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The wintry wind kissed her cheeks and nipped her nose. The bright sun hammered against her back, though it did little in the way of warming her up. She didn’t feel cold at all, though; in fact, her chest brimmed with unbridled warmth and child-like joy, filling her very essence. It had been quite a while since it had last snowed in Fontaine, and now that she was a mere mortal—with a mere mortal’s lifes span—she had to make, and keep, memories to last her until old age.
Furina did not dance any specific way as she glided across the frozen Loch Orania. The valley surrounding the loch felt secluded enough, so she danced and twirled and jumped and landed without a care in the world. After all, this was not a stage. While she loved performing, a break from hundreds, if not thousands, of eyes upon her was sorely needed. Her adoring fans could wait this one, frigid day.
As mentioned, snow hadn't fallen, let alone in this quantity, for some time across Fontaine. It had been even longer yet since Furina had last laced up a pair of ice skates. It wasn’t a very popular sport in the area for obvious reasons, but Furina loved it ever since she witnessed her first frost.
That was so long ago, wasn’t it?
Her movements slowed. She did one last twirl before coming to a careful, natural stop in the center of the loch. She lowered her arms to her sides and heaved a great, arduous sigh. It was so long ago—when she had first stolen herself away to a frozen lake even more secluded than this area.
How surreal, she thought, that I would still be able to freely skate across the ice.
Of course, she realized she had yet more freedoms after the relinquishing of her title, passing the proverbial crown back to Neuvillette. But things still felt “backwards” in her mind. How passing strange to have not wanted to do any of her work—to shirk the “boring” aspects of being an Archon—and then, when she no longer was obligated to do any of it, feeling purposeless.
Perhaps in the absence of mountains of paperwork, she could devote herself to this winter dance; she could perfect a performance for herself and only herself. Though she had been doing a lot “for herself” lately, this would prove to be the most indulgent.
A smile crept across her face, tiny and almost imperceptible. She kicked off again with a laugh, skating a large circle around the perimeter of the loch.
A jump and a twirl. A spin and a glide.
Her hair fluttered all around her face. For a moment, she moved as if she had wings.
… Fins, rather, not wings. Glorious and elegant fins fanned out behind her. They chased her every move, breathed her every breath.
More jumps, twirls, and spins followed. A grand orchestra played a grander accompaniment to this little, most humble dance of hers, all within her mind. It had been written just for her—played just for her.
Quite a beautiful, lovely song.
The smile on Furina’s face grew larger still, so large that her cheeks ached. Every time she successfully landed a particularly difficult move, a trill of a laugh escaped her lips.
Eventually, the wong playing only for her started to wind down. The violins’ arms were tired, and the flutes were out of breath. Furina was vaguely aware that some pain had made itself home in her limbs, but it politely kept its distance for now. In a show of pure elegance and grace, she finished this solo dance, gliding to a slow, steady halt in the dead center of the loch. Throwing her hands up, she wrapped one arm across her chest in a fake embrace. Her chest heaved from exertion. She could do naught else but smile, slowly drifting down from excitement.
The birds had all flown from Fontaine for the winter, so their cries were absent from the trees. Small animals all around the land had stocked up for the winter and hibernated deep underground. The wind stilled, holding its breath. Even the waterfall, which was a little more than a small stream right now, felt like it had gotten quieter.
Furina basked in the silence and stillness. She closed her eyes, sighed sweetly, and held the pose she had landed on for a little while longer. In her mind, a spotlight shone down on her. She imagined dozens—no, hundreds of adoring fans causing an uproar of applause, hooting and hollering for none other than her. They had traveled from all over Teyvat, of course. They had been through countless trials and tribulations, perhaps, just to see her little dance upon the ice.
When her mind’s eye attempted to focus on any one audience member, it skipped to the next. Thus it was that she did not linger on a singular face but rather looked at each one as actually a part of its larger whole.
A sense of warmth, different from the joy felt earlier, coursed through her veins alongside the excitement and adrenaline from her “performance.” Furina, at last, lowered her arms to her sided and took a big, deep, sorely needed breath.
“Brava, brava.”
Furina nearly jumped straight out of her skin. She lost that felicate balance required to maintain one’s upright position when wearing ice skates and promptly slipped and skidded. Despite her utmost efforts to stay standing, she—rather uncouth—fell backwards with a yelp she would later fervently deny had escaped her lips.
