I shall Protect You

Retraining

It had been days since his talk with Hisano and Guizhong. Zhongli would come by occasionally to check on Xiao. He hasn't made much progress. It was suggested by Zhongli to visit Cloud Retainer. He couldn't come with them and said that he'll join them later. 

Xiao wanted to leave but Lily insisted that they bring Cloud Retainer a gift. Lily cooked some dishes for her. She also had time to make dishes for later. She finally finishes and gets ready to leave. She says, "See you later!" to Verr and leaves the Inn.

The couple arrives soon after. Cloud Retainer greets them at the entrance. "Cloud Retainer!". Lily runs over to her and hugs her. "One is delighted to see you Liliana". Cloud Retainer and Lily had met a couple of times and even formed a bond. It's been a while since she was her. "Oh, I came with a gift". 

Lily returned to where Xiao was and took a basket from him. She then takes it to her. "Here for you". It had a variety of little snacks and fruit. "One is grateful for the gift". Lily smiles "I'm glad". Xiao comes over and greets her. "It's been a while Cloud Retainer".

She could feel the awkwardness around them. Is this how adepti greet each other? "Indeed, it has Conqueror of Demons". Silence fell as they stared at each other. "Haha...I'll leave you two alone. I'll be over there if you need me!". 

Lily quickly leaves to get away from the awkwardness. "One heard from Rex Lapis that you regained one's wings?". Xiao nods and summons his wings. "I cannot move them very well". Cloud Retainer inspects them for a while. "One's wings are very fragile. One suggests a training method".

Lily finds a quiet place to do her training. "Hah..That was awkward". 'Haha, they've always been like that'. Lily sits down under a tree. "Mom is it time for training?". 'Indeed, it is. Come in whenever you're ready'. She closes her eyes and is teleported to Guizhong's domain. Halo joins her as well. 

Lily opens her eyes and stretches. "Mm! It's been a while since I've been here". Lily walks over to Hisano to continue her training. "Today I'll teach you how to imbue your weapon with our power". Hisano begins by summoning her Catalyst. Lily summons her sword and watches Hisano imbue her weapon. "Now you try".

Cloud Retainer aids Xiao in lightly moving his wings so that he could get used to their weight again. Fighting with this weight wouldn't be ideal. He'll have to get used to them first. It hurt at first, but the pain gradually numbed. 

Cloud Retainer could sense the struggle Xiao was having and stopped to give him a breather. His wings slumped over as he tried to catch his breath. "No, I'm fine...Continue". Cloud Retainer reluctantly continued as Xiao still struggled. 'Remember! The first time it felt to fly!' he thought.

Xiao focused solely on that memory to force his wings to move. Not a good idea but he wanted to improve. It takes time but he doesn't like to wait. Xiao successfully moves his wings on his own after some effort. "One made good progress. Does one want to continue?". Xiao nods "I do". Cloud Retainer then asks him if he could move them up and down. He tries and focuses. They weren't moving the way he wanted. "Tch!". Xiao forced them up causing a strain to his back. "Agh!". He falls on one knee huffing. Cloud Retainer flies over to him. "Is one alright?".

Lily wasn't having much luck either. "Focus!" she yelled at herself. Hisano struck her a couple of times with Lily dodging them. Her task was to use both her weapon and power at the same time. Something difficult for her. Lily solely relied on one in battle. Learning a different type of fighting style was hard. Her mother used both and her father relied on his sword skills. 

How could she do it then? "Retry, Lily". She lightly huffs and summons her power. It swirled around them with intensity. Like an uncontrollable tempest. Just how could she channel this into her sword? Lily stops and falls to the ground. It's time for a breather. 

A/N: Hi! How is everyone? In this chapter Xiao gets to try out his wings but they are still fragile and are weak. Don't worry Xiao will be able to properly use his wings. 

See you soon! 

-Aria