Taking over the Abyss

[100k / New Year's Special] Lantern Rite

A/N: happy new year!! wrote this as both a little bonus piece for the new year, and since we hit 100k reads before 2021 ended. pls keep in mind this is non-canon and just a fun little fluff chapter!! i wrote all of this today, so if you notice any mistakes.. oops.

-

The Lantern Rite, Liyue's festival to celebrate the coming of a new year. You had fond memories of the first Lantern Rite event, and the beautiful sight of hundreds of glowing lanterns floating in the night sky. So when Eula and Amber both invited you to go to the Lantern Rite with them, how could you possibly say no?

Amber was incredibly excited, especially upon hearing you'd never been in-person before. She spent most of the trip to the Harbor recounting the last time she and Eula went together to the last detail, with Eula chiming in every now and then to give her own suggestions on what to see when the three of you got there. The three of you had briefly stopped at Wangshu Inn, where you caught a brief glance at a certain teal haired Yaksha, giving him a bright smile and a friendly wave. You could've sworn Xiao returned the gesture.

By the time the three of you had finally arrived, it was already evening- but the big part of the festival had a few more days before it began. Almost as soon as you passed through the gates into the Harbor, you spotted a familiar girl with bright pink hair running towards you all. Yanfei nearly tackled Amber into a hug, the two girls laughing before the former pulled away to wrap her arms around Eula, crying out happily, "You guys made it!"

Eula flashed a rare smile, returning the girl's warm hug, "Of course, did you really think I would go back on my word?"

Yanfei giggled and pulled away, then gasped at the sight of you. Her eyes lit up as she swamped you into a tight hug, careful not to bump you with her antlers, "(Name)! I can't believe you came too!"

You hugged Yanfei back, laughing softly, "How could I possibly miss the Lantern Rite?"

Yanfei pulled away after a moment, ready to recite out all of the events taking place this year. After taking a moment to clear her throat, she held up a finger, "So! Tonight, there's going to be an opera written by Yun Jin, recounting the tale of Guhua! It'll be starting pretty soon, so we should go and try to get good seats!"

The four of you rushed to the stage where the opera would be taking place, Yanfei guiding you to what she believed were the best seats- right up front. You sat on the edge, with Eula beside you, Amber and Yanfei sitting next to each other and chatting about the new year. In your peripherals, you spotted Yun Jin hustling across the backstage, careful not to disrupt her costume or makeup. She paused upon seeing that people were already waiting, and blinked at the sight of you.

With a warm smile, she waved at you before returning to hustling about. Eula glanced in your direction, "Do you know her?"

You nodded, "Yep! That's Yun Jin, we were introduced through a mutual friend."

"I see. It does make sense that you would have a lot of friends," Eula hummed, a slight pink flush blooming across her face, "... You're a very nice person."

Taken aback by her compliment, you felt your face heat up, "Aww! Thank you, Eula."

Eula huffed, "I... I am just pointing out something obvious!"

A small hand tugged at your shirt, as you looked to see who it was. Qiqi stood before you, staring at you with her usual dopey expression. Eula was about to question who's child this was, but was interrupted by the zombie, "(Name) jiejie, Qiqi is being chased... can you help?"

Figuring it was Hu Tao related, you sighed internally, but nodded. Qiqi climbed up to sit on your lap, hiding herself in plain sight from the funeral director. Eula looked suspicious, but didn't question it and figured that you were just used to this sort of thing. Qiqi was cold as hell, which was to be expected since she was a zombie. Still, you didn't mind, especially since the area around the stage would probably become hot with the influx of people arriving to see Yun Jin's performance.