june-july quests

[phoenixblessed]

WHO: Diluc Ragnvindr (phoenixblessed), Baizhu (physicianhealthyself), E'kayan Tia (orangebrained), Edmond (sapphireknight), Vennessa (vennessa), Guizhong (godofdust)
WHAT: Open quest prompts!
WHEN: June-July
WHERE: Anywhere the quests are
WARNINGS: Will be noted in subjects as they come up

Plotting - feel free to wildcard

Diluc Ragnvindr | Guizhong | E'kayan Tia | Edmond | Vennessa | Baizhu

Comments

Guizhong ❖ Genshin Impact

[godofdust]

Taming the Mounts

[It would appear that Guizhong is as good with animals as she is with people. It doesn’t take her long at all to attract a winged horse - a skittish black mare with a slender build and a white stripe down the centre of her face - but it does take some time for her to calm the creature long enough that she can approach it.

Unfortunately, the arrival of someone else serves to unsettle the animal and it reacts by backing away from her reaching hand, tossing its head and stretching its wings out.]

Oh no-no-- don’t go, it’s all right.

[Guizhong tries speaking soothingly to the creature while at the same time looking at the newcomer from the corner of her eye.]

Go slowly. You’ll scare her off.

Windy Risks

[’Giant sleeping dragons made of metal’? Even with the risks, Guizhong was all about that the moment she heard about it. Getting there is the easy part and she manages to manipulate the wind abilities granted to her by Ellipsa to make sure her landing is not too difficult, but when she gets to the village she’s almost immediately spoiled for choice with the various mechanical parts and devices scattered around.]

I can get close without waking them. [She observes out loud as she stands close by someone else, looking towards the snoozing dragons guarding their hoards.]

You could say I’m used to dealing with dragons.

[The woman shoots a quick glance up, and a grin.]

But if I wake one up by accident, you’ll need to be quick.

Experimente(a)nting

[She knows what she’s here for. It’s an interesting prospect and Guizhong is by no means shy about such things. Though, she does read the paper quite thoroughly before signing it - knowing what you’re agreeing to is important, after all.

Then she straightens up, puts the pen down, and casts her eyes about for a likely partner to begin the night with (or, just maybe, she’s looking for the person she walked into the hotel with?).

Either way she sidles up beside someone and lightly taps them on the elbow.]

This is all very exciting, isn’t it?

((ooc: as an fyi, feel free to use this as a mid-fuck prompt if you like and direct the responses towards Guizhong’s IC Inbox if you want to take that route.))

taming the mounts

[acquirement]

{ given the quests available, this seems like a good one to get started with. he doesn't have to venture too far and has the option to avoid danger. he has no idea what drew him this way, but there's certainly a look of relief when he sees guizhong there along with the creature. the winged horse is certainly bigger than most animals he's tried this with, but he'll use his autumn power to ask small favours of animals to try and calm it. }

There's nothing to be scared of, please calm down.

{ it likely isn't as successful as it would be with a squirrel, but at least it isn't trying to run anymore. for the rest, he'll speak towards guizhong: }

Apologies if I interrupted when you were getting somewhere, I was curious to see who had found one.

[godofdust]

Hehe, hello Ayato.

[Guizhong turns her attention to him for a moment to offer him a smile and then goes back to soothing the creature, running her hand up and down its face as she hums and speaks softly. Whatever Ayato had done it seemed to work wonders in calming the creature and she hardly has to do anything at all as he comes in closer.]

It's no interruption. In fact, it seems you arrived at just the right time.

[The winged horse stomps one hoof lightly against the ground and throws its head again, though not enough to pull it from Guizhong's hands.]

She's lovely, isn't she.

[acquirement]

{ he hasn't been one to manage horses back home, so it's a new thing for him, but this ability does come in handy at times. }

Perhaps it was merely because of the progress you'd already made. { and not him cheating- } Though I would have to agree. Are you hoping to keep her? She seems to have a rather... feisty personality.

[godofdust]

Then I would say we are perfectly matched, wouldn't you?

[Guizhong looks up at him when he draws near and gives him a wink along with her smile as she continues moving her hand up and down the white streak down the centre of the horse's face.]

I'll keep her if she wants to be kept. That will be entirely up to her. But-- [The horse lightly nudges her nose against Guizhong's head, and she laughs.]

But I have a feeling she won't mind that idea at all.

[acquirement]

{ a smile is returned to that statement. }

Maybe so. { at least the horse seems to be calming all the more now under her gentle touch. }

I think the same. Now she's getting used to you, it seems you've made a new friend.

[godofdust]

I've always liked making friends.

[Though to Ayato that much is probably obvious by now, with how she has pursued friendship with him if nothing else. She calms the horse enough that the creature lowers her head for more petting and gently nudges Guizhong's shoulder with her nose.]

