Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

it was exactly 11:34 pm and he told himself that he had only 26 minutes to run to his apartment. The bus surprisingly arrived on time, but the driver didn’t consider one short guy named Xiao worthy of his attention and just drove past a bus stop, so now our main character has to endure pain in his feet rushing through the empty night streets of his city to get home. The atmosphere was aesthetically pleasing with street lamps dimly illuminating the road with a warm orange light, cars passing by with barely audible music coming from their cabs, and occasional conversations from people on the balconies or from late-night shops, but even such a pleasant atmosphere could not calm Xiao's frantically beating heart..

everything was..

..too fast

No

too slow. He runs too slowly, only a miracle could help him get from his part-time job at McDonald's to his destination. but at the same time everything was so fast and blurry that his thoughts barely had time to form before they immediately evaporated in chaos. Half an hour ago Ajax (his father's new boyfriend) called Xiao and told him to run home. according to his description Zhongli grew horns and a tail his eyes began to glow like amber. Ajax chuckled and said that it would be embarrassing if someone noticed the dragon in this form, people should not have known that creatures like dragons even exist, but Ajax himself did not know that at any moment Xiao might have to kill Zhongli

also known as Morax

his own father.

˚✩☁︎︎⋆｡˚✩☁︎︎⋆｡ ❀♪💚♫ ˚✩☁︎︎⋆｡˚✩☁︎︎⋆｡ ❀

(flashback)

caramel red eyes peered curiously at the tall man above him, strong arms held him soothingly rocking his small body "you have a purpose" he said with a deep voice

 "to protect mankind."

˚✩ ♡♪ ⋆｡˚

26 years ago on April 17th, a human named Guizhong gave birth to a son whom they decided to name Xiao, he was not their first child and many would call Guizhong special for her ability to give birth and raise 5 children, but everything was much more complicated. These children were raised by Morax himself, an Adept whose goal was to protect people from demons, but over time more and more enemies began to disappear so beings who considered it their duty to fight against evil began to take on the forms of people, or even take on other “jobs” in order to live the rest of their lives in relative peace, until erosion captures their minds and they either become one of the demons or at best they will be immediately destroyed by their once partners.

Therefore, the great Morax needed someone to help him but other magical creatures were also captured by erosion and people were too weak to bear the burden of all the knowledge of Morax, to help him protect people and be ready to destroy him at any moment, so the obvious solution was to create a “perfect weapon”.

that is how Xiao called himself.

(end of flashback)

˚✩☁︎︎⋆｡˚✩☁︎︎⋆｡ ❀♪💚♫ ˚✩☁︎︎⋆｡˚✩☁︎︎⋆｡ ❀

-Zhongli!!!

Xiao almost knocked the door off as he ran into the house.

-Xiao? Is everything alright?

a horned man said, sitting calmly on the couch wrapped in a blanket.

- Did ... you call me?

Xiao said breathlessly. he was confused. After a few seconds Zhongli gestured for his son to sit next to him, when this action was completed and Xiao even managed to catch his breath, the man began to speak:

-I asked Ajax to inform you that we won’t be able to pick you up from work by car due to my condition….Xiao
….you were worried about my erosion again, weren't you?

-Yes.

- You know that my mind will only begin to completely get out of control only after 40-80 years
...but I appreciate your concern, Xiao.

what Zhongli did not understand was that even though Xiao was faster, stronger and more durable, even though Xiao spent his whole life from the age of 4 fighting enemies, even though Xiao was used to the smell and texture of blood, Xiao was just human and no matter how much he tried to deny it every day it was more and more difficult ... not to dream.

˚✩☁︎︎⋆｡˚✩☁︎︎⋆｡ ❀♪💚♫ ˚✩☁︎︎⋆｡˚✩☁︎︎⋆｡ ❀

(flashback)

-When we defeat all the evil spirits, I will become a superstar !!

Smiling slightly the girl with red hair said while flopping down on the creaky bed on which her sister was lying.

- you are so dreamy, Indarias.

the boy with long brown hair answered, he covered his sisters with a blanket and sat down on the windowsill watching the night sky.

-for the sake of Rex Lapis, Bonanus, where could you leave this book?

