Chapter Text
Columbina finished braiding the flowers into Sandrone’s hair, running the tips of her fingers down her porcelain face with care. They’d washed the soot off both her and Pulonia, taking care in mending their clothes to prepare them for the journey. Columbina had commissioned coffins made of pale ash wood, velvet lining on the inside of both of them. Originally, Flins had offered to find a good spot for both of them in the Final Night Cemetery, but Arlecchino had interjected to declare that it was Sandrone’s wish to be buried next to Alain Guillotin.
That had made sense to Columbina, reluctant though she’d often appeared, Sandrone never had anything bad to say about Alain. Well, she’d called him a fool but that was mostly a term of endearment on part of the Marionette. Columbina could tell she’d missed him dearly, his diagrams and schematics always hanging in prized positions within Sandrone’s workshop.
But a smaller part had wished she’d be buried in Nod Krai, if only so Columbina could visit her more often.
“I imagine you and Alain will have a lot to talk about.” Columbina hummed, suddenly wondering if Sandrone’s soul could even be integrated into the leylines like all living things in Tevyat. The thought that she might simply be gone was so distressing that Columbina bit the inside of her cheek and tucked her head down.
“Columbina.” Arlecchino brushed up against her back, looking slightly forlorn as she announced. “We are departing, have you said your farewells?”
Columbina let a sigh move through her, raising her hands to cup Sandrone’s cheeks and kiss her brow.
“Yes.” She stood up, facing her friend. “Will I be seeing you again?”
Arlecchino raised her brow, “I imagine so, I will have to return to sort out what happens to the Kuuvahki Experimental Design Bureau, both of the Harbingers in charge are gone now. There are so few of us left…I imagine it will be time for Her Majesty to consider crowning someone new.”
“Tell the Tsarista…” Columbina started before shaking her head, “never mind, I know nothing I say will make any of it better. Will you tell me where you bury Sandrone and Pulonia? I would like to pay my respects when I visit Fontaine.”
“Is that your intent then? To mirror the Traveler and see the rest of the world.”
“Something like that.” Columbina shrugged, “I’m very curious about it, that’s all. I realized I’ve been alive for quite some time yet I’ve spent most of my life in the North.”
“I’ll have some of the children visit you to tell you where we put her.” Arlecchino declared as a few of her soldiers lifted the lids onto both coffins. “I will be quite busy.”
“Too busy for a tea party?”
That made her friend pause, “no…not entirely, if you so desire it then…let us not say goodbye here, I will see you soon, Columbina.”
She reached across, taking Arlecchino’s hand into hers and squeezing it twice.
Columbina stayed on the docks until the ship was out of sight, sending gentle waves its way to urge it onwards. She knew that they had a ways to go to reach Fontaine and she wished them a gentle path guided by moonlight.
A lot of her friends were leaving. The Traveler and Paimon had packed up their stuff in the Flagship, taking a ship back to Mondstadt with some of the departing Knights of Favonius. Flins had gone up North to help shepherd the citizens of Nod Krai back to their homes, Lauma going with him.
But unlike an eternity spent on the Moon, she knew she’d get to see them again with time.
All save for one, she considered as she walked back to Silvermoon hall, that was perhaps most unfair of all.
She’d tried to save her, to force her eyes open with enough Kuuvahki to keep Nasha Town’s lights on for an entire year. It had done nothing, not even the barest flicker of life from Sandrone's still body. It had been thoroughly disappointing but not unexpected, even gods needed limits.
She skipped across a few stones, sending a burst of water up into the air as she made flowers grow on the riverbank. They were the shade of red that Sandrone had always favoured with a hint of blue reminiscent of her eyes in the stamens. Columbina knelt down before one of them and commiserated quietly
Columbina could remember the first time she’d seen Sandrone. No, not met her, that would come much later when Columbina dared to breach the sanctuary that was Sandrone’s workshop.
She could remember the first time she’d seen the Seventh Harbinger forging through the thick layer of snow that had fallen during the most terrible storm they’d had all winter.
