Yvonne's Links
Hisayo’s presence was at first quite alarming, and Yvonne did her best not to do anything to offend the spirit. She was, after all, a guest in the forests of Inazuma.
She came to know the lady has being quite courteous and understanding, even being so generous as to answer some questions she had been researching. Hisayo was very happy to introduce her daughter too, who was very shy and sweet.
Despite even treating Flax very kindly, Yvonne is sure to remind herself not to get too comfortable with the woman, and cannot help but feel very sad thinking about what the souls have gone through to be here now.
A traveler who had visited the forest many times before, often seen writing in a large book or collecting several surrounding plant samples.
Eventually, Hisayo had conversed with the lady enough to have become a good acquaintance, or even a friend. How nice :)
Yvonne treats her daughter kindly, and she liked watching the two play games together. She’s even recently brought her own child to come play. However, there was often a sad look in the elf lady’s eyes, one that she could not quite understand.
A little girl who Yvonne often saw coming up and down the main Mondstadt path. Each time she had wanted to see why the child was alone, but she had quickly disappeared like wind before she could catch up.
Yvonne was surprised to see the girl turn up at her doorstep one day— with a huge smile and asking if there was anything she could do to earn a little bit of mora before heading to the next nation. After that, Damyan visits often whenever she’s in Mondstadt, and eventually became good friends with Flax as well. Such a sweet and gentle child…
Yvonne was unable to convince her stop travelling alone, but makes an effort to tag along with her when she can. She prays nothing ever harms Damyan.
Whenever Damyan passed through Wolvendom in Mondstadt, she’d smell a delicious aroma coming from a small cottage partially hidden behind scary looking trees. She was fascinated to see the house’s glorious garden that sparkled with fruits and flowers.
At first she was unsure whether to approach, but she’s glad she finally did! The owner of the house was a stern, but lovely fairy lady who— after some time adjusting to her presence— pampered, fed, and spoke to her warmly about all kinds of things. Her son Flax also made a fun companion. Now she’s even more excited to return to Mondstadt when the time comes.
It was honestly a little awkward to face Valerian only recently as they were both quite old presences in Mondstadt, being aware of each other but never having interacted much.
Her current impression of the man was quite negative and angry, as her interactions with his daughter Morina had ended abruptly. Plus, had Morina been implying that she was trying to pursue him??
When Valerian had taken it upon himself to clear the misunderstanding, she had been quite ashamed and a little embarrassed— she could only stand at her doorway with a perplexed expression.
“Ahem. It is nothing to fuss about. I apologize as well, I should have attempted to speak to you myself before you had to come all this way… Would you… tell your daughter she is free to come back and visit if she wants?”
Speaking of their kids getting along…
“Feel free to come over for dinner with Morina and your pupil, I’m sure Caelus and Flax would appreciate their presence.”
Initially just a familiar stranger seen occasionally at the cemetery, Yvonne's presence only became more prominent after Valerian's own daughter entered the picture. Between Morina's excited comments about a pretty garden she found, to her ever-expanding collection of gifted seeds, to her whole misunderstanding, bits of Valerian's conscience were being chipped at for letting Morina impose on Yvonne like that. It was quite a relief that she didn't seem to mind, and on top of that seemed to enjoy Morina's company(?)/attention(?). He's allowed Morina to join Yvonne and her family for meals ever since, despite he himself not participating often due to work (or more likely, the awkwardness of being around people out of his age bracket whom he has no idea what to talk to about with). With mixed feelings, Morina has admitted that she enjoys Yvonne's cooking more than his own, even wondering why he won't join meals just to learn from the lady elf. In the face of such a blatant diss, well, he's not offended. In his mind, all is well as long as everyone's happy. These days he's started to buy an extra copy of souvenirs for Yvonne's family whenever he's out on a trip, if only to pay her back for taking in Morina whenever the girl visits her place.
