Chapter Text
Why on earth did she agree to this? Mona thought while she rubbed her frozen hands together to create a bit of warmth. Or at least the illusion of it. To say that it was freezing cold would’ve been an understatement.
“Mein Fräulein, it looks as if we have gathered enough information for the quest giver.”
The night raven itself was seemingly immune to the cold surrounding their small party of two. Or would the count of three be correct? Even if Oz was a part of the Prinzessin der Verurteilung, he had his own personality and held his own in conversations. “My dear familiar, it seems as if a most favorable day was bestowed upon us indeed! Finishing this while the rays of meteorological phenomena still light our path is a lucky streak of fate for the most powerful trio of the Immernachtreich”. Ah, so she did count Oz as an individual that needs to be counted separately. Fischl sneezed again. “Bless you, mein Fräulein.” Interrupting her train of thought, she was reminded of the reason behind tagging along with the Immernachtreich Duo.
-
Some days ago, Fischl made her way to the astrologists’ house to bid her farewell for some days.
Apparently, she accepted a lengthy quest from the Adventurer Guild which was located in Dragonspine. It wasn’t a quest that was per se dangerous, especially not for a senior investigator as Fischl, but the moment Mona opened the door and laid her eyes on the blonde, the signs of danger were written all over her and her constellation. Corvus laid in murky water which was unusual. The decision was immediate, and Mona grabbed her coat and slipped into her boots. She was far from fond of the cold.
But she was a bit fond of someone going into it.
Mona sighed. She would handle it, more or less.
And she would surely handle whatever danger was surrounding Fischl.
-
Fischl sneezed for the fourth time.
“Mein Fräulein, I know I am nothing but repeating myself, yet it is my duty to point out that mistakes regarding the choice of clothing have been made.”
The night raven still spoke in a polite tone but didn’t hide the slight concern that was straining his voice. Mona huffed another exasperated “bless you” under her breath as the trio made their way to the cave they used as their campsite. It was small and cramped, but it provided much needed shelter from the wind, which picked up some minutes ago and didn’t seem to get weaker.
“Do not fret, loyal familiar! This carnal body is but a vessel, most capable of withstanding sheer cold that might have been an icy grave to anyone but this sovereign!” exclaimed the blonde confidently.
Aside from rolling her eyes at the overly optimistic point of view of Fischl and her description of said… vessel (which wasn’t looking too bad if you ask Mona), the astrologist still had the pessimistic divination in mind. With an absent mind, she noticed the wind howling. The witch took care of lighting a small fire in their cave while the princess dutifully started preparing their dinner. Mona remembered the hazy outlook in her scryglass. It really looked unusually murky, even though the sky above them wasn’t too cloudy.
It was simply grey and looming over their heads with a hidden and dangerous secret. No matter how many tries of getting more precision into her hydromancy, her trusty scryglass failed to provide a clearer perspective. The only useful pieces of information were circling around the words ”hydro” and “danger”.
“-gistus”, Mona snapped her head towards the voice that called out to her. “Miss Megistus...?” Fischl inquired apparently not for the first time. “Y-yes?” still a bit startled, Mona tried to answer nonchalantly. “I wish to know if the time is nigh to fully prepare for the last feast of the day and…” the archer now looked into the flickering flames. “…if the Archmage of the Immernachtreich is perhaps feeling unwell?” she continued hesitantly. Fischl’s intuition was sometimes a bit too good.
“No, no, I’m ok that’s not it. I’m just-” she swiftly declined, shifting her position. Mona took the extra few seconds to find a better choice of wording, “I’m just thinking about a divination.” The astrologist answered truthfully, but it still felt as if she wasn’t completely honest to the one next to her. Technically, she was. The flames were hungrily lapping around the pot, trying their best to heat it up. Dancing, albeit a tad nervously, they cast big shadows on the cold walls.
