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The trivial aspects of Fontainean life were always so easily overlooked by the opulent gaze of the Great Hydro Archon.
Small cafes that offered cups of cheap but comforting coffee.
Crowded streets that reeked of scorched metal to freshly baked bread.
Sunny weather that foretold little rain or wind.
Constant chatter that arose at every bend of the sidewalk.
These were just a few of the many aspects that created the Fontainean ambience Furina hardly witnessed in person. Her life, after all, was mostly spent within the sturdy walls of either the Palais Mermonia or the Opera Epiclese, and if she were to desire the sun’s warmth on her face, then a quiet, unsuspecting beach would be her peaceful destination.
Lies were built upon the hidden truth, and with the centuries-old lie she’s masqueraded with, to frolic among her people always felt far too risky. She may have been a master liar, but she wasn’t perfect; she knew inevitably, should she give away too many red flags, her divinity would inevitably be doubted.
Plus—it never struck her as “god-like” to dwell amongst the Fontainean people, unless she was above them all in her high throne.
Five hundred years of constant spotlight and spectacle certainly took its toll on poor Furina, however, and despite the habitual flamboyance that’s permanently carved its way into her personality, the woman recovered much of a more humble and mellow character after her departure from the seat of the Hydro Archon.
And despite the initial waves of opposition against her, the majority of the Fontainean public still considered a renowned figure, showing her considerable respect not only for her previous status as an Archon, but also for her wealth of knowledge and experience in the performative arts.
Which was good for Furina, because it made small excursions such as a trip to the local carnival much easier than she would’ve ever anticipated.
“Miss Furina! You look lovely today!”
Turning her head towards the voice of the compliment, Furina gave a warm smile to the man in question. “Thank you, but there’s no need for flattery, Xavier. I’m merely here to enjoy the carnival.”
The Fontainean director, who had been a beaming statue of pride and glee ever since the Fontinalia Festival, stubbornly persisted.
“Still, a star as bright as yourself at the very least deserves some sort of praise, don’t you think? You truly do shine out amongst us all.”
“A-Ah… There’s no need to put me on a pedestal like… like that …”
As Furina flusteredly struggled to form a rebuttal to what she frankly believed was overly-dramatized praise from Xavier, the woman standing idly beside Furina cleared her throat coldly as she fixed her sharp gaze on the director.
Turning to see the less-than-charming expression her companion wore, Furina sheepishly grimaced.
“Your praise is greatly appreciated, Director Xavier, but please refrain from putting unnecessary discomfort on others.”
“D-Discomfort?!” Xavier jolted at the Knave’s sudden interjection, almost shocked to be accused of such action, and quickly bowed his head to Furina in apology. “I-I apologize, Miss Furina! I only meant to express my admiration for you!–”
“Please, please don’t worry at all!” Giggling awkwardly, Furina shot Arlecchino a disapproving look before turning back to Xavier. “I’m merely flattered, that’s all. So thank you again, Xavier, I do hope you enjoy the carnival!”
With that, Furina was quick to take hold of Arlecchino’s arm, dragging both herself and the Harbinger away from the rather unpleasant interaction. While Xavier again bowed to the departing pair of women, Furina let out a soft tch once they were out of earshot, crossing her arms with a huff before turning to Arlecchino with a pout.
The Fatui woman clicked her tongue with what appeared to be a curious expression. “What’s with such a reaction, Miss Furina?”
“This reaction , as you call it, is a product of your intimidation on that poor man! You saw it yourself—he was pale with fear!”
“I wasn’t intimidating him, and he hardly looked any paler than usual.”
“He was shaking!”
“It must’ve been a cool breeze.”
“There was no breeze, and you know it!” Furina snapped at the Knave crossly, stopping off to the side of the path as to not block any other carnival-goers. Facing Arlecchino with her arms still crossed, she pursed her lips as her words momentarily quieted. “I appreciate that you’re always looking out for me, truly. It warms my heart. But not if you’re going around scaring people like that!”
Arlecchino tilted her head, eyebrows slightly furrowing. “You know that wasn’t my intention, Furina.”
“W-Well…” Furina hesitated. “That’s… true. I know you weren’t trying to intimidate the director…” After a moment of thought, she shook her head and childishly turned around with a petty huff. “Well, intended or not, I’ll need to find him another day and apologize for such a scare! It’s only polite. Perhaps some tea and cake would suffice, no?”
Her question was met with a sigh. “You truly are an interesting one, Miss Furina, but you shouldn’t put down your own discomfort for the sake of somebody else.”
“Lalala, I choose not to listen to your lecturing today, Knave! In fact, I’m still very, very upset with you, so don’t even try!”
As Furina began to stroll off towards the rows of carnival booths, Arlecchino amusedly chuckled at her declaration, following closely as to not let the little spectacle of a woman wander off into oblivion.
“Is that so?”
“Yes. I am, indeed, very unhappy with you, so you must make it up to me.”
“Oh? How so? You had cake earlier, so I doubt your palette craves anything sweet as of now.”
A hint of a frown tugged on Furina’s lips.
“Hm… Yes, you’d be correct. I don’t particularly crave anything sweet currently.”
“Then? What else would be worthy of your ever-valuable forgiveness, O’ Great Hydro Archon?”
Making a face at the mocking title, Furina drove her elbow into Arlecchino’s side, though it was hardly strong enough to even push away the woman, much less hurt her. As the Harbinger smothered a chuckle, Furina crossed her arms again, her attention now set to scrutinizing the many booths before them.
