Demonic Influences (Xiao x GN!Reader)

-5-

[Third-Person POV]

The next day, Xiao lay in wait nearby the edge of Wangshu Inn's land. He had asked Verr Goldett the day before if she had any idea whether or not y/n would be out during the day.
To his joy, she confirmed that they had let her know the day before that they were leaving the inn for a while to go collect some food and more mora to pay rent for another night.

So he waited outside Wangshu Inn, watching to see y/n leave. Luckily for him, he didn't have to wait long after he got there until he saw them approach the bridge he was hiding by. Once he saw that they were a good while away from the inn, he teleported (I rlly want to use a better work but I have absolutely no idea what's a better word, any suggestions??) up to their room.

Making sure to leave things exactly how he found them, Xiao began searching slowly and meticulously around the room. Up until halfway of his search, he hadn't found anything strange or suspicious yet but he was determined to prove his point.

Suddenly, he came across a small box hidden out of sight on one of the rafters. Finally he thought, thinking he'd finally found solid proof.
Peering inside the box was not like what he'd expected. He'd expected body parts or herbs, all practically dripping with a somewhat demonic aura.
Instead he found a few old looking possessions. A wooden mask, a bracelet adorned with smooth pebbles and a beautiful feather.

Xiao was confused as to why these were here and was just about on the brink of giving up and putting the box back when he noticed that the feather itself contained traces of Geo. Quite powerful traces of Geo, to be quite frank.
Xiao himself knew that he had seen a feather like this before but he somehow couldn't remember where.

He wracked his brains desperately until he remembered. Back when the other Yakshas were still alive, Rex Lapis gave each of them a feather off of his dragon form. Because of this, they would be able to create an elemental reaction with the Geo energy in the feather and create quite a powerful shield.

But Rex Lapis had given them each their feather over 2,000 years ago. And this feather was nearly identical, one of the feathers from back when Rex Lapis was still youthful enough.
That would mean that y/n was over 2,000 years old.
There was a possibility that they were actually a demon. Lower rank power demons could live up to around 5,000 years while some of the most powerful were able to outlive archons.

Xiao didn't know if y/n was a demon, or if they were, how powerful of a demon they were.

He glanced at the other items in the box. There wooden mask was messily made, the painting messy and the carving sloppy. It looked like something a five year old could do better than.

On the other hand, the bracelet was beautifully made. The chain on it was very fine, but the chunks of rock attached to it were quite large. The rocks seemed to sparkle, like geodes. This looked professionally made, but not like something you could buy in a store. It was most likely custom-made by hand. Xiao wondered why they had these items, and what they actually meant to y/n.

Just as he put away the box and was about to continue searching, a quiet voice behind him spoke.
"Xiao? Why are you in my room?"
Whipping around, Xiao saw y/n in the doorway, looking at him with a confused look.

He panicked in that moment. Looking around frantically for something he could use as an excuse as to why on earth he was snooping in the room of someone he barely knew, someone he had only met a few days ago.

"I-uhm, came here to..." Xiao's eyes landed on a patch of flowers growing just out of sight of y/n's window, "Came here to give you these!"
Without a seconds thought, he reached out the window and plucked a handful. Thankfully they were in a good condition and it only took him discreetly fixing a wild daisy to make it seem like it was a genuine bouquet.

He bowed slightly, extending his arm to y/n, offering the flowers to them. He held his breath, hoping with all his might that they would believe his blatant lie.

To his great relief, they did. Y/n beamed, accepting the flowers from him and heading to put them in a tall jug of water they kept on their bedside table.
Looking over at them, their brow furrowed, "But... why? These are gorgeous, but I don't understand the need for such a sudden gift."

Xiao rubbed the back of his neck, a tight lipped smile on his face, "I feel bad for not making the best of first impressions on you. I'm afraid I was quite cold toward you and that might have made you view me negatively.
"I'd like to get to know you better and I don't think that's something I can do if you actively hate me."

Y/n smiled. It was warm. Their smile was bright, showing tiny little pointy canines and a beautiful white grin. It almost seemed to light up the whole room.

"That's awfully kind of you, but I'm not someone who holds grudges. You could have just asked to be friends," they chuckled.

Xiao nodded, "I guess I'll see you tomorrow then," he glanced outside, where the sky was already becoming streaked with auburn and gold, "It is late."

"Of course," y/n said softly, "Goodnight, Xiao."

With that, Xiao teleported away, back to his room in the higher levels of Wangshu Inn.
He flopped down on his bed, his dark teal hair splaying behind him.

Huh, he thought. Friends. Is that what we are? I have not had one of those in a good few hundred years.
His hand came to his chest, his fist clenching the fabric of his top. There was a tight feeling in his chest, not pleasant but at times the same time not unpleasant.

He didn't like this feeling.

{A/n: Hihihi I live again!}