Work Text:
Ayaka moved her brush slowly across the page, watching the mark left behind go from charcoal-colored to a barely-there gray. She loved looking at sumi-e paintings, but creating her own was a skill she had yet to master. She heard faint footsteps nearing her, and raised her brush off the silk.
The door slid open, and Ayaka looked up from her work to see Thoma, wearing a barely-concealed excited smile. His emotions were always contagious, and Ayaka couldn't help but smile at the sight of him.
"Milady, I just received word that the Traveler is arriving within the hour." he said. Oh, goodness, this was the best thing she has heard in weeks! But it was so sudden, and she had expected to at least receive a letter from Lumine before hearing word of her arrival in Inazuma...
"Oh, Thoma, thank you! I-- she--" her brain was moving too fast for her mouth to keep up. "I wonder how... nevermind. Excuse me, I am just surprised." she finished, a tired laugh coming out at the end. "Please, sit down, if you would like."
Thoma nodded and quickly thanked her. After the two of them were sitting across from each other, he spoke. "I understand your shock. I couldn't believe what I was hearing, when my contacts in Ritou told me."
"Is she in Ritou?"
"She must have passed through there, but based on what the men said, I think she would be on her way here."
Of course Ayaka would be excited to see her, but she would have liked a little more time to prepare! Up until a few minutes ago, she would have assumed that Lumine was still in Sumeru, or maybe even gone back to Mondstadt or Liyue. No one in Inazuma had heard from Lumine since she arrived in Sumeru, and it has been over half a year since then. Hopefully the God of Wisdom and Irminsul were able to give Lumine answers, especially if she has been there for so long. So long without seeing or hearing from her...
"When we said goodbye, we told each other that we both wanted to stay friends, but it's been so long... I don't know if things will be the same between us." she said slowly.
"That's a sad feeling. I remember you were worried about drifting apart even before she left Inazuma." he replied sympathetically. He sighed and rearranged his posture, looking down for a moment. Looking back up at her, he started, "I know you, Ayaka. You probably wrote all about those times in a journal or something, right? I know how hard you try to consciously keep your memories."
This caused a laugh out of her. "You're definitely right. You'll never find those journals, though. Even with all of your skill." she gestured challengingly.
"Hah" he laughed loudly, "I would never even look, but I know you're teasing."
She hummed in acknowledgement. The two of them sat peacefully for a few moments. Ayaka caught Thoma looking at her unfinished sumi-e work.
"I'm trying to paint in the style of the old Inazuman masters of sumi-e, otherwise known as 'ink painting'." Ayaka explained.
"It looks nice! Almost like it's from Liyue."
"I think so, too. The old masters were very inspired by Liyuen ink painting, if I remember correctly."
The comfortable conversation helped soothe Ayaka's worries about the reunion that was about to come.
///
Lumine was feeling all kinds of emotions about being back in Inazuma. Nostalgia (so much nostalgia), happiness at seeing familiar faces, and relief. The relief was a strange kind, and she hasn't felt this exact way before. She was finally out of the Samsara, the Sabzeruz festival was half a year ago, Nahida is safe and free.
Sumeru's rainforests were beautiful, but it was hard to compete against Inazuma's beauty. The electro-infused flora and fauna made for a lovely pink and purple landscape. Sakura trees lined the roads, and Lumine had used Electro to pick the blooms so she could smell them. She held the blooms up to her face, smelled them, and was reminded of how Ayaka's long hair smelled when she hugged her.
She missed the other girl very strongly, but she was used to pushing the "tu me manques" feeling to the backburner while on missions. Now that everything was resolved, she had more time to think about how much she actually missed her. Still, like everything else Inazuman, Lumine knew that the Shirasagi Himegimi would still be in the land of Eternity when she returned.
Inazuma's eternity seemed even more obvious now, and it made her feel like even more of an outsider than the last time she was in this nation. Now that Ei has faced her fears about change and realized the consequences of her pursuit of eternity, Lumine notices small changes in the familiar land. Merchants have opened stalls selling foreign goods, like Mondstadt wine, Sumerian spices, intricately-painted earthernware artifacts, and more. More citizens have Kameras, and the uniform of the Shogunate has changed. Lumine hasn't been to the city yet, but all of these changes in Ritou seem pretty promising, and she hopes that the country and its Archon are enjoying a happy new beginning. Just like Sumeru and Nahida, Lumine thought.
Sumeru is no longer dependent on *^#$&)&%#%&*'s legacy, and the Akademiya are no longer clinging to her ever-fading ghost. Lumine breathed in harshly when her name came into her mind. Her body now felt heavy, the same way it feels when she sees something that reminds her of Aether, or something that makes her want to cry.
Although everything ended well in Sumeru, Lumine was still dealing with the emotional hurt that only she knew the cause of. She was the only one she knew who would be dealing with this memory. She couldn't talk to Paimon, Nahida, Dainsleif (who seemed to know everything), any of the archons, or her friends. Her status as a "descender" blessed her with the amazing ability to be immune to Irminsul's deletion. Wonderful. It has caused her so much happiness, hasn't it?
What else has been done to Teyvat's history? What other truths have been ripped out of the hearts of the people? What if someone's most precious memories were tied to forbidden moments and got forgotten, never to be remembered again? What if Ayaka ever got caught in all of this?
Too much change surely couldn't be sustainable. Lumine needs to have a backup plan in case there are consequences of too much change in Irminsul.
If she ever wanted to do anything about restoring the truth, which she doesn't think she will ever do, the only people she could mention the truth to without any consequences would be the other three "descenders". Lumine doesn't even know who they are, and apparently her own twin brother isn't one. Somehow. She still can't think of a single reason to explain how Aether is a native to Teyvat, but Nahida searched Irminsul and apparently found data satisfactory enough to support the claim.
Lumine came up to a small rock on the path and she kicked it out of the way. She wished she could kick the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles (who was apparently also a "descender"?!). Everything was so simple before that entity ruined their lives.
Taking a deep breath, Lumine tried to push those dark thoughts out of her mind. She raised her hands in front of her chest, hesitating, and tried to remember what Nilou said about the "body movement therapy" method for anger.
Forming a circle with her hands, Lumine imagined pushing her negative thoughts into her hand-circle, and then wound her right arm back and threw the imaginary ball of bad thoughts away. She could imagine the arcing curve of the imaginary ball, and could picture where it would roll away in the purple-ish grass. Lumine smiled after a moment, she hoped Nilou would be proud of her improvising her method.
It would have to be enough. Lumine wasn't in Inazuma to toil over the truth of this world, she was here to "take a load off", as Cyno had suggested with a worried look in his eyes. And, more importantly, she was here to have an overdue reunion with her best friend.