Chapter Text
Collei, to put it bluntly was tired.
With all the changes going around Sumeru city, the trainee had taken a couple more responsibilities. With all this work going on, she hardly had time for rest. This never bothered the girl though, as she was just glad her eleazar was no longer interfering with her desire to help others. So while her body may have been begging for a break, Collei knew she had to overcome it for others. She was constantly running around, with barely any time for herself. She had been secretly neglecting some of her studies, with her master Tighnari seeming none the wiser. These day’s he was constantly busy, and unfortunately didn’t have time for Colleis lessons. He hoped that she would continue on without him, but deep down he knew she wouldn’t. Collei woke up ready to repeat the cycle she’s been following for the past few months. Unfortunately this thought would be quickly pushed down as she woke up unable to move her legs without severe pain. Sure it was nothing compared to some of the symptoms her illness gave her, but even a young hopeful girl knows her limits. With a sigh, the pulled the covers off her and slowly made her way up and out of the bed.
Collei hoped her master wouldn’t ask her for help today, as her little secret of overworking herself would definitely upset him, and that was the last thing she wanted to do. Still, she got dressed for the day and made herself some breakfast. She concluded that today would be full of studying, rest, and regroup. After quickly munching down a pita pocket, she made her way to her desk.
Collei sat down in her chair, and looked over at her bed, and Cuilein-Anbar resting on it. It was still unreal to her how now the most of her worries comes from, being a normal teen girl. She often tries to forget all that happened, but with recent events and her mostly being left on her own she has come to a new understanding. She realizes that it’s time for her to take more control over her life, as now she can fully branch out and blossom just like everyone else. Of course, she will always be different, and always struggle with the memories of her past, but this will not define her anymore. She hopes that one day, people won’t see her as “Oh, poor Collei” but “Wow it’s Collei!”
She snaps out of her daze and turns back to her desk, scrambling around papers and pens. She tries to clean out all the mess, but she knows every time she studies it always comes back.
“Language… plant biology II… geometry…. Teyvat history… Archery…” Collei looked at all the books she needed to catch up on. She sure had a long day ahead of her…
By the time Collei finished her studies the night had already fallen. She was honestly proud of herself for being able to catch up, and only with a few minor mishaps. She expected Tighnari to knock on her door, to ask her about what she researched today. So she waited, and waited. Tired of waiting she decided to “take control of her life” and go up to Tighnari herself! She got up from her desk, and walked out of the door as she made her way to her masters hut. Then, a realization struck her. What if he isn’t even home yet? What if he’s just not in the mood to talk? Embarrassed, she ran back to her room. Her first time trying to do something different and she already messed up!
Thankfully, her worries would soon be put down as 5 familiar knocks soon rang her ears. She jumped out of bed, still in her ranger clothes and opened the door. There, Tighnari greeted her as he was holding a suspicious pot covered in a white cloth. The object fascinated Collei, and her curiosity got the better of her.
“What’s that?” She asked, now hovering by the entrance practically ontop of the object in Tighnaris hand.
“Slow down now, it’s something quite interesting I had acquired from a friend.”
Collei took a step back, as her legs reminded her of why she spent the whole day home. She decided to painfully ignore it and move on, too invested into whats infront of her. Tighnari uncovered the cloth to unmask an unfamiliar plant with an interesting makeup. Collei was shocked at this display, it was nothing like she had ever seen before!
“The colors are beautiful!” Collei remarked to her master.
This plant looked a little different from all the others she had seen, it was blue in color with a purple hue attached to it.
Tighnari had nodded towards the girl and looked back to the flower.
“Collei, do you want to know want kind of plant this is?” He asked, almost like he could read her mind.
“Yes please, it’s very unique from the other plants I have studied, is it even from Sumeru?”
“Well Collei, this is a Romaritime Flower all the way from Fontaine! It is special as it can only blossom with the hydro element, it represents loyalty and oaths in Fontaine folklore.”
Collei scrambled to get out her notepad, jotting down all information she had just been gifted.
“If it can only bloom with hydro, how is it blooming right now?” The trainee inquired, curious as both her and Tighnari had dendro visions.
As if on queue Nilou had shown herself to Collei, seemingly hiding behind the door, then gesturing her arms in a way to say, “Ta da!”
“Hello Nilou! What are you doing here?” Suddenly a lot of questions were in her mind. Most importantly, why did this feel like a set up?
Nilou walked next to Tighnari on Colleis doorstep, taking time to be careful and not disrupt the plant.
“Hello dear, me and a few others wanted to put a surprise together for you!” The dancer replied.
“A surprise? How did you even get this flower from Fontaine?” Now Collei was really confused.
Nilou and Tighnari turned at each other, both with a mischievous grin.
As they both turned back to a confused Collei, they prepared to drop the bomb.
“We are taking a trip to Fontaine!” The forest ranger exclaimed, followed by a few claps and small cheers from Nilou.
Collei was shocked, and more importantly excited! While she loves Sumeru, with all that reading she started to get curious about other nations and wanted to travel across Teyvat more. So basically, she was really pumped.
“A research partner had messaged me about information on the Sumeru biology in exchange for us getting more information on Fontaines biology! I thought this was a great opportunity for you to expand your knowledge. So, when I was telling my dear friend Cyno about it, he made the idea to bring on more people as a break after the whole Akademiya mess, and then the cleanup afterwards. Isn’t that just wonderful!” Tighnari was beaming now, excited to tell his daughter trainee about his new endeavor.
Collei looked just as excited as her master, with Nilou radiating a smile.
“So, who’s going?”
“Me, you, Nilou, Cyno, Candace, Dehya, and even the Traveler is tagging along!”
Nilou had started to provide more information “The traveler had already been to Fontaine, solving their prophecy business I think it was, so she will totally be able to help us not embarrass ourselves.”
Nilou had cringed when thinking of all the Sumeru tourists at her shows, the disrespectful audience really brings down the mood.
Collei was jumping up and down in excitement “Thank you thank you so much master Tighnari! Thank you thank you thank you!”
Nilou had ended up staying for dinner that night. Collei had prepared a special meal all by herself as a way of showing thanks to her master and friends for the trip. Moreover, she was thankful on how much they had done for her. Nilou and Tighnari sat on chairs by a small table in Colleis room. While she had started setting up plates, she thought of how they went out of their way to specially do this for her. In the past she probably wouldn’t have even trusted them, running away at any opportunity. Sometimes she still catches herself being weary of kindness presented at her, but all she can think of at this moment is how much she loves the people in her life.
The trio chatted away, with the night ending as Nilou and Tighnari both left to their respective homes and Collei got ready for bed. As she lay she thought of all the adventures that would come her way in Fontaine! Maybe she will be able to get more involved in fashion like other girls her age, maybe she will be able to pick up some more books and novels to read, maybe she will even make a friend and have another pen pal! She was so excited she could hardly sleep. But alas, the girl drifted to bed unable to hold in her excitement on the oncoming trip.
Oh little did she know.