spina di rosula💛

Navia waves at the man as they leave, tossing a grin over her shoulder and slipping through the shop's door behind Wriothesley's lead.

"I enjoy some delicate work," she wags a finger in correction. Her job as president of Spina di Rosula demands such a thing-- there is nothing more delicate than the livelihood of the people who place their trust in her work-- but it's hardly a secret that she harbors a flair for the dramatic. "Macarons, for example! Any baker worth their salt will tell you that a good recipe is one that is taken to only with the utmost care in every step."

She catches his gaze, nose wrinkling at the suggestion. "I prefer the iron fist in a much less literal sense." Her preferred weaponry was always confiscated before her descent into Meropide for their occasional business discussion, anyway.

A little skip in her stride as she moves to match his, clearing out of the shop's entryway and further into the street. Navia realizes now that she has forgotten her earlier suspicion, and seemingly the entire reason for this conversation in the first place. She tries her best not to feel all too alarmed by the concept of having had a normal interaction with the Duke.

Let alone one that she didn't much mind. Or even that-- dare she admit-- has proven rather enjoyable.

Not that she has any intention of betraying that thought, lest he use it as an excuse to become twice as frustrating as before, but she supposes it may be worth sparing him a less harsh judgement in the meantime.

"The day you see me down there for fun is the day I find you in one of our firing ranges," her voice is warm with amusement, teasing, "that's where the real fun is."

as above

Despite it having been all according to her very own, very haphazardly organized plan, Navia still finds herself surprised when he agrees.

Him with time to spare? And for her of all people? She supposes it could be that he owes her the favor-- or thinks that he might-- though any debt of guilt between them dissolved in the Primordial Sea in her place. So that certainly wasn't it. She stands idle while he types, records and reports tucked neatly beneath her arm, and waits.

She hadn't realized she was holding her breath until he is standing, gesturing for her to guide him to their operation. Her expression unfolds into her easy grin and, with a dutiful nod, Navia spins on her heel and sets them on their way.

The city bustles with life as they exit into its streets. A rather unfortunate matter of timing for an expedition like theirs, which the Spina's pride would much prefer to shoulder away from the public eye, but some things just can't be avoided. Navia hums as they walk, waving to passersby and smiling still, as though today was no different than any other.

Only once they have stepped out from the Court proper, onto the aquabus line named for her mother, does her expression sober a little. "We'll stop for Poisson, but the location itself is a bit further east."

In the quiet after her statement, she toys with the lace hem of her sleeve. A rare and easy to overlook betrayal of emotion, but one nonetheless. To call it a sensitive subject would perhaps be an understatement. The line upon which they travel now had been the closest Navia would ever come to being with her mother, and to think it could be jeopardized by anything-- let alone the spite of her father's own trusted men-- had never quite occurred to her.

She will be glad when this is over, when she can dwell upon it privately.

The melusine perched at the aquabus's bow rings a bell, and the churning of water beneath them lulls to a momentary halt. Navia rises, smooths the front of her skirt, and offers her company a smile.

"Now then, it shouldn't be more than a few minutes' walk!"

i think we're gonna have to kill this guy monsieur neuvillette

She stoops to free yet another bin, pushing its lid back and squinting down at its contents. Springs, springs... If she were a spring, where would she bury herself...

"Well, no," comes her answer, absentminded and with a funny echo from the container she speaks into, "not on my own, at least." There's the sound of rummaging, a pause as though she may have found something, and then more rummaging. "I don't really have the time to invest in the mechanics myself, but I do know a thing or two."

The bin is then shut, and Navia reaches for another.

"There was an older woman who lived in Poisson when I was a child who was quite the hobbyist. Little things, she'd paint them rainbow colors and sell them on Quartier Lyonnais sometimes during the week." Though obscured by her search, Navia's expression has shifted into something rather fond. "For weeks I begged my father to let me become her apprentice, though I don't think I would've had the patience to handle such delicate work for long."

When she raises to stand, it is with the container tucked beneath one arm and her opposite hand outstretched for Wriothesley's inspection. In her palm rest no more than five tiny silver springs, which she displays with much triumph.

"Will these be enough?"

as above

It can't be all too different than baking, surely. Mixing drinks is practically the same thing, just way more wet, so Navia would certainly consider herself qualified to play the part.

Or she did consider herself qualified. Now that she stands behind the bar, hair tied back and eyes alight with the prospect of something new, she thinks suddenly that she might be a little less in her element than initially anticipated.

But she'll figure it out.

Of course it helps that her company, the man beside her who had been hastily introduced as Kaeya, seems to have an idea what's going on. Navia sneaks a sideways glance at him, catching a rather effortless pour on his part that has no business at all being so elegant. Maybe if they put the wine into tea pots she could consider even holding a candle to him, but something tells her that suggestion won't make it too far.

