trouvaille | xiao ✔︎

trouvaille | 21

In a dangerous world like Teyvat, you can never be too careful. All of the Archons of the seven nations that had remained all fought with all of their strength during the Archon War in order to survive and remain in this vast world.

In the war, there were only two places: a predator and a prey. To survive, you will need to fight. And to win a fight, you will need to kill.

The man that stood in front of him, was one of the predators that had killed plenty of monsters, people even, just to protect the very land they stood on. He was intimidating, and Aether wondered how Y/N managed to hang out with him as stated by Verr Godlet.

His amber eyes were cruel, never taking his piercing gaze off the blonde traveler who squirmed uncomfortably. Although the traveler was just an outlander, he respected the Adeptus that stood in front of him. After all, liyue would not be liyue if the Adepti and the Geo Archon didn't fight side by side to protect it. But that didn't stop him from shivering from the coldness in the man's eyes.

At that exact moment, he felt like a tiny ant compared to the Adeptus. Aether was strong, no doubt in that, but the Adeptus was simply... godly. And for some unknown reason, he felt a rather weird but nonetheless scary vibe from the man. He felt like there was a war going on in between them.

Fortunately for Aether, this was no longer the era of the Archon War. There was no need for them to fight to death.

Right?

A strong gust of wind passes through him, almost knocking him off his feet. Although the sun was shining brightly, Aether couldn't help but shiver once again from the coldness the wind had emitted.

"What are you doing here?" He spoke, crossing his arms as he turned to face the traveler.

"I've come to tell you something important that I need your help with." Aether responds, showing him the plate of Almond Tofu. "I don't have any Sigil of Permission right now, but here, I've heard that this was your favorite dish."

Xiao looks at the plate, pursing his lips as he remembered all of the times that the mortal had called for him just for her to give him the food she had prepared. Was she the one who cooked this?

No. After all what he said to her, after he had mocked her confession, he doesn't expect her to still like him back. And that thought breaks him-- but he knows he deserves it.

The Anemo Archon had already given him a clue to help him uncover the secrets of the past, though he didn't quite understand. But that was a problem he could solve later.