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The sky, the clouds, the birds in flight
The dirt, the flowers, the trees oh-so high
Two worlds, these things are, ones that do not align
Yet both can be seen, if given enough time
Mondstadt, Liyue, the eternal Inazuma
Sumeru, Fontaine, Natlan, and Snezhnaya
Seven worlds these places are, ones joined by land
Yet time has only further served to disband
Why, might you ask, have they gone astray?
The answer, my friend, lies in yesterday
It lies in the present, the future, the never, and forever
For if given time, all birds face their endeavor
Be careful, young ones, for flight is not eternal
The clouds, the trees, the flowers, and feathers
Wings carry the dirt thy was dragged upon
But thy also bear the wind thy continue to ride on
The small crowd clapped as Venti concluded his final poem for the night. An apple and some mora were handed to him as the remaining customers exited the bar. Once the final patron left, Venti let out an exhausted sigh and collapsed onto the nearest stool.
"The usual, I'm assuming?" Diluc nonchalantly commented as he began preparing a shot of Dandelion Wine.
"No thanks, Master Diluc. I'm going to stay sober tonight." The bard mumbled as he rested his head in his hands. This caught the bartender off guard and he immediately stopped cleaning a glass.
"What's wrong? You never pass up alcohol." He said as he turned towards Venti's slumped form.
"I'm fine. Just don't feel like getting drunk tonight." He said, not lifting his head.
"Okay something is definitely wrong. Talk, bard," Diluc demanded as he put down the glass.
"Is that any way to speak to your high-and-mighty Archon?" Venti joked, raising his head slightly to give Diluc a playful grin. The bartender was not amused. Venti gave another sigh before giving in and sitting up. "Okay, okay, fine. Somebody is at Windrise. They seem...depressed."
"Okay...why is that making you upset? Are your emotions linked to that place or something?"
"No, not really. I don't actually know if they're sad. It's more of an...instinct?"
"That didn't help explain anything," Diluc stated bluntly.
"That's probably because I can't explain it. I've always had a connection to Windrise, but never to this extent. Thousands of times I've seen people of Teyvat pray there to show their respects for Vanessa, but I've never felt anything. This person either has very strong emotions presently, or they aren't human."
"Well, why don't you go see?" Venti gave a confused look.
"Why would I do that?"
"Because if this depressed human, they're probably going through something. Trust me when I say, it's not good to leave somebody alone when they're in that dark of a state. I speak from experience." The night of his Father's death and his duel with Kaeya briefly passed through Diluc's mind.
"I also mentioned the possibility of them not being human." Venti retorted.
"Then they're probably there for a reason. If they're there for the hell of it, leave them be. If they're there for a fight, you're an Archon. You can take it." Venti groaned in annoyance, knowing that Diluc had once again out-talked him.
"You're a very good convincer, Master Diluc. But if I end up dying, the blood is on your hands." Venti joked as he grabbed his hat and made his way for the door.
"Venti. For the love of Celestia. You. Are. An. Archon."
"Ugh, don't bring up Celestia, even when I'm sober. Just thinking about that place gives me a headache." Venti fake-fainted for a moment, then quickly shut the door behind him before Diluc could respond.
~
A figure with short blond hair came into Venti's view as he approached the tree. The rest of their features, the clothing, the boots, and the Inteyvat in their hair revealed them, unmistakenly, as the Traveler, Lumine.
"Ah, wayward Traveler! We meet again! How was your trip to Inazu-" Venti cut his usual greeting short when he noticed the tears streaming down Lumine's face. "Lumine? What's wrong?!" He quickly rushed to her side, wiping away her tears. It was then he noticed the roll of bandages by Lumine's foot and the failed attempt at bandaging her backside. "Were you injured?" He asked softly. She only gave a nod.
"I-I'm sorry you're seeing me in this state-" Lumine quickly went to apologize, but Venti cut her short.
"No, no, no. Don't apologize. Please, sit down and tell me what's wrong." Diluc's previous words to him only minutes ago became painfully ironic at how the bitter moment so quickly changed his role. Lumine sniffed and Venti handed her a handkerchief. He softly rubbed her shoulder as he waited for her to collect herself. After a few moments, she placed the handkerchief by her side and let out what sounded like attempted laughter.
"Phantom pains are a bitch." This caught Veni off-guard. Phantom pains? He had personal experience in this field, but that was with his wings being hidden away. He would sometimes feel the wounds of past battles on them, despite them not being out in the open. However, with humans it was different. Most experienced it with lost limbs, but Lumine appeared to be in one piece. Well, physically at least.
"I...I'm afraid I don't understand." He eventually said.
Lumine took a deep breath and turned to him. "Can you keep a secret?"
"Of course."
"I had wings." Silence engulfed them as Venti processed what she had just said. Wings? Her? If she had wings, why did she use a glider? Also, where were they now? He had so many questions, but he knew he would get so few answers.
"You had wings?" He repeated, making sure he had heard Lumine right.
She chuckled a little. "Yes, that's what I just said."
