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.]
On this trip? I just got here yesterday. But this isn't my first time in— oh, look out!
[a sudden gust of wind sweeps past ryo - and then, as the wind dissipates, an arrow drops to the ground instead of impaling him. sheba turns toward the direction the arrow came from.
there's a few hilichurl shooters up there... which means there are probably other hilichurls nearby.]
They don't look too tough... unless you'd rather try to outrun them?
[do they like. have time. to fight every batch of monsters they come across.]
[ thinks about how neither of them know the tragic hillichurl lore
hmmm. well, they should be easy enough to take out, and he is actually curious to see her in action. it's better to get that out of the way now against an easy adversary than something tougher. ]
We can take them out.
[ he has... a crossbow, because it's the closest fuckin thing to a gun in this place and he misses them ]
[someday they will learn the lore and sheba will feel awful about her choices here but today is not that day.
anyway. first things first, since they've committed to a fight, it's better for them to have every advantage they can - so sheba twirls her mace again as it materializes into her hand, and both she and ryo will feel a surge of strength within them as their ATK gets boosted the angel spear psynergy takes effect. a moment later, the wind swirls around her before she darts forward, grabs one of the hilichurls by the scruff, and then leaps up into the sky before slamming them back down again. she definitely would not be able to jump that high without the wind boosting her up, and a shockwave of elemental energy bursts out as she slams it back down.
that hilichurl is hella dead. goodbye. sometimes everything you do is overkill because you're from your canon's endgame canonpoint.]
he watches her as she does this, intrigued. a hillichurl charges at him, and he just aims the crossbow and fires because he is a cheater. they're both cheaters. it stabs its target. ]
[sheba grins at him, then turns on her heel and smacks an approaching hilichurl with her mace. it goes stumbling back, and then a moment later it's swept away by a whirlwind.
[she answers them as best she can, having picked many of the answers out of the locals' heads when she was doing her own prepwork for this commission...
but when he speaks up about being curious, she looks up at him.]
Not as often as I'd like! I end up taking on a lot of commissions through the guild in Mondstadt and normally I'd feel bad just leaving them hanging, but the Traveler came by recently so a lot of the commissions are already handled... so here I am!
[she shrugs.]
The desert's beautiful, don't you think? I mean, I know it's a lot of sand and all, and it's really hot out during the day, but I still think desert sunsets are the prettiest.
he looks up at the sky, frowning at the position of the sun. it would be easier if he could just check his phone, but he's now used to judging this kind of thing the old fashioned way. ]
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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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[a sudden gust of wind sweeps past ryo - and then, as the wind dissipates, an arrow drops to the ground instead of impaling him. sheba turns toward the direction the arrow came from.
there's a few hilichurl shooters up there... which means there are probably other hilichurls nearby.]
They don't look too tough... unless you'd rather try to outrun them?
[do they like. have time. to fight every batch of monsters they come across.]
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hmmm. well, they should be easy enough to take out, and he is actually curious to see her in action. it's better to get that out of the way now against an easy adversary than something tougher. ]
We can take them out.
[ he has... a crossbow, because it's the closest fuckin thing to a gun in this place and he misses them ]
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anyway. first things first, since they've committed to a fight, it's better for them to have every advantage they can - so sheba twirls her mace again as it materializes into her hand, and both she and ryo will feel a surge of strength within them as
their ATK gets boostedthe angel spear psynergy takes effect. a moment later, the wind swirls around her before she darts forward, grabs one of the hilichurls by the scruff, and then leaps up into the sky before slamming them back down again. she definitely would not be able to jump that high without the wind boosting her up, and a shockwave of elemental energy bursts out as she slams it back down.that hilichurl is hella dead. goodbye. sometimes everything you do is overkill because you're from your canon's endgame canonpoint.]
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he watches her as she does this, intrigued. a hillichurl charges at him, and he just aims the crossbow and fires because he is a cheater. they're both cheaters. it stabs its target. ]
Ah, you're good at that.
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[sheba grins at him, then turns on her heel and smacks an approaching hilichurl with her mace. it goes stumbling back, and then a moment later it's swept away by a whirlwind.
goodbye, hilichurls.]
These things are easy.
[heading back to the main road!]
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but onward, once again. ryo is quiet for a lot of the journey, only occasionally asking questions about where they're heading and the like.
after a while, though, ]
I'm curious about something.
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but when he speaks up about being curious, she looks up at him.]
Yeah? What about?
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[ and from monstadt to sumeru is no short distance, for people who are forced to walk like non-traveler genshins are apparently forced to do. ]
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[she shrugs.]
The desert's beautiful, don't you think? I mean, I know it's a lot of sand and all, and it's really hot out during the day, but I still think desert sunsets are the prettiest.
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but he considers it. ]
I don't normally watch sunsets.
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[she smiles.]
I'm kind of looking forward to it!
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he looks up at the sky, frowning at the position of the sun. it would be easier if he could just check his phone, but he's now used to judging this kind of thing the old fashioned way. ]
You sound like a romantic.
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