Genshin Impact: Reborn Engineer

[POV: Clervie - 3rd Person]

Clervie was walking down the halls of the mansion, looking around for things she could take with her on her next escape attempt. Since her first escape attempt at running from the Hearth she had learned that she needed a few vital supplies, Mora, Clothes, and a weapon, food was abundant in the world of Teyvat, you couldn't wander more than a few hundred meters anywhere apart from the Sumaru desert without coming across an edible plant.

Clervie had been wondering how she would escape this time prior to her birthday, coincidentally that problem had been resolved by the last gift she had been given. Looking at the mechanical dragonfly, one would not assume it to be capable of carrying much, it had attachments to pull a small banner as it flew, but given it's size it seemed unlikely to be able to bare the weight of a person. That was unless one read the manual that came with the machine. While the size was fairly small compared to the machines designed to carry humans into the skies, within its housing was a remarkably powerful engine. Without a specific trigger, the engine would only run on "low" gear to conserve fuel and prevent accelerated wear on its components. The manual detailed the method to remove the limiter on the engine, which would greatly increase its carrying capacity and maximum velocity. 

To ease any suspicions about the device, Clevie had purposefully taken the toy outside to play with in front of the other children. one of the kids asked if they could try being carried by it. In front of the adults, Clervie made a makeshift seat out of the chains used to carry the banner and some cloth.

The Dragonfly rose into the air, but stopped as the chain was pulled taught, the child's weight proving to be too much for the low gear to lift. The child was disappointed, but Clervie was relieved as the adults didn't try to take the toy away after seeing it unable to lift a child smaller than Clervie. She got some light scolding for potentially putting her sibling in danger if it had worked, but nothing more than that. 

The day prior to her planned escape attempt, Clervie asked to get the fuel refilled, having used half of it when learning to fly the machine and play with the other kids to lull the adults into a false sense of security. Since Pneuma and Ousia were secondary fuels compared to commonly used Indemnitium the adults didn't mind refilling the toy from what they had in stock.

In the end, Clervie managed to take an old spear that was hung on the wall in an out of the way area of the mansion. The blade was dull and slightly rusted and the wood was showing spots of rot, but it was still useable.

 At long last, the night came for Clervie's latest escape attempt. She was sure this time that she could make it, she felt the wind outside beckoning to her, but she put those thoughts aside for the moment. Packing her bag, she placed a couple coins of Mora she had gathered from around the mansion, the broken candle she had stolen from the game on her birthday, a couple apples and pieces of bread she had stashed for the beginning of her journey, some clothes to change into, a screwdriver and small wrench, and the manual for piloting the Dragonfly. While it wouldn't help the people tracking her find her location, it seemed that the section about removing the limiter had been written precisely for her, and after her escape, she did not want to cause any trouble for the person who made the machine.

The Dragonfly was in the shed where tools to maintain the courtyard were stored, she had left it there after asking permission saying it was getting annoying to drag to and from her room.

Putting the bag onto her back, Clervie carefully opened her door, looking from side to side, she carefully stashed the bag within a large vase as she walked to the lavatory. After she was finished, she walked out and came face to face with "Mother." 

Looking up Clervie said, "Sorry did I disturb you?"

Shaking her head Crucabena replied, "Yes, what are you doing up at this hour, you're not planning on running away again are you?"

 "No Mother, just drank too much water after training this afternoon." Said Clervie, what she had said wasn't a lie, she had drunk a lot of water in the evening before heading to bed, something other children had seen and could be her alibi for if Mother decided to test her words.

"Hm." Grunted Crucabena as she turned around and started to walk back down the passage, "Just go to bed.." Said Crucabena as she faded into the darkness.

"Yes Mother..." Clervie said meekly. She was surprised, things had been going smoothly in the house for the past few days, but when she had looked at Crucabena's face, she had a faint blush and smelled of alcohol. It seemed that tonight was more ideal for an escape than she had planned.

Quietly, Clervie walked to her bedroom door and opened it and closed it. Afterward, she heard the click of another door down the hall. She didn't know how, but no matter how quietly she did it and looked for traps, Crucabena always knew when she opened and closed her door.

Quietly moving back to the vase, Clervie pulled the bag out of it. Walking down the dark halls, Clervie followed the path she had mapped out. Having been determined to escape this house for a long time, Clervie had carefully observed the movements of the guards as they patrolled the hallways at night. The first few times she had escaped, they had planned routes that they would follow, now they assigned each of the guards an area that they would patrol in whatever means they saw fit. Despite how random and whimsical their routes may seem, every person will eventually fall into a pattern, finding a path or pattern that was efficient and comfortable. Having observed these guards for months, Clervie had learned their patrol walking speed, and the routes they usually took while on the lookout, she even knew that the adult in charge of patrolling the halls around the courtyard was lazy and would typically sneak away to take a nap while on duty.

Sneaking around where she knew the guards were unlikely to be and even having to hide in the shadows when she heard a guard walking her way, Clervie eventually made it to the courtyard. Carefully, Clervie opened the door to the shed and closed the door behind her, careful not to let the hinges make a noise. Groping around in the dark, Clervie found the flint they used to light the torches and brasiers used during night trainings, carefully she struck the flint, causing sparks to briefly light up the surroundings. Pulling the brokrn candle half out of her bag, Clervie chewed off the excess wick before striking the flint close to the nub left at the top of the remaining wax.

