sapphire garden

taglist ˚♬ ﾟ.: @flutterawayx @verry-fave-fics-and-art (comment/or send an ask/or reblog to be added to the taglist!)

notes ˚♬ ﾟ.: FINALLY WE'RE HERE the first chapter. i dont have much else to say... dont think too much about any logistics regarding the plot here its a funny silly smau </3 have a great day/night/evening everyone !! dividers here used, as always, by cafekitsune.

It was fun at first. Furina got the role of a bodyguard and your emotional support, because not only she simply wasn’t the right peson to climb so much, her shoes weren’t either. 

(You weren’t the best person for climbing either, but since you promised her a bouquet, you would give her bouquet and it was final.)

The flowers that grew closer to the ground were funny to gather. You did some climbing on the rocks, picked up the flower, wondered how on earth a flower could grow from a rock– and proudly posed for Furina, that was holding your kamera.

“This is the first qingxin picked up by me, [name]!” You laughed, and so did Furina, clapping her hands in a celebration of your victory, and even taking a picture to immortalize such achievement.

And that was the first flower. The easiest one, not yet warning you of your impending doom.

It continued for a moment– you picking up the flowers, Furina taking pictures of both you and other views, and it was fun. The qingxins in that area didn’t grow very high, so soon you had a small bouquet in your hands. 

For few flowers, you had to skip over a waterfall which… was stressful but you took a deep breath, handed the bouquet to Furina (in case you fell into the water) and went to get that lone qingxin.

Which, of course, you succeeded, and got another picture to the collection. Good thing you packed another film or two…

However, later…

Maybe it was a bad idea to visit this dark, gloomy forest… to gather more flowers. It would be fun, you thought to yourself. You heard a lot of Wuwang Hill and that did pique your interest. Furina disagreed, not wanting to get spooked by some ghosts and, oh, besides! She came here to gather flowers and enjoy the views, not get chased down by some ghosts!

You two went there anyway but made it as brief as possible– and no ghosts tried to scare you, for your luck… which, honestly, you preferred over having to climb even bigger mountains in order to pick up qingxins.

Furina told you that you didn’t had to. You were too stubborn to listen and besides, tiny Furina waiting for you down the hills was… a really funny view. A cute one, too, because she was just tiny, standing there with your camera and now waving, and yelling for you to come down to her. 

You nodded. Looked down, blinked even. 

…how does one climbs down? 

Climbing down that particular place took you twice the time to took to climb up and it included Furina’s worried yelling, your own yelling back (because otherwise, you wouldn’t be able to hear each other from such distance), and some prayers to the geo archon for some good luck climbing down.

…though, wasn’t the geo archon dead or so you heard? For a good second you pondered whether it was a good idea to pray to the archon that was, well, technically dead, before you heard Furina usher you down. You will worry about the technicalities when you’re not about to fall and break a leg. 

You didn’t luckily. You survived this terrible experience and could literally see Furina’s shoulders drop down in relief– and right after it, she started scolding you to not climb hills you couldn’t climb down. You promised to not do that…

…only to try and pick up a lone qingxin, guarded by some hilichurls and mitachurls. 

For the love of gods, you didn’t know if it was your instinct as a reporter to put yourself in possibly dangerous situations for some good photos or gossips to write about– and in this situation for flowers, flowers! but you did it either way, much to Furina’s disappointment and more worry.

(At this point, she would start to grow grey hair because of you. Well. Whatever you could say.)

The hilichurls chased you both out and you did end up tripping and scrapping your knee, twisting your ankle and probably giving Furina a small heart attack with all this, but…

You got your flowers. That was all that mattered.

(Later, you went to Bubu Pharmacy for some salve for all your small injuries and scratches that you got while flower picking and when you heard that you could simply buy the said flowers here, your jaw dropped and Furina let out a quiet “oh!”  in surprise.

To think you could have your pretty, little bouquet without all of this…)

It was… an interesting experience. You weren’t that skilled at crafting things and neither was Furina at crafting kites. A few mistakes were made, and one of you spilled paint (thanks to Furina’s hydro vision, the damage wasn’t that bad), but it was enjoyable for you both in the end.

Furina’s first kite was… to no one’s surprise, a blue, small dragon and you well knew who it was representing. She was so proud of it, smiling and showing off the kite. You clapped your hands, complimenting her hard work and as if the universe was watching you, the wind came and you ushered Furina to let the fly kite. 

