author's note: a very big apologies to those who were waiting for an update! i'm back after way too long and ready to start posting as much as i can! thank you to my friend yuki for beta reading; thank you to my friend wave for supporting me; and all of you please thank lyneyfan69 for encouraging me to start posting again!

it's coincidentally a very special day~ i started writing and finished chapter one of this book on september 17, 2023. that means that this story is officially a year old, and so to get it off my mind, i want to finish and publish it once and for all! 

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Lyney's eyes flutter open, the pressure on his chest slowly lifting as he rises ever so slightly, resting his back on the sinking pillows of the couch beneath him. He folds his hands across his chest and closes his eyes, taking in a deep breath of the thin air that hangs heavy with a sour note of regret. 

He wonders, however, why the pain in his chest won't go away. It was someone I want to be with, someone I didn't want to forget... but who, and what was their name?

The bed across the room creaks, and Pers squeaks to life, the little beeps and clicks of his audio box echoing across the room as Freminet shifts to quiet his friend down. Lyney falters for a moment- he's just a little confused. He dwells in the underwater laboratory of a stranger, but the silence between them is cold yet comfortable. As if they had known each other before.

But that had to be impossible. Freminet didn't seem like he knew Lyney at all.

Soon the tea kettle is whistling and the host is up, brewing a cup of tea for his guest who barely even knows who he is. Lyney discovers that the blurry bobs of color outside are thousands of schools of fish, and watches them until Freminet brings over a single cup of herbal tea, swirling brown on the coffee table in front of them. 

"Just one?" Lyney looks over, resting his cheek on his hand.

Freminet shakes his head shyly. "Coffee and tea make me shaky."

Lyney purses his lips together, nodding to himself as he returns his gaze to the green jellyfish-looking things, hiding behind a curtain of seaweed in the corner. 

"Are you looking at the tidalga?" The boy asks Lyney suddenly, his eyes hiding behind his thick hair. 

Lyney turns his head. "The name tidalga does ring a bell..."

"That smack is the rarest color of tidalga there is," Freminet smiles softly, drumming his hands over his knees. "Usually the tidalga are pinks, purples, and blues..."

Freminet, for the next few minutes, rambles incoherently on about aquatic life. Lyney doesn't understand much- he picks up the words "swordfish" and "likes munching on seashells," but other than that, he doesn't understand a thing. But Freminet looks unusually at peace, his voice more upbeat than the day prior. Lyney smiles, tilting his head ever so slightly as Freminet's face flushes with embarassment.

"Sorry... am I talking too much?" He wraps his arms around himself uncomfortably.

Lyney shakes his head. "What else am I supposed to talk about? I can't even remember who I used to be..."

"Oh, right..." Freminet trails off, and the silence between them again feels awkward. "I have some packages to deliver. If you're feeling stronger now, you can come with me.. and I can reintroduce you to Fontaine-" he quickly adds, "Only if you want to."

Lyney nods eagerly, and his mind tries desperately for a moment to reach out to the image of a place called Fontaine, a name so familiar, yet a picture he cannot paint in the back of his mind...

It feels only right to rediscover a place he once called home. 

"Wait, how are we going to get to the surface?" Lyney turns around, and Freminet, across the room, gives a small nod to his diver suit along the side of the wall. "You don't mean I'm going to have to hold my breath, do you?"

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The underwater world is quiet; a little too quiet for his liking. Freminet swims through the water like a seal, and meanwhile Lyney does a doggy paddle towards the surface, which is way further than it needs to be. From a distance, the laboratory is almost invisible, hidden away within the kelp forest in a ravine, the only thing threatening to reveal it is the occasional swing of kelp giving away the glowing chandelier.

The odd thing about the place is that the area surrounding the lab and packages is the only place with a thick gathering of kelp, compared to the rest of the area, where it is sparsely scattered like trees in a savannah. They gather near rocks, luminescent flowers surrounding the edges. Colorful jellyfish swim around the area, more common than the strangely orange and green fish that swim in groups of three to five, following each other in the same circle repeatedly.

Vents down below create bubble towers, boosting Lyney a little more upward each time he passes one, but its still not enough to catch Freminet, who has barely glanced back to check on him. Up ahead, the ground level begins to rise and the surface gets closer. Shadows from boats spread across the seabed, and Lyney wonders if the people sailing them can see him struggling. At last though, Freminet touches the soft sand and emerges out of the water, and minutes later so does Lyney, a little angry that he wasn't helped at all.

"How was your swim?" Freminet sets the boxes on the grass and tapped Pers' head to in a gesture of comfort.

"Awful." Lyney frowned. "How am I supposed to dry up?" 

Freminet, from one of his satchels, pulls out a big towel.

"Really?"

"I'm sorry, it's the best I can do for right now..."

"It's fine. Don't worry about it," Lyney shakes his head and wraps the small, yellow towel around his shoulders, the light of the sun kissing the back of his neck.

The two of them land under a series of bridges, where both can hear the low groaning of something moving above them. A horn bellows, echoing throughout the area below them. Freminet picks up his packages and gestures for Lyney to follow him again, and he follows, confused as to why he agreed to work with the diver. A small tunnel has a few doorways, one of which Freminet opens to reveal a strange alleyway between two tall and towering buildings. Up ahead, people crowd the streets, the sound of chatter and light music echoing all the way through their secret tunnel. Something tugs at his heart- this bare slice of a city already enchants him, and if not for the wall at his side, he may collapse any second now.

