The Winds Bring with them Change (Volume 1)

32: A Mystery Unfolding

If he wasn't concerned about Aether before, he definitely was now. It had been nearly two weeks since the blonde had been back to his teapot, not even sending Paimon to tell them if he was ok or not. He finally decided to head to Sumeru on his own, trusting his own abilities to at least figure out what happened to keep him away from his home for so long.

His Lord had paid them a visit, and he and Venti were heading out to Mondstadt whilst Xiao was gone. He made his way directly from Aether's home to the edge of the Chasm, wincing as he grew close to the source of the pain he had earned not long ago. This was not a thing to think, a place to avoid, he had moved on.

Except that he was know heading to a completely unknown land, leaving his most precious behind as the green of Sumeru came closer in his vision.

Finally he stood at the edge of the forest, breathing the fresh, strangely moist air as he just stood there. A form came up behind him, a hand raised in either friendliness or an attempt to catch him off guard he didn't know, and he raised his weapon, spinning around to point the deadly edge to their throat. At the glimpse of white hair, he lowered the polearm, sighing loudly.

"I could have killed you." Though he had gotten well-acquainted with Kazuha over the course of Aether's sickness, and even afterwards, his tone still came out gruff, cold. Kazuha merely chuckled quietly behind his hand.

"I knew you wouldn't." His voice was as soft as ever as he pushed by Xiao, taking in the sight of lush grasses and huge trees leaning over the pathways.

"Sumeru." He said only that, in a tone Xiao couldn't yet decipher.

"What are you doing here?" He tried to make his tone softer, purposefully unclenching his fists from where they lie at his hip, trying to destress.

"Your Master called in a favor with the Tianquan, and I was sent to help." The answer was given from over his shoulder, voice as casual as he remembered it being with the general from Watatsumi Island. He supposed that a year ago he would have been offended at the mention of his Lord sending someone, especially a mere mortal to assist him in anything, but Kazuha had a reassuring presence about him. He was a bit glad he wasn't alone.

"So then, the city?" He joined Kazuha overlooking the forest, letting the warm breeze wash over him, scents he wasn't familiar with and ones he was intertwining to form a scent he would one day come to hate. But I am getting ahead of myself, for now this was all new. So they set off, making their way through the trees.

Plants they'd never seen before blew puffs of something that made Kazuha double over in pain at them, and Xiao had to keep a vigilant watch from then on for any plants they didn't recognize. Thankfully, his immortality kept him from having any major fits because of the poison, though a headache was beginning to form after multiple encounters with said plants.

Kazuha continued speaking on as they walked, offering that Aether probably didn't go straight to the city, so they took at turn where Kazuha said to, and made their way to what seemed to be a sort of outpost up in the trees. When they approached, there was almost immediately someone gliding down from the trees to either greet or attack them.

She introduced herself as Collei, her sage colored hair whipping around as Kazuha raised a gale to bring them all back up to where she had just been. When his companion introduced them and raised the question as to Aether's whereabouts, her face dropped almost instantaneously.

"You wait here, I'll...I'll be right back with Master." The girl disappeared almost as quickly as she'd descended upon them in the first place, her hair whipping back through the curtain as she hurried off. This was irritating, they were sitting comfortably in a shack as Archons know what is happening to Aether at the moment. And they were expected to just wait here? No way.

"This is wasting time." He sounded like a pouting kid, and he knew that his arms crossed across his chest was not helping the effect. Kazuha's everlasting patience shone through once more as he responded softly.

"They might have an idea of where he is. Would you like to search the whole of Sumeru?" Though Xiao was sure they had no idea where Aether was, he still felt the most comfortable here in his friend's presence. So, though he knew not long ago he simply would have left to search on his own, he waited with Kazuha until a man ducked through the curtain.

He was not tall per say, though the tall fox-like ears on the top of his head made him seem much taller. His green eyes darted from the samurai seated beside Xiao to him, ears twitching back just slightly to the door before he spoke with a soft lisp.

"Collei, please attend to matters in a different place." The curtain shifted a bit and the man before them sighed in what seemed like relief. His features relaxed as the girl from earlier left, and a soft smile made its way onto his face. His shoulder length hair swished softly as he turned to face them once more.

"I apologize for my student's nosiness, she is quite...curious." He sounded fond, and he quickly shook back to near-seriousness. He folded his fingers together, leaning over the table that separated them, and his brows knit together in some semblance of worry.

"Collei said you were looking for the traveler." His words were just as soft as they had been as he was 'apologizing for his student,' but Xiao felt as though his gentle tone wasn't sincere. Sure he might be Aether's friend, but so was the harbinger that almost broke their city.

Xiao let Kazuha speak in lieu of the impatience he would no doubt exude if he were to address the man before them. His boundless patience seemed a good match for the Sumeru man's smooth method of speaking.

"We have not heard from Aether in quite a while, and my friend is growing quite concerned." They seemed equally matched wit-wise, and Xiao found his thoughts wandering again. Venti was doubtless pestering his Lord into going to the tavern with him, and though he hadn't seen either Diluc or Kaeya since the red-haired man had broken down, he was sure they were going about their days as usual as well. He began to wonder where the ginger from Inazuma might be currently, so extreme his boredom with the delicate pleasantries being exchanged before him, before the strange man said something strange.

"Though he said he would be back to help with the wasting, we haven't seen Aether since he set off for the city."