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Aether’s hands spoke of experience.
They were roughed with Liyue’s mountains, sliced open with DragonSpine’s rocks and calloused with the grip of his sword. He’s been covered head to toe with the slain blood of hilichurls and abyss mages alike, drenching grassy plains with deep burgundy as he navigated through thick fields and rough waters.
Nights huddled near fires were not foreign, more often then not a blanket on soft ground sufficed for a bed. To conserve mora, Aether said it until he was blue in the face, no matter how much Paimon bugged him to spend a evening in a warm sheets.
The only time he yields is when rain softens dirt to mud and lightening strikes haphazardly across the land.
His companion shrieks excitedly when clouds begin to darken, tiny hands pulling him towards Wangshu Inn before Aether can huff out an agreement.
They get in before the worst of the storm starts. The Inn’s bridge devoid of civilians and merchants as people take refuge inside. The service elevator creaks as it hefts him towards the top of the Inn, saving him the trouble of walking along the stairs that seemed to stretch forever. It was a rather quiet night; barely any chatter could be heard.
”Y’know Aether,” Paimon floated beside him as they neared the kitchen. “It wouldn’t be bad to have someone watching your back.”
He regarded her silently, urging her to go on with a questioning look as they took their seats by at a table.
Paimon did. “Our enemies are getting stronger by the day and you’re only one person.”
Aether hummed. “Are you suggesting I can’t protect you?” It was a tease, but the implications are there. Paimon could disappear whenever she pleased and he could not. It was just a matter of time before he took his last breath in battle. She was right, being alone in a growing world was dangerous. No matter how strong he got getting an arrow to the back was inevitable.
“You know that’s not what Paimon was saying!” She huffed, but immediately lost interest as a waiter came forth.
“Two orders of Almond Tofu please.” His partner made a noise of delight as he ordered. It’s been awhile since he let himself indulge in something light and sweet. The conversation still played over in his head as the waiter left, the talk of his death making a sick feeling roll in his stomach.
”Who would you suggest then?”
”Hm?”
“To have on a team?”
”Well..” Paimon cupped her chin thoughtfully. “Kaeya is busy as a captain, and I doubt we could get Master Diluc to come as well.”
Aether nodded in agreement. “It would be selfish to have them come all the way down to Liyue.”
“Someone near Liyue then?”
“Someone who isn’t tied back by responsibility.” An idea popped into Aether’s head, his lip curled with mischief. “We could always request our dear comrade Childe for assist-”
Paimon yelped, reaching over to pull at Aether’s braid as punishment for such a ludicrous idea. “To ask a Harbinger for help are you crazy!?”
“I’m joking of course.” He shooed her off and relaxed back into his seat, thanking the waiter accordingly as their meals were brought. Paimon dug in without hesitation, slurping up huge spoonfuls of tofu as she once again disregarded the conversation.
Aether watched fondly and thought about their current situation. Their enemies were getting stronger, but so was he. Yet at the same time it would be nice to have someone watching his back.
He stared down at the almond tofu.
Paimon read his mind before the idea even came to him.
She said with a mouthful and a tilted head, “Paimon thinks we could try asking Adeptus Xiao.”
Aether startled, slamming his knee into the table as he jumped. A hissed curse escaped gritted teeth as he rubbed the bruised flesh, annoyance filling his veins.
“There’s nothing wrong with asking for help.” Paimon eyed him curiously and Aether refused to look at her.
”I know that it’s just..”
”It can’t hurt to ask.” She huffed, “he won’t strike you down where you stand.”
“I know. It’s just Xiao doesn’t concern himself with mortal affairs.”
Paimon abandoned her meal and floated beside him. “Just ask. For your sister, right?”
He looked down again at the almond tofu that sat untouched. He would go to great lengths for his kin — he would travel to the ends of the universe for her.
He bit his lip contemplatively, although the answer was already laid out for him. Aether bristled and sagged in his seat. “..Okay.”
