As Fragile As Spider - Silk | Jeanlisa [DISCONTINUED]

Chapter 8 - Return

When Lisa eventually returns to Mondstadt, she's greeted by the crisp, flowing breeze that dances around her, tickling her sun-kissed skin and making her hat sway in the wind. She giggles at this, holding onto her hat for fear it would fly off and it feels like the wind is singing her a welcome song. Mondstadt - albeit the short time she spent there - has always held a special little place in Lisa's heart, because of the sheer, intoxicating emphasis on freedom.

"Sumerian scholars attending the Sumeru Academia really did need more of this," thinks Lisa, walking over to one of the Sunsettia trees as she picks off the sunset - like fruit.

Using an enchantment, she lets a ring of Electro flow around the fruit, cleaning it of any impurities, before taking a bite and thinking, "Imported Sunsettias really don't taste as fresh as the original versions."

It's tangy and juicy - each bite fresh and tasty. She quickly finishes it off, before continuing on her way.

The bridge that connects the main city is short, certainly not a lengthy walk. The Electro wielder gazes at the smooth cobblestone pathway, along with large poles with flags on them. She notices the ever - rotating windmills in the decent, just beyond the city walls and smiles to herself.

She makes her way there, taking note of a little boy who seems to be feeding a group of pigeons happily, scattering the birdseed as the birds eagerly eat it up. As she gets closer to the city gates, she takes in a deep breath, and the fresh scent of flora and fauna in the air cloud her senses. It's cool and comforting, certainly something Lisa had missed over all these years. ­As she walks closer towards the gates, she notes two Knights, situated at either side of the gate. "Hello, Miss. May we have your name, who you're affiliated with and why you've come to Mondstadt, please?" says one of them, introducing himself as Swan, pulling out a clipboard as he does so.

"The name's Lisa Minci, affiliated with Sumeru Academia since I'm a fresh graduate - got the papers in my bag if you'd like to see them - and I've come to my hometown, of course," explains Lisa, and the other guard sighs. "I'm Lawrence, but to be honest, we had a feeling you were THE Lisa Minci, but of course we had to do regular procedures to make sure. Welcome back, Miss Minci," says Lawrence, and the two bow in unison. The witch simply giggles before walking inside in a cloud of rose perfume. She looks up in awe, noting all the different things about the place.

She hears a commotion from the Town Square and makes her way over there, and she notices a crowd of people around a certain woman.

Lisa attempts to make her way through the crowd to no avail, so she just stands on her tiptoes, and the next second she finds herself dropping to the floor immediately as she crouches, and her face goes red. Her body starts to heat up, and she feels like the world is suddenly suffocating - she can barely breathe at the prospect of meeting a certain someone again. She composes herself, however and gets back onto her feet, and glances once more.

Jean.

Dressed in the most handsome, knightly robes she had ever seen, the blonde had somehow grown even prettier.

And simultaneously, she had grown to look even more exhausted and weary.

With that classic shimmering, golden blonde hair of hers having grown just a little bit longer... with split ends in every direction; her pale, pale skin; that stunning smile of hers now turned tired and of course, those gorgeous, stormy grey, ocean blue eyes of hers... that strangely had heavy, dark circles under them. She finds herself boring down Jean's outfit: a sleek black button - up under an overcoat that draped loosely off of her arms and lapels that framed her face wonderfully, a tight blue belt, a long tailcoat with her Vision attached to it as well as tight, white pants that... emphasized her muscular build. Finishing the entire look off were her signature gold and white boots, the exact same ones that she wore when the Mage first met her three years ago.

The crowd begins to dissipate, leaving Lisa standing there in the Town Square, and Jean finally notices her. She turns and glances at the person, expecting it to merely be one of the townspeople, but her breath hitches, tears prick at the corners of her eyes and her vision goes hazy at the sight of the woman she had been waiting for all these years.

She steps forward, trying to keep a brisk gait, but all of that melts away once she's in Lisa's vicinity. Her eyes are glassy, her hands are shaky and she's just trying, just desperately trying to keep her composure.

"Lisa? Is that... you?" murmurs Jean, hope present in her gorgeous eyes. "Who else would it be?" replies Lisa, chuckling as she glances at the Knight once again, gasping when she sees the rose in her breast pocket. With a wave of a hand, the rose simply flies out with a spark of Electro, as the witch sniffs it. "Mm, you've been looking after this well, haven't you?" teases Lisa, and the blush that adorns Jean's face is enough to send her spiraling too, as though butterflies were racing around her stomach from every interaction she had with the blonde.

"When did you return?" asks Jean, gesturing at the brunette to walk with her. "Just today. Don't tell me you've been keeping track of my whereabouts of someone you barely know," responds Lisa, her emerald eyes flashing. "We may barely know each other, but it would be a lie for me to say that you hadn't enraptured me from the first time we met. I may have eagerly been awaiting your return, whenever it would be," smiles jean, her cheeks turning red at the statement.