Connection

The early signs of the approaching sunset were noticeable as Aether and Paimon sat down on a clean patch of grass, keeping their eyes peeled on the vast horizon spread out in front of them. After they had made trips to the slopes of Mont Automnequi and the east side of Mont Esus, they started the day leisurely exploring the Foggy Forest Path through the Fountain of Lucine before they finally reached their current location south of the Weeping Willow of the Lake.

While there was a base of treasure hoarders not too far from them, the distance was enough such that they could enjoy the scenic view of Lumidolce Harbor and Mt. Mingyuan without being disturbed in the slightest. The calm breeze that swept through the area, in conjunction with the orange tint that slowly enveloped the sky, imbued a sense of tranquility to both of them.

Taking another day of rest was certainly turning out to be an idea they didn't regret.

"Aaaah~! Paimon wishes she could stay like this forever!" Paimon exclaimed, closing her eyes as she lied on the grass.

Aether couldn't help but chuckle at her remark.

"We can enjoy it as much as we wish today" he told her, sitting up, "But remember, we both agreed to get back on track first thing tomorrow."

"Paimon thinks she can handle anything now that she's had two days off" she smiled gleefully, sitting up as well before floating in front of Aether.

The Traveller could tell that she had something on her mind she wanted to share with him.

"We'd dealt with dragons, giant sea creatures, Fatui Harbingers and even larger monsters! Do you have any guesses as to what we'd encounter next?" she asked, "Paimon has a feeling there is something exciting and scary looming nearer."

"Hmm…whatever it is, I don't think we'll find it in Fontaine" he told her, "I trust Neuvillette will be aware of anything foul around here before we even know of it."

"Good point" Paimon nodded, "Especially after everything that's happened here, he'd probably be on high alert."

Lying back down on the grass, Aether stared at the blue sky that was slowly transitioning into the hues of the evening. His thoughts moved on to that of Lumine and when he'd encounter her again. He was unsure if she was avoiding him on purpose or if her own agenda prevented her from being close to him.

Once more, a day was close to ending with him not making any notable breakthroughs in regards to what had kept her away from him. But as always, an undying hope remained in his heart, keeping him optimistic for the future.

"Boss! They're coming!"

"What!? Already?"

The peace around them was abruptly disturbed by the noticeable shouts from the treasure hoarders at the clearing further from their positions. Hasty footsteps and frantic movement could be imagined from the noises they were making immediately after.

Paimon silently floated to peer over the edge, giving her a clear view of what was going on.

"Wha-" she gasped, cupping her mouth immediately.

Sensing that something was amiss, Aether stood up and walked over towards the edge as well. He assumed his vigilant stance, expecting to witness something that warranted a bit of caution.

He was able to immediately observe more and more of the bandits coming into his line of sight as he moved closer to where Paimon was floating. He was expectant of witnessing some kind of an altercation among the ruffians given the shouts he had just heard.

"H-Huh!? T-The Fatui!?"

He stared in equal surprise as he could now clearly see a group of distinctly-dressed individuals standing opposite to the treasure horders. Even though they were far away, he had no doubt that they were indeed Fatui Operatives and Skirmishers.

"What are they doing there?" Paimon asked, staring at Aether for an answer, "This is the treasure hoarders' camp, isn't it? Why are the Fatui also there?"

"I don't know…" he admitted, not looking away from the interaction happening down below.

Whatever they were saying to each other, it wasn't as audible as the shouts from before and it was impossible to even make a guess as to why such a meeting was occurring between the two factions. But given the ideals and goalss they had, it was highly plausible that something sinister could unfold later.

While he couldn't see their facial expression, he could tell that the treasure horders were getting slowly and slowly agitated by whatever the Fatui were telling them; some in the back were even readying their weapons.

"Huh!? Are they going to fight?" Paimon gasped.

"…they might be…" Aether told her, "Let's wait to find out if it's something we should be involved in."

His companion nodded.

"Good idea. Paimon doesn't want to accidentally become the target of all of them."

