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[ war was waged that evening, a bar having been a host of many people from the zodiac app. True to his word, Wriothesley spends a good chunk of his hard-earned Sidequest Money to make sure everyone's had their fill of drinks and snacks--and once Josuke's dropped he and Furina off at the end of the driveway leading up to Neuvillette's too-fancy apartment complex, he takes a moment to look at ... The Hyrdo Archon.
No, at Furina.
He wasn't present at the opera epiclise, he has no idea the fate of the seat of the hydro archon furthur than what Zhongli mentioned; but now she stands here--no, Leans here, against his side, pink-faced and looking. Happy? He'd hoped she was happy. ]
You able to walk, or should I put you up on my shoulders.
I still got some 'Grace' in me.
No, at Furina.
He wasn't present at the opera epiclise, he has no idea the fate of the seat of the hydro archon furthur than what Zhongli mentioned; but now she stands here--no, Leans here, against his side, pink-faced and looking. Happy? He'd hoped she was happy. ]
You able to walk, or should I put you up on my shoulders.
I still got some 'Grace' in me.
[ despite all the snacks and the water, the evening's adventure left furina completely and utterly inebriated - it's understandable given the fact that during her five hundred year performance, she never really consumed much in the way of alcohol. it left her feeling light and fuzzy, a pleasant warmth flowing through her arms and legs.
it is no wonder she never really drank this much before. if she had there would have been no way she could have kept up the mask for as long as she did. not that she cares much about that anymore, not with the alcohol coursing through her bloodstream. ]
Hmm? [ oh, right. she's leaning on the duke, isn't she? furina hums, lazily rolling her head around toward him. ] My dear Duke, I think should I let go of you and even one step forward I will fall face first onto our dear Iudex's driveway.
[ the thought brings a smile to her lips and a soft laugh. ]
Maybe... maybe it would be for the best that you carry me. [ she has no desire to detach herself from him at this moment. ] Just like you carried me from the labyrinth.
it is no wonder she never really drank this much before. if she had there would have been no way she could have kept up the mask for as long as she did. not that she cares much about that anymore, not with the alcohol coursing through her bloodstream. ]
Hmm? [ oh, right. she's leaning on the duke, isn't she? furina hums, lazily rolling her head around toward him. ] My dear Duke, I think should I let go of you and even one step forward I will fall face first onto our dear Iudex's driveway.
[ the thought brings a smile to her lips and a soft laugh. ]
Maybe... maybe it would be for the best that you carry me. [ she has no desire to detach herself from him at this moment. ] Just like you carried me from the labyrinth.
[ it's... odd, seeing the Hydro Archon so. Relaxed, without any of her usual godlike laughter and showoffish stage-show way. She seemed happy? Her tone was far less dramatic than he remembers...
But maybe that's the wine that's talking. While he's less floppy-legged than his fellow Fontinan, his own mind is still swimming in fermented grape juice. Difference is, this isn't his first rodeo.
Alchohol was easy to purchase in the fortress so long as you had credit coupons. Which he always had plenty of.
He'll give a light laugh. ]
Just like I did back then, huh. You sure about that?
[ not that he's giving her much time to respond.
Because up she goes, scooping her up with one arm, hooking it under her legs and tucking her in against his shoulder. Fireman carry style. ]
Hold on tight, I'll get us upstairs quicker than a trial at the Epiclese. [ because he's gonna walk slow, to make sure he's sure of footing. ]
But maybe that's the wine that's talking. While he's less floppy-legged than his fellow Fontinan, his own mind is still swimming in fermented grape juice. Difference is, this isn't his first rodeo.
Alchohol was easy to purchase in the fortress so long as you had credit coupons. Which he always had plenty of.
He'll give a light laugh. ]
Just like I did back then, huh. You sure about that?
[ not that he's giving her much time to respond.
Because up she goes, scooping her up with one arm, hooking it under her legs and tucking her in against his shoulder. Fireman carry style. ]
Hold on tight, I'll get us upstairs quicker than a trial at the Epiclese. [ because he's gonna walk slow, to make sure he's sure of footing. ]
[ wait, what did she just say?
there is no time to think because wriothesley is scooping her up and she lets out a rather undignified squeak, immediately clinging to him. ordinarily, she would squawk about his nerve (regardless of the fact she was the one to suggest it) and how humiliating this all is, but she doesn't do either of those things. instead lady furina, the former hydro archon, giggles and swings her feet a little, tension all but leaving her body as she sinks into his hold. ]
I hope you have the stamina to back up your speed, Duke. [ oh archons, is she flirting???? what on teyvat has possessed her to do that!?
she'll have to unpack that later, what with the word trial bouncing about her head like rubber ball. it feels like forever since she last sat a trial - since she sat her own trial. he was not there for that, was he? he did not see how she crumbled under the combined efforts of the traveller, the spina, and the chief justice.
the smile fades off her face, her fingers curling into his vest. ] I witnessed so many trials, so many that I lost count. Day after day, month after month, year after year. Somewhere during all those years they all blurred together. But there are some I remember so clearly as if it only happened yesterday.
