Y/n stood up, glancing around the room, seemingly looking for something. Everyone seemed to be on guard, confused at the sudden show of affection. Lumine shakely got up from her seat. "You... you're up. How are you feeling?" She was the first to break the silence. Several heads turned towards her. Y/N trotted over towards her, the straw sandals on her feet sounding loudly on the wooden plank floor. She stood in front of Lumine, the two girls almost exactly the same height. Without another word, she reached up and happily wrapped her hands around her neck. Lumine froze. From beside her, Aether began to seethe, waves of malcontent rolling off of him, countering the cotton balls of Y/N's happiness floating in the air. "You...." He stood up.
Y/N turned to him, blinking slowly at the slightly taller boy, Lumine slowly raising her hands and returning the girl's embrace. Y/N raised one of her hands- and patted Aether's head slowly, giving him a close eyed smile- or at least, that's what he thought she was doing, behind her muzzle. Aether had tensed visibly, looking like a stone statue with his mouth slightly open, eye's wide in surprise. A faint tint of pink showed on his cheeks. "Hey! Stop that! I said stop!" Childe watched as he repeatedly tried to bat Y/N's hand away, who continued to smile and continue her ministrations. The tension left the room at the cute encounter between the twins and the demon. Childe looked around, hope growing in his chest. "Wait... why are you...?" Lumine looked confused. "Why is she-"
Scaramouche stood up. "Like he said," Scaramouche explained, jabbing a finger towards Childe. "She won't hurt anyone. At least, not a human. She sees them as her family. She won't hurt anyone in Teyvat." Lumine hesitated. "But... Aether and I..." Aether had given up, allowing Y/N to pat him like a disgruntled kitten. "We aren't from Teyvat. We're travelers." Childe shook his head, smiling softly. "It doesn't matter," He said softly. "To Y/N, it doesn't. You're family to her." Lumine was silent for a moment, fisting her fingers in Y/N's kimono. She laughed, a stray tear tracking down her face. Childe's eyes widened. "Y/N! Get- get off- it's rude!" Lumine sniffled, burying her face into Y/N's neck. Y/N stopped, removing her hand from Aether's head (who now looked a bit sad) and patted Lumine's back comfortingly. "Thank you..." Lumine whispered. "Thank you."
Those twins, the demon thought. Twins. A familiar feeling. A nice feeling, in her chest- in her heart. She felt warm.
~🌸🌊~
"Lord Morax-" Xiao stopped, glancing up. Zhongli raised an eyebrow. "Oh- Zhong- Zhongli-sama." His cheeks flushed. It still felt strange, to address his superior so informally. The taller man gave a calm smile, nodding. "What is it, Xiao?" Just like Zhongli insisted he call him by his other name, he addressed him as Xiao. Not Alatus. Because that was who he was, now. "How are we going to proceed?" He muttered, not wanting the people bustling around them to hear their conversation. "That demon. It's the first I've seen in-" "500 years," Zhongli said quietly. "Yes, I know. They've been strangely quiet since the end of the archon wars, haven't they?" It was a rhetorical question. Xiao stayed silent.
"The first day I laid eyes on a demon..." Xiao whispered. "That was the day... I almost died." Zhongli stared at him, amber eyes glowing under the dim lantern light. "Ah, yes... I remember now. That day- you had sought refuge from a storm, in a cave... tending to your wounds. I recall you were quite shaken." Xiao winced. That was an understatement. He had tried to maul the man when he had attempted to come near. "I was a demon myself," Xiao said, frowning. It was not his proudest moment. His hand twitched, itching to graze his forehead, almost feeling the sharp horn that once jutted out from his scalp. "Yet, despite that, you managed to overcome your past- and became a very honorable adeptus. You- and the many others- have my utmost thanks." Zhongli inclined his head, and Xiao's eye's widened. "L- Zhongli-sama- you really don't need to-" "But I do," Zhongli said, a wistful smile spreading across his face.
"Perhaps it's because of the recent events, but I've found that I've taken things for granted more often than not," He mused. "Things that are so precious to me can be taken away in mere moments. Leaving those of us who remain to mourn for years, centuries afterwards." His gaze darkened, and he turned, walking towards the balcony. Xiao hurried to follow behind him. "Demon's have long walked this earth," Zhongli said, turning his face to the sky. "And first appeared around the time that humans did. The archons faced threats from both the abyss and the demons. And despite the abyss being much more discrete with their plans and attacks... demons were possibly a much larger opponent. Their fighting styles and their strength varied, and they could only be killed in a selected few ways. Some had the power to rival that of an immortal's."
"And, demons did not copulate as human's did. When a human's blood merges with the blood of a demon, a new demon is birthed. Every demon was once a human. As such, as long as there are humans on this earth, there will always be demons." Zhongli sighed. "I've been anticipating their return for many years, now. But for them to finally show themselves, after centuries- here, and now..." "Do you think they're planning something? Could this be the work of the abyss?" Zhongli frowned. "I do not think so," He finally replied. "Demons rarely work in groups. Their blood lust almost forbids them from doing so. The abyss... it is not completely out of the question. Although we extinguished most of their forces during the abyssal war, and the abyss prince is no longer their leader, they seem to be frustratingly persistent." He chuckled. "It grates on one's nerves, doesn't it. To think after all this loss and suffering we could finally have an era of peace. But- until all demons have been exterminated, no human is ever truly safe." Xiao leaned forward.
