Art from @/its_spec0 on twitter.
[I want Aether to be endgame, but like,
Kazuha release date when-?
Also, Kaeya and Albedo need to date. Right now]
╭┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈𑁍ࠬ┈┈┈╮
❝I could agree with you but
then we'd both be wrong.❞
╰┈┈┈𑁍ࠬ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈╯
■□□□□□□□□□ 10%
■■■□□□□□□□ 30 %
■■■■■□□□□□ 50%
■■■■■■■□□□ 70%
■■■■■■■■■□ 90%
● ● ●
┌ . . .
s t a r t g a m e ?
. . . ┘
> [yes] [no]
Albedo softly placed you down onto the ground, your brown shin-lengthed boots clacking against the pavement. Your face still slightly burned from the alchemist catching you not too long ago, wishing that you would've landed on the cement instead.
"I don't recognize you in the slightest. Did you, perhaps, sneak past the guards? We're currently in a lockdown from Stormterror attacks, and nobody is willingly let in and out of Mondstadt." Kaeya pondered, stepping towards you in a predatorial manner, a smirk present on his face as your brows furrowed in a troubled manner.
"I-... uhm. I'm just trying to help my friend." You confessed, "We aren't able to eat much, especially since there isn't much food at our campsite." Your lips pursed as Albedo stared at you, although it held no emotion- it felt like he was judging you deep down. Completely ignoring the fact he was friendly to you not so long ago.
Kaeya's head tilted to the side a little, "Friend, you say?" His arms crossed over his chest, eyes scanning your body for any signs of a Vision strapped down to your form. When he found none, his suspicions raised the slightest, the temperature dropping slowly as seconds passed by.
The silence between the three of you made you want to start clawing at your skin, the uncomfortableness making you feel like you could throw up. You hated moments like these- where everything seemed a little too tense for your carefree mind.
"Y/n!! There you are! I've been looking all over for you!" A cheery tone yelled from your left, your head turning to see the bard in green tackle you in a hug, knocking you down onto your back, his arms securely around your neck as his legs entangled with yours.
Kaeya looked a bit taken back at the gesture Venti had just done, seeming as if the bard knew you for a long time. Clearing his throat to interrupt the Archon undercover's nuzzling, he spoke, "So, Venti the bard, do you know this person?"
Venti then shot upright, straddling your knees tightly, as if telling you to stay put unless you want to get caught, even though you didn't have the intention of running away, "Of course I do! I met them at the tree in Windrise. They won't do any harm, I promise!"
The Cryo-holder shifted hesitantly, sighing as his hands fell to his hips, "Very well then. You better keep a close eye on them." Kaeya and Albedo then walked off together, whispering amongst themselves as Albedo shot you one last look.
As soon as they were out of earshot, Venti glared at you, "What were you thinking!?" He whisper-shouted, "If you want to stay in Mondstadt, you need to keep a low profile. You know those guards weren't going to let people in, and since you're not from Mond, it'll be easier for Captian Kaeya to know you intruded!" The bard scolded, shaking your shoulders slightly.
"Sorry, sorry." You sighed, placing your hands on top of his, lifting them to your cheeks, nuzzling your nose into one of his soft palms, "I wasn't thinking properly at the time. I'm not really in a functioning state in the morning." You admitted, eyes dropping to the ground.
Venti felt guilt clawing at his insides from how dejected you look, moving his hands upwards to slip into your h/c strands, "It's fine. It's just-... I don't want you to get in trouble with the Knights of Favonius." He softly stated.
The bard then got off of you, helping you stand back up, your hood falling off onto your shoulders in the process. Venti then guided you to food carts and stalls, recommending anything that was considered traveling food. Food browsing wasn't that difficult. After all, you did shop for your family often. After you finished, Venti generated a wind current to fly over Mondstadt's large walls to Starfell Lake, close to where Aether planned to move the campsite.
Venti gazed at the statue in front of him once he landed you both softly onto the ground, his eyes flickering over it before you placed your hand on his shoulder to make sure he was okay, him laughing it off with a sad smile.
"Sorry. The statue just... reminded me of someone." He reassured you when you automatically knew that he was thinking about his friend from long ago. The Nameless Bard managed to give Venti's city its freedom from the tyrant that caged people on that island, a brave soul he was. A shame that was how his life had ended once the war was over.
Venti then vanished once he saw you heading back to the path that leads to the seashore of Starsnatch Cliff, returning to the small tent that you and Aether settled in two nights ago. The walk was quiet without Venti around to pester you.
You avoided as many monsters as you could, not finding the energy to fight them at the moment, distracting them by rustling bushes and running away, or tossing a rock into the water a fair distance away from you. The bag strap that was being held up by your shoulders caused a little stiffness, rolling your joints to lessen the tension.
Birds fluttered out of your path with every step you took, animals scurrying away left and right. Hilichurls were heard not too far away, growling and scratching dirt off Teyvat's surface. You wondered how many there were, knowing if there were a few, you could get them from up on a tree and snipe them from above.
So, curiosity got the best of you, and you slowly started climbing up the side of the ledge, trying your best not to fall off and end up hurting yourself. Hoisting yourself up, the Hilichurl camp stood there, the monsters dancing about around the fire. Almost as if they were worshiping it. There stood a Mitachurl with a wooden shield, 3 Hilichurls with clubs, an Electro and Pyro Archer, and a single Hydro Samachurl.
You hopped onto one of the trees a distance away, inspecting if there were any chests they were guarding- and oh, would you look at that, a Precious Chest. Though, was it worth all the hassle to go after it? It might even not contain good things. You debated in your head for a while, knowing if the precious chest did drop any good materials, you would be placing your life at risk for them.
