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“Have you ever really thought of settling down anywhere?”
“Hmm? Excuse me?”
Navia gave a light chuckle as she took a sip of her tea, her accompaniment for the day turning to look at her with a slightly puzzled face. She hummed as she placed her tea cup down, turning to look at him again.
“Yes, settling down. Like, I know you’re a traveler and what not, do you have any plans of settling down?”
Aether for one went a little silent for a while, taking a sip of his own cup of tea before he placed it back onto his own teacup across from hers.
“No, not really. Well, I have made a comment once or twice about how some places are much better places to stay than other places around my journey in Teyvat, but other than that, not really.”
His admittance made Navia nod slightly, giving a thoughtful look at him for a second.
“I see, so you know that you have good places to stay around here, but never actually thought of truly settling down and staying somewhere?” She asked inquisitively.
“Yup, that’s right.” Aether replied, sighing slightly. “I’m not exactly on free terms going around the nations, and so I’ve never really thought of having places to stay and such.”
“Yes, I’ve heard.” she replied. “As is the way everyone calls you a traveler, no? If you aren’t traveling, that name would’ve never stuck.”
He chuckled in response. “Right. A traveler who doesn’t travel. That’s kind of hilarious if you think about it.”
“Ironicity at its finest if I say so myself.” She lightly laughed in response. “But anyway, back on topic, so you have been to 3, 4……5 now, right?”
“Yes.” He nodded in response. “Mondstadt, Liyue, Inazuma, Sumeru, and Fontaine.”
“And in each one, you have managed to find a place to stay in, per se?” She asked, fixing her hair slightly.
“In a way?” He took a moment to pause. “I think I should instead put it that each place has their own merits and detriments if I were to choose to live there, be it in the city, in a village, or within the wilderness.”
“Oh?” She leaned forwards slightly. “Can you entertain me then?”
“Well….” He looked up in thought for a short while, Navia’s eyes locking onto his face to wait for a response.
“I guess I can start at Mondstadt.” He stated, looking back at her. “The nation’s peaceful and much more relaxed compared to the other nations I’ve been in. If I were to indulge in their politics and way of life…….”
“Tut tut.” Navia paused him. “No need for mixing me in with that tomfoolery, politics and way of life stuff are way off the chart. Besides, we’re strictly talking about good places to live in, and with someone like you in the picture I don’t think we need to pay much heed to the nation’s political status; if what you did in, for example, Inazuma or Liyue were an indication.”
He paused for a second. “Oh? You know about it?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” She proudly asked with a laugh, though her proudness is more expressing Aether rather than herself. “There’s a reason why Charlotte’s been edging all around as soon as you entered Fontaine. She’s the main writer who tracked your journey with her journalism, and you wouldn’t believe how detailed she went in her reports.”
“Charlotte? She’s the one? No wonder.” Aether replied, taking a moment to think to himself. “I was wondering why she’s basically going through my tales at record speed; and apparently it’s because she was the one starting it.”
“Pretty much, yeah.” Navia said back with a smile. “She’s said many things about how your journey throughout the nations is carrying her journalistic career’s main story. Sure, she has done several other tales too, but once a new piece of information about your exploits and actions in this world got to her ears, you can expect her to go over the moon to publish the article as quickly as possible.”
Aether and Navia shared a laugh after that, imagining the way Charlotte would have been spending nights long writing down the articles about Aether’s journey.
“Well, so long as I’m in Fontaine, it wouldn’t be so hard for her, no?” He asked after a bit.
“Indeed. In fact, she’s probably going to ask you for some coffee or tea; her treat, and then she’s going to slam you with as many questions as she can mister in the shortest amount of time she has.” Navia responded.
Aether winced slightly. He can imagine Charlotte going at him with so many questions, he would probably come out of the session with a sore throat from how much he has to talk. Come to think of it, how does Charlotte maintain her voice while doing so?
Must be some sort of skill she has that makes her a really great journalist.
“Okay, okay, back on topic please.” Navia snaps her fingers lightly. “Mondstadt first.”
“Right, Mondstadt.” He hummed a little. “For one, the nation’s wind is pleasant. Not too harsh, but quite soft and cool when blowing. If you have a house in the plains, it would be quite lovely to just sit outside and gaze at the clouds with the wind in your face.”
Aether and Navia’s minds quickly imagined the same thing. Sitting on the terrace of a small quaint little house in the open grassy plains of Mondstadt, winds blowing in their face and wafting their blond hairs behind them into the wind.
