#sagau collei

[m1d-45]

any chance of a part 2 of opportunities arisen? perhaps tighnari finds out who we are? or someone else comes after us? 👉👈 i love him sm and ur characterization of him is perfect, that fic is 100% canon in my mind for every imposter au now

prime fortune

a/n: hope this one didn’t absolutely destroy your expectations anon. it took a hard left turn halfway through and i couldn’t bring it back—

word count: 3.1k oh wow-

-> warnings: minor spoilers for sumeru archon quest (3.0-3.2), dubious medical facts that you should not follow, likely ooc cyno, excessive use of the word ‘something’ with little reasoning to show for it, cyno’s excellent humor

taglist: @samarill || @thenyxsky || @valeriele3 || @shizunxie

<< part 1 || < masterlist >

adapting to life in the forest was easier said than done.

you’re often paired with collei, who’s in the middle of a bad eleazar flare that keeps her confined to the village, and though she teaches you the different salves and plants, a lot of it goes over your head.

you’re interested, you are! the liveliness with which she speaks, and the animated gestures from tighnari as he explains proper safety when preparing medicine easily capture your attention, but when she hands you two mushrooms and asks her to tell you which one is morchella….

by some strange luck, you often guess correctly, your intuition knowing more than you do, but when she nods with a smile and asks you to repeat the differences…

your mind falls blank.

something about the density of the fibers inside the mushroom floats through your mind, but you can’t remember whether the true or false mushroom is heavier.

collei’s smile falters, and yours turns sheepish. when she takes you out on walks, slowly walking up the paths so you don’t strain your ankle, you can point at the differences between portobello and death caps, you can pick out holly and honeysuckle and marigold, but here…

you pass the field practice with flying colors, but your basic by-the-books forest ranger tests always end in failure.

tighnari picks out two plants from a small case, holding them up in front of you.

“you come across amir sitting just off the side of a path, clutching his stomach. after some questioning, you determine he has a stomach cramp from dehydration, and spot these two plants nearby. you’re about a 15 minute walk from the village; what do you do?”

one of the plants has many flat white flowers blooming from the top, with yellow centers, while the other has orange petals that form a ball shape on top. you know one of them is yarrow, but not which one…

you pick the latter on a whim, spinning it between two fingers as you think. “pick the petals and crush them into a paste, taking care not to overwork them. give him about a spoonful, which should be most of it, then help him up. report to shirin once we return.”

the blank mask on his face falls into confusion. “how do you even mix up marigold and yarrow?” he asks, picking the flower—marigold, you now recognize—from your hand. “you got the procedure correct, at least, but marigold is bitter and will only worsen his aches. oh, and additionally, the leaves of yarrow—however small they-“

the door to the cottage slams open, jars rattling on their shelves, and tighnari whips around to face whoever it is, one hand steadying a stack of reports.

“and just what do you think you’re- w- collei? is everything alright?”

collei’s violet eyes were wide, her shoulders heaving with breath, when she spoke, exhaustion was evident. “m-master tighnari! the matra are here on behalf of the akademiya! i tried to tell them to wait so i could get you but they just-..”

emotions flashed over tighnari’s face faster than you could catch, eventually setting on a sharp determination. “alright collei, calm down. go find amir and do your best to delay them, but don’t seem too suspiscious, okay? just remember what we planned, i’ll take care of things here.”

her eyes flicked to you, worry evident, but she quickly turned away.

the moment the door closed, you and tighnari sprung into action. he collected the plants from your test and tucked them into their proper places, you standing to help return a mint plant back to its place.

he caught your wrist, taking the pot. “don’t. take your bag and go, don’t worry about this.”

you hesitate for longer than you should, then nod. he lets you go and returns to his case, and you move to crouch by the bed. feeling under it, your hand eventually brushes against a cloth handle, which you grab. you take a step to unlatch the window with one hand and sling the pack over your shoulder with the other, leaving with your good leg first. as you carefully close the window behind you, you can see tighnari moving to hide all the notes you’d taken, the only sign of his worry being his tail lashing behind him and the slightest flick of his ears.

with a soft smile, you turn away.

tighnari checked over his room once more, ensuring that every trace of your presence was scrubbed clean. your laundry was out and mixed with the rest of the rangers’, but your notes and records were carefully hidden under patrol logs and his own personal binders. he knew everything was tucked away, he had explanations lined up and answers to every conceivable question the akademiya could have, but his heart still beat frantically against his ribs. even as he pulled apart and neatened up a stack of patrol logs, repeating the action to look like he was doing something whenever the matra came to his hut, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he missed something crucial.

he had to fight to keep his tail from betraying his emotions, the energy not going into mussing up and then fixing the papers spent on hiding the symptoms of his distress. he knew he didn’t miss anything. the moment you told them the sages were on active lookout for you and he knew you weren’t a threat, he had memorized the plan. he was foolish to worry.

he hasn’t known you for long, barely over half a year, yet his mind is clouded with the same worry as when collei collapses out on patrol. the same numbing sort of adrenaline, the icy feeling in his bones even as his skin starts to burn up, the apprehension in every movement, as if at any moment-

somebody knocks on the door.

tighnari takes a steadying breath and fusses with the papers a final time. “come in!”

the door creaks open and he taps the papers on the table, turning slightly to speak over his shoulder. “sorry, you caught me in the middle of something.”

“no matter,” a familiar voice says, and he can’t stop the way his body freezes at the speaker.

he carefully tucked the papers into a folder, finally turning around. “general mahamatra. to what do i owe the honor?”

cyno crossed his arms, red eyes surveying the room. “oh, nothing at all. just somebody from vimara village reporting somebody that looked suspiciously like the primo fortuna walking around with collei when they’re supposed to be in liyue.”

tighnari stares. the primo fortuna…? he thought they were after you, but you couldn’t be…

“are… are you suggesting somebody is attempting to imitate the creator?”

sure, he wouldn’t deny you shared some features—you had the same shape of nose, you were around the same height and build—but for you to be the creator? no, it wasn’t possible. your eyes were much kinder, you stopped and helped nasrin when she couldn’t find the proper forms, you directed shirin to the area of the forest where you and collei found nilotpala lotuses, you were nothing like the creator he saw at pardis dhyai. you didn’t stare with glazed eyes as padisarahs and sumeru roses were brought forth, you listened in earnest when he spoke about the differences between the various kinds of ferns.

if anybody were to meet you, they’d know in an instant you were not the creator.

his heart itched within his chest. he ignored it as worry.

“that’s exactly what i’m implying. as i’m certain you know, their identity is hallowed, and anybody attempting to infringe upon it needs to meet justice.” the golden eye on his headpiece flashed, the sides beginning to narrow into eyes before he shook his head and it passed. “but in truth, that is not why i am here.”

tighnari stared. despite having a fondness for jokes, cyno was never one to laugh about his duties. “what do you mean? collei told me you were here on behalf of the akademiya.”

“the matra are here on behalf of the sages,” he clarified. “i… i am here for other reasons. personal ones.”

his eyes flicked around the room again, and tighnari’s narrowed. “well, don’t hide behind double meanings, then. what is it?”

cyno’s jaw flexed as he chewed at nothing, his arms uncrossing. his eyes focused somewhere around the bed, and he seemed lost in thought. whatever it was, it had to be a big deal, but for him to hijack the matra’s arrival instead of coming on his own time…

“the one on the throne is not our god.”

he said it with such conviction that tighnari found himself agreeing, waiting for whatever had gotten him worked up, and it was only when cyno’s eyes closed as he braced himself that it registered what he said.

“what?”

“i have gathered evidence across many sources, both academic and religious, common and exclusive, and i can’t bring myself to kneel at their feet any longer. i have been ignoring my own mind for too long for the sake of my conscience, and i am confiding in you now what has been brewing in my mind for months.”

in the silence that stretched, tighnari almost wished he hadn’t spoken.

the way he spoke, from his words to his tone, reminded tighnari of when he reported to the sages, like he wasn’t tighnari to him and was instead an authority.

“cyno, i don’t.. is this why you didn’t go when they were at pardis dhyai or sumeru city?”

he nodded. “i can’t be in a place where they’re being worshipped when i’m so conflicted. i thought about pulling you aside in the city, but…”

tighnari didn’t think he’d ever seen cyno so meek in his words, none of his normal power behind it. he’s… tired, a quality he knows he’s felt but has never seen on him, the almost nervous way he keeps glancing around the room edging on alarming.

“alright.. uh, moving past that for a moment, what does that have to do with why you’re in gandharva ville? wouldn’t you want to not be involved?”

cyno’s eyes dragged from where they were locked behind him with uncharacteristic slowness. “the person you’re hiding may be the real creator.”

the simplicity to his words had tighnari believing it, even as it didn’t fully register in his mind. he knew cyno attached a religious aspect to his work, to the point the people in sumeru city sometimes calling him an extension of their judgement—even as it was more like the akademiya’s, most time—so he knew that whatever he said on the topic was both well thought out and reliable.

which is why he was silent even after it clicked.

“what are you saying, cyno?”

“they’ve been staying here, haven’t they? in this room?”

“this is my and collei’s-“

“don’t tell me you haven’t been able to feel the difference in the air? the way it seems to flow slowly, lingering, like it has something to wait for? there’s no heavy blankets on the bed, and yet everybody else is talking of how cold the weather’s been lately.”

“that’s because this is an insulated room, and we’re right up against a cliff.”

the quick pace to his heart was back, this time less of worry and more of confusion. you couldn’t be the creator, not when you bore so little resemblance to the one on the throne. you were good at what you did, plants thriving under your care even if you forget to water them. call him selfish, but tighnari almost wished the creator could go back to wherever they’d been, since they’d been much kinder there, both to their vessels and the world.

you weren’t them. they weren’t even close to being you.

“you’re considering it.”

he crossed his arms, forcing himself to still. “i’ll admit—not that you didn’t already know it—that we have taken a refugee into the village, one the sages might call a criminal-“

“that’s not what i mean, tighnari, and you know it.”

“can you give me a minute? you can’t just drop a massive load of information on me like that and expect me to continue like it didn’t happen!”

“you’re reacting oddly.”

“well of course i am, you’re telling me the same person i took in and sheltered from your bosses is somebody you want to take away back to them, and that’s not even covering their injuries- they’ve barely been able to walk outside of the village, and you want to take them to the city?”

“when did i say anything about the sages?”

tighnari stopped, his chest heaving. his hands froze mid-air, his tail still flicking in a mix of irritation and stress, thoughts moving quicker than he could understand them.

“what?”

“i never said anything about the sages. i never said i would take them.”

“w- well it’s implied, if not in your words then-“

“i don’t deal in implications. you know this.”

he did.

he knew cyno. he knew how he spoke and acted, he knew that the small emotion in his eyes was indicative of empathy and not ruthless justice. he knew he held reasoning in high standards, he knew that if he stopped and thought about the words coming from his mouth then he would agree.

but he couldn’t think.

all of his usual composure had faltered and faded, leaving him grasping for a hold as his thoughts swam like a raging river around him, even standing a struggle amidst the tide. all he could do was watch, his head racing and hands shaking, as cyno stood on the bank of rationality, with his crossed arms and cool eyes that dared him to step forward and sink beneath the waves.

he had no real reason to fear so much for you. by now you were gone, by now you were safe and far past the statue of the seven by the chasm, hidden in a place where even cyno would struggle to find you. you were crafty, clever, and you had more than enough supplies to last until he could go to find you.

he had no reason to be afraid.

yet his heart still raced a rhythm he couldn’t follow, his mind tripping and skipping with worry.

why?

his tail wrapped around his side and he picked out a cluster of petals from it, mostly just to give his hands something to do.

as he did, he noticed it was a full flower, likely knocked off one of the samples on the desk. it was small, blue, with smooth petals, and he recognized it after a moment’s pause.

“this is a hydrangea. what is it used for?”

the flower quivered in your shaking hands. “root and stem are for… for medicine. petals are tea.”

collei nodded, smiling brightly. “exactly! you’re a quick learner, aren’t you?”

you smiled sheepishly, trying to hand her back the flower, but collei held up a hand, closing her pack with her other hand.

“no, you keep it. take it as a congratulations for all your progress!”

you were hesitant to accept it, that much was clear, and tighnari tied off the small parcel in his hands before speaking.

“you really have done well. you’ve only been here for a few weeks, but you’ve learned a lot.” he set down the packed herbs beside where he was leaning on the table, directing all of his attention to you. “i know it’s mostly for safety, and you’re not going to be a ranger-“ too much paperwork was required, he couldn’t risk it “-but still. i’m proud of you.”

you smiled.

it likely wasn’t the same flower—that ‘class’ was months ago, now—but it dragged a realization to the surface of his mind.

in the short, fleeting time he’d known you, he had come to care for you as he did collei.

even then, only after a week or two of you being there, a certain fondness had taken root in his chest. something bright, something that bloomed like a rose yet without any of the thorns. something that he watered every time you winced when you walked, something you fostered when you helped treat collei’s eleazar when he was out clearing a withering zone.

something that grew as he realized the poultice you had made had helped clear the pain faster than anything he’d made, even as you both used the same recipe, something that lashed out when kamran questioned your place in the village. something that spurred him to action when he thought you were in trouble, even if it was only cyno.

something that burned bright, something hot that blurred his reasoning even when he knew it was wrong, something that made him want to bare his teeth and keep you safe by his side.

something that should be impossible for him to feel towards you, as it was a golden and warm feeling that did not exist in teyvat, only ever glimpsed at altars.

tighnari looked up from the flower and into cyno’s knowing eyes.

“alright.”

relief washed onto his face, a small nod the only other sign that he’d heard.

“i’ll report nothing to the team—i trust you’ve gone over this, given your reaction?”

he let the comment slide. “yes, everybody here knows what to do in the case of the akademiya or the millelith coming here. it was collei’s idea, actually, and she took care to make sure that everybody had it memorized.”

cyno nodded, taking a step towards the door. “good. and if you ever need to collei matra, just get me instead.”

“…”

“do you get-?”

“i got it, cyno.”

[seabirdtxt]

Hello! Just recently found your blog, and I am in love with your fanfic, Glitch In Irminsul!

I honestly have no idea if I'm the first one to request on your blog, but I do hope this idea is okay with you!

May I request this: Reader who is a comedian with Cyno, Tighnari and Collei, reacting to Reader making Cyno's bad jokes (quote on quote) "better"? You don't have to find a joke for Reader if you don't wanna :)

I'm a little obsessed with their dynamic as of right now. If you do happen to take this request, thanks :D

Also idk if you wanna take Anons, but if you do someday, is it alright if I claim "🎪 Anon" as my alias? Sorry if I'm asking too much! I hope you have a great day :)

hi!! thanks so much for your request, and your patience!! 🩵 i had a good bit of fun writing this for you, i love bad jokes 🤭

WC. 1092

----- ⚘ -----

As the General Mahamatra, and having been personally assigned to your guard by Lesser Lord Kusanali herself, it is Cyno’s sworn duty to attend to every need and whim of the almighty Creator.

And when the Creator demands that you tell them your absolute worst joke, the one that nobody has ever even laughed at yet, well, who is he to deny them?

“- didn’t realize that, at that very moment, a Hydro slime was praying to meet a lone, stranded traveler.” Cyno finishes the joke with a straight face, at the exact same moment that the door to the hut swings open, revealing Tighnari and Collei with several bags of groceries in their arms.

“Oh, Cyno, not the slime joke again.” Tighnari groans over the sound of your absolutely raucous laughter at the horrible joke.

“But the Creator likes it.” Cyno protests, gesturing to you hanging part way off the table and clutching your stomach. You honestly don’t find the joke itself all that funny, but the sheer confidence with which he tells it paired with the completely deadpan expression he has is sending you into hysterics.

“They’re going to eat each other!” You gasp, trying to sit back properly on the chair. A few lingering giggles hit you when you see Tighnari’s deeply disappointed expression. “Hahaha… but slimes don’t have a mouth, do they? How would it eat the person?”

“Exactly!” Tighnari says, pointing at Cyno with the hand not holding the groceries. “It doesn’t make any sense! Slimes wouldn’t-”

“And what did the stranded traveler say in that situation?” You add, confusing both Tighnari and Cyno into silence. Cyno blinks a few times, visibly wondering if there was a part of the joke that he forgot to tell, and he’s about to ask for clarification when Collei beats him to the punch.

