The laces that adorned her dress swayed and danced along with the gentle breeze, as she quietly treaded the path that would lead her to Venessa's tree in Windrise. It was already three days after the incident, and she just woke up from that long slumber. Apparently, she had heard from a few servants that it was the bard and the traveller who brought her back in the winery. She ought to thank them for that, but Aether and Paimon were no where to be found in Mondstadt, as well as Venti.
Hence, her current situation, where she tried her best to avoid any danger that might be lurking on the way. She would probably be too dumb to use her element, and it would be really risky. The ability that she currently wields were all drained, and forcing her own body wouldn't be a good idea. No more elemental skills for today and tomorrow. None until she's stable enough.
Although she was trying to avoid the zone of grave peril, the world of Teyvat has its own ways of granting ones wish. The moment her eyes met the tree thay stood with all it's glory, was also the exact same time where a group of slimes suddenly came and popped out of nowhere.
". . .", She stared at the amount of electro and cryo slimes that immediately noticed her presence, each of them bouncing as they raced for the victim that was no other than her, in this case. The world and its own odds indeed, and it was all to her disdain.
Cascade was left with no choice but to run, as fast as she could possibly be. Admittedly, she was quite a fair runner herself, but in terms of gliding? Let's just say that she wouldn't last long in the air. As her heels clacked and the enemies approached, the young lass made a sudden stop when she realized that she was heading towards a dead end. This had her cursing in no time, and it was unlike of her to do so.If only. . .If only she could use her elements with no contradictions.
Just then her golden curcuma circled around her, yelling 'mama!' again and again. Her eyes widened at this, panic itching and climbing up her veins. Her beloved pet seelie. It's been so long, since she last laid her eyes on the floating bunny-like orb. When was it again? Ah, yes, during the Dragonspine expedition that she hosted for herself, only to end up in a huge fail. Now she wondered, who is this person, who is kind enough to feed her seelie with green vegetables? If only she knew, then they'll be in for a gratifying reward.
"I'm happy to see you too. But let's just run for a bit, okay? Mama can't use her skills right now", She cooed in between breaths, panting as she turned to glance on her shoulder, before focusing ahead. After minutes that turned into hours of running, Cascade's feet started to grow tired. Her once sharp and swift movements, now turning sloppy with a bit of stumblinh, whilst she tried to lead the slimes away from Mondstadt and it's enormous walls.
Though, on the way- some hilichurls and mitachurls were also encountered that all followed the mob of chase, which made it a tag of one versus many. As if on cue, her foot got caught on a rock that made her trip and gasp. A faint shriek from her and her curcuma was then heard, followed by a small thump and an unknown sound of something that exploded and got sliced. This made her wince, eyes closed as she awaited the impact of both electro, cryo, and pyro from the enemies.
But no. None of those never came. Instead, she was more than surprised to hear her own seelie- squeal in delight. That was odd. She witnessed a bunch of slimes and churls that were all either running or hopping after her. And the moment she tripped and fell face flat on the ground, had her thinking that she's seriously fucked up.
"Are you alright? Don't worry, they are gone now", it was a male's voice, and it was a familiar one at that. Cascade swore that she had heard of that somewhat silky and cheery voice somewhere. This prompted her to open her eyes, neck craning to glance at the person who have eliminated all signs of evil that lurked and followed her for who knows how long.
"Wait. . .I know you. . .", green eyes met with a pair of chartreuse orbs, and it had the lad gasping in realization and familiarity of the lass that he had just aided. It was unmistakable. A pair of chartreuse jewels that beholds knowledge, skin as pale as that of parchment paper, platinum hair that curls into lime as it reached the ends. He knew it. He just met someone who is incredibly well-known throughout Mondstadt.