Navia sighed a little. “Must be interesting. The grass there is great?”
“Lovely.” Aether replied with a quick smile. “Not too tall, the trees are well spread out, and if you’re lucky, you can find groups of dandelions or asters growing in the wild, and they provide a lovely little contrast to the lush green of the ground in Mondstadt.”
“Nothing like the forests of Sumeru? That sounds sweet.” She admitted, now painting a clearer picture in her mind of what living in Mondstadt would be like. Winds blow cool air into one’s face, with the sunlight beaming down and providing some warmth to counter the coolness of the wind. Not to mention the flowers laying in the grassy fields around.
“I was also told they have plenty of fruit trees and shrubberies there.” She said, looking at him after daydreaming off to the side for a little bit.
Aether took another sip of his tea before nodding in response to Navia’s question. “Quite right. Apple trees, Sunsettia trees, Berry bushes and the sort grow aplenty in the region. If you want something fresh, you can simply walk into one of those fields, hand pick some of the fruits without issue and come back feeling refreshed.” He paused momentarily, counting the fruits one can pick up on a short walk before chuckling. “Actually scratch that, you might as well come home completely full if you picked all the edible things you find on the way.”
“And I bet they taste good then?” Navia asked, her eyebrows excited at the idea.
“Oh, they do.” Aether chuckled. “You can’t begin to imagine how many times Paimon went into a food coma after indulging too much.”
“Pfft-hahaha- oh geez, that got me.” Navia had to wipe her eyes slightly, imagining the tiny little thing eating more than a normal person. “Ah, she really is a unique one. I still don’t know where she keeps all that food.”
“Neither do I. Probably a special space?” He suggested back, prompting the pair to lightly laugh slightly. The air around them is incredibly calm inside the little room they’re talking in.
“Well, that’s for Mondstadt. Liyue’s next, I guess?” Aether asked.
“Ah, yes! The nation of Mora, as some people call it.” Navia says, taking a look at a small photo on the wall. “Some people here actually went there for trades before, and I just so happen to have a few photos of the nation from years back.”
“Oh?” Aether turned to the wall where the photo sat to take a look. The photo looked well preserved in the frame on the wall, showing the main harbor of Liyue at night with the soft yellow-orange lighting keeping the dock looking fresh while people meandered around in the grounds looking to sell their wares or make purchases.
“To be fair, Liyue’s area is very mountainous. Ignoring the harbor area that’s the center, there are plenty of mountains and highlands around in the region, all of them stemming from mountains with history to special adeptal places that seems to be floating up in the sky without anything holding them up.” He says, pausing a moment to remember the various things he met and experienced during his time in Liyue back then; not to mention everyone he met, both human or illuminated beast.
“Right, I heard a thing or two about the divine beings in Liyue. What are they called again?” Navia asked, shifting in her seat slightly and leaning forward to him.
“The adepti?”
“Yes! The illuminated beasts, right?”
“Yep, it's them.”
“What are they like?” She asks, curious.
Aether had to double take the answer. Before Liyue’s reformation, most of the adepti kept their distance from the people and really did not see them with any interest; much less any respect. That all changed after Rex Lapis left, or so everyone thought, and it caused Liyue to become a vacant nation without a ruler. With this in mind,after the reformation, their opinion of humans greatly changed indeed.
From air headed people like Cloud Retainer to his own close companions such as Ganyu and Xiao, the adepti are a much less hostile being than before. With that in mind, he gave a simple answer.
“Great, actually. Powerful beings with plenty of divine abilities to their names defending the land of Liyue.” Aether responded with a chuckle. “With them in play, nothing is going to get through to damage Liyue, even if that entity wanting Liyue destroyed is another divine being such as a god of some sort.”
“Even without you?” She asked, a slight tease to her tone. “We both know what you’ve done to help Liyue kill 2 previously long gone monsters. I’ve read it many times now from multiple writers too, and they all point to the presence of a golden-haired traveler and his small floating companion that he loves to call his emergency food.”
“Oh, so you’ve read. You’re very well informed of me, huh?” Aether asks, mild amusement to her voice.
“Hey now, I always had a knack for picking excellent partners.” She shot him a wink. “Besides, when you came in and I saw you, I immediately recognized who you were. I mean, not anyone dresses like you with an aura like yours, ya know.” She asks, moving one of her hands up to cup her chin as she eyes him. “That, and you do look quite an eye catch.”
