[He dashes forward, and she was almost expecting him to refuse again--so he gets a few steps head start.
But she snaps back to herself quickly, running after him with all of her might, which is... you know, just the might of a standard, regular faerie girl.
She's having fun, though, grinning even through the determined look on her face as they race towards the entrance of the park.]
[ Unfortunate then that she's up against the Wanderer, who already leaned towards a speedy battle style which was enhanced by his Anemo Vision. Well, he doesn't have that right now, but he still has his speed.
But he's not trying to destroy Altria in the race, so he keeps a certain distance ahead of Altria, just enough that he'll win but not so far that she doesn't have a chance.
They arrive at the entrance soon enough and he crosses the entrance first, marking his win. He slows to a stop and turns around, grinning at her. ]
She reaches the finish line after, of course, cheeks puffed out into a pout, but--well, an amused one, honestly. She's radiating a soft of comfortable contentedness in this moment, at least.]
Maybe you won this time, but I'll win the next one! Just you wait!
[ So their little heart-to-heart was done now. It's... not bad, actually. To be forthright about his feelings. But it's a little uncomfortable too. He doesn't think he'll do it too often.
Still bantering playfully, the two of them end up leaving to explore the city some more and end the day with a delicious meal. ]
Remember we'll be having a Christmas party on the 25th, so if you want to give it to them then or just drop it off by the tree for them to find, well, you can do just that! We'll have a lot of traditional Christmas foods, plus smores, and I'm sure it'll be a wonderful little time for us to gather, sing carols, and be merry this cold winter season!
If you've got any questions, comments, concerns, or desires for clarifications... You got one chance to ask them, because I've got a bunch of people to contact and I don't have a bunch of time to entertain conversation! :)
[ Wait a moment. He vaguely remembers something about signing up for gift giving on the network a few weeks ago... he remembers skipping it because he isn't the type to join in those festivities.
Sorry to be a bother, but I've a need for a moment of your time, if you can spare it. May I ask you some silly questions, not as Kaveh to Yuu, but as a Sumeran to an Inazuman?
Well, I was looking into Inazuman clothing for a side project of mine. There are different types of sleeves, aren't there? For the traditional kimonos. What is the difference between them, and how might I learn more about it?
Oh, no, calling myself a fashion designer would be an insult to actual fashion designers everywhere - but I thought I'd dabble my hand in it because I hardly know what to do with myself otherwise. I don't know if you've met him, but it's for Netzach. One of his partners - it's a long story - comes from a background similar to Inazuman culture. He'd like to give him a surprise come the turning of the year, and I'd agreed to help him.
And so that brought me to Inazuman-style outfits that he could wear to honour his partner's culture. I was also interested in hairstyles, so if that's something you've knowledge of, I'd love to hear of it. Ah - I'd owe you, of course.
[ Hardly know what to do with himself, says the man who's juggling about a dozen projects at any given time. Yeah, okay Kaveh.
Anyways, it's been a while since he last thought of Inazuman outfits. He's learned all the various types of outfits one wears for each occasion, but has never actually worn any of them as he's never had a reason to. More often than not, his guise as a wandering traveler was more than suitable back when he was still part of the Fatui. People were always quite friendly to him, despite him not being part of their community. ]
You don't need to owe me anything. This is basic knowledge for any Inazuman.
[ He's not as versed in hairstyles though. As his own hair never grows, he's never had the opportunity to do anything with it. ]
[This is a gift she wanted to give away from the party. Altria waits until later, and then texts Wanderer with a simple:]
can we meet at the park? when youre available!!
[She'd like to just leave the gift at the door like he did, but!! She doesn't exactly know where to leave it where he'll see it right away, and some of it is perishable. So. Face-to-face it is.]
[ because u don't have a door, u lil fuck - wanderer gets a text message indicating where at the post office he can pick up his gift. there on the counter sits a large, handwoven basket labeled 'for yuu' holding two paper-wrapped gifts blooming profusely from their seams with long-stemmed paper flowers in dizzying greens and reds and oranges splayed along the painted watercolours of a rising, winter-morning dawn pale with still-visible pinpricks of mourning stars.