Sighing once you knew it wasn't going to be a good idea, you were about to turn around and return to Aether's camp before noon until a voice rippled from your left.
"I think that might be a good campsite to take down. And it even holds treasure!!" You were about to jump down and warn them it wasn't a good idea before they started to step forward, pushing bushes as they shifted, alerting the camp that intruders were present.
You pushed yourself to the tree, trying to stay hidden beneath the branches and leaves that slightly blocked your vision. White and brown flashed before they vanished in the flickers of purple and red, lighting up the fields with elemental power.
You tried your best to get better looks at them, lifting and tilting your head to look past the monsters and branches. It didn't help that the adventurers were moving pretty fast as well, avoiding as many attacks as they could.
Then you heard that same voice from before speak again.
"Ow! Why do they never miss!?"
Oh, you remember that line as clear as day.
Materializing your bow, you knocked your elemental arrow in, drawing it back and aiming at any nearby enemies to deal a little more damage. Firing, one of the Hilichurls turned around to see what hit them, you standing silent as they tried to find you.
The Archers whipped their heads around to find where the arrow flew from, only for you to fire another arrow at the Pyro Archer, knocking them back from the high place they stood from. Another released arrow burst into five, chasing enemies and firing little explosions of stars dealing more damage on impact. Now all monsters were aware there was another enemy in the area.
"KUNDALA!! KUNDALA!!" One of them shouted, jumping up in the air as the two adventurers stood there confused, throwing glances around.
"Just knock the other archer down and you'll be fine." You sighed to yourself, pulling your bow back again and aiming it at the Electro Archer, pink liquid dripping from the arrow formed from your fingertips.
The third arrow ripped through the air, striking the Archer in the chest, knocking it backward, stepping back sloppily before it dropped to the ground, a crack rippling through your ears, making you cringe inwardly as the Hilichurl faded away.
Shifting forward to propel yourself off the tree branch, you threw your bow into the air as your other weapon materialized in the fit of your palm. Launching yourself forward, you struck the Mitachurl on its arm, the beast howling in pain before you landed on the ground, switching back to your bow.
"Razor! C'mon, let's help them!" Bennett exclaimed, flames flickering at the ends of his blade, the gray-haired boy nodding letting electricity flow onto his fingertips.
The more you fought these enemies, you could feel your arms run cold- almost as if chilled water replaced the blood inside your veins. A feeling so foreign you felt like your arm was going to shatter.
A shallow breath brushed through your lips as you shot another arrow, a soft pink color that was shaped like an overly large fox- running beside it before jumping in the air and slamming its front paws onto the ground as the earth rumbled. The fox soon faded into stars, the enemies dropping to the ground and turning to ashes, drifting off to wherever the wind blew.
Your eyes widened at the sight of the artificial predator, quickened breaths leaving your mouth as your body wanted to collapse right there, exhaustion pulling your bones down to the ground as blood dripped from your arm, the deep cut from the Hydro Samachurl's staff whacking that spot of your body. Your legs trembled from running away from the Mitachurls charging, never having once that strong of a fear, moving solely on adrenaline.
"Hey, are you alright?" Bennett ran towards you, slowing as he stopped in front of your shaking form, Razor following behind, but with a calmer approach.
You groaned as you got back to your senses, eyes bubbling tears onto your eyelashes, "Everything fucking hurts..." You winced, slowly dropping down to the ground, clutching the crate next to you.
"C-crap!" Bennett yelped, bending down to sling your arm around his shoulder, you hissing as the cut on your arm pushed more blood out, "Razor, you still have Wolfhook, right? We need to apply it quickly. We have to get them back to camp as quickly as we can."
The feral wolf boy nodded silently, jogging to a bag near the bush they both came from and pulling out the purple item. Bennett placed you onto the crate before he dug out a canteen and bandages from one of the pouches on his waist, washing the wound below your shoulder.
You cringed at the feeling of water physically touching your muscle, scratching at the boards to get your mind off of it. Razor returned with Wolfhook in hand, gently applying it to the half-inch cut to close the wound.
"Sorry, we have to heal you this way," Bennett told you, tearing a part off of the orange bandage with his fangs as soon as he finished securely wrapping it, "I don't have my Elemental Burst charged right now, which would make this healing process faster and less painful."
"It's fine," You reassured him, sighing as you winced from even slightly moving your left arm.
Teal and pastel blue eyes watched from above eyes flickering to every movement made. Pale blonde hair flowed nicely in the wind as his soft voice left his mouth, "Have you ever seen an element like that? That's not one of the Seven, from what I could tell."
Sun-kissed colored lips quirked up into a smirk, a chuckle rumbling throughout his throat as his star shaped pupils glinted in amusement, "How very interesting. I think I might want to have a few words slip past their mouth."
"You're not going to make them drink alcohol, are you?"
"We'll see..."
┌ . . .
s a v e g a m e ?
. . . ┘
> [yes] [no]
LOADING...
EXITING GAME...
THANK YOU FOR PLAYING! COME AGAIN SOON.
[A/n]: I'm so bad at writing plsssssssss
also we got sum fanart i forgot to add for at least 3 chapters so uhmmmm sorry
i know I said this before but i'm making a slow processed notebook comic adaption of this story
anywho my twitter: https://twitter.com/UsernameMelonn
y'all can like,,,,, chat with me there if u want teehee
and kazuha oneshot for 5k special even tho inazuma isn't released yet