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Every day, every month, every year, every century, has always been the same for Adeptus Xiao. The Karma that accumulates with him, taint him and other living beings and it’s been spreading. Nothing new to him, he has faced countless monsters that have been tainted by the karmatic that bigger and stronger. Even so, he only needed the anemo power from the vision, and his jade spear in hand to exorcise demons, and free the tainted living beings from the karmatic that only he must suffer with it. No human beings, animals, not even the demons from the abyss had to pay the price.
This is Xiao’s responsible as an adeptus, this is how he protects Liyue harbor. Yet, he silently yearns to experience the new wonders that the mortal humans that live in Liyue has offered to the world. But wonders to him are like little firefly, fleeting little beings that are sensitive to the prescenes of humans. If the thought of experiencing wonder ever sparks within him, the pain of the karmatic binds would extinguish it with a blink.
He’s loneliness is to protect others from himself. Sometimes he can’t help but wonder. Will he one day wear the mask not to excorcise demons, but to dance in a field of flowers? Foolish imagination. He thought. If it ends then it ends. He has does not held high hope, but he is living being too. To dance in a field of flowers, is his yearning.
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“It’s you, I remember you”
A girl in white dress with feathers and…Glaze lilies, Qingxin? He dosen’t recognize those flowers in Liyue or anywhere. Her little floating friend, yes, it’s her with the sigil of permission.
Why can’t he forget about her? And until now, he couldn’t understand why he can’t seem to forget about her.
She’s a mortal and he is an adeptus, he has duty, a responsibility for centuries. He forgets mortals that visited him or the ones he saved from danger so that they won’t get hurt by being with him. He conquers evil but the mutation, the karma spreading onto monsters and demons sometimes it’s uncontrollable. The mortal traveler, Lumine. He still remembered her name.
Why is it so hard to forget about her?
Why is he seeing her everywhere she goes in Liyue?
He had told himself that he is patrolling to looks for signs of demons to exorcize like usual but he always saw her and the floating companion sometimes with three people with her from afar but so close. Too close.
Fate is bringing them together, Xiao thought of a simple random answer something maybe Ver Goldett would say to a love strucked visitor from afar at the inn. That is just pure senseless imagination, it’s ridiculous. Adeptis do not indulge in such imaginations that only mortals can imagine it. Better not think about it at all then for his own sake.
He said that but then she starts to visit him at Wangshu Inn, offering him almond tofu and satisfying salad. Not only that, she just wants to see how he’s doing with his karma? She does not need to waste her empathy on a cursed being like him. Yet, the karma is bearable when she visited him more often.
She and her companion sometimes spoke about their jobs of taking commissions, requests, the ruins they’ve encountered on their journeys and the tales behind it. Including treasures they found and they challenges they faced, sometimes they did it with their friends that they’ve made. At first, it didn’t matter to him but he just listens to them and give advices when travelling in Liyue. Then later on, he finds himself enjoy listening to Lumine’s story, her voice seems to calm him down. He can’t explain it but calm is what he felt. And sometimes she would cook him food with mild taste and he gladly accept it.
Her sweet voice, the way she’s iridescent under sunlight or moonlight. She had eyes like Cor Lapis but something more beautiful would describe it perfectly. The flowers on her hair are odd and exotic. He’s never seen such a pure white flower with soft light glowing like moonlight perhaps that’s the reason why Lumine looks so, ethereal not just beautiful. A part of him wants to know about her and maybe they can be friends and more than that.
What is wrong with me? But it doesn’t hurt?
Strange.
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Two Qingxin and two Glaze lilies wrapped together with a pink ribbon. Xiao looks in the mirror to make sure that all the dirt and demon blood and scent are no longer on his body. He does not want her to worry of him when she comes to visit.
“Lu..mine, I have some flowers that I picked up,”
What is he doing?What is he doing? What is wrong with him? Is he sick?
