"Are you sure you will be alright?"

"I will be fine Ms. Jean, please don't worry. If it helps ease your worries, I will stay away if a battle ensues" 

The brunette's words brought little comfort to Jean, and to the traveler. Both of them kept glancing at her injured arm, then at her, and then at each other as if doubting her luck.

She had to admit however, that Starsnatch Cliff was a lovely place for a reunion. Despite being born and brought up in Mondstadt, the beauty of its scenery never failed to put the Knight in a trance. Cecilia flowers gently decorated the path everyone had taken to the cliff. The slightly cloudy sky did little to dampen the bright rays of hope that everyone had harbored.

Divya and Lumine had been the last ones to reach the spot, albeit it was understandable considering that the former now had another wound added to her seemingly growing list. 

First bruises, then a burn and now a flesh wound from a sword? Her luck seems quite.... ah-...

....Terrible....

The Acting Grandmaster couldn't help but be genuinely worried for the girl. She wasn't sure why, but she had the growing urge to simply shove her away from the cliff and lead her back to the relatively safer confines of the city.

It appeared that Lumine too had tried to stop her from coming, but the defeated look on the traveler's face clearly portrayed the outcome of that little debate. 

The sound of the lyre gently floated in the air, and the Knight had to shift her attention to the bard that had started to play it.

Is it working...?

A low rumble steadily increased in volume, as the odd group shielded themselves from the burst of wind that arose from the Dragon. A roar crashed through the air, marking the arrival of Dvalin. 

Stormterror lowered himself to meet the eyes of the bard, rumbles and growls arising from within his body.

"If so, then why do I see sadness in your eyes? Sadness that speaks of your yearning for this song.."

"They are....communicating? huh..." Jean whispered, baffled at how a bard could communicate with one of the four winds. 

She turned to her right and left to see both Diluc and the Traveler equally as confused as her. A glance at the back however, made her eyes widen even more. 

Divya seemed to be listening intensely, as if she could hear something beyond the growls of the Dragon.

Can she understand Dvalin too?

"WATCH OUT!!" The brunette suddenly yelled, causing the entire group to snap their heads towards the attack. 

"VENTI!!"

"OH NO!! TONE-DEAF BARD!!" Paimon cried out.

Divya and Diluc were the first to react, the former rushing towards the bard, and pulling him upright against her body.

 "Do not be fooled by him, dear dragon...He left you to rot alone. Now he attempts to deceive you once more" 

A Cryo Abyss Mage?! Jean stretched her hand out, shielding the injured and the defenseless as the red-head rushed to the forefront of what could soon be a dangerous battle. 

"Barbatos..." 

"Let your wrath fester. Mondstadt has already turned its back on you!!" 

"Wait....you..." Dvalin's aggression fizzled out the moment he laid his eyes upon Divya. She couldn't help but gulp at the intensity of those rage-filled turquoise eyes. The eyes that held no sclera, that resembled very closely the beauty of his crystalline tears. 

She didn't know how she could discern words behind his growls, but she was grateful that she could. 

"I recognise your voice... from the fleeting time that has gone by...." The Mage had gone silent as well, as if Stormterror's recognition of her was something he hadn't anticipated. 

Hesitantly, she stepped out from behind Jean and Lumine's outstretched hands. The blondes whipped their heads towards her, their glare practically screaming at her to stay back. 

Venti however, stared at her with eyes that seemed to beg for her interference. He seemed to plead with her to talk to his old friend, to bring the one he used to know, back to his former self.

"You...Did you too wish for my demise along with....Barbatos? You..." Anger engulfed his tone, hurt spilling from within any cracks those words had. 

"Yes...Everyone from Mondstadt has turned their back against you....Now, the time has come for the dragon to serve its true-" seeing an opportunity, the mage tried to goad the dragon on. 

"I am not from Mondstadt, Protector of the Winds" Her voice cut through the fury-driven haze of Dvalin, who momentarily stopped in midair and stared at her. The group that had laid their feet on the ground seemed to lose composure upon witnessing her communication with the dragon. 

Furious at being cut off, the mage summoned another attack that aimed straight at Divya. Startled, Diluc moved forward with his claymore in hand, only to be cut off by the growl emanating from within Stormterror. The dragon had shifted his wing to block off the brunette from the creature, before he growled again.

A warning to the Mage to not interfere in what was to transpire. 

"If you speak the truth.... what is your purpose here?"

 I am here to help you 

Divya however, couldn't say those words out loud, for saying them would only aggravate the dragon further. He wouldn't believe them even if she yelled them out again and again. He wouldn't believe her even if she spilled blood to prove it to him, for such is the nature of emotions. 

You had to be gentle, yet never say anything that could be taken for granted. You had to be calm, but not stoic or appear cold. You had to be soft, but firm if they begin to take action against you or themselves. 

You simply couldn't say "I understand your pain" to them, for no one would ever understand their pain but themselves. You may be in the exact same position as them, but your emotional makeup would always be completely different from theirs. You would never react in the exact way as they would to such pain.

"I wanted to thank you, and to apologize to you" 

 What is she saying?! was the thought that echoed unanimously in Venti's, Paimon's, Lumine's, Jean's, and Diluc's minds. 

"...Thank...me?" Stormterror too was baffled at her statement. He had expected a much different reply from this peculiar mortal.

