Bloodstains washing underneath the waves

Yet, a facade of cordiality had to be maintained.

Zandik managed a stiff nod, taking up the sheaf of papers in one hand to examine the pencilled sketches. Micro or not, she seemed ENTHUSED by the concept all the same. That said, eager fascination seemed to form one of the hallmarks of her character, such that he often found himself growing tired when faced with her near endless enthusiasm.

"I see." His finger traced the edge of the sheet. He supposed he could see the likeness of a Sumeru Rose delicately etched along the graphite approximation of a carapace. He retained his own collection of sketches and diagrams, though they concerned subject matter entirely DISSIMILAR.

´ ･ .  ✶ ━━ THE WOMAN HAD THOUGHT HE might simply brush aside her interests, the stiff manner that often accompanied him something that irritated her to no end ; however, his continuation of their conversation led her eyes to light up, the sparkle within them so painfully visible that it'd take a FOOL to miss it. THIS had been the opening she'd been longing for, desperate to clamber up the ladder of success in having him speak more than a few curt statements her way.

      Had she been a few years younger, this might have culminated in her scrambling about like a love struck freshman to the academy, eagerly attempting to persuade the seniors to give her a MICRO(SPECIES) bit of attention -- hehe!

      ❝ I -- I'm surprised you recall that! ❞ This isn't condescending by any means, but the woman often noted his lack of interest in certain topics ; it was embarrassing how much she noted about her colleagues, but this is how she knew who to speak to on topics. Unfortunately, the heart can only be tugged so long before giving into the temptation to continue to press forward should one possess a handsome and charming set of features. Despite the frustrations, she hadn't given up and now...

      Legs carried her swiftly to his side, pointing to the designs sketched so meticulously drawn to scale, the flower symbols a practical replica. ❝ Their adaptability is fascinating, isn't it? While we can perceive them with the ease of our eyes, others are known to look over them without even a passing thought so long as they remain perfectly still! I've come to a theory that it has to do with how we view colors -- our eyes can see a vast array of them while others cannot! Since we're not their natural predators, they have no need to distract our eyes -- ! ❞ Cheeks warmed up, her rambling cut off as she flickered attention from page to him then back to page. Don't overdo it, Sohreh, she'd chide herself! ❝ What do you think? ❞

"A picnic..." She repeats, without conviction, without surprise. She has an inkling of what picnic the young woman is talking about. Distant images still echo in her mind, stolen glimpses of memories shared and transferred as segments had been meticulously erased until only one (the original? another? at least the most selfish one) remained. Nahida slowly shakes her head. "There's no need to apologise. Your confusion is very understandable. Any reader would be confused if they were left with the last pages of a book torn off from it."

´ ･ .  ✶ ━━ WHAT A POINENT ANALOGY -- it's odd that she didn't appear like any scholar that Sohreh had ever witnessed... The ones of a more strange ilk were the ones that intrigued her ; the call of biology, she supposed, to examine any living being under a microscope that didn't quite live up to the standards of what society had viewed as a norm ; from a completely inquisitive standpoint, she'd often examine them, even if their personalities were prone to eccentricities or stiffness...like Zandik. Oh, if she ever found out where he was, she'd give him a good slap across the face for leaving her behind like that! Hmph! Handsome or not, to leave her for dead when they'd had plans...

      No, she refused to remain on that thought ; in fact, she knew her hands had SEVERAL faces to smack against, though she hoped it wouldn't end her career for enacting some justice upon them for their actions against her. Unlike the creatures she studied for a living, these individuals had more than primitive and habitual instincts to cling to! At least this young -- girl? woman? Her age is difficult to comprehend at this state, yet that didn't seem to dampen the levels of wisdom should she take root in the former -- individual, she'll call her, held a pinch of sympathy!

      Successfully does she manage to prop herself up, skirt billowing softly as she pushed legs from bed. ❝ The doctors haven't allowed me to stand in quite some time ; they must have thought I would crumble away to nothing from how I arrived. ❞ Sohreh was, by all accounts, too stubborn to allow her body to remain in this bed any longer when there were answers to obtain. Wobbly legs were able to support her weight, hand reaching out to clasp surface of railing nearby with uneven steps. Ah! No, she would be fine! It was simply the lack of walking about that had caused her to stumble! Kind laughter leaves her, at her own expense, ❝ Forgive that! They need a little practice! ❞

as he spoke, she began to tidy up the skewed supplies and rearranged the sakura blooms in a desired pattern upon the page, sticking them down before closing her book and wrapping a thick string around the book to keep it tight as it flattened the petals. "that's awful! archons, i've heard stories of selfishness, but that just makes me question how these people can even live with themselves."

´ ･ .  ✶ ━━ HUMANITY COULD REALLY BE A STAIN on the entirety of Teyvat's surface, couldn't it? Maybe he shouldn't be so keen on bothering the humans as they lived their lives, but they really were an intriguing bunch -- some of them still thought they had precedence over him as an entity (one had recently tried to order him to get his ball ... oh, well, POP goes the weasel and all that nonsense -- a more spherical one at least)! ❝ Most of them don't get the chance to! ❞ A laugh broke from him, hands flinging up into the air, sharp blades swiping out from gloves with a profound FHWICK! to emphasize it. They'd, arms, fall back down just as quickly as they raised.

      ❝ What -- are you tempted to test it? ❞ If the youkai understood humans at all, which he really didn't, the world would have long been thrust into chaos as he played around with them like malleable metal from a bladesmith's forge! The man who'd tried it had barely been given much chance to comprehend the fruit of his labor, the nasty being he'd pulled forth already enacting his denial of lease on labor. ❝ I was meant to become a servant to him -- less than that really... If he wanted to see if the spilling of youkai blood would make them bloom, he thought it was worth a shot! His notes detailed that maybe any large amounts of blood spilled during suffering would work and yadda yadda blah blah blah -- ! ❞

´ ･ .  ✶ ━━ A BLISSFUL LAUGHTER ESCAPED HIM , those light hues shooting over to gaze upon nearest body of water to them ; would that even work or would he wind up bruised to all Celestia? Oh, man, he can already hear the laughter of his friends when he comes limping back up to them with his hands pressed firmly upon his rear end! Ouch! It'd hurt his pride almost as much as his posterior! Still, what if he was a TOTAL master of the art?! Come on, Teppei, you were better than this -- a real hot shot still, even in your weakened age...? ❝ Ooookay, I'll trust you, sensei! Don't let me fall through the ice and I might let you -- uh...be bought a hot cup of tea later! ❞ Fair compensation!