Columbina could remember being delighted by the sight of the snow covering the gardens of Zapolyarny Palace. She’d asked Dottore—with whom she’d still been on good terms with—if she could have the day off from their experiments. He’d been annoyed (the first sign something was wrong with their so-called ‘familial bond’) but had waved her off nonetheless.
Most of the people she’d crossed had seemed terribly occupied; she could see servants carrying large tubs of salt with which to clear the ice on the roads, people wandering the slopped roofs to push off the snow that had accumulated on them while others broke off the icicles with large pickaxes.
Whenever she crossed them, they’d bow their heads and mutter some words of deference. She’d pretend not to see them, something about it reminded her uncomfortably of the Frostmoon Scions
She’d left the heated halls to forge ahead into the cold exterior, amusing herself by throwing her entire body into piles of powdery snow. She’d curl up, wait to hear footsteps and then burst out with a shout. It got quite a few amusing reactions out of people, the funniest being when she scared the Rooster who let out a squeak quite unlike him. That had also earned her a bit of a scolding but she’d been too busy laughing to pay it much mind.
She’d given it a break after that, heading to the Luminous Garden instead and admiring the way the ice had carved its way around the various shrubs and trees. Covered in faint layers of frost, the sunlight made the whole place glow with an icy glint.
She remembered hearing two sets of feet striking the snow, one heavier than the other. Columbina had moved quickly, lifting herself up to hide amongst one of the trees as she’d observed who it could be.
She remembered that Pulonia had been the one to catch her attention first, specifically the fact that she’d been very surprised to see how well-dressed the automaton was. The next thing that had surprised her had been the shovel attachment at the end of his arm, pushing the thick layer of snow to the side and clearing a path.
Naturally, that had meant that Columbina’s eyes had been drawn to the smaller figure behind him. Sandrone had been wearing a capelet, an umbrella held up by one of her hands while the other shook a sheet of paper in an attempt to get it to straighten.
She could remember being struck by how perfect the young woman was.
Humans, she’d long since learned, had plenty of imperfections; scars from old injuries, acne bursting in and out, crooks and lines in their face. Columbina was quite endeared to those little defects, but she couldn’t help but be amazed at how smooth Sandrone’s face was in comparison. There wasn’t even a sign of wrinkles between her brows or at the corner of her eyes as was so common in humans; her eyes, nose and mouth were all perfectly proportioned to each other and her skin seemed to reflect the light bouncing off the sheets of snow
“Pulonia!” Sandrone’s had shouted, Columbina could remember wincing at how sharp her voice sounded. “Once we reach the library, search for anything with the name Khaenri’anh Ruin Tiller and…Ugh, what else was it…”
She was an officer of some kind, Columbina had decided, someone high up who was free to walk the halls as she pleased. She’d even mused at the time that she might be yet another Harbinger, Columbina hadn’t had the chance to attend a Harbinger meeting at that point.
“I’ll remember it, let's just get there.” The young woman had declared, closing the umbrella and tucking it under her arm as they crossed the passway to head back to the covered gallery.
That was her moment to strike, Columbina had giggled, lifting a single finger towards the snow accumulating at the roof of the entrance. A single burst of Kuuvahki had caused it to break and slump down onto the young woman.
Columbina could still remember the distinct screech that Sandrone had let out to this very day.
Columbina watched the Kuuhenki make a grateful twirl as it swept towards the sky once more, a trail of Kuuvahki following it, she’d found the poor thing trapped beneath rubble.
Dottore’s experiments had left a scar on the land, one she was ever busy trying to heal. She knew that the rest of Nod Krai was hard at work fixing the buildings and roads that had taken damage during the whole incident, but Columbina was far more concerned for the small creatures that had seen their lives thrown upside down by Dottore’s interventions.
She floated up the cliffside, surprising a slothsheep that had been grazing on a piece of grass near the top. The animal let out surprised huffs, scurrying away a bit before stopping when Columbina reached out an arm of Kuuvahki towards it. It paused, sniffing the air once before settling on its hind legs and titling its head at her. Columbina smiled, approaching it tentatively and petting the top of its head.
