[ adjusting to teyvat has been an adjustment. the lack of modern technology has been annoying, and having to learn the general customs and histories that would be expected to be known by the average person has been a headache. doable, but still a headache. but you really just have to do what you can in order to survive, and for whatever reason, ryo chose to survive.
he isn't really one to accept commissions at the adventurer's guild, but this particular one might lead to information that he's curious about, so he decides to take it. it's aggravating to find out that it's a team mission and others will be involved, but he's already used to being forced around people he doesn't care about. it's fine. so he's waiting outside of sumeru city for whoever else is meant to accompany him; apparently, people have stated that there has been odd sightings in the desert, around the same place where some prominent researchers of the archon war have disappeared. the guild wants to figure out what the sightings are and if there is a connection to the disappearances.
he's dressed in inazuma clothing, since it's the easiest thing to get away with considering his name. it's fine. ryo will glance up when he sees someone approaching, unsure if it's whoever sheba is or if it's just a random passerby. ]
of course, it helps that she can read minds. if someone asks her a question that someone has lived here their whole lives ought to know the answer to, it's generally a simple matter to pick it out of their minds. that said, the fact that she spends most of her time around dawn winery heads off most of the questions that might get directed at her to begin with - few people in mondstadt really want to get on diluc's bad side by pestering his guest.
it's nice, but she has to admit that at times it's a little stifling. so when the katheryne in mondstadt mentions they're looking for adventurers to take part in a commission in sumeru, sheba waves aside any concerns he and kaeya have about her traveling on her own and signs up for it. she's wanted to visit sumeru for a while, anyway; the rainforest seems like it will be a new experience, but she expects the desert to be comfortingly familiar.
she'd arrived the night before and gotten the details from the katheryne in sumeru city, and in the morning, she heads out to meet the person she'll be working with. ryo is easy enough to recognize by his garb; her own traveling clothes, brought with her from weyard, fit into sumeru's style quite well, so it probably wouldn't be too strange for him not to recognize her as an adventurer by sight. the only thing slightly off about it is the (fake) mondstadt-style anemo vision functioning as the clasp to her cloak.
still, when he glances up, she smiles and greets him with a wave.]
he looks over at her, taking a moment to take in her appearance. she doesn't look like a fighter, but she does have a vision, so he supposes that's good in case anything happens. it's a little difficult for him to fight around other people since his powers are kind of difficult to pass off as a vision ability, but ryo will just try to manage. ]
[onward they go! traveling is infinitely more difficult at night, so sheba certainly doesn't want to delay. she'll head off down the path leading away from the city.]
It should be an easy enough trip from here to Caravan Ribat, at least. We can check in there and see what the conditions of the desert are like and if we'll need any additional supplies before we head in.
Yes, but only once. I wouldn't say I'm very experienced with traveling through it.
[ also, he flew, but he does not say that part out loud. but at the very least he's used to traveling through difficult areas, even before he got here, so he's able to adjust appropriately. ]
What about you?
[ hopefully... she's wearing clothes from the nation, but going by what he knows about the hostilities between those who live in the desert and outside of it, that might not mean much. ]
[by now she has learned how to do the materialize-your-weapon-and-have-it-vanish-when-you're-done-with-it thing the genshins do, so she wriggles her fingers and a mace appears in her hand. she gives it a little twirl before it vanishes.]
I've got a lot of experience fighting. Don't worry, I can pull my weight. [she smiles.] You must be able to, too, or else you wouldn't have taken this commission, right?
[ there's a beeping sound from his pocket as a bicker notif goes off. ryo just blinks, confused since he normally keeps it on silent. he's not that worried though, since the people here wouldn't typically know what that is so he can usually just pass it off.
lol. ]
I can defend myself.
[ he is wondering if it's from fuckin childe. it's probably childe. assigns childe in this psl ]
sheba tilts her head to one side when she hears that notification, trying to place where she's heard something like it before. it's definitely not a teyvat noise, but... this is sumeru. the akasha may have been shut down, but that doesn't mean the scholars haven't been experimenting with new technology. then again, ryo isn't dressed like someone from the akademiya...
she decides that she doesn't really know him well enough to be all that concerned with his privacy, and casually activates her mind reading psynergy while she speaks to try and find out what that noise was. if it just went off, he might still be thinking about it?]
Good! We may run into some monsters in the desert, but as long as we keep our wits about us, it'll be fine.
[ sheba will hear a, 'this better not be childe--' before it very abruptly cuts off. ryo blinks and throws her a curious glance, before just continuing on with the conversation as normal. ]
I'm more concerned with running into people. They tend to be more annoying to deal with.
