okay so hhfjr basically i wrote a tedtalk about xiaolumi in one of my friend's discord DMs and that lead to me getting a wattpad account. bc they said so, yknow? as i say, anything is possible with enough peer pressure. and they peer pressured me en...
i kinda suck at digital art, shadows & proportions kinda wack, but whatever. took me 3 months. im glad to be done. background is a genshin screenshot bc i got lazy
aeaieaieeai
anyway
mhm yes time to be literate
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Knock, knock, knock.
"Come in." Comes a deep voice from the other side of the door.
The traveler pulls it open, closing it after Paimon floated into the office. The walls are decorated with tapestries and paintings, depicting scenes ranging from ocean shores to bloody battles to everyday objects. Pieces of ore and various old artifacts sit on every shelf, devoid of even one speck of dust. Zhongli must take great care of this place.
"Ah, Miss Lumine," The consultant hums, setting down an intricately decorated tea cup. "I had not expected you to show up here today. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
His eyes remind her of the Cor Lapis on the shelves behind him. The bits of the ore that she's seen sparkle brilliantly when the sunlight hits them just right, which is a decently fitting comparison, but the former Geo Archon's eyes still appear far more magnificent. It's a wonder that this human disguise is working, considering how wild and beautiful that gold shade and those dragon-like pupils are. Lumine can't help but be reminded of a certain other inhuman person she knows.
"I wanted to ask you about something I found during one of my adventures around Jueyun Karst..." Her fingers brush against the item in question, running along soft strands as she holds it carefully in one hand.
"Oh? Please, have a seat." Zhongli says, motioning to a chair across from him. "What kind of treasure have you stumbled upon? And would you like some tea?"
"Thanks but no thanks, I don't plan to stay long." Lumine sits down, placing the feather in her hand on the desk. It had taken a while to brush all the dust off, but she'd managed to reveal the colors earlier: On one side, the fibers form a shade of dark green, and on the other, it's a more golden tone. It's not small, either. The shaft in the center stretches from the middle of her arm to the tips of her fingers. If she had to guess, she'd say it might've come from some very colorful hawk.
"We found it with some old stuff belonging to a yaksha called Bosacius!" Paimon explained. "Lumi tried to sell it along with some of the artifacts, but no one would take it because they'd never seen it before and didn't know if it was real. Do you know what kind of bird might've dropped this?"
Zhongli picks the feather carefully, turning it over in his hands for a moment. He blinks, and something passes over his face: a shift in his expression, a twist deep within those golden eyes.
"You recognize it?" Lumine asked.
He sets it down and picks up his tea cup again, taking a long sip. The traveler swears she sees him smiling behind the cup's jade rim.
This has got to be on purpose, She decides, as the seconds pass by. How much tea can this guy drink at once...?
"Show this to Xiao." He responds finally, setting down the cup. Yep, he's definitely smiling. What does Zhongli know?
"Xiao? What would Xiao know about it?" Paimon asks.
"He can explain it better than I can." The Prime of the Adepti replied simply, still with that little smile.
Guess she'd just have to find out.
"Okay. Come on, Paimon, let's go find Xiao then."
--
Xiao was not, in fact, better at explaining. They stood on the balcony of Wangshu Inn, with Lumine holding out the feather and the adeptus narrowing his eyes at it. Everything was completely silent, except for the leaves rustling as the wind played with them, the chirping of distant birds, customers at the inn conversing below and- well, it wasn't really silence at all. The silent part was only the fact that neither of them said a word.
And the quiet stretched on.
And on.
And on.
Lumine almost didn't catch his response when he uttered it quietly.
"That... is mine."
She frowned, brows knitting together in confusion. "Yours...?"
"I have no need for it anymore. You may do with it what you please." Xiao turns away, intent on leaving, it appears.
"W-wait!" Paimon exclaimed. "Give us a little more context than that! What do you mean, it's yours?!"
He stops, staring blankly ahead for a moment, before slowly turning back to face them. His golden gaze flicks between the traveler and her floating companion for a moment before he finally sighs and reaches forward to take the feather. The yaksha scrutinizes it for a moment, turning over, examining every tiny part.
His eyes flutter closed, his chest expanding with a deep breath. Slowly, slowly, he breathes out.
Lots of silence and long, dragged out moments today. Lumine muses silently. What's up with-
...Oh.
She hadn't even noticed until now, but there's something behind him- something that expands, unfurls, until she realizes: He has wings.
He stretches out one wing, holding the feather up to a patch of golden yellow where it blends in perfectly, flawlessly, like a puzzle piece that had been missing.
"Do you understand now?" Xiao asks, and sounds almost annoyed. Lumine takes no notice.
They're... beautiful. Bits of green and teal on the back sides, with gold underneath. Broken, tattered, some feathers twisted and snapped and others missing entirely, but gorgeous, adding a certain flair to an already handsome boy. It feels like there's a whole other part, another side to him she's never seen. Like a door had just been opened, leading to countless other hallways.
She only realizes her jaw had dropped when she has to move it to speak. "What... what happened to you?"
Without thinking she takes a step forward, reaching out to try to touch, to ghost her fingers along the broken edges, to sense the damage, to heal-
He flinches back when she gets too close, and suddenly the traveler is harshly reminded of her place. No, of course I can't reach out and casually poke a scarred wing. How did I not think of that. Wonderful.
Xiao seems to find the floor a more fitting place to look than at Lumine's eyes. "It is best if you do not concern yourself with me. It... was a long time ago," He explains, and then changes the conversation topic, holding up the feather- his feather- and looking at her again. "As I said, I do not need this. The choice is yours of what happens to it. But..."
"But what?" Paimon asked.
The yaksha pays her no mind, refusing to look away from Lumine. She wants to squirm under his gaze. The wordless eye contact makes her feel a bit awkward. She wonders whether she should say something-
He closes the distance between them and, touch as light as a butterfly's wings, puts his feather in her hair. It sits around the other two buried in her blonde locks- souvenirs from her home world, and now from Xiao.
He steps back, admiring his handiwork with a satisfied look. She swears she the sound of purring (and wonders if it's him, considering he isn't human and there's no cats around). "You look... prettier."
Lumine feels heat rush into her face like a waterfall. She reaches up tentatively, her fingers brushing the edge of her new accessory. Her lips curl upwards in a smile.
"Thanks." She squeaks, her voice faltering at how absolutely... Well, she can't even describe it. Adorable? Selfless? Regardless, she just feels so fluttery and warm inside from the gesture.
Xiao simply nods in response, turning away from her.
"W-wait, are you going to leave...?" She asks.
"Yes. My duties are far from complete, traveler."
"Well, uh, real quick, before you go..." Lumine points at his wings, still yet to be retracted. "Can I touch them?"
"...No."
The yaksha leaves before she can protest.
Damn it... Hehe, next time for sure, though...
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ayeeee just in time for valentine's day lets go. okay so i forgot ur username but that one person who left a comment on that previous chapter tellin me to update it soon + also everyone else? ur welcome!! sorry its approximately one month and five days later than planned. anyway i was kinda confusin myself while writin this. are they just friends? are they lovers? wtf is going on? are any of my stories in this fic actually in the same universe as each other? maybe? possibly? perhaps? perchance? i plan on making the next story take place after this one aaa...,, but ehhe okay. take this. i'll be back soon, hopefully... byyeeee
also fun fact this is the first time that i haven't sat down and wrote the entire thing in one sitting it took me a couple days wawoo