- Oh, please forgive me Bosatius, you really shouldn't look for it for me, after all, I was the one who lost the book of Menogias, I have to look for it myself.

-Ahah, don’t worry sister, we’ll find it, don’t get out of your bed, you fought a lot of monsters today, you need rest. But Indarias ..

the boy glanced at his cunning but beloved sister, who had already managed to burrow into the blanket.

-.. She could help.

Of course Bosacius wasn't angry at the red-haired girl, he was just joking, but she still got up and joined the searches of the “mysteriously” missing book belonging to their older brother, Menogias, who lent it to his younger sister, who was suddenly called to battle with the water demon and before leavingcshe hid the book somewhere and she forgot where was it. Menogias turned away from the window and looked towards the small warmly lit room where he and jis siblings usually sleep together after a hard day.

-I don't think it's here, since you can't find it.

The elder said.

- Well, it's ok, you shouldn't bother so much because of such little things, it's late, my dears, tomorrow is a hard day and we need a lot of energy.

It was a book that Menogias wrote himself, he wanted to give it to his father and Bonanus volunteered to be his first reader and give an assessment + corrections, so losing it was not just a "little thing", everyone understood it, but it is what it is, the room is too small to not to find something in such a long time, and it is already midnight, the elder brother simply could not allow his siblings to overload themselfes for him like that.

˚✩ ♡♪ ⋆｡˚

A few minutes later the lights were off, teeth were brushed, and blankets were coverimg on the half-asleep Yakshas.

-You, Menogias, will probably become a writer.

yawning the red-haired girl continued the conversation.

-And Bonanus will be 100% an artist.

- Oh, do you really think my drawings are that good, sister?

-Yes, of course, and in general our father literally creates money out of thin air, you don't have to be good at it to enjoy the process!

-actually..

the elder intervened.

-...I don't think that I want to be a writer. Hm..I want to travel with all of you, you know, not for the sake of fighting or killing but to explore different cultures, see different people, try new foods and discover new emotions. Although, perhaps, writing is a good way to express these emotions.

-Woooooww, traveling is really cool, brother, and what are you dreaming about, Bosatius?

-It's easy, I want to go to college!

-Studies? Seriously?

Indarias was surprised.

- No, not study, well, do you know all these series that are shown on TV? There is all sorts of drama, friend groups, going to cafes with them, well, studying also sounds cool, of course Rex Lapis teaches us everything we need but just imagine how cool it is to study with a bunch of other people! An if we have an education we can find a job and just live happily! I want to work as a salesman in some game store, I think it's cool to meet a bunch of interesting people every day and help them buy things that make them happy.

- Do you really think you can finish your duty before you turn 18?

The shortest boy spoke for the first time.

-Oooh, Xiaooo, I thought you fell asleep already!

- I'm sorry, brother, we didn't wake you up, did we?

-damn it. I can’t draw on his face with toothpaste since he’s not sleeping yet haha.

Xiao only remained silent in response to these comments. He loves his family so so much but all these “dreams” seemed like a stupid idea. He was hurt by the thought that his brothers and sisters would never be able to fulfill their plans for the future. No, he's just a weapon, what pain? What love? He shouldn't feel it.

-Go to sleep.

- No, Xiao, you need to choose a profession too, it's your fault for letting us know that you not asleep hehe!

Indarias said, the blue-haired girl answered her:

-hmmmm, maybe a tattoo artist? Do you remember how excited Xiao was to get his first tattoo?

Xiao was glad that the darkness covered his blush. The purple-haired boy continued:

-maybe he was just grateful to Rex Lapis for doing this tattoo for him. But what if our dear Xiao wants to become a chef! To cook almond tofu for everyone every day, ha!

- you may be right! or he does not want to work at all! And for example..be a traveler! Or... finding love?

Indarias said with a chuckle.

-Wh-what?

Xiao said.

-Hehe, why are you so shy? Do you like this idea? You will find a partner for yourself, look after them, give them flowers, hug them...

The red-haired girl tried to make her brother even more embarrassed but Xiao simply ignored it, he accepted the difference between him and other children a long time ago.

- ah, you're boring. So tell us, what would you like to do when our duty is done?

