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The concept of making your soldiers wear masks is so interesting to me. There are a few reasons I can think of as to why, but the main one comes down to anonymity. If you were in the fatui, fighting alongside your squadron (idk the word they use for small groups in the fatui) it would be easier to accept the loss of a faceless comrade than someone who has shown you their bare face.

Due to this, I think that if a member of the Fatui shows you their bare face it should be seen as something special.

Obviously, we take seeing people's faces for granted. Think back to covid when everyone had to wear masks, when you finally began to see people taking them off it was a bit strange to see their face. It's like that, but more dramatic (bc emotions and such).

Also, also, also, I've seen a headcanon floating around that members of the Fatui cannot date one another/have romantic relations (I don't remember where I saw it but I thought it was interesting). With this, I feel like the mask carries a new meaning. Not only is it to prevent Fatuus from mourning comrades who they've lost, but it also serves as a reminder that you cannot seek out romance with your fellow members of the fatui.

Which is kind of ironic, when you consider that the Cryo archon's divine ideal is love. When the Archon that is supposed to represent love wont even allow her soldiers to love, what does that say?

(note: I was looking it up while writing and coudn't find anything confirming that love is her divine ideal, so yeah if it turns out that her ideal is something else, ignore this ig).

On a similar note: the Harbingers

They don't wear masks (save dottore). I think this is because they shouldn't be under a veil of anonymity. I don't know how the snezhnayan citizens view the Fatui, so I'm just going to look at this through the lens of a member of the fatui. The Fatui want to have model soldiers to look up to, people who exact the Archon's will, hence why the Harbingers are allowed to show their face (imo).

However, I am not sure if this would mean they are excluded from the greater fatui population when it comes to the matter of their heart. As a harbinger would they be expected to harden their heart to love of their fellow Fatui or would having a Fatui partner show that they are truly living by the Tsaritsa's ideal?

Taking these theories and running with them:

When dealing with Fatui-fatui relationships (if the reader is not a harbinger), I think the removal of the mask would be a semi-emotional moment. I interpret it as finally taking a true step towards romance with them (showing that both parties are serious about the pursuit of a relationship).

Their fingers traced the edge of your mask, cool ivory contrasting with the warmth face. "Are you sure?" you asked, voice barely above a whisper. You knew this kind of relationship with your fellow Fatuus was against the rules, with a harbinger especially, but you couldn't deny the feelings that had taken root between the two of you. A finger hooked onto the underside of the mask. "I am," they said, voice certain as they gingerly pulled off your mask, setting it onto their desk eyes never leaving your own. You felt almost naked without your mask. You really hoped they didn't have some preconceived view of how you would look. "Quit over thinking," they said, bringing you back to reality, "I know the meaning behind my action as well as any other member of the Fatui." "May I?" You nodded before you could think about what would come next. And then, they leaned in kissing you, finally.

Tried to keep it open to interpretation, hope I succeeded lolol.

A/N:

Lots of things happening in my personal life, school, work, drama (ugh).

It should’ve been humiliating for you to be in between Zandik’s legs like this, but nothing about you having your pretty lips on his cock felt even remotely close to shame.

After days of what felt like 18!Zandik going crazy and thrusting his fist onto his cock desperately almost every break he took from the lab work, you felt the need to step in.

It was getting annoying after all. 18’s frustration and horniness just spurred him on to lash out to every little thing, every little mistake he made on his worksheets that he would originally fix silently, ended up in him ripping the whole paper apart.

The rope snapped when he lashed out on you. Those pretty crimson eyes stared at you in frustration as he shouted at you for forgetting to bring in some random vial (he never asked for it).

“Don’t you dare raise your voice at me you little—!”

You shout back, and he gives you this wide eyed look that belongs to a wounded puppy.

Oh the shift was dramatic.

He lowered his head, hands clenching into fists, muttering under his breath about you being useless.

You grabbed his jaw, forcing him to look at you.

“What did you say?”

You said quietly, your nose almost touching his.

Only then did you notice the evident tent growing in his pants.

“Is this why you’ve been acting like a bitch? Huh? Your hand isn’t enough?”

You teased, a cruel smirk forming on your lips.

“I-It’s not what it looks like..!” 18 tried defending himself.

You pushed him onto the chair behind him.

“Beg.” Your hand gripped his upper thigh.

You squeezed his thigh at his lack of response, scarlet wide eyes staring at you in desperation, but pride shutting him up.

He grinded his hips closer, a small thrust of hips closer to your hand, his cheeks coated a pretty pink.

That’s how you got yourself on your knees, 18’s pants discarded into the corner of his room, as you gave him a lazy handjob, your spit as lube.

He watched every single movement of yours, lips parted as his hands gripped the chair’s arm rests.

You lowered your head, bringing your lips to his inner thigh and biting harshly, pulling a moan out of him.

His hips lifted slightly to seek more friction from your hand, snapping your attention back on his pretty cock.

“Right. Right.”

You chuckled. 18 only furrowed his eyebrows, annoyed at how you weren’t letting him fuck you yet. “Patience.” You told him. “You need to feel more.”

You lifted your head before dipping it down again, the tip of your tongue grazing against its pink head. 18’s hips twitched, bucking into your mouth.

“P-Please!” 18 whimpered, your hand slapping his thigh to reprimand his impatience.

You gave him a warning look, before brushing a strand of hair behind your ear. Without any further warning, you wrapped your lips on his cock, and welcomed him inside your throat. 18 gasped, his hands flying to your hair as he pushed your head deeper, making you deep throat him. Tears prickled at his eyes as he lost himself in the warm, wet feeling of your throat, every thrust bringing him closer to the edge he so desperately wanted to reach. You gripped his thighs, gagging on his cock. You hadn’t expected him to pull you down like that.

In a few thrusts, 18 bit down on his lip, a broken whimper of “y-yes.” leaving his throat as he spilled down your throat.

You swallowed and pulled yourself off his cock, watching as he leaned his head back, chest heaving up and down in deep breaths.

You unbuttoned your own pants, pulling the fabrics of your pants with your underwear too. The ruffle of your clothes snapped 18’s attention. He blinked at the sight of you naked from the waist down, his cock beginning to harden again at the idea of what was to follow.

“Sit still, okay baby?” You cooed, earning an amused smirk from 18. You straddled him, each knee on his sides, his hands immediately moving to touch your tits from under your shirt. You let him, reaching down to give his cock a few pumps before aligning your already wet hole with his hardened cock. You sank down, your pussy clenching on him, 18’s pride crumbling to nothing as pretty breathless moans began slipping more frequently.

“More… fuck, please give me more…” 18 whimpered his eyes shifting from your eyes to your pussy swallowing his dick with each lift of your hips, your hands on his chest for support.

“That’s it, let me hear you.” You coax, every shift of your hips, setting a faster pace up and down his thick cock.

His mouth opens drawing in ragged breaths, dazed from the new rhythm.

“F-Feels so good.. k-keep going please”

You keep the rhythm steady, smirking as you see him lose all sense of control, his hands moving to your waist now to support you.

“Such a good boy for me..” you whisper under your breath,

That was all it took.

I think her initial meeting with him would be when he first became a Harbinger and hadn't yet debuted to the public (so everyone knew there was a new harbinger but not yet who he was).

It was a typical Tuesday, paperwork, managing ledgers, running around Zapolyarny Palace on orders from Pulcinella.

Or it was a typical tuesday, until you ran squarely into someone's chest on the way back to Pulcinella's office, causing papers to go flying.

You stumbled back, almost falling backward. Only for a hand to find yours pulling you forward, stabilizing you.

Whatever words you had about telling the person to not stop in the middle of a hallway died on your tongue upon seeing his azure eyes.

He was pretty.

And you were staring.

For once you were thankful to your mask for hiding part of your face.

You slowly let go of his hand, deciding to begin picking up your papers, making small talk while doing so.

"I haven't seen you around before, are you new?"

"Yeah, something like that," he said slowly, bending down to help you pick up your papers.

you gave him a slight glance, he was clearly a high ranking officer, he wasn't wearing the masks lower ranking Fatuus had to wear.

You suddenly became acutely aware of the cold porcelain mask that adorned your face.

"Are you enjoying the Palace so far?" you asked, trying to get him talk more.

"Yeah, about that," his voice trailed off, causing you to look at him as he looked to the side and scratched his cheek in embarrassment, "I'm kinda lost at the moment."

You let out a small chuckle and smiled to yourself.

"Hey! what was that for?" He said, finally getting out of his shell some.

you shook your head, picking up the remaining papers and standing up, "Nothing, nothing, I just remember when I first started and was the same way. After a few days you'll find your way."

He narrowed his eyes at you as though he didn't believe your words, handing you the papers he picked up.

"Where are you trying to go, I might be able to help."

"The Mayor's office," he replied back to being embarrassed about being lost.

"Ah, that just so happens to be my destination as well, we can walk together."

He smiled at you, "well, lead the way my noble guide."

You fought the urge to smile, and began the trek back to your boss's office, making small talk while you did.

Once you got there, he went in to talk to Pulcinella and you returned to your desk to write a report on the budget change to give to Pulcinella.

After a 15 or so minutes he came out, gave you a smile, thanked you for showing him to Pulcinella's office and bid you farewell.

It was days later when you found out through the morning newspaper who the mystery man was, Lord Tartaglia or as your fellow Fatui called him, Childe.

Pulcinella's Conundrum, or how your boss became your wingman

Upon finding out his rank, you tried to squander any feelings that had began to form towards the ginger-haired man; however, after bumping into him in the hall a few more times and learning more about him, you quickly realized burying your feelings would be pointless.

