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“This is disgustingly sweet,” you gag. “There’s no way you actually eat this. I appreciate that the texture is why, but too much of this could even kill you. Sugar is deadly in this world.”
Xiao places a scowl on his face, and you stare him down. As much as you appreciate that there aren’t many foods he can stomach, given that you feel the same on occasion, Almond Tofu takes the cake.
On the contrary, Kazuha chuckles from his place at the table. “I suspected the two of you might have differing tastes, but to the point where it’d cause a stalemate? Quite hilarious, if I may be so bold.”
“Ah, he’s just annoyed because I slipped chilli seeds into his water a couple of decades ago when he pissed me off,” you say, waving it off. “Sure, wasn’t my finest moment, but he refused to speak a single sentence to me.”
“It is rude to upset someone’s stomach unnecessarily, especially that of a friend,” he points out, blowing on his portion of Noodles with Mountain Delicacies. It’s a favourite of his, one he orders every time he has the opportunity to stay.
You scoff. “I wouldn’t exactly say we were friends at the time.” Xiao shoots you a look and you turn back to your plate, eating the dish like it doesn’t make you want to scream. “But I guess I could’ve been nicer to him.”
Clearly, Xiao has had enough of your chatter, wandering off Mount Aocang where you’ve taken to sitting, watching the sun rise. While travellers sometimes make the journey up to pay their respects, they tend to set off around now, so you won’t have to deal with them for a while.
It’s quite the beautiful scene, looking out over mountain tops, jagged stone fused with greenery, Liyue’s terrain always something interesting to admire as a result of Rex Lapis’ long reign.
“So, I see the two of you are spending more time together now without being at each other’s throats constantly. I was worried at first that your stark contrast to each other wouldn't allow for the formation of a bond,” speaks Kazuha, words quiet.
To say he’s observant would be an understatement. Though he doesn’t spend much time on land, only leaving the Crux Fleet behind when they stray too close to unfriendly territory for him, the time he spends in your company always allows him to make notes in his mind.
“At the end of the day, he saved me. I paid my thanks to the Geo Archon long ago, but Xiao was the one who stayed to pick up the pieces. He didn’t need to do that, even when I resisted, but he did,” you shrug. There’s no hiding the truth from him anyway, someone who picks up each delay in a breath.
You’ve gotten used to it with time, though you certainly didn’t appreciate it at first when you met him through Xiao. Someone knowing how the cogs in your brain turn and why you say the things you do rattled you, and especially so considering just how recent the end to your imprisonment had been.
Kazuha is quite gifted with matters of poetry, be that in writing or soul searching, and anything that comes out of his mouth is meant to soothe you. If you had the patience, you might even listen to him all day, but there are things to be done and people to see, making spending time with the vagrant rare and often impossible.
If Beidou’s ship comes in at night, you wait for him at port, hidden amongst the rooftops of Liyue Harbour, watching the sea for anything that might have followed. One can never be overly cautious, you’ve told him, which must have taken him by surprise given how little you seem to care most of the time.
These two things can coexist with you, shockingly, given that your own safety comes seconds most of the time. Though you’re always aware of the environment you’re in, you won’t take action if it’ll only be you affected by a change to it. You’re more than capable of protecting yourself if it comes down to it, unlike most of the citizens of Liyue.
He’s rubbed off on you, clearly, in the time you’ve been spending together. You’d go to hell and back before you’d willingly admit that to his face, but you know it’s the truth and there’s no avoiding it. You might not care for the people in the same way as him, but if they’re important to him, they’re important to you.
Kazuha setting down his plate, finished with his serving, is what snaps you out of your head. He’s smiling at you, like he expected you to switch off. “He’s lucky to have another around to help him with what he does. A yaksha’s duty is never over, but the burden he’s forced to carry is lighter when one is there with arms outstretched ready to catch anything that might fall.”
Perhaps poetic was an understatement on your behalf. The man clearly knows exactly how to make music with his words, lyrics so compelling your heart is singing them before your mind is capable of processing them. You envy him, for his abilities. Your own speech is harsh most of the time, direct and to the point in a way most people don’t appreciate.
“Do you want company when you walk? Or specifically, a shadow, since I’m probably not going to be right by you most of the time.” He shakes his head, but you don’t feel disappointed. If you’re honest, there’s not much scenery you haven’t yet seen, and you’d probably be too great a distraction if you came along with him anyway.
“I’ll be alright. I was going to cover a lot of ground today, work on a few haikus I’ve been neglecting in order to wipe out enemies from the map,” he states, getting up and taking his things. There aren’t a lot of them. “When he comes back, give Xiao my regards. I don’t know when we're to sail again, so we might not meet.”
