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(Mona’s POV)
Commissions from the Adventurer’s Guild are truly a blessing. Though they can be quite tiring to carry out (especially on an empty stomach), I don’t exactly have much of a choice when I’m endlessly strapped for Mora.
So that’s how I find myself partnered with the self-proclaimed princess again, this time to clear out hilichurls that are posing a threat near Falcon Coast. With how far that is from the city itself, we only have one obvious choice: to camp in the middle of nowhere. After some difficulty in communication, we manage to agree on taking shifts to keep watch so we don’t get ambushed. To my surprise, Fischl volunteers to stay up to a later time.
I shouldn’t question it, I suppose; my entire body is already aching for rest.
***
I wake up a few hours later on my own. Still tired from all the walking earlier in the day, I close my eyes.
Wait… did I just leave Fischl to guard the whole night? In a rush, I unzip the tent, relieved when I see that it’s still pitch-black outside, the most noticeable source of light being the campfire illuminating Fischl’s back. I sigh quietly.
“You should sleep,” I say.
“I am no mere mortal,” she replies, now facing me, and I brace myself for another one of her long-winded speeches. “I originate from a world beyond, and therefore do not need to submit myself to the depths of unconsciousness to recharge.”
I stare at her in disbelief. She’s really pulling an all-nighter? Not that I haven’t done that before, but… “Are you sure you want to keep watch for the whole night?”
She nods and then turns her back to me. From what I can see of her silhouette, she seems to be staring at the night sky. It is surprisingly clear tonight, every little star visible and glowing in contrast to the dark, vast space beyond.
Wow… maybe I wouldn’t mind staying up on a night like this too. I make my way out of the tent, keeping the blanket around me and sit next to Fischl. Her only visible eye glances at me before looking back at the sky before her.
“It’s beautiful tonight,” I comment in awe.
“Yeah, it is,” she agrees, sounding rather amazed. “I-I mean I absolutely concur with that statement.” Huh, she spoke normally again. Her odd speaking mannerisms still baffle me, especially so when those speeches come with her claims of being a princess who hailed from another world, so to hear her just say what she meant is quite refreshing. It also further piques my curiosity regarding exactly what is up with her. I could get my answer by doing an astrological reading, but if her past is truly as traumatising for her as Oz said… I probably shouldn’t.
“Dost thou, too, enjoy observing the many luminous celestial bodies scattered in the limitless darkness of the night?” asks Fischl. I blink at her once, twice, trying my best to process what she meant with my sleep deprived brain.
“Are you asking me if I like stargazing?”
She nods.
“Of course I do. It helps me relax, plus I’m an astrologer, after all. How about you?” Right as I say that, I realise that I’ll probably be getting a paragraph-long answer that can be shortened to one sentence. Again.
Having Oz to translate would be real helpful right now... speaking of Oz, where is he?
“Certainly this starry night sky pleases the eye, but it is nothing compared to traversing from world to world. Learning the fates of each and every realm and of those who live within them interest me far more.”
…
I think my brain is rotting.
“I… see...” I reply, not knowing what to make of her response. “Traversing from world to world”… It seems to explain her odd way of speaking, but even the Traveler whom I know is definitely not from Teyvat doesn’t speak like that. Maybe it’s just another one of her exaggerations? She does speak normally on occasion after all…
“I may not be shackled by the desire for sleep, but a mere mortal like you certainly are,” she says. “For what reason are you still beside me, gazing upon the scenery painted by nature itself?”
“'Not shackled by the desire for sleep'?” I question her, amused. “I’ve definitely seen you eat before… Surely that means you need sleep too.”
“W-well consuming food is merely to provide mine earthly vessel with such sustenance as it doth require to perform its royal duties!”
Is that what she’s calling guild commissions now? “Royal duties”? I snort.
“Anyway, I can look out for any danger just fine. Go get some rest,” I say to her.
“Truly, there is no nee—” Fischl replies before being cut off by her own yawn. “…ah.” I can’t help but chuckle, my point proven right.
“Silence, astral emissary.” She gives me the most indignant look when I laugh even harder, and soon sighs.
“Very well, I will heed your advice,” she declares, then heads off into the tent. Finally. Now I won’t have to worry about her falling asleep mid-journey or something like that.
“Good night,” I say.
She stops halfway through zipping up the tent, staring at me with what seems like surprise.
“What is it?” I ask, confused by her reaction.
She averts her eye, mumbling something incomprehensible, and before I could also ask about that, she utters with a smile (and in uncharacteristically simple language), “Good night.” Then she closes the tent.
…huh. She really wasn’t that stuck up after all. She seems… pleasant, even. I look to the skies, reaching out to the stars above. I wonder what fate has in store for us.