Turns out, the traveler and his pixie buddy were running an errand for someone.
Someone from the Akademiya, Aether clarified.
Y/n couldn't tell if it was the sheer bloodlust radiating off of her, or the way she clicked her tongue which alerted him of the fact that she'd probably kill the dude.
Whichever it was *probably the former* Aether was sure to add that he couldn't let y/n murder this guy. She reluctantly agreed under the condition that she'd kill him the moment he screwed up.
Y/n wasn't really paying attention as herself, Aether and Paimon approached Wikala Funduq, but was immediately alert when she spotted a familiar head of short gray hair.
No.
"Oh? This is a surprise. I don't remember ordering food today?" y/n knew that goddamn voice.
She looked up alarm and—
"OH HELL NO! NOT YOU!" she snapped, pointing and accusing finger at the young man a distance away before glaring at Aether, "You should've told me who this 🚚er was so I could've stayed back, dumb🍑!!!"
"Wh-What?" Paimon looked between the Scribe and the furious god before realizing, "Wait a sec, you two know one another?"
"Of course I know this bastard! Ever since Enteka agreed to start a 🚚ing delivery service, this 🚚face has been ordering things that he knows we don't have the ingredients for, resulting in me having to run my 🍑 around searching for them, make the stuff myself, run ALLLL the way over to him to deliver it. AT THE MOST UNGODLY HOURS OF THE NIGHT, RIGHT WHEN I'M SUPPOSED TO BE CLOCKING OUT'" y/n shouted.
"Huh. You know do seem like the type to do something like that, Alhaitham." Aether murmured with a thoughtful look.
"If I'm hungry, I'm hungry." Alhaitham replied with a simple shrug and Aether could've sworn y/n's neck snapped when she turned her head to look at him.
"AT 11 IN THE 🚚ING EVENING?! WHO THE HELL EATS CANDIED AJILENAKH NUTS AT 11 IN THE GODDAMN NIGHT?!" y/n practically shrieked, "THAT'S WHEN I SWAP SHIFTS, BASTARD, AND YOU KNOW IT! WHY CAN'T YOU AT LEAST COME AND GET IT YOURSELF?!"
"Too much work."
"🍑hole, have someone else take your order!"
Y/n was breathing heavily now, clearly itching to murder the 💩 out of the Scribe. Aether admired her restraint, considering the fact that she looked like she was about to pop a blood vessel and bit her lip so damn hard it started bleeding.
Alhaitham gave the god one last look. Then looked back to Aether with a, "Were you two successful?"
"Err... yeah." Paimon replied hesitantly, giving the fuming y/n a wary stare, "But is this place really a good meet up spot? There's a lot of people from the Akademiya here, and y/n's rant was sure to draw a lot of attention."
"Since Wikala Funduq is under the Akademiya's control, it's only natural that they have a lot of people working here. I came to Port Ormos under the pretense of conducting official business." Alhaitham explained.
"You're a pretty daring guy..." Paimon mumbled.
"And a 🚚ing nuisance too." y/n snarled, fingers twitching and earning a wary look from Aether.
'Is it just me or did it just get a little hotter?' Aether wondered before looking at the ground near y/n's feet.
He paled at the sight of little bugs and such falling to the ground dead, steaming as though they'd just touched the 🚚ing sun.
'...maybe I'm not imagining it.'
Aether could tell Paimon was bothered by the heat too, but Alhaitham seemed completely unbothered.
"You can relax. No one here has any interest in what we say, and the matra won't come here." the Scribe reassured the two sweating travelers, "Now, tell me how your encounter with Dori went."
Aether explained to the best of his abilities with the increasing heat radiating off of the god beside him.
"Okay. Now that we've done what you asked, can you tell us about the Divine Knowledge Capsule that the Akademiya lost?" Paimon questioned and y/n gave her quizzical look.
'If they wanted to know about those, they could've asked me. But then again...' y/n smiled to herself as she recalled the knowledge capsule she'd given to Dori which was filled with nothing but her ridiculous dreams which she'd had during her 500+ year slumber, 'All I know how to do is drop random 💩 in. I'm not exactly an expert here.'
