ready to make her one as well.

Still, Citlali sent a small prayer to the Lord of the Night to go easy on her if Xilonen did end up sending her to the Night Kingdom in a bout of frustration. Just to be safe.

Notes:

bonus points for everyone who knows which books i used as inspiration here ^^

Chapter 10: Day 9: Ei & Nahida & Wanderer

Notes:

another one of my most favorite chapters :D

Wanderer didn't want to be here. Seriously, in the span of not even half an hour he'd already seen two of his former colleagues and three of their subordinates. Unbelievable!

Really, he was only here for the Traveler and for Nahida. The Traveler because he could actually tolerate them, and Nahida because she'd give him some incredibly childish punishment if he left so early.

So he'd resigned to his fate for now, sitting on the upper floor balcony's railing, feet dangling down as he watched the people downstairs. He'd found himself a nice spot. It was all the way at the back, and so there was no way someone could sneak up to him from behind. He had the stairs in his field of view, and most of the main hall downstairs.

Earlier he'd watched Nahida leave the house together with some other woman, but at the back of his mind he could still sense her presence nearby, so she was probably just outside somewhere, and hadn't left this teapot realm entirely.

For a while then, he'd watched his former colleagues. But then Childe had met Zhongli and he honestly had no interest in watching them talk about whatever for however long.

The Knave had sat with Mondstadt's cavalry captain for a while, with Wanderer greatly enjoying how some bits of intel from the past rattled through his mind, supplying small bits of info the Fatui had gathered about the man.

But then after a bit, Arlecchino had left again to join two of those subordinates of hers prepare... something. He didn't know what, and he didn't care much, either. So with both of them being busy with boring things, Wanderer had been forced to find someone new to find entertainment in.

For a bit, that had been Albedo. He'd talked to some young man from Liyue, then to Yae Miko of all people – Wanderer had looked away then, knowing exactly that she'd know if anyone was watching her – and finally Kaveh, too. They'd talked about art, apparently. Wanderer couldn't hear what anyone was saying from up here, but he saw Albedo drawing some geometrical shapes and showing them to Kaveh, so the assumption seemed logical enough to him

At one point, a woman from Liyue had even performed an opera for everyone, which had been met by heavy applause. Even from him, yes, he could easily admit that.

Over all, it was fine like this. He didn't have to interact with anyone, and yet he felt entertained enough just by seeing what everyone else was up to.

 

It probably would have gone on like this for the rest of the night if it wasn't for Nahida returning, immediately looking up to where he was sitting.

He sighed, deciding to spare her the trouble of walking upstairs by simply jumping down, feathering his fall with the use of his Anemo vision. Some people nearby fell silent in their conversations, staring at him, but then fortunately turned away again when they couldn't find anyone crying in pain.

The woman Nahida had left with – Fontaine's former Archon, he noted – was with her again, but they said their goodbyes now.

"I want to try something", Nahida said to him as soon as they were as alone as one could be in a crowded room.

"And what?", Wanderer crossed his arms, already dreading whatever plan she'd made for him.

"Ei is here tonight", Nahida said, an eyebrow raised at him, "I’d like for you two to meet."

His eyes widened, and he resolutely shook his head, "absolutely not. Forget it."

"Why not? She won't remember you, but you remember her. You have the advantage here."

"I told you what she did to me-..!" Wanderer couldn't believe it. Nahida was the God of Wisdom, damn it, she shouldn't be so stupid about this!

Maybe she realized that, too, since she frowned first, then sighed and shook her head. "Well, I won't force you. But this might just be your best chance of seeing for yourself the kind of person she is today. If that doesn't interest you, that's fine, but I thought maybe it does."

He felt his face twist into a grimace, and yet he found himself actually thinking about it. Did it interest him how his... his creator was doing nowadays?

Honestly hard to say. He had barely any memories of her anyway, never having had much of a chance to get to know her before she'd already discarded him.

But, then again, Nahida had slowly helped him work out the past, and... maybe he'd have to admit that he hadn't always had the full picture when he'd made his choices and judgments.

He felt a small hand on his own, almost flinching as it pulled him out of his thoughts.

"I'll go with you. I know her, I can just introduce you as someone I know."

"I don't even know what I'd talk to her about", he crossed his arms, staring off to the side, "I didn't erase myself from everyone's memories only to then reintroduce myself to her of all people."

"But do you want to try?" Nahida asked softly, "even just introducing yourself and then leaving?"

...

"Maybe."

"Alright!" she reached for his hand again, and he sighed as he allowed her to take it. Allowed her to lead him through the house in search of his-... his creator. He couldn't call her that other word right now.

Their search didn't take long. Ei stood in a room with a typically Inazuman flooring, the walls lined with shelves of various swords and other weapons. A training room of sorts, then. Some targets made of various materials stood off to the side as well, and Ei was currently taking a look at an elegant polearm displayed on the wall above a shelf for displaying daggers.

Wanderer could appreciate this warrior-side of the Traveler's being.

"Ei", Nahida spoke up after a moment, "I'd like to introduce someone to you."

"Hm?", Ei turned towards them, and for a moment, she and Wanderer just watched one another. He could feel her eyes moving over him just as his did with her, analyzing, assessing.

"Who is this, then?", the Electro Archon finally asked, her voice carefully distanced.

"This is Wanderer. Though some also call him Hat Guy." Nahida looked up at him, something questioning in her gaze.

He shook his head at her, and she nodded, refraining from also mentioning the name that the Traveler had given him. Instead she added towards Ei: “He’s from Inazuma, originally. That’s part of why I thought I’d introduce you.”

“And the other part?” Ei asked, a faint trace of curiosity in her otherwise calm and even tone of voice.

“You remind me of someone”, Wanderer said before Nahida could answer for him, “of my mother, in fact.”

For a long moment, they stood in silence. Ei looked at him, then shook her head and frowned.

“I can’t tell whether that is supposed to be a good or a bad thing”, she said in the end, still with that frown on her face, “and yet something tells me I ought to know.”

“It’s neither good nor bad. I never liked her much, but I also never knew her well.” Wanderer crossed his arms against his chest, knowing as he did that the gesture was as much distancing and defensive as it was self-soothing. He hated this. And yet, giving up on this opportunity now that the conversation had actually started… he’d hate it just as much.

“I don’t have children”, Ei answered after a while, slow and careful in her choice of words, she looked at Nahida first before seemingly deciding to just speak her mind, “I only have a puppet, the Raiden Shogun.”

“My mother saw me as a puppet”, the words tasted like poison on his tongue, “as a faulty one. A weak one. She gave up on me.”

From the corner of his eyes, he could see Nahida next to him, how she looked back and forth between mother and son, creator and creation. She didn’t say anything just yet, but he knew she’d have something to say sooner or later.

“I’ve created a prototype puppet in the past”, Ei mused softly, almost looking a little like she wasn’t fully paying attention to everything around her anymore, “It was… well, I suppose you might call it faulty. It wasn’t what I had expected, and yet I had no points of comparison by which to tell whether it was faulty or not. All I could see back then is that it… seemed unfit of the role I had intended for it. I don’t know what happened to it. It’s been a long time, I don’t remember anything other than its first day or two of existence.”

“You don’t remember what you did with it?” Nahida asked, soft and empathetic even as she already knew the answer. The true answer. The former answer.

Ei simply shook her head, “I think I hid it away. Much like a mother thinking herself unfit to care for a child, I suppose.”

