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In the past, when Liyue was still not established, people gathered into a small isolated village, living reclusively day by day, while Mondstadt was still a primitive land and ruled by the Decarabian, the God of Storms.
Of thousands of tornadoes, a little life gradually took form, the purest winds gathering into an orb, different from Decarabian. The wind moved gently, slowly playing with the Cecilia flowers on the high hills; a Wind spirit was born among the flowery forest.
The wind wisp blinked its eyes, floating around with its new body, loving to touch anything it could see, from flowers to plants to animals, and could be able to enjoy the sweet taste of apples. The wind wisp loved its new body very much. Since then, the little Wind had gone everywhere, trying to learn many things.
The wind wisp learned that the land it was born in was Mondstadt, that humans were strange creatures, their language was also different from them, so the wind wisp had tried to learn human's language, but because it was a wind spirit, humans got very curious about it. Even though the wind wisp loved the excitement, it was still a little afraid of humans, so they hid away from them.
The little wings on the wind wisp back flew lazily to an unknown place. They wanted to communicate with humans but felt hesitant when the humans gathered into a place to watch them, with their large hands that could easily crush them.
The wind wisp believed it needed more courage, so they decided to fly further, left Mondstadt to find new challenging adventures for themself.
With a burning will, the wings of the wind wisp flew to the border of the neighboring land; it was said that various gods were ruling this place. The wind wisp hoped that the gods would not notice such a small spirit like them for stepping its foot into their land.
Liyue had mountains that were higher than Monstadt; the wind wisp looked up at the very tall mountain in front of it, wondering whether it should fly up or not. They thought they might discover something new on top of the hill. The spirit kept its courage high and flew straight up to the mountain. The wind here was quite strong, but not as strong as that in Mondstadt. In the beginning, the wind wisp still flew easily, but when they reached the middle of the mountain, they started to get tired. The way to the top was really too far!
The wind wisp intended to rest on the cliff; a strong wind came from nowhere, causing the wind wisp to lose balance. Their wings didn't have much strength left to struggle. So the wind wisp's small body fell, they closed their eyes bracing for pain, but then felt the ground suddenly became strangely soft.
The wind wisp opened its eyes and looked down to see that it was sitting on a piece of orange-brown fur, which was very soft. Taking to it, the wind wisp rolled and brushed the super smooth fur with their cheeks. Because they were so fascinated while playing that they forgot everything around them, they were led to a large, crude cave with nothing but a pile of straw gathered like a nest.
The wind spirit now stopped to look at everything. Suddenly, they stumbled upon the nest; their eyes looked at the giant creature in front of them. The creature's body was as long as a snake; the four horns on its head were harsh as if it could pierce a mountain, claws like blades, especially the big amber eyes staring at it terrifyingly.
The wind wisp froze, the two leaves on its head and wings drooping clearly. This scary creature will eat them!? The wind wisp screamed in its head; can it go back in time to when it was a carefree wind wisp in Mondstadt?
Wind wisp's body trembled, but they too valued their life to die right here, so they built up the courage and turned into the wind to run, thinking that it had escaped, but who would have thought that the creature would be able to grab the wind wisp with one hand and drop them into the nest again. The wind wisp was shocked; it knew that it had poked someone who it shouldn't have poked, but it didn't want to die yet, so the wind wisp turned into the wind trying to escape out of the cave again and again, but for some reason, they still got caught.
The wind wisp was frustrated and decided to lie down, showed little stomach, and pretended to be dead, hoping that the other creature would find dead food tasteless and ignore them.
______
Rex Lapis tilted his head curiously, thinking that the little one didn't want to play anymore because they were tired, so he decided to go to the nest and rest. Flying around Liyue to guard the land against invasion, he suddenly saw a small spirit was trying to fly to the top of Liyue's highest mountain.
Interested in this strange creature, Rex Lapis hid not very far to watch the little spirit try to accomplish its goal. While looking, Rex Lapis thought the creature was adorable with its tiny wings; its body was also very small compared to Rex Lapis yet dared to climb to the places that many people did not have risk conquering.
A strong wind caused the little spirit to wobble in the air; Rex Lapis immediately rushed to catch the lovely one. The closer Rex Lapis got to them, the more little this creature was. Rex Lapis finally caught them just in time. After a while, Rex Lapis sensed it was enjoying playing on his head, so Rex Lapis thought they would be very playful, which was good because Rex Lapis's cave was too quiet; having this little one maybe his home would be less boring.