"Before that, I have to ask, why are the two of you do intent on tracking it down?" Alhaitham questioned, before adding, "You don't have to answer, of course."
"We want to meet with the Dendro Archon." Aether replied simply, "I have something important to ask her, yet we haven't found a way despite being in Sumeru for a while now." he glanced at y/n, 'Well... up until recently.'
"We heard the Akademiya lost something related to the gods, so we came here in case it could help us find a way to talk with the God of Wisdom!" Paimon continued.
"In that case, the two of you are on the right track." Alhaitham said as y/n caught Aether staring and gave him a quizzical look, "A short while ago, the Akademiya lost a Knowledge Capsule in the desert which supposedly contained the wisdom of the gods."
'Probably a curse.' y/n thought, observing her nails and scowling at the traces of blood there, 'Ugh, human blood...'
"Wow... so then, if you used it, you could probably find your sister!" Paimon exclaimed, giving Aether an excited look.
"I highly doubt it has any mystical properties, but it does exist. Right here in Port Ormos." Alhaitham hummed.
"Okay, but where exactly is it?"
"That's what we need to find out next."
Y/n was bored until she heard a mention of Aether's sister. He was looking for a sibling? Maybe, just maybe if he was actually useful... y/n would put in some work to help him.
"You want to find that Divine Knowledge Capsule too then, right?"Aether questioned as y/n glanced off, something catching her attention and prompting her to go investigate.
The God had no interest in listening to useless human banter. She was much more interested in the violence which was to come.
The god stopped by the water with a small frown before huffing, "Okay, let's take it piece by piece. So my pea brain can understand this 🐂💩."
Ayn Al-Ahmar.
Y/n recognized the name as one of a group of ignorant humans who had beef with Greater Lord Rukkhadevata and favored the Scarlet King, King Deshret.
The god didn't know whether to be angry or happy.
Angry that they shunned the god she once served, or happy that they shared her fondness of her eternal lord.
Decisions, decisions.
She settled for angry, as she was thoroughly disgusted by humans in general. Anyways, this group had possession of the Divine Knowledge Capsule Alhaitham was searching for.
"Hmph, no matter." y/n smirked, "It's not like I've never educated ignorant humans before. A couple sandstorms and personal 🍑-beating will do the trick."
The god chuckled to herself, a smile upon her face as she recalled her old antics of terrorizing foolish humans.
Ah... what good days those were.
The nostalgia inevitably brought a bitter feeling.
"Yet again, I no longer have a voice of reason from this world to set some boundaries." y/n mumbled, "How unfortunate. I might actually go too far this time."
"Y/n!" Paimon called, causing the the God to turn around to see what the problem was.
Her expression immediately darkened to that "I'm-going-to-commit-murder" look she often got the moment she spotted Alhaitham with the traveler and Paimon.
"Alhaitham's gonna show us how to use a Knowledge Capsule! Are you gonna come with us?" Paimon inquired.
"With that 🚚face with you? No way!" y/n spat, crossing her arms and giving Alhaitham a sharp look, "I'll be at Puspa Café, since I still have a shift to complete. When you need me, come find me there."
Y/n stormed off with that, leaving the trio to watch her depart. Paimon pouted, "Huh. With how much she liked to wander off, it's not surprise two of the gods she was supposed to protect got killed."
The god stopped and Paimon gasped.
"Oops! Did Paimon speak to loud?"
As Paimon was awaiting her death, y/n was trying so damn hard not to turn right back around and murder the 💩 out of that little pixie...!
'Think before you act, think before you act...!' y/n thought angrily, 'Just walk away. Lord Deshret would most definitely wring me by my neck if I were to attack another mortal over a minor inconvenience!'
Her failure to protect Lord Rukkhadevata and King Deshret weren't minor inconveniences though.
They were serious incidents which still kept y/n up at night. Well... which kept her from going back to sleep after that Akademiya student roused her from her slumber.
Y/n inhaled deeply.
She exhaled.
Then kept walking.
...
She had to kill a couple of those ruin machine things to calm her nerves during her trip back to Sumeru city.
(My friends got me hooked on Tears of Themis)