In the months that followed your first meeting you began to see Childe around the palace more and more, be it in the hallway on your way to the other harbinger's offices, or at your desk when he was meeting with Pulcinella.

And for a while, you were fine with the small hallway rendezvous. Or so you said.

Truth be told you wanted to seek him out and get to know him better, but acting on such urges would be unbecoming because he was a Harbinger and you were an assistant. And the Fatui was very strict about its rules.

At least, that's what you told yourself, in truth you you were afraid. You didn't want to get hurt from unrequited feelings. But after a month of 'being happy with the small hallway rendezvous,' you wanted more. So you started seeking him out under the guise of work.

Of course, it was nothing out of the ordinary, or at least not to anyone who didn't know you. Or so you thought.

You would go to Childe's office to give him papers from Pulcinella, or wave at him in the courtyard if he was taking a break from training recruits.

It was a Friday, seven months after Childe became a Harbinger, when you were summoned by Pulcinella.

"Take a seat, my dear," Pulcinella said.

You obliged, staying silent as you did so.

He momentarily glanced up from his paperwork, "Get yourself some tea while you wait."

Once he finished his work he wasted no time.

"Do you have feelings towards Tartaglia?"

Causing you, midway through a sip of tea, to make a gurgling sound as you choked on your tea. As you had a small coughing fit, your boss simply watched silently.

"I--"

"I think your reaction speaks for itself," he stated leaving no room for argument.

"Yessir," you paused, what were you supposed to do? "I won't pursue anything from him, please do not worry about that."

You bowed in your seat, "I won't do anything that could stain your name."

You'd been working for Pulcinella for many years by now and had a lot of respect for the man, viewing him as a father figure at work. You would never do anything that could negatively impact him.

He let out a chuckle, causing you to look up at him.

"Alas my dear, I do not think you need to bury such feelings," he said, leaning his head forward onto his folded hands, "we follow the Archon of Love, you should pursue them."

You could feel heat rise to your face, as you sputtered to respond.

"Wha-"

"And I'll help you."

You were stumped. Your boss, a Harbinger, was going to help you confess your feelings towards Childe?

Operation: "Get That Man" (Pulcinella probably)

After your 'meeting' with Pulcinella, he began to give you more tasks relating to a certain blue-eyed harbinger.

For the first few days of working closely with Childe everything was fine, you two chatted like normal between your various tasks and you even began getting closer to him. Soon you didn't need to hide behind the guise of paperwork to talk to him. You slowly began to learn about his family and siblings, his hobbies, and his dreams.

And then, just as you two began to grow closer, he told you he was being sent to Liyue.

"Childe, what's with the long face?" you asked one day after handing him some paperwork from Pulcinella, sitting on the edge of his desk, legs swinging beneath you.

He looked strained, as though what he was going to say physically harmed him.

"I'm being sent to Liyue." He finally said, avoiding your gaze.

"For how long?"

"I," he paused, "I don't know."

After he told you the news the two of you fell into an emotional silence that you broke, as you excused yourself to return to Pulcinella.

When you asked Pulcinella if it was true he slowly nodded, almost as though it broke his heart as much as it did yours.

For a while you and Childe's relationship continued as it had, albiet with some unnamed tension between the two of you after that day. Your conversations became purely work focused, and you wore your Fatui mask like armor because you were afraid that if he saw your eyes he'd see right through you.

And then the day of his departure came.

The palace was frantic, crates and soldiers were wandering the halls, the courtyard looked like a battle zone (one where the crates had won), with the Harbinger in question leading the charge down at the docks.

Pulcinella called you into his office under the guise of needing clarification on one of the documents you'd submitted to him.

"You called for me sir?" You asked, as you entered his office.

"Sit."

Oh no, he has that 'you've made a big mistake' tone. Have I messed up any paperwork or forgotten anything important?

The sound of Pulcinella's voice halted your spiral, "How long do you plan on acting like this?"

His words were harsh, but his voice carried the worry of a parent.

"I don't understand sir."

He shook his head, "You and Tartaglia."

Your mouth formed an O-shape and he continued on, "You need to remedy the situation, he leaves today."

Your shoulders sagged at his words, "I know its just," you paused, voice breaking, "What am I supposed to do?"

Pulcinella gave you a 'really?' look, "Tell him how you feel."

"But what if he rejects me?"

Pulcinella put his hands together, "What if's are the risks in life that someone needs to be willing to take. In the time you've worked at the Fatui we've suffered many losses."

"Yes, but-"

"No buts, it's a fact of life, my dear."

You stared out the window behind him, at the snowy landscape of your homeland, trying to understand what he wanted you to do.

"Allow me to put it another way: in life, it's better to regret something you have done rather than something you haven't. You love him don't you?"

You found yourself nodding at his question before you could even comprehend your own action.

"Then go to him."

The Finale

You slowly left Pulcinella's office, thoughts lingering on your conversation.

you, loved him.

You loved Tartaglia.

You knew you had some feelings, but you had assumed they were shallow, that they'd fade with time. Not that they were something as serious as love.

And so it was unsurprising when you found your feet moving you toward the docks.

Love causes people to act in strange ways.

Soon you were running, heels clicking on the cool tile of the palace floors. Feet taking you from the 5th floor of the palace to the courtyard and then to the docks. Somewhere along the way your mask fell from your face, but you didn't care and continued running.

By the time you got to the docks your breathing was erratic and you you were forced to take a small break catching your breath as you looked for him.

The call of your name from behind you startled you.

You turned around slowly, suddenly very aware of the fact that your mask wasn't on your face.

His eyes widened upon seeing your face, your true face.

"What are you doing here?"

You opened your mouth and then closed it.

What were you supposed to say? I'm madly in love with you and wanted, needed, to tell you before you left?

"I-"

He stared, expectantly.

Your gaze drifted to the Palace behind him, it was snowing again.

"I'm in love with you."

he opened his mouth to say something but you cut him off, "I don't expect you to return my feelings, I just wanted to tell you before you left."

You bowed, "Please be safe on your journey, excuse me."

And then you tried to book it, only for a firm grasp on your wrist to stop you in your tracks.

You turned around, staring at the ginger-haired man.

His ocean eyes stared into your own, "you're not messing with me?"

you pursed your lips and shook your head, expecting him to say something about how this goes against the rules of the Fatui or--

He pulled you into a hug, whispering into your hair, "me too."

Bonus:

He wrote to his family about you the day he met you telling them he met someone kind at the 'toy factory' who helped him out.

And then you kept showing up in his letters to the point that his mom had a running joke that one of these days he'd show up with you when visiting them

During his time in Liyue the two of you wrote letters to each other every week (which he signed, "much love, your Ajax"

Pulcinella periodically asks when the two of you are going to make it official

A/n:

Something about Snezhnaya being ruled by the archon who supposedly represents love. And how love forbidden in the Fatui, so in order for the reader to truly show that she loves childe she must shed her mask (and therefore love him as herself and not as a member of the Fatui) idk maybe stretching with this.

I feel like this literally just turned into my HCs of Pulcinella as a father figure (lol), so sorry about that lol.

I hope this kept the base of what you were asking for (even tho the execution might've been a bit different from what you were asking for).

18- He's the second youngest and extremely cocky. If you've read this drabble then you basically already know how 18 would react in essence. But to those who haven't.

He would be confused at your words. Similar to 8, if the og zandik has passed he will have a slightly different reaction (Cockily asking you if you're speaking of a future that has already come to pass or if you are threatening him). If the og zandik hasn't passed yet he would be confused, brushing off your vague warning only focusing on the fact that you think he'll do great things lol.

His eyes narrowed at you before he smiled, all teeth. "Oh? You know you can just tell me you think I'll do great things," he said, mischief dancing in his ruby eyes, "I can do without the nonsense however."

25- I kinda see him as being reserved, he has emotions but he buries them deep choosing instead to act with logic as opposed to selfish desires.

25 would take your words with seeming grace, eyebrows furrowing together slightly in confusion at your words, lips pursing beneath his mask at the ominous threat in the end of your so called prophecy.

tbh regardless of when he hears it, his reaction will be the same. Furrowed eyebrows, confusion dancing in his crimson eyes, lips pursed beneath his mask away from prying eyes. You'd wonder if he even cared about your statement if you didn't know him better.

His eyebrows furrowed together at your assertion. "Interesting prophecy, did you come across it in one of your books? Or perhaps you enjoy leaving me with such crypic messages." curiosity and confusion danced in his eyes as he awaited your response.

35- Omega. I feel like he's the most interesting of the six segments. I completely agree with you, he would def be cocky in his response. BUT he isnt dumb, while your so called prophecy intrigues him, he masks his Skepticism at your warning with cockiness.

Oh, and his response most definitely depends on whether og zandik has died yet or not. If he has, then he is narrowing his eyes beneath his mask what information did you have to push you to this conclusion, while simultaneously grinning at you and being cocky in his response.

If he hasn't, he is still skeptical of you, but just sees the prophecy as you being worried for him. If this is the case he will probably give you some half baked cocky response before continuing with whatever he was doing, the prophecy swimming in the back of his mind as he worked.

"Oh, worrying about me already?" he scoffed, "Don't take pity on me just because the original is gone." He cocked his head to the side, eyes hidden beneath the mask, "I'm not some weakling whose simply going to die because of the 'price of my success.'" he sneered, "and even if I do die, I am first and foremost a scholar, that outcome should be the focus of the hypothetical me confronted with such an event. Why would I worry about such outcomes now when I don't plan on dying anytime soon."

