Chapter Text
Overall, you endured a peaceful night's sleep and despite waking up with a large knot in your hair, you felt refreshed. Your body had been trained through years of school and early morning meetings to awake at the crack of dawn. So, sitting upright in the bed, you observed the thick orange hue of sunrise spilling onto the floor.
Your first thought was if Neuvilette was up yet, which you assumed he most definitely would be. As to not keep him waiting you made haste to have a brisk shower, get dressed, brush the knot out of your hair and pack all your belongings away for another day on the road. You wore an elegant navy dress, flowy enough to allow you to breathe, but tight enough in all the right places. The sandals Neuvilette had given you lay on the floor where you had tossed them last night; you thought that you should be sensible and wear them, as they were more appropriate footwear than the low-heeled flats that went with your dress, so you begrudgingly put them on, wincing slightly at the colour clash.
Upon entering the hallway, you slowly closed the heavy wooden door behind you and headed to the foyer of the Alcazarzaray, as you suspected, Neuvilette was there and seemingly ready to go - daintily holding a steaming cup.
He greeted you politely, ‘Ah, good morning y/n, did you sleep well?’.
‘Yes thank you, it's quite peaceful here, how about you?’
‘I slept adequately, but am now increasingly aware of how much we have to do today.’
‘Yes of course, well I’m ready when you are, everything is packed.’
‘Of course, I’ll just finish this. Oh, how rude of me, I forgot to ask if you’d like any chai’
‘Oh, no worries and yes a cup would be nice thank you.’
You leaned against the stained glass windows and tentatively watched Neuvilette pour you a cup, handing it over with a warm smile.
‘Apologies for the subpar meals, once we reach Sumeru city this afternoon we will have a proper dinner.’
You let go a small smile from your lips, perhaps you were enchanted at the idea of having dinner with Neuvilette or craving a spicy Sumeru curry.
‘It’s been a long time since I’ve had Sumeru food, authentic street food i mean, we sometimes get imported curry spices but it’s never really the same.’
‘Yes, I agree, it never is truly the same experience as indulging in street food in a bustling city - perhaps the joy we get from it is partly due to the environment, or people we eat it with.’
You didn’t expect a philosophical lecture about street food at sunrise, but you appreciated his enthusiasm. Briefly, you reflected on your first encounter to now, how sharp and stern he was back in his office; it was a stark contrast to how he was here. He was softer and warmer, sure, he still had a judgemental approach to his stare but he also had a glint of humour in his eye.
‘Very true, Neuvilette,’ you commented as you took small sips of the (honestly extremely tasty) chai.
You stood, mostly in silence sipping away and admiring the sunrise before finishing up and picking up your bags. Both of you bid farewell to the Alcazarzaray, starting
Your hike towards Sumeru city. The air was thick and humid, even this early on in the day and despite the shower you had after waking up, you felt unreasonably grimy.
‘I’ve forgotten how… disgusting this weather can make you feel.’
‘Ah, you mean the humidity, it is a challenge to get used to.’
‘How are you holding up Neuvilette, are you not overheating in that coat?’
‘I’m quite alright, besides, this is my formal attire, it would be improper of me to arrive to the city dressed in anything else - it’s a sign of my respect.’
At that comment, you looked down at your feet and became a tiny bit self-conscious about the sandals and hid your embarrassment by turning away. You confirmed to yourself that it was most likely not intended to be a jab at you, as, despite not really knowing Neuvilette too much, you didn't find it to be in his nature to be passive-aggressive.
As you continued walking, you additionally observed that you always seemed to end up trailing behind him. You were unsure if it was proper or not to do so, considering his superiority over you. However, seeming as if he never asked about it, you resumed your trailing behind, hoping that a traveller wouldn’t pass by and assume you were a lost puppy.
It was around 4 miles past the halfway point when Neuvilette turned round to face you, with an excited demeanour and a suppressed smirk. You displayed a visible look of confusion to which he straightened back out again and bit his cheek, only to then smile devilishly.
‘Could I perhaps deviate from our planned route, I have just realised we are extremely close to Chatrakam cave, I haven’t been there in years, it is truly beautiful and I would love to have you see it too.’
You stood back, quite surprised by the sudden spontaneous proposition.
‘I have been pondering it while we have been walking, and we can factor it into our route and still reach the city before sunset, it would be but only a small detour and it’s my pleasure to share the hidden gems of Sumeru.’
‘Uhhhhh’, you muttered, taken aback by his enthusiasm.
He watched you, awaiting an answer. You couldn’t say no.
‘Sure.’
He smiled and grabbed your hard firm and laced his fingers with yours. You flushed red at the sight of it, him leading you away to who knows where holding your hand. His palm was soft and his grip secure, it was a little bigger than yours, so you were swallowed up by the dorsal. However, it made you feel safe; despite having no idea what had spurred this change of direction or where exactly you were indeed going, you felt fine with it all, comfortable in his grip.
