Chapter Text
"A bountiful harbour that lies in the east of Teyvat"
Aether let out a tiresome sigh and ran a hand through his tangled hair. Since arriving in Liyue, he had put far less time into self-maintenance and had grown more frantic in his search. The boy studied a dog-eared book about flowers, Zhongli had given it to them as a gift, but upon seeing its condition it was evident that it was more of a hand-me-down. His stomach rumbled loudly. The foreign aroma of Liyue delicacies filled the street and made the travellers mouth water.
————————————————————————————————————————————— aethers p.o.v
The walk to Third-Round Knockout felt like an eternity, although the cramping pain of my stomach probably didn’t help the time pass by any faster. I knew Zhongli would be there. No doubt he’d have a ridiculously high tab run-up, but it was nothing that a day’s worth of commissions couldn’t fix. The company was pleasant, and it gave me more time to discuss Lumine with him. The man knew so much about Liyue I figured if my sister lay somewhere in these lands he would surely catch wind of it first. I’d had no luck in the past few months. Every lead ran dead and every time I thought I was close, the world fell apart from under me.
Zhongli waved to me from the balcony, seated at a table for three with his chopsticks placed in hand. I hated chopsticks; they required intense precision to pick anything up. It is my personal belief that your food should be devoured as soon as it hits the table, although in Liyue they love to take their time, chattering between small mouthfuls and exchanging little bits of one another’s food. I acknowledged him with a small nod of the chin and heaved myself up the steps to greet the server positioned before the door.
“You’re dining upstairs tonight.” The server pushed her weight against the door and a floodgate of smells washed over me. Third-Round knockout was by far the best place to dine, up-and-coming chef Xiangling was a good acquaintance of mine and so our meals often came at a discounted price, maybe that’s why I found it so good.
Another server led me up to the balcony, and we exchanged polite conversation. Briefly poking jokes about the economy, I pretended to understand and forced out a small laugh. The door slid open and a gust of stiff wind sent a chill down my spine. I pulled my chair out and rubbed my hands over my arms.
”Did you really have to pick the balcony when the winds so cruel?” I complained. Zhongli let out a deep chuckle and placed the chopsticks down on the table. “You should really wear something more-” He hesitated for a moment. “Modest. The crop-top, I question its ability to keep you warm and safe while adventuring.” He glanced up and down at me, and the corners of his mouth turned downwards. “I mean, what’s the point of the scarf being there? And your glove doesn’t even fit your hand.”
I raised a brow and picked up my own chopsticks, stabbing a piece of fowl and shovelling it into my mouth. With my free hand, I unclipped the pouch of moral from my pocket and slung it onto the table. I finished chewing and looked at him in disbelief, motioning to my Mora. “Did you forget who’s paying tonight or are you going to buy me a new outfit?”
“I just don’t know how you expect people to take you seriously is all.” Zhongli picked up a small lotus head and held it towards me, I took it into my mouth and grunted in satisfaction. “That's good, very peppery though,” I said, placing a hand on the hilt of my sword and tapping it. “My sword does the talking in business, my clothing shouldn’t change people’s perception of me.”
My choice of wardrobe had caused several commotions no matter where I went. In Mondstant, I was too shabby and feminine. In Liyue, I am too immodest and casual. There is no appreciation for foreign fashion here. Although that has never bothered me before. I like my crop-top, its freeing and allows more movement.
“Did you catch any news of Lumine?” I propped an elbow up on the table and rested my chin on my hand. “I heard from Xiangling that there were several rooms taken up by an accident in an inn outside of the harbour.” Zhongli’s brow furrowed and from that, I could tell it was the first he’d heard of this. Once again, I’d built myself up for nothing. The sinking feeling in my heart settled again, and I pushed my bowl away.
The rest of the evening passed in silence as I watched Zhongli work his way through several dishes, including my own. It made me wonder if this was the only time he ate. He chewed slowly and sniffed each article of food before giving a small hum of approval after biting into it. Had he not chosen to become a funeral director, I could imagine him as a chef or a critique.
“What are you looking at, Aether?” He asked between mouthfuls, tilting his head a little. I shook my head and continued to gaze at the man. He was rather attractive. I wondered what build he had beneath the many layers of clothing. It would be near to impossible for him to be chubby as he moved swiftly when fighting. However, he could be weak and lean, Zhongli was always gasping for breath but was it because of his health or the suffocating tightness of his suit?
I pulled my mind to reality as the most depressing part of the night walked towards me. A dainty little waitress placed a paper scroll onto our table and stood back with a bow. Zhongli pursed his lips as I unrolled it slowly. With a sigh of defeat, I beckoned the waitress back over to the table and pushed the bag of mora into her awaiting hands.
“Was that all of it?” The funeral director clasped his hands together and surveyed the graveyard of dishes. “Every penny.” I nodded, swiping a singular crumb of bread with my finger and popping it in my mouth. I was about to declare myself bankrupt before being distracted by the sliding door. I frowned a little as a ginger-haired waiter sat down at our table with a wide grin. “If the tabs still not paid, ill come back tomorrow and complete it. I don't even want to hear the total.” I jested, although it wasn’t funny. Zhongli and the waiter burst into peels of laughter.
“Aether, this is no waiter. No, no, he’d be a far better person if he was.” Zhongli said snidely before digging his elbow into the ginger. “This is Childe.” The ginger winced and brushed the director off, winking at Aether cheekily and holding out a gloved hand. “Pleasure to meet you. I’ve been hearing so much about you from Zhongli, I half expected you to be dating him.” Childe shot a glare to the ever-hungry man. “I’ve heard some rumours circulating. I believe I could lend a hand into your sister’s case.”
I felt my cheeks flush slightly as the two bickered between witty remarks, shaking the redheads hand’s firmly.
“You know where she is?" I leant across the dining table and kept my grip onto his glove. “Ah, no. But, I have heard that there’s been a recent flood up unidentified bodies up at Wangshu-Inn.”
Bodies. When people said bodies, it rarely meant breathing ones. You’d have said people if they were alive. Imagining Lumine as a body instead of a person made me feel sick to my stomach and it showed on my face. Childe’s hand rested gently on my shoulder, and Zhongli threw me a pitiful look.
”We don’t know the situation well enough yet to say if there're survivors or not.” He explained. “I suggest we set off tomorrow in order to-”
“She wouldn’t be dead.” I interrupted. I firmly doubted that Lumine would be a body. She fought better than I ever could. Nothing could beat Lumine down. It was always her who’d carried me home after I hurt myself when we were children. “Lumine’s strong. We can set off now, right? Nothing is stopping us.”
I fought back the lump in my throat and felt my eyes prickle. It grew worse as they continued to comfort me; I needed them to believe me. Childe pulled his sleeve over his hand and wiped the tears that fell from my eyes. I didn’t even know they’d spilt. It felt stupid to cry like this in front of them.