“Your Grace, the traveler didn’t say anythi-” Collie begins, but you’re already on a roll.

“He said, ‘it must be slime for dinner!’”

You can’t help but erupt into laughter again at seeing everyone’s reactions: Collei’s slow realization, Cyno perking up excitedly, and Tighnari imploding with exasperation.

“You see, because ‘slime’ sounds like ‘time’-”

“Yes, Cyno. Thanks. I got the gist.”

You’re still gasping for air, leaning back in the chair and bracing yourself on the wall behind you. Tighnari’s frown falters a little, your joy infectious even if the joke is terrible.

“Slime for dinner, and sand for dessert!” You add, and Cyno chuckles even as he brings out his wretched book of jokes and begins writing an annotation in the margins, which Tighnari is sure the librarian will greatly appreciate later. “Get it? ‘Cause dessert, and desert?”

Tighnari is about to snarkily reply, when a surprising sound catches his attention. He turns with a horrified expression to Collei, who has her hand over her mouth and eyes wide in disbelief.

“Oh no, Collei…” Tighnari says warningly, shaking his head, which causes the girl to snort again and she quickly puts down her groceries before she can drop them.

“I- I’m sorry, Master,” she fights through her giggles, which only spurs you and Cyno on. “It’s just… it’s so bad…”

“Come on, ‘Nari, it’s just a joke,” Cyno attempts to bring the Valuka Shuna in on the fun. “Think of it as a way to break the ice.”

“Yeah, Tighnari,” you add. “Snow fun otherwise.”

Collei lets out a full belly laugh, to Tighnari’s dismay and Cyno’s apparent confusion.

“You’ve never laughed at my jokes like that,” the general points out, and Collei can only laugh harder.

“We’re morally obligated to laugh at the Creator’s jokes, ‘lest Their Grace smite us with impunity.” Tighnari states tonelessly, completely opposing his own statement.

That’s about as much as you can take. You slide bonelessly off the chair, howling with laughter on the floor like some kind of hyena.

“Look what you did! You corrupted the Creator!”

“The Creator told that joke all on their own!”

While Cyno and Tighnari are bickering, Collei helps you off of the floor, steadying you in your chair as you both come down from your laughing. She checks you over to make sure you didn’t injure yourself on your way down, then grabs her bag and rummages through it before producing a shiny red apple.

“We brought snacks!” she announces, handing you the fruit proudly. “And we have the stuff for dinner tonight! We picked these fresh, though. They’re very sweet this season!”

You take the apple with a grin and rub it on your shirt to clean it before taking a bite.

“Wow, these really are sweet! Thanks, Collei!” You marvel at how good the apple tastes, somehow different from Earth’s apples, with a refreshing, sugary taste.

“You’re very welcome!” Collei beams at the praise. “I’m gonna go get Master Tighnari to stop griping and help me with dinner, now, though.”

You perk up at the mention of cooking. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Oh, gosh, no! You’re our guest, please let us take care of it!” Collei insists, then scurries over to the other two.

You decide to follow her just as she’s asking Tighnari for help with cooking. The botanist huffs with mild annoyance, his tail sweeping from side to side.

“I’m not sure Cyno needs dinner, Collei,” he states. “Since he wants to act childish, perhaps it would be best to put him in time-out for the evening.”

“That’s not very knife of you, Tighnari,” you say before you can stop yourself. “Why don’t you fork-give him for now so we can have dinner together?”

Tighnari squints at you, somehow sensing you’ve made a pun (or two) despite your straight delivery.

“... Are you going to stop with the jokes too, Your Grace?” he asks, his ear flicking.

“What jokes? Collei wanted to ask for your help with the cooking. How can you say no to dish face?” You sidle up behind Collei and use your pointer fingers to make her smile, which she tolerates with surprising grace. “Isn’t she adora-bowl?”

“...” Tighnari maintains his stance for a few more seconds, and then sighs in defeat. “I don’t have a counter to that. Very well, I suppose I can let it slide for tonight, since it’s for you, Your Grace…”

“Hehehe, counter,” you mumble, which causes Collei to erupt into giggles once more, and Cyno to look extremely pleased with your ability.

And Tighnari to make a noise of exasperation, throwing his hands up and stomping toward the kitchen on his own.

“That’s it! I’ve had enough! I’m leaving!”

[nekoashiii]

this brainrot hit me like truck-kun so i must share it.

imagine reader personally celebrating the acolytes’ birthdays

gifting little klee a stuffed (non-exploding) jumpty dumpty and fresh new gunpowder on her special day

she more than appreciates that, but expect something to be completely bombed as her celebration…

or having ei come out of the plane of euthymia just so you could bake desserts with her. just try not to let her near the oven when it’s time to bake.

dragging xiao to the fanciest restaurant in liyue, despite his protesting on how unnecessary it all is. but at least they have almond tofu, that’s a plus!

on his special day, tartaglia’s first impression when you walked up to him is that you wish to spar!

of course, it took a bit of getting him to put down his bow explaining for him to figure out that you just wanted to gift him a brand new weapon. a shame, maybe you’ll want to spar next year?

Ngl anon I would buy tartaglia a guide on how to use a bow 💀🏃🏻‍♀️

Oh- you-

You wish to celebrate their birthday??

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Giving collei pretty clothes and hairpins for her birthday.

She appreciates that a lot! A jewel gifted to her from god is definitely an overwhelming concept for collei but nonetheless she would be wearing your gifts on daily basis.

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Giving Thoma mondstadt sweets and baking him a cake yourself!

A bit confused and intrigued on how you knew his birthday, did you pick the date of his birthday?

Just the two of you destroying the kamisato kitchen trying to cook foods from your world

Now you have ayato constantly trying to interrupt you two and snatch you away

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Giving Lisa and Miko books from you owned

That meant alot to them, to be honest Lisa wouldn't allow anyone to borrow or even touch the original copy of the book, rather displaying it in a glass cage in the middle of her Library

Miko wouldn't even make a noise about having access to a book from your own world, However she takes lots of inspiration from it!

[wolfiafuntime]

About The Cultists IV

How some members of the Temple of Sumeru joined the cult, what they do at the cult, and where they went when they were told to leave.

Ft. Alhaitham, Candace, Collei, Cyno, Dehya, Dori, Escher, Faruzan, Kaveh, Layla, Nahida, Nilou, Tighnari

Tw: Cults, kids being in cults, near-death experiences

Published: October 14, 2023

Words: 1,169 (1,142 w/o the names)

Pages: 3.5 (3.4 w/o the names)

Alhaitham Scribe: Was introduced to the cult by Rukkhadevata, and joined shortly after; curious to know how the false religion grew so quickly. He quickly worked his way up to the job of Scribe, in which he recorded every major event within the Temple. He refused multiple offerings to become one of the Priests, and even the Grand Priest, despite the disdain it got for him each time. Currently works as a court stenographer. Currently lives in an apartment with his fellow believer, Kaveh, who constantly berates him for 'not worshipping Their Grace enough'.

Candace Aaru: Joined the cult when she was young, when her uncle convinced the majority of her family to join. As she grew, she was elected to become one of the Temple's youngest Matras, and after taking the position, she quickly became one of the most-liked ones. Spends most of her time being the only Temple's only contact to the outside world; getting groceries, letters, etc. After being told to move out, she got herself a job as a Teyvat City Police Officer, and moved into an suburbian house with her family.

Collei Eleazar: First joined the Church of Mondstadt branch of the cult when they 'saved her from starving to death as an orphan'. Later, she moved to the Temple of Sumeru to get around-the-clock medical help for a just-then-identified desease. Spends her time taking care of the plants within the Temple, and the forest surrounding part of it. Due to how severe her condition is, she didn't have to leave the Temple. But she decided to move in with her main caretaker, Tighnari, when he offered. Currently lives in a suburbian house.

Cyno Mahamatra: Learned about the cult from Cyrus, not long after becoming his foster son, but only joined shortly after meeting Tighnari. As he grew up, he worked his way up to the position of General Mahamatra. Spends his time either hunting down sinners, or playing Genius Invokation TGC with anybody willing to play with him. Due to his position, he was one of the few permitted to stay, and thus he never moved out of the Temple. He's also one of the few members without a job after moving ou, so he can dedicate more time to the Temple and Their Grace.

Dehya Flame-Mane: Was introduced to the cult when they saved her from homelessness in her teen years, and joined shortly after. At first spent her time training to become a Matra. But she later shifted gears when she learned the Temple had only a dozen people donating money to it, and she got herself a job at Eremite Security. Currently works as a manager there. When she was told to move out, she convinced multiple of co-workers to get an apartment with her close to their place of work, so she could give most of her paycheck to the Temple. Gives a 40% discount to all members of the cult.

Dori Sangemah Bay: Was introduced to the cult by Alice Hexenzirkl, and joined when she learned they could help her take care of her older sister. When she learned that the Temple of Sumeru was the poorest of all seven branches of the cult, she decided to spend her time making money for it. Somehow founded both a mall and shipping company, both named Alcazarzaray, and both extremely popular, and gets 45% of all financial proceeds. When she was told to move out, she got a penthouse in Teyvat City, which somehow didn't make a dent in her monthly donation to the cult.

'Escher Doctor': Was introduced to the cult when he and his team were told to investigate it. Originally 'joined' through a contact in the Church of Sneznhaya, but later transferred to the Temple of Sumeru, where he learned his lost daughter was a member. Spends his time treating sick members of the Temple, and using their weak minds to gain information from them. Currently works as a paramedic for Bimarstan, and currently lives in a suburbian house not far from Collei's.

Faruzan Haravatat: Was introduced to the cult by Tighnari and Collei, whom she not long after waking from a decade-long coma, and joined shortly after. Spends her time teaching the children and teens of the Temple both english and literature. When she was told to move out, she finished getting her doctorate in education, and took up a job teaching college kids english and literature. Currently lives in a studio apartment in Teyvat City, not too far from Akademiya University-- her place of work.

Kaveh Light: Was introduced to the cult by Dori when she hired him to build her mall, but didn't join until the project made him broke. Spends his time trying to find ways to sneak art in the Temple of Sumeru; finding it insulting that a place dedicated to The Creator doesn't have any creations of it's own. Currently works as a renowned architect, who is still broke on account of him donating all money he gains to the Temple. When he was told to move out, he tried looking for a place of his own, but eventually settled for Alhaitham's offer to live in his suburbian house.

Layla Rtawahist: Was introduced to the cult by Dori, but didn't join until three major events happened: Losing all of her scholarship money, gaining major insecurities and anxiety in college, and learning that her two idols (Mona and Lisa) were a part of the cult. Spends a lot of her time at the cult either sleeping or studying.

Nahida Irminsul: Was the first member born into the cult, and is believed to be the reincarnation of Their Grace's fourth-born: Sumeru. Due to this, she was granted the position of Dendro Archon. Mostly spends her time in solitude, being taught by Grand Priest Azar and the six priests below him. Due to her position, she's one of the few permitted to stay.

Nilou Zubayr: Was introduced to the cult by her idol, a man with the same last name as her, but didn't join until after meeting Dehya. Was shocked to learn that the Temple saw all forms of art as illegal, and only allowed it for people like architects and engineers. Spends her time trying to convince the Priests to allow art during bigger events held in Their Grace's name. Secretly works as a dancer at Zubayr Theatre, as the Temple doesn't allow artistic jobs. When she was told to move out, she got a studio apartment close to her job.

Tighnari Avidya: Was introduced to the cult when they saved him from a heat stroke, and joined shortly after. Spends his time taking care of the plants in and surrounding the Temple, and taking care of sick individuals. When he was told to move out, he got himself a job as a park ranger at a place named Gandharva Park, and moved into a suburbian house with Collei.

Link to series masterlist

[deeranon]

Troubling Travels | deer! Creator reader

Note: I’m kinda bad at writing fight scenes. Or…are there no fight scenes at all? :)

For @idkfitememate Hope you like it :D

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Cyno cursed like his life depended on it. Tighnari was going to kill him if he ever found out about this. That was, if he made it out alive, first.

It had started out like any other day. You were happily gathering leaves and sticks for your secret little hoard(that wasn’t very secret, Tighnari knew about everything) of weapons (that were not actually weapons) to be used on Dottore if he ever thought of stepping foot anywhere near Collei or Tighnari or any Sumeru character ever. Minus the sages, they were also going to be victims of your mighty stick-hoard if you ever saw them. (Yes, you were peaceful but some things could not be forgiven.)

Tighnari had given you the nickname “ورقة الشجر الصغيرة”, little leaf, a few weeks after you had persistently stuck around even after you had healed from the treasure hoarder attack. And it stuck surprisingly well. Now, as of today, you were unofficially-but officially in the hearts of all Gandharva Ville residents—“منظم الأوراق الرسمي وجامع الأوراق الرسمي”, the official leaf organizer and collector. As a sort of celebration for your “promotion” Tighnari had asked Cyno to come visit during your “first ever official leaf collecting mission” in a letter he had sent a few weeks back. Indeed, Tighnari had planned to promote you for some time now. But it was hard keeping you distracted while they secretly set up a surprise party. But they managed to succeed in the end.

The entire village was decorated with various flower garlands(all given the green light by Tighnari) and tables were filled to the brim with tasty food for both humans and deer. People chatted animatedly with one another as they ate and danced. You were content to stand on the sidelines with Collei, eating a delicious salad while the forest rangers weaved you and their friends flower crowns. Seeing others happy made you happy.

The promotion party went well into the evening, with multiple excursions led by you to gather more fruit from the forest.(Tighnari was so proud that you remembered which fruits he told you were safe to eat and which were not) And when Cyno arrived with his ever neutral looking beautiful face, you were sure you were about to faint from happiness.

You had pranced up to him with a specially made flower bracelet just for him. Okay-YOU didn’t make it, Collei weaved it for you because trying to make a flower bracelet with hooves is hard. Sometimes, you missed your hands. But this form had its perks. Like the headpats you got and the wonderfully therapeutic back rubs when Tighnari brushed your fur for you. But you certainly deserved points for somehow communicating to your dear friend Collei that you wanted to make a bracelet for someone. The purple flowers probably helped.

Cyno looked down at your happy doe-face, or as happy as a deer could look with a deer-face. You were preening so much Cyno swore he saw sparkles emanating from you. You held the flower bracelet on the top of your fluffy head between the place where your antlers were starting to grow in. It was made of purple dahila’s and anemones, he noted before picking the bracelet up and sliding it onto his wrist.

“Thank you, little one. I promise to keep it safe.” Cyno said, slowly reaching out a cautious hand. Like Tighnari had taught him to do with stray cats and dogs. Sure, you were a deer, but it still counted, right?

In reply, you let out a giddy bleat and shoved your head underneath his calloused hand with vigor. Cyno felt his lips twitch into a smile. This wasn’t your first time meeting Cyno, but he was always so busy enforcing the law as General Mahamatra that he rarely had time to visit. So time spent with the general was special. He was happy to know you were doing well. Tighnari wrote about you in his letters frequently.

You nuzzled into his touch for a moment longer before backing away and prancing off into the festivities, stopping to look back at him with an expectant look.

Come join me!

Cyno paused before following after you. He wasn’t one for large parties but you looked so happy that he couldn’t decline. Besides, Tighnari and Collei were chilling out somewhere, so he could always go find them after hanging out with you in the core of the festivities. Maybe then he could pick up on the Genius Invocation TCG match he was having with Tighnari and Collei last time he was here. Oh, and maybe he could teach you how to play? Wouldn’t that be something.

It was nightfall now. Everyone was tuckered out from the party, fast asleep in their beds. Well, all except for two people and a deer.

“You don’t have to see me off. You should go get some rest for tomorrow.” Cyno said, adjusting the strap that held his canteen to his belt. Both you and Tighnari sighed at this.

“It’s not like we’re forcing ourselves to see you off. We want to do this. And there’s nothing you can do to change our minds.” Tighnari huffed as he crossed his arms.

You stomped your hoof in agreement. You chose to see Cyno off in the middle of the night, even though you knew you had things to clean up tomorrow. You knew how rarely you had one on one Cyno bonding time, and Cyno was one of your favorite characters in Sumeru. His bravery and strength in the heat of battle was something you saw as admirable.

Besides, you never knew when you would see Cyno next, or if he would be okay on a mission. His job was dangerous, and sometimes that made you worry. If only you could go with him…

Wait a second.

You COULD go with Cyno!

