Chapter Text
Mona jolted awake, eyes widening at the unexpected pain. A man with pale skin and sharp violet eyes leaned over her, frowning in boredom. She gulped, feeling shy and then it hit- quite literally. Had he… slapped her?
“Well excuse me.” She scoffed, standing up and dusting all traces of her temporary coma off her leotard.
“You’re excused.” He responded icily, but Mona didn’t miss the way his eyes skimmed over her body. (She definitely doesn’t miss the way her heartbeat speeds up at that.)
“You! Has nobody ever taught you any manners? You don’t go around slapping people!” He rolled his eyes,
“Well, people typically don’t go around overdosing on…cauldron drugs? Or whatever it is you decided to take. And people also don’t find themselves screaming so loud that all of Sumeru can hear them. Funny how that works, isn’t it?”
Mona felt her cheeks heat up in shame. Just as she opened her mouth to retaliate, a small woman stepped from behind her saviour(?)
“Ah- excuse me, Miss. I just wanted to step in because things are getting a little heated,” She emphasized the word by narrowing her eyes at the man behind her. He offered her a roll of his indigo eyes in response but took a step back, ushering her to continue,
“We hadn’t intended to hit you- we were just concerned because you weren’t waking up. I humbly apologize if you are in any pain.”
Mona’s eyes softened as she looked down at the smaller woman. She offered an embarrassed smile,
“I see..no need to apologize. I can see why such a situation would warrant your actions. Thank you for your assistance…um..what’s your name?”
“Oh, I’m Nahida! And this is Hat guy!”
He adjusted his hat over his eyes,
“Wanderer is fine.”
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Nahida and Hat guy,”
He glared at her promptly,
“My name is Mona Megustis.”
“Say, Miss Megustis, what were you doing out here? I am aware some people like to do their recreational activities in a more private environment but…well this is rather far away, isn’t it?”
Nahida had guided Mona and the wanderer to a small clearing where a campsite, a cooking pot and a small fire are set up. Nahida sat by the fire, Mona next to her while the wanderer cooked.
(“Miss Mona, would you care to join us for the night? It is quite dangerous out here.”
“I wouldn’t want to intrude-”
“You wouldn’t be intruding, Mona. Hat guy can even make you something to eat.”
Mona’s stomach is heard and the pair turn towards her, Nahida concerned and Hat guy smug. Mona sighs,
“That would be nice, thank you.”)
Mona tilted her head in confusion,
“By recreational activities-” She paused, face lighting up in embarrassment,
“Ah…the cauldron. No that wasn’t my intention.” She cleared her throat as she can hear the wanderer snicker from where he was cooking,
“I was attempting to create a potion that would better my connection with the stars.” Nahida nods in understanding,
“Clearly it backfired.” He declared, walking over with two plates on his palms and a third floating behind him on a cloud of anemo.
“Here you go- Raddish soup. You won’t have a drug induced coma from this, I promise.” He smirked, sitting down next to her. She raised an eyebrow at him and sips the soup. Her eyes widened at the flavor,
“This isn’t half bad.”
Nahida clasped her hands together and smiled at the wanderer brightly,
“Yes! Hat guy has always been quite the chef.”
He scoffed, trying to appear nonchalant but the red on his cheeks is telling,
“It’s not that hard. You’ve just got to get the right temperature of the water and not overdo it with the spice.” He mumbled into his soup and Mona couldn’t help but laugh, eyes glinting with warmth as she swallowed more spoonfuls of the warm liquid,
“Sure, Chef-Hat guy. It has a ring to it.”
“It does not.” He pouted, looking at Nahida sulkily,
“I’ll have to agree with Miss Mona.” She chuckled and he groaned, muttering something Mona couldn’t quite hear under his breath as he kept sipping the soup.
Mona hummed, still chuckling as she decided to also drink her soup. She’d barely met these people but even without her divine intuition she can tell that they’re good people. (But something feels off. Especially about him. It’s like she’s met him before.)
“It’s past your bedtime, witch.”
“You’re hiding something.”
She accused jabbing a finger to the wanderer’s chest. It was late; the moon painted the man in cool blue light as he sat over the dying embers of the previously lit bonfire. He raised a thin eyebrow at her incredulously, a slow quirk of his lips accompanied by his words,
“So you stayed up hours after Nahida fell asleep to… ponder on whether or not I am hiding something?” He smirked, “I know I’m attractive, but I didn’t expect you to be so obvious , Mona.” he pursed his lips, tilting his head at her cockily. Mona gritted her teeth in response, her manicured fingers tapping against her arm in irritation. “You know what I mean,”
She scoffed, the tips of her ears turning red, fueling the purple-haired man’s amusement.
The wanderer stood up slowly and put his hands on his hips. He looked her over and hummed in consideration, the smug façade faltering slightly.
“Well, I don’t know.” He began casually, as if he was simply talking about the weather,
“Maybe it’s the fact that my mother, who’s the ex-electro archon, created me to be a replica of her sister and then abandoned me and so did everyone I met after that. Or maybe the fact that after the second Fatui Harbinger ran out of people to torture so he found me, a puppet and decided to recruit me to work under the Tsaritsa. Or maybe it’s because I went batshit crazy and erased myself from the entire population of Teyvat’s memory. Who knows.” Mona was stunned into silence, her mouth opening and closing uselessly. He stared at her unnervingly, a grin still plastered on his face and then the Wanderer burst out in peals of laughter, bending over to clutch his stomach.
