Genshin Impact: Following the Winds

What was Destiny, truly?

A predestined path, carved across the Stars from the moment the Universe was born? Or mayhaps some invisible purpose, driving life and death and everything in between? 

Many would claim that Destiny was real. Many would claim that it was false, a mere fallacy. Gods and Shrines and Civilizations would follow the diction of a so-called Destiny—wring comfort from the fact that the purpose they bring. They would adhere to them like glue, forcefully enforcing others who fail to follow them.

The truth didn't really matter, I suppose.

…

I frowned slightly as I paused writing in my scroll.

I wasn't really sure why I was even writing this. I suppose it was brought up last night during my talk with Hanami. When she'd asked if the suffering she'd gone through had a purpose, that maybe it was all so that she was 'worthy' to finally meet Lumine and I—to say that I was displeased would be putting it lightly.

Worthy. Destined. I suppose I'd grown a great disdain for such words. It was a notion my people back home held as well—that it was through strife and suffering that one could increase the worth of their existence, such that they would finally mean something. Even the so-called 'Visions' touted the same, that their existence gained worth in the eyes of the Archons.

And I knew that Morax wasn't like that. That he looked at all humans equally. That he cared for them all the same. 

But,

I-, I don't know. It was just-, I hated the fact that one had to be perceived as being worthy of something. Maybe my perspective was just different from the others, but it all felt like one giant chain to shackle the fREedOm of the people.

…Hah.

I looked down at the half-empty scroll, and I took a tired breath as I pulled the scroll and my brush back into my Inventory. I didn't really feel like finishing whatever I'd written right now. Maybe someday I'd come back to it, but not right now. Not when Celestia might still be looking.

A wry smile pulled on my lips as I suppressed the urge to flash a middle finger at the floating island in the sky. I still wasn't sure what that gesture actually meant, but I'd seen Lumine do the same to me a few times.

That aside, the reason why I even began writing in the first place was because I had little to do. Saiguu and Orobashi were both gone, busy with enacting whatever plan they'd concocted to try and stop the seawater from leaching into Watatsumi's soil, even if only as a temporary measure. Lumine was still busy helping the people build more houses, using her immense physical strength to heft several tons of materials without issue.

Which left me pretty much jobless. My deal was to heal the people and provide food, and with most people already healed and the Bleached Soil still being an issue, all I could do was wait.

So here I was, sitting on a small boulder by the shores of the island, listening to the rolling waves and passing winds, and feeling quite bored. I could fish, but even the strange catches brought on by my System didn't do much for me these days. I suppose the mystical fishes I'd fought against whenever I fished in my Personal World had ruined me. A true shame.

Alas, given time and boredom, my mind began to wander. And it didn't take much time before I came back to a Talent I gained recently.

[Foxtail Shift] was its name, and I'd held back on using it. A Talent that allowed me to change forms was what my System described it as, though it actually explained little about how it worked. I was a Human Male right now, but I could become a Female, a Wind Sprite, or a Fox. Though doing so would put the Talent into cooldown for 2 hours.

I hummed, a wry smile growing. Three options; or more like two. There wasn't really a reason to change into a girl at the moment, though the experience would probably be similar to how I felt right now.

Changing into a Fox or a Wind Sprite however—now that was intriguing. Putting aside how that'd even work, how would it feel to become something distinctly non-human? Would it feel any different? Would I become different?

There was no better time to test than now.

I debated on which to choose, and eventually decided on turning into a Fox. A Wind Sprite sounded cool and all but…no. I just-, it felt like I wasn't ready to do that. Not yet.

So I took a breath, and like I did with my other Talents, I reached into myself, found a 'well' that existed inside me, and pulled. A surge of warmth rose through my chest when I did so, before my body suddenly glowed white. 

Then, the next thing I knew, I was so short that the small boulder I was sitting on looked more like a giant rocky hill. I blinked, and felt a pair of fluffy ears atop my head twitch as I did so. I quickly walked over to the ocean, and looked down at my reflection.

And what gazed back was not a human, but a fox. A fox with green fur, reminiscent of the glow of finely cut jades, adorned by eyes that matched the ocean's blue. I extended a paw forward, and my reflection did the same. The water rippled as both our paws touched.

I smiled, and the fox in the water's reflection smiled back.

What an…odd feeling. In a good way. I was somewhat expecting the experience to be displeasing or even painful, but being a fox felt like second nature. I instinctively knew everything there was about this new form of mine, and how to move as a fox. Even my Attributes remained the same, which meant I could dish out just as much damage as I could as a human. Though I'd need to find some way to fire arrows as a fox to do so.

The only thing I couldn't do was speak, with anything I say coming out as little yips whenever I tried. Which was fine—I could always switch back whenever that was needed.

Since I still had nothing to do, I decided to spend the next few hours just getting used to this new form. Which mostly meant just walking around the island, using my new smaller form to observe the people in secret, and also play with a few curious children whenever they spotted me.

