Genshin Isekai With Homies [Ao3 Crosspost]

Chapter 4: Part VIII - Another day at Wangshu Inn

James inhales the gentle cool breeze and basks in the warm morning air. He stretches from the warm blanket and his back aches from the unusually hard bed.

What a weird dream. Of playing Genshin Impact with his friends. Of them stuck in another world. But... The lingering smell of yellow trees, the damp cold stone floors, and the sound of grasses among the marsh whistling in the wind, they all echo in his mind as clear as day. Was that all real?

He rubs his eyes and yawns as he waits for the mirage of a green landscape painting in front of him to disappear. It's been a while for him to sleep this deep; his parent's ringtone should've called by now. James reaches for his phone to the right to check the time, but feels something rough and hard instead. Roof tiles?

"Good morning," a voice speaks and James lets out a small yelp. Beside him, a young boy around his age watches him tentatively, with bright, yellow snake eyes.

–

After the morning merries of confused screams, a very tired Xiao, and a dash of a falling Bennett, the crew composes themselves and slides downstairs as secretly as possible to get Wangshu Inn's breakfast.

The once empty observation deck below is now bustling with guests, walking, chitchatting, and eating. The lure of food pulls Felix out of the hazy morning yawn and he rushes to the crowd of rainbow. Squeezing through the gaps of people dressed in fancy Chinese dresses of red, blue, purple, green... he finally pops out at his goal: the buffet table. On one side, there are plates of big, plump, fried shrimps next to bowls of steamy meat rolled with mushrooms. On the other end are cute little stacks of boxed fresh almond tofu that would melt in one's tongue. He inhales the heavenly concert of scents: fried, sweet, bittersweet, steam... and is that grilled chicken? He jumps up to peek into the kitchen. There're even sausages! Felix grabs a little of everything, rounding the table once, twice, and thrice to finish.

Satisfied, he balances his towering heap back to their table... Wherever that is.

Oh! He spots a lone Xiao guarding the table right next to the balcony, far away from all the commotion and fun. Felix chuckles inside at the imagined conversation that Addy probably had made to move them closer to the buffet in the middle, to no use of course.

After avoiding a lot of cracks and un-hammered nails (that Felix could've sworn magically protruded) from the floor, it seems that he is the first to return to the table. Addy is tied for second with Paimon, both boasting a similar choice of food pile as his, while James is the last, carefully carrying a dish of cold noodles with brown sauce in one hand and a cup of soy milk in the other. He delivers the latter to Gui who never left the table in the first place.

Each unto themselves as they dive into their feast; Felix takes a bite out of the chicken legs and Addy stuffs herself with the meat rolls. Paimon literally inhales her plate to the shock of James and Gui, quietly sipping their dishes.

"You guys wouldn't believe the dream I had last night!" Felix starts.

"Was it going to school in one-piece or forgetting your homework?" Addy teases and he fiercely denies to his laughing friends. The conversation goes along this line until Gui speaks up, ever the strict one.

"So, has anyone thought about the riddle?"

"Haha, of course not," Addy replies and James shakes his head knowingly.

"By what I follow," Felix says, "there's Mondstadt, Liyue, then Dragonspine in order. Where do you guys wanna go first?"

"Am I allowed to go to Mondstadt as Xiao? We can start with Liyue," Gui suggests, and Addy grins mischievously.

"You sure that ain't just an excuse to go see Lantern Rite?~" she says and James coughs up his heated noodles.

"W-What do you mean?"

"To be fair," Felix quickly inserts, patting Paimon lest she chokes on her food, "that event's in February, and if this world's goes by the same time as ours, we gotta be stuck here for a looong time to see it, and that ain't preferable."

The discussion dissolves to the sound of silver clattering as the friends catch another bite of their breakfasts. James breaks the silence this time,

"If we want speed, we could...ya'know, split up?"

"No!" The other trio jumps at the same time, causing James to dig deep into his seat. Felix immediately regrets his reaction.

"I mean-" He waves a hand. "It's a good idea, and we're pairs of Liyuens and Mondstadtians, but..."

"Even if I want to, I can't babysit 2 groups at the same time," Gui admits.

"Hey!" Addy garbles through a mouth full of meat. "Who were the ones that fainted in that domain? Sure ain't us."

Gui grabs Addy's box of almond tofu and slurps it whole, and the girl gasps in extreme offense. James continues,

"I-I'm totally fine with either. I just thought Liyue is better... because... it's the biggest of both. Like they say, 'Eat the biggest frog first'...?"

"Kinda weird way to put it, but sure!" Felix voices.

"...I'm ok if James and Felix's ok," Gui says, nodding his head.

The boys all make puppy eyes at Addy.

She cringes then sighs.

"Fine..."

Yeah!

The fairy burps. "For now, Paimon would recommend Travelers heading out soon! If it gets late, the night outside the Inn's vicinity is quite different from what Travelers might be used too~"

"You heard her," Addy scrapes the last of her fried shrimps into her mouth. "First ones there gets to choose the teleport point!"

"Hey, that's not what we agreed on!" Gui yells behind. He chucks up the rest of his glass and leaves with her, so Felix stuffs up his own food to keep up. While sweeping the rest into his bag, he sees James struggling on what to do with his leftover noodles. Grinning a little in understanding (this is supposed to be James first camp if not for the Isekai shenanigan), Felix takes out a box, shoves those noodles in, and hands it over to the other who squeezes out a tiny thank you.