During one night, Yvonne heard small shuffling outside in her garden. At first, she thought it was a wild animal trying to get to her crops, but to her surprise, it was a young child examining her flowers— the daughter of Valerian, that brooding man from Springvale. At first Yvonne thought Morina was up to no good, (she had heard rumors, and Caelus didn’t exactly seem comfy around her) but upon closer inspection saw that she had no intention to harm her garden.
Unsure whether to chase the girl away (she was technically on her property…) Yvonne pretended not to notice each time. Eventually, feeling a need to communicate with the kid, she decided to put notes along the fence. Perhaps Morina would know it was from her, but who knows. The notes contained seasonal flower recommendations and herbal remedies— even some seed samples in pouches were attached. For now, this was fine; she’ll be sure to scold the child for walking around without a guardian when the time comes.
Yvonne was a person to be wary of, owing to a silly misunderstanding on Morina’s part and her own unease around ladies of Yvonne’s apparent age. Over time, however, she had only proved to be a kind (albeit grumpy-looking) lady. When Morina learnt that Valerian had to personally apologise for the misunderstanding, she also felt guilty enough to the trouble she caused, and (slightly reluctantly) wrote her a note of apology. “Sorry. I was naughty girl.”
In the inside, she was overjoyed that she was once again allowed to visit Yvonne’s place at Wolvendom, and not just as a sneaky child peeking through the vines, but as someone actually welcome there! She managed to ask the elf lady more about her garden directly, and even found a playmate in her son Flax. If only Valerian himself would come around more often… he could really use some cooking tips from Yvonne.
Their first meeting could’ve gone better… the first thing Caelus had done was sit on her flowers after all (though an accident, she’s still mad.) With the way he acts, she can’t help but worry greatly about the chance of his survival out there in the world. It was a shock to find that he had managed to come this far from Fontaine without as much as a scratch. Either way, she decided to strictly manage and discipline him to do better and carry himself gracefully without shame. She can’t help but feel bad for the boy, hearing about what he’s experienced. Even though it’s only been a few months, at this point Yvonne considers him almost like her own child, (not that she’d ever say it out loud.)
Caelus’ first meeting with Yvonne was awkward— and one that haunts his dreams every so often. He had just recently arrived in Mondstadt, lost and wandering. Unable to see in the dark, he found himself stumbling head first into a wooden fence, (which fell too,) on top of Yvonne’s precious flower garden. She had yelled at him so loudly that all of Mondstadt could have probably heard it.
He is now residing at her home doing housekeeping as a way to “pay back all the damage.” He finds Yvonne terrifying but otherwise kind— it’s surely just buried behind her scowling and nagging. He feels horrible for what he’s done, so he’ll stick around until all is well. Besides, it beats getting attacked by monsters while camping around outside.
As per usual, it took Yvonne a couple of visits from Carlisle to begin to warm up to him, squinting at the boy every time as he looked so familiar. Ah, perhaps he has relatives that are regulars of hers? Is this one of their sons?
Judging from Carlisle’s appearance and the way he acts, she had expected him to be a fair bit intelligent, but his competence and courteous manner was quite surprising. Eventually, she felt quite satisfied at the fact that she could hold a well-versed and meaningful conversation with someone, and such a young lad at that. Mondstadt is not yet doomed after all! May the boy grow up to overthrow all those fools running the absolute mess of place. Though Yvonne usually didn’t have much patience to hear what others had to say, she carefully sat and listened to Carlisle’s impassioned speeches regarding his studies and interests, even pitching in to offer her own perspective on things.
Well now, what an insightful change of pace. If Carlisle ever shows up again, he deserves a good hair ruffling—It’d be wonderful if he can be a good role model to all the others as well.
