Note at the end; on with the show!
Disclaimer: Genshin Impact and its characters belong to Mi-hoyo and Hoyoverse; I own nothing.
"Pray tell, why are you staring at me like that?" Furina asked, watching Paimon hover nervously near the Traveler. Ever since they'd finished dealing with the rabble, the little fairy had given her a wide berth and clung to the Traveler like another limb.
"N-no reason, none at all hehe! Paimon just remembered that you're definitely the hydro archon, yep!"
Furina lifted an eyebrow but decided to leave it be, her mood drastically improved now that some of her frustrations had been worked out. While she'd never had a penchant for the art of combat like Clorinde, the champion duelist had at least drilled her on basic sword etiquette and whatnot so she could, if the need ever arose, defend herself.
Not that she ever had to what with her retinue of diehard loyalists and of course, Clorinde herself.
Today might've been the first time outside of her lessons that she had put her skills to the test. It was a shame that she had dealt with them all so quickly – they might've made for excellent practice dummies. Still, she felt vindicated and that was all that mattered.
Hmph. If any of them do slip through the Gardes' fingers, they should spread the word to their fellows that I am not to be trifled with. Though I do hope that someone will ignore such warnings so that I can drive the lesson home even further...
To put it simply, she had grossly misjudged Clorinde's specialties and skillset. Of the many duels she had presided over, only her bodyguard's had captured Furina's interest and even then that was pushing it. Compared to the tension and drama of the court, combat had seemed a violent and pointless endeavor by itself.
It couldn't have been further from the truth.
Being able to enact swift justice upon those who had wronged her, however slight was… cathartic. The feel of the blade in her hand, the clash of weaponry and the sheer euphoria of putting one's life on the line…
Her eyes gradually drifted to the Traveler who was resting on a grassy knoll nearby, lying flat on the grass staring up at the sky.
Was this how the Traveler felt in his battles? If so, then why was he so... resigned to it? It didn't make sense!
Well, seeing as how they had practically expunged her beloved nation of any sort of issues for the now, Furina decided that now would be the best chance she would get to find out how her chaperone ticked. "Traveler, I have a question to pose to you."
The blond let out a groan, peering at her with an exhausted look in his eyes, "Yes, Lady Furina?"
"Why do you fight?"
"…I don't understand."
Furina sighed, crossing one leg over the other, resting her chin on a gloved hand. "I am alluding to your combat prowess, of course. I wish to know the reasoning behind your reluctance to partake in battle, given your track record."
"You just answered your own question."
Furina's lips pursed, unamused by that remark. "Do elaborate."
The Traveler pushed himself to a sitting position, dusting himself off. "I fight to protect others, because it's the right thing to do. I've been doing it ever since I first arrived in this world. From Mondstadt all the way to Sumeru, I couldn't just turn down the ones who needed my help. But fighting for the sake of it? No, I don't enjoy it and if I could, I'd avoid it."
"You certainly seemed willing to engage when we were negotiating with those heathens from before," Furina pointed out, gesturing to the side in a lazy manner.
"And I'd like to point out that was your idea, not mine," the warrior retorted. "Those kinds of people can't be reasoned with, trust me."
"I am aware of such now," Furina admitted with a brief flare of her cheeks. How unsightly must she have come off to him before, especially when gave in to that delicious compulsion to punish the unjust. "For vagabonds like them to roam my lands, what have the Gardes been doing? I'll have to set them straight once I return."
"May I ask you something, Lady Furina?"
Furina glared at him, lifting her eyebrows expectantly.
Another sigh.
"I mean, your supreme excellence, Lady Furina?"
"You may."
"Is this the first time you've been outside of the city?" the Traveler questioned.
Furina scoffed. "Of course not."
The blond warrior was undeterred by her insistence. "…besides back and forth to Erinnyes, I mean."
The retort Furina had been preparing died a fiery death on her tongue, leaving her a bit deflated. "…so what if it is? Are you implying that I am lost as to the affairs of my realm? I'll have you know the gardes keep me regularly informed of various happenings that occur in Fontaine proper."
"And how many of those do you pay attention to?"
Again, Furina was at a loss, which only made her feel more annoyed. It grated her nerves to think that an outlander had a better concept of the state of her realm than its archon did, but there was little she could say to protest that assumption.
But she'd be damned if she let him know that.
"Do not think you can weasel your way out of my query so easily, Traveler."
Said Traveler let out a another suffering groan, flopping down on his back with an arm flying up to shield his eyes. "Please don't mention weasels."
Furina's curiosity piqued, one eyebrow raising slowly. "Why so?"
"Ehe, well, Paimon isn't all that fond of them either…" the fairy chuckled bitterly, glancing at the ground.
"…those little menaces need to become an endangered species," the boy remarked with a surprising amount of bile in his voice. "You have no idea how many problems they've caused for us."
In her mind's eye, Furina tried and failed to take the thought of the invincible, mighty Traveler being bested by a common rodent seriously. A peal of giggles burst from her lips before she could stop them, evolving into full blown laughter.
