The Spark [Xiao x Aether]

Arrival |||

Nahida locked the doors behind her and looked Aether dead in the eyes with a very worried expression. Not once in her life has she ever heard such a request from somebody. Infact it shocked her so much that she had to talk with the traveler alone. She didn't wish for the Wanderer to eavesdrop.

The blonde had a very serious look on his face, so it most certainly wasn't some kind of a sick joke, thought it still made the little girl puzzled.

"You don't really mean this do you? You've been looking for your sister for so long and now that she's finally here you wish to get rid of her? I do not understand." She explained as she was staring at the boy with an upset expression.

"Read my thoughts. It could save you some time."

Despite being able to read people's mind, the dendro archon refused to use that skill. She wanted to respect people's privacy and only use it when necessary.

"I'm sorry but you know I don't want to do that...even if you allow me. I want to hear what you have to say. Unless I don't trust you I won't be attempting to enter your mind in any kind of way."

He sighed. It was hard to find the right words. He couldn't waste too much time on explaining the entire situation. It had to be done quick, but figuring out how to put all of the recent events together was tough.

"Remember, if somethings on your mind I will always listen." She reminded him like she usually always does when they meet every now and then.

"Say, Nahida, would you risk an entire nation to save somebody close to you? An entire nation full of awesome people you've met over the years..." the blonde started, his voice felt a tiny bit exhausted but he didn't care. He cried infront of the archon of Sumeru before. He wasn't embarrassed. Not that his tears were close to escaping but he felt like he could cry from frustration built up from all the things Lumine did to both him and Teyvat.

Buer felt his madness. It was similar to what she felt back when her own people locked her up in a cage. It was frustrating.

"For me it was a hard choice to make. But I've finally come clean with myself. I wish to keep this world safe, no matter what. It teached me many things about humanity and immortals other than myself. So please, let me inside Irminsul. I'm willing to do anything in return."

Aether was begging her at this point. The feeling of 'ghosts' constantly touching his body pissed him off. The boy wanted to get rid of it as soon as possible.

"It makes me happy that you wish to protect Teyvat. However I cannot let you inside the tree just yet. I'm willing to let you inside but I want you to take another day to think throughly about it." She heard enough, she was willing to let him enter Irminsul, even if she only understood a small part of the conversation, she knew she could trust the traveler.

The blonde was too paranoid to wait another day, but he didn't have another choice.

"If it makes you feel any better, discuss this with the conqueror of demons if you haven't already. Even thought I haven't been able to watch over you recently, just from seeing the way you guys look at eachother makes it look like you're really close. Talking things over with close friends should help you calm down!"

He looked at his hand and the realization hit him, he was slightly shaking from all the stress he felt at the moment. Lesser lord Kusanali probably noticed it from the moment he stepped into the house of Daena. That was a little embarrassing, but even if he wasn't shaking the archon would've noticed it.

"I don't want to bother him too much. He hasn't been too well either, my problems will only make his worse. After all this is over, I'll try to talk with him."

"It dosen't matter when, but talk with him as soon as you feel like it's the right time. I've noticed both of you are acting strangley." Nahida understood now why her friend was so frustrated, but she didn't understand why the Yaksha felt such way aswell. It was only the traveler's problem, wasn't it?

"May I ask, what kind of connections does he have to your sister?"

She was starting to get curious about why somebody like him decided to join Aether on his journey. From what she had seen, he was a person who wasn't into traveling around other nations.

"I wanted somebody to come with me. Since Paimon was unavailable...I decided to invite him."

It was a small lie, he came with the boy because they had agreed to stay together when times got rough. Not only that but they were also lovers, if one loves someone truly, they will support and help them on every adventure there is. The blonde wanted to tell Lesser lord Kusanali about this the actual reason he came along but he was too exhausted to.

That was the best excuse he could come up with as to why Xiao all of a sudden joined his travels.

The Dendro archon saw right through his lies but didn't say anything. Everyone had secrets they had to keep for certain reasons. She trusted that whatever the traveler was keeping away from her wasn't too necessary to be said.

"I'm glad to see you make so many friends. Now come on, let's head back before your friend starts to feel lonely. You both can sleep in a spare room I own until tomorrow." She smiled and opened the door leading to the main room of house of Daena.

The boy nodded and smiled slightly. This was going to be the longest day of his life, but he believed Nahida's decision was a smart one. He needed to mentally prepare for what was about to come.