The Flame That Burns Eternal (xiao x female yaksha reader)

~Chapter 8-Heal~

Xiao glances back, his face a cool mask.

"It's getting dark, and cold. I'm not cruel, especially after how you just helped me." I snap.

He holds his hand up, and comes back into the cave, settling opposite me so he could watch the entrance.
"I disagree." He says, lowering himself lightly onto the cushion of moss.
"About what?"
"You being cruel."
"Shut up."
He tilts his head, his eyes catching the setting sun.
"See?"
I glare at him before turning my head away, breaking eye contact, remembering my rules. I push myself off the ground.
"Get some rest." I wander off into a branching part of the cave.
"Your bandages are smoking" He quips, and I turn the corner, brushing at the bandage on my neck. During the war, sitting around the warm campfire at camp with the other yakshas, Bonanus at my side; Xiao had loved to make me annoyed because I had a tendency to accidentally light things on fire as a result. Back then, Bonanus had always been there to extinguish it.

I stop in the small cave and rest my forehead against the cool wall. I knew it had been a mistake to tell him to stay. However, some part of me just couldn't let him go. I cared about him too much. I didn't understand how our relationship could feel so different yet the exact same. Back in the Archon war, we always fought as a team. We had always teased and flirted jokingly, but never like he had tonight.
Not that I-
I pushed that thought far away and pushed myself off the wall. Staying in here angsting about it wasn't going to do any good, at all.
I walk back into the main cave, relieved to see that Xiao has his head rest back against the wall, eyes closed.
I don't think he's asleep, but I can't really tell.
I sit opposite Xiao and settle in for a long night.

I'm still sitting there, watching the sun rise, when I glance at Xiao and see him twitching in his sleep. Now I'm 99.9% positive he's sleeping, but he might just be messing with me. I watch brow furrowed as he continues twitching and sit forward on the balls of my feet, wondering if he needs help. Only then do I see the teal and blue clouds begin to gather around him and go numb with shock.
That's karmic energy.
Confused, I jump to my feet and rush over to him, drawing my blades, even though they'll be of no help. I see red lines of blood form on his arms from the strain on his body.
THAT IDIOT
No wonder all my karmic debt seemed to dissipate earlier, he took it on himself. I crouch down at his side and take a deep breath. I haven't used this power since our time with the evil god. I've avoided it since it.. affects my mental state. Similar to when Morax has had too much Osmathus wine. I'm not sure Xiao even knows I possess it. I only used it to heal the evil god when he grew weak.
I see my hands shaking as I shove my daggers back in their sheaths, missing it several times. Doing this brings back some... unpleasant memories to say the least. I force myself to grip his shoulders and close my eyes. I feel a steady heat grow right near my heart. It's unlike the heat of fire, which is familiar and comforting to me. This is wild, painful heat, and I fear it may burn from the inside out.
I concentrate on growing the heat until I'm certain it will burn me, and let it go. It takes the form of a fiery, glowing phoenix and I glare at its wings in envy through blurring vision. Already I can feel my mind fogging, but I force myself to stay lucid long enough to watch the red lines stitch themselves back together and some of the karmic energy dispell, whooshing back into the scars on my back. I didn't want to be seen like this, but I had to save Xiao. I did what I had too, which is my last thought before the unduly familiarity of intoxication takes over.

~XIAO'S POV~
(yes you guys finally got it! let me know if i'm writing him OOC, i have lots of ghost readers someone interact plz😭)

My eyes spring open. I can't believe i fell asleep. Finally I register what's happening. The cave is scorching hot and Indarias is slumped against a wall, her hair falling in her face. Concern propels me off the floor, and I'm at her side in an instant, brushing the hair out of her face. Her eyes are open but her pupils are dilated, and she's staring up at me with flushed cheeks, panting.

"Hiiiiiiiii Xiaooo!!" She exclaims almost unintelligibly, grabbing my arm.
She sounds drunk. Very very drunk. And she looks super drunk too. I look around the cave for any bottles, but there's nothing in sight.
Plus, the general I know would never allow herself to be this incapacitated, which means someone must've done this to her.
I will find them, and execute them.
But first, I can't just leave her like this.
I hook my arm around her waist, and she's surprisingly heavy, since she's basically dead weight.
"Oooooh." Is all she says, as I gently lead her to the branch of the cave where she went earlier. I try to keep my mind off the fact that her body is flush against mine.

I lower her down on to the soft moss and sit down in front of her.
"Indarias."
She looks up with half lidded eyes, and I try to look anywhere but directly at her.
"Do you remember what happened? How did you get like this?"
In response, she reaches out and traces my arm, and the skin feels very sensitive. A result of the unnatural heat of the cavern, I guess.
I grit my teeth against the heat I feel rising in my cheeks and remove her hand from my arm, and take her daggers, tucking them into my belt.

"Are you hurt anywhere?" I ask, hoping, praying she isn't.
She presses a hand to her chest, right where her heart is. I don't see any blood, so I decide I'll have her check that, if she's actually hurt there, when she wakes up.
"Stay here okay?" I hesitate, glancing down at her as I stand up.
"Your eyes are really pretty." She says absent mindedly, and I freeze just as I was about to move.
Drunk words are sober thoughts
I remember the mantra Zhongli used to say. But that can't be true in Indarias's case, since she's not actually drunk, I think. At least, that's what I'll tell myself.
Glancing down at her again, I notice her bright purple eyes are super glassy and unfocused. I bend down and press a hand to her forehead, wondering if it's maybe some weird fever.
But she feels a normal temperature, which is very hot, being the fire yaksha and all.
I slide my hand down and cup her face, before backing away and stepping out of the cave.

I don't know what is wrong with me. Yes, I had assumed there was some level of attraction between us during the Archon War. Also, before that, I had known of her. We had been rescued together by Morax as well.
I assumed these feelings would be completely destroyed when she showed up, but that was NOT the case. They were the same.
And I had no clue what to do about it.

1286 words! let me know what you guys think of this chapter, i personally don't love it