Written by VelleRue on Ao3
Warnings
Smut
_____________
Nahida,” Lumine’s dulcet tones speak into the echoing chamber of the Sanctuary of Surasthana (which is most definitely not an echo chamber, as evidenced by his current situation).”I need your advice.”
Wanderer and Nahida (he’s trying not to call her Buer, he really is, she deserves to be called what she likes, but habits are so hard to break) lift their heads up from their not-at-all-frustrating discussion to pay attention to Lumine-and-Paimon’s entrance.
“Ah, Traveler, Paimon!” Nahida greets smilingly, as though she and Wanderer hadn’t just been two inches away from biting heads off or pulling teeth. “I’m always glad to help. What is it?”
“Nahida, it’s absolutely terrible,” Paimon bemoans when the pair stops before them, and Wanderer wonders why Lumine had been the one to call out to them. Often it’s Paimon who yells in her place, and offers explanations the way she’s doing now. Peculiar. “Have you heard about the crisis in the Golden House?”
Nahida puts a hand to her chin, humming the way she does when she’s putting the pieces of a puzzle together. “I don’t believe I have,” she begins, “but I think I can deduce what you speak of. It’s the issue with Mora scarcity, isn’t it?”
“Yeah! How’d you figure it out?”
It’s Nahida, Wanderer thinks as he rolls his eyes. Give her threads and she’ll turn them into a tapestry.
“Well, it’s common knowledge now that Rex Lapis has departed from this world,” Nahida says. “And we know Zhongli himself has chosen to live out his life as a mortal now, and apparently has an issue with Mora since he can’t just produce it anytime he wishes anymore.”
He still thinks that the dumbest thing he’s ever heard – Morax, the god of Mora, is Moraless, what – but he has to admit, maybe Zhongli was onto something with the whole ‘living as a mortal’ schtick.
“And the Tianquan already had to begin managing the Golden House carefully since then. I can only deduce that, since she has no way of producing that divine Mora anymore, the distribution of money has become rather complicated.”
Lumine nods, the feathers in her hair flouncing daintily. “As expected of Nahida.”
Right? he wants to say. But that’s too friendly, it’s not his turn to speak, and he was just butting heads with Nahida. So he won’t.
“It has!” Paimon exclaims, her cherubic face bloodless with fright. “We were just in Liyue, and even Ganyu’s worried about it. If even Ningguang can’t come up with a solution…” She makes a small noise of terror. “The future of Mora is dooomed!”
“So we wanted to come and ask you about something,” Lumine says, picking up the conversation since Paimon is clearly checking out. She pats the pixie’s back and says, “I might have found an alternative method, but I wanted to ask if it was viable and worth a shot.”
“Oh?” Nahida blinks at her before her mouth curls up in a pleased grin. “You never fail to amaze, Lumine.”
I agree, he thinks. Then he hides his hands behind his back so that he can jab a finger into his wrist joint because no, he didn’t just think that, that’s an awful, dangerous thought.
He doesn’t miss how Nahida’s eyes flick to him, catching his movement. She’s probably upset again. Now they’ll start up the argument anew once the duo leaves. Or maybe even while they’re here – everyone in this room has had way too much insight into his psyche already, what was a little more?
He refrains from sighing.
“So, what is this method?”
“I’m going to beat up the ley lines.”
