The Wind Reunited Us (Xiaoven)

Chapter 1

"Lord Barbatos...Barbatos...I'm so sorry..."

Xiao said this as Venti held Xiao's cheek with his hand, Xiao grasping onto Venti's arm tightly as the blood pooled around them. Xiao had never let himself cry and yet he couldn't stop now, he had come to love Venti in the past few years they had seen each other...Venti is the one he had opened up to, Venti is the one who soothed him, Venti is the one who showed him love...Those lips so delicate and soft now leaking a crimson red from the corner, becoming colder as time went on. Those braids of his all messy, his god clothes ripped up, feathers everywhere...He had failed to protect Venti; he was dying before his very eyes. Now, a light shone above Venti's chest as a flute and lyre appeared, "Take these Xiao...Put them up to the wind and I shall play them once more..." his voice was getting weak and quiet, but Xiao followed his command and took the flute and lyre. They stayed there in silence, looking at each other, until Venti's hand slowly fell to the ground and his breathing ceased. Xiao stared at him and buried his head into Venti's chest, hiding his tears from the rest of the world. He was on a bloodied battlefield, a battle against celestia had been won...but at what cost? Hundreds of lives taken and his lover was one of them; he hoped this was all a nightmare from his karmic debt but he knew it was in fact a reality. He felt a hand on his shoulder but didn't dare look up, he knew who it was; Morax. He couldn't let Morax see him like this, he was a yaksha meant to see such battles...He felt so small and pathetic in this sea of blood, so alone...

"Alatus, you have been a great adeptus always carrying out your contract...I release you from your contract now that celestia has been beaten, you have no reason to hide those tears; you're free to feel however you wish."

His eyes widened as he heard his contract was over, he was no longer a yaksha...With this a loud cry came out of his mouth, embracing Venti in his arms; Venti's blood covering his white attire. His cry could be heard for miles, the pain in his voice clear as he put his ear to Venti's heart...No beat...He loved listening to it beat but now it was gone.

"Even if your contract is over, I'll still always be here to take care of you, Alatus. Come back to the camp when you're done saying goodbye...We'll be burying everyone no matter the side they fought on within the next few days..."

With that Morax walked away, trying to hide his own sorrow. He wanted to leave Xiao so he could say his proper goodbyes, not having to hold back anything he wanted to say. Xiao spewed out words of love to Venti's cold body, choking on those said words as well. Eventually, he fell asleep holding Venti's hand and his head on Venti's chest.

He was woken up by one of the soldiers sent out to count the bodies, poking each one to make sure they were in fact bodies. Xiao was poked by the stick of the soldier, raising his head slowly in response. The soldier shrieked a little at the movement, then once more at Xiao's puffy and red eyes. Then the soldier noticed who it was, the last yaksha alive; Alatus. Then he realized who Alatus was grieving over: Lord Barbatos. The soldier apologized as Xiao got up with the flute and lyre in hand, and then he spotted the Cecilia clip in Venti's hair. He knelt back down to grab it gently, deciding to take it with him back to the camp. He tried not to look back but he couldn't help it, and when he did look back the tears started once more. After a long walk he made it back to the camp and he had put the clip in his own hair whilst walking, keeping his bangs out of his face. He went and sat down in the dark corner of the archons' tent, looking at Venti's empty bed.

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A few days later and all the graves were prepared, tombstones marked who laid where and if it was unknown who they were then it had a respectful message...Venti's tombstone was larger than the rest as he had been an archon, "Lord Barbatos" being engraved as well as "Provider of Freedom". Xiao watched him get buried, seeing that face one last time as Morax pat his shoulder; all the remaining archons looking down at their loss. Xiao fought back the tears as he held a bouquet of Cecilias and dandelions, tucking them into Venti's hand to be buried with him. He looked at his own vision that was no longer teal but almost grey. Soon the grave was covered and he could no longer see Venti's face, just a tombstone. He was left to sit there once more except Nahida came over and sat next to him, putting her small hand on Xiao's back.

"I know how you feel...I lost someone dear to me, practically my son...His name was Kunikuzushi but he went by wanderer for several years, he sacrificed himself for me..."

He looked over at her seeing her tears falling, then he looked back at the dirt Venti was buried under. Nahida's company was indescribable...It felt so comforting, it felt like she really understood...

"Sorry..." is all he could manage to say to her, but he did put his arm around her and they cried together...

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After a few years there was no remanence of the battle that had ensued other than the tombstones left behind to honor the lives lost. Xiao went almost everyday to visit Venti, bringing cecilias to place on his grave. This went on for years as he outlived some of the archons as he would be immortal as long as his karmic debt didn't kill him. He would hold the flute up to the wind and sometimes it would play a short note, just barely easing his karmic debt so he could continue on. He saw the world grow, new inventions always being released and the way of living always changing. His attire heavily changing to fit in to modern times, hiding the purple diamond on his forehead and passing his green marking off as a tattoo. He hid away his anemo vision as well as all connections to his past in a locked box in his closet. He lived in a decent sized house all by himself, it was two stories with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, as all the ones he knew had passed; there was only one item he kept visible...the Cecilia hair clip. Honestly he felt guilty for gradually forgetting what Venti looked like, it'd been a thousand years since he saw him...However, he couldn't forget the way he treated him and they way he could make him laugh. Yes, the way he could make the stubborn yaksha laugh, that's why he was so special. He couldn't forget this over the 1,000 more years he lived; he could never forget this.

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