4.1
"Miss Nilou, another withering zone has appeared near Caravan Ribat!"
"Are there any vision bearers in the area?" Nilou asked the forest ranger, already prepping a bag.
The ranger shook their head. "The General Mahamatra has aided us in the past in those areas, but with his disappearance, Watchleader Tighnari has been handling it."
"Ah, I'll handle it then." Back packed, Nilou made her way out of the hut "Please notify Watcher Ashpazi for me, will you?"
"Of course, we'll send a dusk bird your way if we hear of any other withering zones while you're out."
Thank you!" Nilou waved rapidly before leaping off the ledge and deploying her wind glider, now making her way out of Gandharva Ville.
Nilou was ever so glad Tighnari hadn't left her in charge when he and Collei went out to research the withering, she'd never be able to keep up with going out to handle withering zones and running the place.
Nilou had to admit, while she wasn't a fit for being a forest ranger, and she truly loved her life at the Grand Bazaar, there was this exhilarating rush that came with clearing out withering zones that was only matched by dance.
Perhaps that'll be how she helps out in protecting the forest, in protecting Sumeru.
She liked the sound of that.
Catching sight of a different withering zone on her way, Nilou nearly changed course, yet it was cleared out before her very eyes with a blast of electro.
Was that the General Mahamatra?
"Aren't you talking about sugar!?" Iaanesh laughed loudly. "Oh, Collei, are you feeling alright? I've never heard you describe something like that before!"
"White, cubic, hard bubble-" Collei flushed, hiding her face in her hands. "OF COURSE ITS SUGAR!"
"How do you turn this thing off?!" Tighnari yelped as the massive ruin golem shook, wincing at the onslaught of blasts that hit the nearby mountainside. "This is why I wasn't in Kshahrewar."
"Vanarana is amazing!" Collei smiled brightly, playing games with the various Aranara that had approached her, arms laden with flowers. "Next time we come here, we have to bring Nilou!"
"She's a bit busy with a different avatar of Marana," Tighnari responded, currently being dragged around by Araja, lyre in hand.
To think, Rana and the Traveler had gone on such an adventure when conducting a seemingly regular patrol.
Well, so long as Nilou was handling things back in Gandharva Ville, he didn't mind making more expeditions like this to learn more about their nation.
It was pretty fun.
4.2
"The Loops expanding." Tighnari hummed, spinning a lotus. "They're lasting longer now, and the change appears to be permanent."
"I see." Nahida bit her lip. "I'm sorry my predecessors' predictions were wrong, it seems this won't end, it'll grow."
The two sat in silence, thoughtful.
Tighnari had numerous things he wanted to bring up to Nahida, but at the same time, he didn't want to rely on her.
She was loop-aware, but she wasn't looping herself. Pushing the burden of decision onto her was a terrible idea.
Ear flicking, Tighnari smiled, reminiscing her reason for approaching him.
"Are you certain you wish to stay away from Collei and Nilou?"
"I… don't want to force myself into a known position, when other versions of myself may disagree." Nahida watched a bird fly in circles high above them. "Letting other loopers become aware of my existence is not a good idea, it's best to wait."
Their conversation lapsed into silence once more as Tighnari released the lotus back into the river before them.
"Personally, with the loop expanding, do you think others might start looping as well?"
"I-" Nahida hesitated, "I don't want to give false hope, I can never know the full scope of this, but… but I think it's possible. D-Nilou started looping after you, so with the loop expanding, there's room for more people."
Smiling slightly, Tighnari turned to her. "Do you think one day, you'll loop? Or, do you want to?"
"I'm hopeful." A gentle breeze passed her, a light melody heard in the distance. "I'm hopeful that one day, I'll be freed from my cage, and I'll introduce myself to my people, and I'll truly meet all of you that are looping. I think, I want to be seen by you all, not just as a god, but as Nahida."
4.3
"How does this work...?"
Nilou twirled a strand of hair, thinking hard.
They looked nothing alike, unless, could others not see Nilou, as, well… Nilou?
"Spying on your sister, Nilou?"
"Whoa!" Nilou spun on her heel, hand to her beating heart as she quickly shushed the woman behind her. "Don't attract attention, where did you come from?"
"Oh?" Rosaria raised a brow at the small Deaconess, "Doesn't this go against your honour?"