45, I think by this point he is more mellow, still excentric (do not get me wrong lol) but definitely more mellow than say 18 or 35.

While he would be confused and intrigued by your prophecy, I think he'd take it more as you being concerned for him and the others' wellbeing. He'd probably tell you that he appreciated your confidence in his work but that you shouldn't worry about him too much (some of his cockiness coming out here)

"Dont worry about me, I'm a harbinger afterall," he paused, seeing your expression remained pensive, "and remember, I've been alive for too long to let death catch me now."

65, very similar to 45 he is extremely mellow compared to his younger versions. Unlike the others however, his expressions are completely covered by his plague doctor mask making it difficult to see how he truly feels about the prophecy.

I firmly believe he would be the one who actually took the prophecy at face value, especially if og zandik has passed at this point.

"I see," he said softly, continuing to write notes from an experiment earlier that day. seeming to sense your apprehension at his lack of reply he closed his lab notebook. "There is no need for you to fret about my relationship with death," he paused his words and he turned his body to fully face you, "I am prepared to pay such prices in the pursuit of wisdom my dear, but do not thing I am simply going to lay down and die for such frivolous reasons. I have countermeasures in place."

Florist! reader who notices Teucer before Childe (whom she still doesn’t recognize in civilian attire), offering him a small flower when he runs to their stall, only to be surprised when Childe buys their entire stock for the day. 

Florist! reader who sees the brother duo for the rest of that week when they come to their stall where the three chat as the brothers browse the flower selection.

Florist! reader who is surprised when on Teucer’s last day in Liyue he tackles her into a hug and asks if they’ll be his older sibling through watery eyes. 

Florist! reader who tells Teucer that they can’t be his sibling, but that instead they’’ll be his personal flower seller and that the next time he comes to Liyue Harbor he can pick out any flower free of charge! 

Florist! reader who doesn’t notice Childe in the background with a starstruck expression in their direction. 

Florist! reader who doesn’t expect to see Childe again after Teucer’s departure only to be surprised to see him the next day and the day after that at their stall where they talk about news around the harbor and their stock.  

Florist! reader whose face heats up when Childe shows up to their stall as they’re closing for the day with a bouquet of cornflowers, primroses, harebells and bluebells and asks if they would be willing to go to dinner with him some time. 

Teucer, Tonia, Anthon, and the rest of his family who are so excited to meet the kind person who gave Teucer flowers and stole their son’s heart! 

Bonus! 

Childe! Who joked around with you and ignored the way his ears burned when you offered to carry something heavy for him. 

Childe! Who recognizes that you aren’t physically as strong as he is but begins to think that doesn't matter so much anymore as you are strong in other ways. 

Childe Ajax! Who knew it was over for him the moment his brother asked him when he’d bring you home before he got on his ship to return home to Snezhnaya. 

A/n: 

This was surprisingly fun to write, very low cortisol (lol) 

Although, it's a bit strange for me to leave them so open ended like this coming from someone who is more used to writing one shots or small stories. 

LMK if there are any grammatical errors and if at any point it ceases to be gender neutral (I tried to keep it as ambiguous as I could)!

anyways!

This is where I got the information on flower meanings!

Cornflowers: symbol of devotion and hope for love 

Primroses: have historical significance (also symbolic of young love) 

Harebells: symbolize true love 

Fatui! reader who got close to the youngest segment first, calling him sweetheart and ruffling his hair when it was a slow day in the lab before they knew he was a segment. And even after finding out who he was, continued to treat him the same, giving him a taste of the childhood he never got. 

Fatui! reader who then became close to his 18 and 25 year old segments through a combination of lab work and lab related jokes that were able to diffuse any conflicts that arose between the two segments. 

Fatui! reader who somehow peaked Omega’s interest from the other segment’s discussion of them through the network. And when they accidentally called him ‘love’ when asking him to hand them something during a late night experiment, he knew he wanted to learn more about them. 

Fatui! reader who finds themself temporarily transferred to another lab in Snezhnaya, headed by his 45 and 65 year old segments because they were ‘curious about just who they were.’ 

Fatui! reader who doesn’t show up to work one day because they got sick, and comes back the next day only to be pampered by the various Dottore in the lab, because they wouldn’t want their favorite subordinate to fall ill again. 

Fatui! reader who gets tackled into a hug by the 8 year old segment when they return from lunch breaks only for some of the other segments to ask for a hug as well, claiming it was for warmth since Pantalone had ‘tightened their purse strings.’ 

Fatui! reader who didn’t realize they were being treated differently until they fell asleep one evening in the lab and awoke on a couch covered with Dottore’s harbinger coat with 8 by their side. 

Prime! Dottore who found every part of himself—in the truest sense—completely enamoured with you and finds himself hanging around the lab more to talk with you and learn more about the person who captured the many hearts of himself. 

Prime! Dottore who returns to his office to find his segments leaving the room. Upon entering he finds a small box on the center of his desk.

Dottore(s) who really hope you’ll say yes. 

Bonus! 

Fatui! reader who initially thought 8 was a child who Dottore was experimenting on and wanted them to feel safe in the lab and bought him a pair of gloves and a small coat. 

Fatui! reader who plays in the snow outside the lab with 8 during their lunch breaks because he said he has never played in the snow before. 

8 year old! Dottore who is so smug that he was the first to get close to you and rubs it in the other’s faces whenever he can. 

Omega who finds you after Prime shows the ring, claiming it's for an experiment, and tells you to call them Zandik.

A/n:

I was at work today and thought about the eight year old segment and what kind of dynamic they'd have with lab workers . And then how I would interact with him (I can't take him seriously, he's just a baby to me).

Attending this banquet had been a mistake.

At least, that was the conclusion Pantalone reached halfway through the evening. I wasn't because of the poor wine or because the guests were unbearable.

It was because you looked ridiculously attractive. The kind of attractive that drew eyes from every corner of the hall. And unfortunately, one particular Harbinger seemed incapable of looking elsewhere.

"You've noticed it too." Across from him, Dottore watched the crowd through his hidden eyes behind his mask.

Pantalone swirled the wine in his glass. "Tartaglia?"

"Hm."

The younger Harbinger was currently standing several tables away and looking directly at you. He has done so multiple times this evening. Pantalone had counted six times already and Dottore had stopped counting after the eighth time.

"He's been doing that for months," Dottore said.

"Mm. And now he's doing it publicly." Pantalone smiled. It's one of his dangerous expressions.

"Young people are so confident." The scientist's gaze shifted toward the glass in Tartaglia's hand. Then, towards the vial hidden between his own fingers and Pantalone immediately looked interested.

"...What are you doing?" Asked the banker and the doctor replied with a nonchalant "Conducting research."

"I do not believe you" But Dottore ignored him.

A moment later, he walked past Tartaglia and with one subtle movement, one tiny drop into Tartaglia's drink, he walked away and continued on as if nothing had happened. Pantalone stared discreetly, trying to figure out what exactly happened in the scene and Dottore made his way back into his seat.

"Now tell, dear, what have you done—"

"Perhaps," Dottore started, "Tartaglia had a stimulant slipped into his drink." And for two seconds there was silence. Then Pantalone nearly choked on his wine.

The results were immediate as far as Pantalone could tell. Tartaglia became approximately three times more energetic, which was honestly impressive and highly entertaining in his opinion. Pantalone tried to hide his amusement, but he almost laughed so hard that he nearly spilled his drink. While Dottore maintained a dignified expression for exactly twelve seconds before he started laughing, too.

The image of the second and ninth Harbingers laughing so hard they had to lean on the table would haunt witnesses forever.

But unfortunately, as the saying goes. "You can easily fall into your own trap."

And so this was also when everything went wrong. Because while they were enjoying their victory, you found Tartaglia. And instead of avoiding him, you entertained him. At first, it looked harmless. Just a light conversation with easy smiles and laughter. But then Tartaglia leaned closer and you didn't move away.

Pantalone's smile vanished and Dottore's laughter died instantly.

"...Interesting." the Regtor stated.

"This is not amusing." Dottore hissed.

"Indeed."

Then Tartaglia casually touched your arm and the younger Harbinger looked delighted when you smiled and placed a hand on his biceps and seemed to whisper something to him. He replied by leaning into your ear, whispering something seemingly intimate. You let out a giggle and Childe took that as a que to wrap one arm around your waist, pulling you closer.

Dottore looked ready to commit several crimes.

Pantalone looked ready to finance them.

Not even a minute later, both men appeared beside you like evil spirits summoned by mutual irritation.

"Tartaglia." Dottore's voice sounded pleasant. Which somehow made it worse.

"Oh. Hello there." The younger Harbinger froze.

"We require our partner."

"Do you? We were having a wonderful chat at this moment."

Pantalone smiled.

"We could tell, but it's immediate."

You looked between the two men who chimed into the conversation, still pressed against the younger man. You deliberately turned back toward Tartaglia, who brightened when you leaned on his arm. The poor man didn't know in what danger he currently was. Perhaps it was the stimulant that was slipped into his his drink, perhaps it was his own stupidity. Either way, it was a huge mistake of him to blatantly look down your exposed cleavage.

"You know," you mused thoughtfully, "perhaps I wanted a younger lover for tonight."

The silence that followed could have cut through the room. An absolute silence in which Tartaglia's expression went through several stages. Surprise, Disbelief, Delight. But when he looked at Dottore and then at Pantalone, the delight vanished away instantly. The younger Harbinger suddenly looked like a man realizing he'd wandered into a wolf den.