Pain shot through her lower back. She groaned, rubbing her behind as she tried (and failed) to stand, remembered that she had been spooked in the first place by someone literally applauding her in the real world and not just in her imagination, and put more oomph into standing up. Embarrassingly enough, however, she fell again right whem she had nearly gotten there. At least this yelp was less shrill.
“Furina?” Her name drifted along the wind and enveloped her in a certain feeling of familiar intimacy, something she was undoubtedly fond of. Then she, again, remembered her predicament of sitting on—quite frankly freezing—ice, and she hurriedly looked over her shoulder, eyes wide and brows askew.
Who she saw was not her worst enemy (whoever that was, as she didn’t know); rather, this person’s presence here was worse.
As Neuvillette watched with an unreadable expression, she calmly got to her feet and steadied herself for real this time. Taking a deep breath, she skated over to the bank, where the Iudex waited. She couldn’t help but add a little flourish as she stopped in front of him. Perhaps that will help prove she can, actually, ice skate.
“Monsieur, should you not be at work?”
Neuvillette frowned slightly, though Furina took it to be neutrality over anything else. “I finished early. Are you not always telling me to take a day for myself?”
Furina crossed her arms and harrumphed. “I suppose so. What brings you out here, then? You’re a bit far from ghe city for this to be considered a leisurely stroll.”
“Clorinde told me that I might find you here.”
A pause followed as Furina processed both the words—and implications—of them. She barked out a luaugh, tossing her hair with one hand. “Oh, Neuvillette, surely you didn’t come all the way out here to see me?”
Neuvillete’s gaze flicked away for a moment in what Furina would later realize had been embarrassment. “That is exactly the case, Furina.”
The laughter she let out next wavered, unsure of itself. She shook her head and waved a hand. “You flatter me, but I’m afraid I’m not doing anything even slightly interesting.” She leaned her weight onto her left foot, hand on her hip.
Outwardly, Furina appeared incredibly calm and collected. Perhaps she even seemed a little cool. The wind chose to ruffle her hair in a most dramatic and charismatic manner.
In her mind, however, she was anything but calm, collected, or cool. Her thoughts screamed at her, one firing after another. They devoured each other, drowned the others out. He came to see me?! He’s not even dressed appropriately for the weather! Is he dumb?! Does he want to get sick? He’s risking his life and well-being just to come and say hello?! He should know better! We may be dating, but I’m not so special that he needed to rush out here! Isn’t he cold? Wait, wait, wait! What if this isn’t just to say hello?! What if there’s something super important he has to tell me? Something he just couldn’t wait for me to get back for? My, oh my! This can’t be happening—not today, not ever! He—He even saw me fall, like, a ton of times! I made a fool of myself! Oh, no, no, no!
Neuvillette’s voice broke her out of the mild breakdown. “I believe that your performance was very interesting. I would love to see you—”
“Ah, wait!” Furina clasped her hands together in front of her. “Aren’t you cold, Monsieur? Should we move somewhere else?”
“You need not worry,” he replied. “These garments are actually much warmer than they initially appear.” His eyes flicked down to Furina’s legs. “But could I not say the same for you? Were you not inclined to wear tights or some other, similar piece of clothing to break the wind against your bare legs?”
If Furina was being totally honest, she didn’t hear anything Neuvillette had said after the word tights, for this singular word conjured an image of herself wearing them for him in a much warmer setting. Such thoughts invaded her mind against her will; they attacked so intensely, however, that for a brief moment, a sudden dizzy spell came over her. Neuvillette took a quick step closer and held out an arm, which she thankfully, if perhaps a bit bashfully, took in order to steady herself.
Even through his clothes, Neuvillette felt warm. Furina, all at once, became acutely aware of just how cold she actually felt. The wind tickled her uncovered calves, and she sighed. Maybe Neuvillette was right; she should have worn tights.
Neuvillette did not react to her dizziness. Though, he said, “Perhaps it’s the lack of weather appropriate—”
“Oh, stop it, you!” She huffed and swatted at him. “But someplace by a hearth would be more conducive to conversation.” And definitely not because she was shivering.
Furina stepped from the ice and onto the shore, where she promptly sat on a fallen log that she had cleared off earlier. She began the process of unlacing the skates in order to swap them for her normal shoes when Neuvillette cleared his throat.
“May I ask something?”
“Go on.” Furina glanced at him before returning to her task. “What is it?”
“Would you like to go out to dinner with me?” He paused, only but a moment. “It has been quite some time since I last enjoyed your company in such a private manner. Seeing as how my schedule for today has already been cleared, it would be a shame if my rare free time were to go to waste. Dinner with you—anything with you—would fill the time.”
