"Heya." Sans spoke casually waving his hand as he rested his back on the side of Mondstadt City gate.
"You again…" Familiar groan made him chuckle, as Eula came into his clear view, approaching the city across the Stone bridge with an angry face.
"Yup, turns out I didn't have much to do there." Sans shrugged his arms before looking past her at a caravan of horses and people dressed in brown. "They already started moving in?"
"Apparently they can." Eula responded, walking towards him, but more so with intent to go past rather than stay and chat. "I'm still to make sure that you didn't falsify the document."
"Glad to know you don't take things for granted." Sans smiled, following her on the eye level since they just so happen to be nearly even in height with him being lower.
"Why are you staring at me?" Eula quickly asked him as she sensed something was wrong. "Our conversation is finished."
"No, on the people behind you." Sans responded. "Someone there got my attention."
"Mine too." One blonde man in knight armor added, peeking from right behind him. "City gate is always a hotbed for travel stories."
"Hmph, whatever. Good day, Lawrence." Eula said slowly as she casually passed them and walked inside.
"Damnit, she's returned." One distant voice from inside the city went into the ears of the gate duo.
"Hope she stubs her toe on the way." Other tone added.
"Stub a toe?" Sans shaked his head. "That's just cruel."
"Back a few years ago when she just joined us, it was way worse." Lawrence added, turning to him for a chat. "And while over time people did start at least accepting her on a daily basis, now I can't help but notice a drop. Open whispers like this weren't present for quite some time now."
"Shame." Sans sighed. "Any idea as to why?"
"Several, actually." Lawrence added, just as he suddenly spotted some red cloth at the end of a migrating caravan on the other side of the bridge. "But one of them is approaching us so I stay shut."
"Amber? No way." Sans thought as the humanized sunshine ran up to them at blitzing speed. "Just what in a bone could she do harmful?"
"Sans! Lawrence! *Sigh* Hi you two." Amber greeted them with a deep red face, halting before the two with a screech of boots against the dirt, leaving two close lines in it roughly in length of a fishing rod. "How's the day?"
"All good." Lawrence spoke first. "Yours?"
"Entertaining, to say… *Sigh* Klee's running style is helpful when fleeing Abyss Mages." Amber said, grabbing herself by the knees and nearly squatting when catching the breath.
"You had trouble escorting people from Liyue?" Sans asked curiously.
"No, that was the one before this…" She explained, pausing again to swallow something. "Lot of Abyss Mages showed up at Stormbearer Point all of a sudden. Not sure why."
"Well snap, that's where these guys are going." Sans added, pointing away at the narrowly visibly trail of horses and people that went into the woods left of the city gate. "But I'm sure they can handle themselves."
"So those are the horse people I was told about." Amber said to herself, placing an index finger on the forehead for a moment. "... Nevermind. I still have to report to Master Jean and rest before your initiation tomorrow." She added, turning to Sans.
"Weird, I didn't hear you were joining." Lawrence commented with surprise all over his face.
"Guess it's a small, private ceremony." Sans shrugged his arms. "I kinda dig it, only those who feel like it will join."
"Oh and I can promise you I'll be there!" Amber chuckled, striking a pose with a 'V' shape of finger on her left hand. "After all, you will be joining my group."
"Damn, you want to be an Outrider?" Lawrence said, taking a step back from shock value.
"Yeah, I felt like it could use more people." Sans responded casually.
"By Barbatos…" Lawrence groaned, grabbing himself by the face. "Almost every Company here could use more people."
"Even The Foreign Relations Company?" Amber asked, confused.
"When was the last time Mondstadt had any permament ambassy?" Lawrence asked in return, sounding almost insulted. "No idea, apparently before we were even born if my dad is to be believed."
"Oh… Fair point." Amber gasped, making a brief silence cut back and forth by Mondstadt late afternoon rumbles fall between the three. "Either way, I need to go now. See you next time!" She said her goodbyes in a rush.
"See ya."/"Have a nice day!" Sans and Lawrence waved after her as she sprinted away into the city, quickly disappearing in between the people.
"... Say, about the Companies…" Sans said, turning back to Lawrence as they resumed their conversation. "How do they look?"
"We have ten Companies in total, almost all of which are self-explanatory." Lawrence responded, quickly getting to the core topic. "Infantry, Cavalry, Knights Command, Reconnaissance, Engineering Corps, Logistics, Investigation, Magic and Supernatural, Foreign Relations and Archives." He said, listing them all in orderly fashion.
"Hmm… Almost all indeed." Sans nodded. "What does Knights Command do?"
