“Slow your roll, Kaeya.” You walked up to him, unconcerned of the looks you were getting from Aether. “Don’t scare him away.”
Kaeya extended his hand, like the gentlemen he was, pulling you closer to him when you placed your hand in his. He wrapped an arm around your waist, giving you a reassuring squeeze, something that you figured was more for him than it was for you if the trembling fingers said anything.
“How could I not dearest? A mysterious stranger appears and I shouldn’t be worried?”
“I’ll vouch for him.” You nodded towards Aether, you still looked at you with a strange glint in his eyes, but tilted his head thankfully. “You trust me don’t ya?”
Kaeya hummed affirmatively. “Why don’t you introduce us then?”
You shook out of Kaeya’s hold to hold your hand out for the traveler. “Kaeya, these are the travelers Paimon and Aether from afar.” You switched to putting your hand out towards Kaeya. “Aether, Paimon, this is our beloved Cavalry Captain Kaeya.”
Kaeya raised his eyebrow as if to say ‘anything else?’ and you tried to project ‘later’ as desperately as you could. It seems Kaeya got the message because he relented.
“Long story short,” Amber jumped in. “[Y/n] and I were going to check out a hilichurl camp that had been reported as getting too close to the city. We met the travelers on our way when we heard Stormterror roar and he told us he was looking for his sister on our way to Mond.”
“Ah, I see.” Kaeya smiles charmingly. “Welcome to Mondstadt then, but you haven’t arrived at the best of times.” Kaeya smiled sadly, though it seems you were the only one that caught the shift. “I understand the anguish of being separated from family, and I don’t know why you’re looking for the Anemo God, but everyone has their secrets right?”
Looking at Kaeya now, his mask of faux charm covering the lingering sadness within him, it reminded you how much he was truly hurting. You tried to be a good friend for him, tried to show that he could trust you to let down his burdens and speak to you, that you would do your best to help him and care for him. It hasn't worked so far. Though you knew Kaeya’s backstory, what happened between him and Diluc, how he got his vision, and why he was abandoned in Mond, you would never confront him about something so sensitive.
You pushed him to talk to Diluc, yes, but outwardly saying you knew everything, you feared it would only hurt him and push him away. You wanted him to trust you enough to come to you, and that would take time, a lot of time perhaps, but you were willing to wait for someone you now felt so dearly towards after your time in this world.
You reached out and grabbed Kaeya’s hand, giving him the same reassuring squeeze he had given your waist earlier. Kaeya looked at you thankfully, breaking his cold stare with the traveler to shower you with a warm look and grateful smile, as if he knew you saw right through him.
“Relax,” The navy haired man, you were delighted to see his hair in a loose, low bun held together by his silver bird hair comb, “I won’t push you for more, but on the half of the Knights of Favonius, we’d like to thank you for your bravery and help just now.”
Aether waved his hands, a small blush to his cheeks. “It’s no issue, the situation was damaging and it wouldn’t have been good for it to fester.” You thought you heard him mumble ‘besides it’s not like I had a choice’ and you fought back a chuckle.
Kaeya invited the two travelers to the Favonius headquarters and on their way, he called out to you. “Are you coming dearest?”
“Nah,” You waved as you started towards the stairs. “Come find me near the gate after the meeting, I have to talk to someone first.”
Kaeya waved with a confused nod and you gave him an exaggerated salute back before jogging to the gate. You leisurely jogged to the tree at Windrise, hoping to find Venti when you didn’t see him near the statue of Barbatos where he often performed.
Halfway to the tree Ariel landed near you, making you jump out of your skin with a yelp and nearly falling over if not for the firm hand on your forearm.
“Are you okay?” Ariel’s desperate voice caused your head to snap up. “I knew you’d do dumb shit like this but you could’ve died! Being right in the middle of an attack from Dvalin, are you insane?!”
