Work Text:
It was supposed to be a vacation.
It wasn’t.
*
“You need to stop, Ganyu,” Ningguang said. Ganyu thought it was quite rich coming from her, someone as workaholic as herself. Still, the woman was her superior in the hierarchy. “You will collapse if you don’t.”
Ganyu hadn’t collapsed in well over a thousand years. She could go on for a thousand more, thank you ever so. Her job wasn’t even particularly taxing!
”Besides, if not working disturbs you so much, consider it a mission,” the Tianqan went on. Against her will, Ganyu felt her attention perk up at the word mission; Ningguang smirked. Damn it.
“I want you to go with the Traveler to Sumeru. It’s about time we have eyes and ears accessing the situation there. There’s been rumors of Fatui activity there, some of which are quite... concerning. Rumors that the one who acquired the Electro gnosis is heading there...”
Ah.
The words clicked in place, one after the other, and she understood why Ningguang wanted her to go, rather than her usual choice of Yelan.
A Gnosis. The word sent a chill down Ganyu’s spine. Memories of the Archon War flittered through her mind, the smells, the corpses, Morax standing over a field of dead deities, his hands wet with blood touching her face, the deep of his voice rumbling compliments, hot and dry like scales against her cheek —
“One sees what one needs to do. Very well, Tianqan. One shall depart shortly.”
Was that her voice? It felt strange, even to her. The cryo vision on her hip pulsed gently. She blinked, shook her head as the memories faded away and she was no longer on the battlefield, but in the Jade Chamber, facing the red of Ningguang’s widened eyes. Ah. Apparently she surprised the other woman. Whoops
Gentle, shy Ganyu was who she was. Soft-spoken and hard-working Ganyu, hiding among mortals and doing her best to help Liyue prosper, as per her contract with Rex Lapis.
It was easy to forget she was not just another bureaucrat.
Easy to forget she had the blood of the Qilin in her veins.
With a short bow, she spun on her heel, and went to find the Traveler.
They had business to talk about.