He nods and then he’s heading off, leaving you with an empty plate and a half-eaten, half-picked at delicacy. If it had eased down on the sugar, you would have eaten it with ease, but even your stomach has its limits. Maybe, if you find the time, you’ll find a recipe that will be easy for him to consume without the additional sweetness.
“Where’s Kazuha?” The question makes you turn, not having expected him to be back so quickly. You’d assumed he’d gone off on his rounds and you wouldn’t see him until the evening. “Off already? And here I thought he’d be willing to help out today. Still, I guess if the vagrant wants to wander…”
You chuckle, standing up so you’re (roughly) at eye level. “Let the literary master rest today. If you run into trouble, I’m here. That’s the whole point of me, right? Why let all this muscle go to waste?” you push, showing off your biceps, much to his chagrin. He isn’t exactly a fan of the flaunting, which makes you do it more.
“Actually, I was going to suggest that you take your own break. I can easily handle anything today throws at me,” he says. The statement is not one you’d expected, and though you know he’s offering you time off, it feels strange. “I’m sure you’ve your own list of things you’ve been meaning to get done anyway that I’ve been a hindrance to.”
He leaves no room for argument, disappearing the moment he says it, and you’re left staring at an empty space where he was standing just seconds ago. You don’t expect him to pick up on social cues all that easily, but you’d have at least thought he’d realise you were doing his rounds with him out of your own volition.
Helping him hasn’t been a hindrance in the least. If you have other plans, you simply don’t arrive when he calls out for you, and he takes the hint, goes off on his own. More often than not, however, you’re already waiting for him before he can do so. It’s not much of a cause for you to be upset, so you smile and shake your head, cleaning up after your meal a little so that whichever traveller comes across the scene has an easier time.
Not all of the Adepti can grant wishes of course, and you’re certainly not one of them, but if it gives people hope that their prayers are being heard, there’s no harm in it. After all, any of the Adepti that are capable of granting wishes are always listening, the wind carrying words from all over Liyue to their ears, and even from those currently elsewhere in Teyvat.
“Pay it no mind. The young Adeptus has trouble making connections between things often.” Cloud Retainer’s voice has you turning around. Given that it’s her mountain that she presides over, you shouldn’t be caught off guard by her sudden appearance, and yet. “He hasn’t had someone accompany him for quite a while now. Thank you for doing so.”
It wasn’t long ago that Cloud Retainer had no interest in letting you anywhere near her abode. Granted, she came to terms with it when she realised how stubborn the yaksha was when it came to insisting you be with him when he comes here in order to learn more about Liyue and how it works, but she certainly wasn’t happy about it.
Now that you’ve changed your ways slightly, her opinion has changed also. No longer does she sit, watching you cautiously, but rather she lets you enjoy your time atop Mount Aocang without interruptions. You suppose that when you, Kazuha, and Xiao gather together, it reminds her of time past, though you aren’t sure why exactly that is; you won’t be asking anytime soon either.
“Well, someone needs to look after him.” You move to the edge of the mountain, looking down at the sea of clouds that blocks out the ground below. “Just never expected it to be me, I guess. If either of us needs work, it’s more me than him. He doesn’t really need me around when it comes down to it.” You glance at her, smiling. “I’m pretty replaceable.”
Much like Xiao, you leave no room for argument, taking your leave from Mount Aocang before she might depart some wisdom onto you you’re not exactly in the mood to hear. There must be something or someone in need of help somewhere, and there’s no point in sticking around on the mountain when you could be getting work done.
There’s no Anemo vision that hangs on your belt that helps you manipulate the wind that you use to travel. Any abilities you have you learnt through whatever magic She had, visionless herself, determined to make you capable of things without the power of Gods. That, you’re not angry about.
Gods tend to be controlling. You have no use for people controlling you anymore, and if that’s what a vision does, you don’t want it. Why rely on a power that can be taken away from you at any moment, used against and possibly kill you? For anyone desperate enough, power can be found anywhere in Teyvat, in many different forms.
Still, after a while of searching, there is little you can help with after all. It’s a quiet day, as though Kazuha’s presence in the city is what is keeping the chaos out of your way. Even with your eyes and ears open, not a single sound alerts you that someone is in need of your presence. Apparently, when the universe is sending you signals to rest, it means it.
You pick a seat amongst one of the highest peaks of Huaguang Stone Forest, gazing out and listening to the wind, as though you’ll hear Kazuha’s laughs somehow travelling through it, or the sound of Xiao’s polearm hitting an enemy, or a worker at the docks yelling about a boat coming in. In reality, the only thing you hear is whistling silence, occasionally the call of a bird.
