Miko was sitting on the front porch of her small little house inside the Teapot that Lumine had been kind enough to build for her. She had a table and chair set up so she could read her novels outside in the lovely weather the teapot always had. But she was far from the only one with such a cozy setup in Lumine's teapot. Her house was one of many, erected in a makeshift little village for all who agreed to join Lumine on her many adventurers.
From her front porch, she enjoyed a bit of light reading as she watched all the companions Lumine had made along the way mingle and enjoy each other's company. Which is what she had been doing that very morning, with a cup of tea in one hand and a new light novel in the other as she sat and read…
Key words being, 'had been'...
Now her eyes had fallen on a scene the kitsune found far more interesting than her romantic light novel. She was watching Lumine talking to a young girl with a red ribbon in her hair resembling some adorable bunny ears. Amber, if she remembered the girl's name correctly. And while she couldn't hear exact words, she could at least get a sense of what the conversation was about by the tone of their voices.
Amber seemed to be asking Lumine something with concern, and Miko's ears twitched as she could swear there was even a hint of pleading in the girl's voice. But Lumine's response was firm and calm but also reassuring. Amber gave a final reply of some kind of confirmation before Lumine turned and walked away.
Miko knew what the two had just been talking about. Amber was asking Lumine to take her out with her on her adventurers. But Lumine turned her down and gave her a promise of 'next time.' Such a sight wasn't all that uncommon to Miko, other companions in the teapot would ask Lumine if they could join her on their adventures when they started to grow restless. And Lumine would usually grant their requests or give them a promise of 'next time' just like what she just saw with Amber.
However, Miko had begun to notice a pattern. This was the third time Amber came to Lumine asking to join her, and Lumine had turned her down outright. And as far as the fox spirit was aware, she never saw Lumine keep the promise of 'next time' to the young girl in red. As Lumine got further away, her eyes fell on the poor girl left behind and saw quite a pitiful face, as if she was on the verge of tears as the girl watched Lumine leave her behind again before slinking away to her own home.
"Hmm, this simply will not do…" Miko mumbled as she closed her book and set the cup of tea that had grown cold on the table as she rose to her feet. Adjusting her clothes, she quickly scanned the area for the person she was looking for before her eyes fell on a small girl in green. Nahida.
The god of wisdom was talking to a much taller woman of a darker skin tone dressed in red and black, Dehya. Two people she had gotten to know rather well since they joined Lumine's ever-growing company as the three of them and a dancer girl named Nilou made one of Lumine's go-to teams for when she needed help. She walked briskly over to the two of them, and they both paused their conversation to greet her as she approached.
"Oh, hey Miko, good morning. Aren't you usually reading one of those porn books right now?" Dehya asked with a smirk, to which Miko only glared.
"For the last time Dehya, just because there's sex in a story does not make it a porno." Miko snapped back. Usually, she wouldn't tolerate such slander of her favorite pastime, but she had more important things on her mind right now. "Nahida, can you do me a favor?" She asked, turning to the other girl who looked at her with surprise.
"Me? What can I do for you?" Nahida asked, slightly confused about what she could do for the kitsune. Even Dehya raised a brow, seeing that her remark didn't get the usual rile out of Miko. Which hinted at how seriously Miko was taking this request she was asking of Nahida.
"You see that girl with the red ribbon in her hair?" Miko asked, turning and pointing out Amber as she was still making her way to her house. "I want you to read her thoughts right now. There's something I need to confirm." She said.
Nahida grimaced at the request. "You know I don't do that just on a whim. It's a massive invasion of privacy, and I only do it when absolutely necessary." She pointed out, and even Dehya got more serious as this conversation continued.
Miko, however, was not deterred. "I know. But even knowing that I still ask you to do it just this once. If my hunch is right, and it usually is when it comes to these things, then there is something wrong between her and Lumine, and it's eating away at her. But before acting on it, I must be certain of what I'm dealing with." She explained.
Nahida crossed her arms as she looked from Miko to Amber as she thought hard about the situation. It took a few long moments before she seemed to make her decision. "I won't claim to be an expert on personal relationships, as I lack practical experience. However, I believe meddling in the personal affairs of two individuals is unwise and should not be attempted." She said, looking back at Miko, resolute.
Miko sighed in slight annoyance, but even she had to admit Nahida did have a point. Even still, she couldn't leave things be as they were, and she began to think of a way to convince the god of wisdom to bend her rules this one time.
"Well then, how about this…" Suddenly Dehya spoke, and both Nahida and Miko turned to her. "...Nahida will read her thoughts, but Miko, you swear not to act on the information you gain directly. Miko can satisfy her curiosity, and Nahida can take comfort in the fact you won't cause problems." She suggested, which sent both girls into a pondering state as they weighed the pros and cons of such a deal.