This place truly is wonderous at times. [How could she not be entranced with something like this?] Would you like to touch her?

Taming the Mounts

[badsunrising]

[ He stops quickly, feeling genuine guilt over frightening off the animal. Enough that it quickly passes over his face. Less so over the disappointed girl in front of him. ]

Speed won't matter much when it comes to me.

[ But he still does his best to slowly step backward, barely brushing the grass with his shoe, as if this style of stealth is common to him. It probably also helps that tiny wisps of wind around his feet seem to be doing a fair job of flattening every blade of grass to sooth the sound of his steps. ]

[godofdust]

[Oh, he is a big one. Though it doesn't seem like it fazes Guizhong as she looks up and directly into his eyes without fear. He only has to take a couple of steps back for her to be shaking her head with a small smile and holding out one hand towards him.]

Not backwards. Come here.

[Her fingers move in a faint beckoning gesture, half her attention on him and half on the horse.]

Come on, now. You don't need to be afraid either.

[badsunrising]

[ He seems confused at her gesture. Wasn't he the reason the animal nearly bolted? But he also doesn't want to argue in case that only agitate the horse more. So he takes a few cautious steps forward. ]

[godofdust]

[Maybe he was, but to Guizhong's eye there are two wary creatures here... and she thinks she can handle both.

She keeps one hand on the horse's neck to keep it calm and the other one held out to Wolf, a little smile on her lips.]

That's it, come along.

[badsunrising]

[ He follows the instructions but looks more awkward about it. ]

I thought you were supposed to be taming the horse.

[godofdust]

Oh, not at all... you don't tame a creature like this.

[Once he's close enough to satisfy her she stops beckoning him closer and looks back at the horse again, planting her hand against the front of its face.]

You earn its trust and treat it with respect, and if it decides that it likes you it might deign to be your friend.

for Kenta (@fiorello)

[godofdust]

Would you hand me that blue one?

[Guizhong smiles over at Kenta as she indicates the flower she wants - a spray of delicate blue blooms attached to a slightly woody stem. She's been using the firmer-stemmed flowers here and there to give some more stability to the flower crown she's in the middle of making.

Her flowers of choice - at least this time around - are blue and white ones.

When she had invited Kenta to do this activity with her it had been in the hope that the calm and quiet of it would be soothing for the boy. It seemed that he had a lot weighing on his shoulders and she would dearly love to be able to help with that... in whatever small way she can.]

Unless you'd like it. I don't mind, I can choose another.

[fiorello]

[ "A lot" feels like an understatement. But at least he's coming out from under it all? Maybe? ... It's a work in progress.

But despite the sad undertones, he is genuinely happy to be out here with Guizhong. The sun feels so warm and pleasant on his skin, and he does, in fact, feel some peace in this moment. Guizhong's presence is as comforting as it was when they first met.

He looks over to the stem, and hands it over without question. Sure, they're using the same colors for their crowns, but she asked for it! ] Yeah! [ Then, he looks to her work. ] Your crown's really pretty, miss Guizhong!

[ On the other hand, his is barely started. He's still thinking about what flowers he'd like to use... and thinking in general. ]

[godofdust]

Hehe, thank you.

[It's not the first time she's made a flower crown, after all! Such things are important to keep a person grounded, especially when threat is closing in on all sides...

But she's noticed that Kenta's mind seems to be very much elsewhere and he has barely made a start, so she lowers her own flower crown to the table and reaches over to place her hand against his forearm.]

Kenta, are you all right?

[fiorello]

[ There's a brief pause, and then- ]

... Not really. [ He's not about to lie to her. But he's genuinely surprised she caught on so quick! (not realizing, of course, how much of an open book he is.) ] A lot's happened to me recently, and I don't know how I'm supposed to feel. It's really confusing...

[ Another pause. ] Can I talk about it? Please?

[godofdust]

[She would never have forced him to talk if he didn't want to, but he is quite an open book for someone who knows what to look for (and for someone as old as Guizhong is).

Guizhong stays quiet while he speaks, just working on her flowers, letting him work his way through his thoughts until he asks the question.]

Of course you can, my dear. [The adeptus smiles and lowers her hands.] Do you want to go somewhere more private?

[fiorello]

[ He shakes his head slightly. ] Here's okay! But... thank you, miss Guizhong. This is really nice of you.

... Um. [ There's... no real easy way to go about this, is there? ] Someone I really care about from home showed up here. Which should make me happy, right? But... I don't think he cares about me anymore.

[ He still remembers how Duval's anger felt, burning through him as though it were his own. Could he even hope to mend that bridge? ]

Before I came here, he- he really hurt me. [ He rests a hand over his chest when he speaks. ] He... took my heart and lungs. And I don't know why...!

