The Last Spring: The Memories We Buried That Day
Synopsis: “Hydro Dragon Hydro Dragon, please don’t cry,” were the words whispered as blood trickled down the mortal’s lips while the Hydro Dragon of the era hopelessly held the mortal’s form in his arms — unable to change the fate steadily approaching.
Note: This is for a Discord event, which I will use as an excuse to actually write. The OC (Thalia)is set as a placeholder for [name] because I’m too used to writing that kind of stuff. *Booohooo* And if it sounds lazier as you read, it just means I was running out of time and was getting lazy
Warning: (I think), probably not canon and out-of-character, misuse of em dashes and semicolons, etc.
And thanks to @etherisy for editing and proofreading this.
The Iudex strolled calmly through the streets of the armoured city whilst the burgesses and passersby drifted past him like a river splitting around a rock. He eventually crossed paths with a familiar face — one that was burned into his mind from long ago, before his role as Iudex was even assigned to him. However, she simply glanced at him before moving on her way — her clothes told that she was not of Fontaine descent; whether it was regret or relief on his mind was unknown, as it lay hidden further inside than just the judge’s face.
What felt like time had frozen, melted just as the woman disappeared from sight, immersed in the sea of people around her — only then did Neuvillette break out of his trance-like state. He lifted his hand to his head as it almost felt painful to remember the memories he had long buried and repressed deep inside; one of the very few times he could vividly remember human emotion he himself felt — an emotion he couldn’t bear to feel again.
After a moment to himself, he lifted his head from his hand while the sky slowly shifted to a dark hue; the vibrant tones of blue that once painted the sky becoming a sign of regret, it's sentiment made clear as droplets descended from the clouds and stained the once dry surfaces across Teyvat. Neuvillette then carried himself back to his office, ignoring the water running from his robes. His eyes appeared dimmer than before his last visit — albeit unclear from first glance.
Soft footsteps gradually become audible as a voice follows. Sedene approaches the Judge with a tilted head and a hand under her chin, confused at the sulking appearance of the ever-solemn Iudex. “Monsieur Neuvillette? It’s not often you come by drenched in the rain." The Melusine mentions as she notices the oddity of the Chief Justice’s slouch posture, "I’ll go get you a towel, please stand by for a moment.” She murmured before she turned to retrieve a towel.
Neuvillette slowly lowered his hand enough that he can see in full view before a flash of pain pulses through his head, making him flinch with his face frozen in shock as he catches a glimpse of a memory he thought he had long forgotten. He then slowly made his way back to the door to his office, water trailing behind him while he passed Sedene — who was just about to approach him.
“Monsieur Neuvillette, I have brought you a towel.” The Melusine exclaimed as she offered the towel up to the Iudex — who was dragging his feet back to his office.
Neuvillette looks back down at the towel handed to him by the Melusine. “Thank you, Sedene. I’ll tidy myself up in my office before getting to work.” He forces a small smile; although true to his heart, something still weigh down at his smile. One could see through it easily. He then takes the towel in his hands before making his way back to his office, as he closes the door behind him.
He was alone, just as he needed it to be. No one can see him like this. Neuvillette then rubs the towel around his hair after undoing the tie at the end of his hair — wringing the water out of his hair before changing his robes into an extra pair hidden inside a credenza table.
Now dry, he sits in his chair as he pulls out a folder about a recent case to be overseen in trial soon — but the more he reads, the less he understands; lapses in his understanding of this case became filled with unwarranted memories ever since her saw that mysterious woman earlier. He tried moving forward to a simpler case, but the result stayed the same, with his mind being clouded with these… emotions of turmoil.
The Judge sighed as he rested his elbow over the table, his cheek pressing against his knuckles. He understands that he is incapable of proceeding or even listening to any trials to come in this state — all because of one figure he believed to have moved past after centuries.
Sedene was about to approach Neuvillette’s desk with a glass of water in hand, however she almost dropped it when she saw that his chair was deserted of the Chief Justice’s presence when she had just entertained him earlier.
