//------------------------------// // 18.5- Himmel // Story: The Chalk Prince and the Clover // by FrostTheWolf //------------------------------// “We’re here!!” The director of Wangsheng funeral parlor let out a cheerful glee as she skipped around inside of the domain of souls known as ‘the border’. The last time that she was here was when a traveler was assisting one of the workers of the parlor send off the spirit of their friend. Now though, she was here with someone completely different… and for a completely different reason, “Now, who was it that you were looking for again?” “These two,” her client, and unknowingly the god of chaos Discord, replied as he handed two sketches of who they were looking for to the director, “Shouldn’t my friend be with us though? I mean, I know you left him the care of your consultant, but are you sure that’s a good idea?” “Oh don’t worry. I’m pretty sure that your bard friend is in good hands.” “Barkeep, I would like your finest ale please!” “Sir, this is a restaurant. We don’t serve alcohol here,” the owner of the Wanmin Restaurant, Chef Mao, told the bard. Who was rather disheartened by the news “My apologies, sir,” the bard’s companion and consultant to the Wangsheng funeral parlor, Zhongli, spoke up, “My dear friend is, unfortunately, rather fond of the taste of alcohol that you would find in Mondstadt. It’s a habit of his that’s hard for him to break.” “I hear you. My daughter has a habit of trying to find the perfect ingredient for a recipe. Sometimes, it even takes her all the way to the border between Mondstadt and Liyue,” Mao replied, “Not to mention that, for a time, we also had that one zombie girl that works at the Bubu pharmacy come here and kept on asking if we had any ‘cocogoat’ milk.” “Zombie girl?” Venti asked, his curiosity only heightened when he saw Zhongli let out a composed sigh, “And what’s a cocogoat?” “… It’s a bit of a long story, and not one of my brightest moments.” “Yeah, I’m not so sure if we should leave the two of them by themselves for too long,” Discord replied back, “So let’s hurry this up before either of them cause any trouble-.” “Aiya, don’t be in such a rush,” the young director told him, “The spirits that are on the border might take your actions as a sign of you being disrespectful. Doesn’t really help who you’re looking for if you get shunned by the rest of the afterlife.” In this moment, the god of chaos found Hu Tao’s retort rather surprising. Back in Equestria, there wasn’t anyone that was quite enthusiastic about the dead and afterlife as her. Heck, the mere mention of ghosts or anything scary would have Fluttershy shivering in a corner like a scared puppy. Though, Hu Tao was kind of the opposite since the spirits of the departed and the afterlife was basically her family business. She was rather proud of it too, although, the way that Hu Tao talked about her line of work would probably creep people out. Eventually, after having to go through the equivalent of a looping labyrinth that would make anyone’s head spin, the two of them finally arrived at their destination. The border that was the boundary between the world of the living and the afterlife. Many of the souls that were here were those that had lingering regret that had them cling to the world of the living or were waiting for someone else to pass on with them, preventing them from going forth in peace. While others just need a bit of positive motivation to get them going in the right way. Though, as Discord looked around, something did not feel right. Despite many of the faces that were here at the border, he could not see either of the two people that he was looking for. Asking around didn’t help either, for many of them either never seen them or heard of them. Not only that, but when one person did recognize Albedo, it was because he was the artist for a material arts book by some rich kid named Xingqiu. Which did little to help narrow down his search. “So, did you find who you were looking for?” Hu Tao then asked. The god of chaos just looked back at the director, before shaking their head. “Sadly, no. I did ask around, but I unfortunately didn’t really get too far.” “That’s… unexpected,” the director replied, a bit surprised by Discord’s answer, “I know that you mentioned that you were hoping to at least find something that could help, but are you sure that you found nothing?” “The only person that had anything to say just heard of them through some of their work, but never actually seen them before,” Discord explained, “Unfortunately, this means that my friend and I are back to square one for our search.” “Aiya, well, if who you’re looking for isn’t here, then it’s more than likely that they’re still living,” Hu Tao told him in a rather positive and encouraging tone, “Besides, it would’ve been a real shame if they happened to pass on without coming to me to prepare for it first.” The god of chaos could only mentally facepalm himself as he looked back at the director, “Well, I should break the news to my friend. The sooner, the better.” “Yup! Ooh, hey, can I use that phrase as a new slogan? Has a real nice ring to it and it might help drive in some new customers!” Much Later… “So, the border was a bust?” the tone deaf bard asked as he had met back up with his friend along the outside cliffs overlooking Liyue Harbor. After Venti had shared his experience of being around Liyue Harbor and his unexpected reunion with an old friend of his, Discord was now bringing him up to speed on their situation. Mainly the fact that the trip he took to the border just resulted in him reaching a dead end. “Unfortunately, that is the case,” the god of chaos explained to his friend as he recalled his trip from earlier in the day, “There were a lot of souls at the border, but none of them were Albedo or Klee. I even asked if they knew or met them, but the only answer I got was someone recognizing Albedo’s artwork in a book. So, safe to say, they’re still pretty much alive and kicking.” “The only question now is where exactly they’re at,” Venti now replied as he tried to think of what to do now. Though, as this was going on, a thought soon appeared in the bard’s mind, “Hey, quick question? Remember that copy of yourself that you made?” When that was mentioned, Discord just simply raised an eyebrow and looked back at his friend, “Yes I do. Why do you ask?” “Do you think it’s possible that they might’ve found something?” “… Now that you mention it, why don’t I go check?” Fortunately for Discord, it did not take him long in order for him to realize what his copy stumbled upon. “La la la!!!” “Klee, slow down!! The girls are still trying to catch up-” “A giant gingerbread house!! Can we go over there? Pleeease?!” The god of chaos blinked, trying to refocus his attention back to the present after the short snippet of what his copy had seen. Though, that small snippet was more than enough. “Well… that escalated quickly.”