Just as Rex Lapis thought, he had just returned to the place; then the little spirit began to play with him; watching them turn into the wind Rex Lapis immediately knew that this was a rare wind wisp. This was the first time in three thousand years Rex Lapis saw a wind spirit. Excitement and curiosity appeared in Rex Lapis's heart; he wanted to have this wind spirit as his friend.
Looking at wind wisp with his stomach showed and eyes closed, Rex Lapis believed that its was tired of playing, although he knew that wind wisp was not afraid of cold, Rex Lapis still wanted to warm them up, so he curled up on his simple nest with his hand pulled wind wisp closer to let them sleep on the fur they liked. Rex Lapis hoped that the wind wisp would stay by his side for a long time.
______
The wind wisp secretly opened their eyes to look at the wild face of the giant creature who was sleeping with his eyes closed. Their head was full of questions about why this giant scary creature was not eating them yet, was the creature criticizing them for being small, so they tried to fatten them first so they would have more meat to enjoy!
But no one seems to take care of the prey by letting it sleep in the same place with the hunter. The wind wisp remembers that humans would set up a separate farm, and with wild animals they would just wolf down raw right after they killed their prey, not hugging like this. Perhaps this fearsome creature didn't want to eat them; the wind spirit stared, then decided to slip into the creature's long silky fur and sleep.
When the wind wisp woke up, the terrifying creature beside them was gone. Their eyes looked around the cave and saw nothing. The little wind wisp was about to leave this place, but the large creature appeared again, they panicked, wondering if they should continue pretending to be dead or pretending to be stupid, the suddenly Rex Lapis took the wind spirit with his jaws towards a bunch of foods.
The wind wisp's eyes looked at the foods in front of him, fish, pork, bird meat, grasses, corn, cabbage, tomatoes, potatoes, apples, raspberries, and many more. The first thought that appeared in wind wisp's mind was the creature tried to cook them with these materials to have more flavor. Feeling scared, suddenly they heard a voice in their ear, the sound was calm and gentle.
"Eat it"
The large creature pushed the wind spirit toward the food and spoke. "Since I don't know what you will eat, I've found a variety for you"
The wind wisp stared at the creature in surprise, "You can talk!?"
"I can, and sorry for forgetting to introduce myself. I'm Rex Lapis. What about you?"
"I don't have a name." Wind wisp blinked at Rex Lapis. "And what kind of creature are you? I've never seen someone like you before. Are you planning on eating me? I'm not good and soft or tasty enough for you to eat! Please don't eat me!" They tried to look as pitiful as possible, hoping that Rex Lapis would take pity on them and spare them.
Looking at the wind wisp's hopeful expression, Rex Lapis answered with a laugh. "I'm a dragon, and I won't eat you; I just want a companion"
"You still don't have a name. How do you want to be addressed?"
The wind wisp narrowed its eyes at Rex Lapis's question, should they believe in his words. And what did they do to have Rex Lapis's attention? They had just met yesterday; how could Rex Lapis make such a hasty decision.
"How can I ensure that you won't fatten me up and eat me?"
"Since you're a wind wisp and they can't grow up no matter how much they eat, I'm not stupid to waste my time on useless things, like fatten you up"
"That's right." The wind spirit waved its wings. “And to answer your earlier question. I don't know what to call myself"
"Hmmm" Rex Lapis looked at the wind wisp, who was being sad; his heart softened, he lowered his voice and comforted the wind. “Names are very important, so think carefully about what you want to be called"
The wind wisp listened to Rex Lapis's words and thought deeply but still didn't forget to fly into a bunch of fresh apples; they ate and thought in silence. Rex Lapis amusedly looked at the wind wisp’s serious face, sitting and thinking while eating fruits. He must admit that wind wisp was too cute; Rex Lapis has seen other small animals, but they were not as cute as this wind wisp.
Rex Lapis looked at other food and then began to eat it all, he usually didn't need to eat, but he didn't want to waste food either.
“Venti”
"Huh"
"My name will be Venti." The wind wisp flapped its wings excitedly, flying to Rex Lapis's head, and sat happily.
Rex Lapis also felt that the name suited this pretty little wind wisp very much.