Xiao just yawned and throwed a tired look at the others as he muttered:

"We aren't meant to be free"

˚✩ ♡♪ ⋆｡˚

Later that night when everyone was already asleep, Xiao went to the pier, probably in that area Bonanus left that one book. He felt guilty for trying to take away from his brothers and sisters the only thing that made them more than just weapons, so he had to find his older brother's writings, it was a part of his soul and dream. Somewhere deep inside he tried to make himself believe that maybe..maybe someday his family will find happiness. But definitely not him, and definitely not in this life.

(end of flashback)

˚✩☁︎︎⋆｡˚✩☁︎︎⋆｡ ❀♪💚♫ ˚✩☁︎︎⋆｡˚✩☁︎︎⋆｡ ❀

Chapter Text

Beep

Beep

Beep

The melody of an annoying alarm clock rang through the apartment. It was Ajax's alarm set for 5:30. Xiao didn't need alarm clocks, his brain that worked like a perfect machine woke him up at 5 am evert. Single. Day. No, of course he should not complain, this is a gift, this is exactly how his body should work: training, work, sleep, and so again and again. He is not a human. There was only one problem. Xiao may be able to control himself in this world, but in the world of dreams (or rather nightmares) he is powerless. Here our main character had several options: 1) insomnia, 2) the aforementioned nightmares, 3) affairs. and not always his training was so early in the morning. Ugh. Everything is fine, this is normal, Xiao is used to ignoring the inconvenience, this is a small price to pay for people's lives, but today he had a day off. (every month Zhongli forced his son to take one day off, no matter how much Xiao didn't want it, he must obey his Lord) And after a month of hard work, training and mostly suffering his body reminded him that he is still human, so almast every month (actually less than "almost every month") Xiao's brain decides that he needs a little more sleep.

But that Ajaxs alarm clock thought differently.

Of course, Xiao could have told the owner of the alarm about this, but at the end of the day it would have made Ajax uncomfortable, and no matter how much the dark-haired guy didn't like his father's boyfriend, he still respected him. And besides that, unlike Xiao, Tartaglia was a humam, the one who needed to be protected by the Gods, all inconveniences were secondary.

The boy tucked himself deeper into his blanket in displeasure. It was warm, too warm, the bed was sweaty and rumpled from his nightmares, the texture of the fabric felt awful against his skin, it was everywhere, and his head felt like a thousand knives were splitting it open. One could say that it wasn't the best start of the day. But honestly? This is how almost every day started. He tried to fall asleep again, distract himself from the pain. Usually Xiao had a simple tactic - lay down in position and lie still for 15-20 minutes with an empty head, and then.. sleep. But today something has changed. Now Xiao was too tired. Too tired to sleep??? "What a nonsense!" he thought of his own thoughts. How can you be too tired to sleep? Maybe... Maybe he had already slept too much and was afraid to get even more tired? Or maybe he was afraid of what would happen when he woke up? There will be nothing, literally nothing, even if it is a day off, he will spend it as robot like on any other day. And then discomfort, pain, self-hatred and worthlessness, then sleep again, seeing nightmares, waking up at 5:00, jumping out of bed even before he had time to open his eyes, a disgusting breakfast. He was so tired, too cold showers, workouts until everything hurts, too cold showers again, tired, every second stretches for eternity, every moment pierces like a million needles in his head, in his muscles and in his soul. Damn, he wants to throw up at the smell of those awful burgers and fries cooked in the slop so badly.

Why

Why?

Why does he feel this way? Like if he was tired of being tired. It shouldn't feel like that, emotions are only for people. Faith in time and space, hope and desire is all so..human, so different. Oh, Archons, he was pathetic
How pathetic he was...

Xiao woke up. The bright sun shone directly into his eyes, and the fatigue seemed to only get stronger. 4 hours ago he fell asleep hugging himself and... He didn't even want to remember the feeling of moisture on his cheeks. It's okay, it's okay, he'll just forget about it and start a new (never new) day.

Chapter Text

The whole room was either spinning in a circle like an overly bright disco ball, or covered in sickening darkness around the edges, but after some time, Xiao was finally able to reach the bathroom. Luckily the effects of the yaksha's headache quickly subsided, he brushed his teeth and washed his face,

Suddenly

"..."

Xiao heard voices. Voices of Zhongli and Ajax.
?
"..."

