hydrangeabloom | (no subject)

[ It was an accident really that Zhongli found out about it at all. It being that the Eleventh Harbinger was found guilty of a crime within the borders of Fontaine and sent to the Fortress of Meropide.

Zhongli stared at the image of his (former) dining companion being dragged off the stage by two large Meka, noting that the photo itself was a little blurry in places. An amateur photographer then or a junior member of the Steambird staff. Either way, he paid no attention to the way Director Hu was chiding him off to the side, exasperated that he had snatched the newspaper away when she and Xinyan had originally purchased it for the exclusive interview that was to be published about the Yun-Han Opera Troupe's latest production.

Can't she see that he was trying to read the front page?

It was quite the sensationalized story — covering almost the entirety of the Steambird in bold block letters that spilled over to the next page and the next, detailing the Harbinger's attempt to defy his verdict alongside the shocking headline Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale and Chief Justice at Odds. It was a story that Zhongli could barely make heads or tails of considering his generally unfamiliarity (intentional, by the way) of how Focalors operated her court. Something he was only now realizing was quite the lack of foresight on his part. Not that he could have anticipated things turning out this way.

Director's Hu chiding was more pronounced (and interposed with laughter that he neither had the time nor patience to unwrap) when Zhongli immediately requested to use his leave and departed Liyue for Fontaine. He takes the old often unused routes through the Sumeru deserts. The routes that brought the Oceanid Rhodeia of Loch to the northern shore of Liyue. He does not head immediately for the Palais Mermonia where he knows the Hydro Archon will be when she is not at court. He had neither the time nor the patience for Focalors theatrics and dramatics when so much time had already passed. She had always been a difficult person for him to handle, and during the few visits he had made to Fontaine after the passing of the first Hydro Archon (there's a brief ting of loss at even this small reminder), he'd come to rely on another whose mannerisms and beliefs were more aligned with his own.

Neuvillette. Iudex of Fontaine. Chief Justice. And one of the individuals that was there at the time of Childe's sentencing.

Luckily, it only takes a little asking around to find out where the Chief Justice is. The pale blue Melusine seems quite enthusiastic to help Zhongli with his inquiry, so it does not take long from after his arrival at the Court of Fontaine for the retired Archon to find the other upon the western shore. However, before he had left, the officer had insisted that Zhongli take a rather sturdy umbrella with him to weather the rain. A rain which became thicker and heavier as he approached said shore. Had Zhongli been here for leisure, he would have truly appreciated the sight of the tall and majestic city being bathed in its own element as a backdrop to this whole encounter.

Perhaps he could when this was all over.

Zhongli's own personal beliefs dictated that he should not enter this discussion too hastily, even if his unease had only grown during his travels. The Chief Justice had always been reasonable and fair in sharp contrast to the antics of his Archon. Surely it would not be difficult for at least for the two of them to come to an understanding. So there is no apparent frustration in his tone when Zhongli calls out to the other: ]

Mister—

[ Ah, he was in Fontaine and should be respectful of their way of address. ]

Monsieur Neuvillette. My sincerest apologies for interrupting, but there is a matter of great urgency that I wish to discuss with you.

Edited 2023-09-17 07:31 (UTC)

[ All stories have eventually reach their inevitable ending. But all the wise beings and scholars of the world would have been hard pressed to predict the ending to this one.

If the death of Rex Lapis had been a shock, then the curtain falling on Fontaine was a bombshell. A feverous crescendo of events that somehow left the nation of Fontaine and its people healthy and whole and granted a wish that they did not even know they wanted. Redeemed of a sin that very few people (himself included) even remembered. Zhongli had so many unanswered questions. Questions about Childe and the All-Devouring Narhwal in those brief moments he had glimpsed the Harbinger in the fight at the Opera House. But he had not a chance to see him before he was whisked away back to Snezhnaya or so the Traveler had informed him. Even more questions about the hydro elemental energy he felt at the time of the flood, something more purer and fundamental than could ever be wielded by vision holder (or an Archon). And bottomless questions and a hint of dread at the feeling of emptiness and loss when Seven became Six.

Everything has a price. Something of equal value for which to trade. If there is nothing that is worth the price of a gnosis, there is even less chance of anything being worth the cost of a Divine Seat.