Tactfully, the Prinzessin accepted this statement. If Mona seemed tongue-tied it was for a reason and never with ill intent. The water in the pot finally started to boil. Humming in acknowledgment, Fischl spoke, “The Prinzessin is pleased to hear about the well-being of her trusted Archmage. One does hope that the divination that makes itself so present in thine great mind will turn into a story discovering new heights in due time.” The cave seemed to finally warm up as she continued.
“Alas,” scrambling for the rest of the cut up vegetables, she continued, “if thou wish to talk about matters surrounding the ominous divination that seems to lay upon you, letting your heart gravitate towards the ground, you- I mean thou! Are always welcome for an audience, Miss Megistus…”
Mona couldn’t help the smile forming on her lips, tugging them upwards, as well as lifting her spirit at the same time.
“An audience, huh?” She watched the archer focus on pouring the remaining vegetables into the pot, effectively turning away from the hydro-user.
“And how long will it take for me to finally get an audience? I suppose the sole sovereign of the Immernachtreich is busy reigning over countless subjects.”
Indulging the blonde and taking part in role-playing wasn’t that unusual for the witch anymore. Did she someday start to enjoy it?
Maybe.
“Bold of you to assume you’d have to wait.” Fischl retorted.
She froze mid-action.
Mona bit her tongue. (She tried hard not to laugh.)
Really hard.
“…Don’t you dare.” Fischl gritted through her teeth, still not facing her.
Of course, Mona dared.
And she burst out laughing.
Fischl spun around, half-filled soup ladle in hand, red hue across her face and a shaky voice from embarrassment.
“A-a thousand years! I’d let thou wait for a thousand years and more!!” This outburst was effectively feeding Mona's amusement about the reaction of her counterpart's own honesty. She continued laughing.
“Oh?” Pursing her lips she feigned to wager her options. “But truly, what are a thousand years considering the phrase before?” Fischl’s blush that was just mere seconds ago nothing more than a hue, was deepening the more Mona laughed.
“I-” Unable to return with a witty comeback, the electro-user resorted to huffing and exasperated “…whatever!”
She dramatically twirled back to the pot in front of her, stirring the content with uncalled for vigor, amusing the witch endlessly. Fischl’s antics were making the grotesque situation even better. Still catching her breath, Mona wiped a tear from the corner of her eyes. Trying to sooth the apparent damage to the ego of the Prinzessin, Mona tried to calm herself down. “Don’t be too mad, ok?” Still giggling, Mona got closer to the archer, to catch again sight of red cheeks and furrowed eyebrows, darting eyes and red-tipped ears. Theatrical, the Prinzessin turned her head away from Mona.
“Hmpf!”
She was pouting. What a delight.
“Me? MAD? How does thou even come to the conclusion one wonders?!”
“Well, it doesn’t take astrology to deduct that.” She smoothly retorted. “I am merely stating a fact and judging you based on your reactions.”
“Oh, and what reactions do I give you to make you come to this conclusion?!” Fischl was too upset to see that what she was saying wasn’t entirely helpful nor that she had fallen out of her role.
“Hmm”, Mona pursed her lips.
“Your face has gotten red.”
“It certainly hasn’t-”
“Oh, please we both know it has, Fischl” grinning victoriously, Mona playfully nudged the blonde, earning another nudge back, although more in acknowledgment than in playfulness. Their little back and forth allowed the astrologist to feel somewhat closer at ease, albeit the danger wasn’t averted.
Right now, Fischl was beside her, the food was starting to give off a delicious smell and the commission was coming to an end. The archer announced that dinner would be ready to be served in a bit, so Mona decided to take a short stroll around the camp for safety reasons. There was now a storm raging behind the stone walls of their cave, promising a turn of events. Whatever it was, Mona was prepared for it, and she was ready to protect Fischl from whatever it was, so she bravely put on her coat again, determined to eliminate any possible danger around them, no matter how small.
Better safe than sorry, right?