Chapter Text
“That’s it?! I swear I had more stored around here. ARGHH! No no NO! There’s no way I’m missing out on this!”
Books and papers flew across the room as Mona rummaged through another drawer, dumping its contents across her floor. Another dud, not a mora to be found.
Mona’s outburst began a few minutes ago. A new week meant the arrival of the latest edition of the Steambird. Trials, fashion, disappearing towers… there you are! The newspaper fell open to a pamphlet placed between the pages.
Perusing the industrial astrological equipment pamphlet Euphrasie included had become Mona’s favorite pastime ever since she got her own column in the newspaper. For a normal person, simple browsing would sufficiently quench their itch for knowledge but Mona had a problem. There was little that distinguished the catalogue from Mona’s own collection. No matter the cost, every piece of astrology equipment found its way into her house. The only opportunities that eluded her were the pesky items that couldn’t be delivered. As she scanned today’s edition of the Steambird, a special offering caught her eye.
“The latest in spherical astrolabe technology combining the precision of the Rtawahist Darshan and the mechanics of the Fontaine Research Institute! Auto adjusting capabilities to allow the real time tracking of stars from anywhere in Teyvat!! Pneumosia powered, guaranteed to last ten lifetimes!!!”
Mona kicked her feet in glee, giggling like a kid in a candy shop. Sure, she had plenty of equipment that did the same thing but they were finicky at best she convinced herself.
“Okay, okay… Oh wow, this is amazing. Limited supply… Pick up only… Five mil- wait. Five million mora!”
Mona counted the fruits of her labor totaling a measly 1000 mora. Honestly, that was 1000 more than usual. The timing of this couldn’t be any worse having just paid off the debt she took on for an exclusive astrology text from Sumeru and her next paycheck not coming for another month.
———
“Maybe I can put a deposit down? No, I don’t even have enough for that right now… Maybe alchemy? Albedo’s good at that! No no, such thoughts are beneath me. I can sell something…. AHHH, anything but that…” Mona walked through the street of Mondstadt completely lost in thought.
“Ad astra abyssosque! Welcome to the Adventurers' Guild.”
“GAH! Oh, hello Katheryne.” Mona said gloomily.
“Great to see you again. Are you here to check out our commission board? New requests are collated here daily.”
“No, that’s okay… Wait a minute, Fischl was telling me you offer mora for these things. Okay, that could work. Give me all the high earning commissions you have! Er, wait no. No commissions involving monsters. Or transport. Or anything too far. How much will I get in, let say five days?”
“With those criteria, you should be able to earn twenty thousand mora by then.”
“That’s all?!” Mona’s eyes welled up. “Sniff Okay, thank you Katheryne.”
“As it happens, a unique commission came in this morning. It is noted as an ‘Equipment Tester’ and you can find the requester right outside the gates. If you’re looking for mora, this is a high earning commission with the only requirement being a hydro vision user.”
“Really?! Thank you thank you, I’ll take it! See you Katheryne!”
“Farewell, Adventurer, and thank you for supporting the Adventurers’ Guild.” Katheryne said waving goodbye as Mona skipped off toward the city gates.
‘Equipment tester… Like as a researcher? I can do that, writing a quick review should take no time at all! In fact, I’ll just test everything they have and get all that Mora in one fell swoop!’
———
Just beyond the city bridge sat a Fontaine styled metal caravan. Four dog shaped Clockwork Meka stood idle attached to the caravan by a series of metal harnesses. Taking a deep breath in anticipation, Mona knocked on the side door.
Crash Thud “Ouch! One second! Let me just, COUGH Shit!”
The door swung open; a thick cloud of black smoke billowing from the opening.
“Sorry about that, Cough note to self, never put out a burgeon reaction with hydro. How can I help you?”
The smoke slowly cleared revealing a figure not much taller than herself. The girl brushed a hand through her fluffy hair, the silvery locks draping over both her shoulders just a touch beneath them. Her rustling revealed an inner lining of gold highlights shimmered in the sunlight. Pushing her goggles onto her forehead, Mona was faced with stunning reddish yellow eyes reminiscent of a lunar eclipse. The girl was surprisingly cute wearing a baggy shirt and shorts along with an oversized lab coat with sleeves that draped over her hands, definitely not what she imagined when she first heard the voice.
“Hello, I’m here for the mora- I mean the commission. Here’s my vision as proof. Can we start testin-“
“Wow! You’re perfect!” The woman exclaimed, grabbing Mona’s waist. “I’ve been traveling for a while now, you wouldn’t believe how hard it was to find any vision holders let alone a hydro one.”