He brought you down a small hill paved with uneven stones that poked the soles of your sandals vigorously. The area was surrounded by tall overgrown ferns and the ground was dotted with small ponds inhabited by bright coloured fish. Small bushes of flowers poked out from underneath bushes and you could hear the sound of distant birdsong over your footsteps. There was a rumbling in the distance that had stuck with the two of you the entire journey, Neuvilette had briefly mentioned it to be the biggest natural waterfall in Teyvat (Fontaines retained supreme as the largest but were classed as artificial), it was strangely soothing.
You bit your lip just as you approached a cave entrance curtained by vines and mossy boulders. It was lit inside by the noon sun casting into it, but it was deep enough to not be fully illuminated.
‘It’s just as it was before,’ Neuvilette exclaimed, discarding your hand to stroke the stones of the entrance, taking a deep breath.
‘So, what’s in it,’ you asked.
‘That, y/n, is a splendid surprise. Shall we find out?’
You hesitated slightly, your instinct to stay away from an unfamiliar, dim hole in the ground.
‘Okay.’
‘Great, let us head in.’
You followed his lead as he strode into the mouth of the cave, his hand gliding along the rocky wall of it.
‘How long ago were you here?’
He stopped and pondered for a moment.
‘Around 34 years ago.’
‘That's quite a long time ago.’
‘Indeed, I had come to Sumeru to write at the akadeymia for a while, I made a hasty decision to go on foot. Sometimes, small choices will lead to rare gems. I found this cave while I was travelling; you see, I had read about this cave before, it was discovered around 75 years ago and dubbed ‘Chatrakam cave’. Do you know what that translates to y/n?’
You thought momentarily, trying to pin down the translation so as not to disappoint Neuvilettes clear enthusiasm.
‘Mushroom cave?’
He seemed satisfied and straightened his coat.
‘Indeed.’
Confused as ever, you continued down the cave, the presence of sunlight becoming sparser, but the air becoming refreshingly cooler. Soon, you reached a plush clearing, habited by….
‘Mushrooms??’ You exclaimed loudly, scarring the fungi away to the walls of the clearing.
Neuvilette turned towards you, sharp eyes and drew a finger to his lips in a shushing motion.
‘Be quiet y/n, they are very sensitive to sound,’ he whispered.
‘Oh, sorry, I had no idea,’ you whispered back.
The small mushrooms cautiously approached you and it wasn’t long until you were surrounded by little shrooms bouncy around your legs.
‘They’re adorable, Neuvilette,’ you said, carefully to keep the volume low.
‘Aren’t they endearing? I discovered these peculiar fellows when I explored here, and this cave seems to be their home.
Your heart swelled as they nuzzled up against you, cute faces examining your foreign appearance. Just as a little, pink-topped one was about to jump on your shoulder Neuvilette firmly grabbed you and pushed you behind him, scarring away the small creatures - your mouth hung open in annoyance, about to scold him, when he said sternly…
‘Stay behind me.’
He had placed you behind his back and held his arms out. In the corner of your eye, you could see his face, he was intensively serious and alert.
‘Neuvi, whats-’
He impatiently shushed you.
You peeked over his shoulder, only to see a group of eremites approaching from the shadows of the cave.
‘Good afternoon, do you need any assistance from us?’ Neuvilette said plainly.
You heard the group giggle and scoff.
‘You’re not supposed to be down here, old-timer,’ one of them laughed.
‘There’s no law against it, these lands are under the jurisdiction of Lesser Lord Kusanali and no other.
The leader of the group, front and centre, wielding a giant claymore, rolled his eyes.
‘This is our territory and those,’ he pointed to a shivering mushroom, ‘are our meals.’
Neuvilette furrowed his brows.
‘Meals? These mushrooms are under the protection of the Gandharva forest rangers.’
‘Are we going to have a problem here? Look, if you leave now, no one has to know either of us was here. How’s that sound, gramps?’
The leader raised an eyebrow, spotting you peeking from behind Neuvilettes shoulder.
‘Who’s that you got stashed behind you?’
Neuvilette bit his cheek and you retreated behind him.
‘Not gonna say huh, guess we’ll have to find out ourselves.’ He tossed the claymore into the air before catching it and holding a fighting stance. ‘We don’t usually play dirty like this, gramps. But you have to understand, we don’t take kindly to disobedience.’
‘Y/n, whatever you do, stay behind me.’ He whispered towards you.
You nodded your head profusely and watched as Neuvilette rolled up his sleeves, exposing his toned forearms.
The group of eremites lunged at him, but Neuvulette was surprisingly fimble and dodged all their attacks without pivoting once so you could remain strictly behind him. They threw pitiful punches and kicks, none seeming to land, all while Neuvilette swerved around them, hitting back sharp jabs at their stomaches and shins, landing a few unconscious on the floor.