"Yes. I want to thank you for listening to my worries when I accidentally fell on you. You wanted to lower me gently to the ground outside Mondstadt, and I want to thank you for that. I also want to apologize, because you seemed to be in pain, and I think with me on top of you, I might have made it worse. I don't want to be the cause of pain for you. I wouldn't like that"

The dragon could instinctively tell she was speaking the truth. 

He had seen many mortal eyes shine brighter than the sun or dim darker than the midnight sky. It had often been overwhelming to see such fleeting creatures carry such enormous ambitions. 

Her eyes were...different somehow.

Quiet light flickering within their depths, they weren't overwhelming. There was not a drop of hatred, disgust or fear within her eyes. No...there was some other emotion that he just couldn't understand.

He wanted to know what it was. 

He wanted to know why her eyes seemed different than other mortals' eyes.

"Don't listen to the foolish drivel of such petty mortals... She is in kahoots with Barbatos, she is trying to deceive you-"

She is trying to deceive you. 

Kill her. Kill the mortal.

You will once again fall prey to their empty praises. 

Kill her. Kill-

"You don't have to listen to me, Dvalin. I didn't come here thinking you would accept me right away. That is not fair to you, for you don't know me. But please, listen to yourself. Don't listen to Barbatos, nor me, nor the Cryo Mage. Listen to yourself" 

Myself? 

Listen.... to myself?

What is the mortal trying to insinuate? 

Me...? 

To say to ignore even the Anemo Archon...

Does this human.... truly worry about what I feel...?

No....

That cannot be possible...

No mortal would ever care about a beast...

Even then..why does she seem to know about me?

"Then answer me these two questions, mortal" Dvalin flew in closer to the edge of the cliff, stretching out to gaze directly at the brunette. Alarm bells rang furiously in everyone's minds when she too took a step forward to meet the dragon. Lumine's hand twitched, as she had to restrain herself from dragging her friend back behind her.

They had caught Stormterror's attention at the very least, but now they had to simply let Divya do the talking and hope to fate that this wouldn't go down the wrong way.

Noticing her nod her head, the blue reptile continued.

"You seem confident...in your prediction of my behavior....pray tell...why do you think you know quite a lot...about me?"

Venti's stomach lurched at the question. It was a dangerous one to answer, dangerous even for him. Divya wouldn't be able to run fast enough should she re-ignite his anger. No one would be able to, for that matter.

Instead of answering, the eighteen-year-old began to unwrap the bandages on her left hand, slowly letting them fall to the grass beneath her feet. 

The teen held out her hand, letting the dragon wearily inspect it. As he did, he noticed the tear-shaped burn mark on her hand. Although faded, his senses were at least 100 times greater than that of a mere mortal's, so upon recognition, he tilted his head back up in question.

"I held one of your tears in this hand. For some reason, the moment I touched your tears, I was shown your memories of the past hundred years, and along with them, your emotions"

Venti's eyes almost bulged out of their sockets as he stared at the brunette in utter disbelief. He knew she held Dvalin's tears but to claim to have seen his memories?

That seemed a bit too unreal

"You lie" The roar of outrage was enough for everyone to immediately tense up and lurch forward in hopes of pulling Divya away from what seemed like sure danger.

"I am not lying. You know I am not lying" 

The complete confidence she had while saying it, caused literally everyone to doubt their own thoughts. 

How can someone be so confident if they were lying? was the only echoing voice inside everyone's head.

"No mere mortal can hold onto memories of an immortal's" 

"I don't know how it exactly works either"

Silence seemed to choke everyone in anticipation, though the brunette hid it well. Venti couldn't stop the silent fear creeping up his body. 

What if Dvalin didn't believe her? 

What if this would end badly?

He didn't want to be responsible for Divya's pain, he didn't want to be the one leading her into danger.

"This is my final question for you mortal. Answer wisely"

Lumine exhaled in relief from the torturous silence she had endured, from the silence that seemed to last an eternity.

"Do you believe what Barbatos did to me was right?"

Ah shit- 

Divya definitely didn't expect that question. It was, however, a trick question; one that would surely decide the end of this entire encounter. 

".... I don't think he consciously chose to leave you by yourself Dvalin. I don't think his slumber is something he can control voluntarily"

"Then what of the mortals of Mondstadt?" A biting voice, one laced with both venom and desperation. 

The dragon truly couldn't understand any of the actions humans made. He couldn't recognise Mondstadt, the nation he protected anymore. He couldn't recognise the changing world, for his pain wouldn't change with time. Why is it that they have forgotten the old protectors? Why was it that Barbatos had forgotten the old protectors?

His question wasn't one that sought a solution, but one that sought comfort. The dragon had voiced out his inner pain in hopes of finding a balm, not in hopes of finding medicine. 

"I-"

"SHE DECIEVED YOU!!" The unnaturally silent Abyss Mage screamed out, his staff glaring an ominous white. 

The blast from the staff pushed the group back, causing them to skid away from the edge. The eighteen-year-old had no time to yell or react as the attack hit her directly. The blast shattered the edge of the cliff, breaking apart the stones beneath her feet.

"DIVYA NO-!!" Jean yelled as the tip of Starsnatch cliff crumbled from the impact of the blast. 

Dvalin screamed in pain, his wounds that had previously been calm flaring up in excruciating pain. The Abyss Mage jumped on his back, goading the dragon to take off. 

"Watch the world tremble with fear!!" were the last words of the Mage before Stormterror took off to the sky.