As mentioned with Tangled Web, this is one of the stories that I'll be rotating through until I have my current backlog posted. As of this moment I have six chapters planned (with 5 currently completed) covering the Archon events of Mondstat and Liyue. I'm not too sure how I'll proceed in the future, but it will definitely be a focus on things related to Mondstat and any visiting characters as opposed to following the events of the Traveller.

A tiny primer for this story: it's primarily self-indulgent. I wrote this solely for myself, and to try and explore certain parts of the Genshin Impact storyline that we didn't get full details on. Also apparently I just seemed to be in a 'reincarnated' kind of vibe when I was doing this, Tangled Web, and another piece. Silly manga/anime. Anyway.

Here we go.


Summon. Pull. Release.

Summon. Pull. Release.

Five years. It's been five years since she had arrived in this world. Five years since she realized how much ground she had to cover.

Summon. Pull. Release.

So much work had been done in those short few years. Such a short time, and it was only a third of her life and yet simultaneously her entire existence.

Summon.

Pull.

Release.

Amber let her arms hold their final pose, simply focusing on her breathing. Yesterday marked the beginning of the end. Of a rapid avalanche of changes she could only vaguely prepare for.

A war that only a select few knew about beginning once again.

Summon.

Pull.

Release.

The Traveller who Caught the Wind.

Summon. Pull.

She narrowed her eyes. How things would proceed from here, she only passingly knew. Nothing more than the broad strokes, the fine details left to the keen eyes of time.

Release.

"Is something bothering you, Amber?"

Amber. Amber Baskin. Granddaughter to the founder of the Outrider corps. A self-exiled mercenary from Liyue and a traitorous deserter of Mondstat. But forevermore her grandfather.

"I'm just thinking about some things," she answered.

Summon. Pull. Release.

Jean said nothing as she continued her practice. A perhaps unhealthily long habit Lisa heavily frowned upon but no longer discouraged— like so many of the exercises she performed.

Summon. Pull. Release.

"We should make sure everybody's gear is in order. And maybe make sure the night watch has some extra eyes the next couple days."

"Have you been speaking to Kaeya again?"

She could feel the mirth in the Acting Grand Master's words. As much as she personally detested the Cavalry Captain cum Leader of Espionage, the man knew his strategies regarding subterfuge. "Captain Kaeya only reads his copy of my reports. We haven't spoken face to face in a couple weeks."

Summon. Pull. Release.

Unsaid was the small game of hide and seek they played regarding coded letters to each other concerning Treasure Hunter activity. With their mutual distaste for banditry within Mondstat's borders, most assumed they were keeping their skills sharp, but that didn't stop rumors from rising about a budding romance, despite clear, contrary evidence.

"Hm. I'll keep it under advisement."

Summon. Pull. Release.

"You should head to bed, Acting Grand Master."

Summon. Pull. Release.

"And of yourself?"

Amber paused, keeping the arcane string drawn tight. Her muscles ground their teeth at the extended exertion, but her body served her will; her will did not serve her body. "Another hundred shots, give or take."

It was an oft repeated discussion. One of many that her companions had yet to drop.

"Outrider Amber, you are taking your mandatory breaks and relaxation periods specifically for rest and relaxation, correct?"

Summon. Pull. Release.

She smirked, fully aware that Jean could not see her face. "If I were to cut into my break periods, I would have trouble performing later on. Please do not worry in that regard, Acting Grand Master. I learned my lesson."

Summon. Pull. Release.

Perhaps she should ease up on her reps, for at least the next week. She could only guess, but the next series of affairs shouldn't take longer than that.

Summon. Pull.

Amber intently didn't twitch as Jean rose, the wooden bench quietly creaking as she did so.

"Please head to bed soon, Amber. We'd rather not wake to find you passed out in the training field again."

Release.

A smile, this time. "But Acting Grand Master, have you never slept beneath the stars? It is a most beautiful thing, especially in the days after a heavy rain."

Jean let out a heavy and resigned sigh.

A moral victory, if more than a little questionable.

Summon. Pull. Release.

Summon. Pull. Release.

Summon.

Pull.

/ - /

"You seem a little on edge, Amber. Is everything okay?"

She gave a small, petulant pout. The only person she didn't mind not using her rank was the Acting Grand Master, and that was by virtue of their relative closeness. Everybody else had learned to call her by said rank, usually by way of unflinching, unamused stare.