“Hey it’s not like I intended to be right in the middle of that-”
“Oh don’t give me that bullshit!” Ariel chuckled sardonically. “I know you knew that was going to happen. I know you want to be front and center for this.”
You sighed, running a hand through your hair. “You're right, I’m sorry.” You went to Ariel and wrapped your arms around his waist, and he immediately responded with his own around your neck, face buried in the junction of your shoulder. “I should’ve taken better care of myself, but sometimes I’ll end up in dangerous situations with what I want to do.”
“I know.” Ariel whispered. “Just please be careful, I just want you to be safe.” Ariel paused and buried his face further in your shoulder and neck. “I’m not apologizing for yelling though.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to, I kinda deserved that.” Ariel chuckled and nodded.
“Yeah, kinda.”
You separated from him, holding his waist and him gripping your shoulders before both of you released each other and you started back on your way, Ariel following close by.
“Where are you going?”
You sighed. “I’m going to talk to Venti. I’m going to tell him that his plan to summon Dvalin with the Holy Lyre is a waste of time, that he needs to be confronted as soon as possible.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea? I don’t recall that being the way it played out in the story.”
You purse your lips. “Currently, Dvalin is a danger to both the city and himself. The point of the Holy Lyre quest was simply to show that he was being influenced by the Abyss Order, nothing substantial was done and it only made him more mad. If we simply cut to the chase, we’ll be able to help Dvalin faster and in a somewhat more docile state.”
Ariel looked at you from the corner of his eye. “This sounds dangerous.” You heard his unsaid words. He was frightened at the prospect of what the Archon would do to you. With this warning to Venti, you were revealing the fact that you knew he was the Wind God and despite Venti often presenting himself as laid back, the wrath of Barbatos was never witnessed in the game. Venti could find you a threat with not only the knowledge of his identity, though it wasn’t hard to figure out with the giant statue of him, but your odd ‘predictions’ of the future.
You took a deep breath as you came to the roots of Windrise, passing the statue of the Seven with a sad glance at its state of disarray. You gazed at the great trees' long branches as they reached towards the clear blue sky, only a couple of white clouds dotting it. You spotted Venti laying along one of these branches, an apple in his lap and his lyre being strung with lazy fingers, a sweet and soft sound filling the gentle breeze.
“Hey Venti!” You called out, watching as his eyes fluttered open, carefully blank. You felt something curl in your stomach, something you didn’t like.
“Hello [y/n].” Venit was carried down from the branches with a fluttering wind, his clothes waving around him and his feet touching the grass gently. His lyre hung by his side, the apple left in the tree. A blank smile, one as blank as his eyes, stretched uncomfortably across his face and you cringed. “You have some information for me, yes? A warning you said?”
You cringed even harder, remembering that he could hear everything said, the wind leading it back to his willing ears like a prayer for a god.
“Yes,” you gulped. “I am aware of your status as Barbatos and I know of your plan to take the Holy Lyre der Himmel to try and dry out Dvalin’s nature and heal him.”
Venti’s face doesn’t move.
“I wanted to tell you that your plan will not work. At the moment, Dvalin is too far under the influence of the Abyss to listen to your reason right now.” You took another deep breath, reminding yourself that this was for Dvalin, this was necessary to help him faster. You’re unease towards Venti, when formally he had only been kind and friendly, was something you had to power through. “Force is required in this situation, and the spines on Dvalin’s back of his infectious black blood need to be broken to free him.”
You met Venti’s eyes and sucked in a breath of shock. They were narrowed and slitted, full of suspicion. “And how do you know that?”
“I have,” you paused, running through your mind for the best way to say this. “Premonitions and dreams. I saw this outcome and decided to warn you that it would only waste time, when Dvalin could be saved faster.”
“Ah,” Venti mused as he strutted to you, his head tilted curiously. “I have heard of those rare enough to be granted visions by Celestia, but it’s strange, you seem to bear no speciality, no difference from a normal mortal.”