While you were connecting the dots in your head, Cyno had gotten fully ready to head off. He gave Tighnari a nod before turning his attention to you, who stood at the fox-eared male’s side with the same happy expression you had on that evening. Cyno felt his heart squeeze at the sight. He would, admittedly, miss you while he was gone. This next mission was going to be a long one.

So, he kneeled down and gave you a gentle pat on the head. You let out a bleat and shoved your head under his chin(making him bite his tongue on accident) in a makeshift hug. Now would have been a nice time to have hands. But you were never one to complain much. Cyno gave a small smile and rubbed your back before starting to pull away. It was time for him to leave.

With a final delightful scratch behind your large fluffy deer ears, Cyno stood and started to walk away.

Only, he wasn’t alone.

You followed after him with a happy pep in your trot.

Cyno paused. Tighnari tried not to laugh. You shimmered like you had never shimmered before.

Cyno sighed and shook his head before pointing to the ground and stating “stay.” in his best commanding voice. Internally, Cyno knew it was futile attempting to order a deer around, when it obviously wasn’t going to understand him. You stared at him innocently. Cyno took it as a sign to start walking again. Only for you to follow(again).

This repeated multiple times. (Tighnari almost burst a lung from laughter, exhaustion was clearly getting to the usually calm and collected fox ranger)

“I think they want to go with you, Cyno.” Tighnari finally said. Cyno stared at Tighnari.

“Yes. I don’t think I noticed.” He huffed. You let out another call and ran circles around Cyno’s legs with excitement, and Cyno felt his heart soften. It wasn’t that he didn’t want you to come with him, it was just that the desert was an incredibly dangerous place. Especially since you had no natural defenses. Not to mention your fur. You would bake like an egg on the sidewalk in the middle of a heatstroke in a matter of minutes. Cyno knew this, because Tighnari had the exact same problem. And he didn’t want to see you suffer.

Yet you seemed adamant about staying with him. Both could see that. Cyno didn’t know what to do. Should he find a way to keep you with Tighnari? Or let you follow him into the lonely desert?

Tighnari took Cyno’s silence as his cue to become the voice of reason. “I am not one for old tales, but it’s been said for hundreds of years that animals have an innate sense of danger. A sixth sense, even. Or sometimes called premonition. Whatever you want to call it, having a companion that can sense danger early on could be an invaluable asset to your missions, Cyno.” Cyno didn’t seem fully convinced. So Tighnari continued with a bit more seriousness than before. “Deer have around 297 million olfactory receptors, meaning their nose is better than any human’s or dog’s. Their eyes are also better than a human’s at night—and they detect movement faster than people, too. Deer can also hear high frequency sounds, and can move both ears in different directions at the same time. These assets are perfect for helping to track down thieves and rouges. And I’m positive you already know how intelligent little leaf is. Their level of understanding is basically unheard of.”

Cyno nodded, but his face was blank. “I know. But the desert is unforgiving to all. I’m just skeptical about how they might respond to the temperatures of the desert. I wouldn’t want them getting hurt if they can’t fight back.” You were after all, a deer. Sure, you had multiple advantages over Cyno in tracking abilities but you were still considered prey. It was a reasonable thought.

After all, how could they know that you were a human isekai’ed into a deer’s body?

But you were determined to go with Cyno. You rubbed your head into his legs pleadingly. As if to send the message that you would be alright.

Cyno instinctively ran his calloused hand through the fur on your neck, making you preen at the attention. You could tell he was standing on the edge of agreement. He just needed one last nudge.

“Let’s put it this way. I put the little leaf under your care and protection while in the desert so that you can help me record their reactions and adaptability in a different environment. They are, after all, an unknown species of deer. No deer recorded has natural markings like theirs in any document ever, so it’s imperative that we find out as much as we can about them so that we can learn more.” Tighnari reasoned, pointing to your lush furry coat that Cyno was carding through at that very moment. And he was correct. You did have a unique design. (Description below is optional)

Small splotches that looked almost like stars littered your neck and spine, with two small white diamond-like teardrops touching the corner of your eyes. Your eyes were more focused, like there was an actual thought going on inside your head instead of the soul devouring gaze a deer usually had. Your ears were fluffy and faded in an ombre fashion to an almost unnatural pitch black colour, as did your fluffy tail-except it faded to a snowy white. There was even a white four pointed star like the ones you see on a compass rose in the middle of your fluffy forehead.

Safe to say, you didn’t exactly look like a normal deer. “They could very well be the last of their kind, or they lost their parcel in some kind of accident before Collei and I found them. Whatever the case, we need more information to understand how we can help little leaf in the best way possible. Like putting protective laws up to keep them from harm.” Tighnari finished. And that seemed to convince Cyno immediately.

“Alright. I’ll bring them with me. And I swear on my life to keep them safe.” Cyno promised with a solemn nod. Tighnari huffed as he crossed his arms, smile barely hidden.

“You better. Now get going before I change my mind.” Tighnari snapped, making a ‘shoo’ motion with his hand. Cyno stood and gave another nod of respect before turning around and walking out of Gandharva Ville with you at his side. Just as you both walked out of earshot, and out of Tighnari’s sight, he murmured “Stay safe…” before turning around and heading for his hut. So that he could sleep his worries away.

And also because it was past midnight.

꘎♡━━━━━♡꘎

You watched silently as Cyno set up camp behind a large rock that would block out most of the piercing grains of sand flying in the wind. It has been six days since you set off with the general mahamatra into the endless desert. And night was starting to fall. Which meant possible bandit attacks or wild animal attacks. Or maybe a mix of both. It was hard to tell these things before they happened. Minus bandit attacks. Cyno eliminated any human trouble before you could even catch a glimpse of the ruffians.

The wind howled ferociously at both you and Cyno, who seemed unfazed at the sand trying to stab into his eyes and turn him blind. And yet you almost didn’t feel the screaming wind yourself. Probably because of your wonderous coat of fur. Hopefully it wouldn’t be a headache to brush out later. It would add to Cyno’s work, which was already a hassle itself. Curse your lack of hands(once again). You watched as the sun slowly set and the sands cooled before your eyes, giving you reprieve from the sweltering heat. You were just glad you hadn’t grown your winter coat yet. That would have been a nightmare.

The night rose, eclipsing the golden sky as Cyno finished setting up the tent. Yet something felt off. Like when you glance at a picture and then leave, only to return and realize something is different about it but you can’t tell what it is. It was an unsettling feeling in the back of your head that wouldn’t go away.

Cyno seemed to feel it as well, his gaze was dead set on the hills of sand. You stared out at the vast sea, ears perked and swiveling like satellites. But there was nothing odd that you could sense, only the rising wind. You sniffed at the air next. Immediately your nose was rushed with a million different scents, all leading to something different than the last. It had greatly confused you when you first awoke to so many new smells, but over time it became easier to sort them out. Now, your nose was a valuable tool.

And right now, the air crackled with the scent of rain.

You let out a sigh of both relief and disappointment before trotting through the tarp entrance of the tent. Cyno continued to stare at the dunes with an unnerving gaze before turning to follow you inside. But not before grabbing his pike and surveying the area protectively. Just to make sure.

The wind was so angry and wild that you were almost certain your ears were going to bleed out. The rain had arrived with the sandstorm an hour after Cyno had managed to set the camp tent up, meaning you were both lucky enough to not get absolutely clobbered by the bullet-like water droplets.

You could hear nothing but the persistent rain and the raging wind of the midnight storm.

And that meant you couldn’t hear the footsteps approaching with each clap of thunder.

But Cyno knew every trick in the book. Nothing would escape his senses. Not when he had someone important to protect with him. You blearily watched as he tightened his grip on his weapon from where he sat with your fuzzy head in his lap, drowsy from exhaustion. He gently lifted your head from his legs, trading them out for the second of two blankets he had packed for the journey.

Next thing you knew, Cyno was rushing out of the tent like it had been set on fire.

Your mind was hazy from what little sleep you had mustered, so his reaction didn’t fully compute in your brain for multiple minutes before you rushed to your shaky legs. Having four legs instead of two had certainly been a challenge at first, and still was when you weren’t focused or completely energized. So you couldn’t help but berate yourself silently as you wobbled like a drunkard ready to pass out before you made it to the tent flap.

Outside, Cyno was fighting three mercenaries dressed in red in the rain at once. All had sun kissed skin and brownish-black hair, but they used different weapons, meaning Cyno had to duel three different battles all at once. One used a spear, the second had a crossbow with odd smelling arrows, while the third held a metal axe so big you were convinced it better belonged with a mitachurl.

Cyno swung his pizza paddle polearm through the air like it was an extension of himself, blocking a heavy swing coming from the axe-wielder with the shaft of his weapon that glowed amber in the dark night. A whistle sounded through the air as an arrow shot through the sky, bringing its horribly odd scent with it.

You watched, mortified at the realization that Cyno might get hit with what you now realized was an arrow tipped in poison. Time seemed to slow as Cyno turned his head at the sound of the arrow whistling while simultaneously swinging at the axe-wielder and striking him in his chest, ripping through the man’s skin like it was butter. The large man crumpled to the sand. But that wasn’t the end. Just as the arrow was about to strike Cyno’s shoulder, he let out a growl and electro crackled through the air.

“Futile!”

Cyno lunged forward and snapped the arrow into a thousand tiny pieces before leaping at the crossbow user and kicking the weapon out of his hands.

The man let out a yelp that turned into a scream as large bolts of bright purple lightning wracked his body. Cyno was holding the man’s shoulder in an iron grip, using himself like a taser. The male let out a final wail before he slumped over, either dead or unconscious.

For a single second, all was silent.

Then, there was a war cry piercing the air. The third man, the one with the spear, had jumped from the top of a rock and was plummeting down to Cyno with murderous intent.

But Cyno was not fazed.

“Your sins weigh upon your soul!”

There was a sudden explosion of light around Cyno as his vision burned bright in the endless pitch black night. His body was swathed in glowing purple binds that circled and looped into large claw-like hands sharper than any dagger or sword. Runes in an ancient unknown language were burned into the glowing cloth that snaked around his arms. The headpiece glowed with the same runes as eyes, now open and uncovered, shone with golden light. An ominous had aura surrounded Cyno as he called for the divine spirit to indwell him. Now, that aura turned into furious electricity that snapped and swatted at its enemies.

The man with the spear screamed as an elongated electro arm of Pactsworn Pathclearer reached out and grabbed him from mid air. He tried to use his spear to pierce the hand that held him, but it merely broke into minuscule shards the moment it even grazed the claws. In retaliation, it’s grip tightened significantly before it flung the man to the ground, where his head hit a rock with a sickening crack.

And just like that, the battle was over. Three bodies laid in the sand, defeated. There were no more attackers left for Cyno to defeat.

Or at least, that’s what Cyno thought in the second he had let his guard down. Electro fizzling out around him.

You knew otherwise.

Ten more figures emerged from beyond the dunes.

But you were more worried about the sniper with poison tipped arrows and a bow who was aiming right for Cyno at that very moment.

With a bleat, you rushed up the cliff side faster than you had ever run before. Rain still pelleted you like knives as thunder rumbled in the sky high above you. But you continued to run.

The sniper drew the bowstring to the tip of his mouth.

You scrambled to the top of the cliff on shaky legs, making a mad dash for the archer who was so incredibly focused on aiming he didn’t even notice the sound of your pounding hooves as they kicked up sand. Your body hidden in the blackness of night. He would never see you coming.

Cyno stood below, head whipping around as he looked for you frantically. The moon was halfway to approaching midnight but it was already almost pitch black. The rain was no help, either.

The best thing Cyno could do right now is focus on the incoming targets. Their footsteps against the sand were in no way trying to be hidden, and the sickening feeling Cyno was sensing set him on edge.

Cyno’s mind was a flurry of different emotions, but if he wanted to stay alive long enough to look for you and complete his mission, he had to focus on the fight in front of him. So he readied his spear and crouched, gathering all the energy he could into his legs as the waited for the enemies to strike.

Just like Cyno expected, they lunged for him with weapons in hand in a consecutive attack. But Cyno was more than ready. After all, what kind of general mahamatra would he be if he couldn’t defeat ten people? Admittedly, he had never fought ten on one at the same time before and in almost total darkness while it stormed heavily. But there was a first time for everything, right?

The sniper smirked, homing in on his target with horrid mirth twinkling in his eyes. His comrades had surrounded Cyno in a circle, caging him in as he jumped from one fight to another. Though many were beaten and bruised, it did not matter if they fell. For they were merely a distraction so that he may make the shot that would end the wretched general mahamatra Cyno once and for all. His heart beat giddily in his ears as his fingers started to loosen their grip on the poison tipped arrow aimed right at Cyno’s heart.

Though it will not be beating for much longer his mind purred.

Pure thrill pulsed through his veins as he his fingers slowly slip from the bowstring. His heart beat spiked just as his fingers slid from the string, only to let out a mighty howl of pain as something crashed into his shoulder, sending him teetering on the cliff face, his right hand flailing and his toes grazed air. There was a snap as the bowstring thrummed against whatever crashed into him with such force. He let out a colourful string of curses when he realized his aim had been jarred into missing Cyno’s heart.

So when he looked down at the perpetrator:

he saw a deer.

His rage increased tenfold and he let out a furious yowl, gripping onto the creature’s neck as it rushed at him once again. It cried out as they both went careening off the edge of a tall cliff. But the man only smiled manically.

If he could not kill his target, he would take with him the life that tried to protect it. Even if it meant meeting his end.

“NO!”

There was a cry, but it was swept into the whistling wind.

There was a sharp pain in the back of his head.

Then, everything went dark.

Cyno huffed, glaring at the mercenaries with cold eyes as he tightened his grip on his polearm once again. Rain had somehow made it past his visor and onto his face, but he couldn’t care less.

He readied himself to fight once again when there was a loud scream echoing through the desert.

Only seconds after, an arrow shot through the air.

Slicing off Cyno’s bracelet of flowers.

There was another cry. But it was inhuman. Cyno whipped around, heart racing as his eyes caught sight of a man dragging you off of a cliff so high he knew there was likely no chance you were going to survive the fall alive.

“NO!” He screamed, rushing forward. Maybe he could catch you before you hit the ground. But it was futile. The ring of mercenaries would not let him leave.

His wrist felt horribly bare without the bracelet there to occupy it.

Cyno cursed like his life depended on it. Tighnari was going to kill him if he ever found out about this. That was, if he made it out alive, first.

You closed your teary eyes tight as you and the man’s body tumbled through the air. The wind screamed and thunder wailed, and for a split second you could hear nothing. Everything around you was surely passing in a blur.

This was going to hurt. A lot. If you even made it out alive. But what could you do to stay alive and keep the man from getting killed? You didn’t mean to push him off the cliff!

Time seemed to slow as your mind rushed to think of any possible solution. But only scraps of a plan formed.

Whatever!

There isn’t enough time to plan!

Do something before you both die!

So you opened your eyes and winged it.

You bunched your limbs close to your chest and then kicked them straight into the insane man’s chest, making him wheeze but also sending him crashing into a miraculously small ledge head first.

You were accidentally sent flying into the open mouth of a large cave from the force you had put into the kick. A searing pain ripped into your shoulder as you started to loose altitude and fall to the cave floor. A rock had sliced your shoulder open, leaving a blood stain on the rock and a small waterfall of blood trickling down your fur. You let out a cry of pain as you tumbled into the ground blanketed by a thin layer of sand.

You were beaten, but you were alive! Hooray!

The world outside of the cave raged with almost killer intent as the storm grew worse and lightning started to strike as the wind screamed. It was best to stay in the cave until it cooled over, you wisely decided.

You lifted your head at the sound of rumbling from further within the cave, making your ears swivel and your nose twitch. If there was something dangerous deeper in the cave you would rather take your chances with the storm outside.

But all you could smell was the faint scent of dried herbs and burnt fire wood. Which wasn’t very normal for a cave at all. You knew it would be a better idea to stay near the mouth of the cave, but you were injured and your fur was uncomfortably wet and all you wanted at the moment was something to warm yourself up while you waited for the storm to end so that you could look for Cyno.

So with a great heave, you lifted yourself onto your four wobbly legs and adventured deeper into the cave. Your shoulder throbbed with spite as you moved, but you ignored it and continued on.

You limped through a long tunnel filled with iron ore and an unlit stove ,as well as crystals of all colours, making you silently awe at the sight as you passed into a wide cavern filled with luscious green trees and red vultures that hopped branch to branch. Rocks mysteriously started to float in the air the further you walked into the great cavern. As did a bright white light.