Paimon let out a cheer of victory.
For someone who persisted him so much on the idea the fairy was nowhere to be found during the act. Aether really envied her power to disappear at will as he walked towards the Inn balcony.
The clouds were still dark; ozone was high in the air as lightning struck stone somewhere near by.
There was little time to rethink his decision for Xiao was already appearing in a swirl of black and green miasma.
”...You again.”
Aether nodded, unsure of what to say to ease the tension that seemed to follow Xiao wherever he went. He inhaled slowly and regained his composure.
”I’m... requesting your assistance for something. But- before all that,” he stuck out the plate of almond tofu to the adeptus, who took it without pause.
Even the way the ate was inhumanly sophisticated. Silent mouthfuls as he regarded Aether quietly.
There was no time to stall; he began explaining the situation with his sister as Xiao ate the almond tofu across from him. He did not make it a pity party, explaining his troubles more diplomatically if anything.
By the time his tale is finished, the plate was clean of any food. Xiao crossed his arms, lost in thought.
“If it’s not such an arduous task, I ask you to accompany me on this adventure.”
Amber eyes sharpened then, hardening with emotion Aether had yet to place.
The wind whipped around his face and stung healing scrapes on his skin. Above them the skies did not clear.
He holds his breath although he knows the answer. Rejection is certain, with the way Xiao looks at him like foe he thinks that this might have been the most pathetic request possible.
And yet, “to ask me to serve as your weapon..” Xiao’s eyes soften just slightly. “There is more to you than I originally gave credit for.”
Not as a weapon, but as a companion. Aether refrained from saying but bit his cheek in anticipation at the thought of the adeptus considering the idea.
Xiao furrowed his brows as if he was sorting out inner turmoil. Aether held his breath, innocent hope filling him to the core.
“Very well.” He turned his back and stared out at the waters. The wind carried his voice as he disappeared with the breeze. “I shall be there when you call.”
Traveling with the Conqueror of Demons was nothing like Aether anticipated nor prepared for.
Sure, he had expected the silence. He had grown used to private meals even before Xiao joined their team. Paimon after eating her fill succumbed to a food coma very quickly, only the wind kept him company as he drifted in his thoughts.
The surprising protective nature Xiao had however, shocked Aether down to the bone.
“If you awake to a knife at your throat, if monsters dig their claws into you, if death comes knocking at your door, call out my name. Adeptus Xiao.” He had told him the first time Aether had gotten injured, the bodies of slain hilichurls rotting around them. Xiao’s gaze hardened. “The damned will sooner die again then lay a hand on you.”
”A mother hen,” Paimon compared as they watched Xiao’s polearm tear through forms with practiced ease. Aether was beginning to think she was right.
“Traveler.” The rough voice called out to him one evening, halting his task of pushing around dirt to find a lost artifact. Aether stood up and wiped the grime on his pants, his sword dissipating into gold flakes behind him.
"Hm?"
"You are human are you not? And yet I rarely see you sleep."
Some instances he was just like Paimon. Aether glanced up towards the sky, pink hues were darkening into navy blue. "Ah..the days pass a lot quicker then I am accustomed to in Teyvat," he rubbed his head sheepishly under the weight of Xiao's stare. "The opportunities are limited with all the commissions I do."
"Your generosity towards other's is foolish. If you do not rest it will cost you your life, and I don't intend to carry around dead weight."
"I suppose it is late. We should rest." He sighed, abandoning the artifact in the dirt. The adeptus observed him quietly as he placed a blanket down, it was one of those nights when Paimon didn't fancy sleeping out in open air and she disappeared to wherever. Still, her presence was missed. Xiao wasn't the initiating conversation type.
He removed his gloves and boots before nuzzling in the few sheets he brought on his journey. Xiao sat beside him like he usually did, back pressed against the nearest tree with his weapon in hand.
