This was going to include events like the riddle and odd boar one, but I ran out of time, and it would've been a bit too long. Maybe next time!

7.1

Sitting at her small desk, Collei scanned the page full of numbers before her, trying to do the mental math.

"I'm in good health too, so that makes seven, no, eight…. Erm, Traveler is helping the Aranara, so that makes twelve, or is it thirteen… it's fifteen! That means-!"

Collei stood with a loud gasp, body thrumming with nervous energy, she stumbled out of her hut.

"MASTER!"

An extended loop!

"Ohoho, are we all packed, my dear apprentice?" Dori waved Layla over, who approached with a nervous smile.

"A-almost." Layla rested her weight against a wall. "I think I've gathered everything we need, do you need any more help?"

"Hmm, nope, I'm raring to go." Marching off, Dori boarded the ship they'd take. "Hurry, hurry, I've got some people I need to beat for a splendid surprise of an entrance!"

"Aah, coming." Layla sprinted up, wobbling the moment she boarded the ship. "Oh, too much…"

"Haha, next stop, Dornman Port! And then, a new supply of MORA!"

"why did I agree to this.."

"Are we ready?" Cyno adjusted his bag, eyes scanning his companions.

"Stop fretting, Cyno." Tighnari rolled his eyes fondly, helping Collei down the path out of Gandharva Ville. "There's no need to worry, you can start doing that once we pass through the Chasm."

Cyno made an indecipherable sound before marching on ahead, spear at the ready as the four approached the cave that would lead to the Chasm.

"Here goes nothing." Nilou took a deep breath before following Cyno in, leaving Tighnari and Collei.

"We're really going." Collei murmured, looking back at Gandharva Ville. "This is so different. I'm not in another nation replacing someone, I'm going to Mondstadt, as Collei, as… me.."

"That's right." Tighnari held her hand. "None of the loops where we've been displaced matter in the here and now. This is you deciding to go, you have a chance to freely go to Mondstadt, no outside influence from the loops. What do you want, Collei?"

The wind ruffled Collei's hair as the two silently stared at Gandharva Ville, watching the people rushing around.

"This is home." Collei's eyes watered, and she rubbed at them with a laugh, her sleeves changing in shade. "Mondstadt is something special, I want to go visit, but this is home, and I'm so thankful for everyone that's helped me."

Tighnari lightly sighed, giving her a small tug in the direction of the cave. "Let's go thank some people in person then, shall we?"

"Well that was weird." Dori squinted in the direction they'd come from, "Hadn't experienced the whole nation-forgetting thing myself, but I get the idea now."

"Umm, are you alright, Dori?"

Dori perked up at the sound of Layla's breathless voice.

"Layla, my ever loyal customer!" Dori spun towards her, finger pointing towards where Dori assumed Dorman Port was. "You remember what Dorman Port looked like, right?"

"Oh?" Layla tilted her head, "I… yes? We spent the night there…"

Dori blinked slowly before dragging Layla back over to their caravan and on their way.

"Almighty merchant..?"

"Hush, I'm working." Dori tossed Layla a pouch of mora, humming as she heard Layla yelp, she also pulled out her nifty guidebook to looping.

Layla deserved some compensation for the tests Dori would be using her for in the near future.

"So, it works like a memory wipe if unavoidable? Or maybe-"

"It's a shame the Lantern Rite's already passed.I've heard it's majestic." Nilou whispered to Collei, a breathless giggle escaping her as the two trudged up another mountain. "There's some amazing arts performed here. There's this one opera troupe, I don't know much, but they're famous for their skill. I've always wondered what seeing one of their performances would be like…"

"With the Akademiya rules, it must be hard to get outsider performances."

"Mhmm," Nilou nodded rapidly, a frown tugging at her lips. "Even if the rules get eased, it'd be a while before anyone could come to Sumeru. Travelling Troupes all have their routes set and- well let's not think on that."

"Hey, don't look down!" Collei grinned brightly, a skip to her steps. "We're going all the way to Mondstadt! I'm sure we'll visit Liyue again."

"You'll come with me?"

"Of course I will! We're friends after all!"

"Not to cut this conversation short, but we should all hurry up." Tighnari called out to the two who were lagging behind, hands on his hips. "We don't exactly need the Qixing tracking us down to question why the General Mahamatra is wandering Liyue's plains. I doubt they'll believe he's sightseeing with that glare of his."

"Coming, Master Tighnari!"

"Liyue, huh." Nilou turned back to look at Liyue, the distance making it hard for her to make out any of the details of the city. "I wouldn't mind visiting, maybe the theatre could come perform…"

"So, you want me" Dori jutted a finger towards herself, " to do the knights stall?"