“W-wha—?” Sedene stuttered as she quickly ran over to the empty seat behind the desk to inspect whether there is any trace of the Iudex. She was able to heave a sigh of relief when she found a note with the Iudex’s handwriting; clearly separated and more noticeable than the stacks of papers containing the information of recent and future cases.
The note read: “To Whom It May Concern: I would like to extend my apologies for my abrupt exit. I have taken some time to assess my mental condition and have concluded that I am not in a position to oversee any cases due to my inability to maintain focus. I look forward to rejoining you once I have improved my situation. Cordially, Neuvillette.”
The Melusine takes the letter in hand and scans it thoroughly, noting how odd it was for the Chief Justice to take leave, as he had rarely done so before. She simply took the letter and reported to Lady Furina and the rest of the Court of Justice that the Chief Justice has taken leave for an indefinite period.
Neuvillette remained seated in an armchair in his home; the rooms and halls were just as desolate of his occupancy as they had been when he first received his private room; devoid of any presence of himself as a character that owns this flat here.
He takes his hand and holds it caringly: his thumb rubbing circles around his palm gently — almost the same way as he remembered from that long distant memory; as she too once had done this with him, but her hands were much softer, and he could feel the raw emotions she hid behind her words and soft hymns. His greatest teacher of human emotions.
His voice was but a small whisper echoing through the barren halls of his flat; a mere fraction of a second where his existence momentarily imprinted in his home. A faint memory slowly comes to the Iudex’s mind as his thumb continues to rub his palm, the line between past and present becoming hard to distinguish reality from this faint fragment of the past.
Once, when the reincarnation of the Hydro sovereign first roamed the land and sea of the nation of justice during its rudimentary era. He crossed paths with a human along the shores of a nation neighbouring that of Fontaine at the time. She was young and small then — short in stature, and quite frail.
The two looked at each other for a while, the girl held a small white flower in her hand. After a long, awkward silence between the two, the girl stepped a little closer towards the man unknown to her while extending her little arm with the flower in hand.
“Here…” the girl whispered quietly while her eyes flickered between the man and the floor. The man kneeled down before taking the flower in his hands — his face lacking expression as he studied the girl, lacking understanding of her behaviour.
“... What is this?” The man blurted out with an unmoving face, making the girl shuffle back from being unease by the man’s lack of facial mannerisms.
“... Flower… My mom grew them…” The girl mumbled before flinching as a woman’s voice called out a name from the distance behind, “Thalia! Come back inside!” The girl quickly turned her head back to where the voice came from before running towards it — all while saying her farewells to the man she didn’t know. “Bye, mister!”
The man quietly watched the girl fade into the distance, where she was eventually taken back by her mother. He looks back down at the flower still in his hand, confused by the girl’s gestures and the reasons behind her offering up her flower without so much as an explanation. Once recalling how humans typically keep items offered by another, he placed the girl’s flower inside his pocket before returning to his stroll.
What a fool he was to have dismissed such a memory.
Such a common encounter was bound to be forgotten for someone who will live long past ordinary human lives. But, as the days came and went, the girl and the dragon crossed paths once more — this time, the girl was with her mother in a market, and upon seeing the man again, the girl rushed over to the man, leaving her mother’s arm, who was buying fish.
“Hey, mister!” The young girl calls out to the man while running to him. “I know… I know you…” she announced with sparkles shining in her eyes while her mother was just behind her.
“I am so sorry, young sir, she isn’t usually like this, please forgive her.” The girl’s mother pleaded with the man as she held her daughter back. “Thalia, go apologise to that young man. Calling out to someone like that is rude.” The mother scolded her daughter with a furrowed brow while pinching her daughter’s arm.
“... I’m sorry…” The girl muttered with her head hung low and her foot digging into the ground while her fingers fiddled with each other. A moment after her apology, the girl looks up once more — with the same sparkle in her eyes; ones that showed interest, determination, and curiosity. “ I know you. You’re a dragon, right?”