[ she sniffs, tears starting to sting her eyes, and reaches up to gently brush her fingers across his cheek. ]
I remember yours, still...
there is no time to think because wriothesley is scooping her up and she lets out a rather undignified squeak, immediately clinging to him. ordinarily, she would squawk about his nerve (regardless of the fact she was the one to suggest it) and how humiliating this all is, but she doesn't do either of those things. instead lady furina, the former hydro archon, giggles and swings her feet a little, tension all but leaving her body as she sinks into his hold. ]
I hope you have the stamina to back up your speed, Duke. [ oh archons, is she flirting???? what on teyvat has possessed her to do that!?
she'll have to unpack that later, what with the word trial bouncing about her head like rubber ball. it feels like forever since she last sat a trial - since she sat her own trial. he was not there for that, was he? he did not see how she crumbled under the combined efforts of the traveller, the spina, and the chief justice.
the smile fades off her face, her fingers curling into his vest. ] I witnessed so many trials, so many that I lost count. Day after day, month after month, year after year. Somewhere during all those years they all blurred together. But there are some I remember so clearly as if it only happened yesterday.
[ she sniffs, tears starting to sting her eyes, and reaches up to gently brush her fingers across his cheek. ]
I remember yours, still...
[ IS she flirting?? He can't tell; he can't say he's had much of anyone try to flirt with him for years. Most people were too intimidated by the Duke's Mien to even attempt, let alone go through the motions of it. Observant a man that Wriothesley is, though, he does indeed notice it--but thinks better to draw attention to it for two good reasons:
1. Furina is very drunk and probably talking a lot more than she normally would.
and
2. She's the God of Hydro; and despite the talk he'd had with Zhongli, it still felt like Blasphemy to treat her like a normal person.
....Wasn't it? The night out drinking with her and a bunch of strangers--new friends--on the Libra App had been fun--Furina seemed to enjoy herself too, and...
As he's walking, slowly up the long driveway that led up to the apartment they were both staying, fingers curl up his cheek. ]
1. Furina is very drunk and probably talking a lot more than she normally would.
and
2. She's the God of Hydro; and despite the talk he'd had with Zhongli, it still felt like Blasphemy to treat her like a normal person.
....Wasn't it? The night out drinking with her and a bunch of strangers--new friends--on the Libra App had been fun--Furina seemed to enjoy herself too, and...
As he's walking, slowly up the long driveway that led up to the apartment they were both staying, fingers curl up his cheek. ]
[ he doesn't miss the words she's said. But they leave him .... stunned, a quiet silence as she admits her life has been long and tiresome, in a way that Wriothesley with his mortal years cannot even begin to consider.
He's barely been on this planet for half a century, let alone five. The number of trials she must have seen, the number of people she's seen condemned to prison, or worse--
...And yet, she. Remembers his?
Surely, that's the wine talking.
He'll continue walking, trying to keep his expression set. Despite the twist in his gut, despite the burning red feeling that crawls up the back of his neck. ]
...Come on now. Surely mine was one of the most boring ones you've ever seen.
I remember it too, of course. I was tired, so I didn't feel like putting on too much of a show.
I plead guilty to every accusation.
I remember you getting so exasperated you ended up leaving early.
Talk about boring, huh? I've felt a little bad, since then.
He's barely been on this planet for half a century, let alone five. The number of trials she must have seen, the number of people she's seen condemned to prison, or worse--
...And yet, she. Remembers his?
Surely, that's the wine talking.
He'll continue walking, trying to keep his expression set. Despite the twist in his gut, despite the burning red feeling that crawls up the back of his neck. ]
...Come on now. Surely mine was one of the most boring ones you've ever seen.
I remember it too, of course. I was tired, so I didn't feel like putting on too much of a show.
I plead guilty to every accusation.
I remember you getting so exasperated you ended up leaving early.
Talk about boring, huh? I've felt a little bad, since then.
