shipwrecked || furina & neuvillette

🫧 27 🫧

Sunset is beginning to fall upon Chenyu Vale, and  Furina de Fontaine is sitting on the windowsill of their home for the next five days. The window is open, there's a gentle breeze humming through - and she stares out at the place. She's free - she's here and she's alive. She's with Neuvillette, she isn't with Dottore anymore. But still, she can't shake the shiver down her spine, or the scar on her collarbone. She finds herself running her hand along it - the jagged edge of the scar from when Dottore tried to kill her.

She can still feel it - the way the dagger felt inside her. The cool sharp metal piercing her skin, the way her brows furrowed together - not in pain, but in the realisation that Dottore will now know she is immortal. The fact that he was prepared to kill her. He would have killed her - had she not made Neuvillette curse her, she would be dead. Her Vision would have been at the hands of a Fatui Harbinger.

Furina grits her teeth, forcing herself back to reality. The little place they're staying in Yilong Wharf is tiny and does not have the luxury of the Palais Mermonia. It has a room with a bed, a bathroom and a tiny kitchen. But Furina can't help but love it. There's a tiny desk in the corner of the room that she's telling herself she'll write at before their five days are up. She wants to write something - she was inspired by the story she told the kids. Teyvat does not have many children's books, but Furina is hoping that she might be able to change that. Once they've figured out how to stop the Harbingers - to stop Dottore.
Glancing out at the water - which is far enough away that it doesn't scare her - she looks at the group of kids playing on the wharf, wishing she could be as carefree as they are. Spinning around, playing with pebbles and seeing who can skim it the furthest.
Furina jumps as she hears the bathroom door open behind her, cursing herself for still being so jumpy. She knows how it makes Neuvillette feel, and she feels guilty because of that. But she can't help it. She takes a deep breath and turns to face him with a smile.

Neuvillette has discarded his robes and boots for a much simpler attire. Black pants with a light blue linen shirt tucked into them, with plain shiny black shoes on his feet. Furina beams as she looks at him - sensing his discomfort at being so casual. His hair is tied loosely behind him, in a way he'd never do at home. He smiles over at her. Like himself, she is wearing clothes of simplicity- a pair of comfortable blue flats, shorts and a soft knitted sweater. She'd had the sweater for years - and she could still remember the way she'd tug on the sleeves in the library. Her eyes scanning every word in every book on every shelf, praying for some kind of miracle.
"We're quite unrecognisable, aren't we?" Furina comments with a smile. Neuvillette peers at the window, looking at the sight that had captivated her for the past few minutes. He chuckles, looking down at her.
"Maybe so, but I'd recognise you anywhere, Furina." He tells her quietly. "Are you quite sure you would like to go out for dinner? If you would prefer to stay here - I am happy to-"
"Let's go out and explore," Furina tells him, even though the thought makes her anxious. "We have five days to just... I don't know..."
"Exist," Neuvillette finishes her sentence. "Although, I find myself worrying that any minute now, Clorinde and Wriosthesley will burst through the door and tell me they've burnt down the Palais Mermonia," Neuvillette speaks truthfully.
Furina stands, taking his hand. "Well, if that happens, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

Neuvillette looks over at her - at Furina, and his eyes falter for a moment. Her hair sitting a little windswept, her eyes scanning the crowd ahead of them. He watches her as if he'd never seen anything prettier in his whole life - which was true. Seeing her outside the confines of the Court of Fontaine is a thought he can barely comprehend. Aside from their trip to Liyue a few weeks ago, he's never seen her outside of Fontaine. He finds himself wishing that it were under different circumstances, rather than their imposed getaway. Rather than Clorinde effectively banishing him and telling him that he wouldn't be capable of making wise decisions. Clorinde was right, and he was grateful for the chance to be with Furina, but he wished that things were different. While Furina may be smiling, she may giggle as she points to a dog that passes her in the street, while the glow of the setting sun illuminates her eyes... all of those things only mask the events of the past week. They only mask the circles under her eyes, or the fact that she flinches as a child throws a rock into the water and she hears it splash. They only mask her pain - and Furina is used to masking her agony. She's used to suffering alone - much like he is - but he didn't know how to address that. He didn't know how to assure her that she could tell him anything, that she could always come to him.