But he can’t quite understand what they were talking about. Shouldn't both men have been working during this time?
Xiao ignored the conversations.

It was none of his business.

Since the Lord is at home, he needs to make breakfast for him.

"..."

"Oh...could it be that something happened to Morax?" Xiao washed the dishes and started preparing bamboo soup. "Oh no. Has...has this day come?" "He would have told me.." Cooking meat. "No, he doesn't trust me"

"I'm not worthy"

"Did I do something wrong?"

Xiao finished his task after a few hours, surprisingly, Zhongli and Ajax were still continuing their conversation, although this time Tartaglia was clearly talking more and louder than his interlocutor. He spoke affirmatively, while Zhongli's voice sounded...distressed...

"Did I do something wrong?"

Xiao was afraid to enter the elders' room, so he decided to leave two portions of the soup on the table. He himself didn’t want to eat, but he needed energy, so yaksha grabbed himself a few vegetables and decided to go back to the bedroom to take his pills, pills that he, a fool, almost forgot to take again. Maybe he could read something as well. Yaksha carefully left the kitchen, closing the wooden door behind him. The furnishings of Ajax’s house still seemed unusual to him, but it wasn’t that bad. The morning light emanating from the crystal yellow inserts in each door slightly illuminated the long corridor, a long carpet covered the floors, and along the walls were lined with closets, thinking about all this situation, Xiao didn’t even notice how he accidentally walked past the door to his room, until this time he heard distinct words

-Was I really that blind?

Shit. he really didn’t want to eavesdrop, but since there was no going back, he should tell his elders that the breakfast is ready.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

Xiao’s hand reached out to the long door handle.

"You're right. He's just a human."

The hand froze, the whole body of the yaksha seemed to have frozen in the eternal cold of the dragon spine.

“Just” - These words remained like a poisonous rusty needle to rot in the heart of the boy that stood in place for 5 minutes. He already forgot about the bamboo soup. Turned around and quietly went back to his room.

So.
He...he needs to take his pills. He must do this every day. Xiao knew that he was not worthy of feelings, but frankly speaking, he did not like taking medicine, the thought of facing emptiness the next day was killing him. But it's better than suffering. (Suffering more than usual). He walked up to the table and took them quickly in order to not feel the disgusting taste of the water.

He remembered the first time he and Zhongli went to a doctor. Then he was prescribed medication and it was such a relief. "Finally. Finally I'll feel better,"- he thought, "Finally I'll be truly useful to my Lord,"
but that's not how antidepressants work. They don't give you happiness instead of sadness,
they take both away.
They only make you feel empty.

“It doesn’t matter whether I’m happy or not, no one cares as long as I’m alive,” thought Xiao, sitting on the bed. Memories of the last few days began to flash through his head. Where. Where did he go wrong? Where did he fail Morax?

Two knocks on the door.

-Xiao?

-Come in.

He didn't have the strength to say more. Zhongli opened the door and walked into a small room. He sat down on the bed putting his hand on the shoulder of his faithful follower and said:

-Xiao, I'm afraid I have bad news.

When the man cast a gentle glance at his son thoughts flew through Xiao’s head, maybe, just maybe, he overthinks, he misunderstood. Rex Lapis never lied, the fact is the fact, the Lord of geo will not leave this world soon, Everything will be fine. Everything will be fine, he trusted-

-I'll die soon.

...

Well fuck.
Of course, his first wttempt to nor overthink and have hope should be irrevocably trampled like this.

-W-what? But. But how can this be?

He couldn't (and didn't really try), to hide the trembling in his quiet voice.

-Why? How?

-Please calm down, Xiao, let me explain.

With that, the taller man placed a reassuring hand on his yaksha's back. Sighing, he continued:

-There is one thing I didn’t want to tell you, listen to me carefully, Xiao, Celestia’s goal was never peace, the archons did not exist to protect, but to rule, if people didn't want to obey this one-sided “contract”, then they were simply exterminated by Gods. Erosion was not always something common for creatures like me, it was created by...someone I knew.

-Who?

There was a sharp threat in his voice. Xiao had never interrupted Zhongli before, but finding out that there was a reason for the death of his beloved God, drops of rage and a fleeting desire for revenge flowed through his veins. Rex Lapis didn't seem to notice his son's changing emotions.