"You're a natural," she remarks, pushing a glass across the bar to a smiling patron before sneaking another look to her right. "I could have sworn you said you didn't work here."

@khaensin !!

on the rocks

bloom 2024 / bartending

Navia curtsies in greeting, as any lady might, positively radiant in the early afternoon sun. "A pleasure to meet you," she chirps in response. They take their egg hunting mighty serious in the city of freedom to have the investigative unit on the case.

They're her kind of people.

"Where the bell sleeps..." She echoes the scribbled writing aloud, thumb tucked beneath her chin and index finger tapping a thoughtful rhythm on her lower lip. Her gaze turns towards the city's skyline, dragging a finger along her line of sight with one eye shut and a thoughtful hm...

"Aha!"

At the end of her black velvet glove lays the peak of Mondstadt's own Favonius Cathedral, within it a silent bell. Too on the nose? Maybe.

"Boars don't weep," she explains (those poor creatures...) "but a criminal might! Or, rather, a sinner. And where else would one confess than a place of worship? Bingo!"

A glance is skirted to her partner, then sheepishly back to the cathedral. If she's wrong, well, it wouldn't be the first time. "It's a start, at least."

timaeus! did you lay this egg

melt / egg hunt! egg hunt! egg hunt!

A normal person might fluster at the question, which would be a rather adequate response all things considered. If she's honest, Navia hadn't really thought too hard about that particular plan. Dogs could do it, and she was bigger and arguably louder, so she could probably make it work.

Which sounds rather silly when she thinks about putting it to words, so she fixes him with her most charming president's smile. "With myself, of course!"

And then she winks, laughter honey-warm in her voice.

"But now with an extra pair of hands, I'm sure that it'll be much easier. Unless you have another idea, anyhow."

horsegirl to horsegirl communication

MELT 2024 / mondstadt

Surprise stops as he does and blinks, trying to sort out where she had lost whatever joke it was that brought Meropide's esteemed administrator to laughter so... genuine.

And then she understands, and for a moment she thinks that she may be angry for this little detour having no real purpose, for him having played her for a fool so effortlessly.

But her expression melts instead to one of similar amusement, even if the tips of her ears still feel a little warm. "Well then, I can't say I mind sparing my skirts the endeavor."

There is worth to this moment, Navia realizes, something gained by falling for his little game. This is perhaps the most human he has ever appeared to her, the furthest she has glimpsed behind the shroud of his station. Not that she is convinced that he would ever make a less difficult business partner, but perhaps he has proven himself tolerable as Wriothesley rather than Duke.

"Oh, Miss Sigewinne! You should have said so sooner. I think I know just the thing!"

It's then that Wriothesley finally stops, and between the quieter, almost forgotten storefronts down this out-of-the-way street, lets himself laugh. Navia had been so earnest, so unwilling to try to backpedal her way out of what he thought for sure was an unwanted hole of her own making, that he can't help it. And almost as compensation for giving her the runaround, he offers her a rare, genuine smile - one that wrinkles the downturned corners of his eyes.

"Nothing," he answers and then chuckles again. "But I'll remember to call on you if I ever do."

He's impressed, really, that she'd jump into the water for him, of all people. And ruin her expensive dress, no less. Even if she'd been bluffing, her resolve to stand her ground in such a way makes her a formidable business partner. Wriothesley makes a quiet note of it. One hand comes to his hip, chin raised in good spirits, as he examines her face for a second more - to let her find her footing in the conversation again.

"I'm actually looking for something that the Fortress' Head Nurse might like," he resumes after a beat, the mirth cooling but not quite returning to his usual frigidity. "I'm sure you've met her. She's fond of makeup and clothing, but I don't have the slightest idea about where to start."

She had tried not to look too hard at his face as he read, not to witness any reaction he may have to her tragedy. It's easier that way, allows her to keep hold on the optimism that she knows this place so badly needs.

Files returned to safekeeping, Navia begins leading him along. It's no easy journey-- in Poisson it never has been-- but a bridge more creaky than usual is a bridge at all. She would say that they are lucky to have it at all.

"There will always be pressure in a job like this, but that's what makes it so fulfilling," she replies, tossing a smile over her shoulder and hoping he cannot see where it has begun to wear thin. Her father had raised her for this, her entire life had been lived for this. There is no denying her purpose, what she was made for, and Navia never would.

But sometimes she is forced to wonder if she is ready for this, if she is doing the right thing. If it is pride that her father watches over her with, or something else.

"Anyhow, I wouldn't worry if I were you. I know a capable business partner when I see one, and my eyes never deceive!"

