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Ever since that strange and exhausting ordeal with that dream demon, Xiao was always there. And if not during his waking hours, then when he was asleep.
No matter if it was late at night, after many commissions, or some time midday for a short nap. The Adeptus was just…. there. He always appeared with the wind: a soft and gentle breeze that ruffled his long hair or the teasing gusts that almost swept him off his feet.
But there was one thing that Aether noticed: Xiao always stayed awake. Always. No exceptions. The only thing he did was meditate but that's that.
This time as well.
The blonde slowly blinked awake, well rested and ready for the day, the Vigilant Yaksha still at his bedside. Aether turned carefully and just looked at his friend. His brows were furrowed and his gloved hands were fisted into tight balls, yet he looked undisturbed. Just as he was about to lose himself in this ethereal picture, a golden eye opened and looked straight into his frightened amber ones. Then the second one opened and Xiao tilted his head to the side. 'Just like a curious cat or something.'
The following smirk should have been his first warning. Embarrassed at getting caught the blonde quickly turned around and buried his face in his pillow. One would think that he's trying to suffocate himself. The almost silent laughter behind him was also not helping. Like, at all.
Then the bed dipped behind him and he just tried to hide harder, but with the Yaksha it was impossible. Next thing he knew was the warm presence of the other bend over him, his warm breath ghosting over his sensitive ear. "Nice to know that you like what you see." was whispered so closely that Aether couldn't help his full body tremble.
Without waiting for a response, the weight lifted itself up and away and by the sounds of his footsteps, out of the room.
Aether waited another few minutes before he turned fully on his pillow and squealed into it. Xiao could be so mean sometimes!
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
They were on a commission when the traveler noticed something…… odd.
The teal haired Adeptus, usually quick on his feet and elegant in all his movements, was somehow…… lagging behind? No, that's the wrong way to put it. He was definitely slower than usual, that's for sure but… it was as if he was distracted by something. So Aether took it upon himself to make sure Xiao was alright. Mind made up he slowly approached the tired looking Yaksha after the battle. "Xiao? Are you alright?"
Golden eyes snapped to him and he had to will himself still. There was something… cold and distant in the Yakshas eyes. Something different from his usual self. And just as fast as it was there, it was gone and a cold "I'm fine." was his response. And that? That hurt. Aether tried and failed, not to let it show, so he just nodded and left the Adeptus alone. Maybe all the commissions with all the others around were getting too much for Xiao?
That was the first night in a rather long time that the Conqueror of Demons was not beside him.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Xiao knew that he hurt Aether with his short and cold responses. Knew that the traveler just wanted to help. But this was the one thing he refused to share or even acknowledge. This pain was his to bear and no one else's. This was part of his karmic debt, the burden he deserved.
He just needed a few days for the worst to blow over, then everything would be bearable again. But with every passing day it got harder and harder. His limbs felt heavy and his spear was more of a crutch than a weapon, yet he kept going. Even when the blonde told him to rest and took another with him, Xiao still had his duty. For demons never rest and so he too shall not rest.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
It all came to a head about a week after Aether asked him about his well being. A week where the Traveler took another with him and the Vigilant Yaksha did not come to his bedside.
Aether was more than just worried at this point. He knew, theoretically, that Xiao would come if he called. But he had sudden doubts since their last encounter…. Plus there was something… strange in the air. The usually fresh ocean breeze of Liyue feels suffocating, every gentle breeze feels like an invisible blade and even the bright sunlight feels cold. It was as if the wind was whispering but the words wouldn't stay long enough for him to hear. Call it remnants of his divine powers, call it intuition or something else but something wasn't right.
Driven by worry and an undefined feeling he made his way to the harbor, to the funeral parlor, where he was already expected. Zhongli was waiting for him just outside the door, his usually seren face set in firm lines and his eyes set somewhere a little farther away. Another breeze ruffled their hair and something cold crept down Aethers spine. Before he could say something, the former Archon handed him a small bag and looked him straight in the eyes. “Make haste traveler. He is at Dihua Marsh and he is….suffering.”