“You know, if I didn’t know any better I’d think that you actually believed me.” He sang, pausing between words to laugh.
“Go back to sleep, Mona. We have to get up early to reach Sumeru before midday.” He snorted at her continued silence, before adding in an airy voice,
“Don’t be like that, I’m just kidding.”
She looks at him, a stony expression of reverence on her face.
“Except you’re not, are you?”
The smile faded from his face, all traces of laughter gone in an instant,
“What?”
“You’re not kidding.” She repeated more confidently. The man straightened up at that, his eyes glimmering dangerously in the fizzling light of the remaining bonfire embers, “Careful, Mona. It’s not good to take anything I say too seriously.” he crooned, stepping into her space. The wanderer paused as if he realised something and then all the tension drained from his shoulders, “There’s no way I’m not kidding.” He affirmed, more to himself than to Mona,” If I was a harbinger and a part of the Raiden Shogun’s heritage, I’m sure I’d be more recognizable.” He cocks his head at her,
“I really do think you need more sleep, witch. You’re not making any sense.”
He purred condescendingly, squeezing her cheek. She slapped his hand away,
“I don’t need more sleep, Hat Guy ,” he scowled at the name, “I…I know it doesn’t make any logical sense but…” She sighed, running a hand through her violet bangs, “Divine intuition has never lied to me.” He rolls his eyes, “Oh please, astrology is nothing but a cheap hobby. Do you not hear yourself, witch?” He simpered as she grit her teeth, “You..!”
“Listen Mona, sweetheart, you seem really tired, yeah? So how about you go take a nap instead of making a fool out of yourself, ok? I’ll take care of everything here.” Mona faltered, her head hanging in shame. Even if divine intuition had confirmed that he was telling the truth, what sense did it make that he was a harbinger? And the offspring of the Raiden Shogun? It was absurd. He seemed to catch on to her internal dialogue and patted her shoulder, “Don’t beat yourself up over it too much. I’ve been told I’m a pretty good storyteller. And who knows,” he adds slyly, as if he knows something she doesn’t, “Maybe you’re right and I am telling the truth, but you just don’t remember because I erased myself from everyone’s memory.” He teased, chuckling softly. Mona flushed quietly, glad that she wouldn’t be teased too badly over this and admired how his amethyst eyes crinkled in myrth. Then it clicked.
“Irminscul.”
She uttered, the single word sounding so loud in the forest clearing. The Wanderer paused, looking visibly shaken. He surged forward, his hands clutching her shoulders as he snarled at her venomously,
“How do you know that word ?” He demanded, his eyes searching hers for any indication that she was joking.
“You…you tempered with Irminscul to erase your existence,” She continued, half dazed, “And you made everyone forget you.”
“Answer me, or so archons help me, this isn’t going to end well for you.” He growled, his jaw clenching and face red,
“Cauldron drugs.” She responded simply, unphased by the amount of distress he seemed to be in. He scoffed, clicking his tongue in disbelief, “ Fucking Cauldron drugs.” He hissed underneath his breath as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. She slowly brought her hands to where his were clutching her shoulders, prying them off. He hung his head, something akin to fear on his face.
“You…just don’t tell anyone.”
“Nobody will believe me, anyway.”
“You don’t know that, Mona.” He responded, a tense expression on his face.
“I promise, then. Happy?”
He conceded, nodding with a brief quirk of his lips.
“So what now?”
“You know of Irminscul, impressive. Only a handful of people know its name, even fewer without the help of the dendro archon.” He began, crossing his arms over his chest. She mirrored his movement, looking up at him curiously,
“I suspect Nahida wouldn’t want to keep you out of her sights for now.” He mumbled and shook his head, “You know what, like I’ve been saying all night, I think you should go to sleep. I’ll talk to her in the morning and we’ll figure it out.” She nodded in agreement, between ascension to the celestial planes and meeting a former harbinger she had grown tired.
“Alright, I shall do that.”
“That’s the first good idea you’ve had, witch.”
She turned to her tent, ready to go to sleep before she paused, looking at him over her shoulder.
“Hat Guy,” she questioned,
“You’re calling me that to piss me off, at this point.”
“Did you know me before you wiped my memory?”
His eyes softened,
“Yeah.”
“Ah. What kind of relationship did we have?”
“Well you didn’t like me at all,” he confessed, a guilty smile playing on his lips, “Until I’m pretty sure you did.”
“I did not!” She spluttered, outraged.
He chuckled in response,
“One hundred percent, witch. You used to send letters to me every day about how much you missed me,” he declared, voice sugary.
“You’re lying to me.” She pouted and he nodded, giving in,
“Yeah, you hated my guts.”
“So we were enemies?”
“It was more one sided. I never saw you as an enemy.”
A beat of silence.
“What did you see me as?”
“A pretty girl who wanted to hate me so she wouldn’t have to admit that she was falling in love with me.”
She turned heel at this and marched back to her own tent, face scarlet. Behind her, she could hear him laughing.
“Oh, so now you want to sleep? I’ll see you in the morning then, Mona. And over breakfast, I’ll tell you how adorable you were when we first met!” He called out, laughter growing more shrill and she threw him the middle finger over her shoulder. Asshole.
The wanderer watched as she disappeared into the glittery purple folds of her tent, still giggling slightly. He’d admit, sharing his secret with someone other than Nahida felt nice. He didn’t believe in fate, but if he did he would probably thank it for blessing him with Mona Megustis once again.
-Fin