She gripped the string hard, not wanting to let the kite fly away and leave her. 

(It didn’t. It wouldn’t.)

She helped you with making your own kite, and you decided for your first design to make something simple, like a ricefish. You heard they were associated with wealth and abundance, and… oh, you wouldn’t say no to some comfort in life! And the fish turned out to be cute– well, oh, maybe the fins were a little crooked, and Furina accidentally went over the line once which you promptly ignored, but it was done.

You wasted no time giving the kite to her, so that she could let it fly while the wind was still there.

You couldn’t help but smile seeing her happy, enjoying herself and chasing the wind. 

You ended up making a few kites more, with interesting designs and many colors because… despite the rocky start, the kite making was really relaxing. That was how you ended up with an army of kites. You stored it in your room in the inn you two were staying, and decided to bring only one kite each for later.

When you joined other people during the Lantern Rite, you both let your kites fly and join the other kites in the sky. You were simply mesmerized by how pretty the sky looked, illuminated by the lanterns, colored by the many, many kites and people’s wishes. Furina was standing next to you, also enjoying the atmosphere and watching her own kite freely soar. 

And it all was fine until the wind subdued, leaving the kites slowly fall down the ground. You sighed in slight disappointment, but of course, no one couldn’t control the weather.

You were about to turn to Furina (who also seemed rather disappointed at the sudden turn of events), when suddenly, a massive, crane-like kite flew into the sky, with a strong gust of wind that took the falling kites with it, letting them fly again. You both gasped at it, and walked closer to the railings, chasing your kites and admiring the big, crane-like one. A thought passed your mind– was it influenced with anemo? Whose kite it was even? Was it a kite in the first place? Well, the details didn’t matter.

The blue butterfly kite was soaring high, free.

You walked to the railing and leaned on it, Furina trailing behind you, small complaints about tugging her slipping past her lips. You just smiled an apology and looked around. 

Liyue was so, so pretty. Lanterns illuminating the docks, warmth caressing your cheeks, and the chatter of many people enjoying the games, the stalls was reaching you even here, on a balcony. You could even spy someone on the street playing, their song barely reaching your ears.

You looked at Furina, lips slightly parted and eyes gleaming, reflecting the yellow light of the lanterns. You couldn’t help but smile, seeing her obviously enjoying the view. 

You readied your kamera, preparing to start taking the photos when suddenly– 

The local lights of the city started to dim out, letting the streets fall to dark, with lanterns as the mere source. Both you and Furina were surprised and rather confused because, what was happening?

That wasn’t a part of the script, was it now? 

Yet before you could comment on this situation, a child pointing at something got your attention. You looked in the direction he was pointing and gasped upon seeing something on the water’s surface. You gently tugged Furina’s sleeve to get her attention on it, the confused (and slightly disappointed) expression on her face turning into curiosity.

And then, the drums started to beat. 

You both looked at each other, intrigued, and you just shrugged. You absolutely did not know what was happening, just what exactly this… red shine on the water was– or who, but you could feel your excitement coming back.

Furina’s too, if her expression said anything.

You prepared your kamera and with a held breath, you watched the waters.

From the red mist, a figure reminding you of a lion appeared and for a moment, it was only the lion there, accompanied by the sound of drums. You took your kamera and zoomed in, to both take the photos and simply see better.

The lion opened his eyes, the drums beat harder and you almost dropped your kamera when the lion– the dancer wearing the mask, jumped on the water’s surface and started his performance. 

It was so amazing watching him move around, stepping on water as if on solid ground, leading the lanterns behind him, kicking them into the right place as if it was no task for him, the lively drums never leaving him behind.

You barely remembered to take photos, your attention completely glued to the dancer, your jaw dropping upon seeing him walk on the thin material attached to the wooden towers. 

You spared a glance at smiling widely Furina, her eyes, you’d dare to say sparkling in absolute awe of the dancer, and you felt your own slips stretch into a smile.

The dancer gracefully landed on the stacked lanterns, erupting cheer and laughter. The sky behind him lit up with fireworks and lanterns and the drums quieted down. A shiver went through you, replaced by joy and admiration. You yelled a cheer of your own and heard Furina clap next to you.