"Oh, how the mighty have fallen! Defeat at the hands of simple mammal! I do so wonder how the world would think of you were the truth to get out… It would be quite the scandal, to be sure."
"You laugh now but try leaving some Mora out next time, see what happens," the Traveler told her, spitefully.
Oh, was that a challenge from the renowned hero? If so, then far be it from her to turn it down. "Is that so? How about this: let's have ourselves a little wager."
The Traveler pulled his arm back, peering at her with a guarded gaze. "I'm listening."
Furina smirked, reaching into the folds of her coat pocket, producing three coins that she set to the side of her. "If even one of these coins turn up missing, then I shall allow you to make one request of me."
"Uh, are you sure you want to do that, Furina?" Paimon asked, nervously. "I don't think you really get what those rascals are capable of."
"Oh please! It's a small, furry rodent. It's not like they are phantom thieves," Furina exclaimed. "Now then, back to our initial topic, and no weaseling your way out this time. I am hanging on your every word."
The Traveler held her stare for a long time before he finally pushed himself, glancing off into the distance. "I've been fighting for a long time, both here and elsewhere. Our journey has not been an easy one by any means, and many of the people we've met often turned out to be part of the problem in the first place; the kind of problem that can't be solved with words, and only with swords and conflict. Once upon a time I might've gotten a thrill from it and I'd be lying if, every now and I don't feel just a bit excited for whenever we got ambushed. But never have I enjoyed it for the sake of it, not like Childe does."
Furina's attention hung on that name, her mind trying to piece together where exactly she heard it from. Then, like a bolt of lightning, it hit her. "You mean Mr. Tartaglia. I wasn't aware you were close with him."
The Traveler nodded, a strange expression coming over his face as he chuckled. "Close is a bit generous, but we're not enemies… well, not anymore at least."
"Curiouser and curiouser, Traveler. You certainly do possess strange bedfellows," the god remarked, folding her arms across her chest. "And yet, you don't seem all that worried about him even though he's currently imprisoned."
"Honestly, Paimon thinks that guy could do with a bit of a timeout given the trouble he's caused. Even if he hadn't been arrested, Paimon was sure he might've done something to land himself in the slammer anyways. But he shouldn't have been taken in like this!"
"One can run all they wish, but the hand of justice is inevitable I'm afraid," Furina remarked with a smug smile. "Harbingers are but mortals playing at being gods after all. Mr. Tartaglia had to have known his nefarious actions would catch up with him someday."
"But you didn't know that."
Furina's eyes widened, shooting a glare over at Aether who returned it with one of his own. "Pardon? Are you implying that the Oratrice's decision caught me, its creator, off guard?"
"I'm not implying anything, your supreme excellence. But even you have to admit he was unjustly charged."
"We don't know that!" Furina protested hotly. "He could've been an accomplice of sorts to that villain Marcel."
"He name wasn't Marcel, it was Vacher!" he shot back, just as heated. "Vacher was a monster, but what happened to him was... brutal."
Her stomach dropped at that revelation, her throat suddenly becoming dry. "What? But his death-!"
"It was ruled as a heart attack, yes. But I was there. I saw each of the women he murdered come together as one to consume his mind, even the one he did it all for…"
"But… what you are describing… the dead cannot… it's impossible!"
The Traveler's eyes suddenly glossed over as he glanced at something only he could see, a sigh escaping his lips. "There is much you don't know about the world outside of your waters, Lady Furina. Actually, I don't think you know that much since you didn't know about those treasure hoarders, or the Fatui for that matter."
Furina's eyes narrowed to slits, a scowl curling her lips downward, a growl escaping her throat. "Traveler, I would pray you aren't insinuating that I am blind of the happenings of my own realm. Accusing a god of such would be a serious crime."
Then, in an eerie shift in tone, the Traveler offered her a devious smirk as he glanced at a piece of paper he'd had Paimon jotting on. "In that case, I'll be sure to follow your lead on the last commission of the day since we'll be going underwater."
"Under-?" Furina parroted, suddenly feeling as though she'd been doused with a bucket of icy water. Surely he was jesting, right? No, why was she getting frazzled anyways? She could leave it all to him after all! "As my chaperone, surely you will understand if I would wish to take a siesta for this one, yes?"
"Oh, but didn't you say you'd listen to my request? Surely you aren't going back on your word, oh honorable god of justice?" the blond prodded with an ever-growing grin.
"What are you babbling about now, you fool?" Furina demanded, glaring at him.
He merely pointed, her eyes followed… and met a pair of beady black eyes belonging to a furry face. "WAAAH?!" she yelped, leaping back in a panic.
The little creature blinked owlishly at her, but the glimmering object in its paws drew her attention – the Mora.
"What the-! You little scamp, give that back!" Furina demanded, lunging for the critter only to end up face-first in the dirt. She felt her head lift slightly as something moved underneath her, causing her to scramble to a sitting position, just in time to witness the little thief pop out a few feet from her.
It was only now that she spotted the large bag of Mora on its back, the weasel tucking the coins into the bag. Perhaps the excitement was catching up to her, but she swore she saw that little devil smirk at her.