Except Kaeya. Bastard.

Lisa giggled. "I'm sorry, Outrider Amber."

Amber quietly huffed. The pains of being the youngest. Everybody older than you doted on you and treated you like a child, regardless of your achievements. At least she could understand Lisa's desires for cuteness and personal enjoyment. "Just thinking about hilichurls," she answered.

"They've been moving closer, according to Outrider Amber."

"I've been finding camps closer and closer with every passing day." She raised her arms above her head and stretched, an unbidden but admittedly adorable grunt of exertion and satisfaction slipping past her lips. "This sort of behavior isn't like them, and I've been worrying about whether one of their samachurls have gotten a lot smarter or if somebody else is directing them."

"Have you been speaking to Kaeya again?"

Jean smiled. "I asked her the exact thing last night."

The two older women shared a laugh, something she only participated in by way of smile. "And as I mentioned then, the most interaction Calvary Captain Kaeya and I have are through reports. He reads them, I write them."

The two giggled this time, though Jean was more subdued. "Mhm. Reports, darling. I'm sure that's all they are." Lisa raised the book she was parsing through to her lips, hiding most of the wide smile she had.

She glanced to the side, responding with an ambiguous hum.

"Speaking of Kaeya, where is he? He's normally not one to be this late."

"Tracking down the Traveller." Amber moved to sit against Jean's desk, staring out one of the windows overlooking the western part of Falcon Lake. "I'm sure in between the conversations about the city's local hotspots he'll be wheedling out information from them." She frowned.

Them. Them. Not him. Not her. Them. When Amber reflected on her memories of interacting with the Traveller, their gender always changed. One minute they might be the male with the braided tail whose name she vaguely recalled as Aether, and in that same minute the same memory would suddenly change to reflect a young woman she thought was called Lumine, whose bangs nearly reached her chest. In all of those memories, it was only the tiniest whisper of confusion that asked 'Are you sure they weren't female/male?'

"Amber, we've talked about this."

She refused to look at Jean. "Yes. We have. And while I respect Captain Kaeya for what he does, that does not mean I will respect the man himself. I understand keeping his skills sharp, but at a certain point, one should not use those skills on their close associates. It's just courtesy."

"Talking about me again, Outrider? My, if you wished to reminisce on me so much, I'm sure we could make a few new memories."

Amber closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Captain Kaeya!" She whirled around and beamed. It was a beautifully fake smile. One she'd practiced often because a smiling face garnered more friendliness than her preferred terse and flat one. Every time she saw it in the mirror, she was disgusted with herself for more than one reason. But it had to be done. "Oh, and the Traveller, too!" She bounded around the table, taking their hands in hers. "Oh, I hope he didn't bother you too much." She turned to face the bastard, a carefully restrained scolding on her lips.

"Hey, Paimon's here too, you know!"

"Hello, Cutie."

Ah, Lisa. Ever so reliable for diffusing a situation. So long as she was around to do so, of course.

Content to let the conversation play out, Amber retreated back to the window, a soft smile on her face. Watching always felt so much— nicer, than actively participating. She didn't feel like an intruder that way. Didn't feel like she was a stranger among an already close knit friend group. Standing on the side like this, she could just observe and make sure things were going the way they should be.

"Knights of Favonius, time is against us."

Amber closed her eyes once again, letting Jean's voice wash over her. Ever reliable. Ever courageous. Ever stubborn. But that was why she trusted her.

"With the storm running rampant, there's no point in us trying to maintain a defensive position. We need to take the initiative and do what we can. Outrider Amber, Calvary Captain Kaeya, Librarian Lisa, I leave the temples to you."

Amber opened her eyes and stared at the Traveller. They didn't seem to be making any moves towards her. Was she not— "M'am!" Amber snapped off a quick salute, running off and slipping through the doors. If the Traveller wanted to try and work together, they could catch up. The run to the Temple of the Falcon wasn't that far away, and she could easily pace herself to allow their still weakened body to catch up.

Yes... things should go as they should be. Which meant...

/ - /

Amber stared at the entrance to the temple. Whatever lay inside would probably cause her no problems, but she had no information on what lay within. Maybe it was just a few isolated groups of hilichurl scouts. Maybe they had a samachurl mage with them. Maybe there was even a mitachurl.

