Taking over the Abyss

21- Revali's Gale is Now Ready

"It is time to wake up now, milady."

You grumbled and rolled over, annoyed that somebody was trying to interrupt your sleep. You heard the sounds of shuffling, like somebody was pacing back and forth for a while. Eventually, a hand placed itself on your shoulder and shook you gently. Huffing, you reluctantly accepted that you wouldn't be able to sleep any longer and opened your eyes. You jolted at the sight of Leiptr staring straight down at you. Although he usually towered over you, he seemed either closer or smaller than usual.

Upon seeing you were awake, he took two large steps away to give you your space and watched as you sat up and slung your legs over the side of the bed. Giving him a tired look, you prepared to ask him what he was up to. Thinking that he was about to be chastised, Leiptr preemptively bowed down in apology.

"I apologize for disturbing your sleep, your Excellency," he stated, bringing a hand up to his chest, "I have recently read in a book that 'the early bird gets the worm', and how that translates to 'it is good to wake up early', so I thought it best to rouse you from your slumber."

"You woke me up.... because of a metaphor?" Well, you were awake now, and there wasn't much you could really do about it. Leiptr seemed happy with what he had done. Seeing the mask around his head was looser than it was before, you beckoned him forwards. Without question, Leiptr shuffled towards you, watching you reverently. "Okay, Leiptr. If this hurts, um, tell me."

"I have my utmost faith in you, milady," Leiptr said, despite having no idea what you were about to do. Taking a deep breath, you raised your hands and grabbed the little black horns on the side of his mask and began to tug it off of him. You could tell it was a somewhat unpleasant experience for your servant, given how his gloved fingers began to dig into his legs in an attempt to stay still.

The mask get snagged on something, but at least it was coming off. You didn't want to hurt him, so you tried to be gentle. Eventually the mask popped off with such force that it flew out of your hands and smacked against the wall. But you didn't care about that right now. You stared at Leiptr's face. Did you do this? Was this your fault?

Leiptr frowned, black eyebrows furrowing in worry. "Milady, is there something wrong?"

... You definitely caused this. You stared at the unholy creation that resulted from thinking about husbandos while giving him your Abyss Resistance. At the very least, Teyvat finally had its own 'black haired duke of the north'. He was... really pale, in the sort of way that made it seem like his blood had been drained out of his body. You took the rest of his features in silently. Black hair that held a slight purple tint when hit by light was styled in somewhat disheveled side-swept bangs towards the right side of his face (his right, your left), with a longer lock of hair that covered his right ear from sight. Underneath his right eye was a small mole, with another one underneath his mouth on the left side of his face.

You stared at the purple earring hanging from his left ear. Where did he get that? Did it just spawn with him? Something caught your attention, as you peeked over to check behind him. Ah, so he had long hair. His hair was tied back into a low ponytail with a purple ribbon tied into a loose bow. Somewhat fluffy, but overall smooth, and long enough to rest halfway down his back.

Thinking he did something wrong to warrant your staring, Leiptr shifted uncomfortably before asking, "Is... my appearance to your liking?"

You locked eyes with Leiptr, vibrant violet eyes clashing with your own. He even had the same Khaenri'ahn star pattern to his eyes that you had, although that did make a lot of sense. Well, you were responsible for this, and it wasn't like he wasn't attractive. At the very least, he wasn't nearly half as spooky as he was before.