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The well-renowned Traveler was throwing a massive party in his Teapot.
He and Paimon had invited his friends from Mondstadt, Liyue, Inazuma and Sumeru, and they all accepted the invitation. (Aether was a little surprised that every single one of them had actually found time to attend.) As a result, his mansion was filled to the brim with people from all 4 nations, and they all conversed and got to know people from different nations a little better - although some of them were a little put off with each other. Various people from Mondstadt and Liyue, for example, found themselves questioning why Nahida, the so-called God of Wisdom and the Dendro Archon, looked like an actual child. The Liyueans were wondering why Aether had invited a drunkard, the one Paimon called the Tone-Deaf Bard (except Zhongli, who knew why Venti was that way). And almost all of them were wondering why the Traveler had invited a literal Fatui Harbinger, Childe, to the party. (Nahida and Aether both wisely decided to keep their mouths shut about the indigo-eyed person with the dark indigo hair randomly wandering around the mansion, but Ei swore he looked strangely familiar - although she wasn't sure why.)
Before the party had commenced and the people had arrived, however, Aether was extremely busy preparing all sorts of dishes from all four nations, with the assistance of Xiangling. As they were cooking, however, they realized they had a bit of a problem.
"How much longer will you take? Paimon's getting a little impatient..." Paimon inquired.
"Just a few more minutes, Paimon," Aether replied, wiping the sweat from his forehead and double-checking the ingredients. "Though... we're missing a few things."
"You didn't double check, did you?" the pixie narrows her eyes, glaring at Aether as if he had just committed a crime. He could only respond with a "Whoops..." as a reply, guilty. Paimon sighs.
"Don't worry, I brought some substitutes!" exclaimed Xiangling, taking out some weird-looking berries, leaves, and various other ingredients that she had kept in reserve.
"Are you sure those are safe?" inquired Aether, knowing that sometimes she would choose the strangest of ingredients as substitutes. He wasn't too sure about the nutritional value of some of the things she put in her dishes, more or less if they had any unwanted side effects or if they could even be considered as edible, so he had his suspicions.
"Oh, don't worry about it!" she said, already starting to put some of the ingredients in her cooking. "I've tried some of them, and I'm sure there won't any side effects for anyone that consumes the food!"
"Alright, then, whatever you say." He still wasn't convinced, but decided not to pry any further regarding the strange ingredients.
"Well, don't just stand there and watch her cook! Paimon urges you to hurry up!" Paimon reprimanded Aether.
"Paimon! Don't be rude!" Aether scolded, grabbing onto one of Paimon's legs and whisking her away from the large table filled with a variety of dishes so she couldn't consume any of it before anyone else could have a bite. It was already time to eat, and the fairy would have consumed half of the dishes on the table, if not for the timely intervention of the Traveler who she intentionally tried to distract by getting him to converse with Kamisato Ayaka and her brother Ayato.
"But Paimon's so hungryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!" she complained, her mouth watering.
"Paimon, have some respect and consideration for our guests," he said, a hint of annoyance in his tone. "They're hungry too, you know? Plus, you already had a Sticky Honey Roast, Fisherman's Toast, some Onigiri and a Super Magnificent Pizza all to yourself just a few hours ago!"
"Fine," Paimon said in a defeated tone, as onlookers watched in amusement. The fairy decided to float off to a random corner of the room.
"Sorry about that," Aether apologized to Ayaka, who was beside him. "She can be a bit greedy sometimes."
"I know, you need not apologize for that," she replied, her fan hiding the lower part of her face. Aether sighed, and double-checked the food and utensils before announcing to everyone, "Alright, everything's prepared! Choose whatever you like on the table! And remember, ladies first."
"Finally, I'm starving!" Amber commented, her eyes already glued to the Sticky Honey Roast.
Around fifty minutes into the party, everyone had already chosen the foods they wanted to eat, and some of them had devoured their selections swiftly and were already satiated. They were all enjoying Aether and Xiangling's cooking, and and were generally having a good time. Even the Shogun, Xiao, the Wanderer (he didn't want anyone to know that he was Scaramouche), Diluc, Shenhe and Kujou Sara managed to strike up some conversations with unfamiliar people. Though at one point both Jean and Barbara had to physically restrain Eula and Rosaria from striking Childe down and turning the whole thing into a disaster. Kokomi had to hide Gorou away while Kaeya distracted Yae Miko multiple times. Ganyu was constantly being chased by Qiqi, who in turn kept running away from Hu Tao, who was chasing after her with a casket and shovel and making quite a mess even though Dr. Baizhu was constantly blocking her path and Noelle gave her and Ganyu some pretty annoyed looks. And Sayu almost struck Venti down when he sang a little too loud and disturbed her quite peaceful nap on the couch. But even with the short chaotic periods across the party, there seemed to be something else happening - something none of them were anticipating even in the slightest.