She simply didn't know.

And that was why she hadn't gone in yet. If she went in alone, she had no doubts she could handle it. But if the Traveller was here...

In less than gentle terms, a meat shield was always appreciated. But if she were being honest, she wanted— needed to see them fight. When they'd gone to deal with that camp she'd scouted out the other day, she was the one who dealt with them. The Traveller hadn't a chance to get anywhere near close enough to fight.

Were they capable with a blade? Were their battle senses there? From what foggy memories that didn't truly belong to herself said, the Traveller had been awake anywhere from a few days to a few months before arriving in Mondstat. Long enough to fashion a fishing rod, but certainly not long enough to properly know the lay of the land.

"Hey, Amber."

She put on a small, mournful smile and turned to look at the Traveller. "When I'm on the job, it's Outrider Amber. Emphasis on the title, if you'd rather not say both."

"Oh, is it that important to you?" Paimon asked.

She shook her head. "It is, but that's a story for another time. For now..." She pointed at the temple. "This is the Temple of the Falcon. Long ago, these temples used to be sacred to Mondstat's people, but over the years, their purpose has been forgotten." Amber let out a sigh. "It's such a shame. History like this is super important. Maybe Lisa would know more about these."

The three of them stood in silence for a few moments, the distant howling wind the only sound.

"You're ready for a fight, right? Since nobody's been inside for ages, who knows what kind of enemies we'll come across. Could be some hilichurls, could be some slimes." A strange wind, teeming with enough elemental energy to raise the hair on her skin, blew over her, coming directly from the seams of the temple's door. "If we're really unlucky, an Eye of the Storm might have formed." She turned to face the Traveller and quirked her lip. "Well? Right now we might be lacking a favorable wind, but do you think you're lacking courage?"

/ - /

Three hilichurls. Two with clubs. One with a crossbow laying farther away.

With the sun being at the highest point in the sky, this was this tribe's preferred time to take a break; finding shelter from the sun, eat a meal of hot meat, and then bask in the winds blowing through the shade. Even so close to Mondstat's civilizations, they still kept to these habits. Amber pulled back into the brush, moving slowly so as not to overly disturb the foliage.

This camp was just one of many she'd come across throughout the morning. Most of them only had five inhabitants, but worryingly was the amount of samachurls and mitachurls she'd counted. On a good day, there was one sama- or mita- churl to three regular hilichurls, and the ground between each other was a solid hour or more. It wasn't because of anything territorial or the like, simply the amount of hilichurls who grew to be different from their standard kin were rare and far between.

For them to be like this...

She sighed. No. She always knew that somebody was pulling the strings behind the recent hilichurl movements. It was unfortunate that her memories had faded far too much, and between the various processes of spring cleanings and moving to her own apartment, her notes slash youthful stories she'd written down had become lost or turned to scrap. The most she could do now was note down the camps on her map, and hopefully rouse up enough support among the Knights to be properly prepared for the eventual assault.

/ - /

Thunk.

Thunk.

Thunk.

How an arrow made of elemental energy had enough mass behind it to cause such a sound, she didn't know. Nor did she particularly care. It was enough that her half-crazed ideas worked; or if they didn't work, that she had working proofs of concepts and only needed to improve her elemental control to make the original ideas possible.

Thunk.

Thunk.

Thunk.

Perhaps it was questionable to be making flame arrows in the middle of a scouting expedition, especially in the still of the night. But then, it wasn't as if she was sleeping anywhere near here. No, this campsite was just one of many she'd made throughout Mondstat's wilderness. A place to rest and practice before she'd move to a place that was more suitable for sleeping.

Thunk.

Thunk.

Thunk.

Her hands moved without thought. Bring her right hand to the bow string; summon an arrow; notch it in and pull back; aim; release; repeat. Summon. Pull. Release.

Summon. Pull. Release.

Summon.

Pull.

Amber let out a slow breath as her final shot thunked in. This particular campsite had been in use for several months now, and the wooden targets she'd set up reflected that. A dense tip of energy, solid enough to have some proper piercing power, fired out so that it would constantly land in the same mark over and over. By this point her shots were sinking in a few centimeters, and the target was due for another replacement, as the small, ashen hole in the tree trunk she was using as a back support could attest to.

