Rising Storm || Genshin Impact

37: New Storm

.

.

.

"You're really not going to tell me?"

Amber shuffled in her seat, tapping a steady beat on Jean's wooden desk. Aether sat right beside her, his jaw clenching as his gaze rushed through a scattered pile of documents filled with ink. The sun beamed warm rays of light through the windows, reflecting specks of dust floating in the air like handfuls of sand in water. Paimon was laid splat across a velvet chair, a trickle of drool down her chin as she dozed off.

The traveler sighed through pursed lips.

"No, Amber. I'm sorry." he muttered, his gaze still shifting through blocks of words.

The Outrider huffed through her nose, the rhythmic pattern of her pencil taps ceasing with a final 'cluck' on the wood. 

"Whatever is going on between you and Y/N, you two need to get it fixed. Pronto." 

If Aether had heard what she said, he showed no sign of it. His eyes were still glued to the text he grasped in front of him, even though he had skimmed through the same paragraph for about ten minutes now.

"And if you can't do it for yourself, do it for my sake." Amber placed a comforting hand on the traveler's shoulder. "Do it for the Knights, for Mondstat, for this operation. We need co-operation and we need to be sharp. So tell me what's going on."

The silence that followed was deafening. Neither of them moved, or even seemed to breath as they each waited for a reaction. Only a rustic Grandfather clock's ticked in the background, and that was about the only audible sound the two of them could hear.

Aether finally set his papers down.

"I'll co-operate, Amber. And I'll be sharp." He sounded as if he was affirming himself rather than the Outrider. "I just...really don't want to talk about this right now."

Just thinking about it makes me sick.

Amber stared back at him with the same worried expression.

"I hate seeing you two like this." she whispered.

I hate it too, Aether wanted to say. But he shook his head instead, shuffling through a new batch of documents.

"Let's just focus on the mission for now," he muttered, "We still have more reports to get through. The sooner we get this done, the further we'll get from a full-blown famine."

To the traveler's surprise, Amber got up and tucked in her seat, the legs screeching against the tiled floor. He widened his eyes as her disappointed gaze locked with his.

"You can't run away forever, Aether." she murmured. "You're going to have to face whatever is going on sooner of later. If you don't want my help, I'll just ask Y/N instead."

Her boots clacked on the rosewood, until the echo eventually quelled as she disappeared into the hallway. Aether slumped back into his chair and dug his fingers beneath his blonde locks, into the insides of his skull.

He was acting insane, he knew. But he didn't know how to face it.

...

Another day, another training regimen. That's all Y/N had gunning for her these days.

The tip of her spear scathed against jagged stone paths as she walked, the weapon being dragged lazily behind. The streets were quieter, as if an unsettling storm of gray clouds loomed over the city.

Except, the sun was bright as usual. And there was no sign of rain, or thunder, or storms. But in a way, the disappearance of wild animals was a storm in itself. Whispers of chatter with hands cupped over cheeks, grumpy glares and foul-mouthed cursing: these replaced the breaming atmosphere in which Mondstat had before.