Chapter Text
“Alhaitham. Hello.”
Alhaitham’s head snaps up in alarm, even as he registers the voice as belonging to a friend. “Shenhe. Hi.”
He closes his book and tries not to look too rueful. Even after nearly a decade in Juyun Karst, the adepti and their protégés still manage to sneak up on him every single time. Though he supposes he is technically considered one of Cloud Retainer’s students, it was a bit too late for her to instill into him those ethereal qualities that his adoptive sisters possess. He was already a teenager when she took him in . . . and either way, he’s less her student in the adepti arts, and more her student in inventing and mechanical tinkering – a love that neither Shenhe nor Ganyu shares.
“Happy Lantern Rite,” Shenhe tells him, and approaches him, bearing a bamboo container of the type that Liyuens often use to transport food.
“I . . . didn’t realize it was that time of year again,” Alhaitham says ruefully. “I would have prepared something for you, if I had . . .”
“There’s no need,” Shenhe says quickly. “I am relatively new to celebrating it. I suppose my family must have when I was a child, but my memories of festivities are few and far between. And you were never accustomed to celebrating it to begin with, correct? Since you are of Sumeru?”
Alhaitham nods. “We had other celebrations. Most of them were heavily regulated by the Akademiya, however, which tended to make them . . . less fun. More institutionalized. Sumeru’s culture was superseded by Akademiya culture, which essentially put many of our arts and traditions down behind the shed.”
“You don’t miss them, then?” Shenhe asks after a slight pause in which she worked out his metaphor. Alhaitham adds complications to his speech with Shenhe deliberately, at her own request. Upon rejoining human society in Liyue, she found herself too often at a loss when trying to interpret turns of phrases like idioms and figures of speech. Alhaitham doesn’t mind altering the way he speaks a bit to help her better learn.
. . . In another life, he probably would have worked for the Akademiya in some capacity or another. Probably as a mostly independent researcher. The Archons know he doesn’t have the patience to be an actual instructor. Teaching Shenhe, who he was raised alongside from his early teens to adulthood is one thing. Teaching dozens to hundreds of people he doesn’t know, on the other hand . . . it’s enough to give Alhaitham anxiety just thinking about.
“I don’t have family in Sumeru anymore. What makes many holidays and traditions surrounding them special are that they are rooted in family. Once your family’s gone . . . they’ll never be the same. So, it’s not the celebrations and traditions that I miss.”
Shenhe reaches out to pat his shoulder, but doesn’t offer apologies. Which is good. Alhaitham doesn’t want them. His grandmother’s passing isn’t something he likes talking about, even in vague strokes . . . though if it’s to help his adoptive sister understand humans and their emotions better, he doesn’t truly mind bringing it up briefly.
. . . He also knows that Shenhe feels somewhat bad for finding ties to her old family and growing close to her nephew, when Alhaitham has no other blood relations, and never will. Alhaitham doesn’t quite know how to explain to her that it’s okay. That he has people enough to keep his life from feeling empty. True, most of those people aren’t actually human, but he thinks that’s for the better. Despite being significantly older than him, he doesn’t have to worry about them leaving him behind.
A somewhat awkward silence settles over the two of them. Alhaitham waits a moment to give Shenhe the chance to dispel it, if she can . . . but it seems the task is still too much for her. She frowns at the ground, clearly searching for something to say, but when the silence stretches on a bit too long, Alhaitham takes it upon himself to break it, redirecting their conversation.
“I read in the Steambird that since Inazuma reopened its borders, they’ve begun establishing some new traditions. Such as a new festival to celebrate literature, and the revival of an ancient game whose rules were once thought lost to time.”
Shenhe looks thoughtful. “You are suggesting that we establish a tradition of our own? Or are you suggesting that you would like to travel to Inazuma to participate in theirs? I am open to either or both. What –”
At that moment, however, they’re cut off by a scream.
“Help! Heeeelp! Someone’s drowning!”
Alhaitham and Shenhe both leap to their feet and turn toward the sound of the voice – it seems to be coming from higher up – from the mountain top where Cloud Retainer’s abode lies.
“If only there was a kindhearted adeptus here to save us . . .” the voice continues to wail, and the specificity of it makes Alhaitham skid to a stop. “Oh no, whatever will a Paimon do?”
“Wait!” he calls to Shenhe. “It’s a trap!”
“It’s not a trap!” Shenhe rushes past him. “I know that voice!”
Alhaitham makes up the ground that his hesitation cost him by using his elemental skill to rush forward – but there’s another, who takes the form of wind and ether and blurs past them both. The Conqueror of Demons beats them both to the summit and dives into the (very) shallow pool on top of the mountain, to haul out the blond teenager who is flailing within, as a white-haired something or another continues wailing from the shore next to . . . is that Ganyu?
Conqueror of Demons carries the blond out of the water and onto the grass as Shenhe rushes ahead to catch up to him. Alhaitham, however, hangs back to observe. He has a strong suspicion as to who the blond stranger is, and whatever the circumstances that led to this . . . this attempted drowning are, they’re clearly going to have some awkward fallout. If Conqueror of Demons is going to get into a mood about it, then Alhaitham doesn’t want any part of that.
Besides . . . he’d rather his first meeting with the famed Traveler be in a situation he has a bit more control over than this. So, he stays just close enough to watch the fallout, then peels away shortly after Conqueror of Demons departs, catching Shenhe’s eye as she begins making plans to accompany her new friends and giving her a nod before melting away, out of sight.
He’s known for a while that the Traveler and Paimon would probably be thrust into his life sooner or later. He’d just rather it be later than sooner, right now. It hasn’t been that long since he met Shenhe’s nephew, Chongyun, and Chongyun’s friend Xingqiu, and there’s a definite limit to how many new people Alhaitham can deal with in a year. His adoptive sister understands.
He’ll meet up with Shenhe before the Lantern Rite is over, and they can do something else together. Something quiet.