Carlisle has only ever interacted with Yvonne when he is sent to buy herbs in his Nan's stead. Apparently his family has been buying from her for generations, now. He dreads travelling to Wolvendom because of the recent rifthound infestation, but he can't help but agree that his mom's dishes taste better when it's using Yvonne's stuff. While at her place, he makes time to do small talk to "maintain friendly relations", and if she asks about his studies... well, if she doesn't mind him going on for half an hour about a specific spell, she can be his guest any day. In some way, Yvonne was like his Nan, going on about government, church, grandmaster's absence, youngsters these days not stepping up, blah, blah... He thinks it must be tough growing old and becoming resigned to making political comments from their armchairs. A bounty hunter's life like his master's seems way more palatable to him now. Whack a monster, either they get defeated or they don't, 50/50. Much simpler, right? Come to think of it, this lady's pretty old isn't she? Maybe she's been an adventurer at some point?
Yvonne had seen Velvet several times over a span of several years while she was in town, usually being rowdy and spouting ridiculous lines. Youth these days...
Yvonne would never forget the first time she was serenaded by a bunch of bards on her precious property, with Velvet herself leading them. She had claimed that this event would make Yvonne "smile." Needless to say, her reaction had scared off the bards and left Velvet sheepishly apologizing for her actions. Yvonne admits she felt a little bad for overreacting, but then that feeling went away once the girl was caught on her property in recent times, on one occasion— carrying poor Caelus out into the night. Where's her broomstick-
"I tried to make conversation, but she just stared at me with a scowl on her face—" was what Velvet's friend had cried out while she consoled him. It hurt Velvet's heart to see such a beautiful maiden with an icy exterior so distant, lonely and frowning, perhaps a song or two will cheer her up? ...After that attempt failed, Velvet's desire would only keep growing. It'll take courage, but one day perhaps...
Recently, there's a sad, tearful person who sits at Yvonne's cottage window... Yvonne could never hold an innocent person hostage! Something must have gone terribly wrong here. Regardless, the damsel(?) in distress must be rescued at once, even if it means she'd have to face a witch's wrath...
A young yokai child Yvonne took under her wing. As their bond grew closer, she considers him like her actual son. At some point in time, he’s begun to resemble her own appearance before she could realize, which was very conflicting for her. Sometimes looking at him would bring up deep hidden memories of the past…
When Flax got to know Yvonne in the forest of Inazuma, he treated her like he would anyone else— blunt and rude in a closed off way to protect himself. When she offered to take him in as an apprentice of sort, he had felt pressured by his few friends, maybe even felt a little resentful of her. However, after living in Mondstadt for some time now, he had grown immensely attached to Yvonne to the point where he started to call her his mother. To his elation, she had not outright rejected it. Now, he lives day to day living under her roof, (though with discipline) learning how to understand his own feelings.
“What are you doing in my garden?!”
The strange man would disappear before she even had time to confront him— plus, even more concerning was when Flax would speak of “playing games” with a new friend. Even if it wasn’t this guy, she’d appreciate if he could let himself be known officially to her…
Was he also hanging around Morina…? Yvonne wonders if he should alert her father…
Curious as to how an Inazuman youkai like Flax had ended up in Mondstadt, Ika had traced the boy back to his home, expecting to be led to Morina's place. "Eh, she's not related to him?" How interesting that he came across such a well managed garden instead. The fencing and vegetation were perfect to keep himself hidden as he surveyed the place as well! The lady living inside (Flax's adopted mother?) was rather scary, though. Ika thinks a broom is in no way a good weapon to swing around and abuse like that, lest it turns into a vengeful broom youkai in the future. She shouldn't be that apprehensive of him either, he was just showing Flax a super pretty kendama he borrowed from a friend...
A little girl that Flax had been speaking to with a panicky expression. After sitting the two kids down and helping Flax pick Yuzu’s fruit again, Yvonne came to feel very warmly towards Yuzu, even attempting to stray from her usual cold poker face. It was good practice to speak to children who were quite shy and quiet…
It was quite worrisome seeing that the girl was wandering alone; Yvonne almost made a fuss about where the child’s parents were, wondering what the townspeople were doing.
When it was made apparent that the girl was quite comfortable on her own, she made sure to give the child enough supplies before leaving Inazuma with a worried heart.