"Miss Cascade Ragnvindr! Pardon me for my rather rude manners! I'm really sorry! My name is Bennett! The leader of Benny's Adventure Team. . .ow!", The albino scratched the part of his head were an acorn had just landed on, wincing at the painful hit that came out of nowhere. It made Cascade wonder. How come that an acorn would suddenly fall from the sky? It's quite confusing since there are no trees that bear acorns in the area.
"Cascade is fine. Bennett, right? Thank you for saving me", she bowed down, showing her gratitude to the boy who nervously placed is hand on his nape out of habit. He wasn't fond of being praised by anyone, because he is known for his 'bad-luck', but being thanked by an uncrowned princess was really shocking and overwhelming. "I'm really sorry for troubling you",
"Ah! No! You're not! Haha. . . It's my duty to help those who are in peril. It's nothing big , really!", He sputtered with a cough and a sigh at the end, out of pure embarrassment and flattery. Cascade smiled at this, breathing out a huge amount of air with relief. Right, she owes him for some lunch, besides it's already noon, and she is quite hungry herself.
"I- As a token of gratitude, will you join me for some lunch at Good Hunter?", She proposed, reaching out to her seelie who immediately understood her gestures, and dove in for her comfortable embrace, snuggling in her arms, as she scratched it's head, similar to that of an owner who's petting her pet kitten. Diluc knows how spoiled his sister's pet seelie is, and sometimes it makes him annoyed because his own pet seelie would often get jealous of the two. "It'll be my treat, of course. . . Albedo would also join us",
"M-Master Albedo?! O-oh. . .I- I must decline, Miss Cascade. It's too much. I--",
"No, no. I insist. There's no need to be shy and scared of me and Albedo. We don't bite", she giggled, only to frown after seeing how Bennett suddenly turned a lot more tensed than before. This made her sigh, before soft and calmly smiling at him in assurance that she meant no harm. "So. . .lunch at Good Hunter? It'd be a shame for a lad to decline a lady's offer to dine", she giggled once again, shaking her head at her sudden show of poor and somewhat threatening jokes.
Just on time, his stomach grumbled followed by a deafening silence that immediately spurted the moment they heard the sound of his growling organ. A faint blush of pink adorned his cheeks, while he slowly scratched the back of his head in an attempt to hide away his embarrassment.
"It seems like your stomach contradicts with your brain. . . Come on, let's dine in Good Hunter, and bring that Kreideprinz along with us for lunch",
Cascade thankfully bowed down to one of her lover's students inside the Knight's of Favonious' establishment, before ushering Bennett to follow her to the open restaurant. Apparently, they both agreed on taking the alchemist with them, because it has been one of Albedo and her routines to eat lunch together. However, when she had set foot inside the building, her attention immediately darting towards Timaeus, who seemed to be descending down the stairs from her lover's lab- the lass didn't waisted any second and immediately asked for the Chalk Prince. Much to her dismay, Albedo had apparently head out first along with a mirthful Klee and a mage (whom he wasn't able to recognize) towing behind the aforementioned lad.
Her brows knitted at the mention of this female mage, but she questioned no further and just thanked him for answering her queries. As she now sauntered with Bennett silently following beside her, whilst playing with her golden curcuma. Cascade's thoughts drifted into variety of swirls and turns inside her head. Just like a rollercoaster that keeps on running without signs of stopping.
She hadn't even realized that they've arrived at her desired place, only snapping out of her reverie when the curcuma pet of hers, started to rub her face to garner her attention. Cascade mumbled a quick apology after that, before settling on a nearby unoccupied table, with Bennett following her ministrations, though he kept his space and sat a chair away from her, not wanting to disrupt her with his bad luck.
"Yes. . .Timaeus told me that Albedo had gone here with Klee and a mage-- I wonder-", chartreuse orbs were then focused on a table far from their own, eyes squinting as possible to verify the girl whom her lover is currently dining with. She saw Klee, but the one in purple. She had no wisdom of that lass, nor had she seen her in Mondstadt before. Is she a tourist?