She didn’t spend much time in Wavechaser Plain but she appreciated the quiet air of the place; the yellow wheatgrass dancing in the wind, the tall white bone spirals that stretched out to touch the tips of the clouds. Most of her days were spent on Hisii Island, trying to live up to all the years she’d spent hiding away from the Frostmoon Scions but occasionally she liked to wander off and see the rest of Nod Krai with her own eyes.
She let the slothsheep go, watching as it sped off to join the remains of another herd with happy snorts.
She kept walking for a while longer, intent on trying to take a boat back to Hisii Island for the first time and coming across the statue of Kuutar that loomed over the place on her way. Instead of its traditional white marble base, this one was wrapped in a mix of corroded steel and copper, far from the vision the Frostmoon Scions had for it.
She found a young man with grey hair in the middle of dismantling one of the pieces of rusted metal that had been wrapped around the bottom of the statue. He was cursing a bit, trying to wrench the metal from where some of the white bone wood had warped around it. He looked vaguely familiar, Columbina slipped her veil back over her eyes as she crept up behind him.
She waited until she was hovering right over his shoulder before letting out a simple, “hello.”
He jumped, his wrench flying to the ground as he reached for a small pocket knife and thrusted it out in front of him. Columbina knocked it out of his hand with a simple touch, his Kuuvahki pulse flaring once in recognition.
“Miss Columbina!” Illuga quickly straightened himself out, “sorry, you scared me.”
“What do you mean?” She fought a bit to keep the smile off her face, “is this not how people usually greet each other.”
“Uhh…” He blinked, “I mean, yes, it is, I just didn’t hear you.”
“How peculiar, and here I thought Lightkeepers were always meant to be very vigilant.” She said, “what are you doing?”
“Mr. Flins thought it might be a good idea to clean up your statue, you know, as a sign of respect.”
She blinked, “respect?”
“Since you’ve regained the Trilune Authority and it’s…” His head shifted towards the statue, “a bit of a mess.”
She looked at the ill fitted bolts, at the rusted shine of the metal cresting over the top of the statue. Not a pretty sight for sure but her eye caught the other details through her veil. From the way one side of the metal pedestal had a shine to it, from a dozen human hands touching the same spot for luck. To the shinier nails up on the side, pinning an old piece that had fallen back into place. It was slightly ugly, sure, but it was also filled with all the human touches that defined Nod Krai.
She leaned in, looking through some of the gaps in the metal jointure to see that the marble pedestal itself had a dozen or so metal bars drilled into its base.
“Hmm,” She spun around Illuga’s back, picking the wrench out of his hand and tapping it to the side of the metal pedestal. It let out a pleasant ring, not unlike the kind she used to hear from Sandrone’s workshop as she fitted limbs and knocked copper plates smooth. “It’s a kind thought but unnecessary."
“Ah.”
“Have you noticed,” she pushed his head towards the gap, “if you remove the structure, the whole statue will collapse.”
He peered further in, letting out a small string of curses, “you’re right…dammit, I’m starting to think Mr. Flins was just messing with me.”
“A likely thing,” she and Flins were similar in that aspect, she picked out the piece of steel he’d taken off from the bottom, “shall we put this back into place?”
He nodded resolutely, “let’s, I’ll bring some sandpaper and vinegar next time instead, try to get rid of some of this rust.”
Rust would work away at the joints, and weaken the whole structure. Columbina could remember Sandrone always saying that it was the only kind of rot her automatons knew, a weakness she’d fixed by changing the kind of metal she used to make them.
Would Sandrone’s body rust beneath the earth, would the key at her back dull its shine and wither away with the moisture in the ground. Perhaps she should’ve insisted Sandrone be buried in a stone coffin, one sealed off from the outdoor air. Or perhaps Sandrone would’ve preferred to be handed off to some young artisans, to be propped up against the walls of their workshop, pulled apart so her spare parts could be used to make new things whole.
It wasn’t a conversation they’d ever had, Columbina had never even imagined there’d be a world where she existed and Sandrone did not. It had been hopelessly naive, perhaps, but death was just not something they discussed. It was far from them, as distant as the Moon had once been.