What was the Traveller up to now, she wondered. The day after calming the leylines within the Temples, were they taking a break and getting accustomed to Mondstat proper? Or had a certain bard convinced them to break into the chapel?

She frowned. How had events proceeded after that? Had Diluc assisted them that very night? Was it the next night? Or was it mid-afternoon that the former Calvary Captain lent his aid? Had she missed the Traveller's flight throughout the city?! Amber's lips curled into a grin. Imagine that. Flying above the city on winds granted by the Anemo Archon. Perhaps she could get the story out of them over dinner. Or perhaps even a reenactment of the experience. But that was an affair for another day. For now, she had to traverse her way to one of her proper campsites, using the waxing light of the moon as her guide.

Should prove to be an entertaining event.

/ - /

The sky was blue; tea was best served hot; and Jean was always behind her desk, fighting against an ever growing stack of paperwork. At least, that's how the three truths usually went. So when Amber strolled into the Acting Grand Master's office with her reports in hand, she was minorly concerned when the usual 'Welcome back, Outrider' wasn't received. Walking about the headquarters revealed it was as empty as usual. When Grand Master Varka went off on his expedition, he'd taken with him the vast majority of the knights, leaving them with what was essentially a skeleton crew.

Just enough that they could maintain shifts without anybody having to pull overtime, but small enough that trying to stay on top of things often meant a handful of people had to pull overtime. Oftentimes that meant Jean or Intelligence Captain Hertha, which in turn occasionally meant Librarian Lisa (who usually turned said sessions into minor therapy talks over tea) or herself, who took the sessions as practice for when she eventually managed to expand the ranks of Outriders to more than just herself. Wait around long enough though, and you were sure to find somebody. Case in point...

"Oh. Outrider Amber. Back from your patrols?"

Amber gave Harry a nod. Like herself, the blonde man was often scheduled to patrol various merchant routes, making sure monsters and ne'er-do-wells were sufficiently far away to not cause any problems. And for the cases where they believed they could handle it on their own, to eliminate said problems. "Wrapped up last afternoon. Spent the evening writing up my reports." She wiggled the string-bound papers in her hand for emphasis. "I was trying to hand them in to Acting Grand Master Jean, but she wasn't in her office. Any clue where I could find her?"

Harry made a pained face. "Ah. She just left earlier this morning. Seems the Traveller and that bard Venti found a way to deal with Stormterror. She said that Captain Kaeya was to be the Acting Grand Master in her stead."

Amber schooled her features. "Calvary Captain Kaeya is still out patrolling the farming villages around Springvale. He's not slated to be back for a couple days, at latest."

Harry stared at her.

She stared back.

"So then, who...?"

Amber sighed and furrowed her brow. "I'll figure things out. Are you currently on shift?"

"No, but if you need me to do something I can lend my assistance."

Good old Harry. As a fellow patroller, they could always rely on each other for sharing resources. "Stick a note on Jean's door stating to leave any reports on the desk. I'll have to talk to Lisa and Captain Hertha to see if either are willing to pick up the slack."

As Amber moved to head towards the library, Harry spoke up. "You think Jean's doing okay?"

Amber brought her heels together sharply, producing a perfect clack as they touched. "Stormterror's been troubling Mondstat and her lands for the past several days. We've had to deal with damaged carts, wayward transport balloons, yet-to-be-calculated damaged crops from Stormterror's wake, and that's not even counting the amount of damage those whirlwinds caused when that dragon attacked Mondstat proper. With everything that's going on, plus the backlog we've all been fighting against since Grand Master Varka left on that expedition, I think one slip-up can be forgiven."

"Hey..." Harry touched her arm. She had to fight to not flinch away, though she knew he definitely felt the initial twitch. "I know you've been driven ever since— well, since you became an Outrider, but you seem a little more high strung than usual. Is everything okay?"

No. Everything was most certainly not okay. Dvalin, their once sacred protector, was being mind fucked by whatever was going on with the survivors of Khaenri'ah; hilichurls were moving in on Mondstat in a far greater number than her faded memories ever dared suggested; paperwork the entire HQ over was ever piling up; and fucking Kaeya, who had always been slated to be Acting Acting Grand Master should Jean ever be away, was nowhere to be seen. And that wasn't even getting into whatever the abyss was going on with her memories regarding the Traveller. "Hilichurl movements are just concerning me, is all," she answered. "If you'll excuse me."

