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Lohen put down the ceramic teacup, with the most suspiciously gorgeous red designs that swirl at the brim and at the bottom, and he had it in his hands with a clink. Well, that's interesting; he's gonna pay the dear Dawn Winery owner an unwanted visit one of these days.
With the teacup put down on its saucer with the same suspicious designs, he took a look around his surroundings once more.
Loads of books were scattered on the ground of this floating island. With him sitting under the umbrella, Miss Alice and Klee giggle at the promise of a new 'dodobomb' that they'd managed to brainstorm during this tea party. The wind just barely caresses the hair on his temple, the wind as peaceful as the land itself.
In other words, other than the promise of a new arsenal to try on all the fish the lakes of Mondstadt have to offer, it was so incredibly boring.
He's glad that Klee warmed up to him; he'd go insane as soon as he came home from the expedition. The normal daily routine back at his homeland had chewed him up and spat him out with no remorse.
"Oh? It looks like we've bored our dear Vice Captain to death..." A saccharine voice whispered just at the edge of his thoughts, and at Miss Alice and Klee and basically everyone around the long table, because Durin looked at him puzzled, which is basically how he looks at Lohen all the time, all things considered, "Has the tea party not been to your standards?"
Oh, no. Well, yes, is what he'd normally say. But these are powerful witches he has around here. Wouldn't be best to make them his enemies.
Acting a bit shy, he waved his hands around, "No, no. Not at all. The wind is lovely, and I'm already itching to try that new bomb with Klee anyway!"
At that, Miss Alice laughed, but before she could have a say with it, Albedo beat her to it, "Please, Lohen. Handling Klee alone is bad enough."
Lohen laughed at that, "I'll placate your worries, Albedo. No monsters would go near Klee, I assure you. On my honor, and all that."
"Didn't know you even have that," Is what Albedo replied to him in that dry, sarcastic voice of his.
At their tiny tirade, Miss Alice laughed some more, "Oh dear, just what a lovely sight! Don't worry now, our lovely 'Bedo, Vice Captain Lohen has Klee in his bestest interest!"
"It's not a surprise to have you on their side, Alice," Nicole said in her strange telepathic way, stirring her tea for who knows how long already, "But please, tone it down this time, won't you? It's not only Klee and Lohen who'd be put into solitary confinement, but I also somehow get dragged into all of it!"
"Because you keep defending them, that's why," Barbeloth chimed in this time, her hydromancy somehow at a pause, floating just beside her chair, "They have Jean, and now Varka as well. Barbatos only knows how little Varka helps when it's Klee and Lohen doing the problem, but still."
At the very end of Miss Barbeloth's daily criticism, the well-known sounds of two greatswords sinking beneath the ground for stability have the party surrounding their table in disarray.
"Ah, great," Barbeloth drawled, her arms shouldering the weight of her bored face by her chin, "When he shows up, it's when I finish decimating him verbally. Such a shame."
"I heard it all, Miss Barbeloth, your cries were carried by such a lovely breeze we have today!" Varka said, standing upright after all that unnecessary entrance. Like, there are sets of stairs going towards this floating island, what a showoff.
Nicole waved her hands excitedly, a big, loopy smile plastered on her face, "Dearest, you're just in time! I've saved a seat for you."
Patting the chair next to her, Varka placed a kiss on her temple before sitting, to which Nicole giggled, and Lohen vomited air. They are literally sitting just across from him at the table.
Durin laughed at his actions, while Albedo just shook his head, one arm crossed against his shoulder as he sipped tea from what he supposes is Miss Rhinedottir's set.
"Oh, the little gremlin is here," Varka said, noting his presence, his arm comfortably resting on top of Miss Nicole's chair, "Heya, Durin!"
He messed up Durin's hair, to the latter's flustered mess.
Lohen nodded, a sly smile on his lips, "Yeah. 'Sup, Grand Master?"
Varka sighed, a migraine already forming at the sight of Lohen smiling. At this point, it could also be one of his migraine triggers; he wouldn't be far off, "Shut up. Stop letting Gunther write your reports for you. Also, I came here to have a nice, relaxing break with the pleasant people around this table."
