Petrification (XiaoVen)

Chapter Ten: Empty

Dear Xiao,

Ever since you left Mondstadt, things have been... different. Kaeya's alive and kicking, fortunately, but he isn't able to perform his duties as Captain since his arm is broken in three different places and his back is all torn up. His work was left for me and Amber to complete. It's been really stressful, trying to keep up with that on top of hunting down the creature.

Speaking of which, one of my informants suspects they may have stumbled across the creature's lair completely by accident. We've looked in almost every corner of Mondstadt and we know it isn't in Liyue so at this point I'm willing to take any suggestion as to where the little bastard might be hiding. The sooner we can find a way to track its movements as well as its magic residue if it left any behind, the sooner we can prevent innocent people like Venti from getting hurt.

I hope everything's going well in Liyue. In fact, I'm willing to bet any amount of money that Venti's doing infinitely better than he was before you two left. He's probably already dancing around the flower fields with reckless abandon. Tell him I said hi and that I continue to wish him a rapid, safe recovery.

Take care!
- Aether

xxx

Xiao felt a pang of sadness as he read the letter he'd received in the mail. It had only been two days since he left Mondstadt and he was already getting letters from back home. He couldn't tell if that was a good or a bad thing seeing as it was too early to say for sure.

Should I write back? He glanced up from his desk, looking over his shoulder at the window bench lined with soft cushions where he'd put Venti so that he could see outside and get a little sunshine despite being unable to move around right then. Venti's slowly starting to get better, so I guess there is that. But what if Aether tries to call us home now? We aren't ready to go back. It hasn't been nearly enough time.

With a heavy sigh, Xiao got up and wandered over to the window bench, kneeling down beside it and automatically moving to rest his hand on Venti's shoulder.

The sickly bard was asleep. He had been for most of the past two days. He was only awake for a few minutes to an hour at a time, and never really had much to talk about before going right back to sleep what felt like moments after he'd just woken up. There was a thick, soft blanket tucked around his waist and a rounded purple cushion under his head in place of a pillow. His braids had started coming loose, giving them an almost adorably messy appearance.

Now that everything had come to a close for a little while, Venti finally had time to heal both mentally and physically after the absolutely brutal month he'd had. He needed all the sleep he could get. But that didn't stop Xiao from missing the sound of his voice every waking moment of every single day.

It's a good thing. He needs the rest. Xiao reminded himself, like he'd been doing every morning since he'd arrived at Liyue. Sooner or later, Venti will wake up feeling better. Then I can start helping him relearn to walk. Everything will be okay after that.

All of a sudden, Venti stirred. His face twisted into a slightly pained grimace as his eyes fluttered open. "Tutu?"

"Hey." Xiao took Venti's hand and raised it to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss to the back of it. "How are you feeling?"

"A little better, actually. My leg doesn't hurt that badly for once." Venti let out a soft giggle, finally sounding more like himself and less like the hollow shell he'd been for the past two weeks. "And you look better. Those dark spots under your eyes are gone."

A genuine smile touched Xiao's lips. He'd been getting a lot more sleep now that he no longer needed to be on guard from dawn until dusk and vice versa. "I've been getting some rest, same as you. It's helped a lot. I feel much better."