"Do you want to go out? Can I go out and play?" Venti flew down in front of Rex Lapis and asked; Venti had given up on escaping because they would be caught anyway. If Rex Lapis didn't harm Venti, then they should try to make friends with him; becoming a partner was not bad.
"It's dangerous outside; a demon could kill a small wind wisp like you."
Rex Lapis told the truth that this land still had disputes everywhere; it was not peaceful, so he had to patrol every day to ensure the people around here were safe from monsters.
After Rex Lapis said it, Venti shifted their emotion to sadness. They sat quietly in the corner to show their mood.
“Okay, you can go out and play, but you have to stay close to me” Rex Lapis said, feeling guilty because he made Venti sad even though he knew Venti just acted.
"OK!"
Venti excitedly flew around Rex Lapis's head to show their joy, not only that but also gave Rex Lapis a cheek rub. When Venti returned to their place, which was on Rex Lapis's head, the large dragon raced out of the cave with his small companion.
This is the first time Venti flew so high; they could touch the white clouds in the sky. Excitedly they moved their wings to fly next to Rex Lapis. The dragon also slowed down to let the wind wisp catch up; the two enjoyed playing with each other.
Venti asked curiously about everything, and Rex Lapis patiently answered all of them. Rex Lapis has never enjoyed a full day like this; it was free and fun. Venti was a carefree spirit, Rex Lapis found out when they settled into the forest to rest. While he didn't notice, Venti brought him a colorful feather and proudly gifted him. Rex Lapis looked behind Venti; there was an angry falcon after them; Venti would have been captured and eaten by the bird if he hadn't been nearby. In one day, Venti gave Rex Lapis two or three heart attacks, like Venti tried to grab the sweet flower for him to taste turn out it was Whopperflower or when Venti got curious about fish...the large one, they almost got eaten again.
But Rex Lapis didn't mind, he liked to become the one that Venti would lean on from now on.
“Have you ever thought about contact with humans?” Venti asked.
“Not yet. Why are you asking?”
“I want to learn their language to chat because I think they are fascinating; if I can make friends, that would be great!”
Rex Lapis never thought that because every time humans met him, they would either worship or fear him, so he thought it would be best not to interact with them too much.
"I'm not interested," said Rex Lapis.
"So, do you have any friends?"
"No"
It was Venti's turn to be silent, looking at Rex Lapis and thinking how sad it must be to have no one to talk to. Although it had only been a day, Venti knew Rex Lapis's character very well. Rex Lapis was full of tenderness and kindness, he did rescue Venti from many problems they cause; such a dragon should have many friends, maybe because of his scary face and big body?
"I'll be your friend if you want!"
Rex Lapis was a bit surprised when Venti came close to his face; he happily accepted Venti's words; it was his intention in the first place. After that moment, Rex Lapis and Venti would go out to explore every day, their relationship becomes inseparable. Rex Lapis also discovered that he cared for Venti very much, and Venti gradually taught Rex Lapis to open up to more people and creatures.
Venti introduced him to a magical deer living in Mt.Hu Lao, a crane in Mt.Aozang. They met these two by coincidence while flying around; Rex Lapis knew about them, but he didn't want to become disturbing. They were like Rex Lapis, a magical beast, who protected their territory, so Rex Lapis had stayed away from their domain for respect. But because their colorful fur made Venti's eyes light up like when they saw the falcon, to avoid unfortunate situations, Rex Lapis immediately flew after Venti. And miraculously, Rex Lapis and the other beasts forged a good relationship.
Together they made a contract to protect Liyue. Of course, Rex Lapis had to prove to them whether his strength was worth becoming a leader or not.
Rex Lapis's cave was starting to look more lively than before because the Adepti gave him many beautiful gifts; his amber eyes gazed at Venti, who was playing with the colorful ball given to them by Cloud Retainer. If it weren't for Venti, Rex Lapis wouldn't have reached this stage. His determination to protect and unite Liyue's land was about to succeed, but that also meant Liyue would be even more dangerous because now he wasn't just protecting a piece of land, but an entire land. Venti would easily get lost in danger if Rex Lapis was careless.
“Venti, come here for a minute” said Rex Lapis.
"What is it, big guy?"
The wind wisp tilted their head to look at Rex Lapis in question.
“You and I will form a contract so I can protect you from danger, do you agree?”