“Lumine, I picked up these flowers because you seldom offer almond tofu to me when I did not ask for it, and, these flowers are for you, Qingxin for your, cookings, And glaze lilies to put it in your hair,”
Was it really glaze lily on her hair, he swear he does not recognize the flowers on her hair and it dosen’t look like it’s preserved like Hu Tao’s flowers on her hat. What is he even saying? He sounds just like those love struck humans that acts ‘odd’(the only word he he could describe it) and this is out of his character. Right, he wants to repay her kindness. Her kindness that is like a ray of light that eases his karmatic debt. He wants to get to know about her and be with her but just not too close.
Is he in love with her?
Ridiculous
What if she merely pity you and not love you?
Then I just want her kindness, her understanding of my curse and repay it. I, wish to thank her for that.
The voices taunt him, sometimes it caused him to ache his heart and pain in his head. Somewhat he was able to counter the haunting voices. It feels overwhelm when the voices come grabbing him but less painful ever since he met her. He also learned one or two ‘simple’ things from her through his observation and practice a little. Although, normally the solution is to excorsize demons it dosen’t always keep the voices from taunting him with doubts it keeps him busy but the pain and aching in his head remains.
Then, he saw Lumine coming to the inn with a tall man with ginger hair. He seen him with her that time, and his instincts sometimes tell him to take her away from him, tell him to stay away from her, he growls at the sight of him trying to woo her, and she respond with his wits. He wish he could hear what their both saying to each other.
He does not like the mere presence of the ginger haired man by her side especially seeing that he is impressing her like other humans do with their love partners. “They’re not lovers, their just weird friends,” he nearly hissed at himself when the doubts are getting the better of him. He just to repay her kindness, that’s all.
Finally, he leaves Lumine alone. What a strange emotion he just felt. He dosen't even understand what came up to him. He saw her with the blue haired exorcist being bashful and wanting to woo her as well as other man that came with her. He dosen’t feel that instinct that fed him rage for few seconds just now. Strange.
Sorry Lumine, he needs to be alone, meditate, for good measure of this uncertainty that fuzzes his body like ball of yarn tangled and tied in knots everywhere.
“Boss,”
“Yes, Xiao, is there something you like to say?”
“When, Lumine, needs to spend the night here, she can have my room,”
“Oh, very well, I suppose I’ll fetch someone tidying it up then,”
“No, it’s fine, I’ll clean it up,” He hardly needs it even if he’s, tired.
“Oh, I see, thank you, Xiao.”
He stepped in to his room and it was hardly dusty or messy but he makes quick work of using a little bit of his anemo powers. He straightened the blankets and covers of the bed and lay the flowers on it. He wanted to give the flowers to her personally and express his gratitude but he needs to get a hold a himself first and the inn is not a place for him to handle his newfound emotions not even exorcising demons too unless if he happens to encounter it but not now.
He lets out a heavy sigh as he teleports to the river in Dihua Marsh.
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Lumine excitedly walks up to the balcony with a pouch that is tied in a pink ribbon in her hand. She searches for him, calling out for his name around the inn. Yet, he was nowhere. She went to Ver Goldett and ask: “Boss, do you know where Xiao is?”
“Oh, Lumine, I’m afraid that Xiao has left just now but he has something for you,”
“For me? From Xiao?”
She couldn’t believe what she is hearing now. Normally, she would be the one that has something to give to him. This is new.
“A gift from Xiao? It dosen’t sound like him at all and Paimon think it’s awkward for him to do that,”
Ver Goldett chuckles at Paimon’s comment
“It’s true, come with me,”
Verr Goldett smile and led them two. To think, Xiao ‘gave’ his room to them, to Lumine to rest it made Lumine’s eyes widen as she takes in his room even though it’s just a normal clean room in Wangshu inn. Her eyes then fall on the flowers tied together on the bed.
Two Silkflowers and two Glaze lilies. Tied together in pink silk ribbon, she caressed the soft petals of the flowers. She is not fond of flowers if it’s not for the purpose of understanding the floras of different worlds but ever since she was separated and left behind by Aether into that, portal, she takes time appreciating it in the teapot.
She began to admire the floras of Teyvat in her palm. Soft, a bit damp with hint of dryness due to being plucked from its soil. Perhaps it’s been plucked in few hours? Better than this strange hard petal, white flowers that rests in her hair. Did Xiao pluck these flowers for her? It could be but is there a specific reason to it?