A New Harbinger [Rewrite]

Chapter 5 - Reminiscent

  The night slowly gave way to dawn. Aether looked down at the final person on his list. They were a pain in his ass to track down. But in the end, he found them. Aether counted out the Mora he was given with a smirk.

  "Someone was actually prepared for once."

  Aether let the man go, taking his foot off of his back. The man didn't respond, only fleeing out of fear. The blonde sighed and put his hair into a ponytail. It was constantly in his face his entire mission.

  He put the Mora pouch away and set off back towards Liyue harbor. Well, that was his intended destination. He heard one of the pyro fatui agents appear behind him.

  "A message from Lord Childe. Sir.."

  The agent looked at Aether with confusion. His face hidden by the mask, yet somehow his figure was unrecognizable even to those in the Fatui. It made him chuckle.

  "Just call me Unknown."

  Aether held out his gloved hand. The agent placed a paper into it before disappearing, probably to go report back to Tartaglia.

  The blonde skimmed it before crumpling it up and burning it with electro.

  "Electro fire can be quite handy.."

  He mumbled, dropping the ashes to the floor. It was a new elemental technique he had recently learned. Having taken inspiration from multiple Fontaine mechanical meltdowns he had seen. Electrical fires were harder to put out than regular ones, but they ended up more useful to him.

  "Such a desolate location.. Does he even care that I'm busy?"

  Aether mused to himself. The wind bearing as his only witness. He shrugged it off and began walking across Liyue to meet up with the other Harbinger.

  Lingju pass wasn't all too special. It was rather boring in Aether's eyes. Then again, so was most of Liyue. It was mostly mountains and cliffs. So much climbing to get to one destination. But as he finally made it to the valley between Lingju pass and Qingxu pool, he found Childe waiting for him with a group of fatui recruits.

  "What gives for the summons Childe? I was busy finishing up the previous task you gave me."

  Aether sounded bored, maybe a bit irritated. But he was supposed to be a harbinger at the time, so it was mostly reasonable. At least Paimon wasn't there to actually dampen his mood.

  "Comrade, you finally made it."

  Childe turned around and gestured to Aether to stand beside him. The blond let his hair out of the ponytail as he stared at the recruits.

  "Don't worry about them, they're just about to leave."

  Childe glared at the fatui recruits before them. They felt a shiver down their spine, leaving soon after. Getting the feeling they were no longer wanted or needed.

  The two harbingers walked off to go find someplace to sit. Mostly on Aether's request. He had been on his feet for the past few hours, it was, in his eyes, reasonable.

  "So, Aether.. Have you seen your sister at all recently?"

  Tartaglia asked, looking over at the blonde. Aether took his mask off and stretched before sighing.

  "No. Not since our encounter in Mondstadt. She didn't even bother saying goodbye."

  Aether looked over at the sun rising over Liyue harbor. His mind delved into jealousy again. Their lives were so peaceful. And yet Hefte he was, talking to his supposed enemy like he was a long-lost friend.

  "I see.. There isn't much else I can teach you about the fatui, the Tsaritsa probably wants to tell you the rest in private."

  Childe looked at the sunset, he was smiling. He wouldn't admit it but, Tartaglia enjoyed Aether's company.

  "Well, would you like to hang out? I'm sure we can find something to do besides sit here and stare at the sunrise."

  Aether nodded. He put his mask back on before standing up, looking at Childe expectantly. Tartaglia nodded as he stood up as well, following behind Aether. The other gave off a sort of energy, like he knew what they should do.

  Internally Tartaglia was screaming like a lovesick teen. He wanted to braid Aether's hair like he used to do for his sisters. After all, it looked like the blond hated having his hair down. Among other things Tartaglia wanted to do at least.

  But he didn't say a word. They were coworkers, and it was final. Besides, Aether had only just begun to trust Tartaglia again. He didn't want to risk ruining it already.

  "Comrade, where are we headed?"

  Aether glanced back at Childe. The other was smiling beneath the mask.

  "Back to Wangshu Inn so I can change. Afterwards, I'm taking you to Mondstadt."

  Soon enough, they arrived. Aether snuck into his room and quickly changed out of his fatui costume. Running downstairs to meet Tartaglia. Braiding his hair at the same time.

  "Are you ready now?"

  Tartaglia looked at the blond traveler with an amused look. Aether finished braiding his hair and nodded, making sure he had his sword. He didn't want to forget it again.

  "Let's get going. There's a few places I want to take you to see. You'll love it."

  Rocky Mountains and crumbling ruins slowly gave way to rolling hills and windswept plains. The air in Mondstadt felt nothing like Liyue. It was fresher, more relaxed almost. Even when you weren't in the city or Dorman's port, you could still feel free even in the countryside.

  The pair stopped at Vanessa's tree. Tartaglia stood off to the side while Aether was resonating with Anemo. For some reason he decided he needed to do that. The golden yellow colors of Geo on his body slowly melted into the teal green of Anemo. The wind picking up ever so slightly as Aether finished.

  "Alright, i'm ready. Let's head off. Our first destination is Springvale."

  Aether talked on and on about the symbolic status of the tree of Vanessa as they walked. Childe was, for the most part, trying to pay attention. More focused on how excited Aether looked as he spoke. The blond traveler gave off the impression that this was something he liked

  And it was. Aether loved learning about the historical aspect of the places he visited. Sometimes spending hours researching, forgetting to even eat. Only being snapped out of his spell by an angry Paimon wanting a sticky honey roast.

  By the time they reached the gates of Mondstadt, Aether had finished telling the tales of his adventures in the land of freedom. The knights at the entrance greeted him warmly. But they didn't stop to go visit Good Hunter or any other notable places to see.

  No, Aether grabbed Tartaglia's hand and practically dragged him all the way to Angel's Share.

  "Cmon, you have got to try some of the drinks they have. I'm not talking about dandelion wine. I'm talking about the wolfhook juice and other beverages. They're amazing you'll see."

  Aether began rambling again. Tartaglia just smiled, he was more than content to listen to the traveler's ramblings.

  Of course, all good things must come to an end. And as they entered the tavern, Childe was greeted by a not so friendly face.

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Word Count; 1,201

A/N; So Uhh, school's starting up again the week after next week. So the chapter after the next one May be a bit delayed as I get used to my new schedule. On the bright side I've got almost all the classes I want, and I'm getting the chance to take a class I'm interested in a year early. Things are going good!