SCENE I
How the rest of your evening went sure was unpredictable.
The fiery dispute with your lovable old friend, Barbatos, resulted in the mighty Master Diluc, owner of the Angel's Share Tavern, finally stepping in to kick the lot out. Apparently, it had gotten out of hand, which is completely understandable, because the poor bard had received your not-so-gentle fists to his face once or twice...
Of course, you didn't regret it.
After a few throws, Aether and his buddy Paimon used all of their collective strength to pull you and the bard apart before it resulted in permanent damage. Whether it had already reached that point was beyond anyone's knowledge.
Now, the four of you aimlessly wandered through the quiet alleys of Mondstadt, still trying to process what had happened back inside the tavern. The sky had turned dark, and with that, so did Barbatos. He was out cold, slouching unconscious over the Honorary Knight's shoulders.
Not because of your punches! Although you wished that you had knocked him to sleep, you unwillingly had to admit that your old friend's demise ended up being the alcohol. To put it simply, he was blacked out drunk.
It amused you that he would wake up peacefully in the morning without remembering even a tidbit of what had happened the night before. The idea of Barbatos frantically panicking about the many, soon-to-be purple bruises across his cheeks and desperately racking his brains to figure out their origin gave you a good laugh.
Unfortunately, that joyous time would have to wait until he sobered up, so most likely the next morning. Although your old friend could surprise you, for he's been known to have a unique talent of sobering at a lightning fast speed.
Gosh, all of the screaming and fighting sure had tired you out. Your body felt limp and dizzy, and with the stars signaling your bedtime, you thought it best to find a place to doze off.
Where to go? Who knows! You're homeless in a town that had changed so much since the last time you saw it, that it might not even be Mondstadt anymore. The only place familiar to you was the Cathedral, but there is no way you're meeting back up with those nuns. And to sleep in a chapel designated to someone you hate? No way!
"Well..." You breathed out to the only two conscious beings. "I really wanted to have a chat with you tonight, Sir Honorary Knight, but it looks like I've got to hit the hay!"
With that, you quickly turned and sped-walked away, before being grabbed by the arm and spun back around.
"Not so fast..." The knight sighed, his golden eyes glaring down at you. "You've got to take responsibility for... this." He tiredly motioned towards the heavy, burdensome weight around his shoulders.
Darn it.
You had hoped that the knight had forgotten about that little detail.
"What?! What am I supposed to do with him?!" In order to get out of this unfortunate circumstance, you had been forced to turn on the theatrics. There was no way you were going to spend even another second with Barbatos for at least a few days. Yes, you needed to get close to your old friend again in order to accomplish your ultimate goal, but surely after what happened earlier with him, you thought it might be best to hold it off for a bit.
"C'mon... I know I caused you guys a lot of trouble back there, but I really can't help. I wish I could, but I can't..." You averted your eyes, the blondie still tightly grasping you wrist to prevent you from running away. "I- I'm in a town that I don't know, I was terribly injured from falling off a cliff, and the only person I remember hates my guts. Oh! And to add onto that, I'll be sleeping under a tree tonight."
You paused and breathed a sigh of despair, faking a tear to appear more convincing. "I'm just- really confused... so I'm sorry, but I can't help."
Of course, all of what you said was true, but it didn't affect you nearly as much as you were pretending it to.
"You won't be sleeping outside. Remember? I was assigned to bring you to where you will be staying."
That important aspect having completely slipped your mind before, you bounced up. "Ah that's right! You did mention something like that earlier." You beamed a pearly smile to express your gratitude. "I'll be able to sleep peacefully because of you. Thanks!"
Strangely, Aether remained silent for a few seconds.
"Well..." The traveller scratched his head and tilted his eyes to the ground, suddenly looking very uncomfortable. "Don't thank me too soon..."
You stared at him blankly.
"Let's say I got a bit side-tracked..." He forced a chuckle and side-eyed to the bard. "I uh... apologize in advance."
You blinked.
"You're saying I don't have a place to spend the night?" All hopes crushed, you glared at the knight with disappointed eyes.
"Well..."
"Wait... Paimon is confused." The talking fairy furrowed her brow and turned towards her companion. "I thought you-"
Suddenly, the blonde boy slammed his free hand over Paimon's face, blocking her voice from saying anything unnecessary.
"It's true that I haven't made any reservations for you anywhere." Aether frantically piped up, still silencing his pixie friend. "But... I do know of somewhere you can stay. If you'll allow me, I'll take you there."
Once again, your face lit up, already fantasizing about how comfortable your head will feel resting on a chilled, fluffy pillow. "Please do!"
With that, the crowd of four began their nightly stroll. Well... more like nightly drag, as Aether was still forced to carry the drunken Venti over his back.
You struggled to hold back laughter at the sight of the ever-so almighty Barbatos acting as lowly as a rat. Low enough, in fact, to be titled and acknowledged as one of the prime drunkards of Mondstadt.
"Honestly, does he have any respect for himself?"