For not the last time, she cursed the emptiness of the headquarters. She wanted nothing more than to hear somebody talk. To smell freshly cooked foods wafting over from whatever table they were laid out on. To hear the clinking of glass as people toasted whatever fancy they imagined or as another serving was poured out. To hear the voice or the foot falls of a certain woman striding through the halls.

She needed somebody to focus on, to shove her thoughts to the wayside where she could pretend they didn't exist. Amber glanced down at the flower decorated cup and tiny plate between her hands. When had...?

"You were spacing out for a while there, Outrider." Lisa gave a soft, motherly smile. A pot of tea rested nearby. The leaves must have been freshly added, and the water only recently brought to a proper boil instead of their mild simmer. Just one of several things Amber had advised Lisa, always hiding out in the domain of her library, to do to make her days a bit easier. "Would you like to talk about it?"

"Acting Grand Master Jean is out chasing a solution to Stormterror."

"Dvalin."

She glanced up.

"The dragon that's been troubling us is properly called Dvalin." Lisa's lip curled up slightly. "I figured as one who was always a stickler for titles, you would appreciate the info."

Amber nodded gratefully and pressed a palm to her cup. No, let it rest just a little more. "Captain Kaeya is currently out on patrol near Springvale, which means we need to decide who will be Acting Grand Master while Dandelion Knight Jean is unavailable."

"...have you talked to Hertha yet?"

"Not yet."

Faintly, she could hear Ella practicing her Hilichurlian. At this point in time, with the Traveller having only recently arrived, she doubted the girl had any practical experience with the language. Amber closed her eyes, desperately wishing the girl would hurry up and mend the cultural gap before it got too late.

"I'm assuming you came here because you wanted to ask me if I was willing?"

"But I know how much you hate paperwork." She took a small sip of her tea. Far hotter than most would be able to handle, her own experiences with her Vision meant it wasn't that big an issue for herself, even if she would prefer it just a little colder. It didn't hurt that immediately, the repeated memories of drinking tea to calm herself started bleeding the stress away. "I'm not slated for another patrol until next week. I can handle a few days on my own."

Lisa pursed her lips.

"Captain Hertha has to manage resources and issues among the civilians. You have to maintain order within the library, on top of being on standby should Jean or anyone she's working with drop by for any information. Captain Eula won't be back for another two weeks at minimum, and Captain Albedo is still dealing with a time-sensitive project alongside Alchemist Sucrose. I'm the only person with the experience necessary to handle the temporarily vacant position."

"Amber..."

Amber took another sip. This one significantly longer than the first. "I'll be heading home to change my clothing to something more suitable. I'll have Porthos or Athos send a message to Captain Hertha letting her know about the situation. I shouldn't take longer than an hour, at most."

"Be sure to get something to eat on the way back, alright?"

She hated that overly parenting tone. That tone that everybody gave her whenever her memories were weighing too heavily on her mind and looking in a mirror was particularly difficult. Not trusting herself to speak, Amber simply nodded.

"Take your time with your tea. I'll take a look at that paperwork in the meantime to make things a bit easier."

"Thank you, Librarian Lisa."

/ - /

Located in the north-eastern district of Mondstat proper, Amber's apartment was decisively small. It was enough to live in, and nothing more. A bathroom, a kitchen, a small living room, and a bedroom. Nothing more than the essentials, and even then it was more a place she slept when she was in the city than it was a home. A real home was elsewhere, when its proper owner was in the city.

Sure, she had a few personal belongings here and there: a handful of Baron Bunnies she'd kept before developing an elemental mimicry of them; a few trinkets from the last Ludi Harpastum; several bottles of alcohol she was graciously given by merchants she'd rescued in one way or another. Enough that her home felt 'comfortable', but still spread out enough that she knew others would call it barren.

"I'm home," she whispered to the early afternoon light streaming through the curtains. Amber frowned. She'd have to dust everything out at some point. That wouldn't be for a couple weeks though, if she even remembered. Quietly making her way to her room, Amber carefully changed out of her casual wear, donning a more mature outfit meant for working alongside Jean— or in this case, in place of Jean. Black, calf high boots; white, tailored pants with Jean's iconic golden diamonds patterned along the sides; a more detailed version of the leather corset she wore that was still so very functional as emergency armor; and an unbuttoned thigh length red coat that could be adjusted for use in either combat or dealings with the daydreaming nobles.