"Hmm, that's not a bad idea. I agree to these terms." Nahida said, to which Miko chuckled a little.
"You're sounding more like Rex Lapis than Beur right now, Nahida." The kitsune teased before collecting herself. "But very well. I also agree to these terms. Now, not to rush, but can you please read her thoughts now while they're still fresh in her head?" She said to which Nahida nodded and closed her eyes.
The small leaf in her hair began to glow faintly, and the grass at her feet grew ever so slightly taller around her. The dendro archon searched the mental space around her before it honed in on just one string of thought. 'It's because I'm so weak. Of course she wouldn't want me around. Why do I even bother asking…' More and more self-deprecating thoughts flowed into Nahida's mind, making her flinch at how painful the girl believed these thoughts to be true.
A few moments later, Nahida finally opened her eyes and looked at Miko sternly. "I hate to admit it, but you're right. Amber is in a self-deprecating loop brought on by Lumine's constant rejections. She believes Lumine refuses to have around because she's weak." She explained.
Miko hummed to herself. "Yup, that sounds about right, and it's as I feared."
"Wait, she thinks Lumine doesn't care about her because she's not strong? That's probably the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard." Dehya said, to which Nahida nodded.
"Yes, and while I'm more than certain Lumine honestly doesn't care about a person's strength, it begs the question of why she's constantly refusing Amber's request." She said, and Miko nodded in agreement.
"Agreed, something seems to have happened between Amber and Lumine that has now resulted in Lumine constantly leaving the poor dear behind." Miko said as she grew lost in thought.
"Don't forget your promise. You're not to take action based on this information." Nahida said, pulling the kitsune out of her inner thoughts. "I may not be Rex Lapis, but I will not stand for you breaking our deal." She warned, and Miko sighed and nodded in agreement.
"Yes, I won't take any direct actions or interfere with their personal problems." Miko said as Nahida stared her down before sighing and turning away.
"Honestly, you can be infuriating at times…" Nahida said as she began walking away, leaving Dehya and Miko alone as she made her way to her house.
Miko couldn't help but giggle a little. "I expected nothing less from the god of wisdom to see right through my plans." She mused, to which Dehya turned to her in confusion.
"Wait, don't tell me you're gonna actually try and-!" She was cut off by a finger from Miko being pushed to her lips.
"Oh no~ I'm not going to do a thing. I gave my word now, didn't I?" Miko said with a mischievous grin that made Dehya feel a pit in her stomach start to form. "But you didn't make any kind of promise, did you?" Miko said, hitting the nail on the coffin.
"You can't be serious. You want ME to get involved in one of your little schemes. Right after a literal god told you not to?!" Dehya retorted, knocking the hand away from her face.
"Dehya, don't you see? If Nahida didn't want me to be involved, she wouldn't have agreed to such an open-ended contract. The fact is, Nahida probably wants to help Amber and Lumine just as much as I do. The moment she began to read Amber's thoughts and saw how bad she felt about herself, she probably realized this was a serious issue that needed to be helped. But how would the two of them take it if she could only do it in such an underhanded way as to invade their private thoughts?" Miko pointed out, and Dehya began to catch on quickly.
"Right. So if the help now comes from us, who just happened to notice Amber has been looking down… But wait, you guessed what Amber was thinking before you even talked to us. Why did you need to get Nahida to confirm it by reading her thoughts?" Dehya asked.
"True, but I wanted to be completely certain before I made any move. Or else I'd risk making the situation worse if I was wrong." Miko said. "But now that I have my confirmation, it's time for a little digging to find out what happened between those two that led to this situation."
"And how exactly do you plan to do that?" Dehya asked.
"As I recall, there are two people that are close to Amber here. Collie and Eula."
"I'm gonna stop you right there." Dehya suddenly said, pointing a finger at Miko warningly. "Collie is close to Amber, yes. But if she finds out Amber's in an emotional wreck, she'll take it personally to rush to her side and try to fix the problem on her own. She admires Amber too much for her own good sometimes. So let's not get her involved unless we have to." Dehya said rather sternly, which Miko could tell meant she wasn't letting this be a point of debate, and nodded.
"Very well. We'll leave Collie out of this one unless Eula has nothing for us." Miko said before a new voice made both of them jump in surprise.
"And what exactly do I have that you want?" Eula's cold and firm voice chilled the two women down to the bone as they turned to see her walking up to them with a bag of groceries in one hand.
"O-oh hey Eula, we were just talking about you." Dehya said, trying to regain composure. Eula crossed her arms and scoffed.
"Talking about a noblewoman behind her back, is it? Mark my words v-" She started before Dehya gave off an exacerbated sigh.