"Battle planning, war strategies, generally the bigger scale fighting stuff." Lawrence explained, scratching himself on the chin. "Since Garnd Master Varka took all of them with himself on a expedition, there aren't many talented Knights left to actually plan a full-scale battle. One of the smaller reasons Acting Grand Master isn't very keen on open wars."
"Huh, that explains it." Sans nodded, now with a bit more understanding about the situation. "So, what Companies are short on Knights?"
"Infantry, Cavalry, Knights Command, Reconnaissance and Foreign Relations. Other five are good on that note."
"No mention of Outriders?" Sans raised his eyebrow with a suggestive look.
"After their ranks thinned and fell aparat, archer duties went to Infantry, scouting to Reconnaissance and wind gliders are an individual matter based on whether or not you have a license." Lawrence explained with a sour face. "The thing is, and that's why I didn't want Amber around, is that Outriders just aren't needed in their old form if at all. There's nothing special from the old days of Amber's Gramps. Instead, Jean uses the auxiliary character of the unit to throw Amber all over the place as a filler for whoever needs one extra Knight on a side. Almost as bad as Noelle in fact…"
"... Huh, thanks for telling me all of this." Sans nodded with a small smirk under the nose.
"No need to thank me. After all, you are becoming my coworker tomorrow." Lawrence thanked him, waving his hand away in a light-hearted gesture.
"..."
"... So, you wanna talk with Amber about what Outriders should become for the future?"
"That too." Sans nodded lightly. "But before that, there is someone else for me to ask."
"Yeah, newbies aren't meant to change the whole structure on their first day." Lawrence almost chuckled, amused by the potential idea. "Still, I'm fairly certain the people here take a liking to you. Last time someone just appeared out of nowhere he got to be an Honorary Knight and just did some important stuff wherever he went."
"Really?" Sans asked with a sudden spike of interest, looking directly at Lawrence's face. "Who was that?"
"Some blonde from far away called The Traveler. According to Amber his real name was too exotic to remember." Lawrence explained with slight amusement. "A kind person, always up to talk and help. Wherever he went he got endless rows of friends and the respect of many, even some Fatui…"
"Another new topic, and we didn't even get to discuss reasons for the Eula situation." Sans commented, taking the occasion of his companion not talking. "Have time?"
"Meh, I'm always on guard duty and Jean will appreciate you spending free time learning about the job. Fine by me." Lawrence nodded, in the meanwhile taking a look at the three people dressed in brown clothes leading a wooden cart with a pair of peanut brown horses to pull. "But 'learning on the job' part cannot be faked."
"Sure, I guess." Sans shrugged his arms as they both took a firm stand before the gate stone columns.
"Ha! Look at them go." Hakh laughed, pulling another arrow put on his bowstring as he aimed forward at some gray creature with a hairy head that disappeared in the thick bushes before them. "Didn't expect them to be so cowardly, but I won't complain."
"You are way too positive about this." Lily shook her head, looking at him from the left side. "Who knows if they plan an ambush deep in this forest?"
"Come on now! Me, not spot a bunch of wild beasts?" Hakh snickered under his breath, amused by the idea. "Besides, what do you know about fighting?"
"Basics." Lily crossed her arms unamused, briefly looking aside as the corner of her eye caught two of their tribesmen walking towards the place behind her with scalped white hair of the creature identical to one they chased. "But honestly, I don't feel like arguing right now. I'm going back to help others settle down."
"All right then, keep your secrets." Hakh shrugged his arms as six other horse riders ran up to him in a triangle. "All right men! They retreated ahead. Now let's go for a hunt!"
"AYE!"
"Hmph, what a wish." Lily thought, walking away and catching up to the two men carrying white fur in their hands. "How's it going you two?" She asked them quickly, not really silent by neighing horses and hooves hitting the ground behind her.
"So far so good." One of them responded, slightly tightening his grip on the hair. "Those creatures aren't too tough when you keep your distance."
"Yeah, I saw it." Lily nodded, taking out of her pocket a small carved piece of a sharp metal. "And to think their metalworking is not far from ours…"
"Getting all cozy again?" Another man walking beside her joked, earning a pissed expression in return. "I know, how dare I. But you gotta accept the harsher side of life. One time you get a dream of peace, another you get the reality of conflict."
"..." Lily didn't respond, instead proceeding to stay silent as first tents and yurts came into their sight from amidst the trees. Standing and lying alike.
"O, there you are." Familiar tone made them look slightly to the right, where Kadiq emerged with a stack of yellow straw on his back. "Are you bringing this fur somewhere?"
"Not really, we wanted to sell it for… something." First carrying man responded. "Why do you ask?"
"Ike told me to buy some."
