Chapter Text
Someone's knocking on their door, which is already unexpected by itself.
Hu Tao and Yanfei live far out enough in the country that they practically never get any mortal visitors. At most, a lost hiker or stranger desperately asking to be pointed back to the main road. And of their friends, Yanfei and Hu Tao tend to head into the city more to visit Ganyu than Ganyu comes out to visit them. The rare occasion's Xiao pops by, the adeptus tends to just spontaneously appear in their living room or kitchen unannounced.
Hu Tao perks up from where she's sitting in the kitchen, perched on the counter by the sink. Yanfei, who'd been in the living room, raises an eyebrow at the door.
"Were you expecting anyone?" The half-adeptus asks.
"Nope." Hu Tao pops the 'p'. "You?"
Yanfei shakes her head. She reaches for the doorknob, twisting it, and pulls the front door open in one smooth motion.
Aether smiles on the other side of the doorway. Even from this distance, Hu Tao can see the bags under his eyes. She frowns, sliding off her seat on the kitchen counter.
"Hi," Aether says awkwardly. "Is Hu Tao here?"
"Am I ever not here?" Hu Tao calls out. She twists around the corner, making a beeline towards the door. "Heya, Aether."
"Want to come in?" Yanfei asks, stepping aside and motioning towards the living room.
"It's alright," Aether responds, "I'm just dropping by." The traveler's cut his hair a bit, since Hu Tao last saw him, his golden hair loose and stopping only at his shoulders. As she draws closer, the eyebags she'd spotted earlier seem to become even more pronounced.
"You look exhausted," Hu Tao notes. "Are you and Lumine doing okay?" She comes to a stop just behind Yanfei, leaning forward to prop her chin up on her girlfriend's shoulder.
Aether laughs, waving a hand. "Yeah, we're fine. Just incredibly busy." He winces. "It's been… a bit of a rush, honestly."
"Zhongli's seal?" Hu Tao asks hesitantly. Yanfei absentmindedly reaches a hand up to thread her fingers through Hu Tao's hair. Hu Tao leans into the touch.
Aether nods. He reaches to the side, twisting his hand around in the empty space. A smattering of stars flash out from the movement. As the sparkles fade, Aether spreads his hand out towards the girls. A single folded note sits in his palm.
Hu Tao reaches forward, plucking the paper out of Aether's hand. She unfolds the note; there's a doodle of a winky face and some clovers in the top margins, then the words "Glaze Lily", "Cor Lapis" and "A sliver of death". Hu Tao's eyebrows rise up at the last term.
"It's a pretty complicated ritual," Aether admits. "Lumine and I will be heading off planet soon to look for some of the materials we need. There's some stuff that's from Teyvat, though, and I was wondering if you could…"
"Go out on a fetch quest for you?"
Aether winces at the phrasing. "Yeah. Glaze Lily and Cor Lapis should be doable. I don't know about the last thing, but Alice said you would know."
Yanfei mutters something quietly under her breath. Hu Tao frowns, turning slightly to scrutinize Yanfei's expression. To anyone else, the half-adeptus looks about as blank as she usually would be, all genial smile and welcoming mein. But Hu Tao spots the slight downturn of Yanfei's lips and the small furrow in her brow. She makes a mental note to ask Yanfei about it once Aether is gone.
Hu Tao hums, skimming over the note one last time. She nods, folding up the note. "When do you need everything by?" She asks.
"Hopefully next week." Aether offers. "Lumine and I should be back by then. We'll send you a message the day we arrive, and we can meet at the site at noon the next day."
"So I've got a week to go gallivanting across the country." She shrugs. It shouldn't be too hard. Aether had had a point, about how the people they both knew made it easier to find substances as rare as Glaze Lilies and Cor Lapis. And as for that final artifact…
"With so much of Teyvat's elemental energy being gone," Aether suddenly speaks up, breaking Hu Tao's train of thought. "It's even harder to find Cor Lapis and Glaze Lily than it was before. I won't be much help, either," He sheepishly admits. "I haven't been spending as much time on Teyvat amongst the short-lived as I used to."
Hu Tao hums. "I think I'll be okay. I'm sure Yanfei and I will be able to figure it out." She passes the note to Yanfei, who gingerly pinches the paper as she takes it from Hu Tao's hand.
Aether laughs, "Well, I sure hope you guys do." He tips his head towards Yanfei. "Lumine and I's flight will be leaving in a few hours, so I've got to get to that. Thanks for the help."
"Gladly," Hu Tao chirps. Yanfei's unfolded the note and is quietly reading it beside her. Aether waves at them one last time, then steps off of their doorstep and trots down the path leading away from their house. Hu Tao hums as she closes the door, cutting off the rays of sunshine that had been spilling into their house.
Yanfei reads the note in silence. Hu Tao fidgets, folding her hands behind her back and shifting her weight from foot to foot.
"Are you okay?" She asks, still staring at the now-closed door.
Yanfei looks up, blinking. "Why wouldn't I be?" She responds.
Hu Tao stiffly shrugs. "I dunno. A feeling, I guess? I just know you that well."
"If something were wrong, I'd tell you." Yanfei answers. Something about those words makes Hu Tao frown, but she sighs, shoulders slumping as she drops the subject. Fine, better to not go poking, Knowing Yanfei if it's really a problem, she'll bring it back up at some point.
"Do you want me to come with you?" Yanfei asks. She skims the note, pursing her lips. "Glaze Lily. We used them at Zhongli's funeral."
"And Cor Lapis." Hu Tao nods. "They're anchors, I think. Keep the soul from being wiped out with all the corruption." She pauses, folding her hands together in front of her and twiddling her thumbs. "If you want to come with, I won't say no but…" she trails off.
"You'd rather do this on your own?"
"Yeah." Hu Tao sighs. She slumps forward, plastering herself along Yanfei's back. "It's Zhongli. He was one of my closest friends. And I don't want to bother you."
"It wouldn't be a bother" Yanfei hands the note back to Hu Tao, smiling, all earlier trouble seeming to slip from her face like water off a ducks back. She tips her head to the side, bumping her cheek against Hu Tao's. "But if you want to do this alone, you can. If you need anything, let me know? I'll reach out and see if I can find any collectors who may have some Cor Lapis."
"Thanks," Hu Tao sighs. She lowers her head, burying her face in the crook of Yanfei's shoulder. "I'll start with the Glaze Lilies for now, then. Think the patch Madame Ping had in her abode is still there?"
"It can't hurt to check." Yanfei acknowledges. Hu Tao makes a humming noise, then finally peels herself away from her girlfriend. She raises her arms above her head, stretching like a cat.
It's honestly been a while since she's been back to Mount Aocang. Hu Tao doesn't think that she's visited ever since she woke back up. Well, even aside from the major fetch quest, it'd probably be nice to see how much things have changed there. Knowing the mountains, probably very little. But with almost everyone gone…
Hu Tao frowns. She pushes those maudlin thoughts out of her mind and wanders off towards her bedroom, intent on throwing together a quick traveling bag. No point in dwelling on the sad things, now, not when she's still got a qilin-dragon to fish up out of a hole.