[ maybe it is the wine talking, she doesn't have the same filter she normally have while sober. she keeps saying things that she ordinarily wouldn't, words falling from her like a broken damn. she's even doing things she ordinarily wouldn't; going drinking (for one), allowing wriothesley to pick her up like this, initiating touch.
or maybe it isn't the wine, maybe she is just tired of bottling everything up, maybe it is time to mend the strange distance that has always existed between them. ]
Boring? No, no no no. [ she almost grabs hold of his face to force him to look at her, but her arms feel heavy and she can barely manage to hold it like this. the touch is soft, the barest of caresses as her hand falls back down. ] It wasn't boring, it wasn't even entertaining it was...
[ maybe the god focalors, the god that everyone in fontaine thought focalors truly was, would have thought it boring - but she is not the god focalors, she is not even pretending to be the god focalors. not anymore. ]
It was terrible, Wriothesley, that it took anyone from the Maison Gardiennage so long to do anything. They got away with it for so long.
[ she lets out a shaky sigh, hooking her fingers in his vest once again. ]
If I had not left when I did... I... Everyone in the people of Fontaine would have known their Archon was a fake much sooner than they did.
or maybe it isn't the wine, maybe she is just tired of bottling everything up, maybe it is time to mend the strange distance that has always existed between them. ]
Boring? No, no no no. [ she almost grabs hold of his face to force him to look at her, but her arms feel heavy and she can barely manage to hold it like this. the touch is soft, the barest of caresses as her hand falls back down. ] It wasn't boring, it wasn't even entertaining it was...
[ maybe the god focalors, the god that everyone in fontaine thought focalors truly was, would have thought it boring - but she is not the god focalors, she is not even pretending to be the god focalors. not anymore. ]
It was terrible, Wriothesley, that it took anyone from the Maison Gardiennage so long to do anything. They got away with it for so long.
[ she lets out a shaky sigh, hooking her fingers in his vest once again. ]
If I had not left when I did... I... Everyone in the people of Fontaine would have known their Archon was a fake much sooner than they did.
[ ...it's just like Zhongli had said. He wants to shake her--stop her from talking--stop her from saying the exact thing that the once Archon of Geo had suggested to him nearly--nearly a week and a half ago when they'd discussed godhood, the fact that his only previous dealings with 'god' were with this woman who's currently slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
Zhongli, too, had suggested that she'd not been bored, but rather, that she'd been so hurt by what she saw that she had to escape before she broke in front of her people.
And yet, he doesn't shake or jostle her. So the full force of her words hit him like a freight train--and it's only due to his years of training and gumption that he doesn't crumble there, on the stairs leading up.
...He will pause to lean on the wall, however. That burn in the back of his throat rising.
He will keep the wine down. ]
Fake.
[ that's the word the Duke decides to repeat. Once again--he remembers those words told to him. 'The destroyed seat of the Hydro Archon...' ...What did it mean.
What--no. Who. Who was Furina de Fontaine? ]
Said as if someone like you, with such a power to her step and every act she takes could be a fake.
You have the confidence and stride to carry the entire country with pride.
Showing a bit of tearful remorse wouldn't have shaken your people.
...
Even gods are allowed to have a heart, aren't they.
Zhongli, too, had suggested that she'd not been bored, but rather, that she'd been so hurt by what she saw that she had to escape before she broke in front of her people.
And yet, he doesn't shake or jostle her. So the full force of her words hit him like a freight train--and it's only due to his years of training and gumption that he doesn't crumble there, on the stairs leading up.
...He will pause to lean on the wall, however. That burn in the back of his throat rising.
He will keep the wine down. ]
Fake.
[ that's the word the Duke decides to repeat. Once again--he remembers those words told to him. 'The destroyed seat of the Hydro Archon...' ...What did it mean.
What--no. Who. Who was Furina de Fontaine? ]
Said as if someone like you, with such a power to her step and every act she takes could be a fake.
You have the confidence and stride to carry the entire country with pride.
Showing a bit of tearful remorse wouldn't have shaken your people.
...
Even gods are allowed to have a heart, aren't they.
text, the morning after they all get sloshed, un: Thorn
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poisontippedcure
2023-12-12 03:26 pm (UTC)(link)
I thought it would be good to check in. Are you alive?
You're wrong, I don't have any power. I never did.
[ he was not there at her trial, of course, he did not see as the crowd turned on her and all her long years of work crumbled into dust. yet despite the trial, the official word amongst the people is that the hydro archon sacrificed her power, her divinity, to save them. a kinder story that she deserves regardless of how true it may be.
there are very few who know the whole truth, and she thinks maybe one of those should be him. ]
I was nothing more than an actor upon a stage in a play I thought would never end. I was tasked to play a part and I did so to perfection, all the while a part of me slept in the shadows gathering whatever she needed to avert the prophecy. [ focalors, her mirror-self, a reflection that is as much furina as furina is focalors. ] I tricked everyone for five hundred years, I lied to everyone I met. I lied to Neuvillette, I lied to Clorinde, I lied to you.