"If you don't mind- how are we going to explain this to others?" He hissed under his breath. "Their reactions would be anything but accepting. This kind of information... it could change everything." Zhongli smiled sadly. "Unfortunately it's inevitable," He said. "With the arrival of the she demon, knowledge of her kind will surely spread. It's strange," He continued, his voice rumbling deep in his chest. It was a comforting sound. It was the same voice that used to lull Xiao to sleep with his stories. "Everything that's been happening recently seems to be circling around Childe. It seems that given his nature- and his position as a harbinger- he cannot avoid getting into trouble." Zhongli laughed, then paused, his expression turning serious. "However, we must be prepared," He said solemnly.
"For we may find ourselves entering another war."
~🌸🌊~
"There are a few ways to kill a demon," Scaramouche explained. The 6th and 11th harbinger strolled down the streets of Liyue, watching the reparations already being done to the damage of the recent attack. Liyueans were rather resilient- just like their archon. Childe respected that. "Y/N! Stay close okay?" Y/N turned, nodding her head, before turning her attention back to the fish vendor. For a moment, Y/N's bamboo muzzle disappeared, her long tresses swept up into a braided bun. She bit her lips in concentration as she stared at the fish, probably wondering to herself which one to bring home for dinner. And beside her...
The mirage disappeared with the echos of bright laughter ringing loudly in his ears. He knew it was all in his head, but... "Oi, are you still listening to me?" Scaramouche jabbed him in the ribs. Childe winced, rubbing the spot with one hand. "As I was saying," Scaramouche continued, ignoring Childe's curses. "As I was saying- demon's are annoyingly invulnerable. The only things that could kill them is the sun, wisteria poison, and beheading them with special weapons, made from sun ring metal." "Wait-" Childe pulled Scaramouche's dagger from his pocket. Upon inspecting it, he noticed that the tentacle demon's blood had seemingly disappeared, leaving a clean blade. "Like- like this one?" Scaramouche nodded, and said nothing more. "What do you mean- by the other one? Wisteria poison? "Wisteria is a flower. It basically stops their ability to regenerate." Scaramouche said. "Demon's avoid it, at all costs. No demon will dare venture where wisteria blooms."
Childe paused in front of the toy seller's stand. He smiled at the old granny who ran it, glad to see someone he knew safe and sound. "Ah. Master Childe. How nice it is to see one of my regulars! It's been a while, hasn't it?" Childe grinned. "Ha- my apologies. I was... out of commission for a while." Granny Shan smiled. "Well, I'm glad you're alright." Scaramouche wandered away, already bored with the small talk. "Hmm!" The two of them turned, where Y/N was holding a kite, raising it to the sky and letting the glow of the lanterns shine through the thin fabric. It was shaped like a swallow. His mind flashed back to the automaton bird, back at the workshop of Y/N's father.
"Oh? Do you like it?" Granny Shan hustled over, gently taking the kite from Y/N and showing her how to unspool the thread. Handing it back, she turned to Childe. "Is this your sister? She's rather adorable." Childe laughed. "Sister? I guess you could say that. I think of her as such." He grinned, happily watching Y/N as she trotted around in circles, trying to get the kite to float. "You can have it," Granny Shan decided, nodding to herself as Childe pulled out a small poach of mora. "Free of charge. Consider it a token of appreciation from this old granny." Childe's eyes widened. "Wait, no- I'll pay, you know I have enough-" Granny Shan took his hands in hers, and he froze.
"It's alright," She said, smiling calmly. "Like I said, it's a gift. It makes me happy just to see youngsters enjoy my toys so much. Not many people appreciate my craft nowadays..." She sighed wistfully. She turned back to Y/N, who walked back over to them, hugging the kite to her chest. "You'd best be on your way. It seems your companion has already left." Childe looked up, spotting Scaramouche's kasa hat disappearing around the corner a street away. "What- hey he didn't even wait for me!" He paused. "Thank you," He said. Granny Shan nodded, smiling. "Y/N, let's go." Y/N took his hand, turning around to wave to the vendor, who waved back. With that, the two of them made their way down the street. "Hey," He whispered to her. Y/N looked at him. "Did you do it?" Y/N nodded. "Hmph!"
Back at Granny Shan's stall, the old woman sat down with a sigh on a bamboo crate. "Ah... how nice it is... after so many years..." She closed her eyes. A memory flashed before her eyes, the pain of so many years ago resurfacing. She furrowed her eyebrows. "Perhaps it will be different this time." She stood, glancing at her table of wooden toys and woven kites and lanterns. At the corner, hidden behind a wooden carving of a whale, was a heap of gold coins. The old woman raised an eyebrow. She for sure wasn't the one who had left that large sum of mora. She thought for a moment. Then, it finally came to mind who it was. She laughed out loud, and hustled forward, shaking her head. "Ah... you really are too generous, master Childe." He had paid at least five times the amount.
~🌸🌊~
A/N Y/N, Childe, and Scaramouche go for an ooting.
Happy thanksgiving to those of you who celebrate it :3