"No…"
Spying went against the Deaconesses morals, but Nilou wasn't the Deaconess.
Well, technically, she was, but she also wasn't!
Wait, was she actually? She could be considered Sumeru's Deaconess…
"We look nothing alike, right?" Nilou gestured past the plant the two were hidden behind, and towards her not-sister but Barbara's sister, Jean. "No one would believe we're related if they put us next to each other."
"Is this an attempt at a joke, from our darling Deaconess?" Rosaria sighed, massaging her forehead, "While the effort is… sweet? You look the same as ever."
"That's not what I meant!" Nilou huffed, swiftly leaving their shelter and out the gates of Mondstadt, ignoring peoples attempts to stop her, including… Jean.
"This is too silly."
People called her Nilou, they saw Nilou, and Nilou was Barbara, but she wasn't Barbara! Wasn't it clear she wasn't from Mondstadt? Her name was not of Mondstadt origin. Oh, was her name not a typical Sumeru one?
Worrying, Nilou pinched her cheeks and rapidly shook her head to clear her thoughts.
No, her name was perfectly fine, that wasn't the issue. She'd merely… swapped places with someone? And none of the non-loopers could tell the difference.
To be away from home for a whole loop, staying in Mondstadt, a place she'd never been before.
The people she cared for wouldn't know the difference.
Agh, how annoying! Nilou would just have to make the best of this loop.
She could do this, she'd be a great Deaconess, and when she's back in Sumeru, she'll become a real Deaconess on her own merits!
Wait, do they even have a way for that to work?
She could always travel to Mondstadt and take a Deaconess test?
That… that's not a real thing, is it?
Nilou lifted her head to look back at the city of wind.
"Eh?"
She couldn't see a thing, oh, not again…
Sprinting up a hill, Nilou let out a frustrated noise at the distance between her and the city.
How far away was she?!
Looking out at the snowy landscape of Dragonspine, Tighnari chuckled.
Not just a replacement loop, a full-on seclusion loop!
He had some experiments he'd been meaning to do, so this would be a great-
"Of course."
Tighnari collapsed to the ground and let out a long sigh.
He couldn't access his sub-space. It simply didn't exist here.
Well, what was he supposed to do now?
Alchemy had never been Tighnari's best subject, he supposed he could do with improving on that this loop.
Without his sub-space, he doubted he'd be able to keep anything from this loop.
A shame.
Oh well, he'll spend some time exploring Dragonspine and towards the end of the loop make his way down to either Liyue or Mondstadt.
Considering these loops didn't seem to be ending, Tighnari could do with expanding his scope of research.
The person he was replacing had some quite interesting knowledge of Dahri.
Tighnari briefly pondered on if he should search for Nilou and Collei, before discarding the idea with a shrug.
Seeing as he was acting out someone else's role this loop, they were likely doing the same.
They would probably be fine.
"Why me why me why me-" Collei took a deep breath, an arrow flying by her as she changed her course, settling for leaping off of a cliff.
Better than dying… maybe.
Crashing into the cold- no, freezing water bellow, Collei sluggishly dragged herself to the shores of Watatsumi island, her anemo vision of the loop shortening the length of the trip.
What a bad trip.
Teeth chattering, Collei was escorted by Watatsumi guards away from the shoreline.
Inazuma, why Inazuma?
Don't get her wrong, Collei was sure Inazuma was a lovely place, despite their… questionable reading material.
But Collei would rather visit on her own terms, preferably when the vision hunt decree isn't a thing, and maybe when she isn't replacing someone?
Kaedehara Kazuha, whoever he is, Collei seriously thinks he's crazy.
"Look at all the Mora!"
Jumping around the Golden house, they laughed loudly.
"If Kaveh could see me now, haha!"
Spinning in a circle, they collapsed, Mora flying around the room.
"Fun, fun, fun. My mora is mine, and your mora is mine too~"
4.1 Despite the chaos, everyone enjoyed themselves!
4.2 Laments of the loop-aware
4.3 Replacing someone else can be a bit of a mess, none of them got their role quite right, poor Nilou was sent to many healers before the loops end...
I've just arrived home after a week long holiday, so this chapter has been written in a rush, my apologies. Let me know if there are any mistakes with it, I'll come back at a later date to correct them to the best of my ability.