The Spark [Xiao x Aether]

Feelings |||

Xiao had been getting rid of monsters around Liyue during his and Aether's time apart. There was a lot to get done. Due to his absence many people gave him mean looks. The citizens assumed he was selfish enough to stop taking care of the city, lots of people got attacked from hilichurls that normally weren't roaming so close to the Liyue buildings. It was the Yaksha's job to get rid of them. Now that he hasn't been doing that for quite some time it is only natural that those monsters keep setting up camps close to the people of Liyue.

The locals didn't have much information on the Adeptus besides that he had something to do with slaying demons and countless monsters that roamed Teyvat. Old folks would often blame specifically Xiao for getting attacked by hilichurls. They thought that it was his fault for not getting rid of them while patrolling the roads.

The Yaksha of course heard those rumors, normally he ignored whispers about him on the streets but this certain whisper made him feel guilty for abandoning his duty for so long.

He talked to Morax the moment the traveler left to go spend time with his sister and companion. The black-green haired boy wanted to apologize multiple times for being lazy, he wanted to be forgiven by the geo archon badly.

To his surprise Zhongli didn't even get mad even the tiniest bit, he even encouraged Xiao to take more breaks like these and that he didn't need to fulfill his duty anymore. The contract between the two ended years ago, there was no need for the boy to protect Liyue Harbor if he didn't want to. Of course Morax was grateful for his help at keeping Liyue safe but he had already done enough for the past decades. The Yaksha owed the geo archon a lot. Saving another person's life was something huge.

After he had been working for a couple of days, he decided to head for a walk around the harbor. The blonde boy once mentioned that going for a walk with people around could help with the Yaksha's confusing mood swings that started to occur. He took that advice to heart and headed there for a quick walk to check out if anything has changed since the last time he was here.

The Adeptus decided to wear 'normal' mortal clothes so he dosen't get recognized by anyone as much as he usually does. He got some guest clothes from Verr Goldet, the manager at Wangshuu Inn. She gave out long black kimonos to everyone who was living there. Xiao wasn't exactly living there but the girl was kind enough to give him one aswell.

He put the kimono on and took a look in the mirror that was standing near the stairs to the Wangshuu Inn balcony.

"Hm...perhaps mortal clothes aren't as bad as I assumed they'd be. This should work to not get immediately recognized..." thought the Yaksha to himself as he headed down the stairs.

"Excuse me? Who might you be, I don't remember seeing you coming up her-"

The Adeptus turned hearing Verr Goldet's voice. She froze after realizing who she was speaking to.

"Ah my bad, I didn't recognize you. Huh you sure look adorable in a kimono lord Yaksha!" Complimented the girl with a friendly smile on her face.

"...if anyone is looking for me tell them I will be back soon."

"Noted! Have fun where ever you're going! I'm sure whoever you're going out with would like your new style."

"I'm going alone..." the way he toned it made it seem as if he was really annoyed.

"Not even the traveler will be joining you? I've noticed you two spend so much time together, it'd be a shame if you went without him."

"He is busy, I'm going alone to deal with some matters." He lied to the manager to make her quit questioning it. Xiao only dressed differently to fit in with the crowd.