By the time you had reached the far end of the cavern, the light was almost blinding. You squinted to make out anything but the tunnel branching deeper into the earth would not yet reveal its secrets to you.

There was another rumble.

The scent of dried herbs grew stronger the longer you stood in front of the glowing tunnel, too nervous to move. A distant feeling of familiarity tickled the back of your mind as your eyes darted around the area nervously. The vultures seemed ignorant as the ground shook, so surely there was no danger nearby. You took a shaky hoof-step back as the walls started to tremble as well. Your ears went flat as you glanced back to the tunnel from whence you came.

Should you leave?

But you could still hear the roar of thunder outside, meaning the storm had yet to stop. No. You could end up getting killed in the storm if you weren’t careful. And your wound still throbbed. It was best to stay in the cave. Though maybe you should just stay near the entrance. Yes, that sounded like a good idea.

You turned your head back around only to be greeted with a long snout sniffing at your fur where the tunnel should have been.

You let out a bleat of surprise and jumped several feet in the air, heart racing.

Then, it hit you.

This was the tunnel to Apep’s den.

And right before you was Apep. Or—it’s head, at least. The tunnel was much too small for its large serpentine-like body to fully fit through.

Oh. So Apep was the one giving off the dried herb smell. That…made sense, actually.

Apep stared down at you with its large glowing eyes that lit up the earth in a gentle glow.

“It has been quite a long time since I have last seen you, Mother. I am overjoyed to know that you are alive and well after all this time.” Apep said, voice gentle and lulling. A stark contrast to what you had heard from behind a screen.

You could only stand shocked, unable to think.

Apep stared at your frozen form with a sad gaze, sighing through it’s nose sadly(if that was even possible). “Ah, I see you do not remember. But that is to be expected after all that happened back then.” Apep paused to lower it’s head to the ground and nudge your furry cheek gently with it’s own. “You are the Creator of Teyvat. So you are Divine Mother of all. Though how I see it, only the mighty dragons like myself should be allowed to call you Mother. For we were the first. But perhaps your tastes have changed over the time you were gone. Shall I call you Divine One, one of your many titles?”

Apep’s words barely made sense to you right now. But one thing you knew very well.

Apep had called you the divine creator of Teyvat.

But truly, you wanted nothing more than to just be called by your name. No tittle needed. Maybe it was because Apep’s words had yet to sink in or you didn’t wish to be put upon a pedestal. Or maybe because you were a truly kind being to all. (This was really starting to feel like one of the SAGAU! fanfictions you liked to read in your free time) (and also because you didn’t want Arlechino to come after you)

But how were you going to get that across to Apep?

You let out a bleat.

The lights all along Apep’s sides glowed in recognition as it’s eyes somehow grew kinder and happier.

“I understand. That is a lovely name. May I truly be allowed to call you by it?” Apep said. You nodded. You would like nothing more than for Apep to call your by name. “Very well. Now, how is it that we have come to meet after all this time?”

And so, you told Apep everything that happened in the past week.

And it had some very strong words to say about some things. But Apep promised that once the storm passed it would make sure you reunited with Cyno.

And you did. Cyno did not physically show the worry on his face but he never let you out of his sight for the rest of the mission. Even as he dragged an unconscious rouge researcher behind him with an iron grip.

It was also safe to say, Cyno got a good scolding from Tighnari when you returned to Gandharva Ville.

╚⏤⏤⏤╗❀╔⏤⏤⏤╝

[kuamiru]

The Golden Child Part IV

SAGAU & Impostor AU where the reader is the child of the actual creator.

Warnings: Blood, crying blood, mention of abduction and terrorism.

If you haven't read part 3 yet, you can find it here.

Please understand that I won't add new people to the taglist as it has become way too large now. I'm sorry if this causes any inconvenience.

The acting Grand Sage was having a very, very busy week.

With his resignation coming soon, he wanted to finish every document that needed his immediate attention; somehow, his shift was never enough to finish everything on time.

Piles of documents that never seemed to end. Countless people needed his help that went from the most mundane things to twisted crimes that needed the immediate intervention from the Matra. In any case, once he started his working hours, there was no time to waste.

So, that was why the presence of the man in front of him managed to irk him greatly. There was enough time to be a nuisance at home, why did Kaveh feel the need to come bother him at work?

"But I'm telling you!" The blonde exclaimed. "There's definitely something weird about it!"

He sighed. "Well then, did it look like that child was being held against their will?"

"Well, no, but—"

"Then there's nothing I can do. The most I can offer is to send a Matra to investigate and/or interrogate that Lord. For all you know, they could simply be an Eremite's child."

Kaveh wanted to tell him that no, that wasn't the case, but in reality he didn't know that. There was just a feeling, a strange sensation that made him think that there must be something more about them. Kidnapped, an Eremite's child, the illegitimate Lord's child... No option sat well with him.

If Alhaitham saw that child, would he share Kaveh's thoughts?

Fuck it. If Alhaitham didn't want to help him, then he would investigate this matter himself.

Just as he was about to curse his roommate and storm away, the grand doors opened with a loud bang. Before seeing who intruded like that, they first heard the loud gasps and whispers of the scholars outside his office.

"Alhaitham!" The voice of a particular forest watcher resonated around the room. Both him and Kaveh were taken aback at the sight of the newcomers. They were bloody, beaten up, with bandages loosely covering certain areas of their bodies as if they only did it to stop the bleeding and not for properly treating the wounds. Collei was supporting both her weight and Tighnari's, as she was helping him stand and walk. "We need your help!"

The fact that Tighnari didn't refer to him as 'acting Grand Sage' denoted alarming urgency. He quickly rose from his seat and called for immediate medical help. Kaveh ran to his friend's side, gently removing him from Collei and letting him use his own body as support, earning a thankful glance from the girl. The wounds in his body started to bleed again, soaking the bandages and some of Kaveh's clothes in the process.

"What happened to you?!" The blonde asked in a panic.

Collei was still taking deep breaths, exhausted for having to carry her mentor all the way to Sumeru City. "The Ville! We were attacked!"

Alhaitham opened his eyes all the way thanks to his surprise. How come the Gandharva Ville had been attacked and he was only finding out now? By the look of the injuries, he guessed it must've happened yesterday.

"Wow, calm down! Breathe first." Kaveh said. "Explain what happened."

As the medic of the Akademiya arrived and started to treat Tighnari, Collei composed herself and started to explain everything from the beginning.

She told them about the child in the forest that was attacked by Eremites, with their family presumably dead by the Eremite's hands. How Tighnari heard them and immediately appeared to help the kid, safely escorting them to the Gandharva Ville so they could decide what to do next. She also explained how those mercenaries came back for revenge, attacking their Ville and abducting the child once every fighter was down.

Her words shocked the blonde. He looked at his roommate, half in disbelief that his own suspicions turned out to be true.

"You say they took them? Grabbed them and disappeared into the forest?"

"Yes, yes... I was knocked out and they managed to get to them...!" Collei cried. "You have to do something! Those Eremites killed their family and now have kidnapped them!"

The grand doors opened once again, and Tighnari and Kaveh both breathed a sigh of relief at the figure standing in the doorway.

The general Mahamatra had arrived.

"I heard there was a commotion here." Cyno spoke. Tighnari greeted him by saying his name, which made the newcomer turn his attention to him. When he laid his eyes upon the wounded fox hybrid and saw how beaten up he was, his blood boiled with deep rage. "What happened?"

Sensing danger from the short man, Alhaitham quickly composed himself and started to explain the situation. This didn't seem to help Cyno calm down. In fact, every word he spoke only served to fuel his anger.

"We must do something then. That child must be in danger." The general said. "We must rescue them. I'll also arrange for the other matras to track down and hunt those Eremites that raided the Ville."

Tighnari nodded. "Let's go."

"YOU won't go. The 'we' I was talking about is composed of Alhaitham, the Matra and I."

"What?!" Kaveh, Tighnari and Collei cried in unison.

"Regarding the seriousness of the situation, it's only natural that this matter is solved within members of the Matra and Akademiya." Alhaitham explained. "It could be extended to inhabitants of the Gandharva Ville, but the only thing they need now is a good doctor and a lot of rest."

"No way!" Tighnari shouted. "I have to get them back! I have to, I have to..."

His voice faded into intelligible mumbles, repeating again and again the same words. This was the first time Cyno had seen his best friend like this. What could have happened to make him act this way? Those damned Eremites... He would make sure they paid for what they've done.

Alhaitham and the grand general were quick to exit the office and start gathering people to accompany them to Alcazarzaray.

This matter had to be settled right now.

One of the people present also made his way to the exit, only that she did in the complete opposite way.

.

You were feeling very, very warm.

It was as if a giant marshmallow was enveloping you, gently offering a comfortable space to rest while you dozed off with a sense of security.

Suddenly, hand rested on your head, carefully caressing your hair in a loving manner. You opened your eyes, only to find a silhouette cradling you and watching you with hearts on their eyes.

"Keep sleeping, stardust." A soothing voice came out of their lips. "Once you wake, I won't get to hold you like this again."

The sadness in their tone made your heart ache. You gently raised your hand and rested it on their cheek, smiling when they wore a surprised expression.

"Tata..." You whispered. "Papa said they took you..."

You tried to keep smiling, you were seeing your parent again! But the thought of everything that happened only fueled the pain in your chest, making you let a sob out before starting to fully crying.

Your parent stopped the caressing to instead hug you tightly. Whispered sweet words in your ear. "You're too young for everything's that happening. How I wish I could still be hugging you in reality, and not just in this dream."

So this was a dream. Well, it didn't matter. This was the place your parent was, where you could touch them once again.

"Why did they do it...?" You could only ask between sobs.

You could hear your tata let a sigh. Both them and your father had tried to explain everything to you, at least the best they could to a little child. But maybe all you needed right now was the truth.

"I'm the one who created this world." They spoke. With a wave of their hand, something akin to stardust was born from it. It made you giggle a little. "And as such, I also wanted to live here as a mortal like everyone. Like your father, like you."

You looked into their eyes and saw all the love they had for you.

"I descended in a new body, with no powers and no memory. But the mortals and gods... Over time, they became obsessed with the idea of me. Of a being of pure love, power, and divinity. Being in a mortal body, I possessed none of that, so it was only natural that they thought I was an impostor trying to deceive them."

With each word, their tone became more and more solemn. "They... killed my body, so I now return to be a deity unapproachable by any of them. Any, except for you."

They kissed your nose gently.

"You are my child, my flesh and blood, and though I had a mortal body when you were conceived, my divinity still flows in you."

Their fingers brushed the cut in your arm, the one you got when you protected your father back in the Chasm. You averted your eyes from it. It only served to remind you what you lost that day.

"I want nothing more than destroy this world and the people in it for everything they've done to their own creator. But..."

Strangely enough, those words filled with hatred did not worry you in the slightest. Was it because it was your parent who said them? "But...?" You trailed on.

"But you and him still live here. And I do not wish for you both to feel anything remotely close to what I've experienced."

The hug enveloping you became a little tighter, as if your tata was trying to heal all their pain by embracing you.

It was a silent promise. One that said that as long as you both were alive, then the world would remain untouched.

"I miss you." You whispered, hiding your face in their chest.

"I miss you too, stardust. I hope you both live your life to the fullest before finally being reunited again. I love you."

You felt a warm and gentle kiss on your forehead and raised your head to see your parent one last time only to find a pillow resting above you, right where your tata had been. You let a sad sigh at the sight of an unknown bedroom and strange bed.

So, it really was just a dream. But it felt so real... you could still feel the tenderness of their touch and the tingle their lips left on your skin. How you missed your family...

Looking at the window in front of the bed, you noticed that the sun was already starting to set. It seemed that you fell asleep crying in your aunt's arms, how embarrassing. But to sleep all day? It really showed how your situation was exhausting your little body.

There was a small table at your right side with a plate of food on it. There was a note attached to it, with your name written on the upside. You took it and tried to read it, but the handwriting was very different from your parent's. You recognized some letters, but the words were pretty confusing.

Still, even if you couldn't read it, it left a warm feeling in your chest knowing that Dori cared enough to leave you some food and a little note for the moment you woke up.

With the piece of paper in your hand, you rushed to your backpack and took the stuffed animal from the inside, putting both items on the bed. They were your treasures now.

If only you had something from your father as well...

Opting to occupy your mind to not get sad, you tried to approach the table with the snack before a loud bang resonated around the entire palace. It seemed that someone was knocking on the front door, really hard.

As you tried to peek outside the room to see what was going on, you were surprised when Dori quickly came in and pushed you inside, closing the door behind her.

"Auntie? What's happening?" You asked with a slight tremble on your voice. Had trouble come again? Could those people from Liyue have finally found you?

"Ah, that? It's nothing. Probably the Matra trying to arrest me again for 'alleged' scams." She laugh, clearly unbothered by the whole situation. "What do you have there?"

You looked where she was pointing, right at your stuffed animal. "Oh! That's my favorite plush. Tata made it for me for my last birthday."

She smiled and picked it up in her hands. "Look at this cute thing! Handmade goods tend to sell pretty well."

Dori put the plush back where it was and turned to face you.

"Well, I see that you still haven't eaten. What do you say we have dinner together? The chef prepares the best dishes in all Teyvat!"

You giggled. "Okay!"

"Sweet! Then we—"

She stopped in the middle of the sentence as the sound of the main doors opening filled the mansion. This set her right on edge, as the butler had strict orders to not open the door to anybody, not even for the Matra or Grand Sage himself. She pressed herself to the door of the room to hear what was happening in the main hall.

"Aunt Dori?" You were confused by the sudden change of demeanor. You grabbed the stuffed animal and held it to your chest, trying to get some sense of comfort.

"Shh." She motioned for you to remain silent, so you did. Voices could be heard, and even the distressed wails of the butler resonated around the halls. Whatever was happening, it was undoubtedly bad.

Dori looked at you, which made you startle a little. "Did something happen back with the Eremites?" She asked.

"Um, well..." You trailed off, nervous. "Back in the forest, a boy from a place called Gandharva Ville found me first. He brought me back with him, and those mercenaries had to attack the city because of that misunderstanding."

She pushed her head back as the voices got louder, undoubtedly investigating the mansion in the search of something. Someone.

"Fuck, those idiots didn't even bother to tell me anything. No wonder even the Grand Sage is here." The woman mumbled under her breath. She sighed and looked back at you. "Change of plans. We have to hide, or else I'll be imprisoned for terrorism and kidnapping. Those are things I don't plan to add to my record. "

Oh no, was this your fault? Was now your aunt in trouble because you didn't go with the Eremites right away? First, the nice people in the Ville were attacked, and now Dori was going to be blamed for it.

"Quick! Let's go through the secret passage!"

She locked the door behind her and rushed to the bed, pushing it to separate the furniture from the wall. You quickly gathered the plush and the letter and put them in the backpack before helping Dori move the bed. There was a different color right where the headboard rested, and the merchant wasted no time in tearing the wallpaper to reveal a small door beneath.

The Matra was getting closer, so Dori was in a hurry to get you both out of the house. She motioned for you to go first, so you crossed the small passage while she stayed behind temporarily to move back the bed to where it was.

You found yourself back at the gardens, just at the back of the manor away from the people that were surrounding the perimeter. Nobody seemed to have spotted you yet, so you waited for Dori to crawl from the secret passage before running away.

"Stay low. These guys are the real deal here." She whispered before taking your hand in hers and guiding you through the less visible parts of the lot.

You were almost at the entrance of the forest when a member of the Matra spotted you two and quickly gave the signal to his associates.

"There! They're trying to escape using the southern exit!"

It wasn't long before the rest of the Matra started to mobilize in your direction. Dori opted to stop hiding and run as fast as you could, as a last attempt to lose the officials.

You almost managed to reach the edge of the forest when the ground rose in front of you, forming a pillar made of dirt and stones that blocked the path ahead.

"Stop! Lord Sangemah Bay, you are under arrest!"

Turning around, a member of the Matra with a Geo vision was the culprit of your dead end. He was concentrating on maintaining the pillar as the General Mahamatra made his way towards you. Dori put you behind her, which didn't really help to cover you as your heights were not so far away.

"Lord Sangemah Bay." Greeted Cyno, though his voice was filled with nothing but disdain. "I knew you were a scammer, but I'd have never thought of you a terrorist. Have anything to say about this?"

