#📖 * barbara. ‣ mondstadt's angel.

[entwinedreams]

a letter to a mysterious girl barbara has never met, has never spoken to- on the encouragement of miss lisa and her older sister.

barbara's handwriting, almost comically cutesy in the star shaped 'a's and heart shaped 'o's, little whole note's written over the 'i's.

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dear collei- i'm barbara, the younger sister of the acting grandmaster jean. it's nice to meet you! well, i guess, write to you! miss lisa said it'd be good for us both to become penpals~ so i hope you don't mind me writing a letter out of the blue.

i'm not really sure how to be a penpal- so i suppose i'll ask about if anything interesting is happening lately in sumeru! everyone here is preparing for windblume in mondstadt, so the sisters and other deaconesses at the cathedral of favonious are very busy, but the lead up to any festival is always so,s so hectic!

my sister and sir kaeya are also working themselves silly right now- sometimes there's an influx of revelers that end up making a big mess of the business district of the city- which can be a little unsafe, but knowing they're working hard to keep the rest of us protected makes me feel a lot better.

i hope if you make it to mondstadt, you come to one of my concerts, and i'll treat you to one of the specical non alchoholic drinks that the best bartender at the cat's tail makes- but i've also heard master diluc makes similar things so maybe we can catch him working and we can sample both of them together~

may your journey be accompanied by songs and happiness, collei!

sincerely yours, barbara !

starter call! @prosebrne

[entwinedreams]

a weirdly formal letter. it reminds barbara of the few times she's read miss lisa's essays or one of eula's scouting reports- paced in a way that seemed more like a business letter than a letter between potential friends- still. the deaconess found the dry, sanitary tone charming in it's own right.

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dear collei,

i'm very happy to hear back from you! i've never sent a letter so far before, so i was worried it got lost along the way.

i'll definitely have to take that advice into consideration~ i don't find that weird at all- my sister almost worked herself ill a while ago, and without her or kaeya, the knights would definitely suffer. so i'm willing to anything to keep them both as healthy as i can! also, it sounds like you care about your master as much as i do my sister, which is so sweet!

miss lisa is working hard- or, well. i guess it'd be more accurate to say hardly working. she has an... apprentice of sorts? his name is razor. and he was raised by the wolf of the north. he has a hard time being in the city- so if i have to go pick wolfberries or other herbs for medicine, miss lisa will usually send along a message or a care package for him.

amber is enthusiastic as always when i visit, but she seems kind of distant to our chief alchemist, since the joint knights of favonious and mondstadt branch adventurer's guild training session- i guess something happened on dragonspine, the big, cold mountain between mondstadt and liyue. i heard about an avalanche, and one of my friends from the adventurer's guild getting injured, but everyone is being very cagey about it. most of the sisters are also working very hard right now, and i'm also trying to do my fair share. except for sister rosaria, but she only does as much as she wishes and wants and then leaves. she's interesting like that....

i will admit that my concerts can get a little loud and rowdy, but it's part of the experience! i'll make sure you have the best places to view and teach you the chants!~ i'll even try to arraigned a smaller concert so that it's not as scary or overwhelming! as for crowds- i guess it gets pretty packed, but for me its a sign that my music and signing can uplift and help so many people.

also, please don't worry about formalities, or coming across as dry or boring. i'm very curious about everything you're learning in sumeru, and i'd be more than happy to read a whole encyclopedia!

may your journey be accompanied by songs and happiness, collei! sincerely yours, barbara!

ps. it's very nice to talk, er- well, write with someone my own age who will treat me as a person, rather than idol. i hope if/when we meet in person, we have a lot of fun together~

if not for tighnari reaching their apartment in time,   collei would have watched the fire of their hearth tend to the parchment.   its cradle would be grave,   but its embrace wouldn’t be unknown.   the regret settles in immediately—   flushed honeyed face,   quivering lips,   an unearthly hole in their heart—   when tighnari expresses excitement at the sight of the letter.   the penpal he asked the traveler to contact for them.   for them.   it’s the only revelation that obediently sits collei at their desk and conjures a quill in their grasp.

