Plink, plink...
Eula idly kicked at the pebbles by the roadside.
Whenever she felt down, she would run to Windrise to clear her head.
Even if she did nothing but simply stay for a moment and enjoy the cool breeze, her mood would improve significantly.
Leaves rustled occasionally, and the sound of clear springs echoed nearby; everything seemed peaceful and beautiful.
Just then, the cry of a seagull came from not far away.
Eula was startled; why would there be seagulls in a place like Windrise?
She instinctively looked up at the sky but didn't see any seagulls.
Following the direction of the sound, Eula noticed Makoto sitting on Shitou.
The seagull's cry was coming from the Bone Whistle in his hand.
Eula blinked.
It was her first time seeing a musical instrument that could mimic animal sounds; it felt incredible.
The mimicked sound was so lifelike that even the seagulls far away on the beach thought they had met a companion.
They circled above Makoto's head, lingering for a long time.
Immediately after, Eula saw Makoto put down the Bone Whistle in his hand, raise his head, and seem to confide his thoughts to the seagulls.
Eula suddenly felt that this scene was beautiful; she saw the harmonious coexistence of man and nature.
This also gave Eula a deeper understanding of Makoto.
It seemed that this older brother from a foreign land was a very gentle person.
But in reality,
Makoto looked at the squawking seagulls overhead and said, "Seagulls, stop barking. You're a wanderer, but I'm not."
Now, Makoto was feeling very depressed.
After using the Bone Whistle to scare away the Hilichurl, the Little Ones insisted on him mimicking other sounds with the Bone Whistle.
Seeing the Little Ones with expectant faces, threatening to cry if he didn't, Makoto had no choice but to agree.
He had only intended to casually mimic a seagull's sound, but who would have thought it would actually attract real seagulls?
If Kaedehara Kazuha were here, perhaps he would be moved by the scene and inspired.
However, human joys and sorrows are not interconnected; Makoto only found them noisy.
Of course, things have a bad side and a good side.
Little Eula appeared at Windrise at some point, and she seemed very interested in the Bone Whistle.
Makoto pulled out a small black object from his clothing pocket and threw it towards Eula.
The little girl instinctively reached out and caught it, then opened her palm to examine it; it was an exquisite, small Bone Whistle.
"Little One, try it out," Makoto said with a light chuckle.
Looking at Makoto's smile, Eula was slightly stunned.
It was important to know that whether it was the people of Mondstadt or the Lawrence Family, no one had ever smiled at Eula.
And Makoto was the first person to smile at her.
That smile was friendly and gentle, like the winter sun, sweeping away the frost and snow in Eula's heart.
All this time, Eula had felt that the world was full of malice, and everyone was prejudiced.
It wasn't until she met Makoto today that she realized not everyone distanced themselves from her or targeted her.
It turned out there were people willing to smile at her and give her warmth.
Under Makoto's encouraging gaze, Eula slowly picked up the Bone Whistle and tried to play it.
Woo woo woo...
The sound was like ghostly wails, no different from when Makoto first used the Bone Whistle.
Qiqi, who was accompanying Hu Tao in catching Crystalfly, stopped at the sound.
She tilted her head, her peach-blossom eyes filled with confusion.
She seemed to have heard this sound somewhere before?
Is Taroumaru hungry?
Taroumaru, who was napping on the ground, suddenly shivered.
He stood up, looking around warily.
He always felt as if some scoundrel wanted to harm him.
Only after confirming that Hu Tao and Qiqi were not nearby did he lie back down to nap.
Eula was also startled by the whistle she produced.
Before playing, she had prepared herself for being tone-deaf, but she hadn't expected it to be so unpleasant.
One might think it was a husky tearing down a house.
Eula felt that the Bone Whistle in her hand was not the same instrument as Makoto's Bone Whistle.
Makoto's playing produced such beautiful tones, but her sound was so bad even dogs disliked it.
Noticing Eula's frustration, Makoto stepped forward and said, "This instrument is called a Bone Whistle; it can simulate various timbres."
"There's no sound you can't think of, and no sound a Bone Whistle can't make. Besides being used as an instrument, Bone Whistles are often used in combat to confuse opponents."
"To use a Bone Whistle well, you first need to adjust your breath and finger movements."
"Let's take the simplest example of mimicking a puppy's bark. Do you see the lowest sound hole? Follow my instructions."
At this moment, Eula displayed an extremely strong learning Talents.
Many details Makoto only explained once, but she was able to immediately learn and apply them.
Woo woo woo...
Eula played the Bone Whistle again, and the timbre was noticeably better than before.
At the very least, the sound seemed somewhat like what it was supposed to be.
Taroumaru stood up, looking around alertly.
Who's swearing?
And swearing so badly?
But Taroumaru looked around and didn't see any of his kind.
There was some confusion in the dog's eyes.
How strange.
Who's barking over there? Come out and fight!
Watching Taroumaru bark at the air, even he couldn't hear the problem.
Eula believed Makoto's words that the Bone Whistle could simulate various timbres.
Because of this, Little Eula became even more interested in the Bone Whistle.
However, interest aside, ultimately the Bone Whistle did not belong to her.
"Big brother, here's your Bone Whistle back."
Although Eula liked the Bone Whistle very much, she knew she couldn't take other people's things for free.
Makoto just let her try it, and now that the trial was over, it naturally had to be returned to its owner.
Noticing Eula's reluctance, Makoto waved his hand: "You've already used this Bone Whistle; it's of no use to me, so I'm giving it to you."
What did he mean by 'you've already used it, it's of no use to me'?
He was clearly looking down on her?
Eula pouted, huffing with annoyance.
I'll remember this grudge!
It was strange to say, Eula usually held many grudges.
She held grudges against the people of Mondstadt, against the Lawrence Family.
But today, when she held a grudge against Makoto, Eula felt a different kind of sensation.
Rather than holding a grudge, it felt more like a joke between friends.
Do I have a friend now?
Eula blinked, lost in thought for a long time.
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