For an awful second, Wanderer almost felt bad for her. Then he remembered his own side of the story, and back came the feelings of anger and pain. The abandonment. The betrayal.

“Did it know? This puppet? Did it know why you ‘hid it away’?”

Another long moment of silence, then a sigh from Ei, a shake of her head, “I suppose not. It felt so many emotions. It’s why I was overwhelmed with the entire situation. It almost seemed as though my own creation felt more than even I did. I was in a bad state of mind back then. It was too much. I figured, if I told all of this to the puppet, that would only cause it to feel, to suffer, even more than it already did.”

“Was it kindness, then?” Wanderer couldn’t bring himself to ask the question any louder than as a whisper, “Pity? You did it because you thought it was the right thing to do?”

He almost scoffed even before he could get a response, but the sad look in the Electro Archon’s eyes stopped him. “My-… my closest friend told me to completely get rid of it. Dismantle it. Kill it, I suppose. But I couldn’t. Taking it away to some other place seemed to me the… the gentlest option.”

“I’m sorry”, she added a long moment later, quieter now than before, “it must feel strange to you, Wanderer, hearing all this even as you are someone who has been on the other side of such a tale.”

“It is”, he replied, feeling a scratchiness in his throat that had nothing to do with disease or any other physical condition, “for the longest time, I despised my mother for what I thought she had done. It took… many years for me to figure out that she likely had never harbored any ill-will against me. Sadly, the realization came too late for me.”

“I’m sorry”, Ei repeated, and something about her tone made him believe it, “I know I cannot make up for what another did to you, but our stories seem similar enough for me to feel as though I am involved after all. As though I owe you the apology which I will likely never be able to give to that puppet of mine.”

What a mess. And yet he found himself bowing his head, just a little, just enough for the gesture to be discernible.

He didn’t thank her for it, didn’t intend to give any verbal answer at all. But, well, he’d forgotten about Nahida there.

“He means ‘thanks’”, she said, arms crossed in almost a mirrored version of his own pose, “When he’s silent like that, most often it means he doesn’t have anything mean to say.”

Wanderer scoffed at the Dendro Archon, but was caught off guard by a sudden chuckle from Ei, “I must say, it’s been a pleasure meeting you. I’d like to learn more about you, if I may. Not right now, but one day. We’ve never met, but I think I’d like to change that.”

Wanderer sighed, but nodded, “I guess. It wasn’t awful, talking like this.”

He heard Nahida release a sigh of relief, and he almost wanted to take back his words. She could be so much more of a schemer than she let on sometimes, it was almost scary. She didn’t say anything else to him, but he wasn’t surprised that, as soon as Ei had excused herself and left the room, she grabbed his hands to pull him down just enough for her to hug him.

“I’m sorry”, she whispered after a moment, “that, until now, you never got to meet her as the person she is today.”

“It’s fine”, he found himself saying, accepting the touch without returning it, “I met her now. Maybe she really isn’t so awful.”

Nahida just gave him a soft chuckle in return, tightening her hold on him by just a little. With a fond eye roll, he hugged her back this time.

Chapter 11: Day 10: Xilonen & Xingqiu

Notes:

this chapter is a shorter one, but I wanted the Citlali & Xingqiu chapter to have a conclusion ^^

After quite the nice conversation with a young man from Inazuma, with whom she had talked about his experience forging a sword for himself, Xilonen was in the mood for a nap. Not that the conversation had been bad, no. The opposite of that, actually. He’d given her a few insights into Inazuman techniques, which he’d called Isshin Art, and naturally she’d returned the favor by telling him of a few of her own experiences as well. Still, it had been a social interaction, and it was getting rather late at night. A nap would be nice.

As fate would have it, though, her wish wouldn't be granted. As usual.

Only that, this time, the person responsible was not Mavuika, surprisingly enough, but a young man politely introducing himself as "Xingqiu, of Liyue's Feiyun Commerce Guild." He'd even given her a little bow, which, honestly, had kind of caught her off guard.

But now she'd collected her senses again, standing with crossed arms as she waited for the guy to explain himself.

"It was Citlali who told me to approach you", he said, quickly following the short introduction up with further details: "we had been talking about a type of weapon that doesn’t exist yet, and according to her, you are the sort of person who might just be able to forge it."

“No.” Completely out of the question. Come on, she was here for a party, not for even more work! And she’d been so happy when Mavuika had only talked to her about trivial things today, naively assuming that that meant today was going to be an easy, relaxed day…

She didn’t give Xingqiu a moment to reply, shaking her head and crossing her arms, “Nope. Visit my workshop some other day, but I’m not here on official business.”

“Really, I can?” He smiled excitedly, nodding quickly, “Still, may I at least tell you about the idea first? If you say it is impossible now, there will be no need for further discussions.”

Such an honestly polite guy, ugh, she couldn't really be mad at someone like that. Was that a cultural difference between Natlan and Liyue or was that just this one guy? Xilonen rolled her eyes, but shrugged, “Keep it short, though. I’ll tell you if I can make it or not.”

“Amazing! Well, Citlali and I were talking about books when I told her about a magical object present in many Liyuen stories. It’s a type of sword that can carry a person through the air while they are standing on its blade!”

She groaned, “and I assume she mentioned Chasca then?”

“Chasca?” Xingqiu shook his head, frowning, “I don’t recall her saying that name, no.”

Another groan, “I forged her a giant gun she can fly on. But, then again, she has an anemo vision, so that’s just a completely different situation from yours.”

She couldn't get one whole day of rest, huh? Even worse, she was already starting to think of ways to make it work! Like going through a mental list of gadgets she’d made work in the past.

“So? What do you think?” Xingqiu spoke up softly, no trace of impatience in his voice or demeanor. Very unusual for a client, but she could hardly complain about that.

“I’ll have to think about it first, but…”, Xilonen shook her head, sighing, “make it an official commission and I’ll see what I can do. Later.”

She got another look of excitement, and an enthusiastic nod in return, “That sounds wonderful, thank you! I’ll plan a trip to Natlan as soon as I can!”

“But no promises just now, alright?”

“Yes, don’t worry. I have to assume that forging a new type of weapon can be even more daunting than it is to try reconstructing a long-forgotten style of bladework.”

Not exactly an analogy she would use, but as long as he wouldn’t complain if Xilonen really found no way of forging the sword he wanted, she’d be fine with that. “Then you can find me at the Children of Echoes, in the gorge of Tequemecan Valley. I have my workshop there.”

“I will, thank you. In that case, I won’t keep you any longer.” Again Xingqiu gave her a little bow, and again she wondered just how these people in Liyue raised their kids.

“Have a nice evening”, she found herself saying, giving the guy a confused little wave.

Well, whatever. Time for her nap.

Chapter 12: Day 11: Dahlia & Yae Miko

Notes:

this chapter was really just my excuse for writing about a couple other characters who didn't get their own ones XD

Dahlia had the time of his life. Just moments ago, that adventurer who always had such bad luck with his treasure chests almost fell down the entire flight of stairs. The only reason why he didn’t seriously injure himself is because someone else had been walking up the stairs at the same time and managed to catch him.

Oh, and then there was that Inazuman detective who kept looking around as though mentally connecting pins with a red thread between all the other guests. He almost looked a little insane, if Dahlia was being honest.

Then, of course, there was the great amusement that was watching his Archon try to hide from the cat hairs all around them. Unsuccessfully, of course. He kept sneezing so badly that Dahlia almost worried for him. Almost.