Furina’s heart thrummed in her chest. Something about the way he said it excited her. She didn’t know how else to explain this feeling. Her deft work on the laces paused. She looked up at him.
His facial expression was difficult for her to read. In fact, he looked and acted the same as ever: hands folded behind his back, mouth pulled into a neutral line. But she didn’t miss the slight quiver in his voice. She wondered, briefly, if he was now having a mild, internal breakdown, much like her earlier one.
Furina quickly finished changing into her shoes, slung her skates over her shoulder, and stood. Neuvillette waited for her to do all this. She beamed at him and hooked her arm around his elbow, turning to the path back home.
“Why, of course, my dear. Thank you for asking. Do you have a particular place in mind?”
He mulled it over. “… perhaps we could dine at at your home.”
She laughed, carefree. “Don’t be silly. That’s not going out to dinner. Besides, I…” The walls of her empty cupboards floated to the forefront of her mind. She had been out here playing in the snow rather than get groceries. “Besides, I am not certain I have anything that suits your palate.”
“Hmm… That is fine. I simply want to spend time with you, so I did not think of the particulars.”
“Hehe, how unlike you! We can think of something back at the city.”
Silence settled over them, comfortable and lovely. Out here, far away from Fontaine, being closer to Neuvillette came naturally to Furina. There existed no cameras or gossip-mongers to spoil the moment or memory. What Neuvillette had said earlier was true: They both had been so busy that spending private time together was exceedingly rare, much more than it should have been. Even just this walk was quite nice. She sighed a wistful sigh.
“Say, Neuvillette, have you ever been ice skating?” The question came to her lips without a second thought. “You’d look quite divine gliding across the ice, if I do say so myself.”
He shook his head. “I have not. I had never felt the desire to.”
Furina nuzzled his arm a bit closer, hoping he wouldn’t notice how clingy she was being. “Why don’t I teach you? There’s still plenty of daylight left, and you did just say you wanted to spend time with me, regardless of what it was, correct? So we must strike while the iron is hot—er, I mean, while the loch is frozen?”
Neuvillette nodded, determination in his brows. “It that is what you wish, I do not see why not.”
“We’ll buy you a pair of skates when we get back to the city, then, and return here. After—well, I suppose dinner at my place won’t be so terrible of an idea if I put on a spot of tea. Does that sound agreeable?” She looked up at him to gauge his reaction, which was but a simple nod, as usual.
“Perfect!” Furina turned her gaze back forward, to the path in front of them, a bounce in her step. “I’m certain someone as elegant as you will be nothing short of a natural!”
Neuvillette slid across the ice—on his bsackside rather than his skates.
As it turned out, Neuvillette did not possess any inherent skill for skating as Furina had mistakenly presumed. In fact, he was doing far worse than she had when she first took to the ice.
From her vantage point (which was just her standing and him on the ice), he looked quite funny: His hair had been messed up long ago, his cheeks glowed a unique shade of blue, and his clothes were all sorts out of place. She had rarely seen him more than a little nervous—and never had she seen him so thoroughly flustered. Honestly, she couldn’t help but laugh, even as she held out both hands to him. Hesitating, he soon accepted the offer (for the millionth time in the last two hours) and shakily hoisted himself up. Furina shifted her weight backwards so she didn’t fall, too.
“I am not doing too well,” he muttered, tone too even. He brushed the front of his clothes off and straightened his coat.
“Oh, nonsense!” Furina really did try to say that without a giggle punctuating the end, promise. “You’re doing just fine, Monsieur. Soon you’ll be better than I!”
Neuvillette frowned at that. “You need not lie. You will not hurt my feelings.”
Furina reached out to pat him square in the chest. “Sorry, sorry. Cheer up, though! We’ll just have to hope it snows and gets cold more often!”
He sighed, pulling her hand from his chest; rather than let it go, Neuvillette gripped her forearm before a moment of imbalance almost overtook him. She held out her other arm for him to take, which he did, and she also held onto his forearms to aid in his stability.
“Can I not just watch you do this?”
She shook her head. Her eyes signaled her imminent movement before she—gently—kicked off, leading Neuvillette as she skated very slowly backwards. He stayed fully rigid, being guided across the ice.
“Non! I don’t give performances for free, my dear. You learning a routine with me will suffice as payment for my earlier one.”
Neuvillette sighed again. His legs wobbled. Furina slowed just a bit down. Any slower and she might as well have not been moving.
