𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭 | Xiao x Reader

4

You sat on the roof of a building that overlooked the crowd of people nearby, twirling a small yellow leaf between your fingers as you waited for the ceremony to begin.

It was the day of the Rite of Descension now, and although you still really didn't want to be attending, you also had a mission to complete. Even if you'd declined Rex Lapis' invitation for you to success him, you still needed to get the gnosis, otherwise the Tsaritsa would probably kill you for declining in the first place and getting rid of your easy opportunity to retrieve it.

You knew that your refusal made the assignment more difficult, but you also couldn't find it in yourself to even entertain the idea of accepting his offer. Not after what he'd done to you.

"How are you holding up?" Childe's voice startled you, and you turned around to see him coming across the roof with two glasses in hand. He took a seat at your side before handing one to you, which you glanced at suspiciously. "It's just water," he explained, "I figured you could use something cold to drink."

"...Thanks," you replied before taking a sip and then setting it next to you on the brick roof, "And I'm fine." You didn't look him in the eye, instead opting to stare out at the terrace full of people. One guest in particular stood out to you, their clothes looking so different from any other fashion you'd seen in Teyvat before. Curious, you kept your eyes trained on them as a small floating girl followed them around, chatting with various people happily.

Childe followed your gaze to see who had caught your attention, only to smirk when he noticed them.

"As expected, the traveler is here."

"That's them?" You asked, raising an eyebrow and taking another sip from your drink. He only nodded in response.

"They match the description Signora gave, and I'm not exactly surprised that they're here, either."

You had to admit, it did make sense. Supposedly, they were visiting each of the seven in search of information on their lost sibling. And while you had no such thing to offer them, you could still see an opportunity like that when one arose. Childe smiled, seemingly thinking along the same lines that you were.

"Keep an eye on them," you said softly in an effort to keep a passing family from hearing you overhead.

"So you agree that they could be useful," his smug expression only widened as he leaned back on his elbows, and you rolled your eyes, now suddenly reminded of why you never liked being around him.

"Of course they could," You replied, "Just watch them. Especially if we want to get the gnosis when good old Morax descends, they'll need to be out of the way." Childe nodded, sitting back up again as he watched Lady Ningguang, the Tianquan of the Qixing, squint up at the sky. It seemed the ceremony was about to begin.

"Then you'd better get ready," He whispered, "It seems like he's about to arrive." You nodded, double checking that both your cryo delusion and your sword were ready for you to dash in and snatch the gnosis right out of the god's body.

As you got into position though, you could sense someone's eyes on you. Having been watched enough times by both wary citizens and mal-intentioned people over the years, it was easy to pick up on. Someone was definitely keeping an eye on you, but there was no time to deal with them now.

Out of the corner of your eye, way back behind the bushes and trees that surrounded the terrace, you could see what looked like swirls of anemo, but they only lasted for a split second before disappearing completely.

Still feeling the person's eyes on you, you tried your best to ignore it as Ningguang spoke up.

"The hour is upon us," She announced, turning to the crowd and beginning the process of opening up the way for the god of contracts to descend.