Just like those hooligans from before.
Wordlessly, Furina drew forth her rapier once more and held it high above her head, letting a cry loose. "YOU DARE TO SWIPE FROM THE GOD OF JUSTICE?! IN THAT CASE, I'LL SWIPE YOUR HIDE!"
The weasel gave a high-pitched frightened squeal before scrambling off, the god in righteous pursuit, shouting rather unladylike obscenities all the while.
Well, I tried, Aether thought, watching as the god started to chase the agile thief around.
"Should we… do something?" Paimon asked, feeling sorry for the weasel for once.
"Should we have done something earlier?" Aether countered with a chuckle, causing Paimon to wince.
"Uh, good point. Furina can be really scary sometimes, but I guess that's not all bad. Seems she's not too different from other people after all. Paimon didn't know she'd have this kind of side to her."
"She's almost cute like this," Aether remarked idly.
"Yeah… wait, WHAT?!"
The boy's face burned red slightly, finally registering his words. "Did I say that out loud…?"
"Uh huh..."
"…can we please ignore that for now?" Aether pleaded, not ready to open that can of worms. He wasn't sure how he felt about Furina herself yet, but he didn't hate her.
The little fairy just shook her head wearily. "Paimon gets it, but sooner or later you'll have to deal with this. Honestly, it's been like since Mondstadt."
Aether sighed. "I know. Thanks, Paimon."
His friend faded away to her personal pocket dimension, leaving the warrior to his thoughts.
What did Furina mean to him exactly? He'd met a lot of incredible people during his travels, some becoming some of his best friends – yes, even Childe was ranked somewhere in there despite everything. Among those had been some equally incredible women, both friends and… well, more than friends but nothing beyond that either. There were at least four women he already had in his mind that had become near irreplaceable to him, but right now they were slowly being overshadowed by the elegantly-styled brat of an archon he'd been forced to look after.
However, it wasn't all bad actually. Yes she was running him ragged but it was… fun?
More than that, Furina herself was certainly more than he had initially thought her to be. She still played the part of a spoiled brat but along with it was the inklings of a highly intelligent and confident person, unafraid of making her mark on the world. It was inspiring to be honest.
But, what did that mean exactly? What was Furina to him?
The sound of stomping filled his ears, drawing his attention to a rather irritated looking god of hydro. "Tossing" her sword aside, the blade vanishing in a swirl of waves, Furina plopped herself back onto her stump with a huff. "I'm going to make a new law: those creatures shall be prohibited in Fontaine henceforth. Anyone that is caught with one afterwards shall be sentenced to several weeks hard labor for starters!"
"Well you won't hear any arguments from me, my lady," Aether said with a snicker, unable to conceal a wince as Furina's eyes landed on him.
"You find this amusing, Traveler?"
"Very much so, my lady. That said… I believe you gave your word, did you not?"
Aether enjoyed her flinch far more than he needed to, but he could not help it. Any time Furina got taken down a peg he got to see the real girl behind all the theatrics and posturing.
And he wanted to see more of her… much more.
"Very well, I am an archon of her word. But," she held up a gloved finger, aiming it right between his eyes, causing them to cross, "should you dare attempt anything… untoward my person during this venture, I shall see to it that not even that fairy of yours will be able to find you. Do I make myself clear?"
This threat might've been made more intimidating if Furina wasn't blushing faintly and her eyes kept darting away from his own.
Still, he got the message. "I swear on my honor as an honorary knight of Favonius," Aether declared, meaning every word. "But, can I ask you something else?"
"You just did, you fool," Furina retorted though there was a surprising lack of her usual bite this time. Weird.
"Why would you be so skittish of being underwater. Aren't you the hydro archon?"
Furina's face burned a bit brighter as she mumbled something under her breath, too low for him to hear initially.
"What was that?"
"I CAN'T SWIM YOU FOOL...!"
It took a monumental amount of will power not to sigh, laugh and cry all at the same time. Was this some sort of inside joke in Celestia?
The Anemo Archon was a drunken bard.
The Geo Archon, who created this world's currency, was constantly broke.
The Electro Archon was a violent shut-in with zero social awareness who had tried to kill him the first time they met.
Then there was the Dendro Archon who, despite being a child, possessed more sense than all the members of the Seven combined.
Now here sat the graceful Lady Furina, the the Hydro Archon… who couldn't swim.
The God of Hydro, whose domain was almost entirely situated in water… could not swim.
Aether fell over with a loud sigh, palming his face in sheer defeat.
If and when he ever caught up to the god that imprisoned both him and Lumine here, he was going to skin her alive for making him live through this insanity.
I know this edge of the fandom is rather sparse at the moment but being the second most reviewed story of that still fills me with pride, especially when I look at the number of favorites it has.
Anyways, yeah, the God of Hydro can't swim. Does it make sense for a gameplay perspective? Of course not? Is it hilariously ironic? Oh most definitely.
Stay tuned for another retelling of the Little Mermaid - I mean another chapter of Court Adjourned!