"Is it just me, or is it getting hot in here?" Xinyan asked, sweating a little bit.
"No, it's definitely not just you," Keqing said, setting aside her Golden Shrimp Balls as her face started to show the slightest tint of red. Surprisingly, it was happening to the other women as well, and none of them knew what exactly was happening to any of them... yet. Even Ayaka started fanning herself a little faster than normal.
"I feel the same way, somehow," stated Nilou, trying to wipe the sweat starting to form on her forehead.
"Is someone using Pyro?" asked Shenhe, her Cryo abilities failing to cool her down from the heat building up within her.
"What do you mean?" questioned Aether, clueless and unaffected by whatever was affecting the females. "There's no one using any Pyro. And as far as I can tell, the room temperature has stayed the same throughout the entire day."
"I concur," agreed Albedo, who was also equally as unaffected. "There has not been a significant difference in the temperature that the room has maintained ever since the party began."
"You guys have to be lying, right?" Dehya inquired suspiciously.
"Yeah, there's no way you two aren't feeling anything when each and every one of us feels that the temperature has risen," argued Amber, and the rest of the women nodded in agreement.
"Lying?" Zhongli raised an eyebrow. "I can assure you, they are not lying, as I can confirm that what they are saying is true." Venti, although evidently drunk, nodded in agreement, though no one was sure if he nodded on instinct or if he knew what he was agreeing to. (He later decided to go downstairs to get more drinks, his words slurred.)
"I have the same observation," Ayato says.
"I can somewhat say that is true, but at the same time that is also false," squeaks Sucrose, her face turning into a more obvious shade of red.
"Maybe you all just need some fresh air," Aether suggests, not noticing the redness on their faces.
"How considerate of you, cutie," Lisa says with that sultry voice of hers, her face also reddening. "But I don't... I don't think it's the lack of fresh air that's our problem." At this point their breathing started to become harder, more audible, and none of the men there had any clue what was happening to them. Even the Shogun seemed to have some difficulty performing normal inhalations and exhalations.
"My, my, this feeling seems... familiar..." Yae Miko comments, though none who heard her got the message.
"Are you okay, sister?" Ayato asked Ayaka, who was looking at Aether quite intensely. A lot of the other women were also staring at him, though he was quite oblivious to the situation.
"Don't worry, brother, I'm fine!" she said, her reassurance not convincing. She had her free hand tugging on her collar, trying to cool herself down. "I'm perfectly fine, I'm..."
Before she could say anything else, however, something stirred within her. An urge. A flaming desire, burning inside of her, that she needed to let out. And it only took a few more seconds gawking at Aether before she could restrain herself no more. She wasn't sure why exactly she was feeling this way, but she didn't have it in her to question it any further. No sooner had she felt the intense need did she suddenly, and without any warning, lunge towards Aether, forcefully cupping his cheek, closing the distance between them and pulling him in an unexpectedly passionate kiss, their bodies shuddering at the contact. Everyone's eyes widened at the shockingly daring act, especially Aether, but it was at this point that those who were affected by the same sort of heat now only fully realized the feeling that was bubbling, emerging from deep within every single one of them.
Uncontrollable lust.
Similar to Ayaka, none of them could find it in themselves to question why exactly they were feeling this way. Was it the food? If it was, then surely the men in the room would be affected as well? But none of them showed any signs of sweating, redness, or even nervousness. And unfortunately, none of the women had the slightest bit of sanity left to investigate what exactly caused the sudden buildup of heat within them. Their main focus was on the Traveler that was in the room. His scent. It was the most powerful somehow, almost blocking the other males' scents entirely and it didn't help that the smell was so... alluring. So overpowering, making their minds hazy. It made them want to kiss him as well. No, they wanted to do much more than that. So much more. Their clothes were burning, like fire on their skin, and they wanted to take them off. But not right now, as they still needed to convince - no, to capture - the Traveler. Their thought processes were going downhill even further with every passing second, their imagination carrying their minds to the dirtiest of thoughts.
When Ayaka broke off the kiss, Aether and Ayato were about to seriously question the motives behind her surprising move, before stopping themselves when they saw the looks on the other women's faces. They were really sweaty, their faces red, staring at them, and they were all... licking their lips and giving salacious smiles? Aether blinked. He wasn't hallucinating, somehow, this was real. He could sense that there was mischief behind their unexpected grins. And when the faint whiff of feminine arousal was picked up by his keen sense of smell, something clicked in his head as he finally put two and two together. They were targeting him. And he needed to escape. Right now.