Lohen looked at him incredulously before laughing his ass off, "I didn't even do anything?!"
"Yeah, for now," Varka muttered, "What are you even doing here instead of, I don't know, tracking the wagon transporting suspiciously lightkeeper-looking guests?"
At that, Lohen's relaxed form, arms across his chest with his ass nearly at the edge of his chair and head resting at just the edge of the comfiest rest spot, he suddenly sat upright with his hands grappling the edges of the table, almost dragging his ass to the ground in the process. Varka barked at him, and Lohen hissed as a reply, "Is that real? Varka! Are you for real right now?"
Albedo groaned at the commotion, with Miss Alice giggling at her own seat as well. Durin and Klee just watched with apt enjoyment, with Miss Barbeloth exhaling what almost sounds like a laugh. Miss Nicole is just smiling throughout all of this, and sometimes, Albedo wondered when their tea parties ever got this rowdy.
"Why'd I even lie? Go on now," Varka said, signaling with his hand to get his ass out of here, "Get your man and wreak havoc in this peaceful land."
Before he could even jump out of the floating island, Miss Alice spoke up, "Oh! Klee, why don't you join your big brother Lohen? I'll deliver the new Dodoco right at the palm of your hand later, I promise!"
Klee, sitting on top of her mama's lap, perked up, "Really? Okay!"
She giggled at the thought of more friends to play with, and as Lohen stood up excitedly with that manic gleam in his eyes, Klee raised her arms toward him, hands opening and closing.
Lohen laughed at the sight of her being as excited as he was, for the same and different reasons altogether. Adhering to her request, he lowered his upper body so she could hug him around the neck, hoisting her to his hip and securing his hold.
"Well, what are we waiting for, Spark Knight?" Lohen asked the girl in his arms, his enthusiasm rubbing off on her so quickly now that she's physically attached to her.
Klee laughed once more and looked at the remaining party around the table while waving her hands, "Bye, mama! And Auntie Nicole, Uncle Varka, Big Brother Durin, Big Brother Albedo, Auntie Barbie, and Barbatos!"
Lohen laughed as he heard Venti squawk, gently bringing himself down from the topside of the umbrella, "Dearest Klee, it was supposed to be a surprise!"
"Well, mama always says to say goodbye to everyone before I go!" Klee answered him as Venti took the seat Lohen used, while Venti smiled at them with a wave of his hand. At that, wind rings appeared, starting at the edge of the floating island.
Lohen takes back his thoughts. Nothing could be as exciting as this! Other than slaying monsters, really, and seeing his lovely and gorgeous and stunning–
Venti laughed at the disarray of everything, "Well, what are you guys waiting for? May the Anemo Archon bless your travels! You won't be saved from Jean, of course."
Varka barked another laugh at that. Albedo shook his head again, but Lohen could swear he could see him hiding a smile. Durin waves back at Klee, as well as Miss Nicole, and Miss Barbeloth turns her upper body to look as they leave, yet another smile hidden behind her teacup.
A small hand pulling his outer coat catches his attention, "Come on, big brother Lohen! Let's go fishblasting!"
"Well, I can't say no to that!" Lohen laughed, then looked back at the table once more, "Well, we must be off then! It was a pleasure, Miss Mages, synthetic brothers, and Varka! Bye!"
At that, he backed away from the edge of the cliff before running off towards where the wind rings were. Catching the sounds of screams and cheers and a "Take care of my little Klee!" from Miss Alice, he activated his glider and let the wind take them to where they may lead, both his and Klee's laughter leaving them in their wake.
Just like that, the tea party's atmosphere suddenly turned from the riot from before to something more calm, but it is never truly quiet.
Venti laughs, but it gets stopped by a splash of hydro from Barbie, to which he squealed, "Gah! Cut it out, Barbie!"
At that, he flicked a small amount of Anemo towards her as he sat down, just enough to move her atrocious bangs a little.
Barbie's serene face went back to the normal sour look she has, "Honestly, creating wind rings for them? As if those two aren't enough of a chaos to begin with."
