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The following is a fan-based
FICTION
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Chapter 11: Unexpected Guidance
P.S. I now have a discord server! Discord .gg/ceBMM2Zz6c
Shenhe's education under Cloud Retainer dictated she was careful around someone like Kratos.
Even though she had long crossed out the very notion he may be a threat to herself and Liyue, that didn't mean that Shenhe was planning to be too trusting around such a stranger. Or, at least, that should have been the core notion of her attitude towards the bald brute.
Instead, the young woman found herself driven by a sense of kinship that was unnatural - especially since it felt like she was being taught lessons by the man. Nothing as enlightening like her adeptus education, but enough curious discoveries about nature she didn't know about.
Having been limited in places to visit within the untouched beauty of the region beyond Mt. Aocang and other domains of the Adepti, Shenhe was somewhat intrigued by the most interesting aspect of that trip to reach her master and alert her of what trouble was stirring in the Harbor.
After all, the faux passing of Rex Lapis felt like an event worthy of the Adepti's return to mortals' lives, albeit for a brief amount of time.
They were a hour away from their destination when Shenhe stopped at the sight of an unusual scene in her simple life: a Geovishap Hatchling, a very young one from the size, was getting attacked by a Stonehide Lawachurl.
The latter beast was taller and stronger, the Geo-elemental hide easily absorbing the blunt of the desperate hatchling's attacks, the creature crying in pain as it couldn't do anything before such a horrible situation. Shenhe remembered Cloud Retainer's words about not being bound by any law or duty to protect the creatures of this kind since it was nature just doing its course...
But her anger flared at the thought of leaving a child at such a monster. It was easy to see the relation and the reason why she was feeling so strongly about it, her steps pausing, her eyes burning a glacial glare on the amused Lawachurl and-
A hand settled by her shoulder. She remembered her situation, and Shenhe felt slightly ashamed for her emotions to pick up a fight.
"You want to intervene."
It wasn't a question. He could see it in her bodily reaction. She looked ready to jump, ready to unleash her weapon and intervene.
"Yes. But it wouldn't be proper."
"...Would it?"
A slight pause ensued, but her thoughts were once more disrupted by the cries of the Geovishap Hatchling. She inhaled softly, her lungs growing colder as her patience thinned.
"It's nature."
"You are part of that nature. And if you see something unjust, you have a choice to either react or not," Kratos argued quietly. "Ramifications will still be there, but do not let expectations or anger dictate the choice for you- be the one in control."
That sounded... acceptable.
She had already had a 'sinful' approach when she hate something that wasn't based on herbs and other products of the land. The meat she tasted in the harbor juicy and filling, something that she doubted either Ganyu or even Cloud Retainer could ever hope to understand.
Likewise, she held Kratos' peculiar lance out of intrigue. She had a feeling it wasn't truly cursed to kill liars, but Shenhe had found it a beautiful item. A masterful craft that showed a righteous nature held within a noble soul. It was telling of its owner rather than those that held it ever so briefly.
Still, this inward conflict raged on even as she grasped for her lance. Shenhe's next woe was to determine how to kill the Lawachurl. She was favoring for a quick and smooth execution, but this was quite difficult considering the Geo hide over the monster's skin. Her lance and her Cryo abilities could usually do little against it, and this pressed her on patience.
She wanted to hurt it, it was only fair she returned pain to pain.
As that war raged on, Shenhe thought Kratos would join in. Either to show her the right path, or to actually assist her. But he just stood there, watching her. It was as if he was judging her- no, he was reminding her that she went into that fight for a reason and... it wasn't a personal one.
Shenhe's pace shifted back to a more calm one. Her lance struck the Lawachurl's hide enough times for cracks to form before her Cryo abilities allowed her to seep the cold within the cracks, further expanding those before ultimately breaking the hide entirely.
From there, it was a matter of precision. Dancing around the Lawachurl's attacks, the young woman retreated once she was completely sure she had done it. The Lawachurl fell to his knees and then fully collapsed.
She thought that would have been it. Killing off that Lawarchurl left her with a hint of relief, but... Kratos was now looking at something else. Beside her. And she turned to find the Geovishap Hatchling standing there, looking at her with an intriguing amount of awe that perplexed her.
Then, as if remembering he had to leave, the Hatchling dropped some flowers and rolled away. Odd, but she was even more intrigued by the flowers. Glaze Lillies... it had to have found them far away from this area since those weren't native of this section of Liyue.
"How do you feel?"
Shenhe looked back at Kratos. "I am good."
"Hm."
For a brief moment, Shenhe could have sworn that she saw pride flashing through those troubled eyes and, even more fascinating, she felt pleased to see that sort of reaction. The duo was soon back on track. They were bound to reach Mt. Aocang quite soon and...
Unaware to both Kratos and Shenhe, a certain Adeptus had kept tracks of the two ever since they got closer to the mountain and... she was impressed by what she saw.
AN
Cloud Retainer: I think I found a new father for my youngest~.