She furrowed her brows but otherwise remained silent. So, he instead looked at you.

"So this is the kid that made you even attack Gandharva Ville to capture. Who is this? Why are you keeping them?"

You wanted to answer him, but the hold Dori had on your hand suddenly felt tighter as if she was silently telling you to keep quiet. Cyno sighed, knowing that he would not get anything out of the pair.

"I see how it is. You both will have to come with the Matra then."

The breeze picked up strongly.

A powerful burst of wind almost knocked Cyno off his feet; he even had to summon his polearm and nail it to the ground to remain in his place. Dirt and leaves started floating from everywhere, and you had to cover your eyes to avoid hurting them.

Only when everything calmed down you ventured to open them once again. You were now facing the back of a small man, with black and green hair and light green tattoos in the visible skin in his arms.

You had a very, very bad feeling about this guy; for the clothing he bore told everyone present that he was foreign to their nation.

"I'm afraid I can't allow to take this child with you."

The stranged summoned his own weapon; a jade colored polearm materialized in his hand as he took a more defensive stance.

"I know you." Cyno spoke. He regained his balance and also held his spear in his hands. "Liyue seems to be pretty far away from here, don't you think?"

Liyue.

This man was here to take you back. Because you were your parent's child, wasn't it? They wanted the child born from the divinity they were obsessed with.

Oh no, no, no, no...

You took one step backward but instantly froze when the boy turned his head to look at you the moment your foot touched the ground. His golden eyes bore right into yours, as if he was nothing more than a predator waiting for the best chance to strike.

However, he promptly returned his attention to the general when he saw that you were no longer moving.

"Heed my words, for this is the only warning I'll offer, mortal. Forget everything about this child, for they are now under the eternal custody of Liyue and the Geo Archon."

Cyno frowned. He still didn't understand the situation that well, but something about you was so special that even the Rex Lapis himself was sending his own acolytes to fetch them. Now, the attack on the Ville made more sense.

He didn't know who you could possibly be, but from the looks of it, you were terrified at the sight of the adeptus. Was this another kidnapping? For a god to step so low...

If anything, he only knew that you didn't want to go with him. So, you should stay here. Right where the Matra could protect you.

He took one step in the adeptus' direction, but the same strong wind from before returned and threatened to send him flying. He could only discern a green stream quickly making his way to where you were standing before vanishing, with the wind closely behind.

When he was able to get the dirt out of his eyes, only the sight of his fellow matra remained. Xiao was gone; you were too. He didn't see the Lord either, but he stopped paying them attention early on. Maybe they took this chance to escape the Matra and avoid any questioning.

His coworkers were quick to offer a hand; two of them helped him stand while the rest immediately started a search party for both Dori and the missing child.

Liyue, huh?

He had to report this to the acting Grand Sage.

There is no justice in letting a handful of people have his way with a kid. He would rescue them, even if he had to cross the whole land to get there.

.

"Isn't the weather beautiful today?"

The Fatui soldier didn't voice her answer, only nodded to maintain her silence. She had her head hanging low, for she was paying respect to the man in front of her.

You had to be always careful when in the presence of Dottore, after all.

"A little bird told me something funny today." His deep tone made chills run down her spine. His silhouette in front of the window gave an ominous feeling, the weather displaying a colorful battle of blue, purple, and yellow thanks to the storm outside. "It appears that the Creator themself descended a few years ago!"

"H-huh?!" She could not help the gasp of surprise that left her mouth but quickly returned to her position of submission when the mad man turned to see her.

Instead of getting angry, he smiled creepily. "Just as you hear. Our Divine Grace finally returned to this world, only that they did in a mortal body. That impostor that every soul on Teyvat made their goal to catch? It turned out to be the real and mighty Overlord!"

The Fatui raised her head in disbelief, watching him as he laughed like a maniac.

"But Liyue was the lucky winner; they managed to grab them and display their headless body for every habitant to see!" He took one step closer to the glass, smiling every time lightning illuminated the scenery. "It's just now that the other nations are finding this out... Inazuma might've been the first, as the only thing covering the skies are the mournful thunder and lightning from the lady that holds their power. Ah, she truly must feel like her heart is being ripped out at these news!"

As if agreeing with him, the sky roared a few times.

"She can grieve all she wants. Morax could've been the executioner, but the rest of them also raised their weapons and didn't hesitate to hurt the Divine One even when they claimed innocence asked for mercy."

She didn't know what to say. Was this true? Their almighty god, their benevolent and loving one... Had already descended and was killed because people simply didn't believe it?

"This is going to be fun." Dottore hummed. "I almost can't wait for when the other archons discover what transpired. Will they unleash their fury and sorrow upon Liyue? Hehe, I sure hope this storm marks the beginning of the end."

He turned around and started to exit the room, but not before giving the soldier under him his last command.

"Wait for the next ship to Snezhnaya to deliver a letter. Inform the Tsaritsa that even though her efforts to reach our Divine One to aid them were hindered by the other archons, this time we can all protect the most precious gift they've left for us."

She looked at him quizzically but made no comment to refuse him.

"That's right." He laughed. "We'll take care of them while the rest of the world crumbles and destroys itself..."

——————————

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[ikebo-simp]

Funniest SAGAU reverse isekai settings for them to pop into existence in:

1. Renaissance fair

2. Norway (Khaenri’ah is based off Norway so I think everyone would freak out)

3. Anime/Video game convention

4. New York City babey (or any major city) (like Enchanted but worse)

6. Haunted house

Nobody is having a good time, but it would be so funny.

I am so very sorry that it took me this long to write this, life kept throwing things at me and so I died before writing this

I haven't been to most of these places, but you are so correct, I'm mostly having them react to the places, and it's not necessarily focused on them searching for you

If it wasn't quite how you wanted, please ask again? I'll try my best

Renfaire:

Fischl, would fit perfectly in a Renfaire, overwelmed at first but slow grows to like more and more, before proudly proclaiming "I am the Prinzessin der Verurteilung" and all the people clap and bow down and respect her like a princess

What about Ayaka, joining in, changing into some of the clothes available and joining into the festivities, someplace where her responsibility don't weigh on her, somewhere the honor of her family doesn't follow her like a shadow

Both girls probably would this a blessing from 'Your Grace' a chance to relax and unwind in a place that welcomes them so warmly

Norway:

Dainsleif holds a bated breath as he looks around the place, familiar yet, unfamiliar. He torn on whether this is a gift from you or a curse, just what has he done to deserve this?

Zhongli feels his memories of the war coming back to him, flooding his thoughts, so many people... dead, why did you show him this place? Did you want to him something? Are you displeased with him?

Norway fills those who know about Khaenri'ah with a hidden dread, they misunderstand and think somethings changing, the world's getting overturned

Anime/Video Game Con

Nahida walks around the con glancing around, she understands that she's in a different world almost instantly, she's curious about the customs and world she just appeared in, does everyone try and imitate others? She does rather feel unnerved around the Dottore cosplayers

Collei immediately gets intimidated by all the loud sounds and the bumping bodies, although luckily several kind cosplayers took care of her and gently lead her away from the crowd, she honestly just very confusing and overstimulated

The con is a curious place for those who visit it and almost everyone who has trauma from Dottore wonder why there's so many Dottore clones all in one place

New York City:

Venti feels stifled, the air didn't have the same clean crispness of Teyvat, and although the sights are sounds of city are music to his ears, the air pushes on his chest like a heavy weight, making it hard for him to full enjoy his trip into the real world

Xinyan absolutely loves the city, the aesthetic, the feeling of expression, all kinds of music and styles, she wasn't getting weird stares or her style choice, she love her time in the city, her only problem? The how dirty the streets were

In New York City, it goes about as well as you'd expect, it's exciting to all the new sights, however... if it's extremely easy for one to get overstimulated

Haunted House:

Chongyun probably knocked out the first person that tried to scare him before realizing that it was just a normal person and not a evil spirit, he still gets his hopes up that he'll encounter a true ghost through

Hu Tao absolutely loves scaring the cast and guests, she'll find all the hiding spots and lay in wait for her next victim, honestly has a huge blast even though she's been transported into a different world

A/N Ahhhhh I posted it too early!!!!!!

Thanks for Reading

[solverse]

Miscellaneous Stroll. (i)

Quo; A scenario for Genshin characters! (SAGAU)

Characters; Al-Haitham, Cyno, Candace, Dehya, Nilou, Collei, Faruzan, Tighnari, Kaveh and Nahida.

Notes; Just a little something I wanted to post since this has been in my draft for quite some time.

Disc; Not a character study whatsoever. Just a self-indulgent piece.

The Creator/Guide is named Raphael.

[Miscellanous Stroll] ( ii )

Today was a good day. It was a really nice day with the beaming sunshine, the cool breeze accompanying them, the refreshing taste of the beverages, and delicious snacks occupying their taste buds. The ambient sound of peace, the gentle flow of leylines, chatters of birds along the trees. Surely, this was a–

“ SON OF A BITCH! ” 

–good day. 

“ OH, IT'S ON! ” The shrieking yell of Cyno's voice echoed through the space and Raphael smiled away that incoming headache knocking at their door like a bad tinder hook-up at 3 a.m.

Nilou eyed the general with a worried look, smiling awkwardly as she silently lamented the intense metaphorical fire appearing in his eyes. She fidgeted slightly, blue eyes flickering down anxiously. The object in her hand felt heavy for a moment as her body trembled. 

Faruzan watched her closely before her hand reached out, bringing forth an incoming doom as Kaveh and Collei gasped in shock. Tighnari raised an eyebrow, a neutral on his face. Although, if you look close enough, you can see the man holding back with all his strength. He then turned to Kaveh with a placating look. 

Kaveh blinked out his shock, “ Wow– Oh yikes. We are doing this, huh? ” He grimaced. Cyno's eyes sharpened even further when the blond made his move. The General Mahamatra laced his fingers, glaring at Collei who was starting to sweat anxiously. 

“ Cyno, stop that. ” Tighnari chastised and Cyno only huffed in response, tearing away his gaze as he chose to look somewhere else. Collei swallowed before she reached out to confirm her move. Everyone gaped at her and Dehya started laughing. Candace could barely hide her smile as she continued, gaining even more shocked looks. Cyno clenched his fist. 

All eyes turned to Al-Haitham. The man was in his own thoughts before he glanced at each of them and Raphael could see the gears in his head turned at an impossible speed. He glanced somewhere else before shrugging. 

Faruzan gasped, not able to hide the huge grin on her face. “ No way! ” 

“ Oh, we're continuing?! ” Kaveh laughed in surprise. 

“ Seriously? ” Collei muttered behind her hand, eyes wide. Tighnari snickered in amusement. 

“ Don't you dare. ” Cyno hissed out, holding out a fist as he clenched his jaw. Al-Haitham cocked an eyebrow, halting in his movement. He stared at the general, face serious and blank. Cyno doubled down on his glare. 

Al-Haitham moved very slowly, observing every part of Cyno's reaction. 

“ Do it, do it, do it. ” Dehya chanted with a cheeky grin and Cyno sent an irritated look her way. The mercenary just rolled her eyes, the mischievous smile still on her face. Candace watched with an almost sorry look. 

“ Al-Haitham, I swear– ” 

Al-Haitham did the exact opposite and placed down another 4+ UNO card on the stack of cards. Cyno stared in disbelief while everybody else burst out laughing. Dehya was full-on cackling, leaning against Candace, who was also laughing. 

Nilou was laughing like there was no tomorrow, body trembling as she attempted to stifle her laughter. But one look at the Cyno's face of despair, she failed to do so, joining Faruzan as the two women cracked up.  

Kaveh banged his fist against the table multiple times, burying his face in his hand as he silenced his laugh. Collei gaped with a look of awe at the number of cards Cyno had to take. What was even worse was that Cyno had one card left but now he was holding a whopping 23. 

Cyno, on the other hand, was downright murderous. 

Raphael watched from the side awkwardly, sipping on their tea with a bored look. Nahida happily hummed from the side, a cup of milk tea in her hand. 

“ Oh boy. ” The Guide muttered, sipping their tea as they sweatdropped, trying to ignore the incoming deathmatch. It was just UNO. They did not want to think what would happen if they started playing Monopoly. Oh, the divorce rate will skyrocket. 

Nahida giggled and Raphael huffed, the little gremlin– she knew. 

–

[wenutted]

I've been kinda falling outta the SAGAU fandom recently, but I still wanted to post something on my tumblr, and I find sagau fun to work with; so, here, have a tierlist based on how the playable characters act around you. I might be posting some normal genshin content, in the future.

[definesanity]

SAGAU, wherein you teach UNO to Hu Tao, Kuki Shinobu and Collei:

There you were, thonking. Or, thinking, maybe. Point being, you were pondering, when you had an epiphany; Teyvat has card games (or, well, a Trading Card Game; yeah did you know that TCG stood for that? I didn't for a long while), so why not introduce one from your world?

It was simple; invite some calm individuals to play a round of Uno. Naturally, it came quickly, and so you say at the table, cards already out, as three stepped on through.

From Sumeru, Collei; albeit nervous, she nevertheless sat down, smiling and waving shortly.

From Inazuma, Kuki Shinobu; level-headed and calm, she was the ideal player for any card game, and seemed intrigued as well, if her eyebrows raised indict anything.

And, finally, from Liyue, Hu Tao; a given, really, for as soon as you said you could trick others, she basically jumped at the opportunity.

"Thanks for joining me," you started, smiling. "I'd hate to take away your time, but I thought that, maybe, this could be a learning experience."

The three nodded; Collei seemed less tense now, but still kept glancing around the table.

"Ah, but, I suppose introductions are in order? You don't need to say much; just your name will do."

Shinobu nodded back. "I'll start, then: I'm Kuki Shinobu, Deputy Head of the Arataki Gang. Pleasure to meet you both."

"Pleasures all mine, Miss Shinobu~" came the voice of Hu Tao. "Me? I'm Hu Tao, the Seventy-Seventh Director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor! Also nice to meet you~"

"...Ahem," Collei cleared her throat, not for attention, but to prevent the nerves in her. "I'm, ah, Collei. T-Trainee Forest Ranger. Nicetomeetyouboth." she finished in a hurry, causing you to raise your eyebrow.

"Are you completely fine, Collei? I'm not forcing you to play," your voice was gentle, and you knew not to make her uncomfortable.

Collei shook her head, however. "A-Ah, no, I'm good. Just a little nervous, is all."

Hu Tao smiled back. "Aw~ Don't worry, Collei! We're all friends here; don't worry, I don't bite~"

Shinobu nodded. "The same with me; we're all here to have fun, right?"

Collei returned the gesture, and then looked at the cards in front of her.

"Right, the game; this is called UNO. The goal is simple; the player with no cards left wins. As for the rules..." you cleared your throat. "In front of you is seven cards; to not show them to anyone unless you play the card. The cards go up from one to nine, and are in four colours, as you can see; red, blue, yellow and green. You can only play a card that is the same colour or the same number. With me so far?"

The three nodded, though Collei's was a bit late, and so you continued, "When you reach one card, you must declare it and say, 'Uno'; if you don't, you'll be called out and be forced to draw two cards; should you not have any cards matching the colour or number, you must draw until you get the colour, number, or a Wildcard. I'll get to that in a moment.

"Next, Special Cards; the Plus-Two you may have, if placed down, makes it that the next player must pick up two cards; however, if they play a Plus-Two, it will stack, and will become the next player's problem."

"So, say if I placed a Plus-Two, followed by Hu Tao, you, and then Collei..."

"...Then, you will be made to pick up six cards, yes, heh."

Shinobu shook her head. "I guess we must be careful with that..."

"Next, the Uno Reverse, or the No U card; it reverses the order of player rotation; say, Collei used it, instead of it going to Kuki next, it would go to me, and then follow reversed order until another Reverse card is played."

"Uu..." Collei groaned, rubbing her temple. "Who designed this?! Why does it have so many rules?!"

"If it helps, you won't struggle for long; you'll pick up on it soon enough, Col." smiling, the green-haired girl shakily gave one back, with a thumbs up to follow, of which you also mirrored.

"Now, the Wildcards; the one with a circle, if played, allows the one to change the colour of the card to anything they want, regardless of previous colours."

"So if I played it after Hu Tao placed down a red..."

"...You could very well make it another colour yes, Collei~" a giggle then followed. "Or, ya know, keep it the same for me to win, hm~?"

