✧.* 𝒀𝒐𝒌𝒂𝒊 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒀𝒂𝒌𝒔𝒉𝒂 ᵍᵉⁿˢʰⁱⁿ

ii. serenity unknown.

When the wind settled, you opened your eyes. Your surroundings had changed. You felt the grass under your feet change to a stable wood flooring, the silence was disturbed by the sound of chatter, pots banging and utensils scraping. Your eyes fluttered open. You could see that you stood on a balcony overlooking a stone path. Beyond that was a body of water of sorts, small islands sticking out of it.

"Stay here," the boy said, disappearing right before your eyes. You blinked, taking a seat against the wooden railing. You took a deep breath, smelling some unknown meal being made. The boy reappeared before you a moment later, holding a towel. He handed it to you.

"There's a washroom just downstairs. Clean yourself up and come back up here."

You look down at the towel, soft and white. "Oh. Thank you."

༺♡༻

There was a pair of clothes wrapped within the towel, something that the owner supplied. It wasn't anything like the traditional Inazuman attire you arrived in, but it hung loose on your body comfortably, so you couldn't complain.

You had made sure to take extra care in cleaning your injuries. You could see the extent of your wounds a lot better now. There were a few cuts littered on your arms and legs and a gash on your stomach, which showed through your top.

You had disposed of your ruined clothes and made your way back to the balcony, where the boy was waiting for you. There were quite a few materials laid out on the railing of the balcony—surely medical things. As you approached, he took hold of your arm, analyzing it. "How long have you had these?"

"Not sure, since yesterday?" You said. "Hey, what's your name?"

"Xiao."

You tilted your head. The name sounded familiar, but you weren't sure where you had heard it. "Xiao… xiao… oh! The adeptus?"

"Yes."

You nodded as he wrapped bandages around your arm. The action was careful, meticulous, and you were surprised that such hands could hold such mercy. "My name is Y/N. Do you—"

"How did this happen?"

Your smile, seemingly ever permanent, tensed. Were all of the adepti so lacking in common manners? "Huh?"

"Your injuries. How did you get them?"

"Does that matter?" Your eyebrows raised at his sudden curiosity. He hadn't even asked you for your name, why did he care about how you got hurt?

"It does. If there's someone walking around Liyue hurting people, they must be taken care of."

You deadpanned. You should've known that an adeptus of such seriousness would say something like that. "Well then there's no need to worry. These injuries are what I brought from home."

It went silent for a moment, his fingers leaving your skin as they reached for something else. You watched the people pass by before glancing at the sky. It was almost hidden behind the mountains. Traveling in the dark of night was never a good idea. But even so, you didn't have a place to stay for the night and figured you'd get there quicker walking the rest of the way as soon as possible.

"Come with me."

Xiao's voice grounded you. You hadn't noticed that he had finished his job until now, looking down at the bandages wrapped so gently around your arms, legs, and stomach. Now, he stood in the center of the balcony facing the entrance of the inn, his body twisting backwards to look at you.

You followed him downstairs, the sounds of pots and pans banging together becoming louder to you. You could smell it now, too. You peered over the staircase in curiosity, into the kitchen below. There was a big man in there, hands seemingly flying as he prepared many meals. Xiao approached a woman behind a desk. She smiled at the two of you.