Also very entertaining was the argument between the chef from Liyue and the chef from Fontaine. A goodhearted argument, as far as he could tell, with neither of them actually mad at the other. They’d made a competition out of watching the buffet to see whose dishes were emptied the quickest.

 

Right in this moment, nothing was happening. Slightly disappointing, but not too unbearable. Looking for a new story to watch unfold was almost as interesting as those stories themselves were.

He stood leaned against a pillar, a bag of popcorn in hand, a nice view of the main room in front of him. A nice view, too, of the woman who suddenly approached him. She had light pink hair and ears that immediately gave away her inhuman nature. Inazuman clothes, so likely some type of youkai. Interesting.

“What are you doing here, watching all those other people? You don’t seem much like the introverted sort.”

Dahlia huffed bemusedly, “I’m simply a fan of good stories. What better source for those than real life?”

The woman chuckled, moving to stand next to him. “Yae Miko”, she introduced herself after a moment, looking at him expectantly.

“Dahlia. Deacon of the Church of Favonius and Herald of Barbatos.”

“Oh?”, Yae Miko grinned at him, “then we are not so different, you and I. I’m the Guuji of the Grand Narukami Shrine, the… familiar of the Electro Archon, you could say.”

Even more interesting, then. Dahlia grinned right back, then turned towards the room again, nodding at the other people.

“Anything interesting I might have missed?” he asked, throwing a piece of popcorn into his mouth.

“Well…”, Yae Miko nodded over to a tall, somewhat bulky guy with horns on his head and apparently not enough mora for a shirt, “see that one? Highly allergic to beans. Guess what he accidentally ate earlier.”

Dahlia grinned, not even bothering with such an easy guess.

“Or that one”, she pointed at a man dressed almost entirely in black, a lantern on his hip, “earlier, I saw him take an entire plate of food and dumping it into that lantern of his.”

“What a waste”, he commented with a frown, even as the corners of his lips once more twitched upwards, “Anything else?”

The woman hummed, looking around for a moment before nodding at two women, most likely both from Fontaine, one with long, curly blond hair and a yellow-black dress, the other with darker hair, a pointy hat, and a long, asymmetrical cape.

“What about them?” Dahlia asked, looking at the two women who currently sat side by side at the long table, trying small bits of food off of each others’ plates.

“Well,” Yae Miko started, already chuckling before she’d even began with the story itself, “I’m not saying that they have something going on, but I did see them both enter the bathroom together earlier, and when they came out again, somehow both had the same color lipstick, which for some mysterious reason seemed the exact shade one would get by mixing the two types they’d worn before.”

He almost choked on his popcorn with how suddenly a chuckle bubbled up his throat. It wasn't even the funniest story he’d witnessed or heard today, but it certainly qualified as the cutest so far.

“What about you”, the other asked him then, and so he recounted everything he’d seen earlier.

 

He was currently in the middle of the story where Mika had drawn a map of Dragonspine from memory just like, all that so he could give it to some woman from Natlan whose clothes looked like she’d already freeze to death before even entering Dragonspine itself.

He was interrupted, though, when a woman who Dahlia quickly identified as the Electro Archon approached them. She looked like she’d only wanted to greet Yae Miko in passing, as she already looked towards some other person off to the side, but Yae Miko didn’t accept that. No, Dahlia got to watch as she grabbed the Archon by the wrist and pulled her against her, the women almost standing chest to chest.

For a split second, he wondered if he should look away. Then again, it wasn’t his fault they stood right in front of him. So he hid his grin with his hand as he snacked on his popcorn, watching as Yae Miko looped her arms around the Archon's waist, nuzzling against her like a cat. Or whichever animal she was actually related to.

For a couple seconds, the Raiden Shogun looked down at the other woman with a surprised look, then she gave a quiet chuckle, shaking her head, “Oh, Miko…” There was an undeniable fondness in her voice, and now Dahlia definitely felt like a third wheel in this situation. A very entertained third wheel, though, so he wouldn’t complain.

He couldn’t hear Yae Miko’s whispered reply, but he saw the reaction it caused: a small smile, a kiss to her forehead, and a soft murmur that sounded something like “back home, yes.”

“Don’t make me wait for too long, though” replied Yae Miko, louder again this time, “all those people flirting so openly here and yet you hide from me, all shy and withdrawn.”

Oh, Dahlia definitely had to ask Venti about this some other time. Either his own Archon was oblivious of what was going on between those two women, or he’d done Dahlia a great injustice by not telling him about it sooner.

Sadly, the story unfolding in front of him came to a close not long after, with Yae Miko sighing as she pulled back, making it seem like it caused her physical pain. Much to the soft amusement of her partner. The Raiden Shogun left, then, going to talk to whoever it was she’d wanted to talk to in the first place.

“Well”, Dahlia said with a snicker once the woman stood next to him again, “seems the best stories are still the ones unfolding right under your nose.”

He got an eye roll and a grin in return, then a nudge of Yae Miko’s shoulder against his own, “You’re welcome.”

Chapter 13: Day 12: Venti x Xiao

Notes:

another fave of mine to kinda celebrate that we're already halfway through with the advent calendar ^^

Xiao had said his greetings to the Traveler already, had even sat with them for a moment as they’d presented him with a plate of almond tofu. He saw no point in staying any longer, not with all those people around that could be affected by his karmic debt.

And yet, as he left the house to stand in the outside area of the Serenitea Pot, he hesitated. For a second, he didn’t understand why, but a playful breeze playing with his hair quickly gave it away. That, and the playful call of his name carried over to him by the wind. Without thinking twice, he followed the call back to its source, materializing out of thin air at what seemed to be the top of a small mountain, far from the house.

Apart from what light the stars and the moon sent down from the artificial sky, it was dark here. All there was on this small hilltop plateau was a picnic blanket and the man that had called him here. Starlight suited him, Xiao noticed silently, even as the faint light showed barely more than Barbatos’ silhouette. Perhaps it was because the almost-darkness only gave him the chance to shine on his own, the teal tips of his hair emitting a faint glow the color of his elemental domain, as did the fake vision at his hip and the gems inlaid in his clothes.

“Barbatos”, he greeted quietly, almost afraid to disturb the blissful silence up here.

The other had no such worries. “Xiao!” he called out cheerfully “oh, come on, you know that I’m just Venti the bard nowadays! Why is it that, each time we meet, you seem to have forgotten about only this little detail since our last conversation, hm?”

“I don’t forget”, he replied, almost automatically, “I’m being polite, that’s all.”

A chuckle was his only reply, Barbatos… Venti standing up, moving closer until they were almost touching. “You don’t need to be polite right now, silly Adeptus”, he murmured, “you don’t think I called you here for any reason other than to relax, do you?”

He didn’t even get to defend himself, to try and deny the obvious truth in the other’s words. Venti had already moved to stand before him, now carefully watching Xiao’s expression. “May I hold your hands?” he asked quietly, a small whisper that must have been carried to his ears by the wind itself, as otherwise it would have been too quiet to hear even at this short distance.

Xiao nodded. Of course he did. He’d slowly been learning to accept closeness from the few people he deemed could take it. The few people who wouldn’t be tainted by his karma even when actually touching him. Morax. The Traveler. And of course Venti.

Still, he froze when Venti took his hands, lacing their fingers together. He let himself be pulled down onto the picnic blanket, awkwardly kneeling down at first before shifting to at least try to get comfortable. Venti, letting go of his right hand, sat down to his left, his legs crossed. He looked as comfortable as ever, and Xiao envied him for it. Envied how the other always seemed like nothing could shake him, like nothing could bother him, when Xiao himself didn’t know anything other than tension and vigilance.