[ usually when you get jumped by people they try to talk to demand things and be threatening and it is very obnoxious. ]
[when ryo glances at her, she glances back at him, her expression neutral. she doesn't look confused, but that's mostly because, well... they're talking! it's natural for people to look at each other when they're talking, she thinks.
she'll just play it cool and file away what he was thinking about childe for later.]
You can leave the talking to me, then, if we run into anyone. I'll handle it.
at least, the journey to the caravan is uneventful, with not too much crossing their path. ryo is very ??? about earlier though, but at least he's good at keeping his expression neutral as well since that is typically his default expression anyway.
once he wanders off to check his phone, sheba closes her eyes briefly and a small jupiter djinni materializes as if from nowhere. she nods once, it circles her, and then she ... vanishes into thin air? hello?
[ that's fine. since she isn't trying to mess with his head, he isn't going to notice this.
but he will go to somewhere secluded and pull out his phone to swipe through it. he makes a face. ]
No, Childe, I don't want to hang out to fight. Again.
[ he types a response and sends it, then sighs. there is a few minutes of back and forth texting, mostly explaining that he's all the way in sumeru in the middle of something, before he finally pockets the phone again. ]
[smash cut to pixi tagging into this thread partway through with childe like, "hey ryo! i came to sumeru for our fight!"
anyway, that phone is definitely not from teyvat. it doesn't look like anything the akademiya would make. if sheba had grown up here, maybe she would think it was just some new, cutting-edge technology that was being beta tested, but she's seen other people's phones already, and she knows from experience that people from other worlds can come to visit.
so the question is, what does she do about it?
for now, she'll head back to where she was supposed to be waiting, and flickers back into visibility. the djinni nuzzles her cheek briefly before vanishing again, and while she waits for ryo to return, she thinks.
childe... she's heard that name before, from diluc and kaeya. he's with the fatui. if he's close enough with childe for him to be getting texts about wanting to fight, does that mean he's settled in with the fatui similarly to how she's settled in at dawn winery? maybe she'll have to keep a closer eye on him during this commission than she thought.
for now, she'll observe. she doesn't know enough quite yet.
Mmhm. I needed to double check my supplies for something.
[ he doesn't go into more detail than that. even if he wasn't hiding anything, he still wouldn't have.
ryo is still on guard with her, but he has no reason to suspect she isn't from here. but he has been around the others enough to know that there are people here with abilities that aren't typical, so he's kind of wondering if she's some kind of god or demon or something. it's fine. ]
Mm. I checked with some of the people around here while you were gone - [read: she casually read their minds when she passed them on the way in] - and it seems like it's been pretty tame for the last week or so. There was a really bad sandstorm about a week and a half ago, though, so some of the travelers heading to Aaru Village were worried they might be due for another one soon.
Honestly, we'll probably get a better price on supplies there than we would here. [some of the merchants were definitely considering jacking up the prices since there are traveling concerns.] I'm not too worried about mora, though. So it's probably okay to stock up here too.
[she has done a lot of commissions before now. and also is really good at mind reading treasure hoarders and stealing shit they've stolen back from them to turn it in for rewards.]
he also isn't too concerned about mora, primarily because he also can just rob people. he doesn't read minds he just robs them it's fine. ]
We can just head out if you think that's best. You have more experience here than I do.
[ ryo doesn't really like letting other people take the lead, but it would look weird if the person with less desert experience is the one making this type of decision. ]
You're okay on water? It looks like you've got layers, so you should be okay for the heat... the temperature can drop pretty quick at night in the desert, though.
[she hums.]
It's not too far from here to Aaru Village, anyway. Most of the people who are worried will move more slowly than us because they have a lot of supplies to take with them.
[traveling through the desert does not bother her in the slightest. honestly, even if there's a sandstorm, she knows how to deal. is it bad i'm tempted to fire up genshin and see what it's like to walk from caravan ribat to aaru village? because i'm so used to just teleporting now that i don't fckin remember how it went.
anyway, as they're heading along -]
So what made you decide to accept this commission, anyway?
Hm... well, I wanted to come to Sumeru again, especially the desert, since the other time I was here was a short visit. So, taking the commission just seemed like killing two birds with one stone.
[ you get money and also he gets to go where he wants. ]
Oh... about the same! I live in Mondstadt, and I kind of wanted an excuse to travel around a little on my own.
[she shrugs.]
...I guess this isn't really on my own since it's a two-person job, but you know what I mean.