-Istaroth...She created erosion from black holes and directed it into various time loops. h- She hoped that when the Gods cleanse the world of evil spirits, they would be able to give people freedom with their complete disappearance. After all the wars, I, just like other archons hid in this world in the hope of preparing people for our disappearance, but as expected, Celestia was not happy with the refusal to use people for the eternal energy that feeds on worshiping. She was asleep before, but apparently felt weakened. Soon the heavenly officials will have to take action, and I don't think they will be undertaken through peace, so-

A dull thud echoed throughout the room once again interrupting Zhongli's speech.

-Come in.

The man said with a sigh as his boyfriend's confused head appeared behind the door.

-I’m really sorry, Xiansheng, but don’t you think we’re already too late? I really need to go soon, well, right now. Sorry.

Ajax mumbled apologetically, trying unsuccessfully to hide his curiosity, especially when Xiao's gaze looked straight into his soul. Zhongli's eyelids closed, he sighed tensely and after a few seconds added:

-Xiao, despite my previous statement, our plans have not changed. My life may not last as long as I expected but I still have at least from 80 to 100 years.

Everyone in the room fell silent. And Xiao generally looked at his mentor with eyes of complete surprise.

-Hm? Is there something wrong?

-Sun.. you know people don’t live that many years, right?

- Of course, why did you ask?

Zhongli answered embarrassedly, looking into Ajax’s eyes.

-Well, Xiao was supposed to keep your secrets there, help and well...protect people, (perhaps even protect them from you), but Xiao, well, Xiao is a human.

Understanding was reflected in the eyes of the former archon; in the last century, he really began to forget many details, such as: the need for pestilence for survival, the preciousness of human life, or, for example, when HuTao gave him a break for tea and he went to god damn Mondstadt to order some tea in a local tavern, also he had not yet noticed the quickened breathing of Xiao, who was sitting next to him and was trying with all his might to hide the trembling in his hands.

-Ok.

-OK!?

Unable to take his own stress Xiao answered.

-Please forgive me, I wanted to-

-It's okay Xiao, I can understand your confusion, but you don't have to worry, I'm taking all your responsibilities away from you, instead I'll just...

...I'll ask Istaroth to kill me..

..Today.

This phrase resounded like an echo in the yaksha’s head.

-What? no no no no no…

...no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no , no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no , no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no , no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no , no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no , no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no , no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no , no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no , no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no , no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no , no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no , no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no , no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no , no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no , no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no , no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no , no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no , no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no , no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no , no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no , no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no , no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no , no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no , no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no , no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no , no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no , no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no , no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no , no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no , no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no , no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no , no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no , no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no , no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no , no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no , no no no no,

Xiao didn’t remember whether he still managed to say a word, or was it all just screams inside his head. He also didn’t remember at what exact moment

everything disappeared.

the sounds disappeared

only thoughts broke the silence inside his overloaded mind. It seems it was a veil of tears because of which he could not see, it was difficult to control his body when all thoughts were about his ragged breathing and just about everything. So many things. So many. He could hear the worried voices of Tartaglia and Zhongli, but he could hardly say anything in response.

-I have a plan.

Xiao didn’t think that he would ever have to lie to ZhonLi, but now he was ready for absolutely anything.