While the meeting between the Fatui and the treasure hoarders was a rare and mysterious sight in itself already, one certain late arrival to the party nearly rendered both of them speechless in shock.

A familiar man with a black coat walked into view, standing right in between the Fatui and the bandits. There was no hint of fear or caution in his stride and he had an air of confidence and authority surrounding him.

"N-No way! T-That's…that's-" Paimon could barely blurt out, her eyes widening in astonishment.

Aether, too, was taken aback upon realizing who it was.

"…Drakonov…" he muttered the identity of the person.

There was no mistaking the maestro of Fontaine's Grand Orchestra after they had interacted with him just the previous day. Feelings of surprise and confusion enveloped both Aether and Paimon as they could not believe what they were seeing though.

The man they knew as Furina's friend and a citizen of Fontaine was seemingly involved in whatever was going on between the Fatui and the treasure hoarders. The sight unfolding before their eyes appeared to go against what Siora had told them about who Drakonov was.

"W-What's he doing there?" Paimon inquired frantically, "Didn't Siora say he was against the Fatui and not with them? Why is he with them right there? Why is he with the treasure hoarders?"

"…I…" Aether was unable to find any logical reasons to explain what he was seeing.

Was Siora wrong about him? Had he been tricking the Marechaussee Phantom all along? Had he been deceiving Furina all along? Was he always with the Fatui? His mind was filled with numerous burning questions that he wanted answers for.

However, it was unwise for him to jump into the fray and demand answers as the numbers game would be against him immediately. All he could do was observe from a distance and try to make out any clues he could gather from what was happening down below.

Drakonov continued standing in between the Fatui and the bandits, addressing them both. The leaders of both groups appeared to now be at ease and they were nodding as he continued speaking. Aether contemplated sneaking closer but he could not risk being discovered at that moment.

"Oh no…does this mean…he's been in cahoots with the Fatui all along?" Paimon anxiously asked, "Paimon feels like this could be the start of something troublesome…"

Aether nodded in agreement.

"They're listening to him closely…" he relayed what he was witnessing, "…is he some sort of mediator between them?"

"…Paimon's unsure of that but if he's there…" she looked at him uneasily, "…doesn't that mean Drakonov is familiar with at least one of the two groups? That doesn't sound good in the slightest!"

"That makes sense…" Aether sighed, "…We should stay here until they disperse or unless some kind of fight breaks out."

"Yeah…" Paimon nodded, "Ooooo…Paimon has a bad feeling about this whole thing."

While it was certainly disheartening to learn that Drakonov had some kind of a secret affiliation with either the Fatui or the treasure hoarders or both, it vindicated the guess that Aether had regarding something more being hidden underneath the Snezhnayan's identity among the people of Fontaine.

He had seen this play out several times before during his travels through Teyvat – unassuming citizens showing their nefarious sides after having deceived others for a long time. This particular situation though had more weight to it as from what they saw the previous day, Furina genuinely viewed Drakonov as a friend.

The revelation that they had witnessed would not be anything less than shocking once they inform her about it.

"Furina…" he said, having composed himself now, "We should tell Furina about this!"

"You're right!" Paimon exclaimed, "Forget about what we think of all this. Furina's gonna flip if she learns that her friend is doing this behind her back!"

"We've seen what we need to see here" he told her, preparing to leave, "We've got to go now. We can think about how we'll break it to her on the way."

"Yeah! Good idea!" his companion agreed.

With a new, urgent mission falling into their hands, Aether and Paimon effectively abandoned their day of rest right at that moment in order to inform every relevant person about their accidental discovery. The magnitude of what they've learnt was not yet known but it could very well destroy how the citizens of Fontaine viewed the maestro of their Grand Orchestra.

After looking back one final time to see Drakonov still talking to the two factions, Aether left the hill with Paimon floating ahead of him. While the exact answers weren't still known to them, they had seen enough to form a rational explanation as to what was supposedly happening.

The shade of the night had begun to shroud most of the Court of Fontaine by the time Aether and Paimon had reached the region's Adventurer's Guild. The buildings surrounding the paths as well as the street lamps were already lit up, spreading their glow on the structures as well as the people and greenery nearby.