"Oh. . .that's Miss Mona Megistus. An astrologist. I met her through Aether", Bennett replied, as he heard her question that was supposed to be hidden inside her mind. This made him a stuttering mess once again, whilst he apologized for his sudden indulgence, to which the young Ragnvindr reassured him that it wasn't really worth the apology. In fact, she is rather thankful for his answer, because the dark of curiosity was now enlightened by a lamp.
"Astrologist. . .a believer of the stars and messages that the sky foretells? Interesting", Cascade glanced once again at their direction, lips thinning into a fine line when she just saw them laugh at what Klee had just said. Well, if you look at that, the day (even if it's really sunny) had just started to turn grey. Luckily, Bennett was oblivious to her atmosphere, and as well as the others, but unfortunately, Sara noticed this and flinched when her talons-like chartreuse orbs went to turn towards her direction.
"Baby? Come to mama for a second", she cooed, grabbing her seelie who is busily rolling on a stash of lettuce that she had just ordered just for the golden orb. Scratching and peppering it with kisses, before letting it float in front of her with a questioning look. "You see that person over there? The one with the white coat and braids? That's papa. . .go and ask for some cabbages", she giggled.
"Papa?", It asked, jumping and swirling around her head for a minimum of minutes before calming down. With a nod that came from Cascade as a response, the seelie immediately went to dash forth towards the lad (who had his back facing them) that it's mother had just pointed out. Swirling and circling the alchemist who confusedly yet amusedly observed the familiar being.
"Wow. You and your seelie are such good friends. I wish I could also have a buddy like yours", Bennett frowned, earning the attention of the lass who's eyes were focused on the movie that she had just directed. It wasn't long though, because her gaze were now set on the albino that sadly ate his meal.
She felt sympathy for the pyro wielder. Somehow, the lass was able to hear a glimpse of his past, and she was surprised to learn that Bennett was often avoided by many Adventurers because of his so called bad luck that is rumored to be contagious. That explains his lack of confidence at some point, and his often longing look towards a group of people who either planned to hand out or do adventures together. He badly wants to experience those.
The said young adventurer also mentioned that it was Aether who first joined his team without backing out, even if they continuously ventured throughout the entirety of the lands that surrounds Mond- he even joked about the traveller being lucky and blessed to find some chests and treasures along the way, whilst he had never found any for himself. It was sad. Really sad. The bitterness and forlorn tone that he used as he narrated his story to her was so heart clenching that she subconsciously created something with the use of her abilities as an archon (despite refraining herself from doing so).
Cascade held up a sphere like container in front of her current companion, surprising him at the sudden gesture that she had just did out of nowhere. It baffled him, nonetheless, and he was hesitant to take it from her hands.
"Open it and you'll see", was what she said with a smile, before standing up and striding towards Sara who greeted her with a sweat drop. She paid for their bills, just as promised, before going back to their table, after a quick glance on Albedo's table. Ah, he fed her seelie some cabbages, and now it is happily munching them.
"What's this Miss Cascade?", he asked, holding the container that has a blue light on it's center, examining it with care and delicateness, afraid to break whatever the glass holds.
"Oh? Open it and you'll see, Bennett. Just promise me to take care of whatever being that resided in that container. . .ah- it's almost time for me to head to Angel's Share", Cascade frowned, but smiled afterwards as she stood up her seat. She gave the albino a pat on a back, and another thank you and reassurance that she had already paid their bills. Afterwards, she bid him a goodbye, before whistling for her curcuma who immediately dashed towards her direction.
Albedo 's as well as his companion's gazes darted towards the rushing seelie, his teal eyes, along with Klee's ruby ones, widening at the sight of Cascade who gave them a smile before walking away, back turned to them with strides that would really tell anyone that she was rushing and is off to somewhere. Though, what made his eyes wide with fear and sting crippling his heart, was the fact that she glared at him for a second, and it was penetratingly sharp and straight.
Oh no. . .