That’s all the blonde needed to hear. He left just a swift as he came to visit, not seeing the injured figure of a certain harbinger just behind the god. “Do you really think this is a good idea?” Zhongli turned away from the horizon and stepped closer to Childe. “I’m certain it will be alright. But you, on the other hand, need rest.”
No one but themselves will know how these injuries came to be, no one will know of the Yakshas' lapse of control. Both knew that this incident will eat at the Adeptus, not only because he lost himself to these dark voices that torment him so, but because he lost himself so far that he attacked the next thing close to him, which was Zhongli.
But the ex-Archon was unwilling to fight his Yaksha, knowing of his torment and pain, and so just dodged. That’s when Childe came between them. And because of his Abyss taint Xiao immediately changed targets, attacking as if the Fatui was just another demon to kill. Childe held his own well, but in the end he was still no match for the maddened Yaksha. That’s when said male fell to his knees clawing at his face, or more specifically at his mask and ground in pain. Panting with the effort he gave a short scream before vanishing into wisps of black and teal wind.
Helping the bleeding man up and supporting him, Zhongli took one last look at the slowly darkening sky. Driven by instincts beyond their understanding, Xiao seeks out the closest demon dwelling. And with the approaching night, the Marsh was the only option. He really hoped that the travelers presence would sooth the Adeptus. With that thought he pulled his companion inside the building, already thinking about the materials he needed to stitch him up.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Aether felt uneasy. The closer he got to Dihua Marsh the more wrong everything felt. The ominous atmosphere followed by dark and shadowy creatures gave him goosebumps. Even Paimon felt something strange in the air, not leaving her companions' side. Then something tugged on his consciousness, as if urging him to follow that feeling, leading him to a big crater where Xiao stood. His body was lathered with blood, if his own or not didn’t matter, and his body was tense, ready to attack any moment. His mask was still sitting on his face, a mix of growls and groans leaving his lips between his panting breaths. Another shadow crawled into his range, his head snapping up before swiftly jumping up and piercing it with his spear. Right after that it seems as if shimmering black chains wound themselves around his legs, pulling at him, weighing him down till his shaking knees hit the bloodied ground and breath getting heavier with every passing second. It broke the travelers heart.
He knew the basics of Xiao’s duty and what it entailed, through Zhongli and Xiao both. But this was the very first time he was witness to this carnage that was a Yakshas battleground.
Then he remembered something. Xiao was always beside him, day and night, for weeks now. He stepped up in his dream, to protect him, while he had told Aether he despised using this ability of his. `He must be exhausted.´ Next he heard words, whispered, veiled curses directed at the downed Adeptus, who shook his head, as if trying to clear it. `This is the karmic dept he speaks about…´ The price for his powers and the duty he fulfills.
Taking a deep breath himself, Aether stood tall and stepped forward, Paimon worryingly hovering around his shoulders. The whispers stopped, only to be replaced by screeching and even more cursing. “Leave, otherworlder! The Yaksha is ours!” Two more steps and he dodged a inky black claw. “This is his punishment!” Another few steps and another creature tried to lunge at him, only to be split apart by his sword. “This is the only thing he deserves!” Is this truly something the teal haired male has to live with everyday? In the distance he saw more shadows approaching. `Make haste, traveler.´ is what Zhongli said.
With every step he took, the voices grew louder, their curses and words more vicious. But Aether just pushed through, his eyes so sad and his heart heavy. He had traveled many worlds, had seen many poor souls, but none were as brave os as fragile as the one before him now. The Yaksha was just kneeling there, listening quietly to these awful things as if it was the truth. The growls were now nothing but soft whimpers and even his shoulders were shaking now. Mind made up, he reached out, reached for the mask that emitted a deep and black aura. Before his fingers touched the smooth surface a different but just as distorted voice reached his ears. “Don’t.” It was as much a warning as it was a demand. This one was Xiao. “But you are in pain.” The bound Adeptus just shook his head, straining against the chains that caged him but he wouldn’t come free.
