The Vigilant Yaksha

Chapter 12

A few quiet days had passed, with the boys of Vena's group coming to and from as they ran errands for Zhongli, Childe and the Qixing, back and forth all around Liyue.

They'd visit every day, telling her stories as they ate dinner in the kitchen with her, and she tried her best not to be sad about not being able to join in.

Most of their missions had been pretty dangerous, so they all assured her she didn't miss much and she had been much better off at the Inn recovering.

"Your shoulder bandage is off?" Aether questioned as soon as he saw her, concern clear in the tone of his voice as he stared at her with wide eyes.

"Yeah- look!" Vena beamed proudly, pulling the side of her V-neck shirt over a tad to reveal more of her shoulder to him.

It was mostly healed by now, practically nothing but a large faint scar remaining.

To think, that injury had almost taken her life.

"I checked in with the doctor and he said it's pretty much healed, the surrounding skin and muscle might be sore for a while but he said that's normal and will go away with time. No more bandages for me!" Vena gleamed her pearly white teeth at him in a big grin, actually happy and grateful to be feeling better and noticeably healing.

"I'm so glad!" Aether smiled back, actually feeling relief flow through his body, softening up his tense muscles as he relaxed back into his chair.

"So, starting training soon then?" Diluc piped up, refusing to speak while he was chewing, so he'd simply been listening to their conversation as he ate his meal.

"Uhhh- I'm actually not sure..." Vena spoke awkwardly, reaching back to rub the back of her head.

"I haven't seen Xiao in days." She admitted, her mind obviously going back to the time where she'd went to take a walk, and he sort of snapped at her for even stepped foot outside of the Inn.

Although she'd been trying to just brush it off and get used to the fact that it was just who Xiao was, not seeing him in almost a week since only reinforced her negative thoughts that he actually was just mad at her, or maybe he truly saw her as a burden.

An annoyance.

Maybe he only agreed to train her because he felt like he had to.

"Vena? You okay?" Chongyun waved a hand subtly in front of the girls face, trying to snap her out of the odd daze she'd been sucked into.

"Oh- sorry. Yeah." She smiled, taking a fork full of the crispy chicken dish the chef had cooked up for her.

It was something new, and she actually really loved it.

I wonder if he ever found the tofu I left him. My luck, the wind probably blew it off the balcony...

"So you were telling me you actually met with Lady Ningguang?" Vena quickly changed the subject, trying to focus on more positive matters.

Aether continued to fill Vena in on all she had missed, all the funny stories, the fights they'd had, who they'd met and run into.

"Ganyu asked if you'd be coming back with us soon. Seems she really enjoyed your company." Aether nudged Vena with his elbow, wiggling his eyebrow at her.

"Hey! Stop that-" Her face instantly flushed a bright red, and she proceeded to swat his arm away as he giggled like a little kid at her.

Vena had only met Ganyu once, but they'd hit it off and practically become best friends.

Aether knew how much of a free spirit Vena was, and knew that she'd previously crushed on both girls and guys back in their own worlds, so he made it a habit to tease her about people it seemed she'd developed a crush on.

Not like Vena had been in any sort of relationship in many years, regardless. Aether actually wasn't even sure if she'd ever been in one, her life always having been so hectic and chaotic that she never seemed to be in the right headspace for it, let alone have any free time. And then, just like that, Vena had somehow ended up traveling into this world with Aether and his sister, even though they still weren't sure how.

While Aether and Lumine were both over five hundred years old, Vena was not. Although after coming to this world and being here for some time, her body hadn't seemed to age, and according to Vena, that had been an issue long before she'd met the pair, but she wasn't nearly as old as they were.

Aether wanted answers on that too, but didn't quite have a way of getting them, not like Vena minded much either way. It was something she'd grown to accept as time passed on, leaving her behind, frozen in place.

She was far too distracted with the things plaguing her mind, and that had been for years to no avail.

People back in their original world had called it a mental illness, and Vena had been on medication to help with it, but it was always still a daily struggle regardless, and now that they were in a completely new world, they were unsure if anything like that old medication she was on existed here.

Vena never pressed the issue, always more interested in finding Lumine or helping people wherever they went, and always seemed to push herself to the side.

After all, after all she had been through... she deserved true happiness.

"Aetherrrrr~" Vena's singing yanked Aether out of his downward spiral of dark thoughts, his gaze once again focusing on her bright blue eyes.

"Finish your food before it gets cold!" She scolded him with a playful smile.

"Maybe we can see if we can find Xiao for you. I might know a couple spots he could be." Aether spoke out of nowhere, bringing back up the subject from before, almost confusing Vena in the process.

"No, it's okay. I'm sure he's just off fighting demons somewhere and I'll see him around. Protecting Liyue is way more important." Vena simply shooed away the subject without a second thought.

There she goes, always putting everyone else above herself.

"How about it, guys? Xiao search party after we finish eating?" Aether continued to press, his eyes going back and forth between Diluc and Chongyun who both agreed with a smile.

Vena exhaled in defeat, rolling her eyes. She knew how stubborn Aether could get sometimes, so she decided to just let it go.

What are the odds they'd actually find him out there anyway?