˚✩☁︎︎⋆｡˚✩☁︎︎⋆｡❀♪💚♫˚✩☁︎︎⋆｡˚✩☁︎︎⋆｡❀

Here we are again. It’s 11:30, again the empty night streets of their city, streetlights, warm orange light.
He told Zhongli that he needed time and ended up spending the whole day wandering the streets
idiot
he was wearing a regular black hoodie and baggy pants, it's not that it was cold outside but it started raining half an hour ago, and the adeptus never came up actually come up with a plan, in other words, returning home is not an option. So now Xiao was hoping to find a secluded place where he could wait out the downpour. The only option was a clothing store but it was already full of people and Xiao really really didn’t want to deal with it. “Maybe I can hide from the rain with a hood?”- he thought. But unfortunately for him there was a strong wind outside, which every now and then brought drops of rain, like needles, right into his face. And when the boy decided to turn away, the damn wind decided to blow in the other direction and Xiao was once again doused with rainwater. By the way, he himself didn’t mind, his head still hurt because of all the thoughts, ideas and problems with sleep simply could not help but have some effect, so the refreshing wind and cold rain, on the contrary, helped Xiao concentrate.
˚✩♡♪⋆｡˚
In general, he always felt better when a strong wind blew, for example, in early childhood he loved birds a lot, it seemed as if his very soul was connected with these animals. And when a strong strong wind blew, Xiao would jump on the spot and let nature carry his small body to a meter or two as if he himself were a bird that could fly and find freedom, it seemed as if the wind always blew exactly when he needed it. When he was overcome by an incomprehensible sadness or joy (which he allowed himself to experience in that age), then a light breeze seemed to take his soul, carry it around the world and then give it back. Now Xiao couldn’t even dream about flying and freedom, he had long since forgotten what it was like, but when the wind blew, Yaksha simply couldn’t help but plunge into long-forgotten memories, as if he were still there,

somewhere far, far away.

here he sits on the roof with Bosacius and peacefully watches the clouds pass over their heads. Here he eats almond tofu sitting by the open window while Menogias writes his poems, and here he feeds the pigeons while a light breeze tickles his hair, and then he already has there was simply no choice but to feel, to feel sadness and joy and grief and regret, all unnecessary thoughts flew away with the wind, as if no matter what happened and no matter how many times he saw the death of his family, the wind, be it a light summer breeze , or a “terrifying” storm, the wind will always be here, the keeper of all feelings hidden behind the endless struggle, his home.
˚✩♡♪⋆｡˚
But it was very important for Xiao to take care of his health, he simply could not let ZhonLi down. So he again turned against the wind, shielding himself from the drops, and it only blew harder, thank the archons that this time at least not in his face. Xiao is too tired, so the guy let the wind push him at his back while he barely trudges forward, no longer trying to find a cover.
˚✩♡♪⋆｡˚
and now again his thoughts are rushing Morax knows where, but now this did not frighten him, even consoled him, he allowed himself to forget and at the same time remember everything for what there was not enough space in his head before.

and so he thought and thought and thought until the wind blew even stronger, tilting his body somewhere to one side and Xiao..

...crashed into a damn pole.

-Oh, come on!

Xiao muttered dissatisfiedly under his breath, rubbing his wounded forehead. When the Yaksha raised his eyes, in front of him there was an establishment still operating at that hour, a coffee shop. Inside, again, there was alot of people, but the room itself was small, around 6 tables, so there were more or less 8 people inside without the barista, perhaps it was the best option he could find, he had just enough mora for one a cup of coffee. Talking about sitting he could just stand near the door. When entering the room Xiao noted it's beautiful but simple design, on the walls there were abstract brown drawings of people and wooden shelves with books, everything was done in brown and white colors and overall it looked very cozy.

-One coffee, please.

Xiao told the blue-haired teen that worked there, handing him a few moras.

-Of course, what kind of coffee would you like, my liege?

The boy asked, Xiao hesitated, but in the end he chose something from the menu which was written on a wooden board that hung behind the barista. A few minutes later his order was ready and served in a white mug which Xiao tried to warm his hands with.

-Oh, I'm sorry, it seems there are no places left, perhaps we could bring you an extra chair, or-

-Excuse me, there's a free place next to me!

Without giving the barista time to finish, an unfamiliar guy who was sitting at a table near the window, decorated with flowers and candles, shouted out. Xiao was embarrassed, he was tired, of course, but the idea of communicating with someone was not the most pleasant.

-Thank you for your offer, but-

-No “buts”! Come on, sit down! I’ve already finished writing anyway, you won’t bother me.

Smiling with the biggest smile that Xiao had ever seen the stranger said, Yaksha did not dare to argue with the guy, especially not when his legs hurt so much from walking for the entire day.

-Wow, you sure are wet, here, take my jacket to at least somehow warm up.

