Oath [BL; Book 2]

27

"..... Hm." Aether stared at a scroll Nahida had found. It was old and quite worn, the language it was written in was nothing like he had ever seen. A closer look helped him decipher the message the scroll had written on it. "An old tale for any to hear?" He questioned the wording, "Meet me by the tallest hill, where the sun, moon, and the great tree stand still. One where a dragon sleeps and a young boy weeps?"

"Is there more?" She asked,

"No, just that. Is it even right?"

"It's all we have to go on." Wanderer said taking the scroll and carefully putting it where Nahida pointed, "This is the only bit of information I gathered from the ruins I've seen."

"Hat Guy has successfully collected six different Stellys. It's fascinating, none of these other Stellys holds any sort of mysterious powers." She tried to think of a logical explanation. "The one you stumbled upon held a power so great it threatened your life. These others have nothing to show."

Aether had to ask, "Are you trying to look for more like the one I found? Isn't that dangerous?"

"Hah." Wanderer scoffed having crossed his arms justifying his reasoning by then saying, "Mere toys like these couldn't possibly have any affect on an Archon of this world."

"Ugh, I get that, why are you saying it like I'm an alien?"

"Hehe~" Nahida was pleased they were getting along, then said, "Traveler was affected for a different reason I believe. According to the scrolls he's been deciphering for us, this power holds no limitation to who or what it can affect."

"So it is dangerous for you." Aether sighed wondering how to help. "Should I try looking for them too?"

"It's already proven too much for you to handle. I refuse to work with baggage."

"I won't be that bothersome you know." Aether didn't want to argue but he didn't want to give up either. "I can help, I know a bit of the language and I can help with the puzzles."

"How confident are you if the circumstances change? This situation isn't a game you can play for fun." Wanderer was clear and firm on his decision saying, "If you risk my mission by being clumsy or "curious" then I'll leave you behind."

"That's not-"

He couldn't get a word in as Wanderer turned his back to him, "I won't be caught dead traveling anywhere with the weak. Know your place."

Deciding to step in before Aether got upset, Nahida smiled and said, "We've learned a bit more thanks to your help. As I said before, Hat Guy is more than capable of finding the remaining Stellys in Sumeru. To my knowledge, even the Electro Archon has become aware of them and has started a search."

"Right..." Aether wondered how she knew and sighed. "Ei probably started it because of me."

"I'm leaving." Wanderer, being annoyed, turned and headed for the door. Nahida let him leave and looked at Aether who went on to quietly read more of the scrolls she had found.

Their relationship was brittle and difficult to patch, but she felt this strained bonding would amount to something one day. Going to him she set out another scroll for Aether to look at and said, "Why not put some faith in him? You share much in the sense of loss."

"....." Aether understood what she meant but that wasn't a reason to forgive him or his behavior. Regardless, he smiled and gave a nod appreciating the worth she gave him.

After that Nahida left to speak with Alhaitham. In this room filled with books and scrolls he stayed for a moment. The silence he listened to was humid. Distant, yet it rang in his ears. Aether stared off into space and for a moment he could hear Xiao's voice whisper to him.