Chapter Text
There is something to be said about trusting people prematurely, probably. Then again, I didn’t expect my best friend to be so loose-lipped about me being in possession of a vision. In any other part of Teyvat, this wouldn’t be such a big deal, but alas, I am from Inazuma, and here it is a big deal.
Well, let me start from the beginning.
xxx
(Aylin)
“So,” Shirayuki asks, “what did you wanna talk about?”
I hum, leaning against the kitchen counter. “well, now I’m having second thoughts about it.”
“Oh come on,” She rolls her eyes, “what could possibly be so bad you can’t tell me about?” Shirayuki rests her head on her knuckles, giving me a crooked smile.
“Well,” I wince, “that depends on your definition of bad.”
Shirayuki shrugs, “It can’t be worse than the time Yuki cheated on me.”
My frown deepens. I figure that’s as good a segway as any, so I force a laugh and say:
“So, me having a vision isn’t that bad then?”
All at once, the atmosphere in my kitchen turns...icy. And I don’t mean that as a cryo vision related joke.
“You’re joking,” she says, “this...has to be a joke.”
I frown, “are you calling me a liar?”
“Aylin,” Shirayuki pleads, standing slowly, “you can’t...actually be serious.”
“Why would I lie about being an enemy of the state!?”
Shirayuki shakes her head. “This...is madness. Where did you even get it!?”
I glance to the side, then shrug, “the Tsaritsa visited me in my dream.”
Shirayuki blinks, wide eyed and clearly disbelieving, then shakes her head.
“I can’t...I can’t believe this.”
“You can’t tell anyone,” I remind her, “...but, if you need time to digest this, I get it.”
Slowly, she nods. “I...I need to go. To think.”
I nod, “whatever you need.”
Shirayuki nods, then heads for the door. Before she leaves, she mutters a little “goodbye”. I nod and echo the word back.
Once the door closes behind her, I cross my arms. I stare at the window, watching the people outside pass by.
A friend told me she was leaving Inazuma while back. This whole development makes me wonder if I should too....
I shake my head, and grab my coat and bag. Before anything else, I want to stop by my mother’s grave, and tell her about...all this.
xxx
My visit to my childhood home is uneventful, and quiet. The hill is deserted, and quiet, the only things there being a quaint house, rotting from the inside, and a small overgrown grave by the path to the nearby field. I climb the hill, and settle in front of the tombstone.
“Hey, mom,” I say, “a lot has happened since I was here last, somehow.” I swallow, considering what to say next. I lick my lips, “well, for one...I received a vision. So...now I’m an outlaw, I guess,” I chuckle, then reach into my bag, and pull a glowing orb out, the symbol of cryo reflected in it’s surface.
“There’s no frame around it,” I say, “I guess...normally you’d be able to buy a frame for it, but...obviously, that’s no option.”
I pause.
“I wonder,” I muse, “are you proud of me? Would you be proud if you saw me holding a vision? Would you have reported me? Would you have taken it? Would you have left Inazuma with me?” I pause. The only response is the wind howling around me. I huff.
“I wonder if I should just...throw it away, and get back to my life. Back to being a sellsword. After all, fighting’s all I really know how to do.” I look up to the sky, which is turning purple in the setting sun.
“or...should I take it and run?”
For a moment, I listen to the birds sing, and the wind that seems to draw my gaze towards the horizon. It almost feels like the wind is trying to persuade me to…
To what? Go?
….it might just be. I always read about how the anemo archon valued freedom…
I hear Mondstadt is lovely this time of year.
xxx
As I turn the corner of the street towards my house, I spot 3 guards outside my door, knocking and shouting for me to come out.
My heart leaps into my throat as I duck behind the wall from whence I came, my heart pounding in my chest.
...I guess I have no choice, now.
xxx
That night, I sneak to the docks before the guards could realize I wasn’t even home. I knew that there was a ship heading for Liyue that night, and it was by my extreme luck, that it had not left yet by the time I arrived.
I hid in a box, and became a stowaway on a trading ship headed for Liyue.
xxx
“Ayo, I think there’s something down here!”
The alarmed voice causes my eyes to snap open. Frantic, terrified I’ve been caught, I glance around. The door to the ship’s storage is open, and light streams in. The sight may be beautiful, but I know that if I stay much longer I won’t be able to escape.
“I’ll check it out,” says a voice, and I lie down, pretending to be asleep.
The footsteps come closer, and closer. There’s a small gasp, and my eyes snap open. The man looking at me sees, and turns to alert his mates--
“Hey--”
There’s no time to waste. I freeze his feet--
“What!?”
--and make a run for it.
I dash onto the deck, push aside a crew member, making him yelp. Before any of the crewmates can get too close, I jump off the ship, landing on the solid ground of Liyue Harbor’s port.
“Hey! Get back here!”
Instead of slowing, I make a mad dash for the stairs leading up to central Liyue Harbor.
I skip every other step, turn a corner and run,
and run,
and run.
And I keep running until Liyue Harbor is a city in the valley below, and I am stood next to a statue of Rex Lapis. It feels like he’s gazing at me. I frown at him.
“Well? What do I do now?”
I guess...anywhere but here is good, right?
xxx
And so I start to walk. I meet a few adventurer’s, whom I ask about where exactly I am. They hand me a map and explain where we are, and give me some recipes as parting gifts. I find out where Mondstadt is, and decide to head there.
On the way there, I find Wangshu inn, where I end up staying for a few days, during which I meet the elusive Xiao. He doesn’t actually talk with me, but he was having the same dish I was, so there was that.
And then I very cautiously walked around Dragonspine.
And then I arrive in Mondstadt.
xxx
Bonus: Wangshu Recommends
“So you’re heading to Mondstadt?” Verr, the Inn owner asks. I swallow the almond tofu I was chewing, and nod.
“Yeah, I hear it’s the complete opposite of Inazuma.”
Verr smiles, “Yes, it is. Do you have a game plan?”
“I mean, the end goal is to join the knights, but...nothing immediate, no.”
“Well, you’re in luck,” she says, “I know the acting grand master, if you’d like, I can write you a recommendation!”
I clap, and then shake my hands in excitement, “Really? That’d be amazing! Thank you!”
Verr laughs, “please, it’s the least I can do to thank you for clearing the streets. And I’ve seen you in action, you’re more than capable.”
My cheeks grow warm, and I bite my lip.
“sit tight,” Verr winks, “I’ll write something up real quick.”