𝚂𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚢 𝙰𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝 [𝚐.𝚒 𝚟𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚡 𝚐𝚗!𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛]

XVII

You think you blanked out for a second. Darkness spread across your eyes and for a moment you couldn’t feel the rushing air as you fell. It wasn’t until you felt arms wrapped around your middle that you came to.

Wind beat around lethargic form, hands tightening under your knees and circling your back when you shuffled slightly. You struggled to open your eyes, your entire body feeling like it was being weighed down by a hundred pounds. Eventually though, you do manage to flutter your eyes open to gaze hazily at shimmering white hair and dark almonds. You tried a smile to reassure the worried angel gripping you like you were going to die.

“Are you alright?” Your angel rushed out, hovering in mid-air with his large white wings beating around you.

You chuckled. “I’m fine Ariel.” Your voice was gravely from exhaustion and your limbs were completely limp in his hold.

It seemed you underestimated how hard the adrenaline drop would be after fighting Dvalin and how much all that fighting had worn you out. It occurred to you, as the two of you were hovering in the air, surrounded by fluffy white clouds, that everyone else was with Dvalin, flying towards Mond, and wondering where you were.

“Ariel.” You called. The angel stopped his look over of you for any injuries, which had already been healed by Jean. “We have to find Dvalin and land near them. They probably think I’m dead  or something.”

“Why would they think you’re dead?” Ariel furrowed his eyebrows.

You scoffed. “Dude, you picked me up outta nowhere when everyone is falling to their death! I’m with you but they’re waking up on Dvalin’s back without me! Whatchu think they think happened to me?”

Ariel had the decency to look sheepish and immediately began to fly in the direction you assumed he saw Dvalin go in. Never had you ever flown with Ariel, but no you had wished you had done so sooner. The sight of the sun reflecting on the myriad of clouds and the gentle wind caressing your face, Ariel holding you close to his chest was an experience you could only describe as tranquil.

Many times since arriving in Teyvat you had felt happy and relaxed, but such a state of total calm had never caught you until now. The wind was chilly and your eyes were watering so you nuzzled your face into the crook of Ariel’s neck.

You eventually found Dvalin flying near the woods you had first found him conversing with Venti in. You saw the great dragon touch down in a large clearing and Ariel followed close behind. He landed just behind the tree line of the clearing and set you down.
Your legs shook for a moment but you quickly righted yourself as you waited for the green and red snow to leave your vision and the fog of your lightheadedness left your mind. You took a deep breath, shaking the feeling back into your body, wiggling your hands and feet and cracking your neck.

“Okay, let's go figure out how to explain what you are.” You made to step into the clearing but Ariel’s hand pulled you back.

“What’re you talking about?” Ariel whispered harshly, forgetting that fact that nobody can hear him.

You looked at him incredulously. “Ariel, we all fell out of the sky, and I show up outta nowhere? Do you have a reasonable lie to cover up your existence?” You paused as Ariel bluescreened. “Were you supposed to be a secret anyway? You didn’t tell me why you were invisible in the first place.”

“I’m invisible because my only connection to this world is you, I am only connected to you. Therefore, even if I have a physical existence, I can only be heard and seen by you.” Ariel tilts his head to the side. “And I suppose I was never a secret per se, even if I was you didn’t attempt to hide it. You speak to me very brazenly in public.”