Lyney opens his mouth to speak, and Freminet looks at him expectantly, boxes covering half of his face. But Lyney's fingers wrap tightly around the building corner, and he tries to muster any words that he can... His chest hurts a little more as he tries to grasp the memory that lingers in the back of his mind, and his heart throbs at the pain of it. 

Freminet seems to have caught on. "Perhaps you have lost a lover, or a sibling."

"Me? Love? Doesn't add up," Lyney averts his gaze to the ground, "I suppose its a sibling then, isn't it?"

Freminet dips past his new friend, his voice is incredibly soft this time- tender, even: "I trust your judgement,"

Lyney nods with confidence, wondering what lies behind those misty eyes.

"Lyney, "The diver says slowly, "I imagine that having lost the entirety of your past must be painful. A weird question but um... I was wondering if you would like to stay for a little while longer," He looks up, and Lyney can spot the obvious doubt in his face. 

Though Freminet's statement seemed to form out of thin air, Lyney doesn't have to think about it much longer. The little guy doesn't explicitly state it, but Lyney was sure Freminet needed company. Freminet's labratory, along with his gaze, cold when he arrived; and now it seemed a little warmer, a little more cheerful. They had only first met, but how could Lyney have said no? "I'll stay for as long as you'd like me to."

Freminet cracks a small smile. "Okay then. I can teach you the ups and downs of this place," he looks down at the boxes, seemingly counting them all together. Lyney offers to take some of them in his hands, and his new friend slides them into his hands.

Lyney chuckles, and Freminet does so too- nervously, the sound like something clicking perfectly in place. Though they've only just met, Lyney knows this was meant to be.

The day is moving quickly, sun perched high in the middle of the sky. Freminet walks at a quick pace and Lyney easily matches, the two in sync in a scary sort of way. The streets of Fontaine are filled with the rich, ladies with umbrellas and elegantly designed dresses stroll in groups, so Lyney takes the opportunity to wink at all of them who pass by. The giggle, and Freminet rolls his eyes.

Children carrying remotes run through the streets, chasing little toys with wheels that make clinking sound like music. Often Lyney spots people in distinctive uniform, green suits and dresses with white button ups and a red tie, topped with a designer-looking beret. They talk about adventure and strange things they have seen to publishers and friends, who either shrug or listen with great intent. Freminet makes a detour at a small boutique that they pass, and Lyney waits expectantly outside, wandering into the middle of the street to get a good look of the entire city, admiring the group of people gathering around a fountain below.

A girl in red runs through a group of sitting pigeons, carrying a camera that fits perfectly in her hands, her skirt swaying in the light autumn breeze. "Excuse me! So sorry!" She yells, swerving dangerously past the children that run in front of her-

Before Lyney can say anything, the two of them collide, boxes and sheets of paper flying into the air as she stumbles backwards onto a bench, Lyney right onto the ground.

"I am so sorry!" She panics, adjusting her monocle over her right eye.

"Are you okay?" The line slips out, and Lyney holds back a cringe, and the pink-hair girl dusts the invisible dust off of her uniform. 

"Oh- Oh? I'm fine. I... don't believe we've ever met before, but you look familiar," says the girl, and Lyney picks up her fallen beret. He does a silly bow, but she strangely backs off quickly. "Wait. Hold that pose. And give me a little flair, will you?" She snaps her Kamera quicker than Lyney can think, so all he manages is a wink.

To be fair, she does look a little familiar, but Lyney has only ever met Freminet. In this life, at least- whatever happened prior to this, if anything ever did, he can't recall it now. He's a little too shocked to speak as she snatches the beret out of his hands and smiles. "I never got to introduce myself. My name is Charlotte, and I'm with the news. Teyvat's number one selling newspaper, The Steambird- oh, here, take this copy of today's magazine for free! My greatest, deepest apologies!"

"My name-" Lyney's eyes dart for his only acquaintance. A clueless Freminet has stopped in his tracks, half behind the door to the shop, his foot barely out on the sidewalk. Has he been watching their interaction happen from a distance? The boy returns his attention to journalist Charlotte, who has picked up the boxes in a flurry. "Sorry about that. My name is Lyney," He bows, "Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"How eloquent," Charlotte giggles mischievously, and sighs, "Okay, seriously. Could I have your permission to put this in the next article we publish?"

Lyney nods and takes the boxes back into his hand, waving goodbye as the journalist heads back onto the street, Freminet trading places with her again. "Wait, why is my photo in the newspaper again?" Lyney calls after her, but she's already vanished into the crowd. 

Freminet makes his way back over, looking Lyney up and down. "Ah, Charlotte. She's quite the personality. Though I've never actually read The Steambird, I can tell many of the people who work there have a passion for story. But many of the things here are just a façade. H-Hey, are you even listening?"

Lyney nods. "Yeah, yeah, just a weird sense deja vu," he scratches the side of his head, and tucks his matted hair behind his ears.

"The memory wipe is exclusive to Fontaine. She's ubiquitous, I wouldn't doubt that you've crossed paths," Freminet shrugs, and they begin walking towards a shopping district, and a more relaxed pace settles in. 

"Hey! Wanna hear a joke?" Lyney grins, and doesn't wait for his friend's answer. "Why did the reporter talk to the ice cream? The reporter was looking for the scoop!" He grins.

"In the kindest way possible, shut up" Freminet is clearly holding back a smile, and Lyney laughs heartily at this, hoping he will break and laugh. But Freminet doesn't, so he makes it Lyney's personal mission to make him smile.

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