"Yeah yeah, vengeance will be yours. We've heard it a thousand times already." Dehya said, shaking her head before taking a more serious tone. "Listen, something is wrong with Amber, and we were going to ask you for your help. That's all, we swear." She explained, and Eula's usually stiff form slackened ever so slightly.
"Is that so? And here I thought I overheard you gossiping about Collie and me and had meant to come to stop any unchivalrous thoughts you might have had about us." She said to which Miko raised a brow.
"Ah, so you haven't heard the entire conversation we've been having, then?" She asked. Eula shook her head.
"No. I was merely on my way home after picking up some food when I heard my name in passing. But enough about me, what was this about Amber, and what is wrong with her? Has she fallen ill?" Eula asked, her voice now twinged with concern for her friend. Miko looked to Dehya and motioned with her head, reminding her that she couldn't do anything. Dehya sighed and took a deep breath.
"Well, she's been asking Lumine to take her out on adventures, but almost every time, she's been refused almost outright. This most recent one seems to have taken a heavy mental toll on her, and she's borderline depressed about it. We wondered if you might know why Lumine wouldn't want to take Amber out with her. Did anything happen between them that you know of?" Dehya explained. Eula paused for a good few minutes as she thought.
"Hmm, I don't believe Lumine doesn't want her around. We enjoyed a nice conversation over tea just the other day, and she was asking and talking about Amber fondly, like the good friends they always have been. Though now that you mention it, I can't remember the last time she and Amber took the field together. Last time was…" Eula suddenly paused as her face went slightly pale.
"Did you think of something?" Miko asked. Both she and Dehya were now boring holes into Eula as some realization seemed to have dawned on her.
"Oh! The nerve of that insolent little-!" Eula suddenly snapped as she stamped her foot in surprised irritation, making Dehya and Miko flinch back.
"Wow! Wow! Calm down! What is it? What did you realize?" Dehya said, raising her hands defensively. Eula returned to the present and centered herself, taking a few heated breaths to calm her emotions.
"My apologies. It was improper for me to have an outburst in front of you both." She said as she straightened herself out. "But yes, I believe I have figured something out, though it is only a guess on my part mind." She said. Miko and Dehya nodded in understanding.
"Better than nothing. Go on." Dehya said, and Eula sighed as she rubbed her head in what must have been annoyance still.
"It was about six months ago. Amber and Lumine were doing some commissions, the usual kind of clearing out hilichurls around Monstadt. It was supposed to be a routine commission like any other, but the abyss order had laid a trap. Lumine can hold her own, and Amber is no slouch either. But just the two of them against so many enemies, they had to flee rather than fight. Amber was nearly fatally wounded protecting Lumine from a volley of arrows as they ran. She carried Amber back to Monstadt on her back. The two were soaked in their own blood when the other knights got to them. Barbara was able to patch Lumine up quickly enough, but Amber. She was out cold for two weeks straight, and we sometimes worried she might not pull through. During that time, Lumine refused to leave Amber's side, not even to eat or sleep." Eula explained, her shoulders slumping as she recounted the tale she wished she didn't have to. Dehya was almost at a loss for words. She never knew the two girls had been through so much.
"So, you think Lumine might not be letting Amber go with her because she's afraid she'll do something so reckless again?" Miko asked, crossing her arms as she thought about all the facts she now had. Eula scoffed as she straightened up.
"Is it not obvious? Clearly, she doesn't think Amber can handle herself and needs to be pampered like some caged bird. Honestly, the nerve!" She said, the irritation returning to her voice.
"Hmm, I don't know about that. Something feels off…" Dehya said as she crossed her arms, bringing a hand to her head as she thought hard. Eula looked at her with a raised brow while Miko chuckled.
"How very observant of you, Dehya. Indeed, I also believe there is more to this situation than just Lumine wanting to protect Amber from herself. Lumine does not strike me as the type of girl who would keep a free bird like Amber in a cage because she doesn't trust Amber to be able to handle herself. Though I'm sure, that's part of the reason." She said as a grin slowly crept onto her face, and she couldn't help but giggle.
"What is so funny?" Eula demanded, somewhat annoyed that Miko seemed to have found some twisted joy in the situation.
"Oh, apologies, it's just that this whole situation reminds me of a novel I read recently. I couldn't help but find it rather charming." The Kitsune said as she stifled her giggles and straightened up. "Well then, thank you, Eula, for your help. I believe I know what we need to do to help those two now." She said as Dehya and Eula looked at her with curiosity.
"Oh, and what, pray tell, do you intend to do?" Eula asked. Miko smiled devilishly as she turned to Dehya.
"Me? Why nothing, of course. But Dehya here will be giving our friends a gentle nudge in the right direction." She said, and Dehya felt the pit in her stomach return, and she just hoped whatever the fox had planned wouldn't be too drastic.