The knight standing before Dori and Layla shifted awkwardly as he launched into a speech on how the renowned Sangemah Bay was the only one that could save such a poorly planned stall from ruin and aid the growth of Mondstadt.

"I may as well open my own stall." Dori huffed, crossing her arms.

"Almighty Merchant." Layla whispered from behind her, leaning down for her words to go unheard by onlookers. "There's a fee for renting your own stall, but..." Layla paused, hand over her chest as she took a deep breath. "Sorry, umm, you'll get the knights stall for free, and going way over the target... going over could get you some profit..." Layla's voice tapered off to the end of her small speech, and she wandered off to drink some water.

"What will I ever do with that girl." Dori tutted and shook her head before turning back to the ever-nervous knight. "I'll do it, but after I surpass the target by... oh, let's say, thirty million, all remaining profits go to me."

"YES!" The knight beamed at her. "The targets nowhere near that amount, we'll all be very thankful if you can do this!"

"I know that." Dori spun on her heel. "I'm being real generous today, be glad your cause is justified in my eyes."

"We're here." Collei breathed out, hand to her chest as she stared at Mondstadt from the outskirts of Springvale. "We're actually here, I-I…"

"Collei, breathe." Tighnari moved to block her view of the place, gently rubbing circles on her back. "Follow my breathing, okay?"

Watching the two regulate their breathing, Cyno turned his narrowed gaze onto the final companion of their group. "Nilou."

"Ah-!" Nilou jolted out of her thoughts, tearing her eyes away from Collei with a guilty look. "Sorry. Yes, Cyno?"

"Go explore Mondstadt. Not just the city, but the region." Cyno glanced back at Collei. "Take her with you."

"Are you sure…?" Nilou but her lip, watching as Collei calmed down and begun a whispered conversation with Tighnari.

"Yes. She needs a distraction." Cyno shifted his weight. "I'll go with Tighnari, you go with Collei. She needs to stay calm. Showing you around can distract her for long enough that she'll get used to being back, and then she can go see the people. A friend would do her some good for this."

"Right." Nilou nodded sharply, tugging on her cloak. "I'll do my best, thank you for trusting me with her."

"You're her friend, and you're both capable enough to hold out if something happens." Cyno shared a look with Tighnari as he approached with Collei on his heels. "Don't stray too far from the city, stick to populated areas."

Nilou nodded again rapidly, the conversation coming to an end as the other two rejoined them.

"Why are you here?" Tighnari looked at Dori and her lovely little stall with an incredulous expression.

"Before I say a thing, I want my mora for the loop, General." Dori smirked and made a grabbing motion with one of her hands as Cyno forfeited his mora with a grimace. "Great! Here you go, my dear apprentice." Dori forked over a quarter of her mora to Layla, who held it like treasure, eyes blown wide. "Buy yourself something nice!"

Layla nodded before rushing away to visit the other stalls in the area, whereupon Dori turned to her unamused guests. "People that stand around at a stall typically buy stuff, ya know?"

"Dori."

"Fine, fine." Dori waved her hands around when faced with Cyno's glare. "I haven't done anything wrong, I just happened to notice it was an extended loop, and what better way to spend it than go make a profit in another land, where I can't get arrested , and conduct some experiments with my assistant, nothing wrong with that!"

"Experiments?" Tighnari shook his head, inconspicuously inspecting Dori's wares. That looked like a good part for Karkata.

" Intrigued?" Dori rocked on the balls of her feet with a smug grin. "I'm making some edits to my guide to looping, haven't got all the details, but it's something big. "

"We'll pass." Cyno told her bluntly, reaching over to drag Tighnari away from the wares he looked suspiciously close to buying.

"Offer wasn't for you anyways." Dori shouted at him as he walked away, "Pay off your debts first, lousy General!"

"Oh Collei, we should head back out again sometime this week." Nilou spun in a circle, a giddy smile on her face. "The fields were beautiful, and the winds always flowing, it's a perfect place to dance!"

"We could continue that dance you were teaching me?" Collei suggested, happily watching Nilou incorporate small flourishes to her walk. "Maybe Master Tighnari and General Ma- uh, Cyno! Maybe they can join us next time, I'm sure Master would find a lot of interesting things to research."

"That sounds like fun!" Nilou stumbled a bit when the two reached the stairs just by the entrance to the city, before fixing her footing. "It's a bit overwhelming, if I'm being honest. There's always been excitement at the theatre, but this is, well there's so much to see."

"I think I'm happy with the nations we've seen so far." Collei muttered with a shudder, "Inazumas a death trap."

"Oh right, the first replacement." Nilou ran a hand along the surface of the fountain by Good Hunters and below a pair of Fatuus before leaning against it. "You know, I ended up here, but being here as myself is completely different. Who knows, you may like Inazuma if you go yourself some day, you'll never know."