You pressed a button on your kamera and took a picture of the dancer, the lanterns, and the fireworks. Of the beautiful nation, full of life and happiness.

Furina suddenly exclaimed how much she loved the performance, how much she enjoyed it and watched with a breath in her chest– and how much she just had to meet the dancer herself. 

Warmth bloomed in your chest seeing her so happy. 

(A thought appeared in your mind how much you, too, want to talk with the magnificent dancer. It was a spectacular performance and you couldn’t not want to write about it in your humble, local newspaper. Maybe even interview him!)

You smiled to yourself when Furina started walking away, down the stairs, still talking and suddenly stopping mid-tracks, her attention caught by the many, many kites, flying toward the sky.

You looked at the kites, lips parting slightly in awe, and you looked back at Furina, still awestruck from both the performance and the current view of Liyue’s sky. 

It all, in the end, was worth it.

It felt… nice. You didn’t know each other, only by your looks, by her books and your textbooks, only by the way you two were. Always a constant in your life, always something to look forward to every day. 

She had long, pinkish hair with light blue ends that reminded you of cotton candy. She wore glasses on a chain, always dressed nicely but comfortably, and so many of her things were themed after ocean and sea life. And so were her books. 

Some of them were about life deep, deep in the waters of oceans, and some were not– those books were usually… about history. History of medicine, of military strategies, you name it. And another some were simple novels, the ones you saw your classmates read in their free time.

She seemed interesting. She seemed nice. You two never spoke.

She wasn’t big on bringing any kind of snacks, unlike you (it… was a library after all.) usually opting on just bringing water. She was already there every time you came to the library and you were always leaving before her, twenty minutes before the closing time. 

It was nice. You wanted to talk to her, but… something was always stopping you. Maybe it was the worry of ruining this– whatever it was. You couldn’t name it, but just simply being with someone was so special to you.

It continued for quite a long time. Sun started to hide behind the horizon faster, fewer people were coming and spending their time, deciding to spend it in the warmth of their houses, the warm sunlight stopped shyly peeking through the curtains, hiding behind the gray clouds, letting rain knock on the windows. It was getting darker. One thing never changed.

You and that girl. 

(Somehow, you couldn’t help but think she looked like a mermaid if she was a human. It was the hair. The ocean motif everywhere. Her clothing. Maybe your sleep deprivation and tiredness from studying. The thought made you smile every time.)

It was nice. Really nice. A little comfort in your life that you needed so badly, somehow, a reminder that things weren’t so bad as you sometimes thought. 

You would pay everything and do anything for it to never change.

(Things did. Of course they did, because nothing in life lasts forever unchanged. But they changed for the better, you liked to think.)

It was terribly cold that day, probably the coldest day in the span of the last three weeks and, well, it was understandable because winter was already coming and of course weather was getting worse, but you still absolutely hated it.

You wished for warm weather to come back. Not only you had to wear fewer layers of clothing, but you were in general feeling better about your body and health and the cold, wind, and rain that was now greeting you everytime you left the school building was not helping you. A part of you wanted to stay at home, not go to the library and study preferring the warmth of your home, but you were going either way.

And to your surprise, the spot that was usually taken by the library mermaid (as you.. called her once, barely awake and full of dumb ideas) was empty.

You stared at it, feeling a pang of disappointment in your chest. 

It was still a literal miracle that she showed up daily for the three– almost four past months, one day wasn’t a big deal. Besides, the weather was terrible, so you understood her absence. Still, it did ruin your mood a little and yet you didn’t let it stop you from studying as always. 

Your teachers were giving you so much work, that you started to, jokingly, obviously, think about dropping it all and maybe taking a year-long holiday, somewhere on a sunny beach, away from the exams and tons of assignments. 

Not that you could. But you could always dream, that wasn’t yet banned.

You unpacked your stuff and took your usual place and you started studying. You weren’t feeling well, the pain and cold, still deep inside your bones were enough to distract you. You wanted to rest for a moment– you needed a rest to gather yourself up and continue studying, but this was not the comfort of your own bed, but a library. 

Instead, you decided to snack on the sweets you bought to keep you awake and continued to study. Writing notes down was easy, all you had to do was read the text, shorten it in your head, and write it down in your notebook.

You read the text for the first time. It barely made sense. You read it again, and it still made barely sense. You took a deep breath and gave it a third try, only to still not understand any of it.