She often heard through whispers and lips loosened by alcohol that she was likely to become the next Dandelion Knight once Grand Master Varka retired and Jean properly acquired the title of Lion Fang. This outfit didn't help those rumors. Or rather, it was a conscious decision to bolster them. As Amber double checked that her outfit was properly adorned, she turned her gaze upon the racks of unstrung bows concealed by a curtain of cloth.

If Acting Grand Master Jean was out and about, that meant the attack was due any day now. In a proper world, she should be bearing her Favonius blessed warbow. In an ideal world, it would have been the Hawkmoon Mark Three she'd commissioned from Wagner; a red themed bow with white detailing whose original design was based off fragmented blueprints of a prototype bow blueprint from the Liyue Blackcliff Forges.

Amber stared at the two bows for only a second longer before shaking her head. If she was to be the Acting Grand Master, she needed to represent Mondstat as best she could. Plus, the blessings of the warbow would aid her if the battle turned out to be more of a siege.

The walk back to headquarters went by fairly unbothered. This early into the afternoon, people were still working away at whatever. Clothes to mend; things to craft; trades to process. The streets would be a different story in another hour or so, but for now, Amber allowed herself to bask in the whispered echoes of civilization.

Three days, at most. That was her estimated timeframe for the incidentally simultaneous assault on Dvalin and Mondstat. Hazy memories said that there were no casualties as a result of the invasion, mostly owing to the deployment of Captain Albedo and his abilities, but in a world where she had changed things by virtue of being far stronger than she should have been, not even the Archons could know what would happen. With a small sense of urgency as her tailwind, Amber made her way to Good Hunter, grateful for the emptiness of the early afternoon streets.

Sara was busy wiping down a table when she greeted her. "Oh, hello, Outrider." She tilted her head slightly, taking in her outfit. "Helping out the Acting Grand Master today?"

"Along those lines," She answered, smiling gently. "Are you guys busy? It's going to be a long night and I wanted to get us dinner ahead of time."

"Heat safe dishes, right?" Sara picked up her bucket and quickly made her way behind the counter, whipping out her charcoal and parchment with practiced ease. "Know what you plan on getting?"

"Cream stew, a mint jelly, one northern apple stew, and a satisfying salad. Oh, and a double serving of ground coffee. I'll make it fresh at HQ."

Sara jotted it all down, shouting through the window to the kitchens before passing through the order sheet. "A satisfying salad as well?" She smiled. "Is Lisa helping you out tonight?"

Amber mirrored her amused grin. "Well, it's the first time I'm going to be in Mondstat proper for more than two days. We figured it'd be good if we all got together to get through that dastardly villain known as paperwork." She winked. Jokes like these were among the few times she felt comfortable with such expressive emoting.

/ - /

"I'm back!" Amber pushed the door fully open with her butt, the bag containing the majority of her food for the evening sliding down her arm and into her no longer needed hand.

"Welcome back, darling." Lisa spared only a single, smiling glance for her before returning to her paperwork, signing through a few things before moving on to the next sheet. "I took the liberty of organizing everything while you were gone. I know how you try to keep an ear out regarding the movement of the merchants and requests from the local hunters and farmers, so I put everything concerning those into their own pile."

Amber set the bags on one of the spare tables— normally reserved for paperwork for a secondary person not important enough to be sharing a desk with the (Acting) Grand Master. "Thanks, Lisa. How late are we looking at tonight?"

Lisa gave a sardonic smile, her eyes crinkling with ambivalent resignation. "Personally, I won't be going past a second candle. But something tells me that you might end up going until the midnight bell."

"If I end up going that late," Amber answered. Working by candlelight wasn't the best of situations, but so long as she burnt two at a time the combined light would reduce the strain on her eyes; plus, she was still young enough that she could afford to make a few questionable decisions every now and then.

"Amber," Lisa started warningly.

"Lisa," she sang in return.

Lisa gave a long sigh. "I'm assuming the fees for the candles will be coming out of your pocket?"

"If I'm doing work for the Acting Grand Master, the fees are coming from the Acting Grand Master." Amber placed a chair down on the other side of the desk, a beaming grin on her face. Truly, few things felt as good as working off somebody else's coin. "So what things are you working on?"