“You’ll see,” Dottore had said as they walked to Columbina’s first Harbinger meeting, she’d finally bitten the bullet and decided she should stop playing at being a recluse. “The others are quite droll, all self-obsessed and paranoid. You and I, dear sister, are the only ones worth their salt.”
Dottore had liked positioning them apart from the rest of the Harbingers back when they’d been close. With time, she’d learn that was just part of his strategy to pull her tighter into his orbit, to ensure she wouldn’t ask too many questions about exactly what he was planning.
He’d opened the door for her, bowing slightly as she stepped into the cavernous room for the first time.
Their meeting place had been chosen to make them feel small; a doomed roof with illustrative masterpieces covering the ceilings, scenes of the Archon War and the Cataclysm melding into one. Even the chairs they sat on were disproportionately huge, lacking any pillows or soft wood so as to make it uncomfortable to sit for too long. There was always food laid out on the table; crumbly pastries, beet and carrot stew sure to stain any clothing it touched, fried bits of dough that were impossible to eat silently. It was a test of sorts, Columbina never truly understood its purpose.
Even from the first moment she’d entered the room, she’d reached for the tea and poured herself a heavy helping, ignoring the way the spout was twisted in a way to make most of the liquid miss her cup.
She’d perched on the armchair of her own seat, tucking her legs into the heavy cloak all the Harbingers were expected to wear. The Rooster had been present, there had still been some brown in his hair at the time and he’d introduced himself with a vigour missing from him in his older years. The Captain had been standing in the shadow, he’d almost scared her when he suddenly walked out but something about his almost soothing tone had immediately put her at ease once more. He’d been the first of the Harbingers she’d met after the Tsarista had recruited her, and remained one of the friendlier faces.
Then there had been the Knave of the time, a man or a woman, to this day she couldn’t remember. It had been the one role in the Fatui Harbingers that had changed with each passing season. She’d only paid attention when Arlecchino had finally been put in charge and radically changed how things were done in the House of the Hearth.
There had been talk of plans and games and wars, all enough to bore her to tears until Sandrone had burst into the room. She’d been sitting on Pulonia’s shoulder, one leg propped up on the other one as she read from a weathered book.
“You’re late, Marionette.” The Rooster had greeted her first, tapping the mechanical watch on his wrist.
“Nonsense.” Sandrone had hopped off the shoulder, her feet tapping on the marble floor. “Pierro isn’t here yet, the meeting doesn’t start until he shows up.”
“And yet Pierro leaves as soon as he arrives.” The Knave of the time had reproached, “we have matters to discuss between us in the meantime.”
“Rosalyn isn’t here either.”
“Rosalyn is in Mondstadt.” Capitano had declared, “and enough, we shall not mention that you were late to the last meeting, Knave, or that you, Pulcinella, failed to show up for the last three.”
The Rooster had groaned a bit while the Knave flushed and fell back onto their chair with a huff.
Sandrone’s gaze had shifted to her after that, her arms crossing as she’d declared, “you’re actually a Harbinger? I can’t believe it.”
“You’ve met Columbina then?” Dottore had said in a pinched tone. “How interesting, I thought you kept to yourself, Columbina.”
She’d gone to find Sandrone once, hiding away in her workshop and scarring the young woman when she’d been in the middle of fixing a human-like automaton. Sandrone had let her stick around, answering all of her questions with increasing irritation until she’d finally snapped and kicked her out. It had amused Columbina so much she decided she wanted to meet her again with post-haste which is how she’d decided to finally go to a Harbinger meeting.
“There’s always a bunch of noise coming out of her wing of the Palace.” Columbina had answered, “I was curious.”
“What number is she?” Sandrone had asked, letting out an offended huff when Capitano had informed her that Columbina was number three.
Pierro had shown up, they’d gone through the usual formalities (or so she’d been told after, this being her first meeting and all) and then he’d dismissed them without another word.
