[[ Dreams Carried Across Winds ]] - // Y/n x Xiao \\

[[ Chapter 1 ]]

Woosh!

The wind sent my hair lashing  behind my ears as I paced forward, Wangshu Inn's large silhouette filling my gaze, the moonlight illuminating the corners of the balconies that surrounded it.

Leaves rustled amongst the trees as I made my way onward, tucking my hands between my arms to keep warm. My cheeks were pink, bitten by the frost that spoke of an oncoming winter, which would soon blanket the lands of Liyue with sparkling snow.

Now, I was stepping across the bridge an up the stairs, greeted by an elevator that clacked down, awaiting passengers to enter.

And so I did. The ride up was bumby, and I felt my heart thump in my chest as I grabbed the rail, afraid of falling out the front.

Luckily, it stopped at the top right after, and I hurriedly went out and over to the Innkeeper.

"Hello! Welcome to Wangshu Inn, how can I help you?" She said, tipping her head kindly as she spoke.

I returned the gesture.

"I'd like a room please."

"Sure thing, I'll go ahead and grab your keys, and you can pay once I return. I won't take long!"

So I waited, and sure enough, she was back with the keys and handed them to me gently.

"Here you are! That'll be 100 Mora for a nights stay, if you wish to stay more we can also arrange for that."

"Thank you, but one night'll do just fine," I smiled, handing her the payment. "Alright, your room will be the one on the right up the stairs!" She said.

I made my way up the spiraled stairs and to my room, placing the key inside...

Or- More like, tried.

Sighing, I went back downstairs, my feet aching from my previous events of the day. Id been all over the place, running errands for all sorts of people just for some spare change.

"Hi, sorry for the trouble but this key doesn't seem to go to the room you directed me to."

She seemed panicked, grabbing the key from me and inspecting it. "Oh dear, I'm sorry! Please don't apologize, this is my fault. You see, all the rooms are booked today, besides one, it appears I handed you the storage key, since the other one is currently being held by one of our assistants. Please, take your mora back, I'll go fetch the key from her and you can help yourself to some nice cocoa."

I blinked. "Its really no trouble, you don't have to give me a refund over something so small," I said, but she shook her head.

"No no, it's alright, just take it and go treat yourself. I'll be right back!"

>>>

I did end up getting hot cocoa, holding it in my hands as I leaned against the rails of the balcony with my back. The icy breeze nipped at my fingertips, but the warmth of the cups easily fended off the cold.

I raised the glass to take a sip, but as I did so, I felt the wooden support on my back snap, the wind giving one final heavy blow against me.

I dropped the cocoa, the cup splattering all over the freshly cut wooden floor of the Inn, but that was the least of my worries.

The railing gave way under my weight and the added pressure of the wind, and my head spinned with shock.

"Ah!!" I screamed, feeling myself tumble backwards. The wisping wind drowning out all sounds as I fell past the balcony, my arm stretched outward in pleads for someone to catch me.

I closed my eyes, ready to meet my doom, holding my breath as I pondered just how painful the landing on the ground below would be.

But the thoughts never became reality.

I felt warm fingers wrap around my hand, breaking my fall. What?
I slowly opened an eye, greeted by a breathtaking sight.

A boy with short black hair, tainted by the soft colors of the winds, and skin so pale he seemed like the spitting image of the moon, stood before me, one hand on what remained of the railing, and the other holding my hand. His eyes were widened momentarily, then deepened as he pulled me up to him.

I was at loss for words, convinced I was dead and dreaming.

I couldn't contain myself, so I reached a hand up and poked his cheek, reassuring myself that he was real. I felt a sigh of relief escape my lips, but then I held my breath again as I looked up at his expression.

Sheer annoyance was written across his face, and he let go of me as soon as he got me to a safe spot on the balcony.

"What in the world do you think you're doing? Do you think you're immortal? Or are you just dumb?"

I stood in silence, unsure what to think of his remark. "Excuse me?"

He narrowed his eyes as he looked at me. "Humans are all naìve."
His voice was low, but I could still hear him.

"First of all, do you seriously think I'd purposely put myself in danger like that? And second, you look very much like a human yourself, no?" I crossed my arms, raising a brow, challenging him in a duel of snarky responses.

The boy scoffed, crossing his arms as well. "Watch what you say."

I sighed, grumbling. "Listen, thank you for saving my life, but there's no need to be so rude!"

He seemed to lighten up after hearing me say he was rude, but still looked like he was holding onto his pride.

"Just don't do it again," He said, walking away.

I rolled my eyes, but was soon interrupted by a screech of horror.

"Oh my heavens! What happened to the balcony!" It was the Innkeeper,  her hands cupping her face as she shriveled up in shock.

I didn't want her to worry about me again, so I made up an excuse.

"Uh, the wind got kind of crazy and it looks like the railing wasn't so durable... It's a good thing no one was up here! Haha..."

"Are you okay?!" She looked at me, horror filling her eyes.

"Yes I'm fine!"

She seemed relieved, running up to me and handing me my key.  "You'd better hurry and get inside, we'll fix this up."

I nodded. "Thank you."