“Eh-HEM.” Mona slipped out of the woman's grasp and put her hands on her hips. “That is no way to treat someone such as myself! I would appreciate getting a proper greeting.”
“Sorry, sorry hehehe~” The woman said, scratching the back of her head. She pulled out a pair of round glasses and slid them on, the lens going opaque from the glare. Paired with her wavy upturned smile gave an unsettlingly mischievous aura. “I get a little over enthusiastic about anything related to my research. So, uh, my name is Luci, short for Lucienne de Lune but please just stick with Luci. I’m a researcher from Fontaine and a bit of an inventor. I’ve been focused on the study of elemental infusion, actually a topic I’ve been studying since I was a student in Sumeru. Did you know there’s all kinds of-“
“Stoop! I’m in a bit of a time crunch so maybe we can save the life story for another time. As I was saying, I am eager to start testing as soon as possible.”
“Aww, just a little more please? Let me just explain a bit before we start the commission. I promise things will make more sense with some… context… Also, what about you? Who do I have the pleasure of being helped by?”
“I am the Great Astrologist Mona.” Mona said smugly. “I’m sure you’ve heard of me from the Steambird. Sooo the commission.”
“Nice to meet you! Where was I… ah keeping it short… okay. Let me grab something.”
Luci ducked into her caravan, waving a bit more smoke out. A few more clangs and thuds rang out as Luci rummaged around, soon reemerging with two long pieces of rope. They looked nearly identical but one glowed with a subtle blue hue.
“Here, try cutting these with your hydro abilities.” Luci said pulling the two ropes taunt parallel to each other.
“Hup!” Mona swung in a downward arc, a sharp line of water followed her movement and splashed against the rope. For the normal rope, the water sliced right through the middle but for the glowing one, it bounced harmlessly off of it.
“Interesting. Does that count as a test?”
“HAHAHA! That was great! It worked perfectly! Uh, not quite the test yet. Wasn’t that cool though! Hydro infused rope! Like I mentioned, I’ve been researching infusing elemental energy in objects for some time now and it caught the attention of the Fortress of Meropide. So that’s where this commission comes in… I’ve made a bunch of different restraints for them but need to stress test them. They’re open to placing a large order with me for some new branch of the fortress so I’d be happy to pay you for each item you help me test!”
Mona stared at Luci. “You want me to test… restraints? Like being tied up?”
“Purely for research! I promise I won’t do anything weird. Gah! Why’d I say that! All I need is 5 minutes max for each item, a quick review of its effectiveness, and the 5000 mora is yours!”
‘That isn’t much mora but at the same time, that isn’t much work. She seems nice enough though a bit weird.’ Mona thought, studying Luci.
“Okay… I’ll try it.”
“You will?! Great! Well put your arms behind you then. No better time than the present. I promise I’ll make it as comfortable as I can.”
Mona tentatively offered out her hands, watching as Luci guided them behind her back. The researcher had gone unexpectedly quiet as she put her full concentration on the bindings. Starting simple, she wrapped the infused rope a few times around Mona’s wrists creating a double column tie. Lightly tugging on it, her arms felt firmly stuck together. The tie still allowed some twisting of her wrists but that was about it. It was also wet but wasn’t dripping, a weird feeling. Moving to her legs, Luci began wrapping more infused rope around her ankles. She kept wrapping, and wrapping, and wrapping…
“Hey, whoa there! Aren’t you going a bit overkill?” Mona said feeling the rope lashed all the way up to the middle of her shins.
“Yes but that’s part of the test! I need to see if there’s any relationship between the amount of hydro infused material and the effects, if any. You know, I may have forgotten to ask but how experienced are you with bondage?” Luci said, finally knotting the rope off in the front of her legs.
“Bond what now? Shouldn’t you have asked any conditional questions before we started?” Mona asked, pulling on her ankles. Unlike her arms, they didn’t move at all, not even twisting. The excessive amount of rope basically held her knees together too.
“Bondage, you know, voluntarily getting tied up?”
“No?! Why would I want to be tied up voluntarily?? Isn’t that just something bandits or robbers do to people?”
“Huh, first time then. I mean, you just agreed to be tied up voluntarily. Besides, it’s fun! Maybe less fun if a bandit is forcing it on you but plenty of people do it.”