"It'd take a miracle for that to happen. " Collei scoffed, opening her mouth to continue before her thoughts slowed to a halt, and her breath was stolen away."

"Collei?"

Amber stood in the area overlooking the fountain, a hand to her heart as she slowly walked forwards.

"Amber-!" Collei choked, hands tightening into fists around the ends of her scarf.

Amber smiled, a bright, warm thing as she took her time to approach , walking around to the stairs.

"Collei…" Nilou called out in worry, hesitating for a moment before slowly intertwining her fingers with Collei's in a frail hold, causing the jumpy girls eyes to snap downwards and into Nilou's own compassionate eyes. "You'll be great. Take a deep breath, and trust in yourself."

Collei's mouth opened and shut, and taking another glance at Amber, she nodded, eyes filling with determination, she squeezed Nilou's hand before slipping away.

The two met at the midpoint between the fountain and the stairs, silence encompassing them as they took each other

"Hi, Amber." Collei's arms felt stiff and her legs shook, but she still managed a small, fragile smile that trembled imperceptibly.

"Hey, Collei," Ambers smile was warm, and so kind. Collei had missed it. "It's been a while, you've grown."

"Haha, you're- you're the same as ever." Collei's legs gave out, and she collapsed into Ambers waiting arms, her body wracked with tremors. "I've missed you, so much. I-I've got so much to-to tell you."

"We've got time." Amber ran her fingers through Collei's hair, eyes shining with emotion. "We've got all the time in the world… I missed you too, Collei."

Amber slowly brought them to the ground where she kneeled with Collei's head in her lap.

"I brought a friend, I… I brought my family…"

"Are you sure I can't get some sort of discount?" Mona leaned forwards, desperation in her eyes. "These prices are utterly absurd!"

"Missy, these are rare goods." Dori waved a recipe book in front of the poor girl, who had been bothering Dori for a good while now. "This has recipes made from a once prestigious professor from the Akademiya in it, one that's experienced the progression of Sumeru first hand! Another recipe is from the Aranara, creatures intimately linked to the forests of Sumeru. There's only one chance every couple centuries to get this thing. Why, the last time you could get it was over five hundred years ago! You sure you wanna wait that long for the next chance?"

"You-You-" Mona's face turned bright red as she pointed wildly at Dori. "You are a conniving little-!"

"E-EXCUSE ME!"

The two turned to who had interrupted them, expressions changing.

Layla stood there, a hand to her chest, swaying on the spot as she breathed heavily. Beside her, was Fischl, who looked at them with disdain, hands on her hips.

"What ho, it appears mere mortals such as yourselves have chosen to bring forth much strain for the Dear visage of thy starry evening!" Fischl lifted her chin and looked them down with an air of superiority. "Presumptuous mortals should heed their words, lest they are to lose their tongues."

"Is she threatening me?" Dori muttered to herself, watching the people in the nearby vicinity cringing as they sped away, and the annoying girl with the big hat hide her face in her hands. "Not good for business."

"Th... Thank you... Prinzessin.. Prinzessin der-"

"Shh!" Fischl placed her finger to Layla's lips, preventing her from continuing. "One hast already given thee permission to merely say 'Prinzessin', one of high esteem such as yourself has no need to further prove thyself."

"She means, be careful of your hea-"
"OZ!"

Watching Layla flush and try to stammer out an argument between long pauses she took to breathe, Dori clicked her tongue and loudly banged the recipe book she still held onto a crate.

"Ok, let's do it this way, you-" Dori pointed at Layla, who at being called out to so suddenly by her somewhat-employer, shifted closer to Fischl. "Can go get yourself a drink and sit down somewhere, work on one of those riddles they've got set up in the area or something." Reaching behind her, Dori held out one of the gift baskets her stall was selling, filled with an assortment of drinks and foods, to Fischl. "On the house, share it between you, your weird bird, and Layla. Just go away, you're scaring off my customers."
"WHAT!?" The girl that still hadn't left glared at Dori as Fischl accepted the basket with a critical eye. "You wouldn't give me an inch, yet you give them everything under the stars!"

Layla glanced towards the girl she'd hardly paid attention to, recognition filling her eyes. "I-is that-"

"They didn't haggle." Dori loudly cut off Layla, looking the girl up and down, she made one last comment before turning back to the other two, as the girl with Layla seemed to be gearing up for a speech. "You don't even deserve an inch."

"One thanks thee for aiding this one and her companion, fate shall give thee a boon of good fortune as-" Oz cleared his throat, causing Fischl to glance at Layla, who looked ready to collapse, before she sighed, shoulders slumping as she tightened her grip on the basket. "Thank you, Treasured merchant of the dream garden"

"Huh." Dori blinked rapidly as the girl dragged Layla away. "Wait! Where did you..."