You wondered and wondered how an archon like him could allow himself to partake in such disgraceful acts.
You wondered and wondered, regretting the fact that you used to look up to and admire such a god like him.
It disgusted you.
Him having to rely on a mere human to drag him around because he had foolishly divulged into the customs of mortality.
Had he forgotten his place?
Had he forgotten his responsibilities?
Had he forgotten the only reason he serves as an archon?
Nonetheless, you found it not the time to ponder about such things, so you tried to distract yourself by ruthlessly slandering him with laughter.
You really wanted to crack a joke, or tell an old embarrassing memory of you and Barbatos to the traveller beside you, but you held back.
It seemed your guide had momentarily forgotten what he said earlier about you taking 'responsibility' for what you had done to the bard, and you sure weren't going to remind him, so you chose to keep quiet.
By responsibility, you assumed he meant watching over Barbatos until he's sober and healthy, and that was something you definitely weren't going to do.
With all of this adding together, what better time for aimless chatter? There was a bountiful of questions you had for the knight anyways, so you figured you might as well use the opportunity to distract him to it's advantage.
"So, Anthor, I've heard you and your little fairy friend have quite the reputation around Mondstadt." You nudged his right shoulder, causing him to have to readjust his grasp on the bard.
Randomly, and to your surprise, Paimon suddenly burst out laughing, holding her stomach with one arm and pointing at you with the other.
You were slightly taken back and confusedly asked, "What is it?"
"HAHA! Say it again... Pfft- Say it again!" She wiped a tear from her eye, clearly amused. Even the Honorary Knight seemed spritely from the circumstance.
Undoubtably puzzled, you repeated yourself with a tone of uncertainty. "I said, 'You and your fairy friend have quite the reputation.' I don't get it... What's so funny?"
The golden knight let out a quiet chuckle and looked in your direction. "No, haha. Not that part." He sighed heartedly. "My name is Aether. Where in the world did you hear Anthor from?"
Without a response, you stared at him, mouth opened wide in disbelief. "I- I'm sorry?"
He warmly smiled. "My name is Aether, not Anthor."
Paimon's blood-curdling laughter still ringing in your ears, you finally realized the source of their amusement.
"Oh gosh... how embarrassing." You averted your eyes, rolling them to the side, humiliated and pride destroyed. "I apologize. I was informed it was Anthor."
As hilarious as the situation was, you didn't appreciate the two of them mocking you so bluntly, especially the shrill giggling from the fairy.
Let's just say, you were the type to dish out criticism towards other people, but once it turns to you, you would have to put an end to it immediately.
So, since you don't know how to take a joke, you weren't amused.
Noticing your cold expression, the two stiffened straight up and cleared their throats. It was clear they had just realized how horrid of an idea it was to tease a stranger whom they hardly know and is probably capable of far more damage than they could imagine.
"Well it's uh- It's not a problem." The blondie stammered, hoping to calm your unnerving gaze.
"Yeah..." Paimon chimed, scratching her head, accompanied a bead of sweat rolling down her cheek. "I'll take one guess as to who said his name was Anthor."
The knight only nodded to his pixie friend and quickly changed the subject. "Anyways, what were you saying, Y/N?"
You remained silent for a few moments, but shortly continued your professional manner.
"Never mind... I'm quite exhausted. Are we almost there?" You paced a few steps ahead of the others, your back now facing them.
It was evident your ego had been damaged.
"It should be right around the corner." Even though you weren't looking, he pointed in front of him. "Just a heads up... this place isn't in the best of shape."
You turned your head back to your guide, but still walked forwards. "That's no problem. I'm grateful as long as there is a roof over my head."
"Let's hope it stays there." The knight joked, remembering just how worn-down the place actually was. "I can't guarantee it's sturdy."
"Comforting." You muttered after turning onto yet another dimly lit road, glancing down the long, narrow street as to guess which building would be your new home.
To anyone besides yourself, the scene was nothing short of astounding.
Each building towered over you, almost leaning in from the height. There were faint street lamps adorning night, but it was the moon that brought forth the most light, as it gently kissed each and every window, reflecting onto the road and back into the sky, making a spotlight for the stars.
Almost being blinded, you followed the trail of luminous rays into the voided midnight and that's when it really hit you. Not a cloud was in sight, but every star was, and the twinkling of those distant forces brought to you avoided memories.
Memories of the past.
Memories of the past thousands of years, or however long it has been.
Frankly, you wanted to gouge your eyes out, for those stars brought on the most rancid memories imaginable. They were memories you didn't want to remember and it showed. Every time they would flood your head it reeked, filling you mouth with the sour taste of despair.
Someday it would be revealed and justified, but for now, you had to be satisfied with where your poor decisions had led you.
Here.
Now.
Friendless.
You missed him so much.
"And here were are."
I DON'T KNOW WHY BUT THIS CHAPTER GAVE ME A STROKE. I COMPLETELY FORGOT HOW TO ENGLISH? GOOD DAY TO YOU. ALSO HUSH... THIS IS UNEDITED :)