“So people just like struggling and not being able to move? Isn’t it embarrassing to do it out in public… like… we are…” Mona suddenly became very aware of how strange her situation would look to any passerby. She struggled in the ropes quickly realizing that it wouldn’t be coming off anytime soon.
“Oh are you starting now? Give me a second, I’ll start the five minute timer now.”
“Uh, can we maybe move this inside. You, grr, tied these really well.” Mona said through gritted teeth.
“The smoke should have cleared by now so sure. Let me just scoop you up.” Luci said, tucking one arm under her thighs and the other supporting her back startling her with a soft “eek!” She was surprisingly strong for her size.
The inside of the caravan was more spacious than Mona expected. On the left side was a small workbench, still slightly charred from the recent explosion. Next to it on the back wall, she spotted an elevated bed just about the same size as Luci. Not much rolling around Mona thought. Along the back wall were various cabinets and wardrobes, a few with locks installed on them. The right wall had a door leading to the open balcony she spotted at the front of the caravan for the driver to lead the Mekas. Back in the front stool a large mysterious tank, a strange sloshing sound coming from it.
“Alright then, is that better? Let me start the timer now.” Luci said gently, placing Mona on the floor.
“Start it now? I’m pretty sure it’s already been five minutes.”
“But we didn’t have a timer! Tests are all about accuracy. I doubt you were putting your full effort into testing the ropes anyway. See, look, they haven’t moved at all!”
“Tsk, I’ve been trying as hard as I can.” Mona said under her breath. “Fine, but this better be worth two tests. You got both my arms and legs tied.”
“That’s fair. Ok go!”
Mona pulled a few more times at the rope but it still felt as rigid as earlier. The knots were frustratingly out of reach from her inexperienced fingers so that wasn’t an option. Summoning her hydro abilities, she tried to cut or pull on the rope again but the moment it made contact, it dissipated. Taking a less methodical approach, Mona began thrashing wildly but the rope refused to loosen. By the time the five minute timer rang, she was breathing heavily.
“A solid effort. Sooo, tell me everything? Did the rope sap you of strength? Did it get more slippery when you hit it with hydro attacks? Any restrictions on your abilities?” Luci said rapid firing questions as she untied Mona.
“It just felt like regular rope, just wet without actually being wet.” Mona said, rubbing her freed wrists. They were a bit red now but showed no sign of extra chafing. “It didn’t feel like it restricted my hydro vision at all either. Just wouldn’t cut. The knots also couldn’t be picked at with my abilities. Any time my hydro construct contacted the rope, they would dissipate. Overall, it works but nothing too special.”
“Interesting, interesting.” Luci said, jotting down some notes. “Allllright then, that is very useful information. Let me see what I have next.”
As Luci opened the cabinet, Mona was met with a vast array of all kinds of restraints. Having a rather sheltered life, Mona barely recognized anything in there except maybe some metal cuffs. However, the cabinet was exceedingly well organized and nicely labeled with categories like gags, leather, fabric, and metal. Sifting through the different pieces, Luci stopped at the leather then metal sections. Facing Mona again, she unveiled a pair of leather cuffs she buckled around each of Mona’s ankles. She connected them with a short chain giving enough space to hobble around.
“That’s it?”
“Yup. Not much variation with these so just the one restraint.”
“Well, we can be a bit more efficient than this. The first test wasn’t too bad…” Mona shook her ankles not feeling very restrained by the loose chain. “How about double the amount of tests as last time?”
“Four different restraints? Hm alright let me see. I’d want to avoid any overlap so maybe this and this…” Luci mumbled to herself scanning the cabinet again.
A minute later she turned around with a new bundle of items. Holding out Mona’s hands, she slipped on a pair of leather bondage mittens forcing her to curl her fingers into fists. Around the palms was a soft and dense lump her fingertips sank into making the mittens comfortable but restrictive. They were bucked at the wrists preventing them from sliding off. Guiding Mona’s arms behind her, she clasped a shackle right above her elbows separating them with a few inches of chain.
“These are interesting,” Mona said while studying the mittens. She could barely stretch them past her sides with her shoulders pulled back. It felt strange not being able to use her hands as she pawed at the shackle and rubbed the mittens against each other.
“Say, have you been gagged before?”
“What does that even mean?”
“Ohh first timer! I won’t spoil the surprise then. Just open your mouth like when you go to the doctor. And close your eyes too.”
“Okay… aaaaAAAGGUPPHHH!” Mona’s eyes bulged as a round intrusion was forced into her mouth. She felt a tug at the corners of lips and the buckle of a strap behind her head as the ball gag settled into place.