[ her eyes burn as tears build in the corner of her eyes, her head bowed as he carries her onward. ]
I don't know the particulars, but I do know the seat of the Hydro Archon is no more. It's been destroyed. And I am painfully human. I'm not a god, I am just... Furina.
[ he was not there at her trial, of course, he did not see as the crowd turned on her and all her long years of work crumbled into dust. yet despite the trial, the official word amongst the people is that the hydro archon sacrificed her power, her divinity, to save them. a kinder story that she deserves regardless of how true it may be.
there are very few who know the whole truth, and she thinks maybe one of those should be him. ]
I was nothing more than an actor upon a stage in a play I thought would never end. I was tasked to play a part and I did so to perfection, all the while a part of me slept in the shadows gathering whatever she needed to avert the prophecy. [ focalors, her mirror-self, a reflection that is as much furina as furina is focalors. ] I tricked everyone for five hundred years, I lied to everyone I met. I lied to Neuvillette, I lied to Clorinde, I lied to you.
[ her eyes burn as tears build in the corner of her eyes, her head bowed as he carries her onward. ]
I don't know the particulars, but I do know the seat of the Hydro Archon is no more. It's been destroyed. And I am painfully human. I'm not a god, I am just... Furina.
[ alive isn't exactly the word she would use, if she was being honest. she is better now than she was when she first woke, of course, but she cannot honestly call herself alive. ]
I am still breathing, if that is what we are going to classify as alive. I have spent most of the day in bed nursing a pain most foul.
I am still breathing, if that is what we are going to classify as alive. I have spent most of the day in bed nursing a pain most foul.
That sounds about correct. I’ve been doing much of the same.
[But she’s used to it!]
Do you usually partake like this?
[But she’s used to it!]
Do you usually partake like this?
[ he... has to stop walking. He's at the bottom of the stairs, and all of the strength he has in his legs has waned as the girl on his back keeps... talking.
He remembers what Zhongli said to him, about the seat of the Archon being 'No More'.
Hearing it from Furina herself...?
He feels his chest aching. And he doesn't know if it's grief for the girl--the 500 year old cursed woman who was forced to play a part for so long--or if it's grief for the shattering of his own beliefs--everything he knew to be Real being scattered like dust in the wind.
Just another string pulled, another knot undone and he's left with loose ends and confusion, mixed with something so close to anger that he can feel the bones in his hands creaking--but there's nothing to strike.
How do you ... punch the gods who ruined the life of one girl--and could be directly blamed for the mess that your life has become up until now?
...Wriothesley stops at the bottom of the stairs.
And he starts to laugh. ]
...You're better as 'Just Furina'.
Tied down by nothing.
Free of everything.
He remembers what Zhongli said to him, about the seat of the Archon being 'No More'.
Hearing it from Furina herself...?
He feels his chest aching. And he doesn't know if it's grief for the girl--the 500 year old cursed woman who was forced to play a part for so long--or if it's grief for the shattering of his own beliefs--everything he knew to be Real being scattered like dust in the wind.
Just another string pulled, another knot undone and he's left with loose ends and confusion, mixed with something so close to anger that he can feel the bones in his hands creaking--but there's nothing to strike.
How do you ... punch the gods who ruined the life of one girl--and could be directly blamed for the mess that your life has become up until now?
...Wriothesley stops at the bottom of the stairs.
And he starts to laugh. ]
...You're better as 'Just Furina'.
Tied down by nothing.
Free of everything.
[He is actually.
In the hallway.
Outside her door.
He is doing a very good impression of a goldfish right now. A goldfish who is holding a small puppy in his arms. How long has he been here? We just don't know.]
I do not know. I just woke up a week or so ago and she was... There.
In the hallway.
Outside her door.
He is doing a very good impression of a goldfish right now. A goldfish who is holding a small puppy in his arms. How long has he been here? We just don't know.]
I do not know. I just woke up a week or so ago and she was... There.
[ sir?!?!
she stands there for a moment, torn between being dumbfounded and surprised that he was literally right there. texting her. instead of just knocking on the door and talking to her. a strong part of the former hydro archon wants very much to hit him for being so ridiculous, but it is distracted by the literal puppy held in his arms. ]
W-Well! You should have informed me earlier! Why did it take a whole week for you to decide to say something!? I could have gotten Wriothesley to get whatever we needed to take care of her!
