ｍｏｎｏｐｈｏｂｉａ [Scaramouche]

1

"Rise and shine, [Y/N]! We got an honorary crew member, and it's important that we show her respect by meeting her!" [Y/N] rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and yawned. Sunlight seeped into her tiny bedroom on the Crux, casting a golden glow on her skin. Her bleary gaze was greeted with the sight of her brunette captain.

"M'kay. Just gimmie a sec and I'll be out." Her mouth opened for a yawn but instead, a cough came out in its place. Beidou's eyes rounded with worry.

"Is it getting worse? You can tell me if you need another day away from the wheel. I can give you another job or get Kazuha to check up on you," she suggested. [Y/N]'s grip on her mattress tightened as another set of painful coughs racked her body.

"[Y/N], please, I'm worried about you. You're my family, I don't want to see you in pain..." Beidou pleaded, softly. A wobbly smile tugged at [Y/N]'s lips.

"I'll be alright. I still have a few lucky stars to wish on." Beidou snorted.

"Well once those run out, I'll take you to Bubu Pharmacy." [Y/N] chuckled dryly as she watched the captain turn heel and walk out of her chamber.

The ocean breeze rolled over the deck in playful waves, washing them in its salty ethos. Boxes and crates were loaded onto the ship and a choir of grunts and yelling. At the center of it all was a mysterious blonde and her floating companion.

'That must be the honorary crew member Captain Beidou was talking about.' Many of [Y/N]'s crewmates greeted the traveler with enthusiasm. Kazuha was the sole exception. The wandering samurai sat on the ledge of the stern. He was reciting something to himself, perhaps a haiku he had been working on. To show her respect, [Y/N] waved at the traveler.

"Now, now, let's not overwhelm her. I get you guys are super excited to meet her, but we have to get these supplies to Inazuma before nightfall!" The crew answered Beidou's command with a unanimous "Yes captain!"

The wind conducted the orchestra that was the sea. It sent waves into crescendos' all through the ballad of the Crux's journey. The song of cheerful chatter and humming was the center piece of the beautifully composed music of their travel. Most of [Y/N]'s crewmates spent this time becoming acquainted with the blonde traveler, who's name she had found out was Lumine. Her admiration for Lumine was undeniable, but her fear had won her over and stopped her from approaching her. Instead, she turned to Kazuha.

"Hey, Kazu'. I was thinking about what you said about clouds yesterday, I still don't get it." Kazuha's lips curled into an amused smile.

"It's alright. Are you going to talk to Lumine?" [Y/N] shook her head.

"Nah, I'm scared she won't care much for me and think I'm a waste of time." She forced a chuckle out of her, to lighten the insecurities that had dropped heavily into her sentence. Kazuha got off the ledge and gave [Y/N] a gentle, reassuring tap on the shoulder.

"I'm sure she won't. I've spoken to her, and Lumine's a nice person. Plus, you're a dreamer. I'm sure she'll appreciate that." [Y/N] rolled her eyes. She rested her forearm on the ledge and gazed out at the endless glimmering denim.

"How reassuring." Kazuha chuckled.

"There's power in dreaming. Go ahead and give it a shot," he encouraged.

"Fine, but if I fail, I'll eat your heart out and not in the fun way."

[Y/N] coughed into her elbow as she walked over to Lumine. Currently, Yinxing was rambling on about her previous surgeries and how gruesome each one was.

"Hey, you must be Kazuha's friend." [Y/N] tipped her head to the side, curiosity rounding in her eyes.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Lumine leaned against the walls of the ship. The salty breeze blew through her strands of gold. She smiled.

"I saw you guys talking and you seemed pretty comfortable with him. So I just assumed. I'm Lumine, by the way." [Y/N] grinned from ear to ear. So far everything was going great! No snarky comments and no spitting.

"Your name is everywhere in Liyue! My name's [Y/N]." Lumine stood back upright and held her hand out to [Y/N].

"Nice to meet you, [Y/N]."

Lumine had accepted her and every inch of the starlight [Y/N] carried, much to the dreamer's surprise. Sunset blossomed upon the horizon, pressing fine orange rays onto the gentle sea that hugged the ship's walls. Through [Y/N]'s squinting eyes, she managed to see the faint image of a dock.

"Crew, prepare to anchor the ship! Inazuma is right ahead!" Beidou called. The crew gave their yells of acknowledgement and cooperation. Two men headed for the anchor and most reached for the crates.

      Once the ship had been anchored at the dock, a friendly-looking, blonde man approached them. He greeted Beidou and Kazuha and gave a wave of greeting to Lumine and the rest of the crew. [Y/N] couldn't be bothered to listen to whatever business stuff they were talking about. It wasn't her business, so she wasn't going to interfere or try to understand. Instead, her business was with the stars. Flecks of ethereal, glowing, silver were freckled across evening's dark gown. They forced [Y/N] into a trance. She had memorized the patterns in the sky countless of times, but the patterns never stayed the same. Sadly, not everyone wanted to mind their own business. A certain harbinger took an interest in [Y/N]'s stars, or maybe it wasn't her stars he was interested in.

'I found the brightest star.'