DAINSLEIF
[name] had been followed by a strange man for quite a while. Not....hours. More like days. At first, she thought nothing of it, seeing it as just a coincidence. A coincidence that he ate at the same restaurant. Shopped at close by shops. Slept at the same inn.
She was getting a bit worried. Though [name] knew she was strong even without a vision, she knew that if she didn't make her move before he did then things may end differently.
[name] had planned this out perfectly in a few days. She had told no one seeing how they may make it look obvious; like how you tell someone not to look behind you but they do it anyway. Other people would just scare him off if they confronted him...maybe.
But she wouldn't scare him away. No. She would get answers.
It was a chilly night and many people would be heading to the Angel's Share as the people of Mondstadt usually did. There were bards strumming their instruments, singing or humming to a tune. Diluc was surprisingly behind the counter seeing how it was a busy night.
What luck. She was a decent acquaintance with the pyro user so if things backfired she knew that he could help.
Now the woman sat upstairs. The reason was that no one in Celestia wanted to sit upstairs for some reason. This man did. She had her back turned to him but she had heard him coming up the steps.
Fine! Do you want to play this game? You better be ready! She thought with a grimace, standing up, which caused her chair to make an uncomfortable noise. She twisted her head around making the blond man freeze up but then look away.
Now that she was actually facing him head-on he had rather strange clothes. Outlandish yet elegant. There was also a mask covering his face...just partially though.
"Hey. I know you've been following me and don't try to deny it. I've seen you almost everywhere I go. You've been too obvious these past few days." She pointed at him accusingly. It took a moment for the man to compose himself. He looked distraught and indecisive as if he was debating what to tell her.
"I'm surprised you noticed."
Wow, he's really not trying to deny it!
"But it's for your safety."
"Huh? I can protect myself though and besides, I'm no one special." She shrugged before her glare hardened. "So leave me alone, got it?"
The woman turned, grabbing her drink before descending the stairs. She didn't bother waiting for any response, not really caring really.
"No. You have no idea how important you are. Not yet."
AETHER
Being an adventurer was too difficult for [name]. All she wanted to do was return to Snezhnaya and be with her parents. But she knew that it would mean letting her brother down. Though her parents were welcoming people and offered [name] a place to stay whenever and in whatever conditions she couldn't just give up. Though it did sound tempting.
"Ugh...why does Sumeru have to be so humid?!" She whined, stepping around a few plants. When some leaves brushed against her leg she squirmed and scuttled away, disliking the texture.
She wasn't at all a germophobe but she just hated the outdoors touching bare parts of her body. For example, some people hate washing dishes because they hate dirty water getting on their hands(of course that's what gloves are for).
But within this little disgusted bout, she didn't realize where she'd just arrived. After calming down she turned her head to face forward. A masked creature stared at her with its arms raised over her head, mimicking her actions from before. She was stunned in shock but when the Hilichurl ended the mimicry it cried out in its language causing a whole hoard to assemble.
She was quite unlucky. Maybe not the unluckiest but enough to make her want to quit. She was no fighter...among other things.
"Celestia! I beg of you!! Send anyone! Help!" She shrieked, turning to dash away, though with no sense of direction...where would she go?
Just then a burst of rock formed before her. The hilichurl closest to her had been flung into the air and fallen down...down a cliff she failed to notice. That would have been dangerous.
She turned to see the source of this structure was a man with long blond hair done into a braid. A young fairy-type girl who floated beside him cheered him on as he rushed to the group of hilichurls that had no time to react as the golden-haired one did swift work of them.
"Are you alright?!" The small, white-haired one asked. She stood there, still processing this as the other fought the attackers. "Whoa, what's that smell?"
Wait what. At first [name] thought the little one was talking about her but then she remembered what she had on her.
"Oh you mean the smell of food? I'm surprised you noticed. Y'see I'm a chef and--"
"Say no more!" The white-haired one exclaimed with excitement. Was...their mouth watering? "Aether! This girl is staying with us for tonight!"
ENJOU
Being sent from the Akademiya in Sumeru all the way to Inazuma to study a body of water at Sangonomiya Shrine could not have gone any weirder.
At first, [name] was actually excited to do something like this since she was certain this would help her get out of the motivation block she had gotten herself into. This had to be the trip that could change her attitude, and it certainly did change something! [name] had made sure to record and document everything interesting and new she had seen on her way to and at the beautiful place, but what amazed her the most was the whirlpool that was just below the shrine itself.
Well, [name] didn't know whether or not to call it a whirlpool...it was more like a slow mixture of elements creating some sort of energy in the center. It was mystifying...and [name] wanted to get a closer look.
She had taken out her Kamera, climbed to the lowest point she could get to on the tough terrain, and began to take some pictures. Nobody had seen her do this since, well, they had told her not to! And what was she going to do, listen to them?
