"Look, I can see Inazuma!" I exclaimed, leaning over the edge of the ship. Well...I could see the thunderstorms surrounding it, anyway.
"Careful now, (y/n)." Albedo said, pulling me back slightly. "We wouldn't want you to fall."
"Ah, right." I mumbled, changing my position so I wasn't leaning precariously over the edge. "I'm so excited! I wish I could timeskip forward!"
"Patience, (y/n)." Lumine smiled, standing beside me. "I'm sure there's things we need to do before we can reach the end."
"Ugh, yeah, like boring errands." I groaned. "Man, this is gonna be a lot more time consuming now that I'm actually living it, isn't it?"
"I'm afraid so." Lumine shrugged, though the smile didn't leave her face. "It'll be fun, though. Now that I've found my brother and I know what's happening, I can actually enjoy myself."
"Really?" I raised a brow. "Because for me, knowing what's actually happening is a million times scarier. But then again, you don't have a Vision, so I guess you're safe. I'm mostly just terrified that we'll miss the time limit..."
"C'mon, have a little faith in your teammates." Kaeya ruffled my hair as I instantly went to fix it. "You trust us, don't you?"
"I trust the others." I started, a little smirk playing on my lips. "You? Not so much."
"Yeah, my respect for him died after that fake treasure stunt he pulled." Lumine shrugged.
"Come now, surely you understand why I had to do that." Kaeya smiled, though a little discomfort was visible behind his casual attitude.
"Yeah, doesn't mean I like it." I chuckled, poking his arm. "Relax, I'm just teasing."
"Oh wait, you didn't actually mean that?" Lumine asked, her eyes wide.
"...Why would I-"
•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•
By the time Beidou's ship docked at the harbour, I was practically vibrating with excitement. "Ahh, I can't wait!" I whisper shouted, clinging to Lumine's arm. The others had gone into her Serenitea pot, since they weren't meant to be part of this interaction. I mean, technically neither was I, but Aether said it was okay if I was part of the story as long as I didn't change major things.
"I'm sorry, I can't help it!" I replied, my enthusiasm only growing as we stepped off the ship via a plank that extended to the wooden dock. My head swivelled around as I excitedly took in everything I could. Inazuma was gorgeous. It was an extremely good decision to dock at sunset, because everything looked almost magical.
"Ahoy there!"
I immediately looked to the source of the voice to find who I assumed was Thoma, according to whatever little info I had. He was tall, with blond hair tied back in a ponytail and sparkling emerald eyes. He even had ear piercings, which I instantly loved. He had a friendly smile and was waving to us.
"So, you finally made it." Thoma smiled. "You sure kept me waiting, Captain. And it seems we have a couple of stowaways...or perhaps I should say- honoured guests." He added, turning his attention to us, though he still seemed friendly.
"Hey!" Paimon exclaimed. "Shush!"
"Paimon, that probably alerted the whole harbour." I chuckled.
"Shush!" Paimon reiterated, hissing with even more intent this time.
"You can blame your almighty Shogun." Beidou retorted. "The tempests around Inazuma have been growing all the more fierce lately. Though the fleet was fully up to the challenge, the inclement weather still caused some delay. Now, let me introduce everyone. This is Thoma, a trade partner I've gotten to know recently."
I waved while Lumine just smiled in his direction.
"Heh, you don't know how long I've been waiting to see you." Thoma smiled. He seemed like a pretty cheerful person.
"Thoma, these three are-"
"No need for introductions, their reputation precedes them." Thoma cut in, though when he did it, it didn't seem rude. More like he was excited. "Seems even the stormy seas can't keep rumours of these outlanders sterling deeds at bay."
"Nice to meet you, Thoma." Lumine smiled. I smiled as well, though I admit, I was a little confused. I was new to this world, so how exactly did he know of me?
"Hehe, it sure is nice to hear you say that~" Paimon giggled, looking at him with approval.
"Ha, with any luck, it'll be able to give you a headstart here." Beidou smiled, crossing her arms. "Lumine, (y/n), Thoma's resided on Ritou for quite some time now. It wouldn't be going too far to call him the 'fixer' around these parts. If you run into any problems here, just talk to Thoma. But if he tries to pull any moves on you, I'll be sure to deal with him personally next time I'm around."
"Thanks, Beidou." I chuckled.
"Hehe, no need to worry, I'm sure we'll get along just fine." Thoma laughed.
"Good." Beidou nodded once. "Then if it's all settled, I'll be going. I wouldn't want to be caught with my sails down here, I do have a wanted fugitive on board, after all."
"Oh, right, Kazuha..." Paimon said, like she'd forgotten all about him in the span of five minutes.
"Until next time, you two." Beidou said. "Remember to give it your all, no matter what perilous 'storms' you may encounter."
"We got this." Lumine smiled confidently, her short hair bobbing up and down as she nodded.
"Fair seas, Captain Beidou!" Paimon exclaimed, momentarily floating upwards as she waved enthusiastically. "Bye bye~"
"Now then, first things first, we need to get you two registered at the border checkpoint." Thoma smiled as Beidou turned on her heel and left.
"Ah, that doesn't sound fun." I smiled awkwardly.
"Fear not, we'll get it done as quickly as possible." Thoma smiled. I got the sense he was teasing me a little.