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Every element felt different.
Geo felt heavy, burdensome. The incessant energy under the skin made Electro prickly and uncomfortable. Pyro felt volatile, ready to explode; Dendo had the odd feeling of lethargy and steadfastness; Hydro felt too dramatic in its bursts, and Cryo had the chilling sensation of freezing your heart from the inside out.
It was for these reasons that time and time again Lumine would notice her feet carry her all the way back to the Mondestatin Statues of the Seven, and she would feel compelled to place her hand on the statue and feel the calming winds of Anemo flood her body and expel the other elements which ached and itched like a pair of ill-fitting shoes. Anemo gently filled in the gaps in her heart and soul which had been ripped out along with her powers and stolen like Aether by the Unknown God. Sometimes in her dreams Lumine could feel the pain of her powers shredding through her and into the hands of the god. Their smug face would never leave her mind, and Lumine was convinced that no matter if the god changed their appearance she would recognize them. Her soul was a gaping wound, but at least for now Anemo was a soothing balm calming the pain.
Tilting her head back, Lumine observed the Statue of Barbatos which just healed her figuratively and literally. Honestly, with these statues and the massive one in the Cathedral courtyard, it was a wonder that no one had put two and two together that the free spirited God of the Wind and the prestigious and elusive bard extraordinaire of Mondestat were in fact one and the same. After all, the name "Venti" wasn't entirely subtle.
"Pretty accurate, don't you think?" chimed a melodious, soft voice from above. Lumine startled, nearly tripping backwards over her cape trails.
"Venti!" She spluttered, wide eyes searching out the green bard in the tree above. Of course, this was Windrise, Venti's de facto thinking spot. She should have expected his arrival.
With a flourish of wind, Venti gracefully hopped down from the tree, landing on his toes in front of Lumine.
"Hi Traveler! Welcome back to Mondestat. I trust your travels have fared you well."
Lumine coughed, regaining her composure. "Ah, yes, of course Venti. But, uh, how did you know I was here? I'm positive you weren't in that tree the whole time."
"I have my ways," he winked. Lumine raised an eyebrow menacingly.
"Alright, alright," Venti giggled, "it was the statue. I can sense when you gain the power of Anemo."
Well that was a new one. Lumine cringed internally at the knowledge that she had been broadcasting her presence to any Archon she absorbed power from. She looked at Venti awkwardly.
"Ah, sorry if that inconveniences you Ven-"
"No, no, of course not!" He interrupted hastily, grabbing her hands. "In fact, it's pretty nice...um, for someone else to share my power, I mean. And I'm always glad to know you're here. Would you even have come to see me?" Venti pouted, at least somewhat jokingly.
"Er, probably not, sorry," confessed Lumine, "but in all honesty, I hadn't even realized I had walked to Mondestat until I came into view of Windrise.”
"Well, either way, this calls for a celebration. The return of the Honorary Knight of Favonius, savior of Mondestat, and, most importantly, my favorite muse."
"Oh, so you have other muses then, huh?"
"Of course not, my one and only muse. I would never cheat on you."
What an odd choice of words. Lumine had never heard of a muse/artist relationship using terms such as "cheat." But, she figured, Venti wasn’t one for convention.
"Anyway, let's go!" exclaimed the bard.
Lumine hadn't even noticed Venti had still been holding her hands until he let go of one to more firmly clasp the other as he dragged her along behind him towards Mondestat city. Lumine, not about to be bested, sped up and soon they were running neck and neck over the sloping hills of Mondestat, hands still clasped between them, a perfect match up in speed.
They collapsed on each other laughing as they crossed the bridge over Cider Lake, ignoring Timmy's screeches of indignation as their laughter scared off the pigeons. They nodded at the guards at the gate who seemingly were attempting to stifle their laughter at the pigeon boy's rage. It seemed he had been spending a long time down at the harbor due to some of the words he opted to use.
"Come, Traveler, and let us defeat the most fearsome villain of all, Master Diluc, today's bartender at the Angel's Share." He directed them right outside the door and held it open.
"After you, My Lady, for today we celebrate you." Lumine strode in with Venti hot on her heels. He hopped up on a barstool and gestured for her to sit next to him.
"Venti, you know very well they won't let me drink anything but Wolfhook Juice." she grumbled and she begrudgingly climbed onto the stool.