Maybe he was more exhausted then he expected, by the time he woke up in the early morning there was a sore ache all over his body. Aether groaned as he sat up, rubbing his shoulder where he felt a knot.
"We are wasting time." Aether inwardly groaned at the first words said to him in the morning; no matter how right his partner might be. "Let's go."
Xiao was less inclined to stop for every person in need on their way across the mountains, and with the adeptus on his team he rarely got random strangers approaching him with their problems. Due to the heavy snarl and displeased look no one dared to come forward unless it was important.
Aether found himself with way more energy during the day, not being depleted and hungry by the time noon hit as he often would. Paimon commented on it when she appeared, swirling around his head as he bravely leaped from ledge to ledge. Xiao followed behind him quietly, but he could tell Xiao seemed less annoyed with the new spurt of energy.
Of course, even with a powerful being tailing behind him, there were still accidents.
In hindsight Aether should have been more aware of the enemies around him, but the Mitachurl was proving to be more of a challenge then it should've been. Even with the renewed energy it took more time to take down, his legs throbbing as it fell and began rotting. He saw the arrow before he felt it; an electro burst sparked down his spine as a arrowhead pierced his stomach.
Aether stumbled but pushed through in pure spite. Holding his sword like a claymore, he decapitated the hilichurl in a single heavy swing, blood and brain matter staining him and his clothes. He groaned, letting the tip of his sword pierce the ground as he used it for support.
"Xiao.." he called weakly, squeezing his eyes shut in pain. He tried to control the electro spasms still wracking through him, doing his best not to shift the arrow lodged deep in him even more.
Xiao appeared in a swirl of green, hooking his arms under Aether's to take the strain off. Paimon came forth in a flash of white, panic clear on her face.
"Stupid traveler!" She flew up quickly, looking around for a waypoint. "There!" And Xiao wasted no time carrying him towards it bridal style.
The rush from waypoint to Wangshu Inn was taxing, with Aether struggling to keep conscious and Xiao's panicked snarls he truly feels sorry for Verr Goldet when they land gracelessly on wooden floors. Civilians gasp in surprise, rushing away from them as Goldet runs forward.
Xiao bit back the urge to pull Aether away as she took him from his arms, going to the nearest room and placing him down on the bed before she started working. It was just his luck she was able to treat wounds like this, otherwise he might've torn down Bubu Pharmacy looking for Baizhu.
Aether looked alarmingly vulnerable as she pulled out the arrow, and it frightened him.
It had been an hour or two later when he had woken up, his mind muddled and his tongue feeling like lead. Aether blinked his eyes open, the numbness in his midsection stopping him from sitting up.
"Don't move."
Aether wheezed, "Xiao?"
Xiao's eyes were sharp where he stood at the end of his bed, polearm in hand as he stood watch. "With your stupidity I wonder how you survived this long without me."
"I'm beyond thankful that you and Paimon were there," he adjusted his pillow so he could put himself into a semi sitting position. "You saved me again." Aether sighed, still sleepy from whatever drugs he was given. "C'mere."
The adeptus looked incredulous at the request, but moved regardless. He didn't say or do anything as Aether took one of his hands in both of his, tugging him towards the bed weakly. "Please sit down beside me, I can't move much." Xiao complied as instructed, his gaze softening.
"Seeing you in that state, It's disgusting." His nose scrunched and Aether listened quietly. "The smell and sight of blood...It's something I've grown used to. And yet, seeing your clothes stained with red..It unnerved me. Do not bleed like that in front of me again."
Aether nodded, his brain bouncing in his skull. He gripped the edge of Xiao's sleeve when he felt him move away, panic flooding him quickly. "Please stay with me," he begged, the vertigo making his vision swim. Or perhaps it was tears.
"It was because I left your side that you acquired that injury." Xiao frowned, retaking his seat beside Aether. The glow from the fireplace illuminated the determined look on his face. "I will not leave you again."
Outside, the sky began to clear.