the first package is the size of a single man's palm. peeling the wrapping from it reveals the cover of what looks to be a pocketwatch, beautifully wrought in loops of twine heated and bent and soldiered into a gorgeous, copper-glint of a pattern reminiscent of sumeran design. flicking the cover open along its well-oiled hinge reveals that it's not a pocket watch after all - it's a compass. a quick test shows that the compass does not point north. if one were to follow the compass to its logical endpoint, one would find that it will perpetually point to alhaitham and kaveh's apartment. inscribed on the inside of the compass's lid in kaveh's slanted, printing-press neat handwriting says thus: It's always time for dinner.
it is, in fact, an open dinner invitation. no, alhaitham was not consulted about this. nobody cares about his opinion anyway!!!
the second package is larger, airier, with a note carefully placed on top indicating that the package is fragile and should be unwrapped carefully. when peeled, the colourful, braided rope dragging along precisely a hundred and twenty paper cranes of various, brilliantly-dyed colours comes loose. the cranes are kept on the rope via tiny glass beads tied into the rope. the birds form a curtain.
the note: ]
To Yuu,
In lieu of me subjecting you on repeat to my insistence that our home is always open to you for dinner, may that compass be an incessant, pocket-sized reminder instead. If you do not heed the reminder and I find that you are not showing up often enough for dinner for my liking, I will endeavor to modify the device so that it speaks in my voice. I hope you realise this is both promise and threat.
As for the birds, in truth, my source is not quite Inazuman, and also in truth I've no idea if this is a tradition in Inazuma to begin with, but the fact is that a thousand of these birds make up a wish in one culture that exists in this universe, and that is enough for me to gift you what amounts to one-tenth of it. Wishes are to be shared; they are to be worked towards. This is my second invitation to you: let us work towards that wish together, Yuu.
May your coming year be as sweet as watermelon, and as fruitful as pomegranates.
[ The package finds its way to him. Somehow. Don't ask me how, but it will reach his possession and inside, he'll find a container with still-warm omurice inside (and drawn on ketchup, a cute lil doodle of his face) and a blue newsboy cap! Very fashionable!
When he arrives, she's already there, nervous energy having gotten her to jog most of the way to the park, and she shuffles in place awkwardly as she waits. She's wearing the new ribbon and the bracelet, though the other items are on her shelf of treasures back home, of course.
And in her arms, she has... a poorly wrapped box. It's relatively large, requiring both of her hands to hold. Listen. She tried.]
[ He arrives in due time, and the first thing he spots as he approaches from a distance is the item she's holding in her hands. Which, as he comes closer, reveals itself to be a gift.
A gift for him?
He's not going to comment on the wrapping. She did try her best, he can tell by the nervous energy she's emanating. ]
[ And he won't be getting a door any time soon, betch!! Anyway, the text from Kaveh is unexpected but he immediately retrieves the gift because he has no desire to have something from Kaveh potentially ruined or taken by someone else.
He hasn't even opened it yet and it is gorgeous in the bloom of paper flowers and watercolour. Kaveh is perhaps the only one whose vision of beauty consistently matches his own, and the only one who keeps invoking a strong sense of nostalgia, which he feels as he gazes upon the compass that has been gifted to him. It seems like an eternity since he's seen Sumeran design, though it's been only two months. But it's two months in a city of alien design—a place he can't quite settle in. It's too different from Teyvat. He hasn't liked it, the whole time he's been here.
The second package has his eyes widening. He hasn't seen origami in a long time. There's no such legend about cranes in Inazuma, but the thought behind the gift is touching all the same. The empty space in his chest writhes in an unfamiliar, uncomfortable way. He both looks forward to their continued relationship and fearful at the same time. One day, Kaveh will learn of his sins. And a man as gentle and considerate as him will not look past them, he's certain. He will have to face the consequences of his actions at some point.
But until then... he doesn't want to ruin this precarious thing he has right now.
The compass goes into one of his pockets, to stay with him always. The paper cranes, he hangs up in the office storage room—but it's a bit of a shame, to have them hanging in such a room, but he doesn't have any intention of taking a living space for himself, so it'll have to do.
A while later, he sets off for the media store, because Kaveh has piqued his interest in paper crafts. ]
[ Somehow, it does indeed reach him. We don't ask how. But anyway, omurice! Even though he's abstained from food for the most part, he's not rude enough to toss her gift, so he eats it.
It's warm and homely. It tastes of generations of hard work and love. Tsuruno is right—one can learn about someone through the way they prepare this dish. And he can tell it's Tsuruno—only she would think of giving him omurice.
The newsboy cap... hm. He'll keep it, though he has yet to want to wear the clothes of this city—gala aside. ]
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