Katarina sat at the table beside Jeht, enjoying a Liyue breakfast with the girls. Xiangling's cooking had a 50/50 chance of being an inedible experiment or a magnificent culinary achievement. Today's cooking was a winner: rice seasoned with Jueyun Chili Flakes melted in butter and baked in slime condensate. It had a jelly texture, sweet taste, and just a pinch of spice to excite the tongue.

Suddenly Lisa sighed. Xiangling glanced at her.

"What's wrong? Did I make your salad wrong?"

"No, it's not that, dear," Lisa replied. "I just miss my cutie, Aether. That's all."

The others sighed in agreement. Katarina swallowed a lump in her throat. Like the others, she too missed her lover. They knew he'd return one day, but the waiting made her sad. Seems like she wasn't alone.

Katarina said, "How do you cope with missing him?"

Jean said, "I throw myself into my work. I enjoy feeling productive."

Ganyu, Layla, Ningguang, Chiori, and Kokomi agreed. Sucrose mumbled a bit about her experiments, while Emilie mentioned how the shop kept her preoccupied. Katarina noticed Yelan smirking faintly. That lady had her secretive jobs which none of them could ever know.

"Work does it for me too," beamed Charlotte. "I love what I do so I'm never sad too long!"

Yanfei chuckled, "Work keeps me busy too, but I don't always like it. Sometimes when I miss him, I go fishing with Uncle Tian. That makes me think of him, you know?"

"An astrologist finds ways to get by," Mona said.

"Ah yes," chuckled Fischl, "The observer of the stars is wont to use the holy artifact of the wayward sojourner so that she might indulge in the most salacious of dreams."

"What Mein Fräulein means is that Mona acts out her sexual fantasies with the Aether body pillow."

"OZ!" screamed Mona. Fischl tried—and failed—to appear cross with her familiar. Mona buried her face beneath her hat.

Rosaria came to Mona's rescue. "I think it's kind of sweet. I'm sure Mona isn't the only one who's grateful for Miss Ningguang's gift."

A few girls laughed nervously, hoping to avoid suspicion, but most didn't. They all used the body pillow like that. None of them wanted to admit it. Katarina thought she'd best shift their attention back to the question.

"So, what do the rest of you do when you miss him?"

"I can tell you what Navia does," said Clorinde. "Macarons."

Chevreuse touched her finger to her chin. "Huh, I wondered why we'd been eating macarons every other day. Well, I like snacks so, please, keep them coming."

"My pleasure," beamed Navia. "I can tell you Clorinde plays tabletop games. Sometimes she spends a whole week planning out our roleplay adventures."

"A gamemaster must create an enjoyable quest for the party."

"Perhaps we should join you on one of these quests," said Candace. "For me, my fate lies with my people. I dedicate my time to their safety."

"Mercs are always on the move. Doesn't leave much time to sit around and mope."

"I hear you," said Kirara. "Komani Express keeps me on my paws 24/7."

"I have my duties with the Akademiya," said Faruzan.

"You all are such workaholics," said Yoimiya without a trace of scorn. "But that won't do it for me. I think about all the fun stuff we'll do when we meet again."

Eula scoffed. "Obviously, I never miss him."

Amber bit her tongue. The outrider had it on good authority that Eula spooned her Aether body pillow every single night. No sense in revealing that here and embarrassing her friend. Besides, Eula wasn't the only Aether body pillow spooner.

Xianyun said, "One has missed Ganyu and Xianyun when they were away in Liyue. One found solace in her research, the company of fellow Adepti, and in reminiscing."

"I have the children," said Arlecchino.

"I practice reading by checking out his postcards," said Collei. "I'm good enough now that I can read them all by myself."

"Well done," said Arlecchino. Collei grinned, pleased by the praise.

"I go gliding," said Amber. "I like to think the wind carries my wishes to him."

"How romantic," said Lisa with a giggle. The young outrider rubbed the back of her head, embarrassed. The librarian took a sip of tea before saying, "I take a nap. That cuts down the hours until we see each other again."