“Very well. If that is what you—”
The blade of Neuvillette’s skate hit a dip in the ice, a spot they had skated over earlier enough to indent it a bit. Just a little, teensy crack in its perfect surface, but it wasn’t something he had been expecting. Suddenly, he careened forward, and it was all too obvious they’d both be taking a tumble this time. With a cry (much like her one from earlier in the day), Furina let go of his arms in order to grab at his waist. Her eyes widened before clenching shut as she braced for impact.
…that never came. She kept her eyes firmly closed, even when a loud thud rang out and startled the trees surrounding the loch. No pain came. Time must be moving in slow motion! Oh, dear—is this what people mean when they say you see your life flash before your eyes before dying?!
Neuvillette grunted. He jostled her and shifted her around as she lay on top of him. “Furina? Are you hurt? … Furina?”
She cracked an eye open. Oh. Neuvillette must have swapped their positions at the last moment so that he could take the brunt of the fall.
Furina shot up (ignoring, or not even realizing, that she now straddled him around the abdomen) and took his face in her hands. “Neuvillette! Oh, Neuvillette—are you hurt?” Squishing his cheeks, she turned his face every which way, inspecting quite thoroughly for even the smallest drops of blood. “You didn’t hit your head, did you?! Will you be alright?”
“I asshuar—” He grabbed her wrists, releasing his face from her grasp, and began again. “I assure you, milady, that this is nothing I cannot handle. I am a dragon, after all.”
Furina pouted, though she was secretly relieved that he really did seem unharmed. She slid her hands onto his chest, mostly to steady herself, and sighed. “Very well. Oh … perhaps this wasn’t such a grand idea after all.”
“Do not say that.” He cupped her cheeks now, though only with one hand. “Even if I am … not the greatest, I am still enjoying my time with you.”
The wind ruffled her hair. She leaned into his palm, eyes fluttering closed in pure bliss for a moment. “Mmh… If you say so.”
“I do. Now, pardon me, but would you mind terribly allowing me to stand?” He tried, and failed, to suppress a shiver. “The ice, you see…”
Alright. Now it was time to be acutely aware of her current predicament (second of the day): She still straddled him, one leg on either side of his stomach, her fingers splayed across his chest. It was quite an embarrassing situation, all things considered. No doubt her face heated up with such a ferocity she fleetingly wondered if the warmth from her blush could melt the ice. Even Neuvillette’s cheeks had flushed—truly flushed. A faint blue glow rose to the surface of his skin, all the way to the tips of his ears.
Yet Furina’s body did not immediately move, almost as if it were as frozen as the surface of the loch beneath them. Her fingers dug into the front of his coat. Maybe she even trembled ever so slightly. She leaned down, trying to angle her legs to finally stand up, and her foot slipped, sending her tumbling for another time today with a squeak.
She had barely managed to catch herself, which was good in the sense she didn’t accidentally hurt either herself or Neuvillette, but bad, too, for now their faces were mere inches apart.
On each exhale, their breaths formed small clouds, which now mingled with one another. She swallowed, tongue darting out to wet her lips. Even closer, now… Furina closed her eyes and basked in his warmth and scent. Gloved fingers found their way to her hair, and soon enough, his lips were on hers.
It was a rather chaste kiss compared to their usual ones. Most of her embarrassment came from two sources: One, that they were in this current position because of her, and two, that they were outside. Even if they were fairly secluded, tucked away from most prying eyes, they were on a frozen loch and in the middle of it—sitting ducks for peepers. But that didn’t stop tongues brushing against each other, nor did it stop Neuvillette from biting her lower lip, eliciting a quiet moan.
The kiss lasted for a good while. She wasn’t sure exactly how long, but it was long enough—while also being too short. She leaned up, kissed both of his cheeks and then his forehead, and smiled down at him. His eyes widened, and for a moment, Furina thought he looked as if he might weep, but then he blinked and that thought was gone.
“My dear, this is no place for kisses.” She giggled. Digging the blades of her skates into the ice, she actually stood up this time, out of breath.
Neuvillette took her outstretched hands. “… There are plenty of private spaces around here,” he replied, looking at the edges of the loch. “We could continue.”
She blushed again, slapping his forearm. “W-Were you not just complaining of the cold? Come now, let us be off. We can … continue in the comfort of my home.” Not waiting for his reply, she turned and skated off, hopping onto the shore.
A few moments passed. She gathered her things. Just as she leaned down to start undoing her laces, a shaky voice from the middle of the loch sounded out.
“F-Furina…”
Looking over her shoulder, Neuvillette stood on the ice right where she had left him. “… Oh! My dear, I’m sorry!”