"Uh... Ayato, Albedo, Zhongli?" he asked, his expression fearful as he slowly starting to back away from the huge group of thirsty women looking at him intently - like a fly in a net filled with spiders.
"Yes?" the three replied in unison, as hearts started to appear in the eyes of the predatory females, and in response the trio started to back away as well.
"RUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!!!!!"
As the four of them scrambled and headed for the door, the women saw and immediately realized what they were trying to do and chased after them relentlessly.
"Get back here!" Keqing and Rosaria screeched, their voices both angry and excited.
"Aeeeeeetheeeeeeeer~!" called out Amber, Hu Tao and Yoimiya.
"I am in need of some relief, Traveler! It is something you cannot refuse!" Ei said straightforwardly.
"Are you just gonna leave us here all hot and bothered? Mark my words, vengeance will be mine!" Eula declared.
Just before any of them could get their hands on them, however, the four of them got out of the room and slammed the door shut with a loud "BANG!". There were multiple thuds that followed, as Ayato and Zhongli put all of their strength into blocking the door so it wouldn't open.
"Whoa, there, you four seem panicky," Childe smirked. "What happened to you guys?" Albedo just glared at the Harbinger, his expression deadpanning.
"Childe," Aether said, placing his hand on the Harbinger's shoulder. "We need to get out of here. Now." A thud was heard coming from the other side of the door, and Ayato and Zhongli were struggling to keep the door shut.
"What do you mean, man?" Itto looked up from the game he and Paimon were playing. "We just started playing! What gives?"
"Yeah, Paimon was just about to beat Itto!" the pixie said as she placed her hands on her hips.
"Is something the matter?" Diluc asked, abruptly stopping his chat with Xiao, and the yaksha also shared a stoic but concerned look on his face.
"Has the Honorary Knight done something again?" Kaeya teased. Another thud from behind the door. Zhongli used the power of Geo to hold the door in place a little more firmly, tightening the hinges and covering the tiny spaces in the doorway.
"No, but the situation is much worse than that," Albedo disclosed. Aether ran over to where Paimon was, his face fearful.
"I'm going to have to disturb your game for a bit. This is urgent. Paimon, go to the other room, and get Diona, Klee, Qiqi and Sayu out of here as fast as you can," he pleaded, and Paimon noticed the urgency and fear in his voice. Paimon nodded, though she didn't fully understand what was happening, and quickly floated away to tell them.
"Wait, what exactly is happening?" Kaeya asked, and this time he was completely serious.
"Do you need any assistance, my liege?" Xingqiu offered. Another thud, this time more forceful, and then they heard a few muffled voices coming from the other side, calling out to the poor overwhelmed Traveler.
"Aether, please don't leave us here!"
"Traveler, I need an heir!"
"I've been overworking myself. You wouldn't mind helping me relax, would you?"
"I swear, once I get my hands on you, I'll milk you for all you're worth!"
"I can give you another kind of song if you want~"
"I have a great idea for a dance you and I can do together~"
"The Prinzessin der Verurteilung requires your most necessary assistance with her current physical dilemma, traveler from another realm!"
"Can you give us some cuddles, at least? Pleeeeeease?"
"I have quite the surprise for you to bring the next time you board on the Crux!"
"The Liyue Qixing can reward you well, if you can be so kind as to help us~"
Aether gulped, his mind racing. Now the rest of the men present knew exactly what was happening, and they each backed away from the door that prevented any of the desperate females from getting their hands on their beloved Traveler. Even Kaeya, Xiao and Diluc had wide eyes, shock written all over their faces. Another thud was heard, and Ayato was already struggling to counter the force on his back, the power of his Hydro working at full strength. Zhongli shared a similar expression.
"Quite the playboy, aren't you?" Childe smirks. Aether blushes profusely. First Ayaka kissing him, and now this madness. A part of him was screaming that this was a dream, but he pinched himself, and confirmed that this was one thousand percent reality.
"That... does not sound good at all," Tighnari says, his ears twitching at the endless stream of suggestive requests coming from behind the door. Alhaitham looks at Aether in utter confusion and surprise.
"What did you do?" Xiao raised an eyebrow, lowering his Almond Tofu.
"Did something happen to milady? Why does she sound different?" Thoma questioned, lowering his watering can.
