XXII

"You ready to go kid?”

You stood at the gate of Mond, sun barely touching the skies and the nightly breeze still swaying through the air. You had finished everything last night, the drunken picture of everyone laughing now hanging on your wall, and here you stood waiting for the blonde boy to meet you.

He walked up to you, eyes drooping and hair a mess. There was a stagger to his steps and to his fairy’s flight pattern.You and Ariel chuckled as he came closer and flopped his head on your shoulder with a groan.

“That inn had been treatin’ you nice huh?” He only groaned again and buried his face further in the crook of your neck. “C’me on.” You encouraged, patting his back. “The faster we get moving, the faster we can get to Wangshu Inn. I heard that place’s nice as fuck.”

-

The heat, you decided, was your own personal enemy.

True to your words, you, Aether, and Paimon had all gotten a little more awake once you had started walking, but now that it was late afternoon you wanted to drop dead. Sure your feet hurt, that was now surprise despite your greatly improved stamina, but the sun bearing down so brightly made your eyes water. Sometimes you even saw heat waves on the dirt road.

Besides the heat, the trek itself wasn’t too bad. Ariel’s meltdown (ha) because his wings were getting sweaty, despite you telling him he didn’t sweat, was intensely amusing for you, and the banter between you and Paimon, or Paimon and Aether, never failed to make you smile.

The road to Liyue was long, which annoyed you. You got so used to being able to teleport there, now having to walk was getting on your nerves.

But you were excited to go, and clearly so was Aether, so you put that bitter longing for the teleport waypoints aside and enjoyed your literal road trip.

-

“[Y/n]?”

You hummed inquisitively from where you were setting up your tent to answer Aether you sounded softer than normal, hesitant.

“Can you… brush my hair… when you're done? Please?”

You looked back at the boy who was holding the wide-toothed comb you used the other day, shuffling back and forth with a nervous smile. You smiled at him and asked him to wait a moment while you finished pitching your tent for the night.

When that was done you led him to sit in front of the fire, Paimon passed out in Aether’s tent and Ariel gone for a fly to stretch his wings after walking beside you all day. The easy silence wrapped around the two of you like a blanket, nice and comforting as you glided the comb through his beautiful hair.

Aether practically melted into you, his shoulders slouching and head falling at an angle that honestly made it difficult for you to continue, but you didn’t bare bring it up. The angle his head was tilted at allowed you to see the light of the fire flicker along his face. Gone was innocence and youth that presented under the light of the sun; All you could see was shallow cheekbones and an ancient stare as he gazed into the fire.

“Aether,” you called, a thought popping into your head. “When you came over to my place, what did you mean when you said everything hurt?”

Aether was quiet for a long time, so long you didn’t think he would answer. You kept brushing his hair, uncaring if he did answer or not, but you were simply curious. You were about to apologize for being insensitive when he finally spoke up.

“When I travel to different worlds, I have the ability to shape my form into the most common or dominant species. If I don’t like that form, just as easily can I change, I can switch back to my preferred forms” His voice was hollow and dispassionate, like he was trying to distance himself from the memories. “Besides my birth form, this is the form I find myself most comfortable in, along with a couple more extremities from my birth form.”

Aether raised his hand lax arm and vaguely gestured to himself. “When I was confronted by the unknown god with Lumine, my powers were sealed away, and I was permanently formed to the most common species of this world, human.” Aether sighed and leaned closer to the fire. You set down the comb and began to braid his hair in a loose french as you didn’t dare interrupt him. “My wings were stripped away, and though I know they’ve only been sealed, sometimes I can feel the intense burns along my back, unimaginable pain that I had never experienced before. It was like I could feel them being ripped out and the wounds cauterized. My body itself is strange. Despite being physically human, my soul is still immortal, and I can sense the very decay of this skin, the aging of all my organs. Like I said, I can feel this body dying all around me.”

“I heard in Liyue, there’s an incredible doctor.” You started hesitantly. “He might be able to prescribe you a proper pain-blocking injection. Even if your wings weren’t actually amputated, the brain is still sending signals to the nerve endings of your back, causing these phantom pains. The injection in your back might calm the nerve endings there, hopefully.”

