Wherever The Wind Blows - Aether x Venti

Chapter 2: Knights of Favonius

Aether POV:

Me and Paimon walked along the path through the woods. Paimon told me some interesting facts about Teyvat and I didn't really listen as I kept an eye on the bushes nearby. There were a lot of slimes in these woods, as I had discovered a bit earlier, when one of them jumped up on me and started attacking us.

"Hey, you! Stop right there!"

A voice came from behind us followed by the sound of running. A girl with brown hair and a red uniform jumped out from a couple of bushes and landed in front of us. I couldn't help but get bunny vibes from her, with her red bandana in her hair that reminded me of bunny ears. The stranger turned to us.

"May the Anemo God protect you, stranger!"

She had a cheerful voice, with a lot of energy.

"I am Amber, Outrider for the Knights of Favonius. You don't look like citizens of Mondstadt, who are you?"

"We don't want any trouble-" Paimon began to frantically explain as I sighed.

"That's what all troublemakers say." Amber said.

I felt like I needed to intervene before Paimon said something worse.

"Hello. I'm Aether."

"Aether? Doesn't sound like a local name to me." Amber looked at me. "And this mascot...? What's the deal with it?"

I had to hold in a laugh. Paimon, a mascot?! Man, I loved this girl's style already. I decided to come up with something equal to mascot.

"Emergency food."

Paimon turned to me, furious.

"Hey! That's even worse than being a mascot!"

"So to sum it up, you're traveling companions?" Amber asked and raised an eyebrow at the sight of furious little Paimon and my proud smile of victory.

I nodded.

"Well, there have been sightings of a big dragon outside the city, so it's best that you get inside Mondstadt as soon as possible, for your safety."

Amber seemed to think for a bit.

"Actually, can you help me with something first? I'll treat you to something as soon as we get to Mondstadt."

Paimon's eyes lit up at the mention of free food. I chuckled and turned to Amber.

"Sure! What do you want us to do?"

Amber smiled.

"Follow me."

Amber led us out of the woods and into an open landscape with a few trees here and there along with a couple of bushes. The sun was shining and the weather was great. Amber stopped and pointed at a couple of constructs made out of sticks and planks.

"See that over there? That's one of the many hilichurl camps around Mondstadt. They usually set up camps much further into the woods, but they have been getting closer and closer to the city. I was sent out here to clear out a few camps."

"So you want us to help?" Paimon held up a finger to her chin. "Well, the traveler does possess some skills with his sword..."

Amber's eyes lit up.

"Great! Very well then, let's begin!"

The hilichurls were a bit stronger than the slimes we had encountered before, but Amber and I were able to clear out the camp without any problems.

"Thanks for your help! I would've never been able to clear the camp so quickly without your help." Amber smiled gratefully. "As promised I'll treat you to a serving of Sticky Honey Roast at Good Hunter as soon as I've reported back to Jean."

"Then let's hurry up!" Paimon said with an excited look on her face.

I laughed and followed Amber towards Mondstadt's gates. As we walked over the bridge, some pigeons flew up into the sky. A young boy sent us a glare when we walked past him. What was his problem? Amber said hi to the knights by the gates on guarding duty and proceeded through the opening. I walked right behind her and my eyes widened at the sight of the city inside the stone walls.

Mondstadt was a wonderful spectacle to look at. The city was practically breathing with life, people, cats, dogs, all of them roamed the city's streets. Children played, vendors promised good deals and the clicking noise of a knight's armor could be heard in the crowd. The houses looked cozy and welcoming and a warm gust of wind brought the smell of a blacksmith's workshop to my nose. As we walked further into the city, the smell of steak and cooking filled my senses. Paimon immediately spotted the source of the smell, a desk with a sign: Good Hunter. Her eyes lit up and I could swear that she was drooling at the sight of a well-cooked steak being served to a couple of customers. I smiled at her expression as Amber turned around.

"Let me introduce the city of wind, dandelions, and freedom! Travelers under the protection of the Knights of Favonius- Welcome to Mondstadt!"

Paimon spotted something at Good Hunter. A group of people seemed to discuss a pretty serious topic with worried looks on their faces. I could see similar conversations all over Mondstadt.

"Paimon imagines that Mondstadt must be a happy place, but the people don't seem too cheery."

Amber nodded.

"Yeah, everyone has been out of place by Stormterror recently. But everything will turn out fine as long as Jean's with us!"

"Who's Jean?" I asked out of curiosity.

"Jean is the Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius."

"Oh, so Jean is the leader of the Knights?" Paimon said.

Amber shrugged.

"You could say that, yeah. But she's just Acting Grand Master, not the Official Grand Master."

"Mondstadt seems to be lucky to have her anyway." I thought out loud.

"I agree." Amber nodded and smiled. "Moving on, I have a gift for you, traveler."

"Aether." I said and shot her an annoyed glare. Paimon was obviously a bad influence. She laughed apologetically before correcting herself.

"Aether, sorry. I have a gift for you. Meet me by the statue in front of the cathedral and I'll show you how to use it."

Paimon stomped her foot in the air, annoyed.

"Why doesn't Paimon get a gift?!"

"Because this gift would be useless to you, Paimon. I'm sorry, I'll treat you to an extra big portion of Sticky Honey Roast." Amber said, trying to keep the rage of the talking emergency food under control.

"Apology accepted. But Paimon has promised to follow the traveler," I glared at her "Aether, on his journey, so Paimon must come with him to make sure he's safe."

I sighed and facepalmed. This was going to be a long journey if I had to stop and tell Paimon my name multiple times every day.

"Of course you can, Paimon." Amber said with a smile before turning around. "Race you!"

Before I knew it, Amber had started to run towards the center of Mondstadt and up the stairs. I took off running as well but was unable to keep up with Amber's incredible speed. When I finally reached the statue I stopped and panted heavily.

"Hehe, I guess I'm a bit faster than you, huh?" Amber's kind eyes sparkled in the sun.

"A bit faster, you say? You need to get your eyes checked." I huffed.

Amber laughed. She was kind enough to let me rest for a while before telling me what the gift was, because according to her I needed my energy back to use this thing she wanted to give me.

"So, what's this?" I said while looking at the piece of cloth in Amber's hands.

"This, is a Wind Glider!"