The Vigilant Yaksha

Chapter 29

"Please tell me you're kidding," Vena had her face in her hands, peaking through the tiny holes between her fingers as she wined.

"Why would I joke about your birthday?" Aether questioned as he gazed at her skeptically.

He knew why she didn't enjoy her birthday, but that didn't stop him from going out of his way to try to make every single one he spent with her special.

The boy was praying that maybe one day, she'd think of the day at least a little more fondly even though he completely understood the circumstances and couldn't imagine what it felt like to go through that.

"Would you like to go around the city to look for an outfit to wear to the party?" His expression now turned into a smile at the thought, knowing deep down that she was going to wind up enjoying herself this time.

This year would be different.

"No, I have something in mind already." She answered sheepishly as she sighed, still hiding her face in embarrassment.

Vena wasn't one to really enjoy being in the spotlight, it always tending to make her anxious with so many eyes on her.

"C'monnnnn~ it'll be fun! I promise. The pavilion will just be us and a few friends- no random strangers. Just friends, food, drinks and music." Aether smiled cheerily, trying his best to ease her anxiety about it.

He knew she'd change her mind once she was actually there.

"... How much time do I have until it's supposed to start?" Vena groaned playfully, finally removing her hands from her face to reveal tired eyes, not the least bit surprising to Aether.

She was never usually able to sleep well, and that was even worse on days like today.

"A few hours, so you have just enough time to prepare."

If Vena didn't know any better, she'd assume he was almost mocking her. Why did he enjoy tormenting her so? Every year, he insisted on celebrating and trying to make the day special when all she really wanted to do was hide away all alone, but she knew it was useless to try and talk him out of it.

"Fine. I guess I'll go shower and start getting ready then." The purple haired girl exhaled deeply as she stood from her seat at the table, heading back down the hallway to her room without another word.

————————————————————

Should I have told Aether about Childe being outside our rooms last night?

Vena was currently dragging the pen of her eyeliner across her eyelids with a flick, making a somehow perfect wing first try even though it had been months since she'd done any type of makeup other than just mascara.

She figured since it was a party after all, she might as well at least try and look her very best since she was practically the star of the show whether she wanted to be or not.

Hmph. Probably not. It would just worry him more, and I don't honestly care anymore. Hopefully him and Scaramouche will just kidnap me and take me away to Snezhnaya.

The girl snickered internally to herself, half serious, half joking.

Whenever she got in these moods, she became dangerously reckless, not caring about her own safety anymore.

Finishing up her makeup, the girl swiveled around to look over at her bed as she rested her hands on her hips, mulling something over in her mind as she gazed at her outfit that was laid across her sheets.

Do I really want to wear this? I haven't worn a skirt in years. Actually, fuck it.

Quickly tossing her hand up, she decided to just do it anyway, throwing her thoughts to the wind, already tired of making decisions today as she just chose to go with the flow.