The pictures came out wonderful, but just as she was about to climb back up, the little plot of rock she had been standing on came crumbling out beneath her feet and she was sent plummeting towards the swirling energy below. For a moment, she was terrified due to the sudden scare, but then she believed everything would be fine since it was only water, she knew how to swim.
But the elemental energies...what would that do to her?
[name]'s cry was cut short as a flash of blue and purple swirled in her vision, a dark cacoon of color until she fell again. Cold wind hit her face, and then the sharp crash of water actually, and finally, hitting her body. She was too stunned to react or move initially, but not a second later, she found herself being pulled up and out of the water.
"Are you alright?" A voice spoke with concern as [name] coughed up a few mouthfuls of water and gathered air back into her lungs. Thank goodness nothing seemed broken.
The female took a look at her savior and found it to be a blue-haired man with glasses donning a grey kimono with red lace. His eyes didn't shine with concern, more like interest in a new-found specimen. [name] nodded, finding the strength to stand on her two feet. Her clothes stuck to her skin in a disgusting way and she sighed.
"Where am I...? Didn't I just...fall into the water?" Her voice echoed through the pretty big cave they stood in, most of the area being lit up by scattered candles or shrubbery that provided light. The man stared at her for a few seconds longer and then shook his head as if denying something to himself.
"Gather your thoughts first. Why don't we exchange names?" The man suggested this rather naturally, "you can call me Enjou."
The one called Enjou greeted her with a hand against his chest and with a small bow. He watched her with an almost unsettling smile, one that urged [name] to speak.
"Alright...then," she shuddered against the coldness of her clothes, "I'm [name]."
She was only blissfully unaware of how dangerous her situation had become.
DOTTORE
[name] knew something was up the moment she stepped outside the store she was just visiting.
It happened to be a wonderful day. The sky was clear, and everyone on the streets of Port Ormos was in good spirits. Nothing seemed amiss, but that changed rather quickly. [name] had only entered one of her favorite stores for a few minutes, and the moment she stepped back outside, she immediately noticed a large amount of Fatui standing guard near the busier parts of the docks.
This amount of Fatui would obviously garner a lot of attention, and it did just that with people watching with bated breath, some stopping to stare. [name] only watched a bit further away, narrowing her eyes.
"Alright, everyone, get going!" A larger member of the many goons walked forward, marching down the center with a booming voice that startled many around the port. A few of the other Fatui began to advance further as well, forcing some of the onlookers away, even so, there was one specific person that [name] recognized within the crowd that couldn't immediately react. An older lady that [name] had gotten to know well.
The moment the Fatui pushed the older woman away, causing her to wobble, [name] could feel her insides burn. She dropped the items she had bought and marched over. She could feel the vision on her hip burn.
"Hey!" She shouted loudly, her voice louder than the previous Fatuis that had taken the lead on the situation before. Heads turned her way, even some of the goons' heads turned in surprise. [name] forced her way between the large goon and the old lady, her eyes glaring sharply up to the masked face of the man before her.
"Bullying and assaulting an old lady? Pretty bold for a Fatui," she snapped. Her eyes were quick enough to spot another goon's hand come up in an attempt to grab [name]'s shoulder, but her reflexes kicked in and swatted the hand away. With one more glare, she turned to the elder lady behind her and gently tapped her shoulder, helping her gather her things and go on her way.
"Oh? And who do we have here?" A strange voice broke through the little silence there was. It was obvious that it didn't come from the Fatui goons who watched the scene, hesitant to jump in and assist, but someone else. [name] turned once more, expecting to find just another underling...but she didn't expect to find someone dressed entirely different walking up to the scene.
He had bright, blue hair with a mask that covered his eyes and nose. There was some sort of feathered mask that sat on his shoulder, curling around and over his other shoulder. His outward appearance told a different story to what actually lay underneath that mask.
"Who are you?" She frowned, "you must be pretty special if you trust your goons to do so much as to harass and assault this old woman here."
She couldn't see his eyes, and that's what made her uneasy. [name] could see his smile and the little movements of his fingers tapping against his leg.
"Did they now...?" His tone dropped as he no doubt scanned their surroundings, "but what about you, miss [name]...what are you doing about it? Causing more of a scene than it already is?"
Two things happened at once, first, her heart dropped at the sound of her name coming from his lips in a taunting manner. He knew her, but she did not know him... Or did she? And second, the blaze of her vision coming up to her hands. Usually, she wouldn't be so bold as to use it in public, but the Akademiya wouldn't mind...right?
Just before she could raise her fist, something cold and hard hit her neck, causing all the muscles in her body to tense up, and then relax. The one thing she saw before she blacked out was the smile of the blue-haired man before her, wishing her a good rest.