Aether gave a slightly embarrassed chuckle, scratching the back of his hair. “I guess my reputation precedes me then. Maybe much more than I thought.”
“Go figure with all the things you did.” She responded with a laugh. “So, Liyue. Mountains and high grounds surrounded by plenty of divine beings?”
“Yes.” He recomposed himself, making sure his face is as neutral as can be to not embarrass himself in front of her. “That and the far east has a fairly large amount of beaches with plenty of sunlight, water, and the occasional monster crawling about.”
“Monster? How interesting.” She hummed as she scratched her chin elegantly. “I guess that’s something to make a rather simple beach much more entertaining. Hmm, it’s quite an interesting place then, out in the wild. Unlike the harbor, I assume?”
“The harbor is a different matter entirely.” He replied to her with a smile. “Everything there is about trading, business, and mora. Anything less would be considered sidelines in the sprawl of Liyue Harbor.”
“So focused on trade?” She asked, leaning back upright a little to fix her posture in curiosity. “I’d like to think a nation with a lot of divinity in the surrounding area would have more mystical things in the heart of the city.”
“Oh there are, believe me. It’s just that, to the naked eye, Liyue Harbor is simply a huge economic hub, and that’s it. Nothing more. If you want though, I can introduce you to the peculiarities of Liyue Harbor myself. Not as just anyone, really, but a companion.”
“A partner?” She corrected with a knowing smile. “That’s going to make it awfully easy to introduce me, no?”
“Uh- well, yeah. Yeah, that works.” He replied, a small pause in his words. “I just hope we don’t get too much attention.”
Navia laughed in response. “No worries! We can always change into clothes from Liyue after all, no? That’ll make us stand out less, though with you around I doubt that will be possible.”
“Huh. Fair point.”
“Alright, okay, so Liyue has highlands. Must be some good views.”
“Very.” Aeter chuckcled. “I left the photos I took elsewhere, maybe next time I can show them to you. The sights are breathtaking.”
“Oho, yes please. Though perhaps if would be even better if you can take me to see them myself?” She asked, raising an eyebrow curiously.
“If we have nothing to do at the same time, then I don’t see why not. A small break will do both of us good anyways.” Aether responded, finishing his cup of tea and setting it down on the saucer again.
“Deal!” she quickly agreed with a smile. “Now then, Inazuma!”
“Inazuma, for me, is very…….drastic of a change from Liyue.” He admitted with a tentative smile.
“Very? How so?” She leaned back slightly, curious.
“The landscape. While Mondstadt is full of grassy land while Liyue is in a mountainous region pinned by beaches on one side, Inazuma is an archipelago.” He explains. “This means I see water almost everywhere.”
“Much like here?” Navia asks, raising an eyebrow.
“Yes, but it’s different. At least, so far.” He commented. “While Fontaine has cleverly designed transportation routes between the main cities, Inazuma is in a more…..war-like state. This means that getting around uses more crude transport methods that are designed and geared towards survivability and war as opposed to peace like here.”
“Huh. I see, that’s quite a different ideology.” Navia replied, humming in thought for a moment. “So less comfort and more……shooting and dodging and armor-stuff?”
“You got the gist. Ships there are used for transport; also commonly used to sail the seas between nations like Sumeru and Liyue.” He responded. “But most of the ones you’d find around Inazuma, especially in Narukami island or Watatsumi island, are warships.”
“Hmm~ You know I am actually kind of curious to see what sailing on one would be like.” She says, looking up a bit in thought. “You know, instead of the more civilian use for ships in Fontaine.”
“Oh, trust me, it’s not as pleasant as luxury ships, I can tell you that.”
“Pfft.” The pair laugh together for a moment, Aether’s joke fitting right in with the sense of humor on both parties.
Navia leaned forward to refill her tea cup, but before she could Aether had already taken the teapot into his hand, raising an eyebrow and motioning for her to raise her cup so he could refill it.
Navia rolled her eyes semi-playfully before lifting her cup. With a polite smile, Aether got up from his seat. One hand holding the top of the teapot, he tilted it downwards such that the tea flowed out smoothly into her cup, but not too abruptly so as to cause the tea to flow down in lumps. Such a way would stir the tea and leave bits of leaves at the bottom of the cup. Navia’s eyes were glued as she watched him pour the tea. A simple gesture, a basic move, but when looked at in detail showed that Aether was indeed a mannered man in table etiquette.
Despite his looks and reputation as an adventurer, it seems.
