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Shenhe has never fought alongside another before, even as a child, even after finding a home with the adepti— and yet she cannot help but feel that this particular journey was inevitable.
At her side, Aether hums softly, golden as the Liyue dawn and just as peaceful. Is he unbothered that he has been assigned to a dangerous hunt even as the lively festival carries on in the harbor behind him? Indifferent that it is a bearer of calamity he must travel with?
But many times over now, he has proven that such is the case, and so Shenhe makes no complaint as to his company.
The evil spirit they track was last reported in the ruins of Lisha, and Shenhe leads them over the rough road and mountains that separate them from their quarry. She waits as Aether navigates a jagged rise of stone, and though his skill remains clear, he is… slow. Weaker than she’d seen him in their short time together before the fight with Beisht. Is he still injured?
“Are you alright?” She still finds herself asking, and Aether gives a her a bright smile even as his breaths come short.
“Yep, just… out of practice. I know you’re slowing down for me, so thank you.”
Shenhe frowns. “Then you are still recovering. Why must the people in the commissions building give you this task so soon?”
“Well… I was available?”
As if there are not dozens of other exorcists living in the harbor!— of this, Shenhe is certain, no matter her otherwise lacking knowledge of the city.
“If they will not take your safety into consideration, perhaps I should make them understand the price of their own demands.” Shenhe spins around, only to be stopped by a hand grasping at her sleeve.
“No, no, don’t do that,” Aether says, eyes wide. “I really don’t mind helping them out, Shenhe.”
“Do they expect you to help them if you die on this foolish mission?”
Aether pauses for a long moment, lips parted. “I… won’t die. I just have to be careful, that’s all. And besides, if I don’t work, how will I eat?”
“If that is the only reason, then abandon this request. I will bring you food myself,” Shenhe says at once.
Wide eyes meet hers. “That’s— thank you, Shenhe. But it’s better if I just get this done.”
It seems he will not be swayed, even by reason. “Fine. But you should have a back against yours in battle when I cannot be there. Call another to guard you.”
“Someone else? Even if there was someone, we’d have to go back to the harbor first, and… oh.”
Shenhe leans in sharply. “Well?”
“I guess there’s… but I’d rather not call him if I don’t have to…” Aether’s teeth worry at his lip.
“Who is it?”
“He’s another adeptus, so maybe you know him? Xiao?”
“Yes?” A low voice rings out from overhead, and Shenhe turns to see Xiao perched on the shelf of a nearby cliff.
“Wha- Xiao?! But I didn’t even...” Aether stutters out.
“You spoke my name,” Xiao says blankly. “Your heart called for me. I made you a promise, and I am here to fulfill it.”
“But—” Aether slumps. “Alright.”
“Xiao,” Shenhe says, and Xiao’s gaze flits to her. “Lend Aether your strength in battle. He is injured, and yet refuses to rest in the harbor.”
Eyes suddenly dark, Xiao steps from the cliff to Aether’s side in a flicker of shadow. “The mortals continue to send you on such petty errands?”
“Well, someone needs to clear the threats around the harbor, right?” Aether says, but his protest is weak.
Xiao makes a displeased sound. “Very well, I will accompany you. Let’s go.”
--
The evil spirit they find is a tumbling mass of ice and darkness, and the three of them swiftly tear through it with frost and storm and stone. Xiao is the oldest of the remaining exorcist adepti, and he is far stronger and rougher than Shenhe in both cleansing and weapon arts. Still, this is Shenhe’s expertise, and she easily pins the spirit in place for its destruction.
At Xiao’s command, Aether remains in the back, sending shockwaves through the ground and raining down shards of bedrock at every opening. After his earlier stubbornness, Shenhe finds herself surprised at his compliance now, but then, his bond with Xiao runs far deeper than it does with her. Perhaps this is simply another aspect of their trust in each other.
Once the creature is little more than a smoking pile on the ground, Shenhe rejoins the other two, where Aether is frantically wiping a streak of blood from Xiao’s face.
“This is nothing, Aether,” Xiao is saying, but Aether ignores him.
“You shouldn’t be bleeding at all. And Shenhe, are you alright?”
“I am uninjured,” she decides after an assessing moment. For Aether’s sake, she puts more care into the effort than she might have otherwise.
Aether sighs. “Thank the stars. Xiao, just wait there so I can grind up these qingxin.”
“Aether—”
“Sit.”
It is a special sight, Shenhe thinks— one the most powerful divine beasts of Liyue quietly obeying a mortal’s words.
“I guess I’ll go back to the harbor after this,” Aether muses as he works. “Miss Lin will want to know we took care of the spirit, and I know there was a bounty on a stray Ruin Hunter as well—”
“No,” Shenhe and Xiao speak at the same time, and Aether falls silent.
“You will stay with us today,” Xiao growls.
“Your recovery will only take longer if you fight now,” Shenhe adds. “I will drag you to Jueyun Karst myself if I must.”
“…What should I do all day if I’m not working, though?” Aether asks weakly.
“Nothing. Sit and rest, and I will bring you something to eat.” Xiao’s tone does not allow for argument, and Shenhe moves to stand beside him, adding to its weight.
Aether opens his mouth— closes it again. “…I guess I can relax for a little while.”
“Good,” Shenhe nods, turning toward the sunny hills before them. “Now, come.”