"Whyever not?"
"Because I look underaged," she huffed, irate. After all, she was probably one of the oldest people in the bar. It wasn't her fault that she was doomed to forever appear as a teenager in their eyes, "Anyway, if I look young, you certainly do. How in Teyvat do you get away with drinking wine like it's water?"
"An aptitude for lying convincingly and the word of people who've seen me look this young for the past four-ish years. And anyway, who's to say you didn't just happen to turn 18?"
He spun around to stare straight at Diluc, who was washing glasses and pointedly ignoring them.
"Master Diluc~" he sang, "two rounds of your finest Dandelion Wine, if you please."
Diluc glared at Venti, "You might somehow be of age to drink, but I'm quite certain the Traveler isn't. I'm sorry, but you'll have to wait until you turn 18."
"Ah, but you see," Venti slung his arm around Lumine's shoulders and pulled her in so her head was gently leaning against his, "our dearest Traveler has just recently turned 18."
Lumine was caught between gratitude and annoyance with Venti. She hated being the center of suspicion, but she did really, really want a sip of Mondestat's famous Dandelion Wine…
"And I assume you have a way to prove this? Birth date identification?"
Lumine grimaced. She knew she could ask the Knights of Favonius for ID, but she was never fond of giving up her identity so easily, and it would be hell to get official paperwork done when she had nothing but her word for the legal information.
Venti sighed dramatically. "Oh, Master Dilic. How you wound us. I feel I must go calm down, but since I came all the way here, could you sell me a bottle of wine to go?"
"I would, except for the fact that public drinking is banned and that you're very obviously planning to give some to the Traveler. Now, I have to ask you to leave."
He turned, somewhat apologetic, towards Lumine. "Here, a bottle of Wolfhook Juice on the house for your trouble. Go share that."
Lumine thanked him, somewhat falsely, and vacated the scene with the disastrous green fellow who got them kicked out of a bar. Venti seemed to have perked up somehow, and directed them to climb up the side of the Archon statue to sit at Venti's favorite spot: his statue's hands.
"Barbara would have a fit if she knew we climbed up here. 'Ahh!! The statue!!! You've defiled it!'" Lumine chuckled, "I love her, but oh my goodness."
"Ah yes, my favorite activity, defiling my statues." Venti rested his head on his knee, which he had pulled up to his chest. The sun was setting, turning the sky beautiful pastel colors which would slowly fade to the dark sky dotted with glowing stars and the moon.
Lumine turned the Wolfhook Bottle over in her hands, fake smiling at the bottle. In a faux cheerful voice, she inquired, "so, ready to share this delectable beverage?"
A sly smile slid across Venti's face. "I believe I have a better idea." Digging around in his pockets, he pulled out a bottle of… Dandelion Wine???
"Venti!?" Lumine exclaimed, "What did you do?"
Venti laughed, a musical sound. "Don't worry, I didn't really steal it. The pay is on the table. Just, ah, don't tell Diluc." He winked.
Venti popped open the bottle and drank some while Lumine rang her hands.
"I'm not sure Venti, I would feel bad drinking that out here now…"
Venti smirked. "But you do really want to try the wine right?"
"Right! I just-"
"Well, there might be a way to do that without you having to drink the wine."
"Huh? How is that possi-"
Lumine was cut off by Venti suddenly leaning towards her so their noses nearly touched and their lips hovered a few millimeters apart. She felt her heart flutter fast. Faster than it did when she was fighting hillicurls, or abyss mages, or, hell, even gods.
"Do you want to try some?" Venti asked, eyes the color of the sky of her hometown looking into hers. Lumine's cheeks heated and slowly, awkwardly, she nodded.
In the blink of an eye, Venti closed the gap between them. Lumine tangled her hands into his soft, soft hair, as she was kissed, kissed, kissed. Sure, she had kissed many different people from many different worlds over the years, but somehow thus felt different. It felt like the feelings they had built up over the years were spilling over right here and now, shifting the world into alignment as she felt Venti's soft lips and warm mouth on hers. This was peace, safety, adventure, thrills, all at once. It wasn't really the Anemo soothing her pain, she realized now that it was Venti, it was always Venti, and he was so much better than just a soothing balm. He was the medicine, the cure, to the wound in her soul.
And he was right, the Dandelion Wine really was great.