"As much as I appreciate your concern for my sister, Thoma," Ayato said, bracing his back for the next thud on the door he was blocking, "she is in such a troublesome state that not even I would want to be around her presently."
"Everyone in the room behind us is in the same state as her," Zhongli clarifies.
"Traveler, did you give them an aphrodisiac?" Diluc asked, his voice trembling a little. Another thud, this time slightly louder, from behind the door.
"What's an aphrodisiac?" Bennett asked from the far corner of the room, but his innocent inquiry was completely ignored.
"What?! No, no, no! I didn't give them anything, I swear! I didn't do anything, you have to believe me! I don't know what happened to them or why it's happening to them!" Aether raised his hands defensively.
"Seems like you did, though," Childe commented. "Probably the food."
"If it was the food, then why aren't we affected?" questioned Alhaitham. Another thud, even louder.
"Good point. Maybe it was administered by some other means," noted Albedo. Aether thought about it a little bit. 'It might have been the substitute ingredients that Xiangling put,' he thought, 'and maybe only the females were affected because I said the ladies would go first. Oh no...'
Itto scratches his head. "I don't understand. Is Aether in danger?"
"That is most definitely a yes," Alhaitham answers. "As for why he is in danger, though..."
"Well, whatever the case, it is much too late to turn back now," Zhongli said, his voice a little strained as he and Ayato continued to block the door. "Go! Warn Venti and the others on the ground floor. Tell them to assist in your escape. Do not let them get their hands on the Traveler. We can't hold them off for any longer than-"
Another thud, and this time the door was finally knocked down, and Ayato and Zhongli were knocked unconscious from the sheer force of the door frame hitting the back of their heads and forcing them down upon the floor.
"There you are, little one," Yae Miko snarls, her voice laced with both venom and desire, and Aether let out a squeak.
"RUN!!!" Aether exclaims for the second time, and the men present instantly make a mad dash downstairs. During the chase, Aether whisked a drunk Venti away from the counter, Childe grabbed Scaramouche, Xingqiu got a grip on Chongyun and pulled him off of his seat, Itto seized Gorou, and Thoma pulled on Kazuha, all of which were confused as to why they were suddenly being forced away from the mansion - and the confusion grew even further, extending towards fear and concern, when they saw the large amount of women chasing after them. But they had not gone very far from the mansion when suddenly they were surrounded on all sides by the women they so feared in their current state. Aether gulped audibly.
"You cannot escape your fate," Mona says, her fingers twitching.
"It would be quite unfair to leave us in our current condition, without any sort of alleviation, hmm?" Jean says, and even from this distance Aether could see she was already wet with arousal. Even Noelle, the usually shy maid, was looking at him viciously and lecherously with one hand in between her legs.
"You all need to chill," Childe says, but even he knew that was an impossibility.
"Yeah, I agree with the Harbinger for once," Bennett says. "And I'd never thought I'd have to agree with a Harbinger in my entire life."
"Consider it an exception," the Wanderer states.
"My liege seems to be in a different yet more complex danger," Xingqiu observes. Venti, not knowing what was happening at all, only let out an "Ehe?" sound, before passing out from the alcohol.
"Useless as always," Diluc muttered, rolling his eyes.
"Wait, what are we protecting him from again?" Itto asks, still confused.
"From them," Kaeya gestured to the women surrounding them.
"Why are their faces so... red?" Gorou questions, only fully understanding the situation before him seconds after he asked that.
"Come on, girlies," Childe pleads, "let the Traveler rest even a little bit. He needs no disturbance."
"Oh, we will," Barbara answers, looking like she could pounce on Aether at any given moment. The women summon their respective weapons, fully intent on snatching Aether away from the protection of his male comrades for the sake of intimately relieving themselves with him, even if it meant fighting their own friends. They were desperate. He was the perfect person to take with them. The perfect mate. The only one who could save them from their current state. "We'll most definitely let him rest. With us."
"I really don't like what that implies," Chongyun says.
"Are you all out of your minds?" Diluc questioned, his expression unchanging.
"They all definitely are," Albedo says. "Why else would they be surrounding us with predatory, lewd gazes, the scent of their arousal evidently wafting in the air, and all desperately trying to take the Traveler for themselves?"
"Wasn't expecting that to come from you of all people," Kaeya said. "And you make it sound like Aether is some toy."
"To them, maybe he is," voiced Gorou.
"Maybe we can all calm down and talk about this through," Bennett proposed, not quite understanding that it was far too late for that.
"That would be a very bad idea," Kazuha says. "At this point all logic and sanity has gone out of their heads, and instinct has overtaken them." Albedo nods in full agreement.
