Through Wine And Song [XiaoVen]

3. The Not So Distant Future

Venti exited the domain carefully, his hands shaking as he carried the broken and cracked masks of fallen yakshas and head towards the Statue of The Seven under the faithful Windrise tree.

Once he got there, he gently rested the masks at the statue's base. Taking a deep, calming breath, he summoned a flute infused with anemo. After a few moments of hesitation, he brought the flute to his mouth and began to play a personal song, the wind picking up to a concerning speed around him. It was the same song he played to dissipate karmic debt long ago.

Once he was finished, he looked down to an ominously glowing instrument in his hands.

"Is this some sort of sign?" He asked himself as he looked from his now tainted flute to the masks a few times and releasing a sigh. "After all this time avoiding my problems...I have to suck it up. Alatus a least deserves these, they belonged to his comrades."

He quietly dissipated the flute and hid the masks at the top of the tree's trunk.

"Venti! Venti, hey!" A voice faintly called to him. Turning around, he spotted Aether and Paimon in the distance walking towards the bard.

Venti waved at the pair in response and waited for them to reach him at the tree.

"So, we did talk to Xiao when we went to Liyue..." Aether started. "...but he said no and we couldn't change his mind." His voice grew quieter as he went on.

"Oh...that's- that's perfectly okay Aether. Thanks for trying anyway." Venti replied, clearing his throat, looking away, as he tried not to cry.

"But we've got a plan! We even talked to Zhongli about it!" Paimon interjected quickly.

Venti looked at the pair curiously and they filled him in on their plan to bring Xiao to the nation of wine and freedom.

For preparations, the group made their way into the city. At the Adventurer's Guild stood Lumine, obtaining her rewards for a day's commissions well done.

"Hey, Lumine!" Aether shouted after her before she could head deeper into the city.

"Aether, you're back already? Guess there's no way to ruin a reputation like yours anymore than you already have." Lumine jested to her brother with a small hug. "What'd you bring back for me?"

"Jeez, not even gonna ask if Paimon's okay? Brutal, Lumine." Aether sarcastically remarked to his sister.

The two bantered back and forth for a few more minutes before Aether changed the subject to his plan to bring Xiao to Mondstadt.

"And you can't, and I really mean you can not tell anyone else about this plan." The blond finished off, his sister nodding affirmatively in response.

"I'll get food, no Paimon you can't join me." Lumine said, cutting Paimon off before she could even open her mouth. "Venti should be in charge of decorating Windrise and Aether is in charge of collecting different Windblumes for Xiao to choose from."

"What about Paimon?" The white haired girl asked pleadingly.

"You can help either of the guys, it's up to you." Lumine replied absentmindedly, going through a list of dishes in her head.

After a few minutes, Paimon decides on joining Venti in his preparations and the group went their separate ways after deciding they'd meet at the venue itself.

"Okay Tone Deaf Bard, where do we start?" Paimon asked as they approached the large tree.

"Hm...you see those banners over there? Take them and hang them from the tree and maybe drape the ends around the statue's base. Let's see how that looks before we do anything else." Venti replied, thoughtfully looking at the tree and mapping out a path for the banners to drape with his fingers.