"But wouldn't that be unfair to you if I was the only one protected?"
Rex Lapis immediately rubbed Venti's head and said lovingly. “If it's Venti, I'm fine. I can do anything for you.”
Venti suddenly felt something inside their heart was about to explode; they shyly sat on Rex Lapis's head not to let him see their panicky state.
“I will only agree if you also let me protect you!”
The wind wisp instantly said, held their head high in determination to show that they could protect Rex Lapis.
Rex Lapis smiled; if Venti wanted it, he wouldn't refuse. "Okay, I'll listen to you"
Venti cheered, flapped their wings, floated away from Rex Lapis's head, and began making a contract with him. Venti touched Rex Lapis's claws with their cheek; a flash of light enveloped the two and ended when Rex Lapis opened his eyes. Rex Lapis was satisfied with this contract because Venti would be protected and always remember him wherever they are.
Rex Lapis looked at Venti, whose body shivered and tried; he knew it was a side effect of the contract. They had to use their strength to seal the agreement, so it was obvious that Venti would feel weak in a short time. Rex Lapis then helped Venti into their nest, which was now filled with his and Venti's scent.
Days passed, Rex Lapis and Venti were like joints at the hip, rarely seeing them apart. The Adepti observed their relationship; they started to wonder if Venti was Rex Lapis's meant-to-be bride since he acted like he was courting Venti. From flowers to foods, from equipment to jewelry, all were personally made by Rex Lapis. They still remembered the day Rex Lapis found a rare blue diamond; he immediately brought it back and carved it by hand into a small ring to put on Venti's head like a pretty little crown.
At that time, the Adepti wondered if they should call Venti a queen of Liyue or not...
The little wind wisp was happily eating and drinking with Rex Lapis and the Adepti to discuss the upcoming plan when it suddenly gazed towards Mondstadt with wide eyes.
"What's the matter, Venti?"
“I need to go back to Mondstadt”
Venti said straight to Rex Lapis. The dragon looked a little hurt, Venti wanted to take back what they said earlier, but something in Mondstadt called for them to return. Decarabian was protecting Mondstadt, so Venti didn't know why they heard the moans and cries from people in the wind.
"Why?" Although not yet transformed into a human form, Rex Lapis's amber eyes hinted at sadness.
“I don't know either, but when I get back, I'll know,” Venti said, rubbing their head against Rex Lapis's face to comfort him. "Don't worry, I'll be back with you soon; we promised each other!"
Rex Lapis knew he couldn't keep Venti with him for long because Venti was the free wind born from Mondstadt, he had longed for this day not to come, but the future was always unpredictable. Rex Lapis had selfishly thought that Venti would only be by his side if they signed a contract. But the longer Rex Lapis stayed with Venti, the more he found the little one would be most glorious when they weren't held back.
"Let me take you back to Mondstadt; I want to ensure your safety"
"That is okay" Venti nodded because they couldn't bear to leave Rex Lapis either, but Mondstadt was calling for them, and Rex Lapis still had a duty to Liyue, so the two had to stay apart for some time.
Having farewelled the Adepti, Venti sat on Rex Lapis's head like they always did and let Rex Lapis escort them to the border between the two countries.
"Take good care of yourself, if there's anything dangerous, call me; the contract will carry everything to my ears"
"I will, thank you, Rex Lapis. Hope to see you soon"
Venti hesitantly kissed Rex Lapis on the forehead and then shyly flew into Mondstadt. Rex Lapis was surprised by Venti's actions; he watched Venti's figure slowly disappear before turning his back to travel back.
They would see each other again because that was the promise.
______
Rex Lapis waited from 1 year to 10 years, from 10 years to 500 years. Rex Lapis was a highly patient man, but his patience suddenly shortened when it came to Venti. He now could change from a dragon into a human form, fulfilling his duty to Liyue very well. The country was now united into one. He also made many other friends, but the wind did not return yet.
"If you miss Venti, then go." Guizhong smiled, slowly pouring a cup of tea for Cloud Retainer.
"One had advised him many times, but he is too stubborn" Cloud Retainer sighed, holding Ganyu in her laps, the child she had just adopted.
"I can't leave Liyue; you know that"
Cloud Retainer looked at Guizhong with the message I told you so.
"Liyue is very safe right now, Rex Lapis. Moreover, it has us here; what are you worried about, don't you believe in our strength? We are heartbroken" Guizhong sighed dejectedly.