"Indeed, relaxing is always nice," Lynette agreed.

"Working too long is never good," added Rosaria.

"Inactivity does not sit well with me," said Ei. "I dedicate my spare moments to the martial arts. I construct a mental image of Aether in my mind and do battle with him. That, I find, staves off any loneliness."

"I train as well," said Noelle. "My exercise and my work are all part of my self-improvement."

"Improving yourself is truly admirable," said Ayaka. "Although, I'm not sure you can improve upon perfection."

"Yes, so until I reach that level of perfection, I must continue training."

The girls all shook their heads with amusement. That Noelle was far too humble and naïve. Just another reason they liked her.

"Hmm, I got plenty of hobbies to keep busy," said Beidou.

"I got the Aratakki Gang. Those guys keep me a little too busy sometimes."

"I find solace in the arts," said Yun Jin, earning nods from Xinyan, Nilou, Barbara, and Furina.

"Dancing," said Nilou. "Performance makes me feel close to him."

"I got my rock n' roll."

"I work hard to make everyone smile as a pop star," sang Barbara.

"When I miss him, I do arts too," said Xiangling. "Culinary arts, but still arts."

Everyone turned to Ayaka who blushed red. "Oh um… I just lose myself in the arts and my duties."

"Is that what you do when you miss him?"

"Yes, that's it," she said a little too quickly. Yae Miko let out a sultry chuckle that only intensified Ayaka's embarrassment. "What? I don't do anything weird."

"I didn't say anything, little one."

"Well good," she said. Ayaka dabbed a napkin to her lips, scrambling to regain her dignity. Judging by the reaction, Katarina guessed she spent her lonely nights with her Aether body pillow like everyone else.

Keqing said, "I like taking a stroll or shopping after a hard day's work. That keeps my mind at rest."

"I'm sure it does," said Yae Miko with a smirk. "You certainly don't indulge in any fantasies like the rest of us."

Turning up her nose, she scoffed in a bid to hide her blush. Seems the Shrine Maiden hit the bullseye once again. Now, the question fell to Lady Gujii.

"Oh me?" Yae Miko tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I have the other shrine maidens dress up like Aether and let them satisfy me."

Silence. The image hung about in their minds. Several girls gawked at the debaucherous idea, imagining the scene unfolding in lewd detail with perverse fascination. Eula orgasmed just thinking about it.

Yae Miko took a long, drawn-out sip of tea.

"Please tell me you're joking," said Shinobu.

"Obviously. I have Yae Publishing House, so I'm hardly starved for entertainment."

"So you… don't make the shrine maidens…?"

"Please, I'm not that demented."

They all let out sighs of relief.

Shenhe in her socially oblivious way said, "I please myself while thinking about him."

Once more, discomfort settled over them.

Xianyun sighed. "Why are you fine with admitting something so scandalous, but when One reminisces on your childhood, you pinch One underneath the table?"

Before Shenhe could answer the question, Mirror Maiden let out a hoot of approval to Shenhe's statement. "Sex is so awesome," she said dreamily. Everyone else felt the same, not that they'd ever admit it aloud.

"I play with the animals around the Teapot," said Cryo Cincin Mage. "What about you, Kat?"

Katarina thought about it. She didn't have hobbies like the others. Oh, there were recreational activities she dabbled in, but nothing held her interest for long. At least, there once wasn't much of anything. Now, she did have an answer.

"I suppose," she began slowly, "I come here and spend time with all of you."

They smiled, everyone from the Raiden Shogun to the Tianqian. Clearly, Katarina's sentiment was mutual. How Katarina had become friends with so many women, she'd never know. But she was so grateful.

"I agree with Katarina," said Jeht. "Having all of you here makes me happy."

"I suppose I must concur," Furina said. "You are all quite dear to me as well."

"Yeah," chimed Yoimiya. "Having friends makes everything so much better!"

One by one or in small groups, the others concurred.

Then, Hu Tao let out a sinister giggle.

"Hey, you guys want to know what I do when I miss Aether?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure I do," said Yanfei.

"Veto," added Ningguang.