"As always, he values foreign crap higher than homegrown wonders, probably only because it's not ours." Second man shaked his head as the two passed the fur to Kadiq.
"Welp, can't say I know better. Anyay, a deal is a deal." Kadiq nodded as if to get this over with, grabbing the sheaf of straw from his back and handing it to them. "What will you do with it?"
"Maybe sell. Whatever remains goes to Hazu for dinner." First man said.
"Oh, and Lily." Kadiq continued, looking aside towards her. "Have a moment?"
"I guess I do, but only a moment." She crossed her arms with an unconvincing stare.
"Cool. See you two next time." Kadiq nodded, waving to the two men as they walked away and left them alone. "... So… How's the mood?"
"Could be better." Lily sighed.
"Let me guess, Hakh is rushing things again?" Kadiq asked her with a concerned face.
"Yeah, he rushed after one wounded creature like a minute ago." Lily responded. "And I get it, hunting can be fun. But… He's so careless!"
"Guess it's an example from the top." Kadiq suggested. "When we were going here I heard a rumor that our Khan shared some family insight with Mondstadt's delegation."
"Loosened reins make horses go wild I guess." Lily rolled her eyes. "Still, given Ike and Dragel do what they do, He's our only hope things won't get that much worse."
"Only?" Kadiq asked her with a suggestively risen eyebrow. "Huh…"
"Don't even think about pulling me into treason." Lily responded quickly, almost in a scolding tone.
"Treason? Never." Kadiq slowly shaked his head with a smirk. "You know all too well I have better ideas than pure destruction."
"Uh-uh-uh. Not really." Lily waved her index finger between their faces, making a grumpy face in the meanwhile. "You really spiked my cautiousness just now, good job."
"Pleasure is all mine." Kadiq shrugged his arms. "But since you surely tell Khan all of this at the first occasion, I spare you the doubt and clear it all up." He paused, taking an occasion to clear his throat while Lily began to look at him with visibly more attentive eyes. "Khan is old and knows his children aren't worthy or eligible to take the rule, he won't try marrying into a new family for more heirs. And even if, we don't allow cousins and their families to inherit."
"So what? He randomly picks you to take after him?" Lily asked, almost laughing at him.
"Nah." Kadiq smiled, instead pointing his index finger at her. "... You."
"... What?" Lily asked again, slow to think thanks to the unexpected answer.
"Come on now. You are one of the few people that actually talk with him nowadays." Kadiq pointed out with growing satisfaction in every next word he spoke. "Plus, with your signature on the peace treaty with Liyue, no one will complain about disunity long enough for you to take control. What's wrong?"
"... That sounds nice and all…" Lily nodded, giving him a bit of a distrustful look. "But undermining Khan while he still lives is just wrong."
"Fine then, lucky you the longer option still stands." Kadiq nodded as several men in brown clothes suddenly walked out from behind him with various pieces of white fur, bones or just gray-ish bodies. "But first, why don't we relax a little and search for Hakh?"
"... All clear, have a nice evening Sir." Lawrence nodded, putting down the thin white cloth back on the rear of wooden cart and giving clear indication to an old man sitting on the front with the reins in hand.
"You too, friendly Knight." Old man thanked him, shrugging his arms as the brown horse at the front began to pull him into the city.
"... Man, I didn't have this much work in ages." Lawrence grabbed himself by the right shoulder, giving it two slow spins before proceeding back to the gate where Sans was busy talking with two more people.
"... And that is why I recommended you to look for a stay in a smaller hotel." Sans said, giving the two people talking to him a patiently stare. "Sincere apologies if none can be found.
"Oh well, thanks for telling us." One person, a mid-aged man in white shirt and brown pants nodded, turning right to a young woman in a long, yellow kimono. "Alright, guess we try walking from door to door…"
"You were asked about Goth Grand Hotel?" Lawrence asked him, taking occasional as the two civilians left, going back inside the city.
"Yup, and go about it just as you told me to." Sans responded with a smile. "Quite a Law-rence you are."
"Pfft, don't mention it." The Knight whistled to restrain his laughter. "Still, I think you did a good job informing people. Even though you don't really know the place."
"I had a small stroll earlier on before Eula and I went to resolve the Liyue situation." Sans explained. "And since I hardly had stuff to do, I just looked around the place. You know, nothing beyond looking closely at a sign."
"Heh, that explains it." Lawrence nodded with understanding. "So, no night shift in sight over here…" He continued, looking further into the city and tilting his head left and right as if to see behind corners. "Any topics you wanted to discuss?"
"Yeah, several actually." Sans nodded decisively. "Like, who is Noelle? You dropped that name when you were talking about Amber."
