ah, si je pouvais vivre dans l'eau

[majeste]

WHO: Furina & You!
WHERE: Labyrinth / Libra App.
WHEN: Eve of November 20th.
WHAT: The Spirit Realm spits out another person for wet France.
WARNINGS: None at the moment, will update if needed.

LABYRINTH.

[ it had been raining when furina finally placed her head on her pillow. not heavy, mind you, but just enough to make it difficult for her to fall asleep. to allow herself to relax into her bed, to put thoughts of waters rising from her head. truly she had no idea how long she had laid there, anxiety crawling through her limbs, but eventually - eventually - she drifted off to sleep.

a mistake, the most dreadful of mistakes, as the sound of rain seeps into her dreams.

she wakes with a start, a yell caught in her throat, jumping as mismatched eyes scan the room and quickly realize this isn't her apartment. no, no, no, this is her former room in the palais mermonia. panic claws its way up her throat, her mind racing as her feet move independently from the rest of her body.

why? why did she wake up in the palais? why is it so quiet? why isn't there anyone in the halls? her footsteps, slow at first, echo off the walls as she walks through the empty halls. water drips from the ceiling, seeps from the carpets underfoot, and furina's footsteps get faster, more frantic. ]

No, no, no!! It's ─ It can't be! It can't! [ she all but sprints through the palais mermonia, pushing open the large heavy doors and stumbles outside where she suddenly stops. fontaine isn't underwater, it looks as it did right after the waters receded. but where there were people she sees only trinkets; a badge here, a hairpin there, a teddy bear, a camera, and so on. as far as she can see there are only objects of life, of the people who had once been there.

furina walks towards the teddy bear and reaches down, fingers curling around the soggy form, and stands up straight holding the bear to her chest. ] This... this is a joke, right? Just a bad dream brought on by the rain. I'll... I'll wake up any minute now!! Yes, exactly, this is nothing but a bad dream. Wake up, Furina, wake up...

[ as her voice trails off she falls to her knees, shoulders shaking with uncontrollable sobs. ]

─

[ or maybe you've stumbled upon furina after she's found her way out of the labyrinth; which has decided the best place to deposit her is right next to a lake. thankfully she wasn't thrown directly into the lake, but it's close enough to have her scrambling away from it with a panicked yelp ─ utterly unaware of the phone beside her feet. ]

W─what was that?!

► APP, un: regina.

[ it is much later, and with some coaching from wriothesley, that furina even dares to investigate the app. which results in the video feed flicking on with an upside down shot of furina herself, she tilts her head, mismatched eyes widening with sheer delight. ]

─Oh!! Hehe, it is like a Kamera! But it's so much smaller! Wonderful! [ she claps excitedly, looking off screen at another before turning her attention towards the phone once again. she should introduce herself, right? the book did mention that others can see and communicate with her through this, didn't it? well, now that she has gotten it working it would be rude not to introduce herself.

she shifts slightly and clears her throat, putting on her best smile. ]

Hello, people of Kaisou! Stand up and rejoice, for Fontaine's most beloved star, Furina, has graced your lovely city with her presence! [ a laugh and her expression drops slightly, her voice taking on a more somber tone. ] Although I am still uncertain as to how exactly I ended up here, or for what reason I was brought, it is... a welcomed change of scenery.

So, um, one might need to get a proper lay of the land if I am to be here for some time. [ something in the back of her mind feels as though she might just be. ] Thus I implore you, my good fellows, to help me do just that!

[ she'd love some cake right about now. ]

Comments

labyrinth after

[hoshikiri]

[Presumptuous, perhaps, for Takame to assume a duty to venture into newly cropped up Labyrinths. He caught a glimpse of one, but it would seem its owner had found her way out on her own. He did not know the horrors which she may have seen, but did catch wind of that sheer horror she ran from the lake with.

He was out to further assess the damage taken to the city and to calm his own restless nerves he's felt since visiting that strange Good Will this weekend.

He was quiet in his approach, too quiet perhaps, but from a few feet away Furina would hear a gentle voice from behind.]

Are you alright, young lady? [He announced himself before coming any closer, and even then he did so carefully, gauging her reaction to him. She was clearly nervous about something, scared of whatever she saw perhaps. He would not give her more reason to fear.]

[majeste]

[ to say that the labyrinth was an experience would be putting it lightly, it has left her barely able to stand on her own feet, her breathing frantic and anxiety coursing through her veins. it makes her understandably jumpy, so when a voice comes from behind her she does just that, she jumps.

whipping around furina gasps, eyes wide as she holds a hand to her chest, perhaps if she had a few moments to compose herself she would not look so disheveled but alas. ]

I ─ Yes, I'm... I'm quite alright! [ except she doesn't look it at all. ]

[hoshikiri]

Ah. [No, she didn't look alright in the slightest. And Takame couldn't help but feel like he made it worse. His voice came out even softer.]

My apologies, I did not mean to frighten you. [He looked around, trying to seek out the last remains of the Gate she fell from. Whether or not he spotted it in time before it faded was difficult to tell at a glance. He did not step any closer to her for now, instead allowing her to breathe, literally and figuratively.

His eyes did lock for a split second onto the smartphone next to her, but not for too long.]

Again, I must apologize for making... assumptions. But you have newly arrived here, have you not? I do not recognize your face, nor your voice. ["And you sound shaken." He did not say that aloud, he knew she was far from fine but wouldn't acknowledge it.

At the very least, however...]

I do not know for certain where you were a moment ago. But you are safe now. I swear.

[majeste]

No, no, it's fine really. I-I'm not frightened!

