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When Furina first became an Archon, still learning the ropes of her important job, she didn't like winter and its constant reminder of the limitations of her facade.
Sometimes, when the snowflakes painted Fontaine in white, making everything look like a big, fluffy wonderland, Furina couldn't help but wish she could join the other kids having fun outside. She wanted to be a kid—running around, having snowball fights, building funny-looking snowmen, stomping on icy puddles until they cracked, and making those snow angels.
But being Furina the Archon meant she couldn't just play like a regular kid. No, she had to be a serious and important young goddess. Well, she tried her best to act grown-up by copying what adults did, but it didn't always work. So, she figured out that being a bit silly and playful suited her better, even if she had to be a responsible lady Archon at the same time.
As the years passed and Furina became even more confident in her character, she found clever ways to sneak in some snowy playtime. Learning to ice-skate was like learning a special dance, and Furina, hoping to become a talented artist, was determined to master every form of that art. She also helped the kids build a snow fort in front of the Palais because, as a kind Archon, she wanted to make sure all her citizens had fun.
During these chilly months, she and Neuvillette visited orphanages, offering funds and help. Furina let the Iudex handle the grown-ups, while she kept the kids busy with snowball fights and snowman competitions. Nobody thought much of this because Neuvillette was much better than her at paperwork.
These were magical moments when Furina could almost forget her Archon duties. She still wore her Archon mask because her mirror-self was trusting her to save everyone, but at least she got to act her own age. The children treated her with respect at first, but it didn't take long for them to see her as just one of them.
It was pure fun and joy, and soon enough, winter became Furina's most favorite season.
As the years passed, Furina couldn't ignore this strange thing happening to her. It wasn't just typical growing-up stuff. To her, it felt like there was an unusual force messing with how she aged. Like she was stuck in a weird loop.
Previously, every day had seemed like this mix of being a kid and trying to be all Archon-like. But, slowly, the gap between being grown-up and being herself started decreasing. Suddenly, boys and girls became interesting, and her body didn’t feel too big to her most of the time.
But here's the thing: the gap between her natural self and the Archon mask grew sometimes when she was more stressed and tired than usual. It was like trying to balance on a tightrope, teetering between these three different versions of Furina.
She tried figuring it on her own out, but it was like trying to solve a complicated puzzle. Was it some human-immortal-thing or just a Furina-thing? But how could she know when she was the only human she knew who stuck around this long. And here's the thing—she couldn't say anything to anyone because it meant telling people who she was.
Not being able to share anything about her age situation caused an unpredictable agony to Furina. She wished there was someone to clear up the whirlpool of emotions in her, to help her solve the difficult puzzle that she was becoming. But nope, not when it meant condemning everyone in Fontaine to drown.
Neuvillette knew, Furina realized one winter morning. Not the fact that she was human, but the understanding that she wasn't as old as she had been pretending to be.
On the previous night, he was the one who called her home after one entire afternoon playing outside with the other children. He used his hydro powers to dry her and insisted she eat some soup to warm up before he carried her to her room and tucked her into bed.
But what tipped her off to the fact that Neuvillette knew was actually the seahorse plushie he had conjured for her to hug while she slept. It was blue, soft, and almost half her size. She loved it, even though she didn't feel quite like a kid that morning.
It was older-Furina—as she called herself when she was feeling a bit older than usual—who named him Surintendante Chevalmarin after the character from one of her favorite novels.
Nothing changed with Neuvillette after that day. Nothing even changed about Furina after that day, she still didn’t know what was happening to her. But part of the heaviness in her chest lightened at the notion that there was one less secret between them.
"A boy kissed me today," she told her latest Champion, Clorinde, one afternoon a few days after the winter solstice. Furina was munching on the chocolate ice cream she'd been craving for hours—she insisted it was perfectly warm inside—while her Champion sipped her hundredth cup of coffee.
It had been a really weird winter. With all her intel about Teyvat's waters, Furina knew the prophecy would happen soon and then, everyone would find out her biggest secret. It made her kind of happy because she was done pretending to be the Archon. But it also made her feel really scared because she still didn't know what Focalors was up to save everyone. Besides, she was really worried about how Neuvie, the Melusines, and Clorinde would act when they found out she was just a regular human.
“Oh?” Clorinde asked. Even though she didn't talk much, Furina knew she noticed her age stuff and was really nice about it, even when she was younger.
Talking to Clorinde was fun. She wasn't a big talker, but she was nice, and loyal, and knew a lot about humans. Neuvie and the Melusines were cool, but they didn't really understand feelings like Furina and other humans. Clorinde was different. She could get what Furina was feeling and help her figure it out, all without knowing that Furina was just a human kid.
“It was weird. Wet,” she grimaced, bouncing her legs back and forth. “Why do, uh— why do humans like it so much?”