He tightened his grip on Venti’s hand, and earned a small chuckle for it.

“Right here”, Venti said, voice as gentle as his thumb that brushed over the back of Xiao’s hand.

“I know”, Xiao heard himself say, his mind focusing more on the other man’s presence than on the words that left his own mouth, “don’t leave.”

“I won’t.”

The fact that there was no hint of frustration in Venti’s voice was like a warm blanket around Xiao’s back, and he sighed in soft relief. With his right hand, he reached up to remove the spiked piece of shoulder armor on his left side, and moments later, Venti’s head rested there instead, his breath tickling Xiao’s skin as he let out a soft little chuckle.

“There’s another reason I called you here”, he admitted after a while, still softly, but also with a small hint of cheeky amusement.

Xiao raised an eyebrow as he looked towards the man resting against his side, “you mean because Zhongli asked you to?”

“Nah”, came the cheerful reply, “and he didn’t ask me to. He asked me if I planned to, true, but at that point I’d already made said plan. No, no, I mean something else. But it’s something nice, I promise.”

Xiao sighed. As much as he appreciated it that Morax still looked out for him, it really wasn’t as necessary as he made it seem sometimes. Especially when it involved roping Venti into his plans.

For now, though, he simply nodded and let his head fall to the side to rest against Venti’s.

 

Venti had let go of his hand at one point, and Xiao hated to admit that he’d actually whined at the loss of contact. The sound had earned him a kiss to the cheek, though, so he’d grudgingly admit that the mortification was a fair price to pay for such sweetness.

Now, Venti was playing his lyre, the notes tugging on Xiao’s heartstrings much like Venti’s fingers did with the strings of the instrument itself. He’d closed his eyes at some point, his head now resting on Venti’s shoulder in what was probably an objectively nice mirror picture to how they’d sat earlier. To replace the feeling of Venti’s hand in his, he’d wrapped his left arm around Venti’s back, with his hand at the other man’s hip, his fingertips mindlessly fiddling with the vision attached there, brushing over the cool glass, the ridges in the metal casing.

He listened to the soft notes of the music when suddenly there was the sound of an explosion somewhere in the distance. He shot up to his feet in a second, polearm already summoned into his palm before he even opened his eyes.

...only to see the brightly colored spots in the sky, remnants of the firework that had just exploded near the house. He shuddered, nerves unwilling to die down just yet, muscles unable to relax this easily.

“Hey, Xiao, shh, everything is fine”, Venti stood behind him just a moment later, his arms wrapped around Xiao’s middle, his chin on his shoulder, “the firework is why I wanted you to come.”

“You knew?” his voice came out a little scratchy, but he already felt himself relax thanks to Venti’s presence.

“Mhm. I’m sorry. I should have warned you that my surprise involves a sudden, loud noise like that.”

Another firework exploded in the distance, and this time Xiao could see all of it, not just the aftermath. A green explosion first, then smaller, yellow sparkles as the smaller parts exploded a second time. With a soft, relieved sigh, Xiao allowed his hand to relax, the polearm dematerializing before it could hit the ground.

He placed his hand on top of Venti’s instead, enjoying the closeness even as it was still much more than he was used to, his entire back covered by Venti’s chest. Perhaps he’d have enjoyed it even more if he could feel heat and coldness the way mortals did. The body against his was warm, after all.

More fireworks exploded, now simultaneously. Perhaps those first two had been tests of sorts, and the actual show began only now. Whatever the reason, the difference made it look quite impressive now that there was always at least one explosion happening, the sky not darkening for even a second. It wasn’t as impressive as the firework shows for Lantern Rite, but naturally that was no fair comparison to a private event like this, where there were no entire cities invited.

Venti chuckled in surprise when suddenly the fireworks started to get a little more intricate, now actually forming patterns in the sky instead of simply exploding however they wanted. Even Xiao couldn’t hide his pleasant surprise when they started showing off the elemental symbols, with Xiao quickly realizing that their order of appearance was exactly the order in which the Traveler had visited their respective nations.

The entire thing ended with a one big bang, the last firework a huge ball of golden stars so big they almost managed to hit the ground before going out. Venti, with his arms still around Xiao’s middle, clapped his hands, chuckling quietly against his ear. Naturally they both knew that nobody would hear his applause, and still the enthusiasm infected Xiao just enough to give a few soft claps of his own, even if they were a little halfhearted. Venti seemed to enjoy them regardless, given the tightening of his arms around him, and that was all that counted.

 

Only when the smoke started to disperse did they part, though only so that Venti could turn Xiao around to face him. Before Xiao knew it, Venti’s hands reached up to his face, gently caressing his cheeks before he leaned in to plant a soft little kiss to his lips.

If there had been any tension left in Xiao’s body, it would have disappeared now for sure. As it were, though, there was no tension left to undo, so all Xiao could do was close his eyes yet again, leaning in to prolong the kiss when Venti tried to pull back again. A smile against his lips was his reward, as well as a hand going to the back of his head, playing with a few strands of his hair.

“Thanks”, he whispered, reaching to bundle up Venti’s cape in his hands, holding and keeping him close, “for the surprise. For your presence.”

He felt like drunk from all this physical touch, a warmth spreading all throughout his body, his fingertips tingling with almost reverent excitement. He was holding the wind in his arms, and the wind chose to stay with him. How could he not find it intoxicating? A god was kissing him, and every touch of his lips against Xiao’s was like a puff of air forcing aside a bit of the dark, heavy mist in his soul. He wanted nothing more than to chase after it. Him.

“Don’t thank me”, whispered Venti in reply, sounding as content as Xiao felt, “the light shining in your eyes right now is thanks enough.”

The only mirror he had was the reflection in Venti’s own eyes right in front of him, but when he looked in them, any thought of searching for some sort of light was lost, as all he could do was shut his own, then lean back in for another kiss.

How fitting, he thought, allowing himself such freedom all while holding its god in his arms.

Chapter 14: Day 13: Freminet & Furina

Freminet was searching for a distraction.

He’d been helping Lyney and Lynette prepare their show, and even though he knew that he wouldn’t be doing much later on, it was still somewhat daunting to think about. All those people, and they’d all be invited to watch. So many eyes on them, he shivered just at the thought alone.

He found himself a nice little corner, though. A living room of sorts, with sofas and armchairs, a fireplace and what looked like an entire palace for cats to play in. Sadly, none of the inhabitants were there at the moment, probably too busy being pet and fed by all the other guests.

Well, or so he thought. He’d just sat down on one of the armchairs, having decided to tinker on Pers a bit to pass the time, when one of the little felines hopped onto his lap, purring almost immediately, even before he slowly reached out to brush over its soft fur.

“Are you also not a fan of large groups of people?” he asked, not expecting an answer. Naturally, he didn’t get any, but the cat bumped its head against his palm, silently demanding more attention. So he put Pers away again, and he was so focused on the cat in his lap that he almost didn’t notice someone enter the room. It was the cat who raised its head before he himself reacted, but a gentle scratch behind its ear convinced it to lie down again.

 

Still, now Freminet was curious as well. He turned towards the door, then almost choked on his own spit when he saw that the people who had just entered the room were Lady Furina and the Knave, with the latter actually smiling in response to whatever they’d been talking about.