"...And the four allows you first change the colour of the rotation, and make the next person draw four cards."

"...What if I placed a Plus Four on top?"

"Then you unleash hell, Shinobu."

"...Hmm..."

"Well, if that's everything?" three nods followed. "Then, let's begin!"

This is going to be something, alright, heh.

[m1d-45]

constellations

summary: some words on the characters’ thoughts on their constellations, or lack thereof. here are my thoughts on how constellations work in sagau btw

word count: ~2k

-> warnings: spoilers for character lore, names/titles of places and people. based on my team, my characters, and my constellations.

-> gn reader (you/yours) ft. barbara, thoma, heizou, collei, kujou sara, sucrose, candace, n ganyu, in that order

taglist: @samarill || @thenyxsky || @valeriele3 || @shizunxie || @boba-is-a-soup || @yuus3n || @esthelily || @turningfrogsgay || @cupandtea24

< masterlist > || bonus >

barbara takes great pride in her job as deaconess, a feeling that only grows as more of her stars are lit up. the small blue lights are typically hidden, tucked behind her vision and inlaid within her holy book, but she knows they’re there.

she knows, in some quiet part of her subconscious, that she wasn't meant to be wished upon. she knows that the stars cast were meant for another, that they’d brushed by their intended destination and landed in her palms instead, but she doesn't mind. what matters is that her stars glow brightly, lighting up the wings of her vision's frame, six blue stars denoting the highest level of trust from her god.

they weren’t meant for her, but yet they didn’t go to another. she wasn’t intended to be blessed, and yet she was still chosen as a recipient of heaven.

to her, they are a symbol of her devotion nonetheless. to her, little things are truly accidents; maybe her intuition is in fact her insecurity, or maybe even gods miss their mark. maybe it’s neither. maybe it’s both. who is she to decide the intentions of the divine?

whether made for her or not, at the end of the day she was still chosen. and for barbara, this is enough.

thoma wears his one star with immense pride, a smile crossing his face every morning when he sees it glitter in the dark of his room. the sun hasn’t even risen, but he doesn’t need the light to brush his fingers over the extra glow to his vision.

yes, there are others with more, but he never expected to be a vessel at all, let alone to be gifted another star. he sees the unlit lines upon his lord and lady’s vision and wonders why he was chosen instead of them, he sees the slight envy whenever they ask where his travels have taken him.

he sees, and he understands. he’s a housekeeper, not the head of the yashiro commission. he’s thoma, not the shirasagi himegimi. but still, he didn’t make the choice, so it was useless to feel apologetic for it. it wasn’t his fault, and neither was it theirs.

he clipped his vision onto the knot at his side, continuing to get ready for the day. perhaps he’d go into the city today, get some of the shopping done. as housekeeper, this wasn’t technically part of his duties—there were other servants able to do so at the estate, but none were quite as popular as he was.

and if some of his notoriety was from the extra glimmer at his hip, thoma kindly pretended not to notice.

heizou treasures each lit star within his constellation, sometimes tracing over the barely-there outlines of them when he’s thinking. everybody praises his intuition—himself included, on occasion—but it’s comforting to know that somebody has genuine, heartfelt faith in him sometimes. to know that even when he slips up or acts too rashly, there’s a net for him to land in.

he knows that he’s the star detective, the brilliant doushin of the tenryou commission, but even he doubts his own abilities on occasion. yet, every time he tries to hint at asking for help, hes met with the same thing every time.

“but you’re detective shikanoin! surely you’ve got it handled.”

it’s… tiring, to say the least.

but at the end of his shift, when he can lock his door behind him and allow the mask of confidence to fall, he always pauses when taking apart his uniform to stare at his vision.

the brilliant detective, doushin shikanoin, names and titles hes remembered and lost… but to you he’s simply heizou. heizou, who slips from the station during lunch to eat at a food cart instead, heizou who’s overconfident and yet still unsure.

your heizou, the one you granted six teal stars. heizou, who can lean on you and know he won’t fall.

collei has a nervous habit of playing with the cloth leading off her vision, twisting and threading it around her fingers until the glass of her vision is pressed tightly to her palm. her thumb outlines the glittering stars of her constellation, having long since memorized the lines between them.

she doesn’t know what she did to deserve them, not when tighnari didn’t have any extra stars and cyno’s constellation wasn’t lit up at all. she wasn’t particularly smart or helpful, typically delegated to tighnari’s assistant due to her eleazar. even after, when the traveller came and went, when she’d been able to take on more tasks… one star she could understand, but six?

her attention is drawn by another forest ranger, waving her over with an important looking paper in hand, and she quickly slips her fingers from the cloth, letting them hang at her side.

collei doesn’t know what she did to deserve so many stars. she doesn’t know why she was chosen over tighnari, or even the other watchers with visions.

but as she gives her advice to the ranger, as his eyes light with understanding and she’s thanked with a smile…

maybe it didn’t matter what she did to get them, as long as she used them for something good.

kujou sara knows she shouldn’t be resentful. it’s not her place to decide what a god should and shouldn’t do, it’s not her choice where the stars of heaven do and don’t fall.

but seeing the six glittering stars on heizou’s vision, shining in the sun as he tucks away his baton with a flourish… had she done something wrong, to not have so many? was she lesser?

her hand lifts to the vision tied tightly to her hip, to the one star she knows is lit up on it without even having to look. she should be grateful for it, she knew she should, she had no right to complain when the raiden shogun herself had yet to have a star cross her skies. she should be thankful, yet…

sara watches heizou walk into the police station with his regular flair, dropping off yet another solved case, and her eyes sink back down to her paperwork.

she shouldn’t let this distract her. worrying about the mechanics of the divine would only lead to headaches and prayers unanswered. she has responsibilities, ones she can’t let down, and trivial things such as jealousy won’t do anything but distract her.

sara picks up her pen once more.

maybe, if she works hard enough, she'll earn another star.

sucrose wasn’t sure why she had an extra star, not when albedo didn’t have any and he was firmly her senior. she wasn’t as dedicated to the art of alchemy as he was, and applied herself to biochemistry instead of his research in ley lines. he was older, more knowledgeable, had far more patience with timaeus than any other knight could; yet she was the one with a bright blue star.

still, speculation would get her nowhere. she had if, and she knew she had to work hard to prove herself worthy of it. even though she was still relatively young and inexperienced compared to some of her colleagues, she was determined to make her mark on the world of alchemy.

even if it meant she didn’t understand when albedo complained about unstable flows beneath the earth. even if it meant working entirely at nighttime for weeks on end to see if her lamp grass alterations paid off.

on one of these late nights, she pulled her vision from its clasp, flipping it over to admire the gleam of her extra star. maybe it was just a fluke, in the end, a star twisting for another but missing. or maybe she had done something, maybe some experiment of hers warranted reward in a way she didn’t understand.

either way, she was determined to make the most of it.

candace was perfectly content without her constellation lit up.

she’d heard, through one way or another, of tighnari’s newfound abilities. how his arrows were sharper than any blade, how his affinity for dendro had grown, the withering zones that once took a whole fleet now only required him and collei, fungi falling easily when faced with their twin bows.

but life in aaru village was simple, the days spent tending to the plants and people in the village, and the nights watching for dangers. she didn’t need to go on epic journeys or to slay devils, she just needed to protect her small oasis.

she didn’t…

but she couldn’t deny the exhilaration that coursed through her during her trial, the glimpse of divine power driving her polearm with more strength than she’d ever witnessed. hydro swarmed around her, more than she could need at her fingertips, leaving her with more questions than answers once she was let back down into her village.

candace didn’t need that sort of power. she and the rest of the village had been and would be fine without a blessing from the stars. they’d managed before, and they would be again, and she told herself that while that would help, it wasn’t a requirement, and she shouldn’t spend her time wishing for something that may never come.

…but on particularly clear nights, when the moon sang bright and she was out on watch, who could blame her if she was caught in a memory?

ganyu tells herself she is fine without being chosen. that the blank lines on her vision don’t mean anything, that they don’t say anything about her or her work ethic.

they don’t, not really. keqing’s vision, as tight to her neck as it is, hides a bare back. if she, the yuheng herself, can have no glow to her constellation, then surely it doesn’t mean anything that ganyu doesn’t either? yes, the tianquan was gifted an extra star atop her shimmering constellation, but that didn’t mean anything about her, did it?

maybe it was selfish to think like this, to judge herself against a metric assigned to another. but no matter how hard she tried to drive out this line of thinking, it persisted.

was it because she was half-qilin? no, yanfei was chosen, and even occasionally utilized as a vessel. was it because of her form of worship? no, because that harbinger had inexplicably been gifted immense strength—though thankfully his bloodlust was kept in check by the frequency with which he was used as a vessel.

that detail had made her pause, when she found out. did her god pick people who were led astray or had fallen from favor, as a way to correct? did that mean she was doing something right, then, by not being chosen?

but the crux fleet has been more prosperous than ever, but the tianquan’s notoriety has only grown after the receival of an extra star. but wanmin restaurant was still flourishing, but yaoyao, as young as she is, was still praised and blessed.

whatever divine criteria there is, ganyu has failed to meet it. yet, despite the conflicting emotions in her chest, she still tells herself she’s fine without recognition from the stars.

(if she had the chance to ask her god one question, what would it be?)

[pocarinapyon]

absolutely obsessed w your sagau posts!!! out of curiousity, have you ever considered similiar concept but with the girls? 🫡💗💛🧡 happy pride month!!

Hey, hey! Thanks so much for reading and enjoying my works. 😁

Actually... I have only ever written for Genshin hubbies but the thought of including girls did cross my mind (because I'm running out of husbando-only team comps for my Jealousy-Jealousy series, lol).

One team comp and scenario that I imagined before is....

WARNING: mini NSFW below! Based on Jealousy-Jealousy (reverse isekai glitch version). Contains chilis 🌶️🌶️

"W - wait...! Wait...! Uwaaah~!!" you squealed as another orgasm was forced out of your weeping pussy.

Kokomi, who lapped up the honey oozing out of your hole, looked up at you and chuckled playfully.

"Ufufufu~ I can't help it, [Your Name]. You taste so good~" she chortled before burying her face between your legs once more - eager to give you another climax.

Even if you wanted to stop this madness, the other woman gripping your wrists rendered you powerless to resist the onslaught. You could only squeal and squirm as the Hydro catalyst user relentlessly pleasured your womanhood. And from just a few flicks, another orgasm crashed down on you, making you convulse in ecstacy.

"The potion you made is very effective. [Your Name] has become really sensitive," Raiden Shogun remarked and commended Collei's work.

"U - u - uhm...! Thank you! I - I just learned it from my master!" the Dendro Forest Ranger squeaked.

Collei's face was red as a tomato, but not because of the praise she received from the Electro wielder. Your sweet erotic voice; your adorable lewd face; your bare quaking body. You were the reason for her flushed face. But as a timid girl, she could only gawk at you and do nothing. She reckoned she could never pleasure you the way Kokomi did, yet she wished she could at least do something to you.

"Oh. Collei, would you like to have a taste?" sensing Collei's distress, Kokomi offered with a smile.

"Uh - uhm...! I...!" Collei hesitated and immediately glanced at the stoic man observing the pornographic scene.

The virile man seated across the room looked as if he was merely watching. But in his mind, he was already calculating everything - most specially your weaknesses.

"I - is it okay if I do something like th-that?" Collei asked the sole man in the room.

"Hmm? You don't have to ask permission from me," Alhaitham said.

That night, the three women pleasured your body until pretty tears from overstimulation flowed out of your lust-hazed eyes. Finally, the scribe abused your hole with his hard eager cock to end things with a bang.

----------

"End things with a bang" because Alhaitham banged you in the end. Heh!

[primojade]

𝐅𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐈𝐄𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄.

𝐀𝐂𝐓 𝐈𝐈: 𝐀𝐔𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐒 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐔𝐍𝐀 𝐈𝐔𝐕𝐀𝐓. ( fortune favours the bold )

𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐄 𝐈.𝐈 : 𝐌𝐀𝐆𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐃𝐈𝐗𝐈𝐓. ( the teacher said it )

" anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new. " - albert einstein.

𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒' 𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘 | As a veteran AR60 player of Genshin Impact, you pride yourself as someone who knows the ins and outs of Teyvat, even studiously completing Spiral Abyss every reset, and having 100% exploration to some, if not all, of the released regions so far. Everything is fun and enjoyable, especially since Sumeru just recently debuted so you still have a lot to do!

All that ends though, when a mysterious passerby pushes you off the building of your university while playing Genshin. But instead of meeting your inevitable end, you find yourself waking up in the very world you were addicted to! 

It's supposed to be a fun dream, right? Something you could laugh at when you wake up? Right?! So, why is that you were back in AR1 with nothing but a dull blade in your inventory?!

…well, at least you still have those 700+ sunsettias and mints, Timmie's fowls…and surprisingly similar game mechanics you used to merely see on the screen before. But what should you do now? Flirt with the Genshin men??? Good lords...

"Welcome to Genshin Impact, Dreamer. Here, we can show you a happier ever after you've never had before…so, ready?"

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘 | In which you choose to do the World Quest that requires you to meet Cyno, the General Mahamatra himself that leads to a more confusing and maybe…a bit more hopeful ending?

𝐂𝐖 / 𝐓𝐖 | Cursing, Cyno threatening you, mention of injuries but nothing too graphic, spoilers to Sumeru Archon Quest and maybe spoilers in general shskaha. No beta we die like teppei so you would def see grammatical errors. Let me know if I missed anything <3

𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐒 | I think this route will probably be my most favorite of them all xD probably because Cyno and Tighnari are here lmao. Reblogs and comments are appreciated!

masterlist | prologue: that love is a fallacy | route 1: argumentum ad hominem | (alternate route) route 1.2: argumentum petitio principii

Try as you might to resist the temptation of primogems, your will is as weak and soulless as your AR1 account. Though you didn’t know if the Wish System here works the same as the one in your game, it wouldn’t hurt to be prepared just in case. Plus, you were really curious to see what the General Mahamantra looked like in real life. Tighnari himself looked so real and so unlike his 3D self, so you choose to accept the World Quest that popped out of nowhere. 

Although your caretaker didn’t seem to agree with you in the slightest. “No,” he simply said with a slight frown before tugging you down to the bed when you tried to stand. “You still haven’t fully recovered, you lummox. And you can’t be serious in meeting that man looking…like that.” 

The therianthrope then gave a brief glance at your clothes before rolling his eyes. When you looked down, you realised you were still wearing your school uniform. And so unlike how these Sumeru—or even any of the Genshin—characters intricately dressed themselves. You won't even pass as a scholar of Academia even if you say so with your getup!

It was as if Tighnari was telling you 'you would look even more suspicious in the eyes of the General Mahamatra if you meet him as you are now'. But, no! First of all, you are a certified Cyno simp, and second, you need to do the World Quest for Freemogems. You knew Tighnari was worried you might do something stupid to incur the General's ire, but if you remember Cyno’s lore in-game and how between his reputation and his own personality as what others believed greatly differs, you choose to make a gamble.

Tighnari was probably thinking you were some sort of mad scholar that Cyno was hunting or some random madman, but you knew better. Afterall, you were nearly certain Cyno wouldn't hurt you (since you weren't even a Sumeru scholar or anything that broke the rules) so he probably won't bat an eye on you that much. He would be suspicious, yes, but you have to convince them that you mean no harm.

Yeah, that's a plan! You braved yourself, excited at the prospect of meeting one of your favourite characters. 

“By the way, Tighnari,” you called him, suddenly remembering something important that you should’ve asked him earlier. “Do you know the….uh, Traveller? The outlander?”

He gave you a puzzled expression. “If you were talking about yourself, then yes, I suppose I know you just now. However, judging from your expression, you were referring to a different person, no?”

You blinked, inching close to him. “I mean, the Traveller! You know…the Honorary Knight of Mondstadt? The Hero of Liyue? Swordfish Captain of Watatsumi Island? First Sage of Buer?...Seriously?!”

“Who in the name of the Seven are you talking about?”

Judging from Tighnari’s genuine confused expression, he really has no idea who you were referring to. Which means…“Holy shit…the game hasn’t started yet,” you almost choked at this realisation.

But if the Mondstadt Archon Quest hasn't really started yet, does this mean that the Traveller was still trapped in their sleep? Or it's possible that Paimon was still teaching them speech at this time? Tighnari himself is already a Forest Watcher, which means that this timeline isn't that far from the start of the game. Right? 

