Chapter Text
"-since the Traveler is visiting Sumeru for a few days.. Wanderer? Are you paying attention?" A small voice spoke, breaking away the hat bearing puppet from his thoughts.
"Yeah.." he grumbled, arms crossed as he leaned up against the wall. The Lesser Lord had called him to the Sanctuary for something relating to the Traveler, and the Traveler being one of the only people he tolerated, besides the Dendro Archon herself he begrudgingly made his way to the Sanctuary that morning.
She continued speaking. "Alright, The Traveler said he would meet you near the east entrance of Gandharva Village, apparently he's meeting with Tighnari and a colleague of his." She added, handing Wanderer a rolled up sheet of paper, a green wax seal keeping its contents a secret. "Now, since I know you were spacing out." She started, a hint of amusement hidden in her soft tone. "This is an important message for The Traveler, please get it to him safely." He stared at the paper for a moment before speaking
"And you can't just do this yourself? It feels like I'm your lacky running errands for you all the time." He retorts, staring down the rather tiny archon. She stared back, a much more calm look in her eyes. "You know I would never force you." She gives a kurt nodd before walking back into the depths of the Sanctuary. Wanderer stared as her form become smaller and smaller, until she finally disappeared behind two large doors.
"Ugh...FINE! YOU WIN KUSANALI!" He shouted, loud enough for her to hear behind the closed doors. He could only imagine the small smile she had plastered on her face.
The Avidiya forest was beautiful this time of year. The new blossoms giving a pop of color to the vast green landscape, the birds singing a brand new song to welcome in the season. Wanderer could.. tolerate it. That seemed to be all he could do. Tolerate.
He didn't hate taking commissions, he tolerated it for a few Mora. He doesn't hate how busy the streets of Sumeru City get, he tolerated it for The Traveler. He had never truly liked, let alone loved something.
Though even he knew that was a lie.
Before he could let his mind run wild any further, he made it to the east entrance of the village. And of course, no sign of The Traveler, Tighnari, or his colleague. "Well thats just great." He said to himself, a layer of annoyance gracing his already rough tone. He decided to sit on a nearby rock and wait for the trio to arrive. The surface was cool under his palms as he slightly leaned back, staring up at the thick foliage of the forest.
"Enjoying the view?"
A voice sliced through the calmness of the rather empty forest. Startled, he turned around, where his mechanical eyes landed on a rather average looking woman. Her garbs were of no singular nation, as if her outfit had been made from scraps she had collected over her lifetime. An empty vision holder tied to her hip with a small sash.
"Yeah, staring at leaves is my favorite pass time" He said, a thick coating of sarcasm evident in his tone. "Well, I guess that explains why you're lurking infront of the entrance to this little village. I'm sure you would know what leaves are best to stare at around here." She said, a small smile appearing on her face as she stared down at him.
He sighed, not in the mood for whatever weird small talk this was. As if the Archons had seen his discomfort first hand, Tighnari and his small posse finally arrived. The Traveler spotted him first. "Hey Wanderer! Sorry we're a bit late." They all made there way over to where the rather moody man was seated. The blonde turned his attention to the woman. "Oh, hello! I don't believe we've met." He said, holding out his hand for her to shake.
Tighnari and his fellow forest ranger caught up, standing next to the well-traveled blonde. "Oh her?" Tighnari nodded his head towards the woman, adjusting the straps of his backpack. He decided to take the liberty of introducing everyone to his old friend.
"Everyone, please meet Y/N L/N, a former student from the Spantamad Darshan." He said, giving Y/N a small smile.
"Great to see you again Tighnari." She spoke softly, sending a small wave his direction. "And please," she started again "I studied there for like... 10 months!"
"Modest as every" Tighnari chuckled. "But seriously, don't be too hard on yourself. Everyone understood why you left." His tone turned grave for a moment, a flick of curiosity sparking in the puppets fabricated mind.
The conversation was quickly changed. "Well Hat Guy," he started "Do you have that message from Lesser Lord Kusanali?" He gestured towards the Traveler. "Yeah here, she said it was important" Wanderer said, handing the scroll to the blonde outlander. He took it, gently shoving it into his backpack.
Tighnari's colleague tapped him on the shoulder before whispering something in his ear. "Drats, I totally forgot about that. Wanderer, Y/N, I'll catch up with you both later, the three of us need to be somewhere."
Everyone exchanged a quick "goodbye" and "safe travels," before the three disappeared back into the forest. "Well Mr. Wanderer, it was a pleasure to meet you." The girl chirped, turning to walk away. He made no move to stop her, why would he? But he couldn't shake this feeling.. like there was something more to her.
Why was she just wandering through the forest? Why was her vision holder empty? Why did she leave the Darshan after only a matter of months? What happened? Why was he wondering these things?
"Tch Humans, so complicated." He huffed, not realizing his own hypocrisy.