"Oh." And you could practically hear the panic in Childe's voice.

"Oh." He repeated again.

Pantalone's smile somehow became more dangerous, and Dottore's eye twitched, while Childe wisely began considering escape routes. At the que of a loud laughter close by, Childe went for the run. Or more like a stride so he wouldn't attract eyes onto the situation that may have looked like a simple conversation between colleagues to outsiders.

When Childe left, Dottore wasted no time to link his arm to yours and lead you outside to an empty hallway, which you all were very familiar with. All while being followed by Pantalone, of course, who smiled and nodded at people that shot the pair before him a questionable look.

By the time you were alone, both men were expecting a very different conversation. What they got instead, was you crossing your arms and glaring at them.

"You two are unbelievable." you hissed as the door to your bedroom closed.

Pantalone blinked at you, Dottore frowned and looked at Pantalone, who was standing beside him.

Dottore was ready to explode, absolutely seething. "Excuse me? We are unbelievable? Have we just lived through the same experience, or has my mind played tricks on me?"

"Are you seriously mad at us when you were the one getting all slimed up, by that-". Pantalone was cut off.

"You drugged him! And I dont think your mind has played tricks on you since you two have apparently lost them!"

"It was merely stimulant." Dottore tried to play off the facts with an eyeroll.

"You drugged him." You said again, clearly trying to control yourself.

"Technically—"

"No." You pointed directly at Dottore and firmly said,"I saw you."

Pantalone immediately turned toward him and raised his eyebrow. "Looks like you got caught." And Dottore looked offended. "That is not the point. And if i recall correctly, you couldn't contain your laughter 15 minutes ago."

"That is absolutely the point." You stared at both of them. "You're jealous." And you meant the both of them. "And almost caused a huge scandal."

"No. You were the one who entertained that simpleton, " Dottore denied quickly and crossed his arms over his chest. "And now you are standing here trying to put the whole blame on us."

"Yes. Because it was all your fault!"

"No."

"Doctor." You warned. "I'm not in the mood to play games."

"...Fine."

You looked at Pantalone. "And you were condoning this behavior!"

The banker sighed. "Unfortunately."

Your expression softened despite yourself, because for all their plotting, all their ridiculous schemes, all their overprotective tendencies, you still loved them. But you were still very angry.

They genuinely looked annoyed by the idea of losing your attention. Even for just a single night. Even if it was just an act. Still, this behavior could have been seriously led to punishment by the Tsaritsa. Even when neither of you three have stated openly the nature of your relationship, you were aware that they all knew. And as long as it's not interfering with work or public image, the tsaritsa surely has turned an blind eye on this whole romantic affair.

"You are both impossible." Suddenly, you got even angrier.

Pantalone reached for your hand. "That may be true. But angel listen-". Dottore stepped closer. "Tartaglia was staring."

"He always stares."

"Exactly."

You groaned, ran a hand over your face and your frustration was harder to control. They both don't understand your point.

Pantalone laughed, not understanding the level of desperation you were reaching. Dottore looked entirely unapologetic like his usual self. And somewhere in the palace, Tartaglia was probably still wondering whether the stimulant or the two terrifying Harbingers had been the more dangerous part of the evening.

You had enough, your patience has run out for them and you let out a frustrated scream. "You two are hopeless, so unapologetic! You can't even see how much it upsets me."

Both men tensed in response. Dottore's expression was a mix of defensiveness and anger. "Upsets you?" He couldn't help but let a scoff escape him. "As if you weren't just indulging that fool's every whim."

Pantalone, on the other hand, couldn't help but find this whole situation amusing, his eyes glimmering in dark humor. He watched the two of you argue with a small smirk, enjoying the display."Oh, Dottore is right." Pantalone chimed in, unable to resist adding fuel to the fire. "You were having a wonderful time playing along."

Dottore shot him an annoyed glare. "Shut it." He turned his gaze back to you, his irritation palpable. "We might have overstepped, but he was pawing at you the entire night. What were we supposed to do, just stand there?"Pantalone's smirk widened as he continued to contribute to the tension, his voice laced with amusement. "Exactly. We simply took matters into our own hands."

"We were protecting what's ours,"Dottore added and his gaze hardened as his possessive instincts flared up. "Okay" you just nodded, absolutely fed up. "What would you two have done if the Tsaritsa would have seen it, hm?"

At this, both of them went silent for a moment. The mention of the Tsaritsa's possible disapproval made even Dottore pause, his jaw clenching.

Pantalone, however, remained unfazed, his smirk still plastered on his face. "That... Well. We hadn't exactly considered that."

Dottore shot him a look that said 'speak for yourself' before turning back to you, his gaze still tinged with irritation. "We would've handled it," he said, attempting to brush off the concern. But even Dottore couldn't entirely hide the hint of uncertainty that flickered across his usually confident expression.

Pantalone, on the other hand, seemed almost nonchalant. He continued to smirk, his gaze fixed on you. "Oh, come on. You know us. We would have thought of something."

Dottore rolled his eyes at Pantalone's casual attitude. He was about to comment, but your continued stern glare made him bite back his words. And suddenly, you spoke up in a way that was uncharacteristic of you.

"What if she would have put an end to this relationship?" i said in a whisper. Your demeanor changes, and you wrap your arms around yourself to avoid their gaze. As soon as your words escape your lips, a palpable silence filled the room. Both Dottore and Pantalone's demeanors immediately shifted as well.

Dottore's irritation faded, replaced by a brief flicker of surprise and concern. He uncrossed his arms, his eyes narrowing. Pantalone's smirk vanished, and a hint of worry crossed his features. He took a small step forward, his voice unusually gentle. "You don't truly believe-"

But it's too late. Tears are already filling your eyes. "This is so stupid, first we lately rarely see each other, then last week i was looking forward to the planned date night, only to be sent to a last minute trip to nod-krai for some idiotic diplomatic issue and now i come back to this bullshit and us fighting and you both dont even care" i hid my face behind my hands.

Dottore's heart squeezed tightly at the sight of your tears, his frustration fading into guilt.

Pantalone's expression softened, his eyes reflecting a hint of guilt. He took another step forward, wanting to reach out to you, but he hesitated, unsure if his touch would be welcome.

They both remained silent for a moment, the weight of your words sinking in. Neither of them had considered the extent of your upset, or how their actions might have amplified your stress and loneliness during your time apart.

Pantalone was the one to break the silence first. He moved closer, finally closing the distance between you and gently pulled your hands away from your face. His voice was soft, filled with genuine regret. "Darling, I-"

But before he could finish, Dottore chimed in, a hint of desperation in his voice. "No, let me speak." Pantalone paused, surprised, and reluctantly stepped aside, giving Dottore space to say his piece. Dottore took a deep breath, his gaze fixed on you.

"I'm... I'm sorry." The words were unfamiliar to his lips, but the sincerity in his voice was unmistakable. He reached out carefully, his hand gently cupping your chin, his touch surprisingly tender.

"I never meant to... to make you cry," Dottore continued, his usual confidence faltering. Pantalone watched the scene with a mix of surprise and satisfaction. He couldn't help but appreciate the sight of Dottore, his prideful and stubborn partner, actually apologizing.

Dottore's hand on your chin was a rare display of tenderness, a side of him that only a few people had ever witnessed. Despite the anger he'd displayed earlier, his expression now spoke of a deeper regret and a desire to make amends. He continued. "We were jealous. Seeing Childe all over you... it drove me insane."

You finally look up through your eyelashes, and Dottores heart melts at the sight of your glassy look, and the small tear drops at the outer corner of your eyes. He couldn't recall the last time he had witnessed such a vulnerable sight from you.

His thumb gently wiped away the tear clinging to the corner of your eye, his touch surprisingly tender. The sternness in his gaze softened, replaced by a glimmer of concern. Pantalone, observing the scene, couldn't help but be moved by the unexpected display of vulnerability. He had witnessed Dottore's softer side before, but seldom had it been this raw and tender.

Dottore rarely is one to openly express emotions, found himself unusually affected. The sight of you in this state stirred a protective desire in him, and he couldn't help but draw closer, his hand gently cupping your cheek. "Please... don't cry." His voice, usually authoritative and unwavering, now held a hint of pleading.

"I can't help it," you whisper, shame and sadness laced your weak voice.

Dottore's expression twisted as he absorbed the pain in your voice, his own guilt intensifying. He gently wiped away another stubborn tear that ran down your cheek with his thumb.

Pantalone, equally moved, took a step forward. His usual calm demeanor was replaced with concern, and a hint of helplessness. "We never meant to cause you so much pain, darling." His voice was soft, his usual arrogance completely absent.

Pantalone stepped closer and walked towards the bed, but not before gently pulling you with him and placing you onto his lap, he sat down leaving enough space for Dottore to join you both on the edge of the bed.

Seeing Pantalone maneuver you onto his lap, Dottore followed suit without hesitation. He settled down next to Pantalone, the mattress creaking slightly under their combined weight. Dottore's gaze lingered on you as you sat between them, your delicate frame sandwiched between their lean and muscular bodies. The tension in the room had lifted, replaced by a heavy silence.

The room was still for a moment, the only sound was the soft crackle of the fireplace. Both men sat next to you, each of them lost in their own thoughts. Dottore's hand was still gently resting on your waist. Pantalone, on the other hand, had wrapped his arms around you, pulling you against his chest. He rested his chin on your head, inhaling the sweet scent of you.

The tension in the room lifted after a while despite the fact that the only sound either of us made was your light sobbing into Pantalones chest. It took a while but the tears stopped eventually and only your soft breathing could be heard over the fireplace crackling.