As always, the citizens were quick to notice them, even stopping what they were doing to see where they were headed to. The duo, however, had no time to acknowledge the attention kept on them as they had to meet up with a certain former Hydro Archon as soon as possible.

"Ooooo! I sure hope she's at her apartment!" Paimon said the second they began to descend down the steps leading to Vasari Passage.

After making sure he didn't stumble on his hasty way down, Aether found himself standing before the doorstep of Furina's apartment.

He homed in on the handle of the door, knowing that what they were about to tell her could lead to a horrible situation if they weren't careful. He first stared at Paimon in order to make sure they remained on the same page throughout.

"We have to be wary of what can happen afterward" he said to her, "Learning that her friend isn't what he appears to be could a hard pill to swallow for her."

"Mm-hmm!" Paimon nodded, "But I'm sure she won't be biased if she finds out that her friend is a bad guy. I mean, she was the God of Justice after all!"

"…I don't think we should bank on that too much" Aether added.

He then reached his hand out towards the door handle, prepared to meet her.

"Ahem!"

Aether instantly shifted his body so as to face the owner of the voice that had just interrupted him.

As he did so, he was face to face with the owner of the apartment who was standing in front of him and Paimon; her eyes narrowed and her foot tapping the ground impatiently. Furina was close to glaring daggers at the two of them as she stared them down with an inquisitive look.

"F-Furina!?" Paimon exclaimed, not expecting to see her outside her home.

"Yes, it is I" she stated with a tone of annoyance, "The owner of this apartment you were attempting to enter without permission" she added coldly, "May I know why the two of you are in front of my home at this hour?"

Aether and Paimon glanced at each other for a moment before they answered her.

"U-Uh…we were hoping to speak to you about something" Aether answered, smiling sheepishly.

"Y-Yeah! It's something super-duper important!" Paimon followed up, "We thought you were inside and we were just about to knock on your door."

Despite their best attempts, Furina was gazing at them skeptically.

"Is that so, hmm?" she crossed her arms, "I did not detect any intent to knock on my door just now."

The next moment though, her expression softened a bit as she lost the scowl on her face. She let out a sigh as she put her hands to her hips, still keeping her sight focused on Aether and Paimon.

"What is it that you need to bother me at this hour?" she asked, "How important is it really?"

"Well…u-uh…"

Seeing that Paimon was hesitant to tell her right then and there, Aether decided to step up. Since Furina was willing to listen to them now, it was best to stop wasting any time trying to act composed in front of her. Getting straight to the matter at hand was the priority at the moment.

"It's about Drakonov" he told her bluntly.

Furina instinctively raised her eyebrow in response. Just as he had thought, her intrigue was piqued the second his name was mentioned.

"Drakonov? Hm? What happened?" she immediately inquired.

Now that they had captured her interest, Aether almost answered her instantaneously. However, he recognized that they were still in a public space so it would be unwise for them to run the risk of one of the citizens accidentally hearing something they shouldn't.

"I think we should discuss this somewhere not out in the open" he suggested first.

"Yeah! It's very important that only you hear about this, Furina" Paimon said in a whispery voice.

As Furina's initial sharp tone waned even more, the Traveler was able to get a hint of the extent of the friendship she had with the Grand Orchestra's maestro. Unfortunately, it only showed that there was a large chance she might not take it very well if she was privy of what they had discovered.

Still, they needed to tell her.

"Very well" Furina nodded, "We can converse in my abode. No one else can hear us there."

She then proceeded to open the doors to her apartment, beckoning the two of them to enter after her.

Having been given permission to get inside, Aether and Paimon followed her into the place she had been living in after being relieved of her duties as the Hydro Archon. As an audience with her was now secured, moving onto the harder task of spilling the truth to her was up next.

Once inside, Furina led the duo to the living room of her apartment where a couple of cushioned couches were propped up with a wooden ornate table in the middle. Aether took a seat on one of them before Paimon floated downwards, sitting down as well.

