𝐗𝐈𝐀𝐎 - ᴄᴀʀᴇ

61 2 0
                                    

[ -~*+*~- ]

• 𝐕𝐈𝐆𝐈𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐓 𝐘𝐀𝐊𝐒𝐇𝐀 •

Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.

• 𝐕𝐈𝐆𝐈𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐓 𝐘𝐀𝐊𝐒𝐇𝐀 •

ᴄᴀʀᴇ - Xiao responds to your call only to find you're sleeping

[ -~*+*~- ]

The call came during the middle of the night, an unusual occurrence. However, [—] was never one to trouble Xiao unless it was absolutely necessary.

The yaksha warped to her location, only to find her laying in the grass clutching onto the vegetation. She was shivering and muttering in the cold of the night. Quietly approaching and crouching to her level, he called out to her softly. The silence that he was met with was all the answer he needed. Only then did the ideas of why he'd been called start flooding into his mind, whether he liked it or not.

The first of these thoughts was embarrassing for him to even consider, so he pushed it away and moved on to the second. Why is she sleeping outside?

Xiao observed her for just a little while, then let out a sigh and hoisted her into his arms. He let her head rest on his shoulder while he supported her legs and back, then began to walk. Warping could risk waking her up, so he would have to walk.

Every so often he would glance down to see if she was okay, but eventually when they were nearing Wangshu Inn he felt a tightened grip on his shirt. When he looked down that time, she'd rested her face on his chest.

"Xiao..."

He felt his face warm, the original thought returning to his mind. Was she dreaming about him? To combat these embarrassing thoughts, he simply held her closer and continued on until he made it to the inn.

[ -~*+*~- ]

[—] creaked her eyes open, yawning immediately. once her eyes focused, she sat up quickly. The room was well-kept and orderly, which tipped her off to her location. Wangshu Inn was unmistakable.

After a sweep over the room, she caught sight of the vigilant yaksha sitting against the wall next to the bed. His eyes were closed, arms folded.

"Xiao?" She called quietly, skeptical of whether or not he was asleep. He's always insisted adepti don't need sleep, but it's unclear whether or not he just says it as an excuse not to take care of himself.

When there wasn't any answer after a moment, she slipped out of bed and crouched down in front of him. The silk nightgown she wore trailed on the ground as she did so.

She hummed, observing his features. His eyes were closed, yet she could tell he was awake. On s she was about to go back to the bed, he raised his head and focused his eyes on her. [—] flinched, having not expected the action. She cleared her throat and smiled. "Are you doing okay?"

"I'm fine," He responded, eye contact broken for a moment. Once they locked eyes again, he directed his own question to her. "You... why were you sleeping outside in Dihua Marsh?"

She felt her face warm, ceasing her mindless twirling of hair around her finger. "Oh, you saw that... um, did you take me here?" She shifted to properly sit down, avoiding his eyes.

"[—]."

"How did you find me? I didn't call you and then forget, did i?"

"[—]."

"Sorry if i ended up disturbing your daily duties, i should probably—"

"[—]," he leaned forward and grabbed her wrists. "Look at me."

She turned her eyes to him and felt her heart drop when his expression became clear to her. The look didn't look familiar on Xiao, but here it was. Concern.

"Don't ever do this again. You could have been attacked during your sleep, or worse." He held her hands together within his grasp, leaning his forehead onto them. "Take care of yourself."

She felt tears in her eyes, but fought them back. After a long moment of silence, she finally spoke. "Onlu if you do so, too."

He let out a quiet breath, loosening his grip on her hands.

"Now, shall we get some more rest?"

[ -~* BONUS *~- ]

"Wait a minute... Xiao, how did you find me out there?"

The adeptus recalled the moment of hearing []'s sleep talking, and promptly turned away to avoid her seeing his expression.

"That's... not important."

[ -~*+*~- ]

𝐄𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝.
𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝟏/𝟐𝟑/𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑
𝐄𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝟓/𝟐𝟔/𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑

❝ ᴘᴇᴛʀɪᴄʜᴏʀ ❞ - 𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐍 𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐓𝐒 Where stories live. Discover now