Hm, nothing more than receipts and order forms. Important things though; if she compiled all the information together, then she'd be able to piece together a history of Mondstat's economic movements. Keep doing so for multiple years, as she'd already done for the past two years, and patterns could start to emerge. Patterns such as the slowly increasing export of varied alcoholic goods from Mondstat proper (as opposed to only the Dawn Winery's products), as well as the tiny, notable import of exotic materials rarely used in cooking. Upon glancing over at the reports from the Adventurer's Guild, one of the things that she enjoyed looking through, she even noted the acquisition of similar goods that were bought by the guild itself, for use in sales to Cat's Tail tavern.

"Making sure that the pay forms for the Knights still here are in order. Hm. Remind me to take a visit down to the treasury to make sure we have the mora set aside for all the Knights out on that expedition?"

"Only if you remind me to make sure my barriers are still up to order." She felt Lisa's smile. It was one of those things that you could figure somebody was doing after knowing them long enough. Amber glanced up, mirroring Lisa's expression. "Probably wouldn't be a bad idea to make sure some of the knights are keeping up with their physical capabilities."

"Even if most of the knights that stayed behind are ones not entirely capable of keeping up with our standards?"

"Just because they stayed behind for one reason or another, doesn't mean they can slack off even more. What if something happens? There's only a handful of us with a Vision, and by that alone we tend to be martially inclined, but we can't be everywhere at once." Huh. Springvale was noting a potential surplus of boars this season? Amber tapped her finger. Wouldn't be the worst idea to try and join in on the hunting when they were ready for harvesting.

"You really are set on this idea of the hilichurls doing something, aren't you?"

"If not the hilichurls themselves, then something spurring them on." Amber didn't look up as she spoke. Explaining her future knowledge was something she practiced often while out in the field. Finally putting those iterated speeches to use was basically just pulling away whatever line was best suited for her conversation partner's concerns. "We both know that the hilichurls tend not to go beyond their usual territory, not unless they find a reason to. Plus, their camp making has been very lazy. Basically nothing more than somebody making a place to rest during a backwoods hike."

Lisa gave an ambivalent hum.

For the next several minutes, the two of them fell into a comfortable silence, the only sounds the two of them made being that of their pens scratching along their papers. It was a rather quaint feeling. Surrounded by books and reports, the gentle scent of coffee drifting through the air.

On any other day, Amber would be sneaking through the woods, noise filled with the scents of earth and wood. She would spend her nights camped out under the stars, and her days tracking down fresh game and monitoring the movements of any who would cause Mondstat harm.

But today...

Amber let out a contented sigh.

"Mora for your thoughts?" Lisa asked, not looking up from her work.

"For a moment there I envied you," Amber admitted. "To be indoors, surrounded by paper and words, where the worst you have to worry about is late books and bookworms." Amber stared down at her current sheet, a receipt of delivery from one of the independent, travelling merchants who came in through Dornmon. Nothing but common goods and spices, with one exception of a few chunks of noctilucus jade meant for use in jewelry. "I thought it seemed like an enjoyable change of pace."

Lisa laughed quietly. "Only for a moment, of course."

"Only for a moment," she repeated. That's really all it was. A fleeting moment's fancy of a self-indulgent daydream. If she were to ever actually be stuck behind a desk, Amber knew she would go crazy. To be unable to enjoy the outdoors outside of a few set aside hours, well, it wasn't as if she had experienced that before.

As Amber continued working through her pile, eventually coming across a few collated reports from the Logistics division, a stray thought came to mind. "Is that trainee still using the practice fields in the early afternoons?"

"Ellin," Lisa supplied, "and yes. Though I fear she spends far more time emulating Jean's Vision based attacks than she does practicing her fundamentals."

Amber sighed. Ellin wasn't the first person to think becoming a knight required being able to perfectly imitate the strikes of the various Captains, nor would she be the last. "And let me guess: everybody is either far too busy or far too amused to bother correcting her."

"That pessimism of yours will get you in trouble one of these days," Lisa warned.

"Archons deliver me from a world unblessed by pragmatism," she shot back.

Lisa shook her head. "How did we ever miss you becoming such an unbeliever?"

