tap. tap. tap.
the sound of pencil tapping onto sandbearer wood echoed rhythmically in the hotel room, along with the calming smell of a fragrant cup of tea.
tap. tap. tap.
hums, huffs, and a series of frustrated mumbles left the room occupant’s lips as her eyes flitted about the map of liyue, thinking, theorizing, hoping.
tap. tap. tap.
crys, crys, crys… where are you… i swear, if anyone harms you they’re getting a good few bullets to their—
the door opened, and a man entered the scene, cradling a mountain of books. meirin blinked and stared at him incredulously. ignoring her gaze, the scribe merely deposited his recent haul on the table she was writing on.
“uh—”
“i went to the ministry.”
“you what?!”
“i remembered you saying she works there. i must say, it was a little concerning how they just carelessly inferred my identity without checking further when i showed them my old identification as acting grand sage of sumeru and mentioned some high profile names.”
you’re such a gremlin sometimes. she snorted and raised her eyebrows, “so? what did you find in your little infiltration mission?”
“apparently, she went to inazuma a few weeks ago as a diplomat. she was scheduled to return a few days ago, but she has yet to enter liyue’s borders.”
“inazuma….”
meirin pondered their findings so far. should we go to the country of lightning? but the journey would take time, and what if we missed each other on the way?
“…. wait. don’t tell me you stole those books from-”
“of course not. that would be too much.”
meirin relaxed a little and sighed in relief.
“oh. okay. phew. good. we’re here to check up on a friend and for that pet project of yours, not to check out liyue’s jail…. hm? so then, what are those?” the woman gestured to the tower of books.
“these? just a few resources and reading materials i found on my detour into an antique store. they’re all written in ancient liyuean scripts, so they might prove useful later on.”
“…. you’re such a nerd.”
“given the mostly negative connotations of that word, i prefer the term ‘scholar’ much more,” al haitham said plainly, before tapping an old, beaten up journal on the top of the book mountain, “this one is especially interesting. it seems to be a diary, of sorts — of a devout follower of liyue’s illuminated beasts. the notes are subjective in nature, but it would be a good case study of how the common folk used the language. i didn’t have time to translate all of them, but they seem to be especially fond of an adeptus called ‘spring bringer’—”
“what?” she blinked, “give it to me.”
her eyes stared at the papers containing al haitham’s neat handwriting, the annotated translation slipped between the aged pages. there were blanks between some words, presumably there because he had no knowledge of what the word meant. plus, the olden papers and ink had deteriorated so much, some characters had been so smudged, they were impossible to make out.
____ magnificent golden antlers ____ shine like cor lapis(?) ____ deer-like illuminated beast____ lady ____ her real(?) name____ ███████
‘her real name’….. maybe if i call her with that, she’ll respond? but i have no knowledge of it, i don’t think….
“..... alright, let’s change target starting tomorrow, since we have no more leads about her.”
meirin glanced at her geo vision, which had been pulsing lightly with warm gold ever since she stepped into liyue.
let’s hope geo resonance works on geo dragons.
Crys stares at Liyue Harbor, getting more and more nervous by the second. The air is crisp and clean here at Guyun, her feet sinking on soft sand. People rarely come here and as such, nature and elemental leylines thrived.
She places a hand against one of the mountainous rock formations, closing her eyes and feeling the strong thrum of pure geo.
"How do you feel?"
"It's... strange. To feel so drawn to a place and still find it foreign. I know I'll be fine, eventually, its just..." She frowns. "It's strange how all of this happened"
Kazuha doesn't feel like he has the right words to reassure her, he just nods and stands by her side.
The breeze blows gently, bringing the scent of sea salt, the waves lap at the sand. Leaves rustle and animals scatter around. A lone crab, butterflies...
Kazuha looks around and spots a few boars uphill as well. Suddenly he chuckles softly. "What an auspicious combination."
"Hm?"
"I'd assume you're not familiar with Hanafuda cards?" He blurts out, when Crys shakes her head confused, he continues. "They're a set of playing cards depicting different plants, animals or objects. When I was younger I used to play a game with my elders called Koi-koi"
He smiles as if recalling an old memory, and picks a fallen tree branch.
"The objective is to form sets by pairing up certain cards together, and out of those one of the most well-known is the Ino-shika-cho combination."
He starts drawing lines on the sand, writing with the wooden stick.
"Ino (猪) represents the boar. Shika (鹿) is the deer, and Cho (蝶) the butterfly. Together, they make up a winning hand. Now, look around, we have the boars and the butterflies and that would make you the deer." He beams, clearly amused by his clever little tale.
Crys admittedly chuckles "So are you saying luck will come my way?"
"I'm sure of it." He finishes writing down.
The adeptus stares at the kanji on the sand and suddenly her expression changes,
"That character... it's familiar..." She mutters.
"Hm? Oh well it is the same hanzi for 'deer' I'm sure given your identity you have seen it quite enough."
"No no, not that one. The last one!" She points eagerly. "Kazuha I think... I'm sure that is part of my name, I can feel it."
He stares at her with wide eyes, and then back at the floor.
Huh...
@i23kazu
ebg Jan 19-26
3 notes
·
View notes
Tell me about "meeting" Weird Al" at an accordion party.
Y/N didn’t know what she was thinking, following him into the VIP area. His fingers were warm, wrapped tightly around her wrist as he led her through the red velvet curtain and into candlelit darkness.
Plush sofas lined the walls of the large room and in the center, a spotlight shone down on a glass box containing a golden accordion.
“Isn’t she beautiful?” he asked, letting go of her hand and stalking towards the case. “Pure 24k gold all the way through…” He placed his hand against the glass, eyes wide and sparkling as they beheld the glorious instrument.
Y/N walked around to the other side, squinting as the bright light gleamed off the gold. “It really is,” she replied, awed by the craftsmanship.
She looked up through the case and met his gaze. He was staring into her, suddenly predatory and flooded with testosterone.
“Not as beautiful as you,” he whispered, taking a step to the left.
She held her breath as he rounded the case and stepped up behind her. He leaned down, breath hot on the nape of her neck, long curly hair tickling her cheek.
“You’re making me blush,” she told him, heart pounding in her ears as he pressed up against her. She could feel his desire; it was as real as the glass beneath her fingertips.
He rolled his hips against her ass and Y/N sucked in a quick breath. “Good.”
His voice washed over her and she melted back against him. Her head lolled to the side and he took advantage, pressing his lips to the delicate flesh below her ear.
“Wanna get outta here?” he asked, his kiss lingering on the soft shell of her ear. “I can show you my... instrument…”
Y/N didn’t know what she was thinking, hooking up with the famed parody songwriter, but it was a night she wouldn’t soon forget.
DON"T DARE ME. I WILL DO IT.
@mom-and-popcosmic
19 notes
·
View notes