It was also how I discovered that being petted was divine in this form. Having my ears gently brushed and my belly scratched made me feel like I was slowly melting into a goop of ecstasy, and I had to force myself to move a few times, lest I fall asleep. I now understood why Saiguu often returned to being a fox whenever she fell asleep.

After a few hours, I returned to the small boulder by the shoreline, and I hopped onto it as I stared out at the oceans. Exploring the island as a fox was a lot more fun than I was expecting! Being shorter but more nimble changed the whole experience, and I was quite looking forward to exploring Liyue again, just as a fox this time.

With that over, I decided to switch back to being a human and returning back to camp. But before my paw could extend towards the obvious Human Male option, I stopped.

The Human Female option was right there, and it wasn't like the people knew what actual gender was. My bard clothes weren't exactly masculine, and I'd even caught Hanami slipping up and calling me Wendy-nee a few times. 

So, I chose the Human Female option next, and my foxy form glowed white as I grew in size. And when the light faded, I returned to being a human. 

And…

Hmm.

I looked at myself. Nothing much seemed to have changed. My height was about the same, and my clothes were back. I guess my arms were a little slimmer, and my waist a little wider. My skin seemed a bit paler than usual, though in a healthy way. Reminiscent of how Guizhong's skin looked, actually.

There was really only one obvious change, and it was the bump on my chest. Right now it wasn't anything massive, though I instinctively knew that it was because my new chest was being bound by a few straps to better hold them tight, so that they wouldn't interfere whenever I moved.

Right now, my chest looked small enough for most people to overlook it, though Lumine would probably notice near-immediately. I'd expected that though, so there was little harm.

I then walked over to the water and looked at my reflection, just so I could get a better look at myself.

But what I wasn't expecting was how beautiful I looked. Looking down at this new form hadn't really put it into perspective, but looking at my reflection cemented that fact. Guizhong had already called my usual look gorgeous, and my people thought the same. And yet this new form blew that all out of the water.

I tried a smile, and my reflection returned a gentle smile.

Hiss! I quickly looked away. Even I had to admit that this was a bit much. One of the reasons people assumed I was an adepti in the first place was because of my 'beauty'. How would my people react if they saw me now? I could only shiver in slight fear at the prospect, and swear to myself that I would never show this form to them, lest I cause pandemonium.

Anyway,

After I was done admiring my reflection, I began walking back to our camp. I passed by a few people as I did, and many stopped as they saw me. Some even tripped or had their jaws fall as we met. Most of them didn't seem to realize that there was anything different about me, but I was definitely attracting more attention than normal.

I bid them farewell as I continued on my way, not noticing the many flustered looks I left behind, both from men and women alike.

As I neared the camp, I noticed something else as well. It was subtle, but it seemed my movements were also somewhat impacted. It took a bit of time, but I noticed that the way I walked had changed slightly, mostly to accommodate my new hips. But it was the way I moved my hands as I greeted others that truly took me.

It was graceful. I didn't really have a better word for it. It was as if my every movement had been infused with [Swords Dance] even though I wasn't wielding a sword. My instinctual movements were almost dance-like, graceful like flowing water.

Intriguing.

I hummed, smiling slightly. 

I didn't notice the dazed look a pair of samurai sent my way as they saw my smile.

Soon enough, I made it back to the makeshift camp Lumine and I had set up, and I found her sitting by the extinguished campfire, frowning slightly as she read through a number of scrolls, each a prospective plan on how the people could construct their village. Her ears perked up as she heard me approach, and she smiled as she saw me. 

"Hey there-" She then stopped and blinked, before her gaze settled on my chest. And when she did, she had to take a moment to stare. "Are those tits?"

I snorted at the crass wording. "Yes." I said, stifling my laughter. "Yes it is."

She stared some more. "Those are bound as well, aren't they?"

I blinked. "Um, yes." I stared at her, somewhat surprised she'd noticed that. "How did you notice?"

She shrugged nonchalantly. "Meh. Not the first time I've seen it." She then grinned. "Anyway, why're you a girl now? I don't remember you being able to do this."

I hummed. "It is a new Talent I'd developed. A way of Shifting Forms. This is only one of them."

"Aah. That makes sense." She nodded before she smiled. "Well, it's almost dinner now. You should go out and get some food. I think they're making curry today."

My eyes glittered. Curry, you say? I could feel my mouth watering just thinking about it. I'd found myself enjoying the new cuisines of Inazuma, but one of my favorites was definitely their iteration on curry. That deep, savory taste was just unbeatable!

"Why, then I'd make myself welcome!" I smiled. "I'll bring a plate over for you as well!" I then quickly turned and left to grab myself a couple plates of curry.

.

.

.

Once she was sure Venti was gone, Lumine let her smile fall. And dully, she brought her hands to her own chest. "Man, that's so unfair." She whispered, her eyes twitching slightly.

Even bound, she could tell that Venti's new chest was bigger than hers.

She could feel what small pride she had burning away.