Of course Freminet knew that their Father wanted to mend her relationship with the former ruler of Fontaine, that she’d even asked him and his siblings for advice on things they knew Lady Furina liked apart from sweets. But still, seeing this plan in action was... something entirely different.

He wasn’t stupid enough to think that he’d gone unnoticed, and he also wasn’t stupid enough to try to act as though he wasn’t listening in. Father had noticed him here, and if she didn’t think he should hear their conversation, she would have sent him away by now. Still, he focused on the cat first, seeing how impatient it got with how little attention it’d been receiving those last few moments.

“That is indeed a very interesting idea!” he could hear Lady Furina say, could see from the corner of his eyes how they sat on a sofa opposite of him, a distance between them that was neither impolitely narrow, nor impolitely large. They’d both gotten cups of tea from somewhere, and between them lay a book of some sorts.

Furina patted said book with a nod, going on with: “I have never before performed in a Snezhnayan opera, and I don’t think any have been shown in Fontaine before, but this story will surely be a great success if performed in the Opera Epiclese!”

A script for an opera, then. Lynette had made that suggestion, if he remembered correctly. She’d said that maybe Father could find some story Lady Furina would enjoy, one she hadn’t heard of before. Naturally, one from Snezhnaya was perfect for that, on top of the inherent suggestion of a cultural, international cooperation.

“Then I will gift this to you.” his Father replied, nodding to herself, “Do with it as you wish, I have made sure that the rights to it are yours.” She stood then, giving a polite little bow to Lady Furina, then a quick nod in his direction. He lowered his head on instinct alone, and by the time he’d collected himself, the Knave was already gone.

 

“Hey”, Lady Furina suddenly called out, and both he and the cat in his lap flinched, “Freminet, right?”

He tried to keep the cat in his lap, but even as he did, he already knew he would fail. So all he could do was sigh and watch it run off, before turning back to Lady Furina, who was still waiting for his reply.

“Yes, Lady Furina”, he muttered, looking off to the side to avoid eye contact.

“No, no, just Furina nowadays. Come here, I want to hear your opinion on this.”

“My opinion?”, he gulped but stood to walk over and sit down where Father had sat just moments ago. He looked at the book when Furina gestured at it, reading the title page.

“Well? Do you know it? I was told that it is quite well-known in Snezhnaya, and, well…”

He gave a small nod, staring at the book instead of the person in front of him, “It is. I’ve seen a children’s book version of it in a bookshop before. It’s quite popular, but I’ve never heard of an opera version before.”

Faintly he could see Furina nod in reply, then she took the book to store it away for now. “Great! Then I will see what I can do with it.”

Freminet didn’t know what else to do other than nod, and he could feel how his hands clenched around each other in his lap as they tried hard not to give in to instinct and quickly put on his helmet.

“Anyways”, Furina continued after a while, and he exhaled a soft sigh of relief when she did, “I’m sure you’re not allowed to tell me, but I need to ask either way: what’s her plan?”

“H-her plan? I- I don’t-…” Freminet really, really wanted to leave. Sure, Father hadn’t called this a confidential mission, but she often only told them when a mission wasn’t confidential, having them assume that any other was, by default.

Fortunately, Furina sighed, but accepted that non-answer. “Too bad. She just seems so different nowadays. It’s hard not to be suspicious.”

He nodded a little, understanding well what she meant, “Father did what she had to do to succeed in her mission. Now that it’s done, she will naturally act differently. She’s really good at that.”

He pressed his lips together, honestly unsure if that wasn’t already too much. Still, he couldn’t stop himself from adding a soft “Father isn’t all that bad in comparison to some of the other Harbingers, at least not in her free time.” Surely if she was going to be angry at him now, he could at least defend himself by saying he’d tried to help her.

“You really think so? She’s scary!”

“You didn’t meet her predecessor”, he said quietly, wincing at the memory alone, “else you’d know what I mean.” He still couldn't meet her eyes, but he did manage to catch a glimpse of her expression. Curious. A little worried. Mostly doubtful.

“What were they like?” Furina asked, shifting to face him by sitting a little more sideways.

“She was scary.” Freminet deliberately used Furina's words here, “Father can be merciless, but she isn’t cruel, not to us at least. Her predecessor… was. To us. To her, too. The House was different back then. More… lethal. But if you want to know more about that, you’ll have to ask Father, not me. Father is friendly in comparison to her.”

He could see Furina's frown, her doubt, but she surprised him when she gave a small nod in reply, “I think I’ll believe you for now. You don’t seem like the type who would lie about that sort of thing.”

He could only lower his head, murmuring a soft: “Good to hear. Father really does want to make up for how bad things are between you and her, so much I will say.”

He received a disbelieving chuckle in reply, but then Furina sighed, leaning back against the cushions of the couch, “I will see about that. For now, I don’t want to think about it anymore.”

A short pause, then: “You’re the one with the little robot, right? The Knave mentioned it once when she saw me with Surintendante Chevalmarin.” She summoned a Hydro seahorse as she mentioned that name, showing it off to him.

He smiled at the little being, nodding in response to her question, “Pers, yes.” He took out the little penguin, showing it off to Furina in turn.

His smile widened when she asked him about Pers, when she seemed genuinely interested in “Tales of a Snow-Winged Goose”, when she listened to his explanations without interrupting him. And he smiled when she told him about her Salon Solitaire, showing off each of its members.

He hadn’t expected something like this when he’d seen Furina with the Knave earlier, but now he was so captured by their exchange of stories that he even forgot all about the nervousness he’d originally wanted to escape from.

Notes:

"ahh Arlecchino is so scary" vs. "she kinda is, but not if you take Crucabena for comparison"

Chapter 15: Day 14: Albedo x Kaeya

Albedo felt quite at ease at the long table, listening to the conversations around him. Perhaps it was the scientist’s mind that made him curious, or perhaps it was the curiosity of someone inhuman witnessing human behavior. Regardless of which one it was, he enjoyed satisfying his desire for knowledge.

Most of the conversations were objectively boring. Which made sense, given that most of the conversations were between people who had never met before now. Naturally, they would revolve around getting to know the other, about finding out whether the other might be someone one could get along with.

He sketched as he listened. His surroundings, at first, then a few closeups of the decor, and a couple sketches of Sebas, as well. And, of course, a small version of his favorite sketch: the three-stroked-Kaeya. It even had a nice story of how it came to be his favorite.

He’d drawn it on an official document once, purely out of boredom during a meeting. It’d been a document meant for the Cavalry Captain, and naturally Kaeya had recognized himself and had spoken up about it the next time they’d met. Albedo remembered feeling worry that Kaeya might see the simple sketch as an insult of sorts, but all he’d said was “so you were thinking about me even during that meeting?” in that sly tone of his, which really was more like him than indignation would have been.

During the next meeting, he’d done it on purpose, wanting to see which reaction it would get him this time. All out of a scientific desire, of course. At first he’d assumed that there was no reaction, since Kaeya never brought it up. But then one day he’d visited Kaeya’s office for some reason he already forgot about, and there the sketch sat, cut out of the document, framed, on his office desk. “If you can’t keep me out of your head”, Kaeya had said back then, smirking “then it’s only fair if the same goes for me, too.”

So, yes, it was his favorite sketch, not just because of who it depicted.

 

In any case, he was sketching it yet again, the strokes so familiar by now that he could replicate them perfectly even while unconscious. He just finished drawing the eyepatch string when from behind him a hand emerged, covering his right eye. Kaeya, of course, as though called to him by the sketch itself.

