Mourn-bunny (Hu Tao/Amber)
It wasn’t as if Amber had never seen a funeral parlour before. Of course she’d seen one- life comes with death, and death comes with mourning- or, well, it usually did. That’s why, when the consultant (a man named Zhongli, perhaps?) had brought her to a young girl of inspiring spirit, she was surprised.
Well, Amber wasn’t here to mourn, really, though she did need to follow-up on trade deals being established between Mondstadt and Liyue’s funeral parlour… considering they didn’t have one in the nation of freedom.
Either way, the girl was quick to lead her along to a corridor, showing off a plethora of coffin designs, exclaiming things such as, “Buy one, get one free!” Or, “50% off if you plan today!”. While Amber was admittedly intrigued by the girl’s insistence, she bit back her own enthusiasm and reminded her of what she was there for.
”Ahh… right. I know~ just tell me if you ever wanna take me up on those offers…” She whistled, trotting back to her office, motioning for Amber to follow her.
They sat down and began flicking through the papers… it was clear that Hu Tao got bored quickly, because she stood up rather suddenly, just rummaging through stuff and mumbling a song. Amber noticed her staring at her, as if considering something. “Hm?” She hummed, but Hu Tao didn’t respond. Why did she feel like there was something she wasn’t getting? The girl left the room momentarily, and Zhongli entered again, a gentle smile on his face as he sat down where the girl had originally been. Well… he was very easy to talk to, and very formal. Though, as they finished up the signing of the documents, her mind wandered to Hu Tao. Why did she leave? She seemed to like her job, and while reviews had remarked insensitiveness (Amber wasn’t sure whether or not she really was, or if it was just perspective. Either way…)- Amber didn’t think negatively of her. There was probably just something that came up that caused her to leave unannounced… most likely, right?
It was time for Amber to leave the Parlour, but when she opened the door, she couldn’t see anything beyond the doorframe, lit only by the dim light provided by the room. She looked back at Zhongli, confused, but he simply smiled knowingly. What did he know that she didn’t? She could hear him speaking, but she was too distracted to process his words.
With unease, she stepped into the darkness. Even if it was dangerous, she wanted to make sure no one else was in danger… despite how strange it is that this is happening in a funeral parlour. She took out a special rock from her pocket, infusing just enough pyro that it wouldn’t burn, but would emit a dim light. She didn’t get far before fear set in. The walls seemed to creak around her, as if they were closing in. Cold wind blowing at her face didn’t help either… and just when she heard a breath, she held her own, her eyes widening as she unwillingly felt a presence.
”…Boo!” And the lights came on. Amber may have shrieked if she didn’t see the silhouette of the girl at the very last second. She held a hand over her chest, calming her breathing. As she started focusing on everything else, she noticed Hu Tao giggling, and for a moment she swore her heart stuttered in another way. But- only for a moment of course- it was too soon to feel like this… despite her efforts, she grinned back, still out of breath.
“Good prank.”