Ballad of the Wind || Genshin Impact [ONHOLD]

04: comfort under the wind

I let Aether in the dorm room, closing the door as soon as he walked in. "Pretty neat" he commented. I smiled, signing thank you to him. I motioned him to seat down on the couch. "What made you come here?" He asked as I went to go give him some water. I look at him 'I want to be independent' I answered, sitting down across from him. I continued 'It's good to see you again, how's Lumine?' I asked. "Good, she'd be so happy to see you at school"  The two of us were chattering our way through the time; we lost track of it.

It got interrupted by Aether noticing it was almost time for lunch. I panicked and told him that we should get back to the dorm and that I can make them some lunch. "As Venti said, just relax, make yourself comfortable. You can start the first thing tomorrow, besides I'm sure you have lots of preparation to do for school" He did have a point, I sigh and nod. 'Alright but if you need something just come to me. Oh and can I get your number?' I ask, taking out my phone and unlocking it. "Sure!" He grabbed it and typed in his number before handing it to me. "We have a group chat, I'll talk to the group about adding you" he informs before waving me a goodbye.

AETHER'S POV

I returned to the dorm room, closing the door behind me. "I'm back" I called to the group, who all gathered in the living room coming up with some new songs. "Well that took a while" Venti said as I walked up to them, I sat down beside Xiao. "Sorry sorry, it was a catching up type of conversation" I said "You two really that close?" Xiao asked. "What a destined meeting, it must be fate." Heizou comments with a small grin on his face. Before the conversation about the topic gets out of hand, I interrupted.

"Come on guys, shouldn't we be focusing on this?" I pointed towards the music sheets and as well as some papers and pens scattered on the table. "Yeah, we need to submit this so we can practice the choreography. We can talk about this conversation once we finish." Kazuha agreed, making me feel relieved. Even though (Y/N) had just got here, I don't want her feeling overwhelmed, especially that she has been shut in thanks to her protective mother.

Once we were able to finish 80% of the song, we decided it was time to take a break. "So, about (Y/N)" Xiao spoke up "Are you really okay about her taking on this job?" He asked. "Is it because she has a disability?" I returned the question, raising a brow. "It's not that I'm underestimating her, I just wanted to know your opinion, you know as her friend" He said. I thought about it before answering "Yeah. Besides, it was her choice, her mom seemed to have keep her behind walls because of the fact she's deaf... so (Y/N) took it upon herself to go out and be independent, I admire that" I explained, smiling a bit.

"She was born deaf like her mother, but either way, her parents were happy to have her." I added. As I continue telling some of our childhood memories, I added another question. "Oh, maybe we can go ahead and tour around school?" I asked, right now, that seems to be a bad idea given how popular we are. "I know that it's risky but... Maybe we can give it a try..." "Well that is not for us to decide you know" Kazuha comments. "Basing on our popularity... I'm sure someone like her would try their best to avoid attention so they could prevent some comments that would befall upon them" He added. I sighed, realizing he's right. "Oh! We should add (Y/N) in our group chat, since she's our house keeper, it sounds right for her to be here" I changed the subject.

"That does sound reasonable," Venti says, thinking for a bit. "What do you guys think?" He looked at the others and they didn't have any problem with it. "Then it's decided." I took out my phone and added her to our group chat.

(Y/N) POV

I felt my phone vibrate while I was working on something on my computer. I picked it up and got a notification that Aether added me to their group chat. I couldn't help but smile and was happy at the fact the group was being kind to me. Not minding my disability at all, not to mention I got to meet Aether after a long time.

Before I could even answer, I saw a notification of my parents calling me on the computer. I panicked and fixed myself before clicking on the accept call button. When I did, I can see my parents. I smiled, waving at them, the call itself is making me feel quite homesick. 'Mom, dad! Hi!' I greeted them 'Hello, dear. How are you doing?' My mom asked me in sign language 'Good' I answered her.

Most of the call was about my insights on the group itself and how they were kind to me, including that they told me to take some time for myself for the rest of the day. It made me feel excited for tomorrow. I kept updating on what they are like... well based on my own judgments. Most especially about my childhood friend Aether, the news made my mother feel more at ease, ever since as a kid, the only person she would allow me to hang out with was Lumine and Aether.

The call lasted for about two hours before we ended the call since both of them got called in for work and I continued mine. After about a few more hours, the doorbell rang, I got up from the chair and walked out of my room to open the door only to see Aether. 'Aether? Is there something you need?' He grinned and started to speak, I stopped him mid sentence to show that I don't have my aids on. He looked at it and started using his hands to sign.

'The guys ordered some food and wanted to throw a proper welcome party for you. I came to call you about it' My eyes widened at the news. A welcome party? Seriously?! Now this is an honor!

I grinned happily and nodded, doing little jumps. Aether was satisfied with my answer and dragged me to their dorm. The sight of the boys welcoming me like this is really heart warming. Looks like I'll be fine after all.