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"What even is that?"
"S'called a seelie, babe," the purple, round, semi-translucent thing was bobbing up and down next to Beidou, just above her shoulder. Occasionally, it stopped its pattern of movement and made some high pitched noises and squeals. Ningguang quirked a brow.
"And where did you even acquire such an object, might I ask?" She inquired. Beidou had a habit of bringing her strange gifts from her travels, yes—like a crow handing you random, shiny trinkets they found lying somewhere, she thought fondly at one time—but this...was simply the strangest that the captain had brought back. It wasn’t some peculiar object Beidou bought or picked up from wherever her travels led her, it was...a creature, a floating thing similar to that strange floating mascot the famed yet equally strange Traveler carried around with him.
Beidou brought her hands up in mock surrender, leading the seelie to float and squeak away a bit, just to move out of the way. It seemed to be very familiar with the captain's mannerisms to the point of playing along. "Not through shady means, I promise ya," she assured smoothly. Ningguang's brows furrowed, not exactly convinced. "Fine. Traveler gave it to me, said he got it from a shady guy but couldn't keep it either since he's got his hands tied by that floating loud mascot Paimon. So he gave it to me as a gift for bringing them to Inazuma. Happy?"
Ningguang's expression did not let up. "Not shady, you say?"
"Not directly!" Beidou defended, "Anyways, the thing is cute! And shiny, and finds you treasure! It's practically your soul mate," Ningguang crossed her arms. "...other than me, of course."
She ignored the last statement. "Aren't you a pirate? Won't this...thing be more of use for you?"
"Stereotypes hurt, love," the pirate feigned a flinch, and, as if mirroring her, the seelie did the same. It was cute, Ningguang admitted, but not out loud. "And, nah. This thing is too distracting on the ship. Far too loud to sneak around with, and I don't think it enjoys being at sea too much."
"So you're dumping it off to me instead?"
Beidou shrugged, "well if you put it like that of course it wouldn't sound nice," she said, "just think of it as a gift. A memento to remember me for when I'm away!” When Ningguang still didn’t look too convinced, Beidou smiled a bit too smugly for her liking. “A little birdie told me you tend to sulk for a few days after I leave with my crew, y'know."
Ningguang felt herself stiff and tried not to show it, instead keeping up a facade of indifference. Though she doesn't doubt Beidou noticed. "And who told you that?"
"No one you can prove," Beidou said quickly.
She stared at the pirate, trying to deduce on who ratted her out, but found no answer. Oh well, she can always rely on her contacts to find out whoever close to the Qixing has been in contact with the Crux captain later. "Whatever. Give it to that Kaedehara boy, he's a wanderer, is he not? A seelie will surely keep him company in his travels."
"Nah, he's not interested," Beidou shrugged, and the seelie bobbed up and down a bit faster, as if agreeing with her. “C’monnnn, the little guy needs a home! Pleasee?”
Ningguang pursed her lips, actually considering her offer. She never could refuse the captain's gifts, no matter how strange or outlandish some of them were. The gifts weren't expensive or luxurious by any means, but the amount of thought and care Beidou put into these gifts were beyond anything her suitors and business partners could ever dream of getting her, even if the captain did seem nonchalant about it most of the time.
Finally, she relented with a sigh. “Fine, I suppose I can-”
"That's the spirit!" Ningguang found herself tackled into one of the pirate captain's tight yet warm hugs. Her scolding for the captain to put her down died on her tongue and was replaced by squeals of panic as Beidou spun the both of them around, filling the room with boisterous laughter and demands to be put down.
Eventually, Beidou relented and let go of the Tianquan. Disoriented and out of balance, Ningguang held onto the captain for support, hitting her lightly on the shoulder after gathering her composure. “Never do that again,” she muttered.
Beidou only laughed, “Fine, fine, my lady.” A lie, and they both know it.
They hear a shaky chirp, and see the seelie spinning around in its own little circle in the air, mirroring what it just witnessed a moment ago. Beidou waited until it had its fun and made a gesture, which the seelie understood and chirped excitedly as it began floating towards Ningguang, settling on her side, hovering just above her shoulder.
“See? Not that bad.”
“I suppose it’s cute,” Ningguang couldn’t contain a small smile as the seelie bounced in the air and let out a content squeal. She then turned to Beidou, her smile gone.
"Also, don't think this "gift" of yours will get you off of trouble. I know what you did in Inazuma."
"Ah…here comes the lecture, huh?"