The darkness around them closed in and was about to crash down on them, when the blonde traveler saw the defeated look on the others hidden face, even through the mask.
That’s the moment Aether came to a decision. He pulled his hands away, watching as the Adeptus tried to follow them, closed his eyes and turned around.
After opening his eyes again they shone with the almost golden light. “Enough.”
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Xiao was in agony, not knowing how long he fought for, not knowing how many he had slaughtered this time. He remembered his run in with the Fatui harbinger and why it happened in the first place. But he was unable to worry about that at the moment…
Of course he had noticed Aether the moment the traveler had stepped close enough, even though he didn't want the blonde to see him this vulnerable and weak. But alone his presence soothed something in him, gave him a certain feeling of peace. He wanted to sink into this feeling, into the warmth it brought him. Wanted to stay close to that little bit of light that came to him in all this shrouding darkness. With the other male so close he could even ignore the poisonous words and the wrenched curses. What he couldn’t ignore though, was the traveler trying to touch him at the moment. One word was enough it seemed, even if it hurt to watch these warm hands retreating, trying to follow their light unconsciously. Then he heard a single word “Enough.”
In the next moment everything grew bright and all these shadows crawled away, the voices hissing and growling in displeasure. He looked up and saw the most beautiful thing to ever grace this goddamn planet.
Aethers braid swished softly in the nonexistent wind and his back adorned by bright and golden wings. They were so big that they could carry him without problems, one consisting of three translucent big feathers, their base shimmering golden. Like this the boy in front of him looked like the god he has always suspected him to be. Bright, warm and infinite holy and divine. Amber eyes looked and looked and couldn’t look away. Then the traveler's words registered in his very tired mind. “I don’t care who or what you are. I don’t care if you were slain by his hands or not. I will take him back with me, into the light, where he belongs.”
Tears threatened to spill from his wide eyes.
He knew that he, for a fact, doesn’t belong where the sun touches. But hearing Aether saying it with so much conviction, backed up by his very own sunshine, made him reconsider, even if it’s just for this very moment. “INSOLENCE!”
The miasma around them started moving till it was a vortex, trying to pull them even further in. But the blonde wouldn’t move, so much like his master at this very moment. Words, whispers, curses, screams. Everything meshed together and got unrecognizable yet so loud that Xiao feared his head would explode. Another pained whine left his throat, followed by a grunt when a slender and cold black hand reached for his leg and gripped it tight. But just as it’s fingers closed around his ankle it was cut away, the silver of the traveler's blade shining bright. “Silence.”
As it was said it was done. Not even a single shadow talked, no demon dared to breathe in this sphere. The weapon was brandished, a clear sign that the other was ready for a fight if it was to come to one and spoke again. “We’ll be taking our leave now.” His voice was cold with a tone of finality and the Yaksha couldn’t believe his eyes when the blackness started to retreat. Slowly those creatures that tormented him crawled back underground or just plain vanished, leaving him still bound alone with the otherworldly god. With a sigh the mentioned male let his wings vanish as well and turned around again. “Will you let me help you now?”
Without a single word the Adeptus pushed his face towards the other, a silent invitation to remove the mask that still emits this horrible aura. Gentle hands cradled his face, slender fingers slowly pushing the mask upward till it clattered to the sullied ground. Next he was in the blondes embrace, his chains being cut, his limbs hanging useless at his sides. Hands slid through his sweaty hair and reassurances were spoken and he felt his lids drop.
“It’s ok Xiao. Close your eyes, we’ll just take a little nap.” His eyes slid close and his mind went blank, knowing that nothing will come to hunt for his mind. At least for now.