"Not even milady looks like she's normal at all - not to be offensive or anything. I have just never seen milady like this before," Thoma quietly observes Ayaka, who seemed to have some sort of translucent fluid dripping down her legs and was giving Aether a lascivious smile, even behind her fan.
"Why would you even consider that option?" the Wanderer says to Bennett. "They're in no state to talk like the civil people they once were."
"Can someone please tell me what's happening again?! This seems like a bad situation. Why exactly are we defending Aether? And why is Shinobu even on their side?!" Itto exclaims, his hands on the sides of his head as if he was about to pull his own hair in frustration.
"I don't know who this Shinobu is that you're referring to, but I know for a fact that it's because they're going to devour him," Kaeya answers. Aether groans, knowing Itto was going to take the reason literally.
"No way! Devour?! As in cannibalism?!" Itto turned slightly white at the thought of Aether becoming a new Teyvatian delicacy. Diluc facepalms.
"Yes, devour," Kaeya replies sarcastically.
"But why would they do that?! Aether isn't food, is he?!" Itto looks at Aether, almost examining him to see if any part of him was edible.
"Just stop asking questions and focus. The Traveler is under a serious threat," grunted Xiao.
"You mean threats," Xingqiu corrected.
"Our own friends becoming threats, how unexpected!" Kaeya exclaims. "And to think we'd take the side of the Honorary Knight, the Traveler! Never thought I'd have to fight side by side with some strange characters from other nations."
"Because he is the target," stated Albedo. "Even though they are the ones that - according to observation - consumed some sort of aphrodisiac, I can tell that by the end of this he will have suffered the most."
"Looks like we have no choice but to fight then," Childe sighs. "On the bright side, it does make for good sparring practice."
"Yeah, but there's the Raiden Shogun," whispers Kazuha, looking at the Electro Archon, who was holding the Musou Isshin firmly.
"Oh yeah. I kinda forgot about that," Childe rubs the back of his neck. "We're doomed, aren't we?"
"Let's just do our best to defend the Traveler from them," Gorou says firmly.
"Anything to prevent him from getting eaten!" declared Itto proudly. "We got this!"
"No, we don't." Diluc said monotonously.
"I concur. We have little to no chance of surviving their predicted assault," Albedo surmised.
"And yet we'll still try," Tighnari uttered, hopeful.
"Let's just get on with this," Xiao grunted, assuming a defensive stance.
"Maybe it was my bad luck charm that caused this," assumed Bennett.
"Bennett, don't blame yourself-" Aether reassures, but was almost immediately interrupted.
"Enough chitchat!" interrupts Keqing. "Mindless communication will get you nowhere. Give us the Traveler, or face the consequences."
"No," Tighnari states bluntly. He and Gorou could definitely hear the almost inaudible sounds of squelching coming from the women's crotches, as well as the desperate gritting of their teeth. Though if they were being honest, it could have been worse.
"So be it." All of the women immediately lunge towards the surrounded and outnumbered males, who retaliate by parrying each and every one of their attacks. But it didn't last, especially with the vicious offenses of the Shogun, a literal Archon, and it wasn't long until they were all down on the ground, battered and bruised and unable to move an inch. Although they were all very skilled, they were also quite clearly outnumbered, and they were all overpowered; their attempts to protect the Traveler were in vain. It was now only the Traveler that stood, against more than 40 thirsty women. And as they slowly approached him, intimidating him with their hungry, lecherous gazes, he only had one thing on his mind at this point:
'I am going to die.'
Paimon had just finished leading Klee, Sayu, Qiqi and Diona out of the Teapot, when she suddenly heard desperate screams coming from the opposite end of the realm. She instantly recognized who it belonged to: her one and only traveling companion, Aether. And it seemed that he was in some sort of danger. Something truly terrible was happening to him.
Panicking, she quickly rushed over to where the sound originated... only to be met with the sight of a terrified Aether on the grass - without clothes - being surrounded on all sides by different women - also unclothed, doing something on the lower half of his body. Scattered around the area were different articles of clothing, as well as various friends of his, who were all men, and they looked on in horror as the Traveler was used to relieve the females from their state of heat. Her face almost immediately turned an unhealthy shade of green, an urge to regurgitate right then and there almost overwhelming her as much as Aether was overwhelmed in his current position, and she could only look away in disgust, powerless and traumatized, as the cries of one helpless Traveler continued, and she whispered to herself,
"Paimon will probably not be back later."
She quickly got out of the Serenitea Pot without a second thought and opted to join Klee in her dynamite fishing instead.