[ with a dramatic huff she takes a step forward, then another, until she is right in front of him attention fixated on the small creature. ]
...Does she have a name?
she stands there for a moment, torn between being dumbfounded and surprised that he was literally right there. texting her. instead of just knocking on the door and talking to her. a strong part of the former hydro archon wants very much to hit him for being so ridiculous, but it is distracted by the literal puppy held in his arms. ]
W-Well! You should have informed me earlier! Why did it take a whole week for you to decide to say something!? I could have gotten Wriothesley to get whatever we needed to take care of her!
[ with a dramatic huff she takes a step forward, then another, until she is right in front of him attention fixated on the small creature. ]
...Does she have a name?
I can't say I ever have...
Before I arrived I didn't ever think to partake in alcohol like that. I was in a position where I could not risk losing myself like that.
[ hangover aside, she feels a little sick remembering all that she confessed to wriothesley. ]
Before I arrived I didn't ever think to partake in alcohol like that. I was in a position where I could not risk losing myself like that.
[ hangover aside, she feels a little sick remembering all that she confessed to wriothesley. ]
[ he stops moving and the weight of her own words comes crashing down upon her, a cold and heavy weight that makes her grip increase around the fabric of his clothes. he deserves the truth, but the truth is brutal and uncaring as it all but tears apart the foundations that makes up how he sees the world. she feels her stomach sink in part with guilt and in part from the alcohol she recklessly consumed.
is he angry? is he upset with her? after all she did it would make sense if he was. she lorded herself over all of fontaine for five hundred years as a god when she was nothing of the sort. he has every right to be mad, as does the whole of fontaine.
(yet the people don't know of her lie, they only know how their archon sacrificed her divinity to save them from celestia's wrath.)
but it is not anger that she gets, but laughter. why is he laughing? she almost digs her nails into him indignantly, almost annoyed by the reaction. ]
I - what? You listen to your former Archon confess her crimes and you laugh??
[ you're better as just furina. tied down by nothing, free of everything.
as quickly appeared indignation fades away, leaving exhaustion in its wake. his words settle gently on her shoulders and she almost breaks out into sobs from them. they are kinder than she thinks she deserves. ]
Sorry. You might be right... but how can a bird fly after being chained down for so long?
is he angry? is he upset with her? after all she did it would make sense if he was. she lorded herself over all of fontaine for five hundred years as a god when she was nothing of the sort. he has every right to be mad, as does the whole of fontaine.
(yet the people don't know of her lie, they only know how their archon sacrificed her divinity to save them from celestia's wrath.)
but it is not anger that she gets, but laughter. why is he laughing? she almost digs her nails into him indignantly, almost annoyed by the reaction. ]
I - what? You listen to your former Archon confess her crimes and you laugh??
[ you're better as just furina. tied down by nothing, free of everything.
as quickly appeared indignation fades away, leaving exhaustion in its wake. his words settle gently on her shoulders and she almost breaks out into sobs from them. they are kinder than she thinks she deserves. ]
Sorry. You might be right... but how can a bird fly after being chained down for so long?
I see. Well, if nothing else, I'm grateful you can let loose now.
I was once in a similar position myself.
...Not that it ever stopped me.
I was once in a similar position myself.
...Not that it ever stopped me.
[ he can feel her indignation. he's not drunk enough to have missed that. her words, her tone--of course she'd be upset to have someone hear her woes and laugh at them.
But the laughter wasn't out of amusement or mockery--it was a helpless sound. The helpless sort of laugh one does when they're faced with something they have no goddamn hope to understand or help.
And for the duke, who lives off the ability to help others--there's nothing more helpless than the idea that someone had lived so long just to play a role, not allowed to be themselves, with such a fate on their shoulders that an entire nation could fall if she missed one step in the dance.
he wanted to curse the gods for making such an innocent girl live like that, for so long. ]
The chains are gone, aren't they? Every pair of handcuffs has a key. Not only is that world far from where we are, but the Prophecy passed, and your chains receded with the flood waters.
Learning a new skill takes time.
Especially flying.
But with enough practice and time spent at it, well.
You'll get the hang of it.
But the laughter wasn't out of amusement or mockery--it was a helpless sound. The helpless sort of laugh one does when they're faced with something they have no goddamn hope to understand or help.
And for the duke, who lives off the ability to help others--there's nothing more helpless than the idea that someone had lived so long just to play a role, not allowed to be themselves, with such a fate on their shoulders that an entire nation could fall if she missed one step in the dance.
he wanted to curse the gods for making such an innocent girl live like that, for so long. ]
The chains are gone, aren't they? Every pair of handcuffs has a key. Not only is that world far from where we are, but the Prophecy passed, and your chains receded with the flood waters.
Learning a new skill takes time.
Especially flying.
But with enough practice and time spent at it, well.
You'll get the hang of it.
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