The cup just full enough, he stopped slowly before moving over to fill his own cup, Navia giggling slightly as she took her cup back close, shifting it around to dissipate the smoke and take in the aromatic waft before she took a silent sip.
“I do wonder where you learn table manners like this sometimes. Not every adventurer has time to learn with how much time they spent out in the wild.” Navia says as Aether finishes pouring his tea, placing the pot down onto the table.
“A dear friend from Inazuma taught me that.” He replied with a chuckle. “A woman of class, yet a wonderful person underneath her front.”
“Hmm~ You should take me to see Inazuma, the people there do seem interesting.” Navia added, fixing her hat slightly as she settled back onto her seat.
“Oh, very. Charlotte got a mini-heart attack when I introduced her to the Raiden Shogun. Hehe.” Aether chuckled, remembering the amusing way Charlotte sputtered and half-panicked when she was introduced to an archon quite so informally as Aether and Paimon had done during the TCG event a while ago.
Navia gave out a light but hearty laugh at that, her voice smooth as she gaggled out from imagining how the usually outgoing reporter would be left speechless and stuttering at the scenario of being directly introduced to an archon so informally. “Oh, archons. I’d love to see Charlotte like that. You have to take me with you and her someday just so I can see it.”
“Done deal, I’d say. When we have the time, I think she wouldn’t mind. Besides, she hasn’t met some other archons as well. Hehe.” Aether chuckled before shaking his head. “But yea, Inazuma’s an archipelago, and with it comes plenty of beaches and sea water.”
“Is it a good place to settle in?” Navia asks, curious.
“Back then, with lots of lightning, no. But now that all that is calm and behind us, I’d say a beach house is not a bad idea.” Aether replied, tilting his head up to imagine the scene.
“Just by the outskirts of the city, a beach in front so that you can enjoy the breeze while having a small little place to live sounds nice.” He says after a while. “Not to mention that the watery area makes the weather never too hot, though it can be rather humid at times.”
“Haha, Aether. I live in Fontaine. Humid weather and wet skies are a common occurrence here.” Nvia replied with a chuckle, prompting Aether to chuckle back in realization.
“But the sunset and sunrise view is nice. If you don’t want a house down by the beach, one in the upper plateaus of the islands with a good view of the surrounding ocean is also a nice place.” He commented. “The wind up there is much less wet, but equally cool to the skin.”
“Hmm~ Maybe it’d be nice to sit on a chair up there and work on cases while enjoying the breeze, no?” Navia suggests, Aether nodding in response at the nice sounding idea.
“Well, all 3 have their merits. How about Sumeru?”
“For one, the desert is a no go, I bet.”
“Oh heck no. I mean, maybe the desert has some perks to it but I’d think it’d be too dry. Imagine what it’d do to my skin and hair!” Navia exclaims, wafting her hair back slightly to attenuate her point to him.
Aether laughed. “Point taken. My stay in the desert isn’t a good one either, and it is certainly not very pleasant wit how dry and…..plain the area is. Not to mention all the thugs and rogue machines out there.”
“So the greenery is better?” Navia asks, raising an eyebrow.
“Yes if you’re into it.” He admits with a sip of his tea. “The grass is nice and silky, the trees and flowers provide a nice lush scenery, and don’t get me started on the wildlife floating by here and there.”
“Wildlife? Are they dangerous?” She asks, curious as she taps her fingers on her skin. “If so, it would be a bad idea to live there.”
“Not so much. If you poke them, many like the tigers and crocodiles will poke back harder, but other than that if you leave them alone and don’t have anything that remotely smells of food with you, especially meat, you’ll be fine. Heck you might as well swim with the crocs and they won’t do much less if you bump them.” Aether responded.
Navia blinked for a second. “Huh. I thought they’d be a lot more protective but apparently not? Interesting.”
“Yeah, animals keep to themselves there unless you go too close too long or poke the first.” He responded, before chuckling. “And since you smell more of pastries and cakes than actual meat, I’d like to think you’d be pretty safe.”
Navia giggled in response to his timely joke. The conversation was light hearted, giving off a nice vibe between the two; almost romantic even.
Almost? Maybe it is?
“Oh, you jest. I mean, maybe I smell of sweets and pastries but surely some of those big tigers will have a sweet tooth every now and then? It’s not like all of them like only meat.” She jokes back, earring a light laugh from Aether.
“Who knows!” Aether responds back, Navia laughing in response to his joke as she held a hand across her mouth. “Maybe some of them do, only one way to find out, no?”
