hsr collection || honkai star rail

[aventurine | voracity series] leviathan of the cosmos

when aventurine brings up traveling to the reverie hotel in the dreamscape alone, your eyes narrow ever so slightly and you take a step towards him. though you do truly worry for him, you can't deny that you also want to take a peek at the off-limits-to-visitors area for yourself, too.

he's been keeping you away from conflict, away from the dangerous games he plays on the daily, but you want to know. you want to see all that he is, his feats and evils, not just what he decides to show you. and if it means following him into the dreamscape, you won't shy away from your quest of knowledge.

-  he doesn't want you to enter the dreamscape reverie with him, but you're very, very stubborn
-  "it's dangerous for you," he says, giving you the most serious look you've ever seen on him, like he's genuinely concerned (he is)
-  you tilt your head. even without saying anything, he knows what you're trying to say – you don't understand where he's coming from
-  he tries to explain, boy, he's trying so hard to explain to you why exactly it's a bad idea, but he feels like he's talking to a wall
-  are you even listening? hello? he can't see your expression because your scarf is in the way, and your eyes betray nothing
-  for as much as he loves talking at you, this is the one time he wants you to give him a response
-  "you're strong enough." a statement, not a question, because this man is one of the ten stonehearts, and you know he has more power than he appears to have
-  well, yes. but, to be honest, he isn't confident in his ability to protect you

-  death is a dangerous entity, and even if he's certain he can hold his own against it...
-  what if it decides that you are its next target? you, who is so precious and lovely?he doesn't want to run the risk. he likes having you around, both as a friend and as a secretary, and the last thing he wants is to lose you
-  but you're adamant. "there's nothing to worry about," you say, oblivious to all the worries running miles per second in his head
-  he feels like if he didn't let you tag along, you'd just follow him anyway and that would be even worse

aventurine thinks he knows you well, perhaps even better than yourself, but turns out he's just delusional. you're so timid, so awkward, and when you've warmed up to him you're still silent and brooding most of the time, how could he have known that you have so many cards hidden up your sleeve?

-  he's just dealt with a few scattered crew from the dreamjolt troupe, but he might've made a little too much noise when he whacked the televisions
-  it feels like the entire floor's enemies are attracted by the noise, even memory zone memes are showing up
-  he glances towards you, who's doing a really good job at staying out of his way and avoiding attacks
-  way better than he expected
-  you don't seem afraid, either. he can tell that you're relaxed from your body language
-  one thing he's worried about, though, is eventually attracting death because that's the one thing he'll try his best to protect you from, but he isn't certain if he can
-  he doesn't think you can fight, and your lack of inclination towards conflict only reinforced that belief
-  sure, you're built like a fortress and you're intimidating, but he soon found out that you're a big softie inside
-  which, even more unlikely that you can fight. you just feel so... vanilla
-  you feel like the type who'd try to de-escalate a situation that could otherwise be easily solved with fists
-  even if you look like your punches would send people into orbit, it's just so out of your character
-  he likes that about you, really, but sometimes he wished you have some combat skills

when death inevitably appears, aventurine's heart drops. it completely ignores him and heads straight for you – perhaps it knows who's stronger or weaker – its wing rearing back as it coils around you, picking you up by your scarf, and –