"That girl." Mona let out a long sigh before taking a glance at the baffled looking merchant. "Say is this not a charity event? I'm a person in need."

Dori groaned loudly, throwing her head back to look at the birds.

She'd love to fly away right about now. Then again, this haggler would probably steal all her goods if she did that.

Best get her hourglass out, if anything, it might make the screeching harpy upset enough to leave.

"It's good to know my junior didn't turn out as lazy as little old me. Why, you've even made the trip all the way to Mondstadt. Such a shame it wasn't to visit me, I thought we got along well."

"A trip like that would be unnecesary." Cyno bluntly told her, moving further into the room to avoid the small burst of Dendro Tighnari sent his way.

In hindsight, introducing these two might not have been the best of ideas.

"How cruel of you. No love for your poor senior." Lisa smiled at Cyno teasingly before dropping the point. "Thanks for taking care of little Collei all these years, I can tell she's flourishing into a wonderful young lady."

"You saw her?"

"Mhmm, she's got a cute friend. I don't think she noticed me, so absorbed in telling all that she could about Mondstadt."

Cyno let out a sigh of relief. Good, he'd been right to send the two of them off together.

Lisa turned to Tighnari, twirling a strand of hair. "You must be little Collei's master. She speaks of you often in her letters."

Tighnari and Cyno exchanged a glance before Tighnari nooded and Cyno stepped forwards.

"Lisa, this is Tighnari. A..." Cyno trailed off, slight amusement dancing in his gaze. "Collei's master, and once a good friend of mine. Unfortunately, he left me behind to pay a dishonourable merchant recently, so we are in a terrible conflict with each other."

Tighnari shot Cyno a glare as Lisa let out a laugh.

"Is that so, my my, you sure do live quite the life these days, Cyno." She placed a hand to her chest. "To think, not only is there plenty of action, but the drama. Must be fun to watch for outsiders, the incredulity of it all, hmm."

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that," Tighnari cut in, turning to Lisa with a pleasant smile. "I'm sure you'll see plenty of this conflict first hand while we're here."

"How fun."

Cyno looked back and forth between the two, lips twitching into a small smile.

"Is it just me, or are there tons of people from Sumeru here?" Paimon tilted her head as she passed another person from Sumeru, "They're like, everywhere! I think that was Nilou and- EULA?! What the heck is going on here?"

The Traveler silently shook their head and continued their walk to find Venti, in hopes of getting another hint.

So long as people like Dori were taking up tasks the Traveler was certain they'd have been given otherwise, the Traveler could not care less.

For now, they'd wisely keep their mouth shut, though to do that, they may have to suffocate Paimon first.

"Remember this place?"

Amber and Collei laid at the peak of Starsnatch Cliff, listening to the waves crashing far below, Ambers arms wrapped around Collei from behind in a continued embrace.

"I wanted to take Nilou here, earlier today, but I couldn't bring myself to." Collei watched a pair of birds fly above them with half-lidded eyes. "It's beautiful, she'd love this place."

"One day, you'll build up the courage." Amber rested her chin on Collei's head. "Until then, this'll be our place, filled with memories. And when you're ready, you can make new memories here!"

"That sounds nice." Collei's eyes watered, a finger tracing the ground. Would she be able to tell the exact location all of them stood when they were here, so long ago?

"How have you been feeling lately? You came a long way." Amber felt a proud smile spread across her lips as she squeezed Collei's hand. "I don't think I've ever been so surprised before, you did great."
"I did do great." Collei's own lips twitched into a smile, cheeks hurting. "We went through the Chasm and Liyue, it was such a long trip. Patrols can't even compare to how much walking and running we all did. I'm... tired, like, really tired today. I'll be fine by tomorrow though! We're here for the whole festival, it's going to be so fun."

"That's great news!" Amber let out a laugh, the sound spurring a sense of nostalgia in Collei. "You know, I always wanted to see you again, but between my duties and your condition... This is perfect."

"Perfect..." Collei's chest tightened painfully as she recalled all the loops, she had the chance to see Amber, and now to see her again... it hurt. It hurt, so much. "I'll visit you, I'm sorry, I-I ll visit as much as I can."

"Whoa whoa, no need to rush, Collei!" Amber buried her face in Collei's hair as she softened her embrace, shielding little Collei from the world. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, I'll visit you too, I promise. Let's enjoy our time together in the here and now, leave the future in the future, you still have to introduce me to the rest of your family and friends, remember?"

Collei mutely shook her head, eyes shut, she silently cried and trembled in Ambers hold.

7.1 Welcome to Mondstadt

I struggle a tad bit with this site, it's been an ongoing problem for a couple years, therefore im considering swapping over to only posting on ao3. Thoughts?