The former Hydro Archon then seated herself on a chair opposite to them. Aether noted that she wasn't annoyed like she was before. Instead, there actually seemed to be a mixture of anticipation and worry on her face.

"So? What important matter do you have to tell me in regards to Drakonov?" she asked, crossing her arms.

Paimon no longer took the initiative that time as she gingerly glanced to the side. Aether discreetly inhaled to maintain his focus before he answered her question.

"…Regarding Drakonov…" he told her, "We have reasons to believe…he's colluding with the Fatui and a group of treasure hoarders."

A quiet gasp escaped Furina's lips.

"Treasure hoarders?" she asked, her eyes widening a bit, "Are you certain?"

Aether was slightly surprised to hear her emphasize that instead of the links to the Fatui. Nevertheless, they had to explain to her what their discovery implied.

"We are absolutely positive!" Paimon told her, "This evening, we saw him with our own eyes! He was talking to both the Fatui and the treasure hoarders at some camp."

"Unless it was a body double or an illusion, I am sure that it was him" Aether said as well.

Furina didn't say anything else for a couple of seconds. She put a hand to her chin, staring into space as she contemplated something. Her breaths weren't unstable though nor did she show any signs of freaking out over what they had said to her. On the contrary, she appeared to be quite fairly composed.

"What would he be doing with them?" she finally muttered to herself.

Sensing that she might only tunnel in on the treasure hoarders, Paimon acted quickly.

"Uhh…Furina?" she spoke to catch her attention, "…Do you think he's part of the Fatui? He has a fake delusion and has run into them before after all. And now, we found him talking to them somewhere isolated."

Luckily, Furina ceased entertaining her own thoughts and she looked at them once more.

She then sighed heavily before twiddling her fingers anxiously.

"Traveller, Paimon…I..." she said in a lower voice, "…I understand your concerns. But please know this first…" she continued.

Her guests listened intently, wondering where this conversation would be headed to next.

"…I've been around for roughly 500 years" she told them, "I may not show it blatantly but I have experienced enough interactions to know when someone is hiding something when they're talking to me" she revealed, "And more often than not, I'll learn about what they're hiding from me before long."

It did make perfect sense that Furina would've acquired such skills of perception owing to her lengthy tenure as the Hydro Archon and the God of Justice. She'd have gone through enough to immediately see through anyone who'd try to deceive her in one way or another.

"And yes, I can believe that my friend Drakonov has been speaking with the Fatui" she explained, "And I know it isn't the first time he has been doing this without telling me."

That clarification thoroughly stumped both Aether and Paimon the second they heard it. They had not expected Furina to easily believe that Drakonov was doing something with the Fatui behind her back nor had they expected her to have been aware of it.

"Whoa! Hold up! This wasn't the first time?" Paimon exclaimed in disbelief.

"Yes, this isn't the first time" Furina nodded.

She leant back on her chair, closing her eyes.

"But I'm not concerned about his meetings with the Fatui" she said, "I know who he is. He is my friend…and I trust him."

There was a very distinct hint of conviction in her voice as she said that. Aether could not understand though that she'd declare her trust in him even though he was seemingly colluding with both the Fatui and the treasure hoarders without directly telling her about it.

If he had just been speaking to the Fatui, it could be easily explained as him keeping up the ruse of being one of them in order to get them to stop pestering him. However, him being involved with the treasure hoarders meant that there could be something much more behind it.

"…even if he doesn't tell you about it?" Paimon asked.

"He must have a good reason for this" Furina replied in a slightly somber tone for a split second, "I can't afford…I mean, I cannot doubt our friendship because of something as trivial as this."

Aether instantly took note of the brief shift in her mood as she answered Paimon's question. However, that only further added to the pile of questions surrounding their recent discovery as well as the current situation.

"But if what you're saying is true…" she continued, locking eyes with Aether, "…I don't know what he's doing with the treasure hoarders. I can understand his interactions with the Fatui but with them? I can't make assumptions right now."