The heels of her boots click against stone as she guides him now along the ghost of a path once well-traveled. Before them has appeared a small cluster of makeshift homes, hastily built in the remains of ones that once were. Navia raises her hand in greeting, and the older of the boys waves back.

"Not a lot of people elect to stay here during all of this, but some don't have anywhere else," her voice has quieted for only Kaveh to hear as they approach. "We've been trying to help keep them supplied with food and clothing, but..."

She doesn't have to explain to him how difficult it is to give when so many need.

They're near enough now, and so Navia nods to Kaveh. "This is Eliana and her sons, Matis," the older boy perks up, "and Leo. I would like for you all to meet Mr. Kaveh, he's come a long way to help us out."

'tis the season

(for unpaid labor) || decorate the guild / dec. 2023

i just think she's neat

She would have been eager to help for far less worthy of a cause, and had someone else asked, Navia is sure that she would have ended up here regardless.

But Lyney is a friend, and there is something so impossible about saying no to a friend with only the best of intentions.

"As I'll ever be!"

The ocean water is still cool with the season, though Navia hardly minds. It laps lazily at her ankles, then her knees, and once the sea floor has fallen away from her feet entirely, she gives the other a nod.

It takes a few blinks for her eyes to focus underwater. Not once has the view failed to awe her, even after a lifetime spent an arm's reach from the sea. She waits until Lyney has joined her completely before flashing two thumbs up and mouthing lead the way!

➺ full steam ahead !

　 　❛　commission board: melt — lyney & navia

No sooner has the door shut behind them than Navia is entranced. The entire shop is no bigger than her late mother's old closet, full to bursting with mismatched shelves and the warmth of a craft well-loved. Along the walls there are a hundred different mechanical figures, some labeled with handwritten prices and others with only a name. To all of these things there are stories, and were she not reminded of this visit's proper purpose, Navia is certain she could spend hours asking the owner for every last one.

Attention pulled back to the present, she calls a quick "Thanks!" to him instead and offers Wriothesley a hum of agreement. "This way, then."

The shelves offer rather narrow passage, and so Navia gathers her skirts in both hands before beginning to step between them. She cranes her head to peer down every uneven aisle as they walk, entertaining yet again the idea of getting lost between them. Her knowledge of mechanical things outside of weaponry falls just short of what one may consider a hobbyist's. It all comes from a childhood spent learning just enough about everything to know something about everything, and still all these years later she wonders what all might could be fashioned with a handful of bolts and a spare few hours.

They reach the last aisle, which identifies itself with a handful of bins labelled 'SALE' and most of the rest turned upside down to indicate their emptiness. Navia untangles her fingers from her skirts and steps to pry one open.

"He wasn't kidding," she laughs, peering down into what couldn't be much more than a handful of random odds and ends. From the assortment Navia plucks a tiny gear, squinting through its center with a thoughtful hm before dropping it back into the pile.

"No springs here," she reports, and pushes the container back into its place, "maybe try a bit further down?"

as above

Whether in or out of Fontaine, an emergency is an emergency. Navia hardly minds that it impedes on what one might loosely consider a vacation-- what good is an adventure if it's boring?

From where she stands, tucked behind the trunk of a tree, she can see quite clearly the animals that are her targets. One horse and this would've been a piece of cake, two and she might get a funny story to tell about it.

But ten? Her teeth worry her bottom lip as she shuffles through one idea after another, each less promising than the last. Fingers tap impatiently on her cheek when- "Oh! Are you here to help with the horses as well?"

In greeting (or perhaps relief) Navia offers a smile. Not that ten horses would be a job much easier for two than one, but it'll be easier at all, and that's good enough for her.

"You came just in time. I was beginning to think I would have no choice but to herd them like sheep!"

@ragnvinedr

horsegirl to horsegirl communication

MELT 2024 / mondstadt

— PLOTTING; MARCH 2024

only one muse this month (for now) so all of these are for one miss navia. not very helpful plotting descriptions here im sorry unfortunately i am at work and my brain is like bubble wrap thank you for understanding

MONDSTADT; navia is a horse girl don't ask questions just accept it navia is a horse girl and ineed this prompt Right Now someone Please God it is Not a request it is a Demand

INAZUMA; fantasy osha dont mind if i do

SUMERU; funny. full stop

FONTAINE; are u kidding this would be a ball for navia

BOATS; also a ball for navia

╰ ✧ ˖ from here with @lleialtat

Head turned at the sound of a voice, green eyes met blue ones and he smiled in response. She was clearly not inazuman and the way she spoke didn't make him think of a mondstadter, but despite that her friendly approach invited for a more Mondstadt-like energy from him. A heartfelt laugh mimicked her energy. "They sure are! The colors of their scales are very eye catching." Her name was Navia, he would note that down in his mind then. "Oh! Thank you," Thoma spoke as he gently placed the crumbs on the water for the Koi to enjoy, although expected, it didn't take long for the fish to get eating. "It's nice to meet you Navia, i'm Thoma." Huh... something about the way she carried herself reminded him of Kurisu of all people. "You mentioned they're not like the fish of your homeland, right? Do you mind if i ask where are you from? You got me a little curious now."