Ah, but there was no time for Zhongli's private inquiries in the aftermath. The ex-Archon does not know exactly why Lady Furina stepped down from her now non-existent seat almost immediately but it was also not his place to ask. The only bonds he had in Fontaine were with that of a absent Harbinger who didn't know he was there, a Traveler who had already left for her next adventure, and one Chief Justice who was bearing the brunt of the increased workload and chaos of the passing of the prophecy. For weeks, Zhongli avoiding seeking out Monsieur Neuvillete knowing his duties to be many and his standards for them as high as ever. If their positions were reversed, he too would be working himself to the bone as well.

It is not until many weeks later that he asks Sedene if he might schedule a meeting with Neuvillette after hours as to not interfere with his workday. The Melusine, as cheery and helpful as always, redirects Zhongli to Erinnyes where she informs him that the Chief Justice is running a personal errand. What that is she doesn't offer and Zhongli doesn't ask as he makes his way over by aquabus once again to the nearby island.

It's both reminiscent of their first meeting and the time they spent at the fountain of Lucine, brief encounters that they were. Yet somehow they keep circling back to this all the same— with Neuvillette being more integrated with the land of Fontaine so much more than his role as its head judge.

Zhongli isn't even surprised really when he finds the man nestled among a group of vishaps as if he belonged there. If it was Fontaine, Neuvillette belonged everywhere.

(The similarities between the two of them did not escape his notice.) ]

[ As promised, Neuvillette pays off the remainder of Zhongli's debt to the Hotel Debord; he also tells the hotel that for the rest of his stay in Fontaine, his meals will be paid in full by the Palais. He might not particularly like the man, but he wants to show his gratitude for his assistance nevertheless.

Month pass. Slowly but steadily life begins to return to normal as reconstruction efforts proceed as smoothly and rapidly as possible. More people begin to leave the temporary shelters to their rebuilt homes. Most schools have reopened. The main hospital in the city now has a new maternity ward, built in preparation of the coming population boom; for better or worse, turning the people of Fontaine into true humans also granted them reproductive freedom now that they no longer need to pray to the fountain to conceive children.

The now defunct Oratrice remains in the opera house as a reminder of the justice Focalors represented and Neuvillette is pleased to discover that while it can no longer produce Indemnitium, it's still capable of storing some power, allowing him to transfer a small piece of his elemental authority to temporarily supply the nation with Pneumousia in his absence. He doubts it'll be necessary anytime soon since he has no plans to travel farther than Chenyu Vale in the foreseeable future, though.

The old year gives way to the new one in Fontaine, and just a few weeks later it's time for Liyue to follow suit and usher in the new year with the annual Lantern Rite. Neuvillette decides to take half a day off (his first half-day off that isn't a public holiday in years; Sedene is so surprised when he informs her that she nearly drops her teacup) and takes the boat from Lumidouce Harbor to Yilong Wharf.

The earth trembles slightly as he disembarks. Nothing to concern oneself with, surely; seismic activity is a regular occurrence in the land of Geo.

The weather is pleasantly cool and mild, the blue skies only partially obstructed by some scattered clouds as the Iudex wanders the wharf for some time, perusing the various stands selling all manner of trinkets and food as hawkers try to outdo each other in promoting their wares. He doesn't think twice when one of them tells offers to sell him ten boxes of tea at a fifty percent discount and immediately buys them; it might be a little too much tea, but he knows someone who will appreciate such quantities.

Another brief tremor, lasting less than three seconds. Enough to make tourists give pause and halt in their step, but the locals barely react to it and continue as usual. Probably nothing to worry about.

Ten boxes of tea now neatly tucked into a paper bag, Neuvillette leaves Yilong Wharf to walk along the well-trodden dirt path leading to the nearby Qiaoying Village. As he nears the village, he spots a roadside stall of some sort and upon approaching he finds that the woman manning the stand is offering tourists the chance to try their hands at the ceramic arts.

After paying the woman, he dons one of the aprons hanging on the side of the stall and takes a seat and removes his gloves so they won't get dirtied (he's a little hesitant to do so in front of a stranger, but then decides that since she can see his rhinophores there's no harm in letting her see the scaly hands as well). He's given a rectangular block of clay that he doesn't quite know what to do with as first, but he finds that he likes the cool texture between his fingers as he experimentally begins to mold it into the shape of a ladle. Then another idea stirs to life and he begins to knead the top of the handle into the head of a heavily stylized dragon.

He's so focused on the task at hand that he fails to notice the very familiar aura that approaches. ]

Vague Whispers

Life is a masquerade so let's have a ball

May no spring nor fountain ever run dry