Freedom

Part 44

"Acting like a child won't make it go away." Xiao stated, and you could feel him rolling his eyes in your very being.

"Not with that attitude it won't." You grumble.

The adeptus shifted, pushing himself off the bed and earning another groan from you. You turned over to watch what he was up to, using your arm to prop your head up. Xiao made his way towards the expensive silk, pulling it away to reveal the weapon you had been so sure you would receive.

"A Monstadtian bow. Interesting."

"Yipee. My next conquest." You stated flatly.

"It's a very nice weapon, if not ironic." Xiao mused. "The Elegy for the End."

"For the what now?" You sit up, feeling a little lost. "That's ominous as fuck." You add, shoulder brushing against the Yaksha as you reach towards the weapon he had uncovered.

Lifting the bow from the silk, you scrutinized it in the fading rays from the end of the day. The sun caught off the gold and blue of the weapon.

"Well. It's definitely not something built for a stealth mission." You state, pulling at the string.

"Well, actually-"

"It wasn't literal, Xiao." You breathe out. "The colors are gaudy."

"The colors are not going to change whether you can fire it or not." The adeptus stated.

You watched as his brow pinched before a gloved hand reached up towards his head, stopping half way. He scrutinized himself before his arm fell back to his side.

"Do you have any of your tea left?" You asked.

The adeptus sighed, making his way towards the exit. You followed diligently, the two of you heading towards his small room. It wasn't homey by any stretch. Xiao didn't really decorate the place. In all reality, his room could probably be used as a display, like when people sell their apartments and stuff and they need to post photos online.

Ignoring how uncomfortable it makes you to be in such a clean and unlived in room, you make your way towards the contents in the first drawer to the one dresser in the room.

"I'm quite capable of brewing my own tea." Xiao protested.

"I'm very aware." You reply, smile in place. "But sometimes, it's ok to let others take care of you."

The adeptus looks around his room, though for what, you have no clue. Instead of worrying about apparitions or whatever it is that Xiao is looking for, you set the tea boil on the tiny stove he keeps. You think it might be more for show than anything else, but that's not really your focus right now. The smell of jasmine slowly starts to seep into the room, your muscles seemingly relaxing on instinct. You resist the urge to start humming. You're not sure where your limitations start and end when it comes to singing, and you'd rather not relive that scene from a couple nights back. Never, if at all possible.

"Does it help any?" You ask, pouring the tea into a mug from the same drawer as the tea was pulled from.

"It doesn't add to the pain." The Yaksha states with a halfhearted shrug.

"Well, at least there's that." You breathe.

0_0_0_0

Using a bow is harder than you'd like to ever admit. Aiming is a whole new game. When you had used Ganyu in game, it was only a matter of positioning the joystick properly and the Amos Bow would get the work done. Here, there are no crosshairs to rely on. There is just hand eye coordination and you're not really certain that you'll ever get the hang of it.