"It's not like that"
"Then why haven't you gone yet!?" Guizhong immediately sent him off, without regret kicking Rex Lapis out of Cloud Retainer's mountain, followed by a sentence "If you can't find Venti, don't try to return to Liyue!"
Guizhong had reached the limit; every day, she opened her eyes to see a Rex Lapis sat lonely with a sullen face, his eyes looking longingly into oblivion. He was like a soldier who missing his wife and children back home! Guizhong was tired of listening to Rex Lapis's sad, somber words, yearning for the love of his life so much.
Rex Lapis sighed, but inside he was happy because he had many trusted and understanding friends. Without delay, Rex Lapis turned into a dragon and traveled to Mondstadt to see Venti again. Rex Lapis wondered why Venti hadn't come to him yet, but he was sure that Venti wasn't in any danger because if they did, the contract between the two would be triggered to let him know.
So there must be a good reason for Venti not to find him. If that were the case, then he would look for Venti on his own.
Mondstadt was more peaceful than the last time he had seen it, with no more fierce hurricanes that ravaged the ground, only winds that swayed gently and playfully like Venti themself. Rex Lapis transformed into a human form as he approached Mondstadt; the people around seemed to be much more carefree after the God of Storm was overthrown by his people.
Rex Lapis started to think about where to look for Venti when a voice came from a woman.
"You brat! You come back here and work for me!"
He watched the red-haired woman chase a delicate teenager, who was dressed in green.
"My duty is done; it should be time for me to retire. Mondstadt is a nation of freedom that doesn't need me to work!"
"Don't use that excuse on me; you just want to be lazy!"
And then the boy slammed into Rex Lapis caused him to fall to the ground, his mouth began to mutter who put the stone here. Rex Lapis sighed; he remembered his human form was not as sturdy as when he was in dragon state, reaching down to help the boy. The moment their eyes met, the two could not look away.
When his hand touched the boy's hand, an electricity shot through his heart, he instantly knew this was Venti he was looking for!
"Venti"
"Rex Lapis"
Venti was the one who couldn't contain his emotions and jumped into Rex Lapis's lap, hugging him tightly. Rex Lapis was quite shocked, but his hand quickly wrapped around the boy's waist.
"I didn't expect you to be here!"
"Hmph, someone refused to visit me, so I had to go on my own."
"I miss you so much" Venti whispered softly, his face buried in Rex Lapis' chest.
"I miss you too"
Rex Lapis enjoyed the scent of Cecilia from Venti; this was also the first time he heard Venti's voice; it was so sweet and pure like music to his ear. Anh Venti's small body fit him so much; Rex Lapis also liked Venti's eyes, how clear and beautiful they were, like an azure sky he loved.
Rex Lapis noticed something bumpy when he grabbed Venti's hand; he looked at it and discovered it was the crown he carved for Venti years ago; unexpectedly, he still kept it.
"Sorry for not looking for you soon, the ideal Mondstadt still not complete yet, I want to make his dream come true"
Venti's voice lamented, Rex Lapis didn't who is "his" that Venti mention, but he would find out soon. "He" must be important to Venti that could make him stayed in Mondstadt and didn't call Rex Lapis even once.
Suddenly felt jealous, Rex Lapis clam his mind down. Because this was not the time for it.
"Who is he?" Rex Lapis asked and tried so hard not to slap his face, where was the clam Rex Lapis when he needed the most.
"He's a friend of mine" Venti looked surprised then started to giggle. "Are you jealous?"
"No"
"Okay, Mister. I-don't jealous" Venti playful poked Rex Lapis's chest.
"Cough cough"
They were startled to see the red-haired woman, who raised her eyebrows. "Lord Barbatos, please explain. Who is this gentleman? did you trick him to become your boyfriend, husband, or something, please don't cause this scenario again, the poor peacock still has trauma after your stunt. Now he doesn't want to find mate, poor him"
Now that interesting. Rex Lapis thought while looking at Venti, who stuck out his cute tongue.
Rex Lapis suddenly thought that he should create more friendly relationships with Mondstadt. Starting from marrying Venti, Rex Lapis didn't spend hundreds of years courting for nothing. Well, maybe Venti didn't know yet, but he could explain to him later when they shared a table discussing the wedding.