They remained silent, their attention entirely fixed on you as they held you protectively.

Dottore's grip on your waist tightened, his fingers gently kneading your skin, a silent gesture of affection in the quiet room. Pantalone's chin still rested on your head, and he occasionally pressed a soft kiss to your hair, his hand rubbing gentle circles on your back.

Finally, you lifted your head to look into Pantalone's eyes. Your bloodshoot eyes meet his seldom lilacs ones, and with a last deep breath to calm yourself, your plump lips from the crying reach for his. And Pantalone's breath hitched as your kiss met his. The gentleness of your touch contrasted with the passion that always lurked beneath the surface. He responded eagerly, his lips meeting yours in a tender embrace of forgiveness. You turned towards Dottore next, your reddened lips reaching out to meet his. He couldn't help but inhale sharply at the feel of your mouth on his. As you pulled away, Pantalone wasted no time in closing the distance between himself and Dottore, capturing his lips in a similar eager kiss. And Dottore returned the kiss desperately, his usual arrogance forgotten in the heat of the moment. His hand on your waist tightened, his thumb caressing your hip bone as he leaned into the kiss, matching Pantalone's fervor with his own.

Dottore's hand on your hip remained firm, the other hand found its way to Pantalone's neck, fingers burying into his dark locks as he held him in place as Pantalone responded with equal fervor, his own desires rising to the surface. He bit and nipped at Dottore's lip, his tongue exploring his mouth.

Dottore's grip on Pantalone's hair tightened reflexively, a low moan escaping his throat as the kiss deepened. Their breaths mingled, heavy and ragged with lust, the heat between the three of them growing with every second.

As the kiss between Dottore and Pantalone broke apart, both men were left breathless, their chests rising and falling rapidly as they tried to regain composure. You watched the whole scene, the arousal growing between your legs.

However, before they could catch their breath, their attention shifted back to you. Their hands began to wander over your body, it was like their touches were hungry. Pantalone's touch was more precise, knowing just where to press or squeeze, while Dottore's movements were a bit rougher, his desire for control evident in his grip.

“Thank Archons,” You said to yourself, not thinking, putting your free hand to your chest as you caught yourself from tripping, “that could’ve been bad.”

You shook your head, clutching your documents for the tea party close as you continued the short walk through the corridor, only to be interrupted by a cacophony of voices with one louder than the rest before you could even take a step. 

“If you continue to place your gratitude with those who do not deserve it, I may have to correct this behavior.” 

A shudder involuntarily went through you, you were a witch and a scholar you didn’t deserve to be shackled to a mad man, and a Harbinger no less?!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Bond Awakening

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

You were, for lack of better terms: an anomaly. To the masses you didn’t exist, only being known by the few the Hexenzirkel interacted with personally or those you chose to reveal yourself to. 

You lived a normal life, well, as normal as a life as a witch’s subordinate could live. And then, one day, during a tea party you heard it: the echo of several voices with one above than the rest:

“The experiment is a success.”

You didn’t comprehend the rest of it. At that tea party you came to two dangerous conclusions: 

You had a soulmate

He was insane 

Your second conclusion was proved true not even a moment later. 

“Hm, perhaps you should just kill them all and start again if they’re going to be so annoying about it?”

“That would be a waste of resources, obviously he should do individual experiments on the lot of them, hehe that’d teach them a lesson.”

“Those fools are no better than those idiots at the Academia, if they cannot see the genius at play here”

“Silence, I have more important matters to deal with than the idiocy of my subordinates.”

Archons, was he…? Arguing with himself? You could work with having a scholar as a soulmate, he might even respect your research, but you can’t work with crazy?!

You brought a hand to your temples before you could even stop yourself.

In the years that followed you made a mental picture of the man you were shackled to, composed of vague descriptions, small glimpses and the one-sided scientific rambling you were often subjected to. 

He was a lot of things, but mostly:

Arrogant 

Unethical 

And borderline insane

Even as a scholar yourself you couldn’t wrap your head around him. You’d once mentioned to a librarian, after he’d kept you up all night with his ramblings,  that your soulmate was insane, so caught up in his own research that if he ever met you he’d mistake you for someone he could experiment on before he even saw you as a soulmate.  

She simply gave you a sad look, patted you on the shoulder, and said  “Sweetheart, someone that insane would only be in the Fatui.”

A part of you died that day.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

From Academia to Witches–Beginnings 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

From a young age, even before joining the Hexenzirkel, you had a thirst for knowledge. You longed to know the mysteries of the world. For a while you dabbled in machines, finding ruin guards and the machinery of Fontaine and Sumeru interesting to tinker with. As you neared the end of your teenage years, however, you set your sights on a more taboo topic: Khaenri’ahn history and the principles that Teyvat has been forced to abide by. Sumeru and Fontaine, beautiful as they were, no longer suited your current goals. While the Akasha Terminals were useful for research on the machinery within Sumeru and going through large documents within seconds, their access to the taboo was limited, and you didn’t wish to be regarded as Outcast by the Academia, so you returned to your homeland: Mondstadt. You spent the remainder of your teenage years and your early 20s within the library of Mondstadt and in the ruins that the land hid, studying. It was a normal Tuesday when you met Alice, a woman who found your interest in the taboo charming, claiming that it was ‘adorable,’ and followed her declaration with a job offer. “It isn’t everyday you meet someone so curious about the truth of this world. How would you like to work for me?” “What?” “I’m Alice, Defender of Old Mondstadt, Great Adventurer of the Realms, Dodo-King, etcetera.” “Dodo-King…?” Alice simply smiled. “Yep, but the title that should be of interest to you is Witch of the Hexenzirkel.” Now that had your attention, “You’re a witch of th—" “Indeed I am; the other witches and I could use someone with your skills,” she paused, looking around the Mondstadt library. “And we could easily give you far more information on Khaenri'ah than the restricted section here has.” You narrowed your eyes at her; you’d dealt with plenty of deals that sounded too good to be true back in your academia days. What was the catch behind her words? “I can tell you don’t fully trust me,” she said, cheery tone never leaving her voice. “We at the Hexenzirkel do not wish to put your ambitions into a box; we simply wish to have someone who can do research and assist us as we need it.” Alice paused, putting a finger in the air as though a light bulb had just lit up. “You’d essentially be a fancy lab assistant to us, helping us when we need it but having access to the lab, or library in your case, when we do not! What do you think?” You stared at her for a few moments. “Sure, how long would this arrangement last for?” “As long as you would like, my dear, and we’ll be paying you, so you shouldn’t need to worry about finding other work!” Alice said cheerily, as though it were the simplest thing in the world. “You’d pay me?” You asked, dumbfounded, "You should be paying them; having access to the library of the witches is worth more than any amount of mora to you." “Of course!” She smiled, “I’m glad we’ve found a mutually beneficial arrangement; I shall bring you to the library now!” “Wha-” But it was too late; before you could even finish the word, you found yourself in a grand library, filled with more books than the eye could see. “Here we are!” Alice said, snapping you out of your trance. "Since we don’t have anything for you to do, feel free to wander the library, the books on Khaenri'eah, and the heavenly principles over there." Alice pointed to a wall in one of the many corners of the library. You turned your attention back to Alice to question her more only to find that she was no longer there. “Figures,” you muttered to yourself, “you disappear the moment I turn my back to you.” “Well, might as well take this time to see what kind of books they got.” And so you headed towards the overabundance of books featuring the taboo and started your journey of being the Hexenzirkel’s helper.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

The murmurs of a madman (madmen?)–(Aka the life you had before and the moment you were tied to a madman)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

You were now 26 and had been working for the witches for a little over four years. In the span of four years you’ve been able to explore the seemingly endless bounds of the library, both for your own research and for assignments given to you by the witches. 

Speaking of the witches, working for them has been surprisingly mundane. While each witch is excentric, they are more normal than Academia students after an all-nighter. And while you aren’t technically a witch, they still allowed you to attend their tea parties and meetings, making you privy to information that most couldn’t even comprehend. 

Of the witches, Alice and Nicole are the two you work closest with, Barbeloth doesn’t want anything to do with you, and Rhindottir hasn't been to a tea party in many years (much to your dismay). 

The first time you met Barbeloth Alice had told her to give you a reading, claiming she would be able to tell you whatever you wished to know of your future. While you don’t particularly care for fortune readings, you also didn't want to let Alice down and accepted.

However, as you began to draw the cards from the deck before you, Barbeloth went silent, seemingly lost in thought. After a few minutes of silence, even from Alice and Nicole,  Barbeloth claimed that your future was unintelligible to her. Muttering something about how you were "tied to a madman, with a stained future.” Just as quickly as you met her, she was gone, leaving you with a single card, the moon. 

Since then, at tea parties and meetings with the witches, she only appears as a small Dodoco with a purple hat.

Her omen stood ominously in the back of your mind for the next four years, until it started. 

It started as whispers. Faint, almost like the soft breeze on Starsnatch Cliff, but with an air of  superiority.  

They seeped into your everyday life, soon even reaching your dreams. 

You could never quite make out what they were saying, only that they seemed to be bickering and making observations. Even in your dreams, all you could see was a haze of machinery, books, and test tubes.

For a while you thought it was the witch’s realm and the plane of Teyvat brushing against one another. The theory made sense to you; the realm where you resided with the witches was distinct from Teyvat; it was a sort of pocket dimension. You just figured that the occasional whisper was from Teyvat, interference from the greater plane. After all, elemental energy was bound to seep into a dimension such as the witches’ abode and impact people differently. 