You blinked. Looked around. With no one paying attention to you, you placed your arms on the table and placed your head on them, closing your eyes. A moment of rest surely would do you well, right? Maybe it wasn’t the smartest of you to take a library nap right after trying to wake yourself up with sweets– it kinda felt like going to sleep right after drinking coffee– but you couldn’t bring yourself to care about it.

A small nap wouldn’t hurt, you thought to yourself.

A small nap meant five or ten minutes at the maximum of rest, not a good hour of sleep on the uncomfortable chair, with your head twisted and back all curved, begging for back pains later.

(There was a saying about naps, something in your head told you. You couldn’t seem to remember it at that time.)

When you finally awoke, you looked around and were greeted by a pair of blue eyes, with the smallest specks of cotton candy pink and a small, a little nervous smile.

“Excuse me, but I saw that you were sleeping and I didn’t want to leave you alone…” Her voice was soft, light, and she sounded a little shy, and– somehow very how you imagined.

Right in front of you was sitting the very girl with whom, for the past weeks, you had been sharing your late afternoon study sessions.

Her name was Kokomi, you learned. She was a high school senior, just like you. She attended history and social science class, but also took interest in marine biology. She had been using her free time in the library as a way to unwind, relax after stressful times in school, and she liked reading. She noticed you sleeping and was worried about someone taking your stuff, so she quietly sat down on the second chair and decided to wait until you woke up, in the meantime reading one of the books she brought with her. 

She was soft-spoken. You noticed that she had earrings in the shape of fins, in similar colors to her hair, with the addition of soft purples. You noticed a granola bar next to your notebook, one that you didn’t bring with you. It was hers, she said, but thought you might want something to eat. 

You didn’t study anymore that day, no.

But you did the next day, with Kokomi waving to you the moment you appeared within her sight. You asked if she would like to sit with you and it surprised her, but after a moment she said yes and you didn’t really talk, just focusing on your own things and… simply enjoying each other company.

It was weird. Maybe, no, not weird. New. Something you weren’t yet used to. You were used to sitting alone, not having anyone to talk to but not feeling lonely, knowing that someone else was here with you, busy with their own life but always here. Now the said person was next to you and you weren’t alone anymore, you had someone next to you and even though it was awkward at first, you didn’t really know how to talk– and neither it seemed like any of you wanted to talk much, actually– you… enjoyed it. 

Simply being next to each other.

With time, you started to converse. About many things, really.

It started slowly with Kokomi seeming like someone who doesn’t really want to talk while relaxing and you respected it, of course you did, but sometimes you would notice something about her, maybe about her books or maybe her beautiful, pastel and ocean-themed phone case and sometimes, you would talk. Sometimes you wouldn’t, deciding to simply sit in silence.

With time, your conversations became longer. About your studies, your interests, about the food you liked– you learned Kokomi didn’t like seafood– about your plans for tomorrow, about her own plans, about her books and her favourite novels. You enjoyed talking with her, the friendship between you blooming with each day. You enjoyed simply spending time with her when neither of you had the energy to talk.

With time, she started to bring you some healthier snacks than the ones you would bring, after noticing that your health was… well, a rather fickle thing. She started to remind you to not overwork yourself and to drink and eat, because with a tired mind, you wouldn’t learn much. 

(Those were the words of her teacher, she said.)

With time, you learned to notice when she was feeling down and needed some time to herself. You never tried to start a conversation during these times, instead opting to sit in comfortable silence and let her recharge. 

With time, you exchanged phone numbers. At first, it was just to notice the other if one of you would get late or wouldn’t be able to come at all, with the weather getting colder and the sun setting down even faster. But you also started talking more in general, sending each other things you were interested in, and even planning hangouts outside the library when you both had time, energy and the weather was nice enough.

In no way you expected to become friends with Kokomi and in no way you could ever regret it. It was a friendship you held close to your heart, in the gentle embrace of your hands.

"There you are..." You gritted your teeth, looking at the woman you once loved. Maybe you still did. A part of you did, drowned by the grief of losing her. "I've been looking for you for so long..."

Lumine raised her chin, her steel gaze meeting yours. A little broken, tears threatening to spill out, lips twisting into something akin to a frown.

"You didn't answer my question." 