[ surprised? certainly. frigthened? well, after everything that has happened in the last few months, she has little room for fear now. in its place there is almost an unending exhaustion burrowed deep into her bones.

she all but scrambles to her feet, ignoring the stinging pain from her scraped knees, and attempts to dust herself off. there is a brief pause, as he talks, where some of the tension drains from her body with a relieved sigh fingertips brushing over the cool gem of her vision. ]

Yes, well I suppose in the grand scheme of things I am newly arrived. [ furina laughs, looking up to meet his gaze again. ] I don't quite know where here is, however.

[hoshikiri]

... A moment. [For a split second what appeared to be some kind of sword appeared in Takame's hands. Some energy pulsed from it, then released into a small and soothing burst. Furina would find the stinging on her knees almost completely faded as soon as it did. A light scrape though it may have been, any relief would help the poor girl at this point.

Unfortunately Takame may never shake the habit that people are scared of him or could become so. If she insisted she was fine, he would not question her. He would allow himself to come closer in that case, speaking as he did but specifically going for the smartphone left on the ground.]

... This city is known as Kaisou. It is a place that... pulls people who hail from other realms into it. [A long pause.]

I realize how unbelievable that may sound. All I have for the moment is my word and the fact that I, too, am a native of an entirely different star. Not to mention,

[He handed the phone to her.]

I did not have devices such as this one in my home land.

[majeste]

[ the energy washes over her, not unlike water, unseen but soothing. the stinging in her knees fading as quickly as she can blink. she lets out a soft sigh, reaching down to find the skin no longer read and jagged. he did not have to do that.

as he approaches furina does not recoil or flinch away, watching as he goes for the phone she had not noticed on the ground. truly she is not scared of him, nor of his appearance, for all she knows he could be a part of a race similar to the melusines. as calmness slowly returns to her, furina finds herself fascinated by his appearance and how it reminds her of the vishaps.

maybe somewhere down the track, she might query him about it but today is certainly not that day. ]

I did not have anything like that in Fontaine, either. What is it?

[hoshikiri]

It is called a Smart Phone. [Yes, Smart Phone. Not smartphone but Smart Phone. He's been here a year but not everything has clicked in his vernacular, let him live.

He pulled his own phone out for comparison.]

I received one as well when I arrived. They can... ah. [He paused, wondering where to even start.] ... They can do all manner of things, really. However, its primary function is as a device for communication. Anyone who you happen to know or meet can be sent a message with this and they will receive it in an instant, be through text, using one's voice or displaying one's image through "video."

[majeste]

[ she can't help but pull a face as he tells her the name of the object. a Smart Phone? what exactly about it makes it smart? the question is almost immediately answered as takame takes out his own phone and begins to explain. ]

Oh, I see. [ leaning forward she tilts her head, looking between her own device and his. ] It is a more advanced form of a Kamera, then? If the Kameras were this compact it would be so much easier to carry them around.

[hoshikiri]

Mm, the camera is inside of it and serves as one of its many functions. [He didn't know they were talking about two different things here but the end result was the same. He did display how to open the camera app and the screen showed the lake standing before them. And if he could ease her heart a little by speaking of anything but where she came from while also helping her learn the tech, all the better.

He used his phone to snap a rather lovely picture of it, though less of the lake and more of the horizon over it. It wasn't something to make a photographer blink but he has developed a bit of a framing edge thanks to his artist boyfriend.]

Before I arrived here I didn't even know what a camera was. 'Twas painters and the like who best depicted portraits and vistas such as this. And in no time at all I could even share the picture and have it sent to your device as well.

[majeste]

[ she watches with great interest, taking mental note of everything he does for future reference. seeing how little she knows about the smartphone it is important to learn as much as she can! he won't be around to do it for her, after all.

and in truth, focusing on anything other than the nightmare she had just left is fine by her. ]

In Fontaine, we have Kameras but they are much larger than this, although the pictures aren't nearly so crisp. They have been used for many years to capture all sorts of wonders! [ she goes through the same motions as he just did, managing at least to open up the camera app. ] For all the wonders Kameras can produce, they cannot replace the elegance and beauty painters put into their pieces.

[ she shifts, pointing the phone towards the nearby lake before the tell-tale sound of a picture being take is heard. ]

[hoshikiri]

[He nodded, not only to agree but to confirm that she's already handling the phone quite well for someone new to it. Far better than he did starting out.]

Mm. While pictures with this camera are able to catch single, accurate moments in time a painting possesses its own unique beauty. Nothing can truly replicate what a person behind a canvas can create. I have learned that as well since arriving here.

[Or rather it's something he started to think about since he started dating a painter. Much flew over his head, but he still retained whatever Yusuke has told him and formed his own thoughts on the matter. Little did he know what a large step that was.

He did pause for a moment as she fiddled with her phone.]

... My name is Takame. Would you mind terribly if I asked yours?

[majeste]

[ it certainly helps that she comes from a place that is so technologically advanced in comparison with the rest of teyvat, at least she will be able to navigate the smartphone's features easier then.

seemingly pleased with the picture she has taken, furina puts her phone away turning to him. ]

That is true. Pictures cannot truly capture how others see the world, and many people see the world differently than you or I. Paintings made by those people are a sight to behold and are truly precious.

[ she is thinking, of course, of the melusines back in fontaine. those wonderful creatures that become ingrained in society all because they simply wanted to be around humans. ]

Oh! I am terribly sorry, I should have introduced myself sooner. [ there is a notable difference in her demeanor now. it is brighter than it was before, more relaxed. ] My name is Furina, Furina de Fontaine.