"We couldn't hear what they were saying but it looked to be a meeting of sorts between him, the Fatui and the treasure hoarders" Aether clarified.

"The Fatui are not all bad guys but we know that those bandits only do things that benefit them" Paimon surmised, "And…uh…if he's also involved with them…then…errr…"

Sighing, Furina lowered her gaze.

"This does concern me a lot…" she admitted, "…but please, believe me on this. I know who Drakonov is. What you've witnessed is strange and yes, it will paint him in a bad light…but, he is not a bad person! He's anything but that!"

Hearing Furina vehemently defend her friend like that made things even more complicated for Aether and Paimon. They had gone to her with the expectation that she'd reluctantly accept that he was a schemer at the very worst. They had not anticipated her not giving into the idea that he could be plotting something really sinister.

"...errr…Paimon doesn't know what to say…" Paimon smiled nervously.

"I want to believe that too, Furina" Aether stated, standing up from his seat, "…but the only one who knows what really is going on is him. Unless we ask him directly, we can't get the full picture of this bizarre problem."

"I agree" Furina nodded, "…I'll…um…I'll try to speak to him about it."

"That's a good idea" Paimon agreed, "If you're the one who questions him, he might answer honestly. After all, from what we saw yesterday, you two really looked like good pals!"

A small smile formed on Furina's face.

"We are…I can assure you of that" she said, standing up as well, "…all we can do at the moment though is to wait for a chance to speak to him."

"Even if he doesn't show up to Fontaine anymore, we'll have a good idea on what that means nonetheless" Aether explained.

"Uhh…I suppose so…" Furina sighed before clasping her hands together, "…he wasn't in any danger when you saw him with those bandits, right?"

The last they had seen of Drakonov was when he seemed to be directing the two factions.

"I don't think he is" Aether answered.

Furina heaved a sigh of relief.

"I was worried he might be caught in an unfortunate situation when you mentioned him being around some treasure hoarders" she said in a concerned voice, "I do hope he'll be open to a conversation the next time I meet him."

"Please try your best" Aether nodded.

Paimon then floated in front of him.

"We don't have anything left to do here then, right?" she asked.

"I suppose so" he said before turning to Furina, "Thank you for listening to us. We know he's your friend so we had to tell you what we found first."

Thankfully, Furina did not show any signs of being bothered by their abrupt interaction with her at her home. She smiled once more, taking a couple of steps towards the duo.

"I appreciate that" she told them in a sincere voice, "I pray that we can all figure out what's really going on."

"We'll inform you if there are any updates" Aether added as they turned to leave the apartment.

As their conversation came to a close, the Traveller understood the need for help from familiar source as Furina's insistence on Drakonov's character being true to how he presented himself in spite of the revelation of his supposed partnership with the Fatui and the bandits had thrown all of the simpler hypotheses out of the running.

While it was ideal to wait for Drakonov to return to Fontaine and have Furina interrogate him personally, he knew they could also call upon a rather efficient force that could reveal the truth of the whole matter before long and without needing to bother the former Hydro Archon any more.

As Aether and Paimon went back up the flight of steps towards the Adventurer's Guild, they both sensed a lingering feeling of uneasiness wafting around them. While he did not say it out loud, Aether was hopeful of a resolution that would not lead to further burden on Furina.

The best case scenario would involve learning that Drakonov never had anything to do with either the Fatui or the treasure hoarders. However, he was unable to come up with anything that could lead them to that particular conclusion.

"Do you think it'll be good to head back to the place where we saw Drakonov and those guys?" Paimon asked with uncertainty, "Even if he's no longer there, it's still the camp of those bandits. We might be able to hear or see something that could give us more clues."

Aether put a hand to his chin, pondering her suggestion.

"That's not a bad idea" he told her, "But before that, I've someone in mind that might be able to help us."

"Oh? Really?" Paimon's excitement rose a little, "Who is it?"

Aether then glanced at the Waterway Hub right in the middle of the Court of Fontaine.

"Since this involves Furina as well…" he smiled, "…I was thinking we could talk to Neuvillette next."