Thank god people with visions exist here, I was really counting on a shot in the dark there. You paused at Venit’s words. “No speciality? That kind of hurts.” Venti looks at you unimpressed. “Right, not the time.”
“Are you sure your visions are accurate? Have they helped you in the past?”
“Yes, they have. I swear my vision is not wrong.” You made sure to look Venti straight in the eyes, doing your best to convey your intent only to help.
“And how can I know I can trust you?”
You sighed sadly, surprised at how hurt you felt at the sentiment, but it was reasonable. “Venti, I promise, you can trust me. If anything changes, I will tell you. I only want to help Dvalin.”
Venti walked closer, and an urge to step back hit you, but you resisted, keeping your cool. Venti’s hands cupped your face, turning your head down to him, locking your eyes intensely. You felt something pass between you, something you couldn’t name, but you could see. Venti’s eyes softened, his thumbs rubbing the apples of your cheeks.
“Truly, will this help?”
“Yes.”
Venti sighed, his hands dropping to his sides. “I loathe the thought of hurting such a gentle child, but if it must be done, it will be done. Dvalin is suffering, hurting the people of Mond, my people, in the process. This must be stopped.”
For the first time, you truly witnessed Barbatos. The sadness and the loneliness peaked through his cheery demeanor. In a way, you found Kaeya and Venti similar, harmed by events in their past that forces a false mask to cover the hurt they’re feeling. You didn’t doubt that in moments, their masks were real, that they felt free enough to laugh and smile regardless of their burdens, that there were times they genuinely felt happy. But now you saw that lingering sorrow, one you saw in Kaeya so often when he thought you couldn’t, was present.
You reached out hesitantly to grasp his hand. Venti looked at you, his face softening once more, now with hope instead of sadness.
-
You stood outside the gate, a weight lifted from your shoulders and now a smile on your face when you saw the group of Amber, Kaeya, Aether, and Paimon.
“Hey, how was the meeting?”
Paimon immediately answered. “We’re going to clear out three of the four winds temples to stop Dvalin’s power from growing!”
“Dvalin is drawing on power from the temples?” You asked, looking towards Kaeya, whose hand rested on the hilt of his sword in anticipation.
“Yes, so it’s important for us to get these done as quickly as possible to prevent much more damage from Dvalin on the city.”
“Okay,” You walked to Kaeya, slipping your arm through his own. “I’ll go with you, that good?”
Kaeya smirked. “I’d love to have your help dearest, I hardly get to see your prowess in battle.”
“I promise it’s not much.” You turned to Aether. “Are you joining us or would you prefer to go with someone else?”
Aether just shook his head. “I’ll go with Amber. The more we spread out, the faster we can get this over with.”
“My thoughts exactly.” You agreed. “Lisa, can you handle yourself, or do you need another adventurer to go with you?”
“No need cutie.” Lisa smiled, somewhat sadistically as she twirled lighting between her gloved fingers. “I can handle it on my own.”
You felt a shiver down your spine at her smile. “I somehow feel bad for those hilichurls.”
Kaeya heard your mutter and laughed. “On that note, let's be on our way. No time like the present to destroy the power of an ancient dragon.”
You elbowed his side as you all went your separate ways.
a/n - Honestly, I'm concerned about how my portrayal of Venti will be received, but it's always been my opinion that Venti/Barbatos can be cynical and suspicious.
You can't tell me that the god who went through a revolution that that killed his friend, the archon war, saw the dark parts of his own reformed nation, and is now one of two original archons left, while still dealing with the loss of the people closest to him, would not be somewhat suspicious of someone who, despite liking and maybe even caring about, has information that couldn't be known by anyone.
I don't think it's wrong to say that Venti/Barbatos is often shown to have this trauma, but I don't really see his godly side, the one that had to get shit done. Venti really gives me "Do no harm, but take no shit" vibes sometimes, ya know?