🇵‌🇺‌🇷‌🇪‌ 🇼‌🇦‌🇹‌🇪‌🇷‌ | Shenhe x Reader

2

A/n: H/t = hair texture (ex: wavy, curly, straight, etc)

Footsteps thundered down the path to Liyue Harbor as two brown haired men raced for the safety of the city. Both were dressed in adventurer's uniforms, and they were incredibly pale, as if they'd seen a ghost.

They didn't go unnoticed by the white-haired woman who had been leaving the city, and she came to a sudden stop when she saw them coming.

They halted when they reached her, both bending over to catch their breath, hands on their knees. The woman's grey eyes narrowed as she took a step closer to them.

"Are you...Alright?" She asked carefully, unsure of the correct response to this situation. The men panted for another moment before one finally regained composure, standing up straight. Unlike what seemed to be his brother, he had a bushy mustache that reminded her of a dog's tail.

"Yes," He spoke finally, taking a deep breath, "yes, we're okay now." The second man, who was slightly shorter than the first, stood up as well, nodding.

"We were attacked while exploring near Luhua Pool," he explained, "we narrowly escaped with our lives."

"Attacked?" The woman repeated, "by what?" Adventurers were attacked every day by various small monsters, but usually they were well-equipped enough to deal with them, if they weren't too reckless. What could they have encountered in such a calm area as the pools that could send them running?

"Yes," the first man spoke again, "you're not going to believe this, but there was a spirit in the pools. It came out of nowhere when we were trying to cool off in the lake's water." At the mention of spirits, the woman rose an eyebrow. She'd never heard of anything haunting Luhua Pool. In fact, she routinely visited the area when she needed to be alone and take a walk, and she hadn't encountered something like that.

"It seemed like a water spirit of some kind," the second man said, "there are tales about them in Fontaine, but I never expected to find one here. That, or it could possess the water somehow."

"What do you mean?" The woman questioned. Despite her growing worry, her voice remained monotone, as if she couldn't be bothered with the problems faced by the adventurers.

"When it appeared, the water seemed to rise," The man explained, a hand on his forehead, "It had ghostly eyes and a mouth. I think it said something...What was it, brother?" He turned to the man with the mustache for help, but his brother only frowned.

"I'm not sure...We were so surprised at the time that I wasn't paying attention," he admitted, pausing for a moment, "Maybe something about scaring us?"

"Right!" His brother exclaimed, "It said it meant to scare us, I think." The woman's frown only deepened. Most spirits were harmless, not even showing themselves to humans. From what she knew, it was rare for one to appear specifically to scare people.

The situation became more confusing the more she thought about it. It was possible the men had been mistaken, or even pranking her, but their reactions had seemed so genuine.

"We even left our bag behind," the man said with a sigh, "it had my journal documenting our adventures, and all of our possessions."

"I see," the woman sighed, looking up again. "I will investigate the area and try to retrieve your bag." With that, she began walking in the direction of Luhua Pool.

"W-wait, really?" The first man breathed, "but it's dangerous!" When she didn't reply, he ran after her, reaching out a hand and grabbing her shoulder. Turning, she smacked his hand away, meeting his eyes as the closest thing to an expression of anger graced her features.