(ò~óˇ)
Yuzu was initially apprehensive of this person who looked like that boy who abused her fruit, but quickly realised she was a friendly person after she offered to help retrieve them. She even made the naughty boy listen and help! (*´꒳`*)
Yuzu was confused as to why the lady kicked up a fuss about her wandering habits when they haven't met each other before, but didn't think too much into it. She was in a good mood after meeting such a nice person, and so happily accepted the items handed to her. So many unfamiliar and magical-looking ingredients! Maybe she was one of those fabled "overseas youkai". Yuzu will be sure to distribute these supplies to all the poor and lonely shrines across Inazuma.
An unexpected friend Yvonne made a few years back when she had visited Liyue. Yvonne had at first treated the girl like a young child, but soon discovered that she was much wiser and well put-together than expected— and was surprised to learn she was much older than she appeared.
Now, the two exchange letters regularly and she makes an effort to visit her in Liyue.
Chensha didn’t expect to find herself in a conversation with the lady, but as the two had been drinking, perhaps it was much easier. She finds it amazing how different Yvonne is when drunk…
Nowadays, she communicates often with Yvonne through letters, often hearing nice and positive things going on in her life. Though she’s never met the people she speaks of, she feels as though she may know them already.
Yvonne had found the two siblings wandering around late one evening near a hilichurl camp, to which she lectured them about being alone. When she learned that they were looking for a place to stay, she didn’t hesitate to take them in, looking at their troubled expressions. The older sister in particular took one look at her garden and immediately agreed (It’s always nice when others appreciate it.) It was also good to see her being active and ask to help with the housework, plus— this means there are more friends for Flax. If they get along that is…
Rynn thinks Yvonne is a very kind adult, despite her annoying first-impressions-lecture. After getting to know her more, it’s apparent she’s actually really soft-hearted and easy to take advantage of. Was it because they were so cute? Either way, this is useful information, hehe.
Yvonne had found the two siblings wandering around late one evening near a hilichurl camp, to which she lectured them about being alone. When she learned that they were looking for a place to stay, she didn’t hesitate to take them in, looking at their troubled expressions. The younger brother was extremely on guard the entire time, but once seeing the garden, became very courteous.
Though he didn’t outright do any housework, he seemed very observant in her well-being, how sweet. Hopefully Flax can become friends with these children…
After the whole ordeal, Rion found himself suspicious of any new stranger, especially if they were an adult. However, after getting to know Yvonne he found that she was very caring and thoughtful. He couldn’t bring himself to impose on such a person so he had rejected her offer to stay longer, dragging a reluctant Rynn with him.
He’d love to visit again.
Yvonne met Hozuki while researching the supernatural several years ago in Inazuma. Yvonne had honestly thought the girl to be frivolous at first glance, being quite chatty and easygoing despite wanting to know more about the afterlife and whatnot. However, the more she got to know her, came to realize she was a determined and strong soul who did not give up easily. Plus, given that what they were searching for was ultimately very similar, Yvonne feels somewhat of a bond. She was searching for her own family as well... so, if there was anything new discovered, they could possibly help each other out.
These days, it's quite difficult to ignore any letters that came from the girl, even invitations to festivals and requests to have tea. She can only hope Hozuki can find her own peace of mind from all she has experienced, finding an answer to that awful incident.
Hozuki had posted a commission some years back about getting a group together to research a ruin said to be haunted, which is where she met Yvonne. She had observed the elf woman to be very serious, efficient in her tasks and only speaking when necessary. In the end, she didn't seem to have discovered or learned anything she was looking for, (much like Hozuki as well) and she had left with a dissatisfied frown.
In the present time, Hozuki occasionally sends and receives letters from Yvonne regarding any tips or leads to their specific topic of interest. Hozuki did see Yvonne in Inazuma with what appeared to be her son, thankfully appearing much less tense and angry. It would be nice to grow closer beyond their stoic letters, if the lady would open up just a little more.