“That was shorter than I thought it would be.” She’d told Dottore, hoping on the tips of her toes as they sped back towards the laboratory.“Small fortunes," He’d laughed, “we must take them when they are handed to us. The Jester is far too busy with Her Majesty’s requests as of late to bother with us.” “What do you think of Sandrone?” Columbina had brushed ahead of him as he leant down to unlock the door. “I thought the two of you would have some commonalities, she’s a researcher too.”That had displeased him, his nose wrinkling a bit, “please, I am a scholar, uniquely dedicated to deciphering the truth of our unfair world. Sandrone is more akin to a…treasure hunter. Sorting through scraps in the hopes of finding something that might shine in the right light.” “So you would never consider working with her?”That had made him pause, “perhaps if her personality were less…incongruent. You see, Dear Sister, she isn’t very agreeable and she trusts no one but that robot she insists on dragging everywhere. It’s very hard to form a partnership with such a person.”
She would’ve told him that he was much the same; always scrambling to hide his diagrams and insisting she ‘just take a break’ instead of helping in the analysis of their results. But she hadn’t known just how deeply that issue ran into Dottore’s spine, how it
was anchored to the very soul of his being. If she had, at the time, she might’ve tried to dislodge it piece by piece but by the time she’d figured out how forlorn and lonely he was; she’d stopped caring enough about him to try.
“I’m going to try and befriend her.” She’d said at the time, throwing her coat onto one of the lab benches.
His eye had twitched a bit, a telltale sign of his anger, one of the many she would learn to telegraph with time. “Why would you want to do such a thing?”
“I like her eyes.” She’d shrugged, “they remind me of the Frostmoon.”
“Homesick, Dear Sister?”
She’d looked at the frosted window, blurring the outside world so that Dottore never needed to concern himself with it. The Moon was beyond it, beckoning her with the same longing it did. She’d told herself that she would probably have to return to it someday, there was no sense in delaying it for too long.
“Something like that.” She’d mused at the time, looking over her shoulder back at him. “What did you need me to do?”
Columbina wandered up to the top of Ashveil Peak, she felt the abyssal energy pushing down on her, like a pall over the entire region. Even in her capacity as the Trilune Goddess, there was nothing she could do to bring the region back to life, it had spent too long in such a sorry state. She stretched her arm out anyway, looking for any signs of life amidst the faded hills and knotted trees, any small creature that had wandered far afield and needed a safe path home.
She felt a stronger presence instead, scaling the cliff behind her with a familiar rhythm. She turned, leaning down to greet them with a smile as the Traveler pulled herself up next to her.
“Hello,” Columbina smiled as her friend let out an exhausted huff, “I thought you’d left for Mondstadt?”
“I came back,” The Traveler wiped the side of her mouth, slumping down onto the mountain. “You made it look easy.”
“Well, I can fly.” Columbina said, “when did you return?”
“About a week ago, sorry, I would’ve come by and said hello but I was helping the Lightkeepers in Pyramida deal with an…issue.”
“I saw.” Columbina nodded, “the abyssal energy here has lessened some.”
“But it’s not gone.”
“There are some things even people like us can’t manage.” Columbina hummed, “this region is safer now, the Lightkeepers will have an easier time patrolling it.”
“Hmm…”
“What?”
“Nothing, I’m just impressed.” The Traveler smiled, “you’ve really turned into quite the protector, it’s nice to know that Nod Krai finally has someone looking over them.”
“Even without me,” Columbina said, “Nod Krai has always cared for their own.”
“Yeah but they all used to squabble a whole bunch, now even the Fatui have quieted down.”
“Give it time, I’m sure the Tsarista will send over a Harbinger to start up the operations here again.”
“She doesn’t have many options.”
Columbina flinched without meaning too, thinking of eyes the color of the Frostmoon.
“Sorry,” The Traveler patted her shoulder, “sore subject.”
“I don’t miss Dottore.”
“That’s not who I was talking about.”
“I know.” Columbina sighed, “Tell me, Traveler, you’ve seen a lot more than most of us. You must’ve lost someone before, how do you deal with it?”