To Xiao’s great misfortune the stranger was not affected by his murderous gaze and he immediately started talking. The guy with braids got a large turquoise jacket from nowhere. The yaksha wanted to ask who needs such a big jacket when it’s not so cold outside? Especially when the stranger was already wearing a brown seemingly very warm cardigan, but instead he silently accepted the kindness of his interlocutor not wanting to communicate more than necessary (he still couldn’t afford to get sick, for Rex Lapis’ sake)

-That’s better, ehe~

With these words, the stranger sat back in his seat and began to fold some notebooks and pens to give Xiao more space. The yaksha did not like to get into the personal space of others, but there was something suspicious about this man so he allowed himself to quickly analyze his surroundings. One notebook seemed to have staves on which, as Xiao thought, notes were writtten, but looking at the second notebook, the guy realized that it was all written by hand, hmm, despite his appearance, this stranger was very handsome and neat handwriting, one notebook was filled with poetry, and the second one was with stories, Xiao thought, but to his surprise, the notebook that (according to his theory) was occupied with stories, was distinguished by the fact that the handwriting there was not very neat, the words were often aggressively crossed out, and pages were torn.

-Here I write stories that I want to turn into poems or songs, these are my draft, and here I write down the final results.

With a slight smile, the stranger explained seeing Xiao's curious gaze. Our main character looked away embarrassedly, allowing the guy with braids to finish his task. Wait. Xiao himself saw how the stranger wrote in a notebook for poetry, it turns out that he wrote so beautifully on the first try, poems too? Okay, it didn't matter, the main thing was that the guy seemed harmless. For now.

-What is your name, my friend?

It didn’t immediately dawn on Xiao that the question was addressed to him.

-Xiao.

-Mmm. what a beautiful name, divine even. By the way, my name is Venti, but people usually know me as the best bard in Tayvat!

Venti added with a wink. Xiao just grunted in response, taking a sip of his now cold coffee. Both guys fell silent, and in the background people were still talking and calm music was playing, when the yaksha once again glanced at Venti, for the third time, grinned at something, Xiao only now noticed that the guy was reading, “The Birth of Tragedy: Out of the Spirit of Music,” hmm, what a strange one, what funny did he find in Nietzsche’s theory?

-Is everything okay, sir?

The man who was washing the next table asked, “another employee of this establishment,”-Xiao thought, he also thought about moving to the now free table, but considered this action impolite towards Venti.

-Yes.

Xiao answered too quietly, but the stranger surprisingly heard him.

-I'm glad, I apologize if I interrupted you, you just looked very tense.

Xiao was now able to get a better look at the worker, he looked quite young, but probably was around 25 years old, 30 at most, he had slightly tanned skin and almost completely white hair, his eyes were pink-red, and his irises were slightly shaking, Xiao made a note that most likely the man had poor eyesight and, accordingly, very good hearing, which explained why his whisper was heard even by the next table.

-Good.

That was all Xiao could squeeze out, but his interlocutor did not seem offended, he nodded understandingly and silently continued cleaning.

-Zuha is right, Xiao, I can literally hear your anxious thoughts floating in the air, would you like to share with the class?

Venti looked up from his book, his voice sounding cheerful but worried at the same time.

-Everything is fine. I just can't find a solution to one problem.

Venti remained silent, waiting for Xiao to continue.

-Well...let's assume that my whole family has one goal, but I can't fulfill it.

It sounded strange, the yaksha simply hoped that the interlocutor would leave him alone.

-Are you the first one who can’t fulfill it?

-No.

-So this problem has already occurred before?

-Yes.

-Why not solve it in the same way?

-That time it was a coincidence, I..I couldn’t do it myself-

-If I needed help, I would just hire a professional or simply asked more people for help.

-I don’t have mora.

-You can always pay with wine.

It was a very strange conversation, but it still gave Xiao some ideas.

-I have to go now, mein lieber, but we will meet again, ehe.

Venti said, elegantly rising from his chair and disappearing behind the doorway, merging with the street and leaving the yaksha to ponder, hell, he didn’t even say goodbye, “I hope Venti wasn’t offended,” he thought. When the guy was about to leave, he saw a piece of paper on the floor that was lying peacefully under the table. Notes. It was a melody that belonged to Venti. Oh, he didn’t even give me his jacket! Hurrying, Xiao rushed out of the coffee shop, but the owner of the jacket and sheet music had long since disappeared there, in the night.

somewhere far, far away.

˚✩☁︎︎⋆｡˚✩☁︎︎⋆｡❀♪💚♫˚✩☁︎︎⋆｡˚✩☁︎︎⋆｡❀