lyre • venti

xvi

"it seems they are awake. i will return shortly, then, ganyu."

"okay! i will see you later then, cloud retainer."

a rumble sounded, fully waking y/n from their sleep. they surveyed the area, finding themselves on a small bed next to-- floating pieces of rock?! they were all connected by what looked like golden strips of light, and a tree or two would grow on the side. some had waterfalls lit up by one of the many lanterns scattered across the area, too.

"oh! good morning. i hope you've had a comfortable rest. try not to move too much, i'll prepare some food for you," spoke a gentle voice.

y/n turned, and their caregiver appeared to be a young woman with long, blue hair. she had what appeared to be black-and-red horns on her head, and a cryo vision similar to chongyun's was attached to her hip. her aura seemed friendly, but y/n couldn't trust too easily.

"who... are you?" y/n asked, sitting up slowly. the towel on their head fell in front of them. "and, uh, how did i get here?"

the woman laughed, approaching with something that looked like a bowl of rice. little flowers and berries were decorated alongside the edge, and there looked to be a relaxing image printed on the dish itself. "my name is ganyu, and i'm the emissary and secretary for the liyue qixing... i'm also an adeptus. as for how you got here, well, i was patrolling liyue and found you passed out near lingju pass, awfully hurt."

y/n accepted the food. they remembered venti mentioning the adepti in one of his tales, and he portrayed them as reliable people.

which reminded them, they were in teyvat, now. and venti was left behind alone, all over again. they had to find a way to get home, as soon as possible. if only we could just switch places.

"i see. it's nice to meet you, ganyu, and thank you for taking care of me. i'm y/n, and uh, i don't really have any impressive titles."

the adeptus smiled reassuringly. "it's okay! if you don't mind me asking, how did you find yourself in such a state?"

they frowned. "i was fighting one of those fatui harbingers-- the orange-haired one, childe. he and another captured me, and i barely escaped, as you can probably tell."

"oh, him? i've seen him often in the harbor with rex— zhongli."

"you know him?" y/n piped, startling ganyu a little. "i-i'm sorry. um, if you don't mind my asking, do you think i could see him? i think he could help me in the sticky situation i'm in with the fatui."

the woman pondered for a moment. "he's usually doing business for wangsheng funeral parlor, but he departed for an important mission. i believe he arrived recently, however i'm not fully certain."

y/n nodded, taking another bite from their food. ganyu spoke, "if you feel better, i can tour you around and help you look for him! i take it you're not from around here, then?"

they gave an uneasy smile. "yeah, i guess you could say that. my hometown is verrrrry far from here."

"i see, i see. well then, i'll let you finish your food, and i'll get you some new clothes. we can leave once you're ready," the adepti smiled.

"sounds good! thank you, ganyu."

...

"is it a bit much? this is usually what vision holders wear in liyue... but this is my first time styling someone, much less an anemo wielder... i can find something simpler if you'd like! i know you're not from around here, so things may feel different."

y/n studied their outfit. with the courtesy of ganyu, they were now donned in adventurer's clothing consisting of wide, semi-long shorts and a loose, long-sleeved top. similar to ganyu's, it had many complex patterns and embroidery, only in colors of gold and teal. they were also given short socks that matched the theme of the outfit, as well as some dress shoes and a sash crossed from their right shoulder and clipped to the side of their pants. the qilin even went through the trouble of styling their hair, fixing some of the uneven parts as a result of signora's tantrum.

they smiled and shook their head. "there's no need, i love it, ganyu! thank you so much."

she gave a relieved sigh before exclaiming, "oh wait! i almost forgot..."

the adeptus approached with y/n's anemo vision in hand. the wings of the case were cleanly polished, and the two pom-poms and feathers that hung from it were brushed nicely. ganyu proceeded to attach it securely to where y/n's sash ended, then taking a step back to admire her handiwork.

"all done! you look stunning. now, let's good look for zhongli. if we cannot find him, i think there is someone else who might be able to help you out."