stellafortunalogs | august mingle

August Mingle
Welcome to Teyvat - a vast magical world of adventure.
Happy new year....! In Teyvat, that is. It is now January ingame, and Liyue's people go about their disaster recovery efforts with more vigour than before. After all, Liyue's biggest festival is slated to occur in the latter half of the month - the Lantern Rite!

The Rite of Parting - Rex Lapis' funeral - passes without much incident, and Liyue collectively breathes a sigh of relief. With the Fatui being chased out of the yard, it seems that peace will finally return to the harbour city as they rebuild from the storm. You'll also get to watch three million Mora's worth of incense go up in smoke, so there's that.

Eager to focus on the future, Liyue folk have begun discussing the upcoming festival. The Lantern Rite commemorates hope for a new beginning and continued prosperity, and the construction of the festival centerpiece is currently underway. This year's Mingxiao Lantern will soar into the sky amidst thousands of smaller lanterns, and it will take the shape of a fallen Adeptus to commemorate the Adepti's contribution to Liyue's lasting peace.

Unfortunately, you're not quite out of the frying pan yet. With the Fatui gone from Liyue, the Ministry of Civil Affairs turn their attention to solving another issue that has cropped up after Osial's revival and subsequent defeat. Quite a few miners have gone missing from the Chasm, and the likelihood of finding them will only grow slimmer as the days go by. Both the Millelith and the Adventurers' Guild have pitched in to search for the kidnapped people. All clues lead to Nantianmen - and it's just your luck that Geovishaps and their hatchlings have come out of hibernation at around the same time. These lizard-like beings have shells of solid rock, and they seem especially agitated at having their territory invaded. Solving the mystery of the missing miners will take more than just a day's work.

State of the World

With the Lantern Rite set to open on January 21st, all of Liyue have come to visit the harbour to set up their stalls and pitch in to craft the Mingxiao Lantern. Hopefully the miners are found before the festival begins - the Lantern Rite is a festival of reunions, after all. Not to mention the Geovishaps' increased activity will inadvertently lead to them burrowing around in the rocky mountains. There's a small, but non-zero chance of them hitting an ancient seal somewhere and unleashing a buried threat.

Unless... that was their intention all along?

Please direct all questions to August's OOC post!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ Louis is wary of anyone coming close to him - at least, until he can find a way to consistently suppress his hunting instinct. Though, he doesn't sense any human blood from the woman approaching him now, which is a surprise. He concludes that this is to be expected when he's in another world, with its own rules.

Still, it's rude to ignore a friendly stranger, so he quickly moves aside so she can have her own space. ]

Of course.

[ A pause. She's not a human, so it's okay for him to be around. But he's curious nevertheless... what is she? An Adeptus? A spirit? ]

Are you a traveler?

[Sliiides right on in, yeehaw no more aches for the time being; her brow raises slightly at his question.]

Yes, I am.

[Trying to observe him for a bit, she keeps her book up, with only her eyes peeking out.]

Why, do you need any help with anything that hasn't already been covered by Forneus or the other travelers yet?

Edited 2021-08-09 15:28 (UTC)

[ Ah, she's said his patron's name. That makes things a lot easier. He was prepared to deflect the question if she answered differently. ]

I was told that there were other travelers, but I have yet to meet one. [ His tone sounds lighter, as if it was a weight off his back. ] This place is a lot livelier than what I am used to.

Yeah. [Her eyes soften considerably.] So many humans, yet many other inhabitants as well and mingling together without much trouble...it's actually quite nice.

[Aside from everything that happened last month, uhhh. She won't bring that up, not with someone this new.

While it's not every day curiosity strikes her, but she is kind of wondering right now. And before she can change her mind-]

Is your world different from here?

[ He notes how she said 'humans' instead of 'people'. Maybe she's not that secretive about her nature... or it's just a slip up. ]

Yes. A great calamity befell the land, and living has been difficult. [ He says this calmly, since he's already accepted it - it's regrettable, but not something that he could change... not the first part of it, at least. ] This place is an image of the world before all that happened.