“If you’re this bored”, he said quietly, voice not quite low enough to qualify as a whisper, but too low to be normal speak, “I have an idea for something fun we could do.”

Albedo raised an eyebrow, but he did let Kaeya pull his chair back so he could get up, putting away his drawing equipment for now. “Just what did you have in mind, exactly?”

“We won’t insult the Traveler’s hospitality, don’t worry”, Kaeya grinned, grabbing his right hand so his uncovered eye was on Albedo’s side.

 

Upstairs, Kaeya showed him… a table with Genius Invocation TCG cards.

“You know”, Albedo said as he sat down, looking through the cards between them, “I’m almost disappointed.”

Kaeya grinned as he sat down on the other side of the small, round table, “what, you mean you actually thought I had something-… uncouth in mind?” He raised a hand to his heart, commenting his own words with a shocked gasp.

“I’m afraid quite many people would.” Albedo retorted, setting up the game for them.

“Too bad for them, then, as I will have to disappoint them.”

With a chuckle and an eye roll, Albedo started the game. They didn’t talk much as they played. Albedo either calculated his moves, or watched Kaeya do the same. Sometimes he leaned off to the side to glance down the railing into the main room to see if anything interesting was going on. And to keep an eye on Klee, who was playing with a few other kids. Fortunately, he could always be more or less relieved so long as he didn’t smell any smoke.

 

Kaeya lost with dignity and a grin, “Any wishes?”

“Wishes?”

“You won”, that playful little grin remained on Kaeya’s lips as he spoke, “now you got a wish. Since it would apparently be too boring for you otherwise.”

It was the tone of his voice that made Albedo genuinely think about it. Kaeya often spoke sly, cocky words, nonchalance surrounding him like expensive perfume. But Albedo had found out that, most of the time, he was wholly unprepared for someone actually responding in kind. And right now, he knew that it was one such situation.

So Albedo leaned back in his chair, a carefully curated air of comfortable confidence around him. “Then”, he said slowly, allowing but the tiniest smile onto his face, “what if I wished for you to sit me down on this railing and kiss me senseless? Just as… a small experiment to see if anyone would even look up and see us?”

Almost immediately, the faint embarrassment he felt at his own suggestion was made up for by an adorable blush on Kaeya’s cheeks. “I-”, he started, hesitated, then crossed his arms in something dangerously close to a pout, “well, if that’s your wish, then I-”

“Not necessary”, Albedo released him from his awkwardness with a soft chuckle and a shake of his head, only to then quickly change his mind again and add a playful “I can wait until later. When we’re back home. And alone.”

He knew, deep down, that he deserved it when Kaeya threw a handful of cards at him.

Notes:

I will forever be a believer of the theory that Kaeya is only that nonchalant until someone flirts back at him

Also im pretty sure that this is the first chapter that I actually had to change a little because of the latest update? Because I had to add a mention of Sebas

Chapter 16: Day 15: Klee & Skirk

Notes:

i havent played Klee's Hexerei quest so this might not be canon compliant anymore idk

As embarrassing as it sounded, Skirk was hiding in a bush.

She'd received the Traveler's invitation with a mixture of confusion and surprise, not sure whether to assume a prank or a trap. But no, it'd turned out to be a genuine invitation.

Naturally, she didn't decline, but still the idea of showing herself to all of the Traveler's friends was... not a good one. So, now that she was there, she didn't exactly know what to do with herself. She didn't want to go inside, where most people were, but staying outside proved to be even more boring than waiting for prey to lower its guard while hunting.

She could just leave behind a small gift and then disappear again, but that also seemed a bit boring somehow. She even had something fitting with her, a dark blue, somewhat flat gem that she'd found in the belly of one of the beasts she'd killed. It would make for quite a nice gift, in her opinion, the gem's edges being sharp enough to cut through skin and flesh. It would make for a nice spear-tip, or a very small dagger.

She was lost in thought for a moment, and since it was already late in the evening, it was quite dark, but even so she should have noticed the approach of another person without flinching in surprise. And yet, that's what happened when, as if out of thin air, a little girl suddenly stood in front of her, pushing some branches aside between them.

"Hello, miss. Why are you in a bush?"

"Because I'm..." she didn't even know what she was going to say before she opened her mouth, but fortunately the lie came naturally once she spoke, "...playing a game."

"Hide and seek?!"

The girl's excitement was adorable. So much so that Skirk almost didn't recognize her for who she was. Or rather, who she so obviously resembled. Still, Skirk knew enough about children to know that asking the girl for her name might just cause her to close off instead of answering.

So for now she focused on the question she'd been asked instead: "actually, I'm playing a completely new game. You likely wouldn't know it."

 

It was an obvious bait, but the girl took it without hesitation, "Oh? What's it about?"

"It's about luring little kids into their doom!" Skirk said, suddenly standing up, lifting her arms to tower over the girl even further.

The kid screeched, tumbling backwards a few steps before seemingly remembering about her vision, throwing a ball of fire in Skirk's direction, which she extinguished with a small stream of her own abyssal energy.

"I was joking", she said then, holding up her hands before her chest in a gesture of surrender, "but I could have been genuinely dangerous to you. You should be more careful."

The girl stared at her with wide eyes, not yet relaxing, not yet lowering her guard. Good.

"I'm Skirk", she introduced herself as a gesture of... of what? Goodwill? Trustworthiness? Politeness, maybe.

The girl hesitated a moment longer, then slowly relaxed a little.

"I'm Klee." she said then, a small pout on her face, "but I'm only telling you to be nice, okay?! And because the Traveler wrote that they'd only invited friends here today, so testing me like this was really mean!"

...Not entirely wrong, no. Skirk didn't care much about coming off as mean. But still, she could see how Klee – she'd been right, the girl in front of her really was Alice's daughter – would keep her guard down in a situation like this.

"Klee? Like, as in Alice's-daughter-Klee?"

She couldn't stop herself. She was pretty sure about her guess already, but she wanted the confirmation. And how easier to get it than by a little manipulation, a bit of playing dumb?

It worked, of course.

"You know my mom!" Klee was excited, no trace left of the girl who'd attacked her in self-defense just moments ago.

"I do. Haven't met her in a while, though."

"Aw", Klee sighed, pouting again, "me neither."

"Well", Skirk quickly changed the topic before the silence could get strange, "in any case, you're right. Testing you like this was mean. But you reacted well enough, so at least you can say you passed."

“I did?”, that cheered her up almost immediately, “Yay! The Knights almost never give me any tests I can pass that easily.”

 

Skirk stepped out of the bush, sitting down on the floor right in front of it instead. The grass was cool, but dry, a little itchy. She didn’t mind the sensations, though, the small reminder of the sharpness of her senses. Every twitch of a blade of grass could just as well be the tip of a weapon, something she wouldn’t dare wish to miss.

Klee seemed to have no such reservations. She just plopped down opposite of her, legs crossed as she looked up at Skirk with wide eyes, “Are you also a knight? Is that why you tested me? And why you know my mom?”

“I’m no knight.” Skirk shook her head, raising a finger for each question questions as she answered them one by one, “I tested you because the situation offered a good occasion for it. I know your mom because of what I actually do. I hunt monsters.”

That should suffice, no? Honestly, her own master probably wouldn't even give her these many answers. Not without her having to work for them first.