“What if it doesn’t work?” Aether’s voice was whispered and still, a strange hope in his tone. Unlike when you had given him information about Lumine, this seemed more resigned, not happy or excited, but simply relieved that something was being done. As they say, something is better than nothing.

“Well if it doesn’t work, we can always drop back at the knight’s of favonius and hope to speak to Chief Alchemist Albedo. I’ve also heard he’s wicked talented.” You collapsed his clip around the end of the braid. “Okay?”

“Okay.”

-

The next day was brighter than the last, a fact that irritated you to no end, but luckily, you were just about reaching Wangshu Inn. A shower and actually bed was waiting for you before the four of you finally set foot in the harbor.

Aether was cheerful this morning, the sight making you smile unconsciously. He laughed up ahead with Paimon as you hung back with Ariel.

“You ready to finally get to the inn, lazy bird?” You smirk when you saw the glare directed at you from the corner of your eye.

“Never, in my life, have I wanted to go to a human establishment more than this.” Ariel’s wings had been drooping to the point where they skimmed the ground. You were sure that if he wasn’t careful, dust and dirt would encroach on the stained glass gold of his wings, but no. Not a speck of dirt ever stuck so long that it dirtied his form.

“Mm, don’t get too happy, we still have a bit more to go.”

His groan turned into a scream that had you near wheezing. Through the tears you managed to see Paimon and Aether looking back inquisitively.

-

When you finally stepped foot inside the Inn, the breeze from indoors brushed against your form pleasantly. Verr Goldet greeted you when you got to the front counter and you could nearly cry after she handed you the key to your room and you suspected Aether felt the same if his face said anything.

Throwing your bag on the ground, you bolted towards the room’s shower, the last thing you see being Ariel flopping on the white sheets with a sigh. You placed the clothes you swiped from your bag on the sink and peeled the dirt encrusted shirt and shorts off you. Stepping into the cool water was like a breath of fresh air.

The feeling of every speck of dust being washed from your being was heavenly and you sighed. Lathering shampoo and conditioner through your hair and soap along your body was the most relief you've felt in the past few days.

After your shower was done, you pulled on the clean clothes and opened the door to let air out of the bathroom. Ariel was spread out on the bed. You frowned as his wings took up all the space, falling over the covers in their usual graceful manner. Ariel himself had his eyes shut, long white eyelashes just brushing his cheeks as he breathed softly, feet hanging over the edge of the bed.

You could only chuckle fondly as you grabbed your comb to brush through your wet strands. The dying sun peeked through the windows and though you had been walking all day, you realized you didn’t feel very tired.

-

The dying sun turned to the night sky, stars twirling and dancing to their own song to form the constellations every astrologist dreamed of reading. Adeptus Xiao was perched on the top of Wangshu Inn, gazing at this complicated waltz with a sigh of longing.

Though it was night, the demons never slept and neither did he (but he didn’t think he could if he tried). His eyes were slited and sharp, watching every movement in the shadows, from the sway of a flower in the breeze to the jumps of a jack rabbit in the brushes. His concentration never wavered even when he heard a human walk up the steps of the Inn to enter his balcony.

He never was fond of being around humans, the potential danger of their souls being tainted by his karmic debt isolated him. Sometimes they came to the balcony to beg for wishes, some to get just a glance from him, and some prayed for protection. Really it was no surprise to him that a human came up, even so late in the night, and that was why his form on top of the inn never wavered.

He heard the tell-tale sound of a plate clinking on the table set, out mostly for decorations by Verr Goldet. His head tilted though he did not move from his spot, vaguely curious to hear what the human would ask him for this time.

“Adeptus Xiao,” they whispered. “Thank you for always giving us protection, even when we may not deserve it. I pray tomorrow you will gather feelings of happiness and tranquility for the sacrifices you have committed for us.”

Their prayer was quick and quiet, so simple it shocked Xiao’s system. He paused for a moment before flashing in only to find the balcony empty, the last thing left being the plate of freshly made almond tofu.