Or so you thought. That was until you brought it up to Alice, who smiled and told you the 'Hexenzirkel's abode was stronger than that and wouldn’t allow for such interference.’

So your next conclusion was that it was induced by stress. You hadn’t had a vacation in well over a year and figured you were finally losing it. Last time you worked this hard was when you were in the Academia, and you were losing it then too.  

But you had never heard things; no, that was new. Back in your Academia days you had strange dreams, sure, but they were only about the house of Daena coming to life and hunting you down for that one library book you lost, not machinery and labs. 

Yeah, a vacation. You'd get the three S’s to get rid of stress: sun, sand, and something with alcohol in it.

Regardless, you mentioned the idea of a vacation to Alice (as she was essentially your boss), and she agreed, under the condition that you finished out the week. 

Conveniently, all that meant for you was attending the witch’s tea party at the end of the week and taking notes of what was said.

Per usual, Barbeloth would be present in Dodoco form, while Nicole and Alice would sit around the table present as their true selves with a few seats empty for the other members who chose not to join. 

You didn’t know why Alice had wanted you to come to the meeting; she had said something about the issues at the world’s borders being a reflection of the error of those to follow the rules of the world and that it would be something I should be interested in. 

Regardless, you told yourself you’d go, especially since it wasn’t a hard job, sitting back, drinking tea, and taking notes. All skills you perfected during your days in the academia. 

The various assignments of the week came and went, leaving the tea party as your final task before your much-needed respite. 

However, the day of the tea party, everything that could go wrong went wrong. 

You couldn’t sleep the night before, and when you finally did get a moment's rest, you heard murmurs of researchers, waking up with a dull headache and a mild hatred of the Academia (almost one that did not belong to you). 

You shook it off and got out of bed to prepare for the tea party, only to take a few steps from your bed to trip over nothing, hitting your bookshelf in the process, knocking over a few books as you did so. 

A journal on ruin guards, a book on the history of Teyvat (specifically over the Mondstadt and Liyue history post-Archon War), and a yearbook from the Academia that the librarian gave to you as they cleaned out inventory. She claimed that since you liked history, you ought to have it, since it’d just be thrown away otherwise. 

As you put the other books away, your eyes lingered on the yearbook. A quick peak wouldn’t hurt anyone, right? 

You went to open the book, fingers against the pages. You opened the book, just a tad, before Alice’s voice interrupted you, causing you to jolt, book in hand, and get a few papercuts. 

“Are you getting ready for the witch’s tea party? We usually see you skulking about the library for your notes before.” 

You glanced down at the book, then at your now bloody fingers.

“I’m coming; give me a few minutes.”

And so you left the comfort of your room, bandaids littering your fingers, and made your way to the library and then to the tea party. 

As you entered the library, a cold draft caused you to shudder in your clothes. Then as you gathered your notes for the tea party and put your books away from the previous night, a book fell on your head. 

You read the title out loud, “How to Understand The Musings of a Scholar: A Scholar’s Guide to Love.”

“You got to be kidding me.”

You sighed and returned the book to its rightful place on the shelf, grabbing your notes for the tea party and making your way to the location of the party as a bad feeling took root in your stomach. 

As you walked through the hallway to the tea party, you felt an irritation towards the Academia once more, along with visions and… sleep?

You stopped walking, leaning against the wall for a moment to collect yourself. 

You were losing your mind; that had to be it.

 You were losing your mind, and the only cure was vacation; all you had to do was make it through the tea party, and then you’d be free. 

“Whoever is wallowing in self-pity, please do it quieter; it’s interrupting my observation—"

What was that?

You jolted, eyes looking everywhere in the hallway. 

“Who said that?”

You stood there for a while, hearing no response, and you shook your head. 

“Okay, so now I’m hallucinating, great…”

And with that you resumed your walk to the tea party; maybe sugar and work would help distract you. 

“You look tired, dear,” Alice noted, taking you out of your daze. 

“Huh? "Oh," you paused. How do you even explain your situation? “It’s been a long day; I’m just looking forward to my vacation.” You said, giving her a small smile. 

You really ought to pay attention to what the witches were saying, as your notebook was completely blank, but you couldn’t help it; you felt like there was another presence making itself at home in your thoughts. 

“Omega, quit scaring your assistants; if I catch another one of them crying in the supply closet, I am going to make you the next experiment.” 

You stared blankly at your tea cup. 

“Shut up, Gamma.”

You added a sugar cube and started stirring; maybe this hallucination was from a lack of sugar. 

“Both of you youngsters have no respect for research; you both ought to be silent; no one wants to hear your bickering.”

You stirred harder. 

“You can’t talk, Lambda; get off your high horse; no one wants to hear your haughty attitude.”

You set the spoon down.

“Like you’re one to talk.”

You downed the cup and excused yourself from the party to go to the bathroom for a moment, not noticing Barbeloth’s lingering gaze through her Dodoco form. 

Once you got to the bathroom, you began to splash water onto your face, hoping it’d help you clear your thoughts and silence the voices. 

And you almost thought it did as you dried off until they started talking again. More like arguing, rather. 

“Quit feeling sorry for yourselves; your petty emotions distract me from more important things.”

‘And they’re back at it again.’

As the voices bickered in your brain, you felt a migraine coming on. 

“What reason would any of us have to feel sorry for ourselves, Phi?”

“Be quiet, Epsilon; he’s clearly trying to get under our skin. We all know how much time he's had since his budget’s been cut; he’s probably bored.”

You let out a small groan at that and knelt in the bathroom, applying pressure to your forehead, a futile attempt to get rid of your headache. 

After a few more minutes the voices silenced and your migraine turned into a dull ache. With that, you made your way back to the tea party, which seemed to be reaching its conclusion. 

As you sat in your seat, you couldn’t help but notice that Barbaloth had moved closer to your seat. Even in her Dodoco form you couldn’t help but feel her presence. 

‘Have I done something to irritate her?’

“You’re in for a ride, child; I almost feel sorry for you.”

You opened your mouth to question her, but she was gone; the Dodoco before you was just a plush toy now, no longer hosting the great witch from before. 

“Wha-t?”

“I don’t know which of you dares to blast their emotions for the rest of us to hear, but I swear I’ll find you and make Prime reprogram you.” 

You let out a groan and grab your head; they’re at it again. 

“Rho is right–” 

“Oho, hell must’ve frozen over for Omega to agree with anyone–”

“Shut up, I’m just saying it’s distracting; unlike the rest of you, I actually have research to do.”

“Are you okay?”

“And unlike your research Omega, Prime’s research is far more important. I can’t wait to see which one of you he decommissions first."

“Perhaps it’ll be you, Rho, you sadistic bastard. I know you’ll surely deserve it.”

You try to ignore the bickering voices to focus on Alice. "Yeah, I think I’m hallucinating," you say, pausing and putting more pressure on your head as your headache pulses. “I have a migraine.” 

Alice purses her lips, worry creasing her eyebrows. "Why don’t you call it quits for this meeting? You don't seem well, and turn in early for the day.” 

You nodded and stood up, reaching for your notebook, when another voice chimed into the internal cacophony of voices. 

“The experiment is a success.”

As he spoke, the rest of the voices, who were silent moments prior, began chattering at the statement; clearly, you weren’t in the loop. 

“You can’t be serious.”

“What a ridiculous decision.”

“You’ve done it? You’re certain?”

Your headache surged and you fell back into your chair. Your vision went white for a few seconds as you clutched the chair beneath you before deciding to clutch your head instead, doubling over as you did so. 

“They’re so loud, Alice; I don’t know what’s going on.”

You let out a half groan, half whimper at the pain from your headache. 

You look to Alice through your fingers, trying to ask for help.

And then the world went dark. 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Somewhere in Snezhnaya

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Somewhere in Snezhynaya, Lord Dottore looked up from his findings. 

There was something going on in the neural network, he couldn’t quite put his finger on what, but he could feel it, which meant it was only a matter of time before the others felt it as well. 

No, he mused, they might’ve noticed it long before he did, after all he tended to shut out their bickering. 

He looked back to his research, putting the observation on the back burner. He had more important things to deal with, it was probably one of his younger selves trying to mess with him.

This presence in the network, it felt warm.

He shook his head and put the feeling in a box and buried it deep, he didn’t need his segments getting any leverage over him. 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Operation: Trick a scholar is a go!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

When you woke up with three of the Hexenzirkel witches at your side you knew your vacation was on hold for the foreseeable future. 

“What happened?” you asked, voice groggy as you sat up in bed, instinctively looking to Alice. 

“We should be asking you that.” Barbeloth said, from the foot of your bed. 

You stared at her for a moment, then looked at Alice and Nicole. “All I remember was hearing a bunch of voices before passing out.” 

“A bunch?” Barbeloth inquired, showing more interest in you than she ever had before. 

You nodded, “They were all similar though, as though they were related.”

Alice, put a hand on your thigh, “We think you may have a soulmate, or soulmates if there are multiple voices.” She said, her normal jolly tone gone, only seriousness remaining. 

Nicole nodded beside her, “it is a rare phenomena now, but long ago it was rather ubiquitous for humans to be graced with soulmates. Some had matching marks on their bodies, some had their soulmate’s name tattooed onto their wrist, some could see a red string of fate, and some could hear their soulmate’s thoughts.”

You gave them a blank look, you knew of soulmates, everyone did. You’d come across them in your research in the past every now and then, but for you to have a soulmate, it wasn't something you could fathom. You were someone who turned their back on Celestia with your research into the taboo, and yet here was Celestia giving you a soulmate?