“You don’t.” She answered, “they just linger, forever out of reach. Some days are easy, then you’ll see a glimpse of their favorite flower or you’ll think you heard their voice in the wind and it will all come rushing back.”
“Hmm.”
“You and Sandrone were friends for a really long time, no?”
“Something like that.” Columbina said, “It’s not like it’s the first time I’d lost someone but when Rosalyn died…we had each other back then, though Sandrone was never really that open about it. I still think of Rosalyn when I see roses or when I drink rooibos tea. She lived a very painful life, I believe she is at peace now. But with Sandrone…I keep expecting to turn a corner and hear her shouting my name and I’m always disappointed."
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” Columbina rested her arm on the Traveler’s shoulder, “If she hadn’t done what she did, we’d be mourning you in her stead. A different kind of pain, but not a welcome one.”
“If we’d thought things through more.” the Traveler touched the white flower pinned to her hair, “there would be no one to mourn at all.”
“That flower…” Columbina brushed the Traveler’s hand away to look at the blue stamens in the center of it. “Where have I seen it?”
“Ever been to Khaenri'ah?”
She shook her head and the Traveler continued, “you’d find it there but…for me, it was a flower of my homeland. I don’t tell many people this but Aether and I don't have a home to go back to. That’s why we started this journey in the first place, to find some new place to call home. I think the goal at the start was to find an uninhabited planet with a permissible atmosphere and we just got lost in the chaos of it all.”
“You said Teyvat is your home.”
“Now, yes.” The Traveler nodded, “but…I’m terrified of what Aether will say if I tell him I have no plan of leaving, or worse perhaps, if I find out that he never intended for either of us to leave this place. I have no idea how to feel about any of it anymore. I don’t understand why he’s being so distant, I miss him, you know? What if…he just doesn’t want anything to do with me anymore.”
Columbina rested her head on her shoulder, “you will always have us, even if your brother does not want you anymore.”
She sniffed, “Yeah but…I’m sure you wish Sandrone was here right now, no?”
“Yes.”
“Its the same for me.” The Traveler said, “no one knows me better than Aether, he’s a living witness to my life and I to his.”
“A living witness.” Columbina repeated, thinking back to all of her time in Snezhnaya, to the hours spent wandering the frozen plains, hiding in the nooks and cranny of Zapolyarny Palace. To waiting for hours to watch the Korolevskiy Troupe, to watching Sandrone move through her workshop with surprising grace for someone with her temper. “I like that.”
“Columbina!” She heard Dottore’s voice bounce off the rafters, pushing herself further into her hiding spot. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you but I don’t find it amusing.”
She brushed some of the light away, further darkening the hall as she watched him pace around below.
“I know you are here.” He continued, “stop acting like a child.”
Columbina stretched an arm out, reaching out for the latch on the window across from her and gently tugging it open as he thundered back down the steps of the dais, a faint breeze kissing her skin.
“This is frankly ridiculous.”
The door slammed open, and Columbina jumped back, cutting her escape attempt off as a second figure walked into the room behind Dottore.
“Ah.” Dottore spun on his heels, “Sandrone…to what do I owe the pleasure.”
“Pierro wants to speak with you.” Sandrone said, Pulonia not at her side for once.
“Now?”
“He said it was urgent,” Sandrone continued, “do you really want to keep him waiting?”
He was gone just like that, Sandrone visibly letting out a sigh as she cast a cursory glance around the room.
Columbina jumped down from her hiding spot, floating to the ground as Sandrone turned to leave. She walked carefully, her feet just barely brushing the floor as she reached a hand out and tapped Sandrone’s shoulder.
Sandrone turned suddenly, letting out a low hiss, “who? Columbina!”
“Did I scare you?”
“Are you…you were hiding from Dottore…”
“Yes.”
“Why?” Sandrone titled her head, “I thought the two of you were…close.”
“I can’t stand him, really.”
Sandrone crossed her arms, “huh…that’s an improvement.”
“You think so?” Columbina chuckled a bit, “what did Pierro want?”
“Don’t know, don’t care.” Sandrone rolled her eyes, “are you busy?”