It took a few tries, but eventually it was lit. Knowing the light from the candle leaking through the cracks of the shed would soon give her away, Clervie pulled out the tools she had stashed in her bag and opened up the side of the Dragonfly. Following the instructions written in the manual, she took out several gears and components restricting the fuel input to the engine and components designed to slow the shaft powering the wings.

Placing the pieces into her bag, Clervie put the bag back onto her back as she wrapped the chains made to carry banners together and wrapped it with some cloth from the shed before carrying the contraption outside.

Starting the Dragonfly, Clervie was surprised that it was still quiet despite its engine moving a lot faster, she had expected it to make much more noise with the limiters removed. Using the remote to command the Dragonfly, she made it hover, so the wrapped knot of chain was at waist height. Sitting down on it Clervie felt like she was being watched and looked around the courtyard and through the windows but saw no one. Clervie sighed in relief as she looked around the yard one more time. Her eyes lingering on the area Marelle was always set up, she resolved herself that she would get strong soon so the others would not have to play that game anymore.

With a determined look, she turned the dials on the remote and felt the wind move around her as she was lifted off the ground and into the air.

Unbeknownst to Clervie, Peruere stood, her back against the wall beside one of the windows overlooking the courtyard. Having known Clervie for so long, she could recognize the signs of her preparing to escape. She was sure Mother would have too, if she had spent more time around her daughter, but nonetheless she silently wished her friend luck as she quietly made her way back to her own room. Maybe this time her friend would find the freedom that she craved...

[POV: Carman]

Ryuzu woke me up in the middle of the night.

"it's time." She said, her face obscured by the veil of her Pale Lady costume.

Getting up, I splashed my face with some water to remove some of my grogginess. "About time."

Ever since Dad finalized the commission Crucabena submitted to our workshop Ryuzu had been listening outside at night for the sound of the dragonfly being operated, something she could do thanks to the high pitch sound generator I installed in the wings disguised as shocks to protect the wing joint. So far, Ryuzu had only heard the machine working on its fixed "Low Gear" mode that restricted it's fuel input and rpm output to prevent Crucabena from confiscating it thinking that Clervie would use it to escape. I had written the instruction on how to remove the limiters on the back of the manual and given how callus Crucabena seemed to act about her "children" apart from Peruere who would one day become Arlecchino... it was unlikely she'd bother to read all the way through the manual, especially with how much jargon I crammed into the first dozen pages.

Now Ryuzu had reported that she had detected the sound of the mechanism being activated with its limiters removed. Putting on a cloak and metal mask I followed her down the passageways under our apartment and surrounding buildings. 

We came to an exit and Ryuzu picked me up in her arms as she carried me while moving at higher speeds. She scaled the nearest building with me in her arms as she made her way to the edge of the city.

Jumping over a wall, Ryuzu landed on an aqueduct line and ran towards the area she had located and identified as the home base of the House of the Heart due to all the activations of the Dragonfly occurring within its confines.

She stopped for a moment and listened carfully, trying to find the sound of the machine. Opening her eyes again, Ryuzu started to run once more towards the east.

I looked in the direction we were heading, it was dark, the moon only a sliver in the sky amongst the stars, eventually after Ryuzu had jumped down to the ground and had been running for a while into the plains around the city, I saw a small figure in the sky, it looked like a strange bird, but then I realized that was the person we were following. 

Ryuzu continued to trail them for a while, carefully making sure to keep among trees and structures that could obscure us from the person above's line of sight.

After about half an hour, the person started to descend, the Dragonfly's wings moving slower as it ran low on fuel.

After a minute, the child landed, her long red hair settling down as their feet touched the ground.

As they did, Ryuzu came forward. 

[POV: 3rd person]

As Clervie touched down, she had to suppress a feeling of dejection, the feeling of the wind in here face and pulling her hair to trail behind her was exhilarating, even as distance between her and the ground grew. When she was flying, everything on the ground was small, tiny, it put things into perspective, at the end of the day, they were all small. Their problems tiny compared to the vast land that reached beyond the horizon and the sky above holding countless stars. She felt like a bird, like she could fly away from all the problems on the ground, even if it was only temporary, the wind rushing around her, blowing everything else away, it was hard not to lose herself in it. But she knew she had to keep moving forward, she still had to grow stronger, become powerful enough to defeat her mother and free the other kids still in the mansion.

As she landed, the sound of a fiddle could be heard in the distance, its music conveying a hopeful feeling. At the same time, Clervie felt something round and hard in her pocket as she stood up.

Reaching her hand into her pocket, she pulled out a strange charm, it had a light bluish green orb in the center surrounded with a metal frame around it, the top and bottom of the object had a three-pronged blooming flower motif. The gem had a symbol resembling a pair of wings glowing faintly within it. It was a Vision.

While she took a moment to fully comprehend the event that had just took place, Clervie heard a boy clear his throat behind her.

Drawing her spear while tightly clenching her hand around her newly granted vision, she turned to find an odd pair, a small figure in a cloak wearing a mask, and a woman wearing white and light gray clothes with a vale obscuring her face.

"Who are you, and what do you want." asked Clervie.

"We are...."

-To be continued.