"Oh, her?" Lawrence smiled. "She is The Maid in The Knights. But like, The Maid with capital letters since we don't have such an occupation. Plus, she kinda deserve it"
"Mhm. And what does she do?" Sans asked him curiously.
"Help with stuff like cleaning, esthetics or whatever else Knights themselves don't really do. However she is so gullible in her kindness that some of us gave her their own chores." Lawrence shaked his head as to simply disagree with this behavior. "It got so bad that Jean had to put a separate point into our handbook that we aren't supposed to give Noelle our jobs. Specifically."
"Wow." Sans nodded, impressed by what he heard. "Say, what is this handbook about?"
"A mandatory lecture for all Knights of Favonius regarding language, manners and behavior we are expected to uphold at duty." Lawrence explained. "I'm sure you'll get one during the knighting ceremony."
"Heh, that helps." Sans commented with a smile. "Now, wanna return our conversation to Eula?"
"... Not sure if I should." Lawrence tilted his head to the left with tense lips.
"All right then, keep your secrets." Sans nodded, closing his eyes and sighing deeply. "... Hold on." He added after a while, opening his eyes and looking back at him.
"Yeah?" Lawrence asked him, a bit surprised.
"How many Knights actually follow the rules in the book?" He asked.
"A half?" Lawrence responded dubiously. "I mean, I don't do things letter to letter. And I'm sure at least some don't too. Like, general principles are reasonable and justified, but precise statements can lead to weird stuff at times. Like the one with Noelle."
"What about it?" Sans asked, lowering his left eyebrow.
"The book has a note where Grand Master Jean, who edited the last version by the way, directly stated that she instructed Noelle to report any Knight who would give her their jobs. However, no report or punishment was ever made because of it."
"So Noelle doesn't report to Grand Master though she should?" Sans asked.
"Seems like it." Lawrence sighed. "But now I get into disciplinary trouble by sharing it, so sorry. I gotta keep my mouth closed."
"... That's fine." Sans nodded with a smirk. "Maybe I get to do something about it."
"Welp, all eyes on you then." Lawrence commented. "And good luck, you're gonna need it."
"Heheh, sure pal." Comedian blinked as they spotted a pair of Knights walking towards them from the city center. "Oh, night duty is here."
"About time." Lawrence smirked.
"... Wait, this is not right." I said to myself, watching closely my hydro scryglass and seeing endless inconsistencies.
Sky stretching south and east, new stars appearing and aligning themselves into unseenable groups and shapes, Fischl's story having real life merit…
Something happened to the core rules of the world, and I knew it.
But what could have caused the sky and the stars to change so drastically? Had there been some unnatural inconsistencies to the astral plane?
… No.
No, no, no, no, no.
That was impossible. Eternal planes of fate don't just change themselves like that. Something is obviously very, very wrong.
But… What is?
"HAEHAEHAEHAEHAE"
"... I know you have the explanation." I said, not turning around as the Shadow of long, cracked skull surrounded by Nine white hands with holes on their palms vast their reflection on the hydro astrolabe near me.
"This experiment will be very, VERY interesting…" Enigmatic voice continued. Not meaning any harm, but surely playful with reality. "But first, let us be acquainted on a… Scientific note. Don't you agree?"
"Hehe, see ya' tomorrow." Sans snickered, waving away to the three Knights at the gate before resuming into the late evening stroll into the city. "... Hold on, I have nowhere to stay." He said to himself, not slowing down as he kept on going. As if the mind and body were separate. "Meh, not like I have trouble with that. Sleeping on the grass will be enough for a first night."
Shattered glass*
"Wow." Sans shrugged his arms before looking into the distance.
"That rascal! Stop this hooligan!" A shout from what sounded like an old man reached his ears, followed by a multitude of various steps over the pavement.
"Heh." Sans smiled, quickly blinking before finding himself right in front of a young man under a dark cloak.
"Aaa!" The suspect screamed like a chicken, jumping backwards and falling down on the stones since teleporting up in someone's face is an effective jumpscare tool.
"Hello pal." Sans grinned, squatting down in front of the man as two people in thick furs and an elderly man ran up to them from the opposite side.
"There he is." One man in an eye mask and dominantly dark clothes over a red shirt said, pointing a cooper-looking sword at the caught man while the other one grabbed him by the collar. "Mister Goth?"
"Thank you for the assistance. My legs aren't what they used to be." Old voice responded as the two stepped a bit aside for him to reveal himself. "And thank you for stopping him, young man."
"No problem, just doing the right thing." Sans shrugged his arms with a smile as the two men in black dragged the convict behind the elders and started looking around his pockets. "May I ask what happened?"