“It doesn't make sense.” 

“Celestia often doesn't," Barbeloth muses, causing you to look to her once more, “but it's the truth, you’ve been bound to another by some twist of cosmic fate.”

“This has to be some sort of cosmic joke, then,” you paused, looking at her, actually looking at her, you couldn't remember the last time you saw her human form. “I don’t want to be tied to another who I didn’t choose, I–”

“And that isn’t your choice, nor is it his,” She said, eyes boring into your own as she did so, “You can run from the bond, hide from it, try to sever it if you like, but Celestia has its methods of making sure the two of you will end up together at the end regardless of such futile attempts.”

“Barby, be nice,” Alice said, sensing your growing discomfort. 

“I’m just being realistic, your little helper is bound to a rather dangerous man.” 

Now that got your attention, “What do you mean? Just who is this guy?”

“I can’t make that out,” she nodded towards the moon card from the reading that made its home on your bedside table, “but what I can make out is that he is a man shrouded in evil, and has great ambitions.” 

“A man of great ambitions, shrouded in evil?” Nicole echoed. 

Barbeloth nodded, “Yes, and the only one I can think of that matches that description is a member of the Fatui, and someone as ambitious as he is must be a Harbinger or something of the sort.”

“There is no way,” you looked at Barbeloth, then the moon card, then Barbeloth again, “I can’t possibly be bound to a Fatui Harbinger.” 

You let out a laugh, at the absurdity of it all, "That's just not possible, they’re all mad, I refuse to believe it.”

“Whether you chose to believe it or not is your prerogative, I’m just giving you the truth as I saw from the reading.” and with that Barbeloth left. 

Nicole was next, giving you a squeeze on the shoulder before she left. 

“You’re more than welcome to seek sanctuary within the library, but sooner or later you must speak to him,” Alice said, pausing your spiral, “Whether he is a Harbinger or not, he is yours.”

And with those words she gave you a small smile and walked out the door, leaving you alone with your thoughts.

Well, not completely alone.

“Gamma quit your moping, it distracts me.”

“Moping?! Me, no I think you’re projecting Epsilon.” 

Why must they always argue? At this rate you were going to get another headache. 

“I must agree with his accusations, we all know you don't have anything to be distracted from.”

“Indeed, Phi is correct, you’ve been lurking in the network for anything of note, hoping that Prime will take pity on you.”

“Shut up Omega! Shut up all of you, none of you underst-”

“Silence, all of you.” A deep voice echoed in your mind, effectively silencing the voices, “Your bickering annoys me, what do you have to argue about? You all, save Epsilon, have tasks to be doing. Such bickering only takes away from any progress that could be made.”

Now that was intriguing. There was something special about this new voice, you’d heard him before too, right before fainting. Just who was this guy? 

“Tsk,” his voice—the one from before, Prime you guessed—broke you from your pondering, “And keep such petty emotions to yourselves, I thought we’d purged such things long ago.”

Who was he talking to? Better question, who were any of them speaking of when they referenced emotions? They clearly couldn’t hear your thoughts, so what were they-

Oh, so that’s what they meant. 

Your thoughts drifted back to both Nicole and Barbeloth’s words. 

“Hear his thoughts, huh?” 

If he was a harbinger, then you sure as hell didn’t want him anywhere near you. So you’d just stay silent, that was the safest option available to you. And you weren’t an academia student any longer, you couldn’t simply treat this as you would scholars giving you trouble back in those days.

You shook your head, getting out of bed and moving to your desk. 

Or could you? 

You had an evil idea, well you always had evil ideas, the scholars at the academia often called you a mad woman afterall. This idea was more mischievous than the rest, though. 

Oh this would be fun.

You grabbed a notebook from your desk and began writing. 

You were going to figure out exactly who this guy was. Harbinger or not he wouldn’t be prepared for this.

Operation: Trick a scholar is a go!

Trial one: Infiltration  

Your duties as the Hexenzirkel’s helper took a different form as you tried to ‘work out the whole soulmate situation’ (as Nicole so eloquently put it).  You maintained your post in the witches realm (afterall, you didn’t want to have another fainting incident alone in your home in Mondstadt), but your general duties now involved more research and you were no longer permitted to attend their tea parties. 

Not that you minded, of course. The tea parties weren’t the most interesting thing to you, and now that the witches knew of your soulmate, they didn’t want to have any extra ears in their meetings. Which you respected, after all if you could hear him—er them—so loudly it was only a matter of time before they heard you. 

And hear you they would. 

You see, you were a woman of cunning, and more importantly a scholar. You knew patience from the hours you’d spend at the lab waiting for your concoctions to settle or from the long hikes you’d take to the desert to explore the ruins. And, on top of it all, you knew how to get under a fellow scholar’s skin. 

“Omega, quit your plotting.”

Hearing you was one thing, but you needed to work on your emotions, they couldn’t keep sensing you like this. 

“My plotting? I don't think you know the true meaning of the word.” and then he laughed as though Rho (or at least you thought it was him based on the voice) had said something utterly hilarious, “Plotting is for petty novel villains, I research, analyze and plan accordingly. There’s a difference, one that you clearly don’t know.”

There it was, your opportunity. You’d been asking Nicole questions when you saw her in the library. From these questions you’d found out that the voice your soulmate (soulmates? You were still unsure about that part) would hear from you could be altered. 

Not always, but with enough concentration, one could change the voice their soulmate heard through the bond. Which naturally begged the question of whether or not you had multiple soulmates or one soulmate with multiple personalities who liked to argue with himself? Alas, that was a question for another day. 

A you, many years in the future shakes her head, you were so close yet so far from the truth. 

The more important thing at the moment was your infiltration into their conversation. 

“Why you little-”

“Quit your bickering before Prime decides to decommission the two of you.”

Silence, utter silence in the bond, you were sitting cross legged in the library notebook closed in your lab, holding your breath. Did they catch you? Did they think you were another one of them? You’d planned this for a few weeks, listening to their arguments, taking notes as to who said what. This had to work.

“Funny you should talk about decommissioning Epsilon, because I believe you’re first on that chopping block.”

Epsilon? So they thought you were one of them, huh? 

You opened your notebook to a new page:

Trial one: Success.

Onto the second trial you supposed. It was now time for you to gather intel.

Trial two: Introducing the independent variables

While you were still wary of getting caught, you’d been doing well at mimicking them. It took a lot of concentration, but you were soon able to take on the voices of the different scholars in the bond. 

Nicole thought you were mad. Barbeloth had given up on talking to you, choosing to put distance between the two of you. And Alice, Archons bless her, gave you tips on how to drive someone insane. 

Nicole did give you warnings about the nature of the bond, however. Namely that you should be wary of how often you reach out to them, listening was one thing, communicating through the bond was another. After all a soulbond is a two way street, initially very bumpy and hard to navigate, but with more use each soulmate is able to hear or even see more. 

You shuddered at the thought, you didn’t want such strange people to have any idea who you were. But, you needed to know who these people were, especially if you were going to be forced to have them live rent free in your mind. 

Cost benefit analysis or something like that. 

Regardless, it was now time for the second stage in your plan: Introducing the independent variables. Or in layman's terms: probing and introducing the idea of camaraderie. 

You weren’t dumb, they’d eventually catch onto something, so you were adding a buffer: Camaraderie. 

If there was something all (or most) scholars lacked, it was a good friend and a sense of camaraderie with their fellow scholar. Most of the scholars from your days in the Academia were so willing to stab one another in the back if it meant bettering their research (or getting a chance to steal someone else's), and based off how your soulmates bickered, you were willing to bet they were similar.

There were plenty of chances to do this, afterall, they loved hearing the sound of their own voices. But you needed it to be something you were actually familiar with, namely something  Khaenri’ean or something adjacent to it. 

As you laid in bed you stared blankly at the ceiling, not wanting to express any deep emotions (as the others may sense it through the bond), opting to count the patterns littering the ceiling. 

After losing count more times than you cared to admit your blank staring was interrupted. 

“Phi, how many times do we have to tell you, stop blowing up the north wing of the laboratory, much more of this and Regrator will stop funding the repairs.”

You sat up in bed, Regrator? The Harbinger, Regrator? So they are related to the Fatui-

“It’s not my fault these damn soldiers don’t know how to handle Khaenri’ean machinery, they keep breaking them in transport.” 

Khaenri’ean machinery? 

“Why do you even bother with those old things? Your research would be more rewarding if you were to explore Fontainean Machinery. It has more potential than the scraps of a dead nation.”

“You just say that because the last time you worked with a Ruin Guard it blew up in your face and Prime had to repair you.”

“Why you–” 

So they’re experimenting on Ruin Guards. You could work with this. Focusing your thoughts to alter how you’d sound through the bond, you reached out. 

“Ruin Guards are programmed to explode if they detect threats. This issue is especially prevalent if they are restrained or if you have not completely disconnected their main processing center from their power source.” 

“No one was asking for your input Epsilon.” 

Ungrateful bastard. 

“They were used to defend the Khanri’eans, if they aren’t able to fight with their limbs they are set to self-destruct. Unless you keep them completely blind to yourself and your subordinates, your best bet is to disconnect their power source. Unless you enjoy blowing up the northern wing.” 

The bond went silent for a moment. 

“So you’re not useless all the time huh, Epsilon?”

Before you could catch yourself, you felt a smile pulling at the corners of your lips. 

“Don’t go getting smug, Epsilon. Just because you’re proving useful now doesn’t take you off the chopping block for being decommissioned.” 