[she got to travel here on her own! she can also travel around sumeru on her own once it's finished. she likes mondstadt well enough, but it's pretty strange to go from traveling around everywhere to just staying in one place.]
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he isn't really one to accept commissions at the adventurer's guild, but this particular one might lead to information that he's curious about, so he decides to take it. it's aggravating to find out that it's a team mission and others will be involved, but he's already used to being forced around people he doesn't care about. it's fine. so he's waiting outside of sumeru city for whoever else is meant to accompany him; apparently, people have stated that there has been odd sightings in the desert, around the same place where some prominent researchers of the archon war have disappeared. the guild wants to figure out what the sightings are and if there is a connection to the disappearances.
he's dressed in inazuma clothing, since it's the easiest thing to get away with considering his name. it's fine. ryo will glance up when he sees someone approaching, unsure if it's whoever sheba is or if it's just a random passerby. ]
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of course, it helps that she can read minds. if someone asks her a question that someone has lived here their whole lives ought to know the answer to, it's generally a simple matter to pick it out of their minds. that said, the fact that she spends most of her time around dawn winery heads off most of the questions that might get directed at her to begin with - few people in mondstadt really want to get on diluc's bad side by pestering his guest.
it's nice, but she has to admit that at times it's a little stifling. so when the katheryne in mondstadt mentions they're looking for adventurers to take part in a commission in sumeru, sheba waves aside any concerns he and kaeya have about her traveling on her own and signs up for it. she's wanted to visit sumeru for a while, anyway; the rainforest seems like it will be a new experience, but she expects the desert to be comfortingly familiar.
she'd arrived the night before and gotten the details from the katheryne in sumeru city, and in the morning, she heads out to meet the person she'll be working with. ryo is easy enough to recognize by his garb; her own traveling clothes, brought with her from weyard, fit into sumeru's style quite well, so it probably wouldn't be too strange for him not to recognize her as an adventurer by sight. the only thing slightly off about it is the (fake) mondstadt-style anemo vision functioning as the clasp to her cloak.
still, when he glances up, she smiles and greets him with a wave.]
Hi! You're Ryo, right?
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he looks over at her, taking a moment to take in her appearance. she doesn't look like a fighter, but she does have a vision, so he supposes that's good in case anything happens. it's a little difficult for him to fight around other people since his powers are kind of difficult to pass off as a vision ability, but ryo will just try to manage. ]
I am. You're Sheba, then? We should get going.
[ while they still have daylight. ]
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[onward they go! traveling is infinitely more difficult at night, so sheba certainly doesn't want to delay. she'll head off down the path leading away from the city.]
It should be an easy enough trip from here to Caravan Ribat, at least. We can check in there and see what the conditions of the desert are like and if we'll need any additional supplies before we head in.
[a beat.]
Have you been into the desert before?
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[ also, he flew, but he does not say that part out loud. but at the very least he's used to traveling through difficult areas, even before he got here, so he's able to adjust appropriately. ]
What about you?
[ hopefully... she's wearing clothes from the nation, but going by what he knows about the hostilities between those who live in the desert and outside of it, that might not mean much. ]
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[she grins.]
You can count on me. As long as we're prepared for it, it'll be a breeze.
[...she chuckles a little, realizing that the anemo vision she's wearing on her cloak probably makes that seem like a pun.]
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... you can defend yourself, right? You have a vision.
[ normally he would not be concerned about getting attacked because lmao, but. again it is difficult to use his actual powers with someone around. ]
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[by now she has learned how to do the materialize-your-weapon-and-have-it-vanish-when-you're-done-with-it thing the genshins do, so she wriggles her fingers and a mace appears in her hand. she gives it a little twirl before it vanishes.]
I've got a lot of experience fighting. Don't worry, I can pull my weight. [she smiles.] You must be able to, too, or else you wouldn't have taken this commission, right?
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[ there's a beeping sound from his pocket as a bicker notif goes off. ryo just blinks, confused since he normally keeps it on silent. he's not that worried though, since the people here wouldn't typically know what that is so he can usually just pass it off.
lol. ]
I can defend myself.
[ he is wondering if it's from fuckin childe. it's probably childe. assigns childe in this psl ]
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sheba tilts her head to one side when she hears that notification, trying to place where she's heard something like it before. it's definitely not a teyvat noise, but... this is sumeru. the akasha may have been shut down, but that doesn't mean the scholars haven't been experimenting with new technology. then again, ryo isn't dressed like someone from the akademiya...
she decides that she doesn't really know him well enough to be all that concerned with his privacy, and casually activates her mind reading psynergy while she speaks to try and find out what that noise was. if it just went off, he might still be thinking about it?]
