Act 13 | Feigning calmness before the storm

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"Oh, come on! Shooting you into the sky with the Guizhong ballista would definitely have been waaay more fun! You are just exaggerating, it doesn't sound that bad, right? Right?"

Aether had been this close to throw a certain floating fairy down the rising elevator they had been currently standing on.
This close. His fingers were probably almost touching.
But like the wise and obviously smarter person he was, Aether had chosen to remain friendly and simply tried his best to ignore the ongoing monologue of the chattering toddler-sized girl.

Wailing, complaining and whining; three words, which seemed to describe the emergency food perfectly.
Her rambling was bottomless just like her food carvings and he had not been so sure what he would prefer more.
He had to suffer in any case.
Like now; as if her high-pitched screaming had not been enough, no, he also had to endure her tight and almost suffocating grip around his cape, which was currently cutting his breathing off as well.
Baby-sized or not, she clearly was way more dangerous than her size would indicate.

"One more word, Paimon, I swear!", Aether groaned in annoyance, not entirely sure if the ringing in his ears had come from her loud voice or the lack of air, "And it won't be me, who's going to be flung into the air.", finally free from her deathly grip, he glanced at her, before a dark smile had crept over his lips, "Or would you rather say goodbye to your portion of sweet barbecue Nana had prepared for us?"

"You wouldn't!", Paimon gasped loudly, her mouth wide open in disbelief, "You wouldn't dare!"

"You want to bet?", Aether stared dead into her eyes, both hands propped against his hips.

Brilliant.
Yes, he knew he was somehow a genius.
How come he had never thought of the idea to blackmail the floating girl with food?
It had been such a marvellous idea, one which he would certainly make a reality if he wanted to.
He wouldn't even feel bad. Probably.
Well, maybe a little bit, but that wouldn't stop him.
She had snatched his food away from him more than he could count, even if it had been already in his hands, just a few centimetres away from his open mouth.
Nope, no way he would feel as much as a tiny hint of guilt if he would return the oh so joyful gesture.
He would enjoy her shocked expression along with her share of food with a big mocking grin on his face.
One hundred percent.
Like she said; sharing is caring, right?

"Oh, Paimon is so gonna tell Nana about this, just wait! And then you will see who will laugh and eat in the end, hah! Paimon will get all the food and you will get nothing! And then we will go and buy more and- "

'Great...'

A deep and quite frustrated sigh escaped his mouth, while he had pinched the back of his nose with two of his fingers.
The endless sermon of Paimon, which he had hoped had finally found its ending only continued with her commentaries on how he was going to lose his food benefits to her, because she was hug-sized and he wasn't and how she was Paimon and he wasn't... well, a Paimon.

𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑬𝒏𝒅𝒔 | Genshin Impact X femaleWhere stories live. Discover now