Plus, Cyno looked like he's still the General Mahamatra, in contrast to his self-exile during the Sumeru Archon Quest. Meaning, it was possible that he was still loyal to the Academia rules and its Sages, and if he does have his suspicions now regarding the Grand Sage…

Good lord. This would be more difficult to handle. 

First things first, you need to meet Cyno and follow the Quest Chain. Hopefully, these random quests that popping in your Quest Menu would lead to something that could help you go back to your world.

Well, who am I kidding? Even Hoyoverse themselves said they don't plan to have an endgame yet. You scoffed.

Anyhow! Onto the Quest!

It was truly a Spartan feat for you to convince Tighnari that yes, you were fine now, and yes, you wanted to go out of this confinement and meet the man of your Quest. He even becomes frighteningly insistent that you stay in bed for a few more hours but eventually, it was all thanks to an NPC Forest Ranger whose name you can't remember calling out to him that gave you the chance to escape by diving through the door. 

While Tighmari was certainly faster and physically stronger than you are, your will and determination to get the primogems and meet Cyno is stronger than him.

"What the fu—!?"

But in your careless hurrying, you accidentally trip and literally flew down the remaining steps of Tighnari's hut. You grunted in pain as your elbow grazed down the balustres. When you looked ahead, you saw the tip of someone's toes in front of you. 

You slowly looked up, frowning, your eyes met a familiar pair of cold crimson ones. Your stomach did quick flips, and your heart nearly burst out of your chest in surprise. You didn't expect to land pathetically in front of the man you want to see today—literally!

"You…" Cyno started, looking down at you as his red eyes flashing dangerously. "...Who are you?"

"—And I specifically told you to stay in bed, but what did you do? You ran off on your own, got yourself more bruises, and had the wounds I treated to open. You even had the audacity to say you’re alright to my face–”

"Master Tighnari, I think they had enough…"

"Oh? Well, I do think they were pretty enthusiastic about listening to my lectures.”

“Bastard, do I look like I did? Ow!” 

Tighnari, who was looking all smug at you, flicked your forehead after he finished tending to your injuries once again. Curse his supersonic hearing even though you were just whispering your complaints under your breath. 

Beside you, Collei attempted to calm you down by patting your back. The girl was truly a blessing, and she's been very kind to you the moment she saw you tumbling on the ground from her Master's hut. Additionally, she looks even cuter in person; you almost want to squish her cheeks.

On the other hand, sitting at the far side of the room was the General Mahamatra himself staring intently at you like a guard dog. You tried ignoring the prickles at your skin, the lump forming at your throat at the intense way he was looking. His crimson eyes were scorching deep, as if trying to discern all the secrets you've been hiding from them. And from the way his expression shifted from nonchalance to wariness the moment he saw you, you knew that lying wasn't a safe option. 

It wasn't like you were here to cause trouble! Or break rules! You're as confused as them, if not more, so you really have nothing to fear! 

"—considering that you were now cheerful enough to dive out on your own accord when I clearly told you not to, I believe it's safe to assume that you don't have any lingering concussion from your fall. Though I suggest you stay for a few more days so I could monitor your condition—unless you want to stay in Bimarstan, that is…are you listening to me, [Name]?"

Your eyes snapped away from Cyno to look at the Forest Watcher, who was looking at you in exasperation. "Wait, I don't have any Mora on me for treatment! Besides, these wounds aren't all that serious, they could heal themselves in time." 

Unfortunately, your million Mora was gone along with all of your stuff in Inventory. Damn it.

"Mx. [Name], we don't charge payment to our patients, so don't worry about that!" Collei chipped beside you. "And when it comes to treating others, my Master is one of the best! So, you can trust him, I assure you."

Your smile becomes crooked. "That's not exactly what I'm worried about…"

Tighnari wisely ignored the both of you and turned to Cyno, crossing his arms. "And how about you? To whom do we owe the General Mahamatra a visit?" 

Cyno glances at you in a calculating way before looking back at his friend. 

"I…uh, could step out for a bit so you guys could talk in private?" You offered, hesitant.

"No need," Cyno immediately declined, for some very odd reason. "I do not intend to keep this a secret anyway, and this peculiar discovery is not part of my job as a Matra—unless it starts to pose a problem to Sumeru as a whole. But for now, any kind of opinion regarding this subject is very much appreciated as much as it was a personal request from me."

"Now, this is weird." Tighnari muttered, sending him a meaningful glance. "Is this about the suspicious domain we discovered in Dharma Forest the other day?"

Your ears perked up. Domain in Dharma Forest? Wait…don't tell me…?

Cyno nodded stiffly. "Yes, I managed to open the domain today. Inside was some kind of mechanism that opens a time trial challenge that requires me to defeat some Eremites. Then, out of sheer curiosity, I tried revitalising the petrified tree inside. It then gave me this…"

Your eyes widened like saucers when you saw what materialised in Cyno's hand. You couldn't believed what you were seeing right now!

"Is this…some kind of flower? Its appearance looked similar to the Fetid Boughs in Withering Zones but…" Tighnari inspected the 'flower' with furrowed brows. "It doesn't have the same effects. It even looked remotely harmless to me."

"Exactly my thoughts." Cyno agreed. "Since you were used to dealing with Withering Zones and this item bears resemblance, I assumed you would know what this is."

The therianthrope shrugged his shoulders. "This is the first time I had seen this kind of…thing, in all honestly, so I have no idea. Have you tried asking the Sages? Surely, they could provide a reliable answer than myself."

After a few moments of silence, the General clearly hesitated, pursing his lips. Tighnari sighed in defeat, but an understanding smile crossed his expression. "Alright, I get it. No need to ask the Sages. This is a…personal business afterall."

"This is an Artifact," you said absentmindedly. "Though I have no idea if this is a four star or a five star artifact…" 

No wonder why your Original Resin was 140/160 when you checked it earlier! It's because Cyno unknowingly used it on a Domain without knowing what it truly was.

Collei, who was silently listening to her elders patiently, looked at you in confusion. "...Artifacts? You know what that is, Mx. [Name]?"

Both of the scholars looked at you in interest.

You scracted your neck, debating whether to tell them about the in-game stuff or made something up. Though you quickly ruled out the latter. Lying wouldn't do any good especially since Cyno could easily tell if you do. It would be safer to be on their good graces instead of making them more suspicious of you.

"Uh…well, this is a part of an Artifact set of Gilded Dreams. And this particular piece is known as a Flower of Life, named as Dreaming Steelbloom." You explained, your expression sour as if you swallowed a lemon. You thank the Archons that there were days you were bored and resinless enough to read actual lore inside those artifacts! 

"You said this flower is just a piece of a whole set, yes? Which means there are other pieces out there?" Tighnari curiously asked.

You nodded animatedly. "Yeah. There are five pieces each set. The Flower of Life, the Plume of Death, Sands of Eon, Goblet of Eonothem and the Circlet of Logos. They could be found in the same domain as the one you got this from. There are another set of artifacts you can get in that domain, too—the Deepwood Memories."

"And what can these artifacts do, exactly?" Cyno's shoulders tensed, waiting for your answer with a glare. He looked absolutely terrifying as if you didn't answer him truthfully, he would drag you across the desert before he reenacted his punishment for you.

"Oh, um, well…" You nervously blinked and you really tried your best to explain the purpose of artifacts, how they work, and even about their set bonuses. As scholars of the Academia that runs on logic and explanation of stuff, you don't freaking know if they even believed your crap, but at least you were telling the truth? 

When you were done, you were extremely out of breath so Collei—bless her soul—kindly gave you a drink to clear your parched throat.

"—But the artifacts domains are absolute trash that runs on pure RNG luck." You muttered angrily, remembering the months you spend on domains crying in frustration just to get trash artifacts. "It would be a miracle to get good stats, and even purer divine intervention for them to roll on what you actually need. Tch."

The three of them shared a look. "I have no idea what an RNG is and what stats are you talking about, but if I guessed correctly with what you said," Tighnari paused, hands on his hips in contemplation. "There are other…artifact domains there are, and not just the one we discovered in Dharma Forest, correct?"

You nodded. "Yeah, but as of now, other artifact domains are located in Mondstadt, Liyue and Inazuma. The other domains I know that were available in Sumeru are the Talent Level-up and Weapon Ascension Domains…though I don't know if they would exist right now."

"What do you mean?" Cyno asked, his eyes narrowing.

Because my Map is not working right now! You cried inwardly, but you just shrugged at him.

"[Name], I'm curious about one thing," Tighnari mused, his ears twitching. "Judging from your expressions, and since Cyno hasn't stopped you yet, you must be telling the truth. But how did you know about all of this artifact stuff in the first place? I'm certain there are no books in the House of Deana about the things you just said, so all of this are new to me, and I could say the same for our General here—which is saying something."

If Cyno himself is not familiar with how these artifacts work, then how did you know? Tighnari seems to ask silently.

"Um," you shifted to your seat uncomfortably, aware of the three pairs of eyes watching your movements like a hawk—or a guard dog. "I…can't tell. At least not yet."

Collei's jaw dropped. "But why?" 

"Because the knowledge tied to these artifacts could cause unwanted chaos should it fall in the wrong hands. And I'm sure you, as scholars of Academia, know how dangerous knowledge of the unknown could be, right?" You groaned. "So, please, just until I figure out stuff I need to do, I should keep as much knowledge as possible. But believe me! I really meant no harm!"

Cyno stood up from his seat and approached you, his crimson eyes narrowed into crescents. "You…do realised that once the Academia knew about this, they could force us Matra to interrogate you whether you 'figured out stuff' or not, right? This is a dangerous gamble you were taking, outlander."

At his silent threats, chills run down to your spine and goosebumps rose from your skin. But to his mild surprise, you persevere and decide to meet his cold gaze headon. "You won't do that."

"What makes you say that so confidently? You must be aware of my position in the Academia, and the power I hold." He challenges again.

You shook your head, scoffing. "Yes, but you were doubting the Academia now, right, General? Otherwise you would report that 'suspicious domain' to the Sages instead of going to Tighnari for help. Even more so about asking our opinions, especially me who you barely know."

You realised this earlier. Even though the 'game' timeline hasn't started yet, or at least, the Archon Quest of Sumeru is not yet happening, Cyno had his suspicions about the Academia already. His loyalty was starting to falter (or in better terms, his own sense of justice is being tested by the same people he served), and he wasn't sure if he could still trust them with an unknown discovery, so in his confused state, he had gone to see one of his most trusted confidants—which is this Fennec Fox therianthrope here.

This is where you were confident. Cyno, as his lore in-game said, would only hunt those who rulebreakers of the Academia. And only a few of them were even more worthy of his visit. 

Though you weren't quite sure if your knowledge about 'artifacts' would be considered as 'getting his interest'. In any case...

His emotionless eyes looked more of orange than red up-close, and it was beautiful despite them glaring at you. 

"Okay, that's enough for you two." Tighnari holds his hands up tiredly and gently pushes Cyno away from scaring you further. "We will not question you for now about the origins of these artifacts, then. Just be aware that Cyno might not feel the same as I do, but rest assured I'll talk to him later." He rolled his eyes.

The young man huffed, crossing his arms before ignoring his remarks. "In any case, we need to investigate these other domains. And you…are coming with us."

"What." You deadpanned.

Tighnari ignored you, too. "I agree. These domains might pose a threat later, so it's much safer to conduct investigation as much as possible as the first ones who discovered them. And we need to prepare a lot of things if the other domains have challenges awaiting for us as well."

"Wait—!"

"It would be best if we split up. It'll save us some time covering all areas in the desert and the rainforest tracking their location." Cyno added thoughtfully, glancing at you. "It's best if I take this person with me. I could keep an eye on them and their actions well enough if were together."

"Hey, stop ignoring me—!"

"Are you seriously planning to drag them across the desert?" Tighnari gave him a disgusted look. "They were better off with me in the rainforest. Besides, they were still injured. They needed to rest first."

"Oi, does my opinion don't matter here at all?"

As the two scholars banter back and forth about who you should go with, the Paimon Menu lit up again. And you saw Quest Complete at The Fox and the Jackal World Quest. Followed by a series of rewards that went tumbling down your Inventory when you checked. 

[Username]

(No Signature)

Adventure Rank: 2

Adventure EXP: 20

World Level: 0

OMG! YOU'RE FINALLY OUT OF THE AR1 JAIL! Is this for real?!

But before you could celebrate your apparent victory, a new quest suddenly appeared again. And this time…it was quite different than the others you've seen before.

"Huh…?" Your jaw dropped when you read its contents.

The Fox and the Jackal II

4m

Choose who to Obtain between the Verdant Strider "Tighnari" and Judicator of Secrets "Cyno" to your party. Choose only one.

Quest Chain Rewards: 250 Adventure EXP, 150 Character EXP, 2 Hero's Wit.

You could obtain them to join your party?! Here?! For free?! Is this freaking true?!

How the hell does this game really work now? They're giving out five stars characters like this so easily? Holy shit.

Route 1.1.1: Go with Tighnari to the domains in the rainforest.

Route 1.1.2: Go with Cyno to the domains in the desert.

TAGLIST (open! Send a dm or ask to be added :3) | @xinii , @maehemthemisfit , @abvolat , @crazypriestess , @ghostsaysno , @kittence , @unabashedlyminiaturetyrant , @xiyanin , @toasterinabathtub , @sketcheeee , @fuoon , @luvwukong , @salty-salty , @rosebatsc , @inky8 , @thegeekact , @almighty-raiden-shogunate , @isuckat-avery-thing , @perhapsabitgirlypop , @2cuteforyourlies , @stxrgxzxr , @elsoleil , @tsukkinoyya , @mkaella , @celi-alika , @tiffthescales , @blurr3db3rry , @messyserver , @shadowmist0706 , @chin-chii , @observation-subject-753 , @clovers-anxiety , @shizunxie , @lleoll , @shoujishu , @uwu-panic , @forgotten-blues , @chaneylovesfangirling , @enma-reblogs , @cookielovingalien , @iruiji , @samarill , @definitionofsad , @spynerr , @bigcandlesmolbrain , @universal-rose , @feverish-dove , @inlovewithwaffles ... (if ur username is bolded, it means i cant tagged u :(( maybe its in ur settings? Also lmk if i missed anyone cause im such an idiot sometimes shsh)

[lovesickeros]

ive been thinking about what characters would know sign language, bc despite never being mentioned i can't imagine teyvat wouldn't have an equivalent version.

alhaitham (partially deaf/goes nonverbal) obviously and by extension kaveh (kinda hard to chew out your roommate when they cant understand you), but also collei (goes nonverbal when triggered) would have been taught by tighnari (who knows it bc its useful for communicating silently w other rangers)

[markama]

part [1] [2] [3] [4](you are here) [5] [6] [7] [8] ... there will be more in the future

Mia still had her phone, in Teyvat.

As soon as she realised this her eyes lit up with hope and she imiditly turned it on and saw... she did have WiFi and signal. She was too focused on trying to communicate with someone from Earth to question anything.

Are here she was on the peak of Dragonspine trying to call her mother. The call went through.

Her eyes opened and widened with surprise with surprise and she started to tear up with a big smile on her face as her mother answered the phone.

"Hello?" Her mother ancwered the call with a broken tone. "Mom!" she statted to sob with a releaved look. "Wh-what. Mia! Your alive!" Her mother said with hope and happiness in her tone. "Please turn on your camera so i can make sure your alive and well?" her mother asked of her with tjat same tone of pure happiness. When booth of them turned on their cameras they never cried so much. "Wait. Mia where are you? Why does it look like your high up, on a sort of mountain?" the mother asked.

Hours later Mia's intire family: her mother, father and brother knew about whah had happened. They told her that her twin sister- Marianna cut all contacts with everyone bin her life and she moved to Britan. Mia found that odd since it was not like Marianna to cut contact with people like that. She started to ask them questions about what had happened but they couldn't ancwer her questions because they didn't know. They talked for six hours, in that time Mia told them about everything happening and how her appearance changed. By the end of the conversation her family had smiles on their faces but they were extremely worried for her safety becouse of the whole 'impersonating Her Grace' situation.

