vlanche - venti x reader

00: To Dance Upon Lifeless Bodies ‧˚⊹♪

Your small hands pressed against the massive wooden doors that had protected you for so long. Then with much force, you heaved them open, revealing yourself to the crystalline and foreign land that lay just outside Mondstadt's walls.

The newborn sun bounced off the snow like a playful bunny, misguiding you to believe the world was brighter-- happier than it actually was. It twinkled in between passing clouds as if it was playing peek-a-boo with you.

For once, Teyvat wasn't covered in countless layers of white, as the snow had begun to melt-- little by little, it melted. Prodigious icicles emerged from all around, reflecting off brilliant rainbows of many different colors and hues. The rays of light blinded your eyes as you walked by each and every single one, but you didn't care because it was beautiful.

Mondstadt glowed so bright.

You didn't know it, but the world was lying to you. It was so incredibly beautiful that your gullible child brain wasn't aware of all the obvious illusions. You were breath-taken, and comprehending it all far exceeded the capability of your mind.

The snow chilled your shoeless feet as you stepped further and further away from the campsite, and you must tread lightly, for it was no telling how many secret sinkholes were masked by the mass amount of snow.

Since you were too entranced by the skylit band of colors, you couldn't see how dangerous the environment around you had remained. Head in the clouds, you were blind to the mountainous and unchanging terrain in which Mondstadt still was-- blind to the jagged rocks protruding from the ground underneath you-- blind to the hoards of beasts waiting in the shadows to pounce and kill a vulnerable 10 year old girl, who was currently wandering in the wilderness all alone.

Most importantly, you were blind to everything that was about to happen.

Nonetheless, innocent eyes followed that of the biggest rainbow. Being competitive in nature, you challenged yourself to keep locked on it until it you found the spot where it kissed the ground, determined not to allow yourself to wander to another one before then.

There were hundreds of them in the sky, so it was exhaustingly difficult. And of course, you failed many times, but you didn't care. It was too amazing to care! So, you let your placid mind be and soaked in as many visuals as possible. After all, this would give yourself so many thrilling tales to tell your future grandchildren.

You'd tell them time and time again how you had witnessed "the sheet music of the sky"-- the music notes of a holy song written by Celestia itself, titled Aurora Borealis.

"Wait..."

Something was off.

"What is that...?"

Amidst the celestial rays, one rainbow appeared significantly dimmer than the others. Without a second thought, you discarded your silly game and focused on it, letting out an ignorantly wistful breath. From a swirling concoction of both curiosity and concern, you followed it, no longer holding any interest in the happier looking rainbows. Also, since its gloominess blatantly contrasted that of the bright sun, it was much easier to follow.

"Those colors look sad, so that rainbow must be sad."

From the start, it was never written in your personality code to be very caring towards other people. There's nothing wrong with that— that's just who you were! But, in that moment something changed. You felt something was wrong.