"What were they like?" Venti asked, still oblivious to the past tense of the question. Lumine pondered the question for a while, before looking up at the sky as she answered.
"They were nothing like bird wings. Far from them, in fact, but they were still majestic. They were gold and pure white. They looked weightless, but they were powerful. Could carry me across oceans, planets, and stars. They were like another set of limbs, and in a sense they were. That's why it hurt so, so much to lose them."
"How...how did you lose them?" Venti cautiously asked. He couldn't even begin to wrap his head around the thought of losing his wings. Despite not using them in recent times, they carried him through victory after victory in the Archon War. Even after the war, during the Cataclysm and overthrowing the Lawrence Clan they were his greatest ally. He could always rely on them to lift him through a breeze, and to lose that, well, the pain would be unimaginable.
"I've mentioned to you that I fought an Unknown God, correct?"
"Yes. However, you said that they took away your powers. Wings aren't a power, they're a limb." Lumine nodded her head and closed her eyes. A few seconds later, a bright light sprouted on her back, causing Venti to close his eyes. When he opened them once more, he gasped in horror at the sight.
In front of him was a torn, burned, and absolutely decimated set of wings. Had he not had the background, he wouldn't have even known they once were used to fly.
"Oh my...Lumine, what happened to them?!" He didn't even bother to control the shock in his voice.
"When I was sealed in her cubes, my wings were active. You're right, they weren't a power. They were a limb. Inside the cube, that God had complete control over my unconscious body. She tore them up as a punishment while I was sleeping. Honestly, it's a miracle I'm not missing anything else. Had I kept them hidden..." she choked back a sob, "maybe they wouldn't have ended up like this. Maybe...I could still be flying." It was like a dam in her broke and tears flooded her eyes. Venti quickly went to wrap his arms around her, burying her face in his shoulder.
He continued to rub comforting circles on her back, gently skimming over the skin around her battered wings. Lumine had mentioned cubes and that the God had taken on a female appearance. It was now unmistakable to him who stripped the Traveler of her brother, her wings, her powers, and her life. Sustainer of Heavenly Principles or not, that woman did not have the right to rob somebody of their happiness. In the end, however, the Anemo Archon was powerless against the wrath of Celestia. So, all he could do right now was comfort his friend in any way he could.
Hours could have passed and neither would've cared. Eventually, Lumine ran out of tears to cry, but she didn't pull away. Neither did Venti.
"They're pretty," He whispered after a while. She looked up at him, confused. "Your wings. They're pretty."
Lumine let out an amused puff of air. "Maybe at one point they were. Now they're a disaster. I can barely move them. Yours are definitely in a much better state."
Venti laughed hard at that. "You really think mine are better? They may work, but the feathers are tangled, dirty, and not very Archon-like if you ask me."
"Show me." She requested. Venti was glad he could somewhat lighten the mood, but now he was caught in the embarrassing situation of somebody seeing the poor state of his wings. The last person to properly see them was Vanessa, and she had spent 5 hours untangling, washing, and giving his wings a complete make-over. Given that was 1,000 years ago, however, they returned to their previous state not even a century later. Even so, it was only fair that Lumine saw them. It might even help cheer her up.
Venti took a quick glance around to make sure nobody was watching (like anybody would be awake at this hour) and revealed his wings. A gasp escapes Lumine's mouth, but not one of horror like his had been, but one mixed between awe and disgust.
"They're beautiful! If we're disregarding their tangled mess," Lumine mumbled the last bit, but Venti heard her anyways.
"Hey, I warned you they were bad! This is the first time I've brought them out in 500 years!"
"No excuses! I'm getting rid of these knots right now!" She reached her hand out, stopping briefly to give a look of consent, to which he nodded. She immediately began her work, being quite a bit more precise than Vanessa had. Then again, Lumine did have the experience that Vanessa lacked.
They sat there for hours, talking about everything and nothing as Lumine made her way from where Venti's wings met his shoulder blades, down to the very tips. When she was done unknotting, she pulled out her canister of water, poured some into her hand, and began washing the wings. A few minutes later, she placed the canister down and roughly dried them with the edge of her skirt.
"Done!" She proclaimed, wiping her forehead with her arm. Venti turned around to examine her work and was in awe at how perfect they looked. They haven't been like this since the Archon War!
"Woah," He mumbled, not even aware that he had said that. It seemed to please her though, and she gave a genuine smile.
"Take more care of them. They're beautiful when given the right treatment." She remarked.
"I can't make any promises. Vanessa tried to make me pledge the same thing, and look at how that turned out." He gave Lumine a playful wink, causing her to laugh. Eventually, she sat back down next to Venti and leaned on his shoulder. As they looked towards the sun rising over Mondstadt, he heard her mumble something sleepily.
"What did you say?" He asked, turning his head towards a half-asleep Lumine.
"I said thank you, Venti." She repeated, falling into a much-needed rest. Venti smiled.
"You're welcome, Traveler. I hope your wings one day carry you to the stars and above once again. I also wish to be by your side when they do...after all..."
If given enough time, all birds face their endeavor