Джо Хендри
It was a whiteout in Snezhnograd Memorial Stadium. Snow blew horizontally, chasing the eyes of the Travelers and pushing any wayward Fatui pass into the welcoming arms of a receiver while the white coat on the field obscured the lines, which seemed to shift mysteriously on fourth downs. Paimon floated back and forth on the sideline, performing her own rendition of an angry coach's pace as she alternated between scowling at her playsheet and scowling at the field. Behind her, the Traveler offense shivered; Cyno had nearly gone blue and was being defrosted by Diluc's flames, while Ganyu, Noelle, and Kokomi huddled under a parka, breath steaming up from the collar like an underwhelming chimney. The Traveler remained on the field, playing as both the quarterback and the mike.
The Fatui, by contrast, seemed to revel in the snow; Arlecchino, the tailback, had discarded her coat and was strutting back and forth behind the line of scrimmage, arms bared as referees fruitlessly kicked snow away, trying to spot the ball. The Tsaritsa looked on, having thrown her playsheet down as soon as they had made the first down. Both she and the Travelers knew that the game was over as soon as the ball was next snapped; the Fatui were up by six and deep into Traveler territory on first down; all they needed was for Pierro to kneel and run out the clock.
Paimon, though, hadn't realized this.
She turned her playsheet front-to-back, upside-down, rotating it every which way until she bounced in the air like she had been struck by lightning.
"Traveler! Traveler!"
The Traveler turned, freezing wind blowing their bangs sideways. Paimon made a series of extravagant gestures and the Traveler quirked an eyebrow, then shrugged and turned back to the field as the Fatui line set up. They looked to the right and signaled for Gorou to join Dehya, Xianyun, and Shenhe on the line, then motioned Xiao towards the deep backfield. They braced themselves, calling their play as the Agent at center rotated the ball and prepared for the snap.
"Джо Хендри! Джо Хендри!"
Pierro's snap count echoed off the empty bleachers and, as he shouted his final 'Хут', the Agent started, ball slipping from his elephantine fingers and bouncing through the Travelers' defensive line. The Tsaritsa swore and chaos unfolded on the field as Pierro shoved the Agent forward, toppling Dehya and Xianyun. Arlecchino leapt over the collapsing lines with feline grace, diving for the ball.
She missed.
The Knave tasted cold dirt as the little leather ovoid danced merrily out of her grasp, and unfamiliar hands scooped it up and sprinted to her left.
The Traveler watched in shock as a massive man with short blond hair and a blue silk shirt sprinted towards the end zone, bowling over Childe, who had been slouched in the backfield thinking about whales. The man stopped just before the line and turned, waving at the perplexed teams, before stepping inside with a second left on the clock. He dropped the ball and clapped twice, posing in the blizzard.