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“You must be well loved by your people.”
Venti glanced at the small archon, arching his brow. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, just her looking up at him with soulful green eyes and a thoughtful expression. He could hear Ei and Zhongli in the background quarreling. The sharp barbs from the younger archon and carefully controlled yet equally stern quips back from Morax were amusing to listen too. He’d been entertaining himself on who would win. Ei would never back down without a fight, but Morax was as stubborn and unmovable as his element. They were, of course, arguing over the last highly prized and very delicious tricolor dango that Lumine had so graciously provided for them as thanks for coming along. He was waiting for the perfect opportunity to whisk it away from its plate when their backs were turned.
Nahida, however, the savior of Irminsul itself and thus all of Teyvat, stared up at him- equally as intriguing as the argument. He asked with a small, curious laugh, “And why this particular observation?”
She hummed, not off put by the way he laughed a little, something knowing in her gaze, “Is it not obvious? I should think it was. But then again,” she tapped her chin, thoughtful, “Perhaps, it is more noticeable to me than most.” She put her hands on the railing, peering down at the red tiled houses of Mondstadt spread out before them, waiting for Venti to join her, his footsteps light as air. She looked back up at him, almost expectantly, “The Traveler has taken me many places since she rescued me. Now that Sumeru is peaceful again, the desert and the forest united at least partially, and the Six Great Sages have been appointed, she thought I could afford to take some time off. I admit that it is nice to see Teyvat with my own two eyes.”
She brushed her fingers along the vines trailing up the stonework, the flower buds blooming at her touch, “We went to Inazuma. Many things happened there. But I saw a statue that the people of Inazuma built for their archon. Well, at order of their archon. When I remarked that such a thing was kind of them, Ei was quick to tell me that it had happened at her behest. And Paimon informed me that Lumine was in danger at one point of being trapped within.”
Venti nodded, remembering the vision hunt decree, wincing and laughing nervously at the reminder of that embarrassing debacle, “She was. I was there for a great deal of it. I wasn’t… as much of a help as Lumine might’ve wished, ehe.”
Nahida blinked, lips quirking upwards and eyes crinkling, “Not all help is combative. And I think you help her far more than you think,” she peered back down at the city, “What I found is that the people of Inazuma respect the Raiden Shogun, just as the people of Liyue respected Rex Lapis,” she turned, staring up at the statue of Barbatos, her study of it careful before she turned her gaze once more on Venti, “The people of Mondstadt love Lord Barbatos.”
Venti laughed, brushing it off, “Well, I mean- of course they do,” he grinned, “The first thing I did was help set them free. And then the very second thing I did was leave!”
Nahida remained unblinking, unaffected by his joke, “I'm not very old. Not in comparison to you, Lord Barbatos. But I am fairly sure you did much more than that.” She clasped her hands, looking up at the statue, something almost longing in her gaze, “Your people have so much faith in you. And they love you very much,” she looked down at her hands, letting them fall, voice suddenly quiet, “And even I, the god of wisdom, do not know how to accomplish such a thing.”
Venti's humor dropped and his lips flattened into a sudden seriousness, “Buer.”
Nahida looked up at her other name, eyes wide. Venti crouched down, arms folded, “You are well loved by your people. You forget that I was there for Lumine as well during her time in Sumeru. I was witness to that disastrous Sabzeruz festival.”
She fidgeted with her hands, “Then you know.”
Venti nodded, serious, “Indeed, I know,” he turned, glancing at the two other archons, the plate forgotten as they quarreled. He smiled then, mischievous. The wind responded, curling, neatly blowing the tricolor dango to him. He caught it in his hand, facing Nahida with a hum, fidgeting with the food in his hand, “I know. Your people loved you very much. They loved you enough to fight for you. And the sages of the Akademiya knew that. They were scared of it and thats why they tried to shut it down,” he smiled wider as he passed her the tricolor dango, “And even the old blockhead will tell you that.”
Nahida took it with wide eyes, staring up at him as he stood up again, his smile widening and laughter returning, “You are the god of wisdom, who sacrificed herself and her memories to restore the roots of Irminsul, who saved the world. All of Teyvat adores you- your people the most of all. And you don’t need some silly statue to prove it.”
Nahida seemed brighter, eyes sparkling, looking down at the tricolor dango in her hand, almost shy, voice soft, “Thank you, Venti,” and then she smiled, wide, looking up him with no small measure of fondness, “Thank you, Lord Barbatos.”
She looked up at the statue, something soft in her eyes, “I can see very clearly why they love you so much.”
Venti blinked, surprised, scratching the back of his head with a nervous laugh, “Well, I don’t know about that-“
Nahida shook her head, voice bright and soft, “They do. Both Venti and Barbatos. And it is a well deserved faith. For you are still by their side, standing with them,” the wind blew as she looked up at the statue, eyes twinkling and full of knowing, a wisdom far beyond her years, “Even if they do not quite realize how close you truly are.”