Wanderlust: Genshin Impact One-Shots

Aubade: Venti x Reader

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ᴀᴜʙᴀᴅᴇ (ɴ.) A ʟᴏᴠᴇ sᴏɴɢ ᴏʀ ᴘᴏᴇᴍ ʀᴇᴄɪᴛᴇᴅ ᴀᴛ ᴅᴀᴡɴ; ᴅᴀᴡɴ sᴇʀᴇɴᴀᴅᴇ
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In which an oni girl leaves Inazuma for Mondstadt and encounters a mischievous bard.

"Down yonder green valley, where streamlets meander,
When twilight is fading I pensively rove
Or at the bright noontide in solitude wander,
Amid the dark shades of the lonely ash grove;
It was there, while the blackbird was cheerfully singing,
I first met my dear one, the joy of my heart!
Around us for gladness, the bluebells were ringing,
Ah! then little thought I how soon we should part."

The song startled you out of a rather pleasant nap you'd been enjoying underneath the great oak tree at Windrise. It wasn't a bad way to be woken up. Whoever sang had a pleasant, albeit nasally, voice. But it wasn't so much the voice that struck you as the tune. It was so soft and lilting, so smooth and flowing.

You rubbed your eyes and looked around for the source of the song, but none was to be found. As it was, you appeared to be entirely alone, surrounded by nothing but undulating hills and clear blue skies. The wind rustled the leaves of nearby trees in a laughing kind of whisper that sent shivers down your spine. Even in your short time there, you'd found that Mondstadt was a place alive with the wind. It made you ache in places deeper than your bones. It was a touch of something old, a dash of something familiar.

And with that haunting song, your breath was nearly stolen from you by how profoundly beautiful Mondstadt was, how free and unrestrained and wild the land could be. You knew it wasn't so, but you felt that the song was sung just for you, a sort of greeting from Mondstadt. A welcoming to a home you'd yearned for.
You leaned back, a small smile curling across your lips as you were reminded of how right your decision to leave Inazuma had been. A taste of freedom was all you'd ever needed. A chance to shake off the whispers and stares that followed you everywhere because of what you were.

You reached beside you for one of the three apples you'd found earlier in the day. You studied the red fruit in your hand before sinking your teeth into it, relishing the crisp sweetness that exploded on your tongue. It was a far cry from the lip-puckering sourness of lavender melons in Inazuma.

Mondstadt differed from Inazuma in a thousand ways, but what struck you most was how green this new land was. No matter where you turned your head, there was something green: the grass, the trees, the reeds dotting crystalline brooks and streams. It was green as far as the eye could see, a stunning, fresh viridescence.

You heaved a contented sigh and closed your eyes. The sun's warmth kissed your skin, shining red through your eyelids. You finished the rest of your apple and reached for a second one. Your hand found nothing. Odd.

You opened your eyes and looked to see if you'd knocked it somewhere or if it had rolled out of your reach. But the two remaining apples had vanished without a trace. You frowned. Something had stolen them. Or someone. You stood up and walked a full circle around the great oak tree, but nothing was there.

Utterly perplexed, you dragged a hand through your hair and ran through the possibilities. Maybe a stray squirrel or fox had stolen them when you'd looked the other way. But most animals were skittish, and you hadn't closed your eyes for very long. Still, it was vaguely unsettling to have someone steal from right under your nose without so much as a noise.

Shaking your head, you walked back around the tree only to find...a bard. Eating your apples. He must have been a bard. He sat in your original spot against the tree with a lyre in his lap, munching on an apple. A second one stuck out of his pocket. He wore a frilly white shirt and green shorts that matched the cape around his shoulders. On his head, he wore a green hat stuck through with a cecilia. His posture was relaxed, unbothered.