Clorinde looked at Furina for a moment. “I suppose it would feel rather strange if I was kissed by a boy I’m not fond of, or if I didn’t want to be kissed.” There was something in her eyes that seemed almost threatening.
Considering how much time she spent watching trials, it took Furina an embarrassingly long time to realize what Clorinde was asking her. "No, no! It wasn’t like this,” she assured her Champion. “I was curious, and he told me he could show me. I said yes, I promise. It always felt weird when I was kissing someone in a play, but I thought it would be better when it was for real. Maybe it’s because I’m an Archon.”
Truth be told, she had enjoyed it at the time it was happening. But then she realized she couldn't let anyone close, even if it was just one of her co-stars indulging his curious Archon. As nice as it felt, she wouldn't be able to go further than that while she was pretending. She couldn't have any type of relationship that required honesty.
That's when she started feeling really small and grew more and more confused with her own behavior hours before. She couldn't understand why her older self was so worried. The kiss had felt nice to older Furina, but they had lived a long time without missing it. It didn't matter if she couldn't do it again. Also—why couldn't she do it and lie at the same time? It's not like they were able to speak while they were kissing. Even her older self was a weird grown-up.
Clorinde was suddenly smiling at her. She wasn’t obvious about it—her lips merely curved a bit upwards—, but Furina wouldn't have gone so far as a fake Archon without learning how to read people. “You never know. You might get it when you find someone you really like. But it’s fine even if you don’t, not everyone— even amongst humans— likes kissing.”
Someone she liked… Furina liked many people. In fact, she could argue that she liked every one of her subjects. On a personal level, however, she liked Neuvie and Aeife and the melusines from the Palais. Recently, she got along really well with Clorinde, which was an improvement over her last Champion, who was stoic and boring.
But Furina knew this wasn't the type of “like” that the duelist meant. She meant the weird kind that only grown-ups felt, the one many of her plays were all about. Neuvie was like a brother to her, and the melusines and Clorinde were her friends. Even older-her found kissing one of them repulsive.
It was indeed a weird winter.
In stark contrast to the previous winter, this one had been almost peaceful. Neuvie had asked her to come back to the Palais after the solstice so they could celebrate together.
She had been living on her own since the prophecy came true, and while it had been hard and lonely at first, she had learned to stand on her own two feet after a while.
Clorinde dropped by often to make sure she was eating well after she realized Furina had been living off pasta—or macaroni, as her older self said. She even called her to play cards with her friends Wriothesley and Sigewinne, which meant they were all friends now.
Neuvie sent her letters with cake twice a week to update her on the ins and outs of the Palais. When he realized she was okay after a visit, he started asking for advice on how to handle certain people who were trying to butter him up.
After the whole Little Oceanid debacle, even the Traveler and Paimon showed up from time to time to teach her new recipes and help her figure out how to use her new vision. She had almost forgiven them for betraying her with the trial right after they almost convinced her to confide in them.
The major issue was that, younger or older, Furina wasn't quite sure how to take care of herself. Cooking, doing laundry, and cleaning the house were things she had never had to learn because, even if she had the energy and it fit her character, the staff at the Palais wouldn't have let her do it.
However, by winter, after several months of living on her own, Furina was finally getting the hang of it. She tried to do it all when she was feeling older—and now that she had time to figure it out, Furina thought her older self might be almost grown-up, but not quite there—but sometimes her younger self would come out and make her favorite meals or clean while trying her hand at redecoration.
After a conversation with Neuvie about her age thing, he took her to talk to Sigewinne—who was his friend too—about it and she told Furina about something called "age regression". The former Archon just sort of understood what the melusine was explaining, but that was fine. She now knew she was a bit different from most of the humans, but it was okay.
On the winter solstice, after spending the morning playing in the snow with the kids from her neighborhood, she headed home to try her hand at making a nice thank-you card for Neuvie. She drew them drinking tea together, with her Salon Solitaire around them. It didn’t turn out great since that was a form of art she hadn’t managed to master, but it would have to be enough.
He arrived at 8 sharp to take her to the Palais. They played games, and she sang him a song from the musical she was directing, which he complimented her for. She handed him the card—which he loved!—and he gave her a music box he had commissioned from Estelle with the song she had sung in The Little Oceanid. It was the best day ever!
Then, they sat together by the fire, and he allowed her to rest her head on his chest as she mumbled a song she hadn’t heard in many decades and played with his long white hair. “I don’t know how old I’m feeling right now,” she said after she finished the song.
Neuvillette placed his hand on her head, petting it lightly. “Does it anguish you? Not knowing, I mean.” From his calm tone, Furina knew he already had the answer. She shook her head anyway, smiling as she buried her face on his chest. It didn’t bother her anymore because, no matter her age, she could finally be herself.