(I will be using the name Zephyr to refer to scaramouche here! Traveler is Aether)
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Ei sat in the Serenitea Pot. She had recently beem welcomed into Aether's ever expanding expedition team full of the most random companions, somehow even Barbatos and Morax were in there.
There was another person in there, who she sees occasionally staring at her. A Wanderer who goes by the name of "Zephyr". He was a peculiar person. At times, she cannot help but feel that he was familiar, he even bore a golden feather that was used for identification of those affiliated with her, the Shogun, yet she harbors no memories of who this lad is.
̶T̶h̶e̶ ̶B̶a̶l̶l̶a̶d̶e̶e̶r̶.̶.̶
She can't help but feel a sense of responsibility over him.
̶K̶a̶b̶u̶k̶i̶m̶o̶n̶o̶.̶.̶.̶ ̶T̶a̶t̶a̶r̶a̶s̶u̶n̶a̶
Whenever they talked, she feels as though she did something...
B̶e̶t̶r̶a̶y̶a̶l̶...
̶K̶u̶n̶i̶k̶u̶z̶u̶s̶h̶i̶.̶.̶.̶
̶S̶e̶n̶s̶i̶t̶i̶v̶e̶.̶.̶.̶ ̶d̶e̶f̶e̶c̶t̶i̶v̶e̶.̶.̶.̶ ̶d̶i̶s̶p̶o̶s̶e̶.̶.̶.̶
̶G̶o̶l̶d̶e̶n̶ ̶f̶e̶a̶t̶h̶e̶r̶.̶.̶.̶
"Why did you foresake me on the fifth night...?"
...that ultimately turned him down a path of misunderstandings.
Today, she found him napping next to her. Aether had said that Zephyr barely sleeps. Ei doesn't know why. Could it be that he was being plagued by nightmares?
She got her answers when Zephyr began to weep. He was asleep, but tears ran down his face. "Mama... where are you...?!" he mumbled, his delicate face contorting an emotion of desperation as his hands shifted about. "Don't... don't abandon me again..." he cried. Ei's eyes widened briefly. What exactly had this poor boy been through that he continues to lament in a slumber as deep as the one he was in?
His hand rested on Ei's palm. She jolted at the touch, his skin felt so... artificial. Was this boy truly human?
She had never been in such a situation as this. She doesn't know the first thing in comforting a crying person! Let alone one crying in their sleep!
She fought the urge to wake him up, concluding that this must be one of the few moments where the Anemo allogene was comfortable enough to sleep. Comfort in the prescence of the feared Electro Archon... how strange indeed. Slowly, she closed her palm and held the boy's hand. His face relaxed and he snuggled up closer to her, yet the tears never stopped. "How sensitive..." she thought.
But, she doesn't exactly dislike this. "Ah, he looks like Makoto..." she mused, finally getting a good glimpse of his features. An odd scenerio indeed, a wanderer weeping in his sleep as the Raiden Shogun herself tries to calm him down.
Aether sees two, and gives a bittersweet smile. "Quite a rare sight, Ei. Normally there'd be awkward tension between you and Zeph." he commented, draping a blanket over the sleeping Wanderer. "Oh and, don't tell him about that nickname. Personally, I wanna keep my head."
Ei laughed lightly. "Truth be told, I feel like I have a responsibility over him. He weeps in his sleep, obviously plagued by what goes on in his mind, but what exactly happened?"
Aether lets out a knowing hum. "Do you enjoy the feeling of being a mother, Ei?" he teased. "Hmph! It is Miko's job to do the teasing, not yours!" she retaliated. "Ah, but this feeling of having someone feel safe around me... it sure does feel nice." she rubbed circles on Zephyr's hand.
"Well then, happy mother's day, Ei."
Mother...
That word strikes regret in the Shogun's heart.