Venti gasps dramatically at that, holding the teacup Lohen used with his dainty hand; his pinky out, "You seriously think they would drop from the sky? Barbie, that's just rude!"
Before the two could get into each other's nerves more deeply, Nicole coughed into her hand, "Now, now. As entertaining as both of you would be, I think we're gathered here for more than a cup of tea now. Am I right, Dearest?"
With Nicole fanning her fingers up and down Varka's huge, muscled arm, riddled with scars from various victories, he almost spat out the tea he just drank. Quickly putting the cup down, he coughed, "Ah, yes. Apologies for bringing problems during tea time, dear Mages."
Alice giggled, "Now, now! That isn't necessary, Varka. We've just the free time we need to help you in the foreseeable future, so let's get to it!"
"And I believe that is our cue to leave," Albedo said, pushing his chair away as he stood up, to which Durin looked at him with shock.
"Really?" Durin asked, arms on top of the table, clearly hesitant to leave.
Albedo nodded at him, "Yes. If you want to listen to the intricacies of politics and Teyvat borders and theoretical theories without exerting its hands-on counterpart, then you're free to listen."
"Well, when you put it like that..." Durin said, albeit absentmindedly, as if he were seriously contemplating the choices he has, to which Alice delights.
Noticing that Albedo is already walking, he quickly stood up, "Hey, wait!"
"Oh, Rhine's children are just the cutest!" She said, clapping, leaning towards her conjoined hands to rest her cheek against them. She looks at the two walking towards the edge of their island, not unlike the two previous pairs that excused themselves just minutes before.
With Albedo choosing to ignore her words (for better, he thinks; he now has the ability to filter out if what Miss Alice is saying would be beneficial to him or not), he looks at Durin, "Do you want to fly? I'll glide if you do."
At that, it's almost as if Durin lit up, "Yes, I want to!"
Slowly spreading his wings, Albedo noted that it was almost akin to stretching his body. How long has Durin not been able to fly? He'd remedy that more in the future.
Albedo smiled at the sight of Durin practically wanting to jump off, "Well, ready when you are."
Durin almost jumped off, but not before hastily turning back towards the table, remembering what Klee and Lohen had done before: "Goodbye, everyone!"
He waved at them before jumping off the island and flapping his wings, laughing as he did loop-de-loops in the sky.
Albedo laughed despite himself. Shaking his head for what feels like the umpteenth time this day, he waves back at everyone as well, "We'll also part ways here. Thank you for the tea, everyone."
Miss Alice and Miss Nicole waved at them while Miss Barbeloth was back at her nonchalant gaze. He could also see the smile she's hiding. Who is she fooling with that charade of hers, really?
"No!" Venti screamed, elongating his dramatics, "Albedo, don't leave me with these grown-ups!"
At that, Albedo took off and deployed his gliders. Durin followed him, twirling around him as he seemed to descend more slowly than usual.
"Excuse me?" Miss Barbie replied in an offended manner, now that it's just the more responsible ones, she hopes, "Might I remind you who's actually the oldest amongst all of us here?"
"They're at it again," Varka groaned, slinking his head on top of his chair. Nicole giggled at that, and Varka turned to look at her, "My Angel, please save me from this nightmare."
"Well," Nicole hummed, a sly voice underneath it all, "I suppose the meeting can wait, could it?"
She lay her head on Varka's shoulder. Because of that, Varka moved his head closer to hers as well, caressing the other side of her cheek as he did so.
Alice let out an exaggerated sigh, "I miss Kleiner," She harrumphed, stretching her arms and legs and then slinking her body on her chair after, "I miss my dearest husband."
She downed the remaining tea in her cup in one go, to everyone's amusement.
"Sure, the meeting could wait," Barbeloth replied, choosing to ignore the Anemo Archon in front of her, "As soon as Kleiner gets here, we could start the meeting by then."
Alice gasped at that, "Barbie!"
Her pout is what made the remaining people at the table laugh with all their mirth, the supposed meeting rightfully forgotten.