"Thoma," she echoes, with a hm of approval, "what a lovely name!"

From her own hand she sprinkles more crumbs over the water. Flashes of ivory and bright orange dart about, poking eagerly at the little things. They earn a giggle from Navia, who simply showers them with more in return for the amusement.

"Oh, I left that part out, didn't I?" She dusts her hand off on the front of her skirt. "I'm from Fontaine! It's quite different over there, in fact, but the change of scenery is absolutely wonderful. And the people are all so kind and welcoming! Are you from here? I must admit, I'm just a touch envious if so."

╰ ✧ ˖ @sunlightamed asked:

[ DRESS UP ] ━━ red and gold, the colors of each festival this time of year, are absolutely stunning. glimmer and shine for the kamera, dress up and serve on the runway!

"oohhh, you're so pretty," came the sudden, chirpy compliment from behind navia, where the little sun was swaying on her feet. golden bright, they both stood, dressed from head to toe in what they saw fit as comfort, but ooooh klee couldn't believe just how beautiful this lady was! and, of course, she expressed this as politely as she could through the uncontrollable shaking of her hands and the natural shine within scarlet eyes.

a slightly trembling, gloved hand was extended up for navia to take, wavering more than the confident smile pulling at her lips. "a good man told klee that there was a . . . a runway near the dock. though klee isn't quite sure what that is, she'd love to do it with you! the kind man said there were even ribbons and bows we could accessorize with!"

though red and gold are more-so her colors than navia's, she was positive that there were other ribbon colors, maybe, that would make navia happy. and if not, they could always buy some if other storefronts were still open. but! no matter. little sun cared not for the specific colors; to get in front of a kamera with someone who shone as bright as her was enough. she'd show off the photograph to everyone she met tonight! how great it was to meet a real star!

The rose turns, searching for that sweet little voice's source. And when her eyes do find it, alighting upon a girl not even as tall as her hip, Navia is certain that her heart becomes no more than a puddle within her chest.

"My, what a compliment to receive from the loveliest little lady I believe I have ever met!"

She accepts the offered hand, curling fingers gently around it. Perhaps in the blonde of the girl's hair, or even in the sparkle of her eyes that no shyness could ever dull, Navia is certain she can see herself. Her smile grows only brighter as the other finds her own, and she nods in eager agreement.

"Well come on then, there's no time to waste! I'll certainly need your help picking the right ribbon for my outfit- Oh! And I know just what will bring out those eyes of yours... Here, right down this way!"

Oh, damn him. Of course he would make a remark about what she was so dutifully trying to ignore the implications of. Navia shrugs, a very intentional display of indifference.

"Everyone's my friend, really." She isn't lying-- it's just that he hadn't exactly ever been apart of the aforementioned everyone. It has yet to be determined whether or not she regrets this change.

"Dihua Marsh...? Eh... I mean-" Navia blinks down at her elaborate skirts, hand-made and pinned perfectly into place. It would be far from the first dress she had ever dirtied, and surely it would all wash out eventually. And if Wriothesley was recruiting her to help then that must mean whatever he's looking for is worth more than a little dry cleaning.

So she resolves that it'll be fine, probably, and she'll wait to decide if the title of friend remains until they're back home.

"Sure! It'll be an adventure," always the ever unwavering optimism that she is so well known for, even when a touch forced. "What exactly did you lose down there?"

Heels click sharply after him and Wriothesley has to stifle the triumphant amusement on his face, pleased that he'd managed to throw the Spina's president off her game, if only for a fleeting moment. She recovers swiftly though - a life like hers could not afford such falling apart over every unexpected occurrence - and catches up to him by the time he schools his expression back to neutral.

"Oh?" Brows raise with over-exaggerated interest as he turns his head to look down at her, slowing for her to keep up but not yet stopping. "We're friends now, are we?"

The kameras still flash at their backs, although dimmer now. A glance over his shoulder finds that none of them have decided to pursue them - or Navia, rather - but Wriothesley won't take his chances. He turns down a narrow street lined with storefronts with all the confidence of a man who knows exactly where he's going, even though he has no particular destination in mind.

"Then I suppose you wouldn't mind wading through the reeds of Dihua Marsh to retrieve something, now would you?"