#heartofirminsul

[stellastia]

♡

(Send ❤️ to see what my muse thinks of yours. Still accepting!)

❌❌❌❌❌| ATTRACTION

⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️ | AFFECTION

⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️ | INTEREST

⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚫️ | LOYALTY

⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚫️ | TRUST

“Nahida is really unusual amongst most deities I’ve met. She’s incredibly compassionate and has a big heart. She also really encompasses what it means to be wise, being both intelligent and kind. I really do respect her a lot and believe Sumeru will only prosper with her guidance.”

[fanfaire]

[BALLROOM] - The venue’s been rented out to some startup company for their first Soon-to-be-Annual charity ball, and your name can be on the guest list for the small price of a donation and a dance! Go on and get swept off your feet, or maybe be the one to do the sweeping!

Music fills the air as the evening flows ever onwards, guests from all over moving about the ballroom, resplendent in finery from more cultures than she can count. But, through it all, there's still a few sitting off to the side, watching the dancing with expressions ranging from enraptured to regretful and everything in between...one of whom she recognises.

And so, smoothing down her formal dress, Nahida makes her way around the edge of the dance floor and bows, offering a hand. "May I have this dance, Lady Furina?"

And then, softer, so quiet that only the two of them can hear, "This doesn't have to be for anyone else. Just for you - just something you enjoy, whatever form of dance that is."

SO THE EVENING GOES ON ,　✧　and everything begins to settle into the more recognizable rhythm of normalcy. the man has still not made any reappearance, and it's been so long now that she thinks she no longer means to, if he ever did to begin with.

all that surrounds her now are the common sights of crystal lights, flowing beverages, elaborate dresses, and huddles of conversation. and here she feels at least at home in tapestry, if not so much in placement. she cannot recall when she has ever been at a ball and felt so. . . lonely. naturally, she had come knowing she would not be known, would not be seen, and would not be fawned over. yet knowing and experiencing are two different things: one cold and detached with the head, the other engraved upon the heart.

and it is here, pressed between the transition from center-stage to the wings, that she wrestles with the spirit of the girl who had been so long overshadowed by the goddess that she had at some indiscriminate point long ago ceased to exist. furina in white would have no trouble walking up to some group of strangers and beginning anew, but furina in black thought only of her solitude, and felt herself at once, jarringly, outside the scope of the kamera lens instead of within its eye or even behind it, shooting the scene. only seeing the end photo itself, in some magazine or on some grand screen later, perhaps, recognizing that it had never been meant to be about her.

regardless of which one she is, or if indeed there is any separation at all, it is enough of a surprise when she hears her name out of the blue that she is pulled from her ruminations, looking up——then down when her eye lands on that of a girl, smaller than herself and delicately waifish. despite her stature and appearance, there is at once something telling to furina that she is not a child. perhaps it's the way she talks ; perhaps it is the expression on her face. she doesn't quite know what to think.

". . . a dance?" she looks out at the ballroom floor, swirling with elegant trains, and rises from her chair as a matter of course. "of course, i would never turn down such a request. but," and here she looks down at the girl again, already beginning to run through what options they had for such a difference in height and——perhaps?——skill, "i didn't expect to find anyone who recognized me here."

she supposed such things could be better answered later, or perhaps not answered at all. even at the farthest-flung edges of a universe much, much larger than she could have ever imagined, her name would still, occasionally, come to her in the tones of acknowledgement.

the thought is a selfish and comforting one, one whose magic she did not entirely wish to have dispelled by knowing its origins.

so she brings a little more of the familiar here instead, like a child padding out the corners of a new, cold, and alien bedroom with beloved things in the hopes of making it feel more like home. "i don't suppose you know how to dance l'écume de mer? it's an old, some would say outdated, composition from fontaine which was enormously popular during its time. i haven't danced it in a long time, but it was my favorite for a while. it shouldn't be too difficult if you take the following role. here, i can show you."

[unfxllenone]

[TEA TASTING]

Lantern Rite is a time of change and renewal, a time of honoring tradition while looking to the future. All the festival activities, spread throughout Liyue's streets, embrace this ethos, with everything from traditional arts to experimental modern advancements on display in some form or another.

Nahida wanders the streets, drinking in the myriad sights and sounds; there's so much to see, so much to explore, and she feels, for a moment, a little more like the child she outwardly resembles; a little more free and unburdened. One particular event catches her eye - a local tavern, hosting a tea-tasting event - and, even better, she spots Lumine standing nearby.

She's always enjoyed sating her endless curiosity with new foods and drinks - nothing ever tasted real, in those endless dreams, and strong, vibrant flavors have always made her feel so very alive - and partaking in the event with her First Sage, her dear friend, by her side will be all the better.

"Hey, Lumine! Want to check this place out together?"

Lantern Rite brings Lumine a familiar warmth, reminding her of every time she's had the luxury of enjoying it -- and now, more than ever, doesn't she deserve a little reprieve? Over the harbor, the guiding lights dappling the sky present a path for those dearly departed to follow, and beneath their gentle glow, the living strive to carve their own memories amongst the many festivities available.

"Nahida!" Lumine's face alights with a similar warmth and vigor when she spots the Dendro Archon in the heart of Liyue, and there and then she decides she absolutely has to add to her delight. If anyone deserves to enjoy the festivities to the fullest, it is surely this flower in bloom.

"I'd love to." She assures, a hand over her heart, though she's offering the restaurant a contemplative glance. The tea is fine -- perfect, really -- but if she can get them a table around the back, won't they have a view of the Wushu dance going on below? No, wait -- Nahida would probably prefer to see that up close, so why spoil it? And they could pick up a lantern from Granny Shan, too. And stop by Wanmin, maybe, to try another one of Xiangling's creative recipes. Oh! And --

( Better not think about it too hard, if she wants to keep this surprise a secret. )

"-- and I know just the place I'd like to take you after, too!" She looks back to Nahida, flashing a grin -- before pausing, thinking, and then more sheepishly offering --

"Well -- assuming you don't already have set plans..?"