(   the print of their handwriting is simple,   yet shaky and sketchy at a closer glance.   the ink gathers at the end corners of most letters,   producing a tiny bubble or clot they hardly register.   the writing’s voice doesn’t match the name,   professional and hardly without insight.   )

[   ...   ]

barbara,

thank you for the letter.   i know of you and your sister,   if you’d believe it.   unfortunately,   though i’m familiar with you,   i don’t know the proper way to address a penpal.   master tighnari told me to approach this as if you were in front of me but i fear that wouldn’t go as well either.   still,   i’ll do my best to satisfy you.   (   the ink clots terribly on the letters of satisfy; a mistake of a shaking hand.   )

i’m glad to hear that preparations for the windblume festival are going well.   master tighnari suggested for us to visit since paimon brought up returning with the traveler for it.   something about a whisper in the wind telling them to.   either way,   you might see me there.   i just hope our physical meeting goes as smoothly as did our letters.   dare i say it,   but while writing this,   i feel optimistic on this “penpal” situation already!

for miss jean and sir kaeya,   i’d suggest locking their offices if the workload overwhelms them to the point of danger.   i know locking miss jean’s office used to work in the past,   though it might be odder now.   and i understand how strange this must sound,   but trust me!   i do the same to master tighnari if he refuses to let a sample or paper rest for the night.   on the other hand,   i can’t wait to visit your concert.   i just have to ask if the crowd levels are as... staggering as i’ve heard of other concerts across teyvat.   crowds and loud music are a horrible concoction,   unfortunately.   rather,   master tighnari told me of it.

sumeru has treated me well through the years i’ve spent here.   i don’t know much i can tell you without risking boredom but if you’d like to hear an extensive summary of my research here then please do ask again.   otherwise,   that is all i have for an introductory letter.

thank you,   again,   for the letter,   barbara.   i wish you well,   on behalf of the seven.

sincerely, collei

p.s.   how have your colleagues been?   amber?   miss lisa?

[entwinedreams]

" my apologies , miss pegg , by the sudden intrusion . but i am here to speak with your father . "

"no- no! don't apologize!" her hands wave about nervously. "father isn't always easy to track down or speak to- " a burst of nervous laughter. " even my older sister and i have issues talking with him. "

beneath the idol's bubbly voice is a thin layer of anger, of resentment, of frustration, not directed at her father's .... guest? (yeah. guest.) but rather, directed at simon pegg himself.

"sorry! i'm rambling. i'll go get father, and let him know he has a visitor- in the meantime." there's a certain amount of tightly wound nervous energy in her movements. "while you're waiting for my father, would you like something to drink or snack on, uncle?"

@thyjester

[entwinedreams]

canon tag dump.

📖  *  cyno.   ‣  judicator of secrets. 📖  *  barbara.   ‣  mondstadt's angel. 📖  *  nahida / buer.   ‣  god of wisdom. 📖  *  raiden ei / beelzebul.   ‣  god of eternity. 📖  *  il captino / bloodstained knight.   ‣  uncompromising justice. 📖  *  shenhe.   ‣  lonesome transcendence. 📖  *  fischl.   ‣  prinzessin der verurteilung. 📖  *  bennett.   ‣  trial by fire. 📖  *  arataki itto.   ‣  hanamizaka heroics. 📖  *  sucrose.   ‣  harmless sweetie. 📖  *  noelle.   ‣  chivalric blossom. 📖  *  beidou.   ‣  uncrowned lord of the ocean. 📖  *  sangomiya kokomi.   ‣  divine priestess. 📖  *  yanfei.   ‣  wise innocence. 📖  *  xingqiu.   ‣  juvenile galant. 📖  *  yun jin.   ‣  stage lucida. 📖  *  ruu.   ‣  fog's sacrifice. 📖  *  rostam.   ‣  wolf pup. 📖  *  hiiragi chisato.   ‣  starcrossed commissioner. 📖  *  kamisato ayato.   ‣  pillar of fortitude. 📖  *  takuya.   ‣  azure oni. 📖  *  egawa teppei.   ‣  captain of herring i. 📖  *  gendou ringo.   ‣  fake shrine maiden. 📖  *  thoma.   ‣  blazing devotion. 📖  *  yue.   ‣  cygnus captain. 📖  *  teucer.   ‣  innocent dreams. 📖  *  hamasaki tomo.   ‣  stormbraver. 📖  *  yoshinaga sango.   ‣  lackadaisical detective. 📖  *  adelinde.   ‣  head maid. 📖  *  dunyarzard.   ‣  gilded cage dreamer. 📖  *  havria.   ‣  god of salt. 📖  *  dvalin.   ‣  erstwhile king of the skies. 📖  *  andrius.   ‣  dominator of wolves. 📖  *  collei.   ‣  sprout of renewal.

📖  *  name.   ‣  tag.