Chapter Text
Fatui harbinger rankings:
1st seat: "Il Capitano" The Captain
2nd seat: "Il Dottore" The Doctor
3th seat: "Damsallette" Columbina
4th seat: "The Knave" Crucebena
5th se-
She ripped the poster from the wall. The longer she stared at this thing the more it irritated her.
Years inside this organization and still no progress in improving her rank.
How did Dottore manage to secure his seat as the 2nd so fast? They did the same exact things, so why did he receive his permanent spot in the harbingers while she was only now being considered for a seat?! It just didn't make any sense.
She threw the paper in the trash, it landed a little off to the side but she didn't care.
With her head buried in the soft pillow she looked up at the clock in the corner. It once belonged to alain and was already old and rugged but it still worked and her schedule didnt have the time to get a new one.
7 more hours until the hallways started filling with people. 7 more hours until some pesky human barged into her room for the smallest issue.
How annoying.
She was meant for more.
Her reason for joining the Fatui was the hope to receive the funds to utilize her full abilities.
She thought that her contrubition would be seen as valuable. Instead she spends her time repairing all of the meaningless junk that was developed by that priviliged bastard.
Why was it that when Dottore had a new "passion project" Pantalone would immidiatly approve his requests for more mora, no matter how little his "expiriments" would actually contribute to the fatui, but when she had an actually well thought out idea he'd brush her off and tell her that he still needed more time to think about it?!
She knew that she wasn't a harbinger yet but considering she was very close to receiving the title she was under the impression that the higer ups would also respect her.
How was the Tsaritsa even tolerating such behavior! You'd think that she would say something about Dottore kidnapping those stupid Aranara from sumeru to study them. But no. Who needs weapons if you could have data about a childrens fairytale.
In the middle of her brooding she heard a knock on the door. No way in hell was she opening that. Whoever's behind that door can wait until her worktime starts.
Every recruit already knows that. The only one who doesn't respect that rule is a certain harbinger named Columbina.
"Sandrone. Are you there? I need to talk to you." Speaking of the Devil. She sighs. Why out of every recruit did the Damsallette fancy her that much.
Surely she must've noticed that her company was unwelcome at best. Ignoring the harbinger wouldnt work either, she'd just stand there waiting for her 'return'. To add to the annoyance she will start singing again, making it difficult to sleep.
Sandrone had to weigh the options. It was either ignore her annoying 'superior' and endure her singing as a consiquence or deal with talking to her.
She sighed, while walking to the door she adjusted her nightgown. As incompetent as the Damsallette is, Sandrone would be damned before she'd let her see a single wrinkle on her nightwear. Once she opened the door of her room she saw the harbinger standing there in her usual clothing, which wasn't surprising since she always seemed to wear the same outfit. Seriously, how many pairs of the same dress does she have? She also had that same oblivious expression that she wore, which didnt exactly quell the others frustration. Either way the puppet tried to stay cordial when talking to her.
Upsetting a harbinger was not exactly on her bingo list this year. "What is it." She said doing her best to keep her tone as neutral as possible, safe to say she didn't do the best job at that, but the good thing about the Damsallette is that she has the emotional intelligence of a loaf of bread.
The Damsalette replied in her usual ringing voice. "Sandrone, I missed you. Where were you? I didn't see you at your usual spot." Of course you didn't she stopped herself before the words left her mouth. As much as she wanted to tell the truth, she knew that telling her superior that she was gone because of her stalking would hardly leave a good impression. Even with someone who barely registers that their a harbinger.
...
Then again, the damsallette contrary to popular belief was hardly a threat. Give her a few pastries with tea and she's happy again.
"I'm stationed elsewhere from now on. I hope that this time you can respect my personal space and not intrude upon my workspace." Sandrone learned from the very beginning that the only way to get somewhere with this woman was to tell something matter of fact. God forbid you use sarcasm, she'd follow your instructions word for word.
"Oh. I'm sorry i didn't realize that i was bothering you. Maybe we could meet up another time that way i won't distract you from work." Sandrone could feel her eye twitching, this woman. She just never knew when to back off did she? She sighed, whatever. It would be more difficult trying to convey that she wasn't wanted than just meeting up every so often. That and admittedly she was good company sometimes.
"If you're really this eager to meet up then i guess we can on friday. My schedule should be free then." The raven haired womans face lit up, something which wasn't very visible due to her eyemask. It was absurd how easy it was to make her happy.
"Have a good time working Sandrone, and don't coop up in your office for the whole night again." "Hmph. I can take care of myself thank you very much." She slammed the door in Columbinas face. Rude? Maybe, but dealing with the other was emotionaly draining. Behind the door she could hear a muffled voice. "You're welcome." Sandrone's eye twitched again. Right. Emotional Intelligence of a piece of bread. Bold of her to assume that Columbina would finally be able to tell sarcasm.
Her sight trailed to her workbench, there were a couple of blueprints that she made in her freetime. They were nearly finished, the only thing left was adjusting all of the calculations for material costs, size of the component's and the weight of the finished product. There was still some problems she had to solve however. The finished product -a new type of gun- would be according to her previous calculation's way too heavy. The total amont of energy needed was therefore too high. That and the obvious concern of being inefficient in combat due to the unnecessary weight. There were some components that could be produced with different materials that would solve this. But they were pricey which meant going to Pantalone and asking for a bigger budget. That was out of the question, she had better things to do with her life.
Suddendly she heard muffled humming. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and stormed to the door. Was it this difficult to get atleast a few undisturbed hours in here?!
She slammed the door open so fast that the vases on the corridor floor wobbled.
"What is it this time Damsalette? Do you have nothing else to do?"
"I just wanted to check up on you that's all. Then i saw that the light was still on so i thought that you simply couldn't sleep. People always tell me that my voice was calming so i wanted to help you fall asleep, thats all." It took everything in her power to not punch her in the face right now. What did she think of her! Was she under the impression that sandrone was a child who needed a lullaby or something!?
"It's fine. Just get back to your room i can fall asleep perfectly fine."
"Why weren't you then?"
"I was and currently am busy, therefore I would aprecciate it if you would go back to your own room."
"But it's so cold there. Can i stay with you, your room is warmer." God why did she join the fatui again. Now she had to deal with this bullshit.
"What are you 5 years old."
"No, I'm not. Im not really sure how old I am though, im sorry i cant tell y-
Sandrone slammed her door again. If Columbina wants to bother her, then she could in the mornings she still had work to finish.
"Good Night Sandrone." There was the sound of water dripping, the telltale sign of Columbinas footsteps. And her office was drowned in silence again. Her focus shifted to the clock. 4am. She should probably get to bed now, while she didn't need sleep rest always helped with her focus. Its best to atleast get a few hours of it.
She walked over to her bed and let herself fall on it, immidiatly passing out.