The leader yelled and ran towards him with the claymore. Neuvilettes eyes widened and he clenched his fist before smacking the eremite in the face, spasms of blood hitting his cheek. This only seemed to anger the leader more and he recovered quickly, before cracking his neck and chuckling deviously. Suddenly, he lunged to Neuvilettes side, missing by a longshot, only for you to lock eyes with him. His nose was bleeding profusely from where Neuvilette had punched him and he had a thick scar running down his right cheek. Upon seeing how he stared at you, you knew why he missed so hard. Taken aback by fear, you froze as he grabbed you and pulled you towards him, clawing at your skin with a mean grip. He stood, with you as his hostage, giggling and wiping the blood from his dripping nose.
‘Y/n!,’ Neuvilette shouted, eyes wide and mouth agape.
The leader turned towards you, the remainder of his conscious team standing beside him, a squat one cracking his knuckles, but much more visibly fatigued from the fight - besides him, a tall woman clutching her upper arm in pain.
‘So, that's your name, nice of you to finally tell us.’
Neuvillete bit his cheek harder, causing it to hollow out.
‘We do not want trouble, please, let her go, we will leave.’
‘So you get your ass beat and now you want to strike a peace deal?’
In the clutches of the leader you heard the tall woman pant to him,
‘Boss, can we… give it up, he gave me a hell of a beating, I think my arm’s broken. Look, we can get food elsewhere is this really…. worth fighting over? He’s like…. 50 years your senior anyways.’
The leader gritted his teeth and let you go with a harsh drop on the floor, before staring down Neuvilette.
‘Don’t you dare tell anyone we were here gramps. You won’t be so lucky next time.’
Neuvilette nodded and the battered eremites flung their unconscious colleagues over their shoulders before running out of the cave mouth. Meanwhile, Neuvilette ran over to you, his eyes scanning your body attentively.
‘Are you hurt at all?’
‘No, I think I’m okay, my dress is just dirty from being dropped is all I think.’
He knelt on his knees and bowed his head to you.
‘I am, so… terribly sorry, y/n. I promise I had no idea eremites even resided these ways, I tried to plan our path specifically away from their settlements. It is… my fault, I never should have deviated from our path, I was selfish.’
He held your hands in his.
‘You have my sincerest apologies, y/n.’
You smiled awkwardly, for it was your first time being in a situation like this, much less than it was with the Iudex.
‘It’s alright, monsieur.’
You placed a kind hand on his shoulder and he looked up to face you, you gazed into his eyes and rubbed the blood off his cheek.
‘Thank you for bringing me here Neuvilette, these shrooms are like nothing I’ve ever seen before.’
A moment of silence again. You were beginning to dread these little moments you shared, they felt far too intimate and it somewhat scared you.
‘Besides,’ you continued, ‘shouldn’t we keep going if we want to reach the city by nightfall?’
He let go and stood up straight, offering a hand to help you up.
‘Yes, you are quite right, let us head off, I’ll make sure to report those eremites once we reach the city.’
You perched onto his hand as leverage and got up, brushing off as much dirt as you could from your dress.
You exited the cave, happy to feel the warm sunlight and humid air once again. Neuvillette redirected the both of you back on the original path and you began hiking again.
It wasn’t long before you arrived at the gate of Sumeru city, both extremely tired and, you, particularly dirty. Both of you agreed on immediately finding somewhere to eat and you browsed Treasures Street until you found a quaint cafe. Upon placing your order you plopped yourself down at a table. It was now dusk and so the tables were candle-lit, with red, velvet tablecloth. You thought about drifting off right there but perked up as soon as the food arrived. You ordered some Baklava and Neuvilette and some Tulumba. He insisted on paying for the food, onto two rounds of Sumeru coffee. You assumed he felt guilty for what had happened this afternoon, and your heart swelled when you saw him staring blankly into his coffee. YOu wished you were close enough to be open with each other, to talk merrily at meals like this, instead of staying in mostly silence. Neuvillette was, to you, a very interesting person and you wished you could tell him you thought so.
After the final swig of coffee, you retired to the 2-bedroomed house Neuvilette had rented for the night. Once you got in, you threw your bags onto the floor and let out a large sigh.
‘Tired?’ Neuvilette asked.
‘Very,’ you moaned, pulling off your sandals while Neuvillette carefully unlaced his shoes.
‘I suggest you read over the entire document once again before the meeting tomorrow morning, just to maybe avoid a situation similar to the one at the harbour.’
Your face flushed with embarrassment, you wished to forget about your idiocy at Bayda harbour, but the fact of Neuvilette remembering it was humiliating.
‘Yes, I’ll make sure of it.’
He nodded in approval before placing his shoes to one side and walking towards the door of his room.
‘Well, goodnight y/n, I hope you have a nice rest.’
You smiled back. He opened the door and stepped half in before turning around with a harsh look of regret plaguing his eyes.
‘I am truly sorry for what happened. I have not been so reckless in a long time. I am sorry you are the victim of my negligence.’
‘Neuvilette, I promise, it is fine, I hope you have a nice rest.’
He nodded slightly and closed the door behind him. You too left to your room and, without the energy to admire the gorgeous architecture, almost fell immediately to sleep. Of course, not without those thoughts of Neuvilette crossing your mind again, possibly even amplified by the events of today. Archons, you thought to yourself, what am I doing?