“HAAUU! WHHUH IGH HGHH?! (HEEYY! WHAT IS THIS?!)” Mona felt her lips hug the large ball. She tried pushing it out with her tongue but it was set firmly between her teeth.
“The first reaction is always the best,” Luci said with a chuckle. “That there is called a ball gag, pretty self explanatory I think. Started you off with a small one.”
“HGHH IGH A MMAHH OON?! (THIS IS A SMALL ONE?!)” Mona started to feel a bit of drool drip from her mouth from her exclamations. As she tried to suck it in, she coughed. “HHU OOGH IH HHAGH WIRHG?! WHUH igh hghh magh oog? (WHY DOES IT TASTE WEIRD?! WHAT is it made of?)”
Mona’s anger gradually subsided into curiosity as she gnawed on the gag. It had a little bit of give but bounced back into shape the moment she released pressure.
“Interesting right? It’s called rubber. Came across while in Natlan. It comes from some tree but took a lot of processing to make it into the hard ball you’re chewing on. Alright, that makes four so let’s get started. Five minutes starts now!”
Mona’s mind went blank except for one goal, to get rid of the gag. She felt humiliated by the way she couldn’t close her mouth, the way all her words came out garbled, the taste, the drool, she hated it all. Reaching as far back as she could, the buckle of the ball gag was just too far with the way her elbows were shackled. Going from the front, the mittens just rubbed against the ball despite her pushing it out as far as she could with her tongue.
She reached a little too far and fell forwards landing on her side. A new idea came to mind as she kicked off her shoes and reached for the gag with her toes. That plan was also foiled by the ankle cuffs limiting her mobility.
“Grummphh!” Mona growled in frustration.
“That’s the halfway mark. You know, I get that the nature of testing restraints is escape but you seem a little hyper focused there. You are a hydro user right?”
Taking a deep breath, Mona calmed down and reprioritized her thoughts. That’s right, she didn’t have to physically pull on anything, she could just make something out of hydro! Except, it wasn’t working? With her fingers locked into fists, she lost the dexterity to form anything complex. No picking or pulling on anything then. Trying a simple slashing motion, the arc of hydro energy barely reached past the end of her mittens!
This would make things more difficult but she probably could still do something. Getting the ankle cuff as close to her mitten as possible, she concentrated as hard as she could to create a blade and tried to slash at it. Unsurprisingly, it dissipated on contact with the hydro infused restraint, apparently it worked on leather too. Slashing at the connecting chain, it cleaved through it with no effort at all! Excitedly, she attempted to cut the shackle around her elbows but it dissipated again.
“Ten seconds left.”
Giving one more attempt at the ball gag, Mona reached for the strap behind her. Now attempting something out of sight though, her hydro energy refused to form anything concrete.
“Annnnnd time! Good effort! It really looked like you gave it your all there. Let me help you out.”
Slightly defeated, Mona accepted the help. Everything was going well until the ball gag came out with a wet smack followed by a glob of spit to Mona’s horror.
“BLEH! That infernal device is horrible. What overcame you to make such a wretched thing?”
“Believe it or not, that's one of the more popular gags I’ve made! People like how effective it is all packed into one thing.”
“Did you just put that on me for fun?! It wasn’t even a test?!!”
“No no, the ball was hydro infused too but it seems like it had no noticeable effects” Luci said jotting down some more notes.
“Hmmph!” Mona pouted, crossing her arms.
“How was everything else?”
Mona went through the experience in great detail on how each restraint reacted.
“Hm hm yes. Great. Summarizing, hydro infusion is effective on leather and metal. The effects of infusion can be extended by a limited degree to connected non infused material. Hydro user’s precision is dependent on finger movements. Range can be reduced through coverings. Requires concentration and line of sight to maintain hydro form.” Luci muttered to herself reviewing her notes.
Slapping her notebook shut, she stared at Mona. “Anything else I missed?”
“Yes, the hydro infusion of the gag made me drool a lot!”
“That’s the best feature of the gag! Anyway I’ve gotten all I need from the hydro infused testing so we can move on to the fun stuff now, elemental reactions! Those are a bit more finicky so we can’t test too many at a time. Ahhh, this is so fun testing these on someone beside myself!” Luci said, scanning the cabinets again.
Mona let out a deep sigh and leaned back against the floor. All that struggling was surprisingly exhausting. True, it really wasn’t that time consuming or that difficult but was all this effort really worth the reward?