“Haha, talking to you is always fun in many ways.” Navia replied after a while. “So we live up in the trees or something?”
“That can be arranged. If you have the wet soggy floor or want to be away from the ground animals and monsters, I don’t see why not. A whole village is living up high on raised ground and trees, mind you.”
“Oh, really?” Her eyes seem to sparkle. “That sounds like something. Alright, gimme a look at one of those places later, it’ll be interesting to live in I bet, hehe.”
“You’re on.” Aether says.
“But out of everywhere, Fontaine included, where do you think is the best place to live in?” Navia asks, leaning forward again.
Aether paused.
All the nations are truly different, each with their pluses and minuses. No nation has a definite answer when being stated as the best place to live in this far. Each one has things that others don’t have too, making each nation’s lands very unique to the nation itself. Perhaps this is why they are labeled as separate nations and not one. If there’s nothing different, why separate as nations?
He put his hand to his chin in thought, his eyes looking at the tea cup in front of him. Navia’s eyes look into his, observing as his pupils move every so often as he thinks of a way to answer her question. Seconds go by as his brain runs through all the scenarios he had been in, her curiosity peaked now that he’s seriously thinking of an answer.
And after a while, his mouth opens to answer.
“I don’t have the answer to that.”
Navia blinked a few times. “P-Pardon?”
“I can’t answer which place is the best.” Aether takes a moment to sip his tea before looking out the window on his right, observing the settlement on the other side of the window where he and Navia are spending their conversation.
“The reason is that every nation is unique. Something you can find in one nation can’t be found in another nation. Mondstadt’s winds can’t be found in Sumeru’s rainforests, and Sumeru’s wildlife can’t be found in Mondstadt’s plains. And as a traveler, I haven’t gotten the time to truly acclimate to each nation for that long; in fact I would barely spend that long in one nation before I am beckoned to the next one.”
A longing smile appeared on his face. “And truth be told, even now I’m already missing the vibe and feel of the nations I’ve visited. That’s how magical they are. They have their own charms, their own perks, and their own ways of life. So, if you’re asking me which one is te best…..”
He chuckled. “I guess you should go find out for yourself, no?”
“You- you’re really making me want to take a vacation outside of Fontaine, you know that?” She asked, her eyes giving him an amused look.
“Oops.” Came the sort albeit playful reply.
“Oh you little- well in that case, I’ll take a look. If I find a schedule to go and see the other nations, I expect my partner; you, to become my guide and vacation partner, am I clear?” She asked, raising up and leaning over the table to him slightly.
“Yes ma’am.” Aether replied in a mock salute to Navia.
The woman giggled, before sighing as she stood up. “You know, we’ve been talking a while in here and I think we’re out of tea. Would it be a nice idea for us to take a stroll?”
“Sure.” He finished his tea and got up as well, stretching his arms up. Navia watched with light amusement in her eyes before she walked first towards the door.
However, before she reached in to open, a hand grabbed the door handle and opened it for her. She blinked twice before looking to the side, shooting Aether a smirk. “My, a gentleman. I knew I picked the right guy.”
“Heh, after you, demoiselle.” He gestured with a small bow, opening the door from the main building in Spina di Rosula’s HQ.
Navia shot him a playful smirk before nodding, going along as she walked out the doors and paused just outside, overlooking the people living and working in the large underground sprawl that has become both their base and their home as well. She took a deep inhale as Aether closed the door behind her.
“Paimon still in the city?” Navia asked as Aether stood beside her.
“Yeah. Lyney and Lynette are probably having their hands full. Maybe they already finished doing the coffee taste testing.” He mused.
“Or they’ve moved on to doing something else. Maybe you’d see Paimon next in one of Lyney’s magic shows.” Navia replied jokingly.
“Haha, yes. My white floating balloon in a magic show. I can’t wait.” Aether half joked, earning a laugh from Navia as well.
“Ah, you two are a funny bunch. In any case, shall we perhaps head for the city as well?” Navia asks, pointing upwards to the exit of the base. “The day is still young, and I think snacks wouldn’t hold us long. Maybe we should think about catching some lunch there.”
“Alright. I have the day empty for now after the toy store mishap I dealt with the other day, I guess a little relaxing is due.” Aether replied.
Navia had to fix herself so as to not smile so wide again like she did before; not because it wasn’t how she felt, but because she didn’t want to seem too happy when the day is just beginning anyway.
“Cool!”
With that she grabbed his hand, and quickly yeeted him along with her upwards to the court of Fontaine.
“It’s a date then!”