Chapter Text
Mondstadt was both extremely boring and fascinating at the same time, he found.
Scaramouche hadn't received any new orders since the investigation into the meteors, so he had decided to stay in the Anemo Archon's land until his next job, since he hadn't been to the region before. The wind-swept city was tiny and mundane in comparison to the perpetual (if stale) beauty of Inazuma or the grandeur of Snezhnaya. But still, the concept of a city governed with "freedom" as its main ideal was preposterous enough to interest him.
One day, bored out of his mind after finishing his reports to Pierro, he decided to go explore the city for a bit. Not knowing where to start, he decided to ask the owner of the hotel for suggestions as he sat for breakfast.
"W-well," Goth started, and it was clear that he was terrified of the Harbinger—as he should be. "Within the city, there's the Church of Barbatos, which generally receives a lot of tourists, and Angel's Share, the local bar, where you can try some of Dawn Winery's fine drinks. There's the Good Hunter if you're hungry, and the library if you want to learn more about the city's history."
Scaramouche hummed. "I wasn't aware there was a library here."
"O-oh yes, though it is located within the headquarters of the Knights of Favonius. You might not want to…" the Harbinger raised one eyebrow, and the man visibly paled. "I-I m-mean, you can go wherever you please, sir Harbinger! I-I'm sure the knights will be more than glad to receive a visit from one of our Fatui d-diplomats!"
He studied the sweating old man with amusement before nodding. "I suppose I'll do that then. Later." Without another word, he left the building and made his way towards the closest thing Mondstadt had to a government building.
He observed the city and its inhabitants while he walked, and watched as many of them made their way towards the plaza above, no doubt headed for the church.
The sight of the grand building of the church of Barbatos gave him a chuckle the first time he saw it; it seemed that in the absence of their archon, their devotion only grew, as represented by the gigantic statue in the main plaza. He imagined for a second an equally tall statue of the Electro archon and immediately grimaced. The last thing Ei needs is more blind adoration.
The building of the Ordo Favonius wasn't very hard to find, with the red banners marking the way and the huge crest by the door all bearing the symbol of the Knights. The guards at the door seemed hesitant upon noticing him, but made no move to stop him as he made his way inside.
He paused within the grand hall of the building for a moment, trying to find where he was supposed to go, when he saw a small girl leaving the room to his right carrying a book on… explosives? He made a mental note of it, but ignored her for now.
This must be it then.
He was pleased to know he was right when he walked through the door and found himself in a large room, both of its floors bearing walls lined with bookshelves. The woman with the purple hat at the desk gave him a sickeningly sweet smile as he entered, and he promptly ignored her, instead heading towards the lower portion of the library, where long wooden desks were placed for comfortable reading.
He was about to make his way to one of the bookshelves and peruse its contents when he noticed a familiar starry hat at one of the desks.
It can't be… can it?
And it was. Sitting with a stack of books on astrology by her side was none other than the witch he had met in Musk Reef, the one that dared to get in the way of his plans and reveal his intentions to the Traveler.
He had considered for a while what he would do if he found the witch again; if he should just kill her or maybe toy with her a bit, but now that she was in front of him again, he couldn't pass up the opportunity to mess with her.
Moving towards her as quietly as he could, he lowered his head next to hers before whispering into her ear, "you really believe these stupid lies, don't you?"
She seemed to freeze for a second before grabbing the book she had been reading and attempting to hit him with it, though he easily evaded her. "Is this how you greet an old friend?" He joked, leaning back on her table and finally meeting her furious eyes.
"You and I are nowhere near friends and you know that, Harbinger scum," she mumbled, her words laced with poison, and he chuckled.
"Careful there, witch. The Fatui are guests in this city. You wouldn't want to be seen picking a fight with a guest, now would you?"
She hissed but lowered her book, looking around them to make sure no one had noticed. Then she returned her gray eyes to his, her anger more properly concealed now. He smiled at the sight. Good girl.
"What are you doing here?" She asked in a hushed tone, and he shrugged.
"Visiting your library, of course. What else?" She continued to glare at him, so he sighed. "I'm not on duty right now, witch. You can stop scowling. You're ugly enough as it is."
She huffed, crossing her arms. "On duty or not, you clearly can't be trusted to behave. Don't think for one second that I won't be watching you, scumbag," she lowered her voice at the last part as if telling him a secret, and he grinned.
"Very well then, witch. You can watch all you want," he promptly sat beside her and borrowed one of the books on her pile, scanning the cover with disgust. The witch scoffed in disbelief, swiftly retrieving her book before picking up the whole pile and standing up.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"I'm afraid staying in here is becoming more unbearable by the second. I'd rather take these books to read in the comfort of my home." She gave him one last fierceful look, "Farewell, Harbinger."
"See you around then," he smiled amicably at her, and her face twisted in disgust.
"I think not." And with that, she was off. He watched her figure disappear from his view once she climbed the stars, an amused look on his face.
I'll be watching you too, witch.