The Spark [Xiao x Aether]

Awakening |

Some days passed since yet another incident with the goddess of time. Xiao decided to keep his mouth shut and not tell his lover anything about it. It could possibly cause an earlier catastrophe like Istaroth mentioned.

Aether had to leave the teapot for some hours because he wanted to check up on Paimon and see if she was gonna come back any time soon. They had no way of communicating so he was a little worried whether everything was alright or not. He missed not seeing his best friend for a couple of days.

Before leaving he took a quick look in the mirror and noticed how the scars around his neck were almost invisible. There was still a tiny red mark which was barely noticeable.

"Are you going to get Paimon?" A voice from across the room spoke. It was the Yaksha. He just woke up.

"Oh? I didn't wake you up, did I?"

"I was already awake, don't worry. Want me to accompany you?"

"It's fine I can go alone. It won't take long I hope." The blonde stated as he smiled at his partner.

"Alright. If anything goes wrong do let me know."

Aether walked up closer to him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving.

"I will."

The boy walked down the stairs and exited the mansion. Tubby immediately greeted him and questioned where he was going alone before letting him out. They had their usual small talk as the traveler left.

He found himself in a bush due to the teapot being previously hidden there. In Teyvat it was already night so there was a huge chance that Paimon was already asleep. He still decided checking up on her wouldn't hurt.

It was very peaceful since hilichurls weren't roaming the land anymore. All the fungi were asleep and no other creatures liked getting too close to Sumeru city. The blonde wished he could have brought his boyfriend along to see how peaceful it was but now it was too late.

As he wandered through the streets, many people who were on night walks greeted him. In the land of the dendro archon, it was rare for people to sleep so early in the night. Most went to bed when it was pitch dark outside since it is the best time to fall asleep.

Aether soon reached the main street and tried searching for someone he was familiar with to ask if they'd seen Paimon. He couldn't ask any of the people on the streets since they only knew him as the hero of their nation. He needed a friend.

He searched everywhere but found nobody. At that point, his last option was to go to the top of the Devine tree and ask the Wanderer. He and the archon lived together but the girl was barely ever there.

Right as the boy was about to head up, he felt a gentle pair of hands cover his eyes.

"Guess who~" a female voice whispered into his ear.

The boy caught a quick glimpse of the girl's bright blue fingernails and instantly knew who It was. She was the only girl in Sumeru who had beautiful nails like that so she was hard to miss.

"What are you doing out so late, Nilou?" He asked as she removed her hands from the traveler's face.

It was too dark to see anything at that point. Seeing the Zubayr Theater dancer out so late was a surprise. She was the type to always sleep every so she has more energy in the morning for performances.

"I couldn't fall asleep for a long time so I decided to go on a quick walk to take my mind off things. What about you though? I thought you left Sumeru a few days ago after the festival." The red-haired girl questioned.