✧*̥˚ {𝔊𝔢𝔫𝔰𝔥𝔦𝔫 ℑ𝔪𝔭𝔞𝔠𝔱 𝔒𝔫𝔢𝔰𝔥𝔬𝔱𝔰 & ℌ𝔢𝔞𝔡𝔠𝔞𝔫𝔬𝔫𝔰} *̥˚✧

𝕲𝖚𝖎𝕷𝖎᠂ ⚘᠂

𝕯𝖎𝖉 𝖞𝖔𝖚 𝖌𝖊𝖙 𝖊𝖓𝖔𝖚𝖌𝖍 𝖑𝖔𝖛𝖊, 𝖒𝖞 𝖑𝖎𝖙𝖙𝖑𝖊 𝖉𝖔𝖛𝖊? 𝖂𝖍𝖞 𝖉𝖔 𝖞𝖔𝖚 𝖈𝖗𝖞? 𝕬𝖓𝖉 𝕴'𝖒 𝖘𝖔𝖗𝖗𝖞 𝕴 𝖑𝖊𝖋𝖙, 𝖇𝖚𝖙 𝖎𝖙 𝖜𝖆𝖘 𝖋𝖔𝖗 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖇𝖊𝖘𝖙, 𝖙𝖍𝖔𝖚𝖌𝖍 𝖎𝖙 𝖓𝖊𝖛𝖊𝖗 𝖋𝖊𝖑𝖙 𝖗𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙... 𝕸𝖞 𝖑𝖎𝖙𝖙𝖑𝖊 𝖁𝖊𝖗𝖘𝖆𝖎𝖑𝖑𝖊𝖘

⁜※⁜

The lone glaze lily had overlooked the harbour for many a century. It was close to a millennium now—barely fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes... and it would have been a whole thousand years since he had seen her.

He found himself taking a singular breath in order to compose himself, before beginning the climb up Mt Tianheng's sister peak. It took little time to traverse the terrain and he was soon walking towards the glaze lily that never seemed to wilt.

He paused as he saw another figure seated beside the unwilting flower, head rested on her knees that were hugged close to her chest. Curved black-red horns protruded from her silken pale blue hair, slightly unkempt as if having been continuously rustled by the wind.

He took a few more steps towards the half-qilin, placing a comforting hand atop her head, careful not to graze her sensitive projections. "Your thoughts are deep, qilin. Enough to be lost in them."

Her eyes fluttered open, sunset-graced irises lined with the silver of tears, and eyelids swollen and red. "Rex Lapis..." she murmured, voice hoarse. "I was just... thinking of Guizhong."

He opened his mouth to reply but nothing came out, as if words that were even related to his dear friend were restricted—as if they were too sacred to ever be uttered. So he asked, his gaze drifting to focus on the glaze lily, "How long have you been stationed here, dear qilin?"

Ganyu rubbed at her eyes. "Since morning."

The god took note of the sky that had long since been swarmed by a velvety black, the lights of Liyue Harbour flickering on one by one—an attempt to mirror the starry expanse that hovered just above. He felt a small flicker of pride as he laid eyes on the accomplished city—on the fruits of his nation that had come so close to destruction.

"There was no work to be done?" he asked the newly-appointed secretary of the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

She loosed a shuddering breath, and his hand slid to his side as she made to stand, brushing her clothes clear of dirt and dust. "You're right," she said, gently brushing her nose with a barely audible sniff. She blinked, eyes still glossy from tears. "I'll get onto it right away."

"I mean not that you should force yourself. If a break is needed, do take one."

"That is unnecessary. My duties start officially tomorrow, but there are still prerequisite tasks to be done. It is already dark. Time is of the essence." The half-qilin dipped her head as she walked past as a sign of respect. "I simply wanted to say hello and goodbye one last time before my duties claimed all hours of the day."

Something within him strained at hearing those words, and he was left standing there speechless, even as Ganyu made her way down the mountain. Hello, as if one could still talk to her—talk to Guizhong—and goodbye... His hands flexed by his side. A goodbye had already been said many years ago. How could one say another when there was no one to say it to? Guizhong was... Guizhong was gone.

Though he could not fault the half-qilin for thinking such thoughts. She was one of the hardest workers in Teyvat. Adding to the load of duties she had already piled upon herself was sure to be stressful, and even he occasionally missed friends of old. The illusion that talking to a favoured object was the same as talking to the dead was, in his opinion, illogical. Still, for youths, perhaps it was enough to pretend to believe in such childish tales—to find comfort in the imaginary.