[ He feels the familiar swell of panic within him, tightening his throat, and he stops for a moment to breathe, just as she'd taught him all those months ago. Inhale. Exhale. ]

It- really hurts. And it makes me so sad. But someone I care about hurt him, because he hurt me. And that... makes me sadder. [ He was heartbroken, even. He's still got the hair ribbon - the memento of Duval that Chipp had given him. the proof of their encounter and Chipp's brutal killing of Duval - tucked away in his jacket pocket. ] But I should be happy, right? Because... he just wanted to keep me safe...

windy risks

[niwabi]

[ Gods, she's even more dazzling in person! Ever since Yoimiya first laid eyes on her over the network, she's been ecstatic to meet her in person and as lady luck would have it, they just so happen to be partners for this quest. ]

That's impressive! Hehe, am I in the presence of a dragon whisperer?

[ Or is she a dragon slayer? Eyyyy SORRY MORAX They only just met but she's already fascinated with Guizhong's abilities. ]

Don't worry, I got your back! If anything happens, you can count on me to swoop in.

[ She's so excited with all the array of parts strewn about, there's so many things they could possibly make with this. But even so, her eyes flicker back to the mechanical dragon that's dozing away. For the time being, it seems like it's a deep sleep but she's keeping a close watch on it just to be safe. ]

[godofdust]

A dragon whisperer? Hehe, you could say that.

[Guizhong is not shy about her origins and exactly who and what she is and has likely already mentioned that she's an adeptus, but they both have priorities to keep in mind right now and her life story is not one of them.

It had been an interesting time getting up here but at least the devices they had been supplied with had kept them both from being blown away. She's not sure if even her beast form could have battled against some of the stronger gusts.

Guizhong shoots Yoimiya a cheeky wink then moves forwards slowly, keeping her eye on the dragon she's approaching the entire time. When she reaches a pile of parts she begins to carefully pick through it, but dragons don't really care too much about making sure things don't turn into landslides and one mistake is enough to send a few items clattering down.

She grimaces. One of the dragons slowly shifts in place.]

... Whoops.

[niwabi]

[ Fascinating! There's a deeper meaning to those words that Yoimiya is going to put in her back pocket for a later conversation. Just going off first impressions, Guizhong gives her an ethereal-like vibe, someone with an interesting history that she's very excited to immerse herself in.

But that's a story for later, for now, time to focus on the task ahead of them! Yoimiya happily giggles in response to the wink, giving her a thumbs up as she darts her gaze back and forth between Guizhong and the mecha dragon. Yoimiya draws her trusty bow, tugging on the violet strings of Thundering Pulse. She intends to keep a close eye on the dragon while her quest partner gathers the necessary parts.

So far, so good! Everything seems to be going well until a stray part causes a domino effect of noises. Uh oh. ]

Don't worry, you're doing great! Keep on searching and I'll focus on distracting it.

[ Even with the dragon stirring, Yoimiya doesn't seem to be deterred in the slightest. She has her bow locked and loaded with a pyro-infused arrow. For the time being, she refrains from shooting, preferring to see how awake the dragon is before she starts her firey barrage. ]

[godofdust]

[Yoimiya can get the full story from her later, without a doubt, but for the moment she's very aware of this massive dragon and the trouble they could be in if she actually wakes the creature up.

Guizhong stays very, very still... and the dragon slowly settles back down into what looks like sleep.]

... Whew.

[She mutters to herself, shaking her head.

Rummaging through the pile of parts she's in front of she does find a few pieces of interest to her and looks over to Yoimiya with one that she thinks the young woman might like, holding it up and wiggling it in her direction while mouthing 'do you want this?']

[niwabi]

[ Crisis averted! Looks like the dragon had to urge to change sleeping positions, thank the Archons. Maybe it's true, Guizhong really is a dragon whisperer. Yoimiya almost lets out a sigh of relief but manages to draw in her breath.

She makes sure to keep her bow at her side since they aren't exactly out of the woods yet. From the corner of her eye, she catches a look from Guizhong and opens her mouth to say something but at the very last second, manages to shut her yap. Phew, another crisis averted. Yoimiya now faces the most difficult challenge of her life... staying quiet.

In response, she gives Guizhong a thumbs up, mouthing back, "It's perfect!"

Not wanting her new buddy to do all the work, she glances around a nearby pile, quietly picking up a piece that looks like a cogwheel. "What do you think about this one?" ]

[godofdust]

[Once they are done with this, she'll be sure to give Yoimiya enough information to sate her curiosity about just what she meant when she said that.

Between the two of them they are definitely having the most terrible struggle of staying quiet and that struggle is only made worse for Guizhong when she sees the difficulty that Yoimiya is having with it, because that makes her want to laugh. She presses her lips together and ducks her head down, trying to hold it in.

The thumbs up has her tucking the part away in the bag she took along with her, and she squints over at the cog the other woman holds up before nodding emphatically.

'Just what I needed!']