And yet nothing seemed to match her gaze. Not the gentleness of her voice, causing goosebumps on your skin. How you missed her voice, how you missed hearing it, the softness directed at you and only you. 

In Lumine’s hand, a sword materialized. The same she used to put down every enemy daring to attack you, to raise its own weapons at you. None of them had the time to react before meeting the sharp blade of a lover.

And yet this time, her fingers barely gripped her sword. 

You materialized your own, gripping it tight. 

“[Name],” she repeated, her voice losing its softness and gaining cold in its place. 

You really didn’t want to cry. Not in front of her. 

"I am not." Yet your voice broke and you felt first tears drop from your eyes into your cheeks. 

Her eyes softened.

She approached you slowly and you couldn’t help but just let her, despite everything screaming at you to move away, no, don’t let her get any closer–

She reached out her free hand to cup your cheek, but she froze mid-air. Her eyes looked all over your face, looking for anything– something telling her what to do, and you only continued looking at her.

Her thumb swiped at your cheek, meeting a lone tear falling from your eyelashes.

“I didn’t mean for it to end… like this,” Lumine said softly, her palm gently cradling your cheek, her eyelids dropping slightly, tiredness evident in her features, now that the stern mask she wore on her face broke down even further. “I’m sorry.”

Something also broke down in you.

“Sorry?” you breathed out, eyes widening in sudden anger, “You’re sorry? After leaving me completely alone, for centuries and centuries, and the most you say is… sorry? You can only apologize as if it would change anything?”

(Something else screamed in you, wanting to throw yourself into her arms, cry into her shoulder, and act as if everything was fine again. To ignore the blade in her hand, sharp as always.)

She stifled a gasp and moved her hand away as if burned, eyes wide at your words. She took a step back and let her hand fall to her side. She opened her mouth to speak, but you were faster.

“What will an apology do, Lumine?” you asked her, forcing your voice to sound stern, blinking the tears away, not wanting to show any more weakness.

She didn’t answer. 

“Whatever it will fix? Will it fix the world around us?” You made a wide gesture around yourself, at the world you learned to love and enjoy that now was ruins, and then you pointed at yourself, “Will it fix us?”

Her eyes were now wide, brows furrowed and lips twisted, the mask broken completely. 

Was she finally feeling the centuries-old sadness that you lived with for the past years? 

(Could she? Though Lumine lived for millennials, you were sure, could she feel even the tiniest drop of your sadness? Could she?)

“Answer me.”

That seemed to throw her out of whatever state of shock she was in and she took a deep breath, looking down.

She stepped back.

“...I had my reasons.”

“Reasons?!” You burst out, in complete disbelief that something like having reasons could be an acceptable excuse for all the pain that her absence caused, “Fuck your reasons, Lumine! Whatever could be possibly–”

“I had hoped that the next time we met, it would be in a better place, with no need to bring out our weapons,” she said quietly and you wanted to laugh, “Where I would tell you of my journey and why I made all these choices. And none of them was easy.”

When she looked back at you, there was– something in her eyes– newfound intensity and hurt underneath it. It hurt to look at her, sudden fear climbing its way to your mind.

She gripped her sword tighter and now it was your turn to step back, raise your weapon higher.  

“I never wanted to end it like this,” her tone was sincere, you could easily tell, yet you found it hard to believe.

“If you never wanted it to end like this, then… gods!” you yelled in frustration, “Why couldn’t you just do something else?! Was leaving me and this world to ruin the only possible choice?”

“I never told you, because I knew you wouldn’t understand my choices, not until you would see the truth of this world for yourself,” Lumine said, her voice loud and harsh to your ears.

“What truth? Of what world” you interrupted her, ”The one that your very hand led to ruin?” 

And that seemed to take her aback for a moment, lips parting and closing before she spoke again.

“...I’m sorry, [name].” She raised her sword, as if ready to lunge at you.

You blinked.

“You’re going to what, kill me?” you barked out, a smile of disbelief tugging at your lips. But silence was the only reply you got, and a terrible realization started to settle in.

“...you’re going to kill me.” 

There was only silence.

With her first move, your fate was sealed and her blade meet your own.

(It was only when your cold body was lying in the pool of your blood, completely lifeless, Lumine allowed herself to cry for you, not for the first time in the past centuries and certainly not the last.)