Of course, Skirk was once again reminded that Teyvat’s children for the most part had an upbringing entirely different to her own. Instead of accepting her answers as she gave them, Klee shook her head and demanded more details, “You hunt monsters? What kind of monsters? Do you have a boss? Do they also put you in solitary confinement if you accidentally blow up something during a fight?”

Blinking very, very slowly at that last part, Skirk gave Klee a very long look. She almost didn’t want to keep answering, already fearing that no matter what she said, it would only prompt further questions.

But the girl looked up at her like a student willing to learn, and Skirk relented.

“All sorts of monsters, but mostly the ones other people would be unable to deal with. I don’t have a boss, but I had a teacher once. Now, though, he claims he can’t teach me any more than I already know, so I’m on my own.” she suppressed the instinct of pressing her palm to her forehead, adding: “I do not get put into solitary confinement.”

“That’s so unfair”, Klee whined, her pout returning, “I don’t even have to do anything bad and I already get put into solitary confinement. What if I joined you instead of the Knights, huh? I can kill monsters too!”

“Not the type I hunt.” She had no idea why she was even entertaining her idea, “you’re too weak.”

“I killed a Primo Geovishap all on my own!”

That… didn’t even come close to the level of strength her usual targets had, but… Skirk couldn’t keep the bewildered look out of her face entirely. Seemed like she really shouldn’t underestimate the girl.

“Well, that’s… good. Just not good enough. But if you want to prove yourself, how about another test?”

 

Naturally, Klee accepted that challenge. They went a bit further away from the house, then Skirk summoned some targets with her abyssal energy, telling Klee to defeat them.

The girl did well at first. She had good control over her vision, easily manipulating the Pyro energy in forms of little bombs and bursts of fire. She shot down the targets closest to her with ease, but the ones further away gave her some difficulties. She didn’t have great aim at further distances, and when Skirk commanded her targets to attack back, she wasn’t nimble enough to dodge and attack at the same time, and was therefore unable to come closer.

A few attacks hit her, with Skirk deliberately weakening the blows each time so that they wouldn't actually injure Klee. She still winced each time, and her frustration only made her attacks and her dodging even sloppier.

Finally, Skirk couldn't watch any longer, and with a sigh, she dispersed all the remaining targets, catching the last of Klee’s bombs in a ball of abyssal power to capture the energy released by its explosion.

Klee sat back on the ground with a frustrated huff, crossing her arms over her chest. Her hair stuck to her face, and her arms and legs were shaking a little. Nothing in comparison to how Skirk had looked after every single training session with her master, but she she had to assume that Klee wasn’t exactly used to feeling like this.

So she sat down next to her, patting her shoulder, “you still did well, alright? There’s still so much room for improvement, and with time you will get stronger for sure.” She didn’t know where the words came from. Not from her master, that much she knew with certainty. From her parents? Perhaps, yes. From some sort of deep, suppressed desires of what she had once wanted to hear? Even more likely.

“Your handling of your vision is amazing for someone your age. Especially taking into account the fact that you even have a vision already”, she continued after a moment, “You’re missing some range, though, and you take too much time preparing your attacks.”

“I know”, Klee whispered in reply, the disappointment clear not just in her voice but also in her entire body language, in the heaviness of her eyelids, the tension of her arms around her torso, the lowering of her head.

“Train some more, yeah?” Skirk finally said, trying her best to sound encouraging rather than dismissive, “and when you want to challenge me again, ask your mom and she’ll find a way to contact me.”

A nod, but Klee still didn’t cheer up.

Skirk sighed heavily, again patting the girl’s shoulder, “I mean it. You’ll get better if you train hard.”

Still nothing.

Well, if consoling her didn’t help, maybe a bit of bribing would. She took out the gem she’d found, holding it up so the light falling through the windows of the house hit it and broke into all the colors of the rainbow.

“Here”, she said then, noticing with a smile that Klee lifted her head to look up at her, “for you. As encouragement. Next time, if you’re better than you were today, you’ll get something else.”

She carefully handed Klee the sharp gem, placing it in her palm as she showed her the sharp edges she had to be wary of.

“Thank you!”, Klee said, voice muted in awe even as it was full of excitement. She kept her palm open so she wouldn't cut herself, staring down at the gem.

“If you know a skilled craftsman, maybe they can make you some sort of weapon out of it”, Skirk explained softly, smiling in spite of herself at the look of wonder in the little girl’s face, “or you can just keep it as a pretty trinket.”

“Can it be a knife?”, Klee asked, grabbing the gem with her fingers to slash it through the air in front of her.

“Sure. It would make for a nice dagger, if you ask me. It would be too short for me, but for you it would work perfectly.”

Klee nodded excitedly, placing the gem on the ground before taking off her backpack. A moment later, she pulled out a wooden box. She opened it, shook out the pieces of hard candy that had been stored inside, then placed the gem in it instead. With a grin, she held out one of the candies in Skirk’s direction.

“Want one?” she asked, “it’s honey candy with some herbs in it. My big brother made them himself, the recipe is from his assistant!”

Skirk wasn’t one for candies usually. Too much sugar with nothing else of value. Still, she took it. Something about the way Klee looked at her, wide-eyed, cheerful yet again, almost forced her to.

“Thanks.”

Klee beamed. “You’re welcome!”

The candy tasted sweet, slightly fresh thanks to the herbs. It was nice. Really nice.
When Klee went to throw the rest back into her backpack, Skirk didn’t complain when she placed a handful of them on Skirk’s thigh instead. She just chuckled softly, storing them away for darker times.

Chapter 17: Day 16: Nilou & Shenhe

Shenhe was enjoying herself so far. It was a fairly big event, but the mood was great and fairly relaxed. Yun Jin had performed another opera earlier, one that Shenhe hadn't heard before, and there were a few other performances, too, all of which she made sure to follow closely. She wouldn't get an opportunity like this very often, to be surrounded by so many aspects of different human cultures.

Liyue opera, various instrumental numbers, Mondstadt's church hymns dedicated to Barbatos. There was a bit of everything. Even a magic show had been announced for later today, which she already looked forward to.

Shenhe knew quite well how important restraint was for her, for her well-being and for the safety of those around her. The red ropes were as much a tool as a reminder of that fact. But she'd talked about this with Cloud Retainer, and they'd both agreed that, tonight, it should be alright.

The Traveler was there, who by now was quite known for having a presence that could soothe the mind, not just in relation to abyssal contamination. And a bunch of Adepti were there as well, Cloud Retainer, Ganyu – even the Conqueror of Demons was hiding somewhere. Even if she went berserk after being overcome with the emotions the ropes were meant to suppress, someone would be able to reign her in again.

So, yes, tonight she would take in all those sights, and she'd try not to worry about holding herself back.

It was going well so far. She had everything under control, with most of her emotions being happiness and curiosity for what would come next. She was neither hungry nor thirsty, the buffet actually offering options even she could eat. Although she wasn't quite sure if maybe they'd been meant to be decoration instead.

In any case, no trace of anger or sadness, nothing that could bring up the more volatile side of her.

She stood against a wall waiting for the next performer to take the stage. The room wasn't exactly packed, but there were quite a few people around, waiting together with her. And then the performer entered, a woman with long, red hair and a head accessory resembling horns. At first glance, it almost looked like her goal was to resemble an Adeptus. But no, the music that started playing was clearly from Sumeru.

It was a dance. Her movements were like water, like branches of a willow in the wind, graceful and so natural-looking as though it was completely normal for a human to move like this. It fit perfectly with the music as well, and Shenhe found herself gently swaying back and forth, matching the rhythm.

