The stars twinkled in the night sky, as though they were applauding the magnificent moon that gleamed in the centre.
The clouds were barely visible, despite there being plenty of them.
The tree leaves swayed against the night breeze, fighting to stay in place as the wind threatened to push them away.
It was a silent night, everything completely quiet until the faint sounds of footsteps filled the air.
"S-So you're an adeptus?"
"I am.."
The vessel wandered after the anemo wielder: who, despite his neutral expression, was keeping his guard up the entire time as he prepared himself for the moment he'd sense an enemy around them, ready to take immediate action.
Y/n's eyes lingered on his back as she followed after him. So, he was an adeptus? A guardian yaksha, to be exact.
She remembered the stories Yanli would tell her about the other adepti. And although the descriptions were vague, she could tell that they were some of her fondest memories judging from the smile on the fox deity's features.
From what she knew, Yanli cut off her contact with them.
She never explained why.
The puppet frowned to herself with a question in mind.
Would it be okay to tell this person about knowing her?
"You were headed towards Mondstadt, no?"
"Eh?"
Y/n snapped out of her thoughts, realizing that the boy who had been walking ahead earlier now turned back to face her.
He stopped walking.
Y/n didn't.
She quickly stumbled back to avoid bumping into him, immediately summoning her fan to create an ice wall behind herself to prevent the upcoming fall.
She managed to stand upright again, regaining her balance and grinning awkwardly. "Sorry.."
The adeptus seemed rather unphased.
"Quick enough to prevent a harmless fall yet not quick enough to prevent your own fate."
Ouch.
That kinda hurt.
Rather than acknowledging those words, she responded to his question instead. "Yes, I was headed towards Mondstadt."
"Good, then my guess was correct." He turned back around, "Since you weren't headed towards the direction of Mondstadt at all, I was convinced you were just roaming around for fun."
"I-I wasn't?"
Y/n blinked. Did she seriously just walk further into Liyue? Hadn't she left the grounds of that land at all?
How could one be so bad at reading a map?
"If that's the case, then..why did you ask if I was headed towards Mondstadt?" She questioned.
"You looked lost, I had to make sure." He answered, summoning his polearm and quickly smacking down a hilichurl that spotted the two wandering together and tried to attack them.
Y/n blinked her eyes at his quick instincts.
"If you keep moving forward from here on out, you should be able to spot the city of Mondstadt eventually." The adeptus pointed forward, allowing his polearm to dissipate once the threat was taken care of.
"That's if you get lucky and don't lose your way again."
Double ouch.
Y/n would be lying if she said she wasn't nervous about continuing on her own, but she understood that a guardian of Liyue wouldn't wanna bring themselves to leave the lands they were meant to protect.
She really appreciated how much he helped her so far, and wanted to think of a way to thank him.
"I'll be leaving now, travel safely."
She didn't have anything of value on her, just her fan and butterfly hairclips.
Or perhaps..
While the yaksha turned to walk away, he came to a stop when the humanoid girl he guided spoke loudly with a sense of realization.
"Mandarin oranges!"
Yanli had handed her the citrus fruits which she picked from the village's trees, wanting her to keep herself fed with at least something despite the fact that she didn't really need to eat.
It was a kind gesture, so she couldn't refuse. And when she finally peeled one of them earlier today, she had to admit that they were one of the tastiest fruits she's ever eaten.
Yes, even better than sunsettias.
Yue would've argued with her if she told her that.
"Here," after y/n took out a mandarin orange from her purple hebao, she took ahold of his hand and placed the citrus fruit in his hold.
"Please, enjoy. And thank you for your help, adeptus Xiao!" She rushed to bow her head and then proceed to make her way towards where he pointed, wishing to be quick before her embarrassment could settle in.
"Uh-" Xiao stood still with the orange fruit in his hand, watching as she left.
He glanced down at the gift the girl had handed to him, unable to help thinking to himself:
'How does she know my name?'
♡__.○.__♡
"How does this work again?.." The cryo wielder muttered to herself, gently pulling at the wings of her glider.
She's never used it all that often. The last time she did was long ago. Plus, Yanli was there, so she wasn't really sure of how to go about it now on her own.
She could see the windmills of Mondstadt's city not too far off. Yanli had told her that those were the most defining features when it came to this nation.
But she was standing on a high cliff, and she was gonna need to get down.
"I just..jump, right?" She stepped closer to the edge, spreading the wings with the use of her arms.
Okay, don't overthink.
Even if she fell, she'd probably survive anyway.
She closed her eyes before proceeding to jump, bracing herself.
But she didn't fall.
She opened her eyes again, sighing in relief as she glided her way downwards.
But uh, there was still one problem:
She couldn't control the way she was going.
The wind blew against her wings, forcefully changing her direction in the process.
"Ah- woah!"
Luckily, she didn't end up hurt, managing to land near a statue surrounded by water.
That was yet another problem:
It was surrounded by water.
Concern graced her expression, although she was met with some hope when she spotted a blond male in the distance, who appeared to be following after..a fairy?
"You can swim right over!" The floating child told her companion, about to float over the water only to come to a still when she saw y/n. "Eh?"
"Eh.." The vessel scratched her cheek with her index finger, "Excuse me, could you help me out? I- uh.."
She looked away from the two, gesturing towards the water.
"..I can't swim."