CAPITANO
It was a cold day in Snezhnaya, like it was every day but [name] felt colder. She was never typically a nervous person but she was today, though her face was covered so no one could bear witness. She was somewhat akin to 'royalty' for the Fatui. They valued her presence as much as she enjoyed theirs. Though she was a delicate young lady that did not mean she didn't know how to fight.
But fighting takes its toll and [name] wasn't the greatest in stamina.
Then out of the blue she was offered a Harbinger to be a personal guard. Nothing out of the ordinary for the Fatui to offer but a surprising 'gift' indeed. In the end [name] accepted this knight that would be appointed and was heading to Zapolynary Palace as she fiddled with her thumbs as the carriage carried onward.
Then it stopped. [name] looked up from staring at the padded floor and leaned her head to check the window.
"Treasure hoarders? Here? How dare you desecrate the land of the Tsaritsa!" She barked, opening the door with a sudden jolt.
"Lady [name]! Please, we'll handle this!" Her head guard was adamant but [name]'s fury took over what nervousness had previously been inside her.
She raised her hand, her electro vision sparking on her wrist.
"You! Shall! Perish!" Before she could lower her hand to strike a sudden large form slammed down just as lightning would have, cleaving the treasure hoarder that had stood in half. The treasure hoarders that remained took one look and paled.
This man's blood-stained claymore was nothing compared to his deadly look. His black, white, and grey clothing, a long white and black coat, and black hair drifting behind him...
And the strangest thing.
A black mask that covered his face into the inky black void.
She knew exactly who this was.
"A-a Harbinger! I didn't sign up for this!" A treasure hoarder yelled, turning tail. He began his escape but the Harbinger wasn't having it, quickly focusing his gaze on the ones attempting escape.
They would not get away. Not on his watch.
PANTALONE
Owning a jewelry store in the midst of the freezing nation that was Snezhnaya had its perks.
...Okay, maybe there weren't too many perks, but [name] did get a large amount of customers due to the nice location of the store. It was within Snezhnaya's busiest street so people often passed by her display window with wide eyes. Not only was the jewelry made in great quality, but it also came at a relatively decent price.
Overall, [name] simply loved her job. She wasn't afraid of any kind of criminal coming in to attempt to rob her in the daylight due to the placement of the store being in such a busy area, but there was a strange customer every now and again. Maybe her worries should've been placed elsewhere...
Before [name] could get wrapped up in her own thoughts, the bell to the front door rang, causing her to stand up a tad bit straighter, and a smile came to her lips.
"Welcome," she greeted, her voice reaching the door. The layout of the store was like most places. [name] stood behind many glass cases full of different types of jewelry while the customers could walk in their limited square space, looking through the glass until they decided what they wished to buy.
[name] could feel the cold air from the outside flow within the store as her eyes finally settled on the customer she was about to deal with. Black hair and silver glasses with creased, but closed eyes. His white cloak with the black, feather trim was an obvious warning of his status. She knew exactly who she was dealing with and she'd be damned to lose to his word so easily.
The smile he sent her sent a chill up her spine as she decided to stand by and allow him to look over her goods instead of treating him like a suspicious person. [name] knew that he knew what he was doing, what he was looking for, so she had no reason to aid him.
"What a quaint little shop..." The man hummed rather laxly, "you have quite the eye for business, I see."
This could mean many things. The positioning of her shop, the goods she was selling, or maybe just an observation.
"Thank you." [name] responded, meeting what could be said as his gaze.
"I wish to buy it from you."
Her lips parted, almost an immediate answer, but she found no breath and no answer. Buy it? Buy her shop? But this shop was her livelihood; she had spent every little mora she had to build it from the ground up... It was something the Regrator could never understand.
"I...apologize," she lowered her head, "my shop is not for sale."
Another hum and this time she could hear the soft footfalls coming close to the counter she stood behind. [name] lifted her head to find that he stood directly across from her.
"Then, what about your entire stock? That includes your display items as well."
This was truly an offer that [name] could not refuse. With this much mora she could buy her entire stock back tenfold, maybe even more! Her mind raced and the greed that she had buried the day she had started this job began to dig its way back up, but she swallowed it quickly.
"I-I'm sorry, sir," her words wavered and she could no longer meet his eyes, now focusing on something else, like the gem that decorated the silver lining of his glasses, "I'm going to need to ask you to leave."
An offer that nobody could refuse, had gone down the drain.
The man let out an amused huff of air and stepped back, placing an elegant hand over his chest in the form of apology, "please think it over then. I shall return soon...[name]."
As the chime of the bell at the door rang through her ears, [name] quickly unpinned the nametag that was tightly fastened against her breast and pocketed it with worry. Now she could only wait as a nervous wreck for the Fatuus to return, no doubt with the same or better offer in hand.