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Mitya found himself at the bottom of a cliff.
How did he get himself into this situation, you may ask?
He happened to be wandering the countryside after slipping away from his work when he happened upon a cliff that he had never noticed before. Naturally, as curious as he was, Mitya stepped closer, and upon doing so, he could have sworn that he heard singing echoing below. Now, of course, the only logical step was to step even closer to the edge to hear better, which is when he slipped and plummeted all the way.
Anyhow, he wasn’t stuck, per se. He could simply use his stellar linchpin to get out, but his curiosity was growing more by the minute. First of all, he always appreciated the chance to discover something new, and this cave certainly fell into that category. But second, and more importantly, the singing he was hearing was most definitely familiar, and he had a sneaking suspicion that he knew whose voice it belonged to, and Mitya would never miss an opportunity to hear a performance from his favourite performer.
He picked himself up and walked towards the opening of the cave, and a grin grew on his face when his suspicions were confirmed. Sitting on the edge of a large pink shell was Vodyanitsa.
She was perched on the shell in her fae form, her eyes closed in concentration as she sang. As he approached, Mitya tried to stay as quiet as possible so as not to distract her, but he knew she could hear him stepping closer.
She opened her eyes, and a smile grew on her face. “Traveller! I didn’t expect you to come back so soo-” Her eyes met his, and she let out a gasp and dove back into the shell. Her head poked back out of the water. “Mitya? What are you doing here?”
Both he and his scarf gave her an awkward wave. “I happened upon this place and tripped in by accident. I recognized your singing and came closer. You know I would never miss an opportunity to listen to you!” He flashed a smile as he reached the conch and placed his hands on the edge, leaning in to see the water imp. “Sorry if I scared you.” He scratched the back of his head while his scarf smacked him, reprimanding him.
Vodyanitsa giggled as she watched the scarf’s antics, and her laugh made Mitya’s cheeks heat up. “No, no, it’s alright! I just hadn’t expected someone else to find this place too.” She swam up to him, putting her own hands on the curve of the shell and rising slightly above the water. “Besides, I could hear you tumbling and slipping from here. There’s no way you could have scared me with all that noise!” she teased.
All her teasing fell on deaf ears, however, because all Mitya could notice was how incredibly close her face was to his and how her fingers were practically touching his own. He knew the exact moment she noticed as well, because her own face flushed and she sank back down into the water until only her face was visible.
Somehow, Mitya managed to recover enough to remember that he actually needed to respond. He let out an awkward laugh, “Well, I would never dream of scaring the Prima Soprano of the theatre while she’s singing.” He paused. “You sounded just as lovely as usual.”
Vodyanitsa’s face turned impossibly red for a second before she turned away, pouting. “I’m surprised you know what usual is, considering you never listen to any of my performances. Today might have been the most I’ve seen you pay attention!” she huffed.
His face fell into a frown. “I’m sorry. Your music always inspires me to come up with ideas. But I truly do love your performances. You always captivate me the most out of all the stages.” He said earnestly. “And I swear I’ll arrive notebook-free next time. I’ll even come bearing gifts?”
Mitya didn’t really believe in bribing, but currently, he would do just about anything to ensure that the imp was happy. He knew of her love of gifts and hoped it would come across as a peace offering. At those words, she turned around, her eyes sparkling, and Mitya thanked the archons above that it worked. Vodyanitsa pretended to consider for a second, but it was obvious that she was happy with the idea of getting presents. “Hmm…very well then. But you better keep your promise! If I see you zoning out again…”
Mitya nodded quickly and grinned. In the heat of the moment, he stupidly (which is not an adjective that ever describes him) reached out and tucked a stray hair behind the singer's ear. Vodyanitsa froze, and she let out a squeak of surprise, and Mitya quickly pulled his hand away. He opened his mouth to say something when a voice echoed through the chamber from above.
“Mr Mitya? Are you down there?”
Mitya let out a sigh. Of course Valeriy had managed to find him at the worst moment. He looked towards the cave entrance before glancing back at the imp. “Apologies, Vodyanitsa. It looks like I need to go back now. I’ll see you at your next show?”
She nodded quickly and managed to say, “I’ll see you then!” Mitya gave her another wave before going back and yelling, “I’m here, and I’m coming up!”
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Vodyanitsa watched as Mitya disappeared from view, launching himself out of the cave. Once she was sure that he was gone, she started to freak out.
“What. was. that?” she hissed. “I cannot believe I did something so stupid!” Her heart was beating like crazy, and without realizing it, her hand was twirling the strand of hair that Mitya had touched. The nerve of that guy! He always acted so disinterested in her performances, but whenever they talked, he always acted so charmingly that he managed to win her over.
When she tried to take deep breaths to calm herself, all she could think about was Mitya tucking her hair behind her ear. How on Teyvat was she supposed to practice after that? It was then that Vodyanitsa decided that she seriously needed to talk to someone about this and whatever the hell was going on with her feelings. She sighed. Odette would most certainly be hearing about this for the next few hours—or days.