𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫. [ dottore x gn! reader ]

III. the stars intertwine fates.

you walk back towards the small little hut of yours, having decided that you'll skip to the next town, port omos, tomorrow. you could waste energy thinking about what happened just a moments earlier, or you could just .. not. you could ignore it all, as it isn't your business, which sounds like the easiest idea. and that's what you decided to do.

loud sounds of chains dangling and music blasted through the streets as children ran about. small clusters of children ran through the streets, clutching some small sculptures of some odd looking creatures. they're most likely those aranana things you've seen books about in the library.

the children squeal and yell about some game they're playing as you walk by, and then a pleasant aroma hit you. food. your stomach rumbled at the very smell of the food, and now, you wouldn't have to be some beggar on the street for it - if you could follow the smell to its source.

you began to follow the smell as it lead you through the lively streets. various small shops had been lined up on the sides of the roads. the most appealing were the cloth shop, with various rows of colorful and bright cloth on the stands, and the small grocery shop. though, the grocery shop, or "goods", seemed ... expensive. a little too expensive for a single apple.

if a singular apple was around 1,000 mora, then what would a full meal be here? every nation you've been to was priced differently, probably due to populations or some other form of inflation - maybe sumeru was in debt. you read about that somewhere a few years ago, about how nation's prices sky rocket when they go in debt. however, an apple in mondstadt was cheap, like you were practically stealing from the shop - 250 mora. whereas liyue was a bit more evenly placed at 500, and tax, of course.

you couldn't fathom what form of debt a nation would have to be to increase the price of an apple by 500. with added tax. not like that's your problem, though, you were getting a full meal. a probably expensive meal, but whatever. future you's problem.

the smell of the food lead you outside of a tavern, you suspected. it's hard to tell what the wooden building is, as the writing on the sign had smudged. it's probably a "locals are in the know" type of place, seeing how the place is so lively.

large wooden pillars lined at the sides of the place, as the fence is overran by vines and plants. it's kind of pretty, despite how those vines were most likely invasive. the pillars on the outside held large lamps, which swayed with the wind, but didn't appear to be operated by fire. if they were, the fire would've gone out by now with how strong the winds have seemed to get.

the winds weren't strong earlier, at all, yet, now you could feel your hair covering your head and framing your face. the itchiness of the strands of your hair against your head seemed to signal you that you were in due for a shower.

you've been travelling for a while, coming from liyue and then passing through a small village that you couldn't remember the name of. though, at the village, you met a few people that were interesting - and paid for a reading. one had long fox ears and green hair, and tannish skin, while the other had bright green hair and purple eyes (with tan, scarred, skin.) they appeared as a small family - father and daughter, sort of deal.