threebetrayals | Inbox for Songerein

And if either of them tried to make me deal with her, they would be no longer. I can't see you trying to force me to interact with her, either, so.

I'd only do that if it seemed necessary.

[He's not entirely sure what kind of circumstance that would have to be, but at least he's said it now and not later.]

...For what it's worth, I don't think you're a failure. And I think she did you a favor by not choosing you as her god-puppet. Gods are useless anyway, right?

[...someone doesn't think he's a failure. And said as much. What.]

They are. [That doesn't mean he didn't want his birthright, though.] She still didn't have to ditch me on Tatarasuna.

[Heizou's head tilts. Is that surprise he sees on Wanderer's face?]

She didn't. Frankly that makes her a failure of a parent.

[He huffs out a small, incredulous kind of laugh.] Even my parents wouldn't have... [He stops, like he's caught himself, and then shakes his head.] Never mind.

[It is, and it doesn't fade when Heizou continues.]

She probably didn't consider herself my mother, just my creator. [It's tempting to ask about the Shikanoins, but he won't.] It isn't as if I was ever a baby.

[That's the only bread crumb Wanderer will be getting about the Shikanoins. Heizou is very quick to sweep it waaaay under the rug and move right on like it didn't even exist.]

Maybe so. But what she did was cruel, and I think she's only recently come to understand that thanks to the Traveler.

You know, it would be nice if people could fix their problems without Aether's intervention. Just once.

[Unfortunately, Teyvat is a disaster.]

[That makes Heizou laugh.]

Yeah... That seems unlikely, though. I'm sure he's busy solving another nation's troubles as we speak~

Probably Fontaine's. They're closest to Sumeru, after all, and I can't imagine his flying companion would suggest Natlan.

[He lets out a deep, wistful, almost dreamy sort of sigh.]

Ahh... I'd love to go to Fontaine one day~ I hope Aether sends me some of their latest mystery novels. All of the best mystery authors in Teyvat only publish in Fontaine, you know.

[Dryly:] You've mentioned. I'm sure they're worried about the flooding, though, so you may have to wait.

[Aaaand now he's pouting in the most melodramatic way possible.]

Well, with Aether on that case, I'm sure they'll be just fine. Even while they leave me to suffer back in Inazuma, mystery-less and bored.

Just go to Fontaine on your own.

[Another heavy sigh, somehow sounding even more dramatic than before.]

Man alive, I wish. That's a much longer trip than Watatsumi Island. The commission would never let me get away with it without good reason. At least if Aether invited me then no one would be able to say anything, being the Great Hero of Teyvat and all.