How long had it taken, she wondered, to practice that dance? She knew Yun Jin practiced a lot for her performances, so it should be the same for the dancer as well.

And it really was a nice one. The woman moved across the stage like it was her own home, familiar and comfortable, taking up space just as she drew everyone's attention towards her performance.

 

The dance seemed to end way too quickly in her opinion. The dancer (Nilou she was called, according to a conversation Shenhe had overheard earlier) left the stage with steps that were as graceful as they had been during her dance, only that now she was definitely breathing a little heavier than before.

Shenhe, on a whim, grabbed one of the water pitchers and a cup from off to the side, where various refreshments had been placed. With both of these in hand, she walked over to the dancer.

"May I offer you something to drink?" she asked, slightly holding up the pitcher.

"Oh!" Nilou blinked once in surprise, and then an easy smile graced her lips, "sure! Thank you,-...?"

"Shenhe."

She left it at her name, for now simply pouring the other something to drink, handing her the cup. It was a little like her job at Wanmin Restaurant, she figured, only without the involvement of mora. Or chairs.

"Well then", Nilou lightly tipped up her cup to hint at a toast, "Thanks, Shenhe."

She emptied the cup quickly, smiling and nodding at Shenhe's immediate offer of having it refilled.

"Did you enjoy the dance?" she asked after emptying her cup two more times, "I saw you in the audience, I believe."

"I was there, yes. It was quite impressive. I've never seen a human display such graceful and fluid movements before."

"Oh?" A chuckle. "Well, that sounds like high praise. I'm glad to hear it."

"It is high praise", Shenhe agreed with a nod, "I've seen this type of control over one's body in some Adepti of Liyue, but never before in another human."

Nilou shook her head, giving her a cheerful laugh, "I think now you're exaggerating a little. I don't think you can compare me to one of the Adepti. I'm simply someone who likes to dance."

Somehow she didn't quite believe that, "you must be talented, though, right? I've never danced before, it's hard for me to tell."

Another laugh, soft and warm, "well, maybe I have some talent, too." She shook her head, a curious look now on her face, "you've never danced before, Shenhe?"

"No", she shook her head. She'd never seen the point of it, in all honesty. It was never part of her training, and her new job didn't require those skills either.

"Well" Nilou smiled at her, reaching out to take the pitcher from Shenhe. She walked past her then, placing the half-full pitcher back with the others and her cup in a box with other dirty dishes. Afterwards, she turned back to Shenhe, who had followed her after assuming that Nilou walking away didn't signal the end of their conversation. "Then, would you like to try?"

"Try... dancing?"

"Mhm. Even if it's not for show, it can still be a good way of releasing your emotions, or a way of focusing more on your body in ways fighting or physical exercise might not."

Shenhe thought about it for a moment. It didn't sound bad in and of itself, but that part about her emotions made her hesitate. Sure, her bloodlust probably wouldn't be agitated by a little dancing, but with the ropes suppressing both it and her other emotions, she wasn't quite sure if letting out the latter wouldn't affect the former as well.

"We'll go find ourselves some other spot", Nilou assured her, probably assuming that her hesitation came from shyness or the likes, "I've heard that one of the rooms is equipped for weapons training, surely that one shouldn't be too crowded during a party."

"I-", Shenhe started, paused, then gave a small nod, "We can go there first. And once we're there, maybe I'll know if I want to try or not."

"Okay!" Nilou beamed, nodding, "Sounds good!"


Shenhe quickly realized that Nilou wasn't just friendly and kind, but quite... physically affectionate? as well. They'd only just met, and yet she already reached for Shenhe's hand as she lead the way.

She'd again hesitated at first, unsure of how close she would want this stranger to be to her, but ultimately she'd just let the other woman do her thing, had let herself be gently tugged along by the gentle grip of the other's hand around hers.

Walking next to her, Shenhe slowly came to accept the fact that Nilou probably had enough optimism and cheerfulness for the both of them. It was probably the reason why it had been a little easier to go along with that idea of dancing. The way she felt right now was about the same feeling as when the sunlight warmed her skin during the colder months of the year, making it easier to ignore the cold ice and snow all around her.

They squeezed through the crowded main room, Nilou pulling her along into a different room. It was wonderfully empty and silent, the room mostly empty except for all the different weapons and training equipment.

And then Nilou stood in the middle of the room, both her hands stretched out towards Shenhe, "take my hands. We don't have music here, but that's alright."

She took them. A little hesitantly, but perhaps it was being dragged by her hand earlier that made it easier now to go back to that bit of physical contact.

"And now?" Shenhe didn't know any steps or movements, could only try to copy what she'd seen Nilou do before.

"Close your eyes", Nilou said, her voice quieter now that there was nobody else around who made noise she'd have to talk over, "let me guide you first."

With her eyes closed, Shenhe could focus more closely on the feeling of Nilou's hands where they held hers, slowly guiding her into swaying left and right and left and right. It felt... strange. Not bad, but strange.

Shenhe knew the physical exertion of training and fighting, and she knew the motionless calm of meditation. But this was a strange in-between. Still, she tried to go along even when Nilou guided her into taking a step to the left, then another one back to the right.

 

After a while, Shenhe started to feel a little lost at the lack of feedback, blinking open one eye, "am I doing it correctly?"

“There’s no right or wrong in this case”, Nilou responded with a chuckle, voice a mere whisper, “just relax and… move. There’s no choreography. No audience. Just me. And I won’t judge you.”

Just relax and move. Easy for her to say. She knew what she was doing, Shenhe did not. She could follow Nilou’s guidance, sure, but as soon as she let go, what then? She felt her movements falter as her thoughts made her lose her focus, something that almost never happened when she fought.

“Hey, it’s alright”, Nilou stopped moving as well, but didn’t let go of her hands, “you’re thinking too much, Shenhe. What are you so worried about?”

“I want to do this correctly, but I don’t know how to. You’re guiding me, that’s why it was working just now.”

Shenhe opened her eyes to find Nilou standing there with a confusing mix of emotions dancing in her eyes. There was that softness, still, but also a hint of worry, or sadness of some kind.

Finally, Nilou nodded, smiling at her again, “then I will continue leading you until you find out what works for you and what doesn’t.”

Was it that easy? She doubted it, but she didn’t mind when Nilou got moving again, a step to the left, then she took one backwards, dragging Shenhe forwards with her. Slowly she got back into the rhythm, already a little more used to the set of movements than she had been at the beginning.

She must have looked quite confused and doubtful still, because Nilou started chuckling at some point, gradually increasing the distance she was leading Shenhe away from the spot where they’d started out, until it almost felt like the room wasn’t big enough anymore.

She didn’t know when she’d started smiling. Couldn’t tell just when her shoulders had lost a bit of their usual tension, her gaze a little bit of its hardness. She only realized when Nilou commented on it, her voice sweetly cheerful when she said: “See? That’s what I meant!”

And Shenhe found herself nodding along, not quite laughing, but something close to it, a shaking of her chest that had nothing to do with exertion-heavy breath or pained sobs. It was… nice. Emotions or not, ropes or not, bloodlust or not, she could enjoy this.

Notes:

Well, I guess I ship them now haha

its a nice coincidence that I had this chapter planned for the release day of the star rail trailer for the dahlia aka yet another video about black swan dancing/fighting/flirting with another woman XD

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 5 of Advent Calendars