Chapter Text
“Young man, it’s good to be helpful and kind to your surroundings but be careful not to lose sight of what really matter.”
The traveler with golden locks’ track of thoughts stopped. He couldn’t decipher the expression of the old lady in front of him. What really “matter”? What did she mean by that? The young man had an odd feeling. Was the owner of the kite stand reproaching him for being himself? But he was not hurting anyone. And… Far… Far from being kind… Perhaps he was using people to feed his own ego. He liked to feel useful, knowing that he was needed somewhere in this still foreign world reassured him.
“Madam.”
The outlander looked at the kites behind her that fluttered gently along the wind. Ah… He still reminisced the times where he could fly freely like them with his sibling.
“You don’t have to worry. I’ll be fine.” He said as he put on his best smile.
Unfortunately in Teyvat, he was merely a bird with atrophied wings.
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“I will never understand why you seek so much those humans’ recognition.”
The raven-haired man turned to face him with an indescribable expression. His words were as piercing as his amber eyes.
“Eh?”
The traveler was lost for words.
“Again.” Ã̶̆̉̎͑̾ͪ́̚҉̡͞҉̧̱̯̥̭̘̱̰͇̕ę̷̵̨̢̧̙͈̲̪̼̠̖̅͑̅͗̑̏̏͋͢͡ͅţ̶̸̴̴͍̲̱̲̳̪̘̥̂ͯ̈ͣͩͩ̈ͥ͘͢͜h̏̆̏̄̄ͥ͌̚͏̷͘͜͟͝͏̧̙͚̮̜̲̳̮̝e̵̢̧̝͓̩͇̪̦͓͍͛ͥ̔̽ͩ̅̄̓́͘͢͟͞r̷̢̿̇̿̓̈́ͭ͆͂͝͞҉̢̰̰̱̥̠̣̟͔͟͝ thought.
This time it was Xiao who mentioned it.
Á̶̸̢ͪͯ̔̓͆ͮͪ͘͟͠͞͏͓͎͉̳͚͇̪͉e̅͛͐͋̔͛ͨͭ ҉̴̡̨̥̰̹̼̼͕̯̰́͜͜͝ţ̵̷̷̵̟͖̺̥͙̣̦̹ͬ̓̆̌̓͑̆̀̚͢͝hͨ̐̓̔͛̌̔ͥ̀͘͘҉̡͟҉̡͇̱̗̮͕̰̗̼e̴̵̡̢̧̤̪̖͕̺͎̭ͪ̌̏̈̃́̄͌͘͢͟ͅr̸̷̨̨̢ͫ̍̓̓ͥ̍͒ͥ͘͢҉̣͙̼̠̭͎͍͈'s eyes lost themselves in contemplating the nocturnal silhouettes of the trees from Wangshu Inn dancing across the adeptus' face. As if he was avoiding to look directly into his eyes.
“I … don’t. I don't expect anything from anyone. I just like to see people happy Adeptus Xiao.”
"..."
Silence.
The yaksha stayed stone-faced, but it was quite different in his interiority.
“Then, what about you?”, those simple words were stuck inside his throat and just asked to be pronounced, but he kept quiet. After all, the nameless outlander with golden hair had always taken time to stay besides him, even after a long day of traveling around Teyvat for poor rewards. How foolish. All this just to appease a little bit his karmic debt. Xiao was aware of this, that he too was selfish to take advantage of this person’s kindness. But what could he do? He was like a crystalfly attracted by the light of a lantern. The connection between them … had been woven and tied together little by little through the seasons and now it was far too late to break it.
“If you awake to a knife at your throat, if monsters dig their claws into you, if death comes knocking at your door, call out my name. Adeptus Xiao. I will be here when you call.”
Simple words that made the traveler’s heart flutter without him knowing.
“Thank you, I’ll remember it.”
Ah…
This smile again.
How pretty.
However, he could not help but feel a clutch of pain at his heart. What a subtle lie that hid behind such a delicate and charming picture.
The traveler would never call out his name.
The yaksha knew that someone who hid their identity under a false name would never rely on others. However, he still wanted to believe that by sowing a few seeds of hope here and there, it could one day lead to a blossoming of trust between them.
He will wait.
His time was different from humans. He was aware that the traveler was not mortal either. He will know how to apply the patience that Morax had taught him. He had all the time in the world for Ä̛̟͖̯̳̙̘͓́̐̏ͬͧͥ͑͐e̶̥̟̣̰̱ͥ̒̿t̷̢̤͖̟̠̀̀h̸̲̘̥̜͓̙͎ͪ͂̈́͌ͬ̈̿ͦ́͘e̷͉̝ͧ̚͢r̴̈́͑̋͑͒ͮ͛҉҉̰̤̺̤̪̮.