Those Among Teyvat

INAZUMA | Continuation

KAZUHA

[name] never thought about how it would feel to have her life truly in danger.

Not until she received a vision.

The fact that her vision was electro caused her heart to swarm with worry and dread. She suddenly became sympathetic and understood the reason why the many who had fled from Inazuma did what they had to do.

She had nobody to rely on, nobody to trust, so she opted not to do so until she was finally out of the Shogun's sight. [name] fled from her household with only the clothes on her back and as much mora as she could hold so she could buy the quickest boat out of Inazuma; unluckily for her, it was a small dinghy, only fit for one person.

Her heart twisted at the sight, but there was no time left. Even on the rainy night, she had to leave. What she had to go through next was entirely impossible from a human's point of view. Harsh waves, ear-defending thunder. It was as if the lightning had a mind of its own. For a moment, she cursed her vision and Celestia for condemning her fate to death at sea.

Then, [name] had no clue what had happened next. She just remembered being directionless, rowing at sea, and the cold feeling of the ocean waiting to engulf her whole.

"Overboard! Overboard! Right-side!" She could hear someone call out over the ringing in her ears. How much time had passed for the waves to sound so calm? There was no longer any thunder or lightning, nor rain, but her body was halfway submerged in the sea, her lifeline a large piece of floating driftwood.

"Rope, get some rope!"

"Hand it over, quickly now!"

Her mind spun, her body going both weightless and heavy at one point until she finally felt something solid underneath her body. It was...warm.

"She doesn't look to be injured... Probably exhausted," someone's words finally broke through her buzzing mind once again.

"Give her some space, let her come to," another, feminine, but still commanding.

"Is she..."

Slowly but surely, [name] found the strength to finally open her eyes. Above her was the clear, blue sky, as well as a giant mask of a ship. A few concerned faces were at the corners of her vision, a few of them sighing with relief when they spotted her awake. [name] inhaled slowly, then began to push herself to sit up, the warm wood not exactly the most comfortable thing in the world.

"Easy, don't push yourself," someone, a woman, placed her hand on [name]'s shoulder to steady her and keep her still, "can someone bring a meal over? Something light and easy to digest."

The girl pulled [name] over to the side of the ship slowly, the move very short due to the fact she was already close to the side anyway. There, [name] could lean against the ship with ease without support from someone else, "I'll be right back," then hurried away from [name]'s side.

All these sights were unfamiliar. The odd glances of pity, understanding, some distrust from the others on this ship... Had she made a mistake?

Even though her mind was full of worry, those thoughts came to a halt when someone approached. A male, not much older than she was, dressed in familiar colors of reds and oranges. His hair was a cream white with an orange-red streak through one part. He knelt in front of her with a familiar, kind smile.

"It's...nice to see you again, considering the circumstances." His voice, the one that she hadn't been able to hear during their brief interaction, surprised her. It was calm and gentle, like a song on the wind. [name] swallowed, attempting her own smile.