There’s a rush of air behind you and you take a glance, surprised to see him. “Finished already? It’s only been a few hours. Sun’s only just passed the halfway point in the sky,” you point out, looking up at the blue canvas and how the clouds litter both the area below you and above you. “Usually it’s not until nightfall that I see you again.”
“The days are shorter than earlier in the year, so it’ll set soon anyway. It seems the poet’s appearance has led to a calm in activity today, though how that’s possible I’m not sure.” He sits down next to you, looking at the same thing you are: nothing in particular. You’re half-tempted to tell him that some things in this world simply can’t be explained, but you refrain.
No doubt he’s heard that sentence spoken far too many times in his lifetime, from many masters and passers-by, and he doesn’t need you repeating it. What you’ll do instead is take the day as it’s given to you, without forcing yourself into any situations. Out of both of you, he deserves rest more, so you’ll keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn’t go anywhere.
Though, surprisingly, he seems content enough to sit by your side without initiating any conversation, his shoulder brushing against yours every so often. He didn’t use to come close without your permission, and you appreciate the change.
In fact, there are many changes in your relationship you’re grateful for, no matter how subtle those changes might have been. The question is whether he too has noticed them.
“Alatus.” He turns, knowing that when you use his true name now, you want him to listen. “What is this? What are we?”
He thinks on it. By any means, it’s not an easy question to answer, and you don’t expect something to come out of his mouth immediately. If you had to answer it, you have a rough idea of what you’d say.
But neither of you are each other’s twin. There are differences between you both that influence the things you say, and this is no exception.
He turns to look out at the peaks of Huaguang Stone Forest. “The mortals have many words for it, but none of them seem to match my description. If I’m to be honest, there are no words to translate my thoughts into speech.”
The answer makes you smile instead of making you angry. “You’re quite poetic for someone who has no dealings with the writing world. I had no idea you shared Kazuha’s talent.”
“You’re not upset at my lack of an answer?” he asks, confused. “Usually, you require more to keep you sated. You really don’t want or need anything else?”
“In this case, I’ll stick to actions. Words do little compared to those anyway,” you chuckle, looking down at where he’s linked his hand with yours, fingers having intertwined when he was speaking.
Not having noticed he’d done so, he’s ever so slightly caught off guard, but when you squeeze once to assure him that letting go is not something you need nor want, hoping to quieten down his fast-paced breathing.
In case he’s alarmed by the action, you move to pull your hand away from him, but he doesn’t let you. You shoot him a look meant to ask are you sure, but he doesn’t let your hand out of his grasp. Truth be told, you’re not sure why he would be keen on staying as you are.
“It’s different. I’m not used to things like this yet, and I probably won’t be for a while yet. But it’s not awful.” You resist a snicker at the fact that the word that came into his mind was ‘awful’. You release each other then, so as not to hold him in place.
“It was just a subconscious reaction. You don’t need to explain yourself, and you don’t need to do it again if you don’t want to,” you assure. You stand up, looking over the edge of the mountain peak you’re on. “Plenty of things are a subconscious reaction. Example A: If I told you to catch me right now, you’d do it without hesitation.”
And just like that, you’re free-falling, the wind whistling loudly in your ears. You can save yourself any time you choose but the idea is to make it seem like he’s the only one who can. He knows this, of course, but still he plunges after you.
When you can feel his arms around you, you open your eyes. His glare is angry, but you can’t help but smile. “You’re mad,” he tells you, teleporting you back to the top. “What if I hadn’t caught you in time? What if I hadn’t caught on and not realised you’d jumped?”
“I’ve been observing your behaviour for years now. There aren’t many things I can do that you wouldn’t be prepared for.” He seems to forget how long you’ve really known each other, even if that time wasn’t always spent together. Even from the sidelines, you’ve learnt things about him you weren’t expecting to.
Most likely he hasn’t paid much attention to the passage of time, given that it would be useless to him anyway, but if he were to think back on it, he’d realise he’s learnt things about you as well. Whether or not that’s one of the reasons his anger dissipates is a different question.
“Let’s go home,” he says quietly, suddenly. He still hasn’t let you go from when you were in mid-air, and you have a feeling he won’t be letting you go anytime soon either. Not that you necessarily want him to let go.
Home itself refers to Wangshu Inn, where you’ll tend to his wounds and he’ll tend to yours; where you’ll eat something and stay awake for a while yet in case something was to happen; where you’ll start off with sleeping shifts but end up in the same bed together, fingers intertwined subconsciously.