“No need for such ludicrous poise, Arlecchino. Surely, there has to be something here that will– Oh!! ” Suddenly distracted by a particularly flashy game attraction, Furina let out a delighted gasp, her eyes shining brightly with unbridled excitement. “Look, look, look !! Oh, look how adorable!!—”
In a blur of white and blue, the smaller woman had dashed away to the booth of interest, leaving Arlecchino to confusedly follow after her. When she caught up to her lover, she found Furina excitedly staring at rows of plushie prizes hanging along the inner walls of the booth, each one modeled after familiar creatures that could be found around Fontaine, such as Armored Crabs, Ball Octopi, and Bubbly Seahorses, and after more inspection, one could even spot creatures from foreign nations, such as Sumerian Aranaras and Inazuman Bake-Danukis. Behind the front counter of the booth was a wall with five rows of balloons, and in front of the wall of balloons was a man, who was offering willing participants darts to pop the balloons with.
‘ Ah. A dart game. ’
However, before she could continue observing the little game, her thoughts were cut short when Furina excitedly gripped her forearm, and the Harbinger’s breath hitched in surprise at the sheer strength the woman was exerting. To her shock, she could feel the flesh in Furina’s grip actually hurting.
‘ Good Archons—If only Furina would use this much strength in combat, then perhaps any criminals would reconsider labeling her as an easy target. ’
“Look, look!! Isn’t it just the cutest thing?!”
Furina thrust out a finger towards a particular plushie, and following the direction of her finger, Arlecchino was greeted to the sight of a particularly plump Blubberbeast plushie, round and squishy in appearance—so much so that it was almost begging to be cuddled.
To Arlecchino, it didn’t hold any particular appeal that made it stand out from the other plushies, but… Upon further inspection, its smiling face had a charm, quite reminiscent of a certain well-known Fontainean performer.
“It is quite cute. It reminds me of you.”
Furina gawked at the compliment. “… Are you suggesting that I look that round?”
Turning to look at the smaller woman, Arlecchino nearly snorted in amusement. “What? Of course not—I merely meant in terms of cuteness.”
“Ah. I see…” Giving the plushie another adoring look, Furina suddenly perked up, her eyes briefly widening before a mischievous smirk spread across her lips. “It is awfully cute, isn’t it? I’m sure it would suffice as a present to a certain somebody who’s still waiting for an apology.”
Furina teasingly batted her eyelashes, even siddling closer and gently bumping her hip against Arlecchino to ensure the woman would get the message. Sure enough, a knowing glint could be seen in Arlecchino’s eyes, and though she didn’t respond, she quickly paid the man behind the counter a few mora before receiving five darts.
As Furina gleefully resisted a giggle, Arlecchino addressed the man. “So how does this game work? Do I simply pop a balloon and win the Blubberbeast?”
“Each balloon has a slip of paper with a number, and each prize is numbered.”
“And the balloons have random numbers, I would assume?”
“You would be correct!”
Arlecchino hummed thoughtfully as she picked up a dart, and after twirling it between her fingers for a few moments, she looked at the man.
“Is there no way to ensure that I get only that Blubberbeast?”
Despite Arlecchino’s rather forward approach, the man remained unintimidated. “I’m afraid not. The rules are rules!”
Noticing Furina’s pout out of the corner of her eye, Arlecchino sighed resolutely.
‘ Perhaps if I can’t guarantee the plushie Furina wants… I’ll just have to win all of the plushies. ’
“Hm. How annoyingly arbitrary.”
Walking along the perimeter of the booth, Arlecchino ignored the bewildered stares of both the ex-archon and the man, only stopping once she was standing at the side of the booth, her eyes now lined up with the wall of balloons. Now, the man appeared slightly nervous, his eyes shakily locked on Arlecchino’s raised hand holding the dart.
“U-Uhm, excuse me, ma’am, what are you–”
“Please stay low. I would hate for a terrible accident to occur in such a lively place as the carnival.”
With her fingers gripped on the first dart, Arlecchino aimed the sharp point to the first row of balloons, and within seconds, a series of popping balloons sounded as the dart traveled rapidly through the full row. The man let out a fearful yelp and immediately crouched down, while a few nearby children began to chatter in awe and draw closer to watch the Harbinger easily take advantage of the game. Spectators began to grow as Arlecchino again fully took out another row of balloons, and before a third dart could be launched, the flustered game runner was quick to shout out, “S-Stop, stop! Okay, you can have the Blubberbeast– A-And all the other prizes you won! Just please don’t pop all of my balloons!”
A victorious smirk graced the Knave’s face as she returned to the front counter of the booth, and setting down the remaining darts, she smoothly replied.
“We’ll take only the Blubberbeast. Consider donating the other prizes to some less… fortunate participants.”
With a simultaneously respectful and nervous nod of his head, the man quickly unhooked the Blubberbeast plushie, handing it to Arlecchino, who barely had time to turn to Furina before the woman was snatching the plushie from the Harbinger’s hands with a delighted squeal. Tightly gripping the Blubberbeast in a crushing embrace, Furina spun around with her newly found companion before facing Arlecchino with wide, shining eyes.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!! Look at him, he’s absolutely
perfect
!!”
A smile grew on Arlecchino’s lips at the sight of Furina so excited over a mere plushie.
‘ Truly… What a strange but lovable woman you are, Miss Furina .’
“Can I trust that I’ve been forgiven, Lady Furina?”
The lady in question took a step toward Arlecchino, and gripping the front of her jacket, pulled the taller woman down to press a quick peck onto her lips. While the Fatui Harbinger blinked in surprise, Furina simply giggled and flashed her a most divine smile.
“But of course, my dearest Knave.”