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“And then the lawachurl charged at me but I dodged out of the way!” Lumine waved her arms wildly as she recounted the story from her latest trip to Inazuma.
Xiao held back a smile as he listened to her tell it. She was always vibrant when she told stories like this and he loved hearing about them when she was back in Liyue. The stories of course. There was no other reason he wanted her around. Or, at least that’s what he told himself.
She leaned back in her seat to further prove her point and her skirt rode up slightly to show more of her thighs. Usually it didn’t bother him, he didn’t get flustered by nudity, but for once he focused on them as he saw the long scratch marks. It was like an animal had attacked her, some of the scratches so deep that her skin was scabbing over.
“What happened?” he asked, a slight growl at the edge of his words. Lumine was a strong warrior and would never let an enemy get that close and even then her injuries usually healed fast.
Lumine quickly sat up and pulled her skirt down, so it covered her thighs, her happy mode gone. “It’s nothing, it’s fine.”
“It’s not fine,” snapped Xiao. Was someone threatening her? He curled his hand into a fist. “Who did this to you?” Who cares if Inazuma wasn’t in his domain? He would travel there and take them down himself.
Lumine winced and looked around the Wanshu Inn restaurant nervously. A few people were looking over at Xiao’s slightly raised voice curiously.
She looked down at their meal, her hands curled in her lap. “No one did it to me,” she said quietly.
Xiao stared at her as he tried to comprehend what she was saying. His confusion slowly gave way to understanding as he realized what she wasn’t saying outright His anger dissipated and shifted to concern. “How long?” he whispered. “How long have you been doing that to yourself?”
Lumine stared at her food, her fingers digging into the fabric of her skirt.
Xiao wasn’t the touchy-feely type but he couldn’t help himself as he shifted closer to her and gently took her hands into his. He ran his thumb along her knuckles as he felt her shaking slightly in his grip. “I won’t pretend to know what you are going through,” he said softly. “But as someone that has taken on karmic debt and has lived for a long time, I know there are some burdens that weigh down on a person. The weight is so heavy on your soul that you can’t bear it anymore and you look for a release, for a way to physically release the pain you are feeling inside. And sometimes it comes out like this.” He glances at her thighs, now hidden by her skirt.
“You aren’t weak,” he continued. “You’re trying to find a way to survive in a world that’s cruel. I’m not judging you for it, I don’t think any less of you. I’m just upset at myself for not realizing it sooner.”
She was always upbeat with a smile on her face. She threw herself into everything she could do to help others. As someone who was filled with the darkness and pain of others, Xiao of all people should have seen it. He should have seen the person behind that smile, the person that was crying out for help.
“You don’t have to pretend with me. You can be weak and I won’t judge. If you just want to sit quietly and not talk that’s fine too, don’t think you need to fill the silence. And when you are ready, I’ll be here to listen.”
His voice hurt from talking so much at once. He went to pull his hands back but Lumine quickly grabbed them and it was her turn to gently run her thumbs along his knuckles.
“Thank you Xiao.” Her voice was quiet and soft, nothing like the confident Traveler he knew her to be. She looked up at him with a weak smile, tears threatening to spill from the corner of her eyes. “I’m not ready yet but someday.”
He nodded. “Someday is fine. It’s a promise.”
Realizing where they were and feeling the eyes of the people on them, Xiao’s face burned as he pulled back and shifted his seat back to its original position. Lumine blinked in surprise and giggled.
“Shut it,” he mumbled, with none of the anger.
“Let’s finish eating and go somewhere else,” said Lumine, picking up her chopsticks. “I might not be ready to talk about that, but I would be okay with telling you stories of my brother.”
Xiao nodded. “Of course.”