[ Which meant the large amount of humans being something he's entirely unused to. ]

[She's a little taken aback enough to make her pause for a bit.]

You too?

[Is Earth just that unlucky, no matter what dimension...]

I wonder if this is more common amongst the other Travelers than expected.

[ 'You too'. That's...

... even if it's not his world, the realization stings. He closes his eyes for a moment, then opens them again. ]

We who have known loss would have a more comprehensive understanding of things than those who have always lived in plenty.

[ Teyvat is lucky. They're protected by the gods, which did not exist in his world. They were able to use magic, which did not exist in his world. All pretty good... even if it's a gilded cage, if Forneus is to be believed. ]

Indeed.

[If anything, it feels like it's even a miracle to not just witness, but to be in such a place. She'd like to think so, at least.

Yu gives another glance over the edges of her book; Louis seems like an alright guy. So far as she thinks, he doesn’t look like he’d have any secret motives. And well, just reading books as a way to spend the day can only do so much...]

If it isn’t too much trouble and if you've regained your breath, would you like to head somewhere else? It won’t do to just stand around all day.

Oh, yes. Of course.

[ He's reminded that they do have a task to do here instead of idling. ]

Do you have a destination in mind? [ He hopes that it's not a crowded place. Being in a group of humans would put his self-control on trial once more. ]

Well, there's a cafe that's popular with the locals. I'm curious about their tea as I've heard it seems to be of great quality, so we could probably go there.

[horrorchord.avi]

[ horrorchord.avi INDEED

Or you know, the tea might calm his nerves, and he ought to practice being around humans without losing his shit. ]

That sounds nice. [ Forneus gave him money, so he's able to pay for any drinks. ] Lead the way, then.

[With a nod and non-committal hum, she steps out into the sunlight and goes ahead, though she does keep her pace as not to go too fast.

And thankfully, it doesn't take super long. One 10-minute walk and a cafe in her eyesight later:]

There it is.

[Quaint with a cozy atmosphere- along with a lot of locals bustling through; the scent of white tea mingled with florals wafting through the air does make it somewhat less daunting, at least.]

Good grief, seems like it might take a while...

[ Yeah, it might take a while. He's grateful for the herbal smell of tea - while it doesn't drown out the smell of living humans, it's something that he can focus on. He mustn't show any sign of outward weakness when he's in public. Louis takes a deep breath and closes his eyes, then opens them again. ]

A friend of mine often made herbal tea for us. It was a calming balm for our moments of rest.

They always work wonders, truly.

[Which means Yu is gonna suck it up and head right in. Would have it been easier to just go for a less-populated cafe? For sure. But on the other hand, that tea smells so good!! And admittedly, it'd hurt her pride somewhat if she just gave up in front of Louis. He did accompany her to this place, it's only fair to repay him in some manner.

After a long, long while, Yu finally escapes the dreaded lines and holds up the good stuff- two herbal teas rich in flavor with a cooling aftertaste; she's also huffing and puffing a lot as if she ran a marathon.]

Sorry for you leaving you out here that long. I just hope this is worth it after all of this, eugh.

[ If anything, Louis is grateful that she didn't ask him to enter the shop with her. Being outside is more tolerable - he thinks of it as a trial, giving him the opportunity to practice subduing his hunting instincts. He has the edge of being naturally restrained, but this still took effort. He tries to think about the tea, but his mind inadvertently wanders to the companion he had left behind in his world. He often thought about them when he was alone and unoccupied. He knew they would be safe inside their resting place, but it's hard to deny that he missed them. They were inseparable from him before he came here, after all.

It takes him a few moments to come back to himself once Yu returns with the tea. His careful composure is back almost instantly, and he takes the tea from her with murmured thanks. ]

It was no trouble. I should be the one thanking you for going into the queue.

[ At least he isn't surrounded by humans outside. He considers giving her Mora for the tea, but maybe he should do it later. ]

august mingle

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