"As if the Archons ask us to worship them, Lisa," Amber pulled aside one of her spare sheets, jotting down a quick note to visit Ellin in the next day or so. "If anything, I'm pretty sure at least Barbatos would find amusement in how sacrilegious I am." And if not her bluntness, then at least humor her as a result of regularly buying him a bottle of dandelion wine. She sniffed at that. The wine was surprisingly expensive, and she always had to deal with Diluc's glares whenever she immediately handed the bottle to Venti.

As if she would back down from the implied challenge. With a grunt, Amber shook her head. "Alright, back to work..."

/ - /

"Still working, Acting Grand Master?"

Amber rolled her pen between her fingers, staring out across the lake. Beyond those mountainous cliffs, through the gorges and nestled deep within the hidden basin, the Traveller and his team would be preparing to knock some sense into Dvalin. Carried through the skies by the blessings of Barbatos, how far would they fall? How high would they rise? With a sigh, Amber closed her eyes, listening to the faint, gentle clicking of the nearest windmill.

"Acting Grand Master?"

"Yes, Captain Hertha?"

The coordinator of the logistics division stood silently in front of the closed door, a small frown marring the woman's otherwise unblemished face. "Is everything alright?"

The fourth person to ask such a question in less than a 24 hour period. "Just thinking about some things," she repeated. "Anything within the city I need to be aware about?" Amber asked, still not looking away from the open window.

"Nothing that needs the attention of the Acting Grand Master."

It wasn't the best angle, but if she turned her head just so, Amber was able to catch the full reflection of Hertha. Standing at parade rest, she almost looked like a petulant child. Considering how long ago the message was sent, perhaps she should have had a reason to feel ashamed. "Are you okay with me taking the position while Dandelion Knight Jean is away?"

"You've been by her side the past two years. You know the ins and outs of the role just as well as the rest of the captains."

Amber nodded. Quietly, her cloak swirling lightly behind her, she strode over to Hertha. "Thank you for your support."

"May the Anemo Archon be with you."

Amber smiled ruefully. "Let the Wind lead."

/ - /

Summon.

Pull.

Release.

Summon.

Pull.

Release.

She was there.

Summon.

Pull.

Release.

She'd been there for the past ten minutes, watching her perform the same three motions over and over.

Summon.

Pull.

Release.

She didn't expect Ellin to show up tonight, but sometimes a stray wind was what dictated your course of action.

Summon.

Pull.

Release.

"I know you're there."

Summon.

Pull.

Release.

"If you've come to practice, you should do so instead of gawking."

Summon.

Pull.

Release.

"A-acting Grand Master Amber."

Amber held her next arrow in place, keeping the string of her warbow taut. "A knight does not hesitate, trainee. We might pause and take stock of the winds, but we do not flounder in it. Let the winds fill your wings, and move with them."

Release.

Breathe in. Let the air fill your lungs. Breathe out, letting all the negativity flow with the exhalations. The act of firing the bow was one of perfection. An arrow from a proper archer would always land in its target, thus practice asked refinement of the firing process itself.

Summon.

Pull.

Release.

"Are you the one who's been causing all those holes in the target dummies?" Ellin asked quietly.

"My apologies if I missed a target or two during clean up." Summon. Pull. Release. "After a session, my mind tends to be extremely empty, and anything I do is more habit or instinct than properly guided by thought.

Summon.

Pull.

"Lisa mentioned something like that to me the other day. She said it was called 'active meditation'?"

"Some people can't clear their minds simply by breathing. They need to keep themselves busy, so that the part of the mind that can't be still can pay attention to something else while the mind that wishes to be still can."

Release.

"...how long have you been doing this?"

Summon. Pull. "This specifically?" Release. "Three weeks."

"Firing a Vision constructed arrow without damaging the bow or setting the whole target ablaze... Acting Grand Master Amber, you're amazing...!"

"Nothing more than practice and dedication." Summon. Pull. Release. "Things anyone with a dream needs to adhere to if they wish to achieve it."

Summon. Pull.

Amber heard the quiet draw of a sword. One step. Then another. "No matter how many times a building might be remade, without a proper foundation, it cannot stand," she said.

Release.

Summon.

Pull.

"Keep that in mind, trainee. Fancy moves will get you nowhere if you cannot perform the essentials."

"Yes, Acting Grand Master."

Release.


Next chapter will be June 19th.