"Youngster sneaked into my hotel trying to steal something from my guests." Elderly man began to explain, turning around and pointing at an imposing, elegant structure near them. "But he was found during his act and escaped by jumping through the window." He continued, looking a bit upward at a messed hole in a window placed in a tower directly above the entrance doors. "Shame that Knights of Favonius don't mend the streets anymore."
"Hmm… Vital point." Sans nodded, seeing as two Knights from the left and two from the right ran up to the scene. "But the criminal is stopped, that is what counts."
"Heh, I cannot disagree…"
"Oh, The Knights." The dark dressed man said with satisfaction as the local forces joined them. "It's a bit late, don't you agree?"
"He would run into us if you didn't catch him." One of the Knights responded quickly. "Still, thank you for stopping him early."
"No, nooo. The direct thanks should be sent to him." Elderly man said, pointing away towards Sans. "He stopped him first, then we caught on."
"Huh, well… Thank you for the help, citizen." The Knight nodded, slightly baffled by the information.
Meh, it's all good." Sans nodded, looking aside as he noticed the two men handing the culprit to the Knights. "You know what to do with him?"
"I can assure you that he will be imprisoned and judged fairly." The Knight continued, having his deep brown hair moved slightly to the left with a gust of wind. "And again, thank you for your assistance."
"Much obliged." Sans shrugged his arms as the Knights began to walk away with the man wrapped in their hands. "So, what now?" He asked himself, then turned away towards the old man and two local residents.
"You have some talent, my boy." One man dressed in black said as the other walked away towards the hotel. "You clearly moved from somewhere up to him beyond the reaction of the human eye."
"Aren't you reactionary." Sans shaked his head with a smirk.
"Mmm… A bit." The man responded. "Say, need anything as a thank you from us?"
"Hmm… A night to stay in?"
"Mister Goth?" The man asked, looking aside at the old man.
"I'll allow it. After all, it's just a single night and you pay me monthly upfront for a full hotel to stay in." Goth responded with understanding.
"Heh, thank you Sir." Sans tilted forward as if to bow before the three towards the hotel.
"... Don't feel like exchanging names?" The man in black over red asked, looking at Sans from underneath the eye mask.
"Well, nobody asked me." Sans shrugged his arms with a casual tone. "You want to?"
"Sure, but please go first."
"Name's Sans. Sans The Skeleton."
"And I am Ludwig Goth. Goth for the friends." Old man added as the trio made it to the doors gently held open by another man in black.
"Rad Rat Rattler." The man holding the doors added.
"…" Deaf silence fell onto Sans, who got staggered by sheer dumbassery.
"I know, the new delegation is a bit awkward to come across." Goth said while very slowly entering the building. "But they are very nice and joyous people when known better."
"Riiight." Sans nodded twice, then went ahead at the hand signal from Triple-R to come in. "Sooo, what is yours?" He asked, looking behind at the other man.
"... I Throw Booze At Dragons." The man behind him responded. "And yes. In our delegation, everyone is named like that. Sixth spot is just cursed, it seems."
"Papyrus, please give me strength Brother." Sans moaned internally as he looked back into the hotel and stepped into an elegant hallway shaped like a square with reception at the end. "For I am alone in this hell on Earth."
"I hope you stopped this thief, Goth." Young woman with long, curly ginger hair said, sitting behind the reception table with a large list in hand.
"Thanks to this young man, we did, Suzy." Goth smiled. "Now, please honor him and hand over the best room for one night."
"One after the old diplomat then." Suzy nodded, quickly whipping out a key and handing it to Triple R. "Mikhail and Lyudmila were so sane… Number ten."
"Apologies, their recall was dictated by their higher-ups. Not their will." Booze Thrower said, while Triple-R gave the keys to Sans.
"Oh, we do." Goth nodded. "After all, we still do things we don't like if we need to."
"Couldn't disagree even if I wanted." Triple-R nodded. "Say, Sans. The Night hour is still two three away. Wanna feast with our quirky bunch for a dinner?"
"Heh, I just realized I barely ate anything today." Sans commented, which was followed by a loud burp from his stomach. "... Sure, but when?"
"Now, actually." Goth added, just after which two double-store carts rolled behind them from one side door to the other while the entrance doors closed with a third man in black joining in.
"Cheese Toucher! My man!" Booze Thrower laughed in joy, jumping backwards and turning around to hug him. "I thought you won't join us tonight!"
"And pass the occasion to touch all the cheese?" The man asked with a smirk. "Never!"
"Oh boy…" Sans sighed with faked relief. "May the night begin."