Good! We may run into some monsters in the desert, but as long as we keep our wits about us, it'll be fine.
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I'm more concerned with running into people. They tend to be more annoying to deal with.
[ usually when you get jumped by people they try to talk to demand things and be threatening and it is very obnoxious. ]
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she'll just play it cool and file away what he was thinking about childe for later.]
You can leave the talking to me, then, if we run into anyone. I'll handle it.
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at least, the journey to the caravan is uneventful, with not too much crossing their path. ryo is very ??? about earlier though, but at least he's good at keeping his expression neutral as well since that is typically his default expression anyway.
once they're there, he turns to her. ]
I'll be right back.
[ he needs to check his fuckin phone...... ]
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[he can be right back.
once he wanders off to check his phone, sheba closes her eyes briefly and a small jupiter djinni materializes as if from nowhere. she nods once, it circles her, and then she ... vanishes into thin air? hello?
she will follow him. invisibly.]
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but he will go to somewhere secluded and pull out his phone to swipe through it. he makes a face. ]
No, Childe, I don't want to hang out to fight. Again.
[ he types a response and sends it, then sighs. there is a few minutes of back and forth texting, mostly explaining that he's all the way in sumeru in the middle of something, before he finally pockets the phone again. ]
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anyway, that phone is definitely not from teyvat. it doesn't look like anything the akademiya would make. if sheba had grown up here, maybe she would think it was just some new, cutting-edge technology that was being beta tested, but she's seen other people's phones already, and she knows from experience that people from other worlds can come to visit.
so the question is, what does she do about it?
for now, she'll head back to where she was supposed to be waiting, and flickers back into visibility. the djinni nuzzles her cheek briefly before vanishing again, and while she waits for ryo to return, she thinks.
childe... she's heard that name before, from diluc and kaeya. he's with the fatui. if he's close enough with childe for him to be getting texts about wanting to fight, does that mean he's settled in with the fatui similarly to how she's settled in at dawn winery? maybe she'll have to keep a closer eye on him during this commission than she thought.
for now, she'll observe. she doesn't know enough quite yet.
when ryo does wander back, she waves.]
Everything okay?
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[ he doesn't go into more detail than that. even if he wasn't hiding anything, he still wouldn't have.
ryo is still on guard with her, but he has no reason to suspect she isn't from here. but he has been around the others enough to know that there are people here with abilities that aren't typical, so he's kind of wondering if she's some kind of god or demon or something. it's fine. ]
Shall we go check to see what we might need?
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Mm. I checked with some of the people around here while you were gone - [read: she casually read their minds when she passed them on the way in] - and it seems like it's been pretty tame for the last week or so. There was a really bad sandstorm about a week and a half ago, though, so some of the travelers heading to Aaru Village were worried they might be due for another one soon.
Honestly, we'll probably get a better price on supplies there than we would here. [some of the merchants were definitely considering jacking up the prices since there are traveling concerns.] I'm not too worried about mora, though. So it's probably okay to stock up here too.
[she has done a lot of commissions before now. and also is really good at mind reading treasure hoarders and stealing shit they've stolen back from them to turn it in for rewards.]
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he also isn't too concerned about mora, primarily because he also can just rob people. he doesn't read minds he just robs them it's fine. ]
We can just head out if you think that's best. You have more experience here than I do.
[ ryo doesn't really like letting other people take the lead, but it would look weird if the person with less desert experience is the one making this type of decision. ]
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[she hums.]
It's not too far from here to Aaru Village, anyway. Most of the people who are worried will move more slowly than us because they have a lot of supplies to take with them.
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[ ... he can create his own water, so, technically he has enough for wherever they end up going.
but he'll gesture for her to take the lead. ]
If we're good, we can keep heading out unless you want to take a longer break here.
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[traveling through the desert does not bother her in the slightest. honestly, even if there's a sandstorm, she knows how to deal. is it bad i'm tempted to fire up genshin and see what it's like to walk from caravan ribat to aaru village? because i'm so used to just teleporting now that i don't fckin remember how it went.
anyway, as they're heading along -]
So what made you decide to accept this commission, anyway?
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[ you get money and also he gets to go where he wants. ]
And you?
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[she shrugs.]
...I guess this isn't really on my own since it's a two-person job, but you know what I mean.
[she got to travel here on her own! she can also travel around sumeru on her own once it's finished. she likes mondstadt well enough, but it's pretty strange to go from traveling around everywhere to just staying in one place.]
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How long have you been staying here so far?
[ she said she was used to deserts, and mondstadt does not have any deserts. ]
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