Bastard. You hope the next Ruin Guard he brings to his lab explodes.

Trial three(?): The slip up

It’d been some weeks since the Ruin Guard incident. Since then you’d taken up talking to them a bit more, helping out where you could. 

It’d been eventful, fun even (if you exclude the sass from the various men), allowing you to share your research on all things Khaenri’ean. Right now you were in one of the silent periods with the bond. 

Their bickering only came a few times a day, even then it would occasionally skip days, leaving you to your own devices. Typically you spent this time in the library pawing through the resources on Khaenri’eah or some other civilizations. Today however, due to the Witches' Tea party, you decided to stay in your room for the time being, where you were currently laying on your bed staring at your clock.

Your eyes wandered to the yearbook that had made its home on your desk. That could pass the time. 

You went to your desk and grabbed the yearbook, and flopped on your bed to flip through it. 

Sumeru Academia: Year of _ _ _ _ _  _ _ _

The year had been rubbed off, you had no doubt it was old, especially if the Academia wished to get rid of it.  

The first few pages included a table of contents, some notes from the scribe of that age, and notes on the Dendro Archon. 

Once you got to the photos and showcases of research, the book became far more interesting to you. Some of the last names were familiar to you as well, causing you to think back to your days at the Academia. 

So that bastard had family who went to the Academia before him? Huh, that explains his haughty attitude whenever I pointed out his mistakes in assignments.  

Midway through the book you found someone who had done some research on Khaenri’ean history and more specifically their devices. 

Interesting. 

The way the yearbook way formatted, it had research highlights of a class, then photos of the class. Currently, you were midway through the yearbook, and the research highlights were dominated by one researcher in particular. 

Your eyes glanced over the name, putting a bookmark on the page of research highlights as you began glancing through the yearbook pages to see what this man looked like. 

Oh.  

Finally, after a few minutes of flipping through the pages you found him, Zandik. His hair was a beautiful blue and fairly short, with bangs covering the majority of his forehead. He wore the typical scholar’s hat that you saw during your time at the Academia. But what stuck out to you most were his eyes, crimson in a way that resembled blood, yet furrowed in a way that could only be explained by anger. Was he angry here? The other thing that stuck out to you was the fact that he was hot. Capital H, Hot. Maybe it was because you knew you’d never meet the guy, but by archons you couldn’t help but admire his features. 

His sharp jawline, the way his eyes seemed to pierce your own. 

If he were in the Academia when you were there you have no doubt you would’ve had some fun researching with him.  

“Zandik, huh, where was your research when I was in the Academia?”

“Oh? This is quite interesting.”

“Fuck–”

You brought a hand to cover your mouth, you’d been so careful to make sure they didn’t hear you, and now you’re going to get caught because of a man. A pretty man, but a man nonetheless. You slowly put your head down into the yearbook, kicking your legs into your bed in frustration. 

“Damnit!” 

“My, my, whatever do we have here?”

“An intruder?”

“I thought we were the only ones with access to the network, how is this possible?”

Your life was crumbling before your eyes, you rolled onto your back, looking at your ceiling with a feeling of dread. 

“An intruder? No, this is quite… different.”

“You’re right, this presence is almost warm.”

“I’m going to die.”

“Oh, quit your moping—”

“I told you all, someone was impersonating me, and none of you believed m-”

“Shut up Epsilon.”

“No you shut up–”

“All of you shut up.”

The bond went taut, silence palpable in the mindscape .

“I don’t want to hear your arguing.”

“I don’t think you get to boss us around, especially after you’ve been listening in on us for so long.”

“He’s right, who do you think you are–” 

Your eye twitched. You hated haughty scholars. 

“Quit acting like a victim, I haven’t heard anything of consequence, your constant bickering guaranteed that. And let’s not forget who has helped you in the past with your Khaenri’ean research.”

“Do you really expect us to believe that–” 

“Silence Epsilon, she’s right.” 

“Wha–”

“She obviously doesn’t know who we are, if she did I doubt she’d be speaking to us like this, and she hasn’t done any harm yet so–” 

“Phi, you’ve gone soft, do you know what this means?”

“What are you talking about? What, what means?”

“The presence of another in the network who isn’t one of us, it can only mean one thing, Phi.”

The bond jolted, going silent, and for the first time since you heard them, you felt an emotion besides irritation: discomfort and a mix of other emotions that you could not put your finger on. 

“You’ve opened a dangerous box, I do hope you’re prepared to deal with the consequences of your actions.”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

The impromptu introduction

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

You swear you were just in bed with a book in hand, and now you find yourself in what seems to be a sumerian research facility. 

“This has to be a nightmare, I did my time in Academia, I don't need to come back here.”

You muttered to yourself as you paced around the facility. 

After a little while you found yourself in the control room, full of consoles and large windows overlooking what seemed to be a large ruin guard. You made your way to the windows, wanting to get a closer look at the ruin guard, you’d never seen one so large. Being careful of the consoles and cables on the ground, you found a window you could fully look out of without accidentally hitting a button.

They were Khaenri’ean, undoubtedly, you'd done your fair share of research on them, but you’d never seen one so large or been so close to it, you were practically against glass by this point. 

“I’ve been waiting here far too long, but finally I have the chance to be alone with you.”

You jumped. What the hell? 

You turned around, startled, you should’ve made sure you were alone, who the heck was this guy? 

He was tall, even by Mondstadt terms, with striking blue hair. A mask covered his eyes, although it didn’t look like a normal mask, it looked almost mechanical.  

“All the precious time I wasted has finally paid off. Indulge me, can I assume you have long been wary of me?” 

As he spoke he tried to close the distance between you two. But you were indeed wary of him and did everything in your power to maintain the distance between the two of you, resulting in an awkward dance around the control room.  

“Who are you?”

You put a large circular console between you and him. 

“I should be asking you that.” He said, not answering your question in the slightest, instead opting to try to go around the console.

As he tries to get closer you go around the consoles, leading your dance in a now circular direction. 

“You invade my neural network, causing chaos among my segments,” He pauses his words, a smile gracing his lips as it does, all teeth you note, “and you have the gall to demand to know who I am?”

He lets out a laugh, pausing his pursuit across the console, “I assume you already know the answer to that, but I’ll play your game for now, I’m Dottore of the Fatui Harbingers. But enough about me,” He resumes his pursuit once more, resuming the dance around the console, “Who are you?” 

So he is a Harbinger, you thought to yourself bitterly, once again that hag was right. 

As he neared your position you too continued to move, talking as you did so, not taking your eyes off him, “Nobody of concern, lord harbinger.” you said. 

You didn’t want him knowing anything about you, you weren’t dumb, he’d probably want to cut you up and experiment on you. You’d heard rumors. 

His smile widened, and you continued talking. “Where are we?”

“We’re in a dream, my dear soulmate.”

Conveniently as he said that your foot caught on one of the cables, causing you to fall to the floor with a groan. 

When you looked up from your fall, you found him standing directly in front of you, your dance finally reaching its conclusion as he extended you a hand.

You glared at it.

“Go on,” He smiled at you again, leaning down towards you, “I’m not going to hurt you, and even if I was,” He paused, eyes presumably directed at you, “I could not do so in a dream. And I cannot believe your utter lack of faith in me.”

You resumed your glaring. And instead opted to grab onto the rim of the console to hoist yourself up. Dottore retracted his hand as you did so. 

“Hmph, naturally, I won’t do anything dangerous that could potentially damage our, relationship.”

You stared up at him, then took a step back for good measure. “And yet you’ve threatened to cut me up on multiple occasions.”

He smiled again, “That was one of my segments, a younger version of me, you won't have to worry about that anymore, I’m sure after this they’ll know who you are, if they don’t already,” he said, taking a step to close the distance, only for you to match it, leaving you the same distance from him.

“You’re from Mondstadt.” he declared suddenly, deciding perhaps standing in your vicinity was better than the cat and mouse from earlier, you kept a neutral expression, or tried to, you needed to work on your poker face. 

“Excuse me?”

“It’s evident in your clothes,” He said, gesturing towards what you were wearing, he continued, “Those boots, for instance, they’re only sold in Mondstadt.”

Maybe it was because you had dealt with several overconfident scholars from your Academia days, but a man making assertions about you with the confidence of an expert, brought you a mild sense of rage that you hadn’t felt in a long time. With the knowledge that he could not bring harm to you in the dream, you felt a sudden surge of confidence. You knew how to get under a scholar's skin and get them to question their own ideas. This would be fun. 

“An astute observation, but one you made in vain I fear,” You said, mirth dancing in your eyes, “I’m not from Mondstadt, while these shoes are from there, I don’t think you have enough evidence to deduce my homeland or my location for that matter.”

“Hm?”

Hook, line, and sinker.  

You were joking, naturally. The man before you was a Fatui Harbinger, you had no doubt that he could find you location if he had your name and your looks, and he had the ladder. But you were protected, you were in the pocket dimension of the Hexenzirkel’s creation, and you had confidence that he wouldn’t be able to find you there. So, maybe the idea of a vacation goes away for a while. 

“I am first and foremost a scholar,” He said, teeth shining under the fluorescent lights of the room, “I think you’ll find yourself surprised by my abilities. But, if you truly wish to play such frivolous games,” he paused, leaning towards you, “I’ll bite.”

And then you jolted awake at one of the desks in the Hexenzirkel’s library. 

“I look forward to your little game, let's see how long you can truly stay hidden.” 

You put your head back down, muttering into the books, “What have I done?” 

FIN PART 1