“I’m not.” Columbina confirmed, stepping forward and linking her arm with Sandrone. “Did you have something for me to do, my schedule is suddenly very free.”
Columbina tossed the colored stone forward, using small bursts of Kuuvahki to propel it onwards until it reached the very center of the target drawn in the sand. It spun a bit, landing just on the outside as a Kuuhenki flew past her feet and marked it with a spot of light.
“No cheating now,” She warned the Kuuhenki next to her which she’d nicknamed Spot on account of the small silver dots that ran up its brow. “I caught you last time.”
Spot spun once around, a stone lifting off the ground and bouncing along, it hit one of the Kuuvahki blocks she’d put up to make the game harder and teetered mid air before collapsing.
“Oh dear.” Columbina sighed as Spot dove into the sand and sent a bunch of it propulsing everywhere, “now you’re just being a sore loser…”
“Am I interrupting something?” Columbina heard Lauma ask from somewhere behind her, turning her head just in time to see the Moonchanter’s deer form collapse.
“We just finished,” Columbina smiled, “I won.”
“I wasn’t aware the Kuuhenki liked playing such games.” Lauma hummed, “though this seems a bit different from how people normally play pétanque, no?”
“The Kuuhenki can be a bit mischievous, they kept cheating when we played by the usual rules so I made it harder.” Columbina explained, pétanque was a game typical of Fontaine; Sandrone was the one who’d taught her how to play many years ago. “What brings you all the way out here?”
“You.” Lauma answered, “some of the acolytes said they saw you wandering the beach looking a bit forlorn but you seem better.”
“Ah.” Columbina tucked her chin in a bit, she was prone to wandering, that was true. But she hadn’t meant to look melancholic. “I suppose.”
“How are you feeling?” Lauma asked, “I know you’ve had a lot of big changes recently, it can take some time getting used to.”
“It’s not so bad.” She pooled Kuuvahki into her hand, watching as the waves surged towards her feet before being pushed back as she flicked the energy towards them. “I don’t get tired as easily as I used to so that’s nice, I never realized how much I was doing with so little.”
Lauma nodded, “There have been reports of people finding moonwheels on their doorsteps or hidden in their laundry.”
“Why should Celestia be the only one to dole out gifts?" Columbina answered, “the people of Nod Krai have been overlooked for so long, someone has to set it straight.”
“I just want to be sure you aren’t burning yourself thin, Columbina.” Lauma placed a hand on her shoulder, “it wasn’t so long ago that you were stuck in the Moon’s reflection and—”
“Thank you.” Columbina said earnestly, “but I’m quite alright.”
Her friend sighed a bit, “I remember you mentioning you wanted to travel, have you thought of starting those plans?”
“I suppose I don’t really know where to start.” She admitted, “I thought of Mondstat but…I’m not so sure, it’s so far from here that I’ll have visited all the other nations before I reach it.”
“What about Fontaine?”
Columbina almost flinched, tightening her hand into a fist as she let out a slow breath, “that…I don’t think that would be a good idea.”
“You told me that it was the first thing you planned to do once the dust settled.”
“Yes but that was—”
Before she’d had time to think about what it would mean to sit in front of a stone slab that was somehow supposed to represent everything Sandrone had been. How could a few lines driven into rock sum up everything that was missing now that she was gone. The lack of lovingly infuriating sighs, of a hand tucking a blanket over her, of a shoulder to rest on when she was tired. It was all a bit much.
“It probably never stops being painful.” Lauma rested her hand on her shoulder, “but we all have to confront our fears, and I think it would do you some good to get some form of closure.”
“The last time we spoke was—” Columbina dropped to her knees, tucking them close to her chest. “I was the one who was supposed to be leaving, not her, never her.”
“I know.” Lauma wrapped an arm around her shoulders, Columbina saw how the scars on her friend’s arm shun in a silvery fashion in the moonlight and felt a bite of pain.
“Will you come with me?”
“This is one journey you’ll have to make without me.” Lauma pressed a kiss to her cheek, “but I will help you pack, Columbina, and see you to your ship. That I promise.”