𝑩𝑨𝑩𝒀𝑺𝑰𝑻𝑻𝑬𝑹 | venti [✔︎]

v.

They did, in fact, wash off. They had wandered deeper into the mine to find a river before making their way back up to the surface. Venti had kept his hand tightly around her own, as if he was afraid of getting lost. The adeptus nearly cooed at the action, but decided against it when they ran into Lumine, who was heading further down.

"Venti, [Y/N]! You two headin' back up?" she asked, stumbling over her words.

"Lumi," the adeptus greeted. "Yes. Lord Venti and I were going to-"

"Stop calling me that! I don't like the titles."

"Ahem. Lord Venti and I were going to enjoy some Liyuen delicacies. What do you recommend?"

"Ooh! Zhongli likes Third-Round Knockout, but Wanmin is pretty good. The Liuli Pavilion has really nice food too, but it's rather expensive. Personally, I'd go with the pavilion, but I'm guessing you don't have mora, so perhaps Wanmin."

"Thank you, Lumine. Stay safe down there. And do give my best regards to the electro archon when you can. There was a change of power a few years ago."

"Will do!" With that, the blonde quickly leapt off the cliff and deployed her glider, letting herself fall further down. The two immortals watched for a moment before the adeptus began dragging the archon back to the surface.

"Come. Morax might be willing to let his boyfriend pay if we head to Liuli Pavilion."

Venti spluttered, choking on his saliva. "Morax has a boyfriend?"

•••

By the time they had reached the harbor, it was nearing evening and the usually crowded streets were rather empty. [Y/N] easily led the way towards the funeral parlor, knowing the geo archon was likely to be there. She greeted the ferry-lady and opened the door, only to spot Hu Tao explaining different coffin types to a small group of people.

The director looked over at the two immortals and waved them over with a grin. "Haven't seen you in awhile! I'm guessing you're here for the old man? He just left to go find that harbinger!"

"Aa, thank you, Hu Tao. Enjoy your evening." Dragging Venti out of the funeral parlor, the fox sighed tiredly, absentmindedly rubbing at her antlers. "To the bank we go."

"The bank?"

"The Northland Bank. Morax's boyfriend is a diplomat of sorts who happens to work there." Without further explanation, the adeptus hurried towards the bank, shouting when she spotted Zhongli leisurely walking towards Bubu Pharmacy. The adeptus sprinted towards him, stopping with a quiet exhale.

"Ah, [A/T], Barbatos. One trusts that you have been doing well to not cause havoc?"

"Of course, m'lord. One was wondering if you would be interested in getting dinner before Barbatos leaves for Mond."

The wind sprite grumbled, pouting. "I'm not leaving until tomorrow."

"Silence. Morax, where is your, ah, partner?"

"Childe? Mm, I believe he was buying something for his siblings. Of course, I doubt he would turn down dinner, especially one that will be full with historical stories."

She glanced at the anemo archon before nodding. Zhongli smiled and turned towards the pavilion, hands behind his back as he walked. The fox followed, dragging Venti with her. It wasn't long before the ginger showed up, a box in hand.

He quietly passed it to Zhongli before starting a conversation. "So, Zhongli, who are these two? I recognize the green one from what La Signora said, but I don't believe I know the other."