After the conversation ended she saw that her phone didn't have any battery, yet it worked fine. And then did the weight of the situation dawn on her. She could communicate woth her world, woth her friends, family and even strangers but only through a screen. She felt her heart pounding in her chest she could her her own heartbeat, her taughts started to race. She gripped her hair tears in her eyes "I won't ever be able to see my family in real life" "i have to" "i have to" tears started to falk form her eyes but she didn't realize she was so near the age and with another step she fell. She was falling form the top of Dragonspine. Mia was just about to touch the ground and she did. But...

She stood up eyes wide open. She survived she looked to the side where her phone fell and... it was working perfectly fine.It wasn't even cracked. She let out a sigh of relief as she picked it up and then climbed to the top of Dragonspine again. Where since, she didn't need food nor did she feel cold, she spet three days just scrolling on social media to get her mind off her desperate situation.

Soon she wanted a life. But she couldn't, she knew that everyone is on her tail, all around teyvat so she had to make a descise. And she did.

She found a knife in an abandoned hilichurl camp and she cut her hair to a little bit below her ears and she put a lot of crushed carrots in a put of boiling water and after the carrots were cooked for six hours they bacame a brown mush. She put the mush in her hair and she left it there for a day. After she washed the mush away her hair became a verry dark red color with black tips and a little bit lighter roots.

She found a mora bag on the ground and she used it to buy herself clothing form a traveling merchant. She cahnged her name to Mila.

She looked like a total different person and as long as she kept her eyes closed she would be unrecognizable except... she couldn't bleed. Her blood was gold, her discuse would be blown away if someone saw the blood.

She teleported to sumeru forest where she got a job as a stand seller.

She met Tignari and Kaveh she even met young Collei and she made a lot of friends. She visited the library everyday where she red about this 'Creator' and she was trying to find out about why she supposedly look like that creator.

She regularly called and tlaked with her family and she even told her best friend- Seka about everything.Years later her cover hasn't bean blown yet and one day she heard about a girl with sort blonde hair that was called the Traveler saved Mondstat form Devalin.

Mia knew that the main storyline began and that the real change begins now.

[kuamiru]

The Golden Child Part II

SAGAU & Impostor AU where the reader is the child of the actual creator.

Warnings: blood, panic attack, mention of suicide.

If you haven't read part 1 yet, you can find it here.

Humidity felt awful. The tall and wet grass gave an uncomfortable sensation every time you walked another step. The tall trees blocked your vision; it was impossible to see what lay beyond the forest. The flora and fauna were drastically different from what you knew in Liyue; no matter how hard you tried, you could not recognize a single animal or plant.

Your eyes were focused on the road ahead, simply watching the dirt below your feet as your mind wandered about the events that led you to this situation. You no longer had any tears to cry, you spent the first hour of your walk weeping and mourning for the life that you lost.

Now, you could only move forward.

The sun that once stood on top of the sky was starting to slowly disappear into the horizon. It wouldn't be long before night arrived, and you had yet to find some sort of civilization to ask for help.

Strange noises managed to snap you out of your thoughts. As you weren't paying attention to your surroundings, you failed to notice three strange persons standing right in front of you, blocking your path. Two buff and strong men and a tall, slim woman looked down at you menacingly. As they bore similar clothes colored red and gold, it was safe to assume that they all were in the same group or clan of some sorts.

You immediately stopped walking and moved your backpack to the front to hug it in your chest as a way to both have a false sense of security and an easier access to the dagger hidden inside.

"So is this it? The shrimp we were tasked to retrieve?" The woman asked as she crossed her arms. You could not see her eyes as they were covered by a red cloth, but it was evident she was raising a brow.

"Watch your mouth." One of the men spoke. "Remember what we were told: safely secure the child and not do anything that could upset them."

So, were these strangers planning to take you? Did they have any connections to that archon that fought your dad? Was that why they were there, to bring you back to Liyue?

Impulsed by your fear, you took one step backward.

The other man seemed to notice this, for he approached you in just one big step. He crouched to look at you in the eyes in an attempt to look less intimidating. It didn't quite work as planned as you just flinched. "Hey it's okay, little one. We won't hurt you. We are here to take you to Lord Sang—"

"Stop right there!"

The man was interrupted by an arrow impacting right in front of his feet, surprising him and making him stand up in alarm. The other two were also alerted and readied their weapons; a bow and two swords were in hand to fight whoever was attacking them.

A young boy descended from the tree on top of you. He landed unscathed in front of you, between the man that previously approached you and your smaller form. His fox-like tail was tense behind him, simulating that of the wild animals when they were alert, ready to strike. His long and fluffy ears twitched at every sound his enemies made, taking advantage of his animal blood to have the advantage on this situation.

"I didn't know Eremites would step so low as to corner a lonely child in the forest." He said, drawing his bow and aiming it at the stranger in front of him. "I'll give you this chance to leave. If you do not, I won't hesitate to throw you out by force."

The group looked at each other. However, none of them put down their weapon.

"Sorry, little forest watcher. We have a job to do." The woman warned.

"We advise you to step aside." The man with the swords said.

Those comments enraged the newcomer. From his point of view, these Eremites were picking on a kid just to rob them. Maybe even something worse.

"Don't say I didn't warn you."

Before you had any time to react, both the fox boy and the three mercenaries started to attack each other. Arrows and strikes started to flow from everywhere, making you crawl to safety behind the thickest tree around. You closed your eyes tightly and covered your ears with your hands. The sound of fighting reminded you of what transpired earlier in The Chasm... It was just like that time when your father and that archon exchanged blows, one determined to get to you and the other to protect you.

It was just the same.

The clashing didn't stop. Your heartbeat increased with each parry that resonated behind your hiding spot. Soon, all you could hear was the thump of your heart hitting your ears, the fight long forgotten as you could not even remember it was happening thanks to the desperation you were starting to feel. Your breathing got out of control, and your chest soon started to hurt, too. If felt as if your heart wanted to devour your whole body and you could do nothing to stop it—

"Breathe, kid. I need you to take a deep inhale and hold your breath for a second before exhaling. Inhale, exhale."

You didn't know who was talking in front of you, their muffled voice barely reached you through the loud thumping in your chest and ears. They repeated the same words over and over again, and soon you started to obey them in hopes of stop hurting. Inhaling, exhaling. It took a few tries, but your breathing soon became more and more stabilized, and your heart wasn't so loud anymore.

The person crouching in front of you breathed a sigh of relief, and you didn't even know you were crying until they wiped a tear escaping from your left eye. Now that you were calmer, you noticed that your vision was also blurry, however, it was also getting better.

"There now, you're alright." The boy in front of you said. His silhouette was now familiar as you recognized the fox-like features in his body. "Feel any better?"

You nodded rather uncertainly. You still felt agitated, but it was certainly better than a minute ago.

"That's good." He smiled. "You're safe now, okay? Those Eremites can't hurt you now."

He took your little arms in his hands and made you release the backpack you were still clinging to. As you let it go, you noticed how red and swollen your hand and fingers were. It seemed that you were grabbing it with too much force.

"I'm sure this was frightening to such a young kid like you... Judging by the way you dress, I assume you're from Liyue, am I wrong?"

You shook your head 'no'. He smiled, content by your response.

"And what about your parents? Are you all merchants? That's why those mercenaries attacked you here in the forest?"

You knew he didn't have any bad intentions and was just asking in hopes of helping you, but it didn't make it hurt any less the mention of your parents. You raised your knees to your chest and hid your face in them. The boy visibly saddened thanks to your action. In his eyes, those Eremites attacked your family in hopes of robbing you and ended up killing your parents when they struggled. He couldn't think of anything else.

"It's okay little one, it's okay now..." He sat beside you and surrounded your shoulders with his left arm. This helped him bring you closer to his body, using his fluffy tail to bring some comfort by gently caressing your back. "You're safe."

The tickling feeling of the hair of his tail going up and down your back brought a positive reaction out of you. It made you involuntarily laugh, and he seemed pleased by this.

"How about you tell me your name, hm?" His kind eyes complemented his soothing smile. You shyly offered your name, and he seemed to shine brightly at the achievement of finally hearing your voice. "That's an absolutely beautiful name! Mine's Tighnari, though I fear it pales in comparison to yours."

You giggled at his words. "But I like your name. It's pretty."

Tighnari ruffled your hair with a laugh. "Well thank you, little one. That's very kind of you."

You were now relaxed, you even had a small smile on your face. This was the perfect opportunity to exit the forest and return to Gandharva Ville; he would think of what to do next once he got you to safety.

He stood up and extended his hand in your direction, helping you stand up once you took it in your smaller hand.

"We'll go to the ville I live, okay? Once we're there, you can get comfortable and tell me everything that happened." He promised. You nodded once more, and, still hugging your backpack with your free arm, you let the young archer guide you through the forest. He started to walk in the opposite direction of where the fight happened, but curiosity got the better of you and turned your head briefly to see what was left of the fight. You barely got to see the three unconscious bodies before the trees blocked your vision.

.

You were sure you would never be able to see such settlements back in Liyue.

The large trunk of a tree was the base of a little ville hidden in the middle of the forest. The place was filled with forest rangers patrolling the nearby areas, all of them greeting Tighnari once you both appeared right at the entrance.

Being around so many strangers filled you with uneasiness, so naturally, you clung to the only person you knew. Tighnari didn't seem to mind; in fact, it was as if the hold gave him a new surge of energy, for he increased the speed of his walking and returned every greeting with excitement. He even took this opportunity to wrap his tail around your torso.

The road ended in front of a wooden cabin. You stared at it for a moment, thinking about your current situation. Was this okay? This boy certainly promised to help you, he even rescued you from that scary people back in the forest. 'Don't enter a stranger's house' your parent would always tell you...

But did you have any other option right now?

Tighnare looked back at you and offered a gentle smile. "It's okay, I'm with you."

He gently tugged your arm, and you started walking again. You both entered the tiny house, surprised to see a girl already inside, seemingly writing in a notebook while sitting on the desk.

"Collei, I'm back." Tighnari said, and the girl turned to face him once she heard his voice. The big smile on her face quickly morphed into a semblance of pure confusion.

"Oh, who is this?" Collei approached you, kneeling in front of you before offering you a small smile. "Hello little one! My name is Collei. You are not from around here, are you?"

You instinctively hid behind Tighnari. He laughed. "No, they are not. I fear their family might have been a victim of Eremites."

"But I thought Eremites were just mercenaries? Did someone hire them to attack their family?"

He shrugged. He really didn't have a clue. If this child's parents were wealthy or renowned merchants then it would make sense for someone to have a grudge on them.

You slowly revealed yourself from behind the boy. This girl seemed friendly enough.

"Hi Collei." You offered. "Nice to meet you."

Collei gasped. This child was so cute! And so polite, too. She couldn't fight the impulse of hugging you, in just a second you were scooped into her arms and away from the archer, a meter above the ground.

For Tighnari, that small action made him feel like his world was crumbling... Suddenly he felt alone, suffocated, overwhelmed by anguish. The moment he stopped touching the child he swore he could sense his heart breaking in a million pieces.

No, no!

He didn't even realize what he had done until he heard Collei say his name and the pained whimpers of the child. He was grabbing your small arm rather roughly, for he could see the redness of the skin below his hand. Collei was doing her best in trying not to drop you, as he was trying to bring you closer to him not really caring that you were in the arms of another person.

"Ah! Sorry, sorry...!" He excused himself quickly. He let go of you, and guilt was born in his heart when he saw how you gently rubbed the area where he held you.

Collei was staring at him with a worried expression, but Tighnari didn't really care. He looked at the hand that was used to grab you.

He was certain he didn't imagine it. Every second he touched your small frame... he felt full of life, vigor, energy. A newfound euphoria that made him believe he could achieve anything in this world. He could think of the happiest day in his life and how he felt then would never come close to the way you made him feel.

He raised his eyes and his heart dropped when he found yours full of tears. Oh, this was bad! Please, please don't cry! He'd rather kill himself before being the cause of your weeping—

He was just about to drop to the floor and apologize when a forest ranger entered the cabin in a hurry. She was out of breath, as if she had been running from the edge of the forest to here without taking a break.

"Tighnari, we- we have problems!" She said as best as she could. "Eremites! A group of Eremites is attacking Gandharva Ville ad nauseam!"

"What?!" Both Tighnari and Collei exclaimed. They exchanged a glance between each other, a silent form of communication that only they could understand.

"They're here for them..." He gritted his teeth. What could possibly a group of mercenaries want with a little kid?! Even worse, behind them was a mysterious employer... Someone who was adamant about taking this child. Just the thought of it made his blood boil. "Stay here with them! I'll kill those damn Eremites for trying to harm this one!"

The rage in his voice made the girl give a step backward in shock. She has never seen her friend that angry before... no, he wasn't angry; he was furious.

He wasted no second in summoning his bow and following the fellow forest ranger in the fight outside.

Had you heard right? Were the people from the forest back for you? Ah, the thought of it made you feel sick... What did they even want from you? Could they've been sent from those archons to capture you? Was taking the lives of your papa and tata not enough?

You started to move in Collei's arms, demanding to be put down. She obliged your silent request and carefully let you go from her arms. However, the moment she let go, it felt as if someone tore her heart from her chest and crushed it before her eyes. No way, could this be what Tighnari experienced and made him react that way?

She summoned her bow and shouted your name when she saw you run outside to see what was happening.

The entire ville was replete of Eremites clashing weapons with forest rangers and even some forest watchers. The few civilians that lived there tried to escape through secret passages or deserted places, just to be stopped and apprehended by the invaders.

Collei barely had any time to reach you to pull you inside when an Eremite spotted you two. "There! I see the child!"

Tighnari snapped his head from where he was fighting to look at you, every hair of his body standing up with the rage he was feeling. "DON'T YOU DARE!!" He shouted before firing an arrow at his opponent, piercing their stomach without effort. He needed to get to them, he couldn't let these damn Eremites steal you and take with them all the euphoria and joy he felt.

As he started to hop on the stairs to stop a man that was rushing to the cabin, he failed to notice a woman pointing her own bow and arrow right at him. And just as he was about to grab the man, a sharp pain made him stumble and fall as he clutched his side. Crimson flowed from the wound the arrow had made. Fuck, he would need medical help soon.

He shouted your name, trying to see your small from where he was lying. This proved to be futile as the woman who had shot him moved to stand in front of him, between him and the cabin.

Collei managed to pull you back inside just as the man appeared on the entrance. The girl stood protectively in front of you, having drawn her bow as a way to defend both of you. The Eremite, however, didn't move to attack her. He approached you both and didn't seem to be intimidated even when Collei's arrow was pointing at his head.

"You." He said, looking right at you. "We've come for you."

"You'll have to get through me first." Collei warned.

"Oh, please." The man laughed. "We have orders not to kill anybody, but we certainly can use force to take them with us."

She didn't know what to do. This man seemed way stronger than her. Could she even defeat him in a fight?

"Wait, don't- don't hurt her!" You exclaimed behind her form. You clung onto her scarf tightly, terrified of the situation you were in. You could not let any more people be hurt to protect you! You had to be strong; your father and your parent would've wanted you to be brave. "Please stop attacking the ville, they have nothing to do with me..."

"Certainly. If you come with us we can end this without hurting anyone else. What do you say?"

Collei refused fiercely, but you didn't share her thoughts. You nodded and slowly separated from her body to approach the waiting man. This sent Collei in a panic. She tried to grab you by the neck but was promptly stopped by the handle of a polearm hitting her stomach. She instinctively grabbed the area as she fell to the floor, the impact having made her lose her breath.

"Ah, Collei!" You tried to go to her to see if she was okay, but the man managed to pick you up from your clothes and throw you in his shoulder.

"Worry not, little one. We didn't hurt anyone severely. Now let's go, Lord Sangemah Bay is waiting for you."

Wait, Lord Sangemah Bay? That was the person your father wanted you to find. So these people were sent by them to retrieve you? Had you known beforehand, you would've gone with them back in the forest. Without having to hurt anyone here.

The man brought you outside and whistled. The remaining Eremited heed his call and promptly evacuated the ville, the wounded helped by the stronger members.

The man also took off with you still secured in his shoulder, and you barely could hear the shouts of your name coming from the ville as you got farther and farther away.

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Hello! This is a taglist. Should you wish for me to add or remove you, you can ask for it.

Due to the overwhelming support you've given me, I fear I might have forgotten some people who kindly asked to be tagged. If you do not find yourself here, please do tell me. I've saved every username but there's a possibility that I've missed yours when I made the list.

However, I don't know why I can't tag some blogs. I hope this reaches you well.

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