モナ

Shoot your shot like a free throw Just know this pussy ain't free, though

Finally... Finally. All of her articles have been finished. Pouring her very essence into divining the best possible answers for the most asked questions in all of Teyvat. Weaving through stars for a less vague narrative, one that could be understood without embellishing the vagaries of fate.

How long had it been since she’s been outside?

  while yes, he supposed she was right, that wasn’t the POINT he was trying to make. resisting the urge to roll his eyes, scaramouche merely continued to sneer at her — though she might be resistant, but he could see that his words were getting to her. good.

     “ what i mean is that perhaps those answers were PLACED in order to be read. would it not be more suspicious if an astrologist could find no meaning whatsoever in the stars? ”  a sinister suggestion to make, the implication that someone or something might be trying to keep the truth from all who dwell within teyvat. however truthful he was being in the matter remained unclear.  “ you might have questioned the sky’s legitimacy sooner. ”

Teeth clenched behind her lips, hidden behind a sigh much too forceful to be nonchalant. It would be strange for any old astrologist, any one that wasn’t her could make that kind of mistake. But her? Mona Megistus? Not knowing whether the stars she read the fates of were real or if the sky they scattered along was false. “Say they are fake; there is nothing to be done. This knowledge does nothing but cloud my vision.”

   “ have you lived beneath a different sky? who are YOU to speak of their accuracy? ”  he scoffs derisively, a mocking amusement set across his features as if he, too, hadn’t once believed the sky above to be as REAL as everything around them.  “ if you can read false stars, does it not make you think that you’re meant to be able to do so? ”

Antagonistic for the sake of it, he wasn’t completely wrong. Never had she seen a stark difference in the sky during her years as an astrologist. No, even before that, as a child. The stars that glimmered and glistened were as real to one who had never seen any other. 

“And who are YOU to speak of their inaccuracy?” Real or not, the stars layed across the night sky before them were accurate, they spoke of the fate of all those who lived on Teyvat... Were the stars real and the sky fake? “A genius astrologist such as myself should be able to read stars at the very least. False or not.”

   “ What  trickster  openly reveals what they are ? ”  It was no secret his kin were known as such,  but whether or not he too fell into such a category …  Well,  she’d have to find out.  “ Are you not  tired  of having to flee when time comes to pay rent ?  Struggling to feed yourself ?  These matters are  trivial  for one such as myself to solve . ” 

   “ You know it would be beneficial for both of us if you simply formed a contract with me …  It’s not every day someone does such a thing with a nine tailed fox . ”

   “ You know ,  if you  wanted  something ,  you could have just come and  said  so . ”

Stranding before the House of Daena’s incredible structure was truly a sight to behold. She passed by the architecture section more than... Four times. Eyes scanning each book until she at least found the Astrology section–

childe finds that it is both a source of amusement and irritation to see the way people react upon realizing he’s a member of the fatui. outside of his home country, the expressions range from suspicion and disgust to absolute horror. he knows his comrades have built up quite the reputation. he’s proud of his own, personally, however bloody it might be. despite his pride, however, it becomes annoying when he’s not acting as one of the tsaritsa’s harbingers and instead as a guy just trying to do something nice. 

granted, it’s rare for him to do something genuinely nice for a complete stranger, but this instance is an exception… if only because he had no use for someone else’s wallet. 

(and okay, yeah, maybe his interest in this woman was piqued by the hydro vision he spotted on her back.)

“oh no, there’s no need to go clutching your pearls around me, miss. i know i’m a member of the fatui, but we’re not all bad guys, i swear !” he insists, putting on his best boyish and innocent act. he knows it’s often convincing enough since he’s young and easy on the eyes. “do you really think it’s fair to go sweeping us all under the rug like that?” he asks. he has half a mind to call her ungrateful, but he opts to hold his tongue. there’s something different about her, and it’s not just the fact that she’s a vision wielder. he’s curious. he’ll pry as best as he can. 

“i’m childe, by the way. and the lovely lady might be…? i noticed your wallet on the ground and i couldn’t not return it to you. you seemed so hectic in your search for it, after all. i hope you can forgive me for startling you,” he held a gloved hand out to her, palm up, not for a handshake but as if gesturing for her to place her hand atop his. he was trying to present himself as a kind snezhnayan gentleman, after all. 

To those who traverse the rest of Teyvat, free of the Tsaritsa’s indoctrination yet subject to anything from the members of the Fatui being a general nuisance to an active threat to the odd traveller, merchant or adventurer passing by a camp. Perish the thought of catching the gaze of a skirmisher outside of civilisation, least you find anything to incriminate their operations, Mona has found the Fatui to partake in more permanent means of silencing their targets.

Perhaps it was wrong of her to accuse one man kind enough to return her purse due to his affiliation, however... He wasn’t making the interaction easy. Mona’s eyes narrowed as she took a step away from her, shoulders rolled back and her head lifted high. At this juncture, she couldn’t afford to give him the benefit of the doubt based on the persona he took on.

                                             He had already lied to her, after all.

“Do forgive me, sir, in my experience, I’ve been attacked the Fatui on numerous ocassions. Not to mention a Harbinger had almost killed myself and my friends, as such: I cannot afford to trust a member of the Fatui.” How much information could she get away with omitting from this conversation? A liar could be lied to, correct? The Fatui had intercepted her delivery of astrology books and attacked upon her finding their grubby hands all over her pricey babies...! She’d started the interaction but they were hers.